Tea, Soup, and Catching up

Hi All!

For the new followers YAY! Thanks for joining this crazy ride :)

Anonymous - Your request for honeymoon pics has been heard and being worked on. I have to get the laptop they are saved on up and running so I can pull them off.

So it's been a busy time. I've been working on the spring cleaning that I mentioned in my last blog, and have been moving away from electronic cleaning up of clutter to the more demanding, (sorely needed) task of the physical cleaning.

With a break for Valentines Weekend (I can't believe it's been almost 4 weeks since I posted something! Yikes!) Which was memorable, for good and bad. We started off that Friday night with a dinner out at a local place (not a big chain like Olive Garden), tried some new drinks, tried some new food, got some new sparklies for my Pandora bracelet. Then for the second year in a row we went to All Fired Up! and painted some pottery! I chose a large plate, and Hubby made a second storage bowl for us.

These shots are from before they were glazed and fired. Sadly when my husband went to pick them up, the piece next to his had exploded and embedded chunks of pottery into his incredible piece of art! BOO!!! At least they were kind enough to give us a gift certificate to cover the cost of painting another of the same.

Mine made it through unscathed: My mental image of Yggdrasil (very simplified). 

We also got a really cool version of Monopoly since Hubby loves that game, and has many fond memories of playing with his father. It's a vintage version, in a real wooden box (not fake wood painting to look like wood) with the original colors and playing pieces. Unfortunately, neither of us felt very well that weekend, so playing got put off until last week.

Hubby also "adopted" two Red Pandas for me!! Best Valentines Gift. EVER.

We also made a trip to my favorite tea shop, and was able to introduce a friend to their delicious selection of teas! One of my favorite things to do, is to bake goodies to go with tea, and have friends over. Yes, I still love having tea parties, I never out grew that, my friends are just a wee bit different now. They actually CAN drink the tea :-) I find that the most enjoyable times spent catching up with old friends, are generally over a glass of a good drink.

Spring Cleaning

I figured the best place to start is the room we use most. Those that know us, know we LOVE to cook and bake. Of course it also helped that we were in the process of moving the washing machine and dryer out of the kitchen to be put in a newly created laundry room.

I can't find what I did with the old pictures of the kitchen, but with everything in the kitchen, you really couldn't fit more than one person in there very well unless they are REALLY skinny, like supermodel skinny. We love to cook, we love to eat...we are not those people!

Any way, since we had someone out to run new drain, water line, and gas line for the dryer I used that opportunity to really get to cleaning in the kitchen. I started off with my favorite cleaner, Murphy's Oil Soap. It pulls the grime from fingers, cooking, whatever, off quickly and easily. So, here's my list of what get's cleaned when Spring Cleaning in the kitchen comes around.

• Wipe off cupboard doors and handles, inside and out
• Remove all contents from cupboard, wipe off shelves
• Wash all dishes removed from cupboards, wipe off containers and check contents, especially herbs and spices. Toss any that have lost what it means to be flavorful
• Repeat  above three steps with drawers
• EVERYTHING on the counter tops are cleaned, and moved so the counter itself gets scrubbed down
• Scrub the stove, including the front of the oven, and inside. Soak the grates and scrub them clean. It's amazing how dirty they get. 
• Remove all magnets, pictures, papers etc from the fridge, and scrub it down too. For this I like Windex, or rubbing alcohol. Don't forget the top (like I did and just realized it!)
• Move the movables, like the stove and fridge, so you can clean under and behind them.
• Scrub down the walls and base boards, paying special attention to messy areas like the stove, and by the trash can. 
• Finally, time to scrub down the floor
• When dry, put everything back!

The floor after moving the stove...YUCK!

This is where the stove was, and that counter was turned 90 degrees to make an L with the stove .
That left just enough room for the fridge door to open

The stove has now been moved to where the dryer was

See how shiny my floor got after scrubbing over it with  Murphy's Oil Soap?! It Sparkles!!

Then we pulled the washer out....Yes, that really is all the counter space we have.

Grimy Nasty stove front

Even more hideous behind the knobs

Again, Murphy's Oil Soap to the rescue! Amazing Difference!

Finally, all done, everything scrubbed. We will some day be putting a dishwasher in that empty spot, and expanding the countertop all the way to the wall!!!

So, now that I have this wonderfully opened up kitchen, and actually have to take more than half a step to get to anything, and it's all nice and clean....TIME TO COOK!!!

I'd been craving some stuffed cabbage, but didn't want to take the time to make all those little yummy rolls of goodness. So I made soup. It was a hit! 

