What day is it?

This is the question I was posed as my enlisted help got down to business chopping. Why the day of the week was important I did not know. I puzzled for a second and the realised I should just give up the answer so I replied, "Saturday." To which my daughter replied, "but we are having tofu, its not tofuesday." Talk about starting something without even realising. So Tuesday has officially crossed over. I think that is kind of cool. Anyways I explained how we can have tofu on other nights as well. And then we got down to making dinner. The Mrs. made a greek salad. She went a little light on the cheese and vinegar (her call) but it was still delish and having our own cukes in the mix was nice.

I made a squash and basil soup. The squash was boiled in 4 cups of water with onion, celery, salt and pepper. Then it was pureed in the food processor with some fresh basil. This puree was added back to the remaining water and then we put in some broccoli and frozen corn. Next I added cumin and half a cube of vegetable stock. This was simmered until the broccoli had softened. Finally I threw in another handful of fresh basil leaves. I turned off the heat and let it sit for a bit before serving.

The stir fry was our now classic tofu in peanut sauce number. The vegetables included zuchinni and beans from our garden. It was great. (I used the bowl which held the tofu while the veggies were stir fried, don't tell anyone but you get extra sauce that way)

On a non food note the room was painted today. Tomorrow is for trim and the closet door. Pretty happy with how things have gone so far. Some small touch ups will be necessary but overall I think not a bad job.

Good to the last Drop.

So we actually got down to some painting today. For those of you keeping track I believe it may have taken two weeks from the planned start date. I just keep telling myself, "its not a race."
Of course everything else in our house is a race these days. This morning the wife gave the daughter the idea of have a yard sale with the stuffed animals we are planning to get rid of. So naturally the son had to get in on the action. They sold a total of zero stuffies and three glasses of weak, no lemon added, iced tea. I bought one of the glasses.For dinner I was lacking in motivation and so was the wife. She said we should get some take out. The daughter requested mom made food and the son wanted A & W chicken. Thus the table on display this evening. The wife made soba in a miso soup with some koya tofu mixed in. She also pan fried up some perogies. I took the son through the drive through and we got the family meal, on sale, $26.24 taxes in. Ouch.

I am now getting a lot of pressure to apply the finishing coat after dinner. Earlier the walls were cleaned and then a primer coat was applied. Not really feeling the continue painting vibe. I plan to resist and finish tomorrow. If I have the strength.

Cool enough for the Oven.

Well we decided that with a slight break in the temperature today was finally the day to make bread. Rather a late start to that but by 4:00 they were all baked up and looking good on the counter. Now I told everyone to keep their hands off and their appetites whet so that they could devour some pizza.We made two kids (ham and basil; ham, pineapple and basil) and two adults (zuchinni, mushroom, onion, olive, banana peppers and basil). The wife also talked me into putting a cup of whole wheat into the dough in the place of a cup of regular flour. The dough was a little bit firmer. This made it harder to work with but it also slid more easily off the pizza peal. I partially lost two of the pizzas off the back side of the stone and had to fish out the hanging off bits. More flavour in the dough, maybe a little bready. However, it was good and the wife was satisfied so the most important criteria was met.The zuchinni that graced our pizza is pictured here beside a cucumber and tomato that were picked from the garden today. The basil and banana peppers on the pizza also came from the garden. Everything is coming together. Looking forward to the first eggplant and all the varieties of peppers and tomatoes that have not yet ripened. Gonna pick some beans tomorrow.

More comfort food.

Nothing crappy happened today. We just weren't into cooking so we went with something easy. French fries, perogies and a green salad with orange segements (the wife added the colour, I was in charge of the starch).
I actually had some good news today. A colleague called and offered up her husbands old bike. Turns out they just bought new ones and are no longer in need of their old ones. Their old ones are like new to me so I am very excited to be back in the bike game. Talked to the insurance people and though our deductible is a little steep we can replace everything and get reimbursed for it. So it sounds like insurance does work. We don't know if we are willing to cough up the deductible but maybe once I am getting paid again in the fall we may change our mind. In any case we will definitely be replacing the bike trailer.

In another neat piece of news I saw a family travelling by bike today. Two parents, three kids, two tandem bicycles with one of those ride along trailers on the back of one of them. Talk about seeing a picture of yourself in real life. It definitely looked like the kind of setup we could work. And they were riding through the Kootneys. Saddle bags and the whole bit. Yes it was a little piece of perfection if you ask me. Give me four - five years and I hope that will be us.

Cupboard Snooping.

So we planned to go shopping today. I just didn't happen. So around 4:00 the Mrs. and I started to shuffle around in the kitchen. She pulled out that random can of pad thai sauce that we had. I had been worried it was hot but she assured me there were no chili pepper symbols anywhere on it. After cracking it open I decided it would go nicely with our last two cans of beans (kidney and chick peas) and whatever vegetables I could muster: carrots, onions, celery, and another zuch from the garden. With a little garlic squeezed in it was quite a nice bean stew of sorts.

This was followed by a serving of chocolate cheese cake ice cream with some home made apple sauce. Sweet and tart. Just like my wife... Please don't tell her I wrote than. Wait, she reads this blog. Okay honey, I meant it the best way possible.

I gotta go, the dog house is calling.

A bad sign.

When this is all I can muster the energy to make for dinner.

Some stinkers must have been walking by my house late last night. They decided to take my 12 year old mountain bike and the double kid stroller attached to it. I am betting that it was a joy ride/getting somewhere kind of routine. I doubt there is any resale value. However, it really really sucks. Those were a vital link in our transportation plan. We could go out as a family with me towing the two boys and the wife and daughter riding along. We could go to the library and shopping. Downtown wasn't too far, even on a smoking hot day. Now I am limited to my walking radius or using the car. Man... we just rode our bikes to the river yesterday, it was great. So yeah I am a little down. Didn't do much today, long afternoon nap. Quite a bit of driving around looking for the bike and trailer. Then for dinner I had beers and chips and dip.

At least the kids had some udon noodles. We had bought some smokies but I just couldn't work myself up to turning on the barbecue. I think I will keep drinking and watch some movies until late at night. Hopefully I will be feeling better tomorrow. Although, hung over is usual not synonymous with better. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck.

Okay bright side, trailer had some rips in the fabric and was almost done. Mountain bike was 12 years old and I had been contemplating replacing it. House insurance may cover some of the replacement cost. "I am trying real hard to be the shepherd."

Lunch, in camera.

We had people over for lunch today and had chicken salad, egg salad and pasta salad. The first two of which were meant to be eaten in buns. We also had some veggies and dip. Then the kids played while the adults chatted. Late afternoon we went to the river for a swim and took the play friend along for the ride. It was great. Almost let the son drown. He moved a little out of the swimming hole and found a place where the water was a little over his mouth and he couldn't quite get the leverage to walk back against the slight current.

Fuck me was that ever scary. Holy shit do I have to keep my eyes on him. No life guard there. He thinks he can swim. Not a good combination. Coincidentally I have been thinking about pools recently and how they are so dangerous with little kids. My self talk went something like this, "well as long as you are vigilant and have lots of safety procedures." That shit just went out the window. Not until all our kids are strong swimmers. That has to be the starting point. And then gates that lock, not just latch but "I need an adults intervention to swim" lock.

Just one of those parenting moments that brings you up short. Kid racing towards a stop sign on their bike and you are praying they won't forget to brake. Chasing sister on the side walk and traffic is busy. Put them down to sleep and pray they don't manage roll over and suffocate or some such nonsense.

But the good times are good.