Dave and his students got on their way to Belgium yesterday without too much trouble. Last I heard from him they were at dinner in their hotel, so apparently everyone is accounted for and in one piece.
There was a minor hiccup when one of his co-workers came to my desk around noon and said, "Fancy making a run to St. Pancras?" Turns out one of the students left the bow for his violin behind, and obviously you can't do much with a violin if you don't have a bow. They were all at the train station waiting to board the Eurostar and I could catch them if I left right away.
So I did, taking two tube lines before getting there with time to spare and dropping off the bow. (Incidentally, a bow is a very awkward thing to carry, especially if you don't have a violin case.)
The things I do for love.
Otherwise, yesterday was quiet in the library. I checked in and shelved a cart full of books about Ancient Rome that the 6th Grade had been using, and the Middle School librarian needs me to pull another cart load of books today. Plus I have a spreadsheet of statistics (of course) I'm trying to compile for the head librarian. So I have plenty to do, even with half of the school gone.
As for food, I haven't resorted to peanut butter yet. Dave left a chicken carcass in the refrigerator, the remnants of our dinners on Sunday and Monday, so I picked that clean last night and made chicken salad. It was not very complicated -- I threw in some left over parsley and some mayonnaise, of course. Does that count as cooking? To me it does.
(Photo: A fly on a daffodil in the garden. The insects are starting to move around more and more.)
Well done on your rescue mission....and a nice change to be out and about somewhere different!
ReplyDeleteHmm...not cooking...but it does count as catering!!
Only if I were also providing chicken salad to other people! :)
DeleteWith the knowledge that Dave was going away, I was a little disturbed by your headline. But all is well.
ReplyDeleteDon't leap to conclusions! LOL
DeleteMr Reed to the rescue. What a lovely story. I live alone and cook most nights in a small kind of way. It never takes very long but some nights I prepare sandwiches and I don't think of that as any different. Either way, I am preparing my meal.
ReplyDeleteI see cooking the same way you do.
DeleteLucky the group had plenty of time before the train departed so that Superman Steve could leap to the rescue.
ReplyDeleteIf only I could fly! That would have made the trip easier.
DeleteDoes the "spreadsheet of statistics" concern all your coffee and toilet breaks? I can see why The Boss would require such evidence. As for the bow - other passengers on the tube trains must have been puzzled. Perhaps they assumed you were heading to Bow Street.
ReplyDeleteI had it sort of in a bag, but it protruded from the top. I'm not sure anyone could tell what it was. You see a lot of weird stuff on the tube, though, so probably no one thought anything of it.
DeleteYou picked apart a chicken carcass and made a salad? That is absolutely cooking! We just had chicken salad (made from a carcass) the other day. SG adds almonds, grapes, and cranberries, all because I had it that way at a restaurant and loved it. My first thought when you told about your run to the station was, That’s love. Take a bow. I mean a bow. Well, you know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteThat IS sound like good chicken salad, with grapes, nuts and cranberries. I've had that at restaurants too. Too ambitious for me to make at home, though! LOL
DeleteWithout a bow, the player could have played everything pizzicato! You do carry some weird stuff about.
ReplyDeleteThat's not quite cooking but you got a good meal, so it counts.
Is that when the strings are plucked? Yeah, that's about the only other action available to a bowless violin player.
DeleteIt must have been a bit strange to see man carrying just a violin bow and no actual instrument.
ReplyDeleteAs a person who cooks, and loves to cook, I say anytime you take various ingredients and mix them together and eat them, you have cooked.
I'm with you!
DeleteYour chicken salad sounds complicated. I usually just open up a can of tinned chicken already diced. But I do usually boil a few eggs to add to my chicken salad along with some diced sweet onion and dill pickle.
ReplyDeleteHa! OK, I'm glad I've met someone who cooks on a similar level! Something about eating eggs and chicken together grosses me out, I don't know why.
DeleteI think I would feel awkward wandering around with a violin bow and no violin too:) Glad you made it in time.
