Happy Monday

Monday dawned bright, and as each day progresses toward summer solstice, it's brighter and brighter earlier in the day.  It makes for a much easier time in the morning, not having to move around in complete darkness, the only light being on the outside of the house and the small LED lamp attached to my cap.  Zeus didn't crow in the house Monday morning, but I also didn't heard him crow at all outside.  It could be the superior soundproofing in the house preventing me from hearing it.  It makes me really happy to see him and Persephone scratching and clucking outside.

There were several things on the kitchen agenda, so much so that I didn't plan to make anything new.  The staples that I've discovered of granola, bread and cajeta needed to be made, which didn't leave much time for anything else.  I made some time to go out to the garden to weed another plot so we can get the peppers in.  Before they are planted, I need to revamp the sprinkler system for that area.  The pre-assembled set might work well in some plots, but it wasn't meeting our needs.  I love being able to sit down and create a custom system that works perfectly.  I didn't get the sprinkler system together this day, but it's still on the list.

On the kitchen front, I decided to try honey as a substitute for the maple syrup.  It turned out good, but not as crisp as the other version.  I did add more honey to the mixture because it wasn't binding well, so that probably contributed to the difference in cooking.  The taste test crew tried it after school, and thought that it was good.  It turned out crisp and slightly chewy, and they liked that and the honey flavor.  I may alternate the two.

I spent more time this day working on the knitted shawl.  I am getting closer to the end, and am anxious to complete the work and see how it turns out.  This Monday was a pretty mellow day without any excitement, except for Boots, one of the cats, hissing at me and taking off.  He didn't come back until late at night, when I heard Star, the other cat, fighting with him and driving him away.  I couldn't find him before bed, and expect he'll probably show up in the morning.