#232 - Rangiri and Elbows Deep

What a wonderful thing it is to wake up whenever your body wants to.

Holiday Mondays are the greatest. Even after I woke up, I went straight back to bed. I didn’t care. I was going to milk it for as long as I could.

Robyn let me sleep a bit longer, then went down to make us a quick breakfast. She microwaved some egg bites and toasted some English muffins with strawberry jam. And there was tea, of course. There always has to be tea!

We watched John Oliver while we ate and then Robyn got ready to do some planting of the front baskets. She even managed to get the kiddo out of bed to help. I think he likes having this time with his mother.

I stayed up in bed watching some YouTube videos and occasionally nodding off. Eventually, I made my way downstairs and toured the backyard, checking in on yesterday’s plantings. All looked great, but I planted a few more begonias in the garden before heading to the front of the house.

The two of them were already elbows deep in dirt.

The main basket, which has five individual pots to fill, was already overflowing with three different colours of begonias. Red, red-orange, and yellow. There are two more hanging baskets on the porch railing which received a variety of sun-loving plants. Then there are two more tall pots that also received begonias. Begonias do well wherever we put them.

Two ferns hang from the top of the porch pillars in hanging baskets. One on either side of the house. Any leftover plants get put into the front garden beds wherever we can find space.

I filled a bucket with some extra plugs we received from my sister to give to our neighbors with the dog. They immigrated from India last year and are new to gardening in Canada.

After all the planting was done, Robyn went for lunch with kiddo to a diner that is within walking distance of our house. The kiddo was looking for a job where he could walk to work and avoid the long commute he has at the moment. Preaching to the choir here.

His plan was to have lunch and then casually talk to the owner about a job and just by coincidence, have a crisp new resume to hand her. Smooth as sandpaper.

Turns out the owner was closing early because they weren’t getting enough business to justify staying open on the holiday. But they were able to have a chat with her and leave a resume.

While this was going on, I headed out to our Survivor, Pizza, Hot Tub friends to drop off extra flowers to them as well. We sat and had a chat outside, since the weather was amazing. Warm. Hot even. But with a beautiful breeze and nearly cloudless skies.

It could have been the middle of August, for how nice the day was.

John told me about the writing book I had gifted him and how he thought the techniques described in the book could apply to songwriting as well. He was also able to give me a bit of his thoughts on the latest story assignment from last week.

I didn’t stay long. My own back deck was calling to me. I planted a few more of the plugs randomly around the garden and took a nap on the outdoor couch.

I played a game of chess, and somehow managed to win. I thought for sure I was going to lose that game. But never giving up wins more games than throwing in the towel.

I read one of CSIS books for a while and then napped. Then more random planting of plugs and other flowers we had not found a home for yet.

Around five, I was getting too hot and felt like I could use a lie down. Robyn was up there reading and watching her guilty pleasure shows. I faded in an out while one of those Criminal Minds / Forensic Files shows was playing.

Just before seven, Robyn got ready to do her service work, and I watched some more YouTube videos. Being a holiday weekend, there weren’t too many new uploads from the creators I subscribe to, so I thought it would be nice if Robyn came home to a nice supper.

I had all the ingredients to make a batch of Chicken Ruby, but I wasn’t ready to make that kind of commitment tonight. Instead, I fired up the stove to 400°C and started chopping some vegetables. It seemed like a sheet-pan kind of night.

First, I laid out some Italian sausages on a sheet pan covered in foil. I chopped up two carrots Japanese-style, or Rangiri. I made onion slices and covered them with salt, garlic powder, and thyme, then sprinkled a bit of brown sugar on them. I haven’t enjoyed the way the mushrooms come out when roasted. So, I put a ramekin on the sheet pan and filled it with chicken stock, mushrooms, diced onions, and some thyme. Then it was bell peppers, mini potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini slices.

Tonight’s dinner was all about experimentation, so each vegetable got its own spice and oil mixture. For the zucchini, which were covered in olive oil, I dredged them in a little chickpea flour to see if I could make a crust. It didn’t come out crispy like I’d hoped, but it added a nice nutty-ness to the zucchini.

The mushrooms turned out great. They were moist, and braising them in the liquid added extra flavour.

Robyn came home just as the final timer went off, and somehow the kiddo materialized from nowhere, no doubt smelling that food was available. He loves a good meal if he doesn’t have to do any of the work. But then again, who doesn’t?

By the time dinner was finished and the leftovers were packed away, it was nearing 9 PM. Robyn was asked to go on a walk with the Kiddo, but I was sure she wanted and needed her bed even more. So, it was no surprise when she declined the offer and headed upstairs.

We watched an episode of “From,” a creepy Steven King-like series where people are trapped in a town and evil things come out night to try and kill you.

And then we watched and episode of “Imperfect Women,” which I am enjoying so far. It’s one of those crime stories revolving around a missing person and things get muddier as events unfold and histories are examined. I think it’s a well-done show.

I have certainly been seeing some new LA locations that are cool. I’m surprised none of them have been in a movie before. Or maybe they have and I never noticed.

I think my wife has come down with a cold. She is coughing and stuffed up now. That means I’ll be next for sure. I am already starting to feel nasal congestion that I hoped was allergy related. But after hearing her start to cough, I think it must be respiratory related.

And I have no time to be sick this week. Too much to write and too much to get done at work.

I took an allergy pill around nine o’clock and I am starting to feel the effects of it not just past midnight. The allergy part hasn’t changed, but man, do these pills make me sleepy. The desire to pack it all in at the end of the day is overwhelming in its intensity.

With the weather app predicting some thunder showers tomorrow and the temperature said to be about 28 C and feeling like 34, I think I may work from home tomorrow. Nothing delays the trains like water. Don’t need to be hot, wet and humid tomorrow on the ride in and out of the city. Better to work in the cooled environment of my home studio space.

My mother has been posting pictures of my parent’s trip to Spain. I had to laugh at how many of them are of wine, beer and cocktails. No people in the photos. Just pictures of booze.

Her little sister has come over from Scotland to spend some time with them in Tenerife, and I am sure with the two of them together, they are causing trouble.

Well, it’s been an expensive weekend buying plants and soil. I have some more hangers coming for hanging baskets to add to the deck and fence. My Zento Signature pen should arrive this week as well. Something to look forward to.

It’s well past time to get some shut eye.

I hope you had an amazing long weekend wherever you are.

Until tomorrow.