Yesterday I read The 50 Things Project and decided to give it a try. I have been collecting things lately, a pastime when I am feeling stressed out. Maybe compulsion is a better word. But the time has come to, once again, purge. The object of the project is to "Just get rid of fifty things that are serving no purpose in your life." When Kate described this, I get the impression she was talking about stuff around the house and yard, but I am hoping to get rid of less tangible things, too, like maybe a lousy attitude about something or other. So, for the next few weeks, look for my list of 50 things, which will start tomorrow.
I just began cleaning out my closet, because a friend handed me down some beautiful suits I couldn't pass up. Since that was last week, though, I won't count my beginning closet emptying as one or more of the 50 things. One of the things I am the happiest about is a little purse that I have gotten much use out of, but that is becoming frayed and is actually too small for my needs. I have kept it more for sentimental reasons than anything else. Goodbye!
Also this past week I posted like 20 books on paperbackswap.com, where I trade books. Already I have had requests to send out 4 books--a great way to get rid of stuff. The only drawback is that I tend to order and receive as many books as I send out, so it may not actually be in the spirit of The 50 Things Project. Although, in all honesty, I do use some of them as gifts. It is, however, nice to realize I don't need to hang on to every book on my shelves. Now, I won't count the previously posted books from paperbackswap as one or some of my 50 things, but other books I find new homes or uses for I will count.
Wish me well on my journey. Would any of you care to join me on your own?
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Full Swing into Autumn
The wedding is all over, except for the leftover food and napkins, and it's good to be through it. Rhiannon was a beautiful bride, and tears sprang to my eyes when I saw Kyle standing in front of his family and all of us, waiting for his wife-to-be to join him for the ceremony. I am happy to have a new son-in-law and the bonus of a first grandchild.
Autumn has arrived in full force, with our first frost this past weekend. I have denuded the pumpkin patch and have much garden clean-up to do. Leaves are blazing and the furnace is keeping the house cozy. Egg production is a little bit down. Rain and warmer weather has set in, so outside chores are a bit different and inside cooking is turning to comfort foods. I enjoy this time of year.
My good friend and walking partner of sorts texted me the other night asking if I have a good recipe for zucchini bread and do I want some. I said yes, thinking she meant bread (but she didn't), and became the proud possessor of 2 huge zucchini. Now, I have some summer squash left to eat from my own garden--I made sure to pick it small and tender. These whoppers take a little more effort! The first one I stuffed with, well, stuffing. It was good, and lasted through one dinner and a number of lunches. Allan suggested the second be prepared like eggplant parmesan at Olive Garden. Here's what I did: I sliced the zucchini into rounds, breaded the slices, and pan fried them. I put them in the oven for 20 minutes. While this was going on I prepared a nice red sauce from tomato paste, water, onion, garlic, and spices. All was going well, but I didn't really like the donut-shaped zucchini patties. I ended up stuffing them with leftover ham from the wedding. I layered everything in a pan with sauce, parmesan and shredded mozerella. It was a hit with all those who would try zucchini.
In preparing for the holidays, I generally cut out sugary treats around Halloween and stay away from them until well after the first of the year. With the stress of the wedding and other things going on, I turned to food as usual. I have taken off 24 pounds this year through counting calories (and staying at a certain level) and upping the exercise a bit, and need to continue losing, but am at a plateau which is not being helped by my less-than-helpful choices. So I started the first phase of the South Beach plan, which is sort of a cleanse of the no-sugar-no-starches variety. This is helping me stay away from the goodies! I already feel better with more veggies and less junk in my system.
What do you do to prepare for the holidays? What are your favorite autumn foods and activities?
Autumn has arrived in full force, with our first frost this past weekend. I have denuded the pumpkin patch and have much garden clean-up to do. Leaves are blazing and the furnace is keeping the house cozy. Egg production is a little bit down. Rain and warmer weather has set in, so outside chores are a bit different and inside cooking is turning to comfort foods. I enjoy this time of year.
My good friend and walking partner of sorts texted me the other night asking if I have a good recipe for zucchini bread and do I want some. I said yes, thinking she meant bread (but she didn't), and became the proud possessor of 2 huge zucchini. Now, I have some summer squash left to eat from my own garden--I made sure to pick it small and tender. These whoppers take a little more effort! The first one I stuffed with, well, stuffing. It was good, and lasted through one dinner and a number of lunches. Allan suggested the second be prepared like eggplant parmesan at Olive Garden. Here's what I did: I sliced the zucchini into rounds, breaded the slices, and pan fried them. I put them in the oven for 20 minutes. While this was going on I prepared a nice red sauce from tomato paste, water, onion, garlic, and spices. All was going well, but I didn't really like the donut-shaped zucchini patties. I ended up stuffing them with leftover ham from the wedding. I layered everything in a pan with sauce, parmesan and shredded mozerella. It was a hit with all those who would try zucchini.
