Winter Sights

I love it when all the greenery of summer is spent. While the grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees are not as showy as they are in summer, they have their own unique beauty in fall and winter. I especially like how they look with a back drop of snow.

Queen Anne's Lace

Hydrangeas

Ornamental Grasses

George cutting wood. You would see his face, but he's developed some disease that prevents him from having his picture taken without sticking out his tongue.

Remember our old friend Summer? I can hardly remember what it was like.

Menu Plan Monday

As much and George and I both like ham, we are sick of it after a few days of ham leftovers. Variety is the spice of life and in the interest of variety, we will not be eating any ham this week!

Monday

Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, Vegetable Medley (fancy way to say mixed vegetables, huh?)

Tuesday

Lemon & Dill Walleye, Baked Potatoes, Broccoli

Wednesday

Beef Pot Pie, Garden Salad

Thursday

Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup

Friday

Pizza for George and soup for me. (I'm having a band adjustment so I be having soup. Can you puree pizza into a soup? Eeeeeewww)

Saturday

Out to dinner with my in-laws

It's a Crane Christmas

I hope you all had a great Christmas; we sure did. In fact this whole last week has been terrific. We had my side of the family over to our place on Christmas Eve. A good time was had by all, or at least those that didn't have their face buried in a cell phone. Maybe they had a good time too; but they just haven't texted me yet : )

George has been home with me all week except for a few emergency calls. I think that's been the nicest part of this whole week.

On Christmas day the plan was that George and I would drive up to the lake to spend the day with his family. Unfortunately the freezing rain was more than we wanted to chance so we ended up staying home. It was a nice quiet, laid back kind of day. We slept in, opened gifts, lazed around for awhile and then had some leftover Christmas Eve fixings for dinner. Just my kind of day!

Which brings me to the gift I gave George this year. It all started out by George wanting me to find a really nice model crane kit for a Christmas gift for his brother. Five minutes of him peering over my shoulder as I searched the net and it was crystal clear that this crane would not be for his brother. I'm laughing as I write this... he was way too particular about just what kind of crane "his brother" should get and any special additions he could get to add on to it later.

George was obsessed with this crane until he found out how much it cost. Um, yes apparently these little metal replicas of real construction equipment are quite pricey. Far, far out of my normal gift giving range. We are not an expensive gift type of family. He tried to curtail his enthusiasm after he saw the price, but he kept mentioning it for a week and wanting me to find a cheaper one that was almost as nice. I could tell he really, really wanted it, but felt bad asking for an expensive gift that he suspected I thought was just a silly old toy.

So I found the best deal I could on the internet and talked myself into cheerfully ponying up the cash to make his day. The timing was perfect, the delivery man brought it just as George stepped into the shower. I hurried to hide the box in the back of the bedroom closet so I could wrap it when he was out working in the garage or something. Just before wrapping the box, I peeked inside and pulled out the complimentary catalogue of 156 other expensive toys.... er... I mean "precision metal models for those over 18 years old" after all, we do want to retire someday.

On Christmas morning, after we had been up for awhile, I hauled the box out of the closet and watched as he tore into it. It was as if my husband turned into a kid again! He worked intently for hours and hours putting together his crane. The next day he started in on making all sorts of modifications to make it even more customized.

After seeing how much he loved his new toy, I caved in and told him about the catalogue of other construction equipment; his joy is complete. He's picking out the one he wants for his birthday.

It's the Little Things

So often we find ourselves waiting for the next big thing to make us happy. The older I get, the more clearly I understand that it's not the major life milestones that make us happy. It's the myriad of little things and being thankful for where we are right now, what we have at this moment in time.

In the spirit of "the little things" I'll share some of the things that have brightened my week.

1.)

Those of you that are in love with Pepperidge Farms Pirouette cookies, please do not beat me for saying this. I've passed these up at holiday get togethers for years -- because they look and sound like they would taste nasty. For some reason I thought they would be hard, dried up sticks of pasty chocolate, but nothing could be further from the truth. On a lark I bought a can last week and am now hooked. These little goodies are so delicious that it's really difficult to stop at two sticks.

