Ponderings

First let me say that my oven is clean again!  I did it last night in case the baking bug bit again today (it didn't).  It's shiny and beautiful once more. Which makes me ponder why, in the twenty-one years I've owned this stove, I've only used the self-clean three times and two of those were in the past month.  And don't kid yourself that it was shiny clean all those years!  

Ponder Two: Kathy and Hallie both commented on my last post about family recipes and asked if we had any.  None. I think I've mentioned this before, but my mom's dad came from Norway in 1906 when he was twenty years old.  I don't think recipes were something he would have brought with him.  (Smile)  He married Grandma in 1920 when he was thirty-four and she was twenty. Very common for male immigrants as they worked to establish themselves before beginning a family. Grandma was half Russian (mother) and half German (father).  So why were there no recipes in mom's collection from Great-Grandma or Grandma? I think they were both instinctive cooks and didn't bother with recipes.

Ponder Three: Christmas traditions.  I grew up with very few.  The Christmas tree was about the only Christmas decoration we had with the exception of displaying Christmas cards as they came in.  (Back in the fifties and sixties, everyone pretty much sent cards, even people right in town that you were likely to see on your way to get the mail.)  I'm sure the fact that both my parents grew up during the depression had a lot to do with the lack of Christmas traditions in their young lives, and carried over into my young life. 

But we all know Christmas traditions are alive and well at my house.  So where did it all come from? I'll tell you.  From my long-time pal Kathy's house. Buddies since kindergarten, I was often in her house during all seasons, but at Christmastime, her house was positively magical.  A huge tree, covered with amazing handcrafted ornaments. Christmas cookies and candies.  The list goes on. I loved every glimpse of it and when I got my own home, began to do the same. 

Enough of the pondering. No photos today because how do you take a picture of pondering? A furrowed brow?  A quizzical pucker?  Nah! ♥

Snoctober!

Well.

I took some photos of our beautiful leaves last Thursday night.  The yard and the trees were so beautiful!

And then Friday came.  And so did the snow.  

This was just the beginning.  We ended up with about four inches.  And it's still here!!  I feel like it must be December.  (I have refrained from playing Christmas music, however!) Five days of snow and cold in October.  Tomorrow is supposed to finally be above freezing and then maybe the snow will melt.  

We stayed in and cozied up to the fireplace and I've been knitting away on those brown socks.  Good news!  I should be done tomorrow.  I was able to get away with undoing just the toe of the too-short-sock and I'll be the first to say how amazed I am. I'm just glad it worked!  Time for a new color of yarn!

I'm also getting the Christmas wall hanging quilted, a little at a time.  I finally decided to just stitch in the ditch using my Bernina 830 and a walking foot.  I'm so thankful for a machine with a large throat space and my nice sewing cabinet so that everything is level with room to spread out.  Spoiled, that's what I am.  

Well, that's the latest here at the Resort.  Just trying to stay warm and get a few projects done. I made a yummy ham and pea soup in the Instant Pot this week and that's kept our tummies warm, along with muffins.  I do love winter cooking!  ♥

Day 500 of Quarantine

Or so it seems.  Hmm, even for a homebody like me, these days are getting a little weird.  There were always things we did each week that helped us keep track of the days, but now we don't even have church on Sundays. We gathered in front of our TV last Sunday and using my computer and our Chrome-cast, watched "church" live-streamed via Facebook. Somehow, it didn't seem like Sunday. . .

One thing that has helped me pass the time besides the laundry (haha!), is Ann's reminding me that I could download the Kindle app on my iPad and get books through Amazon Prime.  I've rewarded myself with several interesting/fun reads over the last couple of weeks which has been very helpful because the library is closed.  One was recommended by Ann and I found it interesting because I could remember many of the names featured in it.  It's Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J.B. West who was Chief Usher during five presidencies, Roosevelt through Johnson.  

Of course, meals are a constant and keep me busy. There's no eating out because all the restaurants are takeout/delivery only, and somehow I can't bring myself to eat something made by someone who may have the virus and not know it yet.  While I'm trying not to dwell on the reason for this quarantine,  I don't want to be imprudent.  So, all meals by Chef Moi.  This morning I thought I would upgrade our breakfast and decided to make Ann's recipe for scones.  Oh yum!  We each had two, I froze four, and tomorrow we'll feast on another four.  

I'm thinking of other things I can make and freeze some of.  Stocking the freezer seems like a worthwhile endeavor during these must-stay-at-home days.  ♥

Coffee and Me

I didn't drink coffee until I was thirty-five years old.  I made coffee for others in the offices where I worked while I worked my way through college, and after Dan and I married, I made coffee for him every morning in the harvest gold coffee pot we got as a wedding present.  But I didn't drink any of it.  It always smelled wonderful, but taste?  Not so wonderful.  

Winter of 1985 I was hired to finish out the year for a teacher who was ill.  I had been subbing for a couple of years and had a good rapport with the principal and staff at the school, so I was thrilled.  That it was the school where Matt and Ann attended was a plus.  The class across the hall from my classroom was taught by a good friend of ours and every morning he'd come into my room and tell me coffee was ready and I would say I didn't drink it.  You guessed it, by the end of the year, I was drinking coffee.  It helped that he had an in with a salesman for a really good brand of coffee and used it in the pot in his room.  Cheap coffee it was not.

I did discover, however, that the addition of a flavored creamer really upped my love of the stuff.  The question now was, was it the coffee or the creamer?  Who knows, but I can't have one without the other unless it's a cup after a big dinner with some yummy dessert.  Then I drink it plain.  

When we moved to Moscow and I began teaching full time, I had a microwave in my classroom and would have to reheat my coffee numerous times during the day.  Since I would often leave my cup here and there in the room as I moved about with the kids, I would sometimes have to have an "alert" to find it.  Finally one of the kids would go look in the microwave and say, "It's in the microwave and it's cold again.  Would you like me to reheat it for you?"  That often happens here at home now, and then, when I finally find my cup in the microwave, I have to reheat it--again.  

My good pal Kathy had a recent blog post about finding a holiday carafe for sale on Etsy and that she had ordered it with good results as it arrived in like-new condition. The post caused me to wonder if she used it to keep her tea warm throughout the morning and then led me to ponder my usual scenario of repeated trips to the microwave as my morning progresses.  Apparently I'm consistent!  ♥