One of my goals for 2011 is to be more organized. Really... we moved here in March, and we still have about 300 boxes to go through and toss or unpack or repack with notes. I never did find the Christmas box that had our stockings in it for 2010 and I'm really wanting to find some of my favorite dishes, and clothes that fit!
That being said, I spent most of yesterday packing away the Christmas things that I **did** find, but this time in long green tubs, with plenty of room for when we find the missing Christmas items. I'm also making a note of what we did and bought for 2010 holidays, and my impression of the holiday season.
Why?
Because I want to remember how it was so I can make changes for following years, as needed. For this year, I liked how we did NOTHING for Christmas day. Yeah, on the eve before we visited in-laws and ate desserts (don't get me started!), but once we got home and got to bed (late), the next morning was quiet. Laid out the gifts for my 14 year old Kid, milked the goat, took care of the livestock, then came in, made coffee and went back to bed until the Kid got up. He opened gifts, we ate oatmeal with millet and apple spice for breakfast, then lit a fire. Quite cold. We watched Jim Carrey's Christmas Carol as we snacked and toasted our toes. The rest of the day was spent quietly playing card games (mostly Uno), watching TV and enjoying our day. Barely any arguments, which was amazing in itself.
Next year, I want to do something similar. And I want to REMEMBER to do something similar: a quiet day at home, watching a new movie and just enjoying being with family.
Oh year ... 2009 Christmas colors at my house was blue and silver. This year, 2010, our colors were red and gold on the tree, and red and white on the dining room table. I'm thinking 2011 will be green and gold, or green and silver. Which looks better together? I'll need to get some matching dishes but found this year's at the thrift store.... will do the same next year. Hmmm... I'm thinking that after I post this, I'll print it out and add to my notes.
So I've made up a notebook to keep in my filing cabinet that says "Holiday Folder". And for each holiday that we do anything for (or don't do!), I'm gonna write a note about what we did. Started with 2010 Halloween and included my kid's birthday and Thanksgiving. Now Christmas. Hopefully by the time we get to 2011 Halloween, I'll have complete notes and will remember what worked and what didn't.
Yep, working to organize myself.
You?
Showing posts with label Holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holiday. Show all posts
Interesting Scam E-Mail
Found this in my spam e-mail folder and found it horribly interesting... that a scammer would use the war to dupe people.
Reproduced verbatim here (except I used ***** ^^^^ for his/her name):
= = = =
FROM: Sgt. ***** ^^^^ Important Message
Hey,
My name is Sgt. ***** ^^^^, I am an American soldier, I am serving in the military of the ### Infantry Division in Iraq, as you know we are being attacked by insurgents everyday and car bombs. We managed to move funds belonging to Saddam Hussein’s family. The total amount is US$12 Million dollars in cash, mostly 100 dollar bills, this money has been kept somewhere outside Baghdad but because of the increase of some troop by the past president Bush, we are afraid that the money will be discovered hence we want to move this money to you for safe keeping pending the completion of our assignment here. You can go to this web link to read about events that took place there:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm
We are ready to compensate you with good percentage of the funds, No strings attached, just for you to help us move it out of Iraq. Iraq is a war zone, so we plan on using diplomatic means to shipping the money out as military cargo, using diplomatic immunity. If you are interested I will send you the full details, my job is to find a good partner that we can trust and assist us. Can I trust you? When you receive this letter, kindly send me an e-mail via my private and secured account ****^^^^###@yahoo.com.hk signifying your interest in this trasaction please.
This is risk free.
With regards from,
Sgt. **** ^^^^
= = = =
Unbelievable.
Lots to do today. Hubby will mow and trim our little 2 acres (grass/weeds well above knee height) while the Kid and I clean inside and move boxes. I'll also make some more yogurt, and start the potato salad for Sunday. Mom-in-law comes tomorrow around noon and will stay overnight, leaving sometime on Monday. Grilling out, and hoping to see some fireworks from our home.
Independence Day Menu:
-grilled marinated steaks
-gf bread w/cheese for Kid (doesn't eat meat)
-homemade garlic and parsley bread (reg)
-grilled corn-on-the-cob
-grilled green beans w/olive oil and sea salt
-potato salad
-watermelon and other fresh fruit
-brownies (gluten-free AND regular)
Breakfast the next day Menu:
-scrambled fresh-laid eggs (thanks, Henny)
-blueberry muffins or pancakes (gf AND reg)
-berry smoothies with fresh raw goat milk OR yogurt
Got a new rooster from a neighbor late Thursday and put him in with our laying hen, Henny Penny. Randy little fellow! Not as much pecking and fighting as I expected. We're keeping the "newlyweds" closed into their coop for a few days until he reorients to his new home, then we can let them out to roam around and eat bugs.
Chicks doing very well in their new outdoor coop. Within 24 hours, these 8 week old birds were testing their boundaries! Two of them (Brownie and Cream) actually flew up to the top of their henhouse (about 4'), and one (Cream) spent the night there. Most of them actually prefer to huddle between the back of the henhouse and the kennel/coop fencing. Weird. Go inside the coop, silly chickens!!
I love that goats love to eat roses! Hubby brought home a bag of his mom's landscaping clippings (grass and roses) this week and the goats munched like they'd never had anything to eat before! They also found and devastated every bit of my peas and lentils. Oh well. Next year, different place. We have some Russian Olive trees to prune too, so the goats will get those. Hmmm... another tasty thorny treat!
Next week we'll chill, doing the bare minimum chores, then start back up with improving this place. Have more trees and berry bushes to plant, another chicken coop and house to build, and veggies to fertilize.
Happy Holiday, all!
Reproduced verbatim here (except I used ***** ^^^^ for his/her name):
= = = =
FROM: Sgt. ***** ^^^^ Important Message
Hey,
My name is Sgt. ***** ^^^^, I am an American soldier, I am serving in the military of the ### Infantry Division in Iraq, as you know we are being attacked by insurgents everyday and car bombs. We managed to move funds belonging to Saddam Hussein’s family. The total amount is US$12 Million dollars in cash, mostly 100 dollar bills, this money has been kept somewhere outside Baghdad but because of the increase of some troop by the past president Bush, we are afraid that the money will be discovered hence we want to move this money to you for safe keeping pending the completion of our assignment here. You can go to this web link to read about events that took place there:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm
We are ready to compensate you with good percentage of the funds, No strings attached, just for you to help us move it out of Iraq. Iraq is a war zone, so we plan on using diplomatic means to shipping the money out as military cargo, using diplomatic immunity. If you are interested I will send you the full details, my job is to find a good partner that we can trust and assist us. Can I trust you? When you receive this letter, kindly send me an e-mail via my private and secured account ****^^^^###@yahoo.com.hk signifying your interest in this trasaction please.
