beanside | The years go by so fast, the flames keep burning, but we know some day it could be gone.

And, we're back to Monday. Ugh, work. I had a nice weekend, though it wasn't quite what I planned. When the sun finally rose yesterday morning, it revealed a dreary, rainy day with sleet. Add to that, Jess wasn't feeling great thanks to a uterine rebellion, which had been delayed a couple of moths by surgery. We cancelled the massages, since they were a drive down a mostly raised highway, which increased the chance of icy roads.

I felt bad for doing it last minute, but it seemed like the wisest thing to do.

Mostly I did nothing yesterday, except in one small burst of productivity. I chopped up my bacon and vegetables (leeks and onions) and put them on to sauté, bacon first, then beef, then leeks and onions. While each was cooking, I put dishes in the dishwasher and started it. Finally, the leeks and onions were done, and I added them into the rest and started my water to make broth. I have Sam's Club Beef Base, which is a thick paste that you add to boiling water to make your broth. It has a really good taste, though if you use too much, it can get salty. Thus why I used half broth, half water.

Then, it needed to simmer until the barley was tender. I did not wait til the barley was completely tender. It was smelling too good.

I am hypercritical of food I make, so believe me when I say: This was fucking good. It was warm and the beef flavor was good. The barley was a little more toothsome than expected, but it couldn't detract from the umami hit of the bacon and the buttery soft little leeks and onions and carrots.

I had two bowls and dipped my rosemary sourdough in it and ate that, too. It was really tasty. And perfect for the start of winter.

After that, I went and laid down for an hour and napped with my full warm belly.

Didn't do a whole lot in the evening. Game was cancelled, so I mostly just relaxed. It was a nice day.

The next three days are quiet, but on Thursday, we start with a trip to Sibley for Jess' postop, then I have a tattoo appointment and then Steel City Comic Con on Friday-Sunday. Hopefully a fun weekend!

For now, I'm going to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have the very best of Mondays!