Good Things: Posts, Cleaners, and Oh Look - a Recipe!

Good Things: some quick reviews on some of the newest - and quite random, I assure you - things I've lately discovered.

1., SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post

SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post

The SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post really is all it proclaims itself to be.  Gunther took to it quickly and in the month or so that we've had it, kitty-cat has generally ignored the other features of the house on which he was starting to sharpen those growing kitty claws.  

The scratching post is quite tall - tall enough that a cat can get in a really good, satisfying stretch as well as (as the picture indicates) do a bit of climbing.  (Please note: the cat in the picture is not my actual cat.)  

We also got the SmartCat Perch for the Ultimate Scratching Post which fits nicely on the top of the post and gives Gunther a place to climb to and, well, perch.  Since the post is so tall, he gets a good view of the house, as well as the birds and activities outside yonder window, and probably feels a smug reinforcement of that overall sense that he does indeed own his home.

The post is covered with a rough, jute-like material that he seems to really enjoy scratching.  

The Ultimate Scratching Post, plus Perch, was in all a bit more spendy than some of the scratching posts out there, but the craftsmanship of this post is so solid and the features so perfectly geared for Gunther that I've no doubt the Ultimate Scratching Post will far outlast most of the other like-minded products on the market.  Two thumbs up!

 

2., Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Products

In an effort to begin to steer my household toward more natural cleaning products, I discovered Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day.  

My first purchase was a countertop spray in a seasonal smell called orange clove and my-oh-my did it make wiping the counters into a whole new experience.  Even before my orange clove counter spray ran out, I was scoping the rest of the Mrs. Meyer's line-up for its replacement.  

Mrs. Meyer's product scent choices are incredible:  basil, lavender, lemon verbena, geranium, and several seasonal offerings.  I have to admit that the geranium scent is a bit too perfume-y for my taste, but I found the others so pleasant that it was very hard to choose.  I finally settled on basil and am very happy with my choice.  I routinely use the countertop spray and have now added the all purpose cleaner to my arsenal of household cleaners.

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day products do run a bit higher price-wise than the routine cleaning product; however, if you price them next to other natural cleaners you'll likely find the cost fairy comparable.  I started out with the countertop spray, just to test out the scent and the quality of cleaning.  As my other cleaners run out, I'll be replacing them with more natural cleaners and will likely continue using the Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day line as cost and cleaning quality continue to line up.

Using Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day products is a treat.  It's a little out-of-the-ordinary way to lend a big something special to a very ordinary thing: cleaning.  You're left with a beautifully clean and extraordinarily scented home. 

3., Recipe: Roast Sticky Chicken - Rotisserie Style

Now, if I'd been consulted prior to the naming of this recipe, Roast Sticky Chicken-Rotisserie Style, I certainly would have pushed for a better - or just plain different - name.  Even now that I've made it, the name is still a quandary.  I get the "roast" part, and the "chicken" is a given, and the "rotisserie style" - yes, also important.  But the "sticky?"  

Let's move on.

This recipe is a fabulous roast chicken recipe.  And yes, it is the closest thing to a rotisserie style chicken (without the actual use of an actual rotisserie, or dropping by the grocery store) that you can get.  And the most important part?  It. Is. Fabulous.  

This is a recipe off allrecipes.com, which has been one of my go-to recipe sites for nearly 8 years now.  The most important part of this recipe is to add the seasoning to the chicken and then let it "marinate" in the fridge for at least 6-8 hours.  (I let mine hang out in the icebox overnight and probably will do it the same way the next time I make this.)  Another key to this recipe, besides letting it "marinate," is to stuff a quartered onion - and I also added a halved head of garlic - into the cavity.  The chicken is going to take a long time to cook - nearly 5 hours at 250 - but it is SO worth it.  (The recipe calls for two small fryers but I used one big one and it still turned out beautifully.) 

If you find yourself suddenly in the market for a smashingly good roast chicken recipe, do try this one.

Good Things

I have been sorely missing having a camera to document life.  I must admit that not having a camera - along with some other busy-ness that has recently come my way - has contributed greatly to my relapse in blogging inconsistency, or as the professionals call it: "B.I."

So what's to be done?  In my free moments, I've been trying to think outside my usual "blog box."  This, of course, is best done by talking to myself in the third person.  "Okay, Jessica," I say while wiping down the counters in the kitchen and ignoring the alarmed face my Sweetheart makes when she catches Mommie talking to herself, "so you can't take cute, funny, or sweet pictures of the family, you can't set up and capture images the way you picture they should be when you want to add something fun or informative to a blog post... so what else can you do?"  Then I stop and (turn around so my Sweetheart can't see me continuing the external inner dialog monologue and) ask myself the money question, "What do YOU enjoy in a blog?" 

Well, aside from the fabulous photography blogs I haunt, my other favorite blogs happen to feature motherhood experiences and family stories, which as we've already covered tend to - in my mind - require pictures.  So what else?  And there it was.

I love to read about new things friends have discovered - a new local restaurant, a great book series, children's books and toys, new recipes, techniques in cleaning & time management, fun clothing styles, good deals, etc.  Even things I can't necessarily do any time soon I'm still fond of reading about, such as a couple posts I recently enjoyed very much written by a friend who is keeping chickens. 

So, in the vein of giving back a little of what I - as a blog reader myself - enjoy so much, I'm going to do a post on good things.  (I also briefly considered just calling it "Martha," but then decided that may possibly put off too many of my readers.)  (I also reconsidered this - again briefly - when it occurred to me that I could possibly be contacted by some friends of Martha who happen to be of the legal persuasion.)  (Oh let's just roll the dice, shall we?) 

Good Things: some very quick reviews on some of the newest - and quite random, I assure you - things I've lately discovered.

Oh, and since I'm trying my best to vary my short and long(er) blog posts, the first of my Good Things posts will be forthcoming.

So here's a picture (of good things, of course):