Core dump

[nanila]

Not posting anything substantial for a couple of months has left me with that paralysis you get from not writing, when there’s too much to say and it’s difficult to coordinate. I’m getting round this by slapping together some headings and pasting in content. Please do not feel obliged to respond to any or all of this. Not that you ever should, but in this particular instance it really is all over the place. Sorry.

Coping mechanisms + pet ownership
Dealing with the grief of losing Telstar was tough over the past month. My workload was absolutely bonkers for the last four weeks of term, with the actual lecturing compounded by marking, transition to online delivery and assessment as the impact of Omicron became clearer, colleagues being off sick, and the level of demand for my admin duties and fellowship (more on this another time). I reinstalled “Neko Atsume” on my phone, which I haven’t played in years, and for some reason the daily check on my cat garden and appearance of adorable cartoon cats helped me to process his loss. I don’t know why and am not sure I want to dwell on it too much; the point is that it worked at a time when I had to have my emotions pretty firmly compartmentalised to get through the end of the semester.

Now that we’re getting a little distance from his sudden departure, I’m more willing to entertain conversations with the children about what pets we’ll get in the new year. There are discussions about stick insects, reptiles, birds, and small mammals, none of which I’ve ever kept before myself. None of them were options when we had a feline with prodigious hunting prowess; he would doubtless have killed them within 24 hours of their arrival. So although kittens are also under consideration, it seems like it would be a good moment perhaps to take a break from cat ownership and try out some pets that the children would like to have.

Cooking
As I’ve doubtless mentioned before, I’m not a huge fan of cooking. I do like the slow cooker, although I came to realise after making my umpteenth tinned-bean-based stew that I should probably add some more recipes to my repertoire. I asked for a slow cooker recipe book for Christmas and got a great one (“Slow Cooked” by Miss South), which I’m now planning my way through. Earlier in the month I checked out the new Great British Bake Off “A Bake for All Seasons” and we made a few things from that which turned out very well, including the Pecan Pie, Winter No-Knead Loaf (wholemeal bread) and Prue’s Malt Loaf (extremely good for the digestion).

Film & Television
While the children have been off school, we’ve taken to watching films together. We watched all of the Jumanji films completely out of order. The bloke and I had never seen any of them, including the original 1990s Robin Williams version. First we watched the third film: “Jumanji: The Next Level”, which was quite confusing when you didn’t know any of the back story, though it did have some funny bits. Then we watched the original, which was Keiki’s favourite because it was actually a board game and according to him that made a lot more sense. Finally, we watched “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”, which was Humuhumu’s favourite because of the slapstick humour, dad jokes, and most of all, Bethany and Martha. I’m with her there.

We’ve fallen asleep in front of (re-)watched several Disney films with them. I also highly recommend the series of Olaf shorts in which he parodies quite a few of them.

The bloke and I watched “Hawkeye” which we both enjoyed despite our very patchy knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We became very confused by the sudden appearance of Wilson Fisk, whom we both recalled from…somewhere. Finally we remembered he was the primary antagonist in the first series of Daredevil which we liked and then got bored of after three episodes of the second series. Anyway, my primary point here is YELENA FOREVER and when do we get another Black Widow film that is just Yelena being sarcastic about everything? Yes, yes, I know the first film featured a lot of that and so did Hawkeye but I really cannot see myself getting tired of it.

I need to go and make mac n’ cheese in the slow cooker so it is ready for supper. To be continued tomorrow.

Comments

[cmcmck]

Useful things slow cookers!

Guinea pigs are great pets with a heap of character!

[shirebound]

For years I've been thinking about getting a slow cooker. I hope your new recipes turn out great!

When my nieces were young (25 years ago), they wanted tiny garden snakes as pets, which their parents allowed. I remember that two of them were named Reptilicus and Arthur. The kids were thrilled to enjoy the pets *they* wanted... before the DOGS later arrived. :)

[annofowlshire]

I’m glad you’re finding a way to process your loss.

We have an Instant Pot which I need to learn how to better utilize for things other than chili.

[siliconshaman]

I second the idea of a Yelena film or at least a series! I haven't laughed so much in ages.

[corvidology]

I love my slow cooker given the schedule we both keep. I cannot remember if you're a vegetarian, sorry. If not, it's possible to 'roast' a whole chicken in the slow cooker. Just rub in down with whatever seasonings you like (I feel salt and pepper at least are necessary) and plonk the whole bird in. You don't even need to add liquid. Cook it on slow for at least 8-10 hours, depending on the size of the bird and bob's your uncle. I do recommend giving the pot a brief spritz with spray oil before doing so just because it makes clean up easier.

