Daybook 1/27/13

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... The temps have warmed up.  We are under yet another winter weather advisory.  More snow on the way and icy conditions for the road.

I am thinking... About spring time. I was out at the happy place and saw the garden.  It's so easy to picture that area all green and growing.

I am thankful... the cabinet handles the DH installed a couple weeks ago.  It's amazing how something so simple can make me so happy.

In the kitchen... Not too much going on in the kitchen today. I made some bread and that's about it.

I am wearing... Warm clothes.

I am creating... A feeling of serenity.  It's working.

I am going... Today we went out to the happy place and took a look around.  I think there is a bit more snow out there than at the homestead.  Lots of critter tracks.

I am wondering... What kind of cupcakes to make so my son can bring something special to school for his birthday this week. Chocolate or Yellow cake?

I am reading... I finished reading Crops and Robbers. I kind of figured out the "whodonit" right away.  Today I started reading "The Lightkeeper's Legacy." This is a third book in a mystery series.  I really enjoyed the first two books.  The fact that it's based in Wisconsin is kind of icing on the cake. 

I am hoping... That my hubby gets well soon. 

I am looking forward to... warmer temps

I am learning ... how to make homemade root beer.

Around the house... MASH is on tv, my son is entertaining himself and hubby is doing research on his laptop.

I am pondering... Not much pondering today.

A favorite quote for today...

 I first learned of this poem while reading the Matched series.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

 Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. 

Courtesy of www.Poets.org

One of my favorite things...  Having frozen zucchini in the freezer.  I love having a taste of summer in the middle of winter.

On and off the needles …Still working on those squares.  I'm now up to 9, I think.  I'm daydreaming about making a sweater though.

Things that bring me joy this week ... Hearing my son say the word, "Scrumptous" in reference to my carrot cake; snuggling up to my hubby; a very beautiful sunset on Wednesday.  The sun was setting and it made it look as if the sky was on fire where the sun was.

A few plans for the rest of the week: The usual.  Early in the week I will be picking up an order of ground beef from the local grocery store. We learned that it doesn't hurt to ask if they will give a discount if you buy in bulk.

A peek into my day...

Here is the sunset from Wednesday.  It's an iPod photo. 

Thanks for stopping by! Come back again.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch #77

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1. Do you eat eggs? What is your favorite way to serve them?

 I do eat eggs.  My favorite is fried.  Either in butter or bacon grease.

2. Do you have a favorite item that you really like having around? (a pillow, a chair, a sweater, a teddy bear, etc.)

 This time of year it is definitely blankets.  All year around I like to have zip up hoodies. 

3. Is most of the furniture in your home dark wood, light wood, painted, lacquered, or distressed?

Most of my furniture is dark wood.   I prefer mission style.

4. Please fill in the rest of this sentence. "I could write a book about ____________."

 I could write a book about ... I don't know. I'm a jack of all trades, master of none kind of gal. Maybe I could do a pretty coffee table book full of pictures from around me area.  That sounds more my speed.

 

5. If money and calendar/family obligations weren't an issue, would you prefer to spend next weekend at a Bed and Breakfast, a posh hotel, a cabin in the woods, or on a sailboat on a calm body of water? I guess the last thing, the sailboat, would have to be someplace warm. :) (It's 30+ degrees here.)

A cabin in the woods. ... though I do like the idea of being pampered at a posh hotel.  But most certainly a cabin in the woods -- with a fireplace that has a stone chimney.  I would be curled up on a big comfy couch next to my hubby or curled up in a chair either reading or knitting. 

Thanks for stopping by! Many thanks to Patrice for hosting the chat. 

Cold day

The temps in my area reached down low to the negatives the last few days.  As a result, schools were closed and when the schools are closed my work building shuts down. 

Here's the temps as of 5:50 a.m. today. It was warmer today than it was yesterday. 

I took advantage of the last few days and acted like a housewife from the 50s. Cleaning, cooking, clearing out some stuff.  My son spent yesterday drawing and watching PBS. 

My son drew a map from Paper Mario sticker something.   He asked me to put it up on his wall.

There was a moment yesterday when the local cooking show host was on the screen and asked "Are you having chicken for dinner again?" and my son replied "I think so." I was in the kitchen when I heard this and I burst out laughing.  That was a moment I want to remember.

Sunday I made carrot cake for the first time.  I used a recipe that I got from a friend.

