November 6, 2022

Sunday Good Thoughts

1) I went mountain biking this weekend! That was good.

2) We took the kids swimming this morning, which was on my November goals list.  The kids had a great time.

3) Our Play Street event lasted an hour before the torrential rain ended it.  We learned a lot about how to organize it better next time and met some new neighbors.

4) Andy has decided to take on laundry as part of household operations redistribution project.  I am a bit scared for my clothes (I have a system of gentle washes and cold washes and there are certain things which bleed or might bleed) but also if something gets ruined then it will perhaps reinforce that laundry is not actually easy.  Also, I am hoping that after doing laundry in the winter for a few weeks he will decide that we need a tumble drier.  A four person household in a rainy country is not ideal for indoor clothes drying.

5) I got a good nights sleep last night and did not get woken up at all overnight.  It was needed. Now I just need 7 or 8 more.

6) My people are generally healthy.  Possibly not healthy enough for nursery, but not needing any specialist care or anything.  That is very lucky.

7) We did a quick and healthy grocery shop this week and bought all the vegetables for £22.  Since heating/electricity is now £5-£6 a day I am ready to start doing some frugal shopping.  Also, my favorite veg is in season - I love pumpkins and potatoes and cauliflower and parsnips.  I even bought a cabbage because it was £0.45 and why not? Time to make sauerkraut...??

8) I got a free 3 month trial of AppleTV?  The last time I had apple TV was before the littlest was born and we watched Ted Lasso and The Morning Show.  Any recommendations for things to watch in the next 3 months?  Rainy season is TV season...

9 comments:

  1. I haven't had cabbage in ages...but it really is tasty and a very affordable veggie. Thanks for the reminder!
    I used to hang a lot of our clothes outside on a line, but I've found the dryer is just sooo much easier. It took a lot of time to take the items outside and hang them up, then wait, then bring them in and certain things (like the waistband of blue jeans) never seemed to dry. I try to wear my clothes multiple times to cut down on the damage to clothes/environmental impact, but I do have to admit that using the dryer exclusively feels like such a luxury and does make life easier for me. Because the laundry...it just never seems to end!

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    1. I love hanging clothes outside in the summer but it rains almost daily now. I've been trying to persuade my husband that we need a tumble drier for ages - the expense isn't the issue - we have nowhere to put it. Like many British houses our washing machine is in the kitchen, which means we don't even have a dishwasher. I realized that of course he doesn't think we need a tumble drier - I do all the laundry! I'm interested to see if his thinking changes after he does laundry for a while....

      Also, sheets and towels are so much softer when they come out of a tumble drier. And you can't beat warm pajamas from the drier.

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  2. We constantly have laundry hanging on every available surface in our house. We have a dryer, but it doesn't work very well and I like to protect my clothes from the abuse of a dryer. But if I didn't have a dryer at all, I would probably be singing a different story. I am NOT a fan of clothes-lined sheets and towels.

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  3. I love potatoes, in all their forms! My husband loves parsnips -- I need to make more parsnips this season.

    Also, as a new reader, I am very curious about this household operations distribution project! Have you written about it before? If not, might you consider sharing the details?

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  4. We do have a dryer but I try to avoid it as much as I can. But I have to say in the winter when it takes a couple of days before the clothes are dry on the line it's so useful.

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  5. Ah, laundry. I do all the laundry, and every once in a while my husband offers to help. I'll always specify, "If you want to help, do a load of YOUR CLOTHES." I don't want him washing mine or my daughter's- we do have a dryer, but not everything goes is. Strangely, he rarely ends up doing any laundry at all. I love all the vegetables you mentioned, with the possible exception of parsnips.... they're just okay. But pumpkin and potatoes, yum.

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  6. Oh I love cabbage - it's affordable and there's actually so many uses for it. Have you tried it in a vegetable stew or stir fry?

    We use our drier sparingly, but yeah, in the cooler, wetter months, it's kind of imperative to have.

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  7. Ah I love that we have dryer but I feel so bad using it. I try to dry laundry outside when possible but heading into winter the dryer will see more usage. Right now i tell myself it also heats up the apartment. Argh... laundry something my husbands likes to do more than I so I don't have to do it that often.

    Cabbage is a great idea. I have started buying veggies on sale in so called "Rettertüten" – where veggies that are fine but can't be sold anymore can be bought for 3-4 €. Its a surprise bag but it also makes me buy more seasonally trying to figure out what to cook. And I keep cutting up the veggies freezing them. Also an option.

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  8. Love cabbage as well... just bought some midwestern kimchi to try. Love sauerkraut. And even just plain roasted cabbage is so darn good. Now, if they could just figure out how to make it so it doesn't stink up the house when cooking it. ;)

    I'm glad your spouse is taking on the laundry, but oh, that must be challenging to have four peoples' wet clothes drying inside during rainy season. Here's hoping he sees the light!

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