It's getting colder all the time! I guess I should expect that-it's winter! A good cold snap just makes me want to hole up in my snug little cabin. Lunch time rolled around today and I was thinking a good hot bowl of soup would be just right. I'm not one for canned soup so usually it is something I make in a huge quantity and eat for days and maybe even freeze some for the future. It is a time-consuming lengthy project.
I wasn't really up for that kind of project today so I got to thinking. I know - thinking sometimes isn't good! Lately, I have also been partial to oriental food so now I'm really thinking. So this is what I did. I put a pat of butter in a pan and added a small amount of chopped onion and let it start cooking. I added some diced zucchini and sliced mushrooms. I also diced up a bit of leftover pork tenderloin and added it to the vegetables. When the vegetables were almost done, I put in a can of chicken broth and some garlic chili sauce for a bit of spice. How much chili sauce - enough to satisfy your level of spice! It's kinda like season to taste. Then I added a bit of vinegar and some soy sauce - couple tablespoons of each - again add enough until it tastes good to you. When it all came to a boil, I added some bean sprouts. By the way, I was in the local oriental market and they had a huge one-pound bag of beautiful fresh sprouts for under a dollar! I understand it's important to cook bean sprouts so I let the soup cook until they were done. There you go - my version of hot and sour soup - and it was really good!
This was a quick and easy soup. I used the ingredients I happened to have on hand so the next time I do this the ingredients probably will be different. If you don't have garlic chili sauce on hand, I'd think using a sprinkle or two of crushed red peppers would add the zing you need. Also, adding a beaten egg while stirring the soup would give you an egg "noodle" like what is used in egg drop soup. You could add a rice noodle or even regular noodles. The possibilities are endless! It just take a few minutes and you have a great homemade soup for one!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Dog Washing
Today was dog-washing day at my house. You many question why this is an interesting topic. Well, it's quite a production. Typically, Joey the shitzhu is first. But, he now thinks he has a great command of the English language and thinks "bath" means "run as fast as you can out the doggie door and hide". I'm waiting for the day he realizes that you can't hide forever! So today Louise got to go first. Louise is a miniature weenie dog. By the way, both of these dogs were given to me. I think that there are way too many great dogs out there that people don't want and just can't justify paying for a dog. Pedigrees really don't matter at all! Both these dogs are altered so there will be no puppies here. Okay, back to the subject - spa day for the dogs.
I pull the shower curtain up and over the bar to get it out of the way. I have a handheld shower head so I bring it down to short-dog level and get out the shampoo. I gather Louise up and head to the bathroom, wet her down and suds her up a couple of times. After a thorough rinse, I bundle her in a nice thick bath towel. Louise tolerate the bath quite well, but what comes next isn't that fun. It's mani-pedi day! She likes to sit up like a person so I have found this is a good position for nail trimming. I keep her bundled and bring out one foot at a time. I have found this keeps her from scratching the hand with the clippers. She has black nails so it's hard to know just how far to cut so I find that if I stay on top of things and don't let her nails get too long I can just trim a small amount and all is good. I typically trim her nails about once a month. I find it is easier after a batch because they are softer. I've read that if you let the nails get a bit too long that is it good to just trim a small amount each week until you get them shortened to the right length. This is especially important when the nails are black. We finish the mani-pedi and Louise gets her treat and she retreats to her bed.
By this time, Joey has returned and I scoop him up. Joey has things he likes to do better than get clean so he likes to pace up and down the tub. It feels like I'm chasing him down all the time! At least he does stay in the tub. He especially hates getting his face washed but he has long facial hair and it seems to gather dirt! So after lathering and rinsing a couple of times, he gets conditioned. I just use the leftovers of bottles of human conditioner after the shampoo is used up. He smells so pretty! I find the conditioner helps combing his longer hair easier. His nails are much easier to trim. They are bigger that Louise's dainty little nails but they are white and I can see the quick. I can be sure not to cut his nails too short. He doesn't seem to hate this process as much as Louise so it goes fairly smoothly. I comb Joey's hair to make sure he doesn't have mats especially in his tail. Then I usually dry him off with a hairdryer. Joey gets his treat and joins Louise in a nap.
You'd think I'd be all done, wouldn't you? Well, we've really just begun! This is a great time to clean the bathroom! I'm already damp and the bathroom smells like wet dogs. So I scrub down the tub, sink and toilet. Today I also take down the shower curtain liner to be washed. Yes, you can wash your plastic liner in the washer. Just put it in the machine with the towels and wash as usual. It can be put in the dryer but just for a couple minutes to shake off the water. I usually just hang it back up without putting it in the dryer. The process certainly prolongs the life of the shower curtain liner! A quick sweep and mop and the bathroom is all sparkly. And I'm damper! It's time for my shower and I deserve a bit of pampering!