In preparing for the holidays, I generally cut out sugary treats around Halloween and stay away from them until well after the first of the year. With the stress of the wedding and other things going on, I turned to food as usual. I have taken off 24 pounds this year through counting calories (and staying at a certain level) and upping the exercise a bit, and need to continue losing, but am at a plateau which is not being helped by my less-than-helpful choices. So I started the first phase of the South Beach plan, which is sort of a cleanse of the no-sugar-no-starches variety. This is helping me stay away from the goodies! I already feel better with more veggies and less junk in my system.
What do you do to prepare for the holidays? What are your favorite autumn foods and activities?
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Wedding Date is Advancing
Preparations for Rhiannon's wedding are coming along swimmingly. I am suddenly sewing bridesmaids dresses and contrasting boleros. Also, cap sleeves for the wedding dress. Not to mention food. I am over the food procurement, preparation, and presentation.
The first dress I made was great, just whoppingly too big for Chelsea, sister of the groom. I went by her measurements, and chose what I thought was the appropriate size. It needed major adjustment, since it's strapless and Chelsea really wants it to stay where it belongs! Taking it in was more difficult than all the rest of the work. But it's just about finished, and looked good, and will be just fine. Then it was on to Cecilie's dress. Now, Cec wouldn't measure herself for me, so I am just winging it on size, remembering how Cec looks and the sizing differential between pattern and actuality. She will be coming over today, and I have finished the top of the dress for her to try. I will not go and farther until it is proved to be the right size.
Sundaylee's dress is another matter altogether. She's the smallest of the bridesmaids, she's out of the area, and will not be able to try this on too much before the big day. I will have to ponder what to do about that one.
This is such an exciting time in family life. All of our children are in the area, and being together is a reminder of how we all came to be who we are.
The first dress I made was great, just whoppingly too big for Chelsea, sister of the groom. I went by her measurements, and chose what I thought was the appropriate size. It needed major adjustment, since it's strapless and Chelsea really wants it to stay where it belongs! Taking it in was more difficult than all the rest of the work. But it's just about finished, and looked good, and will be just fine. Then it was on to Cecilie's dress. Now, Cec wouldn't measure herself for me, so I am just winging it on size, remembering how Cec looks and the sizing differential between pattern and actuality. She will be coming over today, and I have finished the top of the dress for her to try. I will not go and farther until it is proved to be the right size.
Sundaylee's dress is another matter altogether. She's the smallest of the bridesmaids, she's out of the area, and will not be able to try this on too much before the big day. I will have to ponder what to do about that one.
This is such an exciting time in family life. All of our children are in the area, and being together is a reminder of how we all came to be who we are.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Living a Week From My Pantry
Over the summer our cannery specialist noticed a challenge on one of the food storage sites I enjoy. The challenge would be sometime in September, and would involve feeding the family for a week without going to the store. During times of financial stress many years ago I did this on occasion, but I haven't done it in many years, with the storage I have now, with the husband I have now, or the child at home now. (I didn't even tell the 16-year-old.)
The challenge was to be sometime in the month, but we would get no warning, it would just happen. On the website there were many challenges within the challenge, and limitations and exercises each day of the challenge. I opted out of those, going only for living off our storage for the week, and not shopping for any groceries. The challenge began last week, and today is the last day. Yay!
I cheated twice. The first day we were out of milk, and hubby and son are cereal eaters. Dilemma! I had soymilk (a little, anyway), since I don't drink milk, so I was fine and offered to share. I went ahead and bought the milk, in the spirit of the peacemaker, and Allan abstained from it in the spirit of preparedness. No granola! He did well and ate a lot of hash-brown-and-egg breakfasts that he made himself while I was on my walk. He is such a man of habit/routine that I was surprised by this, but he is also faithful and flexible. It showed this week.
The other cheat was Saturday. Silas was to work for his soon-to-be-brother-in-law on a house painting project after our weekly trip to Port Orchard for a check-in. He needed to be at the workplace by 10, and generally doesn't eat before the PO trip. I bought him a sandwich for breakfast, not having thought ahead on that one. Oh, well.
