First, the recap of my weekend of slack that no one asked for, or should be subjected to. To skip the bullshit, just scroll to the other bullshit about 10 paragraphs below. Up to you which part is less interesting. I think it’s a toss-up.
I was up at 5:30 AM on Saturday to let Lola out and feed her, but with no hike scheduled and no footy on until 7:30 AM, there was no way I was going to goof around, pretending I was doing something of worth for two hours in the morning darkness. So, back to bed I went.
I was back awake at 7 AM to coffee up and look over the day’s football schedule. My adopted team of 20+ years or so, Tottenham, wasn’t playing until 3:00 PM (8 PM BST), but there were plenty of other matches to watch, including joyfully watching Man U lose AGAIN, Palace snatch a late winner against Liverpool (BOO!), and La Liga’s Madrid derby in which Atlético Madrid abused Real Madrid like an alcoholic stepfather (or Diego Simeone) hopped on wine and tapas and won 5-2.
Sadly, Spurs failed to beat the worst team in the league, but once again came back late to draw, thus avoiding a complete embarrassment and continuing to be “Spursy.” They remain in the top 4 for now, even though freaking Arsenal took all 3 points from Newcastle on Sunday in the dying seconds of the game (BASTARDS!).
Somewhere in all that, I also went to Township Cleanup Day to drop off two old TVs, and made a semi-healthy, white trash breakfast which included a “homemade” turkey sausage patty (93% lean ground turkey, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, rolled tight and smashed), homemade hash browns, and scrambled eggs (1 whole egg/3 whites/salt/pepper) topped with shredded cheese and hot sauce.
Then, during halftime of the 10 AM kickoffs, I prepped and started the marinade for two large chicken breasts that I was going to bake later for some Soiled Chicken Salad on Saturday night. I wasn’t crazy about the way they turned out, but live and learn. The chicken salad was OK.
BUT HE WAS NOT DONE!
For lunch, I wanted pasta, but I’m not so into straight tomato sauce that much these days, so I found a recipe to help loosely guide me in the right direction to make a small serving of Creamy Ricotta Pasta. I’m not f’ing with you when I say it may have been the best pasta I’ve had in a LONG time.
Being a long-time “cook,” not a “baker,” there are very few recipes that I follow verbatim. Whether because it needs an Eye of Newt imported from the Himalayas, or because I don’t currently have or like a certain ingredient. Such was the case with Saturday’s Soiled Pasta; I was free-ballin’ with what I had in the pantry, and it turned out perfect.
I generally think I suck at food photography (not as much as landscapes), but I like these pics. I shot them with the Nikon Z6 and the Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 Macro lens and edited them in Lightroom.
After that brilliant lunch, I spent the rest of my Saturday was spent with Lola the dog, finishing the last of the Prem footy, then on to baseball (call me old-fashioned, but you don’t bust out champagne because you made the playoffs, only when you WIN them; looking at you Tigers), and whatever scraps of European footy remained unwatched by me, before chilling out on the porch listening to music.
Then, it was an early bedtime to do it nearly all again on Sunday, with the added bonus of Sunday Crime Fighting. A damn fine weekend if I say so myself, and the mean streets of the Cul-De-Sac are safe from evil-doers.
Some shit not about slacking
Due to Sunday evening boredom, I was in bed around 7:30 PM, and up at 5:20 Monday to start the week with a Big Ol’ Hairy Ball Cup of Coffee™ and a dump, before getting on the trails at 7:03, a full half hour before sunrise, thankful to start this week in a way, way, WAY better mood than last week.
I lumbered along quickly through the dark using my headlamp with hopes of miles in my feet and an SD card full of pics by the end. While I did indeed get my miles in (6.32), my camera’s SD card was pretty underutilized for most of the hike, with my only “good” photos coming with less than.25 miles to go, when, as I crossed the ill-named “Other Swinging Bridge,” I saw a Great Blue Heron poking around in the water. No fish were eaten this time, but after nearly the whole hike with nothing but a random deer, I was happy with anything.
Funny, I always call the other swinging bridge, the Other Swinging Bridge.
Not sure what Tuesday holds in store, I need to go have a blood test at 7 AM, so I’m hopeful to get in, out, and on the road to the trails ASAP because I also need to mow the lawn. As a bonus, Spurs play Eliteserien powerhouse Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League at 3 PM, so hopefully I can get tested, hiked, fed, mowed, and my chores/errands done by then, if not, well, the chores will have to wait. Priorities, man. #COYS
Later.
NOTE: Intro photo was taken with the z50 in “toy camera mode” just to see what it was. It’s stupid, and I will never use it again, but I was in need of a pic. I found one from today. It’s not great, but better than the “toy camera” mode bullshit.