Friday Things
1. Joseph had his first fever last Friday and he was such a sad little guy all day, just laid around and snuggled on the couch (he usually doesn’t like sitting still for more than 30 seconds). It was gone the next day, so he bounced right back! His new favorite activity is closing doors… regular doors, closet doors, basically any door he can get his hands on. He gets the biggest smile and looks so proud when he closes them!
2. Is it just me, or is there anyone else out there that actually enjoys overcast days more than super sunny ones? I noticed it this week and I’m not sure what it is, but I just feel more relaxed!
3. Speaking of the weather, I just learned about temperature scarves and afghans – SO cool! You basically knit or crochet one to three rows per day with a color that’s coordinated to the temperature that day. I’ve seen people do them for a month or an entire year. I love this idea, and may tackle it in 2017 since I’m hoping (fingers crossed) that the rainbow blanket will be done by then, ha!
4. Did you see the story about kids who have been trained to read to shelter dogs? My heart just about burst. What a wonderful program, for everyone involved.
5. I’m so inspired to grow something!! >> 7 Types of Fruit Trees You Can Grow in Your Living Room.
6. Some of these would be incredibly helpful! (I need the laundry one, I never remember what those symbols mean!) >> 31 Beautiful Posters That Will Actually Teach You Something.
7. What would you add to this list? Inquiring minds want to know :) >> 20 Things We Hate Seeing in Recipes.
8. I just came across these pet alert stickers in the event of a fire, sort of like the ones they always had for the windows of kids’ bedrooms. So smart!
9. What are you watching on TV right now? I watched the first two episodes of Fuller House and while there was a huge amount of cheese factor, I loved it because Full House was probably my favorite show growing up, and I just adore Candace Cameron. Other than that, I’m counting down until the season premiere of The Americans – less than two weeks! I totally think it’s one of the most underrated shows on TV!
10. TGIF! I hope you have a cozy weekend!
Your little Joseph is absolutely adorable. I have enjoyed your site for a long time (hot fudge recipe is sensational). Joseph must be so fun and I loved the story of how he loves the MyPillow commercials. I would bet that the maker of My Pillow would be thrilled to hear that he has such a young, adorable and totally devoted fan!
I HATE when a recipe says “Ready in 20 minutes” “Quick Meal” etc, but then when you read through the recipe, it has cooked pasta, chopped this, and diced that. Sure if I had sous chef, it could be ready in 20 minutes. Otherwise it take 1.5 hrs.
Also, I saw pet alert cards for your wallet. They say something like ” In case of accident, I have XX pets at home and have your address. Thought that was genius idea.
I’m crocheting a temperature blanket for this year! I love doing it–it’s such a nice way to relax at the end of the day!
We are addicted to Longmire. Its a Netflix series and is about a Sheriff in a small town in Wyoming. I love it because its the total opposite of all the crime shows you see now where everything is high tech; on Longmire, its like the wild west except it does take place in modern times. The running joke is that the sheriff (Longmire) refuses to get a cell phone. LOL.
I’ve been seeing these pet stickers a lot when I have been knocking on doors for my state house campaign. Definitely getting one for my two cats!
Making a Murderer on Netflix…it’s a documentary. Totally addicting with twists at every turn. The kind of story you so badly want to discuss with others who have watched it!
What I hate about recipes? As a swede I see tons of Swedish meatball recipes and I hate when folks call it Swedish meatballs and it is not even close or use it on pasta or have some canned sauce on it. Same goes for other countries authentic recipes drives me bananas. Just say that you are doing a twist on a recipe or using it as an inspiration but don’t call it of its original name when it is not.
I agree with you! My awareness of this started about 10 years ago in an article about hummus.
With regard to recipes…I don’t like blogs that show the same finished dish shot from every possible angle…overkill. Recipes that list the ingredients out of order bug me. Finished food shots that are beautifully garnished but nowhere does it say WHAT the garnishes are.
So happy to hear Joseph is better, he’s such a little cutie! Much happier on sunny days! Not TV related but I’m watching: Mad Men on Netflix and Black List (late to the game with these, I know.) House is Cards is back and I’m hoping for a better episodes this season. Agree with all the recipe issues listed. I really dislike when a recipe calls for 1/2 cup of something out of a can, well what do I do with the rest of it? I really don’t freeze a lot of things because I tend to forget they are in the freezer and I then throw them out.
I love seeing pictures and hearing about Joseph’s progress. But I would just like to warn you about his closing doors. My daughter did the same at that age and when visiting her Grandmothers house in the summer, someone had left an outside door open. Grandma always told the kids to keep the door closed because the air conditioning was on. Well my daughter ran to close it. It was a solid wood door and she cut the top off her little pinky finger, it was smashed so it could not be reattached but it was too little anyway, they could only close it.
So any way I just wanted you to be aware because that was a terrible accident for us.
Relating to things we hate about recipes – my biggest pet peeve at the moment is a liitle off topic, but not completely. I’m getting really tired of seeing recipes named “crack” this and “crack” that. I’ve seen Crack chicken, Crack brownies, etc. I get it, it’s addicting. But seriously? Please tell me it’s not just me.
Yessss I was just thinking about The Americans the other day, wondering when it was starting again! I love that show!
Ah, the first fever. So glad that Joseph had a speedy recovery. Babies are given a gift that they can’t tell us about, but you can see it in their eyes. Nothing short of a miracle. He’s adorable! Spread your wings and soar, little guy.
