Desert Living Hacks

 If you are new to desert life one thing that you may not have encountered yet is the lack of cold or even cool tap water from April to the end of October in the Northern Hemisphere.  Please note if you are in the Southern Hemisphere you will have to flip the dates around to match up with your spring to the end of fall. The water going through the ground pipes will usually be a little warmer than the current air temperature outside. 

This does affect your cooking in very odd ways.  For instance if you are making bread, the tap water might be hot enough to kill off the yeast before you even begin.  It might be necessary to add a few ice chips to cool the water down to the proper temperature. Another alternative is to use rapid raising yeast that you mix in with your dry ingredients.  Any temperature above 120f will kill the yeast before you have begun.  

For pasta being used in salads you might want to prepare by putting about 1/2 gallon of water in the refrigerator the day before. Cook and rinse your pasta as normal. For the final rinse take the water out from the refrigerator and pour over your pasta. This should cool the pasta down enough to make your pasta salad right away.

For hard cooked eggs cook as usual. Drain the eggs, then rinse in the coldest tap water you can get. You will then dump 1/2 of the water out of the pan and add 2 cups of ice cubes. With your hand stir the ice cubes around the eggs. In the beginning the ice will melt very quickly. When the ice stops melting and you just have small pieces of ice, it will be time to start peeling your eggs. You will notice that the egg whites are a bit more pliable than your winter eggs.  This is ok, the eggs are fine.  

As for clothing you will want to protect your skin from the sun.  I would personally recommend blue jeans and long sleeve cotton or linen shirts Women can also wear long dresses or skirts instead of blue jeans.  You might think it is counterintuitive to wear long pants or dresses in the summer heat, but please hear me out on this one.  The cotton or linen will absorb the sweat and the sun will dry the sweat out fairly quickly.  This will create a personal evaporative cooling system. This is very cool. Also with the sun not touching your skin you will also get a feeling of being cooler. This will also protect your skin from harmful rays from the sun that can cause skin cancer with prolonged exposure. 

Now for the things you should never wear in the summer and the reason behind it. Polyester and acrylic fibers. Clothing manufacturers claim that they have moisture wicking properties.  Their public relations and marketing teams have obviously never worn their products in the desert in the summer heat. Polyester and acrylic do not absorb your sweat. The sweat runs down your body leaving a very smelly odor behind. You may also find yourself with a heat rash because there’s no way for your sweat to dissipate. 

Another type of clothing to avoid is shorts and tank tops. In other parts of the world, it’s perfectly acceptable. The sun is not as strong and the humidity is much higher, so it makes sense in those regions. However, in the desert, it’s a good way to get a sunburn, even if you apply sunscreen before you leave the house, sunscreen must be reapplied every few hours. Most people apply sunscreen once in the morning and forget about it. Any where the sun hits your skin will feel hotter for good reason. This applies to all races and colors of skin. We as human beings were not meant to be in the hot sun with so much skin exposed skin. Think blistering sun burns which are a very big warning sign that you have had too much sun. Tanned skin is not healthy skin.  Say no to tank tops and shorts.  

After swimming it is also a very good idea to dry off and cover up. Wear a wide brim hat with a 3 inch wide brim to protect your skin.  If I want to lay out in the summer sun after swimming I personally cover myself head to toe with a heavy towel and a wide brimmed hat.  I have been doing that since the mid 1970’s.  

It is also very important to stay hydrated.  Drink before you are thirsty.  Do my gardening or hiking before 9am on most days. Take twice the amount of water that you usually take on a hike. Pay attention to trail conditions. If the trail is closed because of extreme heat please don’t go around the barrier. This is done to protect you not to annoy you.  If you absolutely must go for a walk in the middle of the day go to the mall or big box stores and walk inside around the inside perimeter of the store. Since you are already at the store you can do your  grocery shopping too. 

You will also need to clear any dead trees and other plants from your property. Yes, we have fires in the desert. Even in suburban areas you need a fire break around your house. So no hanging branches touching your house.  Check with your local fire department to see what is required.  

Please don’t feed the wildlife in and around your home. The bunnies and other babies might look cute. The downside is that they bring Coyotes and Wildcats, because you’ve just fattened up their meal for them. This also puts small pets at risk, so never ever leave your pets outside unsupervised.  You may, however, put up feeders for hummingbirds, just be sure you sterilize the feeder every few days. You may also plant a butterfly garden that will attract bees and butterflies and help them on their journeys. 

Also talking about wildlife in your area please leave the snakes alone. They are beneficial to our environment. They eat pack rats and other small rodents that do harm to our cars and other wiring. If you happen upon a rattlesnake most local fire departments will remove them safely and relocate them to a more remote location.  

