all things me

I’m not dead. I just managed to blow something up inside my computer so I haven’t been able to use it fully for a long time. Being without a computer (at home) has been kind of refreshing.

Today I made some chocolate chip muffins a la Nigella Lawson. They don’t look very pretty because I think I put too much batter for each muffin. I have a 12-muffin pan and the recipe was supposedly for 12 but I got 12 too big and one in a coffee cup. I suppose I need to get another pan

The only one that looks like a muffin (the one in top left corner) broke in half when I tried to take it from the tray. Just my luck. Oh well, they taste nice which is the important thing.

On my name day on May 26th I made a chocolate lemon pie for work:

(The cut you see in the picture is the cook’s reserved right to pre-taste. ) It was yummy but the pie dough was kind of hard to cut and the filling could’ve been more brown (it was cooked properly, though). Anyway, I’m not the only one who liked it because it disappeared in an instant…

I haven’t been making only desserts. I’ve been cooking for a whole week every weekend. I think I’ve only had lunch from a store once when I knew I was going shopping so I didn’t want to lug the “lunch box” around town. I made a tuna-potato-smoked cheese casserole which was a huge success (for me, I didn’t feed it to anyone else) — there wasn’t much for me to screw up. Tomorrow or on Saturday I’m making another kind of fish casserole for next week.

So, what’s been going on? My new home is coming together. I assembled the bookcases with my sister and tomorrow Dad is coming to help put the doors up. I’m still waiting for a bed and a TV stand. They were supposed to arrive a month ago (!!!) but there’s been all kinds of confusion. I just wish they would arrive already! I also was supposed to get a sofa this week but I didn’t. Oh well, I’m not too worried about that yet because this was a Midsummer week and “every” Finn is on holiday tomorrow and I think Saturday is quite a quiet day, too (on the shop-front). If I don’t hear from the store on Wednesday at the latest I’m calling to ask after my dear sofa.

I’m so glad to have the bookcases finally assembled! All my closets are filled with books (and I’m not even exaggerating much) so I haven’t been able to unpack my other stuff yet. All my DVDs are still in a box, too.

I also finally got my computer off the floor. I didn’t buy a desk yet but there was an unused (?) table at home which I got until I find a better one.

Now it’s time to go watch some tv. They’re re-running Supernatural which I didn’t get to watch on the first run because it was on at the same time with a more important series. Now I can record two channels and watch a third one so those kinds of worries are practically history.

Yesterday I made some spinach macaroni casserole and realised some things…

If you’re not sure about an ingredient, google it!
The recipe included something called “ingredients for thick chicken soup” so I figured it meant some frozen vegetables that are recommended in a chicken soup. I searched the freezers at the grocery store and didn’t find anything fitting so I bought a bag of mixed veggies that I really like. While munching away on the finished casserole I decided to check what that certain ingredient really was: soup powder! That explains a lot…

Frozen spinach takes a long time to thaw.
…Especially without a microwave oven. I bought a bag of spinach cubes, put them in a bowl and let them sit on the counter. When I got around to the step where I was supposed to mix the spinach with the macaroni I poked at the cubes and realised they were still hard as bricks! I don’t have a microwave oven yet so I held the bowl over the boiling macaroni pot and finally boiled some water and submerged the bowl there. It took a while but eventually I was able to break the cubes and mix them with the macaroni.

500 g of macaroni needs a big pot to cook
I haven’t bought any pots or pans yet so all I’ve got is a medium-sized pot from home (maybe 2-3 litres). This recipe needed half a kilogram of macaroni and while I was emptying the bag in the pot, it filled up pretty quickly. I had to cook the macaroni in two batches which meant double the cooking time. A good thing I suppose, the spinach had more time to thaw…

I cannot chop onions very well.
I don’t know if I used a wrong kind of a knife but I wasn’t able to chop the onions finely enough. There weren’t huge chunks but some bigger pieces were left.

All’s good though. The food is edible (and not bad at all), just not exactly what the recipe maker intended… I may be too embarrassed to eat it at work so I’ll have many weekends’ worth of food in the freezer. When I’m done with those, I’ll have to make it again some time — with the correct ingredients.

Mother’s day is coming up and my parents are supposedly going to visit tomorrow (two unrelated events). That’s why I decided to try and bake something. I don’t have many gadgets, pots or pans yet so I chose an easy-looking recipe for semolina (I think) cake.

This is what it looks like

but I don’t know how it turned out. I poked a fork through the middle and it seems quite moist but I’m hoping the wheat absorbs some of it as it cools down. I didn’t have proper measuring spoons so I had to wing it — which I know is bad for baking.

All rights to pre-taste reserved. (Just for the safety of others.)

Semolina reminds me that I need to buy couscous. (I’ve never tried it.)

It took only two rounds to get my stuff in. I did leave some scrap behind which I will have to carry over by bus but the most important things are here.

Here’s my fancy desk:

After taking the picture I hooked up speakers and brought a box to raise the mouse pad to a better level (ergonomics are important on the floor, too). As you can see, I still have a desk to buy.

Here’s the first thing I did last night:

I had to record Californication on the hard drive (of the digital receiver) because I was missing one cable to hook up the digital receiver to the DVD/VHS recorder. (The recorder is for analog broadcasts only and we only get digital now.)

Here’s the dinner table:

It’s a bit messy so I’ll get a better photo when the dust settles (hopefully only figuratively speaking).

I don’t have many lights so I got tired quite early last night (around 11pm). Good thing I did, because the sun woke me up before 6 am. The temporary bedroom curtains are a bit translucent… (and I’m getting blinds, too)

So, here I am. Settled in, living on the floor in the middle of boxes.

