Snapshots: Boo!

All about Halloween . . .

Our trip last week sort of messed up our Halloween preparations. We didn't get any decorations up before we left for Vermont, and I probably wouldn't have bothered putting them up if Poppy hadn't asked about them. So we did it . . . the day before Halloween.

All the seasonal window things.

I was extremely amused when a real spider appeared on the other side of that window later in the day.

Purple bat lights.

Friendly ghost lights.

This year we had Westley from The Princess Bride, who went to spend Halloween with his girlfriend in her town. She, of course, was Buttercup.

At home, we had a Navy seaman, an Irish shepherd, and a Chinese empress. The only thing I bought for these costumes were the ornamental chopsticks for Poppy's hair.

Dangly.

Poppy graciously allowed her brother the shepherd to use her stuffed border collie. I laughed way too hard at this.

First, as always, I took the kids to our neighbor Miss Amelia's so she could see the costumes and give them candy that she gets just for them.

Then on to the village to meet up with friends. We had eleven trick or treaters pile into the back of Adventure Van this year. All the older kids came with us, so it was mostly teenagers or almost-teenagers.

The best house on the route, which this year gave out candy AND Oreos AND mini sodas.

As usual, we finished up around 8 p.m. and headed home for the sorting and trading of candy.

Sorted and ready to trade.

There you have it! My Halloween life, snapshotted.

Friday Food: Vermont and Back

Starting with last week's Thursday, because I was traveling and didn't know what we would be eating when I posted last week's food recap ahead . . .

Thursday 

Short version: Chicken, roasted vegetables, crackers and cheese

Long version: This was our day of traveling to Vermont. We arrived at the rental house about 7 p.m. My parents and my sister and her fiance were already there. My parents had bought a bunch of food for the house, including rotisserie chickens. They also roasted some vegetables--sweet potatoes, squash, peppers--and so we sat down to eat as soon as we got there.

You can also assume there were lots of snacks and desserts in addition to the actual food. Because there were lots of snacks and desserts at the house.

Friday

Short version: Pork and vegetable stew, bread and butter, cheese

Long version: My mom had planned the stew and bought all the ingredients for it. She chopped most of the vegetables while I was cutting up and browning the pork tenderloins, but then she had to leave for the rehearsal dinner, so I finished the stew. It had sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, bell peppers, spinach, beef stock, tomato sauce, a bunch of random herbs, and cream in it. I also added a couple of tablespoonfuls of bacon grease that had been saved from breakfast. 

I put out the bread and butter and cheese because I wasn't sure how much of the stew the kids would eat, but everyone seemed to like it in the end. They ate the bread and cheese, too, though.

We ate outside on the porch. It was a little chilly, but the view was worth it.

So Vermonty.

Saturday

Short version: Eclectic wedding food

Long version: The food at this wedding was just a bunch of things the bride and groom like. There were pizza and sliders and roasted vegetables and potatoes and turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce and a tomato and mozzarella salad and probably more things I'm forgetting.

My plate.

Also cookies and brownies. The cake was made by my sister's fiance. The bride--my sister's step-daughter--did not want a commercially baked cake. Smart girl. So my sister's fiance made the chocolate cake with chocolate frosting he always makes for my sister's birthday. It was all homemade and it was very good. Certainly the best wedding cake I've ever encountered.

Sunday

Short version: Whatever

Long version: This was our family's last night at the rental house, so we were just eating whatever was around to finish it up. I had the last of the pork stew, plus some of the leftover boursin cheese from the wedding. The kids had rotisserie chicken and I think crackers, plus fruit.

Monday

Short version: Breakfast burritos and green salad with vinaigrette at home

Long version: This was the day we flew home. We got home just about the time that A. got back from his school bus run. I made some very fast breakfast burritos with scrambled eggs, cheese, potatoes (pre-cooked in the microwave), and salsa to wrap in flour tortillas.

To my surprise, the lettuce that had been in the refrigerator was still good. I didn't have any other vegetables to add to the lettuce, so it was just the lettuce and a vinaigrette, but at least I got some kind of vegetable into everyone.

