Worth Repeating: The Day I went Pink

It was Yesterday!

Today,

I'm pink!

Get the Attitude! Show Some Gratitude!

That's my word for the year!

GRATITUDE!

Studies show that people who live in a state of 

GRATITUDE

are happier people than those who 

aren't grateful.

This year,

I will practice

GRATITUDE

regularly,

especially with 

GRATITUDE

to my 

Creator.

GRATITUDE,

I whisper your name.

GRATITUDE!

 

Things That are happening in my Kitchen: a Tutorial on Roasting Garlic in the Microwave, Joke's on Me, Growing Basil, and Decluttering

Today, I had to go out and go to the grocery store. 

I had planned on making a pizza with a cauliflower crust.

I picked up the ingredients that included the fresh basil.

I have been sick, so I've been reading a lot and visiting sites such as Pinterest.

On one of the sites I visited, I saw a quick article about growing your own herbs in your kitchen.

The article said something to this effect,

"If you want to grow herbs in the kitchen, take the fresh herbs you buy at the grocery store, put them in fresh water.  In a couple of weeks, you will see roots beginning to grow."

All right, this is a work in progress.

I'll be showing updates.  I love basil, and I would love to have a steady flow of this herb.  As of today, there are no roots.

Now for the tutorial

In early December, I bought this little cooking dish at a craft show.  It was originally made for cooking eggs in the microwave.  It will only hold one egg, and the potter told me to only cook that egg for 50 seconds, not one second more.

You don't need this particular dish.  You can use any dish you like.

That's the first disclaimer in this tutorial.  There will be others.

Disclaimer #2 

If you don't watch the time on your microwave, this is what can happen.

Burnt garlic, and it stinks.

Now for the Tutorial

Step 1:  Spray non-stick spray on the inside of the dish.

Step 2:  With lid on, if you have a lid, microwave the dish on high for 2 minutes.

Step 3: Stir and cook again on high for 2 minutes.

Step 4:  Stir and cook on high for 1 minute.

Step 5:  Stir and cook on high for 30 seconds.

Let cool.

Disclaimer:  Ha! Ha!  Joke's on me.

I didn't realize I was dehydrating the garlic cloves, but that's exactly what happens.

It's still good, but you will need to grate it to use it.  

I like the taste.  It tastes like roasted garlic that's been dehydrated!

Last, but not least:

I joined a group on Facebook called

Declutter 365

The page publishes a monthly calendar with a chore to do each day.  The goal is to spend 15 minutes decluttering a single area of your home each day.  

Yesterday's chore was to clean the silverware drawer.

Here's what it looks like right now.

One of these days, I'll show you how it looks after I spend my 15 minutes cleaning it out.

 15 minutes might be enough to do this chore.  If not, I can afford a few more minutes.

So, for now,  talk to you later.

Things I'm Thinking About: For the Love of....

I'm thinking it might be time for a name change for this blog.

Do you have any suggestions?

Right now, 

all I'm thinking about is a shortened form of the name:

FOR THE LOVE OF...

Since I haven't been able to torch for the last couple of years,

I seem to have strayed away from writing more about beads.

Life has been chaos, 

and 

I've had to live away from my home for long periods of time, so

I have been forced to focus on other forms of art, not just handmade, lampwork glass beads.

This has been a blessing in disguise.

It's been rough, but what doesn't kill you...

So, I think I'd like to expand the focus of this blog a bit.

Beads will always be here.

The other thing I'm thinking about now is a nap.

This  virus, which has knocked me flat since two weeks after Thanksgiving, is still with me.

I'm tired. 

A nap sounds great right about now.

Talk to you later.

So, What Have I Been Doing Besides Being Sick? This That and the Other

THIS

Truthfully, not a lot.

I did get to go out to dinner one night, with friends.

The restaurant was a Mexican restaurant in town.  

The garlic was a decoration on the tree.

Isn't that a great garland for the tree?

It was a fun evening, but it was a slick evening since we had about 8 inches of snow fall earlier in the day.

I slipped and slid all the way home, but, thank God,

I made the trek home

SAFELY!

THAT 

  

 I felt a little bit better yesterday, so I thought I would roast some garlic.

Oooooops!

I cooked the garlic a little bit too long and
I.

BURNT.

THE.

GARLIC!

The house still smells of 

BURNT GARLIC.

There will be more about this in a future blog.

It was an experiment for the blog.

Yesterday, I went back to Pinterest.
(I really didn't leave.  I just couldn't remember my password.)
Found it!
I also checked one of my pins. 
I had saved a PIN about a a detoxifying bath.
I took it, and, guess what!
I didn't feel any different except that I felt much more relaxed.  It didn't help my cold, but I felt good enough to take a nap.  Sleep always helps!

That's it for now.
I have some ideas for this new year. 
I'll be talking about those ideas next week.
For now,
I'm going to take a nap.  See you later!