Friday Randomness
First of all, let me tell you all that I have been sucking at commenting for NaBloPoMo. I have tried, but November is a busy time in my industry, and in the evening I’m a bit worn out. I’m sorry that I haven’t been by your blogs more often. We’re all doing our best, and sometimes I just read and don’t comment, and sometimes I don’t even manage to read. Le sigh.
OK, who’s ready for this week’s drivel? I’m going to keep it to 5 things, because I suspect we’re all struggling with reading these days.
My decluttering ‘one thing a day’ project has slowed, as I run out of things that I want to get rid of. This is a GOOD THING, actually. I still have my photo albums, and I want to go through my parents’ letters to each other from when they reconnected, put them in order, and read them, but those are both big projects that will not be taken on if I can’t even make it over to your blogs as much as I would like. But I’m finding things nonetheless. For example, I recently was issued a new laptop by my company, and need to ship the old one back. Into the box went a charger cable and 2 old phones that were cluttering up under my desk. Also, look at these little drawstring bags. Aren’t they cute? I’m sure they came to me with gifts or whatever, and I couldn’t manage to throw them away. But I don’t use them to give gifts to anyone else. So they sit there. Well, I thought of a use for them! Completely unnecessary, but it will make me happy. Beezus (our new car, for new readers) has charge ports in the back seat. I bought charging cables, just in case someone wants to use one, which I put in the pockets on the back of the front seats. Won’t it be MUCH BETTER to have them in these little pouches? Why yes, J, the answer is YES.
Can I tell you how much it heartens me that our Congressional Representative, Mark DeSaulnier, is at our weekly protests whenever he is in town? I feel for those of you in opposition to your local leaders. I find it comforting when a local Mayor or Supervisor stands up and says we are all in this together. California is a pain in the ass place to live sometimes, but at least we have this.
A couple of years ago, I shared some pictures of our downstairs bathroom. Here I share the sad news that I knocked over that vase full of (fake) pussy willows the other day, and broke it into too many pieces to fix. Crap. I liked that vase, and it was so perfect for that space. The colors fit in with the curtains and the pictures on the opposite wall (not shown in this picture). It was a wedding gift from one of my MIL’s friends. I’m not going to find a replica. So now I’m on the hunt for something similar enough, I guess. I looked online, but online, one does’t have a real idea of size and color. So maybe I’ll find something in person. Another idea would be to skip it, and put a picture there or something, but I liked the pussy willows.
My cat photography skills are clearly lacking, but this is Skillet, one of two kittens at the PetCo where I volunteer twice a week. She and her sister, Pan, look almost exactly alike. I hope they are adopted soon, and that they are adopted together.
Look at this lemon tree, wonderful Meyer lemons. The people are weird, they trim the tree back in their yard but let this branch hang down on the other side, which of course is to my benefit because I can stop by and grab as many as I want any day. This particular day I grabbed a couple and used one to make Ina Garten’s perfect roast chicken.
Bonus Content: Audiobook listeners often say how wonderful Julia Whelan is at narrating. It’s true! She was interviewed on our local radio station yesterday, and if you’re interested, you can listen here. If you’ve not enjoyed audiobooks but are curious as to how they are different than reading a physical book, she reads an excerpt from The Giver of Stars that shows you what a wonderful medium it can be. It’s a call in show, and people call in and tell her what a difference audiobooks have made in their lives. She discusses her company, which pays royalties to narrators. I found it really interesting. It’s almost an hour, and well worth your time.
That’s it for today. How are your local politics? What would you do if you had access to these lemons? Lemon curd?
42 Comments
Birchie
California might be a pain in the ass to live in sometimes, but no one in Ohio has a lemon tree growing next door. I love using fresh lemon juice when I cook, so that would be my #1 use for the lemons.
Woot woot that you’re running out of things to declutter!
J
Fresh lemons when you cook is a great way to use them! I will likely bring some home and juice them, and then freeze that as well. But now I’m thinking about Meyer lemon cheesecake and I wish we didn’t have our desserts already planned for Thanksgiving.
Jenny
It’s funny because I was at our PetCo the other day, and I can never resist looking at the kittens (my husband would have a conniption fit if he even knew I was looking, ha ha…) There were two kittens in the same cage that look like Skillet, and I thought “I hope they get adopted together!”
