Well it's been really nice to have yesterday and today free from gainful employment even though the weather has been iffy. Can you believe that these three amigos actually got it together enough to check out the weather outside en masse? Gary is the portly grey guy with grey tuxedo coat on the left, Klyde is the antisocial Himalayan in the middle (this makes the photo so amazing that he was fraternizing) and Stanley is the fluffy black guy on the right. Gary actually goes outside with a harness and run but he gets lonely and wants someone to play with - the man of the house was too busy today (more on that later) to throw rocks for him to chase. This guy has a serious canine complex, he sniffs and retrieves, likes dogs, doesn't mind the water etc.Because of the showers over the weekend I've managed to get some scrapbooking in. I've done seven (count em) pages in the book of our house construction. It's been fun to get back into the swing of it. Have to fit it in now before the weather really improves because there are too many distractions then.It's quite an addicting craft so don't test it out if you're not prepared to immerse yourself.
It's amazing that I managed to have any 'me time' as today I was being an unpaid administrative assistant to the fisheries association director who co-habits here. This required 4 or 5 hours spent polishing a letter / proposal to Dept. of Fisheries and various politicians and other industry players. Just what you'd like to spend your Sunday afternoon engaged in right? Well I'm here to tell you that it sure beats having to listen to the extended phone calls on the same subject.
It was a good thing that I'd already earned favor with my office skills because after supper I dropped a lemon meringue pie, with only one piece served, on the floor. The dog thought she had won the lottery but the man of the house was not impressed. Talk about sticky!
I did manage to make a recipe for poppyseed loaf provided by one of the participants at the writing workshop - another bonus for the day and am providing it here. Baby daughter pronounced poppyseeds "disgusting" but it's really delicious:
Poppy Seed Loaf
Combine dry ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
11/2 tbsp. poppy seeds
21/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
11/2 tsp. baking powder
Combine wet and add to dry:
11/2 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs beaten
11/2 cups milk
11/2 tsp. vanilla extract
11/2 tsp. almond extract
Beat well and pour contents into two greased 9 x 5 loaf pans. Bake at 350 F for one hour. Yum.
3 cups all purpose flour
11/2 tbsp. poppy seeds
21/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
11/2 tsp. baking powder
Combine wet and add to dry:
11/2 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs beaten
11/2 cups milk
11/2 tsp. vanilla extract
11/2 tsp. almond extract
Beat well and pour contents into two greased 9 x 5 loaf pans. Bake at 350 F for one hour. Yum.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate enough tomorrow to put some ornamental onions in. They were left in a basket with a sign saying 'free please take some' which is usually an indication that the things multiply exponentially. I managed to clear the herb garden at the old house as the neighborhood lad is coming to mow if the weather breaks. I remember a weed whacker and mower in the hands of a boy that age can be a dangerous weapon so have cleared a path.