Tuesday

Short version: Chicken and rice with caramelized onions, baby carrots with ranch dip, honeydew melon

Long version: I used one of the roosters to make the rice and caramelized onion skillet dish everyone likes. 

I don't ever buy baby carrots, but my vegetable options at the tiny store in the village were pretty limited. And then when I got home from that store and was getting some collards for my salad, I saw the carrots in the garden.

Whoops. Forgot about those. I dug one just to see how big it was and was surprised by its size. Yay.

The honeydew melon came from the commodities boxes that were delivered this day. We got two of the melons. They were HUGE. Like, the size of volleyballs. I cut one up this day and everyone ate as much as they wanted. 

Wednesday

Short version: Cheeseburger casserole, green peas

Long version: I used one two-pound package of ground beef to make the casserole, which also had potatoes, diced dill pickles, onion, garlic, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, grated cheddar, milk, and one of the many, many small cans of cream of chicken soup I keep getting from commodities in it. 

A. calls this Big Mac casserole, which is also appopriate.

Thursday

Short version: Chicken and rice soup, garlic bread, cheese

Long version: I was supposed to sub this day, so I made dinner ahead of time. I made all of the vegetable and stock part of the soup Wednesday while I was making the casserole, and then just added the leftover rooster and rice, plus a couple of cans of canned white chicken (also something I've been getting a lot of from commodities) in while I was heating the vegetable part up.

The vegetables were onion, garlic, carrots, leeks, collard greens, sauerkraut, some of a can of spaghetti sauce, and a can of corn. Pleasingly, five of those things were from the garden.

These four fresh things--collards, carrots, garlic, leeks--plus the sauerkraut I canned last year.

I made the garlic bread the day before, too, when I was baking bread. And then I didn't have to sub after all and already had dinner made. Sweet.

Refrigerator check:

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

So Vermonty

I said that many times on our recent trip to Vermont. It really was just so . . . Vermonty. 

I mean, look at this.

The house my parents rented.

It was past peak color, but there were still quite a few pretty leaves.

That's maple kettle corn, just to stay on brand.

The view from the porch on Friday morning.

The house was on over a hundred acres, so there was no shortage of paths in the woods to explore.

The wedding venue was a barn.

My view from my chair during the outdoor ceremony.

The Burlington airport wins for Most Fun Airport.

It was a good trip. And so Vermonty.

Snapshots: The Birthday Canyon

Poppy asked if we could go to the canyon again for her birthday this year, like we did last year. As it was a Sunday and the weather was good, there was no reason not to. So after her requested chocolate chip pancakes after church, we loaded up all children and dogs in the van and off we went.

Odin felt safer half under a seat, apparently.

The road down into the canyon is really bad, and it certainly hasn't gotten any better since we last drove it.

This isn't even one of the worst parts.

Adventure Van was undaunted, however, and we made it to the bottom without incident.

Patient Adventure Van in the distance, awaiting our return.

There was less water in the river crossing than last year and I did not fall in. Yay, me. 

After crossing the water, we set off on our short hike.

Poppy had gotten her feet wet when crossing, and asked if she could take her shoes and socks off to hike.

She did, briefly, before getting some burs in her feet and deciding wet socks and shoes were better than that.

The skies were blue when we started, but those clouds started gathering.

By the time we got to the cliff the kids like to climb, there was a pretty solid cloud cover, and a surprising number of mosquitos. Bummer.

This year's cliff climb was cut short by a considerate rattlesnake that rattled as the three younger children were climbing near it. They took the hint and scrambled back down without ever seeing it.

Good call, kids.

A. brought his fishing pole and some chicken livers to fish for catfish. He caught a small one, which he did not keep. He also found some giant clam shells.

We did keep these.

Given the clouds and the fact that we really couldn't risk getting caught in a rainstorm on the road out, we decided to leave after playing for about an hour.

The kids, of course, wanted to stop and play in the water on our way out, although it was cool enough they just went wading rather than getting soaking wet like last year.

Then back in the van for the slow and jolting ride up the road.

I am very happy to leave this sort of driving to A.

There were a few sprinkles on our way, but nothing of great concern. We made it out of the canyon without any trouble, with four tired but happy children. The birthday girl was especially happy.

