Tag Archives: Sashiko

Menus and misc.

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, Sashiko by

A few pictures. The champagne was delicious. And the Superiority Tofu burgers came out really great.

Last night we had nachos with home-canned beans. It was ok, and it used up some stuff. Tonight I have some potatoes to use, so I’ll figure out what to have with them. I have some chicken broth to use, so maybe a small pot pie or soup? We’ll see what inspires me later.

I’ll check the freezer and see what needs to be used up. The freezer is about half full, so I’m making progress for sure. I’m pretty sure I won’t get rid of it unless it stops working) But I do want to completely defrost it before winter.

I got my labs yesterday and came straight home. I didn’t have the energy to go down the hill to do anything. I did some house chores and tidying, but that’s it. I slept really badly last night, so today could be iffy. It’s early yet, so if anything, I’d go to the gym because I could do the treadmill. It’s too hot to walk later in the morning right now. I also have a Sashiko book to pick up at the library.

I hope I can get the Goodwill done today, as it’s sitting in the back of the Santa Fe. So I think that’s my goal today, plus the gym. I also need to do a recycle run this week.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MY DAUGHTER!!

THEIR BOOK WON GRAND PRIZE OUT OF 2000 ENTRIES!! I’m really proud of them. Now for an agent to sell the book.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, bread, California, camping, cooking, decluttering, Flylady, freezer cooking, Lake tahoe, minimalism, Sashiko, simplicity, swimming, Uncategorized, Walking by

A lovely walk this morning with a few people there. Sundays are my favorite day to walk as usually there is no one. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when the weather turns.

Yesterday the pool was quite busy and I shared a lane. I noticed more of the ‘regulars’ there so it must be the news is out that the pool is open. It was still great. This week will be different as I have 2 days of doing other things and then next Sunday we’re off to Tahoe for the week. We do plan to use the gym at least 2x and walk when we can.

Here’s a sample of the Sashiko I’m doing on a pair of old jeans.

I got these 2 books from the library. Both are quite good with patterns. I liked the one on the left more.

Working with the denim was more difficult but it’s just a patch so I’m not concerned about even stitching. Just random running stitches.

Here’s a picture of the sourdough rye I made. It had good flavor and it did a fairly nice spring for being rye. Rye is hard to do but I’ll do another loaf eventually.

I’ve been playing around with sourdough focaccia too. I still haven’t gotten the top all crispy like the YouTube channel showed. I’m thinking the oven needed to be hotter?? Not sure, but I’ll keep trying. I wanted to perfect a bread that we could use for sub sandwiches and the focaccia seemed like a good option.

This morning, I plan on going to the gym for just weights, no treadmill as I walked this morning and I don’t want my knee to be overworked. Then I have double-stuffed potatoes to make and freeze. Yesterday PGE had our power off all day so I couldn’t use the oven.

Flylady zone is the bedroom. If you follow along a tip I read from Peter Walsh was ‘ask yourself what the room in question is for’, so like the bedroom is to sleep, rest, etc. So remove anything from the bedroom that doesn’t support that. No electronics for instance. After having done Feng Shui for years, I do think what you have around you does affect you on some level. I don’t do FS anymore but the principles of FS and minimalism are quite similar. Keeping things harmonious and uncluttered is key, along with subdued color palettes.

I get my labs tomorrow so I should know by Friday what we’re going to do with treatment.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, home stuff, instant pot recipes, Pantry, Uncategorized by

Wow, we are still getting some rain!! The poor folk though, out at Burning Man are in white mud up to their ankles. I have never been drawn to Burning Man. Too many people and a very desolate environment. We had rain this morning and I’m guessing they’re getting some more up there.

We did have a lovely walk in the rain with no one there.!!!! I only did 2x because of the knee but it was hard to stop. 🙁 It seems every time I start to make some headway like walking faster and going a little farther something happens and I’m back to ground zero. Oh well, I guess that’s life.

I’m heading out to the gym and I’ll finish this later.

I got back from the gym, and boy is it ever raining. I only did arm weights at the gym so it was only 25 minutes. Then I went over to the Briarpatch Coop for a few things. This is our new co-op that just opened and it’s very nice. It’s more convenient than Safeway, with a better atmosphere too. The prices are higher but for a few things, I don’t mind. I wanted the Califia creamer and Califia almond milk. My daughter is lactose intolerant so we’ve been getting this and it’s quite good. Then I picked up some russet potatoes for a baked potato night this week.

Tonight I plan on doing a pantry dinner of chicken pie with pressure canned chicken pot pie mix. Then I’ll make a spinach pie with spinach, gruyere, onions and eggs.

My Instant Pot died last week. I was making chicken broth and had it started and then when I went back to check it it was off. I thought maybe it tripped the electrical outlet but it hadn’t. I tried another plug and nada. I unplugged the back plug and still nada. I don’t plan on replacing it. I really only use it for a few things and I can use the slow cooker for those things; beans, broth, stew, etc. I wonder if anyone else has had theirs just quit??

I have the pool on Tuesday, then the doctor on Wednesday and then the gym on Thursday or Friday. I’m working on my next Sashiko pattern and I should get the fabric this week for my Japanese block quilt. I plan on doing Sashiko embroidery on that too. I like having some kind of handwork to do probably a throw back from the Waldorf school days.

Frugal Friday

Posted in California, canning tomato salsa, frugalism, plants, Uncategorized by

The trip to Costco ended up $150 for food and $100 for alcohol/non food including a very fancy bottle of Veuve Clicquot at $55.00 and B bought beer and then the rest was nonfood.

We haven’t opened it yet since we had the Taittinger champagne.

Our lunch out was a splurge at $80 including tip. At the nursery, I bought an Eucalyptus tree in a 5-gallon pot for $15 and a very large fiddle Leaf fig at half price of $18 which is an incredible price. I’m not sure what like it likes yet but I have it by this window.

I also bought some plastic pots to repot 2 of my indoor plants.

Overall, all of it was worth the splurge. Next week, I probably don’t need anything from the store and I’ll try and keep it a no spend week.

I’ve ordered some fat quarters of Japanese fabric to make a small lap quilt. Actually, I’m not sure I’ll quilt it but will probably do some Sashiko embroidery on it.

This was my latest Sashiko. I like how meditative it is but my stitches have a long way to go. Oops looks like I got some dinner on the upper corner. 🙂 I also didn’t do the outside stitching right as you’re supposed to iron the seams first and then sew thru both pieces of fabric.

Orchids are one of my favorite flowers because they last so long. B got this one for an anniversary present.

This is a Swedish Dala meant to bring good luck. This was an ‘our’ gift even though I’ve wanted one for a while. Actually, I’ve been looking for a white and blue one but they are hard to find.

Some of the last sunflowers from the garden.

I’m hoping to walk at least one round tomorrow. I’ll use my walking stick.

Tonight is homemade pizza. Yesterday I made another salsa but this one I roasted the tomatoes, peppers onions, and garlic. The skins come right off the tomatoes. I then whizzed the peppers,onions and garlic in the food processor but not the tomatoes. I ended up with 4 pints. The flavor was excellent.

So next week, no falling off step stools, and getting back to my regular routine albeit slowly. I will not do any leg stuff with the weights until my knee feels 100% better. i can do all the arm stuff though.