“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 608 (Sunday)

When it was 68 degrees out the other day, it felt warm and wonderful. I wandered around outside with no jacket. Why then, at 68 degrees inside my house, have I felt cold all day today? These are the things that will drive me absolutely bonkers (assuming I’m not already there).

Stuffed peppers and
things baked in a dish.

Feeling cold inspired more cooking. It started with thinking I wanted rice to go with yesterday’s roasted veggies. As the last of the rice from the pantry cooked in the pot, I realized most of the veggies roasted on Saturday are potatoes, and rice is just more starch. Oops.

With enough cooked rice to feed a small American subdivision, it was time for another plan. Green peppers were prepared and stuffed with rice and other fun, tasty things. Rice was mixed with radish and other stuff and baked with in a dish with cheese (there is always cheese). A container of rice went into the refrigerator for as yet undefined purposes. More creamy vegetable soup was produced. 

The oven made the kitchen warmer, which was nice, except I was in the living room under a blanket watching streaming shows I would realize around episode seven or eight I had already seen. This happened twice. Thanks for continuing to recommend shows I've already watched, Netflix.

There was a quick trip made to Hannaford (again), for which I blame their loyalty program and an email reminder that the offer of $10 off a $25 order was expiring Monday. That is not the sort of thing to ignore. I will haul my butt to the store for a discount like that. A list was made, which included things often avoided until the last minute due to cost, like the large bottles of olive oil and baking supplies that are not desperately needed yet, and things I’m low on but forget to buy, like shampoo. Thanks to the discount, the pantry is now restocked with olive oil, flour, rice, three types of chocolate baking chips, and shampoo.

In other exciting and uncharacteristic planning ahead news, this year’s annual winter holiday greeting cards have been produced. Twice, after I got the first batch in hand and realized it used the same image as a couple years ago. Usually, there is a mad, panicked scramble in mid-December. This year, the cards are ready for signing, and envelopes are already addressed.

There are a couple possible explanations for this new business of doing things in advance. One is that the personal hermit-like habit of limited activities since the shutdown has produced a relatively stress-free personal environment conducive to thinking, planning, and doing. Another option is that there has been an alien abduction and my body was replaced with the innards of some being who plans and executes tasks and activities well in advance. A third possibility involves the pandemic time warp that leaves me constantly questioning what day it is. At least it’s working in my favor (for now, anyway). It is less stressful to be completing things in advance than to be running into deadlines or accidentally blowing them off.

Next up in the amateur armchair self-analysis series, we’ll try to unravel why I keep buying too many perishables and have a freezer so full of prepared meal portions it’s ready to burst.