You know Stephen King has written a lot, don’t you? Well, he’s written a whole lot…

That box is full of Stephen King books and nothing else. One, a pop-up book, was even left over. The bottom is covered in paperbacks and on top are the hardbacks, audio books, and a few more paperbacks.

Today Dad and I went to the apartment and assembled the dining table set. Boy does it look nice. While we were there, he took a look at the leaking sink and seemed to have fixed it. We left some water in the sink (with towels and rags underneath) to check that it holds water.

Now I should just pack, pack and pack, to my heart’s content. Two more days to go!

When a lot of things happen, a lot can go wrong.

Today I went to my new apartment to clean up and receive deliveries. Eventually I noticed that the kitchen sink leaked. Remember my earlier mishaps with the kitchen sink? That’s right: they fixed the trash bins but broke the pipes. So, now I have a leaking sink and when I called the manager (or whatever), they had closed for the day. I didn’t call any on-call number because this isn’t an emergency just yet. Luckily, I have no hurry (except an emotional one) to move.

And as if I hadn’t had enough problems with the furniture company/sales person, the delivery was missing a chair and the mattress wasn’t the sort of mattress it was supposed to be. When I tried to call them, none of the numbers answered. (It’s this time of the year — yesterday was a holiday and Fridays are probably always bad to do business…)

Sigh.

Oh well, at least I got my telly (didn’t test drive it yet, hopefully it’s not broken) and other gadgets. Table and chairs need assembling but at least I have them; most of them.

Today I got bought a bed, a dinner table and chairs, a tv table and a bookcase. I’ll have to wait a couple of weeks for the bookcase, the tv table, and the bed frame but luckily the dinner table, the chairs and the mattress were in storage. Those are the most important: somewhere to sit and sleep. I’m having them delivered next week so they’re ready before the move (and I could stay over-night right away if I feel like it).

I still have a sofa to buy and a computer desk. I’ll have to do some measuring for the living-room to find out whether the sofa I’ve planned is the right size. Don’t get me started on carpets, curtains, and lights… I think there’s something curtain-y here (and my aunt said I could have some curtains she bought but didn’t end up using) so I don’t have to hurry with that.

I must say I loooooove the dinner table and chairs. That’s probably going to be my favourite place in the whole apartment. I’ll have to snap a photo as soon as I get them. I have an idea for the lamp but I have to see one “in person” to decide whether it’ll look eccentric or excellent.

It’s really coming together, step by step.

[Edit @ 5:19] Got too excited too early. The sales person had completely botched the bookcase order. The pieces she ordered didn’t make any sense. I was told to call her cellphone and I’ll try and sort it out. Hopefully I can go to another store of the same chain where I can go without someone driving me.
[Edit @ 6:22] I called the sales person and she’s going to call me tomorrow from work so we can re-do the order.

Guess what Dad says about this bookcase debacle? “That’s what happens when I’m not there.” Argh. I don’t think I did anything wrong. It was too botched up to be only an issue of misunderstanding. But in hindsight, I should’ve double-checked the order with the catalogue in hand.

Oh goody goody goody. Now I’ve acquired all the necessary electricity-slurping gadgets for my new home: I bought a TV (32″ LCD), a digital receiver (I need it for my DVD/VCR and just for the ease of recording), a washing machine, and a vacuum cleaner. I didn’t yet get a microwave oven, a printer-scanner, or an iron because those can wait; and I can carry them home by myself, now I got a delivery for the stuff I bought today. I’m getting them delivered on May 2nd so they’re hopefully ready by my move-in day. (I wanted to have a little leeway in case the delivery is delayed.)

I also found a dinner table + chairs that I really want. I had found a similar set before but I was worried about its quality. The ones I saw today are much better quality and the size is more fitting too, I think. So, the problems now are: sofa, bed, and storage (books, DVDs, CDs). I’ve booked a meeting with an interior decorator (please don’t laugh, I just want some ideas on how I should arrange my living-room. It’s so difficult!) which is hopefully next week (I haven’t heard back from them yet).

Hmm, I suppose I should get the electricity, too…

I’ve set the date: May 5th. I’ll gather my things and get out of here!

I should seriously start packing but I haven’t got around to it. I have so much on my mind, so much I should be doing that I can’t manage to start anything. Agh.

Here are some photos Dad took while we were doing a preliminary check. I kept admiring the place and only noticed a few things in the walls but Dad pointed out e.g. the cupboard you see in this picture:

Believe it or not, the trash bins which are on a trolley don’t fit inside the cupboard now that there’s some piping in there, too. I don’t know how on earth they’ll be fixing that but I’ll see on Wednesday…

Here’s a better picture of the balcony:

It’s huge, I tell you.

Dad took pictures of the little flaws so there aren’t other pictures to show off really. But, after May 5th there’ll be some more, I’m sure.

Sauna is an amazing thing: you may go in there worked up about something or worried, and come out calm and — more importantly — in your right mind again.

For instance, yesterday I was feeling furious at my bank because they paid an instalment of my apartment two months early. I thought, of course, that I’m losing money in interests because I’m starting to pay them now instead of two months later.

Then I went to the sauna (today).

Now I’m thinking, what difference does it actually make if I’m paying for this particular instalment + its interest for x number of months starting now instead of x number of months starting a bit later. I’m still feeling a hint of uncertainty, but logically thinking it doesn’t make much of a difference (the interest rate does change annually but it affects the situation only marginally).

This “enlightenment” has happened so many times that I sometimes feel stupid when I realise I’ve been worrying about something for no reason.