four fun things

I finally got new slippers! 

I’d picked them out last year when I asked you for recommendations but then I never got around to buying them. I mean, my slippers still worked, technically speaking, so why spend money if I didn’t have to?

I’d heard really good things about Glerups, and even though I was a little nervous about all-wool slippers, I knew that my other wool shoes are some of my all-time favorites (and they are $20 off right now!). So I decided to risk it and wow, do I ever love these slippers! 

my husband says my feet look like they’re wrapped in carpet padding

The material feels soooo good (I don’t wear socks), and there’s no sweating: my feet stay warm but not hot. The slippers aren’t clunky; once they’re on, they’re on. The first few weeks, I had to manually pull them on, but now I can wiggle my feet into them without using my hands at all. The leather bottoms are sturdy enough that I can wear them outside. 

The only problem is that the top edge rubs the back of my ankle a little. It’s not enough to be an actual problem, but that’s the only part that doesn’t feel quite right. Maybe the mild irritation will fade over time? Maybe not?

It’s okay either way — I just want to be completely transparent in case you, too, are in the market for new slippers. 

***

Now that there are only two kids at home, and they’re often gone with school, work, and evening commitments, family suppers are a bit sporadic. Same with lunches. So I’ve been making an effort to make a decent “real” breakfast several times a week: pancakes and sausage, eggs and toast, oatmeal and smoothies, etc. Days they have classes, I often pack my son’s lunch, too, along with my husband’s (my daughter prefers to pack her own). 

Making breakfasts and lunches is my way of “moving food” — making sure the homemade leftovers are getting used up in a timely manner, and in creative ways. Like for both the Dutch puff and the vanilla pudding, I added some extra eggs yolks that were leftover from making the Italian meringue buttercream for my husband’s birthday cake, which gave me a productivity buzz.

Knocking out a big meal in the morning takes the pressure off for later in the day; if supper is just popcorn and apples, then so be it. 

***

It takes me forever to get through a bottle of wine. My husband doesn’t drink alcohol, and contrary to appearances, or the fact that I freaking make the stuff now [puffs chest], I don’t actually drink that much. And re-corking a bottle of mead once it has been opened has thus far proved impossible, forcing me to settle for sealing the top with a piece of plastic wrap.

So! You can imagine my delight when I discovered that there exists a little thingy called a wine saver.

I know! Thrilling, that.

I bought one right away — it came with the air suction thingy, plus four stoppers, and it only cost 14 bucks. To use, just pop the rubber cork into the bottle and then pump the little pumpy thing about 8-15 times, or until there’s a little resistance, and that’s it.

To use, just flick the little needle sticking up in the center of the cork and — tssss — the seal releases.

Every time I pop out the wine saver and pour myself a drink, I’m equal parts:

1) pleased that I have it, and
2) horrified that I only just learned that it exists.

Buy yourself one.

You’re welcome.

***

When I was on cross-cultural in Guatemala when I was in college, one of the guys in my group made a fresh salsa.

I begged the recipe — more a formula, really — and it became my go-to emergency salsa: stir together chopped roma tomatoes, some minced onion and jalapeno and a bit of garlic, a fistful of fresh cilantro, S&P, a hefty squeeze of lime, and some olive oil, if you want. 

A couple weeks ago, I made a bowl of it to go with mountains of cheesy tortilla chips for supper. 

And everyone was happy. 

This same time, years previous: a day in the life of a baker, soft sourdough bread, a hairy situation, back in business, a Dell-ish ordeal, the quotidian (10.20.14), the reading week, autumn walk, a pie party!, moments of silence.