This Post Brought to You by the Letter P

I'd hoped to tell you all about an upcoming gig pig-sitting ... but alas, it is not to be. 

The first meeting was not a success. Kenya desperately wanted to play with her, but Olive, the potbellied piglet, rooted about in her crate scream-grunting imprecations at Kenya. 

They both started out just sniffing the air and then Kenya tentatively stretched her long nose toward the wire separating the flattened piggy snout from her own moist, black one.  As Olive became more and more upset about the intruder near her space, Kenya became increasingly excited about the prospect of really playing with her.

I have seen the same behaviour with cats.  Cats that are perfectly comfortable with dogs either in a friendly or dominant way seem to keep Kenya calm.  Cats that are fearful excite her.  She never fails to chase the feral cats on the lake, but she is perfectly comfortable with Oberon and other cats she has lived with.

When it became plain that these two animals were not likely to relax with each other any time soon, I said I thought we could not pig-sit; that three days of running interference would be just too harrowing for me ... to say nothing of the emotional well being of the animals involved.

So Kenya went out to the car and I had lunch with Olive's human. 

While we ate, Olive rooted around under the table, cleaning up crumbs and nibbling on my toes.  She is a dear little piglet ... black with wiry hair, a wagging tail, squashed up snout, and delicately sculpted feet.  Have you ever seen live  pigs'  feet?  They are lovely ... and incongruous on such a rotund little animal.  Reminded me of Petunia Pig and her high heeled pumps.

Right now Olive is about the size of two footballs, but she will double in size by the time she is full grown.  She is litter trained (most of the time) and is a vegetarian.  I guess the most endearing thing about her is that she is always in motion, always close to human activity,  and always vocal.  I like animals that talk to me ... and she is even more communicative than Kenya is.

Later in the day, good friends arrived with dinner ... pasta and salad with a Christmas stollen for dessert.  Yummy.  They had a bit of a time getting up my road ... started to slide off the road and were saved by Peter, my friend, neighbour and carpenter.  They parked about ½ kilometre from the house and walked (or skated) the rest of the way.

Leonard who does my plowing had called earlier to ask if he should sand the road.  I said blithely that it wasn't necessary; that I had got out and in  that morning with no trouble once I spent 3/4 hour scraping the windows.  Big mistake.  And then when I tried later to reach him I discovered that the number I had was not correct.  So my first job today will be finding Leonard and straightening everything out.

My second will be painting the Muskoka chair. I  have decided to play with rainbow colours and publishers' logos.  Photos will follow when the work begins to progress.  It has been long enough since I last painted that I am a little fearful; have to keep reminding myself that nothing is ever permanent ... neither glory days nor screw-ups.

And my third job will be to plan for next Wednesday's class with Pauline, Azra and Diane.  I am finding myself looking forward to these classes because I like being with these women.  We spend as much time laughing as we do working.

Indoors and Out

More ways to put off getting on with the day ...

Procrastination

October 29, 2010
Organizational Friday or Procrastination Depot

I have just finished tidying my chest freezer and inventorying its contents in order to discover what I need to buy to stock up for winter.  (I have been told I am the only person in Christendom who has a catalogue of her DVDs ... and now this!) 

What I discovered:     I do not need to buy ground beef or sausages until 2020.

            Likewise chicken thighs and pork tenderloins.

I am not terribly keen on chicken thighs and that is likely why I have a surplus, but I suspect that the reason for everything else is that I can never find what I am looking for in the cavernous depths so I always eat from the top down.

Does anyone out there have a simple solution for keeping a chest freezer's contents under control and available?

I am thinking of boxes or bins of some kind.



The birds are busy emptying the feeders ... jays, chickadees, red breasted nuthatches, snowbirds, downy woodpeckers, and sparrows so far.  The red squirrels continue to be foiled by the cds that hang along the line between the trees and the feeders ... or maybe they are simply content with the seed that the jays deposit on the ground.


My next task is to organize the bins and satchels containing teaching paraphanalia.


And then I will get down to writing based on last weekend's writing workshop.

Maybe.

I just read an article about procrastination.  Apparently we procrastinate because our various selves are thrashing things out.  The first step we need to take is to identify those different warring selves.  Blogger Oma is often at odds with Lazy Oma who cannot abide my tidy self.  My persona that detests such things as bills and taxes is always at loggerheads with most of the others.  Then there are Funky Furniture, Reader, Movie Buff, Gardener, Dog Walker, and...  and...  and .... 

And that is why we clean out a freezer rather than go through a sloppy in-box (the real tangible wooden kind  that contains bills) or sit down to write a travel piece.  Of the three, the most enjoyable is undoubtedly the writing assignment ... but it requires time and effort .... concentration ... whereas the freezer just is ...

I am trying to clear the decks of distractions ... so that I can write.  Maybe the travel pieces.  Or maybe start something for NaNoWriMo.  Monday is November 1, the beginning of the next challenge. I might decide that it won't be a novel this time ... and ... if I do it ... I won't subject you all to the throes (and vile prose) of daily first draft NaNoWriMo writing.

Instead my blog posts might become 5 minute warm-ups for the contest.  Or maybe they will be become a means of putting off writing the book. NaNoWriMo Oma foiled once again by Blogger Oma.


