Digging in my yard is a hanging offense

Friday

We got up after 8. I got ready for the day. I drank hydrogen water and took supplements. I read from the document, then did parts of the tapping video. Chris suddenly swore and ran to the office.

Michelle called. She said she could get me the pork rind powder I needed for the cake. I read e-mail. I looked through my open tabs to figure out what we should get at the grocery store for the cakes and frostings. I am going to make two, so I can turn in the better one. I wanted to lay out in the sun, but at 60, it was a little chilly for that.

I made and ate breakfast. I watered the outdoor plants and some gopher holes. Suddenly, there was a gopher running away. I followed it with the hose and trapped it against the wall of the house. I grabbed a rock and did it in, then laid the body on the rain gutter pad. Chris came back from the office.

I packed the cooler and we went to Tooele. We shopped at Luckey's and they had black frosting but I didn't like the list of ingredients. Then I walked to Melanie's and bought some coconut milk and vanilla paste. It is black and might color frosting without making it taste bad. Then I went to Joann and got an angel food cake pan and some paint brushes.

Finally we went to Macey's and got a few more groceries, then went back to base. We stopped at the commissary to get pomegranates and stew beef. After we put the food away, Chris cooked the stew beef. I watered the tower garden, then went to the community gardens. I picked mint from mine and tiny tomatoes from Saronna's second plot. I got a zucchini and green tomatoes from Mauvet's plot.

When I got home, I got some twine and hung up the gopher from the plant pole as a Halloween decoration. I washed my hands and put some stew beef in a bowl of soup along with garlic powder and ate it. I read articles, then worked on my blog.

I took a bag of greens and the water container and a bottle of tea to Michelle's house for game night. Casey had built a computer just to run it. It was naked. Michelle and I talked for some time. Her mother came out to sit with us for a bit. I played the game but wasn't getting anywhere, so I went back to another 'save' and started from there. I had to leave that world and go back to a previous one after realizing that I hadn't finished it properly. I got to go up in a floating tower thingy, solve a puzzle, then go on a wild rollercoaster ride to the very end. It was a good time to call it a night. CAsey carried the water container out and I bid them all goodbye.

When I got home, Chris was already in bed. I did my usual yoga routine and hit the hay.

The ultimate vegetable soup

Thursday

I got up after 8. I got ready for the day. I checked e-mail briefly, and some videos on browning onions and garlic. They did not all agree. I didn't have Kevin's number so I called Faye, and she answered. She was at work but she gave me his number and I called him. He answered all my questions. Someone seemed to be there, answering in the background.

Anyway, I sliced up an onion and got it started browning in a frying pan. I had to turn it to the lowest setting on the gas stove. Then I minced up some garlic cloves. When the onion was ready, I threw in the garlic. When they were both browned, I scraped them into the crock pot.

Then I cut up a small zucchini and sauteed that and threw it in. I put in leftover boiled potatoes and a package of bone broth and turned on the crock pot. I washed all the potatoes I dug up and put them on to boil. I chose a squash from the fridge and cut it up, sauteed it, and threw that in.

I put on The Highwire and made breakfast. Chris came home. I showed him the store potatoes that we have had for months and he said to throw them out. He heard something he didn't agree with on The HIghwire and became very angry. After the 'conversation', I plugged in the headphones. He went back to work. I unplugged the headphones and continued to listen while looking for other veggies to add. I found some beets, a large zucchini (the inside seemed more like a squash), some peppers from Torrey, corn I picked awhile ago, a tiny HOT pepper from the tower garden, and sweet potatoes that we harvested last spring. Each thing got boiled or sauteed before going in the crock pot.

Finally it was time for the Paint and Sip class. I jotted some notes for my blog, then drove over to the Community Club. I was happy to see that so many people had signed up. I chose a seat then went to buy a drink (which was kind of expected). They didn't have anything I wanted so I bought a bottle of water.

I sat beside Jenni and listened to Brittany start the class. She had a table of items in the middle of the ring of tables. We were invited to paint what we saw. She only gave us black, white and orange paint. So I used the charcoal to draw what looked like a Christmas tree topper. It was leaning over so that's how I drew it. Then I thought it looked like the horn of a unicorn, so I roughed in that shape. I added leaves and a lake to round out the picture.

She called time and we were supposed to turn our paintings around so everyone could see. She had us talk about our art in turn, starting with me. It was nice to see what everyone did and they were all so different. Since there was still paint on my palette, I used a piece of paper towel to dab and smear it on my canvass, trying to use it up. Ha!

She let us take the paints and brushes home. I headed out with mine, but got caught up in a conversation in the parking lot. Then it got cold and I remembered I needed to cover my plants. So I went home and brought in the sweet potato plant (which was very unhappy about the temp last night). The tower garden already had its frost cover on.

