The Annual Christmas Shirts

Here is this  year's almost-finished pair of shirts I've been making for son #4.
He's the musician-mountain climber with a passion for cleaning up the planet and he lives his life that way, frugally and tidily.

If the distance isn't too far, he takes a bus to his gigs and fortunately he plays small instruments that can be toted.

The bird or animal patterns began years ago when  as a joke I made him a shirt with sea turtle  pattern; he loved it and asked for more. The shirt above on the right is an owl pattern.

I've been working my way more or less through the endangered species  and I've covered a lot of them.

Last year the gorilla shirt was a big hit.

This year, on compassionate grounds, I made one "normal" shirt to accompany the owls.

You're a good sport, #4.

The Case of the Missing Shoe Polish

These basement shelves are action central in my house-- I  label anything that can't argue and keep like with like so my system makes it easy to locate items.
Unless I change my system--then there's trouble..

 I was putting away the summer stuff  and thought I'd better give the winter shoes a polish but the polish was missing.  

In the past it had been stored in an open pink  plastic basket on those shelves--really easy to spot.

I vaguely recalled that I had switched the container for a smaller plastic bin with a lid. So how hard can that be to find?

It took days to zero in on it. I scoured the basement and then moved my search upstairs.

The logical place to keep it was in the sewing room; that made sense because the shoes were kept right across the hall.

The elusive box is in this picture but it took me three days to actually locate it.

See that shelf to the left of the clock? That's where it is.

I was ironing and idly glancing about with the dratted polish in mind and the box almost jumped out at me.

I blame it on my gem of a label maker. It's digital and lots of fun but the label is  tiny.

See what I mean?
Now that interfacing label is calling out to me to give it a tidy do-over.
The good news is that my penny loafers are gleaming.

Saturday Night Family Dinner

Saturday night is family night at my house. Come if you wish, take a night off, it's okay.The only rule is that I want to know how many I am cooking for.

Tonight is individual Beef Wellingtons along with baby carrots and Brussels sprouts in a brown sugar glaze, oven fried sweet potatoes and dessert is coming with one of the girls.

The veggies can be partially cooked earlier in the day, then blanched in ice water to stop the cooking, drained and stored in the garage. The garage is a great walk-in cooler in the winter, especially when there's a lot of action in the kitchen. The fridge won't be loaded with stuff teetering on the shelves.

This is how it looked at serving time after a short time re-heating in the prepared glaze.. The idea is that the colors will be pristine but I messed that up by adding the leftover mushrooms and onion from the wrapped tenderloins. It tasted lovely.

The beef tenderloins were browned in butter and seasonings earlier and also stashed for later and the above mentioned mushrooms and onion were prepared separately.

This left time to get some decorating started.

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Under the red stained glass is a lighted wreath. Trust me on this.

It's getting close to show time so the beef is now wrapped in puff pastry. The directions said let the frozen pastry thaw in the fridge. Done. Then the directions say to roll each pastry sheet into a square. What it doesn't say is how to separate the sheets. If anyone knows, please tell me.

I finally had to slice the sheets apart and as you can see the front ones are on the bulky side.  Included in the parcel is a handful of the sliced mushroom and chopped onion, sauteed until soft and a dash of sherry added. A beaten egg yolk is brushed on the pastry and it's ready for a few minutes in the oven to brown the pastry and re-heat the meat.

The directions called for 25-30 minutes but in the future I'd do some serious checking at the 20- minute mark.

And here we are, ready to roll. My people have arrived so there will not be a display of the finished product neatly arranged on platters. Everything tasted just fine.

We have some catching up to do.

Is There A Plastic Lid Thief in The House?

They have to go somewhere, right?  We store them away and then a genie takes over. You go for the appropriate lid when your container is filled and the lid is missing. Gonzo.

I live alone so I can't blame someone else for spiriting it away, although I do anyway.
I just know it's gone and It wasn't my doing.


So here's my new system--it takes up a lot of space but it is pretty well fool-proof. Snap on the lids immediately after cleaning and store container on the shelf.

