Empty house

My sister is home safely, and the tornadoes missed Mitchell (and us) on our way back from Omaha. I have a camera full of pictures, and four days worth of visiting to remember.

The house is empty again. I have laundry to catch up on and the lawn looks like pasture after all the rain. And the sun is out. Must go do something productive!

Ever have one of those days?

When the sun was out this morning it was beautiful. I was counting down the minutes until I could leave work. We drove out this morning to check on Amyra and counted eight noses head down in the grass. With the dew sparkling in the morning sun, it was very picturesque and pastoral.

By noon the clouds had moved, the temperature was headed down, and the wind was kicking up. Now it's gusting, damp, and chilly. I have a headache and my eyes are itching from something the AC at work was spewing out. It was just a very long day.

I think the ponies are going to get an evening off. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, windy, and mostly sunshine with a few scattered showers late in the afternoon. A much better prospect, if I trust the weather forecaster. I'm going to gamble and hope he's right.

(And as punishment for not doing horse-work, I'm going to end up doing housework. Oh well, at least laundry doesn't care when I grumble at it!)

Rainy Days

Well, that's what I deserve for squandering last night's cool calm on the couch with a book, I suppose. But when T rolled out of bed this morning for the start of this month's drill weekend (Army Reserve), the sun was just peeking over the horizon out and it was lovely. The forecast did say 40% chance of rain, but there wasn't any sign of rain!

After the first three loads of laundry on the line there were clouds. And of course it started raining before they were dry enough to bring in. Not hard, but steadily. We can use the moisture, but....

So, instead of tree-trimming (should have headed that way this AM instead of dirty clothes & bathrooms!), I tackled some more postponed housework, baked a couple pies and watched the line sag under wet clothes' dragging weight each time I headed for the back door to let the cat in and out.

For Mabel, two-feets are all doormen to be enlisted as necessary in her continuing quest to always be on the right side of any closed door. And which, you may well ask is the right side? Why, whichever one pleases her at the moment, of course. She's a cat, after all!

"I'm on the wrong side again!"

On the side of accomplishment I can count the pies, bathrooms, laundry, and satisfaction in the warmly insistent, purring lump of cat poised in my lap waiting for me to finish typing and pay her more attention - or open the door again.

Pear Pie

I've never attempted this recipe before. Pie crust is not my favorite thing to make, but since I couldn't find the store-bought ones I thought were in the freezer, I cheated. I can successfully make a cheesy salmon pie recipe. The crust for it is lovely, light and flaky, but thick to counter balance the hearty nature of the dish. I've discovered that if I make one recipe (double crust for the salmon pie) and divide it in four before I roll it out, it makes two double-crusts pies that are light, buttery and flaky and thin enough for dessert-type recipes.

The final result is pretty enough - now hopefully I cut the pears thin enough to bake in the time recommended. Here's hoping it turned out!