Below is a picture of how to deal with hard cooked eggs. 

A tired day

 Today turn into a shopping and rest day.  I let Shipit deliver the Target order.  John and I went to Sprouts. I mainly picked out the fresh fruit and vegetables, while John zoomed around the store getting everything else on the list.  Although I think I forgot to add bread to the shopping list.  

I also managed to clean the kitchen up and not take a 2 hour nap after my shower, that is baby steps on the road to recovery.  I would occasionally like to take a giant leap. That is not happening now.  

Dinner was cooked together with John handling the vegetables while I made the omelette.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with having breakfast for dinner on warm humid days.  

I only knit about 2 inches on a broken rib pattern scarf.   

Now it’s time to call it a day.   TTFN 

Cooking More and other things

I have been feeling well enough to do more things like cooking. In the past 2 weeks I have cooked 5 times which resulted in 9 homemade dinners for my husband and myself.  The home cooking is great and some creative recipes have come into our dining rotation.  A new favorite is Scottish Loch Trout, which is similar in appearance to salmon but with an entirely different flavor and texture.  I am happy to report that the Scottish Loch Trout tasted even better the second night.  

You have guessed that there is a down side to all this cooking.  Yes, there is a downside. I plan my shopping trips early in the morning.  Then after the food is put away I take a 2 to 3 hour nap.  Wake up in time to start dinner and nap again while dinner is cooking.  

I am also working on a small shawl.  It has a 7 row repeat.  I find that since I am on the second skein of linen yarn I can only do 1 repeat of 7 rows a day.  That’s ok with me.  The shawl is slowly getting finished.  Any progress is good progress. 

As for house work it is all done in 5 to 10 minutes at a time followed by resting or a nap.  Sometimes I wonder if the old energizer bunny will ever return.  Other times I am grateful that I can get so much accomplished between my many rest and nap breaks throughout the day.  

The Trouble With Cooking Beef Stew

 I made a beef stew for dinner from scratch today.  Hours later the house still has the wonderful smell of beef stew.  It is making it hard to fall asleep.  The recipe I used is below.  

Beef Stew

1 pound of flank steak cubed

1 large onion peeled and diced

1 pound of carrots peeled and sliced. 

1 whole celery cleaned and sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil 

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound frozen mixed vegetables 

Water as needed

1 Le Creuset soup pot*

Heat the olive oil in the Le Creuset soup pot over a medium heat.  Add the flank steak, salt and pepper.  Brown the meat.  Add the diced onion.  Cook until the onion is translucent.  Add the carrots and celery. Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Turn the temperature down to medium low.  Simmer for 3 hours or longer if you have time.   Add the mixed frozen vegetables. Cook for an additional 30 minutes.  

Refrigerate the leftovers and you have a delicious meal for the next night.  

Makes 5 to 6 servings.  

*I used my Le Creuset soup pot for this recipe.  My husband bought it for me when we no longer need the 7 1/2 quart pot. I am not receiving any compensation from the Le Creuset company for my recommendation.  I just think it makes a better pot choice and I am less likely to burn the stew with a heavier pot. I also love the even heating.  

Just Wow

 Despite a very bad body day, I got a tremendous amount of things done today.  I started off the day at 3 am in crying pain with tears running down my cheeks.  Not the way I prefer to wake up any day.  I took aspirin at 3:30 am with a very eclectic breakfast. Followed by my first nap once the aspirin kicked in.  Then it was up again at 6 am, I was really stiff and had to move , so I started 2 loads of laundry. Then took my second nap of the day.  

I managed to put a few things away.  I organized things in 5 minute chunks followed by resting.  It’s amazing how much I can get done in 5 minutes. Hang a load of laundry. Open an Amazon box and put things away.  Bring stuff from one end of the house to the other end. 

I did do quite a bit of craft hopping today. I plyed 2 skeins of yarn. Then put them up in skeins to get the bobbins back.  Spun 1 1/2 bobbins of yarn.  Added a few more inches to a knitted scarf. Also worked on a Tunisian Crochet baby blanket.  Hopefully it will be finished before the baby arrives.  

My biggest accomplishment of the day was cooking and cleaning up dinner with very little help.  I have not been able to do that since mid February when I got sick.  It was wonderful.  

Just so you know that some things don’t change.  I left a load of dry laundry in the dryer to be folded later.  The laundry might just freak out if I fold it too soon.  

A Mixed Day

 Things got kind of strange this afternoon.  The cup that I stored my first pair of Apple Air Pods showed up this afternoon in the iRobot storage area.  There was a lot of dust in the cup and faded marks where the Air Pods were.  The Air Pods were no where to be found.  