Sorry about the vase- it sucks when you lose something that can’t be replaced. I would never trust our family with a vase in the bathroom- it would be broken for sure.
I know there are problems with CA, but it must be nice to be surrounded by like-minded people! And about hose lemons- maybe the people purposely don’t trim that tree because they want people to take the lemons! Hmm, if I had a big supply like that… I would make a baked good, like a lemon poppyseed loaf or some kind of cookies. That’s where my mind is going, with the holidays coming up.
J
Oh, a lemon poppyseed loaf sounds so good! This is a time when I kind of wish I worked in an office, so I could bake something and not eat all of it myself. Maybe my neighbors would like some lemon poppyseed muffins? I’m not a huge baker, though, so chances are decent that this will not happen.
Nicole MacPherson
Oooh look at all those lemons! What a gift!
Ugh, sorry about your vase. I treasure things like that and it’s so hard to replace them, if indeed they can be replaced. I would be so sad about it – it looks perfect in your bathroom!
J
I am sad about the vase, and feel foolish for putting it in such a precarious place. And am still planning on buying another and putting it in exactly that same place. Why? BECAUSE I LIKED IT THERE I guess.
Sam
I may try your declutter one item a day idea. I’ve been trying to do bigger areas of the house, but I feel like I never make that much progress, or I procrastinate.
J
I have tried to declutter one room at a time, one area at a time, etc, and I always, always get completely overwhelmed. We’ve lived in this house for over 25 years, and shit builds up, you know? The one thing a day has really worked for me. Do I get rid of more than one thing a day? OFTEN. Do I miss days? Lately, yes. But I started July 1st, with the goal to get rid of one thing a day for the second half of the year, and I don’t think I missed a day until at least the middle of October. And I still have hundreds of photos that I will get rid of, and other things that will just be organized. The most satisfying changes have been my closet and my filing cabinet, which were both a mess and are now very organized.
StephLove
I like that kind of little cloth bag and always save them. Right now I’m using one to hold clothespins for the line.
I’m sorry about your vase.
I hope the sister cats get adopted together, too. Our two are half of a litter of four and I often wonder about the other two and if they got to stay together.
North loves lemon curd so I think we’d have a constant supply.
J
Clothespins! That’s a great use. We used to have a clothes line in our back yard, I didn’t love it. It’s so urban here, so I didn’t really feel like they got fresh air so much as car exhaust.
Martha
Definite opposition here for our leaders, it’s horrid in Florida! I’m sorry about your vase, and that kitty looks so sweet. I hope they get adopted soon too. If my neighbors gave me all those lemons I’d definitely be making lemonade. If you don’t already know, you can freeze lemon juice in ice cube trays so you always have it available for recipes. Have a great weekend! 🙂
J
I do freeze lemon juice, and find that it comes in SO HANDY to have little 1 TB measures of it. I use it in my favorite salad dressing mostly.
Lisa's Yarns
Those lemons! So pretty! I’d be using them as a centerpiece in a vase or bowl or something – in addition to using them to make dishes/flavor my water. When my friend lived in AZ, they had a lemon tree and they had so many lemons to get rid of/find a home for.
J
Yeah, it’s going to be that time of year soon, when friends and neighbors start asking if we want lemons. The answer will be YES.
Coco
My daughters will love to volunteer at a pet store! What a great way to pay back tot hr community for pet lovers.
J
I think your daughters would love this gig. I just go and clean up after the cats, and make sure they have food and water. Easy. And they’re so sweet.
Margaret
My local politics trend red or perhaps purple. The community used to be a lot more blue but the proliferation of evangelical churches changed that. 🙁 It’s such a shame about the vase; I’m sure you can find something that will look good there. It might take time though!
J
Yes, I am not going to rush it on the vase! That area can just be empty until I find what I want.
I’m sorry your area has gotten more red. I know many folks can relate to that.
NGS
Another moments where I share amazement that LEMONS GROW ON TREES. I know, I know. We don’t grow citrus here. It’s MAGICAL.
J
I’ve lived with citrus growing most of my life, and I still love it.
