Stocking up...

I wanted to rest today.  I planned to rest today.  I just thought I would take care of a few things.  Mostly things for me.  Mostly.

I had been wanting to make some vegetable stock, so I sent myself an email last night to remind myself of that desire.

Like last time, I used the cooked-int-the-stock-making-process root vegetables (rutabaga, carrots, turnips, and parsnips) to make a bisque.

Mmmmm!  Tasty!  I will probably add a dollop more of cream when I heat up each serving.

So, here is my haul from the vegetable stock making endeavor, cooling a bit before I put on the lids and add them to my freezer.

I also wanted to make that recipe I created for Marie and Paul's freezer cooking a while ago.  So, I roasted up my final two butternut squashes.  I think they should be available all year round.  None of this seasonal cooking for me!

I must admit, I enjoyed making my Roasted Butternut Squash and Goat Milk Pasta a bit more since it was all slated for my belly.  My, I do believe this is a rather tasty dish!!

I actually think the pasta will be even more tasty for having been stored in GREEN mason jars, don't you??  Yes, GREEN mason jars!!!  Marie surprised me with them.  Oh, be still my beating heart!!  GREEN things do so warm the cockles of my heart, but I think GREEN mason jars for my freezer meals just might top the list.

In addition to the left overs, I have three servings of roasted butternut squash waiting for me in the freezer.

I wanted to make some more Pasta alla Vodka, since my supply of that is at an end, but I sort of exhausted myself with all that cooking and mess making and kitchen cleaning.  [And I would like some more shell pasta instead of the mezze penne I have on hand.]  I also want to make some more Thai Honey Peanut Chicken and some Lemon Chicken for the Lemon Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki and Feta so as to increase the variety of meal options in my freezer to 10.  Waiting is good, though, because once the stock has frozen, I can stack the bottles better and have more room in my freezer.

Did I mention that my lunch today was Grilled Corn on the Cob with Cheese and Lime?  More of a mess to clean up.  But more tastiness.  Too bad you cannot freeze that dish.  I do have three chicken breasts that I grilled using Kulp Spice Shoppe Smoked Grilling Herbs.  I actually had one of the owners (and my best friend) mail packages to my brother and my step-father so they could enjoy the fruits of her labors.  Boy do I enjoy mail-order shopping.  So easy!

I did watch the NASCAR race, doing nothing more than snuggling with my puppy dog.  And I painted the second coat on the dresser drawer fronts.

I might possible have moved the drawers to the garage and put them in the dresser, but I will not confirm that.  Moving drawers about ... or the dresser itself ... is on my forbidden activities list.  I was, however, able to take up the drop cloth in the basement and do the slightest bit of cleaning.  My working down there created such a mess.  SIGH.

I am not a polyurethane person, but the wood is so very dry and needs waxing or polishing.  I, however, have neither the tools or the skill for waxing.  I did apply copious amounts of orange oil, which dried almost immediately.  I only stopped because my bottle was emptying at an alarming rate.   In my opinion, even dry wood that is a bit dull is better than pink paint or any paint for that matter.  I do so like the paint color on the drawers.  Again, the photo is not so great, but it is one of those historical foundation colors and those are always—at least to me—so rich in depth, color with substance.  I cannot wait to see it with knobs and whatever dresser scarf (fabric) Marie chooses.

As for lugging the drawers out to the garage, if called to account for such action, I am going with the argument that they will finish drying better in the warm garage than the arctic basement.  Sounds good, eh?

Whilst painting, I kept thinking about both the back porch sealing job and the repair job on the basement steps (tackling the carpets that were drenched in the flood I caused).  Painting the drawer fronts, even working carefully, took very little time.  Yet I dropped the paint brush six times and the pinky and ring finger on my right hand went numb.  My hands really are getting weaker and things where I have to grip something small (like a paint brush handle) causes great pain (cramps) and results in numbness.

I suppose it is good, then, that Firewood Man came up with the idea of replacing the lattice on the back porch instead of my spending a year or so scraping it and then painting it.  I mean, I doubt we will tackle that anytime soon, especially since I would somehow like to scrape (pun intended) together the funds for it.  But just knowing that I will NOT be the one tackling that job is an utter relief.

Don't get me wrong, I love being a homeowner and have always savored tackling whatever jobs needed doing myself even though I oft wish I were wealthy enough for someone else to do the heavy share of the labor and I do the helping share.  But the clock on this particular homeowner's DIY labors is quickly running out.  Even for small jobs.

Sometimes ... rarely ... I wish I was the sort of person who could look at the wretched state of the back porch floor and not feel compelled to be a good steward of the property whilst in my possession.  I confess I am a bit discouraged seeing how much sanding is still needed and knowing the practically infinitesimal rate at which said sanding is taking place.

Did I mention that I got two quotes for sanding it?  Although both handymen admitted the job would take approximately a half hour, one wanted $500 and the other $600.  Even if each had to rent a sander and bear that cost, both quotes sounded like highway robbery to me.

August.  Surely it will be done by August??

My mother surprised me with eight frilly and utterly beautiful lily bulbs.  I have a bare spot in the center of the lily bed.  Four of them are even variegated.  However, all of them need to be planted.  SIGH.

This weary wanderer, though worried about the lack of distraction from her fearful thoughts, is actually glad that the next three days are going to be entirely too hot for me to sand between the hours of 8:00 and 9:00 PM.