Snapshots: Winter Weather

 I put away all the Christmas stuff on Tuesday.

Getting all the nativity pieces back in this styrofoam holder was rather like a puzzle.

Wednesday didn't start out too well. I knocked over a jar of vinegar while I was turning on the light, and then I somehow managed to knock over my entire cup of coffee. I don't even know how I did that.

Cleaning it up required getting everything off this counter so I could mop it all up. And then I had to make more coffee.

The day improved when I got a call at 5:15 a.m. that we were going to have a two-hour delay because of fog. Hooray! Everyone can sleep in! No inspirational music necessary. 

It was pretty cold in my office when I finally got to school. Mostly because I don't actually have heat in there, except this very small space heater.

Which I park under my desk to trap as much heat as possible.

The next day, we had some really terrible wind in addition to cold. It was no weather to be out in. This cow at one of our bus stops agreed.

Pretty sure she was watching the house door, hoping to make a break for it.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

Friday Food: Soup 'n' Stuff

Friday 

Short version: Leftovers, rotisserie chicken, bread and butter

Long version: I got home from my night away just in time to put groceries away and then take the basketball player to his game, along with the two younger children. We got home from this around 5 p.m., at which point I heated up leftover lamb steaks, black-eyed peas, and the rotisserie chicken I had bought at the store. Bread and butter to round things out a bit.

Saturday

Short version: Salisbury steaks, mashed potatoes, leftover carrots

Long version: A. and I spent a couple of hours grinding elk meat, so I used some of that to make Salisbury steaks for dinner. I've never looked at a recipe for these. All I do is make essentially a meatloaf mixture--meat, bread crumbs, milk, eggs, onions, seasoning--and then form it into basically very big hamburger patties. Brown, cook until tender in some stock--I had chicken stock I had made from the rotisserie chicken carcass--then make a gravy with milk or cream. So good.

As A. remarked, this whole meal was like a cafeteria lunch, except actually good.

Sunday

Short version: Epiphany tacos, gingerbread with whipped cream

Long version: The last celebratory holiday meal. I did not make tamales at all this year, but Poppy had requested tortillas, which seemed much more reasonable. I had enough leftover pork butt for the filling, so we had pork tacos.

We have tacos a lot, but these were fancy tacos.

Because of the homemade tortillas.

And I also thought ahead enough to get avocados and lime for guacamole.

The gingerbread was the extra I had frozen after making it for the FFA auction. We definitely did not need any extra treats at that time, but it was very appreciated this night. I microwaved it for a minute to heat it up, because gingerbread is much better warm. And with whipped cream, but that goes without saying.

Monday

Short version: Creamy chicken soup, salami and cream cheese sandwiches, ice cream

Long version: I had actually made the soup on Saturday just to have on hand for my lunch at work or whatever. And then I definitely did not think ahead enough for dinner after work. I'm just very tired of the kitchen right now, and planning dinner on top of going back to work at school was too much.

Good thing we had the soup! And salami. We needed the sandwiches, because there wasn't a lot of soup. And also, most of my family does not consider soup to be a meal unto itself.

I had a little bit of chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer that had gotten a bit icy and needed to be eaten. So I microwaved it a bit, which made it a little melty and took care of the icy problem. It was eaten with no complaints.

And yes, every part of this meal had something in it made with cream. What can I say? We're a dairy family.

The basketball player had leftover salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, and a banana when he got home.

Tuesday

Short version: Hunter's pie, cookies

Long version: This was pretty much shepherd's pie, but since I used the ground elk in it, I suppose it's a hunter's pie. Or something. I had to be gone right before dinner to pick up Poppy at cheerleading, so having something made ahead of time was a good idea.

It was baking while I was driving, so when I got home after 5 p.m., we could eat right away. I had thought there would be leftovers of this. There were not.

And I'm back to making cookies for school snacks. These were chocolate chip/peanut butter/almond cookies. I made that kind mostly because the child who likes to eat bowls of microwaved peanut butter and honey had left like half a cup of that when he got interrupted to do something, so I saved it and used it in the cookies.

