Spring Cleaning By The Numbers

We did a thorough cleaning of the house this week and though it is pretty tedious to pull out and vacuum behind every shelf, desk, piece of furniture, etc., the results are totally worth the effort.  A little less dust is a good thing. :)

By The Numbers:

Number of pens found under the couch: 3

Number of lip chaps found under the couch: 2

Number of glue sticks found under the couch: 1

Number of USB thumb drives sucked up by the vacuum: 1 (later rescued!)

Number of hair ties/cat toys previously hidden by the cat, that were recovered: 8

Keep Off The Grass

Our indoor cat Gary doesn't get outside too much.  We have a harness and a leash for her, but she hates them, so her outdoor excursions are always twenty minutes or less.  Her activities while outside are few; her main goal is to locate long grass and eat as much of it as possible.  Gary loves grass!

We bought her a pot of cat grass last year for $1.99, and she promptly murdered it.  For a little cat, she doesn't seem to have a limit on how much she can ingest.  She will simply have it all, right now, thank you.

This year we bought cat grass seeds for $1.99, and she is already on her second round.  To give her more surface area for her grass, I re-used a take out container as a planter/greenhouse.  This way the cat grass is both "green" and frugal.  Sounds good to me!  Here's what I did:

Supplies:

1. Planter/greenhouse (this is from Swiss Chalet take-out)

2. Potting Soil

3. Cat grass seeds

Growing cat grass:

 1. Put potting soil into the container

2. Make holes for lots of seeds

3. Plant lots of seeds

4. Water

5. Put lid on container and place in window

Cat grass sprouts.

Cat grass!

Gary after enjoying some cat grass.

Now that this batch is fully grown, I am going to start a new round.  That way, by the time Gary completely destroys this current batch, she'll have a new one she can start on!

Make Your Own Iced Tea

Following some tips from Canadian Living, I made some pretty rocking Lemon-Ginger iced tea.

What you'll need:
16 cups boiled water
1 cup sugar (or to taste)
10 bags green tea
2 tsp powdered ginger (or to taste)
1/4 cup lemon juice (or to taste)
Large jug

To make iced tea:
Pour 16 cups of boiling water over tea bags.  Let steep 15 minutes and then remove tea bags.  Add 1 cup of sugar to the tea while water is still hot.  Stir to mix in.  Allow tea to cool on counter.  Once cooled, refrigerate.

This recipe has about 1 tbs of sugar per cup.  Add more or less to suit your desired sweetness.  Also, though the iced tea was good the day I made it, it tasted even better the next day, so hang in there if it doesn't initially wow you.

Different Styles of Cupcakes

My friend Alison recently had a cupcake tasting party, so we could try some vegan cupcakes she has been experimenting with.  The cupcakes are being made for our friend Sarah's upcoming wedding, and due to her lactose intolerance, a vegan recipe is a good way to ensure the bride can enjoy her wedding cupcakes along with her guests.

Since I have been expanding my double pointed needle skills, I thought I would make a knit cupcake to take to the hostess of the tasting party.  Following a pattern I found through Ravelry (the only place I seem to get my patterns now), I knit this quick and easy cupcake.

The cupcakes we sampled were chocolate-banana and vanilla.  Both were good, but the chocolate-banana were exceptional.  I'm looking forward to eating some more at the wedding! :)

Triangle Sandwiches and Cake

I spent the afternoon at an open house for three local ladies who are all celebrating their 90th birthday this summer.  I am related to two of the ladies, so the afternoon was filled with lots of extended family.  I also met quite a few neighbours, many of whom I've only waved to from my bike, so today I got to say many real hellos.  The birthday ladies were presented with certificates from both the Provincial and Municipal governments, congratulating them on their longevity.  The deputy Mayor of the township gave them their certificates; I thought that was a nice touch.  Turning ninety is definitely something to celebrate, and it was really nice to see so many members of the community there.  I can only hope my 90th birthday is as well attended! :)

Not only was the afternoon full of guests and socializing, but also many lovely bite size snacks.  There is nothing better at these events than assorted triangle sandwiches.  I had an egg salad one and two that were filled with some sort of canned ham.  Canned ham!  That stuff is as gross as it is good.  Yum!  I also enjoyed many sweet squares and birthday cake.  It was a remarkable spread. 

The most frequent comment towards me today were variations of "Wow - you're tall!" I am in fact tall, but it really stands out when I'm in a room full of old ladies.  One little old lady told me she is going to catch up to me in height - just give her time.  She is 87, so we'll see how we measure up at her 90th birthday party! :)