( Shaker Mill Farm Inn )

We are leaving for a ten day vacation tonight - one that starts with a 5 hour drive. Ends with one, too. Has a couple more long drives in the middle.

What have we done to prepare? Oh, the important things like room reservations, and I borrowed my mother's car, and Jonathan just filled a thumbdrive with filk and other such music. He's also in the middle of changing his meds, which is absolutely the right time to go far away from our doctor. Only, well, not. Which is why he has his third appointment this week today.

What haven't we done? Well. Packed. At all. And I need to wind yarn so that I'm not stuck making acrylic scrubby pads when I finish the current projects. Not that I will, but you know. And then we need to choose books because ten days and only maybe going to two bookstores and a convention at the end so dedicated to literature that the dealer's room is called the Bookshoop. Also, we're taking the laptop and dvds so that we can watch what we want (mostly Torchwood and Doctor Who) at the inn and my in-laws.

And I've been sleeping very badly and feeling tired now. But. We're going on vacation. YAY.

I got my TB test today. This meant I had to go over to two of the group homes (two apartments with three boys each in the same multifamily dwelling) so their nurse could jab me with a hypodermic.

So. The boys have both physical and mental deficits - two in wheelchairs, on on a feeding tube, and one boy needs to have all of his fluids thickened (there was a sign.) The apartments are big and sunny, and the staff attentive and affectionate to them. The nurse was late, so I got to watch the end of The Little Mermaid, and look at the kitchens - nice sized, two sinks but basically home kitchens. Nothing I can't work with - they're both nicer than mine. There's a third house I haven't seen with six adolescents. Given that number, and what I was told, I suspect that they do NOT have physical deficits.

I'm feeling a lot more confident.

jonbaker is having blood pressure issues, so we're being even more careful about food.

Salmon-Tomato Pasta

Penne Riggata (Mixture of whole wheat and white because I didn't have enough of the former.)
1 lb fresh salmon fillet
One shallot
Two cloves garlic
4 plum tomatoes
Vinegar
Fresh chopped dill

Like all good pasta dishes, this takes the time it takes to cook the pasta to make. I started the water boiling. I chopped the shallot and garlic finely, deseeded and diced the tomatoes and cut the salmon into 1/2" cubes. Cooked the shallot and until they just got a touch of color and added the salmon and tomatoes. When they were about done, I added a handful of chopped dill and a shot of vinegar, plus some pepper - NO SALT. I drained the pasta and mixed it with the salmon, etc. Served it hot. YUM.

I really do love you all and I truly love all the support.

Okay. I had more interview today. Upshot? They're going to try me out for a week at full pay. $16/hour. This will start July 16 because I'm going on a long trip starting this Thursday (yeah, won't make it to the ferryboat this year.)

I get the PDP (TB) test tomorrow and I'm going to allow a Hep C vaccine.

HUGS to all of you.

( What shape am I? )

Thank you all for your good wishes - I appreciate more than I can say.

Phone call - they want to see me. Tomorrow afternoon.

I've already been fingerprinted, electronically. (The woman entering the data had to ask what my hair color was. :))

Turns out that I have friends in common with people who work in the main office. I think I danced with the receptionist at a wedding.

None of this can hurt, right?

I just got my results from my doctor. My A1C is 6.8, down from 7. I'm happy for that. Let's hope that continues. Good cholesterol is up - fish pills are helping. Bad is down, but not enough, so I think I'll be making some dietary adjustments.

I also got my new glasses today. They're very different from what I have now - current ones have a fairly ladylike gold frame. New ones are BLACK with plastic temples and a bit of bling (not my thing, but it actually looks cool.) The lenses are longer and slightly narrower - still in parameters for my progressive prescription. Just slightly edgy. Time for a change and all.

I also got a pair of fit-over sunglasses. They're nice ones, not flimsy plastic, and they have nice gray polarizing lenses, not the stupid blublockers that turn the world yellow (I have a pair of those, and I HATE them.) They're still dorky as anything, but they cost less than a pair of prescription sunglasses and weigh less.

Good-bye, Farrah Fawcett.

SECOND INTERVIEW TOMORROW!

WOO HOO!

Sunday night, we had dinner out. The woman at the table next to me had a gratin dish with what I believe was ravioli and mushrooms in cheese sauce. It look very yummy.

Yesterday, in my quickie menus, the dairy meal had mac and cheese in it. With whole wheat elbows.

So, tonight I combined them with an extra element. It's whole wheat penne in cheese sauce with mushrooms and fresh tomatoes. I sauteéd the mushrooms and tomatoes (which I seeded and sliced) in butter first. It's in browning in the oven now. It smells lovely.

It went well, I think.

I had to fill out a multi-page application (this was the first time I had to fill out an application in I don't know how long - and this includes the job interview last fall. I had a one page thing for the cooking school.) This meant frantic phone calls for references (what's so and so's address? Do you have such and such's phone number?), and my handwriting is BAD, but I got there way early, which helped.