Wednesday

Short version: Spaghetti and meatballs, fried potatoes and ham, raw bell peppers and radishes

Long version: These were some more of the meatballs I had formed and frozen some time ago. I just took them out thaw while was at work, then broiled them and baked them in the oven with some of my roasted tomato sauce from the freezer. 

Same sauce on the spaghetti, except I added some butter to it. I do this a lot in lieu of grating Parmesan cheese, which often just seems like the culinary straw that will break this cook's back after work.

Not to be too dramatic or anything.

There wasn't quite enough of the meatballs, so I also took out a small bag of ham I had frozen last week when we were down to the last of the leftover Christmas ham. I microwaved a couple of potatoes, chopped them and the ham, fried them both in butter, and added the last of the grated cheddar cheese from Sunday's tacos.

Thursday

Short version: Creamy sausage and vegetable soup, cheese quesadillas

Long version: I had to sub for a classroom teacher this day, but I knew on Tuesday that I would be doing this. So while I was in the kitchen making the hunter's pie and cookies, I used the rest of the chicken stock I had on hand to make soup with a package of smoked sausage, carrots, potatoes, frozen corn and peas, and some of the dried lamb's quarters I'm still trying to use up.

And some cream at the end, because my family likes pretty much all soups more with cream in them.

Quesadillas so it wouldn't just be soup. 

This was a very nice meal to have on a terribly windy and cold day at the end of a long first week of school back after break. Dare I say comfort food? Yes, I dare.

Refrigerator check:

The overstuffed Christmas refrigerator is a thing of the past.

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

Musical Morning Inspiration

School started yesterday. And that means getting the five other people in my house up and out the door every school morning.

There are different methods for this, of course. I prefer music. Every morning, I bring my cell phone into the bedrooms with "media volume" on full blast and play an inspirational song.

For awhile last semester, I played "Reveille" every morning. This was inspired by the one child who tells me he wants to be in the military. I was delighted to hear this, because you know what you have to do in the military? Get out of bed early in the morning. And this, son, is the very music they'll play to inform you of this! Start practicing now!

About the time that blasting trumpet started to lose its effectiveness, Christmas was almost upon us. So I switched to another loud trumpet song that served as a reminder of the excitement to come: The Tabernacle Choir belting out "Joy to the World."

I also have to get them up at the same time on Sundays to get to our 8 a.m. Mass, but that doesn't require so much musical intervention.

Now that Christmas is over, I had to find a new song. I decided yesterday that the time had come for the big inspirational guns. And that meant Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger." Because if Rocky can get his face beat in in that ring over and over again, you, my boy, can get out of bed*.

I'll have to come up with something new in a few weeks when Survivor loses its novelty. Any suggestions for me?

* Edited to add: When I said this to one son this morning, he uncovered his eyes long enough to look at me and declare, "I would rather get my face beat in than go to school." So. If you've ever wondered how much boys dislike school, it's that much.

Snapshots: A Tea Party and a Trip

On New Year's Eve (morning), Poppy's friend came over for a tea party. The girls used the rolling pins my dad made to make hand pies for their tea party.

Well floured.

I continue to be amazed and delighted at how adorable little girls can be.

The finished hand pies. They were filled with apple butter, plum butter, strawberry-rhubarb jam or apricot puree, and there was no way to tell which was which. Hand pie roulette.

New Year's Day was mostly spent at church and preparing our traditional big New Year's Day dinner. 

But the day after New Year's Day, I left in the morning for my night away at the hotel. I had prepared something to bring with me for lunch, but I forgot it. So I was forced to eat a slice of pizza instead. So sad.

While reading a book, of course. My favorite way to eat, as some of you may remember.

There are quite a few shops on the old plaza, and I visited some of them before it was time to check in. One is a new shop that carries spices, teas, and medicinal herbs. 

It was so much fun to look around. The owner encouraged me to open any jars and smell the spices and teas, which I did. I bought some tea.

 

Then I had an ice cream cone.

And then it was time to check in.

The food at the hotel is certainly not the best in town, but I never want to drive anywhere to eat, so a burger and fries was just fine in the hotel bar.

