Decided to repack the four remaining bins (reminding we ate two and lost one) to put in the fridge and stop fermentation. Just seemed wise after two months. Threw one of them out as after rinsing they were a little slimy and very mushy. The other three were fine. I put them in fresh bins submerged with a bit of salt, a splash of vinegar and a trace of sodium metabisulfite. And into the fridge. 

I tasted them all, very nice. The batch with the split chile pepper was excellent, just a step above. Not obviously hot, but leaving a few tingles on the tongue. 

I doubt they’ll last out the year until next pickle season. But I also doubt we have a place to ferment and store a whole bushel next time. Half a bushel is kind of pushing it. 

By any measure, it was a successful experiment. I brought some to a party last night and those that tasted them were keenly delighted. It was cheaper to make them than buy finished pickles, even with the losses. The only downside is storage. 

So that’s where we leave the pickle story.

Destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical starting at 5am because they can't believe they will get fed at seven.

My little homemade Halloween display. 

If you can’t zoom in enough to read the product labels or book jackets, let me know and I’ll explain. There are little star lights hanging above, but they’re not evident in full sunlight. 

The challenge was to spend no money, only use objects and materials I had around the house, and not make anything I couldn’t recycle or throw away. 

You know what drives me nuts? You can buy Halloween decorations that look like spell supply ingredient bottles and jars, and they’re lovely, but I haven’t found a single one that was functional. In every case, the lid, cap or stopper was molded to the object. I hate that. If I spend money on a fancy jar with a fancy label that says “Banshee’s Toenails” or something, you’re damn right I want to be able to open the lid and serve some damn Bugles out of it. 

BY THE WAY. 

I will see Jill Knapp’s Perfect Snack, and I will attempt to raise it.

Popcorn + sweetened condensed milk. 

There is a temperature issue here. We made Jiffy Pop, which is Basic Movie Night Popcorn at its corninest(Emphasis on corn, rather than butter and/or salt, unlike PopSecret, which is butter and salt with a hint of corn additive. YUM). I think if the popcorn is freshly warm, with the sweetened condensed milk at room temperature, then this snack would be puuuurrrrrrrr-fect. 

But this snack is perfect for the sticky sweet substance on a spoon plus savory crunchy goodness in a bowl puttin in yer face method. 

My face is on fire. 

I could type out the whole story here, but I just had to cancel birthday and Dead Milkmen concert plans with Jenn and Jack for tonight... and it's just easier if I copy and paste what I typed to her, because I am the laziest fuck ever... but hey, I have an owie excuse.

Cut/Paste:

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And now, the bad news: We have to bail tonight. I had two root canals on Tuesday and one got infected (sexy!), and yesterday morning I woke up in agony and my face looked like Rocky Dennis from Mask. Flew to the dentist at 8am, and he prescribed mega-doses of steroids and antibiotics to get the swelling down... but we had a gig last night that I should have canceled but didn't, and I overdid it because I'm an asshole, and my face and skull are friggin' on fire today... plus, I leave for a work-trip tomorrow. 

I'm so sorry and sad to not be with you guys today. We were REALLY looking forward to it... but I really feel like I should err on the safe side. 

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(Additional thought: Plus, the high doses of steroids means I have hella reduced immunity right now, and being in a giant sweaty  Milkmen crowd is probably a bad idea... but I'm honestly not really thinking about that.)

Good god. I would love to be able to attend one goddamn event with my fucking friends without SOMETHING happening... anxiety attack, rotting infected tooth-skull, Mom emergency, etc.  I feel like a selfish jerk for feeling this way, though.

Humans are complicated.

There's so little music i want to see live and most of it happens 60-90 minutes away so when it's on a weeknight i'm too old to want to endure the commute there in rush hour and back when it's midnight and i'm exhausted.

... You are looking cute!

Specifically, you'll note there is now a little picture icon after you hit reply.

Currently you can post either a picture, or text, not both in a single comment.

Enjoy!

There is a man waiting at the tavern, his voice like well worn leather and his eyes burn with intensity. He will give you a quest. If you take this quest, you will wander far. You will walk through burning sands, to find mountains. You will climb mountains to find the lost sea.