This is risk free.
With regards from,
Sgt. **** ^^^^
= = = =
Unbelievable.
Lots to do today. Hubby will mow and trim our little 2 acres (grass/weeds well above knee height) while the Kid and I clean inside and move boxes. I'll also make some more yogurt, and start the potato salad for Sunday. Mom-in-law comes tomorrow around noon and will stay overnight, leaving sometime on Monday. Grilling out, and hoping to see some fireworks from our home.
Independence Day Menu:
-grilled marinated steaks
-gf bread w/cheese for Kid (doesn't eat meat)
-homemade garlic and parsley bread (reg)
-grilled corn-on-the-cob
-grilled green beans w/olive oil and sea salt
-potato salad
-watermelon and other fresh fruit
-brownies (gluten-free AND regular)
Breakfast the next day Menu:
-scrambled fresh-laid eggs (thanks, Henny)
-blueberry muffins or pancakes (gf AND reg)
-berry smoothies with fresh raw goat milk OR yogurt
Got a new rooster from a neighbor late Thursday and put him in with our laying hen, Henny Penny. Randy little fellow! Not as much pecking and fighting as I expected. We're keeping the "newlyweds" closed into their coop for a few days until he reorients to his new home, then we can let them out to roam around and eat bugs.
Chicks doing very well in their new outdoor coop. Within 24 hours, these 8 week old birds were testing their boundaries! Two of them (Brownie and Cream) actually flew up to the top of their henhouse (about 4'), and one (Cream) spent the night there. Most of them actually prefer to huddle between the back of the henhouse and the kennel/coop fencing. Weird. Go inside the coop, silly chickens!!
I love that goats love to eat roses! Hubby brought home a bag of his mom's landscaping clippings (grass and roses) this week and the goats munched like they'd never had anything to eat before! They also found and devastated every bit of my peas and lentils. Oh well. Next year, different place. We have some Russian Olive trees to prune too, so the goats will get those. Hmmm... another tasty thorny treat!
Next week we'll chill, doing the bare minimum chores, then start back up with improving this place. Have more trees and berry bushes to plant, another chicken coop and house to build, and veggies to fertilize.
Happy Holiday, all!
Safe Evening Tonight. Please.
We don't do much for New Year's Eve. I'm usually sound asleep by 10 or half past. The Kid, however, wants to stay up to welcome the new year, so... here comes a TV-video marathon for him. Sooo glad his Winter vacation is almost up, so that he can start 8th grade next week.
Boiled eggs for lunch and while they cooked, I cleaned out part of my fridge. Hadn't realized there were so many yogurts thrust in the back of the bottom shelf - all expired. Found some baggies of various GF flours too. I just LOVE cleaning out the fridge... NOT!
Yesterday I posted a chores list for each of us. With some of the Kid's OCD tendencies, he's already taken to it like a duck to water. He likes being able to see what he's supposed to do. He followed it very closely yesterday, and today he's already finished what he needed to. Good for him.
Anyway, made my favorite tuna salad for lunch to eat with my homemade rosemary flax crackers, which actually didn't finish baking on time so I ate it with corn chips and rice crackers. Still delicious! Included a GF brownie with it (nope, not ready to give up sweets). Fixed a GF pizza with lots of turkey pepperoni on it for the Kid, who took time out from watching a movie to eat it.
We have an errand to do as soon as Hubby gets home from work, then we'll probably go to Village Inn to eat dinner. Breakfast foods, mostly meat, can usually be assured to be gluten-free. I hope anyway. I'll have bacon and eggs with maybe some grits or hash browns. The Kid will probably have bacon, applesauce and a baked potato. No clue what Hubby's in the mood for.
Then we'll go home. Hubby and I have a little champagne put away from before our move, so it's chilling in the garage with the bunny. Drinks in the garage come into the apartment feeling like they'd been refrigerated! We'll open the bubbly (uh oh, where's that bottle opener!) and maybe watch TV while we wait for the Kid to go to bed. Or we'll go to sleep and wake up to tell him to go to bed. Like last year!
Anyway, if you're reading this tonight, chances are you're at home, safe from the masses of drunk drivers, so good for you. But let's put out the good thoughts that this will be one of the safest New Year's Eves ever. People making smart decisions. Calling for a taxi or using a designated driver. Careful driving.
Happy New Year's, all! 2010, right? Unbelievable.
Boiled eggs for lunch and while they cooked, I cleaned out part of my fridge. Hadn't realized there were so many yogurts thrust in the back of the bottom shelf - all expired. Found some baggies of various GF flours too. I just LOVE cleaning out the fridge... NOT!
Yesterday I posted a chores list for each of us. With some of the Kid's OCD tendencies, he's already taken to it like a duck to water. He likes being able to see what he's supposed to do. He followed it very closely yesterday, and today he's already finished what he needed to. Good for him.
Anyway, made my favorite tuna salad for lunch to eat with my homemade rosemary flax crackers, which actually didn't finish baking on time so I ate it with corn chips and rice crackers. Still delicious! Included a GF brownie with it (nope, not ready to give up sweets). Fixed a GF pizza with lots of turkey pepperoni on it for the Kid, who took time out from watching a movie to eat it.
We have an errand to do as soon as Hubby gets home from work, then we'll probably go to Village Inn to eat dinner. Breakfast foods, mostly meat, can usually be assured to be gluten-free. I hope anyway. I'll have bacon and eggs with maybe some grits or hash browns. The Kid will probably have bacon, applesauce and a baked potato. No clue what Hubby's in the mood for.
Then we'll go home. Hubby and I have a little champagne put away from before our move, so it's chilling in the garage with the bunny. Drinks in the garage come into the apartment feeling like they'd been refrigerated! We'll open the bubbly (uh oh, where's that bottle opener!) and maybe watch TV while we wait for the Kid to go to bed. Or we'll go to sleep and wake up to tell him to go to bed. Like last year!
