A culinary success and more organizing

April 16, 2020

I finally made something gluten-free, sugar-free that's actually good, not just acceptable!


My husband put maple syrup on his. The recipe did call for sugar, but I just skipped it, and these waffles still tasted great.

If you're a follower of my blog, you know I've spent a good couple of years decluttering my house. But it seems I keep finding more things that need to be sorted and organized. Like recipes.


 And look at what I unearthed, looking for ties for face masks I'm making. These laces must have come from my in-law's house. Circa 1960s probably. Even marked down to 26 cents!



Another thing I've been organizing is the stuffed animals and dolls that belonged to our children. I have gotten rid of some, but they are hard to part with.


These beanie babies (remember these?) were all stuffed in a pillowcase and tucked away so that our cat couldn't get at them. She would carry one around like it was her own kitten, crying so much it was really pathetic. I had to hide them from her to spare her the distress. She's sadly no longer with us, so I can pull these out again.


Not sure what I'll do with them eventually, but I had fun arranging them against a guest room dresser. Will leave them until my grandson can come over and see them.



This little pink snail is one of my favorites. Isn't she sweet?

 Another big mess right now is all our board games, puzzles, and children's crafting supplies. I forgot I have literally thousands of beads downstairs! Paper airplane kits, a woodworking kit, paper dolls, dominoes, cards . . . Our son in Iowa asked if we could mail him a board game. Then asked for five more. That was a big box.

We braved the grocery store after we dropped the games off at the post office. My nose always starts to run, even more than normal, under those masks! Does anyone else have this problem? And you can't do anything about it except keep sniffling.

It was so nice to get fresh produce. Everything got a lovely soapy wash and rinse. I haven't had a fresh berry in almost three weeks. The raspberries taste like heaven!


I came across mention of this soap in one of Miss Read's Thrush Green books. It sounded so lovely smelling that I ordered it (back before the whole Covid-19 thing). It is the soap that was used in the state rooms on the Titanic.


It is very nice, but doesn't quite have the smell described in the book. I've read that soap makers and perfumers have had to change their original formulations to comply with various environmental regulations, so that is probably the difference.

I've written a guest post entitled What the Pandemic Can Teach Us here at Cheryl's blog Homespun Devotions. If you've never visited Cheryl's blog, or her other one, Biblical Minimalism, definitely stop by. She has such a sweet spirit, and writes so encouragingly about our Christian faith.

Stay safe and well friends. xo

15 comments

  1. Dearest Deborah,
    Ah, sorting through all my files with recipes will be the next kind of mega task once I'm past writing the manuscript... It often looks like those chores never end; always some new surprise knocking at your door.
    The file cabinets with the hanging fils of sorted recipes I plan to use for placing my hand bags in, upright just easy to grab. One day...
    You got lots of little toys, what a cat story. My Mauzie, the miniature Dachshund did that, she even produced milk, guess longing for having some 'babies' of her own. So the vet ordered to hide all her toys and such for a while. It is a sad sight.
    Your waffles look yummy and I too have been making them regularly, they freeze so well and it is handy to have them ready to use.
    Sending you hugs and stay well.
    Mariette

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  2. Ahh, yes, I did that sorting/purging of those items you mentioned last year before our move. Your kids and mine had a lot of the same baby beanies. Going over to your guest post now. One thing I really look forward to in this pandemic is a pantry and fridge of stocked groceries (but not all the work it takes to get them safely home, wiped & cleaned for storage!). The masks don't make my nose run, but I do get a sense of not being able to get a good, deep breath, and catch myself hyperventilating if I'm not careful.

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  3. Hello Deborah ~ I was not getting email notices from you so re-subscribed. I am working on some decluttering myself and visited your friend's blog Biblical Minimalism and signed up for that. Thanks for sharing. Good to see you again ~ FlowerLady

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  4. Love the shoelace and soap packaging! Very slowly getting a few things organized in my house during quarantine. Not nearly what you'd think I could get done though. Sigh.

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  5. Oh, thank you so much for your sweet words! They were such a blessing to me today. I am SO grateful you contributed to our blog. Your post has been such a dear blessing to so many in this depressing, distressing time. I was so touched by all you said and also this post - I surely understand the pain of parting with those stuffed animals and things that have so many sentimental memories and feelings attached. Oh, it is HARD! You are such a dear blessing to me, sweet friend! May the Lord bless and keep you and your loved ones healthy and safe continually, in Jesus' name!

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  6. We had a massive sort out prior to moving to our new little cottage as we downsized considerably. But...there is always a but we are about ready for another declutter! Take care.

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  7. It's great that you are sorting through areas of your house. The waffles & fruit look so good and you made a nice face mask. Take care and enjoy the weekend.

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  8. Oh my, but those waffles and blueberries look heavenly! I love coming across old stuff that has been long forgotten...and the shoes strings worked excellent for your lovely masks. I decluttered the best I could as we were packing for our move and I'm sure I'll find many things I don't even remember I have. It'll be just like Christmas! Have a fabulous weekend, my friend!

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  9. There is always sorting out to be done. I did my sewing and craft supplies over Christmas break so at least that's done. Those waffles look delicious. Do you have a recipe? Stay well.

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  10. Wow! that's a lot of recipes. I keep mine in a 3 ring binder inside protective sheets under different tabs depending on what kind of dish it is. I love organization and organizing and have done alot during this quarantine and cleaned out a lot and taken to the thrift store. Have a great weekend!

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  11. Hi! Visiting you from Annabelle's blog. when I saw you were from Michigan had to have a look. I grew up near Au Gres, MI and lived in Pt. Huron, MI for over 30 years before moving to NW INdiana to be near our daughter. I am writing to ask if you would share your gluten free bread recipe with me as I have to eat gluten free and also have celiac. I do have a blog but have been too busy to post lately. Thank you. Nancy

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    1. The gluten-free bread recipe is on King Arthur Flour's website. Just type in gluten-free sandwich bread. It is the only kind I've made so I don't know how it compares with other GF breads, but we thought it was good. I love Annabelle's blog and have been reading for a long time, only just started commenting. Nice to hear from a former Michigander. Thanks for stopping by.

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  12. Those waffles look delicious! And how fun finding those old shoe laces! I have some old beanie babies tucked away in a storage container somewhere. They belong to my son who is now 10 and I just couldn't part with them. His favorite was a little green worm he named "Wormy". He went EVERYWHERE with us! Such sweet memories. :)

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  13. I didn't collect beanie babies, but I did have the octopus beanie because I used to be obsessed with octopuses and collected anything with an octopus!

    Your grandson will get a kick out of all those beanie babies.

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  14. Even when we think we have been a *virtuous de-clutterer,* many things are still around! -grin-

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