A Little Kitchen Upgrade

Whenever Ann and Eric spend some days with us, Eric, bless his heart, always asks if there are any projects he can help with.  Dan has helped them with some projects over the years, notably the addition of a new set of stairs to their basement and the rehab of said basement before Daniel was born.  Eric thinks he "owes" us some help, which is of course hogwash, because Dan was happy to help.  But nevertheless, we appreciate that he offers.  

So the day after Christmas when Eric made his usual offer, I came up with a little project that had recently come to me.  While I dearly love our house, the kitchen arrangement is a little strange because our house has a big angle in it and it affects the kitchen the most.  A less than stellar result is that the area most used is a small corner between the stove and the refrigerator.  Note the word small. I'd been thinking that if a plug-in was added at the end of the peninsula that houses the sink, it would help when more than one cook is working in the kitchen.  (Ann and I had run into each other more than once preparing Christmas dinner and breakfast.) Or even when I am alone and need more space.

After pulling all the drawers and emptying the area under the sink, it was determined that putting in a plug-in would be "a piece of cake."  Yay!!  Grandson Keaton was pressed into service (he was wiring in outlets at the age of eight) and the project began.  

Here are Eric and Keaton wiring under the sink:

Dan cut the hole and installed the box for the outlet:

Keaton installing the outlet:

Sure is great to have such handy guys and all the necessary tools!  ♥

Happy New Year!

Ah yes, happy new year!  Amazing how time keeps moving on, isn't it?

We had a lovely Christmas with family.  First up was the arrival of Ann, Eric, Cameron, Keaton and Daniel at noon on Christmas Eve.  We had our big dinner that night, attended a communion service at church, and came home for dessert and then to watch Home Alone. (No matter how many times I've watched that movie, I still can't stop laughing at it.  And yes, I loved the Three Stooges as a child.)

Christmas morning was spent opening presents while our breakfast casserole and Ann's amazing cinnamon rolls baked. (I should have taken a picture of those rolls. Cinnabon, you have been trumped!) 

We enjoyed a day of relaxing while we played with our presents, visited, and ate leftovers for lunch and dinner. A rousing game of Mexican Train ended the evening and it was a perfect Christmas day.

Friday morning I made aebelskivers and they, along with reheated cinnamon rolls, made for a yummy breakfast. Sadly, however, I destroyed my favorite green platter. I have two aebelskiver pans and didn't realize I'd turned on the wrong burner for one of them and then set the platter on it to await the first batches.  I was getting ready to fill the second pan when I heard a loud crackling explosion and jumped back from the stove only to realize my beloved platter had shattered into pieces large and small.  I was barefoot, but fortunately Dan and Ann came to the rescue with slippers and the broom. A little cleanup and all was well.  I am grateful to have found an identical platter at Replacements Ltd and it should arrive the end of the week.

I didn't take many pictures, but here's one of two of my favorite peeps.   (Hard to believe our littlest man will turn four in a week.)

Ann and Eric went home Friday night, but we all piled into our Explorer the next morning and drove down to my parents' house to give them their gifts and visit with Bruder Bear and family.  More good Christmas memories to cherish.  ♥

Advent

Yes, gentle readers, it's me.  I didn't intentionally mean to refrain from blogging these last weeks, but as time went on, I did make that decision.  I decided that I wasn't going to miss this Christmas by racing from one "should do" to another.  And it's been wonderful.  I just slowed down and prayerfully sought out what was important and what just didn't matter.  

I've decorated the house, of course, because that brings me joy.  Candles, the tree lights, the decorations going back to early years of married and family life help remind me of many happy years of blessings.  And I've had time to sit back and enjoy them.  

We put the tree in a corner of the dining room that adjoins the living room and we like it there.  We didn't have to disrupt the living room by moving furniture and that was a gift in itself. We actually bought a tree this year!  Dan and grandson Keaton went to a Christmas tree farm owned by some friends from church and cut this one down.  Its size is perfect for the spot.

The weekend of the 13th and 14th, we watched Keaton and Daniel while Ann, Eric, and Cameron drove to Seattle for the Seahawks/49er's  game.  Ann received the tickets from Eric for her 40th birthday in October, and since Cameron is a 'Hawks fan, he got to go, too

Dan and I had a great time with Keaton and Daniel.  In addition to the tree-getting, Christmas cookie baking was on the agenda.  We made candy cane cookies and gingerbread cutouts.  

Note the smashed cookie dough in front of D.  He thought it was as much fun as PlayDoh, with tastier results.  (See below...)

A special Christmas gift arrived early one day in the mail. When I picked up a small box that had been delivered, I recognized the handwriting of my long-time friend, Kathy.  When I opened it, I found a note telling me that she had received the last of her mother's Christmas ornaments, and wanted to share some with me.  As I unwrapped each ornament, I remembered seeing them on the huge tree that was the center of her family's extensive decorating.  They brought tears to my eyes and I love each of them.

One of the things I have most enjoyed over this advent season has been the reading of Ann Voskamp's book, The Greatest Gift.  

It is an advent book with readings for each day of December until Christmas and it has helped me truly focus on the reason for this season.  She begins in Genesis and follows God's plan for our redemption through the Bible.  Her way with words is truly God-given.  I can't recommend this book enough.  

And now, it's December 23.  It's been a Christmas season that I've loved,  Tomorrow Ann, Eric and the boys will arrive about noon and will stay with us for several days.  That they live here in town and still want to come and stay is a precious gift.  Bruder Bear, Karen, nephew JR and niece Kirsten along with her new fiance Tim (wedding in May!) will all be at Mom and Dad's for Christmas.  Our gang will drive down on Saturday and join them for a family day.  