Once I spoke to Frimmy - well, as usual, I covered my nerves with smiles. We talked food (they want simple,wholesome, nutritious food that teen-age boys will eat and fill up on. I can do that. It's how I cook at home anyway.) It's for two group homes, both with teen-age boys. One boy is Type I diabetic - I can handle that, no problem. I made sure they knew I was Type II. I'd be making dinner to serve later, which works well for me.

They also asked if I could do a weekly hour long cooking class. Oh, yes. Not a problem. (Yay, teaching background!)

Then I had to come up with a sample menu. I did three - meat, dairy and Shabbos.

And they want me for a second interview with the director of the two group homes. That sounds very promising (not counting my jobs until they're hatched.)

Wish me luck, people.

I have my first real job interview for a cooking job. it's not glamorous. At all. I'd be cooking for a couple of Orthodox group homes in Flatbush, for twelve residents, some with special diets. And I might do some counseling, too. It's only part-time, but I'll be cooking. And earning more than I did as a secretary. Plus - I do have a certificate in special education. It's twenty or so years old, but I do have it. And an autistic brother, as well. So that should be a plus.

This could be my career, or it could be a stepping stone. Either way, it's a job,and one I should do well.

Last night, I got a call from my GP, to remind me that it's been three months. Time for bloodwork,etc. (Such is the life of a Type II Diabetic.) I made an appointment for early today - bloodwork, etc has to be done fasting.
( Read more... )

That was funny - we just got invited to a Father's Day barbecue by one of my mother's husband's sons. Who happens to have almost the same name as a deceased science fiction and horror writer - just a slight spelling variation. Which I didn't catch.

I was wondering why I was being emailed from beyond the grave...

I just got to dismember three chickens! I haven't done that in months, and I forgot how much fun that was. (Not even joking. It's a very primal thing.)

Took me forty minutes to go from three whole broilers to six legs, six breast fillets and a bunch of carcasses) and clean up.

Wrote 600 words of original story.

Here

Honestly - in some respects, a lot. In most, though - not much.( Read more... )

I forgot two very important ones.

Happy belated Tenth Anniversary to my con suite elves, sdelmonte and batyatoon!

And happy 18th Anniversay (Chai!) to our dear friends osewalrus and beckyfeld!

May you have many, many more years of happiness together.

( This time, ladies only. )

Every year, I look forward to mcshep_match because the stories are always good and often excellent - there are several with a permament home on my pda.

This year I'm seriously thinking of taking part. I'm not sure where life is going to take me in the next few months, but at least one possibility will leave me with a train commute of HOURS - plenty of time to write, and the prompts are of a sort with which I can work. And I've learned I enjoy ficfests.

I even know which team.

Should I go for it? Not everyone who signs up gets put on a team, and I'm not exactly a top of the list writer (not being modest - I barely write anymore.) Is it worth the chance?

( Shavuot )

( Wedding )

Yeah, I love this holiday. None of that weeks of cleaning and days of shopping and cooking stuff, and a nice long day to do everything.

This year, Shavuot is Friday (well, tonight)/Shabbos. Shavuot is unique in that it's traditional to make dairy meals, so I have dairy meals planned. On most yom tovs, I make three out of four meals fleishig and one milchig. On Shavuot, normally, I do the reverse. This year, since the second day is Shabbat, I'm doing half and half - the first meals are dairy, the Shabbos meals are meat. This takes a bit of organization.

( Menu )

Current status: food for the fleishig meals cooked or cooking - chicken, gefilte fish and sweet potatoes are in the oven, and the pepper steak for the steak salad is cooling. Friday afternoon, just before Shabbat, I'll put the already cooked chicken and sweet potatoes into a warm oven, plus some frozen mixed vegetables. This will make the lunch, which will be late, less hectic. I also made the vinaigrette for the salad.

When this is done, I'll make the kitchen milchig, clean and blanch the asparagus and clean the dill for the salmon. And that will be all I'll need to do. I'll make the lunches after shul.

My mother-in-law has poor vision. She'd really benefit from an mp3 player that she could actually use - one with easy to see controls. Sandisks and iRivers (our preferred mp3 players) do not work with that - the controls and the screens are too small. The same for iPods, which would otherwise be ideal since she uses a Mac.

Now I'm wondering if an iTouch or even an iPhone would do the trick - how visible are their controls? How clear are their screens? I'm mentioning an iPhone even though I believe in keeping phones and pdas and mp3 players seperate because she's also looking for a low-vision phone (she really looking for a "dumb" phone - one that makes phone calls and nothing else.) But the screen on the iPhone might make things easier, and she can download music, and newscasts and even religious classes to that, to.

I told her to ask her friends who might have these devices if she can try them out - she knows enough under-thirties that I'm sure she can find one or the other easily enough. She's also only fair with new electonics.

Am I on the right track? Or will this be another frustrating experience for her?