tulips and target and sunshine....

 Let's start off with this:  it's sunny outside! The sunshine on the snow reflects into the house, highlighting the dust, ha.  It's really nice, and warming up today to a respectable 32 degrees! (0c).  

Last night's dinner:  chicken pot pie.  I'll give the general recipe, but be warned, I don't use recipes!  My pot pies are never exactly the same!

Yesterday, I used a can of cream of chicken soup, a 32 ounce chicken broth, and some water.  I put about 5 pounds of frozen chicken breast in it, a generous sprinkling of rosemary, and some pepper.  I simmered it a few hours, then pulled the chicken out and chopped it up.  I added sliced carrots, and a few potatoes, cubed.  I usually put in a bag of frozen mixed veggies, but I didn't have any.  I thickened it up with some flour and water.  (this made exactly enough for two huge pot pies, deep dish.)

The crust was the butter pie crust recipe I posted before:

2 1/2 cups flour, mixed with half teaspoon of salt

Add two sticks of cubed butter, put in food processor (or use pastry cutter to blend it in, pea size pieces for the butter...food processor is so much easier!)

Remove from processor into a big bowl, add ice cold water a little bit at a time, tossing the dough, until it seems damp enough but not soggy, form into two balls, flatten into disks, wrap and put away.  I do this twice to make two pot pies.  I roll out the dough after cooling the soupy mixture a bit, then just put them together and bake.  Oh, I top them with a bit more butter, and salt and pepper.   I've learned the hard way to bake them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper, so the butter doesn't drip all over the oven.  You'll know when they're done, they get golden brown and the house smells amazing.

The snow stopped yesterday, and it was a lovely evening.  When the setting sun reflects on the snow, wow.

A lazy pic from the kitchen window...

Tulips.  I look forward to tulips.  I love winter, but spring, ahh.  And Target, I've been avoiding Target like the plague, because it takes my money like nobody's business.  I put things carefully into the cart, things that seem worth it, thoughtful purchases, then at the register, bam, the total is significantly higher than it should be!  And who am I kidding, do I REALLY need more candles, or that cute mug, or a bag of M&M's?    yes.

Spring...I'm looking forward to being able to change things up in here, and in my room.  I've got a black comforter with red and black check on the back, and black patterned pillows, which I like...but are so wintery.  I've already got a pink duvet cover, and some khaki pillow covers, for spring.  I bought some really pretty pink floral to put slip covers on those black pillows, just to change the look and brighten it up in there.  I hope Paul doesn't mind some pink.

Of course in the midst of all these things are the trials, the realities, the things we would rather avoid, but are so necessary if we would get oil in our lamps.  To get victory over being anxious, one has to have trials that would tempt to anxiety, right?  We aren't meant to just stay in it!  

So have a really really good day, stay hopeful!

favorites!

 Today is one of my favorite kind of days.  It's another snuggly, stuck-in-the-house, snow day!  The girls don't have in-person school on Wednesdays, Sonja's college class got moved to virtual, and she called in to work because our county is still on a travel advisory, and our road hasn't been plowed in hours.  If the other professors moved their classes to virtual too, there won't be much need for her to be there screening people anyway.

So Jonathan fired up the snowblower, and Sonja and I got the shovels out...

(I looked at the last pic of me with Sonja K., and wow, I'm getting old!  I'm so old I don't even know how to apply filters to make me look not old!)

Favorites.   My most favorite kid is the one I'm talking to or spending time with at the moment.   

Favorite food...steak, hands down.  Bonus if it's grilled.  The best I've ever had was when Mariel and I rented a cabin in the Adirondacks a few years ago and grilled steak on charcoal.  Oh my.

Favorite dessert has to be ice cream, fresh local homemade is the ultimate.  I let myself have it a few times a year, and enjoy it more than you can imagine. I love all baked goods, but do not eat them anymore.  Donuts, pastries, cookies...nope, not anymore.  (here we are all snowed in, and I'm afraid to bake bread because I cannot resist it!)(I also cannot resist anything pumpkin...cookies, muffins, oh dear.)

Favorite pets: the dogs.  Cats are great, until you get a dog, and realize how much more personality the pups have.  Our two kitties ARE sweet and funny, but the doggies are like family.

Favorite place to vacation:  I love love love the beach.  I love when the sun is too hot and the water is just cool enough to refresh.  I also love the mountains, with that distinct mountain air, the smell of pine...in winter, I LOVE going to Florida...the smell when you arrive, that smell of warmth, of tropical weather...

