For What It's Worth


Friday, March 29, 2024

It's a Wrap-up...

 Another week - another 2 post for me! This has got to be a record lol

Slow week here. Lots of heavy rains, high winds - even some lightning and hail - which are rare for these parts. We are supposed to have 4 days of nice weather coming up so I'm excited. 

Inspired by last weeks TMST post about vacations - I booked one for Kevin and I. It's still within the state, but the chance to just get away and, hopefully, be outdoors will be great. 

So what did I do this week? 

PLANTS!

a cardboard tray filled wiht herbs, hosta and flowering plants. A book about vegetable gardening on the Pacific Northwest lays in the bottom left corner
My first plant shopping of the year. I've been wanting to go to this very small, locally owned nursery -  Birds and Bees PDX for years but it's a bit out of the way and opens later than when I'm typically out and about. I made a point to go this weekend - in the rain - because that's when it's toughest on these businesses. They had a small, but excellent, assortment of native and house plants. I bought a few herbs, plants for my rock wall and a hosta. Plus, a book about vegetable gardening out here.




BAKING

I baked whole wheat bread with 7 grain cereal and that was a huge hit at Kevin's work place. His co-worker said it's a gift to be able to bake so well. I died laughing because I basically used my bread machine on the dough setting to mix/knead and then finished it off in the oven. 

Ellie is 1 year old this month! Not only was I able to make a sourdough starter - but I kept her alive for one whole year. If you've been following my baking adventures - I killed Ryan - the other (rye) starter that I made at the same time as Ellie. 

It's SO much easier than most people make it sound like, once you learn a few tricks (& NOT get crazy obsessed over it). I do not feed my starter daily or have discard (unless I want some for another purpose). I keep about 1 tablespoon in the fridge and just feed as needed for whatever I'm baking. I've gone months without feeding her.


This is a new recipe I found from Easy Everyday Sourdough Bread Baking by Elaine Boddy. It made a smaller than usual loaf - only about 6 inches wide, so cute! - and helped me practice a few steaming techniques I saw on YouTube.

READING

The Summer She Went Missing by Chelsea Ichaso - Mind you, I am not the targeted age group for this YA thriller, but I'm not enjoying it at all and will most likely DNF unless things turn around soon. I had thought it was a dark, small town secrets, rich kids vs townies murder vibe but it feels more Nancy Drew-ish. Nothing wrong with that, but the audio narration makes the MC come off as naive, whiny and boy obsessed & cliche instead of the dark thriller I was expecting. 

WATCHING

Wonka - MAX - couldn't finish, we were bored

John Wick 4 - meh So unnecessarily convoluted

The 3 Body Problem - Netflix - Made it to episode 4. Pretty good and we liked it but not hooked. 

Faraway - Netflix - This was our virtual movie date pick for the week. I gave it 4 stars (out of 5) It got a little silly at times but I loved the idea of an older (50's??) woman leaving her horrendous family that take advantage of her going off to an beautiful island to find herself, love and happiness. My friend gave it 3.5/3.75. 

AND FINALLY

I saw this on IG and it cracked me up. Dolls scare the sh*! out of me. I love how the *May Be Haunted Dolls cost more lol 

2 boxes of dolls on a table. The box ont he left has a green sign that says May Be Haunted Dolls $3.25. The box ot he right has an orange sing that says Not Haunted Dolls $3.00 each



Have a lovely Easter weekend everyone!


Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Don't leave me hanging this way...

 


4 women of various races sit on a blue sofa thought bubbles about their head that say Tell Me Something Tuesday
Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. 

It is co-hosted by (Linda from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Roberta from Offbeat YA, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About, Berl's from Because Reading is Better than Real Life  and me) 

Join in by answering this weeks question in the comments or on your own blog.

If you would like to join TMST and receive periodic emails of upcoming topics, please fill out this GOOGLE FORM. TMST is a laid back meme – join in or opt out depending on your interest in topics or schedule.

Question: Will you start a series if you know it probably won't be finished?