Friday Food: Here, There, and Everywhere

Friday

Short version: Fish sticks, oven-fried potatoes, salad with vinaigrette

Long version: We just had fish sticks the previous Friday, but I was lazy and made them again. Also because my oven was fixed (hooray for A.!) so I had finally baked the peanut butter cookie dough balls I froze when it broke. That meant I had two not-really-dirty baking pans. Perfect for fish sticks and oven-fried potatoes.

Saturday

Short version: Cornbread, Snow's clam chowder

Long version: This was the day of the funcion, at which everyone ate a very large lunch. Only the perpetually hungry boys wanted any dinner. I had the oven on anyway to make Poppy's birthday cake, so I made a pan of cornbread, too, and then just served that with a can of Snow's condensed clam chowder.

Condensed soups are SO much better than ready-to-eat soups. They always water those down way too much.

Sunday

Short version: Salisbury steaks with gravy, mashed potatoes, carrot sticks with curry dip, corn, chocolate coconut cake

Long version: This wasn't what Poppy had requested for her birthday dinner, but her request (slow-cooked pork) did not mesh well with her desire to spend the day at the canyon we went to last year for her birthday. So I told her I would make the pork the next day, and this day I made Salisbury steaks when we got back from our adventure. She also loves Salisbury steaks, so that was fine with her.

The vegetables were her request, as was the cake. I didn't follow a recipe for the cake, instead just adding coconut extract and coconut milk to chocolate cake, and then making a white coconut frosting.

I was not too pleased with how the frosting came out--my butter was too cold and I didn't really beat it long enough, so it wasn't as smooth as it could have been, and also I added a bit too much coconut milk so it was kind of wet--but everyone loved the cake.

Ugly, as always. But also tasty, as always.

The chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting she requested that I make for her class on Monday looked prettier.

Sprinkles taste like garbage, but they are cheery.

Monday

Short version: Pork, butter-swim biscuits, cucumbers with salt and vinegar, leftover cake

Long version: Poppy's requested pork was pork shoulder cooked until tender, then pulled apart and broiled in its own rendered fat with spices and maple syrup. She also wanted these biscuits.

Tuesday

Short version: Fried pork and cornbread, green salad with tartar dressing, rice pudding

Long version: I changed my plan for dinner because I had a pretty big chunk of leftover cornbread that was getting too dry to eat plain. Frying it in a lot of butter certainly takes care of any dryness. Frying it with leftover pork and then adding a bit of maple syrup to the whole thing also helps.

The leftover tartar sauce makes a pretty good salad dressing. Pretty much like ranch, except with the addition of some finely diced pickles.

I had made the rice pudding the day before while I was cooking the pork in the oven. The children are happy that baked rice pudding time is here again. So am I, because if it's cool enough to run the oven for a few hours, it's cool enough for me.

Wednesday

Short version: Sandwiches on the road, burritos at home

Long version: I picked up the eldest boy and Poppy from school a bit early and we drove to Albuquerque to stay the night before an early flight o Vermont the next morning. It's wedding time, whee!

For the car travelers, I used the last of the leftover pork to make sandwiches. Before I left, I used the half pound or so of ground beef still in the refrigerator to make taco meat. A. used that to make burritos for him and the one boy remaining at home (he stayed home because his last football game is on Thursday). The middle boy is in Indianapolis, competing at the FFA national convention.

We really were all over the place this day.

Thursday

Short version: We shall see.

Long version: I'm writing this and scheduling it to post while I'm gone. This is the day I'm actually flying to Vermont. We arrive in Burlington right around dinner time, so I'm guessing we'll get something in that city before starting our drive to our rental house. I don't know what it will be, though.

I also don't know what A. will be making at home. Questions abound. I'll report back next week when I'm home.

No refrigerator check photo, either. It looks pretty much the same every week, anyway. Imagine a lot of milk and other dairy, plus random canning jars and containers of leftovers.

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

A New Mexico Funcion

A couple of months ago, A. went down the hill to the ranch our older boys work at sometimes to help them repair an old adobe church there. They've been working on fixing it up for some time now and asked A. to fix the large holes and cracks in the inside walls.