AC
I don’t do anyhting else in my life and still find commenting difficult to keep up with sometimes. 🙂
J
The struggle is real!
Suzanne
Ohhhhhh the lemons!!! What a treat to have ready access to such a bounty of citrus!
I too am struggling with commenting, and it stinks, and it’s just how it is. I am hopeful that in the long December days when people have gone back to their regular posting schedules (or stop posting altogether) I will have time to read and comment on posts I missed.
How SATISFYING to find a use for a thing you have saved! I love the use you found for those bags. Very smart.
J
I’m thinking that I may try to go back and catch up at some point too. So hard to keep up and be busy in our daily life as well.
Lisa
Look in the thrift stores for a vase! You’ll probably be successful!
J
That’s a good idea. I had considered it, but hadn’t really done anything about it. But I can make it a little side hobby, also consignment stores.
Allison McCaskill
I love lemons – I love lemon stuff and lemon juice and lemonade and lemon patterns. Living by that tree would send me into transports of joy.
I love finding uses for those little bags – I keep way more than I can use. Sometimes I have to use a bigger little bag to store littler little bags, which is when the whole thing has likely gone too far.
J
LOL! Yes, bags within bags has been known to occur around here as well. Finding a use for these made me happy!
ernie
I love the names Skillet and Pan. So cute. I hope they are adopted together soon. No worries if you don’t comment on the regular on my blog. I know this is a hectic time and I can’t imagine doing it if my ‘work life’ was extra busy.
I need to take a page from your book and get rid of something every day. Hell, I’d settle for putting something away everyday. If I came into all those lemons, I’d make the GF lemon sugar cookies that I love (labor intensive though).
J
Lemon sugar cookies sounds really good!
Sarah
Pouches for cords in the car! That’s genius! I also have cords ticked away for the back rows– this would be a great idea. I am going to sart saving the little ones that come woth carious small things.
J
Yay! I have motivated you!
nance
I very much want to think that they are generous neighbours who want to share. And lemons! I’d be all over that. Lemon curd, lemon muffins, lemon chicken and pasta, lemon everything. Freezing juice and zest!
I’m sorry about your vase. In the meantime, maybe just use a big jar and wrap some natural jute or twine around the neck (and even a few strands around the middle). Seeing the branches down below will look beautiful with your decor. That bathroom is lovely and serene.
J
They are weird and lazy neighbors, actually. They did the same thing with a peach tree in their front yard, trimmed the part that is up against their house, and let the part over the sidewalk droop almost to the ground, so people had to walk around it. But I will profit from their laziness and enjoy the lemons!
A big jar for my pussy willows might be a good interim solution, we shall see! I’m going to a Maker’s Fair next weekend, and am hoping there will be someone selling pottery that will work.
Tierney
The lemons! I want to go on a neighborhood walk and look for produce now. Sometimes people have a little box out on the sidewalk, which is always a treat. I would use lemon juice in a few things: mixed with soy sauce for sushi dipping, part of my massaged kale salad recipe, a squeeze in hummus.
My mother in law froze lemon juice and then would drink it in the morning. This apparently caused a significant erosion of her teeth enamel so she had to stop so that is one use I would not do!
J
My brother used to eat lemons. He would cut them into segments and eat them…think of a kid with an orange segment in their mouth and the peel covering their teeth. It absolutely destroyed his teeth.
Stephany
A LEMON TREE. How amazing! You can just pick them off whenever you want them. I love that so much!
I have also sucked at NaBloPoMo commenting (and responding to comments) so I understand! It’s hard to keep up AND do all of our own blogging!
J
You don’t get lemon trees in your part of Florida? I picture Florida as being full on citrus.
Stephany
Oh, we do! But I don’t see many of them where I live, sadly.
J
Too bad, because they’re pretty AND so tasty!
San
How gracious that the neighbor lets the tree grow onto the street so people can help themselves. We have yard with a lemon tree like that in our neighborhood – I must stop by and get some lemons again soon. 🙂 I usually squeeze the juice and put it in my water in the morning.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
I am swooning over the lemons. How amazing would it be to just go and pick some.
Obviously this won’t happen in Germany and if e have a big climate issue. So lets just admire it.