I almost forgot that today is a very special day.
Why is that picture up there? Who is that man above? Why none other than A.A. Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh. I loved those stories, still do. And today is his birthday.
I have mentioned several times my desire to take a page from my Aunt's notebook and Do Less. Frequently easier said than done. Here is a link that I found inspiring as I try to move in that direction:
Thanks to my Mom I have added a bazillion new links to my blog read list (not really but close). She sent me this very funny link that turned -- as blog wanderings are wont to do -- into a collection of food history type blogs and a lot of chuckles.
Not sure how these people come up with this stuff so fast (read the link to understand what I'm talking about here) but they are certainly smarter than me.
I found this while wandering the blogosphere and it was too funny not to share.
“My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.” – Dave Barry
I've joined the Winter Reading Challenge sponsored by Seasonal Soundings. My list is posted here. It looks like I'll be busier than the three books that I originally chose because many generous and lovely people in my life sent me....ta dah! BOOKS for Christmas.
So I'm adding to my original reading challenge list (and home library - thank you all) with the following:
Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey
The Twelve Teas® of Friendship
ReadyMade: How to Make [Almost] Everything: A Do-It-Yourself Primer
Helping Christians Live Their Faith the Jewish Way with A Little Kosher Seasoning
Leaving the Land: A Novel
Fatal Majesty: A Novel of Mary, Queen of Scots
The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America
and last but definitely not least:
Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things
All in all it's a VERY ambitious list and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to read all of this before spring comes, but I shall do my valiant best.
Dawn and her fabulous letter pickers have assigned me the letter K, thanks guys! So here's my list, in no particular order:
1. Kids - especially mine, but others too. I find their perspectives on things to be so unique and they are all so wonderful in their own way, I really enjoy spending time with them.
2. Kitchens - some are admittedly better than others, but I love working in the kitchen (and it's even better when I can work with my kids!), baking, canning, reading cookbooks, eating, when I have tea parties we all seem to hang out there, it's a great place to be.
3. Kisses - what's not to like? :-)
4. Knitting - if you've read this blog you know that I have a knitting group called Stitch Sisters. Each of these women is so special and important to me. I love that we get together and enjoy some female time and also craft and do charity projects together. I also like creating knitted objects. When I'm done I'm always amazed at how those two sticks and string have turned into something completely different.
5. Knowledge (and learning) - I am a big proponent of education, both self-taught and in school. I believe it is and should be an important part of everyone's life. We are never to old to stop learning new things.
6. Kale - sounds silly but I really do like it. It's a nutritious food and very tasty. My favorite way to make it is stir-fried with garlic and pignolis.
7. Kaleidoscopes - I have always been fascinated by these. My grandfather used to have several and now my dad has some. They're neat to look through and see all the different patterns.
8. Keyboard - another way to say piano. I've always enjoyed listening to others play them, especially my kids. I have in the past taken lessons and one day hope to do so again.
9. Kittens - another way to say cats since all kittens eventually become cats. I love cats, I think it's genetic as my grandmother was absolutely mad about them, my mom too and we always had them growing up. There is something special about a warm bundle of purring fur sitting next to you.
10. Kneading - what you do when you make bread. Very relaxing and the end product is wonderful.
If you want to play too just leave a comment and I'll pick a letter for you.
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is today!!! Whoo hooo!
Not sure who determines these things or why it is cause for celebration but if you love pasta, celebrate the day with a big old bowl!
And if you are seriously sick and twisted you can visit the Bent Spaghetti page and discover why it breaks the way it does. 
Another Works for me Wednesday. Don't forget to check out the tips that others are sharing and even share one yourself.
'Tis the season...for thank you notes. For years we have been sending a group thank you. Everyone writes or draws in a card and we send that one card off to the gift giver. Some years when I have more time I actually make my own cards which makes it even more special. This also allows me to make sure the kids send their thank-yous. It works for me.
Stitch Sisters again tonight. A small group of us but that was good because I needed a lot of help. The hoodie is back. I started it back in 2005 *gulp*. Somewhere along the way it got put down. Now I've sufficiently emptied bunches of stash, reduced my on-the-needle inventory and have decided that I really need to finish this sweater before another summer of beach weather comes and goes.
Unfortunately in the meantime I lost my "cheat sheet" that told me where I was on the sweater. One of the sisters helped me figure it out after a couple of attempts to figure out what size I was knitting (I'm ashamed to confess that I didn't remember). Try counting sleeve stitches over and over and .... Finally got it. She measured and told me where I was.
Happily I picked up and soared off on the new row. In the wrong direction *sigh*. Tink time (un-knit in other words). Luckily I only did one row before that I realized it. I was quietly tinking to myself when another sister mentioned "You have a funny string hanging from the middle of your sweater." *blush*, 'unh huh, that's why I'm tinking.' But I got it fixed and am confident that I will work on this hoodie until it is done. Maybe I'll even take a picture of me in it (no promises until it's done)
In exciting news, one of us, not me, got two adorable new pygmy goats! I'm so excited I can't wait to go over and meet them. They are named Whinney and Whitney. I'm hoping to have a picture of them up soon. They've just arrived and sound absolutely adorable. Hmmmmmm, I wonder if we could hide a pair around here, they could be very useful for clearing out the garden. Neighbors? What neighbors? Maybe if we offered to lend them the goats to clear their yards too......probably not.
Tobi went to his first Vet visit (with us) today. He was very happy and excited, wagging and sniffing, greeting all the people. He was even happy when he got back into the exam room, lots more good smells. Then a nice lady (the technician) comes in and pets him, admires him, what's not to like. Another nice lady comes in and pets him, he's thinking this is fun. The first tech gently puts her arm around him and the second one gently takes his front left paw. He's sitting there contentedly until the moment he sees the needle. Bam! Different dog. Wriggling, squirming, determinedly trying to get away. The second tech gets the needle into his vein and he shakes it free (bleeding quite a bit). So they change tactics and one holds him tightly while the other takes blood from the vein in his left hind leg. He's fine until the needle goes in and then goes nuts again. Luckily they get just enough blood that, when tested, reveals that he has Lyme Disease.
