Simple Green and a Flash of Red

I was in a real cleaning mood yesterday and didn't wanna bust it, even though I discovered I was totally out of floor cleaner for my kitchen. I know you can just damp mop the hardwood laminate with a bit of water, but I love the smell of clean, not just the look.

So instead of riding up to the store in my work clothes (need I describe?) I went to my cup-o-sugar neighbor, Merideth.

"Mer, I am all out of floor cleaner. Do you have any Lysol or Pine Sol or laminate floor cleaner? I just need a little. "

She said they use Simple Green for everything. I had never tried it before, but now I just love it. It smells clean and fresh, but it's not piney or lemony, even though I love those scents, too.

I was thinking of my friend, Briana, when I was mopping my floor. She really gets a bang out of this particular chore. I said a prayer for her that she would be enjoying her housework that same afternoon.


Armed with a brand new tool for the job, I was ready to attack and shine. This $10 mop from Walmart has a levered handle and a dual head. One side of the head has spongey sides (great for running along fronts of baseboards and underside of cabinets and fridge) and the other side has stiff red bristles. There's something about red. It's my new favorite color, but I digress...


Granted, this post is not exactly the epitome of insight or anything, but I figure we all live "at the corner of Mundane and Grace," as Chris Fabry calls real life. My small thrills often include the scent of Lysol (and, in fact, my hubby likes it better than most perfume. When other women are wearing Eau de Toilette, I am simply wearing a splash of Eau de Toilet, and my honey couldn't be happier. Then again, he put himself through college as a nursing home janitor and for some reason, still loves the cleaning solutions.)

So, what cleaning product do YOU rave about? Also, got any cleaning tricks or tips that make the mundane more full of grace?

Pun in the Tub

Last night my sister, who lives in Texas, told me her son, Teddy (8), had just recently had hernia surgery and recovered fine.

AFter our talk, I was bathing Joel. He's had two hernias, one as a wee baby, and one last spring at age 2. The second one appeared in April and was repaired August 1st. During that time, he became quite attached to it, emotionally speaking. He enjoyed taking care of it, to the point of naming it "Hernie." He took Hernie to Disney World. He checked on Hernie occasionally during the day, sometimes to my dismay. (No one at Giant really wants to see that while selecting fresh produce.)

Anyway, as I was finishing up his bath, I said, "Joel, guess what? Your cousin, Teddy, just had a hernia surgery. Do you remember your hernia last year?"

He let out a big sigh, as if reminiscing. "Yeah...Chronicles of Hernia."

Snowpiary

I was charmed by the way the snow mounded up inside this terra cotta pot on my deck. We got 13 inches of snow between yesterday and this morning.

Winter snow. I love everything about it...

...the way it glows in the moonlight
...the peaceful hush it brings to the earth
...the anticipation of it that makes people and animals scurry around for food and warmth
...schools being closed, and the freedom I have to decide whether we will do school at home or just play
...sipping hot chocolate with marshmallows and baking cinnamon rolls or chocolate chip cookies
...watching my kids and their friends go sledding and tubing down our back hill
... white-topped fence lines juxtaposed against the vertical lines of the trees
behind our house, and the curve of the stream that runs through the woods
...watching Molly, our golden retriever, dive into it, nose first, and then toss it up into the air
...guessing how many inches are on the ground and then measuring it quickly with the patio door open a crack
...covering up under a heap of quilts and blankets with the love of my life.


Thank you, God, for your display of beauty once again. Would the earth be so beautiful if snow were any other color? Thank You for blessing me with healthy, happy, snow-loving kids, a warm home and plenty of food and hot chocolate, and a playful doggie, and a stunning view of your handiwork from my kitchen window, or from my cherry sleighbed where I can snuggle under many layers of green and purple quilts with a silver-haired husband who has been my Valentine for 19 years.

You are so good, God. You have, once again, whispered Your love through the gentleness of fallen snow.

New Favorite Cookbook: Eating for Life

My hubby is always coming home with new cookbooks from the library. Most of them
never make it from the counter to the oven, if you know what I mean.

Eating for Life is different, though. Authored by Bill Phillips, this cookbook has stayed in my kitchen and been used 3 times in the past week. It's one that Paul and I agree we could own. And we probably will!

Last night I made Chile Rellenos Casserole. Delicious!

Tuesday night I fixed Caribbean Chicken Salad. Wonderful. Even whipped up my own honey-dijon dressing for it. Mmmm! Amanda was here and raved about it.

Before that, I made something else from Eating for Life. Tonight is going to be Greek Chicken Pitas.

I'm telling you, this book is a winner. My favorite things about it, other than the magnificent recipes are:
1) Every recipe has "normal" pantry foods in it. Not as in canned and boxed everything, but not 16 different ingredients that make you say, "Where do you get THAT?"
2) There is a picture of the ingredients at the bottom of every recipe.
Kinda cute. You got your Sargento cheese package, your tub of plain yogurt, your San Giorgio linguini, etc.
3) Every recipe takes up only one page (with lots of white space) and a full page color photo of the dish with suggested sides on the opposite page.

If any of my readers want to get me a Valentine's Day gift and just have been wondering what the perfect one would be, get this cookbook. Eating for Life, by Bill Phillips.