Lock-down Day 303

Very late start today. Oh, I just decided to get the whole 'catching up on my sleep' bit out of the way. No need to keep mippies shut in, though, so I opened the back sliding door for them.

I woke around nine - with all mips sprawled around in the bedroom! I got up to make coffee and mips took this as an invitation to play outside again - cool! I don't know why they need an invitation, though?

I tried writing this blog, but the internet is giving me a real headache. I got this page open eventually, but nothing else will load - no worries! Smeagol showed up for breakfast and I gave him mippies' left overs. I decided, with Smeagol around, I can buy those Petley tins again - with just my mippies, a third always went to waste, because they don't eat a full tin in one evening, and never like the rest from the tin (even though I cover it, so it stays fresh) the following evening. But Smeagol is not quite that picky ... yet.

I decided that I'd spend today predominantly indoors. Start with the kitchen - I've got that meat to cut, vacuum pack and freeze. I also got some bananas yesterday. And I've had enough of the shower floor! I had already sprayed, bleached and scrubbed the floor - but it's not up to my standards, yet. So, today I want to steam clean it.

I've looked at the weather report, another scorching hot day ahead! It should cool down tomorrow, and we might even get some rain tomorrow evening ... I sure hope so!

Washing the dishes is ... urgh! Hot! And using piping hot water doesn't help! But I'm at least getting a pleasure out of using some new products! I got a washing cloth and scrubber, hand-knitted out of 100% cotton and sisal respectively. I get a lot of pleasure out of such little things!

Sigh, it shows 4-bar signal, yet I can't even open Facebook! Ah, well! Fortunately I'm quite busy away from the PC. As long as I can type my blog, I'm happy! It's often won't update for quite a while, but since it always updates (or saves changes) eventually ... no worries!

Now I'm trying to vacuum pack the meat ... and the effing sealer is giving me trouble! It'll either just seal - no problem, OR vacuum but not seal! I don't know why! It vacuums, then goes on a too-short seal cycle and ... I'm swearing at the top of my voice! Bags are clean. Machine is clean. Bags are flat. Bags are placed correctly. Machine sucks, then pretends to seal ... but doesn't. So far, I've got 6 unsealed and 2 that sealed properly. At the same time, I'm swatting flies like a hallucinating tennis champion!

On the subject of flies: since I've deep-cleaned the bin drawer, I have far less flies in the kitchen! Mission accomplished! At least SOMETHING that worked out, in the kitchen!

Okay, it seems that, between placing the bag and closing the lid, the bag curls or crumples a little - so that when the lid comes down, the bag isn't smooth. You need 4 hands to stretch the bag across while at the same time closing the lid - which you have to press down to lock on both sides. Although there are 12 willing paws to help - none of them have thumbs! So, each bag gets one chance: vacuum seal first time, or plain seal! So far, I'm winning 7:5! I'll put the plain sealed once on top, so I use those first.

Why haven't I run into this problem before? You know, that's a very good question! Let me know if you come up with an equally good answer!

Final score: 14-6! I win! Oh, and 10 flies! Although, it's now three in the afternoon ... not much left of the day ... Well, the laundry is on the line as well, so ... I feel like I deserve some time out, to go into the garden ... 

I had put on the radio for something to listen to while I'm busy in the kitchen, but frankly, today's music is just too ... moody! It has almost no beat - at best a slow, steady rhythm ... not even a little uplifting! More like something you'd put on low volume in the background while you're reading a book ... or, more likely: faffing on your phone. I find it quite depressing. I better make some time to load some real music on a USB so I can listen to that!

The Bloubul (=blue bulls, our local rugby team) Steak I bought was not a good choice. Oh, there's nothing wrong with it - it's just not a good choice for me! It is one single 3kg steak! I've had to cut it, so that it fit into even my biggest frying pan! It's meant to be grilled on open flame, so in a frying pan, it doesn't come out too nicely. Still good, just not as good as it could be! So, what I've decided to do, is fry the whole thing, then cut it into pieces to either freeze or slice into small pieces to put on bread. It's very tasty, as it's marinated. But I won't be buying that again. Well, until can get my grill organised!

Done! I've cut up the whole steak and packed, what was left, into my lunch boxes and put them in the fridge. I'm not sure what to do with it, now ... I'm thinking of trying mini-pizzas. I'll see whether I'll actually carry it through, tomorrow.

I've allowed myself a few minutes of gardening: I sowed sunflower seeds! Oh, and now I'm watering. That's really all for today ... it's now five, and I really don't feel like anything ... just going to lounge around. Watch a bit of Columbo ... oh, speaking of that, last night's DVD had a bonus episode, of a spin-off series called Mrs Columbo! Interesting! Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager played Mrs Columbo. It's okay, but she doesn't fit the descriptions Columbo keeps giving of his wife, I'm afraid. And that kind of spoiled it for me.

I haven't done very much today, have I? Dishes, laundry, meat ... a few odds and ends not  even worth mentioning ... But then, I did only get up at nine! And it's not like I started chores right way, either!

I took a look at my succulent bed, and I can't delay weeding that much longer. The weeds are already an inch tall! Another week and I've lost the battle again! So, I hope to have some time tomorrow to get busy on that.

I just need to bake bread and wash the dishes again ... heard that one before, have we? I'm thinking of baking bread rolls instead of bread. And I really want the bread machine clean, so I can use it during the week. Actually, I think I'll try keeping some dough in the fridge. You know, like they sell bread dough? Let's see how that works out ...

When I sat outside with my mippies, as we now do every evening, I smelled rain - which is strange, as there aren't even clouds in the sky. It also felt like a cool evening - cooler than any for quite some time. Hopefully that means it will be cooler tomorrow!