He gets a couple of freeze dried liver treats which he likes and we sit there waiting for the Vet. I pet him and tell him what a good boy he is. He's sniffing the room again and trying to get out. Not on the patient side, on the lab side, he wants to follow the techs.
Dr. comes in, admires him, examines him, tells him how handsome he is, he's loving this. Then she asks me to hold him so she can give him his distemper and rabies. One goes in the shoulder the other in the rump. The shoulder is first. She pinches his skin and he's fine. The needle goes in and he starts frantically wriggling to try to get away. Luckily she gets the full dose in there. Then the rump. As soon as she touches his rump to pinch it he ducks under and to the side. The Vet almost stabs me with his shot. I wrestle him down and she injects him. More liver treats, he calms down and he's okay again.
He's on doxycycline, we're changing his tick medicine to something stronger and I'm going to have to figure out how to help him calm down when he gets shots. Luckily I have a whole year before we have to do this again.
Miss D and I went with some Indian friends on an adventure today. They took us to two Indian temples. It was fascinating to walk around and see all the colorful sights, the decorations, the way people dressed, to watch the priests blessing people. Of course since everything was in Hindi we did not understand a single word but I know I could feel that aura of spiritual togetherness. It was a really unique moment.
After visiting the temples and stopping to chat with and be introduced to many people and share many sweets (and I am talking really sweet here) we went to the market. Wandered around admiring all the jewelry, sari's, household implements, listened to lots of really loud Indian music coming from the shops and smelled all the difference incense wafting onto the street. Miss D was very taken with the bangles and somehow managed to purchase an enormous collection of them and very happily played with making patterns on her arm. Very bright and sparkly, she plans to wear all of them to school tomorrow.
Next we went to a buffet restaurant. I thought the food was pretty good although I admit their palak paneer wasn't as good as my friend's homemade version. My friends all thought the food was rather poor. Later it occurred to me that it was probably spiced more for my (more delicate) palate and their complaint was due to the fact that it wasn't spicy enough. Lucky for D and me, otherwise we would have been relegated to rice, naan and yoghurt for dinner.
After dinner it was on to the Indian food market. Wow! Lots of stuff that I have no idea what to do with, lots of stuff in amazing bulk qualities (8 pounds of dried chickpeas anyone?), just lots of stuff. I love going into grocery stores from other cultures. Unfortunately I don't always know what everything is for so am usually relegated to buying what I know or what I can get a suggestion for. But it's still really fun to wander and explore. One thing that amazed me was that this store carried 10 different kinds of white rice. Parboiled - 3 kinds, Jasmine - 1 kind, Indhi (?? It looked like short grain Japanese rice to me) - 1 kind, Basmati - 5 kinds. That's a lot of rice. I did buy some mango pulp to use to make Mango Lassi which we had at the restaurant and which was delicious. I've had a Sweet Lassi before but never Mango. According to my friends they don't blend in the ice cubes but rather pour the other ingredients over the ice so that it's not as thick. D at first refused one and then when I convinced her to taste it (she loves mango and I told her it tasted like a mango smoothie) wound up drinking most of mine.
Full, shopped out, tired, we all piled back into the car for the drive home. Thank goodness I wasn't driving because it was an action-packed day.
Here we are, another new year. It's an arbitrary day really but somehow one that we ascribe lots of importance to. Making resolutions, reviewing the year past, making plans for the upcoming year. All good things for many but this year I have decided to try something different.
I'm tired of feeling so overwhelmed by my shoulds, both past and future. I think I would find more joy in life if I simply focus on the now. I've been doing more of that, especially since I started (and continued) my 30 Days of Peace. Instead of thinking about what I didn't accomplish, what I missed, worrying about what I have to do and when, I'm going to once again be grateful for what I have and to remember to follow my Aunt's advice to Do Less.
So no resolutions this year. Do I still have goals to be accomplished? Absolutely. Will I always have daily lists of things to be done? You betcha. Will I have things/actions/decisions that I will rethink as time goes by? Probably. But instead of worrying about these and focusing on them I plan instead to focus on the good stuff and to try to be more present, more now.
Whatever your plans for your new year I hope they are happy ones and that the coming year brings you much joy.
Shepherd's Pie is one of our family favorites but I had never thought of making a vegetarian version. I'm not thinking ahead to meat substitutes well enough yet I guess. When visiting my in-laws for Christmas I found a really nice vegetarian cookbook on my mother-in-law's kitchen shelf and she is letting me borrow it. Our first recipe was for this pie and turned out delicious. I'm going to assume that people already know how to make the mashed potatoes that go on top, if you don't you can get directions here.
Base of pie:
soak 1/2 C. tvp in 1/2 C. hot water until absorbed (about 10 minutes)
cook 1/2 C. lentils in 1 quart of water until done (about 30 minutes)
sautee 1/2 C. onions and 1 clove garlic in olive oil until soft
add tvp and sautee until mixed well
add 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper
drain lentils and mash
add lentils to tvp mixture
pat into bottom of casserole dish or pie pan
Filling:
your choice - we used 1 1/2 C. of mixed vegetables
place filling on top of base
top with mashed potatoes so no filling or base shows
bake at 350 F for 25 minutes until thoroughly warmed
This was so delicious! V did say that she didn't like the lentils so much and wondered if it could be made with just the tvp and onion/garlic. It probably could but Steve and I liked the lentils so much that they're going to stay in this recipe. Definitely a keeper and one that I will be making again.