Anyway, if you're reading this tonight, chances are you're at home, safe from the masses of drunk drivers, so good for you. But let's put out the good thoughts that this will be one of the safest New Year's Eves ever. People making smart decisions. Calling for a taxi or using a designated driver. Careful driving.
Happy New Year's, all! 2010, right? Unbelievable.
A Blue Christmas
I was so looking forward to my phone call/skype with family in Kentucky last night. I had put my hair (long - down to my butt) in curlers, and actually applied mascara. We had all dressed up and were feeling great about seeing and talking with family.
Five minutes after we were expecting the skype-call, we got a cell-phone call. Dad. Sorry, everybody left. He was ticked but couldn't do anything about it. Then I got ticked. I gathered up everybody, the pecan pies and the gifts, and went to Mom-In-Law's house. (MIL) (She and Father-in-law are divorced but for some reason, he still expects to be included in everything, especially holidays and running him to doctor appointments and other errands. Ok, don't get me started.)
Nice, comfy time just us, but before we enjoyed ourselves, the Kid and I called Dad back. The Kid sang "Happy Birthday" to Dad then handed over the phone to me. I asked him to explain again what happened and why people left. The details are still vague, but basically, people just weren't in the mood. Selfish moments, I guess.
I never really did cheer up. Hubby was starting to feel sick, tho, so by the time Hubby's father and sister arrives, Hubby was fading and I was very concerned about him. The Kid was in the basement watching TV. Father-in-law (FIL) and Hubby are somewhat estranged and believe me, last night did nothing to help. Made things worse, in fact. FIL barely acknowledged our presence, and had to practically be forced to eat a piece of my pecan pie. Never did say hi to me. Then, after dessert, it was gift time. Very thoughtful presents from sister-in-law and MIL... a gorgeous teapot, a MIL-painted picture, etc., and great gifts for the Kid. FIL brought nothing. Not even a card. Fine if he had at least said: money's tight this year so I just bring you my good wishes, or, forgot all the gifts back at home (in Kansas), or, just didn't have the time. Whatever. But nothing.
I'm not a gift-minded greedy person. I really am not. But I believe in at least giving the children a gift. If you can't afford anything, a card will work fine. Or a squash you grew yourself. Or something that you make yourself. Anything to acknowledge the specialness of the day.
This man hasn't brought gifts to us for 2 years. Nor has he acknowledged the Kid's birthday, or even his own son's b-day (my Hubby).
This year we painted ceramics for them, plus gave a gift card, or in FIL's case, we gave him several packets of heirloom seeds to go with the ceramic flower pot Hubby painted. He threw the seeds onto the couch and laughed at the ceramic pot.
Next year, he gets a card. Only.
= = = =
So... yesterday was a sucky day. Thankfully we have our own little blended family, Hubby's mom, and my Dad. We can pretty much count on them to show they care. Meanwhile, we made our way home early last night, arriving from the harrowing trip over iced roads around 9 p.m. Kid went to bed (but I'm sure, not to sleep), Hubby took some medicine and went to sleep, and I stayed up and watched TV. I got up early to wrap the Kid's gifts, and the Kid made his entrance just after I finished the last one. He was thrilled. Hubby went back to bed. I put a turkey breast in the crockpot with olive oil and garlic, and made cinnamon rolls (gluten-free for the kid, and regular for Hubby and me).
I slipped off the gluten-free path, but need to go back on soon. It (gluten) plays with my hormones, and when I fall off the GF path, I'm in perimenopause. Since I finally started my period yesterday (the first time since July), I've decided I absolutely got to get back on it. Monday. That's right. Monday. Not January 1.
= = = =
I just sent an e-mail to a local Nigerian Dwarf goat farm. Wanted to give them a heads up that we want 4 milking does and 1 buck probably sometime in May. And want to visit the farm in the next few weeks to see how they do things so that we can do something similar (so the goats won't feel too out of place). Hope she responds next week so we can talk, and I certainly hope she'll have 4 does and 1 non-related buck when we're ready for them. Of course, we need the house, and then we'll need to build the barn. We COULD wait on the buck until Fall since we won't be breeding anyone till then.
= = = =
After a google search and some research, I came up with some ideas about the barn we'll need to build. Hope getting a permit won't be a difficult job, and we'll be allowed to build what we want. Here's what we need:
Five minutes after we were expecting the skype-call, we got a cell-phone call. Dad. Sorry, everybody left. He was ticked but couldn't do anything about it. Then I got ticked. I gathered up everybody, the pecan pies and the gifts, and went to Mom-In-Law's house. (MIL) (She and Father-in-law are divorced but for some reason, he still expects to be included in everything, especially holidays and running him to doctor appointments and other errands. Ok, don't get me started.)
Nice, comfy time just us, but before we enjoyed ourselves, the Kid and I called Dad back. The Kid sang "Happy Birthday" to Dad then handed over the phone to me. I asked him to explain again what happened and why people left. The details are still vague, but basically, people just weren't in the mood. Selfish moments, I guess.
I never really did cheer up. Hubby was starting to feel sick, tho, so by the time Hubby's father and sister arrives, Hubby was fading and I was very concerned about him. The Kid was in the basement watching TV. Father-in-law (FIL) and Hubby are somewhat estranged and believe me, last night did nothing to help. Made things worse, in fact. FIL barely acknowledged our presence, and had to practically be forced to eat a piece of my pecan pie. Never did say hi to me. Then, after dessert, it was gift time. Very thoughtful presents from sister-in-law and MIL... a gorgeous teapot, a MIL-painted picture, etc., and great gifts for the Kid. FIL brought nothing. Not even a card. Fine if he had at least said: money's tight this year so I just bring you my good wishes, or, forgot all the gifts back at home (in Kansas), or, just didn't have the time. Whatever. But nothing.
I'm not a gift-minded greedy person. I really am not. But I believe in at least giving the children a gift. If you can't afford anything, a card will work fine. Or a squash you grew yourself. Or something that you make yourself. Anything to acknowledge the specialness of the day.
This man hasn't brought gifts to us for 2 years. Nor has he acknowledged the Kid's birthday, or even his own son's b-day (my Hubby).
This year we painted ceramics for them, plus gave a gift card, or in FIL's case, we gave him several packets of heirloom seeds to go with the ceramic flower pot Hubby painted. He threw the seeds onto the couch and laughed at the ceramic pot.
