greg3d

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Some days are just like that

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out and about

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It was a slow day at the lab till the thieves showed up

Firstly, I'm heading down to Tampa for Thanksgiving. First time I will have done Thanksgiving down there since 1985. It's about time. I'm taking Mortimer with me. He hasn't had a vacation in a while either. I have lots I want to do, just hope I have time for it all.

I haven't blogged about the mozzarella yet. Last Saturday I made up my mind to hang around the house and putter. I used to do cooking projects all the time a long time ago. I used to make sausage, I used to brew beer. I even made mead once. I kind of stopped doing it when we moved out here because for a long time I didn't have a decent kitchen and I got out of the habit. Besides, there was too much to do here outdoors. So Saturday I pulled out a book on cheesemaking I acquired a while ago, having had it in mind mind to do this quite some time and embarked on making my own mozzarella. It was not a rousing success, but it was fun. The recipe I chose took me all day and made a firm ball of cheese. The problem was that the recipe called for the ball to be soaked in brine and that made it too salty. Maybe some people like it that way. Maybe that's traditional. Aside from that it tasted like mozzarella. I might be able to use it on pizza if I cut down on the salt everywhere else. It is certainly worth trying again. Now you can buy fresh made mozzarella at the fancier groceries around here, so it only all about the fun of doing it.

So. It was a very slow, very dull day for me, and if Hebert reads this I'll catch hell, because he and Michelle were screaming busy. Anyway about 4 o'clock I'm crossing over to the trailer when Debbie, one of the operators jumps in an electric cart and starts to tear off. She sees me, slams on the brakes and yells to me to get in the cart, that she needs my help. Not having much else to do at the time I said yes and got in. After we were moving was when she told me there were thieves stealing scrap metal on the other side of the plant and that we were going to stop them. She said she felt better if the had a man along. I resisted the temptation to suggest we go look for one. So we go tearing across the plant, brazenly ignoring the 10 mile an hour speed limit, since it was an emergency. I expect the cart was doing about 15 mph, but that's neither here nor there. Sure enough there was a white van and three people tossing metal pipes and other scrap into it. Debbie pulls up in back of them and starts giving them hell. The police had been called and she was trying to keep them busy till they got there. They plead ignorance that they were doing anything wrong and started throwing the scrap back, then they jumped in the van and took off. The operators at the control center tried shutting the gates, but they managed to get away. Apparently these people have been seen stealing a number of times. We got their license plate number, so maybe the police can track them down.i think we would have been better off waiting. The police would probably have been there before they got the van loaded up. It didn't look like too dangerous a situation, but I suppose you never know. Well, that was my excitement for the week.

me and the bunny on a rainy day

Nala the bunny loves to be next to me when I'm working on the computer. I also have to be petting her when I'm sitting here which makes it awfully difficult to type. Once she's had her fill, she sprawls out and takes a nap. She doesn't do this anywhere else in the house, buut when I'm on the computer she wants to be near me.

I had plans this weekend, but decided instead to stay close to home. I've been on the go for so long, staying home really seemed the best option. Yesterday I stopped in at the Proctor's farmers market and discovered something wonderful. There was a booth for Pampeana's Empanadas. the two I tried, a chicken empanada and a feta and guava empanada were terrific. They have a carne empanada, which from the description, sounds very like the pastries you find in Tampa. What's even better, is that they appear to deliver. You get them frozen and pop them in the oven when you are rerady to eat. I think i will order a couple of dozen to have around for quick lunches.

I also took a stab at making mozzarella. There was a recipe for a quick batch, but I had all afternoon, so i tried a slow recipe. It took all evening, but it was fun. It is currently curing in brine. I will try it this afternoon. At least it looks like mozzarella.

Nala got tired of me. Looks like she's gone off somewhere to snooze.

The weather is terrible today. It's pouring down rain. I have errands to run, so i guess I will get myself cleaned up and hopefully waterproofed and go get some things done.

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The Ring of the Nibelungen

Tonight I embark on the marathon of operas, Wagner's Ring cycle. 2 ½ hours tonight, 4 or so tomorrow, 5 on Friday and a killer 6 on Sunday. That's somewhere around 20 hours of Wagner in a week. I've done this before. Twice. The first time I saw it was in 1986 and again about 10 years ago, so I know what I'm in for. I think about a month later the regular opera season begins and also the symphony. Summer's about over and I'm heading for my indoor activities.

up to my eyeballs in teenagers

The Alateen Conference starts tomorrow. We are supposed to hit the road at 8AM. If that actually happens I will be very surprised. Everyone is supposed to rendezvous at the church our group meets at, but if all the kids get there when they are supposed to it will be a miracle. I hope the weekend goes well. I think it was last year that I threw my back out the first day and was in misery the whole time. Add to that it was just four weeks after Arthur died and you can pretty much guess that I didn't have a very good time. We have a lot of people this year, so all the operational duties can hopefully be spread out so that everyone can enjoy it. It often happens that the committee members end up working so hard organizing that they don't really get to participate. Mortimer has been doing so much work putting it all together that he's about to pop his cork. Tempers were flaring last night.

Historically there has been no cell service up there, so there will be radio silence till Sunday. Pray for me and my sanity.

Trying out a new feature

I can blog through email now. Would be really handy if I had email on my phone, but then I like phoning in my entries.

Mortimer has been in an organizational frenzy getting the registrations done for WAAC. I impressed at the job he's done. He has worked hard to encourage people to sign up and to help them get scholarships if they can't afford it. I kind of started the ball rolling a few weeks ago, but he has picked it up and run with it. I haven't had to do much but stuff envelopes.

Life has pretty much revolved around WAAC lately. I will be glad when it's over. Last weekend was an Assembly. It was rather chaotic. Afterwards Mortimer and Rockstar (Chuckles, new name) stayed with friends in Snohomish overnight. It was relaxing for me. Kathy and Shelly have a very peaceful house. Even with Mortimer in it.