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When we first moved to Andorra we had a neighbor, an American woman, who loved to clean. Rather than go for a walk in the mountains on a beautiful spring day she wanted to stay home and clean her already immaculate house. Sorry, but is that sick or what?
I love having a clean house; I just hate to clean.
I don't mind doing the surface stuff: I'll hoover once a week or so, do a bit of dusting now and then. (Both necessary with two big fluffy dogs in the house.) It's the serious cleaning that I hate. The crawling into the corner under the stairs, moving all the furniture, getting the bugs out of the light fixtures type of cleaning.
It's creepy. With an old house you never know what you're going to find. But I sucked it up and spent the weekend doing the spring cleaning...2006 spring cleaning. No sense rushing it; it's not like it's going to STAY cleaned, now is it?!
Last year I found a monster spider in the bottom of a glass vase. I very bravely (for me) decided I could dump him out. I got half way to the door and the bloody thing moved! Scared the crap out of me. I set the vase down where I stood and waited for mon mari to come and 'set it free' (from this mortal coil).
Look what I found this year. He was in a bowl on the shelf under my prep island, tucked back in the corner. I have no idea how he got there.... but it's certain proof that I don't use pesticides in my garden, isn't it!
I took him out to my herb garden. Does that qualify me as nice?
I've been called a lot of things in my checkered past; nice hasn't often been one of them. (An employee once complained about me to mon mari, calling me a 'first class bitch'. He said "I know, that's why I married her.")
Apparently I've mellowed with age (and good wine). Red hot Tanna, of My Kitchen in Half Cups, has dubbed me Nice!
I heartily agree with this concept: Nice does matter!
It's easier to be nice than to be nasty (although nasty has it's own rewards...); when it bounces back (as it always will) it's much better to be hit with a nice rebound than a nasty one; and a little bit goes a long way to brighten the days of everyone it touches.
So, thank you, Tanna, that was really sweet and, well, nice!
This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded, please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award.
Now for the best part: I get to pass this award on to 7 other deserving, nice bloggers. I couldn't possibly get the list down to 7 but, rules are rules... so I did what Tanna did: I picked 7 and it's up to them to pass it on to the rest ;-)
Chris at Mele Cotte
Simona at Briciole
The Passionate Palate
Nora at Life's Smörgåsbord
Ulrike at Kuchenlatein
Margot at Coffee & Vanilla
Truffle at What's On My Plate
Each of you, please, pass this on to 7 nice bloggers....
On a final note: Who hasn't had enough zucchini yet? Huh? Speak up? Okay, one more.
Baked Courgette (Zucchini) Sticks 
The idea for this came jointly from my recipe scrapbook and a blog I love, Kalyn's Kitchen.
1 medium zucchini, green or yellow
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 egg
2 tbs dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp Fines Herbes
2 tbs grated Parmesan cheese
Wash zucchini and slice off stem and blossom ends. Cut it in half or thirds the short way. You want pieces 2 - 3 " long (5 - 8cm). Cut each section into sticks about 5/8" (1cm) square. They won't all be perfect, coming from a round vegetable, but close is good. In a flattish bowl whisk the mustard and the egg together. In another flattish bowl or plate mix the crumbs and cheese together. Roll the zucchini sticks in the egg, then the crumbs. Place on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake at 400F (200C) for 35 - 40 minutes, until coating starts to brown. Remove and serve.
And remember: Be Nice!
Actually, wouldn't it be nice if a group of strangers came and cleaned my house? Extremely unlikely...but nice....