Next year, he gets a card. Only.
= = = =
So... yesterday was a sucky day. Thankfully we have our own little blended family, Hubby's mom, and my Dad. We can pretty much count on them to show they care. Meanwhile, we made our way home early last night, arriving from the harrowing trip over iced roads around 9 p.m. Kid went to bed (but I'm sure, not to sleep), Hubby took some medicine and went to sleep, and I stayed up and watched TV. I got up early to wrap the Kid's gifts, and the Kid made his entrance just after I finished the last one. He was thrilled. Hubby went back to bed. I put a turkey breast in the crockpot with olive oil and garlic, and made cinnamon rolls (gluten-free for the kid, and regular for Hubby and me).
I slipped off the gluten-free path, but need to go back on soon. It (gluten) plays with my hormones, and when I fall off the GF path, I'm in perimenopause. Since I finally started my period yesterday (the first time since July), I've decided I absolutely got to get back on it. Monday. That's right. Monday. Not January 1.
= = = =
I just sent an e-mail to a local Nigerian Dwarf goat farm. Wanted to give them a heads up that we want 4 milking does and 1 buck probably sometime in May. And want to visit the farm in the next few weeks to see how they do things so that we can do something similar (so the goats won't feel too out of place). Hope she responds next week so we can talk, and I certainly hope she'll have 4 does and 1 non-related buck when we're ready for them. Of course, we need the house, and then we'll need to build the barn. We COULD wait on the buck until Fall since we won't be breeding anyone till then.
= = = =
After a google search and some research, I came up with some ideas about the barn we'll need to build. Hope getting a permit won't be a difficult job, and we'll be allowed to build what we want. Here's what we need:
- Each female needs it's own pen, but since Nigerian Dwarf goats don't get taller than 2 feet, they only need about 4 square feet of space, but almost double that for when they kid, so for 4 does, we need 4 pens/stalls, each 8 square feet. They can double up when they aren't kidding or have no kids. Their pens will open up to the east, to the "backyard" where the pastures will be. Each pen will have feed boxes, hay trough and water buckets where we can easily fill them.
- The chicken coop will be on the same side as the doe pens. Will hold nesting boxes, easily placed to get to the eggs. MIGHT make a separate area for a broody hen so we can hatch some eggs, which will mean we'll need yet another small pen for a rooster.
- The buck will need to be on the opposite side of the barn, separated by a wall. If the bucks are too close to milking does, it makes the milk have a strong taste. So, we'll have 2 small 4-square feet stalls for the buck (the second just in case we need it later). This side will open to the front yard
- On the other side of the buck's pens and a large door will be a large feed storage area (feed, hay, veggies, etc.) for all of our critters.
- In the center, with a wall and a door, will be the quail coop (aviary) and rabbit hutches, all over the worms for vermicomposting.
Did I get everything? Rabbits. Quail. Chickens. Worms. Goats (male and female). Oh, and the milking stand will be in the center too.
= = = =
Guess that's it for now. Hubby's asleep behind me. The Kid's in his room reading one of his new books. I have the TV on to help provide enough glow for me to type.
Hope you all had a good holiday. Blessings, from our family to yours.
Vikki
Beef Stew and Baked Beans
Yesterday I was busy. Again. We had a major snowstorm so I didn't feel like leaving, but I had plenty to keep myself busy. I worked on the Kid's curriculum (it'll take at least another week, probably 2, before I have it ready). I did another couple loads of wash, hanging them on the shower bars. Cleaned the kitchen.
And made the best beef stew ever!
For Thanksgiving, I talked Hubby into getting a double-crock crockpot, so on the right one, I made baked beans for the Kid. Beef stew on the left. Here's how:
Beef Stew
Ingredients:
1/2 lb beef stew meat
1 cube vegetable boullion
4 cups water
1/3 can tomato paste
1/4 lb bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 small potatoes, chopped, peel on
10-15 baby carrots
2 tablespoons dried garlic powder
4 tablespoons tapioca flour (or wheat flour)
Directions:
Spray the crock with pan spray and add the meat. Cook until brown. Add the water, the boullion, and the tomato paste and cook for another 4 hours. Stir well. Add the bacon, chopped onion, chopped potatoes, carrots and potatoes. Cook another 3 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, add the flour to thicken the broth into a gravy. Salt/pepper to taste. Delicious!
Baked Beans
Ingredients:
2 cups white beans
4 cups water
3/4 lb bacon, chopped
3/4 can tomato paste
2 tablespoons onion powder
Directions:
Add the beans and water to the crockpot. Cook for a minimum 4 hours, until the beans soften. Add the bacon and tomato paste, stir, and cook for another 3-4 hours. Add onion powder about 30 minutes before serving. Salt/pepper to taste.
= = = =
The Kid generally doesn't like my beans so I usually have to buy the cans. But for these he said, and I quote, "they don't have much taste". "They don't?" I was upset. "No, but I can really taste the bacon, and that's great!" Okay, so maybe these beans aren't as good as what's in the can, but he ate an entire bowl full last night along with a baked potato, and he was thrilled, so sure, these might be a little bland for you, but I got my kid to eat some protein, and that counts for something!
As far as the stew is concerned, I couldn't believe how delicious it was. I didn't even use any of the herbs I'd bought to experiment with. I guess it was the browning of the stew meat, and then the boullion cube that made the difference. I ate 2 bowls, Hubby had a huge bowl of that and baked beans, and I put 2 containers in the fridge for lunches later on.
At King Soopers the other day, I'd bought a 3-pound container of stew meat, almost expired so it was discounted with an orange sticker for 50% off, or $10.13 for the 3 pounds. I divided it into six portions, and used one portion for the stew last night. I bagged the other 5 and placed them in a bigger baggie for the freezer. I'm thinking that's 5 weeks of making beef stew once a week. Yum!
= = = =
I made 2 more pecan pies today. We're going to my mom-in-law's in about an hour, and we're taking the 2 gluten-free pecan/chocolate chip pies. Just having dessert and exchanging presents. Father-in-law should be there too (somewhat estranged from Hubby) and my sister-in-law and her hubby. Fun fun.
