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Saturday, February 27, 2010

What a WEEK!

This week has been sort of crazy! We started with a shift in our homeschooling which has been good, but tiring for me. I found out that our local bookstore is closing! Not good. Not good at all. We in fact are grieving a bit over that news. It was our haunt and I just can imagine our summer without the daily walk to the bookstore to browse and to get a cup of coffee to sip while I watch the kids play on the playground nearby. Both things change up our routines so much, I'm feeling a bit off kilter. So my usual sparse February posting habits are lacking more than ever. Oh, and my stepson announced he was engaged... 

Yep! What a week!


I haven't accomplished a lot of extra stuff with all of this going on, and anything I did accomplish was along the lines of 'comfort creating'. Like baking, or these clipboards. I have a stash of clipboards that I've accumulated over the years. I think I found some of the on clearance, and I picked up a few more at the store the other day at a good price. One by one I'm giving them little clipboard makeovers. Nothing too fancy because I have little brain power to spare, and not much more spare time. But enough to make me happy. I painted these two small boards to go in my kitchen, where all the extras are black.


Before I took this shot, I saw the fridge and thought, "Oh, I should clear that messy mess." Then went pffhhhttt.... I figured anyone that is shocked at my cluttered fridge front, really doesn't belong on my blog. Same feeling toward the hanging aprons, and the towel on the fridge handle... sigh. Life isn't a magazine, is it? But the boy who popped into the shot and then ran out? He more than makes up for the lack of shiny magazine moments in a day. He reminds me that 'real' is what is important, for if anyone was ever a real boy, it is that child. Oh... and yes, my fridge is leaning. Old house. Old floors. Real!


Here are my little clipboards in action. One for the ongoing grocery list, and one for our business memos. I am going to train my husband to check there as soon as he comes in the door. That is originally what the drawing board above the clipboards was purchased for, but that has been taken over by my children. I choose not to fight impossible battles. (Speaking of impossible battles... Notice I removed the towel in this picture? I couldn't help myself. I left the rest of the 'real' for you though.)

Oh, and I must mention my little paint speckled chair. I LOVE this little chair. I pretty much stole it from my mother-in-law and she can never have it back. But she has my rocking chair now, so we are even on the chair score. A bit of chair symbiosis going on but hey, it works. This is my sit with the kids around their little table chair, my fill out the grocery list chair, my sit in the kitchen and talk to my husband before he leaves for work chair, my put my shoes on chair, my clean out the fridge chair, etc. etc. Obviously, it is my paint the door trim chair as the paint spattered surface attests to. Love. This. Chair. Wait... what is this post about again?


Clipboards! Oh, yeah. (And how my stepson is !!!shock!!! engaged*... Engaged!) Huh... If you click on this picture you can see my silly attempt at decorating them. I drew on the black paint with white color pencil then modge podged the whole thing. It looks very little kid chalkboardish. I like it. It works.


And since this is a comfort creation post, here is a shot of the oatmeal I made the other day. Pure comfort. I have to admit that this was the best oatmeal I've ever made and ever eaten. In fact, I think of anything I've ever posted on this blog, this oatmeal is the best of all. I am not being boastful. I am being honest. It is good. Though that is just my opinion. My children informed me that they still like the presugared, prepacked oatmeal packets better. But we are cutting WAY back on sugar, so sorry kids. You are stuck with this 'second rate' real food stuff. They managed to suffer through eating it. But I practically sang through breakfast it made me so happy. And since our winter world is devoid of growing things and color, this dish was pleasing on many levels.

Quick recipe: (four servings) I put two cups of frozen blueberries and two cups of milk into a saucepan and slowly brought it all to a boil. Then I stirred in a cup of oatmeal, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of brown sugar. After the oatmeal mostly cooked I chopped up a big ripe banana and threw that in and stirred it in well. Once it was all a nice yummy done mess I scooped it into bowls, topped it with cinnamon, sliced almonds, a bit of granola and sliced strawberries. Serious comfort food!

* To be honest I am fine with my stepson being engaged. Sure he and his girlfriend are young, but they are devoted to each other, and in this haphazard world that is almost anti-relationship, I find their sweet commitment refreshing. They are planning on waiting to marry until after he graduates from the police academy in two years. That is a long time to wait, so we will see what we see. But they have forward moving plans, and young fervent hearts, and I like that and I am not ashamed to admit it. But I do admit that it was the sort of thing that makes you step back and reassess life, and we sure had a week of such sport! Woohoo!


Here's hoping for a nice, mellow weekend!

7 comments:

Deb said...

Congrats on the engagement, it's nice to see commitment these days. Your little memo boards are cute!

Blending Family said...

Good for your stepson to be engaged. I hope his marriage stays harmonious!

Yoshi said...

You have inspired me to paint my own clipboards which are covered in marker and paint from years of using them as tiny art desks.

Yoshi (libertunity from Swapbot)

Unknown said...

this also looks deliciuos!! Congrats for your stepson too :) I really love those lil clipboards. im really tempted to buy chalkboard paint and go crazy!
CDonovan - Swapbot

Agnes Sim said...

cute clipboard. ;-)

Lindy said...

Love how you write... you have a conversation... I feel like I write like that... or try to..? and love the oatmeal... there may be a bit of resistance at first, but in the long run health is worth it...!
collagecafe swapbot

shafarina said...

Oatmeal with strawberry. My kind of meal too!