Just Saying Hello

Thoughts and Quotes: Persistence is the twin sister of excellence. One is a matter of quality; the other, a matter of time.    Marabel Morgan

I didn't know who she is either, so I looked for her on Wikipedia. Click HERE. I don't think her books would sell today.

My persistence this week is spot on, but my excellence is lacking. I had to drop everything and do some cleaning. It was either that or move, and I decided the cleaning was easier - a special clean, but not a deep clean. I've had too many lick-and-a-promise cleans in a row, so a special clean was in order. As a result, I don't have much to share, but here it is.

Teaching and Learning: I've discovered my new secret weapon - it's jars, if you can find them. I saw a lady on Pinterest who made five salads in jars for her next week at work. She used quart canning jars and layered her salad - dressing on the bottom, then sturdy things like chicken cubes or kidney beans, then veggies like carrots and celery, then greens. She would just shake the jar, and voila! lunch. 

I wasn't sure I wanted a salad which had been sitting for five days, but decided to try three days. Not the same as a fresh made salad, so I decided why not prepare everything ahead and put the ingredients in separate jars? That way, you could prepare your salad easily and it would be fresher. 

That's when I discovered that glass jars keep produce fresh much longer than plastic bags or bowls. Right now, in my refrigerator you'll find celery, radishes, strawberries, grapes, shredded cheese, cantaloupe, and chopped onions. 

I've been using jars in my freezer for years with portioned leftovers. Here's enough taco meat for two tacos, one serving of chili, lemon juice cubes, and leftover enchilada sauce. 

Now I put my blueberries in glass instead of plastic bags, and the other jar is homemade chicken stock. I also have cranberries in the garage freezer.

I've been told to only use canning jars in the freezer as some of the others might break, but I've been using odds and ends for years with no problem, so long as I don't fill them too full.

Another thing I learned this week is that whatever you're seeking might be right in front of you. You just need to look around.

I needed a pitcher for the amber snackset table; the one from last week.

I searched the pitchers from one end to the other and back again for something suitable. Nothing.

Then I happened to look down, and there were the amber things I'm not using, waiting until I finish the table, so they can go out the door. The perfect pitcher. And this can apply to everything in life, not just objects. What you're seeking might be right in front of you. You just need to look from a different angle.

The Pepper and Pals Report: Both Pepper and Stormy are sleeping more as the mornings are sometimes gray or foggy and the days sometimes overcast. They chase the sun, but sometimes when it moves on, they're just too tired to move.

There's nothing more peaceful than a sleeping baby or a sleeping cat.

I don't know how she can sleep like that, lying on her tail.

My neighbors are moving and having an estate sale. I got up to this. The turquoise pickup on the other side of the island is a serious shopper. Look at the size of the trailer he's pulling.

They were parking a long block away.

When the sale was in progress, they inflated the Halloween decorations on the back upper deck.

His wings flap, and he has streamers hanging out of his mouth which flutter and look like fire. The deck is visible from my family room, and the first time Stormy saw the dragon, her ears perked up, her eyes got big, and she was ready to go to war if that thing dared to invade her territory. They're gone today, so I guess the dragon went to a new home.

Tasting: Six months and two weeks since I've eaten out except for fast food. I finally had lunch with Mim at Neighbors Mill where we could eat outside. I started to say that we dined al fresco, but the place is too casual for those romantic sounding words. I had a great Reuben sandwich. Mim had a goodlooking egg salad sandwich and a cup of tomato basil soup. No photo because she slipped on something and the soup sloshed over her tray, so it looked messy. That's my excuse, but the truth is that I forgot. 

We'd been discussing the evil virus and how good it felt to be out for a meal and what was opening, etc. and I said that I felt ready to chuck the whole idea of staying home. You know I believe in signs, and Cousin Donna sends me butterflies. Suddenly, this gorgeous lady, all dressed up in her autumn colors, came in for a landing on Mim's arm. So that does it! Since Donna approves, I'm going out.

I felt even more convinced when I saw these statistics on the news last night:

Survival Rates:

0-19   99.997%

20-19  99.98%

50-69   99.5%

70+      94.6%

Thrifting: I left Mim and was headed back to Nixa to go drop off things (mostly gardening books) at our local thrift shop, when I passed a big yard sale in progress. Of course I stopped. Fooled you. I was going to see if they wanted my donations, and I wouldn't have to go to the shop in Nixa. They did. Then fooled me, because look what I bought.

Throws for the feral kitty winter houses.

A book for someone who needs it, bowls that match Hannah's everyday dishes, a basket for January (you'll see it then), a stamp set, an ink pad, a coffee pot I just couldn't pass up, and a notebook (never buy a notebook at Walmart) for 25 cents. Everything for $14.50, so I gave her a $20. They were trying to raise money for a friend who needs a wheelchair. Stormy, checking it out.

How could I not buy this coffee pot? Look at those peach tulips (one of my favorite colors), and daffodils (my birth month flower).

A very fun stop. While I was there, someone was buying my gardening books, and it turned out that she was from California, just up the freeway from where I lived, she owned a floral shop there for years, she belongs to the same Bunco Club as my friends Sally and Martha. We had a nice chat.

Thank You: To Mim for this exotic sounding spice I'd never seen - zatar. You can read about it HERE. Mim says that it's wonderful on toast with an egg and avocado.

Thank You Also to My Special Girls Up North: I received two CARE packages with all kinds of goodies. They're a class act - even the boxes are pretty.

They hit all the notes. Spring papergoods.

A Summer read.

Things for Fall

Cozy slippers for Winter.

Halloween (Pepper loves this)

Christmas

And they know how to read my mind. I've been thinking that I'm really weak with geography, and maybe we should study together next year. And I get crafting paper which is maps. Ha!

Tasting: I finished the Snackset Lunch finally.

M E N U

Broccoli-Apple Salad

Creamed Chicken and Peas 

in Patty Shells

Candied Butternut Squash

Mixed Grain Muffins

Orange Spice Tea

Maple Sundaes

Teaching and Learning: Steps 5-8 on ending procrastination. How did you do with 1-4? I think that "Eating the Frog" step works quite well.

5. Use the Eisenhower Matrix. The Eisenhower Matrix prioritizes your tasks by urgency and importance. Check it out by clicking HERE.

6. Complete Quick Tasks Immediately. If you know a task takes only a few minutes, then do it right away.

7. Create a Mini Habit for Challenging Tasks. Set a "lowball" goal that makes it super simple to get started.

8. Build Elephant Habits for Ongoing Projects. Chip away at a simple but time-consuming project in 5-to-15-minute daily increments.

That's all I have this week. 

Oops! Last minute development. Jill found this injured baby, and needed someone to babysit him until her vet opens tomorrow. I picked him up and took him to the Emergency Clinic to make sure he isn't in pain. They said he's not, so he's mine until Monday. He's only three or four weeks old and having trouble with his left side. The vet said that it's probably because his eardrum is damaged, causing him to be unbalanced. She thinks he'll heal. I tried washing the blood off, but will just do a little at a time. He ate wet food from a spoon, but he mostly wants to sleep. He's going to have one blue eye and one green eye. Prayers for this sweet baby, please. And prayers for a good home. Neither Jill nor I need any more kitties.

MAKE A WISH ON THE FULL HARVEST MOON THURSDAY NIGHT

APPLE A DAY

STILL TIME TO GO TO THE LAKE

WORK ON YOUR FALL WARDROBE

BUY SOME BULBS TO PLANT NEXT MONTH

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE