Still Life, With Cats

Ever since I had COVID, shortly before Thanksgiving, I occasionally try to take a breath and instead end up coughing. I’m not too concerned because while it’s definitely annoying, it’s a lingering symptom that apparently a lot of other people have also had, so I could see the direct connection and know that eventually that will go away. However, I’ve been struggling these past few weeks with just an overall inability to think – I have felt like I am losing words when I try to speak them and my brain has felt sluggish. And it wasn’t until my sister said ‘Oh, you have the brain fog’ that it dawned on me that this, too, is also a lingering effect of the disease, and I was so very relieved. Like with the occasional shortness of breath, the brain fog is also a common side effect of the disease, that will also eventually clear up (at least in the majority of cases it seems to), but at least now I have a reason, and that makes all the difference.

The thing that has scared me the most about getting COVID, well, after the first couple months, once they were able to find ways to successfully treat it, is not dying from the disease. Even in the height of the pandemic, the vast majority of people who came down with it didn’t die. What scares me the most is what happens after. A huge percentage of people end up Long COVID – damage to major organs, the sort that is going to cause them huge problems later on in life; ongoing breathing issues that never fully resolve, damage to the heart or kidneys; immune system deficiencies. And every time you get reinfected, your chances of long term problems rises.

I know we will both likely end up fine; the symptoms we have usually clear up after a couple months, and meanwhile we’re back to being extra careful about exposure. We both got Paxlovid, which is supposed to help prevent things from getting worse after the initial infection. But still. So many people out there are still getting sick and so many people are still dying, despite how much the media wants to pretend that it’s gone.

I love our house in Sacramento a lot, but one thing I really miss about the old house in Dixon, every year around this time, is that the roof was configured so that Richard could climb out above the porch and put up Christmas lights. We didn’t bother putting lights around the entire house, but at least around the front porch we could be festive.

This house, however, has a much steeper pitched roof around the edges, and as both of us are very much not a fan of heights, this means any roof lights just haven’t happened since we moved (15 years ago).

This year, however, I wanted to do *something*, because sometimes it’s a bit sad being the only house on the block without any holiday decor. So this afternoon we dug up some old lighted garlands and wrapped them around the railing and posts of the front porch.

In the grand scheme of things, I know just a couple sparkly garlands isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing.

Now we just need to get some lights up inside the house (since the Christmas cat tree doesn’t have any) and it’ll feel a little more like Christmas.

‘Tis the season for Holidailies.

Tonight for dinner I made Lemony Shrimp with Snow Peas and Pasta. I started with frozen shrimp because I am always more than happy to let someone else be responsible for cleaning them, and we used penne pasta since that is what we had, plus we left out the grape tomatoes because they are Not Food.

First you get the pasta started. Then you sauté the snow peas in just a little bit of oil. Once those are heated, they get put into a bowl on the side, and then you cook the shrimp with some garlic, salt, and pepper. And while the shrimp are cooking you mix up the dressing, which is just lemon juice and zest, a bit of the water the pasta was cooked in, olive oil, and some seasonings. Finally, everything gets combined into one pan (I added just a bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce a bit) to stir around until the sauce coats everything.

Verdict – two enthusiastic thumbs up from both of us. Everything is bright and flavorful, with just enough lemon flavor to make it pop, without being too tart or acidic. I could see swapping out the snow peas for other veggies, like perhaps some broccoli. This would also work just as well served over a side of rice or orzo instead of stirred into pasta. This is one I’d happy make, and eat, again.

Citrus used: 1 lemon

Total citrus used so far: 9 mandarin orange, 17 tangelos, 14 lemons

Making a thing a day for Thingadailies.

This morning for breakfast I made Lemon Poppy Seed Scones.

I’ve made scones oodles of time in the past, but I believe this is the first time I’ve ever put poppy seeds in them. Otherwise, they came together pretty much the same way as all the other scone recipes I’ve tried – you mix your butter into your dry ingredients (you could do this with your fingers, or a food processor), then stir in the wet ingredients only until just mixed, then form into a circle, cut into 8 pieces, separate slightly, and bake. Then you make a glaze (lemon juice plus powdered sugar) and drizzle that over the tops once they’re cooled.

My scones always look a bit slumped – I suspect I should chill the formed dough prior to baking it, except that I am usually in a hurry and don’t have time for that.

Anyway. I was rather disappointed by this recipe. The scones themselves have almost no flavor; the only flavor (such as it was) comes from the lemon glaze, which although lovely, is just not enough to make eating a tasteless breakfast pastry worth it.

Citrus used: 1 lemon

Total citrus used so far: 1 mandarin orange, 10 tangelos, 6 lemons

Making a thing a day for Thingadailies.

Tonight was the final concert in the back-to-back three-in-a-row performances we’ve been doing for the season. The first was Saturday night, at our ‘home’ space (where we’ve been rehearsing), while yesterday’s was down in Oakland, so most of us headed down early to meet for lunch at rather tasty little Brazilian restaurant near the venue. Tonight was back in Sacramento.

This concert has been one of my favorites we’ve sung since I’ve been in the group (16+ years). The music was absolutely gorgeous; this particular group of singers blends together better than I think we ever have, and then you throw in a gifted organist, a stunning soprano soloist, and an absolutely amazing celloist, and it was just magical.

It’s a little bittersweet to be done, but also a bit of a relief. I feel like this month I have been running at full speed, and now I can see the end in sight – only a few more days of work before I get some much-needed time off, and can actually relax.

‘Tis the season for Holidailies.