I love this little chopper.  I got it at a Black Friday Walmart sale at least three years ago for $2.  I used it to shred the carrots for the cake. Carrot cake is so easy to make if you have a chopper!

The recipe called for a tube pan but I don't have one of those.  I do, however, have a HUGE cake pan.  The carrot cake came out more like bars.

I made cream cheese frosting.  I have a recipe that doesn't use as much powdered sugar and it's not too sweet.

The result?

DEEEEE-licious! I am so making carrot cake again.

Monday after I woke up and discovered that school was cancelled I decided I needed to putter in the kitchen and take advantage of the "free" time. 

I baked 6 dozen cookies.  Though I didn't take pictures of those. 

I also made some bread, with the help of my bread machine.

I am falling in love with my bread machine again. I'm not using it to bake the bread, just mixing the dough and letting it rise.

At least 6 years ago I got my machine and my MIL gave me a bread machine cookbook for Christmas that year. The Betty Crocker one.

Isn't it a beautiful loaf of bread?

This is the plain ol' White Bread recipe that is in the book.

It had a lovely texture when it was cut open.  There is nothing like fresh bread and butter. Yum!

I've been thinking about going through the whole cookbook this year and making each recipe at least once.  Only a handful of the recipes have been tried and I would love to branch out my baking skills.

The bright spot, that's the sun coming up.  This is the view from the window over the kitchen sink this morning.  Lovely, isn't it?

Today, my son stayed pretty chill and mostly kept quiet.  I'm a bit worried that he might be getting sick.  My poor husband is getting sick again.  Unlike me, he still had work. Thankfully work was indoors so he didn't have to work in the cold.

My son did got creative with the crayons today.  He made this and then elaborated on it ...

To make this:

Me, I spent part of the day going through papers and doing some filing that I've been avoiding for a while.  *sigh* I need a new system.  It is amazing how much paper buying a house generates. But at least I feel somewhat prepared for the upcoming tax season. I think I'm going to get as much as I can scanned to electronic files so there isn't so much paper for me to maintain.

Then I decided to make *one last thing* while I had the time.  A few years ago I worked with a gal who was English.  She brought scones into to work a few times.  I enjoyed them and wanted to try my hand at making them at some point. 

I think my mom's group is living vicariously through all the baking I've been doing. When I mentioned I was going to make scones there was a discussion about what to put in them and for me to let them know how mine turn out.  I used the recipe from Sun-Ma*d.

Making the scones was interesting. I wasn't sure what to make of the big sticky ball of dough that I was supposed to shape by hand and then cut into wedges.  I have a feeling that I should have spread the dough out more before putting it in the oven.   I baked it longer than what the recipe called for and I still think I flopped it.  It never baked all the way through.

What do you think?



The outer parts did bake through and had a nice texture and wasn't dry.  I finally shut the oven off and just let them sit.  I'm surprised they didn't burn.

Well, that's my life for the last two days.  Thank you for stopping by and letting me share with you!

Daybook 1/20/13

Outside my window... It's COLD!! Don't let the sun fool you.  As of the time I pulled this photo off my camera it was 4 degrees and a -13 windchill out.

I am thinking... how wonderful it is to have heat.  We will be really lucky to get temps in the teens this week.  Next week the temps are predicted to be in the 20s for highs. Woo hoo! A heat wave.

 

I am thankful... For my husband.  He completes me.

 

In the kitchen... My husband is making chili for supper today.  He makes a fabulous pot of chili so I was pretty excited when he told me he was making it.

 

I am wearing... Warm clothes which include hand knit socks. 

 

I am creating... A different attitude.  Ever since the holidays, when I had a chance to slow down, I feel different and renewed.

 

I am going... Today we braved the cold temps and went to Ashland to check it out. But because it was so cold it wasn't as good as it could have been.  Our son was impressed to see all the automobiles and ice fishing huts out on the bay.

 

I am wondering... what it was that came and eat off the suet feeder I have in the backyard.  I can tell something has nibbled on it.  Probably a squirrel.

 

I am reading... "Crops and Robbers" by Paige Skelton.  I haven't gotten very far into it.  I'm reading snippets here and there so it's taking me a while to get into. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series.

 

I am hoping... That the snow blanket stays on my house.  It does so much to keep the house cozy, inside and out.  I love how the new homestead looks with a blanket of snow on the roof. 

