Sunday, November 8, 2015

Puttering

It's a damp, cold, miserable kind of a November day in the mountains today....but I don't really mind that much. It's a good excuse to be indoors doing one of the things I love most on my day off - puttering. 

I love when I have a rare day that I don't have to go anywhere. Nowhere. No deadlines, no timetables, no schedule. I can just putter around my house doing bits of this and that. 

At my leisure. In between checking out blogs and rambling around the internet. 

Best kind of day EVER. 

I started my day with a cup of Cappuccino, as I love to do on my day off. Super awesome weekend treat to myself. Perfect way to start my morning. 

After feeding the birds I made a nice weekend breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheddar, a side of crispy bacon, and raspberry white chocolate scones. Decadent! And no, I didn't make the scones - my sister brought them when she came to visit a few weeks back and I froze the leftovers. Yumzers!

After washing up the pans I decided to make Sunny Simple Life's Homemade Bleach Cleaner - it was so easy to make! 


I took everything off my kitchen counters, sprayed them down with the cleaner, let it sit for about 15 minutes while I bounced around blogland, and then wiped them down. They came out great!! And I really feel like they are SUPER CLEAN - I'm always a big fan of using bleach to kill any germs. And I am one of those people who actually likes the smell of bleach so that's a plus. It definitely killed the smell of the bacon in the house which is a big bonus for me!!


Sunny Simple Life
I have to tell you, I'm very impressed! I ordered the Fels - Naptha Laundry Soap on Amazon  since I don't have a dollar store around here but even at the Amazon price this is is most definitely a super frugal easy way to stretch the laundry detergent. I got two bars for under $6 and I think they will easily last me for MONTHS!

I was a little worried about how it would smell since I have never tried this product before...I thought perhaps it would smell like petroleum jelly or similar. Nope! Lovely fresh citrusy smell - I'm lovin' it!!

The stretched laundry detergent is getting the first workout on the fur-babies blankets. Even if I just use this "stretched" detergent for sheets, blankets, comforters, bath rugs, towels....the stuff that doesn't really get stains but just needs freshening - it will still save a ton of $$$ on laundry detergent. Thanks, Sunny Simple Life!!

My next task was to blow off the deck and deck stairs - I have such a great blower that I love - as a matter of fact I bought a bunch of their garden tools when I bought my house. I didn't want to have to mess with gas/oil mixtures, winterizing machines, etc. I read about the WORX brand tools somewhere and had to give them a try. 

Via
I have to say I'm very pleased with my little blower. It's so light and easy to use - even my daughter who is about 90 lbs soaking wet has no problem using it. When I beg her. 

Anyway. 

I wanted to get the leaves off the deck so I could put down these mats and stair treads I got from Improvements Catalog. 

Via
I ordered 6 stair treads and 2 mats for the top of the stairs. Let me tell you - those mats are HEAVY!! I had to have my daughter help me carry them up the stairs!


Here's how they look on my stairs - I'm loving them! These old wooden stairs get mighty slippery and I was nervous we were going to tumble down them in the winter. 

My sweetie will have to figure out how to trim that bottom one to fit around the moldings - I don't even know if that's possible - they are so thick and heavy, made from recycled tires. 

I'm really happy with them! And I was just finishing up this little task when a storm blew in with mixed rain and snow....so I ran into the house and put on the kettle for a cup of tea. 

Brrrrrr. 

My next project is going to be in the kitchen - I'm trying out a new recipe that has been up on my fridge for a while - Slow Cooker Gigante Beans with Tomatoes and Pancetta from Alexandra's Kitchen. 

Alexandra's Kitchen
I'm going to start with this recipe but adapt it (as I usually do with recipes) to suit my needs - I am going to use fresh tomatoes to use up some more of the billions of green tomatoes that are ripening slowly in the dining room. 

And bacon instead of Pancetta, since that's what I have. 

