The Bliss in Simple Tasks

Valerie at A Mixed Bag wrote a recent blog post 'retiring' her dishwasher and said the transition back to hand washing was an easy one. That got me thinking about how much I enjoy washing dishes. Not ALL the time:  Xmas dishes after preparing a dinner for 8-16 people was always something I passed on to those who didn't help prepare!  

As the eldest daughter in a family of 7, I was the dishwasher. When we got our first dishwasher in the late 60's, I was pretty excited!  Now I only had to do the pots and pans.

When I was married with 3 small children, we were gifted a hand-me-down dishwasher. I was a stay-at-home Mom in those days, and I cooked and baked a lot; so it was really convenient. But our sole water supply was a dug well had to be closely monitored in the summer. So, it didn't last long. This was one of the first chores I passed to my children -- an easy and fun task for most kids (at least until the teen years).

Sometimes when I was out with friends and they'd talk about issues with their dishwashers, I would say that I had 3 dishwashers ..... but neither of them worked particularly well. Hahaha!

In everything that my Mom taught me, she had a particular 'method' -- "There's a right way, Sandra!" she would say over and over again. (As I did with mine.) My Mom's chores were always  organized and methodical. And it was important that things look 'nice'. (Did you know there's a right and wrong way to hang clothes? No! Well, just ask me!) 

My Mom's dishwashing method was as follows:

• Hot, soapy water in the right hand sink; clean hot water in the left for rinsing.
• "Start with the least dirty things", she'd say. So, glasses first.
• Cutlery goes into the water to 'soak' while you wash the next category of dirty dishes -- cups and mugs.
• Plates and bowls next.
• And then your pots and pans and larger, dirtiest utensils such as spatulas, soup ladles, etc.
• And when it came to putting the dishes into the dish drainer, things had to be lined up according to size. Larger plates always went to the back, salad plates next and dessert plates or saucers next. Etc. Etc. Etc. 
• Cutlery had to be stacked so that the surfaces that touched your mouth were up top; that way, the water and any residual soap drains to the handles. 

I've been washing dishes for 50+ years. And in the past couple of years, I've noticed how much I enjoy the mindless act of dishwashing. I find there's a kind-of peace that comes from it. I'll turn on Stingray Music to the spa channel. Prep my dish pan of hot soapy water (only one sink in my kitchen) and let the fun begin! 

I use all my senses. Someone gave me scent-free dish soap and I added a little Tea Tree oil:  I like that scent and it doesn't irritate my scent allergy. I like the feel of the hot sudsy water on my hands, especially if they're aching that day. I like lining up my dishes ---  'the right way' so my Mom would be proud.💖 And I like the 'construction' challenge of trying to fit everything on my dish drainer so that it all fits, drains adequately and the air can get to it all. I LOVE that air drying is safer than dish towel drying! (Angelic choirs singing!) And I myself sometimes sing while washing up. 

I love that I can stop to dance round the kitchen if I feel so inclined (and I usually do). I like that pots and such can soak while I wipe down surfaces. I love that nothing cleans your fingernails like a good dishwashing session! (Ewwww!) And I love putting on my hemp hand cream afterwards -- how thick and luxurious it is and how it feels like my thirsty hands are sucking up every bit of moisturization. And voila! Look at what I've accomplished! A lovely clean kitchen with a beautiful, organized rack (or tower) of dishes. Ahhhh! Time for more dancing!

See, I'm not a complicated woman! It doesn't take that much to make me happy: just come visit, eat, drink ..... and let me wash up afterwards. 

THRIFTING ON THE ROCK.

Newfoundland is an island:  a veritable rock in the north Atlantic where the people are known to be cheerful, generous, fiercely proud and extremely resilient. History shows the extreme hardships that we have overcome and how tough life continues to be for many in this fair isle. Winters are long and harsh: not much of fall is seen and spring is often by-passed. And then comes our short summer season, or what we like to call black fly and Nipper weather! 


I still wake every morning rapturously happy to be where I am. And I often feel a mixture of awe-struck surprise and perplexity at some of the other differences between my 41 years in Nova Scotia and my new life here. So many changes! Most are wonderful -- the proximity to family, my new job, my wee little apartment, the scenery, little chubby hands holding me saying "You okay, Nanny B, you okay?"  My new life is grand!

