Sniff and best practices

Last week I did my laundry.

I do that every now and again, when I run out of things to wear.

When the laundry came out of the wash, I collected it all from the dryer and took it to my room. It sat in the basket a couple of days, after which Rosie wanted to exercise on the floor so we dragged the basket to my closet. From there, I dumped the contents of the basket out into my suitcase, where it sat for another day.

Suddenly it happened that I needed to pack for an out-of-town trip. I sorted all the remaining items, rolling up and packing the ones I meant to take with me, then hanging up (finally) the others. I closed up my suitcase, then drove off to Atlanta for the week.

Tonight, after a long day out training, in high-heels and puffed sleeves, I came up to my room to put on something frumpy. I opened my closet and pulled out one of my favorite button-down shirts along with a pair of Khakis. It felt so good to get out of dress clothes. and it felt good not to have to hold in my stomach. I grabbed my shoes from the closet, intending to run out the door.

That's when I noticed a funny smell. I had noticed it before, at home, thinking it must have been a pair of old shoes in my closet. So I had collected a couple of pair of worn out old shoes from the closet, and tossed them into the Get-rid-of basket, because really, who likes wearing stinky old shoes anyway?  Problem solved, right?

So then I went to Atlanta.  And right there, in the middle of me getting dressed in my frumpy frock, there was that awful smell again. Except it was not my shoes.  That's so weird, that odd, sour musty smell was here, too. It was following me.

I combed my hair, and got ready to go to a meeting, when I realized the smell wasn't following me - it WAS me. I picked up the shirttail on my shirt and sniffed.

Ughh!  it was the shirt that stunk so bad. It smelled like it had come out of the dryer slightly damp and just kept mildewing over the past several days  -- and it was RIPE!  No way I was going to a business meeting smelling like that.  I just hoped I could get the smell off of ME!

I pulled my shirt off and tossed it into the sink, poured an entire (sample sized) bottle of shampoo over it, and added lots of water. For extra fragrance, I added a handful of conditioner.  That would fix my shirt. and hopefully the smell.

Maybe.... anyway, I hope so, I want to wear it on Wednesday. I wonder if it will be dry by then.

The moral of the story is, don't let your damp laundry sit in a basket, but if you do, definitely don't pack it to go on a trip. 

Harvest at last

We planted another small garden this year and we really wanted to try Peppers.  I have never successfully grown peppers but this year we planted three orange ones. Green ones are not our favorite.

So far we've gotten about 8 giant sized peppers. There have also been little one. I picked a small one today and it looks like two more are just about ready.  It's a minor accomplishment, I know, but the first time for anything is always exciting. 

Diabetic alert: Yummy but not for you

Michelle made a new, sweet drink yesterday.  Watermelon mash.

Sorry for my not-so-lovely name but I don't know what else to call it.

She took watermelon and blended it in the blender with a little water, until it was thick and drinkable. She added just one lemon to it. She filled up the giant glasses and garnished them with a slice of watermelon and lemon.  I think next time it would be yummy blended with ice cubes for a cooling sort of drink.  It was tasty but filling, I could not drink a whole glass.

Of course, you have to like watermelon to like this sort of thing.  Oh, and you should probably not be diabetic. Sorry Al.

Pesto - Phew!

What happens when you give a toddler a jar of pesto and a spoon?

Pesto is made with olive oil, basil, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, and a lot of garlic. One usually eats a couple of tablespoons full as a serving. I like it on toast.

We make our own pesto from the basil we grow in the garden. My pesto is extra stinky, I use about a half a head of garlic in one batch of pesto, which makes about 3 small jars.  It's made to be a garnish, so not a lot of people just eat it straight from the jar.

Except Rosie - who happens to think it's extra funny to smell like garlic, and it's not bad, except for the "end" result.

Rosie ate a half jar of pesto. She carried the jar and spoon around for a while before putting it down. We were happy to have her eat anything, she hasn't had a good appetite lately. We were surprised how much of that jar she ate. We were also surprised about how long the smell of garlic can linger in a child who would eat so much of it.

What happens when you give a toddler a jar of pesto and a spoon?

You get a very happy but smelly toddler.  Too bad Mommy has such a sensitive nose.

Belly tickle

Did your tummy ever itch so badly that you needed to scratch it on a tree?  Kind of like a bear (or Dad) scratches his back? 

Cocoa found a solution. Sometimes she rubs her underside on Rosie's log, and sometimes she just straddles the log and lies on it.  Must be itchy being a goat.

Precious 7th

My quick visit with little Jackson has been lovely.  He's a real sweetie with the cutest little pudgie cheeks.

I'm so happy to finally meet him. He's our precious little number seven (level 2).


I wonder how many levels there will be?

Helper benefits

Working at home has it's many benefits. I do get a lot more done at home - and I also have a couple of little helpers.

Obi likes to sit on the pillow next to me and jabber while I work. Sometimes he likes to roll around and try to kick the computer off my lap. And sometimes he sleeps.

Sometimes, though, he's just too cute and I do get distracted. Which is why I have this picture.

This is something I don't get to do when I'm traveling. I really like having my helpers. And, I can't believe he is already 4 months old!

Party time

Michelle is the queen of parties. There doesn't even really have to be an event or holiday, if there isn't one, she'll just make something up.  Luckily, the Queen's 60th Anniversary happened, which gave Michelle an excuse to plan a full-blown tea party. How awesome it was.

Michelle had several friends over, all who seemed to enjoy tasting the teas we made that day. We had several tea pots, both English style as well as Asian. And of course, at least one Teavana tea, which doesn't really fit into any culture except Tea Snobbery. 

We also had desserts. Lots of them. Tea time is really a full blown meal, with only a little practical food and a lot of desserts.

The best part, not a lot of trivial socializing, just eating, drinking tea, and talking a tiny bit with friends.

My kind of party. 

Blue, white, and a little red

How do you celebrate Independence Day?  Do you watch the Sci-Fi movie by the same name?  Grill hot dogs? or paint your baby's feet?

We did the latter of those choices.  The result?  A little of all three traditionally patriotic colors.

Lettuce alone

I have never grown head lettuce. I don't really like store bought head lettuce, except in taco salad, so I thought home-grown head lettuce would taste the same.

It doesn't.

This is my first head of head lettuce. It tastes a lot more like butter lettuce than iceberg. It was not as dense as what we buy in the store. I picked the entire head, breaking it off at the base, which meant I got no more lettuce from that plant.

The other two lettuce plants we just keep taking the outer leaves from so they're still hanging on. It's late (and way too hot) for lettuce, but since I really don't know what I'm doing, I guess that doesn't really matter much.