The Dirty Dozen

Since I've been back in Calgary, I've been doing the grocery shopping for my mom. I actually really love it! It's like shopping, but for necessities. And it's a game to figure out the best prices, and the best apple in the pile.

One thing I've had trouble with was deciding to buy organic or not. Of course, organic is no doubt healthier, but some things hold more pesticides than others anyways. Wouldn't it be great to know what fruits and vegetables were worth the extra financial cost?

The day after I was mulling this over, I found this adorable cheat sheet! It's available to be printed off, and has the good produce on one side and the "dirty dozen" on the other, complete with illustrations for the illiterate.

I've got to go grocery shopping, because I've been slack in my duties the last couple days, what with the two weddings I am in over the next two weeks. :)

An Ode to Laundry

I know I have posted about air drying and ironing before, but laundry in itself is another step- at least for the sake of this blog. ;)

Some of you may notice the time of this post (midnight) and wonder, "Chelsea, what are you doing up at this hour?!?" Well... I'm out of clean clothes. It's really a process, this whole growing up thing. At Mom's, we sort of rotated doing laundry, but when one person did blacks, you did blacks for everyone, saving on water and such. At Dad's it's every man for himself. I, still determined to save water, like to have as big of a load as possible, and since I still like color sorting to keep my clothes the right shade, it means I have to go through my whole closet until I get piles big enough to wash.

Well, it's either that or wear only back for a week, then only red, and wash as I finish a color. But that's just sad.

In any case, tonight, once I had gotten in my pj's (allowing me to wash today's clothes) I realized I have nothing to wear tomorrow except basketball shorts and a button-up shirt. That just wouldn't do.

I really like doing laundry though. I love sorting- both the process and the finished outcome of color-coordinated piles. I usually have a blacks/dark blue, gray/light blue, red/khaki, and white. I like folding the warm clothes when they come out of the dryer, and knowing that I am preparing someone's next couple weeks for them, even if for now the only loads I'm doing are my own. I look forward to the day when I can help my husband by ensuring he has fresh clothes in his closet- though hopefully it will not be at midnight.

In any case, my blacks are ready to be transferred to the dryer, so I ought to go. Good night, all! :)

Picture by Rachel K: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimonomania/3078224754/ Creative Commons license: Attribution, Noncommercial, Share-Alike License.

Compare and Contrast

I spent the day with a twelve year-old girl today. She watched as her brother and I played chess, and cheered me on as I was the foosball victor. :P As I read Calculus, I listened to her mother teach her the Biblical account of creation and later peeked in and watched her work on her lapbook. I listened to her practice the harp and reherse her finger-plucking, ready for her sister's lesson. All day she was smiley and jumpy and full of hugs.

I came home to another twelve year old girl. She has a boyfriend named John, but she's not sure if she likes him so she doesn't want to make a big deal about it in case they break up tomorrow. However, she asked her mother if she could borrow a "cute" shirt to wear to school in the morning. For her birthday, she wants an iPhone because her best friend has one, and a girl at school called her a [not-good-word-I'm-not-going-to-repeat].

I bet you the first twelve year-old has never even heard that word.

Sour Milk

I am in a blogging frenzie. Anyway.

I was just on the phone with my aunt when I caught a whiff of something bad. I have the house to myself for the week, and though I haven't accumulated enough dishes where I have needed to wash them (I've only had breakfast at home. I've been working and sleeping for the last week), I have rinsed each off and I couldn't think what the stench was. I glanced around the area, and noticed a tea pot that was on the table from when my mom had company over... before she left. Next to it was a small milk pitcher. From before she left (four days ago). Now, I can handle baby diapers. I can deal with animal waste (I've been the family doggy doo scooper since I was 5). I have picked up roadkill from the side of the road, which is a rather long story. I can hold someone's hair back when they're sick. But I don't do spoilt milk. There's this gag reflex, and I just feel like holding my own hair back. I think it's mostly the stench, but it's also partly the visual. Milk just shouldn't look like that.

Anyway, the "milk" is down the garbarator (which ran about 2 minutes till I was sure I could smell nothing). I am now doing all dishes and clearing every surface of this kitchen, so help me. If there is anything that was not found before, it will be found now.

Monday, Wash Day

One of the best things about coming home after a long trip is clean, fresh clothes. I was doing my laundry from my trip this morning, and as I was hanging up my pj pants, I thought it would make a good picture.

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I got my Biology AP results today- 5/5! Goodbye, BIOL 233 (U of C)/BIOL 2474 (HBU)!

Honey Nut Granola

Here's the recipe for my Honey Nut Granola. I have a hunch that I got it from Canadian Living Magazine, but I really don't remember; I found it last summer, and didn't write down where from. In any case, it's somewhat original since I've changed everything from the ingredients quantities to the cooking time. Enjoy.

Honey Nut Granola
6 cups rolled oats (it calls for regular, but I think it tastes better with instant- personal preference)
2-1/2 c coarsely chopped pecans
2/3 c tasted wheat germ
3/4 c butter, melted
1/2 c honey
1/4 c firmly packed light brown sugar
2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
(you can also add coconut, raisins or dried cranberries, if you have them around)

Mix oats, pecans, and wheat germ in large mixing bowl. In 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, add sticks of butter. Melt in microwave, and in same measuring cup, add honey, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Stir.
Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring as you add. Add coconut and other nuts/seeds now, if you want. (Dried fruits are added after baking). Make sure you coat all the oats, at least a little.
Put into metal 9x16 cake pan (or any pan with sides at least one inch tall). Spread evenly, so that some parts aren't clumpy while others are dry. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes (stir it every 5 min).
Cool and store in airtight container. Makes 14 cups. Our family likes to eat it like cereal with milk, or mixed up with yogurt. If you want to decrease the amount of butter, you can. I've already decreased it from 1 cup. Just keep in mind, it prevents the oat clusters from clustering.

Around the House: Drying

With all the hype on environmental issues, it's good to conserve while we go. The beauty of most forms of conservation is you generally end up saving money in the process, at least in the long run. It's great to be able to take advantage of a sunny day to hang out clothes, rather than put them in the dryer. It saves electricity, and gives you fresh smelling clothes. It can be hard if you live in humid areas, but Calgary is perfect for it. Today we had a load out for an hour, and it was warm and dry by the time it was brought in.

I promise, last post on laundry. :)

Picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/7-how-7/1609904448/ By Steve. Attribution, Noncommercial, Non-derivative Licence.

Around the House: Ironing

The other day in class, we were talking about a particular short story that used ironing as a symbol to represent monotony and how society "irons" out the wrinkles in individuals, till we're all the same (flat board). Our student teacher brought in an ironing board and iron, and asked for volunteers to iron out parts of the shirt and tell us what pops into our head. At one point, she asked "How may of you have ever ironed?" Almost everyone raised their hand, but about 4 or 5 people had never ironed!

If you're one of them, go iron something. It's relaxing. I love it. I have fond memories with irons: my uncle taught me to iron, quilting with my grandmother (there's lots of ironing in sewing), watching my dad iron his work shirts, and more. I iron with my right hand, with my board set up for left-handers, and set my iron on the left side, since my uncle taught me how he learned: from left handed Grandma Dorothy.

It's great fun. Try it! But read the care label of your shirt first, just in case.

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/pfv/638405449/in/photostream/ By Pedro Veneroso. Attribution Noncommercial Licence.