My Closet

I've been working on minimizing my possessions. I don't think I need a lot of stuff.

I went through my closet and took out every little thing that did not fit, did not like and just didn't serve any purpose any longer.

I'm down to these few shirts. There are 2 suits at the end - 1 black and 1 brown and 2 jackets - 1 black and 1 brown.

I like brown. I think my wardrobe will revolve around that color.

I recommend reading Don Aslett's book - Clutter's Last Stand. He makes a lot of sense.

Cake of the Week

Hello good people

Every week I bake a cake. I use Duncan Hines butter recipe mix and Betty Crocker frosting.

I guess I could make it from scratch, but what the heck.

I usually make a yellow cake. This one has lemon frosting. SO doesn't like chocolate, so I don't make those too often.

I bake it til it is sort of dry. I hate over moist cake.

The platter is old white milk glass with a tiny gold pattern. I paid 2 dollars for it.

We like cold cake, so we keep it in the fridge.

Yummy

More pantry pics

Here is another shot of my pantry.

I'm posting this to have a before and after record.

It is not quite "Learyized" yet.

If you have read Anne Tyler's "The Accidental Tourist" you know what I mean.

What day is it?

This is how retired life feels sometimes. We don't know what day we're on! It is such a drag having to get out of bed and if we are not careful, we could fall off the edge.

We have to keep close tabs on our schedules or else we tend to miss appointments. SO goes to the VA twice a week plus he has dental stuff coming up.

I have a ton of homework coming due. It is starting to feel like I AM a full-time student, which I guess I am since I am taking 12 hours. Three "I ams" in a row!

I like our Tues and Thursday class schedule. We get out of the house and still have 3-day weekends. It would be 4 day weekends but SO meets for group every Friday. At least I get time to study.

The boys (pets) miss our being home 24/7.

What is This?

I almost forgot what this was. When I loaded up the pics, I had to really jog my memory.

It is frozen bell peppers from my small garden. I like to plants things, but don't always eat them. Tomatoes yes, everything else, big maybe.

I threw chunks of meat on top and slow cooked the mix in the crock pot - very yummy!

SO has developed a bad case of acid reflux, so the jalapenos are off limits. And he loves them so.

I guess I will try to dry them.

I once grew a bunch of eggplant because I liked the way they looked. Thank goodness my sister loves eggplant and okra too. Almost forgot about the okra.

I'm growing some fall tomatoes. They already have flowers. I can't wait.

Do We Have Any Kool-Aid?

I like to organize things. One of my current projects is my pantry. Ignore the paneling. A previous owner paneled everything in this house and we are taking it out, painting, whatever has to be done to get it out of our sight. I want crisp white beadboard in the pantry.

The other day SO asked me "Do we have any Kool-Aid"? I had given up the stuff years ago, like maybe 30, until he got me hooked on it again. I told him to look in the pantry because I had set things up so you could tell what was inside.

I've thought of posting these pics on the door just for him, with an inventory also. Look at the stuff on this shelf, Kool-Aid and cake mix. Please note that the sugar next to it is organic and fair trade. I'm trying!

SOBRADA - Plenty, more than enough

I thought of this word "sobrada" as I was throwing away a pair of uncomfortable underpants.

This is something my mother always calls me. I looked up the English translation and it means plenty. The noun "sobrar" always meant leftovers to me.

When my mother calls me "sobrada" it means wasteful, that I have so much stuff, I just throw things away.

Now who would keep a pair of uncomfortable underpants, or uncomfortable anything?

I don't like to be wasteful, but at the same time why hold on to things that you don't use. They just take up space and you have to cart them around with you forever. You should see the stuff my Mom has.

Now she has plenty. She likes shoes, clothes, perfume and costume jewelry. With 11 kids she gets plenty of gifts. My sister says she has stacks of shoe boxes in her closet. She is 83 so she forgets what she has. She is very colorful. It is almost like she wears all her jewelry at the same time and the perfume too! She likes to dress up. She looks good for 83.

I'm still working on my closet. I just bought a fabulous shoe rack. I've gotten rid of a lot of things - mostly to the Goodwill. I still have to get rid of more. I'm very careful of what I buy now. No more sale stuff unless it really fits or will blend in with what I have. Most important, I have to love it right away!

The picture is of the moss rose in one of my flower beds. There are some begonias in there also. I'm going to have to move the begonias to a less sunny spot.

Something I can never have enough of is FLOWERS! Love them.