What I did:

1 medium - large onion, diced

Celery - enough that when diced is equal to the same amount of onion ( I think I used 4 stalks)

Carrot - roughly half as much as you have of onion, so I used 2 large carrots

1 stick butter

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground sausage (I used plain not spicy or sage)

One head cabbage, diced into bite sized pieces

1 packet Lipton soup (I used the lot of a noodle chicken noodle)

1 large can diced tomatoes

about a gallon of water (that's about 16 cups, or 128 oz)

Beef bouillon to make the water into broth (although next time I might just buy broth)

Salt, garlic, oregano, basil, and sugar (to counter the sour from the tomatoes) to taste

The onion, celery, and carrot mixture is called Mirepoix, and is the BEST start to any soup. 

I started off by sauteing the mirepoix with the stick of butter in my stock pot, until the onion were soft, but not translucent. While this was going, I browned and drained the beef and sausage, then added to the stock pot, along with water, and bouillon until I had a good flavor. Then I dumped in the cabbage, soup packet, and tomatoes, and let everything simmer for about an hour so the cabbage was tender. 

I wasn't too happy with the flavor at this point, so I added in a few generous pinches of coarse salt, as well as a generous sprinkle of granulated garlic. Let it simmer more, and it was getting there but not quite. 

So when tasting, I try to keep in mind that the flavors need to balance. If it's too salty, I need to a little sour or sweet. If it's too sour, I need to add a little bitter or sweet, if it's too sweet, then add sour or salty. See how that works? In this case, the tomatoes had made it a bit too sour for my tastes, so I sprinkled in a little sugar. That really helped mellow out the tomato, but it was still there. After added some oregano, and basil, (which adds a little bitter along with their own distinct flavors), and letting it simmer for a while, it was spot on! Served over some freshly cooked rice and YUM!

Remodeling

Now...those big appliances that got moved out of the kitchen....they got switched around to our hall closet, turned laundry room. We are still working on finishing up the walls in that area, but over the weekend, we were able to build a raised floor to set the machines on, and I LOVE how it looks! I was just a tad bit too busy helping hubby build the frame, and then attaching the boards to the frame to remember to stop and take pictures! 

Had to grab a shot before the washer went in.

Well, that's most of what's happened in the past month. Thanks for sticking with my during my long breaks! Hope to try experimenting with more cooking this week, and get a few more recipes up. Take care all!

Spring cleaning, and memories of Scotland

It's that time of year when people generally start to contemplate spring cleaning. In today's terms, that can also mean cleaning out old files from the computer. I was sitting here going through some pics from (ahem) a little over three years ago on some of my old flash drives. I love randomly finding these little bits of our past, because I almost always end up pouring through every picture I can find, remembering the memories behind the pictures, and sometimes feelings (just a wee bit) nostalgic.

I think some of my favorite spring cleaning finds have always been pictures. Sometimes I find a receipts that jar a memory loose from the cobweb entrenched recesses of my mind, or a small trinket picked up somewhere. This is also why I generally take forever doing spring cleaning, it seems like every other thing I find stops me and drags me only semi-unwillingly down memory lane.

Today I found some old pictures of when we first moved in to our home, my first car, our early years dating, and a fondly remembered pet. I proceeded to spend time thinking about how we started pulling down the fake wood paneling in our house, the first month without living room furniture, and the cleaning!

It was rather disconcerting when we first moved in, because my husband (then boyfriend) and I moved in the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but he left that night to go to his mom's house about 4 hours away for the holiday. I spent that first Thanksgiving in the house cleaning and scrubbing the kitchen top to bottom. I remember being so frustrated that he couldn't have stayed home that year, and annoyed with work for not allowing us to take time off during the holidays so that I could go with him. But at least when I was done, I worked out all that irritation, and had a nicely cleaned, and sanitized kitchen. I'm glad too, because that year we hosted Christmas together!

One of the pictures I found was from our honeymoon just last October. It's of a petrol station we stopped at on our way from Balloch Loch Lomond area and the Oak Tree Inn, along A82 in Glencoe. Right across from the Police Station. They had this hot food cart there, like we normally see at fairs, and cultural festivals, and the lady there was REALLY animated. We had been on the road for a few hours at that point, and since we were headed to Inverness, had a few more hours to go. I'd say we took the scenic route, but really, I think every route there was the scenic route.

