siglinde99

Pootle is a word I learned from the FB group "Did You Swim Today". It means a gentle swim, puttering along the water. possibly with lots of stops along the way. That was this morning's swim. I met up with a friend I haven't seen in about a year and we had a mad gossip while swimming back and forth across the pond. By the time we were caught up on news and views, we had swum 1.5 km.

The girl wanted to nap instead of exercising her horse, so we pootled away the afternoon too.

I'm yawning as I wait for her to finish her ride, so I suspect that once we get home from the barn, I'll be putting out the trash and heading back to bed.

I'm caught up, really! I made two hair clips that I forgot to photograph because they were in my hair, so they'll have to wait until tomorrow. I'm also minutes away from completing one of my super secret surprise things so the photo of that will have to wait until it is delivered to its intended recipient. Here is what I have gotten done in the past few days:
Most of the beads in the orange necklace likely date from the 1960s. I thought the short strand was original, but as I look at its asymmetrical bead pattern, I begin to suspect it may have been restrung before. The long strand is made up of original beads, plus some loose gold beads I found, and glass beads I salvaged from another broken necklace. I don't wear orange much, so this one is likely to go to the church bazaar.

The red necklace was one my daughter made me for Christmas when she was little, supplemented by some beads from a little glass bead bracelet of uncertain origin, crystal beads left over from the last hair clip I made, and a few tiny beads from a Dollar Store find. I'm glad to have it back in use, even if it isn't quite the way she designed it.

The blue necklace came about when I found another little prize token of blue pearl with a couple of beads. I used similar ones to make earrings, so this odd pearl cried out to be made into a single something. Then I found a string of silver beads that sort-of matched the beads that came with the pearl, and decided to use a dollar store batch of beads to make this necklace, instead of using them in a multi-strand pearl necklace as originally planned. I still have a bag of Dollar Store glass beads in other shades of blue, so that necklace will happen over the next few days.

Random thought - why do so many foods come with recipes printed right on the package these days? Is it because people no longer learn to cook on home economics or from parents? In this case, the food is a pork roast. It came with detailed instructions on how to make a pot roast pulled pork. For the record, even though I had already looked up a pulled pork recipe, I decided to test this one for a 4 lb roast, in the slow cooker:

Mix together 2 Tbsp paprika, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 Tbsp coarse sea salt, 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper, and 1 tsp ground sage. Rub into the pork roast and then cook in slow cooker for 8 hours. Remove meat from slow cooker, skim off fat from the drippings, and add the drippings to 4-500 ml of barbecue sauce (I made my own rather than using a bottle, as recommended on the package). Heat through. Use two forks to shred the pork, then combine with sauce in a pan. Serve hot on buns (though we used it on rice).

Tonight I got to watch my girl perform a dance she has been working on for months. She was listed in the program as a special guest performer, which had both of us giggling. She and her partner danced very well, and it was a pleasure to see her dance with real joy and expression on her face, as the two tossed the dance lines back and forth. No pictures were allowed during the performance, of course, and she had peeled off her pointe shoes before I could grab her for a photo afterwards, but I'm still pleased to have a nice picture (even without the joyful smile).

I woke up pumped this morning that I was going to clear off a whole whack of tasks. Here's what actually happened:

1) I pulled out the makings for blood sausage, then put them back because I need cream or milk. I have milk, so probably should have just gone for it.
2) I redid the bologna sausage recipe that was too salty by adding in a bunch of previously ground meat and re-stuffing the links. I did not start cutting up any of the meat I have in the fridge for the other recipes I need to test (and also to give me the fat I need for the blood sausage).
3) I picked up the charcoal at least 3 times, but only got the smoker out and filled it at about 4 pm. I'm going downstairs shortly to pull out the sausages.
4) I lost all three of my useful beading needles (thanks cats!), so have two partly-finished necklaces that will need to wait until I get a large package of needles from the beading store tomorrow afternoon. I did, however, complete two necklaces. The bloodstone necklace was first purchased back in university. It originally had brass metal beads, but I had lost some when the necklace broke, so I replaced them with glass beads I had bought to repair a hip scarf for belly dance class. I like it better with the glass beads, as the necklace looks brighter now.

5) I'm pretty sure I did other stuff, but none of it got completed except driving my daughter to school, picking her up after dance rehearsal, buying tickets to her show, and helping her with homework. Important things, but not helping much with the monthly challenge.

In completely unrelated news, my son texted me today to tell me he plans to apply to do an MBA at Concordia, where he can get an CFA (chartered/certified/something starting with a c financial advisor) at the same time. He promises me he will rely on his own income and student loans, at least for most of it. Yay!

S started on Tuesday, and so far it is looking okay. After much agonizing over the summer, it is looking quite possible that she will do a co-op at the vet clinic down the road. This would be most convenient for an early morning co-op, and would be a reasonable compromise for someone who had her heart set on working at a barn. Will find out more tomorrow. The other courses all seem to be going well, and she is being disciplined about the homework. No visits to Fancy since Monday, though :(.

G headed back to Halifax this evening. I wish I could have seen him more, but he is really becoming an independent adult. By independent, I definitely do not mean financially independent (my credt card is the witness on that!). I finally had a chance to look at his final grades from last term, and he surprised me with an A, two A-, a B an a B+. It's not that I didn't think he was capable; I just didn't think he would put the effort into it.

I have been back to work for two whole days. I'm pooped! It's official that I will be taking on a new team with at least 3-4 underperforming employees and no manager, while also managing at least three major calls for proposals over the next year. So far, it's not too too busy, but things are already picking up and I am not sure yet that I have the energy or desire to try and be my usual overachieving helpful self. I am sure I will not allow any more burn-out, though!

The most difficult part of parenting has to be sitting back and watching your kids panic/fail because they didn't plan their work properly and forgot assignments.

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Workload pressures and the emotional stress of starting a mediated process with my problem manager who is not on sick leave has left me so disinclined to look at messages that I am even ignoring my blackberries. Both of them, which if you know me at all means I am either near death or in need of therapy or an intervention.

It took two days of furious photocopying and a late night session of scanning, but I now have four years of detailed financial records ready for the mediator. I'll drop it off while ShuLing is at the orthodontist's, getting braces tomorrow. Hopefully that will go okay, since she has a cold and sore throat she has now shared with me. I have a ton of work awaiting me at the office, but I was looking forward to working from home while she gets used to the braces. Now I'll have to waste a sick day on being sick -what's up with that???

I'm hoping Geoff isn't getting it too, since he injured his pericardium playing rugby yesterday. He felt too sore to go to school, so I told him to get himself to a clinic. I felt bad about the pile of frozen snow blocking the driveway - that he had to shovel to get the car out - after he got sent to Emergency for an ECG. It's just bruised, not torn, which is a blessing.

Geoff has figured out a way to improve his math mark, which is required for his chosen university courses. He will be doing four hours two nights
a week at the adult high school, on top of a heavy course load next semester. I guess I should be pleased that he is finally taking responsibility, but I really wish he would learn from examples and listen to advice, instead of insisting on doing everything the hard way.

To end my day, I got to break out new sheets. The old ones had hairball residue, thanks to the cats. Oh, and the second time the dog broke into the garbage and composter, I got to see my neighbour's new little dog. I was putting the composter outside to preserve my cupboards from Kaboone's depredations, in my nightie, when the dog tried to run into the house.

My life has many stupid adventures. If they were more entertaining, I could write a movie script. I can't imagine who would play me.