Sunday Update - Week 9

It was a week. 

Let's see...

I got the edit notes and pinked up pages for Early Grave.  And I sat right down and started them.  Then I fell off the gumption train and haven't touched them since.  Oh, there wasn't anything in the edit notes that made me not want to do them.  They're very good notes and exactly what this book needs.  I'm just lazy.  And I still have 13 days.  Watch me scramble around that last week.  I'll be like a squirrel after it's had a dozen cups of coffee.  Weeeee.

I finished Shogun.  I ultimately gave it 4 stars because the ending just sorta happened and then there was like a three paragraph wrap-up of stuff that didn't actually get addressed in the book.  :shrug:  It was worth the read, if you have the time to blow on a huge book.  After that, I started The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin - a YA (MG?) fantasy.  I'm almost done with that.  Another 4-star read.  I had a really tough time getting into it, mainly because I was subconsciously comparing it with another book set at a school for magical kids and partly because of the profusion of dialogue tags (which my AWE would've joyfully kicked my lily-white butt for... and has.)  Anyway, I'll be done with that this morning.  Then I might skip to an old crime paperback to wash my brain out before I dive into the second book in a different fantasy series I bought.  We'll see.

I went fishing once, to no avail.  Saw some neat stuff - like the gar I mentioned Thursday and some eagles.

Got the leaf-litter off all the burgeoning spring plants.  My peonies are going like gangbusters.  Holy cow there were a lot of pink shoots poking up through the ground at three peony clusters.   The fourth?  It's planted toward the shady side of the bed, so it's always playing catch-up with the others.  The irises are also going crazy.  I meant to separate the bulbs last fall, but I didn't and they're pretty choked up in their beds.  Loads of pretty, green shoots.  We'll see whether they bloom. I still have to clean the leaves out from under the azaleas and from in the shade bed.  Today maybe. 

Yesterday I made a huge pot of chili.  This time I did some things a little different.  I used three different types of beans and I also added steak chunks.  Yummers.  That's a keeper.  The recipe goes like this...

1 can kidney beans (dark or light, your preference)
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/3 packet mild chili seasoning mix
1 beef bouillon cube
1 medium onion chopped (into about 1/2-3/4" pieces)
1 lb burger
1/4 pound round steak (cut into cubes)
salt, pepper, onion powder to taste
2T olive oil

Dump all the canned items into a crock pot (5-qt?).  Stir in chili seasonings and bouillon cube.  Set the crock pot on high and leave it.  Put the olive oil in a large sauce pan on medium high.  Add onions.  When they start to clarify, add in the ground beef.  Cook until the beef is browned.  Dump the mixture into the crock pot.  Put the steak bits into the sauce pan you just used.  Brown those and then dump them into the crock pot.  Put the lid on the crock pot and leave it, stirring about once an hour and tasting along the way.  Add in salt, pepper, and onion powder as needed to get the taste you like.  After about 5 hours, serve.  I serve mine with crackers, shredded cheese, and corn chips.  Mmmm.  The black beans added a nice flavor and the steak bits were a lovely addition. 

And that's my week that was.  What happened in your week?