Doesn't this look absolutely scrumptious?? I love her blog....you should go check it out!

This will be tomorrow's dinner. From what I read it's even better the second day - and this means no cooking for me tomorrow evening, which frees me up to run to the market after work. 

Perhaps. If I feel like it. 

Depending on how my Monday goes. They aren't always good days.

Tonight's dinner will be roasted chicken in my new best friend  - which I absolutely adore, by the way. It's been over a month now since she came to live with me and I tend to reach for her first before any of my other pots. It heats up so evenly, cooks beautifully, and cleanup is an absolute breeze. I'm so thrilled. 

Martha Stewart
So, spiced roast chicken, sweet potatoes, stuffing, carrots from the garden - who's in?

Happy Sunday, Friends!!






16 comments:

  1. I sure wish I had your enthusiasm for cooking. I can tell that you are never happier than when you're in your kitchen. And I imagine, come spring and summer, the same might be said for your garden. At least I share that with you!
    Brenda

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    Replies
    1. You are so right, Brenda! I am grateful for a little break from the garden in the cold months but boy do I look forward to spring again after a period of rest!! Once spring comes it's hard to get me inside - I live outdoors from sunup 'til sundown!

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  2. I wish you'd come over and putter around in my kitchen on your day off! Ha! During the school year, I just don't get the urge to cook...or clean...like I do in the summer. I blame it on the perpetual stack of papers that always needs graded. :-0

    I'm with you on the laundry detergent. I use the more expensive stuff only on my clothes, and I use the homemade stuff on everything else. It's still a huge savings.

    Have a very happy Sunday evening!

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    Replies
    1. Ha! And in the summer I don't have the same urge to clean the house since I'm outside every waking second!!

      First batch with the new and improved laundry detergent turned out great - I'm really impressed! The puppies blankets smell so fresh and feel lovely and soft and clean - it's a win-win!!

      Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.....Monday rolls around far too quickly, doesn't it?

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  3. Thanks so much for sharing me cleaning recipes. You are like me with the white tile and it works great and with all our pets I love knowing I can use it to clean up in their areas too. Our puppies sleep in our service porch laundry area so I like to mop with that cleaner to totally sanitize the floor in there. They are house trained but still they get into everything in the yard so after their weekly bath I scrub the floor in there and wash their beds. Tomorrow is the day. Lol. Let us know how the soup works out. I love soups for dinner fall thru spring.

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    1. You're so welcome! I'm so pleased with the results of both cleaners - you have created a monster over here, I think - I'll be looking for other ways to use that diluted soap. Thanks for sharing...and for the visit!!

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  4. Thanks so much for the shout out :) I just broke out my slow cooker this weekend — bean-cooking season has arrived.

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    1. Alexandra, the aroma in my house this morning is absolutely heavenly - I left the crockpot going on low all night since I used fresh tomatoes - I wanted them to break down slowly. Tonight's dinner is going to be such a treat! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe and for the visit to my page!!

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  5. Wow, you have a lot of energy! We spent the day pouring over college applications...paperwork and more paperwork! Ugh!

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    1. Ahhhh been there, done that. Not fun!! But so exciting!!

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  6. Replies
    1. So far, so good Deb - let's see how they do under a foot of snow! Or 2 inches of solid ice!!

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  7. Debbie you crack me up. I thought I was the only person that loves the smell of bleach lol! Just says clean to me too! You are very productive. Have a great new week ahead.
    Kris

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    1. I could be a lot more productive if I wasn't so addicted to poring over all your wonderful blogs, Kris!!

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  8. That was one busy day puttering about the house! Like you, I love those days! I feel as thought I get a lot accomplished from my "to do" list! Yep, you checked off quite a few boxes...gotta love those days!! Hugs!!

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    1. It was a great day, Benita, because I didn't make a list! No pressure, just doing whatever I felt like doing. Is it very sad that I felt like cleaning and cooking? What does that say about me? :)

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