Monday

I stopped at Kroger's on the way home to pick up some carrots I had forgotten over the weekend. When I got home, I did my daily ritual, then changed clothes and headed out back. I weeded the areas around the patio: the herb gardens, the reflecting pool and the rest. When I had it all done, I had about 1/2 of the wheelbarrow full of weeds. They got trucked back to the compost heap and two shovels of dirt covered them up.

I forgot to mention this over the weekend, but at one point I did turn on the fountain (I love the splashing water sounds) but, after less than two hours, the splashing I love so much only resulted in an empty pool of water and a sucking sound from the pump. I must admit it, (and move on), the basin for the fountain is too small. I have got to come up with something else, I guess.

After weeding, I did take the blower and cleaned off the patio. It's looking really nice.

Now, back into the kitchen, I carefully measure the amount of chicken stock I have left (reserving the chicken I put in it last night to save in the fridge) and proceed accordingly. To the 16 cups of stock, I add 2 1/2 cups of diced yellow onions, 2 cups of sliced carrots, 2 cups of diced celery, a teaspoon of fresh chopped tarragon and three tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley. I bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it cook for about 5 minutes. I re-introduce the boned chicken and let it all cool down at this point.

I could have, of course, thrown in some egg noodles and finished this soup up right now. But, I want a thicker, more rustic noodle this time, so I have to make my own. However, it's after 8:00 PM already and I'm tired!

I fix a plate of tuna salad and go watch some TV. At 9:30 PM I checked and the pot is cool enough to go in the fridge. I decide I'm done for the night, turn off the TV and light and go to sleep.