TV Table/Clothes Hamper

The TV tray table that I rescued from the trash at my old apartment and used for a TV stand in My Way has been replaced. It had been getting wobblier and it was a pain to fold up and stow every time I wanted to move the van. I had been trying to find the right setup to replace it when I was in Walmart the other day and saw a clothes hamper that seemed like it would fit the bill. It's lightweight, it's color matches the rest of my decor, it's big enough to hold the TV, and it stays right in place when I pack up and drive away. I still have to stow the TV, but I just put that on the bed and cover it with a pillow. Now that I have a real hamper for my dirty clothes, the passenger side footwell is freed up for my inflatable kayak.

The blue roll in the background is my Travasak sleep system rolled up for the day. And yes, that's an ashtray in front of the TV. It's vintage Anholt melmac.

Cheese and Spinach Casserole

I dug out this recipe today and wanted to post it for posterity (and to make it easier for me to find next time). I found it several years ago on some low-carb website, but I don't eat it because it's low-carb. I eat it 'cause it's just plain good. It's better if you make it the night before you want to serve it and let the flavors meld, but I can't ever wait. I wanted to grate my own nutmeg, but couldn't find any whole nutmeg at the two local grocery stores I went to so I used ground. And you can't leave out the nutmeg because that's what really makes it. Well, that and the cheese. And the butter. And the eggs. And the spinach.

Cheese and Spinach Casserole

10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 c. melted butter
1 pt. cream-style small curd cottage cheese
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp nutmeg
croutons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 1 1/2 qt casserole. Mix all ingredients together. Place in baking dish. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Sprinkle croutons on top during last 10 minutes of baking time.

Thrift Store Bulletin Board

I found this bulletin board in a thrift store the other day for $1. I figured it was worth every bit of that. The two pics I stuck on there are of the campsite in the Keys that I'll be staying at in May. The weather's cold and rainy today and supposed to be even colder tomorrow and through the weekend, so I'm keeping those pics front and center to keep me going. Gee, I almost sound like I'm back in Wisconsin instead of here in Florida.

Stash the Cords

I don't know about you, but I have so many different chargers for all my electrical stuff, I was going crazy trying to keep track of them. I've gotten a handle on them by gathering each one with a twist tie and stowing them all in a plastic storage box. I keep the box on the rear shelf above my bed, making it very easy to reach up and grab the box when I need one of them. There's also room up there for another box in which I keep maps, brochures, and other information on campgrounds. The shelf has just enough of a lip to keep the boxes from flying off when I'm under way.

And that stuffed animal on the side is my new cat. No litter box, no coughed-up hair balls, no midnight wake-ups. My kinda cat.

Now I Really Am Homeless

I am finally done with the apartment. For the past two months I have been slowly - and I do mean slowly - clearing out my apartment. The lease is up the end of this month so I've taken my time, but today I finally took the last batch of donate-able stuff to the thrift store, cleaned the whole place and turned in my keys. I will not miss climbing up and down three flights of stairs every time I leave and come back home, but I will still kinda miss that view. The last thing I carried out was the red step stool.

Ta-Ta, Toaster

It pretty much goes without saying that living in a small space requires some serious adapting. I'm not known for my creativity, but I am pretty good about learning from others. Case in point, the toaster. I used to have a toaster taking up space because, well, real kitchens have toasters, right? It's the American way. Never mind I hardly ever used it, and when I did, it was simply to toast a muffin or bagel. I mean, there's not much else a toaster can do, right? And everybody knows when you're living in a small space, the things you have with you have to do at least double, if not triple, duty.

Last week at the Escapees rally, they had morning breakfast and bagels and they had set up a George Foreman grill to toast our bagels. Brilliant! That particular model was one of the higher end models with a thermostat that was set on Medium, but it turns out I can do the same thing with my little uni-temp model. So out the door went the toaster and now I feel even better about having my little George Foreman grill. Like I said, I'm not the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to creatively figuring out the obvious, but when it smacks me right between the eyes, I get it.

Mardi Gras 2010

Every year Dunedin, FL has a Mardi Gras parade and party. It's usually a pretty big deal, but this year's was kind of a dud, probably due to the extremely cold weather we had. I spent the earlier part of the day hanging out on Honeymoon Island State Park and I took a few pics. The bad weather didn't keep the sea shell hunters and the surfers away at all. And that city you see in the distance in one of the pics is Clearwater Beach. At least we don't have any snow :)