First, before I even got up, I peeked out the window, behind the curtain and saw that the sun was just reaching over the house. Our bedroom is on the northwestern side of the house, so the sun doesn't reach this side of the house until way up in the afternoon. But, I could see the sunshine, so I knew it was a pretty day. I put the girls out, let them back in, fed them, then grabbed my wake-up glass of OJ and headed for my computer. I had a post to do on my crafting blog for Unscripted Sketches, really needed to do a post on this blog (see below if you haven't read it yet, it's good!), and had a bunch of sweet comments and emails from folks, and ordered my birthday present to myself. (Yeah! I'm getting my Mary Janes Farmgirls Sisterhood necklace!)
Then I got a bath, got dressed, and hubby and I took the tandem bike (and my Trikke) over to a local school. It had been a while, and we still aren't too confident on that thing, but we are determined to ride as much as possible before our trip to the beach in a couple of months. After that we came home and I got in the kitchen. I unloaded the diswasher, washed up a few dishes that needed it, emptied a couple of shelves that had extra glassware that we never use and put them in the dishwasher to wash - they were really dusty! You know, just 'doing' stuff. I also made a bottle of garlic-basil infused olive oil - can't wait to use some of that in some of my new dishes!
How do you make 'infused' oils? Easy! Find a container that seals tightly. It can be a bottle, jar, or just a plastic bowl, it doesn't matter as long as it seals well. For today's purpose we'll use an 8 ounce 'jelly' jar with a lid and ring. Heat up about 3/4 cup of EVOO until it's just good warm. While it's warming up, place a handful of peeled and crushed (whole, but broken to let the flavor out) garlic cloves (6 or so) and about 6 to 8 nice sized leaves of fresh basil. If the leaves are small, add more. Pour the warm oil in over the garlic and basil, cover tightly, and let come to room temp. Then you can put it in the fridge and it will keep for 2-3 weeks at least. After a few days you should probably remove the basil leaves, but the garlic should be okay. And that's it! You could toss in some peppercorns if you like, or a few crushed red pepper flakes, or basically any seasonings you like. Easy Peasy!
Anyway, back to today! While I was working in the kitchen - oh, did I tell you I had my ipod in my pocket, headphones on, and the ZBB (Zac Brown Band) cranked up pretty loud? No, well, I did! So I was singing and dancing and in general having a blast! Bessie and Bailey freaked out! I guess it's been a long time (honestly, a REAL long time) since I've felt that good and was acting like an idiot! And the dogs didn't understand, and they were all over hubby, not wanting me to go near them. I was okay with that, because I feed them and food - to the girls at least - heals ALL wounds! :o) But I was having a great time.
Then we got ready for dinner, and drove the 45 minute drive to our favorite Mexican restaurant. And it's really not that far, but there's tons of traffic in that area, so it takes that long to get there! After dinner we ran into Office Max nearby, and then into Trader Joe's. This was our second trip there - the first being exactly 53 weeks ago! You can read about it HERE if you are interested. So we went in and looked around. I was really looking for fresh fruits and veggies, but to be honest, their selection was small, and the quality wasn't that impressive. But, we did buy a few things. Take a look . . .
Nice bag of goodies, huh? Here's what we got:
And of course, I had to buy a bag, and I really like this one - it has a kind of old, aged leather look, and is a more 'horizontal' shape rather than the traditional vertical or taller bag. It was $1.99, and I love the graphics on it!
This bag will be great for picnics! Then after we left Trader Joe's, we headed home. It was such a nice, relaxing drive in the sunset, and by the time we got home it was totally dark. We got out of the car and I looked up, and the sky was just bright with stars! It's been a while since I've seen that many stars, and it was amazing. And yes, that was another little gift!
It was a wonderful day! (And yes, I'm going to leave out the part where when we got home, I found Bessie had pulled their food bin out from it's hiding place and it was open and a good bit of food was gone out of it. And I know it was Bessie, because it would never enter Bailey's head to do something like that - she's just not made that way!) But it was a beautiful day! It feels so good to have my heart be light again, to sing out loud and dance while I'm working around the house. It's been a long, long time!
