January 20th is National Cheese Lovers Day! I could write a long dissertation on the merits of Cheese, I could entertain you with a selection of Cheese jokes, I could impress you with my knowledge of how Cheese is made (if I really knew how). But I think the best thing I can do to celebrate National Cheese Lover’s Day is to pass along something useful for all the true Cheese Lover’s out there!

I don’t consider myself a great cook, but I have collected a few good recipes over the years. So in honor of this special day I would like to share one of my favorites…and if you like Beer as well, you should LOVE this!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1lb grated sharp cheddar cheese

1lb grated mild cheese/american works well

2-3 garlic pods, minced

3/4  of 12oz bottle of beer/any type depending on your taste

3 TBS Worchestershire Sauce

1tsp salt

1tsp powdered mustard

dash of tobasco or cayenne pepper

Mix both grated cheeses with garlic, then add Worchestershire, salt, mustard and tobasco. Slowly add beer-enough to make the cheese smooth and pasty. This can be done by hand or using a blender or mixer. Chill.   This mixture will keep indefinitely as long as stored in a sealed container in the fridge.  (I never figured out quite how long “indefinitely” was though…it never lasted long enough in my house to find out!)

Makes great sauteed sandwiches as well.

NOTE: This recipe was given to me by a dear friend about 23 years ago. I have no idea where it originated.  I wish I could give credit where credit is due! The best I can do is say “Thanks Jeanne”!

The second Monday of each new year is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. This year it falls on January 12th!

I was really kind of hoping that there was a National Clean Off Your Desk WEEK! You see, I am a bit of a Pack Rat….I don’t think ONE DAY would do it! In my defense however, I am an ORGANIZED Pack Rat!

My entire office is a maze of piles of folders, baskets of things to file,  stacks of  ”things to look at again”.  Behind my external drives are the business cards that need to be entered into my data system. Next to them are the scraps of paper with important notes written on them to be sorted and acted upon at a later date.  

What is frightening to some, but comforting to me, is that I do know what is in each stack…I can put my hands on just about anything I need (give me 10 minutes and I’ve got it… I promise).  As a matter of fact, I think most of those stacks have been there since LAST year’s National Clean Off Your Desk Day. If my memory serves, me, I got sidetracked on that Monday and … well … just never got back to it.

So the bigger question is not if I “WILL” celebrate National Clean Off Your Desk Day, but rather if I “SHOULD”? How many times do we file something away for the sole purpose of making sure we have put it in a safe place so we don’t lose it..only to forget where we have put it and ultimately DO lose it!!!

I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!!

So, I think I will have to take the stance that Cleaning Off My Desk this coming Monday might just be a waste of time for me…or that it will result in lots of lost time for me in the future. I can live with my messy desk. I am comfortable with my messy desk. And I have to say, I LIKE my messy desk.

I admit that several times a year I WILL address the lack of filing and pile of things to go thru. And you needn’t worry that I neglect important things. I don’t. 

BUT, my messy desk is ME! People would wonder what was wrong if they walked into my office and actually COULD see the desk top…”Not busy Gretchen? Too bad! Maybe business will pick up soon for you!” I wouldn’t be able to stand the sympathy!

So, this coming Monday while the rest of the world is Cleaning Off Their Desks, I plan on taking a long lunch and relaxing. If someday I find myself bothered by my messy desk, I’ll deal with it then. Otherwise, don’t worry about me…I’ll be fine! I’m surrounded by my “STUFF” and that’s a good thing!

By the way, for those of you who are “neat-niks” and won’t spend your day cleaning, and for those of you who prefer your organized chaos, as I do…the invitation stands…where should we meet for lunch?  For the rest of you, I’ll have a second dessert in your honor!

Now, where did I put that cat???