Clean Up

I am cooking again, already, first thing in my day. This makes it two days in a row where I have cooked for dinner, two days where I have had company over to eat with me. This is a good thing. The only downside is the time and energy it takes to prepare food, whatever it may be.

This morning I tried desperately to get up earlier than usual so I could have extra time to make the ribs we are having for dinner. I do them in the slow cooker. First I chop up some onion for the bottom of the cooker, then I add a can of pork and beans. After that I cut up the ribs into serving size pieces and brown them under the broiler in my oven. The ribs go into the slow cooker and a full bottle of barbeque sauce goes over top. Then they cook for about 6 hours before they become a delicious dinner.

Getting up early did not go so well. I simply could not force myself out of bed before 11:30 AM; this is after going to bed at 11:00 PM last night. Of course when I went to bed I couldn't get to sleep. It happens fairly often these days, that sleep is slow in coming. At midnight I had to get up and use the bathroom. This happens every once in a while, that I finally get to where I might sleep and my body says "Oh no you don't."

For most people, getting up at night is a mere inconvenience. For me it can be a real adventure. On the plus side, when this particular adventure finally ended, I was well and truly ready for sleep. It was 12:30 AM.

All of this is to say I have Barbeque Pork Ribs in the slow cooker, bubbling away for tonight's dinner. This might seem like a good thing but I can even find a cloud for this silver lining. I have a new care giver, a lovely young lady building a life here in Canada after escaping the terror and war of Somalia and the strife taking hold in Kenya. Unfortunately she is a Muslim.

Her religious beliefs are of no matter to me; we are all entitled to believe what we want to believe. At least I can rest assured that she will not attempt to convert me, or I hope so. The problem is with the kitchen, and in particular with doing the dishes from my cooking. They have pork on them. It will be a new lesson for me in cross cultural care; probably for her too. At least Kate, Mike, and Liz are coming for dinner. They can clean up if it has to be that way.