Tuesday, February 1, 2011

A Busy Day Plus a quick recipe for Ambrosia

Today was spent with Eric home sick. Just for the fun of it I added some spinning, knitting, laundry and deep cleaning.  I am planing ahead for tomorrow as a nurse will be here at 8 am to take care of Eric and give my tired joints a rest. I have finished 1 of the 3 hats that need to be done a week from Friday and am contemplating making a few more to give the customer some choice in colors as she did not specify what colors she wanted.

Now for the promised recipe....

Ambrosia for 1

1 fruit cup drained
2 tablespoons of shredded coconut
1/4 cup maraschino cherries drained
1/2 cup of whipped creme

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. It is best to let it sit for a bit but can be eaten right away.

Have a great evening and enjoy your families.

Monday, January 31, 2011

A Busy Weekend

It has been a very busy weekend around here. On Saturday Eric was under the weather so it was UFO day and I did manage to finish 2, and there are more where they came from. They will have to wait though because I got a repeat order for 3 more knitted caps. The first cap is halfway through and I still have 12 days to get them finished.

Today was laundry and a trip to the hardware store. I decided to put off more deep cleaning until they pick up the recycle bin tomorrow, after all you can only put so much stuff in before they say it is too full and they refuse to take it. We talked to Teri today and she got an award for having the highest grade in one of her classes. I did forget the name of the award but it is really something and I call the bragging rights even though I did none of the work.

It is now very early on Monday morning and I am really hoping that Eric is asleep. His room has been quiet for 20 minutes. He has been very fussy for the last 2 1/2 hours and I was ready to go to sleep hours ago.

Well here is to a few hours of sleep and a very peaceful week. Enjoy your families.

Addemium- I did not get Eric to sleep until 3:30 this morning. Ugh I can't believe that I am awake.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Be Good toYour Children

I spent a good part of the afternoon doing the dreaded deep cleaning of my desk drawer's. I should clarify this I only got through 3/4 of one of the file drawers. Not so much for me but for Teri. I know this sounds really odd but the more junk that is totally useless that I get out of the house now the less she will have to do 30 or 40 years from now.

My only regrets of this afternoon were, that they only pick up they recycle bin once a week and I have already done the first mash down of the week, 2 full bins and 2 large bags of recycling went out today. Also that I did not do this sooner. As a generational pack rat I know that this is an inherited trait just ask my mom. I also know that I am on the right track, so please give me time and encouragement.

Those who live with me must not take this as a sign that the house will be done tomorrow a few hours of deep cleaning is all I can handle in one day. A besides I have to give the paper shredder a break too.  I am off to try to finish some craft project or another so I can chill out before Eric gets home and I get busy again.

So have a great evening and enjoy your families

Sunday, January 23, 2011

A Pivotial Day

A few days ago I noticed that Eric was having a lot of trouble after his bolist feedings. So I call his doctor and we put him on a trial of no bolist feedings and added and extra can of formula. Since we have made that switch Eric has not wild eyrped once and has slept through the night with the exception of last night. I really think he was ticked off at me for going out on a date with John.

Today was a very pivotal day in my life. Today was the first time in over 20 years that we went out as a family and I was not feeding a child. As I walked across Sweet Tomatoes parking lot I had a really odd thought. Why am I carrying my knitting with me, after all Eric was on the pump and when John and I finished lunch we would leave because we did not have to wait for Eric to finish.

John did notice how lost I felt with no child to feed. I needed to get a new rhythm of eating down. The old one was one bite for me then one bite for Eric until I was done. Then it was one row of knitting and one bite for Eric. I did feel totally lost and some what out of a job. As you all know I feel one of my jobs is to make sure everybody gets enough to eat. Yes Eric was eating via the kangaroo pump, but all I do is set up the bag and add formula during the day. So I my opinion the kangaroo pump was feeding Eric.

I need to remember that feeding Eric is not always our interaction while eating but that Eric get the proper nutrition no matter how the food is delivered. I also have to remember that as a parent not all the roads I cross will be bright and happy events. That I need to cherish every moment with my family because in the end they will not remember what we had to eat but rather the time we spent together.

Enjoy your families and have a great evening.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Making Lemonade

I am still sick and have spent most of the day sleeping. Speaking of which another nap sounds good about now. Not much knitting or any spinning got done today. I did manage to fill the recycle basket but am too tired to walk it to the back door. I will also skip trying to make dinner tonight and let John worry about that. Just maybe I can kick this thing by tomorrow.

My drink of choice today lemon water to make add crushed ice to fill 3/4  of a large drinking glass. Top off with water. Squeeze in 1/4 of a lemon and add 1 sugar cube. Stir drink repeat as necessary.

Enjoy your families and have a great evening.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Quick Vegan Corn Chowder

You guessed it since John shared his cold I don't feel like cooking so this is what is in the red pot for dinner tonight.

Vegan Corn Chowder

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Package Trader Joe's Miro Poix Mix*
1 Pound frozen white sweet corn
1/2 pound potatoes boiled and cubed
1 Quart Imagine Creamy Harvest Corn Soup

In your soup pot add the olive oil and warm. Add the Miro Poix mix and saute until the onions are transparent.  Added the frozen corn  and continue cooking until the corn is warmed through. Add the cubed potatoes and the Imagine Creamy Harvest Corn Soup, simmer on low a minimum of 30 minutes to let the flavors blend.

Serve with Bread and Margarine for a complete dinner. This may also be used as a starter course.

Serves 4  for dinner and 8 for a starter course.

*If you don't have access to Trader Joe's Miro Poix Mix you will need to dice 1 cup of white onions, carrots and celery to a fine dice.

I guess I started cooking dinner too soon. John just called and offered to bring dinner home. Timing is everything and tonight I just don't have it.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Destashing

Yes I started today's blog with a very bad word, but it did need to be done. You see the yarn and fiber were really creeping out of the closet where they were stored. I also did not want Fibber McGee's closet in my house. After lunch My friend Marge, Eric and I went down to Target to buy 3 storage bins like the one to the right. I should have picked up 2 shopping carts at the front of the store, because by the time I had left they gave us 2 carts to go to the car with.

Packing the car was shall we say very interesting. Only 1 storage bin would fit in the back of the car. So we loaded Eric in the car and put one one the back seat and the other on the floor between Eric's chair and the back seat. The young man from Target gave me a dubious look but I assured him that it would be OK.

Once at home we unloaded the car and got to work. The first part was very easy as most of the yarn had been bought more recently. With Eric supervising and Marge putting the yarn by weight in drawers I sorted through the yarn skein by skein. By the way I think I have enough sock yarn to make as many socks as I have towels left over to make bibs with, so send those easy sock patterns my way. Things went pretty fast at first then the hard part came. Going through the older part of my stash yarn.  This is where all the destashing occurred. Luckily for me I had recently taught Eric's aide Joe to knit, so I sent 1 very large carrier bag home with him. Joe was wise enough to place the yarn in his car before I lost my nerve and put it back. Thank you Joe.

By the time I sorted through all the yarn and Marge organized what I was keeping it was time to put the closet back together and I am happy to report that I can now walk in the walk in closet. Even better I have found a lot of batts and roving which should give me something to practice on while I am learning to spin my own yarn. I have 2 very small hanks drying in the garage right now and when they are dry enough you get to hear about that too.

Well now it is time to head off to bed. So enjoy your families and have a great day.