Thursday, July 26

Extreme Happiness.

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has commented on my last post. It is a comfort to know I have someone on my side. And nice to know it can make others laugh- I laugh to cope with some of these little life curves!
So, thank you All for taking the time to comment.


Well, one thing went completely 'right'! The new carpet got laid in good time yesterday, & we are very happy with it! It is a type of honey colour, & little Honey sort of blends in with it. We are going to tell people we wanted a matching carpet for our dog. The TV was my biggest fear. To get everything reconnected is a major puzzle of wires & cords threaded through a maze of holes in the rear of the unit. I have trouble getting down onto the floor, what with the dud knee & all, & once down, I am more or less 'cast', like an old ewe!

GOM just doesnt seem to have an affinity with electrical appliances, so it always falls to me, to do the connections, & ensure all is up & running. Anway mission accomplished, I am happy to say. And I managed to get off the floor, with a little help from the GOM.

While I was down there, I took a few moments to just enjoy the nice new carpet, & admire the colour. You know, ... make every moment count! haha.

The cheery young men who laid it were very efficient, & have done a beautiful job of it all, so we are much happier, now that it is all done at last. Has the approval of Adult Granddaughter, & Daughter J, so that is a plus as well.

Now, it may be going to take a month or more to get things back to normal. I am hoping to do a little culling of the 'stuff' while it is all 'out in the open', so to speak. GOM has actually been quite restrained in his comments at the sight of all the 'secrets' revealed. I did hear him muttering about a 'garage sale' with a friend.

But I figure I will deal with all that once the Fang has been dealt with, & the healing has taken place.

And on the culinary front, I made a Meatloaf for our tea, the evening before carpet laying. I am sorry there are no progress shots, but here is the end result, half eaten. haha.

Please dont mock my ancient burnt orange bench tops. I try not to look at those, when preparing food.

Here is the recipe for the meatloaf, which has served us well for two nights now, & GOM is partial to slices for sandwiches.
500 grams Mince -I used pork mince, since I dont eat beef.
1 cup of diced mixed vegetables, fresh for purists, or frozen for people in a hurry like me. I used the carrots corn & peas mix.
1 good sized diced onion. I precook mine in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Just seems to work better in the finished product.
1/2 cup of either mixed seasoned Bread crumbs, (stuffing mix) or plain bread crumbs with 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs.
1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
salt & pepper to taste. I use about a teaspoon of Maggi seasoning mix.
I also added a tablespoon of Sunflower seeds just for a bit of crunch.
Mix all the indgredients well to blend.
Pat into a loaf tin.
Pour 4 tablespoons of tomato sauce -ketchup for USA users I guess- over the top of the loaf.
Gently pour a half cup of boiling water over the top.
Bake at around 180 C for approximately an hour or until done. The water evaporates, & the result is a nicely glazed meatloaf which is nice & moist.
I have also made a large batch of Pea & vegetable soup, & will make another different version today, so I will have plenty of slops to live on while the jaw heals up.
Connie Francis, Among My Souvenirs


25 comments:

kate said...

I love the way your dog matches the new carpet. Thank you for the recipe ... I am going to try this when the weather cools... while you have winter, we have summer. Our temperatures have been hitting the high 30c mark with humidity... which we are not used to. Oh well, in a few months, when it is -30c, we'll be wishing back to these "dog days of summer"!

Anonymous said...

I didn't see burnt orange kitchen tops. I saw Hot Ginger - a very trendy colour indeed!

fifi said...

Yay!

Burnt Orange is indeed a very "hot" colour right now...

Having an abiding horror of meatloaf, I was a little disturbed to see one as the subject of your reportage.
B ut possibly I will be brave and make one.
We used to call it baked wombat, and I hated them.

My mother has been having a clean out too. She says she is saving me the trouble, "since I am so disorganised"

~Bren~ said...

I LOVE the burnt orange counter tops. They are making a big come back! If I was not so stuffed from Zach's birthday dinner, the meat loaf would be very appealing!

ancient one said...

Love your carpet. We had meatloaf leftovers tonight for supper. I can eat meatloaf anytime... winter or summer.

Tanya Brown said...

I'm very, very sorry about the Evil Fang. The prospect of the surgery was bad enough; having it delayed is even worse!

Your carpet looks very nice and tidy. I'll bet it feels nice on the feet.

I'm laughing out loud at Fifi's "baked wombat" comment regarding meatloaf. I'm sure yours isn't wombattish at all, of course, but I've had (and made) some that were.

Sarah Nopp said...