Favorite smells:  crayons, cinnamon buns, fresh cold air, sunscreen, popcorn, chocolate, coffee, a new baby's head, a roasting turkey, fresh cut grass, a tomato from the garden...

Unfavorite things:  riding with one of the kids who is still learning, to drive, the smell of baby formula (I always switched over, weaned the babies from breastfeeding when I was expecting the next one, so I associate the smell of baby formula with morning sickness, yuck!), gambling, places with lots of stairs, ketchup, mayo, mustard, ranch, (super picky eater here!), rules, regulations, oppressive laws & taxes, arrogant politicians, being around water on a hot day when you cannot go in the water, seafood, and...fighting & arguing, although I don't know who on earth likes that.

I also love my comfy chair, although not nearly as much as my old, dearly departed comfy chair.  I love reading books and drinking coffee, and going on adventures.  I do love bargain shopping and doing projects.  I love talking to people, yet I also hate it sometimes.  I make friends with cashiers, and with grumpy nurses and receptionists.  

I do not like religion, yet I love the freedom of the gospel.  I love that trials are short and light when we have faith in God, that He sends all things for our very best.  

Distracted, that's what I am this fine day.  Jonathan is here, Sonja is between virtual classes, and I'm typing, talking, forgetting what I was saying, thoughts come and go, so...bye for now!

snowed in!

 We are staying home, and no one is coming over.  The county is in a state of emergency, we aren't to travel unless necessary.  School is closed, the girls are doing virtual school today.  

Yesterday's dinner:  roasted Brussel sprouts and  butternut squash,  stuffing, leftover ham, and leftover mashed potatoes.  It was quick and easy, and good.

I think today is a good day to be thankful for things!  In random order, of course, as "random" should be my middle name,...

1. 

My granddaughter Lydia Eleanor.  She's just a sunshine.

2.  

This.

3.  

Good memories from Margaret's wedding, when the other kids sang a song.

4.

Warm summer memories, family picnic at Ben's house.

5.  I am thankful that we live in a time where we can communicate with each other while at home, that technology allows working from home for so many.  

6.  Two cats, two dogs, they bring so much joy to our home.  The cats purr and cuddle and sometimes bat things off the counter.  The pups and the kitties get along just fine, they are all lazy couch hogs.

7.  I'm thankful for the four kids who still live at home.  Having had 16 kids all at home, then as they grew and moved out, that number gradually decreased, now there are four, and none of them are allowed to grow anymore, or ever move out.  Enough is enough.  

8.  The usual things, like coffee, warm slippers, more coffee...

9.  Hope for the future!  Just watching the video of summertime, it'll come again!  (the snowplow just came down the road, thankful for those guys!)

10. Peace.  Arguing, strife, bitterness, backbiting, criticizing, grudges:  these things do not belong among us, and we do NOT have to welcome them into our lives.  I'm thankful that God has had such mercy on me, and that the fight of faith is so worthwhile.

11. Of course I'm thankful for my kids.  Four have had their virus vaccines, two so far have been quite sick with the second jab, one is getting #2 today, so pray for her!   These older ones, I love them so much.  I love all of them, but when they grow up and they are actually your friends.   When they're teenagers, you have to navigate carefully, avoiding those landmines that explode when you least expect it, like, what on earth did I say to set you off NOW?  When they're teenagers, you learn to take a step back, think about what you're saying, let them vent, give them space, talk to them gently when they're in good moods, and all the other drama.  It's not a terrible time, but it's tricky.  Then they grow out of it, and oh dear, they're delightful!  My youngest is 13 now, so I've had teenagers for over 23 years in a row now.  Teenagers, though, they are absolutely delightful in between those episodes.  They give me new perspectives on things. (They think I'm SO old.). 

12.  Jonathan.  He gets his own paragraph.  He's such a good kid.  He is by nature very strong and because he's a 16 year old boy, he knows everything.  But he also has a degree of humility, and a faith in God that gives him a longing for peace and goodness, and he will always say he's sorry if he's a butthead.  He lives here with all these sisters (there were the five girls in a row before him, then the two little girls after), so we all agree that he is going to be an excellent husband some day.  He knows how to navigate around them, and is quite sensitive.   He put shelves up in Sonja's room the other day, and he puts air in the tires,  and checks the oil in the vehicles.  He is a great uncle to the little ones, brings out the trucks and toys he still has, and plays with them.  He is a treasure.  Now he's having a coffee, and I'm putting this away, and joining him.

