morning tasks

I had several things I needed to do this morning in preparation for Mom's birthday party.  The celebration is at my sister's house, and I was given the task of baked beans, veggie tray and balloons. The beans were finished yesterday and put in the crockpot. I chopped up the veggies and after reading this interesting slow living article just a day or so ago, I got to thinking about how to use up the scraps of veggies that normally would have just been thrown out.

I can't compost where I live, unfortunately, or I would be!  So, I opted to do something else. Salvaging the bits that were not quite pretty enough for the plate, they were all placed in a pot with a handful of fresh herbs, and set to simmer.

I cooked it all down, then ladled it into the blender with some milk and made a puree. There is enough to make a big pot of soup later on, and I kept a couple smaller containers back for my work lunch this week. It tastes amazing!  There is nothing but veggies and herbs, a pinch of salt, in this.  In an effort to get back to real and whole foods, I was quite proud of myself. I know that this is not a new concept and there are probably a ton of folk out there doing this already, but it was new for me, and as I am working very hard to be conscious of using everything to its fullest potential, it was satisfying.  I wish I had done it sooner!

Started on bit #3 of my slow cloth window pane. (Thank you to Shan for suggesting it!) And finally...

I found this on a sidewalk at the school and snapped a picture. It made me smile.