But one thing that makes me sad is the lack of thrift stores, especially here on the West Coast. Newfoundlanders are not "happy thrifters" like Nova Scotians. Many of the people I know would not be caught dead in "someone else's clothes"! I think it comes from years of Newfoundland being the "have-not" province and the pride that people feel at not just making do here on this literal rock in the Atlantic but at prospering. But I've got a few friends as well as my eldest daughter who love a good bargain. And although the local Salvation Army Thrift Store is not a large one, donations are large and it's well attended. I try to check it out once a week (just so I won't lose my thrifting mo-jo!).

They closed last week for 2 days to pack away summer and put out the fall/winter inventory. I visited a couple of days later and scored big time AND I only spent my allotted amount!

I bought this pretty black & yellow blouse (Northern Reflections) as well as a 3/4 sleeve teal, black and white cardigan (Ricki) and a navy blue with white polka dot cardigan (Old Navy). 

       

 I also bought a pair of brown dress pants and a fantastic cream and yellow Colombia jacket, perfect for fall. (Just needed an Oxy super-soak and a wash in hot water and it's looks good-as-new.) 

 (PS - The color is not true in these pictures. Sorry!)

The Sally Ann here as well as the 2 others in a 50 km radius have helped me replace things I sold before my move like my rice cooker, mason jars and jigsaws & paperbacks. My sister and I purchased most of the incidentals for her very small, informal upcoming wedding. I found a really cute, opalescent glass boudoir lamp for $2 (with just a temporary shade on it at the moment).

But the thrifted item I most love is this fantastic lamp from the early 70's with an antique brass filigree foot and an amber globe with black felted pattern. Now, I've been searching for years for a colored glass globe-style lamp base; and although this is not exactly what I had in mind, it kept calling to me until I paid the $5. I proudly marched out of the store, while the locals stood mouths-agape in shock and horror. "Wass dat daft woman totin' outta here, for da love a God? Das h'ugly as sin, my dear!"  But beauty is in the eye of the beholder; and this beauty has won a place in my heart as well as on my end table.

$30 for the shade (EGAD!), another $4 for the tri-light; not as thrifty as I'm used to but still an excellent price for this sized table lamp.

Plus, when you turn the switch, you hear the sounds of angelic voices. 

Ahhhhhhhhh!

How's your thrifting been going?

Boring is Nice Sometimes, Right?

I've spent so many weekends doing day trips and taking the girls for Farm Market drives that I welcomed last Saturday's turn in the weather and a chance for a simple, boring weekend. 

Beautiful boring! 

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhh.  

For most people (especially younger people), boring is thought of as negative. It can bring up dreary images or thoughts of dull tasks -- things like regular fall or spring cleaning. (Hahaha! I say that as if this is something I do every spring or fall when, in fact, the only thing regular in my house is me ..... if I eat my salad and yogurt every day! Oops! Sorry! TMI!)


But the experts say that there's nothing wrong with kids becoming bored. For me personally, boring is necessary to my mental health. I can get bored; but I can also be willingly "beautifully bored". 

Beautiful boring fills me with contentment and feelings of satisfaction. For me, it means having the time to hang and home and do little things:  things like changing out my wardrobe, tidying the linen closet; cleaning & purging the china cabinets. It means that I now know how many bottles of face cleanser I have (4 --- and see, that's info I NEED to know before I save more money by buying yet another sale item!); I know how many bars of goat's milk soap I have (6 --- and ditto on the saving money again). Beautiful boring means that tears of joy and self-satisfaction come to my eyes when I see my basement full of bags and boxes to be taken to the thrift stores in the city (because then I can use that 30% off coupon to buy more unnecessary items that in turn bring me joy).

Beautiful boring is ALL about the joy, people!

And what makes these beautiful boring tasks even more beautiful is that they are interspersed with tea breaks ..... or an hour in front of the telly just resting in between tasks ...... or a chance to have yet another look at the Saturday crossword puzzle. Beautiful boring is the luxury of having much needed chill-time while doing mundane tasks. JOY!

Last weekend's beautiful boring also meant vacuuming and dusting the living room and putting out a little Autumn decor. (Although the multi-colored leaves that seem to be constantly in the entrance-way should count, don't you think?)


What have you been doing with your Autumn?
Do you have times of beautiful boring?
Or perhaps you just consider mundane tasks plain boring?