Monday again?...how?

 Are there like two Mondays a week this winter or what?  We are getting a nor'easter...not tons of snow here in our area, maybe a foot.  Wind, and snow, school already cancelled for tomorrow, yay!  

This fine morning, I had to get out of my warm, toasty bed (flannel sheets, why did I only discover you this year?), and go, once again, to the dreaded road test.  I do not like waiting while my kids take these tests.  I've waited with small children, oh yes I have, I've waited while pregnant, and in the hot hot sun.  This fine morning, no small children waited with me, as I walked up and down the sidewalk, wondering, will he pass?  ugh, the utter wondering of it all, the anxiety!

I made that path, good thing I have Bear Paws with warm socks.

Jonathan Robert, licensed to drive in New York State!  phew.  Only two more kids to go.  

The older kids have helped with this through the years, but also, it's not like this is merely the 14th test.  Some of the kids passed the first time, but shh, a few took it like three times. 

We didn't go out and celebrate, but we did go to Wegmans.  Wegmans is like a celebration.  If you live in the northeast, you will recognize that this is a premium grocery store.  The ambiance is warm, the produce is always excellent, and they have the basic items at a good price, always.  I like their store brand of seltzer, ginger, mmm.  Their paper towels and toilet paper are reasonable, and good quality.  We got some coffee, Brussel sprouts, pasta sauce, baking ingredients.

Home.  Ah, home, kids doing online school today.  Sonja K. had to go into work, she should be home before the snow really starts coming down here.  

We already have a good bit of snow, what a winter!

Anyway.  I am trying to keep busy.  What shall I make?  Bread?  Cookies?  Cinnamon rolls?  Dinner is leftover ham, roasted diced butternut squash with Brussel sprouts, red onion,  and stuffing.  

more controversy? no, thank you.

 Yesterday was a frozen Saturday.  It was too cold to go ice fishing.  It was a day of teenagers sleeping in, and me cleaning the house.  Sweeping and mopping and vacuuming and wait, good morning, Miss Cam, here's the Windex!  The girls decided to invite their friend Amanda to come spend the night, so they tidied up their room.  Sonja has been super busy being back in college, and was restless to get out of the house, so off we went, just her and I.  

First stop, Kohl's.  Sonja's coat that I got her for Christmas has a few tears in the pockets, but there were no more in stock, and if we got our money back, we couldn't replace the coat with another brand for any where near what I paid for it.  Also, she really likes the coat.  So, we're sewing the pockets.

Next, Hobby Lobby, just because...well I love that place.  Sonja, not so much, but she was a good sport.  We wandered and meandered, and I decided that if I ever won a thousand dollar shopping spree there, I'd be quite happy.  We bought some beads for the girls, they have been keeping busy making bracelets and rings, and spent a grand total of seven dollars.

We splurged on Starbucks on the way home, while talking to Samuel on speakerphone.  He started a new job, and has had all sorts of adventures down in Virginia.

Home, Margaret and Adrian came over with Wulf and Tennyson, and Evelyn also came over.  Dinner...homemade pizzas, and wings in the air fryer.  

Wulf is hilarious.  He likes to "fix" things.  There's a Fisher Price trike here that he likes to ride on, fills the seat with all sorts of trinkets.  Sonja got out a screwdriver, a lint roller, some pliers, and pretended to be the mechanic.  The other day when he was here, he spilled some water, and Margaret said to him, "We have to be clean it up, otherwise people will fall."  He said, "I want wise people to fall."

This fine morning, I was the only one up for a bit, which means feeding the pets, letting them in and out, washing up the few dishes from last evening's decaf coffee.  I like having some quiet in the morning, which is quite possible these days.  The teenagers who sleep and sleep are the very ones who roused me out of bed at all hours, not too long ago.  

Miss Lydia is coming over today, and going to church with us...

See?  I can write an entire post with NO CONTROVERSY.  I've been thinking about why my feelings have gotten so hurt, and well, it's the age old thing:  I want everyone to like me, boo hoo.  Sonja and I talked a bit when we were out and about, she absolutely detests controversy, avoids politics like the plague.  I said I don't like dissent either, so she wonders why on earth I write what I do.  Well, I don't know.  I guess there are some that hope that censorship and shaming will silence the more conservative Americans.  I'd also guess that most Americans are NOT crazy radicals, just freedom loving people who want to live in peace.  

warm, comforting things...