So that was my beautiful day! Won't you leave me a comment and tell me about your beautiful day??? Blessings friends, and Be Joyful Always! Becky
Then I got a bath, got dressed, and hubby and I took the tandem bike (and my Trikke) over to a local school. It had been a while, and we still aren't too confident on that thing, but we are determined to ride as much as possible before our trip to the beach in a couple of months. After that we came home and I got in the kitchen. I unloaded the diswasher, washed up a few dishes that needed it, emptied a couple of shelves that had extra glassware that we never use and put them in the dishwasher to wash - they were really dusty! You know, just 'doing' stuff. I also made a bottle of garlic-basil infused olive oil - can't wait to use some of that in some of my new dishes!
How do you make 'infused' oils? Easy! Find a container that seals tightly. It can be a bottle, jar, or just a plastic bowl, it doesn't matter as long as it seals well. For today's purpose we'll use an 8 ounce 'jelly' jar with a lid and ring. Heat up about 3/4 cup of EVOO until it's just good warm. While it's warming up, place a handful of peeled and crushed (whole, but broken to let the flavor out) garlic cloves (6 or so) and about 6 to 8 nice sized leaves of fresh basil. If the leaves are small, add more. Pour the warm oil in over the garlic and basil, cover tightly, and let come to room temp. Then you can put it in the fridge and it will keep for 2-3 weeks at least. After a few days you should probably remove the basil leaves, but the garlic should be okay. And that's it! You could toss in some peppercorns if you like, or a few crushed red pepper flakes, or basically any seasonings you like. Easy Peasy!
Anyway, back to today! While I was working in the kitchen - oh, did I tell you I had my ipod in my pocket, headphones on, and the ZBB (Zac Brown Band) cranked up pretty loud? No, well, I did! So I was singing and dancing and in general having a blast! Bessie and Bailey freaked out! I guess it's been a long time (honestly, a REAL long time) since I've felt that good and was acting like an idiot! And the dogs didn't understand, and they were all over hubby, not wanting me to go near them. I was okay with that, because I feed them and food - to the girls at least - heals ALL wounds! :o) But I was having a great time.
Then we got ready for dinner, and drove the 45 minute drive to our favorite Mexican restaurant. And it's really not that far, but there's tons of traffic in that area, so it takes that long to get there! After dinner we ran into Office Max nearby, and then into Trader Joe's. This was our second trip there - the first being exactly 53 weeks ago! You can read about it HERE if you are interested. So we went in and looked around. I was really looking for fresh fruits and veggies, but to be honest, their selection was small, and the quality wasn't that impressive. But, we did buy a few things. Take a look . . .
Nice bag of goodies, huh? Here's what we got:
 |
| A handfull of bananas and a nice big jar of honey. |
 |
| A nice big chunk of parmesan cheese and a can of artichoke hearts (LOVE!). |
 |
| Two BIG bottles of EVOO - I used the last of mine making the infused oil earlier, and theirs is really good. Best part? Only $5.99 (l) and $5.49 (r) per bottle. They are both EVOO, but the one on the left is 'President's Reserve'. |
 |
| A bottle of red wine vinegar for vinaigrettes. |
 |
| Two pkgs of shallots - they were only 99 cents per pack - deal of the day! |
And of course, I had to buy a bag, and I really like this one - it has a kind of old, aged leather look, and is a more 'horizontal' shape rather than the traditional vertical or taller bag. It was $1.99, and I love the graphics on it!
This bag will be great for picnics! Then after we left Trader Joe's, we headed home. It was such a nice, relaxing drive in the sunset, and by the time we got home it was totally dark. We got out of the car and I looked up, and the sky was just bright with stars! It's been a while since I've seen that many stars, and it was amazing. And yes, that was another little gift!
It was a wonderful day! (And yes, I'm going to leave out the part where when we got home, I found Bessie had pulled their food bin out from it's hiding place and it was open and a good bit of food was gone out of it. And I know it was Bessie, because it would never enter Bailey's head to do something like that - she's just not made that way!) But it was a beautiful day! It feels so good to have my heart be light again, to sing out loud and dance while I'm working around the house. It's been a long, long time!
So that was my beautiful day! Won't you leave me a comment and tell me about your beautiful day??? Blessings friends, and Be Joyful Always! Becky
1 comment:
Your wonderful day was making me feel wonderful just reading about it!! lol! You are so blessed to have a Trader Joe. I love♥ that place, but none here :( Loved seeing all your goodies and that bag is beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing! :)
Hugz,
Cathy♥♥
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