Tuesday, February 08, 2005

A quiet, cozy day

I had a hard night last night. I went to bed early (for me -- read that as "early late" for most of you.) I think it was about 10:30 when I hit the pillow. Within the hour I was awakened to the pain of an ear infection. I could hardly lift my head without feeling as though my ear drum would burst. Fortunately, I regularly take an antibiotic, the same one I usually have to take when the ear acts up. It's feeling better this evening after a quiet day.

I made a few calls today, and this evening went to the Designer Show House to check on the progress being made there. I'm doing a series of stories on the house's transformation between now and April. I feel special -- they've given me 24 hour access to the house. Tonight I caught a couple of people there but had hoped some of the designers would be working. Every one of them are doing this on their own time, without pay, after their regular working hours.

A rainy night and a social dinner across town kept many of them away. Several others are under the weather with a variety of ailments.

I'll continue checking back during the evenings -- things will also pick up after some of the major reconstruction work is done. They are about 14 days behind at this point. Part of the delay is a kitchen remodeling job which is not part of the designers' work, but which has to be finished before they can get into some of their rooms. For now, huge saws are filling the formal living room and dining room. Sawdust does not mix well with wet paint, so someone has to wait.

I spent the day cooking -- a crockpot filled with black-eyed peas, ham hocks, crushed tomatoes and diced onions. It's smelling wonderful. Tomorrow I'll make some rice to go with that. I also had a pot on the stove making "Sloppy Mikes," a vegetarian version of sloppy Joes. It's a mix of diced onions, diced bell peppers (two green, one red, one yellow), a small can of sliced black olives, a can of Rotel, a can of whole-kernel corn, a can of pinto beans and a can of chili beans. Saute the hard veggies, add the other stuff, bring to a boil and then lower the temp and let it simmer until it thickens up a bit. This can be served on rice, on pasta, rolled in a tortilla, on buns or alone as a soup.

So here I am, on a rainy night, starting to feel a little better. I'm well fed, glad I didn't have a more demanding work day today. Now American Idol is on and I'm enjoying the show. Hey, where else can you get great music from unknowns with an occasional dud to laugh at? I love it. It looks like a good crop of talent this season.

I may try going to bed early again tonight. I might even try to crash by 10 p.m. -- which is unheard of here at Chez Trixie. Honest folks, there are a lot of nights I'm still awake at 3 or 4 a.m. That's what years of working nights will do to your biological schedule.

Hope you're enjoying a cozy, content evening too!

1 comment:

Erudite Redneck said...

It's pretty quiet at the ER household tonight. The kind of night that usually tosses me into melancholy. Too tired to be sad, though, and startin' to worry about extracurricular projects I keep putting off because I don't have a grade hanging over any of them. SIGH. I have to have some kind of reward system, or I just drift. ... drift ... Dr. ER is in Philadephia and won't be back until Thurday late, when she will crash and it will be like she's not really here, 'cause I just stay out of her way when she comes stumbling in from an extended trip like this one. ... drift ... Bird is where Bird is, and even with a coupla text messages a day ol' ER gets awful mopey without his favorite Redheaded Redneck Stepchild under foot. ... drift ... I finished another book today -- a future "200-word Erudite Redneck book review, and will start another one when I hit the hay. ... drift ... a coupla friends have noticed that I'm not bloggin as much these days, and it;s because the busier I am the busier I want to be, and sincere earning the title "master," I've not been very bisy at all, and I just ... drift ... (hey, this wound up being a post. ! )