Power went off around twenty past nine last night ... huge area affected, within 6 minutes over 300 outages reported! How do I know this? Well, at 21:21 the first person got reference number 699, at 21:27 I got reference 1000.
First thing I checked is whether there are ANY lights, anywhere - with Eskom back under ANC control, I fear total grid collapse every time the power goes out. And apart from the water issue, the worst part if that happens is: I'll have no access to information! With no power going to ANY towers ... no internet ... no information ...
Well, it wasn't this time. I reported ... forwarded updates ... but I was tired, so I went to sleep. Turns out my bedroom light had been on ... power came back at 22:42 and I woke up!
I woke up again during load shedding, I checked the time - it was 03:31.
These interruptions to my sleep are not good. I only woke up 07:15 this morning!
It was supposed to rain during the night - but it didn't. And this morning I woke up with THE headache. Again. That's what? Three days in a row? I think four days, now? Fortunately it was only very mild, and - also fortunately - it dissipated fairly quickly. Again.
I think I cut my hair just a wee bit too short - some of it isn't long enough to be tied up, after all. It hangs down over my ears a bit. Ah well ... it'll grow soon enough.
Oh, and in case you're wondering about my 'New Year's Resolutions'? I don't believe in drastic change of behaviour - it's bound to fail. Instead, I work on change of attitude. And the best time to work on that is when I'm away from work ... since the only time I can really take time off is during the annual shut-down, that's kind of why it coincides with 'New Year'.
And I have been working on a change of attitude throughout my leave. I always do.
Sigh ... just a few minutes to ten ... time for load shedding ... Again!
Twenty past twelve: Rain! Finally! Starting with a slow drizzle, now turning into a downpour! The veranda is soaking wet - good thing I've brought my cushion inside before it started. I've closed all doors and windows, except the front door - I'm using the water pooling on the veranda to wash Mewthos' territorial claims off the floor in the lounge by the front door. My rain gauge is filling up fast ...
On the home front, I'm making more time for mippies. Last week, when I chased Ziva away a bit much - she really IS incredibly demanding - she stopped coming for evening treats. Clearly, the perceived rejection affects my mippies way more than I thought possible. So now I'll MAKE more time. After all, I get just as much love out of it ... just need to stop driving myself to get 'musts' done.
I have also started taking a look through my mum's 'Encyclopedia of Bread Making' book. I've decided that I could do with some variety in my bread. Those recipe's don't use skimmed milk powder - something I haven't been able to find recently, so I'm running out.
Today, I meant to try making tomato paste. As I was getting everything in place, to start cutting the tomatoes, I figured, if I have to bake for 45 minutes, it would be good to bake more than one thing at a time. So I'm going to try a recipe from my mum's book. I won't be following their method - I'll use my bread machine to make the dough. Today, I'm trying 'French Dimpled Rolls'.
Another problem with the recipes in the book is, most of them use fresh yeast. And I don't have the correct ratio to replace with fast action, instant yeast. So, I'm taking a chance ...
Right. When I looked at the dough, it was crumbling and too dry. So I poured in some sunflower oil. Again and again. It now looks like dough.
Aaaand load shedding up to Stage 4 from 16:00 this afternoon. For now, only until 05:00 tomorrow morning - but I'm expecting Stage 6 next week. Yeah, I've probably jinxed it now ... but the way things are going ... it's not much of a risk anymore.
Which means power off again tomorrow morning 02:00 - 04:30 - which is only in Stage 4. So tomorrow we'll 'enjoy' the same outages as today. Next turn is 18:00 - 20:30. And here I was, hoping to be able to keep the PC on tonight ...
Well, I'm quite enjoying the 'Fellowship of the Ring', so it's no biggie ...
I've also worked out one of the reasons I'm not cooking for myself, like I used to. I used to enjoy chopping, preparing, etc. while watching something in the background. I can't do that here. I used to fit bed, workspace and PC into one area - which is why I'd often have my bed in the lounge, not in the bedroom. I don't remember how I did the audiobook overnight in PE ... but with the open plan kitchen, I could work and watch. Here, I can't.
Firstly, the kitchen isn't open plan - it's adjacent to the lounge. There's no line of vision from the kitchen to the PC, no matter where I put it. And, with the safety issues here, due to the isolation, I can't put my bed in the lounge - since the bedrooms are the only rooms behind the second security gate.
Theoretically, I could fit desk and bed into my bedroom - which would give me workspace, PC and bed ... but not ideally. No straight line of vision from the bed to the PC. For now, I'm compromising by putting my new portable table in the bedroom - where I can work and watch, as always. Since it's small, though, I just need to clear and pack away between tasks.
Still no sign of the kittens ... mommy just came for a stroll through. Went to the Wendy. Sat in front of it - but didn't go in, nor did anything come out. She then went with Smeagol outside my garden ... through the gate ... same as they did last night. I'm worried about those kittens!
Well, I just shaped the dough into rolls - it felt right. Not too dry and not too wet. I must make a note to add oil when I substitute instant yeast for fresh yeast. And it seems I've used the right amount of yeast - at least, so far. I'll see if they turn out too dense after baking. I've noticed that in most recipes, the amount of yeast is the same as the amount of salt called for ... so I went with that.
The bread rolls are great! I've just had one with butter - love it! So I had another one.
I think the mommy has moved the kittens. Again. I just put a bowl of wet food in the Wendy ... half an hour later, not touched.
The tomato puree? Delicious! I've poured it into a cottage cheese container, and put it in the freezer. Very happy with the result!
Load shedding in 50 minutes ... and I still want to cook dinner. Very simple one: pasta with bockwurst pieces and mayo. Maybe I'll mix in a spoonful or two of my tomato paste! Power off till eight ... I don't think I'll boot up again at that time. Might as well publish now ...
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