Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Life Lately - Take 2

The last post I did was a few weeks ago and it was one of these "life lately" things.  Not much new since then, but here's a random smattering of what's going on these days:
  • I caught a cold.  Boooooooo. :(  I kind of knew it was coming, though.  I'd reached that point in the winter where I'd started to think I was invincible and I was kind of getting cocky about it, because I've been around so much of it and hadn't been catching it.  Never get too cocky when it comes to cold germs.  It's not a bad cold, just stuffed up and low-energy today.  Probably because I spent half the night guzzling water due to extreme dry, sand-paper mouth.  Blehhh.
  • One day last week, I took the notion I wanted French Onion Soup.  I haven't had it in ages, and I've never actually made it myself.  I googled "The Best French Onion Soup recipe" and bought the ingredients, and ended up making it on Monday.  I wish I'd read the recipe a bit more carefully before starting, though, because it was a little too heavy on the seasonings/spices I think.  I didn't even put the full amount in that they called for, but it was calling for multiple tablespoons of garlic powder, thyme, and oregano, and also teaspoons full of salt, pepper, and basil.  It was too much, I think.  It was good, but a little too heavy in that department.  I looked up a recipe in my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook that called for much less and more simple seasonings - just salt, pepper, thyme, and a bay leaf.  I think the next time I'll try that instead.  
  • Last night, I took the notion I wanted brownies.  Once again, not something I make very often.  And again, I googled "best brownie recipe" and went home to make them.  I told myself I'd bring leftovers to share at work.  This recipe I used turned out delicious, but the icing I put on was too thin and made a mess.  Sooo... I couldn't bring them in to share, they looked terrible.  Ooopsie.
  • I finished the book Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt the other day, and I've now started our next book club selection, The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris.  Our book club selections are a little on the heavy side this year, and I'm looking forward to getting through them so I can read some lighter fare, hopefully by summer!  This one especially... I mean, I'm only 10 pages in, but I had to put it down last night because it was making me queasy.  I find Holocaust stories important and interesting, but some of it is so hard to read about, it makes me feel ill to know what those people endured.  I think of this man, a Slovakian Jew from an upstanding family, in his suit and tie, "dressed to impress" because he has no idea what is going to happen, being forced into a cattle car with all of these other people, forced to piss and shit in a bucket, treated worse than an animal.  Then arriving at the concentration camp, stripped of his clothing, hair sheared off, sent off into barbaric conditions while those who disobey are simply shot without hesitation... it's heart-wrenching, and it makes me feel so sad and upset to read about it.  I can't even imagine living it.
  • It probably doesn't help that when I put down the heavy book and turn to the TV, I'm still wading through Game of Thrones.  I think there are only 5 seasons available on Crave, and I'm into that last season.  I have become a little more hooked as I go along, yet I'm looking forward to moving on to something...again, lighter.  Something with less blood.  Less beheadings.  Less incestuous love scenes.  *cringe*  I'm really wanting to try out The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime,  but I kind of want to watch more Crave shows so that I can cancel my subscription as quickly as possible.  While I'm very interested in a bunch of the shows, I'm so unimpressed with the set-up and quality of the streaming service.  It has been a terrible disappointment.
  • When GoT gets to be too much, I do still flip over to Prime or Netflix to watch other specials or movies.  I watched Adam Sandler's 100% Fresh special on Netflix last week, and it made me both laugh and  cry.  I kind of have a crush on Adam Sandler now, believe it or not.  The song he sang at the end for his wife was just about the sweetest thing ever.  I also watched the documentary about the failed Fyre festival, and I watched a few episodes of Dirty John.  (And yes, I am aware how fortunate I am to have extra time in the winter for all this reading and TV time!!)
  • I finished crocheting the baby blanket I was working on and gave it to my friend who is expecting at her shower on Sunday, and I was so pleased to hear that they loved it.  It was the first time I made the "Call the Midwife" blanket, and I was very happy with how it turned out.  Last night, I started working on a simple prayer shawl, because I haven't decided what "big" project I want to tackle next.  I thought I was just going to make some dish cloths and face scrubbies, but when I started into them the other day, I just wasn't feeling it so I set that aside for the time being.
  • Had I mentioned in my last post that I messed up my knee?  I can't remember.  A few weeks ago, my left knee started acting funny.  I kind of treated it with extra gentle care for a few days, but it didn't seem to get any better.  Then I started forcing it to "work" again and it didn't seem to get any worse.  I got some Rub A535 ointment last Friday and it seems to be helping.  Fingers crossed that I'm on the mend!
Well, that's about all I've got for today.  I'll try to come back sooner than every few weeks!  

2 comments:

Annsterw said...

The tattooist was an amazing book! I finished that in two days. I agree- I cannot imagine what any of those people went through - horrific!!

Nicole said...

Food for thought... I saw the other day that for every pound (I know silly American's... using the old system of weights/measures) you lose, it decreases the pressure on your knee by 4. Now I'm having a hard time remember if that was 4% or 4 pounds or 4 whatevers, but 4. 4 is that magic number... lol.

So I also heard that if you catch a cold, it's a strain you've never had before because supposedly you can't catch the same strain twice. Your body builds up antibodies that keep you from it. I caught one the other day too... actually the weekend after Super Bowl. It was the worst. In fact, I'm still dealing with the aftermath of that particular cold. I'm tired of it.