Another Lovely Sunday

I think that Sunday must be my favorite day of the week.  This week's brunch?  Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake with Limoncello Glaze and, yes, it was as good as it sounds!

The prep work for this actually began over a week ago because my daughter made the Limoncello.  The glaze only took 2 tablespoons of it but it made the cake, so definitely worth it.  Now, of course, I have a bottle of Limoncello in my freezer.  A little too sweet for me, but I am sure I will drink it eventually.

She halved the sugar the recipe called for, and substituted the jam it called for with fresh raspberries.  It was still plenty sweet.

I keep a line-a-day five-year diary, and noticed that it was about this time last year that the hummingbirds showed up.  So I made up some nectar and did see my first hummingbird yesterday!

My little city has a chalk art festival each year, and it took place over this weekend.  Unfortunately for them, however, we had storms moving through the entire time.  We made it out yesterday during a sunny period and many of the drawings had been washed away.

Some were saved by being covered by plastic.

This young man was just finishing redrawing his as we came along.  And while it was sunny, another storm was moving in fast and the skies looked like this.

 Within 15 minutes of this photo being taken it was pouring again!

In addition to eating a vegan diet, we also try to stick as close to a whole-foods, plant-based diet as we can.  The last few weeks have seen way too much processed food slip in, so we determined that between yesterday's brunch and next Sunday's brunch we will stick with the whole foods concept.  After our heavy brunch, we chose to eat a very light supper, and this was it (all organic).  

All in all, yet another very lovely Sunday.

 

Refresher Weather

(Cell Phone Shots)

In our obsession with Starbucks, we have created our own little self-imposed guidelines for what drinks we order when.

Soy Cappuccino - Winter's drink of choice
Iced Soy Latte' - Can be ordered once we hit 70 degrees
Soy Frappuccino - Can be ordered once we hit 80 degrees
Refresher - Can be ordered once we hit 90 degrees
Trenta-sized Refresher - Can be ordered once we hit 100 degrees  

When we hit a certain temperature, we can have that drink or any of the drinks listed at lower temperatures (e.g., at 80 degrees I can have a soy frappuccino, an iced soy latte', or a soy cappuccino). 

Well, yesterday was Refresher weather!

(This says 91, but I saw it get as high as 95!)

Feeding Bubba

Over the weekend I finished reading the book about Monsanto I mentioned last week (find it here).  If you have any interest at all in what you eat, please read this book.  I was reading a chapter that mentioned a genetically modified corn that is grown and approved to be used for animal feed and ethanol, but not for human consumption.  I thought that seemed ridiculous, that it isn’t approved for humans to eat, but it is approved for animals to eat that are then consumed by humans (this particular corn came from a company other than Monsanto and did make its way into human food on our grocers’ shelves at one time). 

I do not eat animal products but my kitty, Bubba, does!  It just hit me like a rock in the head!  While the book did not specifically address pet food, I really started thinking about it.  Bubba has had more than his share of odd medical conditions, including itchy skin that we have not been able to solve completely and I am not willing to put him on the drug they recommend (requires blood work two or three times a year and once they are on it they are on it forever).  I cannot help but wonder how many of the health issues our pets are having are due to the food we give them.

So I did a little research and picked up this food from Sprouts when I did my own grocery shopping, although I believe you can find it at the regular pet food stores as well.

Organix pet food is organic, prepared without GMOs, chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, artificial preservatives, added growth hormones, or antibiotics.  Bubba’s food also does not contain any corn, wheat, or soy.  Oh, and it is made in the USA!

I have considered preparing his meals myself but, even though cats are carnivores and he does need to eat animal products to be healthy, I cannot bring myself to handle them.  He seems to like his new food, and there are a few other brands out there I can use as well, so can mix things up for him a bit.  I feel a lot better about what I am giving him.

Mothers' Day

I have always thought that we shouldn't have to have a special day to honor our mothers; it should just be a regular occurrence on any day.  But we do have a day, and it brings to mind for me not only my own mother, but my cousin's children who are experiencing their first Mothers' Day since losing their mom, and my niece who became a mom less than a week ago.

My day started with a trip to the cemetery to leave flowers for my own mom, who I still miss terribly after 7 years. 

I told my own children that in my quest to rid myself of the clutter in my life, that I didn't want them to give me anything this year (and, believe me, they always come up with great gifts).  They ignored me, and did get me flowers.

I got tulips and a mini rose bush.  Flowers are such a treat and I do enjoy them.  I got enough tulips to fill another vase on my mantel.  Notice that my card is handmade - the best!  I have really great kids.
 

  
Brunch was homemade English muffins with yummy raspberries on the side. 

It has turned hot here and I turned on my air conditioner yesterday.  Here comes summer.

Furniture Switch-up

I did a little moving around of furniture this week.

 My parents acquired this buffet early in their marriage in either the late 40s or early 50s.  It had made its way to a back room of their home for storage, but I have always liked it and was very happy to get it.  I originally thought it would serve as a dresser for my bedroom, and still expect it will one day.  It has been hanging out in my dining area, but I moved it this week into my living room.  I am not thrilled at having the TV be this huge presence in the living room, but for now it works.

It hides away all of our DVDs and Wii stuff, which is a big plus.

I have been going through my things and getting rid of more and more.  I had quite a few vintage souvenir plates for places like Montana and Glacier National Park (in other words, heaven).  I donated most of them back to the thrift shop, but kept this little Yellowstone plate to hold my keys and got rid of the bowl I was previously using.

