The day before Friday

Gosh, this week has dragged on as if it were a politician making a convention speech.

Oh, wait - there's one of those going on right now, isn't there? I've been avoiding the news as much as possible. No stomach for campaign speeches; give me results.

Bits of flotsam...I've developed a deep attachment to Jacques Pepin, particularly his "More Fast Food My Way" cookbook. Quick dishes don't have to be flavorless. Last night I tried a crusty chicken thigh recipe - the skin was almost as crisp as if you had deep fried it, but was accomplished by simply cooking the thigh skin side down in a hot non-stick skillet until it sizzled, then covering the pan, lowering the heat to medium to let it finish cooking all the way through. Mushrooms, onion and garlic in a quick wine reduction completed the dish. Yet it took just under half an hour, start to finish.

Tomorrow is my last summer half day of the season. Honestly, if they let me work this schedule year round, I'd be thrilled. Since I start so early, the half day ends well before lunchtime, giving me a chance to do the grocery shopping or errand running on the way home. By the time I sit down for lunch, I'm stocked up and ready for the weekend.

New flooring, or a trip of a lifetime? An opportunity has come up for a trip to Israel, a ten day tour in a smallish group. Coincidentally, the cost is about the same as the cost to have new flooring put down in the living room and sewing studio. I've a couple of reservations about the trip, one of which is that it is in June - when the temperatures over there stay stuck on "scalding". I'm not a hot weather person. So...flooring now, and look for another tour, another year, in a more temperate month?

As we speak, a giant brisket is sitting in my sink, hopefully thawing. Once that is done, it has to marinate for at least 24 hours before cooking in a low oven for four to five hours. The brisket is the main dish for a crowd of dinner guests two weeks from now. Once cooked, sliced and the sauce reduced, it will go back in the freezer, to be thawed and reheated, again at a low temp. I'm using Pioneer Woman's recipe, though with low sodium ingredients.

Last fall, I replaced fifteen year old dishware. This week, I've finally replaced glassware almost as old, prompted by the fact I no longer have enough water glasses to offer drinks to dinner guests. I bought these, technically a Tom Collins glass, but functioning in my house as water glasses (though if a TC just happens to appear in one, I'm not going to complain). They are indeed square, with rounded corners, but are slim enough to be easy to hold, while comfortable to drink from. Now I just need to rearrange the cabinets.

My week off in early October is shaping up. The main purpose of the time off is to take a three and a half day quilting class, but other things are popping up. The biggie - my 35th high school reunion. Egads, are we really that old? From the looks of things, about fifty classmates will be there (out of about 200). It was a shock to look at the reunion web site and see how many "in memoriam" entries there were; hard to believe so many are already gone.

Enough with the babbling; I need to get some work done.  Three day weekend on the horizon - yay!