The question remains how did the dish made its way from my knitting table in the den to the robot storage area?  A mystery still surrounds what happened to the Air Pods.  

I am starting to feel better.  I still don’t know my limits. We made a lovely soup today.  It left me tired even though John did all the chopping.  All I did was add things to the pot and stir.  Next time I will bring in a stool to do more sitting.  

I did finish one end of a pounder scarf, because I a changing colors after the next skein of blue. I am 47.5 inch done out of 74 inches. 

A Roller Coaster Kinda of Day

 I was having a fantastic day until I was not. I got so angry at a sibling for being unwise and unwilling to help himself.  I got so mad I was literally shaking.  There are 2 ways to deal with this. I was proud of myself for making a healthy stress eating option. The first is eating until I feel better, but after 2 bowls of fruit it as time to go to the next phase.  The next phase is  more stress cleaning. I managed to clean an entire 2 food square area down to the bare wood.  Some things went to their proper places. Some things got tossed.  Some things landed in the Bookman’s trade bag.  By the time I was finished I put on over 3,500 steps around the house.  I used up all my spoons for the day and then some.  I still had dinner to cook. 

We were both so tired and stressed that we skipped the chicken dinner that was planned. We had even gone to Trader Joe’s for more kohlrabi before things went south. We then went to our new plan B. A vegetable omelette with fruit for dessert.  On the plus side I managed to flip the 12 inch omelette without having it break apart.  So for 2024 I am flipping omelettes at a flipping average of 500.  Meaning that we have had 4 vegetable omelets and I flipped 2 without them failing into a scrambled eggs mess. 

I was planning to spin some yarn after dinner, but was too tired. I then thought about some knitting.  Again my hands were too tired.  I then resorted to some retail therapy by ordering for delivery a few things we needed for the house.  On low energy days home delivery is a great option for me.  

I should mention that kohlrabi is a turnip which  can be shredded to and cooked to make a great pasta substitute.  I will put the recipe in another blog post.  

Volvo the next chapter

 John got on the phone yesterday with the dealership.  So long story short we arrived at the dealership at 7:30 am.  It’s very early, am I right?  They did a computer duomp and found an incident in the log but couldn’t find the actual problem.  

So they did a software update and my 4 year service on my car that has less than 11,000 miles on it.  They said that would fix the problem.  John talked to the service manager and found out when the technicians were available.  So the game plan is for me to drive straight to the dealership if the break issue pops up again.  Since it seems to be an intermittent problem I am betting on John being right that it is either a sensor issue or a broken wire.  Only time will tell.  

I have found out that 59 degrees is too cold on a low spoons day to eat outside.  I finished my chicken before my body said no more food for you. 

I drove the car home after lunch.  I spent the rest of the day solving craft supply issues and knitting.  Of course I did cook a new favorite dinner. A mixed vegetable and duck egg omelette.  Of course I managed to mess up the flip and feed the stove top some of our dinner.  

Right on Schedule

 My recovery from this latest round of hand surgery is right on schedule.  It is always slower than I want.  I am doing the usual post surgery hand therapy several times a day.  Now that the stitches have healed, I am also working on minimizing the scar tissue. 

I am at the stage where I have big plans for the day.  These plans go as scheduled until my hand gets tired, sore or both.  That usually means stopping progress dead in its tracks for a rest until my hand feels better.  John and I used team work to make an awesome turkey chili for dinner.  I love how the onion is cut in perfect squares.  He is also on opening cans and bottles right now.  The best part is we only made 1/2 a pot so it’s a 2 night meal.  

I also managed to wash and fold almost 2 loads of laundry and get it put away. I say almost because I ran out of bend in my hand to finish folding the socks.  I put off load 3 until tomorrow. 

Tomorrow I plan on warping the loom before every chore but starting laundry.  If I wait until I finish my chores, my hand is too tired for precision work.  That way if my hand is too tired to spin, I can always weave while watching television.  

A Relaxing Sunday

 At a very slow pace I managed to get a lot done.  Laundry, shopping, finishing  4 projects for small holiday gifts so no pictures tonight.  I even cooked dinner for 2 nights.  Even some random acts of cleaning.  

Tomorrow I will set up the Halloween goodies bags.  I will have a table out side as I have the past 2 years. I get to watch the trick or treaters on the outside camera.  Not quite as much fun, but with COVID19, Flu and RSV numbers really high. Yes, high enough to make national press coverage. This is the safest way for me.  I will also let the kids take what they want.  Pencils, erasers and bubbles seem to go faster than Candy.  All the leftover candy will be sent to work with John.  All the leftover non perishable things like pencils and erasers go back in the closet for next year.

