Drying small amounts of lavender
My company is still sleeping, so I am grabbing a few moments to write a few lines. I have been "away for awhile" getting ready for their arrival. I did indeed have a cooking marathon on the week-end but had to stop when I ran out of freezer space. It will come in handy though when I am pressed for time or for an idea for "what to have for dinner".
I have also been busy cleaning and fluffing. Unfortunately, it wasn't just a matter of dusting, vacuuming and washing, as the rooms that I have put them in (even though they are considered spare guest rooms) just naturally become the dumping grounds for all things that you don't have room for in other parts of the house. That meant a lot of purging and reorganization of "STUFF". My poor granddaughter doesn't even have her own room. We refer to that area at the top of our stairs, as our loft. It is open to the hallway and to the stair rail that completely surrounds the top of the stairs. One day we will probably close it up and make it into a proper bedroom. (It certainly is big enough), but we like the feeling of light and openness when we come out of our 3 upstairs bedrooms. So, my husband and I built a single bed into the wall, with storage both over and under the bed, with curtains that can be drawn for privacy. It reminds me of a berth on a train, and the younger grandkids love it. There is a wall light in there with a shelf for books and personal items, and it becomes their little hidey hole.
We have had some lovely weather....sunny, not hot and humid like it was, and a little breezy. I think, I should be outside but of course it was more important to keep working inside getting ready. As I write this and looking out my side window, there is a weed growing front and centre. It must be four feet high. It is embarrassing. My grass needs cutting again and I think to myself, "I just did that." But of course my son wanted a tour of the gardens shortly after arriving yesterday. I grabbed a bowl as we went out the door, knowing there would probably be some beans for picking. And that was our side dish last night.... green and burgundy beans sauteed in butter and minced garlic until crisp tender. I cooked a beef roast in the crockpot and made the gravy with the drippings and my homemade brown gravy mix. I roasted onions, carrots, potatoes and the broccoli from the garden with my homemade Rajin' Cajun spice mix. My granddaughter ate all of the veggies, and I made her some deviled eggs on the side. We had an apple pie for dessert (from the store, not home-made) and had a very quiet night talking and watching TV. It was a very long day of travel for them.
On Monday I was gifted with some yellow squash and zucchini that I have done nothing with yet. I will make some zucchini muffins with some of them later today, and probably shred and freeze the rest until I can deal with them later. I made sure all the bills were paid online, so they wouldn't be forgotten in the excitement of the visit. I am thankful I did most of the shopping and preparation before now, so I have more time to be with the family. I will do most of my "work" in the mornings, so my granddaughter and I can craft in the afternoons. We have only needed to buy bread and milk so far this week. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I will look for more opportunities today.
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That nook sounds awesome, Susan! I want one of those... for me, lol. OK, ok, for future grandkids too :) Doesn't it sound like something that they'll be able to talk about to their own grandchildren down the line "when I was little, my grandparents had the most amazing bed for me to use when I spent time there...". I think it's so neat that your husband built it for them.
ReplyDeleteI had just gotten a large zucchini from my fridge and told myself that I was going to make zucchini chocolate bread today when I read your post about making muffins with zucchini, lol. Somehow the bread goes faster than the muffins around here.
I need to weed too. I remembered yesterday that I had emailed to me one of your oldest posts about making homemade weed killer for the driveway so I'm going to make some to spray on the weeds growing between the patio pavers. But it's supposed to be hot and humid today so I'm not sure that I'll have the motivation to go outside and actually spray them. Also, we have some rain in the forecast so maybe I'll wait until a day without rain.
Can't wait to see pictures of your crafting session. You will post pictures of what you've made, right? I'm so not a crafter but I appreciate the talent(s) of others in that area. And especially their patience with making crafts. I do love buying craft supplies so we have a craft cabinet with all sorts of things for the kids to use. They did use them a lot when they were younger and now and then my daughter still goes into it to get supplies for her art projects.
Have a great time with your family and don't fret about chores! There'll be plenty of time to do them after they're gone. Have fun! Enjoy the great weather and all those bounties from your vegetable garden.