Saturday, March 22, 2014

Domesticity is highly overrated.

I have been home without any "work" since Thanksgiving.  There was a small project that took a few days in February but other than that I have been searching for meaning in cleaning out closets, shredding old files, scanning in pictures from the many boxes, scouring magazines for interesting menus to try.  I am planning healthy menus using an excel sheet so,I don't end up with 6 cans of basil/garlic chopped tomatoes on sale for the unbelievable price of 6 for $3.  I have purged my cupboards of questionable plastic containers, out of date ingredients and spices I brought from Canada (just kidding).  

A trip to The Container Store yielded shelf liners for my wire pantry shelves, an ever so clever divider that let's me stack my sauté pans, another to let me store the many cutting boards, pizza stone and cookie sheet rack.  Now they stand neatly on end waiting to be plucked for use.  And not to be ignored another divider that let's me store the casserole pans, and deep dish pie pan without stacking, and a cute extra shelf to separate my Polish Pottery casseroles.  All of this has led me to believe I am addicted to cooking containers.  This resulted in the mental challenge of incorporating these wonderful, unique containers in MEALS.   

I am starting with the ones that are more suitable for a family of two.   A La individual chicken pot pies in the au gratin dishes, broiled scallops and shrimp in the shallow ceramic baking dish, 2 person meatloafs in the small loaf pans lurking in the cupboard over the stove.  I am exhausted. I want to order pizza.  Planning menus that will use all of the fresh ingredients and leave no leftovers is exhausting.  My sweetie hubby is a willing test subject.  So far the majority of the meals have been winners, only one was horrid - way too much ginger.  I NEED A JOB!   


The Fence

We have lived here for almost ten years and I have enjoyed the view from the deck across my neighbors yard to the 11th fairway and to the trees and sky.  My backyard includes a Winnie the Pooh woods that is a nice privacy block from errant balls but no wonderful long view.

When we first moved here I thought I would put up a fence but I could never imagine one I would like.  The HOA rules only permit a backyard fence that doesn't come out more than 5 feet from one side of the house and is set back at least five feet from your property line and in our case at least 50 feet from the rear edge that abuts the golf course.  It was a very unsatisfactory look and it would double the work of mowing and edging, and in truth our dog is a city dog who isn't very fond of wet grass and would much prefer a nice walk on a sidewalk. 

Until last year our neighbors were a family with young children who were wonderful to watch grow.  We miss them and their energy.  And the roasted marshmallows the kids would bring me when they had a fire in their firepit.  Our new neighbors are nice, they are quiet and not really outdoor people.  But they are fence people.  They have two dogs who are used to having a fenced yard that eliminates the need for walks.  To be fair, she works long hours and his work frequently takes him away all day.  They want a doggy door into a fenced yard so the dogs can come and go as needed.  Today the fence installers came and started digging post holes and erecting the fence.  It is a nice open black iron fence, it will work well for them.  But I suddenly became very protective of my property line.  They seem to have gotten a waiver to extend their fence out from the side of the house to cross their driveway and come up to the five foot set back from my property line.  I watched the installers eyeball the line and wanted to rush out and say wait, do you know where the property marker is because the line does not form a right angle!   All of my busybody thoughts came leaping to the front.  "Don't put the ends of the rods  into the grass, it will make it impossible to edge or use the trimmer."  "You are just eyeballing the setbacks and haven't even referred to the plat."  

As my hubby would say, it is not my problem.  If it is too close to the golf course someone else will complain and I never go down to that back corner of the lot so who cares if it is only a foot from the line.  I do miss the open yards.   Maybe I will plant a hedge.  



Monday, March 17, 2014

Dog knowledge

Zed loves tuna fish.  His idea of sharing is I pour a little juice from the water packed can on his kibble and then add a few bits from the edge of the can for him to savor.  He isn't interested in tuna salad, he likes his straight up.  He is always watchful for tuna day.   

He has been feeling poorly the past few days, sniffing at his meals, sleeping even more than usual.  This afternoon he was asleep upstairs on his blanket on our bed, had been there for quite awhile while I went up and down doing laundry.  Then the "tuna sequence" lured him down the stairs.  The sequence goes like this.   I open the kitchen cabinet and take out a can, then I go to the fridge get out the celery bag, take out a piece to rinse and dice.  The clincher that triggers his must come down for tuna thought is when I open the drawer and get out the can opener.  That is the crucial step he does not want to miss for fear I will forget to share.   After that he waits patiently and attentively while I get his bowl, add a little kibble, a dash or two of tuna juice and the tuna bits.   He doesn't come down for other food preparation, no rushing to see if he can snag a crumb of carrots being sliced or chicken being washed and prepped for cooking.  No, it is all about the tuna.  

After dining on his favorite, he decided to stay downstairs and curled up on his pillow bed.  The good news is he felt well enough to rouse himself for tuna day.   

Vanity the ultimate gotcha.

Vanity 1. Heels, shoes. They were my addiction. I loved being able to wear heels, sandals, cute shoes. Even if they were slightly uncomf...