Hard Things
Jun. 15th, 2022 04:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithLife is full of things which are hard or tedious or otherwise unpleasant that need doing anyhow. They help make the world go 'round, they improve skills, and they boost your sense of self-respect. But doing them still kinda sucks. It's all the more difficult to do those things when nobody appreciates it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our accomplishments and pat each other on the back.
What are some of the hard things you've done recently? What are some hard things you haven't gotten to yet, but need to do? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your hard things a little easier?
What are some of the hard things you've done recently? What are some hard things you haven't gotten to yet, but need to do? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your hard things a little easier?
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-15 11:41 pm (UTC)Spent all day, from 9am to around 4:30pm cutting metal, drilling, welding and so on...I even forgot to break for lunch. But my beloved now has a heavy duty shopping trolly with BIG tires and a 15mm stainless steel axle (the old one had bent and worn out) and proper bearing blocks so it gliiides rather than creaks along reluctantly on wobbly wheels that make curbs a struggle because they were too small.
I tell you what though, getting a shower after that felt gooood! It was hot grimy work and in sunny weather my workshops is basically like a green house even with all the doors and windows open.
BTW does anyone have a good simple recipe for a basic vegan omelette? My daughter was struggling to make one and failed utterly. She's ok with normal flour, but can't eat eggs or milk. (food intolerances.)
omelette or quiche?
Date: 2022-06-16 12:34 am (UTC)My go to basic omelette includes a hefty pinch of dill and a teaspoon of prepared mustard in the tofu mix, plus an equal volume of assorted veggies and meat. If you don't think that dill complements zucchini, leave one or the other out, for example. To cook the scramble, saute the veggies first, and when they're done, add the mashed tofu and stir until everything is warmed through. Reheat in the microwave at half power one minute at a time until hot, but don't cook the meal that way--the tofu gets very watery.
A one pound block of tofu makes enough for two or three people to have an ample breakfast, but if there are four, add a side of fresh fruit.
Re: omelette or quiche?
Date: 2022-06-16 12:43 am (UTC)The way I make normal omelettes calls for flour. The basic mix for 2 people is 4 eggs, an equal amount of milk to double the volume, and a heaped tablespoon of self raising flour. The result is a fluffy omelette. (plus seasoning, bacon etc.)
I'm basically looking for a way to recreate that but vegan.. daughter is ok with almond milk (which works the same as dairy) and she had some vegan pancake mix that she wondered if it could be used to make omelette. (the answer was no.) Today's attempt by her ended up with two ruined not-omelettes and daughter upstairs in her room with toast and a pint of peanut-butter dairy-free icecream. She doesn't take failure well.
I could get some tofu and test your suggestion and see if that works. It sounds viable. Thanks!
Re: omelette or quiche?
Date: 2022-06-16 12:54 am (UTC)Last tip for the tofu scramble: if you're going to put it on toast, drain it well. Firmer tofu isn't quite so fond of weeping, but it's a different, less eggy texture. Tofu scramble on toast with a slice of raw tomato and a dash of hot sauce is FANTABULOUS as well.
Re: omelette or quiche?
Date: 2022-06-16 01:34 am (UTC)There are also various egg replacer products. These are all ultraprocessed products, and thus, not healthy. Think of them as egg-flavored donuts: okay as an occasional treat, but a steady diet of that stuff will kill you.
Now if you're into egg yolks and food science, you can explore spherification.
https://thevegg.com/2018/05/31/how-to-spherify-a-yolk/
https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/vegan-egg-yolk/
https://my.whisk.com/recipes/1073030f5f3ad3246d1ad8283aa71d54100
With this approach, you can choose mostly healthy ingredients, and experiment with different recipes until you find one that you love.
I will add another tip: nutritional yeast has a cheesy flavor. It is very useful if you wish to emulate scrambled eggs, omelettes, or other cheesy egg dishes in a vegan way. This is an old hippie staple that can make quite nice "chiz" sauces and dips or powder flavoring for things like popcorn.
Re: omelette or quiche?
Date: 2022-06-16 11:53 am (UTC)At some point it goes from "meh" to really fluffy (the trapped air expanding) That's when I flip them.
Cook a bit longer and plate it.
Re: omelette or quiche?
Date: 2022-06-16 12:02 pm (UTC)4 large Eggs, milk (about 300-400ml) and salt, pepper, herbs (usually chives and herbs du'provance) go into a jug and get whisked, then I beat in the self-raising flour. Meanwhile the bacon, mushrooms and onion are frying in the frying pan. Once those are done I add the omelette batter (because it is a runny batter really) and stir it gently until it's semi-solid. Which is necessary because it does end up quite thick.
After which it goes under the grill until it's a nice golden brown. I add cheese as a topping sometimes, in which case until the cheese is bubbling. Then plate up.
Usually it's enough to serve two, three at a pinch if I do fries with it.
Re: omelette or quiche?
Date: 2022-06-16 12:48 am (UTC)Omelette:
blob of ghee
1-2 eggs
salt and pepper
half and half
shredded cheese
Filling may be mushrooms, diced ham, whatever we have.
Quiche:
frozen pie crust
eggs
milk
shredded cheese
Filling may be mushrooms, bacon, diced ham, sausage, black walnuts, etc.
