When Lee-Anne was in the hospital for her intra-cranial observation for 19 days, I was left to my own devices. Between the two of us, she was in a much more uncomfortable position. Still, as someone with ADHD this was an opportunity to see if the independent living skills I'd acquired over the past few years would hold up without the presence of a partner. Results were a mixed bag.
As far as recreation goes, I wrote two main blog posts, as well as 1 recipe and 1 review. I didn't do any painting or reading though.
For health, I didn't do any strength work outs. I didn't even try. I figured I'd be challenged enough keeping track of things that it just wasn't a priority. Besides, me and Lee-Anne got into a bit of a routine together. It wouldn't be fair to her since she was confined to a hospital bed. I met my walking goal one week but not the other.
I surprised myself by doing well with dinners. Despite having a cooking blog, it wasn't originally a passion of mine. I used to put off eating until late at night, and then binge whatever would shut down the hunger pains quickest. My struggles with weight came from apathy toward food, not a love of it. Gryphood was a measure to make cooking more exploratory and interesting.
Lee-Anne's absence actually turned out to be an interesting opportunity to experiment with meals. I usually don't take too many risks when cooking for two, because if I take a chance and it doesn't pan out, I'll be making her suffer through the botched product. While I was alone, I got to do some stuff I wouldn't otherwise have tried.
For example, I wanted to see how simple and easy I could make cream of broccoli soup without it losing its identity. I narrowed it down to only four ingredients: stock, milk, broccoli, and corn starch. It also didn't require many measurements, as it used a 1 litre milk carton and a tetra pack of stock. It tasted more like a warm green smoothie than a soup, and I wound up adding carrots, celery etc. the day after.
I also got another shot at making Philly cheesesteaks, which I'd done a subpar job with once before. For some reason, a lot of the things I wanted to experiment with were really dairy heavy.
We usually keep a weekly meal plan on a white board in the living room and I surprised myself by keeping up with it. However, while I did a decent job planning what I would eat, I didn't do as well with when. Usually we have dinner around 7:00, but while she was gone it would often take until 10:00 before I got around to it.
I was drinking too much at first, but corrected myself after a bit.
I did pretty well cleaning dishes and changing the cat litter. I didn't do either every day, but I didn't let things get too out of control either. I managed to take out the recycling and trash each week.
There were a few home projects that never seemed to get done while Lee-Anne was around, and her absence was frankly an opportunity to tackle them. I'd been meaning to season my pans since the new year and I finally did it. My cast iron stuff was easy, but I also have a weird steel wok that apparently needs to have it done as well. Because it has wooden handles, it has to be done on the stove top by rolling it around until each part of it turns dark. Very awkward and labour intensive. I'd done it once after we got it, but after rereading the instructions I realized I'd only seasoned the bottom last time. One coating took me several hours, and I was supposed to do it like three more times. I realized it would take the equivalent of a work day dedicated to only that one pan, and since it needs to be rolled around on the stove top it's not like you can ever leave it alone. So I figured it was fine with just one coat of seasoning.
There were a few decorations that we'd been wanting to put up, but Lee-Anne would overanalyze and talk us out of doing it. Sometimes it's easier to wait until she's gone and let her change things after the fact, which proved to be the case this time around.
One of the pieces was that thing we had at our wedding that everyone signed. It was sunflower themed.
The other thing I put up was a picture of Regensburg that my Great Grandfather brought from Germany
Apparently he worked for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration in World War Two. He was Camp Director of a refugee camp, and this image depicts a place near where he stayed. It's an etching with watercolour applied over the print, done in 1940 before the town experienced any damage from bombing.
I also started our wedding album while she was gone.
As far as work goes, I forgot to set up an online meeting that I'm responsible for twice in a row. I forgot to fill out my timecards twice in a row as well. However, I actually corrected my punctuality a bit. My work starts at 8:30 for staff, but 9:00 for members. Because there isn't much happening in that first half hour, and I think because my first position had 9:00 as the start time, it's been difficult to reprogram my brain to think I need to be at work for the earlier start time. While Lee-Anne was away, I put up a little calendar in my office and started recording the time I got into the building every day. I guess seeing the patterns in front of me had a good influence, because I have gotten a little better.
All in all, I managed to function. The place probably wasn't as tidy as usual, I forgot a few things, and I didn't get as much exercise. But I think I did a passable job of taking care of myself and I managed to take on a few initiatives that I probably wouldn't have done otherwise.
No comments:
Post a Comment