The Wonderful World of Slipcovers

With the previously discussed dog paws and muddy backyard, and given the fact that the dogs have the run of the house and are allowed on the furniture, you can probably imagine that keeping the furniture in any sort of presentable state is quite challenging.

Years ago, we started using slipcovers...an obvious solution, since stuffing a whole couch into the washing machine is not very practicle.

But slipcovers have always had their drawbacks. Sure, they look nice and tidy, until you (doG forbid!) sit on them, and then your whole living room looks like an unmade bed. And all that endless tucking and tucking and tucking! How many fingernails have I bent backwards, all in the name of creating a rumple-free appearance for ten fleeting seconds?

Enter the modern age of slipcovers and the latest in slipcover technology: stretch fabric and the separate seat slipcover! As a long-time slipcover aficionado, of course I receive the Sure Fit, Inc. catalogue. Imagine my feelings of delight and awe when I first saw these amazing products.

A year ago, I bought two sets for the L-shaped couch in our living room. Long experience taught me how to select the color: shades of dog fur and dried mud. I ordered swatches that (from the on-line pic's) seemed promising, and when they arrived, I laid them out neatly on the dirtiest part of our old, floppy, wrinkled, once-cream-colored slipcovers. The Stretch Pique in taupe was the winner. It was light enough to hide the white dog fur, dark enough to hide the black dog fur, and muddy-colored enough to allow us weeks or even months between washings. Happiness! I paid full-price ($130 each...ouch), but they were worth it!

That left the loveseat by the sliding glass doors in our dining area/family room. Underneath, it's a hideous, stained yellow-ish thing...which is covered with a sloppy, baby-s**t brown-gold-ish slipcover. It's a favorite hangout for dogs (who tend to hit it as soon as they come in from outside--it is next to the sliding glass doors, afterall), and humans alike (I sit there every morning to drink my tea--I've switched from coffee to tea, but that's another story.) Its popularity means it's always both mussed up AND filthy. Awesome:
I didn't want to go with the taupe again...I mean, some variety is called for, isn't it? Also, I just couldn't stomach laying out another $110 (the price-break they give you on the smaller loveseat covers) on home decor, when I could use that same $110 for a hotel at a Flyball tourney, or 5 1/2 months Flyball dues, or a new dog crate, or some other worthwhile expense.

So it must have been fate that made Sure Fit, Inc. send me an email, just after I'd finished our income tax returns (refund, cha-ching!), which featured a 20% off coupon that was usable on clearance items...and there, when I clicked on the clearance tab, was the Stretch Elegance Separate Seat slipcover for a loveseat, in gorgeous mocha. One American Express card and 9 calendar days later, this beauty was mine, for half-price--including shipping!

It's darker than is truly practical for white dog fur, so we will have to be a little more studious about fur removal (I'm thinking one of these once a week might do the trick). But the price was right, and it really neatens up that area.

I get a feeling of...I can only describe it as relief, when I see a tidy space where there was once a distressing mess. My eyeballs just go, "aaaaahhhhh." I love that feeling.

Easy Crockpot Soup!

This is my method for making soup in the crockpot. Prep time is pretty minimal, the meat turns out fabulously tender, and the broth is tasty and wonderful. I think I came up with this method on my own, but I could have read about it somewhere, then forgot about it, then had the latent memory resurface, which allowed me to think I made it up. In that case, apologies to the actual creator.

First, get all of your materials in order:

YOUR HELPER

MEAT IN CROCKPOT

(note, you don't have to thaw OR brown the meat...just throw it in)

this is 1 pound of stew meat, crockpot has been sprayed w/non-stick stuff

SEASONINGS

for beef soup, I use:

Tamari (1/4 c?)

Olive Oil (1/4 c?)...also depends on how much fat the meat has on it

Kosher Salt (1 T?)

Fresh Ground Black Pepper (1 t?)

Measurements have ? marks b/c I kind of just eyeball it.

VEGETABLES:

3 carrots

3 stalks celery

1/2 an onion

1/2 can (16 oz) tomatoes

1 c? frozen green beans, cut to bite size

2 t. minced garlic

Of course, you can use any veggies you like. Add mushrooms. Add potatoes. Whatever.

NOW PUT IT ALL TOGETHER:

I add the seasonings, olive oil, and tamari to the veggies, and mix that up well, then dump the lot over the meat in the crockpot. Then put the lid on, set it at LOW, and walk away for 8 hours or so. When you come back, the whole mass will be cooked.

(Note: you have not added any other liquid!)

Once the whole mass is cooked, stir it up, break up the meat into smaller pieces if you like, and NOW, only NOW, do you add extra liquid.

I pour in hot water until the broth tastes like I want it to taste.

GO SLOWLY...DON'T WATER IT DOWN TOO MUCH.

Sometimes I have to add more salt, sometimes I add a bit more beef broth instead of just water.

