Cooking Fails, Dessert Success
Thursday I woke up to find that I had about 12 new foodies in my Foodie Finds group for My Fair Lady.
By lunchtime I had 21!
Considering that this is my first year on this tour and I don't know anyone yet, that's excellent.
Even on Tootsie after two years of touring, I only ended up with about 30 people by the end of the tour.
This group also seems more talkative; my phone has been pinging all afternoon with recommendations already!
My substitute trombonist also finally got back to me about his flight preferences, so I got that purchase out of my face, plus his hotel room. Losing the money hurts, but not as much as losing two weeks of work on the unlikely chance that Disney "might" call. I mean, if I get to play Candlelight once it'll at least have been worth the experience. But right now I feel pretty discouraged about it, and don't think they will.
Anyway, it felt good to have that done.
For dinner I made us mini muffin tin quiches, six were ham and gruyere, six were spinach and onion and gruyere.
I'd meant to take a picture but it took me SO LONG to make them that I was starving and fed up by the time they were done.
There had barely been enough egg mixture to cover the filling and I'd panicked, thinking my muffing tin was weirdly sized or something, when really what happens is the eggs expand substantially so it's a non-issue. WELP now I know for next time.
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Friday, I still had three hours of work to do so got up early to get it out of my face.
I have been sleeping very poorly lately, waking up stressed and worrying that something is wrong, and then having to calm down enough to fall back asleep. I wonder if this will get better when I'm on tour again? Does it have to do with job stress, health stress, upcoming tour stress, financial stress, all of the above? I'm not sure. I just want to have a full night's sleep. It's been ages.
After the work I went to the grocery because there are many things that I want to make for us this week.
Jameson will be in Disney rehearsals all week, so the least I can do is cook dinners.
And especially since I'll be gone again soon, I want to give him some home cookin'.
Trying to emulate "fall" even though it was 90°F today, I decided to make us a treat:
Brown Butter Bourbon Smoked Sea Salt Rice Krispie Treats.
Jameson's mom made us something like this last Christmas. Hers had either thyme or rosemary in them, I forget.
These are just like regular Rice Krispies except you brown the butter first, add a tablespoon of bourbon (I additionally subbed out a little of the bourbon for vanilla), and sprinkle with sea salt when you're done.
I used Maldon smoked sea salt because we have a box left over from another recipe.
The crystals are very large and flat; they kind of make me think of snowflakes, if snowflakes were ever square.
(I stole this pic from somewhere online.)
The result of brown butter, bourbon and smoked salt was nutty, savory, smoky flavors.
Such a massive improvement over plain Rice Krispie Treats!
I would make these again, and I WOULD add thyme next time.
I practiced the entire first act of My Fair Lady, and it went pretty well.
For dinner we had pizza and air fryer wings.
Jameson played Cocoon, which is so beautiful to watch, while I worked on Foodie Finds.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday was a special occasion because we went to brunch at Lazy Dog :p
Before that I did some Foodie Finds work and swept the pool patio while Jameson worked, then around 11am we were off.
I got the avocado egg toast and Jameson had a bacon egg and biscuit sandwich.
As always I love eating out with my favorite person!
But we agreed afterward that the food hadn't been anything special, and actually it came out very quickly...like, too quickly. And was not very hot. Like it had been premade. And looking at the menu, we realized that there were no foods that noticeably HAVE to be made to order, i.e. pancakes, eggs Benedict, French toast, etc.
Lesson learned. But hey, the drinks were tasty.
From there we went to Men's Wearhouse one town over because Jameson had a gift card and needed a Christmas-colored tie for Jollywood. He went with green. There was a World Market next door so I insisted on popping in there for a mini spatula (did not find one) and some travel condiments for tour. World Market sells tiny bottles of olive oil, vinegar, sriracha, maple syrup, etc that really come in handy as well as snack foods that you can't find anywhere else. Jameson had fun in the British and Japanese candy aisles while I picked out lemon-flavored oil, tinned asparagus and artichoke hearts, dried mullberries, and orange ginger candies.
Back home I felt REALLY tired, probably because I'm not really a day drinker + big meal, so had a little chill time.
Then I dusted the house, practiced My Fair Lady, and wrote a letter to my grandma.