 

Warm from the oven, homemade cinnamon buns.  They're not picture perfect, but the kids said they were really good.  The icing is just a thick vanilla glaze.  

I didn't set out to make cinnamon rolls yesterday.  I made a batch of oatmeal cookies, the first pan with no choc chips, Princess Camille doesn't like them, then added mini chocolate chips.  It warmed up the house, they smelled amazing, but I didn't have any.  I cannot, because I am not a one cookie person, and I am my own worst enemy.  (just for the record, I've been paying more attention to what I eat, cut the cream in my coffee to a minimum, and the scale is inching downward again...).

Anyway, dinner time was looming, butter chicken.  I cut up about five pounds of chicken breast, sautéed in olive oil with lots of cumin, and a sprinkle of pepper.  I added two jars of butter chicken sauce from Aldi, yes, I'm a cheater.  It simmered all afternoon, making the house smell yummy.   

Homemade naan bread goes well with this, so I started the dough for it, and wondered if my yeast was still good, it didn't foam up like I thought it should.  So I opened a new package, and this foamed better.  I made the dough, put it in a warm oven to rise (with a glass pan of water on the bottom).  When I checked the original cup of water and yeast, it had indeed foamed up, quite nicely, and I didn't want to waste it.  So I found a recipe for cinnamon bread that used roughly the same amount of water per yeast, then turned it into cinnamon rolls. 

The butter chicken was amazing, with fresh cilantro on top.  The kids eat theirs with Basmati rice, I had some spaghetti squash with mine.  For the naan bread, I squish the dough down after the first rising, and make like twenty little balls, cover and rise again.  Then I flatten each one, and put them a few at a time in the panini maker, brushed with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  They get crispy on the outside, and stay fluffy in the middle.  I tasted a few, and mmm.

Life is interesting.   We don't always get along magically, amazingly, wonderfully.  Sometimes we say things too harshly, or hurt someone's feelings.  Yesterday, I felt kind of lonely.  One of the kids told me she was sick of hearing about politics, okay, fair enough.   ouch.  you don't have to say it so sharply, but okay. Then another comment from someone, and one little thing from Paul, and wait a minute, every one hates me.  THEN, I check comments on the blog, and a lady derides me for joking about coronavirus.  She said she will have to read elsewhere, because basically, I am an awful person.  

Oh wah, stop feeling sorry for yourself, right?  If I were reading about myself in a book, that's what I would say to me.  I was conscious that I was heading in that direction, so I decided to be thankful for things instead, you know how you sometimes have to tell yourself that you're being ridiculous.  Objectively, who cares what people think of me, anyway!?  But the reality is sometimes it hurts, and I just had one of those afternoons where I wanted to go cry.  

Side note:  I do not think the corona virus is funny.  I am also not a politically correct comedian.  Laughing and joking about the discrepancies in policies and mandates doesn't mean I think it's hilarious that your grandma died.  I think I've mentioned it time and time again here, how heartbreaking it is.  Nursing homes riddled with it, understaffed, no visitors, it's like a nightmare.  My own older kids have firsthand been a part of the tragedy, Emily working in one of the Covid overrun hospitals in the beginning of the surge here, Molly working on a Covid floor for months, Aaron at Stanford, witnessing firsthand the sadness and the suffering, Mariel working with chemo patients who get their treatments alone, afraid.  I know it's real, and I know it's not a joke, in and of itself.  

When you lose someone you love, you are raw and sensitive, and I recognize this in what A. said to me, but when I sit here and write, I can't weigh and measure everything I say, and wonder if I'm going to offend someone.  I never intend to.  In fact, you wouldn't believe how much I do not say!

For instance, I had a few comments from someone who actually stated a falsehood...she mentioned that a certain house speaker was threatened by a congresswoman, and that was not true.  Not true at all.  I wrote a response, but deleted it, because I don't like arguing, strife.  I like to make my way through life seeking what's actually true.  

I found an article from Oklahoma State Health Department about masking.  This is NOT political, just common sense.  The virus numbers from where there was masking mandated and not, are interesting. Would you believe they were lower without masks?   