[nadriel]

Yelena is the best

[sfred]

I enjoyed Hawkeye too. Good to hear from you.

[nanila]

The range of things you can make in a slow cooker if you know not to add to much liquid is tremendous. Also could come in quite useful when our energy bills double and running the oven becomes a luxury.

[nanila]

Thank you! The slow cooker is brilliant especially when you remember to make a big pot of Something on a Sunday eve and can then eat it for most of the rest of the week.

[nanila]

Thanks! Yes, I looked at getting an Instant Pot as well but until I get time to properly research the ways in which it is orthogonal to the slow cooker I will wait.

[nanila]

There must be a petition to Marvel somewhere, lol.

[nanila]

We're not vegetarian, and that is a top tip, thank you! I do like a crispy skin on a chicken - does it end up quite soft in the slow cooker? I would probably brown it in the oven at the end if it does.

[nanila]

Yes, yes she is. :)

[nanila]

Yay, and thank you!

[ankaret]

I'm sorry for your loss. What an excellent cat he was.

[nanila]

Thank you. Yes, he was. It's been tough. I miss him a lot.

[corvidology]

That's the magic of it. If you make sure to rub the skin down with salt, pepper + anything else you like* it does turn out crispy. I've served it to people who thought it was roast chicken.

*I've used a lot of different spices and herbs to produce very different tasting chickens. I often use the spices I'd use if I were making X. Solve for X from curry, fajitas, Bolognese... In this instance, you always want to use dried herbs and spices otherwise the chicken skin will go soft - fresh herbs give off their own moisture. The chicken gives off fat.**

**Other tip: Use fat as your cooking medium. Toss food to coat in fat (hey, it can be olive oil *g*) and put it in the slow cooker. I can highly recommend small potatoes in duck fat, for instance... works great with carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes... This is a great way to 'freshen up' the meal if you cook a piece of meat you want to eat off for a few days, including that chicken.

Sorry, I suppose those are more suggestions than recipes.

[silveradept]

Lifespans are a thing to consider for pets as well, since the children may not be children by the time the pets are old.

Good skills with the slow cooker. I hope the recipes turn out delicious.

Also yes to a Yelena movie where she gleefully makes fun of the MCU and its conventions while being in an MCU movie.

[nanila]

Yes, this is one of the considerations for pet selection and is why a tortoise is firmly out of the question.

Slow cooking is definitely my style. Minimal prep and multiple meal yield? Yes please!

[lurkingcat]

I keep thinking that a slow cooker might work quite well for our household but it would require a change of cooking routine that I'm not sure that we're capable of right now.

Guinea pigs appear to be the pet of choice for friends right now. With the caveat that one guinea pig somehow rapidly becomes multiple guinea pigs. Crazy cat ladies are out, crazy guinea pig ladies are in.

[nanila]

This is awesome, thank you! I had no idea I could make a roast chicken dinner in the slow cooker. Will be doing so ASAP.

[nanila]

If you can manage it on a Sunday afternoon, the slow cooker does help with the working week. I usually double a recipe so that we can eat leftovers for several lunches or dinners.

I did a bit of reading up on guinea pigs because they were on the list of potentials, but discarded them because they need a lot of space and an outdoor run is not something we can cope with right now. Humuhumu and I would love to have a chinchilla but they can live over 20 years and I don't think I'm willing to be cat-free for that long. Needing to be kept warm/humid is another factor that rules out a lot of things, as we do not like mould and the house tends to be damp.

We've pretty much converged on gerbils as the ideal small mammal pet as they are not messy, have straightforward diets, and have short life spans. We will also get stick insects - again, not messy, low maintenance/straightforward diet, and short life span.

[lurkingcat]

A university friend bought her pet chinchilla with her to uni. It was adorable, probably should have been named Houdini, and ate through absolutely everything including one of her chemistry text books. Trying to construct an escape proof cage became a year long group project that only succeeded when she acquired an engineering grad as a housemate. I gather that it lived to a ripe old age despite it's snacking habits though.

[bryangb]

It seems pretty obvious they're lining her up to replace Natasha as Black Widow - presumably Avenging alongside Sam as the new flight-capable Captain America, Ladyhawk or whatever she gets called, Scarlet Witch and whoever else is left.

We never saw Daredevil, but we knew Kingpin from Into the Spiderverse, which I bought 2nd-hand on DVD and which we all loved. There's a sequel due out later this year where Miles's Spiderman and Gwen's Spidergirl figure out cross-dimensional (multiversal?) travel and team up.

[bryangb]

We still have the hamster, despite his near-suicidal escapes and the puppy taking far too much interest in him, but cute as he is I can't recommend hamsters as they only really become active as the kids are going to bed.