5 thing Friday - Echeveria, cooking, embroidery, snacks, hearts

I have never had what you would call a green thumb, but when I noticed a small cup full of leaves from a succulent in the window of the breakroom at work, I grabbed one and stuck it into my lunch kit. 

Then I put a smidge of potting soil in a little clay pot (the artist is Bubbie, ca. 2006) and left it alone.  Now there are TWO babies growing in there!  I think this is an Echeveria.  They require mostly hands off and very little water. Its been in here maybe a couple months?

When I saw that Kathie made corn fritters, I knew I had to make them.  My mother used to make these for us when we were children.  Unfortunately, she didn't pass the recipe along.  I improvised with Jiffy cornbread mix, frozen corn, egg, milk.  Mine could have used a sprinkle of salt, but they were so good.

This was one of three meals I actually cooked this week, using up some foods in my freezer and fridge. (twice a week, going forward)

3 over-ripe tomatoes went into a pot with olive oil, garlic, seasonings, broth. I simmered this for about two hours, then make a little pot of spaghetti with a nub of ground beef from the freezer.

Lunch one day, dinner a future day.

I was *horrified* that The Girl wanted to flat out toss some of her embroidery into the trash!  I saved it in the nick of time.  Who would even want these?, she asked.  ME.  The racy ladies are perfect in the bathroom.

The botanical stems are in the sewing room.

Another made its way into my bedroom.  And a 6th one (not shown) is in my closet above my jewelry shelf.  I picture myself years from now, passing them on to her kids. If I can part with them. (and there are still 4 more of them!)

I'm doing the most important packing first for my trip to the beach - snacks. Ha. Between now and Tuesday morning, I will have the rest of everything ready to go, including myself.  Not gonna lie - I am a tad bit nervous of traveling alone.  Baby steps for me, as the beach is a mere 4 hours away.

I sewed some hearts this week and will take them on my journey.  It was a good boredom buster, in between reading and getting a few things done around the house.  Here's the link if you want to play along with fabric: https://ifoundaquiltedheart.com/

Happy weekend!

Gina

5 thing Friday - curtain spiff, Dubai chocolate, a good dinner, stitching, Empty Nest

Projects around the house were very low key this week.

I installed a regular curtain rod in the office and ordered a simple rod pocket panel in a dusty blue: 

The walls in here are a gray called "Train", but it has a hint of blue to it.  And since I decided that it was rather plain, I added a beaded fringe along the top and the hem.  Is it perfectly done? No. If you examine it you will see a messy hem at the bottom, since I seriously underestimated how tricky it is to machine stitch not only that fringe, but the flimsy fabric as well.

The fabric is a crinkly gauzey polyester and slippery as an eel.

It's hard to get a good close-up of the beads, but they are lovely.  Its sort of boho chic and I kind of love it. 

I finally got to try a Dubai-style chocolate bar and it was as delicious as I imagined it to be.  The chocolate was Belgian, which I find a touch sweeter than your usual milk chocolate.  I think that it would be even better made with dark chocolate.  At $8 it was a splurge and not something I will be adding to my usual grocery order.

To balance out the candy, I made a seasoned curry rice and some honey carrots to go with pan fried tilapia and that was also quite good!  I find that I can cook for myself with no great trauma about 3 nights a week.  I'm still working on it.

A work friend is leaving soon, and I bought her some wine she likes and thought I would stitch a quick something to hang on the bottle.

Also not perfect!  But heartfelt.

If you've been reading this blog a bit, you know that this has become an unofficial Cannary motto, and one I try to remember daily.  The rest of the quote states that "optimism is a magnet for good luck".  I am hoping that is true.

We did it, Mark!

I wish you could be here to share this milestone.

I got the last Cannary kid launched into his own apartment, living life on his own.  He took the rest of his things yesterday and whatever he didn't want went into my donate pile and directly over to the Habitat Restore.  As I told him yesterday, "you got this, I love you and am very proud of you, and don't forget: you know where to find me".  For launching four of them into adulthood with strong family support and a mom on their side, I'm proud of me, too.

Gina

5 thing Friday - easy meals, painting, tired me, new couch, moving decor around

I've been doing fairly well at feeding myself reasonable meals lately. 

One night this week I made a noodle bowl with bowtie pasta, broccoli, lemon pesto, and a sauteed tilapia filet.  Easy, quick, and filling, with no leftovers.

Another fairly easy meal was smash burger quesadillas.  Not low cal by any means, but super delicious.

Bubbie has gotten into the swing of meal prepping again, now that he has his own kitchen.  Looks like he is focusing on veggies!  This makes my heart happy.  I know he was so ready to be out of my house and into his own space and I don't blame him one bit.  I should have him cook for me!

On Wednesday I tackled cleaning and painting the closet in the bonus room.  I also took all the switchplate covers off, removed the shelving system, patched nail holes, and bought the paint.

The color I picked is called Misty Surf and is a dusty greenish blue.

Once I painted the inside of the closet, I realized I needed to touch up the door frame and door.  (of course, because one project always spawns a few more)  I took loads of command hooks down and I may not replace them.  With 4 kids, I have purchased enough Command hooks to keep that company in business.