Procrastinator Oma who has played a game, hung out a load of laundry, spent an hour on the phone, cleaned out  the compost pails, and packaged the outdoor solar lights and their batteries after sorting according to viability ... instead of getting on with the business at hand ...

Muffins and Procrastination

I have drawn on my new chair, with chalk, the main elements of the painting but I am putting off taking paint brush in hand. Oh, I know, I can always sand it back down to the primer if I mess up ... but I am still procrastinating.

So, lucky you, you get the recipe Tamarak sent me. It was used in a Canadian study of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and was found to reduce tumours by 30 percent. It is the flax seed that is the miracle worker. But even if you are skeptical about the effect, do try these. They are yummy, moist, easy and salt-free. The only fat comes from what is in the milk and the flax seed, so they are high fibre and low fat as well.

SUPER FLAX SEED MUFFINS
350 degrees; 18 muffins
apparently work miracles against cancer cells

Combine in large bowl: 1 ½ c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c. ground flax seed
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 T baking powder
1 t. nutmeg
2 t. cinnamon


Combine in another bowl: 2 c. milk
1 beaten egg

Add liquids to dry mixture and stir just enough to blend. Don't over mix. If you like, add grated carrot, raisins or chopped raw almonds.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake 20-25 minutes.

These are yummy and freeze well.



Yesterday Sarah came to pick up Remi, and she and Lucas spent the day with me. I will miss Remi. Tamarak has a couple of great shots of him with Kaiah, the pocket-sized puppy. Take a look! (http://tamarakstable.blogspot.com) on my side bar.

And now off to paint creamy sheep!

Do you procrastinate foolishly too?

I finally made the two phone calls that have haunted my to do lists for months ... yes ... months.

One was to cancel a credit card for which I paid fees and never used. The second was to call the Quebec Health Insurance people to get the form I need to get at least part of a $60 physician's fee refunded ... a cost incurred before Christmas. Both were financially beneficial, right? Neither required much more than a five minute phone call. So ... why did I procrastinate for so long rather than making the calls?

I seem to procrastinate a great deal if the phone is involved. I especially don't like dealing with bureaucracies or other behemoths that put you on hold.

I used to procrastinate whenever I had to face my financial realities. It was so bad that I would put off opening a credit card bill for months because I feared a horrible surprise. And of course if you put it off for months, there usually is an unpleasant surprise. But even worse than the interest that has built up is the anxiety that has been mounting ... that fear of the unknown. For several years I have kept track of my spending and so I no longer fear my financial situation. I might not like it much, but it is an enemy I know.

Taxation Canada still manages to surprise me, so each year I am likely to procrastinate rather than facing their confused and confusing forms that could be sold by the pound. This year a friend gave me a wonderful Christmas present. He is going to do my taxes for me. Now if I could only find someone willing to pay them as well :-)

The funny thing I have noticed about procrastination is that when I finally grit my teeth and deal with it, I feel a wonderful sense of relief ... and I am always amazed by how easy it was once I settled down to face it.

What do you hate doing so much that you put it off for months?

Are any of you non-procrastinators? What is your secret?

Procrastination Produces Non-Recipes

Every time I think I should deal with the spacing problem of Explosion on the Writing Blog, I find a way to avoid the drudgery. One of my ploys has been to organize all my loose recipes from every possible source into some semblance of order in binders.

I made a discovery as I worked assiduously on avoiding the spacing chore ... that I could create a really simple cookbook that would replace all those recipes; all those cookbooks for which I bought a shelving unit. Of course I won't get rid of them because I love savouring recipes in much the same way I drool lasciviously over wool.

However; it will make life easier when I have only a dozen non-recipes to work with especially when there is a power outage. Here is what I produced this morning instead of fixing the spacing.

CHICKEN BASICS

WHOLE CHICKEN OR PARTS
browned in

OIL/BUTTER
with
ONIONS, LEEKS OR SHALLOTS
+
GARLIC
+
VEGGIES

seasoned with

HERBS OR SPICES
+
simmered either on stove top or in oven at 350 degrees in

FLUID

served with

POTATOES, RICE, BARLEY OR PASTA
cooked separately or added ½ hour before the end of the cooking time



SOME CHOICES
USED ALONE OR IN COMBINATION

VEGGIES: CARROTS, OTHER ROOT VEGETABLES, CELERY, MUSHROOMS

SEASONINGS: THYME, ROSEMARY, HERBES DE PROVENCE, PARSLEY, BAY LEAVES, VANILLA + ROSEMARY, LEMON JUICE, ITALIAN HERBS, MAPLE SYRUP , COMBO OF CINNAMON, CUMIN, CORIANDER, PAPRIKA

RUBS OF GINGER + DRY MUSTARD OR ..... APPLIED BEFORE BROWNING

FLUIDS: CHICKEN BROTH, WHITE WINE, CANNED TOMATOES, CREAM SOUPS, APPLE CIDER

LEFTOVERS? MAKE SOUP OR A KIND OF SHEPHERD'S PIE COVERED IN MASHED POTATOES


I will do the others over time and will share them too.