Today D and I went visiting. V and Tobi were invited but decided to stay home. Actually V decided to stay home so I left Tobi with her to keep her company *snort*.
We visited my cousin and her two adorable boys. L is 2 and into everything. Chatting up a storm Today he learned my name mee-ah he would say as he tugged on my sweater and dragged me off to show me something. So adorable. D loves him and kept swooping him off his feet every chance she got. Baby J (7 months old) is one of the prettiest babies I have seen in a long time with stunning azure blue eyes and loooong lashes. I was feeding him his bottle and humming to him while rocking him. After he was done I burped him and he promptly began to snore softly on my shoulder. Sounds silly but I'm so glad that babies seem to thing that I am snuggly-sleepy-soft.
We had so much fun playing together, chatting, munching, singing, reading books, all good stuff. D was great, a huge help when J needed to be picked up or L needed his shoes put on, etc she was there and just did what needed to be done without being asked. When she's not being an adolescent drama queen she really is turning into a responsible, mature young lady, it made me so proud to watch her pitching in so gladly.
Whoo boy technolog is taking over. For someone who used to make her living fixing networks and administering databases you would think I would love technology; you'd be wrong. I like it, don't get me wrong...love my dishwasher, like my computer, but I'm not a technogeek. I used to consider myself a geek but that was pre-itsy-bitsy techno pieces. Now I find myself surrounded and I'm perplexed.
I have a cell phone. I do like it, it has become indispensible for keeping in touch with kids, hubby, family, etc. In emergencies (and I have had a few) it has been a lifesaver. I would have a hard time doing without it.
I have a Palm given to me by my parents and my brother. I really like it a lot. I keep shopping lists, address book, calendar stuff on it. Even a few games and a couple of ebooks. But I confess that I long for my paper calendar. Don't know why, I guess I like the tactile feel of paper. But this year I am not buying one...should force me to focus more on my palm and learn to handle it better than I have been.
Now I have an iPod. I'm thrilled to have it because I should finally be able to catch up on all of my podcasts. Previously I had to download them, burn them to CD and could only listen to them when I was driving a certain car with a CD player. Those days are gone...iPod on the go baby.
And tonight I broke down and got skype. I shared my first skype call with my Uncle and it was so much fun to be able to talk with him and his daughter. I enjoyed catching up and sharing a few laughs together...as he pointed out, the price is right.
Technology is taking over and I'm beginning to wonder how much I will be acoutered with technodevices. I practically need a backpack to carry my wallet and devices, what if I lose one? I think we get sucked into these things. They're useful but we have to learn to use them as the tools they are intstead of feeling like they own us. It's hard to balance my desire for a more peaceful life, one where I can bake from scratch, raise fruits, visit the organic farm, etc with juggling all these small pieces of metal. Is this the challenge of the modern human? I don't know if completely denying onself the benefits of technology is advisable. Obviously others do, such as the Amish, but those of us who choose to live in a contemporary environment but have agro-luddite tendencies have a much finer line to walk. It is a balancing act and can be confusing at times. Hmmm.....more thoughts on this coming up later.
Indeed they were. We went to visit my in-laws and spent a lovely holiday with them. All the people, decorations, food, conversations, fun and more fun. It was wonderful to be surrounded by everyone on Steve's side of the family and enjoy this time together. Even the dogs had fun. The only drawback? We didn't have any snow.
The funniest gift exchange was between Steve and I. Totally unplanned we gave each other coordinating gifts (better than giving each other the same thing but close for odd coincidence). He gave me a new showerhead which has a mist control on it (for steaming without the steamroom) and I gave him a crescent shower rod (for the illusion of more space in the shower). He opened mine first, told me I would laugh when I opened his and indeed I did.
While we were at my in-laws we watched movies, played games (including one almost vicious three deck round of Uno -- won by yours truly), and talked, talked, talked. My sister-in-law and I knit together while chatting and catching up and there was plenty of pass-the-baby going on. Miss K graced me for her nap and it was a fabulous two hours of snuggle time. All in all a good emotional grounding of what the holidays are all about for me. I hope yours was similarly lovely and wonderful.
Running out of steam over here. Some holidays items have been done, some haven't. As I mentioned in an earlier post this year is not quite as holiday-ey as others. I partially blame the lack of snow (very unusual for us) but most realize it's me. I'm not into the whole over-the-top thing. But now here we are a couple of days before Christmas and I'm feeling guilty and wondering if I should gather up a huge burst of energy and make it all happen. Then I think, um...no, because then I'll spend the next week lying on the sofa in a comatose state of exhaustion.
So here's what's done and undone in our house this year:
Goodie boxes made and delivered
Family gingerbread party attended and a wonderful time had by all
Holiday cards? Half written and mailed. The other half? I think they'll be Happy New Year Cards this year.
Tree? Not up
Wreath? Lying on the front porch about to go up...the dog ate the pinecones and ornaments off it but it still smelly pine-y and has a pretty red bow
Decorations? Minimal but there
Holiday music? Playing, actually this is one of the highlights, drinking tea and listening to this lovely music as I do my household chores every day
Presents? Just mailed the last of them yesterday, hope they get there in time. This one is the worst offense but hey, real life interferes sometimes
Other presents? not wrapped, hoping for a marathon wrapping sesson with Steve tomorrow before we head off to my in-laws on Sunday
Holiday spirit? Pretty good actually. I've done the most important things, am not screaming at my kids in frustration because the "holidays" are not getting froofed (this must be my new word I seem to be using it a lot lately), and I'm looking forward to spending a quiet and lovely holiday at my in-laws house. It's all good.
Yesterday was the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. From this point forward we are on an upswing with more daylight minutes every day until the summer solstice. It was also the end of the Fall Into Reading challenge. How did I do? Here's the wrapup:
1000 White Women and Savannah Breeze, Every Mother Is A Daughter got read and reviewed (sort of).
The Historian
Other books I read during this time (but didn't review)?
