I've been without a spouse since Monday and my youngest was away this week (and his girlfriend) which has meant that the house had only three humans and three dogs in it. Half the number of last week - humans that is, not dogs.
There are some very real advantages to having less people in the house. Mostly it's how neat the house stays. I tidy in the morning and, apart from dog toys strewn around the lounge room, the house stays that way. No dishes in the sink apart from the ones I leave there. Cushions stay exactly where they're placed and there's very little washing to do. Which is just as well because we're smack bang in the middle of a low weather system. It's going to be a fun, wet 28k tomorrow.
But despite the positives - and I really do love a tidy house that stays tidy - there's been something that I haven't coped with at all well this week. Cooking for a small number. I've been cooking for five or more people for almost 22 years and having to cook for just two (Serena works nights) is an almost impossible concept. Two people can not eat four cups of rice for dinner. And last night's soup could have fed most of the homeless this side of the city. Just as well it's good soup weather cause we'll be eating it for days to come.
I have no idea what's going to happen once Iven and I finally have an empty house. I may have to branch out and buy lots of new cookbooks that have 'cooking for two' on their cover.
The other issue I've had is that the baked goods on my bench are not disappearing at their usual rate. There is the very real chance that they might go mouldy!! What a waste of caramel mud cupcakes that would be. And brownies. And those peanut butter blondies. This is probably the thing about being an empty-nester that scares me the most - not having the opportunity or the excuse to bake as much. I'm going to have to find another outlet to palm off all my baking when that happens because not baking is not an option!
Luckily, though, I don't have to worry about that this weekend. I have a birthday to bake for. A cake to create.
The plan is a triple layer chocolate cake with peanut butter/cream cheese filling and lots of peanut butter/peanut/chocolate goodness on top. I've even bought the ingredients to try to make peanut brittle.
Maybe a little like this
Don't call the fire brigade if you smell burning from our house - it'll just be a ruined saucepan full of burnt sugar. Yes, there's a very real chance of a cooking disaster after a 28k run. The weird cakes that I made last Sunday are still fresh in my mind.
And talking of 28k runs - it kind of blows my mind that this is the shortest distance that I'm going to run on a Saturday for the next couple of months. Next week I go up to 32k. Woohoo! (she says with a certain amount of trepidation). Experience tells me that I don't have to worry about the increases though. My only job is to just run the run in front of me. And to not think too much about it before I do. Yes, the distances might be daunting but they're do-able.
And there's some very real advantages to running long distances every week. All the licking of those wooden spoons and beaters doesn't have such a negative effect on the waistline.