They had also sent the stained glass windows to Santa Fe to be repaired. They fixed the rotting floors, did a lot of cleaning, and finally got it in good enough shape to celebrate Mass there.

This church is in the remains of Spanish settlement that predates the current ranch. There are several buildings still standing there, in this place that is about twelve miles of very rough road from the ranch headquarters. We have been there before, and have always enjoyed our visits there.

The settlement was on the land purchased by the family that still owns that ranch. They are not Catholic, but they do have Catholic family members, and all the Spanish occupants of that remote settlement were Catholic.

And so, when the church was fixed, they held a funcion to celebrate.

We were invited to the funcion, but I had no idea what a funcion is. It sounded like a party, basically, but I wasn't sure if it was like a potluck or what. I tried looking it up online and had no luck figuring it out that way. So I called the owner of the ranch and asked her if we should be bring anything, admitting to her that I didn't know what a funcion was or how it worked.

"Funcion" literally means "function," and has a general meaning in Spanish much like it does in English. This particular funcion, however, was a continuation of a tradition at this church of having Mass on their patron saint's feast day, with a procession to pray for rain*. Then followed by lunch.

The patron saint in this case was San Isidro--Saint Isidore, who is the patron saint of farmers and laborers--whose feast day is actually in May. They decided not wait for his actual feast day, however, in favor of just having the funcion when the church was ready for it.

They invited anyone and everyone who wanted to come, putting the details in the church bulletins and on Facebook. There are still some people living who lived in this remote settlement as children, although they are very old. It was mostly their children and grandchildren who came to the funcion, as well as the ranch family. 

And us. 

We showed up early to help set up the tables and everything for the lunch afterwards. We also brought the priest with us, so he wouldn't have to drive the extremely rough 12-mile road himself. The Mass was an important part of the funcion, and A. wanted to make sure the priest made it.

It's beautiful down there.

The church looked lovely.

Those circular windows on the sides of the altar looked like ship's windows. From the outside, the windows made it obvious how thick the walls are.

Confessional.

This is the window over the front door, which had to be sent for repair. A. also repaired the plaster and adobe around it, which had big holes in it.

The younger boys got to serve on the altar, although they said it was kind of nerve-wracking because it was so small they were constantly on guard so as not to knock over the candles. Also, the bench they had to sit on was very tippy and they had to brace their feet to keep it steady when they were sitting.

There were no major incidents at Mass, however, and the statue of San Isidro was successfully carried around the church for the procession without any mishaps, either.

He was up there somewhere. We were kind of at the back.

And then we all went outside to sit under the trees to eat enchiladas and beans and posole and sopapillas while the wind tried to blow our plates away.

It was really fun, and I'm very glad we got to be a part of it.

* The ranch owner told me that in the past, there was almost always rain the weekend after the San Isidro procession, the explicit purpose of which is to pray for rain. I just looked at the ten-day weather forecast and told A. it's supposed to rain all weekend. "Of course, " he said, "It always rains the weekend after the San Isidro procession." Indeed. Thanks, Saint Isidore.

Snapshots: A Birthday Postscript

I subbed at school this week. That meant I had to wear a walkie talkie the whole day.

I never used it, but I had it.

The room I was in had like two dozen of these odd "paintings" in it.

Animals wearing glasses? Okay.

On Thursday, I went to the very far away football game. It was howling wind when I got to the field and I really did not want to get out of the car.

I could actually see the field from my car, but watching from here would have lacked spirit.

So I put on my coat, grabbed my blanket, and sat on the cold bleachers for two hours. It was about 58 degrees with at least a 20-mile-an-hour wind.

The sun was directly in my eyes for the first fifteen minutes, too, which was extra fun.

Good thing there was a hood on my coat. Brrr.

The apricot tree is showing more yellow, which is our only "fall color."

The last brave show of the cosmos, which mostly froze on Friday night.

The last table flowers.

And the last bookcase flowers.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

P.S. Today is, unbelievably, Poppy's 9th birthday.

And there she is, with her extremely long braids, painting a card for her cousin. It's fun having a girl.