Why a household inventory is important to me

 

I haven't worked on my inventory in a while, and I need to catch up on that.  Oddly enough, it is something that I enjoy doing as I have stated before. And while it is good that I enjoy it, I also think it is a very important document to have.  Obviously, it is important to keep a current inventory of your household belongings for insurance purposes.  Heaven forbid that something happens to the house.  If it does, you need to have a list of what is in there in case of things needing to be replaced.  While one can always try and remember things that you own, it is easier in the long run if you have it all documented. 

Another reason I like to have an inventory is for shopping purposes.  You all know that I love to go to thrift shops and estate sales.  I also love to go to used book and record stores.  Those are just as dangerous to me and luckily the one I frequented several times a month has relocated to another town.  I feel a day trip coming up soon LOL  Anyway, having that inventory I can look to see if I already have something before I buy it again.  I probably have close to 1000 record albums, both Christmas and non, and as much as I try, it is impossible to remember all of the titles.  Having that inventory available to me through my phone (one time I feel internet on my phone is beneficial) comes in handy in cases like that.  Or when I'm perusing sites like eBay, I can check as well.  

My favorite reason for the inventory is the history.  I love knowing the history of the things that I own.  Where they came from, who owned them before me, who made it, the pattern name, etc.  For me, it makes using these things more special.  For those of you who have come to a meal at my house, I can guarantee you that you have been surrounded by my family during those meals.  I keep the inventory so that history does not stop with me.  One day, hopefully for my family, they will use these things and enjoy knowing the history behind it.  That may be a pipe dream but it keeps me motivated. 

If you don't have a household inventory, I highly suggest you start making one.  Even if it's only pictures, it may come in very handy one day. 

Recipe of the Week - Nantucket cranberry pie

 This is one of the new recipes that I tried on Sunday.  I have a lot of cranberries in my freezer, so I am trying to find some new recipes to try with them.  I needed a dessert for my Sunday lunch, so this was one of the recipes I had printed off earlier in the week and I decided to try it.  It's not really a pie but you can make it in a pie pan or a cake pan.  It's not a cake either.  It's just a baked dessert. I liked it.  It was pretty easy and I hope you enjoy it as well.

Nantucket Cranberry Pie

2 heaping cups of cranberries

3/4 cups chopped pecans

1 2/3 cups sugar, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp pure almond extract

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter or spray your pan and add the cranberries to the pan.  Sprinkle with the chopped pecans then top with 2/3 cups of sugar. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, 1 cup sugar, melted butter, eggs, almond extract and salt.  Stir to combine.  Pour batter over cranberry mixture and spread evenly to cover the entire surface. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Another estate sale and more recipes

 I went to another estate sale last weekend.  It is beginning to become an addiction with me.  And that's all I need, one more addiction LOL  But Alex invited me to meet him up there and so I thought I would.  You never know what you will find there and I did walk away with a few treasures. As you know, I love cookbooks and they had a bunch to choose from.  The ones I got were all church cookbooks so that always makes me happy.  I also bought a Tupperware deviled egg container.  Anytime I make deviled eggs, I always have to store them in a pan and that's never convenient because they tend to slide around.  So, when I saw this, I snatched it up.  Actually, I bought one just like it the week before at another estate sale but I accidentally left it on the holding table and didn't realize it until the next day.  Oh well.  I was glad to find another one so soon. Now, I feel obligated to make some deviled eggs LOL

I tried two new recipes for my Sunday lunch.  I was making a Chinese beef casserole, which I have made before, and wanted a good side to go with it.  After researching on the internet, I found a recipe for an Asian slaw with ginger peanut dressing.  It sounded good so I gave it a try.  I really liked it, the dressing especially.  Then I made a dessert called Nantucket Cranberry Pie.  When I was taking stuff out of my old freezer in anticipation of my new freezer, I realized that I had lots of cranberries in there.  Six bags of them. I think I got so many because you can only get them around here around Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So I have been finding cranberry recipes and came upon this one.  It's good but not what I was expecting.  I would not call it a pie as much as simply a baked dessert.  It's cranberries and pecans topped with basically an almond flavored cookie. It just looks like a pie LOL Still, if you like cranberries it's pretty good and I will probably make it again at a later date.

It's always good to get out of the house and to try new things.  Here's hoping this week brings more of that!

Spring Bucket List

 I have been looking at my list of things to do for fun which started out as my 50 for 50 list.  Well, I did not get that list completed LOL  Oh well.  So, I have decided to break it up and see how much more manageable that is.  I know that there is a little less than one month left of spring, but I decided to do a spring bucket list.  Maybe the crunch time will motivate me to get things done more.  We shall see.  I am not putting pressure on myself to do it but simply using this as a guide.  A guide to get myself out of the house or out of my normal routine and enjoy things that are around me.  Let's hope I can check a few things off of this list!

1. Go to a museum

2. Attend a play

3. Host a meal for friends

4. Organize patio

5. Go to church

6. Go to a farmer's market

7. Visit a park

8. Get a new bird feeder

9. Get my library card

10. Take a day trip to some place I've never been

Since there are only a few weeks left of spring, I will get started this week, hopefully.  We shall see how things go.  I look forward to doing some fun things and some things that just need to be done.  Wish me luck!

One Drawer at a Time - finding something I hadn't used in a long time

 People see me post things online all the time about treasures I find in the garage.  I will say that I have been shopping out in my garage which is basically going through boxes to see what it out there that I had forgotten I had.  It's fun for me and I think people enjoy seeing it.  But sometimes it happens during my one drawer at a time process.  I know that I have something, but I've forgotten where it is.  Is it in the house?  Is it in the garage?  I cannot remember! And then I will stumble across things in the house and am pleasantly surprised to rediscover it.

There are two slender cabinets on either side of my stove.  My new stove!  And the other day I went through the one on the left.  Already did the right one several days ago.  The one on the left tends to be a catchall for things.  Lots of pot lids in there.  This time I came across two things that I had forgotten I had.  One is a keeper and one is not. As you know, my refrigerator was dying alongside my stove but long before that, the ice maker stopped working.  One day I went to get some ice from the container and nothing.  I tried everything to get that thing to start working again but had no luck.  Well, I decided that since it was just taking up space, I would take it out until we were able to get that fixed.  Guess where it went?  Yep, that left cabinet.  And now that I don't have the refrigerator anymore, there is no need to keep the ice container.  Thanks, recycling!

And then at the back of the cabinet, I found something I bought years ago and haven't used in a while.  Mainly because I could not remember where I'd put it and did not take the time to look for it LOL It's my bun warmer.  I love this thing.  We had one when I was growing up and Mom used it all the time whenever we had hotdogs or hamburgers.  I found one online years ago in eBay and snatched it up for myself.  I have enjoyed using it.  Gotta love a soft steamed bun for burgers!  I'm so glad that I have found this again and will hopefully remember where I am keeping this.  That has been my latest update for this process.  On to more drawers and cabinets!

My bun warmer before I put it in the back of the cabinet years ago LOL

The Prayer of St. Francis - arranged by Allen Pote

 A few weeks ago, I posted the prayer of St. Francis.  It's such a beautiful prayer.  This choral arrangement by Allen Pote is one that we sang when I was in youth choir at FBC. We sang this at the Baptist state youth choir convention.  I have that somewhere on cassette haha!  It's a glorious arrangement and brings back many good memories.  

Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 

You are an observer.  You have a body; you experience thoughts and emotions that come and go.  You alone remain; you are the witness to all these things.