About my pecan ooey gooey ... I put the extra "batter" into a corningware dish, and it turned into pecan/chocolate caramel.... yum! Great side effect. Ok... yep, I gotta start my diet. I think I'll be traditional and start it on January 1. It's time I reduce from my very heavy weight. Hope you don't mind, but I think I'll use this blog for my diet too.
When we come home tonight, hopefully the Kid will go to bed (we never did the Santa Clause thing so we don't have to pretend or anything). But he does want us to wrap at least some of his gifts. We couldn't do a tree this year, so we're leaving them on the couch in the living room. We'll give Blanca Bunny an apple for her Christmas present, and Hubby and I exchanged clothes. (Read: I bought him some clothes, and got me some too!)
= = = =
Well, it's about time to skype Dad and many members of my family who are eating at his house, so I need to finish getting my hair done and purty myself up. Then we leave for Mom-in-Law. Have a great night tomorrow, and a great day tomorrow.
And made the best beef stew ever!
For Thanksgiving, I talked Hubby into getting a double-crock crockpot, so on the right one, I made baked beans for the Kid. Beef stew on the left. Here's how:
Beef Stew
Ingredients:
1/2 lb beef stew meat
1 cube vegetable boullion
4 cups water
1/3 can tomato paste
1/4 lb bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 small potatoes, chopped, peel on
10-15 baby carrots
2 tablespoons dried garlic powder
4 tablespoons tapioca flour (or wheat flour)
Directions:
Spray the crock with pan spray and add the meat. Cook until brown. Add the water, the boullion, and the tomato paste and cook for another 4 hours. Stir well. Add the bacon, chopped onion, chopped potatoes, carrots and potatoes. Cook another 3 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, add the flour to thicken the broth into a gravy. Salt/pepper to taste. Delicious!
Baked Beans
Ingredients:
2 cups white beans
4 cups water
3/4 lb bacon, chopped
3/4 can tomato paste
2 tablespoons onion powder
Directions:
Add the beans and water to the crockpot. Cook for a minimum 4 hours, until the beans soften. Add the bacon and tomato paste, stir, and cook for another 3-4 hours. Add onion powder about 30 minutes before serving. Salt/pepper to taste.
= = = =
The Kid generally doesn't like my beans so I usually have to buy the cans. But for these he said, and I quote, "they don't have much taste". "They don't?" I was upset. "No, but I can really taste the bacon, and that's great!" Okay, so maybe these beans aren't as good as what's in the can, but he ate an entire bowl full last night along with a baked potato, and he was thrilled, so sure, these might be a little bland for you, but I got my kid to eat some protein, and that counts for something!
As far as the stew is concerned, I couldn't believe how delicious it was. I didn't even use any of the herbs I'd bought to experiment with. I guess it was the browning of the stew meat, and then the boullion cube that made the difference. I ate 2 bowls, Hubby had a huge bowl of that and baked beans, and I put 2 containers in the fridge for lunches later on.
At King Soopers the other day, I'd bought a 3-pound container of stew meat, almost expired so it was discounted with an orange sticker for 50% off, or $10.13 for the 3 pounds. I divided it into six portions, and used one portion for the stew last night. I bagged the other 5 and placed them in a bigger baggie for the freezer. I'm thinking that's 5 weeks of making beef stew once a week. Yum!
= = = =
I made 2 more pecan pies today. We're going to my mom-in-law's in about an hour, and we're taking the 2 gluten-free pecan/chocolate chip pies. Just having dessert and exchanging presents. Father-in-law should be there too (somewhat estranged from Hubby) and my sister-in-law and her hubby. Fun fun.
About my pecan ooey gooey ... I put the extra "batter" into a corningware dish, and it turned into pecan/chocolate caramel.... yum! Great side effect. Ok... yep, I gotta start my diet. I think I'll be traditional and start it on January 1. It's time I reduce from my very heavy weight. Hope you don't mind, but I think I'll use this blog for my diet too.
When we come home tonight, hopefully the Kid will go to bed (we never did the Santa Clause thing so we don't have to pretend or anything). But he does want us to wrap at least some of his gifts. We couldn't do a tree this year, so we're leaving them on the couch in the living room. We'll give Blanca Bunny an apple for her Christmas present, and Hubby and I exchanged clothes. (Read: I bought him some clothes, and got me some too!)
= = = =
Well, it's about time to skype Dad and many members of my family who are eating at his house, so I need to finish getting my hair done and purty myself up. Then we leave for Mom-in-Law. Have a great night tomorrow, and a great day tomorrow.
Yule Projects: birds, goats, and wassail
We celebrate Yule in our house: Yule is a celebration of the return of the light at the time of the winter solstice. For 2009, it's today!
Grains and seeds, and the feeding of creatures have been associated with Yuletide holidays for hundred of years in Europe. To continue this tradition why not feed our feathered friends as a family project? We are popping popcorn, and stringing them with needle and thread, then decorating our balcony. (Picture to right of popcorn garland stringing.) Hmmm... I have some cranberries leftover, so maybe we'll add a few of them to the popcorn strand.
Also... we have some unshelled peanuts, so we'll do the same stringing thing for a nearby batch of bushes. Maybe next year, we'll have pinecones from our own property, and we'll fill with peanut butter that we've mixed with bird seed.
This is also the time of year to slaughter a goat, called the Yule Goat, and if you don't eat goat, make one out of straw. Originally the Yule goat was invisible and snuck into people's homes to make sure they had done Yule preparations correctly. Later, after Christianity, it became the bearer of gifts, which was later turned over to Santa Claus.
The Yule Log is another good project! We use the maypole that we erected and danced around on May Day. We cut it down, and decorate, using Winter's abundant greenery, and berries (like on the yew). The burning of the log is accompanied by prayers so that the coming year may bring much happiness, love, luck, riches, and food. Since we don't have a fireplace this year, it will be a missed tradition that we are eager to resume next year.
(Picture to the right: wassailing the apple trees)
Then there's a-wassailing (nowadays called Christmas caroling). Wassail = wæs þu hæl, "be thou hale" — i.e., "be in good health". It is rumored, or believed, that wassailing was basically singing to the orchards of apple trees to bring good harvests in the year to come. Here's a bit of a lyric: Here's to thee, old apple tree, That blooms well, bears well. Hats full, caps full, Three bushel bags full, An' all under one tree. Hurrah! Hurrah!
