Britesea - Living the good life in rural Oregon

:yuckyuck what can I say? I like to cook!...... and eat:hide

I went to the first unit of the brand new CERT class our county is providing free last night. CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team. The classes teach about disaster preparedness as well as things like Fire Safety and how to put out small fires, Disaster Medical procedures, Light Search and Rescue. We didn't have a very good turnout, but this was the first set of classes so we are their guinea pigs *squeal*. They are talking about having monthly practice and more advanced classes in the future as well. I am SO glad we have this now! Hopefully more people will start signing up for these classes in the future as well; the more people that have had this training, the better our county will be able to handle any disasters that come our way.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I get to sleep in because my son will let the ducks out and feed them and gather eggs; and the guys are fixing a meal for me. I made it easy on them and said I'd like the Tbone steaks we got in the freezer, plus a green salad and some baked potatoes (or maybe Hasselback potatoes?) and I made up some brownie mixes a while back so I told them I'd like brownies for dessert. DH has the day off (unpaid furlough) so we can just have a nice relaxing day all together.

@wyoDreamer I like to knit, but I'm not very fast. I knit about 20 stitches a minute, compared to the world record holder at something over 100 stitches a minute... but I find it relaxing and I love the feeling of the soft yarn in my hands. The sweater I'm making uses a merino wool and silk blend that is gorgeous and so soft! I'm not following a pattern- just designing it in my head as I go along. I've made socks, sweaters, and afghans for others but this sweater is the first time I'm making something for myself. My son has asked for a stocking cap this year so as soon as I'm finished with the sweater I'll be working on that for him.

Speaking of my son, he's been going to a counselor for his depression for about 6 weeks now- every 2 weeks. He still wants me to be in the room with them, but we are working on him letting go of me for a small part of each session. I'm impressed with the counselor- he's got a laid back, avuncular manner that works well at getting DS to open up and talk. He's willing to work with us on trying to tackle the depression without recourse to drugs, although we are using Vitamin D and some herbs like St John's Wort (in tea- the mildest strength) and chamomile. I also showed him an article I found online that talked about research pointing at refined grain (like pasta, white bread etc), sodas, and fast food all being directly linked to depression. He's not happy about it because guess what his favorite foods are? But he is trying to change his diet to reflect these findings. I bought a bunch of lemons and I plan to make some lemonade base (simple syrup of lemon juice and sweetener like stevia and/or honey) that he can use with water or seltzer to drink instead of sodas. Coming up with a substitute lunch instead of his favorites- boxed mac and cheese, and ramen- is a little more difficult. I started by making up a batch of seasoned black beans and turning them into bean and cheese burritos that I froze for him to just grab and heat up is a start. This payday I'll buy some healthy sandwich meats so he can make sandwiches; I'm not a big sandwich person myself, so I usually forget about having the fixings on hand.

Tonight's meal (I know you're all waiting for this, lol) is a skillet meal with chickpeas, spanish chorizo, wilted spinach and feta cheese on top, with onions, garlic, and roasted red peppers in the mix. It sounds delicious to me anyway. I'm not sure what to fix with it- I'd like a green salad again but I've used up all the lettuce. Maybe I can get DH to pick some up on his way home tonight.
 
I like for soda replacement cherry pit vinegar! :) lil bit goes aways too!
Also could do a ginger simple syrup (or any fruit I'd imagine) to mix with water or seltzer :D
Glad he's willing to work with it and try out diet change! It's a hard path, especially when depression is involved!
 
Thank you everyone for all your kind wishes. I had a lovely day- didn't have to cook or clean. I got a lot of knitting done, and had a lot of fun at the lunch my girlfriends threw for me. Now it's back to scrambling, lol.

It was so exciting today because it was payday, which meant we had enough money finally to pay our property taxes AND pay off our largest debt! That was the dues (in arrears) for the time share, so now we can sell off the time share and get out from under the $200/month expense! Once the time share is sold, all we will have left is 2 very small balances, and the mortgage on the house-- and if I make triple payments on that It can be paid off in less than a year! Such a good feeling.

@creativetwinszoo tell me more about cherry pit vinegar?
 
I think you could probably use whole cherries split apart too but i took the cherry pits (from pitting cherries for canning/dehydrating) put them in a container, however many I could and poured vinegar to top of container, shook a few times and let sit overnight or a few hours, in the morning strain the pits out and bottle the vinegar :)
Believe if I remember right the mix is cannable with water bath method, but as I didn't have a lot I didn't bother and just put it in the fridge :)
When I want some I pour a little bit into my glass, no real measurable amount as I like it a little stronger so I sometimes pour extra in there and anyone sneaking a bit gets a sweet/sour surprise lol- put some ice in the container and fill the rest up with water, ginger ale/seltzer water, sprite, I haven't tried it with lemonade or tea yet but I'm sure it'd give a nice little zip to both!

Glad to hear your good news!!:celebrate :thumbsup :woot
 
Glad you're getting your debts paid off! That's always a good feeling.
 
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