Answer: No. And I'll go a step further and say that I've pretty much stopped reading series all together.

Several years ago, mostly with YA (& mostly trilogies) were getting out of control. Between the overhype, the filler second books and bad endings, I backed far away from series. 

I was is the midst of about 45 series and I  just quit. It takes a lot to hook me now. I've read a few duologies but mostly stand alones. 

I don't really count romance series, with different couples, in that though. Or any series that may be the same world but different characters/story. I feel like you can jump in and out of series like that - skipping books. 

I'm so far removed from bookish social media though so I may just dabble again. I know I'm weird, but I do not like getting super hyped about the next installment and what might happen, shipping couples etc. That sets up too many expectations, anxiety and disappointments for me as a reader. I never felt that way before blogging - so maybe there's a way to get back to that care free reading experience. 

How about you? Will you start a series if you might not ever know how it ends?

 *cough* George R.R. Martin *cough*



Friday, March 22, 2024

It's a Wrap (up)...

Well, look at me! I've been posting twice a week for about 3 weeks now. How long will I last? lol

Here's a wrap-up of my week for inquiring minds...

LIFE:

Deep red, heart shaped ceramic mixing bowl with a small pour spout at the bottom tip. A business card and small, round leather piece with the Jefferson Street logo lie next to it on a wood table
Kevin ordered this gorgeous ceramic batter bowl by Jefferson Street Ceramics, for our anniversary but it didn't get here on time - but here it is! Look how beautiful! It has a spout for pouring and is microwave, dishwasher safe but I'm afraid to use it. 

I also have their ceramic pie wights. Everything is handmade and at pretty reasonable prices for quality in comparison to many other places. 

We had 5 sunny, wonderful days and it's pushed all the Cherry Blossoms, Magnolias and spring bulbs into blooming. We took full advantage of it going to the Portland Japanese Garden taking a short hike after and eating dinner outside every day. But alas...we are back to standard PNW spring - rain everyday for the foreseeable future and 50's. It was nice while it lasted and completely boosted my spirits. 

BAKING:

I forgot to take a pic, but I made 7 grain bread - which is a basic white bread with 7 grain cereal (I used Bob's Red Mill). Really good and great as toast or for sandwiches. 

a round, white breakfast plate with cloud like egg whites with a yolk in the center. Bacon, melon and blueberries fill out the plate
Sunday, I got fancy with my eggs and made Parmesan Cloud Eggs with this recipe from Eating Well. It does take a few extra steps - separating and whipping the egg whites - but was still super simple and looked so fancy. Everyone was curious about how it tasted and the texture of the egg whites is odd at first but they have parmesan cheese (and I added chives) so that added a nice sharp/salty flavor. We liked them and I will make them again. 

I also baked Irish Cream Coffee Cake from the NYT. The Irish cream liqueur tasted SO yummy in this (even though I don't drink alcohol) but the original recipe is ridiculously unhealthy - even by dessert standards. 622 calories; 32 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat;42 grams sugars. I made a few tweaks to make it health(ier) for Kevin's co-workers with various issues. I used a simple cinnamon, cocoa powder, sugar layer in the center instead of the crumble and for the top I only used half (if that) of the crumble mix and used oat flour, way less sugar and plant based butter. It was delish but, honestly, did not even need the topping. I would make the cake part again. 

READ:

Zip. Nada. But I did got to a new local, indie bookstore that was adorable and bought books and other little things I do not need lol

WATCHED:

Also not much. I had my bff weekly, virtual movie date and we watched 27 Dresses which was just added to Netflix. It's been a while since I've seen but it held up and we both loved it - although watching now - we saw red flags with the love interest (stole and red her planner/tore out an appointment page) lol But this is a rom com and he will be wonderful and those traits will not turn into anything bad. 

I think Kevin and I are watching the new Willy Wonka this weekend. 

Finally, I have this pretty pic from the Japanese garden. We were there early, when the sun was just starting to peek through and it cast this lovely rainbow on the stairs as we were leaving. 



Have a great weekend
&
let me know what you've been up to!