just a rambler....

 This fine chilly August morning, which nips of autumn, right down to the cozy sweatpants, is quiet.  The symphony of cicadas and crickets that make up a hot summer morning have gone quiet, and there's a faint tinge of gold on the maple trees.  I'm wondering where I stored my slippers, haven't worn them in months. Summer is for bare feet, but brrr.  

Camille and I went to the library yesterday with Walter, he's Jonathan's friend from the Netherlands who is staying on a bit after the wedding.  (Now they're gone camping and hiking in the Adirondacks).  Cam got some books to brush up on her math skills for her tests next week, I got a new Tana French novel and a few other books.

The afternoon was one of those perfect dark and cozy reading days.  The rain poured and drummed on the metal roof.  Camille made brownies for Evelyn's birthday, I decided we needed chicken pot pie.  I make the crusts in the food processor, just whisk the flour and salt, then add the butter, then dump it into a bowl and toss it with ice water, so it's extra flaky.  Five cups of flour, four sticks of butter, and shh yes, no wonder I'm fat ha.  

For the filling, I added several boneless chicken breasts to one and a half cartons of chicken stock, to simmer...with some rosemary.  When the chicken started to shred, I added cubed potato, then thickened it up with corn starch and flour mixed with cold water, stirred that in....added one bag of frozen carrots, peas, mixed veggies.  I let it cool a bit, then rolled out the pie crusts...on the tops, salt, pepper, rosemary, then into the oven on parchment covered cookie sheets (so they don't drip butter all over the oven).  

I messaged Oscar that I made it, and he was welcome to come have some, he did.  Sonja was working, and I know he likes it.  

So I took healthy food and made it unhealthy, but oh dear, it's so good.  

In between making that and doing some puttering around, I did read an entire library book, After Annie by Anna Quindlen.  Was it a good book?  Well, I read it in one afternoon.  :)

 Miss Lydia is having a birthday party at the beach on Saturday, I'll be bringing some snacks and cupcakes...summer is supposed to be making a grand return, with sunshine and warmth into the lower eighties.  

So I have an appointment next week for my hand/arm.  Of course as soon as I made it, the symptoms calmed down and let me sleep better at night, but I'm not complaining about that.  It's still clear there's something wrong, my ring finger is achy and numb right now just from typing.  If I press on my wrist, it hurts, and I still can't really make a strong fist without having shock-y type sensations go down my arm.  At the risk of sounding like an old lady with a whole boatload of complaints, wherein one would regret asking a simple how are you?, I will expound on my sufferings, because...it's my blog, and I can cry if I want to, ha.  

My knees!  I have said for a while now that if I'm on my feet for too long, my knees sort of don't want to bend when I go to sit down.  This is not ideal when I need to go to the bathroom!  Bend, knees, bend!  They also hurt really badly when I'm on my feet for too long, not just the knees but the muscles or tendons that run down behind, and the fronts of my calves too.  I don't know if it's arthritis or something in my lower back, because it's both legs, although mostly my right leg.  I cannot put into words how absolutely frustrating this is.  I WANT to do things!  You know I love going out and about and dawdling and meandering through stores, now by the time I get to the register, oh my goodness, my legs are killing me.  I even wondered if it was my heart or something, but then why would then not want to bend?  Unless it's two things, because as Sam always says, "Two things can be true at once."

In Aldi the other day, we had already gone to the thrift store, and my legs were hurting...then a lady with just a gallon of milk asked to get ahead of me.  Of course, go ahead!  She proceeded to pay in cash and count out the coins and drop a few, and oh dear, I was finding it difficult to be pleasant!  It's a different thing, when your body hurts.  

I plan to run it by the ortho dr. I'm seeing for my arm, see if she has any ideas...I hate not knowing, and having X-rays and images and and and...appointments.  I do hate dr visits.  (I like to figure out exactly what's wrong before I make the appointment)

Enough of my whining, for now anyway.  Grace and her three kids, and Kathryn and her three are coming over in a little while.  Grace, Kathryn, and I will attempt to talk, to solve the worlds' problems while we drink our coffee, the kids will jump around and want drinks and need to go potty and get into little fights and play nicely together and get hungry and want to go outside and want to get more toys out and come sit with me for stories, maybe I'll rock a baby to sleep...a fantastic day all around.  

Now, I need to cruise the internet for a bit and read the news, some other blogs, then get up and vacuum and mop the floors, wash the pot pie dish that's soaking in the sink....putter a bit before the children descend...:). Have a really nice day!