Monday

 Hi Natty!  How ya doin'?  I hope all is peachy for you over there, and you're having tons of fun.  It's Monday over here for me, and it's been a busy day.  I don't really keep a journal, I'm not that type of person.  I just need to say something to my loved one, so this blog is as good as it gets to a journal.  There is a lot I don't talk about, you're just going to have to marry me to get the details.  Anyway, I had to run some errands in the morning.  I bought some salted fish for my mother, and more potatoes for myself.  I didn't get takeout for lunch, I just ate some leftover fried rice when I got back.  The weather was very pleasant today, thank You ya Allah.  It was so comfortable.  I cut the grass in the evening, so I bought chicken and India style rice at the night market for dinner.  I think you would like this stuff, Natty.  My cats love it.  Anyway it's time to do wardrobe for Mary's avatar, then I have to rebuild my bass drum again.  This will be the 3rd rebuild, I'm so fussy!  Plus I find it very enjoyable.  I love you!

Plus, you don't have to cut the grass!

 

Wow Natty, that looks like a gorgeous place to be.  Are you mad at me?  Please don't be mad at me, I always pray that Allah gives you the best and easy life, and I work hard towards that end.  I actually envy you: I want to be a beautiful woman too!

But I'm not, so I have to cut the grass.  See that photo above?  That's less than 2 weeks growth.  I'm always cutting the grass!  But I had a nice dinner just now, alhamdulillah.  I bought a packet of spaghetti yesterday, and I really wanted to try out that marinara sauce.  Oh it's so simple Natty, but simple is best!  I fried up some of my home made halal beef sausage then added the marinara sauce to make the spaghetti sauce.  Plus, I have plenty of mozzarella cheese right now.  My baked spaghetti was a success!  Want some?

Qur'an 20210711

 In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

119.  Ah!  You are those who love them but they love you not, though you believe in the whole of the Book, when they meet you they say, "We believe," but when they are alone they bite the very tips of their fingers at you in their rage.  Say, "Perish in your rage: Allah knows well all the secrets of the heart."

120.  If aught that is good befalls you it grieves them, but if some misfortune overtakes you they rejoice at it.  But if you are constant and do right, not the least harm will their cunning do to you, for Allah compasses round about all that they do.

(The Family of Imran 3:119-120)

Just an average day

 Hi Natty!  How are you today?  Is everything going well for you?  I hope so.  Not much going on here today, just the usual.  I did some shopping for my mother in the morning.  In the evening, I cleaned out my oven in preparation for the Great Pizza Day.  It's not a great oven, just a toaster oven.  I obviously can't fit a big pizza in there, nor fully cook one.  I just use it to melt the cheese, and cook the sausage topping.  A long time ago, Doutzen peed on the door of the oven.  Doutzen was Lookie's sister.  Yeah, I named her after the Dutch model Doutzen Krous.  Let's see, I have a snapshot...

She's the kitty on the left, Lookie on the right.  I guess Doutzen had a low opinion of my oven.  So do I actually, but we make do with what we have.  I lost Doutzen a few years ago.  She was in heat so I let her outside to find a mate, and the humans took her life.  Anyway I cleaned the pee off of course, but it left a lasting rust scar on the oven door.

Dinner was a cheeseburger and fries.  Nice and simple, but I added the marinara sauce I will be using onto the burger.  Nice and simple sauce, with big tomato chunks.  Anyway, it's almost time for the sunset prayer.  I'm looking forward to working some more on my drum.  I love you!

The big deal

 

Hi Natty!  How are you feeling?  You must be quite pleased and all excited about your interview.  Great going, Honey!  Now I'm sorry if I kill your buzz, but there's something I need to advise you.  Please don't boast about how modest you are because it means that you're not.  That was cute, though!

Ah, the mighty cable tie.  Since I can't afford a real drum set, I had to turn an old plastic water reservoir into a bass drum.  I bought a 20 inch drum head and managed to fit it on top of the big plastic bucket.  I didn't have means to attach tension rods but I did find some tension hooks at the hardware store, probably meant for pitching tents.  That and a lot of cable ties, and I acquired a really mean sounding bass drum!  I was so scared to play it because it sounded so monstrous, and I might invoke the wrath of my mother next door.  Anyway, I snagged the tension hooks to the edge of the drum head and now it's warped and I have to rebuild it.  I found something to use as a drum hoop which I can snag the tension hook to, which came off a dead 20 inch fan cage.  It has a sharp edge though, which cut through the cable ties.  But I think I found a solution to that, so I'm enjoying this bass drum build.  I used to grumble to myself about not having quality equipment, but now I don't seem to care anymore because finding and creating solutions to musical equipment is a lot of dang fun.  Even when the money comes inshaAllah, I don't think I would ever make a purchase if I can rig something up instead.  Be this a lesson to musical instrument makers: find your endorsements, don't force them to come to you.  Especially in my case mashaAllah.

I'm proud of you

 Hi Natty!  I heard your podcast interview!  Your knowledge of sustainable materials is impressive, I didn't know any of it.  You're going to do absolutely great, Honey.  InshaAllah.  Go ahead and be a star.  I love you.

About today's show folks, there was someone already there on the karaoke board when we logged in.  By the time Mary put her name on the board, that somebody was still there and mumbling into the microphone.  Poor Mary has to behave like a lady 24/7, so she waited until that other person took her name off the board.  Meanwhile, Mary could sing into the other stream that we use.  But then we started to have Internet problems.  No it wasn't the ISP, it was the Internet that cut Mary off.  We managed to stream and log back into Second Life again, and I got sick of waiting for that other person so I told Mary to tell her if she's not going to sing then Mary will.  Without waiting for a reply, I switched on the karaoke stream.  Mary has to behave like a lady, but I have no qualms about behaving like a jerk in this situation.  If you want to compete then compete, you know what I mean?  Don't be a loser without even trying.

Sweet tomato

 

Hi Natty!  How are you, Honey?  I hope you are feeling calm and relaxed.  It's almost time for the Great Pizza Day!  I went shopping in the morning for ingredients.  I have to start prepping now so on the big day, all I have to do is put the pizza together.  Food prep isn't what it used to be for me.  What I used to accomplish in one work morning now takes me weeks to do, and in far less quantities.  But I'm so grateful I don't work in a restaurant anymore.  Tomorrow I will make the marinara sauce and my home made halal beef sausage inshaAllah.  I have a different approach for marinara sauce this time: I want big chunks of tomatoes in there, so it can easily fill up the deep dish.  Sometimes I can find Roma tomatoes, but not today.  I found the regular round ones, and not that great either.  But the cherry tomatoes looked marvelous and only slightly more expensive, so it looks like I'm making my marinara sauce with cherry tomatoes.

I still have some chicken liver left, and I need to use it up.  I also had some leftover steamed rice, so it was chicken liver fried rice for dinner.  The liver seasoning was only turmeric and salt, and I fried that up with the garlic until it almost disintegrated.  Then I added the rice and all the other stuff.  I normally prefer light and refreshing fried rice while liver is a heavy flavor, but the rice turned out quite successful.  A very dainty result.  I must remember this approach.  You wanna try some?