And a drink, of course. Vodka and soda.

The bar has a very nice view of the plaza. I sat right next to the window.

 Artfully blurred Christmas lights on the plaza.

After dinner, I watched a movie and took a bath before I went to sleep. Nothing too exciting, which is just how I like it.

The next morning I got in my workout by going to Walmart before starting my drive home.

Two large hams (they were only a dollar a pound!) and sixty eggs helped to weight the cart nicely for my core workout.

I saw this in the meat department and thought it was very funny.

A. tells me that the Spanish people here call every kind of animal foot a "paw," so I guess this makes sense. Still funny, though. (I did not buy these.)

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

Friday Food: Away

Friday

Short version: Birthday barbecue meatballs, garlic bread, leftover peas, brownie ice cream sundaes

Long version: I always make my own birthday dinner, because I like my own food best. But I also always find a way to make it with as little actual cooking as possible. This year, I used some meatballs I had formed and frozen some time ago, which I just broiled until brown, and then baked in (homemade) barbecue sauce.

The garlic bread was one I had baked a few days before when I was making bread. The peas were leftover from Christmas dinner.

Birthday plate.

Eldest son made the brownies for me, so we could have brownie sundaes with vanilla ice cream and a choice of chocolate syrup or salted caramel sauce. Or both! Celebrate good times!

Saturday

Short version: Different-birthday pizza and cake

Long version: This was the day I took the children to Poppy's friend's birthday party at a pool. There was pizza there. I think this is the first time my children have experienced pineapple on pizza. They were not enthused.

There were also a couple of store-bought birthday cakes. I tasted a bit of Poppy's after she informed me she didn't like the frosting. Yuck. I didn't, either. It tasted bitter. Maybe it was all the food dye. It was a very bright-pink frosting. I can't imagine you can add that much coloring to anything without affecting the taste.

Sunday

Short version: Fried ham and potatoes, leftover carrots

Long version: I just microwaved the potatoes until they were soft, then diced them and the leftover ham before frying them in some rendered beef fat I had saved from . . . something. 

I also added some cheese to the fried ham and potatoes. We currently have some extra-sharp Great Value (Walmart's store brand) cheddar that is actually extra-sharp. This means it's also extra crumbly which is handy when I don't want to grate cheese. If I slice it thinly, it just falls apart and I can throw it right into the skillet to melt. And then I don't have to wash the cheese grater. Yay.

Monday

Short version: Meatloaf, baked potatoes, still-frozen green beans, fresh bread and butter

Long version: I love ham, but it does get to be a bit monotonous when dealing with the leftovers. Meatloaf was a nice break.

Tuesday

Short version: Lamb steaks, rice, frozen peas

Long version: I made a sauce for the lamb steaks with red wine and cream, but this was otherwise a very un-fancy meal. 

Yes, I realize that most people would not consider lamb to be an un-fancy meal. That's because most people don't have a sheep flock.

Wednesday

Short version: New Year's Day health, wealth, happiness, peace, and joy

Long version: Pork (big pork butt), black-eyed peas, greens (beet greens from this year's garden, cooked with some of the liquid from the black-eyed peas), rice, and pecan pie. The children have assigned peace to rice and joy to the pecan pie.

Thursday

Short version: Restaurant food for me, tacos and leftover pie for the family

Long version: I was not at home this night.

Record scratch.

I try to go every year for one night at a hotel in a nearby (well, 100 miles away) small city for some time to myself after the craziness that is December in my house. This was my night. So I had a smash burger, french fries, and a vodka and soda for dinner.

I did not prepare or clean up after this in any way. Yay.

There was some ground beef taco meat at home, so the older kids used that to make tacos for dinner. And then there was leftover pecan pie and ice cream. Everyone was happy.

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

Scattered

It's Tuesday, and I should have something written right now. I do not, however, so you get whatever comes out of my brain and into my fingers to type. Whee!

The sun juuuust came over the horizon, lighting up my living room and highlighting the fact that I really need to take my pothos plants down from their shelves in the living room and rinse them off. So dusty. 