Just Monday

 I decided I was not quite in the mood to do much cooking this week so I got up early and headed to the store. Most people were wearing masks, but there are a few that still won’t. I just assume since we have a county wide mandate that they are also not vax’ed, so I try to stay as far as possible from them. . I picked up a double turkey breast.  That should be good for at least 3 turkey dinners and one pot of soup.  

An afternoon walk and some time checking up on my older sister.  Then there was some easy knitting while working on a scarf.  I did not finish it but came close to the tinking spot.  I have gotten to an interesting spot in the Witch Tree. So more knitting time and listening time tomorrow. I have also changed chairs for my Cubii2.  I am using on of the chairs from the dining room table and a chair pad from the kitchen table.  It sounds odd but it works as long as I am wearing low heels.  I know being short requires heels for everything.  I did manage to get a full 30 minute workout after dinner.  Now we will see if I can get one after breakfast tomorrow.  

We are currently bingeing on the HBO British version of Ghost.  We are in the middle of the second season.  I highly recommend both the British version which is the original and the American version.  They are both the same yet different to reflect the society differences.  

A Wonky Hand Sorta Day

 It was a weird sort of day for me.  There is a small leak in the roof above my bedroom, with the rains this left the room damp with a funky smell, so I slept on the couch last night.  I know that this has nothing to do with my couch surfing last night, but it took over an hour to get my right hand moving this morning.  I am hoping that this is just the damp weather and not more hand surgery.  My right hand spent the day being wonky.  So no knitting got done.  

I managed to warp the loom and start another scarf.  I was not happy with 2 of the yarns so they made it to the goodwill box.  Better there then me forgetting that I don’t like them and trying to use them again.  By the way that topped off box one and another box is ready to go.  I did manage to get 2 loads of laundry done.  I did a couple more stages of finishing work on the scarf I took off the loom last night.  

Making dinner was interesting tonight.  I made my version of Turkey Taco Meat.  I would strongly suggest that onions not be chopped on a wonky hand day. That onion thought it was on a slip and slide, I even managed to feed the floor some raw onion. Once the onion was in the pot I added everything else with ease.  I just squeaked by on my carbs. John found a wonderful low fat tortilla under the Kroger in house label that was very low fat and tasted great too, so I made my fat by .50 grams of fat   

I even found a great Ganga , which is Tucson speak for a great deal.  I had a handful of coupons from my last shopping trip to the pharmacy, they allow you to stack in house coupons, so I got a 16 ounce jar of Skippy peanut butter for 10 cents plus tax.  I have not done that in a while, it felt good. Yes, I know we pay a lot for our medicine, so the is my version of a mini claw back.  

Well it has been a long day and we are going to get up early to try to patch the roof.  Wish us luck. 

I Need a Routine

Well I think we will be at home for a while. I need to start a routine.  I have a hunch that this might just take a little while to resolve it self.  I intend to call at least one person a day to check in on them.  Knitting is going well.  Reorganization is going well, tomorrow I am sending 8 pounds of roving and fluff  to a friend who needs project’s to do. Clearing clutter is going well too.

Tomorrow I will try Fry’s order in advance and call when you get to the parking lot service.  The ordering was a bear and kept changing my order and adding things that I did not want. The app needs to be more user friendly.  I hope the delivery goes better.

I have decided to use the same mindset I used when Eric used to get sick.  We will make it through. I have yarn and fluff.  We are cooking 3 meals a day at home we can do this.  Also. Have lots of plastic bags to put finished projects in.

Me Time

I am not quite sure why but lately me time involves a 2 to 3 hour nap.  Which in turn messes up my plans for the day.  Although I have to admit that I feel a whole lot better after the nap.  I still did manage to get to 2 grocery stores and get most of the house restocked.  I even managed to find a turkey breast to cook for dinner.  The leftovers will be tomorrow nights dinner.  A turkey salad with pecans, celery and cherries served over a nice salad.

I did not manage to catch up on the laundry. My prediction for this weekend will be knee high.

I even managed to finish knitting a hat and cast on the next.  For the bonus points I emptied a knitting bag.  Tinked two half finished wash cloths. I do not need any more wash cloths, I have a few dozen in a storage tub if anyone needs some.  The yarn went into the hat bag. The extra knitting bag now very empty went into my closet.  The knitting needles will be put away tomorrow.

John and I started binge watching Highlander tonight.  We got through season 1 episodes 1 & 2.  So far it is fabulous.  I am wondering if some of the actors were also in The Game Of Thrones?   The  scenery is wonderful too.  I like all the costumes.

