Tuesday Toss Up Of Interesting Links
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This post, which I’m calling a Tuesday Toss Up of interesting links, is a mix of things I found online this past week that I want to share with you. It’s a little of this and a little of that. It’s much like The Love Of Home Files.
Oh, and Kendra and I will get the kittens on Thursday. We’re both so excited!
Remember those pillow covers I drove myself to distraction trying to relocate? They popped up on Instagram, so I’ve saved them again in my Saved For Later cart on Amazon.
I don’t plan to buy them anytime soon. They are $39.99 for two 18×18 pillow covers, and I’ve never spent anything close to that for pillow covers before. But I thought these pillow covers were just precious. Maybe I’ll ask for them for my birthday or something.
They’re almost like ice cream with a cherry on top with those striped ruffles. It’s more detail than I usually see on throw pillow covers; thus the higher price.
Inside Butter Wakefield’s Home:
I came across this at House & Garden UK. The shades of green certainly appealed to me. It’s a little too busy for me, but I like an English cottage-style look.
Butter Wakefield is a garden designer, but she also puts a lot of thought into her interior design. She is divorced with grown children and lives with her dog, Wafer. She also has an affinity for “slow decorating.”
Butter Wakefield likes to add art to her collection and have her furniture reupholstered for a new look. She says the house is never truly done and firmly believes that beautiful things come to those who wait.
I still haven’t used my air fryer. (I’ve probably been too busy looking at cats up for adoption online!)
Here is the air fryer I ordered. Below are links to some of the recipes I’ve found that look enticing:
Air Fryer Recipes That I’m Eyeing:
- Hungry Cook’s Kitchen’s air fryer shrimp.
- Air Fryer Sliced Potatoes at An Organized Chaos
- Air Fryer Pork Chops at World Great Recipes
- 14 Must-Try Air Fryer Vegetable Side Dishes at Slimming Violet
Air Fryer Accessories: Should I Order Them?
I saw these air fryer accessories at Amazon and wanted to know if you think I need them. Or what you use if you own an air fryer.
This recipe for Magic Cookie Bars looks like the dessert I used to make my girls when they were kids. It was very rich and decadent.
I love chocolate-covered cherries. Kendra always brings me a box at Christmastime, reminding me every year how much I love them. I allow myself one a day.
There used to be a candy company that made the most delicious chocolate-covered cherries. They went out of business some years ago, and I was heartbroken. I looked forward to Christmastime every year when they’d land on the store shelves again.
Do you recall the name of that company? I’ve been trying to remember it.
Here are 20 one-pot or sheet pan meals for maximum flavor and minimum cleanup.
I’m listening to a Porcelain CD. Helen Jane Long is a British composer and pianist who creates a unique style that blends classical, chill out, and film music. Her music is a combination of simple and delicate compositions that feature piano and reflective strings. Some say her music is a bridge between contemporary and classical music.
Living Alone:
This woman wrote about the charms of living alone. Living alone has been the happiest time of my life. There is no one to please, cook for, or clean up after; I prefer living with pets.
I enjoy my own company, and I have conversations with myself and don’t consider it strange—well, not very strange. Someetimes I find I’m talking to myself in the car when driving as well. I don’t listen to music while in the car.
10 Books You Can’t Put Down:
The Literary Lifestyle says these are the 10 most exciting books you can’t put down.
Choosing Plants For Your Small Garden:
The Joy Of Plants UK shares their post on choosing the right plants for your small garden. Garden season isn’t far off!
TV:
A TV series I want to watch that’s coming soon to Acorn TV: The Gone Series:
About The Gone: When two Irish tourists vanish in New Zealand, Dublin Special Branch detective Theo Richter travels there to help with the search. Teaming up with Diana Huia, a recently promoted local detective, he tries to gain the community’s trust and find the couple before it’s too late. But the picturesque rural town of Mount Affinity hides a dark history of disappearances and death.
I also look forward to watching “The Night Agent” Season 2 on Netflix in January 2025.
Books I Want To Read:
I’ve been wanting to reread The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher. I recall reading this book back in the 1980s. and I can summon up an image of lying on the couch in whatever house I lived in while reading this book. But not what house that couch was in!
I watched The Handmaid’s Tale, based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, a few years ago, but I decided I wanted to read the book. I’ve also ordered book 2, The Testaments. It follows what happened in the first book more than 15 years later.