Somewhere in there my new trombone case showed up. My trombone already has a case, but it's made of wood and is VERY heavy and is not really intended for travel. This new case is hardshell plastic, much lighter and made by a company that specifically designs cases for travel. It's not "the best" that I could have gotten, but it'll do for my needs.
Old case is brown, new case is grey. The brown case weighs as much empty as the grey one does with the trombone in it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday was the anniversary of my dad's death due to covid (most of the posts on this are Friends Only, here's one that isn't), so I made sure to text my sisters and stepmom and offer emotional support/a shoulder/an ear should it be needed today.
A cold front came through, so for once, for ONCE, it was below 70°F for most of the day before noon. With overcast skies and a gentle breeze. It did make me miss Pennsylvania, and fall and winter weather, and frankly being someplace where it's comfortable to be outside...a sensation that I now associate with either past memories, or travel.
When Jameson got up he stepped outside and breathed deeply, then opened the door so we could get fresh air through the screen. It was very nice to have a cool breeze while listening to my nursing home interviews, and made me VERY anxious to go for a walk. So we went for one! After lunch. I didn't take pictures because we spent it talking about the upcoming holidays; family drama; Jameson's gigs and his slacker students; my upcoming tour.
You know, sometimes I'm amazed that we both work from home, and spend nearly 24/7 around each other, but never seem to get fed up with each other. I know he gets annoyed with me sometimes, and I him...but maybe it's the fact that we are aware of it, and try hard not to annoy each other.
Anyway, the rest of the day was normal except I excused myself from trombone practice because I felt the walk should take priority. For dinner I made an apple cheddar-stuffed chicken breast recipe that I found online, which tasted good but wasn't one of the best things I've made. Then Jameson finished Cocoon (it was only a short game) and I worked on Foodie Finds. I'm nearly done, finally. Running very behind on it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week I'll do my regular data entry work, but I'll also need to start doing a lot more.
Practicing every day; beginning to pack for tour; ordering/buying any necessities; doing as much housework as I can; booking upcoming flights and hotels; planning for the holidays. Oh, and Jameson's birthday is coming up too!
Goals this week:
- 30 hours of work
- Finish Foodie Finds for the whole tour
- 1 hour per day practice
- 50% of suitcases packed
- 2 cleaning chores
- 1 yardwork chore
- Cooking 2 dinners
...I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
By lunchtime I had 21!
Considering that this is my first year on this tour and I don't know anyone yet, that's excellent.
Even on Tootsie after two years of touring, I only ended up with about 30 people by the end of the tour.
This group also seems more talkative; my phone has been pinging all afternoon with recommendations already!
My substitute trombonist also finally got back to me about his flight preferences, so I got that purchase out of my face, plus his hotel room. Losing the money hurts, but not as much as losing two weeks of work on the unlikely chance that Disney "might" call. I mean, if I get to play Candlelight once it'll at least have been worth the experience. But right now I feel pretty discouraged about it, and don't think they will.
Anyway, it felt good to have that done.
For dinner I made us mini muffin tin quiches, six were ham and gruyere, six were spinach and onion and gruyere.
I'd meant to take a picture but it took me SO LONG to make them that I was starving and fed up by the time they were done.
There had barely been enough egg mixture to cover the filling and I'd panicked, thinking my muffing tin was weirdly sized or something, when really what happens is the eggs expand substantially so it's a non-issue. WELP now I know for next time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, I still had three hours of work to do so got up early to get it out of my face.
I have been sleeping very poorly lately, waking up stressed and worrying that something is wrong, and then having to calm down enough to fall back asleep. I wonder if this will get better when I'm on tour again? Does it have to do with job stress, health stress, upcoming tour stress, financial stress, all of the above? I'm not sure. I just want to have a full night's sleep. It's been ages.
After the work I went to the grocery because there are many things that I want to make for us this week.
Jameson will be in Disney rehearsals all week, so the least I can do is cook dinners.
And especially since I'll be gone again soon, I want to give him some home cookin'.
Trying to emulate "fall" even though it was 90°F today, I decided to make us a treat:
Brown Butter Bourbon Smoked Sea Salt Rice Krispie Treats.
Jameson's mom made us something like this last Christmas. Hers had either thyme or rosemary in them, I forget.
These are just like regular Rice Krispies except you brown the butter first, add a tablespoon of bourbon (I additionally subbed out a little of the bourbon for vanilla), and sprinkle with sea salt when you're done.