I love cloudy days, too. It seems as though people take a step back on such days, and the world is much calmer.
I love all of your newsletters, and this one didn’t disappoint. So many things I need to discover–temperature scarves and afghans, and so much more! And it’s baseball spring training! Go Red Sox!
(I appreciate the work you put toward your blog. Such a pleasant experience at every visit. That’s important! Don’t change a thing. Thank you for all you do. And yes, dessert first is very cool!)
Years ago, when we adopted two kittens, Purina offered a new pet kit with a few things, including an emergency sticker for our door. I wrote in that we had two cats and fish. There was a space for “other” so I wrote in “One husband.” He didn’t understand why people cracked up every time they came to the door. It was weeks before he saw what I wrote but it stayed on until we replaced the door!
My biggest pet peeve with recipes is when it doesn’t indicate the yield. More often than not I do not need or want to make a lot so I cut them down. Having some kind of an idea as to a ballpark yield helps me out tremendously. This doesn’t apply so much to baking as other recipes. A cake is a cake, a pie is a pie and a loaf of bread is a loaf :) You pretty much know what you’re getting there.
I hate recipes that use a million substitutions (e.g. applesauce instead of oil) and then insist that it will taste just like the original recipe. If I want pancakes, I will make pancakes, not whatever “healthy” thing they are trying to make with their millions of substitutions.
I finally admitted to myself that I prefer a nice overcast day too! Sunny days are great, but it’s nice to be able to step outside without sunglasses. I like to tell myself that it’s my Scottish heritage that makes me prefer overcast weather :)
I think Fuller House went a little overboard with the cheese, but all in all it’s still a fun show with plenty of nostalgia. My 10-year-old loved watching it. Did the original show have so many veiled references to sex or is it just in the new show? It must have gone over my head when I was young!
I just watched the first episode of Mercy Street last night which looks promising. It’s a PBS show (available on Amazon Prime) about a war hospital during the civil war.
I’m glad Joseph is feeling better!
So happy to hear Joseph is himself again. That’s the worst ever…
seeing your little one sick! Don’t you love it when they discover something new!?
I did see that piece on the children reading to the dogs…what a wonderful idea; the dogs looked so relaxed and attentive!
Sorry…I prefer a sunny day to over-cast. (unless it’s 100 degrees out and I have to be out very long…ha)
Catching the last season of American Idol and watching my Black hawks.
Can’t wait for the Cub season to start. I’d watch Fuller House but can’t get it.
So glad Joseph only had the fever one day and that he’s feeling better now. He looks so cute in his hoodie. Not really watching anything on TV right now. Nothing calls to me.
I hate when exotic ingredients are in the recipe with no suggestion for a more common substitute. For example I recently made a recipe that called for gochujang. Yeah, nobody outside of Koreatown knows what that is (it is a fermented, hot pepper paste – FYI). Even if I could find it, I am not buying it for 1 recipe. I used sriracha and it tasted just fine to me. I thought that many of the gripes listed, while understandable, could be alleviated by reading the recipe in it’s entirety before diving in.
Erika, I totally agree that a lot of those complaints came from not reading the recipe. I always read a recipe all the way through before I begin so I know if I need to set up a colander or ice bath or whatever. But my biggest complaint with recipes are vague instructions. I read one the other day for a bread which listed “lukewarm water”. Lukewarm is not an actual temperature and bread is NOT the kind of recipe to skimp on details.
That sweet little face! Look at all his teeth; no wonder he had a little fever. So glad for all of you that Joseph is feeling better.
I’m ok with overcast days. I agree they make me more relaxed. But love the sunny ones that follow. Maybe by “relaxed”, I actually mean “lazy” ;) When the sun is out, it’s so much better for my productivity.
As for TV, I’m all about the Pens. And soon the Pirates will begin their season (gotta have sunny days for the games ;) ).
I can’t really think of anything that drive me crazy with cookbooks. I LOVE them. I like pictures of the finished product. Step-by-step pictures are helpful to me when working with yeast doughs.
Have a great weekend!
I’m happy to hear that Joseph is doing much better ? It breaks your heart when they’re not feelings well and not their playful self.?
My sister son aka nephew plays with doors as all as well as pots and pans…LOUDLY ???
As far as TV I’m watching Scandal, How to Get away with Murder, The Blacklist and Shades of Blue. Love those shows although Scandal is getting a tad boring. ?
Enjoy your day and stay warm ?
I hate when time ranges aren’t given in recipes, for example, when making candy, boil until golden in color with no other info. And I so agree with the unnecessary use of extra bowls! And ingredients should always be in order and separated if used in different parts.
We’re watching the walking dead right now but I’m excited for game of thrones and house of cards which are coming soon.
i’m totally agree with this article 20 Things We Hate Seeing in Recipes. But there is one missing, those recipes that calls for a little amount of some ingredient that you would never use again and don’t make any difference in the recipe.
1. I’ve seen the temperature scarves and afghans, but I really like the sky afghan: http://bugsandfishes.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-to-knit-sky-blanket.html
2. I saw the piece about kids reading to shelter dogs — loved it.
3. There are two things I hate seeing in recipes: weird measurements (1/2 tablespoon — why not say 1 1/2 teaspoons?) and too many pictures. I learned to cook at a time when cookbooks either had no pictures or very few pictures, so no pictures doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t mind a picture of the finished dish, but step-by-step pictures drive me crazy.
The top thing I hate is cookbooks that look more like coffee table books (with prices to match) than something that belongs in the kitchen.