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen
King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains
The Bread Bible
The Eyre Affair
Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next Novels)
So basically I read two out of five on my list but read several others instead. Not too bad. Now it's time for the 
sponsored by Seasonal Soundings. Here's my list...we'll see how well I do this time around:
The Historian
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Great Expectations (Penguin Classics)
So this makes three books on my list. Not a lot but two highly recommended works of fiction and one classic. A good start.
What am I reading now? The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation
Also reading Preserving Memories: Growing Up in My Mother's Kitchen
What are you reading? Head on over to Seasonal Soundings and join in the reading.
Every year we make boxes of goodies to give to friends and to distribute to the mailman, library, etc. What goes in the box is different from year-to-year but it's always fun to put it together. This is one traditional that seems to have survived this year of "less froofy" holidays.
Tonight S was the only one who wanted to work with me to make the goodies...the other two bailed (they missed out because it was a lot of fun). We made chocolate dipped apricots (4 pounds worth!), chocolate dipped pretzels and fudge. I also put some homemade gingersnaps into the boxes. Working together with S was so sweet (pun intended) and we shared a lot of giggles as well as getting a lot done; 42 boxes to fill!
We started at 6:00 after dinner. At 8:00 I stopped to watch A Christmas Carol, making candy and filling boxes during the commercials.
Starting tomorrow we have the pleasure of delivering, and we get to visit with our friends as we make our rounds.
When making bread you need someplace warm and draft-free to rise or "proof" your bread dough. I put mine in my microwave oven. Works for me.
You can see other wfmw tips over at Shannon's place.
in history!!!
Thanks to Susan Wittig Albert of About Thyme I found out that today, December 19, in 1843 Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol was written.
The story is a wonderful one and I think just about everyone knows the basic premise from "Bah Humbug!" to "God bless us, everyone."
There have been lots of movie versions of the story made. My two favorites are, I confess, The Muppet Christmas Carol and A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart which happens to be playing on TNT tomorrow night. Can't wait to curl up with the kids, the dog, some hot cocoa with peppermint sticks and popcorn to watch.
Despite my bah humbug type previous post I have to confess that there are certain things about the holidays that make me happy. Today was one of those days. We went to a family gingerbread house building. Steve's brother and his family, his wife's brother and his family, his wife's sister and her husband, family friends and us. Lots of people and lots of fun.
We ate a lovely meal and then the kids got down to business making houses. Every year K makes house pieces, one house per kid (there were 9 this year). Everyone else brings decorations. I brought Captain Crunch cereal, colorful twizzlers, stripey morsels, spice drops, and pretzels. There were all sorts of other candies too. The kids have so much fun creating their masterpieces. It's wonderful to see how different all the houses come out. This year we discovered that pretzels glued together with royal icing make a great chimney.
This is what the holidays are about for me...friends, family, fun activities, wonderful food and conversation. Joy joy joy.
Just got back from going to see Eragon. I rarely pay to go to the movies and almost never go in the first week. This was an exception and one that I am sorry I made. I did not like the movie at all and found myself wishing it were over half-way through. The book
My objections??
- They cut the heck out of the story. It was very choppy and they left out a lot of important pieces of information
- They relied too much on pretty landscape/scenery shots that didn't really contribute to the story
- There was almost no character development. If you hadn't read the book you might be very confused about how certain people grew to their character/position/etc
- They took serious liberties with the storyline in order to have certain things (like Saphira's development) happen within the timeframe allotted
- There was no real sense of conflict or urgency to the storyline because of the way the movie was chopped up
I'm so disappointed because the story provided great material to work with and the movie really fell flat. I went with S, her two friends, V, her two friends, D and her friend. No one liked the movie and all but two of us had read the book (V and one of her friends had not yet read it). One of the kids pointed out that if someone saw the movie first they would not want to buy the book because the movie was so bad. That's bad. My advice? Save your $9.50 and don't go.
It's the holiday season and all around me are lights and wreaths and bangles going up. In our neighborhood there is a plastic santa that seems to be on the move...he travels from lawn to lawn without any apparent warning.
One friend has eleven five foot trees that she puts up every year. Eleven!! One is a Wizard of Oz tree, an angel tree, a pink tree, a valentine tree, a gold tree. They're all over the house. Another friend of mine is so worried that she doesn't have enough decorations (her house was exploding at the seams last year but that was then...maybe the house grew in the last year). The malls are crowded, people seem very stressed and overwhelmed and in many ways unhappy.
While I am looking forward to Christmas I'm looking forward to the getting together with family part. I've put up a few decorations, I have gotten out the christmas tablecloth, I've put on the christmas music, but somehow I find myself not that into the whole overcommercialized oversaturated marketing hype. I think the fact that I have been seeing christmas c**p in the stores since before halloween and listening to christmas carols and seeing ads for it since before thanksgiving has taken away much of the joy of the season. It's supposed to be about friends and family and gratitude. Not about presents and money and greed.
I've gone so far as to think that I may not even put up the tree this year. String up a few more decorations, put up the stocking and call it a holiday. Simpler, more peaceful and less stressful.
Actually this brings me to the realization that I am thoroughly overwhelmed and fed up with all the overcommercialized holidays. The halloween "villages" that they sell now for decorations? You're supposed to buy all of this overpriced stuff to put it up for a few weeks and then find room to pack it away until the next year? No wonder we are buying bigger and bigger houses, we're taking on too many possessions. Thanksgiving, Easter, Fourth of July, all of this is moving away from a rememberance day or a day of special celebration and becoming an excuse to buy more junk. I feel like an oddball for being one of those who doesn't participate but I want out...don't want to do this overcommercialized overadvertized unquiet stress anymore.
