Dwellingness

I found this precious guy in the flower department at Stew Leonards.  I couldn’t resist him.  And he made a perfect house gift for a friend who had us for the weekend.

My only regret is that I didn’t pick one up for myself as well.  He IS adorable.

Every year at this time, we celebrate “Gotcha Day” with our beloved Golden Retriever, Ginger. She arrived at our home, full of fears and phobias on Februrary 13th, five years ago. In a word, she was a mess.

The staff at her vet and her daycare have done wonders to help us as we’ve helped her to become a “normal” dog. And so for Gotcha Day each year, we thank them for their hard work. Each year, I put together a surprise for the staff.

This was this year’s little surprise. I loved how they turned out.

While I was at it — I made a couple of mini cupcakes and packed them into push pops for the grand-daughters.

This is probably only a 5 minute task — but I decided to count it anyway. Towels at our house seem to unwind and unfold themselves and wander all over the bathroom counter and closet. What could be an attractive, organized collection of towels becomes a mess.

And since it feels better to grab a neatly folded or rolled towel, we take the neat towels and leave the messy ones behind. And that only makes the mess worse. Its a downward spiral that is difficult to get out of — unless you choose to take 10 minutes and organize the towels.

Its really not a big job. Just pull out the messy towels, fold or roll them, and put them back where they go. Simple. Quick. Easy. So why don’t I do it more often?

Today, I organized my towels. I pulled them out. I rolled (at PaineLess, we prefer the rolled towels, at Paine’sEnd, we fold the towels — different houses, different towel storage — it works). I put them back in the holders. They look beautiful. We’re happier. We’re using towels. It feels almost like a spa. 10 minutes well spent.

I sent the “boys” off to Fly Fishing School this morning.  I can’t say that I’ve ever seen two happier men (except possibly, the same to guys at the end of the day).  They’re off to Vermont to spend the day perfecting their casting and fish handling skills.

Orvis does a phenomenal job of teaching fly fishing to folks who didn’t grow up on rivers or lakes.  It has more than evened the playing field in our house.  I grew up fly fishing with the best of them — my grand-aunt was a licensed Maine Guide long before most women even thought of doing such a thing.  While I rarely fly fish anymore, it comes back.  Sort of like riding a bicycle — if you did it as a kid, it gets into your muscle memory and you’re all set.  My beloved, on the other hand, was a city kid.  He’s learned to troll and he enjoys a fishing expedition off of the Cape, but fly fishing has never been in his repertoire — until Orvis.  Now he has a form to envy and does the family proud in the fly fishing department.

So, this morning, I fed them a hearty breakfast and then packed up a pile of food.  Orvis will feed them a fantastic lunch, but the 15 year old is at that age where he’s always hungry.  He’ll be ready for a second breakfast in just a few hours.  There is no way he’ll make it until lunch time.  And then from lunch until they get home for supper is another long haul.  I don’t want the lure of McDonald’s to overcome the guys.  So, I packed.  Fruit, and peanut butter with crackers, granola bars, cookies and cheese, and some trail mix and almonds to munch away.  It looks pretty nice doesn’t it?  The kids are always still impressed when I pack bento style.  This should hold them until they get home tonight.  (I hope).

Its amazing what happens when you browse around the internet.  One good find inevitably leads to another.

This is a Robert Jones 5 minute makeup tutorial.  I’ll confess, I’ve had the books and loved the looks, but I’m not skilled enough to really do them.  Seeing someone else do the “doing” certainly deepens understanding.

Watch and see

I was browsing around Pinterest the other day and it led me to this lovely French  eye makeup tutorial.  The instructions are in French, with cryptic English subtitles to help you get the gist of it — but the French directions are so much better.  And the look is rather natural, but more dramatic.  See what you think

As I’m moving toward better habits this year, choosing a good life, I’m re-embracing my love affair with France.  I was thrilled to find this lovely video series on YouTube.  Rachel Khoo does a wonderful job of french cooking in real life.  Watch and fall in love

I’m keeping up my commitment to the 10 minute tasks.  Today, I planted our Aerogardens — yes, that was a plural.  We have three Aerogardens — 3!

Once friends and family discover that you actually use your Aerogarden, they start offering and delivering their neglected and abandoned Aerogardens, leaving them on your back step like abandoned orphans of old.

We really DO use our Aerogardens.  (but don’t deliver any more to me — 3 is plenty for our little household).  We grow fresh herbs year round for the kitchen.  I snip and snip for our meals, even in the dead of winter, we have fresh, yummy flavors, thanks to our Aerogarden.

Then, around this time of year, I start our seedlings for the spring garden outside.  I start tomatoes and peppers, more herbs, lettuce, and flowers.  Gradually, I’ll transfer them to small pots and then outside into the garden they go.  I get a garden with strong plants ready for the growing season, without paying the nursery prices for young plants.

It takes a little time to prepare and plant the Aerogarden.  It has to be washed out thoroughly, a new filter cut to size and inserted, and the grow bulbs checked and replaced.  Then the seed pods are planted and inserted into the pod holders.  The tank is filled with water, the light stand adjusted, sprouting caps put in place — its the perfect 10 minute job.  At the end of 3 days, I’ve got all three Aerogardens planted and ready to grow.