When I got home, Chris was eating his pizza. He joined me in having a bowl of the soup that took all day to make. It was ok, but needed more spicing. I couldn't taste the onions or the garlic so I added garlic powder to mine. I had a second bowl of soup and worked on my blog. I made tea and we watched four episodes of Dick Van Dyke, finishing season 1. Then Chris went to bed and I stayed up to read more of The Great Taking.

Trying to choose a frosting

Wednesday

I got up before 8, having used the mp3 headphones. I got ready for coffee morning. I used the last bit of coffee and opened a new bag. Even it had the little light fragments. Could they actually be coffee?

I meditated and tapped. Then I started cleaning bathroom counters and toilets. I cleaned the kitchen counter tops. Chris came home for lunch. I vacuumed in the den, behind boxes and on sills and shelves. The spiders were not happy. I vacuumed the kitchen too, then got caught up in e-mail somehow. It probably started with an internet search.

I vacuumed the bedroom, bathrooms, and hallway. I took a shower and got dressed. I watered the indoor plants. I went to the gym and did my usual workout. Then I played racquetball for a few minutes. My back wasn't too happy after the workout, so I quit early and went home.

I watered the outdoor plants and some gopher holes. I emptied the dust cup of the vacuum. I looked up angelfood cake recipes, then frosting recipes, then coconut frosting recipes. But lots of frostings don't hold up well over time out of the fridge. So I looked up tallow frosting recipes and found a keto cake made of ground pork rinds. Huh.

I started bread dough. Chris came home from work and made rice. I formed the dough into flattened rolls and let them rise. I continued my search for recipes, then popped them in the oven to bake. I worked on my blog.

When the rolls were done, I took them out. I heated tea and we watched four episodes of Dick Van Dyke. Then he went to bed and I stayed up a little later, reading more of the same document as last night.

A busy day of little things

Tuesday

I got up around 8. I brushed and swished and got ready for the day. I put on some podcast and washed the dishes sitting around the kitchen. Then, after watering the plants, I went after the gophers. They had been busy while we were gone. I knocked down mounds and watered the tunnels I could find. I dug up some small potatoes.

I put on a bathing suit and laid in the sun for awhile. Then I got dressed and made breakfast. I ate while reading e-mail. Chris came home for lunch and went back to work. I dug up some mulberry seedlings and put them in a cup. Michelle texted asking me to take a broken chair to the CSM's office.

I went to Saronna's house to play and gave her the seedlings. We talked for awhile, and played one piece several times. I gave her a band flyer to post at the school. She gave me two jars of pear juice.

As I headed out, Jenni called to say she was bagging at the commissary and had the chapel key for me. So I drove over there to get the key. I brought in a band flyer and the manager agreed to post it on the door. Then I went home to get more flyers and some jars.

I texted Michelle back and she said the chair was at her house. So I went over to give Saronna the jars and then to Michelle's house. Her daughter gave me the chair. She offered to come along, so her dog jumped in my back seat and we went to HQ. She carried the chair in and we tiptoed down the hall to the CSM's office. He was expecting the chair and put it in his closet for signing later. Chris walked by and

gave me a kiss. Then she and I and the dog walked out.

I took her home, then went to put a band flyer up at the post office and one at the chapel. I headed home. I read e-mail, trying to catch up. Chris came home from work and put fish in the oven. I ate a pomegranate. The arils were small but tasty. I saved some of the seeds. I also ate some tomatoes that had ripened on the kitchen window sill.

I looked up gluten-free angel food cake recipes and how to pickle potatoes. I worked on my blog, I made tea and we watched 4 episodes of Dick Van Dyke. Chris went to bed and I stayed up way too late reading something called The Great Taking.

Home again

Monday

We got up after 8:30. I brushed and swished, washed up and got dressed. I made breakfast and had some fruit from the fridge. While Chris showered, I packed my suitcase and food box. Then I read e-mail while he packed his stuff and the food from the fridge. Finally, we packed our laptops and got on the road.

It seemed like a long trip back. We ran into road work that had not been there on Thursday. Thankfully, we had an extra book on CD so we had something to listen to while we waited. We got back to base before 3. We were stopped for a random check at the front gate. Then we stopped at the post office for mail. We went home and unloaded our luggage. We put everything away, and started a load of laundry.

Then we went to the commissary for a few things. We brought them home and put them away. I wiped off my laptop table and unpacked my laptop and set it up. I posted to the community Facebook page that we would not have band tonight. I called Jenni to get my key back but she didn't answer.

