Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Labor Day Weekend...AKA Lots-of-Labor-Days Weekend

Whew!  What a weekend!  Emily moved in this weekend, so it was a major push to get all my stuff out of her room and then get her room & closet painted.  It looks pretty good in there, thanks to the efforts of Amanda and Emily.  We also got the dining nook almost done--just one more coat on the trim and it'll be finis.  Yay!  I also got the living room kind of arranged...I like how it's going.

The bummer was that the toilet gave up the ghost, so I had to call in a plumber yesterday to come and do emergency repairs.  Happily, he seems to have fixed it and the bill wasn't too excruciating.  Nevertheless, I foresee a lot of quick meals in the future that come from my pantry and/or freezer--mamma's not buying anything for the next couple weeks!

Tom, Amanda, and I took down the big mountain ash in my front yard on Sunday.  Boy, that was an intense hour and a half.  A few limbs landed pretty heavily on roof and fence, but miraculously, there were no major problems--only a slightly bent gutter.  Whew!  But that was really crazy.  Tom's giving me their old wood stove, so I kept the wood for the day that I can get it installed.  Yay!  I can't wait for the warmth of wood heat!

So many people have helped me so much on the house and it's been really fun working together as a team.  I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't been very good about donating my work time in the past.  I'll chalk it up to pure selfishness and due in some part to my illness, but I hope to make up for lost time now.  I helped Manda paint her rental last night, which was actually fun--I like working as a team for these types of things.

Manda and I fixed dinner and watched the movie The Brothers Bloom on Sunday night.  I really liked that movie!  I kind of want to watch it again because I think I missed a bunch.

Yummy autumn recipe:
Saute 1 lb. of ground beef.  Drain. 
Saute 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, 1 onion (all sliced), 2 cloves  minced garlic, and 1 lb sliced mushrooms in the fat from the beef.
Add 1 jar olive red pasta sauce (I used some from Culinary Circle) & the beef.
Cook till warm and sauce thickens a bit.
Serve over spaghetti squash & sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Be prepared to feed a few people or have left overs.
Feel virtuous because you cooked a cheap meal that is healthy and tasty.

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