Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Bloody Cleaning, Cranberry Glass, Laptop Holder, Movie.

Silver 001Silver 002








What an exhausting afternoon yesterday. We cleaned silver, glasses, shelves, ornaments and anything else. Difficult to tell,  but there are dozens of glasses on those shelves. Dunno why we keep ‘em all. Much as I like to see it when its finished, I am not a happy camper when it comes to doing it. No those shelves don’t lean, I am not the world’s best photographer. Matt’s good but he doesn’t consider my digital camera to be a real camera.
Silver 003
There is actually more silver on the dining table and coffee table even though I sold a lot of it off a couple of years ago – sigh. I have a few bits of copper and brass too so they got done as well. I am too old for this stuff. It all takes so long though, it isn’t worthwhile getting our cleaner to do it on her monthly visit, nothing else would get done. One gets to the stage – do I want my home to look attractive etc. etc. or do I want to save labour. At least my violet decided to flower this week, so it looks pretty right now. Yes, I do kind of collect piggy banks, have a few more elsewhere. Only trouble is the rubber stoppers perish after a year or two and I have been unable to replace them. Found some plastic ones, but they didn’t work. I also kind of collect shot glasses. We happened to accumulate one or two and then people assumed we collected them so they started bringing us shot glasses from their trips so now Cranberry Applewe have quite a few of thRossi Apple etc.em. I even bought one or two myself. In the middle of the first picture is my cranberry apple which I bought in Niagara Falls at a place called Rossi Glass where they make glassware, you can visit and watch them blowing glass or moulding it, whatever they are doing that day. As this isn’t a good pic I found one on the net. Mine seems to be a deeper colour. Don’t know if you are aware, cranberry colour is obtained by adding gold to the glass mix. We bought the apple as most of the stuff they make was way out of our price range. They have some beautiful stuff in all kinds of colours, shapes and sizes and prices.

So finally its February, although we have only just realised it’s a leap year, which makes 29 days this month. Saturday is the old man’s 77th birthday so we are having some friends over for dinner. I have been somewhat housebound for a long time so it will make a nice change for me. Had a really nice phone call from a friend in NC yesterday too, she no longer has a computer so was unaware of my health problems. She heard about them from other friends and was all worried about me. We have some great friends in NC. Yes we have great friends elsewhere too. Many of my best friends are cyber friends although I have been lucky enough to meet some of them face to face.

Laptop HolderI was doing my usual grousing the other day about typing on the laptop and Matt was saying he would find something for me to prop it up at an angle. Lo and behold yesterday, Worldstart sent me an email with just the thing. It was $14.97 so I promptly ordered one. Not sure how it will actually work on one’s lap, but certainly on a desk or table it should help. I buy from Worldstart now and again, they usually have good stuff and provide good service.

Last night we watched a wonderful movie, Music of the Heart withMusic of the Heart Meryl Streep. It was about a teacher who started to teach kids from inner city Harlem in New York to play the violin. After 10 years and thousands of successes funding was cut and her programme was axed so they decided to fight back. With lots of help from all kinds of people they ended up giving a concert in Carnegie Hall and getting the help of people like Itzhak Perlman and Isaac Stern with many others who’s names I don’t know. The funny thing is I wasn’t really sure I wanted to watch it – apart from anything else I get so sick of the advertising, but Matt turned it on and it didn’t take long to get caught. I have said before how much I like Meryl Streep, I think she is brilliant. Mr. Holland’s Opus was a similar kind of story. There have been several notable teachers about whom films have been made.
 
I came across this recipe as being diabetic friendly yesterday. Those of my readers, and there are a few, who do NOT like asparagus can ignore this section.

Asparagus and Endive Salad

Source: dLife

Light and elegant salad combining asparagus and endive in a homemade orange Dijon vinaigrette. Try using a sugar substitute instead of regular sugar.

1 lb fresh asparagus , trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 tsp grated orange peelEndive2
1 Tbs Juice, orange, fresh
2 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs small shallots , minced
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/8 tsp black pepper
8 oz Belgian endive, fresh, head , cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch strips (2 heads)

1. Place 1/2 inch of water at the bottom of a 12 inch pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add in asparagus and cook until tender yet crisp, about 2 minutes. Place in strainer, rinse under cold water, drain, and pat dry with paper towels.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the orange peel, orange juice, vinegar, oil, shallots, sugar, salt, mustard, and pepper until well combined.
3. Add the asparagus and endive to the bowl with the dressing. Mix well to evenly coat and serve.

Servings: 4

Have a great day
Jo

3 comments:

  1. I hate cleaning nick-knacks. I have a whole collection of chickens and teapots on top of my kitchen cabinets. Naturally, you remind me they need cleaning. The pain is having to climb up to get them down and then clean them and put them back.I have a few other thing scattered through out the living room but they're easy to reach and clean as I clean the room.

    Yay, on the mini workstation.

    Sending hugs your way.

    Sia McKye OVER COFFEE

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't do a lot of cleaning any more, can't cope with most of it. Not that I was ever a very good housewife. It was always a job I hated. I used to say I was domestically challenged. Cooking, now, was a different matter.

    Hope my laptop holder comes quickly, looking forward to it.

    Hugs to you too Sia.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am very happy to read this. This is the type of manual that needs to be given and not the random misinformation that is at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this greatest doc.
    Gear Board Tread Wall Mount Video Game Accessories Storage

    ReplyDelete