I texted with Michelle. She said to call her husband and go over to get the water container. So I called, then collected a bag of greens from my tower garden. I took them over and he gave me the water. We chatted a little until the UPS man came. So I left, and drove home past Jenni's house. She was not home.

When I got home, I heated the last two burgers in the toaster oven. After eating that, I picked a small salad. I listened to a podcast on thyroid health, then worked on my blog. I made tea and we folded the laundry. Then we watched 4 episodes of Dick Van Dyke. Chris went to bed and read a book. I stayed up till almost 11, then started my bedtime ritual.

The best burger

Sunday

We got up after 8:30. I had not slept as well as the night before. I was constantly vacillating between being too hot and being too cold. Sigh. We puttered around, having breakfast and reading e-mail. The cleaning lady did the room next door and I set our trash out to be collected. Later a man came by to wash all the windows, which was nice.

We got dressed and went to the national park. Chris drove us back to the creek that we saw on Friday. He sat in the car and read, while I found a rock on the shore to sit on. The water was freezingly cold, so I only soaked one foot at a time while reading. Eventually the sun on my neck told me it was time to go.

I walked back to the car on numb feet. Chris was talking with three older ladies sitting on the tailgate of a truck. We chatted with them for awhile, then a large RV pulled up. There wasn't much space, so we headed back. When we got back to the main road, we went to an overlook. We got out and took pics there. Chris found people to talk to.

On our way back to the motel, we stopped at another place for ice cream. But all they had was vanilla. So we headed back. We read e-mail until 5, then got ready and went east to Capitol Burger. The people running it were on Iron Chef at one time and are glad to be out of that rat race. So now they make burgers. We stood in line to get a mushroom burger and a pastrami burger. Then, while we waited, we saw the sign for the Figgy Piggy. He explained that it used a fig meade from the Atta Place hard cider store. So we ordered one of those as well.

When our order was filled, we went back to the motel to eat. New people had moved in next door and they had young energetic kids. We ate our burgers and shared the third. Then, for peace and quiet, I took my book and went out by the stream to read. When the daylight began to fade, I went back to our room. I read some e-mail and worked on my blog.

I drank tea in bed as we watched Uncharted. Then we snuggled into the sheets and went to sleep. I took a moment to step outside and check out the night sky. It was so full of stars! Then I went to sleep, sleep that was better than last night but not as good as the night before.

More good food

Saturday

We slept so good that we stayed in bed until 9. I took supplements and read e-mail. He had leftovers for breakfast and I made my own. He gave me a massage without any oil because he didn't think it was ok to get the hotel sheets oily. Sigh. Then he took his shower and I took mine.

We got ready and went to a trail called Chimney Rock, marked as Strenuous on the map. We parked at the bottom. I took a bottle of water and we walked up the trail. Chris spoke to every one we passed. Or rather, who passed us. I had a really hard time with the uphill climb. I was still sore from before. After that, the going seemed much easier. Very few of the hikers were from Utah. Most were hitting multiple national parks within a few days.

When we got back down, he used the restroom while I imbibed more water stored in the car. Then we headed back. We stopped at a creamery and got ice cream. They had lots of good flavors. We tried pumpkin, coffee, lemon, and peach. We conversed with another couple enjoying the 5 scoop tray. Then we ran past the Saturday Farmer's Market. So we stopped and walked around. My big toes were hurting from the nails hitting the front of my shoes. We bought salsa and fresh peppers, and such.

We went back to the hotel to drop off the purchases. Chris struck up a conversation with the people in the room next to us. They had just come from an apple-tasting at the cider place. So we went there next. Turns out the tasting had ended 20 minutes ago, so we looked around the store. Then a lady came in with all the apple leftovers on one plate. We got to taste them and I liked the Bramley Seedling the best. Then we signed up for the cider tasting. That cost $10 each. The lady took us to a back room and told us the backstory on the name Eta Place and the multi-crop orchard. She started pouring the ciders. After the first two, another couple came in for the tasting and they ended up sitting with us. Together, we chatted as we tasted other ciders and several meades. I got very lightheaded. Chris purchased a bottle of plum cider.

The clerk recommended Curry Pizza, 8 miles down the street. We were going to try the burger place tonight, but it should be open tomorrow whereas Curry Pizza will not be. So we went there for supper. It was mostly Indian food, some on pizzas, plus wings and such. So we got a Bhinda pizza and Tikka Masala. To drink, we got strawberry lassi. We ate some of it there and brought the rest back to the motel room for tomorrow.

We read e-mail for awhile, then I made tea. Chris trimmed the nails on my big toes. He pulled up a movie called Megamind on the TV and we laid in bed and watched it. Afterward, we snuggled down and went to sleep. Or at least he did. I couldn't reach a comfortable temperature between too hot and too cold.