Eric spent most of his day sleeping.  That about sums up today with the exception of steps. I got over 12,000 today.  I am trying to  exercise away the stress.

Family Time

We had a great weekend with Simiglen of Instagram fame and his family.   Yes, my younger brother is great barbecue chef.  If enough people ask him, I bet we could get his secrets for a perfect steak and fresh grilled salmon.  By the way he is just as good with grilling vegetables.

I was able to give his kids new water bottles to help their quest for a better future for our planet. I was a little disappointed that we were not able to find Tucson sweat shirts, just because we have summer temperatures in the 100’s  does not mean that visitors don’t want to bring home a sweat shirt.  Oh well, I will just have to look for them and mail them.

Eric did enjoy the company but did a lot of sleeping.

Q

Did I ever mention how much I love crocheting using a size Q hook and bulky yarn.  I was able to start a scarf at 3 pm  today and finish it around 8 pm with all the ends woven in. I still had

time to cook dinner, take a walk and clean up dinner.  It was a bright spot in an otherwise dismal day.

Eric kept me up last night so I was tired to.begin with. Then there is building construction at Eric’s day program which will muck with the air quality, so he will be home until at least Monday.  So besides a much needed nap, all I did was play pick up.  This lead to a cranky mommy day.  Yes, I know in my heart that things could be worse, but sometimes it is hard to see outside my four walls.

So this is what 56 rows of crocheting looks like when you only go through the back of the top loop.

Thanksgiving Dinner

After more than a few years, I actually have Thanksgiving Dinner for 2 down pat. The secret is to make fewer side dishes. Today I made 1/2 of a turkey breast, stuffing, cranberry sauce and green beans. We skipped the candied sweet potatoes , rolls and the second vegetable. We used luncheon plates instead of dinner plates and dinner was perfect. We were comfortable after dinner and not in a food coma. I think that this is my new game plan.

Did I mention that I was the one to spill cranberry sauce on the pale green damask table cloth. I sprayed it with Tide stain remover to pre treat and washed it as soon as the table was cleared. I would like to say thank you to the people at Procter and Gamble for making Tide. The cranberry sauce stain came out in the wash. The paper napkin that I forgot to take off the tablecloth did not fare as well.

I have got to make a list of fiber and art projects that need to be finished before the end of the year. It occurred to me today that the holidays are really here. I have enough projects to keep me busy until mid December. So if I am not on Facebook or Twitter I will be sewing, knitting, quilting and making jewelry for presents. I think I might just try to wrap things as I go. At least my sewing machine just had a tune up.

Well it's time to get back to some knitting. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

More Zenning

Today was day two of zenning the craft room. There were some surprises along the way again, such as finding out that I had done enough knitting to move a lot of yarn to the closet yarn stash. Also 18 cotton yarn cones takes up about a cubic feet of space.

I am trying to organize the rack by fiber craft. This makes it much easier to see what I have lined up. Yes, I also found more yarn, please tell me that you are not surprised by this. I need to set up the wider loom to make some more rag rugs and summer shawls, yes I found a lot of supplies. A few quilts are in the line up too. Before and after pictures will be forth coming.

Today I sent 5 knitting looms to Ironwood Ridge Elementary School for their hat knitting project. One class makes hats for sick kids and baby's at the local hospital. A great project to support in my very humble opinion.

My hands are still tired and sore from last weekend so only about a half of an inch of knitting got done. I did however make a chicken tomatillo soup for dinner.  Cutting the vegetables was very interesting to say the least, no even cuts today. The best part is that we have enough for tomorrow too. Let me know if you want the recipe.

Trying to Keep Up

I think that I might be wearing ruts in the tile. I am keeping up with my walking at least 11,000 steps a day this week. Today will top 13,000 or just over 5 miles, and the farthest I got from the house was the mail box. The walking keeps me from craving junk food.

Eric's recovery is going slower than we would like, but he is still making progress. I am starting to get into a rhythm with Eric at home. I still did not finish my to do list today, but I got more finished.

Today I started playing around with a quiche recipe made with duck eggs and goat cheese. When I get the recipe perfect, I will post it on the blog. All I can say now is that the taste was perfect, but the texture needs a little work.

I am going to see if I have any energy to knit now.

Best Intentions

My plan for dinner tonight was a hardy vegetable mushroom beef barley soup. It would go nice with our cold weather here. Yes, it is well below 70 degrees Fahrenheit here. By the time I finished getting all the vegetables in there was no room for the barley. Oops, I guess we are having a vegetable stew with a little meat.