All in all we did pretty well. I got out the crock pot and made 2 kinds of chili and tuna and noodles, all new recipes. I fixed homemade treats more than usual, since the granola bars ran out. We ran out of apples, a lunchtime staple, but lived through it. I made some homemade whole wheat bread, which I like to do anyway, but had to since we ran out of bread. Sourdough biscuits were tried and enjoyed. We have lots of butter in the freezer. There are blackberries on the vine right now around here, and my daughter's fruit trees are ready with plums and asian pears, so there wasn't a shortage of fresh fruit. We enjoyed a few things from the garden. I even did the unthinkable and got up at 3:00 am and fixed sausage gravy for Allan to eat before his leaving on a business trip this morning. I find that having purchased 1/4 of a beef last winter has really paid off, too. All in all it was a fortunate week to need to rely on what was around.
One of the things that made everything so easy is that we are almost empty nesters, and Allan is so easy to live with. He's just happy when there's dinner on the table! When kids were around, since we had the milk, it was no big deal--pretty much the way we live anyway. We did have an ice cream request last night, but we said no, that brownies alone would have to do this time. I did miss my weekly-ish date night, which usually consists of going out for dinner (and circumstances came up that would have precluded that date anyway). I also felt the pinch when I was out and about at noontime and yearned for a whopper junior. But that's okay, I don't want to be doing that anyway!
The challenge was to be sometime in the month, but we would get no warning, it would just happen. On the website there were many challenges within the challenge, and limitations and exercises each day of the challenge. I opted out of those, going only for living off our storage for the week, and not shopping for any groceries. The challenge began last week, and today is the last day. Yay!
I cheated twice. The first day we were out of milk, and hubby and son are cereal eaters. Dilemma! I had soymilk (a little, anyway), since I don't drink milk, so I was fine and offered to share. I went ahead and bought the milk, in the spirit of the peacemaker, and Allan abstained from it in the spirit of preparedness. No granola! He did well and ate a lot of hash-brown-and-egg breakfasts that he made himself while I was on my walk. He is such a man of habit/routine that I was surprised by this, but he is also faithful and flexible. It showed this week.
The other cheat was Saturday. Silas was to work for his soon-to-be-brother-in-law on a house painting project after our weekly trip to Port Orchard for a check-in. He needed to be at the workplace by 10, and generally doesn't eat before the PO trip. I bought him a sandwich for breakfast, not having thought ahead on that one. Oh, well.
All in all we did pretty well. I got out the crock pot and made 2 kinds of chili and tuna and noodles, all new recipes. I fixed homemade treats more than usual, since the granola bars ran out. We ran out of apples, a lunchtime staple, but lived through it. I made some homemade whole wheat bread, which I like to do anyway, but had to since we ran out of bread. Sourdough biscuits were tried and enjoyed. We have lots of butter in the freezer. There are blackberries on the vine right now around here, and my daughter's fruit trees are ready with plums and asian pears, so there wasn't a shortage of fresh fruit. We enjoyed a few things from the garden. I even did the unthinkable and got up at 3:00 am and fixed sausage gravy for Allan to eat before his leaving on a business trip this morning. I find that having purchased 1/4 of a beef last winter has really paid off, too. All in all it was a fortunate week to need to rely on what was around.
One of the things that made everything so easy is that we are almost empty nesters, and Allan is so easy to live with. He's just happy when there's dinner on the table! When kids were around, since we had the milk, it was no big deal--pretty much the way we live anyway. We did have an ice cream request last night, but we said no, that brownies alone would have to do this time. I did miss my weekly-ish date night, which usually consists of going out for dinner (and circumstances came up that would have precluded that date anyway). I also felt the pinch when I was out and about at noontime and yearned for a whopper junior. But that's okay, I don't want to be doing that anyway!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Simply at Home
I had the amazing opportunity to attend my daughter's bridal shower, given by her stepmother. The day couldn't have been more perfect for a party on the deck of their amazing home. Rhiannon was showered with gifts, all of them lovely, tasteful, useful, and welcomed. Rhiannon was a gracious bride, the games were fun, and the refreshments were delicious.
While at the shower, I had the chance to become acquainted with my children's step-aunts, of whom I have heard much. The three sisters are physician, attorney, and IT project manager at Boeing. I find people so interesting, and these women didn't let me down. Again, as always, I came to the point where I was asked the age-old question, "So, what do you do?"
What is it that I really do? I could write out a veritable laundry list of what I do every day, and it is a lot! So many things interest me, and one of the luxuries I have is pursuing these things on a daily basis. Another thing I do is keep house, though not very seriously, nor well. We generally always have clean clothes, an empty kitchen sink, and can see the floor in most rooms. Ah, yes, and cannot smell the bathrooms (in that yucky way) from anywhere in the house. I prepare meals from scratch the majority of the days of the week. And, of course, I parent this 16-year-old child of mine who has had his share of life's drama.
