Frannie's eSpace

Everything I learned about housekeeping came from Olga

Today, I was in a cleaning mood and spent several hours doing so. I even mopped! I was on a roll, and naturally Olga came to mind.

You see, everything I learned about housekeeping was from Olga, la directress of a children's camp in Switzerland where I worked several summers back in the late 80's and early 90's. (That was when I was a teacher and had loads of time off.) I "worked" at the camp for about 25 francs a week but was mainly there to practice my French.

Olga was a tall lady, very kind and loving; but she expected that camp to be spotless, especially the kitchens and bathrooms. When you think of Olga, respect comes to mind... and organized... and clean!

Olga's rule for mopping is that "le rinçage" is the most important part of it. The floor had to be cleaned, of course (that's a given!), but no sticky soapy residue. In other words, lots of water at the end to clear away the soap. Olga used to inspect my last bucket of water to make sure it was clean. You're probably thinking that Olga was a tyrant; but she was actually quite pleasant. Sometimes, I'd see her smile while she was telling me to get another bucket!

Olga had two rules for washing dishes:
1) "Commencez avec les verres." (Start with the glasses.) This way, you get them squaky clean before tackling the greasy stuff.
2) Let the water get "aussi chaude que possible" (as hot as possible). Warm water isn't sufficient. Sometimes I'd see her walk by and repeat, "aussi chaude que possible, Frances".

I hadn't thought of this great lady in years. Those were memorable summers!

Up in the Air

We saw Up in the Air a few weeks ago and, despite the overall theme of people getting fired, I really enjoyed it. (George Clooney stars in it!) Unfortunately, in a very brutal way, life imitated art about a week later when my husband was abruptly laid off from his job.

The movie is about an HR company hired by corporations to lay employees off off. At the start, the HR representatives at that company actually tell the person face to face that he's about to get fired. Then, a young enthusiast chick fresh from grad school is hired who believes it's way more efficient and cost-effective to get the job done via video conferencing. The movie is a kind of tug of war as the the young lady attempts to prove the beauty of video conferencing to a very type-A George Clooney character, who actually thrives on traveling. The George character does have a point-blank way of firing people, yet in a few cases he actually springs hope, for example the man whose passion is cooking may finally get to do what he really loves for a living. The grad school gal hasn't quite found her groove, although she's certainly trying!

By the way, I heard that the "actors" in the movie who were getting fired were real people who had actually gotten fired, and they were told to react the same way in the movie as they did in real life.

As the movie progresses, the George character begins to evaluate his nomadic existence and ponders the thought of settling down... and you can imagine that the young lady begins to wonder if she picked the right industry to get into! There are some romantic sub plots and some plot twists to keep everyone interested. One of the best scenes is when bachelor George gives his future brother-in-law a pep talk right before the wedding. (That's all I'm going to say!)

So, let me just end by wishing that everyone find a job or career that he loves, and that anyone who is laid off may turn it into an opportunity.

My new favorite tea

Have you tried Bigelow Chai Spice decaf tea? It's such a rich tea that smells so good while brewing and sipping, and the taste is almost decadent, at least as far as teas go. Is it the real chai tea that you'd get in India? Well, probably not, but for the convenience and money, it's a darn good alternative.

The authentic way to drink chai tea is with milk and sugar. I skip the milk and go for sugar alone, about a teaspoon full.

The downside of chai tea is that it is black tea, which doesn't have the healthy reputation that green and white teas enjoy. It made me curious as to whether black tea has any benefits at all? One website indicates that black tea contains anti-oxidants. Chai also has a lot of spices, which are supposed to be good for you: ginger, cloves, cinnamon, cardamon and pepper... yes, pepper!I guess the bottom line is that there are a lot more healthful teas available in green, white and red. However, if you want a yummy drink, you could do a LOT worse than chai tea.

I wonder how chai tea tastes in the summer when the weather is so hot. Chai may be best in the winter when it's so cold out.

A good idea for supper

My struggle with cooking supper is meat... and working late! Typically, I'll buy meat and intend to cook it up, but then 2 or 3 days of working late and being too tired to cook and then wondering whether the meat is still good: well, I just end up throwing the meat away!

I tried something tonight that may be my answer: frozen packages of chicken breasts. (See picture to the left.) These are from Target, of all places. They are "all natural" and they are very easy to cook: Just stick in the oven at 375 for about 40 minutes. I coated them in my usual mixture of dijon mustard, parmesan cheese and English muffin crumbs, and they tasted really good! I asked Charles if he could tell the difference, and my sweet husband said they were delicious!

This solves a big problem for me.

Some things I learned in 2009

Just a few tidbits that I picked up in 2009:

1) Suave shampoo is just as good as Phytologie shampoo and costs about $19 dollars a bottle cheaper!
2) A $23 haircut is pretty much just as good as an $80 haircut.
3) Frozen rice that you steam is not very tasty. (But... frozen veggies that you do steam are yummy!)
4) Chocolate isn't the only dessert... in fact there are times when chocolate doesn't even taste good, for example, after a spicy Thai dinner. In that case, you want a citrus-y type of dessert.
5) Cucumbers weigh a lot, in case you are choosing veggies at a by-the-ounce salad bar.
6) A foot detox is interesting, but I don't think it has any long-term health benefits.
7) Going to your college reunion is fun and well-worth the effort.
8) Just being there is the best gift you can give: that was so true when my mother died and so many people showed up for the visitation and funeral. You just don't realize how meaningful it is until it happens to you.
9) Reading glasses are not so bad after all!
10) Losing your temper with someone who is mentally ill just doesn't pay off.

A few fun New Year's Resolutions

I wrote a few resolutions down the other day that dealt primarily with the relationships in my life: friends, family, and God.

Now, let me list a few fun resolutions for 2010:

1) learning to knit something besides a scarf!

2) running two half marathons

3) planting an herb garden... at least one of those little container ones

The knitting one will probably be the hardest of the above to achieve, but who knows: I may surprise myself!

A few New Year's Resolutions

I generally have better results with New Year's Resolutions  if I write them down, so here goes:

1) Work no more than 45 hours per week.
2) Balance time between my husband and my sister.
3) Cook supper at least twice a week.
4) Do something with one of my friends (or my husband and I do something with one of our friends) at least once a month.
5) Write in my Bible journal daily - no excuses.

Well... that's enough. I need to save something for 2011!