You will cross this sea to find the haunted forest. She will meet you there, the last queen of fairie. She will take your heart. She will hold it in her hand & sing it songs. You will continue, the quest is not done, but your heart will remain with her till the end of stories.

The quest will continue to the river. You will capture a fish. The fish will tell you three lies and a truth. When you decipher which is which, placing each in the correct book, it will find your way to the Fortress of Night. Yow will enter the fortress using the lies as keys. 

Once in the Fortress of Night, you will find your way to the dungeon. The dungeon runs deep and the prisoners held within are long dead. Only bones and rags remain. When you reach the bottom of the dungeon only the guard remains, a dark apparition made of broken dreams & shadow. 

You will defeat this shade with a blade name Hope. You will drive it into the dark heart of the guard. The shadow fallen, you will claim his treasure, a spark of star light, lost long ago and now found once more.  You place the starlight where your heart once rested. 

The quest completed you will return, up the river, through the haunted forrest where your heart remains, across the lost sea, down the mountain, and across the burning sands. You will return to your tavern with star light, star fire, burning in your chest. 

At last, you will rest, your eyes burning. You will speak of a quest to someone new, your voice, sounding like worn leather, will tell another of their quest. You will send them on their way to find their own fire, till all the stories are done. 

The title says it all. The  next phase of the home renovation process is to change the windows. Of course, in order to change the windows you have to be able to, you know, get at the windows. Unfortunately 18 years of accumulation has made that nigh unto impossible. 

I'm a nerd, so I started measuring and adding and I figure I need about 100 square feet of storage space. Not much furniture will make the move to new digs, but one Hell of a lot of books and tools will. Both of which can be stacked.

So, do I rent a storage locker, which will be a sunk cost, or do I look into other options? A CONEX box, one of those stackable shipping containers, would certainly do. It would be overkill in fact. Problem being, they're a bear to move. So you've got to hire someone to deliver them, and move them, and then you've got to have them hauled away. Another sunk cost. Pods have the same problem. And their storage costs are crazy. Which leaves a trailer. Trailer's are a major up front cost, but most of that could be recouped once you move your stuff into the new place for all of your stuff and sell the trailer.

Fortunately I own a vehicle suitable to tow a trailer. Insurance is negligeble, ~$30 for six months. Registation doesn't even crack $100 a year. Wheel chocks, padlocks and security devices so someone doesn't drive off with all of my stuff will run about another $100.

So, on Friday I'm off to the wilds of Pennsylvania to purchase a trailer. Which should be an adventure, because I tow a vehicle once a year, max.

We were all set to leave for NJ yesterday so we could accompany my folks for mom's 4th attempt at knee-meniscus-repair surgery which was scheduled for this morning. 

She called me yesterday before we got on the road to say that they canceled it yet again... this time because her pre-op testing showed her blood-sugar has been too high, so her endocrinologist wouldn't clear her. 

She is really really bummed. 

I asked what the next steps forward towards rescheduling are, and she said, "I've gotta get my blood sugar under better control, I guess."  I asked her how she should do this-- is it as "simple" as an insulin adjustment?  She said in a defeated tone, "I guess I need to eat better." 

Strange that a diabetic shouldn't be subsisting on dollar-store frozen pizzas, Ritz crackers, pasta, and insulin.  *facepalm*

Anyway, I was happy (?) to hear that her endocrinologist said "Come down today from 3-4pm and meet with our nutritionist, and we'll work with you to get your blood-sugar down. We want you to have this surgery." So she's going there today.  I asked her to ask the nutritionist for meal ideas that are easy and quick because she can't stand up long enough to cook a healthy meal, which is why she eats what's easy. Is there a mail-order meal service that they recommend? I know there are meal services like Blue Apron and Sun Basket, but those require you to prepare the meal yourself, which probably requires some amount of standing.  I also don't think she'd spend that kind of money on herself, but that's a different story... and one Matt and I might be able to solve since her birthday is coming up. Maybe a few months of a meal service would be a nice gift. Or maybe that would be awful and would make her feel judged somehow... I don't know. 

I just wanna help. 

Anyway, we're heading up in an hour or so, and we'll be there until Friday. We've got a real busy weekend coming up with 2 gigs on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, and family stuff on Sunday.