July 24, 2025

Today I did some more cooking. I tried cooking the black beans I had soaked the night before, but it was a little difficult in the electric cooker. I may have boiled them too long, but I did eventually get them soft enough.

Today, we mostly relaxed. I did some more cooking. We had some vegetables from the community farm, and I also had some cabbage from the store. I also cooked some beans, which I had been soaking from the night before. It was a little tricky in the electric skillet, but I managed to make them edible. I fear I may have boiled them for too long, however, as they were a bit too tough. But lesson learned. I used to make my beans in the instant pot, which was much easier, but I’ll learn how to make this method work too. I then sauteed some cabbage and made another rice and beans dish. It was pretty good!

We also had a visit from the furniture person, who inspected the cabinets. He did some work on them, I think some fine adjustments, but I am not sure. He also was able to add some sealant to some of the walls and doorways, as there were some gaps. Hopefully this helps reduce the amount of bugs that get in.

Throughout the afternoon, Sophie and I both felt weird. This has been a big change, and I think we are still adjusting. For a lot of it, I had the feeling whee I felt I needed to do something, but I was not sure what I wanted to do. Hopefully, as we adjust and get more integrated into the community and country, this feeling will fade.

I did manage to get some laundry done, though, which was good. My mom had given us these awesome detergent strips, which are super lightweight and compact. They work great, and it is so nice to have a way to do laundry! Thanks, Mom! We’ll get detergent from the store eventually, but it is so nice to have these so there is one less thing to worry about.

[No pictures, today, sorry!]