The last two days have been a whole lot of work, but the result was so worth it. I deep cleaned the living room, including shampooing the rug. I sorted as many things as I could, and took a large trunk load to the donation drop-off. As of today, I am two months ahead on the donation every day project, making a tick-mark that represents my birthday in mid-October. The kitchen was semi-cleaned (still staring at a pile of junk on the peninsula), clear enough to make dinner for the game group who came tonight. I hung a burgundy wreath on the door, changed the couch blanket and pillows to a mustard-yellow theme, and lit a redwood-scented candle. The decorating for fall has begun, and our friends were happy to accept my offerings for the first fall party.
Dinner was a beef stew that was above and beyond what effort I normally put into it. I cut up a pot roast myself, and browned the bits before putting them in the crockpot. I deglazed the pan, and then slowly sweated three sliced onions to give them a deeper flavor. I used Better Than Bouillon and red wine for the broth. I used a mix of fresh and dried herbs, and in the veggie blend, I put in a zucchini from our garden. Plus, I made a whole separate smaller crockpot of most of the same ingredients, to provide a vegetarian option. I had been under the impression that I already had a spice cake mix in the pantry. Nope. So first thing this morning, I was on Pinterest, getting a recipe to make it from scratch. To make it extra special, I soaked the raisins in spiced rum, and toasted the walnuts I blended in. Even after having to wait nearly two hours for my f'ed up oven to get to temperature, it came out perfect. Cream cheese frosting took it over the top.
We had to play our D&D game tonight, because the Mr, our game master, had to work all day yesterday as the fall semester approaches. It worked out just fine, except one of our group, the one who ignores the group chat most, didn't respond until we were all already here and eating dinner. We only got a little bit done in our game. But we had a lovely time eating, talking, and enjoying the turn to cooler weather.
Don't look at the calendar. Look into my eyes instead. Repeat after me: happy fall, y'all.
No comments:
Post a Comment