Now let's see if the lids can make a break for it.

And down here in the oven drawer are the orphan lids and non-matching orphan containers. The matching parts will show up eventually, right?

So far so good.

Time For Settling In

Two things you can count on--pansies will be the last to pack it in for the winter and grass will endure forever.

I lost interest in weeding around late summer, so the grass weaseled its way in where it could..

Next season I think I'll give the pansies their own showcase; they ask for so little and give their all.

As for the grass, well, I'll just keep adding more brick "lawns."

Dove has been sitting outside for years, providing silent companionship for the neighboring cat that likes to nap on the ledge.

This is my variegated dogwood; in the summer it has nice leaves and scraggly flowers but in the winter the branches turn vivid red and look fantastic against the white snow.

The red leaves here actually belong to the bush behind it, in the neighbor's yard. Still, it's a nice effect when everything is settling in for the winter.

The Stragglers

This shaggy little group of plants was ushered in from the garden before the frost got them.

 African violet at the left is used to a comfortable summer tucked away in the shade  before coming  indoors to settle in under the grow lights, but no more. I am giving away the three-tier unit and going for simple and simpler.

Next in line is the amaryllis that I have been nurturing since last Christmas. They are finicky things but I'm hoping this guy will tire of the naked- bulb look and burst forth with new leaves.

I bought the fuchsia on sale just before the supermarket nursery closed for the season. I  found an old  macrame hanger for it and hung it on the front porch, then left it to get rained on. Except this was the season of no-rain. There are a couple of buds in sight so we'll just see what time in the kitchen can do.

Last is the clump of garlic chives I dug up and stuffed into the pot. So far so good. I mean, if you're going to make an omelet in the middle of winter, you want nice fresh chives to add to it , right?

Keep this in mind fellas--simple and simpler and try not to feel the pressure.

Ready, set---start.

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Lunch Bunch

This should be a shameful secret but just between us--I'm a junk-food junkie. Love the stuff.

At lunch time, I drive to my favorite spots--first to Burger King for the burger and then on to Wendy's where they have the best value for the diet coke.

I park at Wendy's, pull out and spread over my lap and the gearshift  a garbage bag to catch the sesame seeds and goopy dressing in the burger.

Then out comes the veggie burger and my book, propped in front of the steering wheel

I was trying to be discreet when I took this shot but around me are several lone munchers, some reading while they eat, some who listen to the radio, read and chew. I'm in the latter category.

I'm breaking myself of the meat- burger- everyday habit, hence the veggie burger.

Often I bring a sandwich from home and just buy the diet coke. Not just any diet coke . It has to be in a waxed cup, lots of crushed ice in the bottom and a nice straw.

Heaven.

be Careful What You Wish For

I found these geraniums on my front porch the other day and I'm happy to have them.

Lately I've mentioned to a lot of people that it's such a waste to toss geraniums at the end of the season when they can be stored and re-planted in the spring.

I'd rather not mention those senior moments (come to think of it I've had them most of my life) but I have no idea where these came from.

I'm glad someone was listening but who do I thank?

Over the years I've kept to the same quick-and-dirty storage method and it works quite well; brush away as much dirt as I can, then stuff the plants into a plastic bag and store them in an a cool, dark place.

Cool is hard to provide. My garage isn't insulated and things freeze into Popsicles out there so that leaves the basement.

I have an empty plastic bin ( a miracle in itself but I'm really trying to thin out) and they are now stashed in the bin  at floor level behind the box of birthday decorations..

In the spring when I'm just itching for the snow to melt, I'll retrieve them.
I  pull off the dried leaves, make sure the stalks has some green in them and pot in  lightweight soil.

Finding a sunny window ledge is always a difficult process  and  the best window is beside my desk.
By the time all the pots are strategically placed, I have a six inch square all to myself to pay bills and do things like, you know--carry on with life.

But first, there is a pesky winter to get through. and someone to thank, but who?