ReplyDeletePlus I had it in a cloth bag which didn't give it any support. Thank goodness it was a short trip.
DeleteGood for you - saving the day with that bow rescue! Eat what you want - now's your chance!
ReplyDeleteExactly! Seize the moment!
DeleteA bow adventure! Mr. Reed saves the day!
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter if you turn on a stove or not. Creating a meal from ingredients is cooking in my opinion. And who cares how you feed yourself? No one's business but yours.
I agree! Any time ingredients come together, it counts.
DeleteI wonder if I would have spent my time on the tube pretending to play a violin with that bow? I would hope not because I would either put my eye out or the stranger's sitting next to me. Ha!
ReplyDeleteIt would have made for some intriguing performance art, though. LOL
DeleteI Am Pretty Sure That Olga Girl Just Loves Chicken Thats Picked From A Cold Carcass There Brother Man - Good On You For Delivering The Bow - Thanx For Making A Difference
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Your Evening ,
Cheers
Oh, she got some, don't worry!
DeleteYes, chicken salad does count as cooking. Good job! Running to catch the tube with a violin bow in hand had to be tricky. Glad you got it there in time.
ReplyDeleteI never literally RAN with it for fear of falling and breaking it!
DeleteChicken and parsley and mayonnaise barely counts as chicken salad but kudos for picking the carcass clean. I hate to do that. And you were an all round good guy getting the bow to that kid.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was a minimalist approach to chicken salad, for sure.
DeleteYou certainly did your good deed for the day getting that bow to the train station! Take a bow!
ReplyDeleteYour chicken salad needed a bit of celery and onion, and a sprinkle of tarragon, but as long as it filled your stomach, well, that's supper done for one night. Seriously...make a salad. Pick up some greens on the way home. My salad are disgustingly huge, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, cheese, dried cranberries. I also like to throw some sauteed tofu in. Quick and easy. And if you add the tofu, you can claim that you cooked supper. (Disclaimer: I cook a meal for Tim every single night.)
Take a bow! I wish I'd thought of that.
DeletePutting together a salad does count as cooking in my world! That was kind of you to deliver the bow. Plucking the strings is only good for certain musical passages!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there are any musical pieces that consist entirely of plucking? I bet there are.
DeleteYou're a good man, Steve. I would have been afraid of breaking the bow. And yes... that's cooking.
ReplyDeleteI was afraid of that! I treated it very gently.
DeleteNice rescue! A violin without a bow is a big problem.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how he forgot it in the first place!
DeleteHey! You're not to the peanut butter & bean offering yet, so that's progress! Given where you live I'll bet there's takeaway on your way home? :)
ReplyDeleteThere is, but I am generally not a fan of takeaway or ready meals. It's the saltiest, fattiest food a person can eat, and plus all that packaging!
DeleteYeah, you're right about the salt & grease, we just don't want you to starve. :)
DeletePicking a carcass is so tedious. But, at least you had dinner.
ReplyDeleteYep, and I do love chicken salad, so that's a good thing.
DeleteYou definitely made a meal. Who cares if you cooked? Cooking is overrated! Meals don't have to be complicated.
ReplyDeleteYou did a good thing with that bow. It makes a great story, too :)
When things like that happen to me I always think, "Well, it's blog fodder!"
DeleteNice one my man.
ReplyDeleteThe bow? The chicken salad? In either case I'll take it. :)
DeletePasta, Steve, pasta!
ReplyDeleteAll we have is lasagna! And yes, I could shop, but part of my objective when Dave goes away is to eat down the oversupply of staples that he routinely buys, so I usually stick to what we have.
DeleteSome mayo and parsley with chicken counts as cooking to me, and that's definitely better than p.b. and beans. Good job getting the bow to the violin. I'm sure your efforts were appreciated.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Yes, the kid was very happy!
DeleteI have cooked chicken in the freezer and may just copy your salad idea for tomorrow.
ReplyDelete