Hollywog's Pond

Another week down.

Don't know what I'm counting towards other than my next birthday. Was super busy this week but I didn't really accomplish much. The work issue has escalated to $100,000 project which is kind of crappy because money is short. Hopefully all goes well and we can get back on schedule soon.

The weather is fabulous again this weekend though slightly cooler than last. I have laid low for the most part. The most activity I'll see is maybe a slow bike ride to the farmer's market and a walk by the sculpture park/sound. I needed a down weekend. The only crappy thing is that Monday, my regular day off, is a holiday. So I just go in for four days at eight hours (just like everyone else) instead of having an extra day off. The other two in my group will still get their day off (by putting in 32 hours on the other three days) but we aren't allowed to be gone on the same day. Dunno if it is really worth it to put in a twelve hour day to have a day off mid-week. Maybe short days won't be so bad. Maybe I'll sleep in. Eh.

The fun part of this weekend was twofold. First, Saturday morning I took a sewing class to learn how to use the machine I just got. Very informative but I think I'm going to have to go back a few times before I really understand all the features. It makes button holes and sews on buttons! How neat is that? I made a random little pocket thing for practice and I think I impressed the instructor. I think she mistakes the teeny, tiny amount of knowledge I have from watching other people sew coupled with my perfectionism for actual sewing skill. Hopefully I will get good enough that I can fool myself in the same way!

Next, I experimented with my dehydrator for the first time. In the books I got it talked about making smoked salmon jerky. I had purchased a giant fillet from Costco and was looking forward to eating half of it and then playing at dehydrating the rest. However, when I opened the package, much to my shock, I had actually purchased smoked salmon. This ruined my BBQ lunch plans but fast tracked me up a step for the dehydrating. Had a cold cracker/tapenade/smoked salmon lunch and watched the dehydrator get warm and make noise. It was a warm day here and it wasn't long before the smoked salmon smell started to permeate my apartment. I turned on my two fans and hoped for the best. When I go out today and come back I will see just how bad it is. Right now it seems ok but it was quite odorific yesterday!

Problems:
1. The instruction book that came with the dehydrator says that dried salmon is not recommended due to its high fat/oil content which makes spoilage easier. The book said to keep it in the freezer. We'll see when I take it out if I get sick.
2. The whole dehydrator smells like fish. Should have dried the fruit first and then the fish as I don't have any extra mesh trays. Right now they have been scrubbed, rinsed and are soaking in lemon juice. Not sure what else to do. Might have fishy dried fruit and no one wants to eat that!
3. How do you get fish smell out of your house? Fabreeze? The windows are always open and when it is warmer the fans are on too. Bake lots of cookies to fill the air with that sweetness?

In my fruit buying yesterday I discovered a new one for me: pear apples. They're delicious! Nice and sweet/pear tasting with a hint of apple and the crunchyness therein. I can't decide if I want to dry them or just make smoothies or eat them whole. Delish!

I love Marlene's Market. I bypass most of the overpriced organic stuff but their bulk food section is super! They have almost all the weird-to-me ingredients that keep popping up in recipes and projects like whey protein powder and buckwheat hulls. I'll have to visit mom more often as my needs become more regular. I'm going to try a muesli recipe this morning I think.

Ta ta till next week!