One thing I do, sometimes, when questioned about what it is I do, is talk about the work I do as a volunteer. That opens all kinds of doors to conversation, and puts me on more of a level playing field with someone who works in "the world." But, actually, comparing my 5 hours a week to their horrible commute, 40+ hours of money-making, upwardly mobile rat race doesn't quite feel authentic or fair, either.
When I answer that always-asked question about what I do, I say, "I am at home," and the conversation pretty much comes to an end. There is no mention of community service, or master's degree, or intensive daily study of whatever I am studying right now. Or writing. My former social work and incredible commute don't come up. No one discusses the cool vegetable garden I carved out of the weed patch in my front yard, or the laying hens I adopted, both of which help my family be self sufficient and eat locally. The topic of my court-involved addicted son never sees the light of day. And fresh-ground whole grain homemade bread and the joys of thrift store shopping? Come on.
I don't need to justify my life to anyone--except maybe my husband, but he doesn't ask for that. I have value as a human being and contributing member of society, whether people get me or not. My way of living is the best way for me, right now. And that's all I have time for today, because the buzzer is going off and I have to get my sourdough biscuits out of the oven.
While at the shower, I had the chance to become acquainted with my children's step-aunts, of whom I have heard much. The three sisters are physician, attorney, and IT project manager at Boeing. I find people so interesting, and these women didn't let me down. Again, as always, I came to the point where I was asked the age-old question, "So, what do you do?"
What is it that I really do? I could write out a veritable laundry list of what I do every day, and it is a lot! So many things interest me, and one of the luxuries I have is pursuing these things on a daily basis. Another thing I do is keep house, though not very seriously, nor well. We generally always have clean clothes, an empty kitchen sink, and can see the floor in most rooms. Ah, yes, and cannot smell the bathrooms (in that yucky way) from anywhere in the house. I prepare meals from scratch the majority of the days of the week. And, of course, I parent this 16-year-old child of mine who has had his share of life's drama.
One thing I do, sometimes, when questioned about what it is I do, is talk about the work I do as a volunteer. That opens all kinds of doors to conversation, and puts me on more of a level playing field with someone who works in "the world." But, actually, comparing my 5 hours a week to their horrible commute, 40+ hours of money-making, upwardly mobile rat race doesn't quite feel authentic or fair, either.
When I answer that always-asked question about what I do, I say, "I am at home," and the conversation pretty much comes to an end. There is no mention of community service, or master's degree, or intensive daily study of whatever I am studying right now. Or writing. My former social work and incredible commute don't come up. No one discusses the cool vegetable garden I carved out of the weed patch in my front yard, or the laying hens I adopted, both of which help my family be self sufficient and eat locally. The topic of my court-involved addicted son never sees the light of day. And fresh-ground whole grain homemade bread and the joys of thrift store shopping? Come on.
I don't need to justify my life to anyone--except maybe my husband, but he doesn't ask for that. I have value as a human being and contributing member of society, whether people get me or not. My way of living is the best way for me, right now. And that's all I have time for today, because the buzzer is going off and I have to get my sourdough biscuits out of the oven.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Productive Day
This week I am taking the challenge from a nifty food storage site and am living off my stored/home-produced food. My personal goal is to not buy anything until next Wednesday. Easy? So far so good. With our dinner we had baby potatoes from the garden, along with some squash. Yum! I am not participating in the disaster prep activities from the website, but I am living off what we have in the house for a week. I have always wanted to do that.
I don't believe I have ever really canned anything from my garden before, but I just pickled some beets. I have never really been a big beet-eater, nor have my family members. I was a little disappointed in how the beets taste, so I decided to pickle them. So beautiful in their little jars! Like jewels.
I baked some whole wheat bread (I grind wheat berries into flour), since my daughter asked me to provide her with some every now and then. It has been a satisfying day.
I don't believe I have ever really canned anything from my garden before, but I just pickled some beets. I have never really been a big beet-eater, nor have my family members. I was a little disappointed in how the beets taste, so I decided to pickle them. So beautiful in their little jars! Like jewels.
I baked some whole wheat bread (I grind wheat berries into flour), since my daughter asked me to provide her with some every now and then. It has been a satisfying day.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
California Dreaming
I was blessed to attend the party celebrating my parents' 50th wedding anniversary in Van Nuys, California, at a place called the 94th Aero Squadron. There was a full buffet and lots of visiting, not necessarily in that order. It was a great day and a fabulous venue. The company and food could not be beat.
Now I am back home and remembering fondly the people I visited and warm sunny days. I picked some lemons from the little tree in my folks' backyard and have made lemon butter to capture the memory, if that is possible.
Now I am back home and remembering fondly the people I visited and warm sunny days. I picked some lemons from the little tree in my folks' backyard and have made lemon butter to capture the memory, if that is possible.
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