Its all true, the boogie girl is real, and you've found her. She knits, sews, spins, does pottery and writes it all down in this blog.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Monday Cleanup
First I want to thank you for all your comments about our Sweet Minnie girl. I haven't emailed everyone, I read them but got all choked up and it was too hard to write something coherent. Just know that I appreciate and each and every one. She was sick for a few weeks, I know I didn't tell too many how sick she was. Thank you all, it's been a tough year for sure.
On to the cleanup:
My projects tend to linger. I used to be more of the "think it, do it" type but now I think it and forget it. If I think it again, I write it down and lose the paper. If I think it again, write it down again and manage to keep the paper, then it's a project that will eventually get done.
Quite the system? No?
Last year we bought laminate flooring to replace the nasty carpets in our house. The girls rooms got done but when it came to cleaning out our room, we stalled. Our carpets have reached a point, that cleaning will no longer work. I ripped out the 2nd worst carpet. Or the easiest piece to remove:
The hallway. That was taken while in the middle of rip tear and cut. The man that installed this was very thorough in his stapling of pad, and his creative use of tack strip. I'll take more pictures as I go along. I highly recommend him if you want to keep the carpet for life. Although, right now I want to hunt him down and destroy his little staple gun.
As if that wasn't enough, I did another cleanup on the clothing and got rid of more than 3 large lawn sized trash bags of clothing. That makes more than 6 of that type of bag in the past few months. I still have plenty of clothing. Who knew I had this much clothing? And who knows why I was saving things like these:
Soon, I swear it, soon, the biggest project since I renovated the house, will get under way again. Just the bedroom (the messiest room) and the living room (the nastiest room) to go.
Right here you're expecting a new Monday Cleanup Poll. Well, you're not getting it. I'm shelving the cleanup polls until next year when the cleaning bug strikes again. I don't know about you, but for me, cleaning seems to be all about srping and summer. Fall and Winter are all about good food. So I'll be doing something new on Mondays....
Eating Monday
Each Monday I'll give up at least one recipe. These will not be any old recipe though. They will be low fat, low/no sugar, and really yummy things that I've cooked. Across blogland I've noticed many that are trying to lose weight or working at being healthy in general.
Most of us could eat better. I know the cleaning polls made me think about cleaning a bit more (if not actually doing it). This will hopefully give a boost in the healthy food department.
To kick us off:
Fried Rice
This is great as a side dish for all you carnivores or add meat to it. For you vegetarians/vegans, add the tofu or tempeh and you have a full meal from the wok. While you don't have to use a wok for this, it will have better flavor if you do use a well seasoned wok.
2 cups of precooked rice (brown for the really health conscious)
1 medium red onion - chopped
1 cup of broccoli - bite size pieces.
1 cup of Napa cabbage or bok choy - chopped.
1 cup shredded carrot (bite sized pieces would work too)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1-2 Tsp Vegetable or Sesame oil
1-2 Tbs Soy sauce (vary to taste)
Optional
cubed meat, cubed tofu, cubed tempeh, summer squash, zucchini, most other vegies will work as well. I avoid the nightshades though, for some reason they aren't as good in this.
Using some of the oil, saute the onions. Then add in the mushrooms and cook them down a bit. If you're adding meat or soy substiture you will want to add that in with the mushroom step and not move on until it's cooked most fo the way through. Add in the broccoli and carrots and another vegetable you're adding (not the cabbage yet). When that all has been cooked but is till crispy, add in the rest of the oil, the rice, and the soy sauce. Stir and cook a bit. Add in the cabbage. It just needs a few more minutes and then you can serve.
This is one of my favorite dishes. It's easy and it uses up all that left over rice and it makes a good filling quick lunch.
Geez, this post is making sound positively domestic.
I don't just clean and cook.
I knit and sew too!
Move over Miss Stewart. I know some of you are thinking that I don't really clean but I talk about it. It's true. So if I really take over Martha's show, they'll be some changes. We'll talk about how messy I really am, and then we'll sit down and knit while ignoring the state of the house.
I'm beginning to think I have to many WIP's and UFO's. I had been flitting around from one indecision to another. I just couldn't settle down with
The new goal is to pick a few and stick with them to completion. I've done the manogamy project before but I'm not up for that at the moment. I think sticking to a few at a time will be restrictive enough to get something done, but loose enough that I don't feel stifled.
I really want that shawl done. The cloth there is a bonus view. I just found this stuff and I plan to make a few spindle bags out of it. I happened upon some cashmere last week and I need a new spindle with new bag to get working on it. Obviously I haven't decided to pare down my spinning projects.