Weekend Roundup & Daily Gratitude - 27 August 2012

Let's begin with the fun stuff... last weekend was one of the most enjoyable weekends I have experienced in recent memory (granted, my memory is shoddy at best on most days... but still!).

I got most of my gardening and yard work projects done!  The yard is raked, the holes have been filled, and the fence has been mostly repaired aside from the one foot gap between my yard and the fellow next door (which I require more fencing materials to complete).  I re-potted my Japanese privet and realized I should have bought a much larger pot.  Sorry, Fujiko (it's not weird to name plants, right?)... I'll buy you a nice, big pot after my next payday.

Tomatoes, chard, Thai basil, cilantro, and some shasta daisies & black-eyed susans!

It is rare that a television show, especially a modern one, both grabs my attention and impresses me with it's acting & writing.  Little Mosque on the Prairie is one of those rare shows.  I have been watching it on Hulu nonstop since Saturday evening... I believe I am somewhere toward the end of season two or the beginning of season three.  If you have never seen it: you should!

I also got the floors swept/mopped, the bathroom cleaned, cleaned out the fridge, took out the trash, washed dishes (still need to unpack a lot, however), did several loads of laundry, and found time to relax & read a bit.  What am I reading these days?

• The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of the Four Meals by Michael Pollan
• Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
• A North American Bird Book, circa 1930-something.
• A North American Wild Flower Book, circa 1950-something.

The best part of the weekend was going out to breakfast at local Tucson landmark, Bobo's Restaurant, with S. and then hitting The Girls estate sale shop.  My eggs toast & veggies were typical mom & pop greasy spoon breakfast joint, but the "child size" banana pancake that we shared was one of (if not "the") most incredible pancake I have ever eaten.  Large slices of banana, fluffily perfect pancake texture, and the best part: the crispy caramelization.  As S. so aptly described it, it was like the pancake version of Bananas Foster. 

I only spent about $20 at the estate shop but got a set of queen size lavender sheets (now I have two sets of sheets for my new bed... fancy!), the above-mentioned wild flower book which as beautiful prints of watercolour botanical paintings, and a couple kitchen utensils (cheese wire and vegetable grater, if you're curious).

This week is looking bright but busy, just like I like 'em.  Dinner with Mama D. on Tuesday or Thursday, pizza at a funeral home turned upscale pizza parlour with the Stunning Broadside ladies & friends on Wednesday, and hopefully I can manage to get my bike from R.'s house this week or this weekend at the latest.

And not that this part isn't "fun"...

#1 - The sandwich I just had for lunch made my heart soar and my stomach happy.  Whole wheat tortilla wrapped around vegan cream cheese, Quorn chik'n cutlet, sriracha, raw beets, crispy fried sweet potatoes, dijon mustard, and herb salad mix.  Oh.my.word.  SO GOOD!

#2 - I slept 6 hours last night and feel... wait for it... well rested!  It's a rare and beautiful feeling.

#3 - Work is going smoothly today.  This too is a beautiful thing.

#4 - I have a lot to look forward to this week, both in the fun/social and practical/solitary departments.

#5 - My three month review (and hopefully accompanying raise) is about a week away!

Rambling, Columns, Etc.

I don't know what my fascination is with creating "regular features" on this blog whose daily audience could probably be counted on one hand (with fingers leftover).  Daily Gratitude is both self explanatory and important, but what is up with trying to borrow "Follow Friday" from Twitter or coin new segments?  "The Present," "Morning Interludes," "Fill-In-The-Blank," etc.  Most of these I do once or twice and move on with my damn life.

Maybe I should just, you know, write.

A novel concept, I know!  Why just do something, when you can do it with a cherry, sprinkles, and a lit sparkler on top?

Sometimes I exhaust myself... I can't help but wonder what those around me feel like, especially on some days.  (Insert apology here.)

Okay, let's begin!

Today's lunch was only slightly short of perfect.  Quorn naken chik'n cutlets (no meat, no soy, yada yada) with julienned raw beets, sweet onion, and carrots then sprinkled with fennel seeds and raisins.  I keep forgetting to bring home my dijon mustard from the fridge at work, so I dressed the sandwich (which was a whole wheat wrap) at work, added some herb salad mix leftover from last week (or something), and re-wrapped it up.