I think everyone should know the delights of Pirouette cookies, and what better Christmas gift can you thing of? So, I started shopping around for the store that had them priced the cheapest (these are expensive little suckers!). Our local Wally World had a big display of them and several signs indicating they were 2 cans for $5. Wow -- great deal! I grabbed up several, but they scanned for nearly $6 a can. The manager went back and said the 2 for $5 sign should not have been up, but she would let me have them all at that price.

2.)

This little guy; he's older now, his muzzle and eye brows are turning gray and he's had more surgeries than somebody in their 80's but he's still such a cheerful little thing. Throughout the day I try to remember to stop and pay him some attention. Dogs sure don't ask for much, but they give us a lot of love.

3.)

This tote came in the mail today. It was a freebie from Rold Gold that I sent for several weeks ago. It's always such a delight to get something in the mail besides bills.

4.)

I found the best store bought tortillas ever. I really like the taste of corn tortilla's but don't like having to fry them in oil. These Chi Chi's Cafe Style tortilla's are terrific because they combine the best of both worlds, a flour tortilla that tastes like it's a corn tortilla -- and you don't have to fry it to get it to work right. I've tried making something like this several times but have not had any luck. The taste of these tortillas is just amazing! Also, these keep for a good few months in the cupboard before you open them. (let's not say anything about the level of preservatives they must have to let you do that, shall we?)

5.)

On Friday, my staff gave me a beautiful Christmas card filled with kind sentiments and a gift card to one of my favorite stores. This was a complete surprise to me; I was so touched they would do this for me! As a boss, I have to make decisions based on what's best, not what everyone likes -- that can me a person feel pretty isolated and unappreciated. It brought tears to my eyes to know how much like working for me -- even when things aren't always as ideal as they would like.

6.)

After Church this Sunday we attended our church's annual Christmas Potluck. It was a lot of fun and a good chance to enjoy some Christian fellowship.

Our New "Front" Door

Our new "front" door is in! I call this our "front" door because it's really the side door near the driveway and garage. Out in the country, you never get visitors walking up to the front of the house. We haven't decided on a colour yet, but I do like Michelle's suggestion of ice blue.

Here's the view from the outside. I've always liked how homey our house looks when you are looking in from the outside. Sometimes in the evening when I'm out walking or playing with Barney I'll walk up close to a window and pause for a moment just to look inside. Happy sigh.

A Hodge Podge of Things

This past week has been a flury of festive activity. I've been trying to finish up the Christmas cards, make sure we have gifts for everyone on our giving list and in between do a little extra cleaning. Oh wait, I did say festive activity, didn't I? Well, you can scratch off the cleaning then.



We spent Saturday at the first of our family get-togethers this season. George's whole extended family gets together at his cousin's home (no, this would not be the cousin that's a few miles down the road; it's the one 45 minutes away;). This particular cousin lives in one of those country houses that's built way back from the road. When you are at their place it feels like you are in total seclusion and it's wonderful! One of these years I'm going to remember to take my camera -- so may good photo oportunities! We saw several wild turkeys come down to the pond and watched a couple of muskrats for a bit before dinner.



This week is going to be a slower week for George so he going to try and do a few projects around the house. He's going to replace a couple of exterior doors and storm doors. Here's kind of the look we are going for. We also like this. We would pair these with a clear glass storm door that goes all the way down to the floor. (Barney should love this because one of the doors looks right out to our bird/critter feeding area. When I lived in town he used to love looking out the storm door and letting all the neighbor dogs know they were on his turf. ) These are fiberglass doors that are meant to be painted. I'm up for colour suggestions. We've got a white house with no other trim colour. Please do not suggest the ever popular red. I'm not sure I would like it myself and I'm certain it would be too bold for George.

Remember the $8 a gallon milk? Well, this sweet lady calls last night and invites George and I to coffee and dessert next week. She probably wants to get me hooked on the $8 a gallon milk ; )

Menu Plan Monday

Monday

Pot Roast, Potatoes, Garden Salad, Rolls (I'm having soup because I had a Band Adjustment today)

Tuesday

Chili, with all the fixin's and cornbread

Wednesday

Tuna Salad Sandwiches, Homemade Pasta Salad

Thursday

Quick & Tasty Mexican Casserole

Friday

Not sure yet: we may get Chinese take out or go out.

