Ziva insisted on time in the cuddle cave, so I put on another episode and scratched her ears and chin until she went off happy to join Lady Jane on the armchair and started giving her a thorough wash.
Even though I went to sleep late, I woke up quite early. I did have some very strange dreams, though. Involving myself being president? Of which country, though, I cannot say. And we had a session in some church, where I apparently met Donald Trump - how that entered my dreams? Really? Apparently I found him more intelligent that I'd have thought. Yeah, I'm totally mystified as well.
Oh and that building was in my dream again as well. I keep dreaming about this building, it's like the Reserve Bank in Pretoria - tall and black, only it's a ruin. On the outside, on the ground, it's all rubble and exposed girders - but a few levels up there are a few shops still operating. Outside it's square and black, but inside it's a mall, only not one I recognise, yet I seem to know my way around, I have selected shops I prefer.
When I dream of the outside, the Series 'Dark Angel' always comes to mind. Remember the one with Jessica Alba? About cities destroyed by the 'Pulse' - actually, all electronics were destroyed. Well, it comes to mind as if to explain what happened here, how this building came to be ruins - at least the lower levels.
And don't ask me, how lower levels can be ruins, yet upper levels still seemingly fine - it's a dream, don't expect logic!
And then there is this vehicle, sort of like a bus, since it's for passengers, but it goes straight upwards! It's not a lift, not part of the building, it's a separate vehicle.
None of this comes from any movie or series I've watched, yet it appears in my dreams with an irritating persistence.
Anyway.
I just checked what time the sun will rise today and noticed, interestingly enough, that PE is half an hour behind Pretoria! Sunrise in PE is 7:14 while here, in Pretoria it will rise at 6:49.
By twenty past six I tried sitting outside with coffee, but it was just four degrees outside! Too cold for comfort! I'm guessing temperatures went below zero during the night.
It's too cold to do anything - well, actually, that's not true. Since it's so cold, working would be a good way to keep warm, but that requires getting started. What I have done, so far, is washed my work clothes. Well, the sleeveless tops, anyway.
The thought of taking off my jersey to wash it is highly unpleasant, so I decided to do something unusual: I took a shower in the middle of the day. I'll have to re-think work clothing, as I'll need long sleeves and a jersey to wear. At home, for now, I've put on the white jersey, so that I can wash the one I prefer to wear at work.
And now I am so hungry, I could eat a horse! So I'm making myself some Knödel - ready made, so I just have to boil them; and with that a packet of sauce. That's getting rid of another packet. I'll have to make a plan for winter cooking now, though. Sigh, I don't like winter!
And with my tummy full of yummy, I'm ready for a nap!
Two hours later, he he. Mippies joined me, Mewthos on the bed by my feet and the girls in their armchair. When I got up, I watered the garden. I see that my landlord is putting up a hosepipe along the fence, so once he's connected that, my veggies and Cosmos will get watered whenever he puts his sprinklers on. Awesome, eh?
The hunger-situation earlier, has got me thinking, since it's not an unusual situation on weekends. Especially Saturdays. The problem is quite simply that I don't really eat breakfast on weekends. By Thursday, my loaf of bread is usually already finished, so for lunch on Friday's I tend to end up with a lesser food ... During the week, I now sit outside with my mippies, leaving me little time to cook. Definitely not enough time for a good meal. Plus, of course, I've never been one to cook well halfway through a work week - just too tired when I get home.
Also, in the past, I'd always get groceries about once a week, so getting fresh vegetables was never an issue - although, using them in time always has been. That's been something which had been bothering me for a long time - you can't get portions to suit one person for one meal, so you either end up making a meal to eat three days in a row, or with compost. I'm talking about things like Brussels Sprouts, Baby Marrows (Zucchini), Mushrooms, etc, which only come in pre-packed packages.
It's a very, very different life-style and I haven't found the right balance, yet. I've been considering different options, like maybe getting a slow cooker? Again: one meal for several days. I looked at roasting. I don't really have a nice roasting pan - turns out they cost an arm an a leg, and again: one meal for several days. And anyway, I can use my cooker or electric frying pan instead. I will have to get some meat for roasts to make on weekends. I can freeze portions. I'd also like to add some fish to my diet, I can make some pretty awesome dishes in the oven - hence my looking at roasting pans.
And then I thought about weekends and breakfast. And the weekly bread shortage - I often make fewer slices on Mondays-Wednesdays to stretch the bread, but of course I end up not having enough for the day. I can't really take out another bread mid-week, I don't have enough space in my freezer to store enough, I'd have to go drive through to Pretoria East more frequently - which I'd like to avoid.
So I started looking into Bread Makers. Machines where you just put in all the ingredients and they pop out freshly baked breads ... something I've been avoiding in the past, since I do prefer making things from scratch. But time is not on my side here, I spend most of my time with my mippies. I also prefer sourdough bread, and Bread Makers can't make those - at least, the one's I can afford, can't. But it would make quite a difference to me, if I could have bread enough for lunch for the whole week. Especially if I can have bread that hasn't gone stale by Friday, and is still good for breakfast on Saturday! Or I can make dough and bake myself fresh rolls for the weekend. I could also make dough for a pizza base in it, so I could make Pizza on some weekends.