This little shelf that was previously by the front door and got displaced by the buffet, has been moved to my dining area and doubles as a feeding station for Bubba.

I swapped out my larger glass top dining table for this itty-bitty table that was out on my balcony.  I like the extra room it gives me and I really think it may be a workable size.  We eat breakfast at the table, but otherwise tend to eat in the living room - yes, in front of the TV.  (One day I plan to paint the chairs and reupholster them in something creamy, and the huge frame on the wall will one day be filled with a chalk board on which will be written our weekly menu.)

Bubba has taken over the chair as his new favorite place to hang out in the living room (when he isn't on the buffet or the crack of the cushions on my couch).  

Change is good and I like that I have some versatile pieces that can be moved around and used for different purposes. 

Not buying and Weekend Review

Last month I decided to try and stop buying/spending so much.  I have actually done this before and, once you get into it, it really isn’t difficult.  No more trips to the thrift store (except to drop things off – 2 trunk loads last week), and no more shopping for pure entertainment.  I have found myself looking at magazines at the rack, but always put them back.

So far I have purchased one thing not on the “allowed” list: a wireless router for my internet.  I have a desktop and have just been using DSL, but my son has a wi-fi ready laptop, and my daughter recently purchased an i-touch (with her own money).  I looked into it, and found I could have wi-fi provided by my current ISP, but at an additional cost of $8 per month, or I could buy one outright and not have any increase to my monthly ISP fees.  So I spent $49.99 on a router and have joined the rest of the world that already has wi-fi. 

This weekend my fridge started to go on the blink.  The freezer is working fine, but the fridge started to get warm.  My initial thought was that I was going to be purchasing a new fridge, something I was not happy about because I plan to put my condo on the market in a few years and do not plan on taking the fridge with me.  I started doing a little research, however, and after vacuuming the coils and unplugging it and doing a thaw, have determined that either the fan in the freezer that is supposed to blow the cold air into the refrigerator is not working, or it is the thermostat that regulates it.  An easy fix and I am thrilled that I didn’t go with my knee-jerk reaction to run out and purchase a new fridge.

I have a busy week and already have this Friday scheduled off work, so won’t have a repairman come until then.  My freezer is working and I fortunately do not have a lot of stuff in my fridge at any given time.  I took most of my condiments to the fridge in my dad’s currently vacant house, and am living out of my camp cooler otherwise until Friday.  When we did our shopping this weekend, we only bought fruits and veges that don’t go in the fridge and, if we do want something like broccoli or lettuce to go with a meal, I will pick it up on the way home.  It makes me feel European.  Easy-peasy.

Not a big deal, and such a simple thing.  My fridge is on the small side for a full-size fridge, and yet right now it just seems monstrous! 

This week’s Sunday brunch was Cocomanda Muffins from The Urban Vegan cook book.  They were full of coconut and mandarin oranges and they were absolutely delicious! 

We are kind of geeky girls in that we follow most of the Marvel movies and we did see Iron Man 3 yesterday (tickets purchased with a gift card that was given to me last Christmas).  We liked it.

And finally, I am currently reading this book that I checked out from the library. 



amazon.com

A lot of detail in it and the kind of book that I need to really concentrate on as I read.  We buy as much organic as we can already but, after only being 100 pages into this 300+ page book, organic and non-GMO food is an absolute priority for me.  The more you know…

Bus Ride

Yesterday I rode the bus to and from work.  I own two cars, but each kid had one so I gave the bus a trial run (will be riding it this summer when my daughter has the car for a summer class she will be taking).

We have a commuter train where I live that has a stop directly behind my office building, but it is too far away from my home to reasonably walk it.  The bus, on the other hand, picks me up just outside the entrance to my complex and drops me off about a block away from my work.  I look at it as getting a little more exercise in my day - a bonus.

I picked this from a lilac bush as I walked from the bus stop to my office and kept it on my desk to smell periodically throughout the day.

 

It increased my commute time by about 10 minutes in the morning and 15 in the afternoon, so not too bad.  The last time I rode the bus it cost 40 cents each way; now it costs $2.50.  So $5 each day I ride it, which is more than I would spend in gas, so that part is kind of frustrating.

I took a book to read, but ended up just watching people and the scenery for the most part.  I saw some acts of kindness, which made me happy.  As usual people chose to sit where they didn't have to sit by another person.  When those seats were gone, however, and the only choice was to sit by somebody, some people chose to stand instead.  This was the case for two seemingly shy high school boys.  A scruffy looking guy across from me noticed this and moved to a shared seat so that the boys could sit down together.  He then proceeded to engage them in conversation - the friendly kind and not the creepy kind you sometimes get in public situations.

On the way home there were two elderly ladies who had pull carts with them.  As each of them got off at their stop, the bus driver stood up and took the carts off the bus and down to the sidewalk for them, something he did not have to do.

It did my heart good to see strangers being kind to one another.  So I've decided that on my future rides I will try to demonstrate the same kindness to others (and I can hear you laughing now, my sweet daughter).

On the way home, I did get off one stop too early.  I didn't realize my mistake until after I had pulled the rope for the next stop, but got off anyway and walked the extra block. More bonus walking!

I have been working in the same office for nearly 13 years and it is interesting how a little change like riding the bus can add a little freshness to my day.