I pull the shower curtain up and over the bar to get it out of the way. I have a handheld shower head so I bring it down to short-dog level and get out the shampoo. I gather Louise up and head to the bathroom, wet her down and suds her up a couple of times. After a thorough rinse, I bundle her in a nice thick bath towel. Louise tolerate the bath quite well, but what comes next isn't that fun. It's mani-pedi day! She likes to sit up like a person so I have found this is a good position for nail trimming. I keep her bundled and bring out one foot at a time. I have found this keeps her from scratching the hand with the clippers. She has black nails so it's hard to know just how far to cut so I find that if I stay on top of things and don't let her nails get too long I can just trim a small amount and all is good. I typically trim her nails about once a month. I find it is easier after a batch because they are softer. I've read that if you let the nails get a bit too long that is it good to just trim a small amount each week until you get them shortened to the right length. This is especially important when the nails are black. We finish the mani-pedi and Louise gets her treat and she retreats to her bed.
By this time, Joey has returned and I scoop him up. Joey has things he likes to do better than get clean so he likes to pace up and down the tub. It feels like I'm chasing him down all the time! At least he does stay in the tub. He especially hates getting his face washed but he has long facial hair and it seems to gather dirt! So after lathering and rinsing a couple of times, he gets conditioned. I just use the leftovers of bottles of human conditioner after the shampoo is used up. He smells so pretty! I find the conditioner helps combing his longer hair easier. His nails are much easier to trim. They are bigger that Louise's dainty little nails but they are white and I can see the quick. I can be sure not to cut his nails too short. He doesn't seem to hate this process as much as Louise so it goes fairly smoothly. I comb Joey's hair to make sure he doesn't have mats especially in his tail. Then I usually dry him off with a hairdryer. Joey gets his treat and joins Louise in a nap.
You'd think I'd be all done, wouldn't you? Well, we've really just begun! This is a great time to clean the bathroom! I'm already damp and the bathroom smells like wet dogs. So I scrub down the tub, sink and toilet. Today I also take down the shower curtain liner to be washed. Yes, you can wash your plastic liner in the washer. Just put it in the machine with the towels and wash as usual. It can be put in the dryer but just for a couple minutes to shake off the water. I usually just hang it back up without putting it in the dryer. The process certainly prolongs the life of the shower curtain liner! A quick sweep and mop and the bathroom is all sparkly. And I'm damper! It's time for my shower and I deserve a bit of pampering!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Job Hunting
Since being downsized by the company I worked for in March, 2009, I have certainly been living an adventure! I decided to use this time to do something I've wanted to do for several years-go back to school. This spring I will be graduating with an associates degree in graphic design.
I haven't many classes left to finish so have decided the time is right to get a part-time job. So I sit down with my trusty laptop and start searching the job boards. My, how times have changed! As I search, I find I need to weed out the postings where investments are required. Are these really jobs? I was rather thinking I'd like to work and then be paid. I'm not particularly interested in helping you get your start-up company off the ground. I know you'll pay me if I should happen to sell something. But I have a feeling that you're "hiring" anyone who responds thinking that if you have enough people on the streets someone will sell something. See my prior comment!
Then I see one - perfect! Part-time, sounds like fairly low-stress, go to work, do your job, go home and get paid. I'm seeing a few questions I haven't seen before, such as: "How often have you had bad luck in the past year?"; "How reliable is the car you will drive to work?" Hmmm .... think they heard lots of excuses?
I can only hope my search continues to produce chuckles as I continue through the process. And of course, a job!
I haven't many classes left to finish so have decided the time is right to get a part-time job. So I sit down with my trusty laptop and start searching the job boards. My, how times have changed! As I search, I find I need to weed out the postings where investments are required. Are these really jobs? I was rather thinking I'd like to work and then be paid. I'm not particularly interested in helping you get your start-up company off the ground. I know you'll pay me if I should happen to sell something. But I have a feeling that you're "hiring" anyone who responds thinking that if you have enough people on the streets someone will sell something. See my prior comment!
Then I see one - perfect! Part-time, sounds like fairly low-stress, go to work, do your job, go home and get paid. I'm seeing a few questions I haven't seen before, such as: "How often have you had bad luck in the past year?"; "How reliable is the car you will drive to work?" Hmmm .... think they heard lots of excuses?
I can only hope my search continues to produce chuckles as I continue through the process. And of course, a job!
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