September 20, 2009

The Sunday Salon

It's been a few weeks but I'm back to the Sunday Salon. Did you miss me?

Reading
I finished and reviewed Against the Odds, a short story collection by L.M. Montgomery. I am still working through Pay Attention, Say Thank You and House of Sand and Fog. I started reading a cute, funny little book to my kiddos called What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy. Our beloved kitty is named Dickens and I love fairy stories. I'm so glad it has turned out to be such great fun.

Non-Bookish News
Our homeschool has been successfully running for three weeks now. We learned all about Queen Elizabeth I this week. Shakespeare is next week. I'm so excited about reading some Shakespeare to my kiddos. We have also done some science experiments to learn about molecules. Our favorite experiment so far has been putting a balloon over the top of a soda bottle, then shaking it up. The balloon inflates from all the carbon dioxide.


We went on a weekend trip to the coast last weekend, meeting with my daughter's best friend who had moved away recently. We found the biggest sand crab I have ever seen. Usually they are the size of a fingernail. This one was much bigger.


FLYLady
Last time I mentioned my progress Debra asked me how long it took per day to keep up with FLYLady. I work on it a few minutes here and there throughout the day but in total it is probably an hour. The point is to declutter for 15 minutes(or 10 or 5, however much time you have) a day, then set up morning and evening routines. I also like working on the daily missions. I don't bother with shining my sink. I take what works for me and leave the rest. My one complaint is that you get 10-15 emails a day, most of which are called "testimonials" but are really advertisements for FLY shop cleaning supplies. Those get old fast. A lot of people are doubtful but it has really worked for me. I suggest trying it for a month and seeing if it makes a difference for you.

This week we are focusing on the master bedroom. This is where my sewing area is. I haven't sewn in months because this area is the catch all for all my junk. But 15 minutes a day will make a dent in it which is better than nothing.

French Cooking
I broke down and joined hundreds of trendy housewives. I bought Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Then I actually made a recipe from it the very next day. It took 4 1/2 hours but the Boeuf Bourguignon(beef stew with red wine) was sooooo delicious. Is anyone else doing any French cooking?

7 comments:

Ti said...

I haven't tackled any French recipes as of yet. Yours looks yummy though.

I don't subscribe to the flylady but I do the de-clutter / clean sink think and it keeps me sane. I can't tolerate clutter of any kind.

bermudaonion said...

I don't like clutter, but I have more of it than I'd like! I haven't been cooking any French food either.

Alaine said...

I love Flylady as well and have used her system for a while. But like you I don't shine my sink, doesn't fit into the way we do our routines. But on a whole it's great.

Good luck with the homeschooling. I homeschooled my daughter when she was young for a few years too. Wonderful experience!

Linda said...

That looks yummy. I haven't attempted Boeuf Bourguignon yet.

Zibilee said...

I am so impressed with your continuing progress on the de-cluttering. I know I wouldn't have been able to stick with it for long. My house has a high state of entropy going on right now, and I can't seem to get a handle on it. Your Boeuf Bourguignon looks amazing as well. I am going to have to go out and get that cookbook!

Tammy said...

I've been doing FlyLady for a couple of years now and it does work. I work from home 3 days a week, and for me, "shining my sink" is keeping my work space neat. The number of emails does get old, but I set it up so they go straight to a FlyLady folder, then I clean them out once a week or so.

Stephanie said...

Looks like a really yummy recipe (I used to spend more time in the kitchen before I had two kids)!