We'll see if the tree goes up or not but I think it's definitely going to be a lower key, hopefully calmer holiday celebration in our family this year.
It's amazing what you can find on the internet. I was watching a brief Victor Borge presentation yesterday and was reminded of how much I enjoyed his performances. Hope you enjoy it too.
The above picture is special for so many reasons. First of all today is the birthday of my darling S. My first born. The one who gave me the blessing of becoming a mother. I'm so amazed at what an incredible person she is and just thrilled to be her mom. She didn't get breakfast in bed, although she deserved it, but she did get a birthday breakfast surprise with friends, lots of purple balloons, joyous hallooing, wet puppy kisses and presents. Not a bad way to start your day.
Today is also St. Lucia Day and this picture painted by my favorite artist Carl Larsson shows the Scandinavian custom of the oldest daughter in the house portraying Lucia with her crown of light driving the darkness away.
Time for another Works-For-Me-Wednesday, don't forget to see what other bloggers have to say.
We have a phone list that we post on the inside of the cabinet door next to the kitchen phone. It is divided into three sections. The top 2/3 is divided in half and then the bottom 1/3 (approximately). The top left is for friends, neighbors, etc. The top right is for doctors, services, utility companies, etc. The bottom third has lots of 1 x 2.5 inch boxes to write in new numbers. Every six months or so I take down the list and redo it, adding and deleting as necessary. All the numbers we need the most are right there, room to scribble and it's usually up to date. Works for me!
Today my tackle is to finish my Christmas cards. I had started out with good intentions after Thanksgiving...do 5-7 a day and I'll be done by December 10th. Hah! Real life interfered as usual and I am waaaaaay behind. Hoping to catch up today because I need to get them in the mail. I send mine to Santa Claus, IN for a special Christmas cachet.
If you would like to see what others are tackling today or add one of your own visit 5 Minutes for Mom.
As several of you know I like laundry, well certain things about it anyway. I'm good at washing and drying, love to hang my laundry. The ironing and putting away...that's a challenge some days, even with two of my kids doing their own laundry these days.
Yesterday I went to visit a friend for lunch. She has recently started making her own laundry soap because of skin allergy issues. We have the same issues in our house but I never thought of making my own laundry soap. She gave me some to try. oh my goodness!!! this stuff works great and smells fabulous. I can't wait till I've finished the container of detergent that I have to make my own, I am definitely going to switch. I washed and hung sheets yesterday (it's unseasonably warm here and was in the 40's yesterday) and kept running out to smell the sheets they smelt so good! So fresh and clean, mmmmmmm.
As my friend said, "Can you imagine how nuts people will think to hear us gushing about laundry soap?" I don't care this is great stuff. Here's the recipe:
2 bars soap (Fels Naptha is called for but any soap will work)
1 C. Borax
1 C. Washing Powder
Grate the soap, cover with water in a saucepan,heat on low until dissolved.
Fill a 4-5 gallon bucket with hot water and add soap. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup washing powder and mix well. As it cools it will thicken, stir occasionally while cooling. May be used immediately. Use 1-2 cups per load.
V is learning how to juggle, one of the teachers at school is teaching a bunch of the kids during lunch. Yesterday she decided to demonstrate her prowess...with clementines. Luckily she didn't choose eggs because she's okay but obviously still learning.
Tobi thought this was GREAT fun as every time she dropped the clementines he chased after them and picked them up in his mouth, *yuck*. I had thought we could make juice out of them when she was done but the poor clementines were black, blotchy, misshapen and covered in dog drool...not very appealing.
Why do I like memes so much? I don't know I guess because they're mostly fun and goofy. Since it 'tis the season here's one for the holidays that came from a couple different sources:
1. Hot Chocolate or apple cider?
um....both?
2. Turkey or Ham?
turkey
3. Do you get a fake or real-you-cut-it-yourself Christmas tree?
It used to be real but we got tired of dropping needles, the cat drinking out of the water at the base, and are worried about our new puppy so it's artificial and pre-lit for the next 10 years (or as long as the darn thing lasts).
4. Decorations on the outside of your house?
No. We enjoy them but not enough to take the time to put them up. All our lights and decorations are on the inside except our wreath
5. Snowball fights or sleddin'?
snowball fights, definitely. But only if Steve is on MY team because he's the best shot.
6. Do you enjoy going downtown shopping?
No, no, no, no and no. In case you didn't get that...no
7. Favorite Christmas song?
oooh, that's a toughie but if I had to pick only one I would say Adestes Fidelis because that's the song I always remember hearing as a kid when my Mom would start baking fruitcake (scroll down to November 16).
8. How do you feel about Christmas movies?
I mostly seem to prefer the classics...the cartoon version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "It's a Wonderful Life", "Frosty the Snowman", White Christmas" and the like.
9. When is it too early to start listening to Christmas music?
Anytime before Thanksgiving
10. Stockings before or after presents?
Stocking as soon as you get up.
11. Carolers, do you or do you not watch and listen to them?
I adore Christmas carols and carolers. For many years we used to go out caroling but my kids no longer want to do that and it feels silly to go out by myself. Unfortunately no one else comes around otherwise I would gladly listen.
12. Go to someone else's house or they come to you?
We split it up
13. Do you read the Christmas Story? If so when?
We don't read any particular ones, we put out lots of books for people to read and enjoy. When the girls were little I would read a different chapter or story every night but they think they're too old for that now so we don't. I miss that time when we would all cuddle on the sofa and read Christmas stories.
14. What do you do after presents and dinner?
Jig-saw puzzles, drink tea, crack nuts, chat, relax
15. What is your favorite holiday smell?
I don't really have one unless it's fresh baking cookies...wait, that's anytime
16. Ice skating or walking around the mall?
No mall if I can at all avoid it. I like to send Steve if I really have to. Truthfully internet shopping has been a blessing in disguise.