Cheese, Grommit!

I was gifted a cheese-making day by my friend Heather at Sweetwood Farm when she needed just one more person to make up the numbers. I was also to be of assistance if one of the goats decided to choose that day to birth .... but that didn't happen. So, I got to just hang out with a great group of people, eat good cheese and learn the magical art of cheese making. 

Now, usually you begin your cheese making lessons with first taking a soft cheese class. It's much quicker and easier:  boil milk, add lemon juice or vinegar, wait a little while and Voila! Strain, season and/or flavor and eat. I've watched Heather teach this a couple of times.  

But this class was a hard cheese making class and it called for much more time, effort and dedication. I had no idea what I was getting into. 

This is the basis for your at-home cheese making:  a kit containing a cheese mold, cheesecloth, cheese mat all in a clear plastic "cheese cave" (used for in-the-refrigerator aging. There are other things needed, of course, that were supplied by Heather: the milk, cultures, Renet, heaters, etc.

It was a full day -- 11 to 6. There was an awful lot of heating milk to the right temperature; and then there was adding the cultures & Rennet; the testing to cut; the cutting of the curd -- always in between more heating and lots of temperature taking. Somewhere in amongst all that we ate a magnificent potluck lunch. When finally it was ready to mold, you get your hands into the pot and gently lift the curd into the cheesecloth-lined mold. More draining and waiting ..... then you unwrap, flip it, wrap it and put it gently back into the mold. Here's my lovely little cheese ..... 

... ready to be taken home and brined and dried before we even begin the aging process. 

After class, there was an opportunity to visit the new baby piggies, the gorgeous little Italian Maremmano puppies and the first of the newborn goats. Here I am with one of the twins. They are so adorable! Another arrived just this morning.

It's so true -- There's never a dull (nor a free) moment on a farm.

What an amazing opportunity it was for me to take part in the cheese making class. It's up to me to tend it now; and it'll be at least 3 weeks before I can even think about tasting it.

How exciting!

Homemade Vanilla

(Drum roll please ........)

This is it!  The official opening of the homemade vanilla.  Here's it's progress from it's beginning in November of 2011 to today, Friday August 24, 2012.

......good ..................... gooder .................... better still ......

BEST!

And I did a taste comparison.  I used the vanilla I had in my cupboard, a bottle of vanilla made with Madagascar vanilla beans and distilled in bourbon.

Color - Homemade = Good dark color
            Store bought = a little darker

Taste - Both were comparable in taste

Texture - The store bought was slightly "thicker" than my homemade. (I think that's because I should have put 3 vanilla beans in each bottle but I was too cheap to buy another.)

Cost = Again, they're comparable.  The homemade was bottled in 150 ml size jars at a cost of roughly $12-$15 each.  The store bought was in a 118.3 ml size bottle at a cost of $12.95.  

Yum-ability - I used my homemade vanilla when I baked muffins and you couldn't tell the difference.  Comparable!


Would I make it again?  YES, especially as I just found vanilla beans for a dollar cheaper than what I spent last November.  And there's just something nice about making your own or passing it on as a gift.  But I'll have to find some nice cheap jars as well.  

Great!  A valid purpose to go to Frenchies!  ('cause even this Thrifting Queen needs to justify her obsession sometimes!)

Little Joys!

It is sooooo good to be back in the land of the living.  I had 2 terribly sick days of sleeping and sweating (don't I sound attractive!  But I promise I've showered since then) and one moderately sick day where I only filled one empty tissue box with my nasal waste (instead of the 2 a day previously used).  


It's a joy to be out the other end of it all and to be able to appreciate doing little things  like:

- Grocery shopping ... and boy!  I got some really good deals today --- $1 off 2 L 1% milk; 50% off Oikos yogurt;  a Burt's Bees lip balm marked down to $1; and a little bag of honey peanuts ('cause a girl needed to revive her tired self after all that shopping and bargain excitement).

- Making some yummy corn and bacon chowder for supper.  (The girls were awfully glad not to have to eat Asian noodles again tonight!)

- And being able to do a little housework ... 'cause after you've been sneezing and honking your way 'round the house in your sweat-stained jammies and worn down scuffs (slippers), you need to get those germs out of your house ASAP!


