Mostly wasted day for me. Called Fedex to see when the headboard was due to be delivered, they say between noon and 2, probably. It was 10:30 and I could have gone shopping and gotten back by noon, but instead I played on the PC and with the cats. Fedex did not arrive until 4:10, and the guy dropped the big box , scanned it and took off like a shot. Brought it inside and saw why - the box was torn in several places, had water damage at the top corner, a triangle about 6" on a side. Took the headboard out and the part under that damage was crushed. Tubular part, takes a lot to bend it, and a foot of it was staved in.


Phoned Fedex, they said the company from which I bought it has a special arrangement with them to not accept returns. Went online at Hayneedle and applied for an return for a refund and a package pickup - there is no way I am bringing this monster anywhere.
That pretty much nuked my whole day. I did some online stuff looking for alternatives, but my heart was not in it. Finally went for a massage, and then shopping first at Lion then at Ranch 99 to get some items in the new crab cake recipe I didn't have. Neither of them had kafir lime leaves, so I made do with the dried ones I have.
Did not follow the recipe exactly because it seemed to be too much work for what I was making, so I basically threw the garlic, cilantro, cut long beans and chopped scallion into the cuisinart and chopped it all, threw in about 10 frozen shrimp and chopped some more, then added the crab and made a lovely greenish paste, then the limes leaves, red curry paste and egg whites. It looks like St Patricks Day seafood paste.
Heated my cast iron skillet with about an inch of oil, maybe 2, and plopped a spoonfull of paste in. The oil wasn't hot enough and I got lots of crab cake particles. Next batch was better, quit after I'd made a dozen. There is plenty more to make tomorrow.
They look like hell, but taste really good. The crab comes through,even with the curry and other stuff. I have enough crab for one more try, next one I'll just blend the shrimp and crab into a paste with the egg whites, and add the chopped stuff without bending it in. Probably just stick to some cilantro and scallion greens. And they really need to be flattened, not dolloped. Don't know when I'll try that, though.
Got another note on the door, the new owners will be drastically cutting back the apartment's office hours, making it not feasible to have packages delivered there anymore. Must look for a mailbox service.
Plans for tomorrow:
none. Hopefully it will be sunny and I'll play outside.