I felt so out of gas the first half of Thursday and I will admit, I was laying on my couch for most of the morning.  However, after lunch I rallied and painted the bonus room in record time - 2 hours.  It helps that I had already done all of the prep.  The color doesn't look all that different in this photo, but in person is so pretty and soothing.

I also made plans to paint this wall in the den  in the color "Blue Blood", which is from that same paint palette.  Because guess who bought herself a new couch?

It is being made now, in a gorgeous deep soft navy.  I am so looking forward to getting cozy on that chaise and read to my heart's content.  I'm going to look for a neutral rug and I have already moved some things around in the room.

Like a signed Pena print from 1988 (that I cannot part with), and these sconces which went to live in my bedroom temporarily (which will also get painted!).  I am shopping my house to change things up. But I am getting ahead of myself - got to work on the bonus room today and get ready for the work weekend.  Lots of plans, but all in good time.  I am definitely going to rest today!

Gina

Bonus room plans

Well, the day arrived for Bubbie to move out and into his own apartment.  While I am happy for him to gain his independence, I am feeling the Empty Nest thing hard!  Time for a big project - I already have a home office and sewing room, so this is now a bonus room.

As of Friday morning there were still things in here that needed to be dealt with.  So I moved it all out into the garage for him to make decisions and deal with the pile. (including that desk which is a beast!)  I carefully peeled those posters off and removed all of the tacks and nails in the walls.

I emptied the shelves and closet, too.  I want a completely empty space so I can decide how to reimagine this space.  Plus, oh my goodness its dirty in here!  Everything needs cleaning and dusting. 

The carpet for the entire house will be replaced, but in the meantime, I vacuumed and steam cleaned in here, and made a plan for refreshing the space:

*use Magic Eraser on the doors, clean the fan

*replace the mini blind, one of the outlet covers, the switchplate cover, and the ceiling fan pull

*repaint the closet and the trim

*paint the room a soothing color.  A green/gray blue?

*remove the shelving system and patch the holes

But, how to use this space?  I don't really want to just leave it empty and close the door - I'm not selling the house anytime soon.  And someone warned me that a guest room would mean its available for someone to come back home...but what about having a day bed in here, with a table and lamp, possibly a chair.  I may very well have a guest one day!  Originally, I was going to make a reading room, but I have found a different solution for a place to read.  I know I will use the closet space for storage, though. I'm taking it step by step until I figure it out.

Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Gina

5 thing Friday - work anniversary, summer heat, moving Bubbie, refreshing my spaces, easy dinner

What a week it has been. 

I started off by celebrating my 31 years as an X-Ray tech with my weekend co-workers.  A nice group of people, no drama and usually a smile on their faces.  I think this is the most peaceful group I have yet to work with!  It makes Monday seem very loud...

The neighbor that lost half of the tree when it unexpectedly fell, just went ahead and cut the rest of the tree down. It had some weird looking places on it - was most likely dying.  But man, this makes the view different in my backyard. The grass is really suffering back here and I have had zero time or energy to water it. Its just too hot out.

I work at my puzzle table a few times a week and it helps to make me feel calmer.  This one was given to me by a friend, but I also find them at Half Price Books and Goodwill.  The Girl says she has some I can do, too.  That puzzle table was a good idea!

Moving day dawned.  Once the office was opened, Bubbie paid his deposit, got his keys, and we were in business. Between he, The Girl, Scout, and myself we got most of his things loaded into our cars and up a flight of stairs to his new place, which is very nice. I am doing my best not to worry.

 

On Thursday, I unloaded the rest of the room right out into the garage. I wore myself out, but it made me feel productive.  It's decision time: either take it with you or donate/recycle/trash it.  I already have plans for that room.

Moving during the hottest time of the year is a Cannary family tradition, I guess.  So is getting a cold beer afterwards.  I treated myself to an apricot Belgian white while I sat and journaled.  Incidentally, this is the place where I discovered I had a very flat tire after meeting up with a friend.  Returning to the scene of the crime, ha ha.

I also thoroughly cleaned and restocked my fridge and freezer.  I know it just looks like a lot of bevvies in there, but I also cooked taco meat and chicken breasts to freeze, along with portions of ground beef and some frozen veggies.  I should be able to feed myself pretty easily and now all of the space in here is MINE.

I gave the guest bathroom a refresh and deep cleaning, hung a new shower curtain and liner, hung those plaques I had found at Goodwill months ago, swapped out the outlet cover, put the new towels in the linen closet, put some tub appliques down, washed the rug, added a plug-in air freshener.

Its not fancy, but it is clean and useable once more.

The only cooking I did this week was very easy and should last me at least three days - Suddenly Salad pasta mix with added sauteed shrimp, extra peas, and quartered cherry tomatoes.  Quite good.  After we finish up moving the rest of the stuff out of my garage I will get myself ready for the weekend then plop myself down and read until bedtime because I am TIRED.  

Happy weekend!

Gina

Christmas 2024, in brief

Christmas was everything I wanted it to be.

Luminarias lining the walkway to the front of the church

A beautiful service that filled me with hope

The tree ready to welcome my peeps

Time spent together as a family

Scout

Firstborn

Bubbie

The Girl and Teddy

A peaceful, loving day full of relaxation, good food, time together.

A beautiful ending to the year!

Gina