back again

[jazzfish]

I've fallen out of practice at journaling, which is never a good sign. Time to pull myself back into it. Part of the problem's that I've been running around mentally in crisis-management mode for about a month, for reasons that I am actively choosing to not get into instead of just sort of ignoring.

Today feels kind of bleh... but I did sleep pretty well last night, well enough for the light-alarm to wake me instead of waking up at random at four-thirty and not getting back to sleep. Though I did want to sleep longer. Which is unusual for me, I'm generally pretty good about getting up and moving after about five or ten minutes. More sleep tonight, I think.

Feeling a strong urge to hole up in my room or the bathtub and (re)read and do other distractionary things. July was lost to a haze of emotional overwhelm and also packing/moving, and August has been rough for mostly unrelated reasons. The Great Big Dragaera Reread has been a balm.

I went camping about a month ago for the first time since we moved, and I miss it. Thinking tentatively about going out backpacking over Canucksgiving. No idea where, or who with, though the answer to that one is likely "nobody, because I hate coordinating with people."

Still doing yoga though more erratically, still biking pretty consistently. The lovely bike basket I bought online doesn't fit over the handlebars of this bike, so I'm still looking for a better solution there. At least I've finally got a couple of bungee cords so I can pack things on the rear rack. I also need a better pannier: this one sticks up over the top of the rack, making it difficult to bungee things on properly.

Things like an Instant Pot, which I've purchased on the grounds that a) I wanted a rice cooker anyway, b) everyone I know who has one has sung its praises to the heavens, and c) being able to make more food and easier is almost certainly a Good Thing for me. I haven't yet figured out what I'm going to do with it other than "cook more meat faster," or even what sorts of meat-type things. Need to spend some time poking at crockpot-type recipes, perhaps.

Comments

[snippy]

I would like to read your experiences with the Instant Pot as you go along, learning about how to make it work for you. I've been considering one for a while but it's about double what I have available for kitchen gear right now, so I want to be sure it will work for me. I hope it works well for you!

[jazzfish]

I absolutely will! My impression is that it's ideal for people who like to crockpot and would prefer to do that in an hour instead of a day. I've never really developed a habit for crockpotting, so.

[vvalkyri]

There seem to be endless possibilities with instantpot, but when I had access to one at my parents' house I stared at its controls, leafed through the book, and decided I didn't have brain for it :)

people seem to especially sing the praises of lentils.

[jazzfish]

The book is overly complicated in service of being complete, and the device has a bunch of functionality that I may never touch. Actual use seems to be pretty simple. (He said, having only used it to make rice so far.)

Ooh, lentils. There's a particular Ethiopian lentil dish that I should learn to make. (Maybe. Likely will involve specific amounts of specific spices, making it more of a "once i get a better kitchen" kind of thing.)

[vvalkyri]

several of my friends on fb seem to be all about the lentils. I wonder if I can create for you a thread of "easy things to do with an instantpot"

oh why not.

[jazzfish]

Thank you muchly!

[wohali]

ugh, don't remind me about falling out of practice with it. I'm super out of it as well. I definitely need to deal with it.

[jazzfish]

:( <3

For me, it's that journaling is a reliable way of getting clear in the front of my conscious mind what I'm chewing on or worrying about unconsciously. If I'm not journaling, odds are good I'm not facing up to whatever it is.