WOOD AND SOUP

We got it done! The whole 10 cords are nicely stacked in the garage. Well, my rows are slightly off kilter and have a few more spaces. Helen and the lad did a fine, neat job; their rows are like a piece of art, especially when you compare them to mine. They only teased me a little, then seemingly accepted my statement about the air circulating better with more space between the pieces. I’m guessing that I only imagined one of them murmuring “IF they don’t all topple because it isn’t tight enough”. Just in case that WAS what I heard, when I put my truck into the garage tonight I parked it a safe distance away from the wood.

Because of the toll on my body, which is not used to so much physical activity at one time, I wasn’t up to getting much else done this weekend. Helen’s husband joined us after our labour for a coffee and a chat. I didn’t want to be rude and start doing my washing or mopping my floors with them sitting there! (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!) When they left, I realized I had no edible food in the house except for Justi’s tantalizing little jars, and those are meant to accompany the main course; not be it! Armed with three recyclable bags, I headed for the grocery store.

One should never shop for food when one is hungry. I spent far more than I intended. Even worse, most of my purchases were fruits and vegetables, so I can’t pretend that it will last me for a month. When I got back home, I lugged the 5 bags (yes, I bought 2 extra) upstairs, then realized that there were more things that needed refrigeration than there was room in the appliance. Sunday is ‘cleaning-out-fridge-before-things-jump-out-at-you’ day, but I was stacking wood, remember? Sunday is also homemade soup day…and maybe I shouldn’t talk about both events in the same paragraph? It doesn’t sound very appetizing. Honestly, my ‘leftover’ soups are known to be very tasty. Because I use whatever doesn’t run away when I open the fridge door, I couldn’t for the life of me give anyone the recipe. (Kidding.)

I did salvage some beef pieces - threw them into a pot with green peppers, shallots, sliced some mushrooms and carrots, added fresh cilantro and cumin, a bit of garlic and a touch of hot sauce, a little Worcestershire, a chunk of frozen beef stock, whole grain brown rice and red kidney beans. (The recipe thing works if I write it as I go, LOL!). The mixture simmered while I discarded whatever wasn’t good from the fridge before restocking that huge, hungry bugger. By the time I finished the task, my concoction was ready for the taste test. YUM! Delicious! It never fails.

It is now midnight. I’ve done the Jacuzzi, the fires are stoked, (it’s frisky cool here in Canada!), the doggies are snuggled up on their cushions, and tomorrow is a workday. It’s time for me to crawl into my comfy bed and, hopefully, fall into the arms of Morpheus.

Hoping you are all having sweet dreams, my friends, and that you can feel my warm SMILE when you wake in the morning!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.