There's been a bit of a funk over our house since the beginning of the year. I have ornaments to sew. scarves to button, tags to be cut, and more. But I'm not motivated to do any of it, nope, it all sits there in its raw state glaring at me. And I'm still procrastinating.
Instead I've cleaned my living room. Really cleaned it. The underside of the rug and the bottom of the couch got vacummed. I almost couldn't get the couch upright again. I washed the track that the sliding door rolls in. Anything but craft. Then I cleaned the dining room, and then the kitchen. Then my wardrobe, three bags of clothes went in the clothing bin.
In Japan New Years (Oshogatsu) is the big holiday, not Christmas. Everyone takes a few days off to celebrate the arrival of a new year. To get ready for Oshogatsu everyone does a big year end clean. It's the opportunity to clear out clutter and dirt from the old year and prepare the home for the new year. It even has its own name - Oosouji. When it's written in Kanji the three characters translate to Big, Sweep, and Dispose. Maybe that's what I'm doing. A little late.
And it worked. Well still no crafting, but once my kitchen was spotless I needed to cook/bake and make it messy. Cause a clean kitchen just looks wrong! Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from a Meadow Vale Farm package. Half crispy, half soft and chewy. Easy, peasy - just add eggs, butter and vanilla.
We had new friends over for dinner. And I needed something to serve. Brownies again from Meadow Vale Farm. Very, very good. Especially served warm with vanilla icecream and raspberries. No photos - we ate them all.
Greek salad from my mother in law's cookbook. I left the garlic out of the dressing, only included half a onion (I'm not an onion fan) and no olives - we forgot to buy any. But it still tasted good. Hubby ate it, so it must have passed. And there's leftovers for lunch.
And Spaghetti with meat sauce from Apples for Jam. We used ground pork because the store had sold out of ground beef. Great recipe, we'll be having it again. Have you seen Apples for Jam?
(excuse the photo, it's been threatening to snow for 5 days, and the light sucks)
Apples for Jam and Falling for Cloudberries are two collections of recipes by Tessa Kiros. I was given both as gifts. I think it was hint. Didn't work. Gorgeous photos, childhood memories, family stories. They don't make me want to cook, they make me want to pack my bags and travel to Cyprus, Greece, Finland....and try new foods. However, they are too stunning to be called cook books. Even the inside covers look like pieces of fabric.
Tessa has a Greek Cypriot father, a Finnish mother, Russian Grandparents, and an Italian husband. She has worked in London, Sydney, Mexico, and Italy, Makes for a diverse collection of recipes. Last year I made the Cinnamon & Cardamon buns and the Cranberry Sorbet. The recipes are much easier than they first look. Simple ingredients...
And I haven't been crafting, but someone has. Look what she sent me!
A pillow, a pin cushion, fat quarters, and other goodies.
Thank you Kristin.