Serve punch, mulled wine, spicy ale, or, our favorite, mulled apple cider!
Grains and seeds, and the feeding of creatures have been associated with Yuletide holidays for hundred of years in Europe. To continue this tradition why not feed our feathered friends as a family project? We are popping popcorn, and stringing them with needle and thread, then decorating our balcony. (Picture to right of popcorn garland stringing.) Hmmm... I have some cranberries leftover, so maybe we'll add a few of them to the popcorn strand.Also... we have some unshelled peanuts, so we'll do the same stringing thing for a nearby batch of bushes. Maybe next year, we'll have pinecones from our own property, and we'll fill with peanut butter that we've mixed with bird seed.
This is also the time of year to slaughter a goat, called the Yule Goat, and if you don't eat goat, make one out of straw. Originally the Yule goat was invisible and snuck into people's homes to make sure they had done Yule preparations correctly. Later, after Christianity, it became the bearer of gifts, which was later turned over to Santa Claus.
The Yule Log is another good project! We use the maypole that we erected and danced around on May Day. We cut it down, and decorate, using Winter's abundant greenery, and berries (like on the yew). The burning of the log is accompanied by prayers so that the coming year may bring much happiness, love, luck, riches, and food. Since we don't have a fireplace this year, it will be a missed tradition that we are eager to resume next year.
(Picture to the right: wassailing the apple trees)
Then there's a-wassailing (nowadays called Christmas caroling). Wassail = wæs þu hæl, "be thou hale" — i.e., "be in good health". It is rumored, or believed, that wassailing was basically singing to the orchards of apple trees to bring good harvests in the year to come. Here's a bit of a lyric: Here's to thee, old apple tree, That blooms well, bears well. Hats full, caps full, Three bushel bags full, An' all under one tree. Hurrah! Hurrah! Serve punch, mulled wine, spicy ale, or, our favorite, mulled apple cider!
Have a special Yule, dear friends and family.
New Book Ahoy!
I just love bookstores, don't you!? When I'm not busy in Spring, Summer and Fall, I love taking the time to browse bookshelves, and sit to peruse titles I can't usually afford.
Today was a tad different. The Kid turned 13 in November, and hadn't yet spent his $25 gift card for Barnes and Noble bookstore, so today was it. After we finished addressing the last of the holiday cheer cards and dropped off the (overdue - errr) books at the library, we headed off to the largest B&N we knew about. Were there for almost 3 hours!
I found a few books on keeping deer out of gardening, and how to grow more vegetables in less space, found my tushie a comfy chair, and sat. And read. And read. Hubby interrupted a few times with finds. Kid interrupted, desparate for me to use his gift card on a CD (he doesn't want me to say what it is). The Hubby brought over a huge book: "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" by Carla Emery, 10th edition. OMG - it's even better than the Storey version. I browsed through it, and tonight, I started carefully reading it, cover to cover.
This is a definite book for you, my readers, to at least take a look at. While she gears a lot of her info to larger properties (5 acres or more), I find I can take the info for our 2 acre (please god let them accept the offer for that property) home.
= = = =
So what did we do after we got back from the bookstore? Picked up some greens for the bunny. Uh, read while we watched holiday specials on TV. Fed the rabbit and turned off her heater-fan. Okay, I just realized we forgot to eat dinner, and it's 9:28 p.m. Oh well. I ate a few Snickers about an hour ago! Ah, sweet chocolate!
= = = =
Tomorrow is a busy day. We all have our cleaning appointments at the dentist. While Hubby is at his first (2 hour appt!), I will wrap his mom's b-day gift, finish getting my dad's b-day gift wrapped for mailing, get everything stamped and ready for the post office. Then I'll take the Kid to his appt while Hubby runs home, grabs the gift and mailings, drops the mailings off at the post office, and goes to his mom's to spend most of the day with her, seeing as it's her b-day.
After the Kid's and my cleaning appointment, we'll come home, I'll wrap Christmas gifts, sort through some seeds that came in the mail yesterday, and start working on the Kid's curriculum for 8th grade, which he starts the first week in January. Yup, only 2 weeks away.
Oh shoot. I just realized I have soup in the crockpot.
My mind is frazzled. 'Tis that time of year.
I need sleep.
Today was a tad different. The Kid turned 13 in November, and hadn't yet spent his $25 gift card for Barnes and Noble bookstore, so today was it. After we finished addressing the last of the holiday cheer cards and dropped off the (overdue - errr) books at the library, we headed off to the largest B&N we knew about. Were there for almost 3 hours!
I found a few books on keeping deer out of gardening, and how to grow more vegetables in less space, found my tushie a comfy chair, and sat. And read. And read. Hubby interrupted a few times with finds. Kid interrupted, desparate for me to use his gift card on a CD (he doesn't want me to say what it is). The Hubby brought over a huge book: "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" by Carla Emery, 10th edition. OMG - it's even better than the Storey version. I browsed through it, and tonight, I started carefully reading it, cover to cover.
This is a definite book for you, my readers, to at least take a look at. While she gears a lot of her info to larger properties (5 acres or more), I find I can take the info for our 2 acre (please god let them accept the offer for that property) home.
= = = =
So what did we do after we got back from the bookstore? Picked up some greens for the bunny. Uh, read while we watched holiday specials on TV. Fed the rabbit and turned off her heater-fan. Okay, I just realized we forgot to eat dinner, and it's 9:28 p.m. Oh well. I ate a few Snickers about an hour ago! Ah, sweet chocolate!
= = = =
Tomorrow is a busy day. We all have our cleaning appointments at the dentist. While Hubby is at his first (2 hour appt!), I will wrap his mom's b-day gift, finish getting my dad's b-day gift wrapped for mailing, get everything stamped and ready for the post office. Then I'll take the Kid to his appt while Hubby runs home, grabs the gift and mailings, drops the mailings off at the post office, and goes to his mom's to spend most of the day with her, seeing as it's her b-day.
After the Kid's and my cleaning appointment, we'll come home, I'll wrap Christmas gifts, sort through some seeds that came in the mail yesterday, and start working on the Kid's curriculum for 8th grade, which he starts the first week in January. Yup, only 2 weeks away.
Oh shoot. I just realized I have soup in the crockpot.
My mind is frazzled. 'Tis that time of year.
I need sleep.
