on that cold cold wet day....

 

Dr. Seuss, of course, from The Cat in The Hat.

Suri and Sunny remind me of those two, but they actually DON'T wish they had something to do, they're just like me, they like doing nothing.

Here in the country, we have well water and a septic tank.  This is not the worst thing, I actually like our water, although it's very iron-y.  (Yes, we have a water softener system).  But the septic tank needs to be pumped every year.   It's a huge tank, and a big system, because we built a big house and the system size is based on number of bedrooms.   So, the guy is on his way over, in the pouring rain...fun fun fun, on this rainy dark day...

Dinner was good last night, just in case you are wondering:

Pork chops aren't my absolute favorite, but I find that if I marinate them, they're better.  These were soaked in vinegar, salt and pepper for several hours, and came out so tender.  Not my favorite, but they are inexpensive, and nutritious, and if you make them right, it's a good dinner.

Sunny seems to know that someone is coming over, she's on the alert, and her barker is getting ready to go off. 

She kindly alerted me to a flock (gaggle?  group?  oh, I looked it up, it's either flock or rafter) of turkeys, at least a dozen of them, giggling and gobbling down the driveway...BARK.

Oh dear, never a dull moment.  Evelyn is now in Seattle, where she is helping a family there dealing with some sickness, Jonathan is renewing his passport and making plans for next year:  a year in Germany with a youth group.  Sonja is in nursing school, bracing herself as it gets busier and her clinical starts.  Charlotte Claire is in "real" school, gets on that bus all by her lonesome every morning, and loves it.  Camille loves her homeschooling, she hasn't gotten bored yet.  Abigail is spending the week in Conneticut, for work, Emily and Mariel are going on an Adirondack hike this weekend.  Samuel and Grace are mourning the sudden accidental loss of their cat, she fell from the cat tree and a toy fell on her, she died instantly, so sad.  

I vacuumed and mopped this morning, washed up the dishes and bleached the sink.  Yesterday, I made pie crust for today's pot pies for dinner, chicken pot pie again, because why not?  I have all the ingredients...and it's so nice to change into the fall/winter cold weather cooking patterns, but by spring, I'll be chomping to start grilling again.  We actually do grill in the winter sometimes, but you know what I mean, all the barbecued chicken, burgers, hot dogs...we are so spoiled, getting sick of things.  Sometimes when I make taco salad for the second time in a week, and one of the kids whines about it, I remind them that there are people in this world who eat rice and beans every day, if they ARE LUCKY.  There are people who dig out of trash to eat, and there are people who have nothing.

I've tried to raise my kids not to waste food.  Take what you'll eat, and eat what you take.  You can always get more if you want it.   I stopped short of MAKING them finish their food, I'd encourage it, and remind them not to waste, but if they didn't have to clean their plates.  When the older kids were little, I was definitely more rules-y, but I toned it down a lot through the years, you live and learn.  

The septic tank guy is still out there, he'll be coming in for the payment in a few minutes, why do I mini-dread it?  I like talking to people but I also hate talking to people ha.  I'm in my sweatpants and an around-the-house shirt, as opposed to a BYE-BYE shirt, but I'll be darned if I change my clothes for a five minute interaction.  It's not like I'm going to Target or something.

Ah well, have a really really good day, thankfulness is always a good place to start...