A bit of the normal life

[fenchurch]

It's been a busy week, catching up with all the stuff that stacked up while I was in Idaho Falls. I finally feel like I'm on top of things here again and, of course, we've got less than a week before we leave for the next trip... flying down to Phoenix for rahirah and wildrider's wedding reception (and to visit rackham's aunt -- the one I've never actually met in person) and flying from there to SLC, Utah in order to visit Rackham's family for a few days before heading home again. Honestly, I have no idea how I'm going to pack for this... we'll only be gone for slightly over a week, but it's been hitting 90 in Phoenix this week while it's been snowing in Provo. Needless to say, we *won't* be getting by with just carry-on.

One of the things I did earlier this week was to clean out the fridge. Rackham hadn't really done much cooking while I was gone, so we had a lot of vegetables that were, well, not rotten but getting more than a bit limp. I was going to toss them in the composte bin, when I remembered a post by varina8 earlier this week about making vegetable stock! So I crammed everything into my crockpot, covered it with water and cooked it on high for about four hours and then on low for another 12. Mmmmm... smelled fantastic!! Then I strained out the vegetables and added a pound of stewing beef, some chopped carrots, celery and onions as well as a bay leaf and some barley. Absolutely wonderful! I'm definitely going to make my own vegetable stock again!

When I was helping my grandmother, I had to make quite a bit of Cream of Wheat and Cream of Rice (she's on a soft food diet until she's a little further along in her recovery... and let me tell you, it obviously got old REALLY fast. I felt so bad for her... but at least I figured out she could have KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy, since she likes them even when she hasn't just had surgery)), which got me craving grits. And not the good stuff, like the bag I already had from Bob's Red Mill. No, I wanted Quick Grits! With butter! And salt and pepper! So, um, yeah... guess what I've been having for breakfast every morning since I got home. Mmm.... grits...

I'm in the middle of reading One for the Money by Janet Evanovich, which means I'm already running just a bit behind the reading schedule on plum_lovin. However, I had another one of those weird incidents that have cropped up from time to time since the accident. I thought I had never read the book before... to the point where I was shocked to discover I already owned a copy. And when I started reading it, everything seemed VERY familiar, but I still have absolutely no memory of the book... it's like the memory of it is unfolding as I read. Thinking back on it, I'm pretty sure I read it between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2005 and I don't really remember anything from December of that year. I didn't have a serious head injury (the brain just got jostled a bit and the skull got hit a few times by something flying around the car, probably my cellphone), it's more that the stuff from that month never made it into long-term storage because it became incredibly unimportant. Still, it freaks me out a little whenever I run into one of those things I've forgotten.

Comments

[eliz.livejournal.com]

Heya! Just wanted to say I thought of you today when I realized that Idaho Falls is on my map of the US on my wall in my cube at work!

:)

[napalm_isis]

it's like the memory of it is unfolding as I read.

Oh I've known that feeling. As little kids my brothers and I used to play The Black Cauldron video game but never actually saw the movie till Disney put it out on VHS when I was in HS. Watching it for the first time was very surreal because of the memories it sparked from the old game for all of us.

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

I've described the sensation as a persistent feeling of deja vu. I still don't remember what happens next, but I "remember" what I'm reading as I read it... and, well, it's just a very weird sensation.

And I remember that Black Cauldron game! Still haven't ever seen the movie, mostly because I knew they changed it so much from the book.

[napalm_isis]

Yup! That;s exactly how it was with me and the movie. It's exceedingly weird.

The movie is surprisingly very close to the game. Which is the only way to account for my deja vu when I finally saw it years later.

[saifai.livejournal.com]

The veggie stock sounds really good. I'll have to give it a try.

Know what you mean about the memory loss. I lost quite a chunk of mine back during my senior year of highschool, and on into a couple years afterwards. I still get little bits of memory coming to me now and then, and freaks me out just a bit. Not quite as much as it used to, but it's very disconcerting.

Am sorry you have to go through that. *hugs*

Hope you're enjoying the book the second time around though. :)

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Have a wonderful time in Phoenix. I wish I could be there, too. *sigh* Also, fwiw, that same thing has happened to me several times with books and I have no excuse other than an overstuffed brain.

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

I've had that happen a number of times too... just not remember having read a book until I start into it. This is a rather unique sensation though... like a constant, persistent feeling of deja vu. Like I'm remembering what I'm reading just a split second before I read it. It's very strange and a bit disconcerting. Thankfully, I didn't read too many books during that month...

I did realize recently that although I've given out copies of Anansi Boys as gifts because I loved it so much, I actually remember almost nothing about it. But then, I finished reading it, out loud to Rackham while we were driving, a few days before the accident. It's just so funny to me that I remember loving it enough to give it to other people, but I don't remember the book at all. I've tossed it back on my Teetering Pile, so I'll be dealing the persistent deja vu thing again at some point. :-)

[ljs-lj.livejournal.com]

Grits? Are you sure you're from the PNW?

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

Heh! Actually, I'm not. At least not originally... although I've lived here longer than anywhere else. I was actually born on Oahu, but my dad was in the military so we moved around a bit. IIRC, I first got exposed to grits by some good friends of my parents who were from Alabama, when I was really little.

One of the big advantages to growing up on military bases... you get exposed to a lot of different types of food!

[tomte.livejournal.com]

Ah likes me sum griyuts. My dad, raised by two Southerners, would have been appalled to realize that I made it to adulthood without ever having had grits for breakfast. But grits are good; they have more character than most cream-of-cereals I've tried, and they're tasty served sweet or savory.

And the quick kind is, well, quick.

I remember you talking about how much you enjoyed Anansi Boys. Guess you'll probably like it again this time around, ne?

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Good to hear that your Grandmother is coming along nicely. And yes, I've had those sudden memory unfolding moments myself.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Have an excellent trip - give the brides a hug from me!

I feel very sorry for your grandma - soft diet can be very boring, although a good selection of liquidized soups can help, especially with a handful of grated cheese on the top.

[varina8.livejournal.com]

Your beef barley soup sounds yummy. I'm always glad to make another convert to the joys of veggie stock. It's become an addiction.