Whatever makes it taste the way you want.

CHICKEN VARIATION

Skip the tamari,

add a teaspoon? of poultry seasoning instead

3 frozen, skinless, boneless chicken breasts

use a bit more olive oil (1/3 c?) since the chicken has so little fat

cook on high for 1/2 the time or less

Pssssssst! I have something to show you!

Look....

There, on the forsythia!

Do you see it?

A bloom! Spring is coming!

Anniversaries

It's been a year since I started eating low carb as a lifestyle (vs. my previous dieting fits and starts of all kinds.) I lost 15 pounds, only to gain back about 8 from October - December...by eating everything in sight. Since the holidays, I've lost 4 of that, so I'm happily back on track. I'm glad I didn't regain ALL the weight I'd lost, and I'm glad to be able to get back in the saddle. That adds more to the "lifestyle" feel of this, vs. being perpetually on a diet.

It's been about a year since I started this blog. It's been a lot of fun.

In March, DH and I will celebrate our 21st anniversary. Not bad for a couple that got married thinking, "What the heck--we can always get a divorce!"

And this very weekend marks the anniversary of our moving to Salem. We'd been in self-imposed exile in Santa Fe, NM for 4 years--and for 3 years and 364 days of that, we knew we'd made a mistake in moving away from the Pacific Northwest. In the land of sunshine, blue sky, and desert air, the longing for green and gray and moisture was like a constant ache. We tried to make the best of it, but as soon as a resume-appropriate period of time had passed, we got the heck out of there.

I moved to Salem first to start my job, while DH stayed to finish selling the house. I stayed at a co-worker's house for 6 weeks...I'm still amazed by her generosity, when I think about it. During that time, DH flew up for a one-day marathon house-hunting expedition. Fortunately, we found one we liked, put in an offer, and it was accepted.

In March of that year, I flew back to NM to help with the final bits of the move. DH and I drove separate cars, packed with 4 dogs and enough belongings to get us by until the moving van caught up with us. We left NM with a fierce snow storm snapping at our heels--they were closing I-25 behind us, but fortunately we squeaked through first. I had the feeling NM was reluctant to release us from its clutches...a feeling that was strongly reinforced by the fact that as soon as we crossed the AZ border, the storm ceased. Hmmmmmmmm.

But our first few years here were, let's face it, pretty horrific. Here's the Reader's Digest version:

In July 2005, Smokey, who was essentially our first dog and who got us hooked on Keeshonden for life, and who was riddled with serious illnesses (epilepsy, hypo-thyroidism, Cushing's, arthritis) died. Then Peeka, our other Keeshond, was diagnosed with lymphoma in September, and she died in December. They were both only 8 years old.

DH's father died in October of that year. And I lost my mother in November that year.

2006 stayed uneventful, and was even pleasant for quite a while. We had adopted Raff in August of 2005, and then in April 2006, we adopted Wyatt. I started playing Flyball. All good stuff...until that fall, when calamity struck at work. The financial aid budget was overpsent by $2 million. While I was able to demonstrate, with hard data, the causes for that (underbudgeting combined with a higher need population), the administration was still understandably upset and wanted a fall guy. I spent the entire fall semester justifying my existence and defending my position.

In January 2007, just when it seemed that I was going to be able to keep my job, I got a call from Human Resources, telling me that one of my employees (whose name was kept anonymous) had accused me of financial malfeasance and of creating a hostile work environment, and that there would be an audit and an investigation. Those words are not designed to enhance anyone's calm. I started buying wine by the case, and DH and I "went to ground." I spent every evening holed up in our cave (what others might call a living room), drinking wine and watching Firefly DVD's...this was every evening for months, mind you. You do what you have to.

Fortunately, the investigation showed that there was no hostile work environment (and I will now express my eternal gratitude to the wonderful women in our office who rose to defend me with stunning ferocity). The anonymous employee quit. And the financial audit showed no evidence of financial malfeasance, so that issue was resolved as well.

By July 2007, I had been cleared of all charges, and I also had a new boss who had faith in my abilities and had no desire to fire me. Things were looking up...finally.

The rest of 2007 and pretty much all of 2008 were good. More than good. They were great. Everything I'd dreamed of, while in the depths of my despair in NM, came to pass. I played. Played and had fun! I played with dogs until my knees ached. I played in our yard and took steps to make our little home a little prettier. I played in the kitchen and found a way to eat without constantly doing damage to myself. My biggest challenges this year have been facing Sheila's retirement, accepting Raff's temporary lameness, and dealing with gaining 8 pounds. Oh, boohoo!

It's a fundamental truth of the universe that bad times will always be followed by good times...only to be followed by bad times again...but then there will be more good times. And so on. I find it easier and easier as I grow older to cherish--relish!--the good, and then lean in with my shoulder to muddle through the bad, recognizing the alarming temporariness of it all.