17. Do you open a present or presents on Christmas Eve, or wait until Christmas day?
We always open one present on Christmas eve (and it's always a brand new pair of pajamas to wear to bed) and save the rest for Christmas morning.
18. Favorite Christmas memory?
S's first Christmas...she was so little and didn't even know what the holiday was about. Steve and I stuffed her into a Christmas stocking, it was rather silly but it was amazing to have this little gem of a person to share it with.
19. Favorite Part about winter?
How the snow blankets the scenery and makes it look so wondrous, all the trees and bushes, etc, decked in their winter finery.
20. Ever been kissed under mistletoe?
Yup!
If you're reading this you're next!
My Aunt sent this too me, how cool. Wonder how long it took them to put this together. It's really fun!
I have certain recipes that I use all the time. My mix-and-match muffins, the recipe for Irish Soda Bread, and several others. To prevent having to look them up all the time in various different places I made a copy of the recipe and taped it to the inside of a cupboard door with my baking supplies. That way I always know where it is and it is near the pans, vanilla, etc. Works for me.
If you want to read more good tips or contribute one of your own go see Shannon and her wonderful Works For Me Wednesday list.
A friend of mine came for tea today and to let me play with her 9 month old son. He's grown so much since the last time I saw him (6 months ago) it's amazing. Tobi was VERY pleased to meet him. After all N's face was just at Tobi height and covered in all sorts of lucious baby biscuit *gag* crumbs mmmmm yummy yummy.
D accuses me of being a baby snatcher because I love to hug and cuddle them so much. I consider it my priviledge to give other Mom's a break and hold their child for them for a while. Unlike accusations that have recently flown I have absolutely no intention of having any more kids. My baby is an adolescent and I'm not interested in starting over thank-you-very-much. But I confess the fact that she has reached adolescence makes me appreciate how cuddle-able and sweet smelling babies can be.
Speaking of sweet smelling we had a rather interesting discussion at Stitch Sisters tonight. We were talking about, among other things, how wonderful babies smell. One woman remarked that her boys, 3 and 5, don't smell so sweet anymore; they smell like dirt. Another remarked that she wished that her boys, 13 and 16, smelled like dirt because what they smelled like now was not great. Another said that her boys, in their 20's, were out of the house but she hoped they smelled okay. Then someone shared that they had a family member, adolescent male, whose idea of freshening up was to throw his shirt into the dryer with some dryer sheets, put on fresh deodorant and he was good to go. Whoof!
Makes me glad I have girls. They may be messy but they loooove their showers!
Inspired by Dawn as well as Amy I decided to add some art and poetry to our Door of Learning.
The Door keeps growing; I confess that I do not keep up with it as much as I would like to. Originally I had thought every week. Now it's every two weeks and I'm thinking the one I just put up will have to suffice for the month of December. 
In it's new incarnation the door has a picture by Georges Seurat and a wonderful poem by Anne Bronte as well as info about them. I chose this poem today because it's been a windy and blustery day and this one really spoke to me:
Lines Composed in a Wood on a Windy Day
by Anne Brontë
My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring
And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze;
For above and around me the wild wind is roaring,
Arousing to rapture the earth and the seas.
The long withered grass in the sunshine is glancing,
The bare trees are tossing their branches on high;
The dead leaves, beneath them, are merrily dancing,
The white clouds are scudding across the blue sky.
I wish I could see how the ocean is lashing
The foam of its billows to whirlwinds of spray;
I wish I could see how its proud waves are dashing,
And hear the wild roar of their thunder today!
Today was our annual neighborhood cookie exchange. I've been hosting it for five years now and it's a lot of fun. What I like the best is that it is not a "let's play Martha and impress the neighbors" kind of party. As I say in the invitation, if you don't have time or inclination to bake from scratch try whack-and-bake or buy cookies. What's more important is that you come.
This year we were very lucky, no duplicates; one year three people brought the same cookie! It was a small crowd with only 10 of us but lots of fun, chatting, munching, catching up with each other and taking a break before the crush of the holidays is upon us. My family is, of course, thrilled to have me host this since they love the different types of cookies that we get.
The rules are simple, bring a double batch of cookies, COUNT your cookies so you know how many you have, bring a container to get your hoard share home with, and come have fun.
I made gingersnaps (although I think they should be called ginger thins since they are not very crispy). It was the first time I had made this particular cookie and I didn't realize how many it made. I got 152 cookies out of a double batch, whew. The recipe comes from a dear friend who made them last year and then was gracious enough to share.
Gingersnap/thins
Melt 3 sticks of butter (no counting calories, this is the holidays)
mix together with 2 C. sucanat (or brown sugar)
add 2 eggs
add 2 t. baking powder, 2 t. cinnamon, 1 t. ginger, 1 t. cloves (I left out the cloves since my husband doesn't like them)
add 4 C. flour (I used fresh ground soft white so had to use 5 C.)
Let sit in fridge for 20 minutes while preheating the oven to 350 F
Make small balls, roll in sugar and bake on ungreased cookie sheet 8-10 minutes
let cookies sit 1-2 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cookie rack
The other cookies that we had this year?
turtle fudge chippers
peppermint candy canes
pecan nut balls
coconut macaroons (made by hand!)
brown sugar nut shortbreads
oatmeal lace wafer sandwiches
cocoa crinkles
haystacks
creamcheese jam triangles
We listened to holiday music and it spurred me on to dig out the holiday linens and books from the attic so I've got a bit of a start on the holiday decorating thing.
real men knit
I know some men in my life who don't want their sons to learn how to knit because they think it's not "manly" enough. I think that's silly. It used to be that knitting was exclusively reserved for men. Women spun and wove but only men knit. Somehow it has changed. My personal feeling is that it shouldn't matter what your gender is...if you want to knit, go ahead.
