Fiber arts! They’re for everyone, not just grandmas. Knitting, crochet, weaving, embroidery, sewing. The act of creating art lowers stress, and it really helps manage anxiety and depression. A lot of them also a mathematical or engineering approach, so if you find those things rewarding, you’ll probably enjoy fiber arts. And you get something warm or useful in the end…
Pork chops in garlic-butter sauce with mushrooms. I usually serve them with mashed potatoes and steamed fresh green beans. If you don’t do pork, you can do the exact same thing with chicken breasts.
3-4 thick-cut pork chops, preferably bone-in
1 cup mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
4 tablespoons butter
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, OR 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, OR 1 teaspoon dried
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
2 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large oven-proof skillet, combine the butter, garlic, herbs, and mushrooms over medium-high heat.
When the butter has melted, push everything to the sides and add the pork chops. Sear until golden on both sides.
Spread the mushrooms evenly over everything, and put skillet in the oven. Bake for around 35 minutes, or until the pork chops are at 150-160 F.
Remove from oven and set the pork chops aside to rest. Tent foil over them to keep them warm. You can remove the mushrooms too if you want, but don’t take away too much of the fat in the pan. You need whatever is in there for the gravy.
Put the skillet over low heat and whisk the flour into the fat in the pan. No lumps! Cook for 1-2 minutes to cook the flour and keep whisking. Whisk in the milk and chicken broth and cook until gravy is thick. Keep whisking the entire time. Flavor with salt and pepper to taste. If you want, you can add a pinch (1/8 teaspoon-ish) of red pepper flakes. It balances out the richness of the butter. You can also just put hot sauce on table, if you have spice-averse guests.
Mine is in German and I’m an American who does not speak German. At least not that fluently. I am using Jerboa.
I sew, and I wouldn’t even bother looking for linen in your local fabric stores. Most everything is going to be mixed with rayon and too narrow for sheets. That’s especially true if your local fabric store is Joann. I can recommend some online retailers, but my usual go-to in the past has been Ukrainian linen, and… uh, you know.
For your current sheets, it will take time for them to soften, but if you wash them on hot and tumble dry them, they’ll soften faster. There are multiple types of linen, and there’s a variety called softened linen where it’s been basically been beaten to soften the linen fibers and simulate wear. Linen that hasn’t been softened just hasn’t gone through that process and will be scratchier.
I have a recent Paperwhite, and you can still do the drag and drop thing with it. The Kindle shows up as a device on your computer, and you just need to get the files into the documents folder on it.
I can’t remember off the top of my head if you can skip the setup with a new Kindle and not make an Amazon account.