Soccer practices have started. The school open house is tomorrow evening followed by the first day on Thursday. We are ready. My plan for art projects and field trips and soaking up every single moment never came to fruition. I heard more than a few “I’m bored” and “Can we plllllllleeeeeeaaaaasssseeeeeee watch iPads?” but I embraced my 70’s momma mojo and reminded them that only boring people get bored and if they couldn’t find something that didn’t involve a screen, I had plenty on my own to-do list and was willing to share. Question: Do your children think that the length of the time they use to say the word please is directly proportional to the likelihood you’ll lose your mind and give in? Just mine?
Knitting: August socks finished. I wanted something quick and simple not in the same gauge as socks (to give my poor hands a rest) so pulled some KnitPicks “Dishie” out the stash for some dishcloths. Managed to whip up four for the new cabin and now am working on a pair of Rose City Rollers for Violet to make up for the pair I never did manage to get finished for her birthday (and have to frog because the one I finished is too small).
Knitflixing: I’m not the only one! I finished Stranger Things. Watched the first few episodes of Mr. Robot. Listened to a few podcasts. I’ve been waiting for Jesse to be less busy so that I could watch the new season of Chef’s Table with him (we both LOVED last season) but he hasn’t been in the mood for tv in the evenings so I’ve been on my own.
Reading: Finished Wurthering Heights {★ ★ ★ ★ ☆} and started on Madam Bovary. I fell asleep within the first two pages so that doesn’t bode well.
In the Kitchen: Made our family favorite black bean, sweet potato quesadillas the other day. They are so good. I can’t recommend them enough. If you ever have left over roasted sweet potato, this is a great way to use it!! Even my pickiest eater enjoys them. (We just roast the sweet potato specifically for them because we love them). I also made some of this dijon chicken one evening. We’d been invited out but I had already thawed chicken breasts so I dug this recipe, cooked them up and put them back in the fridge to use as leftovers. (I’m really trying to waste less in the kitchen). Jesse had some warmed up over rice and I had it with a romaine and shredded carrot salad.
What’s new with you? Any good recipes to recommend? Or recipe/cooking blogs? I’m trying to get back into the swing of cooking.
Oh, you tell me how to get back into the swing of cooking, and I will be there. (I suppose that assumes one was once in the swing. It’s been so long, I don’t know if I can even claim that. I need to find a new food groove.)
I hope you all have a wonderful school year. It’s lunchtime on my second day back at work, and I’m mostly glad to be here, even though my summer wasn’t what I hoped for, either. My summer disappeared into the ether. I really can’t tell you what I did with it, and it feels like dreams I sometimes have in June where it’s suddenly August and in the dream I’m saying, “but wait, didn’t we just get out for summer?” Only this is real and not a dream. I hope your kids have good learning and growing in the coming year. I am looking forward to fall. I’m ready for a new season.
I have no idea how to get back into the swing of it. Usually it involves me finding a few recipes that sound really good and then up being really good. The quickest way for me to fall back into a slump is to have a few days of only so-so recipes. But I’m trying. Largely because I NEED to start being more thoughtful about what I put in my mouth (and what I let my kids put in theirs)!
Thank you for good school year wishes. I’m sorry you didn’t get much enjoyment out of your summer, but I’m guessing that has to be hard when at the end they aren’t heading back to school as much as heading into the great wide world.
Hopefully we all embrace this new fall season!!
First off — I LOVE the photo of the pencil crayons! Is that one of yours?
FWIW, my plans for summer projects for my 11 year-old didn’t come to fruition either. I blame the unrelenting heat and humidity 🙁 .
Ah, there is nothing quite like dishcloths for Knitflixing (thanks for linking to that article; I love that there’s now an actual term because it’s become such a widespread thing!). That’s the pattern I use as well 🙂 . I’m currently re-knitting Hermione’s Cable and Eyelet Hat for my daughter because the one I made initially DID end up stretching out way too much after a few times wear. (Sigh.) And when I finish that, I’d like to knit a hat for my 17 year-old son’s birthday, in October.
I feel like I was remarkably “meh” about Madame Bovary when I read it, years and years ago. Have you read any Thomas Hardy? His books/characters always seem interesting to me right from the get-go. Or Geroge Eliot? (I especially liked Middlemarch.)
I’ve been trying to broaden our base of recipes as well. One I tried recently which we all loved (well, ok, my 11 year-old didn’t so much love as tolerate) was the Golden Red Lentil Dal from the Oh She Glows website. We’ve had tremendous success with her cookbook — I’ve tried nearly every entree in her book and all but one were do-overs.
I actually have some Thomas Hardy on my shelves. I’ll have to grab it.
As well as the Oh She Glows cookbook. I haven’t done much with it. I should probably revisit it!