Storm of the Century or not!

It's been one heck of a week!  My daughter's house was broken into Saturday, she and the girls stayed at our house that night. It's very hard to see the pain and anguish of being invaded upon,  to feel again the mind numbing, ugliness that the scum of our society produces.  Her laptop was stolen, one of the biggest losses.  Skype is the link between them and her husband who is in Afghanistan, it's hard enough coping with everday problems and then this.  And the sentimental items, the ones that have NO value.  Irreplacable!

My husband went to nail the door shut until repairs could be done thru a snow storm.  And on Sunday I went to  stay with at our daughter's (at her request), the stay was extended thru Thursday.  The Pacific NW has been hit with snow storms, then ice storms.  At our house we estimate 12 to 14 inches of snow, I understand why the weather stories feel this one is so bad;    most storms are not so big (from Oregon up to Bellingham),  rain is predicted 1 - 3 inches) and with the snow melt we'll have devastating floods.  We made National news!

The granddaughters had so mcuh fun in the snow, they went out multiple times everyday and became quite expert (and eager) at garbing up and peeling off.  V looked like a pink marshmellow in her snowsuit!  We walked, made snow people and threw snow (no packed balls, a 3 yr old doesn't understand) V giggled a lot.  The girls loved to fall over again and again or make angels.  E practiced with sourdough and made some good bread, fresh is the BEST!  The power did go out Wednesday night at 10:30 (time for bed!) and came on 6:30am, the kids never knew!  That's not so bad, some family  had power out much longer and 2 separate times.

My son came and picked up E for a little shopping trip, he installed chains and still slipped around once in while but did a good job driving (better than most out there, driving too fast or hogging the road).  I came home with him,  Thank you!!!

Beau-ti-ful !!!

My favorite kind of day: cold, crisp, blue sky, SUN !!!  When coming home today, from a particular point on the road I can see Mt. Baker - Mt. Rainier - Mt. Pilchuck, Three Sisters and the multitude of mountains surrounding them.  All glowing in the mid afternoon sun and from my kitshen window I see the Olympics in beautiful shadows against the setting sun with a colorful sunset.

I am thinking that one of the goals for this year is to implement 'changes' in how we eat.  We like oatmeal and cream of wheat but I woud like to take it further.  For instance, using brown rice not white.  I love brown rice, it will be the thought put into meals that needs working on because of cooking times, etc.  Instead of listing goals I will create a 'living list' (making the list as changes are incorporated into meals.

Good Food!

I made ham bone and beans today!  Brings back memories of Mom's soup, so good!  I boiled the bone (with plenty of meat left on it) with an onion and garlic for an hour then took it out to cool for shredding. Then I cooked the Anasazi beans, they cook in about 1 hour and originate from the Southwest. Nice, huh!  When the beans were done, I combined them with the meat, broth and a packet of Knorr Vegetable soup mix simmering for 10 minutes. OMG, so good!  My soup is more like a chowder, very thick.

For brunch, I made Bannocks (Scottish pancakes) using sourdough and rolled wheat flakes (I didn't have oatmeal).  The wheat didn't absorb the moisture well and so I will try again with the oatmeal.  Good but could be better!  Both these meals left me full and satisfied for hours with no heartburn that I have been experiencing lately.  Flour, cream of wheat, sugar so far seem to be the culprits.

I have a challenge on Pinterest, getting rid of 100 things.  Five garbage bag liners full, 4 grocery bags and 1 box went to the Goodwill box, Yeah!  Going to work on another 100 items!

On the ending of 2011 . . . .

With so many days to accomplish chores my short list should be easy (plus some).  I have fallen a little short.  The kitchen table is still a disaster and so is my bedroom.  I cleaned out drawers though, they accumulate stuff at an alarming rate.  Now in the basement, which is also still a disaster, I have been working on.  With three dump runs this year a lot of boxes have been gone thru and eliminated, also many full boxes have been donated to the Goodwill (I have 4 grocery sacks ready to go right now) and many trunk full runs to the recycling center (it's free) with boxes of papers from schoolwork to IRS papers.  Nothing has been re-packed and I did not have a garage sale (many boxes to sell).  So I guess my list will have to remain in effect and be added to!