May your Christmas be filled with joy and love as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  ♥

Exercise and Me

I started this post the other day, but got interrupted, so I'll try again.  

Exercise:  for those who know me, it's a word not much in my vocabulary.  Take my PE teacher back in 9th grade.  She was a formidable sight as she joined in our games, running over us and plowing in for a goal.  True, she was only a few years older than we were, but there was an unfortunate spirit within her that made her ridicule any students who weren't, shall we say, athletically gifted.  She did not make a lover of sports out of me.  

In my sophomore year, my family began to ski.  I was not a speedy learner, but after weeks and years of practice, I did become a fairly good intermediate skier, good enough to enjoy winter weekends throughout high school and college.  And even into married life.  

So I got some exercise, not the least of which was my walking to school every day, including walking home for lunch every day, which equated to about thirty-two (or more) blocks of walking each day, mostly in a hurry, especially at lunch time because we only had a forty minute lunch break.  And college?  Our campus was know for its hills.

In other words, organized exercise was not in the picture.  Fast forward to now, and as you know, I've been NordicTracking for almost two years.  And it's gotten old.  Reeaaallly old.  Boring.  Which equates to finding all kinds of reasons for not doing it.  Guilt set in. (Really, I think guilt is one thing I do well!)

When I signed up for my Medicare supplemental insurance, it turned out that the insurance I chose came with a free (to me) program called Silver Sneakers (where do they come up with these names?!?) which gives me access to gyms across the country.  And there was even a participating one right here in our town!!  I finally decided I'd have to avail myself of this perk or I was going to fall off the exercise bandwagon and I didn't want to do that.  

Guess what?!?  I LIKE it!  No one could be more amazed than I am.  I'm going three times a week (MWF), and working out for an hour or so. I come home thankful and energized.  The cardio machines have TVs on them, so I plug in my iPod headphones and watch NCIS or HGTV and work away.  I wanted to work on strength training, too, so I make the rounds of about 8-10 weight machines that work different muscles, do my sets and move on to the next one.  

Here's to my Silver Sneakers card!!  ♥

Just For You, Bruder Bear

Hey, Bruder Bear.  Remember the basement guest bath? The one you've been forced to endure using for a number of years? The one with the unbelievably green fixtures?  Take a look now!

Just look at that bee-u-ti-ful sink!  Gorgeous new faucets!  And a lovely new toidy which sits higher! Yes, the counter is the same, and unfortunately for now the tub is the same, but no more will you have to endure shaving over an ugly green sink.  Dan has been hard at work, with more planned. Come visit and see!!  ♥

Note to those who have not visited this bath:  The fixtures were bright green.  For those of you who would know, Washington Water Power green.  With gold faucets.  I know.  It doesn't even bear thinking about. Why we waited this long is a mystery that will never be solved.  

Dinner and A Movie

Our town has two old movie theaters that are still in operation--of sorts.  They are both used for special events and the occasional movie showing.  A week or so ago we were driving down Main Street on a Friday afternoon and noticed one of them had a free showing of Casablanca that night.  It's one of Dan's favorite movies and he was super excited at the prospect of seeing it on the big screen so we decided it was a "must see."  

We always usually have a date on Friday nights; it's a longstanding tradition and we both look forward to it. Mexican is our usual food of choice and we have several great places to choose from. (When we both worked and had kids at home, our date was Saturday morning breakfast out.  "Hi!  I remember you from last Saturday morning!  How was your week?")

We managed to remember our movie plans once we got home and went out for dinner early enough to have plenty of time to eat, take our leftovers back home and get to the theater.  A small crowd assembled and we settled in to watch a video favorite in all its big screen glory. We mouthed the famous phrases and enjoyed the entire evening.  Ahhh, the classics, where you leave satisfied, not horrified.  ♥

Fall is Definitely Here!

Of course fall is here--it's November!!  And apparently it's been some time since I've posted.  Ah well, I'm back.  

Dan is off to the woods today, daylight savings time is over (big yay to that!), and I was actually up before seven, thanks to the end of the aforementioned DST. It's a dampish, cloudy day and here I sit in my jammies, enjoying a cup of coffee deliciously flavored with raspberry white chocolate creamer.  (I think I drink coffee just for the creamers, but that's another story.)  

Since Dan was off early, I made myself a bowl of my favorite cool weather breakfast--oatmeal.  (Dan is not a fan.) I use old-fashioned oats, cook it long and slow, stir in a tablespoon of peanut butter, add a drizzle of pure maple syrup, and top it off with vanilla almond milk. Yum!!!

The peanut butter adds protein and it only takes a little maple syrup to sweeten a bowl compared to the amount of brown sugar I used to use.  

Saturday was spent at an out-of-town soccer tournament watching Cameron's school compete.  Dan, Ann and Daniel went up on Friday and were thrilled to watch the team win two games including defeating the number one seed.  Cameron scored eight goals between the two games!!  Saturday was the final playoff for the top spot, and while they didn't win, Cameron scored both goals in the 3-2 heart breaker.  He also received a trophy for being one of the top league players.  And the second place trophy the school won is pretty impressive, too.  It was a very cold, windy and damp day, but we all huddled together, kept warm and had a great time! (And a little chocolate didn't hurt, either.)

Hope you're all staying warm and cozy--  ♥