I used Maldon smoked sea salt because we have a box left over from another recipe.
The crystals are very large and flat; they kind of make me think of snowflakes, if snowflakes were ever square.
(I stole this pic from somewhere online.)
The result of brown butter, bourbon and smoked salt was nutty, savory, smoky flavors.
Such a massive improvement over plain Rice Krispie Treats!
I would make these again, and I WOULD add thyme next time.
I practiced the entire first act of My Fair Lady, and it went pretty well.
For dinner we had pizza and air fryer wings.
Jameson played Cocoon, which is so beautiful to watch, while I worked on Foodie Finds.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday was a special occasion because we went to brunch at Lazy Dog :p
Before that I did some Foodie Finds work and swept the pool patio while Jameson worked, then around 11am we were off.
I got the avocado egg toast and Jameson had a bacon egg and biscuit sandwich.
As always I love eating out with my favorite person!
But we agreed afterward that the food hadn't been anything special, and actually it came out very quickly...like, too quickly. And was not very hot. Like it had been premade. And looking at the menu, we realized that there were no foods that noticeably HAVE to be made to order, i.e. pancakes, eggs Benedict, French toast, etc.
Lesson learned. But hey, the drinks were tasty.
From there we went to Men's Wearhouse one town over because Jameson had a gift card and needed a Christmas-colored tie for Jollywood. He went with green. There was a World Market next door so I insisted on popping in there for a mini spatula (did not find one) and some travel condiments for tour. World Market sells tiny bottles of olive oil, vinegar, sriracha, maple syrup, etc that really come in handy as well as snack foods that you can't find anywhere else. Jameson had fun in the British and Japanese candy aisles while I picked out lemon-flavored oil, tinned asparagus and artichoke hearts, dried mullberries, and orange ginger candies.
Back home I felt REALLY tired, probably because I'm not really a day drinker + big meal, so had a little chill time.
Then I dusted the house, practiced My Fair Lady, and wrote a letter to my grandma.
Somewhere in there my new trombone case showed up. My trombone already has a case, but it's made of wood and is VERY heavy and is not really intended for travel. This new case is hardshell plastic, much lighter and made by a company that specifically designs cases for travel. It's not "the best" that I could have gotten, but it'll do for my needs.
Old case is brown, new case is grey. The brown case weighs as much empty as the grey one does with the trombone in it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday was the anniversary of my dad's death due to covid (most of the posts on this are Friends Only, here's one that isn't), so I made sure to text my sisters and stepmom and offer emotional support/a shoulder/an ear should it be needed today.
A cold front came through, so for once, for ONCE, it was below 70°F for most of the day before noon. With overcast skies and a gentle breeze. It did make me miss Pennsylvania, and fall and winter weather, and frankly being someplace where it's comfortable to be outside...a sensation that I now associate with either past memories, or travel.
When Jameson got up he stepped outside and breathed deeply, then opened the door so we could get fresh air through the screen. It was very nice to have a cool breeze while listening to my nursing home interviews, and made me VERY anxious to go for a walk. So we went for one! After lunch. I didn't take pictures because we spent it talking about the upcoming holidays; family drama; Jameson's gigs and his slacker students; my upcoming tour.
You know, sometimes I'm amazed that we both work from home, and spend nearly 24/7 around each other, but never seem to get fed up with each other. I know he gets annoyed with me sometimes, and I him...but maybe it's the fact that we are aware of it, and try hard not to annoy each other.
Anyway, the rest of the day was normal except I excused myself from trombone practice because I felt the walk should take priority. For dinner I made an apple cheddar-stuffed chicken breast recipe that I found online, which tasted good but wasn't one of the best things I've made. Then Jameson finished Cocoon (it was only a short game) and I worked on Foodie Finds. I'm nearly done, finally. Running very behind on it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week I'll do my regular data entry work, but I'll also need to start doing a lot more.
Practicing every day; beginning to pack for tour; ordering/buying any necessities; doing as much housework as I can; booking upcoming flights and hotels; planning for the holidays. Oh, and Jameson's birthday is coming up too!
Goals this week:
- 30 hours of work
- Finish Foodie Finds for the whole tour
- 1 hour per day practice
- 50% of suitcases packed
- 2 cleaning chores
- 1 yardwork chore
- Cooking 2 dinners
...I'm sure I'm forgetting something.