When we stopped to fill up, we decided to get a bite to eat to last us until we made it to Inverness. I ordered a basket of chips (or fries) and while hubby and I stood around eating, these three construction workers come up and order lunch. One of them ordered black pudding. Me being curious I asked what black pudding was. I got the most incredulous look from the lady running the food stand immediately followed by "What do ya mean what'tis blaack pouddin'? Are ya tellin' meh ya've ne'er had any?" (Sorry approximation of her brogue...imagine Braveheart but thicker) She also seemed like she spoke REALLY fast. So when I told her no, we've never had it before, she looked so amazed, like how can you live so long without having it?! look on her face. I think about a split second later she said "Och, tats Ookay, I'll gi'e ya's a wee sample" Well, while she was cooking it, she started talking to the construction workers telling them that they should be sure to come back next week since there would be a sale on something. They informed her that they'd love to but couldn't because this was their last day on the job there and they were going home. Still in the midst of cooking, she rattled off "Och, tats a'right, you'll just ha'e to coome back wi'out yer clothes on". Begin awkward silence, while she's still oblivious and cooking. The construction guys are looking at each other like they were asking how to respond to that, while hubby and I looked at each other, and I was thinking WOW they speak their mind up here! All of a sudden this lady froze and turned around to look at the five of us "I didna mean that! I meant in yer regular clothes!" I think her eyes were about to pop out of her head she had them open so wide. Everyone laughed and the moment passed. She then started going on about how the schools are teaching foreign languages, but not Scots Gàidhlig. After a few minutes the food was ready, and she presented us with our 'wee sample' which ended up being a full serving for both of us to split. It was good, a bit try, kind of unique, I can't really relate it to anything else I've ever had. I would happily eat it again, even though the other name for it is Blood Pudding because it's made with pigs blood.

I really had such a wonderful time in Scotland, I really hope I get to go back again someday, and hopefully for a longer period of time. I can always dream that hubby's job sends him over there for a month or two, and we're at a point that I can go with him. Oh well, back to cleaning,

Anyways, what are some of your favorite finds when you do a good spring cleaning?

Winter leads to beautiful spring, and yummy summer

Sorry folks for the extended hiatus. Between slipping on the ice and screwing up my back for a week, a minor procedure at the Dr's that put me down for another week, and then a nasty head cold, I haven't been thinking too clearly. That all seems to be past now, and man am I glad! It's always amazing the perspective that being physically discommoded gives being healthy. 

I don't know about you, but in my part of the country we get a "January Thaw" every year. It's this time of year people start acting stupid because of an early case of spring fever. You know, those few people who break out motorcycles just because it's 40º instead of 20º. Or start wandering around in shorts and no jacket? Then they whine when it gets cold again. Don't get me wrong, I love this brief warm up, especially because I get a pop of snowdrops in my yard, which are the first blooming flowers in, oh, 3 months, and I won't see any more for another 2 months. Here in Ohio, at least for me, that's a BIG thing. It's the first color that isn't grey since the leaves fell! Oh, and if the crocus pop up for a day, vibrant purple, yellow, and blue! But I know it isn't going to last. It's the same every year. 

This brings me to the topic of this entry, my rant about the cold

WE NEED THE COLD TO MAKE THINGS GROW!

Yes, you read that right. One of the keys to making sure many of the spring and summer perennial plants thrive and provide flowers or food for us to enjoy is COLD. In this part of the country that means COLD, bitter cold, the kind where you go outside and feel like your nose and fingers are going to freeze off before you're done wiping snow off your car. 

Random face in the snow on hubby's car last night.
(All I can hear  in my head is Mushu from Mulan "And it's happy to see you!)

One of these foods that need cold are apples. Yep, the good old All-American fruit. As a country, we seem to love our apples. Apple pie, apple tart, apple butter, apple jelly, apple cakes, apple bread, apple muffins, even just plain old apple by itself. Hell, we even love the fruit so much some of our biggest sell gadgets are made by a company called Apple. Yes, it's really named after the fruit. You can read about it in Steve Job's Biography here. 

Aside from apples, other foods we enjoy that require this extended cold season we call winter, are berries, oranges (a certain level of cold actually enhances flavor and color), apricots, celery, onions, garlic, potatoes, and cabbage.

Some of our prettiest spring flowers that really tell us winter is over need the cold too. Some of these are the most common Easter/Ostara flowers that represent the birth of Spring. Hyacinth, Snow Drops, Daffodils, and Crocus. Without the cold which lets the bulbs rest, we would not get the beautiful and fragrant blooms these flowers are known for. I don't know about you, but for me it just isn't Spring without these.

So remember: Be thankful for the cold bitter months. Without them, many of the plants we enjoy each Spring  and Summer would not flourish for us. There are many more plants that I didn't mention here need this time to rest, and a certain amount of "chill hours" to induce greater yields. So if you're looking forward to warmer weather, full of cookouts, with baked potatoes, and veggie plates, and desserts covered with berries, and jams and jelly and pies of all kinds, then you're just going to have to deal with the cold and think about the Earth instead of yourself first. So zip up, grow up, and get over it!

Repairing a crochet bedspread, and preserving a family heirloom

So, I keep hearing how amazing something I did is, and how in awe some people are, but to be truthful, I don't think I did anything that incredible. Yeah, I'm proud of myself because I did something new, and it worked better than I though it was going to, but I don't really see it as anything as amazing as others have said. I will admit to a guilty flush of pleasure at hearing other people praise my work, but all I did was fix an old blanket.

