If One Nap is Good then....

Today started out very busy with 2 errands before Knitting Guild.  We had a lovely yarn tasting with Vicky Konecky from Grandma's Spinning Wheel here in Tucson. I so wanted to break my yarn diet and head over to Grandma's after the meeting, but I was so tired that I headed home instead.

I took some homemade chicken soup out of the freezer for lunch. John cut up some fresh carrots and celery to add to the soup. Before it had finished thawing and was warm enough to eat I had fallen asleep. Two hours later, I did not have time to eat the soup, but instead went and picked up Eric at his program. I did manage to cover a person's desk in yarn, knitting needles and knitting books before I left the building. I do love to do a good yarn bombing every once in a while.

We were not home for 30 minutes before I fell asleep again for another long nap. It is my hope that these naps today will help my body heal from both the cold, which is still lingering but also the arthritis flare up that it has caused. John served the soup for dinner along with some fresh bread.

After dinner I packed up some more charity to leave the house tomorrow. This time hats, scarfs and special needs bibs. They will head over to the Flowing Wells School District Clothing Bank.

Finishing Work

Today the bathroom sink was finished. The floor boards were also finished.  The only thing left for the kitchen remodel is the new dishwasher front panel. The repairs to the master bathroom and a little dry wall in the bedroom start at 7 am tomorrow.  Followed by repainting of the bathroom. 

Meanwhile I am starting to put the kitchen back together. I also cooked dinner for the first time since the start of the remodel today.  A nice pot of chicken soup. The only glitch I ran into was that I could not find the kitchen knifes. I forgot to note which box that I put them into. So I put the soup together with only a paring knife and peeler. Three other boxes were emptied and put away.  

Mean while Eric and I continue to try to recoup from this yucky cold.  While we did not give John permission to get the cold, he got it anyway.  So we will try to stay away from everyone until we feel better.  

Where Did It Go?

Even though I managed to sleep in until 6:20 this morning, I have no idea where the day went. Although I do have a very long list of things that got done today.

That list includes:
1. Mixed up a bowl of Matzo Balls to cook later in the day.
2.  Driving Eric both ways to his program. Yeah he got out of the house.
3. A quick breakfast followed by a trip to Trader Joe's.
4. Making a 7 1/4 quart pot of chicken soup from scratch. I would like to thank Lisa and Mark for helping consume some of the soup. I did clean up as I went.
5. Lunch with John
6. I hit a few sales and got a few needed items. I also learned that each store has it's own sizing scheme and that no 2 are alike. So hence forth I will go by fit not size. I am finally able to fit into the clothes at Lucy's. Did you know that Lucy's size XL is has the same fit as J.Jill size medium in t-shirts on me? I bet Lucy's is closer to the sizing of way back last century.
7. Scrubbed the metal screen for the exhaust fan over the stove.
8. Got rid of expired coupons. Cut new coupons out.
9. Did one load of laundry and got everything put away. A side note. I did rescue 3 pairs of socks from the odd sock basket.
10. Got in 19 minutes of yesterdays Rose Parade. I also did a little knitting during that time.
11. Ran and emptied the dish washer.
12. Had dinner with John
13. Watched a few old episodes of The Big Bang. Yes more knitting got done.
14. Did some random cleaning.
15. Got a short walk in.

I am sure that I have left a few things off the list. If you want a copy of today's recipes please let me know and I will type them up. Yet I have no idea how it became 10:00 pm and time to call it a night.

Sunday

Wonders of wonders, we actually got out of the house two days in a row. Yes we did see a movie today. Eric and I saw Morning Glory.  The movie was so good that not a lot of knitting got done after the first fifteen minutes or so. I did not even notice that I lost a stitch marker during the movie. Oh well I will just have to make myself some more. John saw Skylight which he said was good but not for Eric. I landed up eating almost a whole small bag of popcorn during the movie and landed up skipping lunch. A little shopping later and it was time to head home.

We came home and made chicken soup together. I did something totally different today. I took my tea strainer to de gunk the pot and get all the small floaters out of the soup. The plus side to using my tea strainer is that the mesh was so small I was able to get most of the chicken fat out of the soup without leaving in in the fridge over night. I am really not a big fan of fatty chicken soup.

I am almost finished with a few projects and hope to show off some on the blog this week. I have a full day tomorrow so it is time for me to turn in.

Semi Home Made Chicken Soup

After spending half of the night awake with Eric and the morning getting my finial holiday cleaning done, I was just too tired to make dinner. The holiday cleaning today involved cleaning out crevices of the stove with a tooth pick. I also cleaned the drip pans and under the drip pans till they did not look almost 30 years old. I could not do anything with the enamel that had been scoured off over the years. Picking up and tossing, scrubbing and cleaning the rest of the house and the never ending pile of laundry. Somehow I am pretty sure our ancestors did not go through this in the Exodus from Egypt.


So this is where my semi homemade chicken soup comes into play.

I made the recipe for Matzo Balls from the Manischewitz Matzo Meal can. I have not asked permission to include the recipe, so if they decide they want me to take the recipe down I will remove it from my blog. But really this is the absolutely best Matzo Ball recipe; we have been using it for at least 4 generations in my family(my daughter Teri just made this for the first time in her own house yesterday).

Manischewitz Matzo Balls

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

½ cup of Manischewitz Matzo Meal

1 teaspoon of salt if desired (I use salt if I use water instead of broth)

2 tablespoons of water

Blend the vegetable oil, eggs, water and salt together. Add the Manischewitz Matzo Meal and blend well. Here is where I change the directions a little. (They say place in the fridge for 15 minutes)Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours, over night is better. They will come out fluffier.

Make as many 1 inch in diameter balls as you can. Place on a wet plate and keep your hands wet so that they do not stick. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Drop the balls in the pot and simmer on a lower temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. When the Matzo Balls are all floating they are done.

For the Semi Homemade Chicken Soup

14.5 ounce package of Trader Joes Mirepoix mix

12 ounces of Trader Joes Just Chicken Strips

32 ounces of Trader Joes Free Range Chicken Broth

In your soup pot place Mirepoix mix and heat at a medium temperature till the onions are translucent.

Cut the chicken in to bite size pieces. Add the chicken and broth. Heat the soup for at least 30 minutes, to blend the flavors. Add the Matzo Balls and serve.

For the holidays serve with matzo and enjoy your evening with your loved ones.

Please note that I have not been paid or given coupons or product for any of the above items. All the items came out of my grocery budget. All the opinions are my own.