Organization. Me?

My organizing skills have suffered through the years. Learning new ways, sometime utilizing them, but not very proficiently. Just like a plumber who leaves his own plumbing needs at home untouched, this librarian who loves to alphabetize, complete a lesson plan, edit online cataloging records to make them just right, dig until the right resource is discovered, reconcile my checkbook, and etc, does not seem to have the same discipline when organizing at home! (Or on my personal desk at work, either 😦 )

A few months ago I purchased a shelf and more boxes at IKEA. I assembled the shelf, assembled the boxes (with the help of a neighbor to save time), and organized a bunch of articles I have found through the years and refer to every-once-in-a-while. But did I complete that project? No. There is still so much left to do!

So here are the pictures I took of that particular project a few months back. In the next few months I will complete that project. I say “few months” because I am doing lots of things right now, and chances of me finishing right away are slim. So I’ve set a plan. A goal. But there is always the start….

And there was help, of course 🙂

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Food in another great day

About the best way to end a year is to celebrate with good friends and delicious food. I was able to do both yesterday!

For me, New Years Eve Day was a holiday, so I did not go to the library. Emailed my friend Alexis to see if she would like to go to IKEA. I’ve lived here for five months now and have never gone to the IKEA store – what was I waiting for?! [If you think I ended that sentence with a preposition, you are….um…..mistaken. I would never do that 🙂 ! ] I adore the designs of IKEA and have only visited their stores twice in the past. Anyway, Alexis looked at items for future purchases (I found a few of those, too), but I actually spent money. Strategically. No impulse buying. I took my list and stuck to it! Really, it was a beautiful day and we had a fantastic time!

I really wanted a book shelf or kitchen cart to set just outside my little kitchen to store a lot of grains, nuts, dried beans, oils, and other foods I use often. My galley kitchen has plenty of counter and prep and cooking space, but not enough storage for me. I like to have all my fav foods all the time (so spoiled am I!) so I can be a little more adventurous with my daily cooking. If I like to eat really especially delectable foods, then I must be ready to prepare them!

I made the kitchen shelf purchase, so today I will assemble. Oh my. I could sure use the hubby, but he’s in southern VA up in a tree someplace waiting for a deer to walk by. Or he’s up in that tree snoozing. He likes both activities! I guess I’ll find a copy of Helen Reddy’s top-selling hit, I am Woman, and get busy building my shelf in a little while. But first! Allow me to talk about my meal last night.

I crave a variety of foods, but I also like simple-to-prepare foods. This meal provided both. Earlier I purchased a serving of trout almondine (with spinach) from Whole Foods. I just placed it on the stove in a pan with a smidgen of water to sorta steam it warm. [I really don’t like foods heated in the microwave and no longer have one. Heating on top of this gas stove works very, very well.]

Fresh cabbage I cooked to death. Real Southern U.S. style! A little veggie oil, salt, pepper, and turbinado sugar. The trick is to cook it with not too much water but enough water so that it doesn’t all evaporate while cooking it so darn long! I realize that real Southern style would have included pork of some kind, but this pescetarian thing is still working out very well for me, so it is always veggie oil.

A few fresh greens with other raw veggies that I tossed around with Tessemae’s All Natural Original Lemon-Garlic Dressing. Very simple and yummy! The dressing is made right here in Annapolis and encompasses just the right amount of oil and organic lemons.

Then! There was a portion of a Seeduction Roll from Whole Foods. As much as I enjoy many foods, I’m not a huge fan of bread. I purchased this roll the other night and only ate one-fourth of it with the meal. But it was very tasty with lots of poppy and pumpkin seeds. And with the juices from my vegetables, there was no need for butter. Yep! There was sopping involved.

The best part? Sweet potatoes! Sweet potatoes from Andy and Jeanette, two of the absolute best gardening neighbors in all of Virginia for sure! Even though roasted veggies taste a little sweeter and have more nutrients than those boiled in water, I find them to be a little too dry. So I cut them into large bite-size chunks and boiled for just a few minutes. Drained and placed them in a baking dish with salt, pepper, cinnamon, a little butter, and a few tablespoons of Shady Maple Farms organic pure maple syrup from the Citadelle cooperative.

I roasted those sweet potatoes. And oh my goodness you would not believe! As you can tell from my plate pictured below, the sweet potatoes were the center of my meal. I’m grateful that I made enough for leftovers later today. Oh so scrumptious!

Added to this plate a glass of The Loosen Brothers Riesling, and I was set for a wonderful evening! Great friend earlier in the day, phone conversations and emails with family throughout, and then the blessing of a warm and healthy meal. I believe the new year will bring me more of the same. Life is good.

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