Weather to Fit My Mood...
Well, lets see, today I finally got to go the chiropractor to find out what I had pretty much already guessed. My upper back and shoulders had been whacked out of line by the evil forces that led me to trip over the big, bad, rock on Saturday. The cure for this condition was to be whacked about a good deal more, then go home and lay flat for a bit. I now feel somewhat more sore and stiff that I did this morning, but I can take comfort in the fact that this is supposed to be the "good" sort of pain. The type that tells you that your are somehow getting "better." I may even believe this in a day or two (when this so-called "good" pain, goes away). Meanwhile, my husband is stepping very lightly around me and making comments like,
"Kitty doesn't feel very well does she?" or "Nice cat, Good cats don't bite and scratch"
To which I reply,
"I'm not a good cat...grrrrrRRRRROWWW!"
Needless to say, the husband in question was rewarded by an invitation to cook dinner. Fortunately I had already thawed some rather manly venison steaks for him to play with and he managed to make up a pretty good meal. I'm not all that crazy about deer meat, but since we have an entire freezer full of it, I've been experimenting with ways to make it palatable. This time I soaked it in home-made yogurt over night. I thought it was much improved thereby, but husband and house mate like it better left alone. I promise that next time I will compromise and just soak mine and see how that works. I can see their point, they really do like the taste of venison, so doing a lot of stuff to hide the taste is not in their best gastronomic interests. I , on the other hand, can really only face the stuff when I can figure out ways to make it taste not at all like what it is. Tonights creation tasted a lot like a good beef steak. Which is exactly what I wanted, but not what either of the guys had in mind. Although, husband pointed out that he couldn't even imagine what such a meal would cost in a restaurant given the price of deer in a commercial setting. Regardless of how its prepared. I had to agree, but also mentioned that I would like to get some other sorts of meat to rotate meals with. Husband agreed, but for reasons I had not thought of . While I was busy thinking up ways to avoid the monotony of venison served five times a week, he was concerned about using it all up before deer season starts again in October. I admit, that had never crossed my mind. Since the current season just ended about a week ago. I guess its never too early to start planing ahead?....
As to other home-made treats, the chickens are now really getting back into egg making mode. So, I guess its time to dig out my pasta, flan, fritta and cake recipes. Its great to not have to buy eggs at the store again. I'm tempted to give the last of the cheap ones (those with the dubiously vivid yellow egg yokes, which may have been produced by feeding yellow food coloring to the battery hens) to the cats. Or, I may just make up several batches of cookies and freeze them. Our house finally having recovered from the great cookie glut from the Yule Tide Season. The Irish aren't much into coloring eggs for either Ostera or Easter, they eat chocolate ones instead. Which means there's not much point in blowing them out for egg dying. Also, the commercial ones all have silly store stamps written on the side. I guess I could stop dating mine with a black marking pen and leave them blank so husband can blow them out and paint them. I think I'll ask him about that tomorrow. A few years ago he made an "egg-tree" with painted eggs all over it. But, like so many things at Kilmurry House, it never seemed to get put away. I would joke that once a year it was always back in style, sitting there on the shelf. Eventually the eggs all got knocked about enough that they broke apart and the the poor tree looked so bedraggled that I was able to get away with making it disappear into a lonely closet. I suppose its been long enough now, that I can face digging it up and putting more eggs on it. Besides, painting eggs can be fun. As long as I don't have to boil them and eat them afterwards. I HATE hard boiled eggs. But the blown out ones last longer anyway.
Of course, its not even quite really Spring yet. At least not by the US calender. For some reason, here in Ireland, Spring is always said to start in February when the daffodils start coming up. My personal theory is this is because a climate where it rains most of the time anyway, can make identifying any sort of season a bit dicey. Still its funny watching a mixed group of Americans and native Irish confuse themselves when trying to decide which season it is. I still prefer using the Spring Equinox as a dating marker myself. Even though its still just as likely to rain afterwards as it is before. At least that way, you know the sun has got around to doing something seasonal, or at least that is what the calendars tell us. I don't know too many people these days who actually go out and measure their sunbeams against a stick. And those few that do, might need a few years for the weather to clear to get consistent measurements!
As for our household, well, after a wonderful sunny weekend, its now back to business as usual. Rain is forecast, followed by several more days of rain, followed by winds and rain. Which suits my current mood perfectly, even if it is setting back the laundry schedule a bit. There's nothing like a grey, miserable and truly damp day to go with a few aches, pains and general mood of annoyance. Besides, its a great excuse to go curl up in bed with a good book, a cup of tea and a pile of helpful kitty cats. What seems wasteful or lazy behavior on a bright spring morning, becomes invitingly appropriate when its dark and dismal outside. So, I say for now, LET IT RAIN! At least for another day or two. By that time, hopefully all the stuff that was knocked "out" should be slotted back "in" and I can feel like enjoying the daylight once more. Until then, I can make my cats happy by letting them sit about and purring and "helping" me read books.
So, I guess I'll go put that tea kettle on, have some tea and then toddle off to take a nice, long cat nap....prrrrrrrr
Disaster Cat