Bad Planning

My freezer is full.

Packed.

Stuffed to the gills.

As part of my attempt to have fun this summer and not become overwhelmed with September's holidays, I undertook a major preparation, preserving and packing campaign. I wrote out a month full of menus for July. I cooked a month's worth of rice and quinoa. I soaked and sprouted a month's worth of beans. I hulled, pitted, washed, peeled and cut the various batches of fruit picked or bought for a steal at the farmers market. I cut apart six chickens and repackaged a month's worth of meat. All of this got labeled and put into the freezer.

As we use up the weekly produce, I save the bits heading towards decay. I chopped onions, carrots and garlic and sauté them in some coconut oil. I whiz melon in the blender, strain and pour it into ice cube trays. Left-over chicken bits are picked clean. All of this is packed into jars, bags and boxes and head into the freezer.

I am using what I freeze. Last night Aba finished off the last of the grapes, the girls had watermelon popsicles and I removed 2 pounds of ground beef, some veggies and buns for dinner. I did put 2 more meals' worth of sloppy joes into the freezer, though.

The problem lies with space and containers. I've written out a schedule to prepare the main proteins and baked goods for the Yamim Noraim and Sukkot. (This year they come early and fall Wednesday night to Friday night. Adding in Shabbat, we have three day blocks September 3 to October 3.) This week I should be making six batches of Moroccan fish. But where shall I put them? I don't have any of the ingredients in the freezer to remove.

Even if I switch it with next week's cooking (cookies) it won't help. I don't have flour in the freezer so I'd be adding instead of taking.

I'll have to play around in both freezers and see what room I can make. And add more containers to the budget.

That said, there are less than two months until Rosh haShannah. If you are like me and want to have time to prepare yourself and your children for the beauty of the Yamim Noraim and Sukkot now is the time to start thinking about menus and cooking.

is 30 Pounds of Cherries and a Silly String Fight

We took the girls to Villa del Sol Sweet Cherry Farm yesterday. It was a bit of a drive, but we had fun and came home with bags full of cherries. Tonight Aba will be putting the girls to bed and I'm parking myself in front of the computer with some streaming movies from Netflix and going to town pitting cherries.

On the list to make? Grown-up maraschino cherries (in amaretto), pie filling and a lot of frozen cherries for making clafoutis and crisps. Maybe ice cream? Not to mention just noshing on frozen cherries. 

Did I need more than 30 pounds?

As part of the Mondo Beyondo Dream Lab I made "play boxes" for myself and the girls. Since seeing them, Shira has been begging for the can of silly string that resided inside. At least once a day she's asked me for it. On Shabbat I told her we would have a silly string fight after we came home from cherry picking. Can you guess what was the topic of conversation the entire way home?

Batya wasn't into it, but Shira and Chaya had a blast. Aba had to act like a teenaged boy and pretend the silly string was snot coming out of his nose. The effect was ruined when he had to explain why it was gross or funny to Chaya multiple times. 

Moody News

Do you ever have a time when you wish you could just grab your wallet and disappear? Head off into the great wide world and have an adventure? That's how I'm feeling now.

I suspect its a continuation of the SAD I was going through this winter. Being cooped up in the house makes it feel like winter again. I miss the sun. Which is really pathetic considering its in the mid seventies and absolutely gorgeous today. So what's a girl to do? I can tell you what I'm not going to do.

I'm not going to go into bunker mode and stay inside this week. I cleaned the patio again and I'm going to pull a piece of our sectional outside and read Shabbat afternoon. The rest of the week is shaping up with cherry picking, LA Arboretum, the beach and some walks before indoor activities.

If I'm not feeling better by Tisha b'Av I'll have to see a doctor and get a prescription. I'd rather not because I'm usually the person who gets those side-effects that come at the end of the commercial--headaches, nausea, sleeplessness--but I'll do what I have to.

Shabbat Shalom!

 

WWL'd 6/20-6/27

I wrote this out while the girls were bathing last weekend, but apparently left it on the counter and got distracted by summer fruit and beach days.

Subtraction with mini hot dogs at dinner.
Parts of a train.
Drawing more concrete representations.
The idea that winning isn't the most important part of a race.
Destruction of the Beit haMikdash, Tisha b'Av
Rhythm of calendar, seasons and holidays.
Reading: Aesop's Fables, Inchkin, Miss Rumphius, Black Beauty

Updating My List

My "36 before 37" list, that is. I'm actually doing pretty well with it. I have a week over 6 months left to do 28 things.

1. Learn to knit cables
2. Learn kitchner stitch
3. Dye yarn
4. Grow tomatoes Growing away in a topsy turvy container my dad bought us.
5. Complete my "100 Things That Make Me Happy" mini book.
6. Get our emergency preparedness stuff up to snuff.
7. Go roller skating
8. Guerilla gift someone
9. Yarn bomb Beverly Hills
10. Have smores at the beach with a bonfire
11. Go on a hike
12. Run a 5K And I'm still sore from it!
13. Take a self-portrait every day of my 36th year (barring days when it is halachically impossible like 2nd day of Yom Tov) Big ol' FAIL. Maybe I should start from today?
14. Make soft pretzels
15. Have family portraits taken
16. Get my hair cut by a professional
17. Format and set-up my computer all by myself
18. Have the perfect skirt (or three) made
19. Learn to sew
20. Complete my knitting to-do list Likely not going to happen as I've changed it since writing it. LOL
21. Get rid of my hametz before Pesah instead of selling it
22. Conquer the basement
23. Use it or lose (craft stuff)
24. Put the 2009 tax stuff away when done with it.
25. Make sourdough bread
26. Give Blood
27. Go to a drive-in movie
28. Learn to darn my knitted goods.
29. Have a spa day
30. Finish the posts that are languishing in my draft folder
31. Attend the Torah Home Education Confrence
32. Attend BlogHer Can't attend this year, but I'm thinking about driving up the the CHN for a day.
33. Work out a soaked flour recipe for challah
34. Get all of my digital pictures organized and backed up
35. Complete a machsom l'fi
36. Learn to dance