Saturday, the Slow Day
We had such a busy day yesterday, that today seems extremely slow in comparison. The offer was made for the land yesterday. Picked up ceramics we painted as a few Christmas presents. Grabbed a few items for mom-in-law's b-day basket. Dropped off books at the library. So much.
Today, well, I've been sick twice so I'm not getting much done. Hubby's finally getting around to cleaning the bunny's cage; she appears to be molting so we'll give her a good comb and pull tomorrow. Hope her skin isn't drying out from the heating-fan.
Just printed off the Hubby's list of family's addresses so he can finally address his holiday cards; mine went out weeks ago. Do have to send my Dad's b-day gift overnight as his b-day is Christmas Eve. He called yesterday to let me know the Kid's gifts are on their way, and asked for us to Skype with him on his b-day. No prob! Now... where is the box with my makeup and earrings?!?!
I forgot to call the doctor yesterday. I still have my bronchitis cough, which doesn't seem to be abating at all. Every evening, I have such a coughing jag that I'm exhausted afterwards and pretty much drop off to sleep whether I'm ready or not.
Tis the holiday season and I was really hoping to do some baking and cooking this week and next. Hope I get the energy soon. Would love to post some new recipes!
Have a great day, all.
Today, well, I've been sick twice so I'm not getting much done. Hubby's finally getting around to cleaning the bunny's cage; she appears to be molting so we'll give her a good comb and pull tomorrow. Hope her skin isn't drying out from the heating-fan.
Just printed off the Hubby's list of family's addresses so he can finally address his holiday cards; mine went out weeks ago. Do have to send my Dad's b-day gift overnight as his b-day is Christmas Eve. He called yesterday to let me know the Kid's gifts are on their way, and asked for us to Skype with him on his b-day. No prob! Now... where is the box with my makeup and earrings?!?!
I forgot to call the doctor yesterday. I still have my bronchitis cough, which doesn't seem to be abating at all. Every evening, I have such a coughing jag that I'm exhausted afterwards and pretty much drop off to sleep whether I'm ready or not.
Tis the holiday season and I was really hoping to do some baking and cooking this week and next. Hope I get the energy soon. Would love to post some new recipes!
Have a great day, all.
No Call From Agent
I left a message for our agent early yesterday - via phone and e-mail, and asked for a call a.s.a.p. about when we can look at houses on Monday.
No call. No e-mail. And a former agent didn't call either. We couldn't even get a seller's agent to show us a listing that we're really interested in.
Is everyone in the real estate business here in the Denver area already taking off for Christmas?
= = = =
Meanwhile, today we decorated 2 stockings for Hubby's work. They gave us plain red felt stockings, we decorate and stuff, and return to Hubby's work with what age they're appropriate for. They will go to returning vets who won't have time to shop for their kids. Not masterpieces by any means, but still... we, as a family, decorated amidst arguments, spilt glitter-glue, and watching 2 christmas specials on TV.
= = = =
I got around to making both of the brie today... the brown sugar with grapes, and the herbs de provence. I'll try to add the pictures to this posting but it won't be at least until tomorrow. Hubby loved both; he's taking the leftover herbs cheese to work tomorrow (breakfast). I, of course, love all things sweet so together we finished off the 2 grapes and the 1 herbs. Yum! Simple, elegant, and outstanding.
= = = =
Tomorrow begins a full-week of 7-th grade testing for the Kid. He's not at all excited about it. Actually, gotta admit, neither am I. He is completely lost in math, so that will be testing at 3rd grade level, but the rest is 7th. I just love schooling him at home! No really, he's a good kid. And loves all of the literature I give him. He starts 8th grade coursework (except math!) in January, and he's excited about reading 1984,Watership Down, Kidnapped and many more. I'm also going to teach him basics for what I call "life skills" like gardening, manners, earning money, health and hygiene, etc. This will be his most intensive and busy school year yet. 12 months (with little breaks here and there). I just love child-led learning/education!
I'm so tired. I still have the lingering cough from the Swine Flu/H1N1-turned-bronchitis and am really really really tired of coughing and taking nyquil at night. They are getting rich off of me. Anyway, it's only 6:17 p.m. and I'm turning in for the night.
Hopefully my blogging will be back up to par soon. Thanks for stopping by! Vikki
No call. No e-mail. And a former agent didn't call either. We couldn't even get a seller's agent to show us a listing that we're really interested in.
Is everyone in the real estate business here in the Denver area already taking off for Christmas?
= = = =
Meanwhile, today we decorated 2 stockings for Hubby's work. They gave us plain red felt stockings, we decorate and stuff, and return to Hubby's work with what age they're appropriate for. They will go to returning vets who won't have time to shop for their kids. Not masterpieces by any means, but still... we, as a family, decorated amidst arguments, spilt glitter-glue, and watching 2 christmas specials on TV.
= = = =
I got around to making both of the brie today... the brown sugar with grapes, and the herbs de provence. I'll try to add the pictures to this posting but it won't be at least until tomorrow. Hubby loved both; he's taking the leftover herbs cheese to work tomorrow (breakfast). I, of course, love all things sweet so together we finished off the 2 grapes and the 1 herbs. Yum! Simple, elegant, and outstanding.
= = = =
Tomorrow begins a full-week of 7-th grade testing for the Kid. He's not at all excited about it. Actually, gotta admit, neither am I. He is completely lost in math, so that will be testing at 3rd grade level, but the rest is 7th. I just love schooling him at home! No really, he's a good kid. And loves all of the literature I give him. He starts 8th grade coursework (except math!) in January, and he's excited about reading 1984,Watership Down, Kidnapped and many more. I'm also going to teach him basics for what I call "life skills" like gardening, manners, earning money, health and hygiene, etc. This will be his most intensive and busy school year yet. 12 months (with little breaks here and there). I just love child-led learning/education!
I'm so tired. I still have the lingering cough from the Swine Flu/H1N1-turned-bronchitis and am really really really tired of coughing and taking nyquil at night. They are getting rich off of me. Anyway, it's only 6:17 p.m. and I'm turning in for the night.
