Epic Cleaning Frenzy

One of the things on my "to do" list for some time is to "redo" the kids' rooms.  And this is one of those times I really wish I had thought to take "before and after" photos but I didn't. Because I was on a warpath of CLEAN.  No one must stand in my way.

I started on my daughter's room. They are both at the Grands at this point and she doesn't freak out over change.  Her bed was in the middle of the floor, nothing in the dresser, the closet hadn't been cleaned out from when we moved in over seven years ago and DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN it was trashed.  All told I netted six 33 gallon bags of trash and three large boxes for GoodWilll.  My roommate rearranged the furniture and we moved her desk and art supplies upstairs in the corner I cleaned out for her. So I also have more room in my sewing/office area (more on that in another post).

We did not paint/wallpaper this room. It came like this.

Yup... this is the after photo.

Sewing machine now on her desk, and yes, she has a huge fish tank. 

In the hallway, the SECOND wave of stuff from her room.

So the kids get home, Felicity is thrilled with the new arrangement, YAY!  I have to get up early on Fridays to pick up my share at the farmer's market, so since I was awake and Simon was home I started on his room.  This way he's involved and I won't have to deal with emotional melt down over changes made (Simon has some idiosyncrasies that we've had to work on, and he seems to have inherited my anxiety issues.... weee).  Felicity decides to help and I have her take Simon's now, mostly empty (since the fish died) one gallon tank to the bathroom.  She drops it. ICKY EVERYWHERE. Lovely. I tell her to go out on the back porch to grab the mop and bucket.  What I don't realize is there is more than one mop and bucket.  So I decide to take that one out to the trash (it was used in another epic cleaning)  and, even while holding the hand rail, I slipped, landed on my behind, and slid halfway down the stairs.

Ouch.

ouch ouch ouch  

Ouch.  PAIN.  So much pain. My husband comes rushing around the corner, Felicity's going "ARE YOU OK??", and Simon starts wailing.  I'm still mentally assessing whether or not I've just made my back injury worse or if its just gonna be one of those hurt for a couple weeks situations.  After missing two days of work, it looks like the latter.

But wait, THERE'S MORE!  Normal, sane people would stop cleaning at this point. But obviously I'm neither normal or sane. Instead,  I waited the 25 minutes for the meds to kick in and went back to work.  I told you this was an epic cleaning frenzy, right?  Yeah, it was.  Three more bags of trash and two huge boxes of toys to donate.  Oh, and while I was at it I found a new bed for Simon's room that's a loft style with a desk underneath.  Husband went and picked it up and everything!  Then we had A Talk reminding him what we do for a living.  (When asked what I do, my kids say "She kicks people off the internet" and its not UNtrue, exactly. Pay your internet bills people.)

So, long story short, that's why I haven't gotten any sewing done. What did you do?

Comfort Food

You know, I'm not sure when the term 'comfort food' became a popular culture buzzword. I remember it popping up in the mid 90's, around the time I was in high school. In my part of the world "soul food" is often interchangeable. I personally love this kind of food in all its forms, and the repertoire that I pull from is an odd amalgam of regional cuisine and worldly influence.

So what makes me bring this up? Well, poor Simon missed his first week of school due to a case of strep-throat. A nasty one at that. I've had a heck of a time getting him to eat anything and finally fell back on an old favorite, Cream of Wheat. Don't say yuck just yet, because this is my Mom's Cream of Wheat recipe and its converted quite a number of people. I'll share it with you, but also warn you there are no exact measurements.

(Not my actual recipe, but a picture I found. Omit the chocolate and add cinnamon and peaches I bet it would be good too!)

Chocolate Cream of Wheat

1) Follow the instructions on the box. Do not use instant! Use the kind you have to cook and use milk instead of water. If you are using whole milk you can do 50/50 on milk and water and it still turns out right.

2) Once the milk is warm but not hot add coco powder. This will depend on how much you are making. I use anywhere from 1-3 heaping teaspoons.

