It's been a slow week around here.
A string of dark, rainy days had me yearning for the gardening season.
My temporary fix was a trip to the garden center for a few new houseplants. They helped to fill in some of the bare spots after the Christmas décor was put away and give me something to nurture until I can be outside again playing amongst the flowers.
When we moved I vowed to have only a few houseplants and only ones that weren't too fussy. While watering this morning I counted 10 plus one rather sad looking orchid. (hmmm... how did that happen). I'm experimenting with the orchid to see if I can get it to re-bloom. I understand that can take awhile. Speaking of houseplants, have you noticed how they are currently all the rage? A visit to YouTube for orchid growing tips led me into the rabbit hole of channels devoted to everything you could ever want to know about houseplants.
In other exciting news I made a homemade cleaner before Christmas. A walk through the woods for pine and cedar mixed with a few orange peels and vinegar. It's been tucked away in the pantry waiting to be put into service during the post holiday clean up. I think this weekend I'll put it to the test on the bathroom floors. Oh boy, sounds like something to look forward to :).
I do, however, like the idea of moving away from so many chemicals in the house. Do any of you use the more natural, homemade products for cleaning? If so, have you found any that you really like?
The holidays left us with far too many sweets lurking about.
This isn't a good thing for somebody who dislikes wasting food.
A cookie here and a candy there have left Brett and I both disgusted with what the scale is telling us. Since the holidays also left us with a surplus of butternut squash and granny smith apples, I had a chopping session followed by a roasting session and then a food processing session to prepare a soup that Brett declared the best soup I've ever made. Wow, I'll take that compliment. But, to be honest, it is a delicious and nutritious soup which is something we need to balance out those sweets ;). I've been making it for years and even did a blog about it way back here.
With a little luck all of that chopping counts toward calorie burning.
I revisited that post ( with the butternut squash soup recipe) and now I can't wait to go shopping and buy a squash, or a sweet potato which would probably give much the same flavour.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to post how effective you find your new home-made cleaner. I imagine it will smell wonderful!
I hope you enjoy the soup, Granny Marigold.
DeleteI tossed so much food...just couldn’t give it away and the freezer was full. If I have another chance to host, I’ll remember not to go crazy. The worst thing of it is that those taste buds were awakened to sweets. Now I mix peanut butter and conf sugar with raisins to get a fix. Pathetic!
ReplyDeleteYour cleaner sounds as if it would smell very very good. Let us know!
Peanut butter and raisins sounds perfectly healthy to me, Vee. :)
DeleteOh girl, I so wish I could do houseplants. I really do have a green thumb... but it only works outside. =[ Every plant I have had inside dies on me. So I just have to wait till it warms up when I can get back outside and play in the dirt.
ReplyDeleteYour natural cleaner sounds divine! I bet it smells so yummy. We use Young Living essential oils so I've been using my own homemade cleaner for 5 years now and love it. It's so nice to get away from the chemicals. I pretty much had to. I was cleaning for a wedding venue and every time I used PineSol or bleach, I would get all flushed, break out in hives, and turn red. Enough of that.
And yes, I so know what you mean about the Christmas goodies causing the scales to move up too far, lol! I've been feeling so yucky too. I bought a cucumber the other day and was so delighted with the taste that I couldn't stop eating it. It's been so nice to have healthy food again now that we devoured all the cookies and sweets, hahaha!
Thanks for the info on essential oils, Angie. It seems many people use and are happy with them. I need to look into them. A few years ago I saw a recipe for a cleaner that required tea tree oil. By the time I found the oil I forgot where I had seen the recipe. Ha!
DeleteI have a few philodendron plants around the house and basil growing in my kitchen window.
ReplyDeleteI have discovered that no product is necessary at all to clean windows. Just wet with paper towels and dry with a microfiber cloth. (It is the same cloth I used to wash the car) Comes out great. No product to leave streaks.
Good to know about the windows, Karen. I do have some microfiber cloths and will be trying this out.
DeleteI must try a roasted veg soup - do you add liquid / stock to the blended vegetables? I haven't made any of my owner cleaners - I do use bi-carb and vinegar though.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do add vegetable broth. If you click on the link which says "here", it will take you to an old blog post I did which includes the complete recipe.
DeleteI am yearning for spring as well. Always after Christmas I start counting the days. I don't have many houseplants, but I love gardening! The soup sounds yummy. I will check it out.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann
Your soup sounds delicious. These are the days for soups - lighter fare that is warming in the colder months. I am also longing for spring. I ordered seeds the other day and that was a happy few hours. I've always loved houseplants.
ReplyDeleteThe past few years, I went on a plant buying frenzy in the winter, too. I missed tending to my plants and flowers outside so much! This year is the first I haven't purchased any new plants though, as I have too many already. I have two tabletops in the spare bedrooms topped with plants, one big one in my kitchen, and two in the living room. I'm out of room! I have never been good with orchids. I have tried every trick in the book. My mom told me that they take forever to re-bloom so to hang in there, but I waited for almost a year and it never rebloomed.
ReplyDeleteI gained 5 lbs over the Christmas season and have only lost 2. I am not moving as much as I do in the warmer weather and I'm eating heavier foods (no sweets though) and more in quantity, too. I have got to work extra hard to get these last few pounds off. Your soup sounds delicious. I'll definitely be looking at the recipe. I love butternut squash soup, but I never thought to roast it before making it. I bet that adds much more depth to the flavor.
Hi Kim! I think I've made that soup! Apples and butternut squash are a good combo.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid Timothy would nibble house plants but I am SO READY for flowers and we have to wait longer than you do. Hang in there!