Whew! I spent a lot of time in the kitchen this weekend. Chris did too, because I made a big mess and he's kinda the dishwasher around here.
I made marshmallows! Which may not be a big deal to most of you normal people who can casually eat any old marshmallow from the store. But for me, little miss allergic-to-corn-syrup, it was a real treat. They were actually very soft and fresh and made with just sugar, water and gelatin. Simple and yummy. I'm going to make hot chocolate (soy, of course) tomorrow night and see how nicely they melt into it. Yippee!
It was our turn to make breakfast for church this week, and with our budget currently being a smidge tight, I decided to make biscuits. I usually have the stuff on hand that I need for those anyway. And I had a can of pumpkin left from this fall (sadly, I didn't have enough homemade pumpkin puree to get me through the season), so I thought, "Hey! Pumpkin butter!" and that was really yummy too.
And when football time came around, some commercial made Chris and me look at each other and decide we wanted to eat some meat today. Real, juicy, yummy meat in some kind of sauce. I've been running across short rib recipes all over the place lately, so I took that as a sign. One more trip to the grocery store for me. I donned my favorite apron upon my return and commenced to cooking. I made salsa for lunch (with chips and beer) and browned those short ribs up, pureed everything for the sauce and tucked it all into my dutch oven to simmer for the rest of the afternoon.
The rest of the afternoon? I had a whole rest-of-the-afternoon before me?
Should I sew? I've been meaning to get started on that vintage-style robe that I wanted to make for Christmas morning....
Should I knit? I've got to finish the shawl I'm making for my aunt's "Christmas" present....
Should I clean my desk? I mean, it's gross.
No. None of those things made it onto my agenda.
I took a bath.
I rummaged around in my little apothecary shelf, where I have fragrance oils aplenty and picked out something that smelled lovely, I grabbed my iPod, which is full of new music and locked myself in the bathroom.
There wasn't much light left coming through the window and I left the lights off. Everything looked gray and blue except for my toenails. They're still red - leftover from a fluke Christmas Eve nail-painting session.
So, I soaked in the pomegranate-scented bath, admiring my red toenails in the blue light, listening to Midlake* and wondering why on earth we were going to sell this house.
I love this house, and I especially love the bathroom. I labored long over just the right powdery gray-blue paint for the walls and I hung a chandelier in there. I have a vintage clawfoot tub. For a girl who likes baths, that pretty much seals the deal as a dream house.
Just that bathroom alone would be all I needed. I was sure of the kids wouldn't miss out too much if our house wasn't big enough for sleepovers and we could survive without a second bathroom. What was I thinking? Psh. Sell my house? Never!
(knock, knock)
Voice: Mom?
Me (gingerly removing my headphones): What?
Voice: I need to go to the bathroom.
Me: Can't you hold it? I'm taking a bath.
Voice: No, not really.
Me: Okay. I'm going to unlock the door, then I'm going to hide in the shower while you go potty.
Voice: Um, I don't just have to potty.
Oh yes. This is why we are going to sell our house.
The dinner was amazing, even if my house will smell like beef fat for several subsequent days. I foresee more short ribs in my future....yes....but maybe I'll wait until I have dishwasher.
*I believe The Trials of Van Occupanther will be this spring's soundtrack. Especially if I buy that Anthropologie dress I showed you in the last post. I know I'm a little late on this one, since it came out in 2006, but I adore the whole album. It has bassoon parts in the songs! As a former bassoon major, I feel that this is the finest use of the bassoon in pop music since Sonny and Cher's I Got You Babe. You know, it might be the only pop music for bassoon since Sonny and Cher's I Got You Babe. Ahem.
DAILY BLISS: open windows in January and a hubby who does dishes
7 comments:
Are you me? ROTFL!!! On a Sunday afternoon, I often can't figure out what to do next and then find I've wasted the day away.
For awhile, we had our house on the market so we could move into something bigger. We took it off before Christmas because we got no real bites on it. Now that the clutter is in storage, we are loving our cozzy little home, down to my powder-blue gray bathroom. All I need now is a chandelier in there, lol.
See, if you had been knitting instead of that bath you would not have that problem!!!! Ha Ha Ha ...really, you deserve that bathroom and all it's glory..I love your house too.
I actually hate store-bought marshmallows. They have no appeal to me whatsoever *but* I've wanted to try fresh made ones since I saw Alton Brown do it on Good Eats.
The pumpkin butter and biscuits sounds divine. I'm sure you're little band of worshippers was especially grateful on Sunday.
I have seen your bathroom and I agree that I'd probably buy a house just for a bath like that. But I understand completely the need for more space and more than one of them. Even if your current one is perfect. Most houses built fairly recently have garden tubs and while they don't posess the charm of a cast iron claw foot tub it could probably still do the trick. Especially if you paint the room a perfect shade of whatever you decide and put up another blissful chandelier. I'm sure wherever you land you'll make yours. And a bath without interruptions sounds heavenly.
Julie - sounds like we have a lot in common! I have no idea if we'll be able to sell. We're gonna give it a shot, and if worse comes to worse, downsize our "stuff" just like you have and love the little house we're in. BTW - the chandelier is totally worth it!
Amy - you have to, have to try the marshmallows! They're amazing!
I miss my oversized garden tub, but when we build our house, I am definitely putting in a clawfoot tub.
Maybe you just need a big thick curtain dividing your tub from the potty. And a big fan of course. I hate that you have to even think about moving when you have invested so much in your little haven. It will work out one way or another and you'll love wherever you are. Because you seem to be able to find the bliss in things and that will definitely pay off.
OH MAN. So sorry about the interupted bath. Ouch.
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