My Mom shared with me the whole no-knead bread phenomenon. I'm a little late getting around to trying it, especially since it seems to have taken the blogosphere by storm. The pictures are gorgeous, the method stunningly simple and so I had to try it.
I knew that my attempt was going to come out a little different since I was using fresh ground. It worked but not as well as those who used aged flour. I ground up hard white figuring that would be the simplest to start with. I let it rise initially for 18 hours and it did rise. The two biggest things I noticed right off the bat was that the dough was not a wet and shaggy as everyone kept remarking on and that mine didn't bubble as much as I thought it should based on what I read. But I continued. The end result was a respectable loaf, especially considering that I used only 1/4 t. of yeast, but the crumb was much denser. Given the time required to make this it won't be a regular event but I am going to try again. I think next time I will add more water than the 1 1/2 C. called for since I think the fresh ground probably absorbed too much and that may have contributed to the texture. I'm also thinking of upping the yeast just a little to help with the fresh ground.
The general concensus was that it was tasty and in this house that's all that really counts.
After a wonderful visit with the family it's time to tackle the laundry. No pictures but I'm washing, drying, folding and putting away sheets and towels. Lots of them. Means we had lots of company and that's a good thing.
Get inspired to Tackle It too!
My Mom just updated her garden diary. Two really good reasons to send you there:
1. Her new book. 
I'm really proud of how well she writes, the fact that she is an acknowledged, award winning author in her chosen field of gardening, and the fact that she then chose to branch out and write about something else that she loves and is so expert at. Way to go Mom!
2. She very kindly put up stuff about my lovely treehouse. I didn't even get pictures up there, but she did. So if you want to see it in all it's naked autumn glory go check it out. Thanks Mom.
h/t to Amy for this:
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: Philadelphia Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. if you've ever journeyed to some far off place where people don't know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn't have a clue what accent it was they heard. | |
| The Midland | |
| The Northeast | |
| The South | |
| Boston | |
| The Inland North | |
| The West | |
| North Central | |
| What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes | |
For lunch today, while still having a houseful I wanted to make grilled cheese sandwiches. My children wanted to know why we didn't have a panini maker, claiming they would rather have paninis. The waffle iron was still out from the buckwheat waffles I made for breakfast so I threw a sandwich in there and goshalmighty, it made a waffle-iron looking, tasty cheese sandwich. S called them wafflini sandwiches. It worked! One appliance saved.
We liked them so much that we had them again for dinner! Try it, maybe you'll like it.
The weekend was also my sister-in-law's birthday. We had cake and presents and singing (we scared the dogs as we each sang in our own key but it was fun anyway).
I'm glad we were all able to spend her birthday with her and hope she enjoyed the mayhem.
It was a busy and bountiful weekend. In addition to Thanksgiving it was my sister-in-law's birthday!! My parents came back to my house for the weekend with my brother and his family so we were all together. We had a wonderful time, hanging out together and spending time catching up with various activities.
My sister-in-law and I got some knitting time in which was really lovely. We also horror of horrors! went to the mall on Friday. Yes, BLACK Friday. For those who know me...I hate to shop. For those who don't know me...I HATE to shop. I usually make it a point to avoid all of the big shopping marathon events. Unfortunately all of my kids needed clothes, S was home from college for the weekend only, there was a sale on, and I somehow decided that if my sister-in-law and niece came with me it would turn out to be fun. How silly of me.
Getting to the mall was fun. We laughed and joked in the car on the way down (it's a 45 minute drive). Arriving was a little overwhelming, it was packed. But we managed to find a spot. Entering wasn't too bad, the older two girls split off immediately to shop on their own leaving my sister-in-law, niece and I with the adolescent hormonal tornado that is my youngest. I believe she was rather miffed that she had to shop with her mother. It was not a pretty sight. I will admit that the fact that I hate to shop and she loves it doesn't help. That's she's a teenager reduces the odds. That it was crowded, noisy, and overwhelming made me realize that I had lost any semblance of sanity and this was a lost cause from the moment the stupid idea to shop on BLACK Friday occured to me.
We struggled through and emerged alive and rational (barely). This near death experience included a stop at the food court where I discovered that advice received from my Aunt was true; you can go into McDonalds
I have said this before but I have well and truly learned my lesson...I will NEVER take my children shopping on BLACK Friday again!
We had a lovely Thanksgiving, surrounded by masses of family. My brother and his family came to stay with us. We drove over to my Aunt's house where we met up with our parents and various cousins, aunts, uncles and lots of new babies in the family. It was so wonderful to see, exclaim over, and hug everyone. Lots of laughter, talking, eating. And even some football watching in one corner of the house...some of the younger boy cousins are starting to join into the male-bonding ritual of falling asleep to the game after dinner. Of course they didn't sleep but they loved watching the game and listening to the uncles and grandpas talking.
Food being an important part of the ritual we had a feast that was truly not to be believed. Five kinds of cranberry sauce, broccoli bake, corn pudding, crockpot stuffing (see recipe below), braised carrots, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, pickled onions, pickled sweet potatoes, an olive platter, shrimp cocktail, a cheese platter, a roast turkey, a fried turkey, and probably some other stuff that I forgot. The dessert buffet was just as impressive with a pumpkin pie, apple pie, seven layer cake, cannoli cake, flourless hazelnut torte, pumpkin bread, two kinds of brownies. We are truly fortunate to be able to have such an abundance of wonderful food and all of these fabulous people to share it with. Safe, warm and loved. What a blessing.
Every time we are all together we try to take a family picture. It's getting harder and harder as there are more and more of us to squeeze into the frame. There were 32 of us this year. It's funny how the next generation is taking over. When my generation was the youngest in the picture my cousin E was the baby. Now E is 22 and there are many spouses and babies to include. Unfortunately technology has not kept pace with our needs. Digital cameras can be great but the time release picture feature did not work well so we had to take a picture without Aunt S, our family photographer. Usually she is diving for her "spot" just before the camera goes off. We still got a great picture, but I'm sad that she wasn't in it.
