Adam and P are out for a bit, and T is supposed to be sleeping. In reality, he's happily babbling away in his crib. I just washed the kitchen floor (whoa, Nelly - that really was overdue) and am thinking about a cup of tea and some blog reading, and about cleaning and purging. It seems to be an ongoing theme, I know, but it is so satisfying! Really, if you haven't tried it, start with a drawer or dresser top.
I'm hoping that our house will sell in time for us to move over the summer. In hopeful anticipation, I'm taking the opportunity to get rid of even more stuff - and I really, really can't recommend it enough. The feeling of being able to move through a space and not have stuff crowding everywhere is fantastic. (Of course, with kids, one is always at risk of tripping on one of several things scattered across the floor, but I'm thinking aside from that.) Especially stuff in unseen places like closets and drawers - that seems like the most important, in some ways. If you have a tidy room, but open a drawer and it's crammed with miscellaneous junk, it feels like the whole room is a mess. But if you have a room strewn with toys and books (i.e. our living room) and open a drawer that's tidy, it feels more like the essence of the room is tidy, rather than messy. Does that make sense, or just sound a little bit crazy? Either way, it works for me. I did a number on my closets yesterday, and Phillip and I spent a good part of the afternoon cleaning out the sheds. They just needed some serious tidying, for the most part, and I wanted any propsective buyers to be able to have a good look. And every little thing that I get done makes me want to get rid of more.
And on to the meat. We're not big meat eaters, but when we do eat meat, it's local, happy meat. Meat is included in our CSA share as an option that we took advantage of. This was last night's supper, and it was amazing. I never in my life thought that I would describe a pork chop as amazing. I grew up eating rubbery, chewy, tough, dry, and tasteless meat. These chops were tender and so, so good. And the glaze, from Fresh Flavour Fast (p 209) is so simple, and so delicious, that I had to share. It's right up there with last summer's barbecue sauce revelation.
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp finely grated ginger
Whisk together and slather all over pork chops (would also be delicious on chicken) that have been grilled for about 5-7 minutes per side, when they've reached 145. Thirty seconds more on the grill post-slather, let rest for a few more, and you're set, Bette. Sometimes I'm not a huge fan of ginger-y ginger on its own, but this isn't like that. It's soooo good.
Hope you're having a great, delicious weekend! Do you have any great summer recipes to share?
I spent some time yesterday cleaning out closets as well and I'm with you: It's so liberating! I try to declutter every couple of weeks because we are planning on moving in the fall or winter as well and we have just so much junk that I want to get rid of before that.
ReplyDeleteHope your house sells fast so you can move :)
Sherrie, if that first picture was from Sunday afternoon... I'm going to move to Yarmouth because our Sunday sure wasn't that clear and blue. It sure feels good when you sit back and look at a room, closet, boxes, etc that you've just cleaned out. It's the same for me when we paint a room - feels so liberating :-) Fingers crossed that you sell fast.
ReplyDelete"Whoa, Nelly" is not something that I hear often in Boston, but I'm very familiar with the term, and it made me laugh when I read it. Hope that you sell your house quickly.
ReplyDelete