Hopefully my blogging will be back up to par soon. Thanks for stopping by! Vikki
Offer placed for land
Here's the big news. We got a call from our agent, saying that all offers for the piece of property we're interested in must be made by yesterday at noon. So we scrambled, arranged our schedules, and discussed numbers. We don't have much cash, but pay our bills on time every month with a tad bit more to spare. So we based our offer on what we can reasonably afford in a monthly mortgage payment. The agent and our mortgage broker weren't happy with us for making an offer about 8K less than the asking price, but our opinion is... we can only try! If the bank doesn't like it (short sale), and rejects our offer for someone else's (there were 2 other offers, at least, being submitted at the same time), then we'll keep looking.
So after our vision appointments (Hubby and I both need new glasses, my cornea degeneration is getting worse, and the Kid is perfect!), and Hubby's and Kid's dental appointments (aw man, don't get me started!), we headed to the agent's office yesterday to sign documents and get the offer in on time.
HOWEVER... by 3 p.m., we got an e-mail (yes, not even a phone call!) that we didn't get the house. Bummer. We'll keep looking.
= = = = =
Meanwhile, we painted ceramics today. Most gifts this holiday season are just gift cards because, frankly, I'm too cheap for large amounts of postage! However, 3 gifts this year will be ceramics that we painted. Hubby and I also painted mugs for ourselves, and the Kid painted a license plate for himself.
Next week I test the Kid for his 7th grade studies. Fun fun... sure wish I could find the box I put those test booklets in! Then he gets a couple of weeks off, then starts 8th grade the first week in January. We school year round, except for little breaks here and there, so he'll wrap up 8th grade the end of 2010. Hope he actually understand math by then; everything else is up to snuf, grade and age level.
Weather has been below freezing since last Saturday. Today finally got ever so slightly more than freezer - yippee!! Here's what's on our bed: 1 sheet, 3 comforters, 1 blanket, 1 afghan, 1 quilt folded into 2 layers, and another blanket. That's 9 layers! Finally, I was warm last night!
The bunny has finally settled down in the garage. We have a fan blowing warm air on her, and we've caught her putting her little white butt towards the fan. Unfortunately, now I'm finding her angora white fiber on the other side of the room, blown by the fan into the potatoes! I covered them with a towel! At least she's happy now. And she's not nearly as mean as she has been. We keep the radio set on classical music for her, and have a light on a timer so she's not in the dark 24/7. I think she's pretty happy there. And we visit several times a day, bringing carrots twice a day, and salad with the evening carrots.
I guess that's in for now. Ah, the saga of my life!
So after our vision appointments (Hubby and I both need new glasses, my cornea degeneration is getting worse, and the Kid is perfect!), and Hubby's and Kid's dental appointments (aw man, don't get me started!), we headed to the agent's office yesterday to sign documents and get the offer in on time.
HOWEVER... by 3 p.m., we got an e-mail (yes, not even a phone call!) that we didn't get the house. Bummer. We'll keep looking.
= = = = =
Meanwhile, we painted ceramics today. Most gifts this holiday season are just gift cards because, frankly, I'm too cheap for large amounts of postage! However, 3 gifts this year will be ceramics that we painted. Hubby and I also painted mugs for ourselves, and the Kid painted a license plate for himself.
Next week I test the Kid for his 7th grade studies. Fun fun... sure wish I could find the box I put those test booklets in! Then he gets a couple of weeks off, then starts 8th grade the first week in January. We school year round, except for little breaks here and there, so he'll wrap up 8th grade the end of 2010. Hope he actually understand math by then; everything else is up to snuf, grade and age level.
Weather has been below freezing since last Saturday. Today finally got ever so slightly more than freezer - yippee!! Here's what's on our bed: 1 sheet, 3 comforters, 1 blanket, 1 afghan, 1 quilt folded into 2 layers, and another blanket. That's 9 layers! Finally, I was warm last night!
The bunny has finally settled down in the garage. We have a fan blowing warm air on her, and we've caught her putting her little white butt towards the fan. Unfortunately, now I'm finding her angora white fiber on the other side of the room, blown by the fan into the potatoes! I covered them with a towel! At least she's happy now. And she's not nearly as mean as she has been. We keep the radio set on classical music for her, and have a light on a timer so she's not in the dark 24/7. I think she's pretty happy there. And we visit several times a day, bringing carrots twice a day, and salad with the evening carrots.
I guess that's in for now. Ah, the saga of my life!
Black Friday? Yeah, Right!
Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day here in the USA. Which means today is "Black Friday" - the day that many people do their Christmas shopping because retailers have supposedly fantastic deals to entice those buyers. I didn't leave the house today. I didn't run to the grocery store, or stop by the dollar store for another turkey baster (Kid has "misplaced" part of the one I've had forever).I stayed home, read, made stuffing, ate leftover pecan pie, and tried not to nag Hubby to change the rabbit's cage. It was almost a week, and trust me, the ammonia smell is overpowering.
Why don't I do it?
Because I do just about everything else... I shouldn't have to change the bunny's poop-tray too!
So... I guess, in a way, it was black friday for me ... the black cloud hanging over the sweet little french angora rabbit's cage could kill anyone's digestion system or smelling abilities. I've nearly thrown up 7 times in the last 15 minutes, and that's "nearly" because I hate throwing up.
I know. TMI.
Good night. Sleep well.
Vikki
Pre-Thanksgiving Day Preparations, and More
Hubby took the day off today, so we have 5 whole days of "togetherness". Fun! So... we have already finished one pecan pie (it's a tad darker than I would have liked), have another one in the oven, and have homemade bread (not from a box) in the bread machine. Hubby's off to Sam's Club to get more pecans and walnuts.Tomorrow, Thanksgiving, we'll be up early to bake the ham, make homemade mashed potatoes (with goat feta cheese and chives), and throw together that well-known green bean cassarole with cream of mushroom soup and french fried onions. Thankfully the pies will be done today (we're keeping 1 regular and 1 gluten-free, and taking the duplicates of each with us). We're supposed to be at Hubby's mom's house by 5. I have to take a special meal for 13-yr-old-Kid because of his several food allergies.
On Friday, we plan to not leave home at all! We're taking those extra pecans and walnuts, gonna melt butter, mix some cinnamon with sugar, and coat those suckers! What a delicious snack! There are so few nuts that Kid can have, so now that I know he can have pecans and walnuts, I'm gonna make sure he can have as many as he wants, especially of the walnuts. // We're also gonna do some experimenting with bread recipes and pies and maybe play board games or put together a puzzle.
Enjoy your day to the fullest possible extent!
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