A big change for me this year is the 'no-poo' for clean hair.  Surprise! my hair is very clean.  Every other day is perfect, I think that it would be too drying.  I use a Tablespoon of baking soda and water paste rubbed into the scalp and a Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a cup of warm water to rinse.  I rinse well with water and let dry, nobody can tell.  My hair feels good and silky, I never have trouble combing it out (it's curly).  If I am having a bad hair day on the skipped day a rinsed with very warm water works well.


I have never believed in New Years resolutions, Goals are much more attainable.   At New years you might rashly make a promise and then fail, this happens with regularity (promises are meant to be kept).  Goals come up at any time and can be revised, life is not static and we need to be adaptable.


    'To Do' list (supports Goals list) for 2011

• Sort/clean out living spaces
• Sort basement for the dump 
• Re-pack anything left in basement
• Have a garage sale

Christmas

My favorite part of Christmas is breakfast, always has been.  It started with my grandmother, she made cinnamon rolls as part of breakfast for her family, 6 children.  When they went abroad as missionaries my mom continued the tradition.  As a child, all my family came to our house for breakfast.  Our house was big, full of noise and  fun.  My memories influence my attitude as an adult.  We did not exchange gifts with extended family, we did not pick names.  I liked the emphasis on family even as a kid.  I dislike the commercialism and materialism of a beautiful holiday.  Traditions need to fostered and memories made for the generations coming after us.  Traditions are old and new, the new ones take work to get started but are well worth the effort.  I kept busy making gifts, more than ever before.  A part of my granddaughters gift didn't get done, a second basket made of fabric and a pincushion to match.  Her birthday is in January so I will finish it then . . . perfect!  What is interesting is that my son and his girlfriend have made gifts the last 2 years.  This year they made a necklace and earrings with deer horns, I love it and I am impressed.  We had breakfast at my daughters house this year.  Cinnamon rolls, of course!  Eggs, bacon and champagne with OJ.  All the family doesn't come to breakfast anymore, there is just too many of us but we had 12 for breakfast (a few family members were not in town for Christmas). Our son-in-law is in Afghanistan, hard for the girls and E.

Breakfast Christmas, 2011

Tis the Season

I have been busy lately:
     Ornaments for family - 9 finished
     Baskets woven from paper bags - 4 finished
     Knitted cowl scarf - needs blocking
     Crafting a small sewing box - unfinished
     Tree hunting and Decorating
     Shopping for presents, wrapping too
     A batch of sweet bread in tiny loaves for the baskets
And the everyday stuff:
     Finding wood to burn (construction sites)
     Empty 3 more boxes in the basement, garbaged most of it
     Recycling run (2 in last 2 weeks), need to do a garbage run now
     Time with the grandchildren and daughter
A few observations:
     A foggy month in December - a bit unusual
     A couple of beautiful days - went out 'sun bathing', felt GOOD!
     Some days/nights down to 28 degrees and no snow! (Good)
     A few colorful sunsets - very pretty
     Tried an oatmeal lager - dark, mild bitter finish (devine)
To do:
     Take pictures of my crafts before wrapping them
     Bake on friday for Christmas morning cinnamon rolls
     Finish a couple of projects - easy
     Help out E. tomorrow!
     Shop for Christmas breakfast and next 2 weeks
     Go to a cookie exchange, yet I don't bake anymore for our home (8 doz cookies needed)
     Need to shop for a couple more things for hubby (I know what to get)

WWII . . . . . Remember.

There will be a sad day comin’
For the foes of all mankind
They must answer to the people
And it’s troubling their mind
Everybody who must fear them
Will rejoice on that great day
When the powers of dictators
Shall be taken all away

There’ll be smoke on the water
On the land and the sea
When our Army and Navy overtakes the enemy
There’ll be smoke on the mountains
Where the Heathen Gods stay
And the sun that is risin’

Will go down on that day

  ~ Red Foley, Smoke on the Water, 1944

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Still true today?  Something to think about.