PS - I don't think I was quite as excited to scour my toilet as this young miss is!  I guess even I have more of a life than some people.








And now on top of all this joy at almost being well again, I get to stroll my way through a half Friday tomorrow, contemplate a yard sale weekend AND have a stat holiday on Monday.  (Victoria Day in Canada.)


Ahhh!  Things are looking up, people!

I'm dating again!

  


Thanks to Kerry at PassiveAggressiveNotes.com, I've found out that my perspective on dating and relationships has been all wrong!  


True ... My phone is silent most weekends.  And there has been quite a noticeable lack of male companionship and candlelit dinners in my life.  But when it comes exercising my still intact "MoJo" (Oh! Behave!), there's apparently been an overabundance of opportunities that I've been totally unaware of until now!  


Just check this out and you'll see why.


(Note that this video does contain strong sexual inunendo.) 

All these missed chances -- right here -- under my own nose!  And I've been blind to them to date!

But not any more!  

• I didn't just fall off the turnip truck yesterday (although there's something resembling turnip stuck to the kitchen floor)!
• Moss will no longer grow under this rolling stone's feet (nor on her bathtub grout)!  
• I know when to "Carpe Diem" (or carpet shampoo-em)!
• I've got a libeto (as well as a Swiffer), and I know how to use it!  

So this Saturday, Sandy's got a date with a tall, dark bald-headed guy:
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My dream man!  He's good-looking AND he cleans!

"Oh Shemar!  

It's okay if you're a little dirty!"

Homemade Vanilla

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I recently came across a recipe for homemade vanilla extract and thought I'd give it a go. Another experiment to try (along with my brandied fruit and green smoothies). After all, pure vanilla is expensive! (And can be not all that pure as it usually has a few other additives.) So, let's see if it's worth the effort (and the cost).

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There seem to be any number of slight variations on the ingredient amounts and time you leave the vanilla to "cure". So, seeing as I'm on a financial diet these days, I decided to go with a more thrift-conscious recipe.

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The recipes all call for 2 things -- vodka and vanilla beans. I found a 375 ml bottle of vodka on the alcohol shelf of my jelly cupboard. (Thank you Libby for the free vodka... and the fact that you're hundreds of miles away in nursing school & hopefully have forgotten you left it there! [This is the part where I laugh maniacally like any mad scientist conducting an experiment should!]) And I had one vial of 2 vanilla beans; I purchased one more vial at a cost of $5.99.

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I used 2 small 150 ml bottles I had lying around. Into each bottle, I put about 1/2 cup of vodka and 2 vanilla beans; they had been slit open, the seeds scraped out & added, and then cut in half. So, the math works out to approximately $12-$15 per bottle. Supposedly, as you use the vanilla and it depletes, you can top it up with more vodka.

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Now, that it's bottled, I have to leave it for anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months (depending on which Google site you go with! Scheesh!) in a dark place. [Maniacal laughter again!) I'll give the bottles a shake every month and check on the color. I'm thinking that it should be ready between Xmas and New Years.

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Stay tuned for exciting updates on this latest experiment. ('Cause I know you've nothing better to do with your time and you're already fanning yourself with all the excitement.)

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Small town Friday night doesn't get any better, huh!

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Never leave home without it!

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My room has been a jumble for quite a while lately. So, this weekend, I cleaned and organized and even got out my winter clothes; I weeded out things that I hadn't worn for a while, passed on the shoes and purses that (even though I love them) I know won't get the use that they deserve. I have so much.
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Now ........... VOILA!

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I can open the doors and easily see what's available. Hmmm? Do I feel like dressing in blue today? Do I need a pick-me-up with something bright and cheerful? Do I need to look ultra-business-like? Should I base my outfit around a certain pair of shoes?
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Next to the closet I've hung the rest of my purses: I like to change up every now and then. Some purses feel luxurious and smell expensive (leather); some add a jolt of color and pizzazz (the red one at the bottom and the pink one at the top); some are practical for heavy-duty thrift shopping or market days (messenger)..
And then there's my dressing table. Everything's clean and neat & tidy once again. My dressing table is next to my bed; so besides my cosmetics for putting my face on in the morning, I like to have some creams and body lotions handy for my night-time. The Burt's Bees' body lotion with royal jelly is wonderful for cracked heels and tired tootsies; the Balea lotion (hiding behind the Burt's) is thick and smells wonderful; and the Bronnley and Watkins lavender lotions are some of my favorites and help to soothe me to sleep if I've had a rough day.
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What about you guys: share with me some of your favorite lotions and creams, etc.
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It feels so good to be organized. Don't know how long it'll stay this way, but clean, new starts give one such hope, don't ya think!
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A touch of Autumn