Duck eggs are awesome. :D
Today. Writing.
Date: 2022-06-16 12:36 am (UTC)I survived the grocery shopping, but I burned through most of my spoons, and am now struggling to write.
All of next week should be fired with cause, then fired into the sun. Getting through it is going to take an enormous amount of effort and focus. The former, maybe... the latter is clearly not working right now.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-16 01:35 am (UTC)It's really hard to not retail therapy still (Despite the fact we took some of it out on buying groceries) despite my news meaning I won't work for a bit.
(Please don't ask here: I'm still raw enough to want to cry at any minute)
...
Sometimes I wish
-Trausio~
Transition
Date: 2022-06-16 02:19 am (UTC)Since then, I have been sitting with my memories of my parents: the good things they passed on to us; the things less suitable to us that they wanted us to pick up "for your [their] own good" in service of coercing me to be the person they wanted me to be instead of the person I wanted to be (and there was enough overlap that it took a long time for the difference to become clear enough for me to break free of that hold); so many things they introduced me to so I could develop my own love for them; and my participating in a number of those activities that I came to love, in memory of her since Saturday.
I am now busy reconciling all those memories into a recollection of who she was, and who she was to me. At the same time, I am coming into a form of independence that I had not felt strongly while she was still alive: I am no longer Answerable To Mom. I can come into my own self in a way I didn't feel I was able to while she could see, and express her opinion on, the choices I made. And though I would have been, and was, loved the same whatever my choices, I still censored myself too often for the sake of our relationship. Freeing myself from this feeling is very much a work in progress, but it is now one I feel like I can move more rapidly and surely on.
Re: Transition
Date: 2022-06-16 03:29 am (UTC)Maybe it would help to journal or scrapbook? That would let you organize things by topic or even emotions.
I wish you luck growing further into yourself.
Re: Transition
Date: 2022-06-18 02:21 am (UTC)Limiting oneself for the sake of a relationship can be ... complicated.
May the way open for you.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-16 11:57 am (UTC)Got most of what I needed/wanted. I'll make a trip or too with just a reusable bag or two to fill in the rest.
Today I hope I'll both have the spoons (and lack of "don'wanna") to hit the food box place
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-16 02:32 pm (UTC)It has lots of tools to help people do things on their own so hopefully it should be better & easier for people to use. But the transition to any new system is rocky.
Trying to keep myself going & prepare for those two weeks. I need to get some quick freezer food & hopefully doing some cooking in advance too. I also have to clean house this week since my partner has an in home check up next Wed.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-17 01:45 am (UTC)I'm trying to work out how to move -- myself and two cats, and a small amount of furniture -- from the house on Whidbey Island that I shared with Colleen, down to the ADU at N's place in Seattle. Should have started a year ago. The yard is suffering from at least two years worth of neglect. The whole process is littered with loose ends and emotional landmines.
Realizing how much I relied on Colleen to help deal with stuff like this.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-18 02:19 am (UTC)They also have calming pheromones (spray and collar) and calming treats. I believe they sell them at PetsMart. We've had good luck spraying a towel with pheromones and draping it over a carrier or letting the cat nest in/hide under it.
If you need a travel litterbox, putting puppy pads under it may be helpful (prevents spillage.)
For the actual moving, I think there are places that will drop off a shipping crate, you pack at your leisure, and then they pick it up.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-18 03:14 am (UTC)That's a nice carrier. I'm not sure I could get both cats into it at the same time -- that's probably at least a two-person job with my two. Not sure I could lift it by myself, either. So separate carriers are probably the way to go. It's only about a 2-hour trip, and they've each done that before, though not at the same time. (I have taken them both to the vet at the same time. They seem to take it better if I sing to them.) The pheromones are a great idea.
I'm likely to end up using one of the container-based moving companies; UHaul has the smallest, and one is probably plenty. I'd have to hire people at each end of the trip for loading and unloading, though. I'm nowhere near strong enough.
I'll get it figured out, I guess.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-18 03:57 am (UTC)If you already have separate carriers, that sounds like it might be easiest. Well, as long as they don't panic and make a mess for car rides.
If you want to use the pheromones, I reccomend trying to get the spray, using it on a couple of towels, and putting them over the carriers. Learned that trick from the really good vet we used to go to...
A relative credits that trick with downgrading "snappish at the vet" behavior to "Oh, what a sweetheart!"
For loading/unloading, maybe ask the neighbors, if you are on good terms? They'll know the lay of the land.
Or a social hub - a religious institution or the local SCA chapter or whatever you're affiliated with. Places like that may be willing to help out a buddy.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-18 08:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-19 01:48 am (UTC)Good to know about the pheromones -- I'll definitely do that. As for the rest...
The cats are, in fact, prone to bolting. Carrying them out to the car would be risky with one of them, and impossible with the other. So carriers are the only option.
I've lived here five years without interacting with any of my neighbors more than a few brief conversations while out walking. The area's pretty rural.
Not associated with any kind of social hubs. (I'm feeling stressed even thinking about going into more detail there, so I won't.)
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-19 02:27 am (UTC)I'm glad you found the calming pheromones suggestion useful.
:)
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-19 07:07 pm (UTC)The encouragement came across; I just don't seem to be particularly encouragible these days. Incorrigible, on the other hand...