All in all an amazing Thanksgiving with many reasons to be thankful. I hope yours was just as wonderful.
Crockpot Stuffing
serves 16
1 C. butter
2 C. chopped onion
2 C. chopped celery
12 1/2 C. bread cubes
1 T. Bell's seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
4 1/2 C. broth (I used veggie)
2 beaten eggs
melt butter
sautee onion and celery
spoon over bread
add seasonings
add broth
add eggs
mix well
put into greased crockpot
cook on high 45 minutes
cook on low 4-6 hours
enjoy!
We belong to a supper club. There are four couples and four times a year we get together for a meal at one house; the host provides the entree, each of the other couples contribute a different part of the meal.
The dynamics of this group of people is amazing. Every time we get together we laugh and laugh, truly enjoying each others company and the food we share together. Tonight was no exception.
The theme (which the host picks) was American Harvest. Our lovely hosts provided a roast with an apple cider glaze, sauteed apples and mashed potatoes. For the appetizer I made potato pancakes (see recipe below) with sour cream and homemade applesauce. The side dishes were a lovely green salad and a baked butternut squash/apple dish spiced with mace. Dessert was...apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Thatsalotta apples. It was all so very delicious.
The next event is going to be hosted at my house in three or four months. I'll need to think of a theme and assign dishes to my fellow supper-clubbers. So far we have done Lebanese, Chinese, Hawaiian, Norwegian, Italian, Hungarian, and American Harvest.
Potato Pancakes
Note: I shred the potato and onion in my cuisinart
3 pounds potatoes peeled and shredded
2 large onions shredded
3 eggs beaten
3 T. whole wheat flour
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all of the above together and let sit 10-15 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan.
Drop potato mixture by large spoonfuls into hot oil.
Flip after a couple of minutes.
Should be browned on both sides.
Serve hot with apple sauce and sour cream.
No, it's not leftovers (although that's what we call them at my house) but a reminiscence of this past really lovely week spent with my Aunt. We realized that it's been nine years since she came to stay just with me. We had such a fabulous time together, I hope that it's not another nine years before she stays with us again.
We had many wonderful conversations together, our dinnertable conversatons with the kids were really great, lots of talking and catching up.
The highlights of her visit (I hope they were highlights for her) were:
1. Attending Stitch Sisters with me. We had a huge meeting with 9 members in attendance! We laughed so much and had such a great time talking about knitting (my Aunt belongs to a knitting group called "Knit n Nosh" so we have adopted them as our Sister Stitch Sisters - if that makes any sense). We also shared the hats that we made for our Hats for the Homeless project. We made 60 hats!!! I'm so impressed with us. Each hat is unique and wonderful. Most of us used this as an opportunity to unload some stash yarn. I'm thrilled about taking it all down to the shelter within the next week or so.
2. My Aunt spent summers in this area as a kid. So we drove around to all of the old haunts...the library, the train station, the IGA, the lake, and even managed to find what we believe was where the house she stayed in was. It was very different now because when she stayed there only six houses existed on the street. Now there are over 50 and the old homestead has been torn down. It was a lovely walk down memory lane for her and fun for me to hear her reminisces about her childhood in the area.
3. Visiting a yarn shop. Totally necessary you understand. We were on a button seeking mission. The fact that we bought yarn is totally inconsequential.
4. Sharing tea and a gingerbread man at the local "pie joint." He was a very delicious gingerbread man with chocolate boots. So delicious in fact that we went back two days later to share breakfast and another gingerbread man.
5. I had a tea party in honor of my Aunt and invited a number of friends. It was really lovely for everyone to get together, sharing tea, muffins and good company. I love having tea parties, they're so much easier and more relaxed than having a big luncheon.
It was a great visit and I'm sad she's left because I feel like she could have stayed another month and we would still have had so much to talk about and enjoy each others company. Luckily I'll get to see her again soon.
Steve called and V answered the phone. She said, "The number you have dialed is not in service, please press numero uno to leave a message and other stuff." He hung up! Then called my cell to tell me there was a problem with the phone. LOL
We went to my parents where they had a house chock-a-block full of people, my Aunt, a friend of theirs, his lady friend, us, them, two cats. We had a really lovely time visiting with everyone and all of the great conversations and wonderful food.
Yesterday we got to attend a Guy Fawkes day party thrown by their slightly insane neighbors who live down the street. It's always a crowded and hilarious time. This year was no exception. After eating mountains of food the assembled throng was treated to a slightly revised version of English history, a truly spectacular burning of the guy (these people have a friend who is a pyrotechnic expert -- the head of the guy exploded!), fireworks, recitations of Der Jammerwoch (Jabberwocky in German) and Rindercella as well as some amazingly fabulous live celtic music. There were party hats of all types to wear, a tacky table (I'm going to have to find something suitably tacky to contribute next year) and lots of great people to have great conversations with. Fun, fun, fun.
Today was a lovely brunch put together by my Mom and her sister, a nice autumn walk afterwards and then more great conversations. My Aunt and I started knitting a hat together for my Great-Aunt. It's fun to be working on the project together. It seems to have been a popular idea because now everybody wants one...my Dad, Steve... hmmmm...maybe they were kidding? All in all it was a very relaxing and fun weekend, just what we needed.
It's that time of the week again, so here's my tip and remember, if you want to play too (or just read the great tips out there) visit Shannon.
I have a lost and found basket in my house. If anyone leaves anything and I can't mail it back or don't see them regularly I put it in the basket. When they come visit again I check the basket to see if there is something for them. I keep it in the front hall by the door.
