I overslept this morning. I thought I’d had my alarm turned on for 5:30, so when i woke up at 5:22, I just tried to relax for a bit before the alarm went off, but it didn’t go off. It was 6 and I thought about getting out of bed and then decided against it. I think I’ve got a mild illness going on, and I decided to rest today instead of doing my regular walk and exercises.
I was also planning on getting to bed early tonight, but that didn’t end up happening because I forgot to do my second eye drop at noon so I needed to stay up a bit so I could get one at 5 and another around 8. So i decided I might as well try to make some fruit leather with the concord grapes that my friends gave me.
During my lunch hour, I spent some time sorting out the ones that had gotten moldy from the ones that were still good. I shouldn’t have left them on the counter all weekend. They’re in the fridge now. I haven’t quite finished sorting, but I’m got a good quantity out and ready to go for after work.
I didn’t call out sick because I’m not feeling that bad. Just bad enough. Lightheaded when I exercise or bend over. Really tired. A little congestion. I hope that I feel better by the weekend, because Saturday might be my last clear day to go hike Cuddy for a while. The snow is starting to accumulate up there. But if I do that, I’ll need to get started really early because I want to make it out to the Indian Valley craft fair before they stop at 4.
After work, I started on the grapes. I kind of wanted to skip the peeling and de-seeding, but I figured I should just do it. So I peeled a whole lot of grapes, and then cooked the insides until they were soft and strained them to get the seeds out. I think next time, I’ll want to cook a little bit longer. They hadn’t all broken down enough. Then I blended the insides with the skins in my blender. I took a break at that point to eat some chicken soup for dinner. Then I heated the mixture up on the stove until it had cooked down enough that when I swiped it with a spatula, it didn’t flow back.
The recipe I looked at online said to add sugar, but I didn’t. And I’m glad I didn’t, because this was so sweet when I licked the spatula. Insanely sweet, and just a bit tart. I spread it out on some parchment paper and set the dehydrator for 6 hours. Which might be too long or might not be long enough. I haven’t done this before. The mixture seemed pretty thick. I’ll have to see how it looks in the morning.
I also put a bunch of unprocessed grapes in the dehydrator at lunch. Raisins with seeds, everyone’s favorite, right? I’m just experimenting at this point. It’s all good. Ambrose would like that I’m experimenting. I’m glad that I’m finally using the dehydrator, even if it’s not for backpacking meals yet. That will come.
I skipped the hot springs tonight. Just didn’t feel up to going out. Plus if I’m getting lightheaded when I bend over, sitting in hot water might not be the best idea. If Ambrose were here to drive, that would be one thing, but he’s not.
I had read that some people said that year two was harder than year one when it comes to the grief. I think that’s because in year one everything is a big deal, and you’re kind of still numb, but also prepared for everything to feel so intense. Year two, you realize that this is going to keep on happening. Life keeps on going, and you’re going to keep on collecting birthdays and anniversaries without the one you love.
