Overcast

I woke up this morning and couldn’t see the building next to mine… the smoke and haze were so thick that it looked like a heavy fog that had settled everywhere.  The sky was a sulphuric yellow-grey, and there was a pervasive smell of smoke.  According to the weather, we’re still under thunderstorm and tornado warnings (not watches) and there’s still a possibility of storms overnight.  The electric company workers are currently on strike, so we’re all hoping for no power outages, as it could take a while for repairs to be done!  Jerry is agitated, for some unknown reason.  He’s growling at the door quite often, and when he’s on my lap he’s on alert.  There’s nobody in the hall, so I don’t know the reason for his unease.  He’s had to wear his “anti-barking” collar most of the day, just because he’s been making a lot of noise.  Don is good; he’s been watching sports for the past 2 days, so I’m about ready to pack him in the car and make him go out somewhere… do these games ever actually end?  Because I swear it’s been the same 2 teams playing for at least a week now.  Bo-ring!  I’m really not a sports lover, although I can fake my way through a conversation fairly easily 😏

I’m slowly adding food to my day, although it’s still nowhere near what my dietitian would like me to be consuming!  Somehow it’s easier to add a slice of cake or a cup of ice cream than a serving of, say, potatoes or an extra slice of bread.  I’ll just add whatever I feel like eating, and we’ll build up to something normal-ish.  Last night I made some French toast, and found that 2 slices of bread was too much… so today I had a scrambled egg and a slice of toast, and still struggled a bit to finish it.  I have a friend who contends that 1 egg is an insufficient serving, but I’ve been doing that for years.  Now, though, finishing one seems like a huge challenge.  

Does anyone besides me think that it’s ridiculous that young adults — in their mid- to late-twenties— don’t know how to cook even something as basic as a fried egg?  It’s so bizarre to me!  When we were kids — what’s now called “tweens” — each of us was assigned to cook dinner one night a week for the family.  My brother, who went into the restaurant and hospitality industry, we used to call “Chef Pierre” (after the character in the Richie Rich comics) because he would go all out to prepare “gourmet” meals.  Well, for a teen, anyway, which included homemade pizzas with individual toppings and that sort of thing.  One sister liked to decorate her foods, and would do some elaborate salad presentations — I’m thinking of the time she made little coconut palm decorations out of carrots and bell peppers— and would finish off her dishes with garnishes.  Since my mother passed, she took over cooking at home, mostly, and still likes making fiddly things like devilled eggs often.  My youngest sister went in for cakes in particular, and I went in for trying international dishes.  All of us cook “regular” meals in addition to our preferences, and my elder niece is turning into a good cook as well.  My preference is still for dishes that can be served family style, and I tend to avoid anything that requires a lot of detail — like making dumplings — except on limited occasions.  All that being said, I’d asked my substitute worker to make me a scrambled egg today, and I had to stand next to her to explain how to cook it!  She’d never learnt.  I don’t want to seem to judge, but I can’t help but wonder why parents don’t pass on these very necessary skills to their children?  This isn’t a school issue, this falls clearly into the role of the home.  I understand being busy and overwhelmed, but little children do enjoy doing things with their parents, and learning how to cook, stir sauces, scrape bowls, etc., so having them in the kitchen should be a normal thing, right?  That’s how I learnt, how my nieces and nephews learnt, and I imagine how the world’s great chefs started!

Is this a sign of my privileged life?  Or is it reasonable to expect parents to teach their children certain life skills at home?  Instead of the all-too-common complaints that “nobody taught me this in school” I think it’s more accurate to say, “I was too lazy to learn!” But as to things like cooking, doing laundry, balancing a bank account, changing a lightbulb, etc, those should all be osmotically absorbed around the home!  Meaning that they should be taught and then maintained by example from adults to children.  It’s dreadful for anyone to not be able to cook enough to feed themselves.  

OK, that’s my grouse for tonight.  It’s medication and play with the puppy time… chemo isn’t for a while yet, but I’m due for my other pills 20 minutes ago… I’m off.  Good night!