Family Gathering at Christmas, Can't Wait!

This is a family gathering from about 1963 or so, of my mom's family. That is MnMom in the stripes on the table! If we were to take a shot this weekend of all of us together, it won't look too much different, except the clothes will be updated and the kids will be a bit older (and there will be way more alcohol and food on the table!)

Good memories!

Better family pic, same day as the last one.

Same day as the one above, but new pose, new smiles. Mom tried and tried to get a good 'xmas card kids' shot, but to no avail. There are literally dozens of attempts each year. Love the socks.

Happy Christmas Everyone! Waiting for Santa!

Circa 1968 or so. Waiting for Santa to arrive, is that him on the roof now?!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

AAAAAH, Now THIS is Iowa Spring!

Worked out in the yard all day today (and yesterday), feels so good to be out there again! The creeping Charlie is doing well, as are the dandelions. We're enjoying the Ruby Throated Hummingbird that hangs out around our deck, and the Pileated Woodpecker who lives out back of the house, he's just huge, about 17 inches from head to tail! WE LOVE SPRING!

Spring in the Great Midwest

It's early April here in Iowa and that means signs of spring are blooming up . . everywhere. My yard has that early spring/late winter look of Sanford and Son (you can start whistling the theme song now as you read the rest of the blog). There are piles of shit everywhere that were nicely hidden by snow but now are sopping wet mounds of wood, sleds, bike pieces, neighbor's dead cats, and decaying dog poop. Ah, the beauty of early spring in the Midwest. I was just chatting with a friend in Minnesota on Facebook and wondered aloud if maybe the mulching element on my riding mower could handle that cat? Could make a pretty bad mess in the catch bag, but what if I didn't use the catch bag? Great fertilizer for that area of the yard . . . hmmmmmm.

ERMA BOMBECK - She lives on in all of us!

IN honor of women's history month and in memory of Erma Bombeck who lost her
fight with cancer. Every time I hear anything or read anything about Erma Bombeck I think of my mom, my aunts, and all the women of the 'neighborhood' when I was growing up on East Main Street. Here's to all of those great women - and to all the great women in my life now!

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck
(written after she found out she was dying from cancer)

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would
go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in
storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or
the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less
about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his
youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day
because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while
watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't
show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every
moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance
in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go
get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's' More
'I'm sorry's.'

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute. Look at it
and really see it...... live it and never give it back.
STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!!

“There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.” ~ Erma Bombeck ~

“I've exercised with women so thin that buzzards followed them to their cars.”
~ Erma Bombeck ~
And finally, this quote below which I just love - not from Erma, but good advice to follow just the same. We're only here for a short amount of time in this thing called life, might as well have some fun while we're here! Now go ahead, JUMP!

When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap.”
~ Cynthia Heimel ~

Sleep-Over - I SURVIVED!

I survived my daughter's sleep-over party last Friday night! It's always a dice roll when you gather two or more 12-yr-old girls in one spot for any extended length of time. It could be a very high drama, major argument sort of experience with tears flowing - or it could be a lovely gathering of high energy, positive hang-out time. Fortunately for everyone at our home that night, it was the latter. I'd purchased all the necessary goods for a successful sleep-over; cheetohs, soda, m&ms, cheez-it crackers, gummy roll-ups, and frozen pizzas. I know, not much for nutritional value, but hey, they're pre-teens and it's a party for cryin' out loud! Watch the attached video and you'll get just a very small glimpse into the evening's energy . . . GIRLS RULE!

and more of THE HAT!

The photos from fans of Aretha Franklin's Inauguration Hat are so funny coming in all over the net! This is one of my favorites so far. Go check them out at the link provided for a good giggle in your day! She is so beyond cool, WE LOVE ARETHA!

