Scattered Sundays

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Thank you all for your thoughts and understanding last week. I still don’t know what I’m doing (here or in life), but I’m just going to keep trying. And I very much appreciate your grace while we all stumble around trying to be good humans.

Last week I also alluded to Bennett wearing a sloth costume for a week straight. And I wasn’t kidding. This child loves a costume and gives zero cares where he wears them. Please enjoy the various collages of Bennett in a sloth costume throughout this post.

Sloth Fire and Rescue: 100% fatality rate 75 years and counting.

We celebrated Troy’s birthday last Sunday. The plan he knew about was his parents and sister coming over for a very small group lunch. What he didn’t know was that I had also invited his cousin, who is one of his best friends, to come too.

His cousin lives three hours away and they don’t get to see each other very often, especially with everyone social distancing for so long. Watching Troy’s face when he realized his cousin was there will sustain me for months. That and the batch of Nordy Bars I served.

front door is STILL not painted.

Chew-bawk-a, one of our two new chickens has been renamed “Hen-dini” because THIS dang bird will not be contained! We’ve trimmed her flight feathers (don’t worry, this is equivalent of a hair cut or trimming nails.), put up netting, blocked up every escape path we could possibly see. And still…this motherclucker keeps getting out.

Thank goodness our neighbors are kind and understanding. One of them has torn up his lawn and is in the process of building some new retaining walls. So thankfully, when she goes over there, she’s just digging in the dirt. I’d be horrified if she ruined anyone’s lawn, garden, or flower beds.

On Thursday we think we found the last possible way she was escaping and patched it up. Let’s see what happens. But I will say our chicken yard/run looks ridiculously janky with all these patches.

Thankfully it’s at the back of the house and not visible to lots of people. We’ll need a long-term solution soon…once we’re confident this dang chicken can’t get out anywhere else.

Bennett has started doing his own “recipes”. It’s adorable but creates soooo many dishes.

We were super lucky to be able to get away from the house for a few days this week. My in-laws have an adorable house at Ocean Shores and we’re thankful we’re able to use it for free.

We came to this house late in April but I didn’t share it with you. I didn’t want it to look like we weren’t taking social distancing seriously. We 100% were. 

We didn’t stop once to pee (which is nearly impossible for me), and only went from our house to their house. We did get takeout one time at Bennett’s Fish Shack (ironically, this restaurant is the place we realized last summer that Bennett is obsessed with seafood) but it was “no-touch” takeout. We paid over the phone, popped the trunk and they put the food in there. Other than that, we walked on the empty beach, rode bikes, and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows in the fire pit.

The Ocean Shores area is vastly different from our town simply from the standpoint of elevation. It’s flat, flat, flat. Flatter than me.

Not having to climb hills while walking/running/riding bikes is a real treat! We took Bennett’s little bike attachment with us to use on the beach cruisers at my in-law’s house. They used to be our cruisers when Troy and I lived in LA and were highly impractical when we came back to Washington.

It was so fun to ride all over the little town of Ocean Shores together. The boys love looking at the outside of houses, and there are deer everywhere to spot. And did I mention I don’t have to ride up hills? 🙂

My cousin recently asked if I had stopped running because I wasn’t sharing run times on Instagram anymore. No, I have not stopped running, I just didn’t feel like last week was the time to share workouts with the world.

I’m running (by choice! who am I??) 3 miles every few days. It isn’t exactly planned; I just fit it in when I can and Troy is home from work. My pace never seems to get better, but each time I finish a run I feel stronger. And less like I’m going to collapse at the end of it. So…I’m calling it a win.

I told Jack I’d do a charity 5k with him in December (if it is actually happening). He’s done it most years and as long as he doesn’t think I can keep up with him, it will be fine. The last 5k he completed he had a pace of about 7:10…mine is currently hovering around 9:25.

My goal by the end of summer is to get stronger and consistently achieve a pace of 9 minutes. We’ll see. No robot overlord voice is there to tell me what to do. So, who knows.

far left: sloth speech therapy via telehealth

School is still in session for another week, but Jack’s school celebrated the fifth graders with a special drive-through graduation on Friday. It’s not how any of us expected his time at his school to end, but 2020 has been a crash course in adjusting expectations for all of us.

Many long-time readers know that Jack’s start in school was…rough to say the least. His first-grade teacher changed everything for us and we grew to love the staff and teachers so much. He was open-enrolled all six years, and we’re hoping Bennett is able to go in 2021. I don’t feel like we’re ready to say goodbye to that sweet community.