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I added a little Autumn decor to my surroundings this week. I bought some mums for outside, added my little scarecrows to the hanging box and hung up a little pumpkin trellis that I found at a yard sale this summer. All that remains to be done is the pumpkin carving with the students: I think I'll do autumn pumpkins rather than Jack-o-Lanterns and put battery operated lights in them.
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I've hung my usual fall-colored wreath on the door; and inside, I've put out all my chatchkas.

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Isn't that spider web cute; that's a recent $1 find from The Daisy.
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I'm singing the praises of Friday and am looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I wish the same for you.

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Hello; my name is Sandy; and I'm a slacker AND a rotten mother!

I've been a blogging slacker lately!
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I miss you, my blog friends.
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But, getting rid of 3 kids in one month is arduous work.

• Carolina is safety back home in Mexico. Adios my sweet little girl. And thanks for all the half full bottles of shampoo and lotion, the black umbrella and those last few squirts of your expensive perfume you left me in your room.




• Molly is in "the big city" (Toronto) and learning to be grown-up. Thanks for the beautiful Asian-inspired print, lost Mommy-underwear, 13 empty water bottles, 2 extremely crusty cups and 1 hold-your-mouth-and-don't-breathe covered plastic bowl of science experiment you left me in your room ............... and oh yeah! your contribution to these: I miss you terribly, love you deeply and pray for you every night. Fly! my pretty one. Fly!

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And of course, after they leave there's the clean-up and re-organization to be done. Elly moved into Carolina's bigger room, Libby moved upstairs to Elly's smaller room, and Sandy got out the vacuum, cleaning supplies, industrial sized garbage bags, storage boxes and paint!.

Is it wrong to 'child-proof' your home when they finally move out? To say "Have a nice life." "Call me once in a while" and "Please come home to VISIT me every now and then"

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Elly leaves on Thursday! She'll be back at the end of August along with a young Brazilian girl. So, I'm trying to clean and organize now, because 2 months of indulgence and irresponsibility are ahead of me! Ask me if I'm excited?

2 Recipes: One for Life & one for Yum!

I've been thinking about my poor little baby girl (18) away at university for the first time. She's experiencing such hardships! Hardships such as:
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- finding she's not able to survive on Mr Noodle and having to cook food for herself
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- having to get up at 8 am so she can get to class by 8:30, thereby only having time to grab a pop tart and a coffee for breakfast
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- having to walk for 20 min uphill (both ways, I believe) to get to her psych class at the main campus and how she simply must buy a car next summer because her legs are so tired when she arrives and she's sweaty and her hair is mess.

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Oh my poor little darling!
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Let's consider all of this .....
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I mean, the nerve of the university to schedule classes at 8:30 AM instead of 11 PM when most of the students are awake!
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And - just a minute now ! As I put this 2nd load of laundry in the washer and run upstairs to eat my bran flakes before I take the girls to school and go to work from 9 to 5, I think I'm beginning to get a handle on how awful this is for her.
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And you know! I'm certain I'll still be "tut-tutting" tonight over the whole thing as I cook dinner for 4 of us before going to my night class.
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And when I get home later and sit down to budget the gasoline, car insurance and winter tires into my ever decreasing income, I know I'll still be thinking about what she's told me. And I'll probably still be aghast at her situation.
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Poor little deluded creature!

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"However, little Libby! Do not be discouraged because, as ever, Mommy has a couple of pieces of good advice for you, my darling. Print these off and hang them on the wall of your dorm room.

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Use often!"

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#1

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#2

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"Welcome to the real world, kid!

Now -- grow up, young grasshopper!"

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In the meantime, to show that this Mommy is more than just tough love, I'm doing up a care package to send off for Canadian Thanksgiving on Oct 11th. And I may just include a couple of these, found while strolling through old posts from a new favorite blog.

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Our Best Bites: Single Serving Pie in a Jar .

Don't they look sooooo cute and soooo yummy!