Busy January Saturday

This is turning out to be one of those days in a parent's life that is like a small puzzle. One child has to be in LaCrosse, WI for the morning looking for a new hockey stick (our town is too small to sell such things and whenever we need something we have to drive at least 55 minutes away to get it), another child is at district speech contest in exactly the opposite direction thirty miles south, and the third child has to be up at the local college for a dance performance and cello lessons in mid-afternoon and then on to a birthday party for the rest of the afternoon and into the night, one of our son's friends is spending the night here later. I'm not sure how we'll cover all this today and make it work. Let's hope the LaCrosse crew gets back early enough for me to head south in time to catch the first speech event. So much for a relaxing Saturday with family! Well, a few cups of hot strong espresso and I'll be ready to meet the day's challenges! (Thanks for the new rubber ring for our espresso pot Happy to be from Iowa! It works!

Stay warm everyone, we have a current temp of -7! Put your coffee on . . .

GORGEOUS WINTER MORNING!

The high-bush cranberries looked like sugared candy this morning! Iowa is so beautiful in every season! There is a deep fog hanging over the river today, so during my walk up on one of the bluffs it was simply magical. The fog was hanging in the trees, about two-thirds of the way down into the woods, and every branch, every twig, every strand of barbed wire was gently touched with the frost. The air was completely still and the woods were quiet, just starting wake up for the day - but waking very slowly.

Every branch and thorn, covered in gorgeous frost.

Hoar frost on everything this morning around our home! Beautiful!

Go take a walk before the magic is burned off!

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA!

Just finished watching the inauguration ceremonies for
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
I cried, I smiled, I reflected, and then I cried some more.
This is a great day, the beginning of something better,
a renewed America.
Roll your sleeves up everyone, there's rebuilding to be done.

GREAT DAY!

MADRIGAL DINNER!

Here are the promised photos of the recent Madrigal Dinner that our local high school students performed. Myself and two other moms took on the charge of 'sprucing up' the old costumes. By the time it was all done, I'd made over 20 new hats for the cast. You can spot them in the photos here. Once you start making them, it becomes addictive! Try it! Maybe I should wear one to the local Inaugural Ball tomorrow night!! Hmmmmmmmmmmm

I've Been Tagged, Here are 6 Random Things About Me

Happy to be from Iowa tagged me to blog about 6 random things about myself. Here goes:

1) Whenever I was home alone when I was young, I would pretend all the sinks, toilets, and bathtubs in our home were actually trout hatchery tanks. I would walk around the house as the DNR officer in charge of the hatchery and give tours to groups. (Maybe I missed my calling a long time ago.) I miss those lovely people in the group tours! :)

2) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all the Die Hard, Kill Bill, and Bourne movies. I'm really a softy at heart, very peace-loving actually, but I LOVE THESE MOVIES!

3) I keep a bowl of maraschino cherries in the frig just for me. MnMom calls them "squirrel bait". Which is actually random item #3a; my nickname in high school, only from older sister's friends, was "Squirrel Bait".

4) I have webbed little toes, just like He Had No Identifying Characteristics!

5) There are wonderful artistic talents within my soul, I just can't seem to find a way to make a living off of them! Just finished over 18 Madrigal hats with some of that energy. (Photos to come later.)

There. More than you needed to know, but there you have it.

New Favorite Granola Bars!

I also made up this recipe yesterday. I was craving granola bars and found a few online that looked good, then combined elements from a few of them. These are a great snack bar to boost energy while out in this wintry weather! The kids LOVE them! You can improvise with whatever ingredients you might have around the house such as wheat germ, dried apple pieces, white chocolate chips, dates, pecans, etc. YUM! YUM!

4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup flax seed - ground
1 c sunflower seeds
1 c raw Spanish peanuts (crush these a bit first)
1 c sliced or slivered almonds

Place all of the above in a jellyroll pan and roast @ 400 for about 12 minutes - stir often! Watch closely, you just want to slightly roast them, do not burn them! When you remove from oven, stir in about 1/3 cup soy flour. Cool.

Now, line another jellyroll pan with waxed paper and then spray it with spray oil or just lightly butter it. Set aside.