I've had a few people ask me how I did it, and, well a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a few for you. I've had a few more admit that they never thought about repairing a blanket like this, and wouldn't know where to begin, so hopefully this will help.

Original damage

I got lucky, this was right on a seam, so I didn't have to try to pull tension just perfect like if it had been in the middle of a piece. I sat down with my thread and a bunch of hooks, and just kept making the center of the square with each different hook until I matched the gauge. Ended up with size 5 steel hook, and size 10 thread.

The pattern is a pretty simple center out block, with popcorn stitches up to the edges on a double crochet background as the design. The popcorn stitches took a little playing around but eventually I noticed they were treble crochet grouped in 5.

I decided I wanted to rebuild the damaged part, as this was bottom center of a bedspread, and would be very visible if used. I had originally thought of trying to sew it back together, but like the perfectionist I am, I couldn't bring myself to do that. I started to carefully pick out the damaged thread, and unraveled stitches until I got to a point where the thread was still good, and tied the thread off at the top of a stitch. I got really lucky, there were more good stitches left on the lower rows, than on the rows above them, so I didn't have to pull out good stitches, or try to pick them up from the bottom as I went.

First half damage picked out and tied off. 

Once I got this damage cleaned out, I attached with a slip stitch to the top of the bottom right popcorn, leaving a long tail, probably at least 6 inches. I then worked the missing 3 double crochet between the two popcorn stitches, slip stitched into the top of the left popcorn, tied it off and left a long tail again. For the top row, again, I attached to the right popcorn, made 3 double crochet, a 5 treble crochet popcorn in the next double crochet, then three more double crochet, and attached to the left popcorn. The result was this:

First half repaired

Now to repeat on the other half, clean it out, and restitch the missing parts. This time I had a bit more to remove and re-do. I ended up needing to redo two popcorn stitches on this side, but thankfully only one row needed work. There was still a good double crochet stitch to the right of the missing part, so I tied that off securely, and used a slip stitch to join new thread to it. Then I filled in the two missing double crochet, a popcorn, three more double crochet, another popcorn, and one final double crochet. Joined to the existing stitch on the left with a slip stitch, and tied off securely.

Second side cleaned out.

New work filled in

I don't have a picture of it, but I tied the new and old strings together at the beginning and end of each row, but didn't trim them. I left them long, so it can be washed once or twice to make sure it'll hold, then I'll weave them in and make it all neat and tidy.

Unfortunately, this blanket sat in a smoker's house for a while before they quit smoking, and it doesn't seem like it got cleaned after they quit. It was a really weird dingy yellow, probably from a combination of age, and  smoke. So I ended up soaking it in the bathtub with some Seventh Generation Oxy Clean.

Oxy is all bubbly and working it's magic

The color of the water after soaking for only ten minutes. YUCK!!! 

After soaking it a second time, and feeling it was mostly clean, I had to figure out how to rinse this thing. Rinsing it out made me wish I had a giant pool, or lots of helping hands. Thankfully we have one of those shower heads you can detach and use as a sprayer, so I situated the blanket as spread out as I could and spray. I had tried draining and refilling the tub with water and gently swishing the blanket around, but it just didn't seem to get clearer water even after several rinses. So I used that sprayer part to start at one end of the blanket and rinse and shift and rinse until all the water was running out clear. I don't think I've spent that long in a bathtub since I was a kid and played in the tub in the summer to cool down!

Once it was all rinsed, I rolled it up and tried to squeeze out as much water as I could. This blanket in over 50 years old, so I was trying not to put too much stress on it. I didn't really want to have to make more repairs. Once it was as dry as I could get it, I tried to pick the thing up. Yeah, not happening. I think it had to weigh 50 pounds. Big, strong husband to the rescue. He picked it up (didn't look that heavy at all when he did it!) and carted it to the washing machine for me, and I put it through a couple gentle rinse and spin cycles, just to make sure it was all rinsed out.

It still weighed quite a bit after that, but more manageable. I didn't want to put it through the dryer, and being winter, and colder than the freezer outside, I draped it over the ironing board, and one of the couches to dry. It made a great little tent! It took a couple of days to dry, but it finally did, and it was so much whiter.

The repaired section after the cleaning. Much, much less noticeable. 

I packed it back up to give back to my mother-in-law, and waited till Christmas day. I'm glad I did, because she was so happy to have it back and repaired. Here's a few shots of the bedspread on her guest bed.

The repaired section is right in the middle at the bottom edge of the mattress.

This one I just thought was a cool shot

So that's it, that's what I did. I repaired an old blanket. My mother-in-law remembers her mom working on this when she was just a child. Now it'll be a family heirloom to be passed on to future generations.