Anyway.  I like to write, I like to make observations in life, and of course I see everything from my point of view.  You all are entitled to your own viewpoints of course, and I welcome peaceful opposition, if that makes sense.  We are all different, and that's a beautiful thing.  Even in a family, we are different, and we need to learn to give each other space, forgive and forget, and get over ourselves.  Love covers a multitude of sin...

all about everything!...and Florida again!!?

 Florida?  Why yes, please.  I'll save the details for a later date, but I've been invited for March, and I said YES, of course!  When Grandma lives so far away, she needs her visitors!

Yesterday, Margaret came over with baby Tennyson and little Wulf.  She works full time, from home, and it's challenging!  So she worked from here yesterday and we helped out with the kids.  Jon took Wulf out to play in the snow, but only for a short time, as it was all of 15F here.  I got some good baby snuggling time in!

Tennyson was almost sleeping in this pic...

And here's one of Wulf that Margaret took last week:

(In other words, Grammy didn't take any of him yesterday:))

Miss Suzanne is engaged, I think I already told you guys about that, but they had some pics taken:

He (Zech) is a very nice young man, and they're lovely together.

The deck yesterday morning.  Some people hate winter, but not me!    Although it's both cold AND snowy today, and Sonja had to get up and drive to the city to the college to work, slippery roads.  Thankfully Paul works from home now, and we have his truck that she can drive.  

Evelyn and I, on a spontaneous, Let's-Go-To-The-New-Brewery jaunt last week.  On a cold blustery night, it was warm and welcoming.  (We had to mask until seated, I broke the rule by standing next to Ev for this pic.  Covid-19 is very smart, it'll get you if you're not seated when you take that mask off.  Also, NY state mandates that one purchases food when guzzling beer, so we HAD to order a little cheese basil thin crust pizza, poor us.   Sonja was a good sport and drove for us, because by the time we finished sampling those little beers, whoa.  But they were so good!  There was a candy cane, a peanut butter habanero, an oatmeal stout...I can't tolerate so much alcohol though, next time I'll drive.  It WAS fun though.

Margaret Cheryl, Kathryn Grace, Evelyn Joy, Suzanne Eleanor, Sonja Kathleen.  My five-girls-in-a-row in -five-years.  Margaret was five when Sonja was born, with the other three in between.  (then baby Robert was "born" when Margaret was 6, on the day she graduated kindergarten)(In NY, you have to be 5 on or before Dec 1 to go to kindergarten, so when Sonja was born, Margaret wasn't even in kindergarten yet.). These girls have been more of a blessing than a trial, but there were some interesting times!  Sonja is the only one of them still at home.  Marg is married, Kathryn is married, Evelyn lives in her apartment upstairs from Marg and Adrian, Suze is engaged and living in an apartment...time just FLIES.

I've said this a million times before, but when I was knee-deep in small children, people would tell me how time flies, and one day they would be growing up and moving out, but ho ho, time was moving slow as molasses back then.  The days were packed full and I had to be sneaky and crafty just to go to the bathroom all by my lonesome.  Bottles, diapers, wipes, pacifiers, strollers and car seats, sippy cups, baggies of cheerios and sleeves of crackers, filling the diaper bags with clean outfits, for YEARS and YEARS.  I'd no sooner get one to sleep through the night, and the next one would be born!  Sometimes there would be a stubborn one who didn't sleep through until the baby was born, and a few still woke up after, which was not fair.   Throw up bugs, ear infections, colds, coughs, teething...I never got any sleep.  Nap time was sacred, it was the hoped for, shining, looked forward time, the time that mostly disappointed, because seriously?  The stars had to be aligned just so, in order for mama to actually get a nap.  Baby:  had to sleep.  Toddler:  had to sleep.  Older Toddler:  had to sleep.  Older kids:  had to NOT slam doors, get in arguments, bring me the phone because someone important was calling, or ask me if they were allowed to open the Oreos.  So a nap was rare and much sought after, but even if I didn't actually get to sleep, a quiet time in the afternoon was mostly respected by everyone, and even the older kids really appreciated the down time.  They could watch a movie, in the summer time, or read, play games without the littles interrupting.  (just an FIY, those days when I was SO tired and didn't get a nap, those are when I gained most of my weight, because duh, cookies!  No nap?  Well, cookies.)

Anyway.  We're having quite the cold snap this weekend, a Polar Vortex dipping down into NY state.  It's snowing out again, and can you blame me for being excited for another trip to Florida?!  An Airbnb on the gulf coast...ahh.