Harper Kingsley blog

THE GRAYby Harper Kingsley

The color drained out of the world on a Thursday. Drips and dabs absorbed into a swirl of gray until there was nothing left of pinks and blue and yellows and LIGHT.

Everything became gray.

Everyone became gray.

The joy and the laughter, slipped and slid, and was washed away by the gray.

It’s hard to laugh when everything is gray. When you look at your skin and it’s lifeless and sad in its hues. When you look at the sky and the trees and the earth, and they’re all gray.

When images on the TV become motions of gray, and the canned laughter rings out, hollow and obvious in its fakery.

The color drained out of the world, and the emotion drained out of the people. Shoulders slumped, mouths tugged down, and it was hard to walk without feeling as though gravity was so much heavier and hard to bear.

And that no one was laughing, no one was joyous, it made it sadder and more real.

Nobody knew how it had happened. Scientists and crackpots alike scrambled to explain the CURSE that had been laid on the Earth, that had sapped the color out of existence and turned everything to gray.

And people tried to go on living, but it was hard. Because those that already struggled with sadness had NOTHING to lighten the mood, and those that were usually happy could no longer taste of the joy that had once sustained them.

People tried to live on. To go about their days and their jobs and their nights were spent sobbing into their pillows, trickles of gray tears that brought no relief from the overwhelemingness of it all.

The world had become gray, every bit of it. More than a lack of color could describe.

It was as though something had been taken from the world. And birds had ceased to sing, and eventually they stopped flying.

And animals and people laid down where they stood, and they never got up again.

The gray was all consuming.

And unforgiving.

=THE END=

~Harper Kingsley
https://www.harperkingsley.net/blog
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https://paypal.me/harperkingsley
https://kimichee.com.
https://patreon.com/harperkingsley.
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Today started out okay then quickly become a downer day… So much drama yesterday and the bad feelings spilled over into today and sometimes I just want to bury my head and not have to take part in any of it.

I’m tired.

I went from enthusiastically planning out segments for "Drive-By Darkstar" (there’s a whole thing where a porn company is making pseudo-Darkstar porn, and Darkstar is like "Wot’s this?" and decides to stick his nose in to see what’s happening, and the fake-Darkstar wears a mask and bodysuit that makes him look like a gaussian blur on film and it seemed like it would be really funny and not super skeezy or dirty) to sitting here with sloped shoulders feeling like it’s the end of the world.

It’s hard to be happy when you’re the emotional punching bag of the people around you. Like, one day you’re going to knock me down and I’m not going to get up again.

So instead of kooky Darkstar stories, you’re all about to get a load of sad shit because that’s all I feel right now.

Sad.

~Harper Kingsley
https://www.harperkingsley.net/blog
https://twitter.com/harperkingsley0
https://paypal.me/harperkingsley
https://kimichee.com.

Take a piece of meat. Lightly brown it on all sides. Don’t burn it; scrape any bits that stick, they’ll add flavor to the gravy.

In the same pan, add a few centimeters of water and cover. Lower heat to a simmer. (You’ll hear it cooking, but it’s not trying to splatter its way out of the pan and isn’t likely to have all the liquid steamed away.) Most stoves: Low heat.

Flip the meat a few times during the course of cooking it. If it starts running out of water, add a bit more.

The cook time is dependent on the thickness of the meat, the amount of meat, your personal tastes. If you want it rare, medium-rare, or medium, use a meat thermometer to reach your choice doneness. Remove the meat from the pan and let rest. (If you don’t rest the meat and let it cool, all the juice will drain out when you cut it.)

• About 15-30 minutes before the meat is done, you can add some peeled and halved potatoes to simmer with the meat. You’ll probably have to add a bit more water and flavoring.

If you want a softer meat, keep simmering it until it falls apart when you pick at it with a fork.

• When your meat is close to doneness, microwave some frozen vegetables. Either serve sprinkled with salt or give them a toss through the gravy. (The microwaving with not much water will cook the vegetables while retaining their nutrients.)

Add some cold water to some cornstarch or flour, enough that it becomes a pourable liquid. Stir it into the meat juices and let it simmer a minute, then shut off the heat. You should end up with a thick enough gravy.

• Slice up the resting meat and either plate it or swipe it through the gravy. Spoon some more gravy on top of the meat.

Combos:
1. Meat and potatoes with gravy, with a side of vegetables.

1. Meat and vegetables topped with gravy, maybe served with some crusty bread.
2. Use the meat, potatoes, vegetables, and gravy in a pot pie.
3. Use the leftover gravy to eat on toast, or mashed potatoes, or on egg noodles.

If you make enough, save some meat to slice thin for sandwiches the next day. Might be good on steak rolls with an au jus sauce and French fries.

I might sprinkle the meat with salt and/or I’ll add some bouillon. I have to be careful because my dad has a tendency to feed the dog scraps, otherwise onion, garlic, and black pepper tastes great. Same with celery (dog safe), bell pepper, carrot (dog safe), peas (dog safe), green beans (dog safe), corn (dog safe), tomatoes (dog safe), mushrooms (dog safe), dill (dog safe), basil (dog safe), paprika, turnip (dog safe), cooked beans (dog safe), okra (dog safe), parsnips (dog safe), parsley (dog safe), broccoli (dog safe), zucchini (dog safe), lentils (dog safe), cooked millet (dog safe), cabbage (dog safe), bok choy (dog safe)…

There’s a few things–mostly favored spices–that dogs should not be fed. And you should definitely keep a close watch on the amount of salt. But for the most part, dogs can benefit from a diet containing vegetables, beans, and non-wheat grain (barley, oats, rice).

Sometimes it’s kind of a hassle, as I really like garlic and soy sauce and crushed red pepper, but the dog is just so happy to be eating with his people. And he’s getting older, so the vegetables and added nutrients are really better for him than some of the canned foods out there that are really just doggy junk food.

I would also make food for the cats, but they are very spoiled and demand their specific brands. It’s not worth it to fight them, as every cat owner knows a cat is more stubborn than a dog is in the face of their hunger.

A dog will gratefully eat. A cat will slink away to pout under a bed or in a box.

And if you have excess meat and no animal friend to help you eat it… You can add sliced meat to a freezer safe container or a ziploc bag and cover it with gravy. Let it cool in the fridge before freezing. When you want to eat it, microwave the meat in the gravy and serve on top of mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice.

Just chop up a couple of green onions and stir into the heated gravy. Or add a dab of cream to give the gravy a Swedish meatball-flavor.