I actually got up from my chair and went all the way into the kitchen (maybe fifty feet) to take this illustrative photo for you. You're welcome.

I do appreciate how impossible pothos are to kill. The only live plants I have in my house are these two pothos and an aloe plant. I prefer to have my plants outside.

Poppy's friend is coming over in about three hours for a New Year's Eve tea party with their dolls. My dad made Poppy a rolling pin, and brought an extra for a friend if she could think of anyone who would want it. Of course she could. So I need to make some pie crust dough for the girls to roll out so they can make little hand pies--they can choose from several different jams to fill their pies--for their tea party. I think this will be a very popular activity. I just have to make the dough soon so it can chill.

This works out nicely, because the girls can use half of the two-crust recipe I make, and the other half can be for tomorrow's New Year's Day pecan pie. I promised I would make another pecan pie for the child who was sick on Christmas and couldn't eat that one. I will also, of course, make our pork, black-eyed peas, greens, and rice. It's not New Year's Day without it.

This is the last really big celebration meal I have to make. And thank goodness for that, because I am kinda over cooking celebration meals. I mean, I like it, but it gets to be a bit much by this time of the year. It starts on December 15 for A.'s birthday and continues with a son's birthday December 18, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, my birthday, New Year's Day, and usually Epiphany on January 6. It's a lot. 

I am not making tamales this year for Epiphany. I just . . . don't want to. We actually go back to school--and I go back to work--on Epiphany this year, so it's unlikely to be a very elaborate meal for that, although I do have some gingerbread I froze a couple of weeks ago, so at least I have something special for dessert without making a lot of effort.

I can hear the chickens squawking around on the porch. They're supposed to be shut up in their coop until afternoon, because then I can find their eggs without having to hunt for them. Also, if they're out all day, they just hang around the porch, making a mess right where we walk into the house. I don't know how they got out. Maybe the strong winds yesterday blew the coop door open. Guess we'll have an egg hunt today.

Okay, that's enough of that. I have pie dough to make and I'm sure you all have important things to get going on as well. Happy New Year to all. May 2025 bring us all good fortune, in all senses of the word.

Snapshots: Before, During, After

 Before Christmas we have new life.

The chickens--well, at least one or two--started laying again the very day of the winter solstice. Their laying is tied to the daylight hours, but that's pretty spot-on for the resumption of eggs.

And this little lady arrived exactly one week before Christmas. 

I didn't get a lot of pictures of Christmas Day this year. The oldest kid was sick, and we had a Christmas morning Mass this year instead of our typical Christmas Eve service, so we waited until we got home at 9 a.m. to open most of our gifts. 

By the time we got home, we were all in search of warmth, since the heat in our church hasn't been working for the past couple of weeks. I brought our space heater and a basket of lap blankets to share with anyone who needed one, and we all wore long underwear, but it was still only about 48 degrees inside the church.

The sun made it look deceptively warm, but I assure you, it was not. At all.

The younger ones did get to open their gifts to each other and their stockings before we left for church, though.

Poppy had sewed a stocking for her American Girl doll, Charlotte, and made sure there was something in it for each of her dolls. I didn't know she had done this until she had hauled them all out and started handing out their gifts.

Girls, man. They're built different for sure.

This photo looks like a crime scene, but it was very cute in real life.

Charlotte in her new outfit, and Poppy in her new slippers.

Two days after that, it was time to celebrate again. This time, my birthday. The celebrations started with what is apparently now a traditional 5K run.

Speedy purple shoes ready to go.

This year, I ran it in 34 minutes and 31 seconds, which is my fastest time yet.

I did make my own birthday dinner, because I prefer to do that, but someone else made the brownies for my brownie ice cream sundaes.

And there was salted caramel sauce left from the cheesecake bars, just to complete the deliciousness.

And then yesterday, more celebrating, as we drove 100 miles to a swimming pool for Poppy's friend's birthday party.

I prefer to stay fully clothed at pools and function more as a lifeguard.

We still have another week of our Christmas break left, so there's time for more celebrating! Next up: health wealth, and happiness in the New Year.

There you have it! My (celebratory) life, snapshotted.