In heavy saucepan on medium, mix together and simmer:
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1 c honey
8 T butter
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 t salt

While this cooks, transfer oats mixture to large bowl and then stir in about 1 cup raisins and 1 cup craisins (or any dried fruit bits) into the oat mixture. You can also add chocolate chips, but they do melt when you add the peanut butter mixture, it is just for chocolate flavor anyway.)

Pour hot peanut butter mixture over the oats mixture and stir to combine. Pour into the waxed paper lined jellyroll pan and spread it out with a greased spatula. Cover with more waxed paper and really press it in there to flatten all over.

Let cool for at least 4 hours. Cut into whatever size bar you want, wrap in plastic or waxed paper and store for snacks in frig or freezer.

Another Hot Soup Day! Spicy Chicken Soup!

I found this recipe also in the latest Penzey Spices catalog, but adjusted it for our taste. Hope you like it too! My additions are in bold.

4 boneless/skinless chicken breast (about 2-2.5 lbs) cubed
2 T vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 - 1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 t powdered ginger
1 T freshly grated ginger
slices of ginger root, about 4
1-2 kefir lime leaves (Thanks, David C.!)
8 cups water
3 T chicken soup base (I use Organic Better than Bouillon chicken base)
3/4 lb extra wide egg noodles (I used Harrington's Amish Style Hand Made Egg Noodles*)
2 scallions

(You could also add coconut milk and gangala root to this recipe and it'd be even better!!)

Brown chicken pieces in very hot oil in large kettle, 4-5 minutes. Add minced onions and minced garlic and brown a bit more. Now add everything else (except the noodles and scallions!) and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer for about half hour. Before serving, boil the noodles separately in chicken stock. Put hot noodles in bowl, top with chicken soup, garnish with green onions. Oh yeah, remove the lime leaves and the slices of ginger before serving! ENJOY!!! We had this with a good crunchy crust sour dough and a green salad with dried cranberries, goat cheese, almonds, and maple syrup dressing. It really hit the spot, especially for the kids who had been ice skating in below freezing temps for a few hours!

*Next time I make it, I'll use rice noodles instead. The egg noodles seemed a bit heavy for this light soup.

Hot Soup Days This Week!

This is the chili I'm making today. It is COLD, COLD, COLD outside and supposed to get colder all week. We'll be wanting a good chili on the stove when we come in from it the next few days. I know most people are sick of the snow already, but I still love a good snowfall!!

Found this recipe in the Penzey's latest catalog and made some adjustments. I used venison instead of the beef short ribs. The house smells absolutely wonderful! Here's the recipe with my edits:

1 - 1.5 lbs cubed venison steak meat, about 1/2 inch each (The recipe called for beef short ribs, bone-in, baked for 1 hour before being placed in chili. Then, remove meat from ribs after the 2 hour simmer and put meat back into the chili.)
1 tsp EACH: ancho chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, black pepper, cocoa powder, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander, ginger and sugar. (The recipe called for Penzey's CHILI 9000 seasoning, but I did not have any, so I improvised a bit and guessed how much of each spice might be in it.)
1/2 tsp EACH: cloves, nutmeg, salt
2 lbs chorizo sausage
1 large onion - minced
2 - 14 oz cans crushed tomatoes
2 - 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 - 14 oz cans pureed tomatoes
1 tsp sugar (whenever I cook with tomatoes, I ALWAYS add a bit of sugar to mellow the tomato a bit.)
4 cups water
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish & flavor

Brown venison in a little oil. Add chorizo to venison and cook fully. Add all spices and heat through. Add onions, tomatoes, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally. Spoon off any fat that rises to the top. Toss with freshly chopped cilantro just before serving. Top with your favorite chili toppings (sour cream, grated cheese, green onions, etc.) ENJOY!! As my Uncle Sam always says, "Anyone who knows BEANS about chili, knows there ain't BEANS in chili!" I'll share that story with you next time!