Distracted from Sewing

We went to JA's a couple weeks ago and bought some fabric on sale - for sheets!  It's 90-inch wide cotton quilt backing in navy blue, and we bought eight yards for about $40, which is a really good deal!  After bringing it home, I had to cut the length in half so I could zigzag the cut ends and launder it.  Somehow, eight yards of double-wide fabric does not fit in my washing machine all at one time.

I finally got both pieces of fabric laundered three times each.  So far, I have managed to iron around the edge of one piece of fabric and fold it up neatly.  After I iron and fold the other piece, I will inquire about cutting the fabric on the floor of my friend's neighborhood clubhouse, as we did for the red sheets (click here to see).

It has taken some time, but we have also managed to put in a garden.  In addition to two raised beds that DH built last year, we bought and installed a recycle lumber frame, which is shorter and wider than the first two beds.

While weeding the garden beds, I found some chickweed that DH guarantees to be chemical-free - because the whole garden area of the yard has never been sprayed for weeds.  I just finished drinking an apple pie smoothie that I made with chickweed instead of spinach (click here for the recipe).

Besides the normal plants - tomatoes and lettuce (actually a salad mix) - we also put in some squash and zucchini!  There will be filler plants, too, such as carrots and onions.  I plan to sow some marigold seeds to help deter bugs.  The stevia plant and the sweet potato vine were moved, since we had to allow for rotating certain crops.

We placed the home-made cover over the lettuce, and realized that it is worse for the wear.  Basically, we will have to make a new fabric cover for it.

Also, DH - who is very tall - ran right into a bird feeder in our yard.  He was so ticked off that he pulled that sucker! out and you will see it on the ground by the fence.

My fern "moved house" from the original cheap plastic container to a decorative pot I found while shopping one day.

Here are some pictures of our garden:

A New Twist on an Old Basic Food

Hubby made an interesting lunch today.  He made toasted cheese sandwiches, but there were a few additions to the basic toasted cheese sandwich, giving it an interesting twist.

He toasted the sprouted grains bread slices in the toaster, then he buttered the slices.  Meanwhile, he sliced a large tomato and picked some fresh basil leaves from our herb garden.

He layered the above ingredients with cheese slices, sprinkled them with an Italian herb mix, and heated them in the skillet.

The next time we have these, I hope he uses two slices of provolone cheese in each sandwich.  The sandwiches were served with fruit salad, which he did not make.  Click on this picture for a drool-worthy view:

More Green Smoothies

Sunday night, I made enough for Monday and Tuesday's lunch:

• romaine lettuce
• some parsley
• 2 peaches
• 1 apple

Today's lunch was quite good. I made a lot, and I ate it all:

• spinach
• blueberries
• 1 banana

Some day I might consider taking pictures of the process. The only thing holding me back from that is that my kitchen does not look like a studio of any sort.

Friday's green smoothie

Friday's smoothie was even better:

• romaine lettuce
• small amt parsley
• one apple
• one kiwi
• a few dashes of lemon juice

The predominant flavors were kiwi followed by lemon. Very good!

Drink my Lunch

It's not what you might think if you don't know me. I mean, it's not booze, or even a traditional protein drink.

It's Greens!!

Yep, my lunches at work have been what basically amounts to blenderized salads. Here's the line-up:

Monday
leftover salad with cheese and salsa
- yummy with a salsa attitude

Tuesday
red leaf lettuce, cut cross-ways and rinsed
one pear, quartered, cored, and cut up
a few mint leaves
1/2 Cup water
- just OK

Wednesday
6 large romaine leaves, cut cross-ways and rinsed
two bananas, broken up
1/3 Cup shredded coconut
1/3 Cup leftover iced tea
- the best so far

Thursday
romaine lettuce
bananas
strawberries
blueberries
blackberries
leftover tea
- tasted like a fruit slush

I put the smaller and wetter things into the blender first, greens on top, and liquid poured over. Then I blend on the Liquefy setting until it looks, well, blended. I pour this into a container which I then leave in the freezer overnight. When I take it to work and leave it on a napkin in the back corner of my desk, it thaws to just the right temperature by lunch time.

I thought I was doing this for my general health and for the health of my eyes. There is a nice side side effect of 3.4 lbs of weight shed, and I started just this week! I also don't have that mid-afternoon dragged-down feeling. If this is an experiment, it's not over yet!

I have made it a point to not change any other eating habits, except that two weeks ago we gave up carbonated beverages completely. Oddly enough, that had no effect on my weight.

I recommend any book by Victoria Boutenko, but especially "Green for Life" and "12 Steps to Raw Foods."

How to eat after going to the dentist

I took DH to the dentist today and he can't really chew for a couple days. I made our supper's salad in the blender:

4 big pieces of leaf lettuce, cut up
1 large tomato, cut up
1/2 apple, cut up
1 Tablespoon frozen, chopped onion
1 Tablespoon Italian dressing

Blend until liquid. Pour into large drink cups (14 oz. with handles, is what we have). Serve with a spoon (for when you get to the bottom). It tasted better than I thought it would, but at least we each "ate" a whole, large salad. I like to eat fresh food for the nutrients and enzymes.

I also pureed the contents of a can of clam chowder, poured into mugs, nuked for 2 minutes, and served with oyster crackers. That was supper!