If you haven’t seen or read The Handmaid’s Tale, I won’t lie; it is a terrifying account of a futuristic dystopia where a patriarchal and totalitarian regime commands the world around us. The Republic of Gilead supplanted the United States government in the story.
About The Handmaid’s Tale:
Offred, the protagonist and narrator, belongs to a class of women called Handmaids. Offred narrates her experience in a re-education center called the Rachel and Leah Center, where she andother fertile women are being trained to become Handmaids. She reflects on her life before Gilead and her restricted existence as a Handmaid assigned to a Commander and his wife, Serena Joy.
The novel explores themes of powerless women in a patriarchal society and the suppression of women’s reproductive rights. Women are given new names. As the Handmaids are transferred from one posting to another, their “given” names change. The significance of their “namelessness” signifies their interchangeability in the eyes of their masters.
Margaret Atwood is a wonderfully skilled writer. She is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry and critical essays.
According to Amazon: Margaret Atwood’s 1985 classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, went back into the bestseller charts with the election of Donald Trump, when the Handmaids became a symbol of resistance against the disempowerment of women, and with the 2017 release of the award-winning Channel 4 TV series. ‘Her sequel, The Testaments, was published in 2019. It was an instant international bestseller and won the Booker Prize.’
I LOVE my air fryer and use it multiple times a day. I found a silicone sling to be helpful to lift stuff out without touching the sides.(https://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Silicone-Bakeware-Compatible-Multi-Function/dp/B07P7HWF5K/ref=sr_1_6?th=1) I also suggest using the air fryer a bit to see what accessories you’ll need.
About the olive oil spray, I agree with Teri that those refillable sprayers aren’t practical. For the amount I use I find the cans work well. I like the one’s that don’t have added silicone in them since the silicone is bad for non-stick pans. Look for a nozzle that looks like this brand (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bertolli-Olive-Oil-Bertolli-Ev-Organic-Spray/188669583) which has no propellant added. The spray cans like Pam, that have the old nozzle style, have propellants added.
I’m clumsy enough. I can only imagine what could happen with a refillable sprayer of oil.
I’ll be honest I like some of the the other pillcovers more than the ones you have in your cart. As far as air fryer accessories go, most definitely buy the liners. Take time to see if you like it well enough to buy accessories. Personally I could do without it.
So incredibly happy that you have planted your roots in a place that feels like home. Happiest of New Year to you
I like many more, but I chose those 10 because of the green colors.
The other 10 covers was the ones I was talking about. Green is also one of my favorite colors. I have a hard time picking the right shade of green.
This was a wonderful post. Thanks. So many good ideas in one place. You really should have the green pillow covers. You can use any spray oil you already have in your air fryer. The parchment liners are great to use. Be aware that any part of the parchment can lift up and touch the element of your air fryer if not weighted down. At least mine does that. Handmaid’s Tale should be a must for everyone. Enjoy the new kitties!
Thanks for the tip about the parchment. I agree. Every woman should read “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Liked the Living Alone site since I am now living by my self again after seven years of sharing my house with my daughter, husband and two grandsons. It is a relief and also lonely. The transition has been a lot harder than I thought as I was so anxious to have my space back to myself. I miss my grandsons a lot. Fortunately, they aren’t far away and will finish out their school year coming to my house on the school bus ’til their mom gets off work. Even good transitions are harder the older I get, I find. Thanks for the potpourri to choose from today, Brenda.
Every transition takes getting accustomed to, I think. Give yourself some time. I think you’ll love having a solitary day between seeing your grandsons.
I truly hope Ivy will be ok with two new kittens. Hope it all works out.
Me too. But hopefully having younger cats around will get her to be more playful and moving around more again.
I am so excited for you that you’ll be adopting two kittens! I can’t wait to see photos of them in your home and all the updates – and what Ivy thinks of them.
I like shades of green in decor, too but I agree that British home is too “busy”. The decor is overwhelming. Nowhere to rest your eyes.
I don’t have an air fryer only because I have no room to put it. My counters are crowded enough and I don’t have cabinet space to store one. I’d have to put it in the basement along with my other large kitchen appliances and serving dishes. But I’m at the point in my life where I don’t want to have to store any more stuff in the basement…I’m trying to get RID of stuff down there! Thus said, my friends who do have an air fryer really like theirs.
