Small things help

     I am back on my bike and life is looking better; life behind bars means something different to me than what the immediate connotation would suggest. It is a peaceful and empowering feeling that comes over me. I don't always have a destination in mind, sometimes i just take random roads to see what i can see. I have been able to manage the repairs and maintenance myself to date, it really is just a bicycle with a motor, and since she is electric, i have the confidence that i will be able to get to and from my destination even on windy days or days when i am more tired.

    

A new bike stand makes the general maintenance and tires changes a lot easier. It is very sturdy and that tool tray is super handy! I changed out the studded tires, though last years all seasons won't last long, they have 1500km on them. I cleaned of the four months of dust and inactivity, gave the chain a good clean and wiped the brakes. She loved all of the attention! 

     I made pickled red onions. Since having been diagnosed with and treated for the H. Pylori bacteria, i am hesistant to go bad to my old food ways that made me feel so wretched, including the astonishing amount of cheese that i used to eat, so i endeavour to add flavour in other ways. Perfect on my smash burger that i made last night at work. The next time i make it i will try adding some peppercorns for a wee bit more punch.

     Hopefully in a couple weeks I will be weaving again and i will have started a cardigan, which my granddaughter Angela has asked for as a birthday present. I really do have to find my focus as it has been too easy to get comfortable doing nothing since "the incident". 

Later Days!

Still in the kitchen

     I have 2 more weeks until i find out if i can do more than mundane tasks so more cooking and spinning of wool is what i have to share with you. I make bread. In fact, i love making bread, the smell, the soft wonderfulful texture and a few warm childhood memories make it the perfect comfort food. Adorned with simple butter or highlighted with by dippy yolk or avocadoes home made bread is perfect.

    It is wonderful finding out that even at 52 i am discovering foods that bring such joy. I am going to make time once i am healed and back to the things that kept me busy, to keep trying new recipes, it really has been inspiring.

Garlic confit is the most simple but ever so elegant condiment that should be savoured at least once. I used the garlic on a pizza and my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter was super excited about the gobs of deliciousness! I love it spread on toast and of course, the oil goes in everything.

    I recently purchased some seafood from Springhills Trout, a local fish farm that delivers as well. Though it doesn't appear on the website now, i snagged a seafood mix of cod, scallops and shrimp as well as a box of the salmon, trout and char. I finally decided on a bisque recipe and i was NOT disappointed. 

    

    This is also one of the few new soup recipes that i have tried in recent years that was not cooked in my Instant Pot. This recipe also reheats nicely and i can't to see what my daughter thinks of it, the oldest one, my youngest is not a fan of seafood. This suits me fine because i could eat seafood all day long!

I should have this spin finished in a few days. My new Daedalus arrived last week, with an extra $100 tacked on upon delivery, and i have not allowed myself to open it until i finish what is on Rowena. I will probably call the new wheel Rowena as well, i do think it will suit her as well. I have pretty much decided to chain ply this spin, in my mind it will be better that way.

   Here's to getting good news in two weeks and many more adventurous pictures soon.

 Later days!

    

Something New

    The news from the surgeon was disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. The lack of union in the bones i think can be explained by whatever is causing my gastrointestinal issues; i don't think my body is absorbing the things it needs to heal, not to mention trying to sort out whatever is causing that issue. I have a phone appointment with my doctor this week, so hopefully we can sort it.  Until next month, i will continue planning weaving and knitting projects, working on my spanish lessons & tai chi and finding new recipes to make and share with my family and friends. I took a couple of days to mourn another month of biking and weaving lost but those are things i enjoy not the only things that define me so here is a thing that cheered me up immensely.

    Eggs are more easily absorbed so i have been eatinng a lot of them, but they are a bit boring. Since i have a bit of extra time and i usually spend it scouring the internetweb for cool shit, i did come across a way to zhuzh them up a wee bit. 

    This is my first attemp at eggs brûlée and i was pleased to acheive that hard cracking layer and still have a silky yolk beneath. Candied eggs - frigging brilliant. In case you want to give it a go for yourself, click here to watch the video that i watched that inspired me.

    Just a short post today, i will hopefully have more to share next time.

Later Days! 

Let me catch you up

      Not gonna lie, it's be'en a year already. There won't be many pictures in this post, it will be mostly a synopsis, just of this year, so you don't feel like you like you walked into the middle of my life. (Which you kind of are) If you want to check out my past you can hit up my socials - Facebook  Instagram

     I don't post New Years things like "new year new me" or "this will be my year" because I truly believe that shit like that is challenging the universe and it seldom turns out well. Having said that, sometimes the universe challenges you randomly and this is how it happened to me. On January 11th of this year i crushed my hand in a box forming machine at work. It hurt as much as one would expect from such an accident and to add insult to injury, it was of my own making.

     Things happened pretty quickly and I had surgery on the 13th. My workplace were dicks and made me go in on the Friday, me not even out of surgery for 24 hours, because the resident who filled out the FAF didn't actually give me any time off. Then I had to fight WSIB for payment for a week off that a doctor did give me after I had a wee reaction (throat closing up) to the pain killers. 

     I had a super fun friend drive me down to London for my two week follow up and unbeknownst to us, she and her husband had the Covid. So, of course I caught that, and then for good measure I developed a sinus infuction. I have been suffering from a super dodgy tummy, I feel nauseated all the time, super wretched when I eat and nothing I eat stays put for long and I am not throwing up. Pretty sure I have C.Difficile from th 21 days on anti-biotics and I am waiting on labs to come back to confirm. 

     I haven't been able to do most of the things that I was going into this year, but I have started learning Spanish, I have watched loads of videos and read lots and a couple of weeks ago I was allowed to start spinning again. Yes, Starting this blog two months ago would have been smart, but I didn't so here we are.

   

 Right now I am trying to finish this spin that I am on as I was dead fortunate to get a Daedalus Sparrow in their shop update yesterday. This is a brilliant EEW6 but it is a bit bigger than what i really need though she is a workhorse and has really impressed me in the five months we have been together. This is a Polwarth/Silk blend from Sweet Georgia Yarns . I am spinning finer than I ever have and haven't completely committed to the 2 ply that I originally planned, it might yet get chain plied. I want to use is as warp for a scarf which I can almost see but can't plan until I finish. 

     You are now up to date and I hope you will join me on my journey, it is going to be a busy one, especially if my appointment on Thursday with the surgeon gets me cleared to drive, the roads will soon be clear and I can't wait to get on them.

Later Days!