I like routine because I like order.
I read that twice, and then I
smiled. It’s true – the statement is
true. I smiled because life seems to be everything BUT order. I think maybe I
need to throw out my to-do lists and just live.
Do what I want. We’ll survive.
It’s not like I’ll stop doing laundry, cleaning or preparing food.
Recently I made some changes
to routine. I turned in my bus pass for a parking pass. This was not done on the spur of the moment. Handing in my bus pass meant I was giving up
the 80 to 90 minutes a day that I had to read or knit. Now I am driving every day. No more rushing out of the house to catch the
bus. That is nice. Our mornings are calmer.
I am getting more exercise as the lot I park in is not on a bus route,
so I walk to the building I work in. I
am putting miles on the car (but we buy cars to drive) and using more gas
(major expense). Why the change? John is traveling and will be traveling and
work doesn’t make it easy for those that need to park on campus. Parking passes
are expensive so for now, I will drive, knowing I have the option (after the
travel is over) to go back to riding the bus.
So being a single parent this
week has been hectic, tiring and okay.
Yes I am tired and feel like I am running here, there and back again,
but I am doing it and we are all well. I
worry that the kids are getting run down. They tell me they aren’t. And the week is almost over. We have practice
for both sports tonight and football practice tomorrow night. Saturday morning
we will all sleep in. Elliott has a playoff game Saturday afternoon so rest he
must. The week was calmer also since John took Ruddie on vacation with him – a
hunting vacation. We won’t be so lucky
the next time he travels for two weeks.
Ruddie will be home with us. He’ll be a handful as he won’t get much
running time and GSPs (German Short-haired Pointer) need exercise time. Perhaps we’ll all grab a flashlight and go
outside to run for a while. We’ll have
to come up with something, but not right now.
So earlier this week, I made
beet chips. I ran across the recipe
while blog surfing and printed it.
Simple recipe – sweet, delicious results. I think beets are a vegetable that people
either like or dislike. I happen to LOVE
beets. My mom canned them and I would
eat the whole jar if she let me. My
nephew loves beets too. I had some of
his canned beets that he canned with my mom. We had dinner with them when we
were in Florida a few years ago. Well, he wanted more beets but I had eaten
them up on him. He waited too long to
want more. Both Olivia and Elliott have
tried beets. Elliott thinks they are
disgusting but he eats them so he likes them.
Olivia is like her daddy, they can pass on them. That’s okay with me though, I don’t
necessarily have to share. It just means I have more for me. Yum.
So beet chips. Now these are easy to make but it does take time and
monitoring. However, the time you spend
making these is well worth it. Trust me
on this.
I used four
pulled-fresh-from-the-garden beets. I peeled them then sliced them up using my
mandoline. Rub olive oil on each one and place them flat on cookie sheets (the
recipe suggests you use pans with sides, so I did.) Here’s the recipe as it is easier to follow:
Beet Chips
2 medium beets
1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
(I used more)
Preheat oven to 350˚, with
racks in upper and lower thirds. Peel
beets and slice 1/16-inch thick with a mandoline. In a large bowl, toss beets with extra-virgin
olive oil to coat.
On two rimmed baking sheets,
arrange beets in a single layer. Stack another rimmed baking sheet on top of
each. Bake until edges of beets begin to
dry out, about 20 minutes. Uncover and
rotate sheets. Bake 10-20 minutes, removing chips as they become lightened in
color. Transfer to a wire rack; chips
will crisp up as they cool.
I got impatient and pulled
out some of the chips before they got lighter in color. They did not crisp up
like the lighter ones. So I had some chewy chips and some crisp. All in all, they were delicious. They were sweet. A real treat and for those “I don’t like
beets” people, you should try this recipe because the chips don’t taste like
beets, just sweet goodness. Make them, as
you will be tastefully surprised. Get back to me on your rating?
So from sweet beets to sweet
cookie dough and friends. This morning I
drove to my previous place of employment.
I had to deliver some cookie dough orders that dear friends ordered from
Olivia to support her cheerleading squad.
I really dislike all the fundraising we have between two sports and two
schools but this fundraiser had a great outcome. I delivered the items ordered
and took time to visit with friends. Oh
how I miss these ladies. Work here is
not like work was there. We ate lunch
together, chatted throughout the day and shared our lives. Sure miss my family there. I even took a
minute to quietly walk around the department I worked in but the people I
wanted to surprise were out. Maybe I’ll
see them next time? I didn’t even fret
about being late to work. I know I was
disrupting there day but hey, it doesn’t happen often, and what little time we
spent talking was a great boost to my day!
So how has your day started?
Same as always or a little out of routine?
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