I love beets.  (Maybe even more than kale.. I know!)

Moving on...

It could have used one or more of the following:

1. apple cider vinegar
2. julienned apple (Granny Smith or Fuji)
3. vegan cream cheese
4. avocado
5. sunflower seeds

It should be pretty clear by now that I've had too much coffee and what I accepted as an adequate amount of sleep last night (five and a half hours of German shorthaired pointer spooning/snoring) may not have been.  (I'd like to apologize to my co-workers, if any of them are stalky enough to read my blog.)

Tonight I am going out to dinner with a friend at Lovin' Spoonfuls, which is a highly rated vegan restaurant here in Tucson.  I've been eager to try this place for quite a while, but always seem to forget about it when I'm wracking my brain to come up with a place to eat out.

I have a few ideas for upcoming blog posts that may or may not ever see the light of day and the twinkling of the internet.  My current favourite will be about dairy products (especially milk... gross) and why Americans can't seem to get off the tit.  I plan on saying that a lot throughout the post.  I'm sure it's been said, but some things just can't be said enough.  This may be a poor example, but it's all I've got and I'm generally too thoroughly exhausted to be more provocative than that.  Or to publicly admit to being more provocative than that.

Daily Gratitude - 21 August 2012

#1 - Coffee with unsweetened almond milk!

#2 - Kale!

#3 - Fresh, clean laundry!

#4 - Well-behaved dogs!

#5 - Faux chik'n and root veggie wrap for lunch!  (I'm making it now, actually... will be good, I think!)

Can you believe that I used to "hate" mornings?  Now they are my favourite part of the day... calm, homey, good food, my beloved dogs, meditation, and sometimes even relaxation!

Daily Gratitude - 20 August, 2012

#1 - I am no longer hungover.  Now, yesterday...

#2 - Whiskey is now safely back into our rescue program and has a really fantastic foster who will nurse him through his heartworm treatments.

#3 - I have a lot of gardening projects on the docket!  Chard, cilantro, Thai basil, cherry tomatoes, and some frivolous daisies and black eye susans.

#4 -Today I am going to buy some new bras!  (This may be the result of the dogs eating the last decent bra I own... but still...)

#5 - There are two pieces of eggplant, tomato, & pine nut pizza on whole wheat crust waiting for me at home in the fridge!

Daily Gratitude - 15 August 2012

#1 - This morning I took Lola Lulu AND Gatsby for their first walk together in over 6 months and it wasn't terrible.  Lola was actually really good most of the time and was only minimally reactive toward city buses, strangers, etc.

#2 - Wednesday is usually the busiest day of the work week and I love being busy!  (Busy = not bored!)

#3 - I didn't have a doughnut at the Doughnut Meeting At Work!  Huzzah!

#4 - I was able to get Gatsby added to Lemons' vet appointment on Friday.  I hope his cloudy eyes aren't too serious.  :(

#5 - The sundress I wore to work fits a bit more loosely than it did last week.  :)

Seepage

My work life has officially seeped into my "real" life:  I am now seeing Grainger ads on the blogs I read. 

Please Note: Most of the blogs I read are related to food, dogs, or vintage culture.

Sigh...

Daily Gratitude - 13 August 2012

Part of taking the time to stop and notice what we are thankful for in our daily lives is the act of doing so when we're feeling cranky, burdened by others, and otherwise ungracious.

Like me!  Today!  (grumble-grumble)

So here goes:

#1 - I was able to pick up some needful household goods at Target over my lunch break today.

#2 - The infected cut on my hand seems less infected and appears to be healing.  It hurts less.

#3 - I cannot express the sheer delight I felt in discovering that such a things as "pie birds" exist! (See previous post.)

#4 - My mom sent me bath soaps and candles as a housewarming gift. 

#5 - My dogs will be waiting for me when I get home home from work!  Yes, this is a five-days-a-week occurrence, but it always makes me happy to be home.

Pie Birds?!

How did I not know about these until today??

Click here to learn about Pie birds!