I have had a perfectly lovely day, spent mostly by myself, puttering around my house. The weather is a little cooler and I've had the doors and windows open. We've gotten a little rain here and there and the sky has been mostly overcast or even gray but I have not minded that in the least. It has felt like a good day to stay home and be domestically minded and I am grateful I could do that.
Last night I fed my sourdough and mixed some starter with flour and water and let it sit overnight to eat some more, to make bubbles and magic and this morning I added more flour, more water, salt, a tiny splash of milk, a tiny sprinkling of sugar, and mixed it all up and set it to rise which it did at an almost alarming rate.
I also put some black beans to soak last night because I haven't made the soup that the screenshot shows. I do love that soup and Mr. Moon does too. It is not a traditional black bean soup at all, although it does have onions and garlic and peppers in it. It also has chopped carrots which is regarded as highly suspicious by many, many of the 889 people who commented on the recipe, many of whom were disdainful of using black beans in such a sacrilegious way and gave their own versions of what a black bean soup should be.
Me? I pretty much make it like it's written although I do add one ingredient- a chorizo sausage. I've made many other black bean soups but I love this one so much.
The main problem with the recipe in my opinion is that it says not to soak the beans and that within one to two hours of cooking, they will be tender which is a big fat lie. I soaked mine overnight and have been cooking them since around noon and they still aren't quite tender enough for my tastes. Black beans take a lot of cooking. This, too, is discussed in the comments where some people are of the opinion that if your black beans take more than an hour or two from package to tender, they are old beans and your water is too acid. Or some bullshit like that. Dried beans are dried beans.
I'm not a scientist but I'm pretty sure about this.
So I've been messing with soup and bread all day and that makes me happy. I've done laundry and a little sweeping, some ironing while watching Call the Midwife which has been going for twelve years now and is still relevant, tender, touching, funny, and pretty darn accurate when it comes to how childbirth works.
Mr. Moon took Tom the repaired Gator and for those of you who have no idea of what a UTV is, here's a picture I stole from online.
A MARRIED MAN! And yet, he is. And his wife is a beautiful and very, very smart and very, very good woman.
I am having a purse crisis. I heard on a podcast today that dolphins of both sexes sometimes go into a sex coma or something like that wherein all they can think about is having sex to the point where they are unable to function normally. Other dolphins taunt and tease them when they are in this state and cannot defend themselves. I do not go into sex comas but I do go into purse crises at which time I am obsessed with having a different purse because I really have to. There is no way around it and it must happen and I am not free from the clutches (haha!) of it until I am settled into a different one. After only a few weeks, I have determined that I was absolutely right about the purse I bought at the vintage store. It is just too fucking big, and had switched back to the backpack purse that's open there at the twelve o'clock position but I've carried that purse for over a year so obviously I need something different. I got out the dark brown one at the six o'clock position which I like pretty much okay but the straps drove me crazy and I think I figured out a way to deal with that issue but then I saw one of my old Coach backpack bags that I bought on ebay back when ebay was begun in the dark ages so I got that out too and cleaned it up some and I just don't know what to do.
I'm crazy. I know. I know, I know, I know- purses are just things to carry other things in and what's the big deal? I have no idea. It just is.
Hang in there Ms Moon, I'm not going anywhere, this is gonna suck, but we have to hold on to each other as you say.
ReplyDeleteNow more than ever before.
DeleteOne never knows when one is going to need to pack every bag in the house and get the hell out of Dodge. I understand the purse thing 100%. XOR
ReplyDeleteBut where we would go?
DeleteYes. Let us take a good look around us. There are things that we CAN do something about. We need to focus on that. I have two purses. One is a leather 'feedsack' for lack of a better world. It was given to me and I love it. But it has no pockets, and I am forever losing stuff in it. I have a quilted one with pockets and pouches, much more sensible. I keep telling me that I need to get pouches to hold all the stuffs for the purse that I love, but I haven't quite got around to it. It really doesn't matter because I hardly ever carry a purse, just a clutch type wallet that also holds my phone.
ReplyDeleteCan you be a real woman if you don't carry a purse?
You can definitely be a real woman if you don't carry a purse. A lot of smart women do not bother. I just seem to need to. No idea why.
DeleteIt is going to be a wild ride, no doubt about that.
ReplyDeletePurses? I get it. Like you, I own several purses from many years ago and I still like them. I've restored a vintage Dooney Bourke shoulder bag and use it regularly.
Hank looks handsome in his suit. For more options, he can wear the jacket with jeans or tan slacks for a casual look. Hank and Rachel are looking great.
Good for you for restoring a purse and now using it! That's the way to go.
DeleteHank is definitely going to wear that suit in as many ways as he can. Don't the honeymooners look happy?
When I saw Hank in his suit I thought he's determined to get his moneysworth from that suit!! And evidently that's so! Too funny. I'm having days where I'm cheerful and suddenly think maybe I shouldn't be when people are so scared. Then I think my being cheerful or not won't help anyone. So I'm confused, I guess.
ReplyDeleteGreat minds...
DeleteI know exactly what you mean. How can we be cheerful when we are surrounded by this dense gray fog of the unknown? And yet, there are still many things to feel cheerful about- just as always. I just don't know how to be yet, if that makes any sense at all.