LOL My dog matches my carpet too.
About the horrible burnt orange tops... you can distract the eye and bring them into this century! Just do a tile backsplash with some fabulous tiles that include that color.

tonypark said...

Ah, meatloaf, a blast from the past, and much nicer than the eponymous singer.

Reminds of my youth... back in the good old bad old days. I do believe I'm sounding like a GOM.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Alice said...

Nothing like a new carpet for giving a room that luxury feel. I had to smile at your mention of honey. Only months after moving into our new home, my son (then about a year old) quietly occupied himself one morning by emptying and rubbing most of a jar of honey into the new familyroom carpet. I don't know how he got the honey jar, and I didn't know how I was ever going to get it out of the wool carpet. However, warm water did the trick and it was as good as new when dry. Son is now 32 and I bet he doesn't even remember.

Those orange benchtops look exactly like the ones we had for nearly 30 years until replaced a few years ago with green granite. They looked good when they were new and were bright orange (even though orange isn't a colour I particularly like) but they had faded to a rockmelon colour by the time we replaced them.

At least you can rest from cooking tomorrow - you have a meatloaf to eat!

Pear tree cottage! said...

Meggie, I will be right around to help share the meatloaf (I wish!) I love it and never make a good one so will enjoy trying your recipe.

Now carpet you lucky lady! I wish our house was ready for carpet, then again I wish my house was ready for anything.

Don't so quick to get rid of your orange bench tops working in a second hand shop orange is the most asked for 1970's is VERY in at the moment I believe.

It has been so long sice I visited your blog and did very much enjoy reading lots of it tonight.

have a good friday.
Lee-ann

Anonymous said...

The carpet looks lovely and your little dog seems to be enjoying it also.
The meatloaf recipe is interesting. I never thought of pouring water over it. Must give it a go next time I make one. I also use a lot of pork mince, it is so much nicer than beef in meatloaf and hamburgers.
Only the evil fang to loose now and you will be set up for the rest of the winter.

My float said...

Good luck with the Evil Fang tomorrow, Meggie.

I'll be thinking of you!

Angie said...

I really like your new carpet, Meggie! And it does match Honey...I bet she's as proud as punch!! LOL Thanks bunches for sharing your meatloaf recipe with us. Randy loves meatloaf, so I'll definitely give your's a try. Hope that EF is getting the boot today! Thinking of you!

Lucy said...

Cor, I feel hungry now!
Good luck with the toof, try to enjoy the recuperation.

Thimbleanna said...

Dog matching carpet -- very funny! And yum...sunflower seeds in meatloaf -- I've never thought of that, but I'll bet it's really good -- I'll have to try that. Good luck with the fang!

velcro said...

I'm sorry to hear that the dentist had wandered off and couldn't help you. But yumm that food looks very delicious!

smilnsigh said...

I'm so glad your carpet is a joy!!!

Best wishes for your procedure to proceed tomorrow... Friday.

Mari-Nanci

verniciousknids said...

Hopefully your evil fang is being removed right now...

Lee said...

Mmmm...meatloaf and chutney sandwiches....mmmm....

Ian Lidster said...

I do a similar meatloaf, but use both pork and beef. It's great. And yes, meatloaf sandwiches, as lee suggests. They are the best, either chutney or horseradish as garnish.
Thank you for your moving and sad comments about your son on my blog. How difficult to deal with such a thing but, sadly, in my former work, I saw that so many times.
Cheers,
Ian

mereth said...

Even though some people think mince is somehow second-rate, all my family's favourite recipes were based on it. Bolognaise sauce, meatballs, meatloaf, hamburgers, even good ole savoury mince. The boys much preferred it to steak or chops, and I love that you can prepare it ahead of time and usually have left-overs. Not so much when they were all teenagers....Shall try your recipe just for myself, and have you ever crisped up a slice of meatloaf in the frypan? Goes nice with eggs for breakfast!
Hope the removal of the tooth is not as bad as the anticipation....

Jo said...

Meggie, good luck with the tooth. I had a wisdom tooth removed a few years ago, and it felt so much better afterwards.

Meat loaf is the ultimate comfort food, isn't it? I'm going to try your recipe.

Finn said...

Hi Meggie,carpet looks wonderful! So glad you got up from the floor ok. Having the work done is the main thing..*VBS* Hope the Fang thing works equally well. Hugs, Finn

Teodo said...

ciao,
First of all let me tell you that I'm sorry for your adventure at the surgery.

The carpet is wonderful and you are very good for all the reconnected.
For the meat loaf I've never eaten it but it looks good.
ciao, ciao

dragonflyfilly said...

your pup has such a gorgeous shiny coat!