Thanks for the link to the sheet pan meals. There’s a couple I bookmarked. Glad to see ones that use packaged gnocchi. I have a package of sweet potato gnocchi in my pantry and was thinking about what to do with it.
I read The Shell Seekers back in the 80’s too, and I remember it was one of my favorite reads. I haven’t read or watched The Handmaid’s Tale – yet! I wonder if I should read the book first or just watch the series? Any thoughts?
I don’t know what to advise since I saw the series first. I think every woman should see or read it, though. It’s frightening, but then the last decade has been alarming. We should have learned that almost anything can happen.
I like the Helen Jane Long music you recommended. Nice for a peaceful transition into the new year! I’m listening on the iHeartRadio app. I need those ruffled pillows when I set up my new place. I’m thinking about what decor pieces (I know I have some sage green sheets) would compliment them.
Thanks for all the great decor ideas & inspiration! Happy 2025!
Typo. Sage green sheer curtains, not sheets…..but that gives me another idea 😁
I’ve had these CDs for some time but have not used them for several years. Now, I’m enjoying them again. These are so relaxing. Let us know about the new place!
I can recommend the parchment basket liners,although both my air fryers are a breeze to clean with just soap and water.
Happy 2025!
Thanks!
are you sure Ivy is ready for a new kitten or kittens? Maybe you could foster first, to see if she’s ok with the change.
I’m going to keep them mostly in the guest room and try to ease them into her life. If that doesn’t work out, my daughter might end up getting kittens for her cat! She’s already just as excited as I am. We’d work it out. I won’t let Ivy be unhappy. She’ll have an adjustment period and the run of the house. Fingers crossed.
I loved the book The Shell Seekers! Also loved the movie.
I didn’t see the movie. I can’t recall the book’s content, but I remember reading it slowly to enjoy it longer.
The “Handmaid’s Tale” isn’t fiction. Articles about what has happened to the women in Afghanistan since the Taliban was allowed to take over the country again in the “peace treaty” negotiated in 2020 between the U.S. and the Taliban are available online. The kitties you’re adopting are so cute and I’m glad they’re not being separated since they’re bonded together. I hope the new cat family will mesh well.
Interesting. Thanks for that info.
Those pillows are so pretty. Love the striped ruffles with the pattern in the pillow. You probably want to order the air fryer liners. Makes clean up much easier. I look forward to trying the air fryer sliced potatoes recipe. My sister and I used to get those chocolate covered cherries from our grandmother every year. Unfortunately, she liked them and I didn’t. But, of course, I would never tell my grandmother that. Have a wonderful New Year.
Thanks! I’ll order them then.
I hope you are able to get those pillow covers, really great fabric.
Every couple years during the holidays, I reread Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher.
Happy New Year!
I’ll have to check that book. I haven’t read her books in many years.
I also reread it yearly during the holidays. It is my all time favorite of Rosamund Pilcher, but I really do love all her books.
See’s candy?
Can’t wait for the babies!! Love the green. I might order those pillows but right now I’ve been busy replacing rugs. I’m reading the new John Grisham book The Innocent. It’s nonfiction and quite disturbing. Have a Green Day!!
I hadn’t heard of this latest book.
Brenda, I really don’t think that oil sprayer is a good choice for you. I have one you can have it you want it, but I just tried it out and it’s really hard to press it down. My hands are pretty strong but I can’t hold it and press the sprayer down at the same time. Even using both hands I struggle. I think there might be others you could try though.
I won’t order it then. Couldn’t you just use something like olive oil spray In a can? I have that.
I haven’t read a Rosamund Pilcher book for a very long time, maybe 8 years ago or more. I have 16 of her books in my library that I’ve read. She was, or is, one of my favorite authors. Her books are hard to put down, once you start reading.
You remind me to reread some of them, because I don’t think I’d remember any of them.
Do you find it difficult to give up your old books that you’ve read? I have so many, but just don’t have the heart to take them to the secondhand bookstore. Well, anyway, I guess that is why I have the shelves for a library.
Have a Happy New Year. What a great start to the year in a new home!
I used to give all the books away to neighbors at the apartment. Now I give them to Kasi. If there are ones I really like, I ask her to bring them back for me to reread someday.
I think the older company that made chocolate covered cherries is Brach’s. I remember my Dad liking them for a treat.
Yes, that was it! I loved their chocolate covered cherries.
I loved Brach’s chocolate covered cherries. I always got one box a year at Christmas, too….
I hate that they closed the company.