Housekeeping

I have sewn about 50 cloth masks for family and friends over the last few months. And I have a few for myself and I hate them all. They make my chest feel like it is packed with angry badgers.

However, I randomly found out that Covered Goods, the company that made my nursing cover, is now making masks. I ordered three (one for myself and the others for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law) and ohhhh my gosh they’re incredible! I mean, as far as masks go.

I don’t feel trapped, they’re comfortable, and I bought these filters for them. Even better, they don’t fog up my glasses like other masks. You can get your Covered Goods mask here and use coupon code “sustainablecooks” to get 15% off!

Ignore the horrible allergy eyes I’m rocking. Pollen is the devil.

In the Garden This Week

After something like four years of super-hot springs, Seattle has not received the memo that it is June. Temps haven’t climbed above 73F (or as a Canadian reader called it, “Freedom Temps”) and we have been having some rain at least daily.

From a garden standpoint, rain is great. Each time it rains, Bennett loves to say “now my garden will grow big and strong”. And I do love the free water. But enough already and get to the business of growing!

Strawberries are ripening, and one blueberry plant has ripe berries. We picked a few peas on Tuesday, and that’s about it for now.

Our new little herb garden is growing nicely, and I need to find a place to plant the basil my sister gave me. Despite the “meh” weather, the tomatoes are getting taller and adding flowers. You can see what this space looked like just a month ago here.

What I’m Listening To This Week

Last year I recommended the podcast Running From Cops, and I’m revisiting it this week. It is about the making of the TV show Cops, and it’s fascinating.

You may not know this, but my husband used to work on the lighting/electrical crew of many reality shows. So…we know what really goes on behind the scenes of “reality” shows, and this podcast was extremely interesting.

PS, Troy worked on some true trash shows, so we have stories… 🙂

What I’m Reading This Week

I finished A Gentleman in Moscow this week (it was great!) and have just now started White Fragility.

To be honest, I’m not really looking forward to reading White Fragility, but I think it is important and uncomfortable work. Our library had a 17-week waitlist for the ebook. I got it within 10 days of putting it on hold…so I’m hoping people either are flying through it. OR, our library added extra copies.

Reader Spotlight of the Week

Kari left this five-star review on our Instant Pot Matzo Ball Soup {Pin this recipe}:

This soup is Amazing!  It’s is so easy to make and tastes just like my family’s!  I did make mine with chicken fat (I ordered it off amazon) and the five minute cook time is perfection!  Thank you for sharing! 

On Sustainable Cooks This Week

Homemade Strawberry Syrup (with canning options!) – Made with fresh summer berries, you’re going to love this delicious Strawberry Syrup. This is a delightful homemade treat for pancakes, waffles, baked goods, drinks, and more. {Pin this recipe}

Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs – These Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs are easy to make and taste incredible! You’ll love these pretzel hot dogs for a fast dinner, afterschool snack, or game day treat. No air fryer? Don’t worry because I have included oven-baking instructions too! {Pin this recipe}

How to Freeze Rhubarb – Learn all about freezing rhubarb to preserve this delicious short-season vegetable. A freezer stash of frozen rhubarb is great for creating amazing desserts and other dishes all year long. {Pin this tutorial}

The Five Most Popular Posts This Week

The Mojito Mocktail was on top again, so let’s take a little look-see at the other top posts of the week.

1. Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Rice – as always, non-Instant Pot instructions are included in the post. {Pin this recipe}
2. Air Fryer Egg Rolls – as always, non-air fryer instructions are included in the post.  {Pin this recipe}
3. Air Fryer Pickles – as always, non-air fryer instructions are included in the post.  {Pin this recipe}
4. Freezing Spinach – such a great ingredient to stock your freezer!  {Pin this recipe}
5. Air Fryer Potatoes – as always, non-air-fryer instructions are included in the post. {Pin this recipe}

Meal Plan

Monday:: Takeout to support a local small business.

Tuesday:: A dish we call “grill mess” – basically whatever veggies we have + chicken sausages all tossed together with olive oil and Montreal Steak seasoning in a grill basket.

Wednesday:: Breakfast for dinner.

Thursday:: Takeout to support a local small business.

Friday:: Popcorn, leftovers, and movie night.

Saturday:: A new recipe I need to photograph.

Sunday:: Troy’s yummy grilled chicken with a chopped salad.

What We Bought This Week

Thive Market: $124.80. Toilet paper and coffee. Those things go hand in hand apparently. 🙂 I don’t remember buying that smoked paprika, so it was either a sample OR I am so obsessed with smoked paprika that I am buying it on auto-pilot. Thrive is offering new customers a $20 shopping credit. Click here to take advantage of this offer.

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