New day dawning, but I won't see it because we now have blackout curtains!

We finally found some curtains for our bedroom  that will block the light. Hmmmm....after sixteen years, it is about time! The neighbours have a habit of turning their lights on in the middle of the night, and the light bounces from the window to the mirrored closet doors, to the mirror over the dresser, back to the closet doors...the result is a light show that would rouse the dead.

So tonight is the night we enjoy blissful darkness until our body tells us it is time to wake up not quite so early in the morning!  I am very pleased with the colour, as they were a complete impulse buy. They just reached out and said "HEY!!! I will match your toss cushions!" as I walked by. And they they did. A lovely pea green that matches the stripe in the cushions PERFECTLY!  I was debating whether to buy them or not and the man gave me a gentle nudge, and for once I listened. So, I guess the moral of my story is, polyester curtains may be a lot of things, but when they talk to you? Listen for they do not lie!

If I could save time in a bottle...

maybe I wouldn't spill so much of it!  Where has the month gone?

While we were away, we were privileged to be guests at a lovely family outdoor dinner. The appetizer was absolutely wonderful, as was the whole meal, but the appetizer really was a star. In fact, it made a really good supper for me as soon as we came home yesterday!

Toast baguette slices as you would for bruschetta - drizzle with EVOO.  Dice avocado, drizzle and sprinkle  with lime juice, chili flakes and coarse salt. Place on toasted slices, and serve with more chili flakes, salt and oil to dress as desired. FABULOUS, easy, and oh so tasty on a hot summer's night.  Thanks to Sandee for being a gracious hostess and one of the best cooks I know.  Ah, the panacotta, the panacotta!  Soooo good!

While away, I found a new travelling dress. (on sale!) To test it,  I scrunched it up in my suitcase to fill in small space at the edge for the trip home.  Not carefully folded by any stretch of the imagination. When we arrived home, I pulled it out, and wore it immediately to go out for the evening to a lounge to listen to our friend's jazz band! Comfy, bright and cool. Dressed up or dressed down with flip flops, this will be a great item for travelling, summer or winter - easily be worn with a black jacket for warmth.  I also found an Indian cotton blouse, but the jury is out on that one... so far, I haven't found something to go with it other than my jeans and my white Capri's. Although initially, I had thought it would be a match to a turquoise skirt I have malingering in the closet, but it wasn't a good pairing at all.  Seems to be my way of doing things. Buy separates that will be just that for their lifetime...separate from every other article of clothing I own!  Ah well. Moving on...

Tomorrow will be a quiet day. My plan is to make plans for the following month. Menu plans. Cleaning plans.  Holiday plans. Travel plans.   The kids will be down for a visit mid month, and I am really looking forward to more time with them -  a fun thing at the top of the list is a shopping to refill the goody basket in the closet for our dear baby girl's visit!  She is absolutely precious about the stash she finds when she visits. She has been taught not to 'ask', but the first thing we do after our big hugs is explore Gramma's closet! She takes one gift a day, and is quite content to wait to open the others. She must have her mother's self control, because I know for a fact, I still could not be that patient if I saw those presents waiting for me!  It takes so little to make her happy...a story book, a sticker book, balloons, bubbles - that sort of thing. And of course, the little girly clothes are not to be resisted. She is growing up so fast...either that, or  I am growing old too fast. Either way, time is precious, and I do wish I could save it in a bottle!

How wonderful the house feels!

And all it took was me, and two pairs of extra hands for two hours!  I actually went grocery shopping while they were here and bought fresh flowers for the house. What luxury!  My lists were well received by the ladies, and we are on the same page, literally!  We seem to be hitting it off just fine.


By the way, the flowers at Safeway were so nice this morning that I bought three bunches.  I asked the clerk which ones were the most likely to last the longest, and took her advice. She also told me to change the water every two days, using a quarter of one of those little floral fresh packets.  Done deal. I want to keep them happy for as long as I can. The flowers, plus one of my "saved for good" candles that I just lit, are  making the house look and smell fabulous!  In fact? I think it makes  the house so pretty that it doesn't seem right to mess it up doing mundane things like eating lunch. I think I will just bask in the glow of a house that is actually dusted from one end to the other!


As for the rest of the afternoon? I just may go do a little shopping at the dollar store!

Today I proved once and for all time...

that I am definitely not a baker.

I attempted to make a Matrimonial cake (date squares) but found to my dismay that I didn't have gluten free flour. So, since it was scorching outside, I substituted pancake mix. Not a good idea. Then, to add insult to injury, I overcooked it. (I am still not used to my oven being fixed and sporting two active coils! Plus, the demon TV lured me away from the kitchen until an ominous smell called me back) Anyway, one taste told me it was a no go, so the whole thing went in the trash. I will purchase a dessert at Safeway in the morning for the kids. A much better solution, even though I will not be able to eat a crumb of it.  However, in my defence, I did make a fine bowl of Jell-O. I will stick to what I know in the future, and to tell you the truth? These days, that seems to be a decreasing commodity. 

So much to do, so little time....

This summer seems to be going by in a flash. My sorry little petunias have come into their own, and actually look quite nice in their pots. Will miracles never cease? Having black thumbs is quite the challenge, but there is a couple of plants that grow to spite my toxic attention!  The herbs are flourishing as well, and I have been afforded the luxury of using mint and basil in huge handfuls. I am going to try to keep these over the winter, since they are such a valuable addition to our meals.

So, today I have great plans to bake.  A batch of matrimonial squares (date squares in some circles) tops the list, because they will keep well through the weekend.  I will go grocery shopping tomorrow to pick up the odds and ends that I need to prepare our meals throughout the week. I am counting on the weather being good, and making most of our meat on the barbeque.  I want to spend as much time with the family as I can. Time goes so quickly and I am sure our little one has grown leaps and bounds since we saw them last.

It is nice to stay home in the air conditioning and attend to a lot of jobs I have been putting off for far too long.  I tackled the china cupboard in the kitchen last week, as well as cleaning out the pantry. Every register cover in the house has been cleaned, and every vent well vacuumed. Bit by bit, I am getting back on track after being "out of the saddle" for far too long!

There are a few purchases I have made in my life that I will never regret, and Tupperware ModularMates happens to be one of them. All I have to do is pull everything out and put them back like Lego blocks!  I can always find things easily without frustration. Yep. It they are good things!  Of course, using my label maker is just icing on the cake. 

Simplify, simplify, simplify - but always keeping in mind the words of Albert Einstein, “as simple as possible, but no simpler.”