3) Add sugar or natural sweetener to taste. I'll use a combo between stevia and table sugar (I'm allergic to agave).

4)Use a whisk to stir while you bring it slowly to a boil and then add your cream of wheat. Keep stirring so the milk doesn't scald.

5) Once its cooked and has thickened, take the pan off the heat and keep stirring for a little bit while you add a teaspoon of vanilla flavoring.

6) Pour into dishes and let it cool. It will be like a really nutritious pudding.

Simon isn't a huge fan of chocolate so you can do this and omit the cocoa powder, too. Today I added some fresh blueberries and a small drizzle of sorghum molasses. Both of which were from a local farm.

Oh yes, that's the other news! One of the benefits of living in the "Conservative South" is there is a huge variety of produce and livestock grown here. One of the interesting side effects of all the 'tainted food' scares has been the small towns having a local farmers markets. I usually stop at the one in Kennesaw on the way home Tuesday mornings. But there are several others to choose one during the week. I got into a discussion with a lovely couple that run a small farm called "Spreading Oak" and found out they do farm shares! They also sell grass fed beef and free range eggs*. So I've signed up and paid for my portion the Autumn season and they said they'd also let me know when the next cow will be sacrificed for food. I told them I'd like to pre-order some more choice cuts (they are always the first to go as the local butcher shops buy from them too).

I intend to take the kids out there in the near future so they can have an understanding of where food comes from. They already get it, for the most part. Several of my in-laws still have farms further outside the city.

In sewing news I have a black silk Sorbetto type blouse cut out, with sleeves! And I want to sew up the short knit dress that was cut out ages ago. Not much time for sewing as this was a long work week, Simon's been sick, and I've been trying to get the household in order. I didn't get to bed until about 4pm yesterday because I got a call from Mom's roommate saying she was awake and asking for me around 2pm. Dad and I both went over to see her. Her mind is slipping further and further out of time and place when she is awake. She couldn't remember that her body doesn't work right anymore. Kept saying she wanted to get up and walk to the bathroom and we had to explain she hasn't been able to walk for years now. That was hard. I would have to gently remind her that I've been married for almost 11 years and how old Simon and Felicity are now and... sometimes I just kind of went with it.

If you've made it this far through my ramblings, thank you. There might be more posts like this but I'll try to add something of usefulness or interest as well. I feel a post about the sewing machine coming on, as its invention is reaching a milestone anniversary. And well, I'm a nerd about the history of science and tech.

* About Free Range Eggs: I have always bought free range and/or vegetarian fed eggs even when our food budget was so tight we probably could have gone on food stamps. Honestly it had very little to do with ethics and everything to do with taste. They just _taste_ better. I think this comes from the fact that even when we lived in pretty urban areas Mom had chickens. Up until moving to Georgia we ALWAYS had fresh eggs. Always. I can't stand them any other way.

What?

source

(This is how I blow-dry my hair, doesn't everyone? )

Why no, I haven't gotten any sewing done lately. Why, you may ask? Well I was busy blow-drying my hair.

.....

Actually, I've been busy working and being a Good Mom by doing my once yearly visit to church to see my kids' play. They go with their Grandmother to the day camp every year and work really hard on it too. So despite my misgivings about organized religion I put on my Sunday Best and the hubby and I head out. This year my father went too.

I have cut out one knit dress and I'm about to cut out another, shorter version. And I've been taking inventory of on-hand fabrics and patterns and what I need and want to sew. Planning a wardrobe for the next couple years, as it were. Its also part of the Slow Clothes Initiative brought up on the Sew Weekly Forums. Despite my best efforts I've bought a great deal of fabric, but I was buying it with very purposeful planning. I'll probably put my sewing machine in the repair shop for servicing this coming Monday morning since I won't have any time to sew until we get back from camping. Look forward to fun photos of that!

In the meantime, here's a couple of photos I can post from the play.

(My daughter in the chorus)

(My son, sitting on the stool, playing "Stix". He likes his music LOUD!)

(forever the ham)