Right now, I am sleeping on a mattress on the floor in my room, since I already sold my bed frame and split box spring to a friend of mine in advance of her baby coming and her parents/in-laws visiting. The guest bedroom downstairs has only a frame and a box spring with an air mattress near by, waiting for my sister-in-law's visit. Each bed has one set of sheets to its name. My kitchen cart and kitchen shelving unit are in the garage, along with the boxes and baskets of food and supplies they used to hold indoors, meaning I have to run out to the garage when I remember that that's where I will currently find dried cranberries, corn tortillas, or paper towels, among other necessities. It's a little like living in someone else's house, actually: nothing is where you think it would be, and you always feel just a bit off kilter somehow.
Such is my pre pack out life. Almost all of the possessions that we will be shipping are in boxes are on one side of my garage, along with the kids' bikes, golf clubs, sporting equipment, and tools. The other side of the garage is filled with stuff to sell and stuff to take to a junkyard/dump, when and if I can ever locate one nearby. Inside the house, every room except the boys' room has been stripped down to the bare bones, with items to sell boxed up and relegated to the garage or the jam-packed sun room. My room contains six large suitcases half filled with things we are going to carry with us on the plane, and the guest closet contains our carry-on luggage. Eventually, in less than three weeks actually (gulp!), those suitcases and carry-ons will be packed and stored in one room, closed off from the movers, all the stuff to sell will be sold or given away, and we will be living with even less than before as we get ready to live out our final week between when we pack our shipping container and when we leave on the airplane.
Meanwhile, we are trying to eat down the contents of our kitchen cabinets and cupboards. I say "trying" because apparently, in another life, I experienced the Depression, and thus have a VERY well-stocked pantry. Plus, as happened today, when I run out of something (I used the last of my white and brown sugar and my cornmeal, see below), I have to fight very very veryveryvery hard not to replace it with double what I had previously. It's a compulsion, this, I know. Don't judge me! As it is, I will be donating lots of non-perishables to someone when I leave--Merry Christmas indeed!
And the husband, who went on to Qatar without us to get his visa and residence permit all figured out while we finish up the semester here, has been gone almost three weeks now, which is also odd for us. On the one hand, on any given week before now the boys might see their daddy for an hour every other day, with a bit more time on the weekends sometimes. So we are all used to a somewhat absentee father. But not having him home at all has taken more getting used to than I think I anticipated, particularly for E, who daily has to convince himself that "daddy is still my daddy, even in the desert." Pitiful, as they say in the South!
It's a strange life, this one filled with daily disconnection. But, luckily, this life also occasionally comes up with some yummy food. Tonight, I made Cherry Cornmeal Cobbler, and I would definitely make it again, even if I were not trying to use up the last little bits of all sorts of things! Recipe after the jump....
Cherry Cornmeal Cobbler
1/2 cup white sugar (finished off that canister!)
1/2 cup brown sugar (that one, too)
1/2 cup cornmeal (that was the last of that as well!)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup oil (I'm on a roll, finished that bottle, too)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon almond extract (no hope of finishing this bottle off, sadly)
1 can cherry pie filling (expired in July, still good)
Combine dry ingredients, then mix in wet ingredients except pie filling. Spray an 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray, then pour the pie filling into the pan. Cover with the cornmeal mixture and bake at 350 degree for 30-ish minutes or until crust is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Eat warm, with or without whipped cream, or cold, straight out of the pan in the refrigerator, not that I know anyone who would do that, ahem, ahem!
I actually intended to do this with peach pie filling but found I had cherry instead, though I do think it would be great with peach or apple or even blueberry filling, or whatever else they happen to have on sale at the dollar store! And, of course, you could use any other flavoring you like, or even just a spice like cinnamon, but I actually don't love cinnamon and I had this almond extract just taunting me in the cupboard!
Such is my pre pack out life. Almost all of the possessions that we will be shipping are in boxes are on one side of my garage, along with the kids' bikes, golf clubs, sporting equipment, and tools. The other side of the garage is filled with stuff to sell and stuff to take to a junkyard/dump, when and if I can ever locate one nearby. Inside the house, every room except the boys' room has been stripped down to the bare bones, with items to sell boxed up and relegated to the garage or the jam-packed sun room. My room contains six large suitcases half filled with things we are going to carry with us on the plane, and the guest closet contains our carry-on luggage. Eventually, in less than three weeks actually (gulp!), those suitcases and carry-ons will be packed and stored in one room, closed off from the movers, all the stuff to sell will be sold or given away, and we will be living with even less than before as we get ready to live out our final week between when we pack our shipping container and when we leave on the airplane.
Meanwhile, we are trying to eat down the contents of our kitchen cabinets and cupboards. I say "trying" because apparently, in another life, I experienced the Depression, and thus have a VERY well-stocked pantry. Plus, as happened today, when I run out of something (I used the last of my white and brown sugar and my cornmeal, see below), I have to fight very very veryveryvery hard not to replace it with double what I had previously. It's a compulsion, this, I know. Don't judge me! As it is, I will be donating lots of non-perishables to someone when I leave--Merry Christmas indeed!
And the husband, who went on to Qatar without us to get his visa and residence permit all figured out while we finish up the semester here, has been gone almost three weeks now, which is also odd for us. On the one hand, on any given week before now the boys might see their daddy for an hour every other day, with a bit more time on the weekends sometimes. So we are all used to a somewhat absentee father. But not having him home at all has taken more getting used to than I think I anticipated, particularly for E, who daily has to convince himself that "daddy is still my daddy, even in the desert." Pitiful, as they say in the South!
It's a strange life, this one filled with daily disconnection. But, luckily, this life also occasionally comes up with some yummy food. Tonight, I made Cherry Cornmeal Cobbler, and I would definitely make it again, even if I were not trying to use up the last little bits of all sorts of things! Recipe after the jump....
Cherry Cornmeal Cobbler
1/2 cup white sugar (finished off that canister!)
1/2 cup brown sugar (that one, too)
1/2 cup cornmeal (that was the last of that as well!)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup oil (I'm on a roll, finished that bottle, too)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon almond extract (no hope of finishing this bottle off, sadly)
1 can cherry pie filling (expired in July, still good)
Combine dry ingredients, then mix in wet ingredients except pie filling. Spray an 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray, then pour the pie filling into the pan. Cover with the cornmeal mixture and bake at 350 degree for 30-ish minutes or until crust is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Eat warm, with or without whipped cream, or cold, straight out of the pan in the refrigerator, not that I know anyone who would do that, ahem, ahem!
I actually intended to do this with peach pie filling but found I had cherry instead, though I do think it would be great with peach or apple or even blueberry filling, or whatever else they happen to have on sale at the dollar store! And, of course, you could use any other flavoring you like, or even just a spice like cinnamon, but I actually don't love cinnamon and I had this almond extract just taunting me in the cupboard!
No comments:
Post a Comment