So sorry you have purse dilemma. I'm thinking people who have a purse for every occasion and a purse for every outfit probably don't have such a dilemma. They just grab the matched items and go. But who has room for that many? I got rid of several about ten years ago and I miss them because they were the pretty ones, but I rarely used them. These days I have one backpack (which needs replacing) for the summer, and in winter I have a big old ski jacket with plenty of big pockets and that does me just fine. I also have a couple of smaller backpacks, one leather and one washable and one "good" black handbag (purse) for special occasions and I forget to use it most of the time. I think you like this purse for this reason and that purse for that reason (or colour,/material) and what you need is that one magical purse that has all the good things from all the others rolled into one. If you find it, let the rest of us know because I suspect we all need that too.
ReplyDeleteI have always said that I am in search of the perfect purse and despite all my years of searching and buying and trying, I have not found it yet. It may not exist.
DeleteHank and Rachel look so blissful. I’m grateful to them for bringing smiles this month. If I carried a purse, I’d get caught up in changing it daily. My sister did that. She had at least one purse for every pair of shoes. I plan to hold on tight to you!
ReplyDeleteThey do look blissful, don't they?
DeleteI remember when shoes and purses were meant to go together. That was the way it was done. Do you remember handbags? Those purses that were very structured and would open with a clasp at the top? I can remember exactly what those sounded like when they were closed. And the strap would go over the woman's arm which she kept crooked, just for that purpose. I see gloves in there too. That was our mother's generation.
And I will hold tight to you, too. You can bet on it.
Oh, I remember those clicks of those structured handbags. My mother had a closetful.
DeleteI had friends/colleagues who used to change their purse to match their outfits. The thought of doing that fills me with horror. My junk stays in my purse until it falls apart, because I know exactly where everything is. I even have my "walking backpack" loaded up ready to go and won't be changing that until it falls apart. First world problems of course but ...!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh. Not having the perfect purse is definitely a first-world problem.
DeleteI think that I learned as a hippie that the world did not come to an end if our purses did not match our outfit. Another reason I am so grateful to have been around during that time.
With your vast experience of bags, perhaps you could get a leather worker to make you a new bag to your exact specifications. You could even choose the leather. If you search online, you will find several bag makers in the south eastern United States. You might even find someone in Tallahassee.
ReplyDeleteYou know- I did that once! I had a woman who worked in leather make me a purse and honestly, I did not love it. And then I felt guilty because she was sort of a friend of mine. And actually, I made myself a purse once. I bought a piece of very lightweight leather at some shop. It did not please me greatly either.
DeleteI have one purse and I've used it for several years now and I will keep using it until it starts falling apart and then I will get a new one to replace it and use that one until it falls apart... ;)
ReplyDeleteGosh, I hope Lauren's meds help her and she can find relief.
I'm glad Hank and Rachel are having such a sweet time on their honeymoon.
I wish I could be that happy with one purse. I do have one that I carried for years and years. It was a backpack and I got it at a Goodwill. I've still got the thing but I believe it may be past restoration.
DeleteHank and Rachel are not going to want to come home to "real life."
There is no more satisfying way to spend a day than puttering around the house. (Speaking for myself.)
ReplyDeleteI have been digging through my currently-in-use, large, overstuffed (don't ask) purse and commenting to my sister that someone really should invent a see-through one to make things easier to find.
Yes. I do love to putter.
DeleteI have found that the bigger the purse, the more stuff you will collect in it.
They do make those clear plastic purses but that would not be very esthetically pleasing.
I remember clear plastic purses from about 1960. I had one, a clutch, and remember lining it with silk scarves to hide the clutter and coordinate with my outfit. Margaret
DeleteI should do some puttering around here, maily dusting and floors. the sun is now at that angle where is shows just how much dust and pet hair is on everything but I still have too much to do outside and the days are glorious. just can't spend them inside.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean about the light. Suddenly every molecule of detritus, smudge and smear is magnified and illuminated. Aaaaggg! I am going to work outside tomorrow, dammit.
DeleteOne thing about being a wheelie- I don't use purses anymore. Lovely photos of Hank and Rachel.
ReplyDeleteBut what do you carry your stuff in?
DeleteI actually like Yorkshire Pudding's idea of a bespoke purse. Never thought of that.
ReplyDeleteI'm having a quiet day here, a little bit of snow fell here this morning, nothing that will last. I'm feeling stuck right now, it will pass, I'm sure. In the mean time I will wash my floors because they are beyond disgusting with dogs, husband, and kid.
I made soup last night, potato soup, very enjoyable. Of course I was the only one that ate it but I don't care. I'm making what I want now:)
I hope Lauren gets some relief, somehow. I'm not a fan of docs right now, especially how they treat women. Actually not a fan of how the world treats women right now.
Snow? Well, here you go. Seems like your flowers just bloomed!
DeleteWho in the world does not love potato soup?
You know what? I don't think even women recognize how deeply patriarchal every bit of our society and culture is.
BAGS! oh yes please! I just bought two from Portland leather on sale and i love them- so now I have six, including the one that you sent. Just the right number of bags...maybe.
ReplyDeleteSix is a very good number of bags. Not too many but at the same time, plenty.
DeleteI never enjoy carrying a bag when I have to carry one. I suppose it's different for men, despite the "murse" movement, but even when I'm just walking to work I'm always so happy when I don't have anything to carry and I can just put my hands in my pockets.
ReplyDeleteI really hope Lauren gets this pain calmed down! And the newlyweds do indeed look happy. I would be just like Hank if I'd bought a suit -- I'd wear it at every opportunity!