 

I am looking forward to... the chili for supper. :-D.

 

I am learning ... how it is to live in the country.

 

Around the house... We are watching a SpongeBob movie we got from the movie store.  "Truth or Square"

 

I am pondering... The beatitudes.  Last week I learned about what they mean and it was an "aha" moment.  I've been thinking about them ever since.

 

A favorite quote for today...  “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.”
―   Mark Twain. Would you believe I haven't read much of his works? I should add some of his books to my GoodReads list.

 

One of my favorite things... Warm cozy blankets.  I've been sleeping with one of my handknit blankets.  So warm.

 

On and off the needles … I ended up having to rip the 7 or so knit squares for my swap.  Realizing that my squares weren't going to work was really hard to accept.  But the fabric was too thin and I would have been embarrassed to send them off.  I charted out a new square and went down a needle size or 2.  The new pattern and needle size is going to work just fine. Last night I frogged the squares and rolled them up into balls. 

 

 

Things that bring me joy this week ... Sitting in the living room next to the window and being in the sun.

 

A few plans for the rest of the week: Same old, same old.  It's a publishing week so I'm going to be gearing up for that.

 

A peek into my day... Today when we went to Ashland hubby took a few photos of this road we sometimes go onto.  It's windy, rolling hills and really pretty.  It's going to be gorgeous spring and summer when everything is green.

One of our first times going on the road we had to stop because a flock of wild turkeys crossing the road. 

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my day!

Join the fun at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Saving a memory

Today when the family was out shopping I was sitting in the Rav with my son.  A song came on the radio and I turned it up. Not too loud though.  Just loud enough. 

This is the part I find amusing and wanted to write this down to save the memory. I think it will be funny to see this a few years or when my son is a teen.  Then I can go "See, I told you so."

My son isn't into music as much as some of his classmates so he doesn't like most music.

When I turned up the song he goes "Turn it down please. It's too loud." I told him that when he was a teenager he was going to be listening to music very close to what was playing and that I would be the one going "Turn down that noise!"  My son goes "Nu uh."

I'm still amused when I think about it.

The song?  It was Volbeat - "A Warriors Call"

Cause I'm nice, here's the music video.  Not something that I usually listen to. But it's got a good beat.  When I was looking for a music video I found the lyrics and read them.  Interesting, but I don't understand half of them when the song is going.

Snow!

Snow snuck up on us last night. We were told we would get some but not much. Well ... we got some and it came down thick. My husband leaves for work earlier than me. He gave me a call to let me know that it was blizzard-like and the main highway was slippery.  Joy!

I drive a cute little Rav4 so I popped it into 4 x 4 before dropping my son off at latchkey and then heading to work.

Sure enough, two cars had gone off the road and went into the ditch.  Some people think they are 10 feet tall and bulletproof no matter the weather and road conditions.

I read news headlines stating that there were quite a few "incidents" today. 

Just two more months of hard winter.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch #76

I came across "Chats on the Farmhouse Porch" on one of the blogs I recently started following.  This looks like fun and I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon.




  QUESTIONS

1. What was your favorite game as a child?

When I was a child I played a lot of board games and card games.  I think my favorite board game was one that my mom had picked up at the local Goodwill.  I don't remember for sure what it was named. "Bankroll" comes to mind ... It was a cross between life and monopoly.  There there three "levels" and once you saved up enough money in your savings account you could advance to the next level on the board.  Things got more expensive the higher the level.  You could "retire" and win the game once you had X amount of money in the bank and a certain amount of real estate.

edit 1/23/13 I found the game.  It was called Bankroll. 

2. Have you ever had your own business? (home business, a shop, Etsy, lemon-aid stand, etc)

I have never owned a business.

3. How's your spelling?

Considering where I work, it should be better, but I'm a bit stubborn.  I call it "good enough." Though if I see bad style and formatting and errors in other people's work, it sometimes makes my eye twitch. 

4. How are you about going to the dentist?

I'm not a fan of the dentist.  But I did sit through a quad cleaning after not going to the Dentist for 10+ years.  Thank goodness for novacaine. I have remarkable healthy teeth. 

5. Do you enjoy board games?

I enjoy board games but I don't always have someone to play them with.  For a while my son was pretty hardcore on "Sorry".  The first time he played "Monopoly" against his dad and I he won.  Not too bed for a 6 year old (or was he 5?)