One of the reasons I haven't tried making my own bread, yet, is the difficulty with temperatures. Especially in the kitchen. In summer it's very hot, so I keep the windows open - which isn't good for rising bread dough. In the past, I'd use my oven and put it on low - but with a gas oven? And now, it's too cold, especially as I keep the kitchen window still open, for my mippies. A Bread Maker would solve that. And I've checked (by reading the Manual): I either have or can easily get all the ingredients I'd need for a simple white bread.
I'll sleep on it and give it some more thought tomorrow. Of course, I also need to start making a plan to spend some time in the kitchen on weekends to cook myself a good meal. Whether I bake myself a fish dinner, roast a chicken with veggies or whatever. It will mean less time for the garden. And, of course, more dishes to wash, ha ha ha! But yeah, something's got to change.
I had planned to make scrambled eggs for breakfast today, but I don't really like that for breakfast - so I ended up eating nothing! Silly, eh?
And now it's time for cuddle cave!
It's too cold to do anything - well, actually, that's not true. Since it's so cold, working would be a good way to keep warm, but that requires getting started. What I have done, so far, is washed my work clothes. Well, the sleeveless tops, anyway.
The thought of taking off my jersey to wash it is highly unpleasant, so I decided to do something unusual: I took a shower in the middle of the day. I'll have to re-think work clothing, as I'll need long sleeves and a jersey to wear. At home, for now, I've put on the white jersey, so that I can wash the one I prefer to wear at work.
And now I am so hungry, I could eat a horse! So I'm making myself some Knödel - ready made, so I just have to boil them; and with that a packet of sauce. That's getting rid of another packet. I'll have to make a plan for winter cooking now, though. Sigh, I don't like winter!
And with my tummy full of yummy, I'm ready for a nap!
Two hours later, he he. Mippies joined me, Mewthos on the bed by my feet and the girls in their armchair. When I got up, I watered the garden. I see that my landlord is putting up a hosepipe along the fence, so once he's connected that, my veggies and Cosmos will get watered whenever he puts his sprinklers on. Awesome, eh?
The hunger-situation earlier, has got me thinking, since it's not an unusual situation on weekends. Especially Saturdays. The problem is quite simply that I don't really eat breakfast on weekends. By Thursday, my loaf of bread is usually already finished, so for lunch on Friday's I tend to end up with a lesser food ... During the week, I now sit outside with my mippies, leaving me little time to cook. Definitely not enough time for a good meal. Plus, of course, I've never been one to cook well halfway through a work week - just too tired when I get home.
Also, in the past, I'd always get groceries about once a week, so getting fresh vegetables was never an issue - although, using them in time always has been. That's been something which had been bothering me for a long time - you can't get portions to suit one person for one meal, so you either end up making a meal to eat three days in a row, or with compost. I'm talking about things like Brussels Sprouts, Baby Marrows (Zucchini), Mushrooms, etc, which only come in pre-packed packages.
It's a very, very different life-style and I haven't found the right balance, yet. I've been considering different options, like maybe getting a slow cooker? Again: one meal for several days. I looked at roasting. I don't really have a nice roasting pan - turns out they cost an arm an a leg, and again: one meal for several days. And anyway, I can use my cooker or electric frying pan instead. I will have to get some meat for roasts to make on weekends. I can freeze portions. I'd also like to add some fish to my diet, I can make some pretty awesome dishes in the oven - hence my looking at roasting pans.
And then I thought about weekends and breakfast. And the weekly bread shortage - I often make fewer slices on Mondays-Wednesdays to stretch the bread, but of course I end up not having enough for the day. I can't really take out another bread mid-week, I don't have enough space in my freezer to store enough, I'd have to go drive through to Pretoria East more frequently - which I'd like to avoid.
So I started looking into Bread Makers. Machines where you just put in all the ingredients and they pop out freshly baked breads ... something I've been avoiding in the past, since I do prefer making things from scratch. But time is not on my side here, I spend most of my time with my mippies. I also prefer sourdough bread, and Bread Makers can't make those - at least, the one's I can afford, can't. But it would make quite a difference to me, if I could have bread enough for lunch for the whole week. Especially if I can have bread that hasn't gone stale by Friday, and is still good for breakfast on Saturday! Or I can make dough and bake myself fresh rolls for the weekend. I could also make dough for a pizza base in it, so I could make Pizza on some weekends.
One of the reasons I haven't tried making my own bread, yet, is the difficulty with temperatures. Especially in the kitchen. In summer it's very hot, so I keep the windows open - which isn't good for rising bread dough. In the past, I'd use my oven and put it on low - but with a gas oven? And now, it's too cold, especially as I keep the kitchen window still open, for my mippies. A Bread Maker would solve that. And I've checked (by reading the Manual): I either have or can easily get all the ingredients I'd need for a simple white bread.
I'll sleep on it and give it some more thought tomorrow. Of course, I also need to start making a plan to spend some time in the kitchen on weekends to cook myself a good meal. Whether I bake myself a fish dinner, roast a chicken with veggies or whatever. It will mean less time for the garden. And, of course, more dishes to wash, ha ha ha! But yeah, something's got to change.
I had planned to make scrambled eggs for breakfast today, but I don't really like that for breakfast - so I ended up eating nothing! Silly, eh?
And now it's time for cuddle cave!
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