Calling All Meijer Shoppers

Are you a Meijer shopper like me? Well, if you are, you will be mighty glad to know that Meijer is running a special $5 off $25 worth of food.


Sign up here for Meijer deal alerts and you can print out your coupon right away. I recommend signing up for their email alerts; that way if they get to be too much, you can easily unsubscribe.

It's Begining to Look A Lot Like Christmas

All of our decorations are up, well, all except for the tree skirt I can't seem to find. Here's a few photos from around the house.

Our tree. Sorry for the blurry photo. I tried every setting on my digital camera and various lighting but still can't seem to get it to turn out right. Trust me on this; in real life, the tree is sparkly spectacular.

Apparently somebody's been on the ball with Christmas cards. We've received 5 already, which reminds me that I need to really get going on those tonight!

Here's our little Christmas village.



We have a few heavy ornaments that don't work well on the tree. I like to keep them on top hutch part of my desk. See the peace lily in the background. I'm it's proud mama. I picked it up as a sickly little cast off on Lowe's clearance shelf thissummer. It's doing so well after some tender loving care.

Okay, We Now Need to Double Our Income...

My husband has some wonderful customers. This year has brought us several new customers in one particularly nice, old money neighborhood. One lady that George has been doing a lot of work for lately is a dear, elderly widow. Her husband and her only child both passed away a few years ago and she is so very lonely.

When George goes over to her home to work he always spends time visiting with her. She loves to have him eat lunch with her and they have a good time enjoying each other's company. She spends many hours telling him all about her son and husband. Even with a mountain of work and a shorter day to accomplish it all, George makes the time to listen. He realizes that while she hires him for physical labor, she is also hoping for a friend -- someone that cares how important her son and husband are to her.

Thinking about this lady and some other customers in similar situations I'm reminded that just because a person has no material needs, doesn't mean they don't suffer lack. We can be poor in spirit, sad, lonely, emotionally drained, and discouraged.

At this time of year, when we are so focused on sharing our material wealth with others, it's so important that we remember those around us that are hurting, lonely or just need a little encouragement. A few hours of our time, a letter or a card, can do so much to brighten someone's day. Our attention is a way of saying "I care about you; you are important to me".

Moving on the title of this post, why we need to double our income:

This is kind of a funny story. Since George has been spending more time with this sweet lady; (who is very wealthy) he has been acquiring upper class tastes. This would not be an issue; except for the fact that we do not have an upper class income or budget.

Yesterday he comes home and tells me that this lady served the best milk he's ever tasted (with his steak lunch) and that he would like me to start buying it. The only hitch is that it's 4 times more expensive than the milk he drinks now -- $8 a gallon. I tried to explain that $8 is a lot of money for milk. He said I should be happy to do it for his good health. Then I testily said he should consider quitting smoking and his weekly 9x13 pan of baked goods if he was concerned about bettering his health. That went over like a lead balloon and we were about ready to jump into a good argument but the $130 cashmere sweaters saved the day.

Just as we were about to embark on a good fight, George sheepishly opens a bag of goodies this lady gave him. Out comes three gorgeous like new Land's End cashmere sweaters and a pair of Florsheim calf leather wing tips. We both started laughing. And to think I was worried about him getting attached to $8 milk! That was the least of my worries. At least now we have some nice sweaters and a good pair of dress shoes.

Menu Plan Monday

Over the past couple of weeks thanks to coupons and sales I've been able to score some really great deals on laundry soap, frozen vegetables, bread and pork loin. We now have a several month's supply of all of these items.

Don't forget, this is the begining of a new month, which means all the great coupons at coupons.com have be re-set. Go here to get yours.

Here's what we are eating this week:

Breakfast

M: Cottage Cheese with Fruit
T: Greek Yogurt with Fruit

W: Egg, Canadian Bacon, English Muffin

Th: Greek Yogurt with Granola

F: Cottage Cheese with Fruit

Lunch

M: Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce, Garden Salad

T: Pizza & Salad

W: Shepherd's Pie, Garden Salad

Th: Chicken/Broccoli/Cheese/Rice Casserole

F: Lunch out at Red Lobster -- yum! Grilled Salmon

Supper

M: Sloppy Joes and Brussel Sprouts

T: Shepherd's Pie, Garden Salad

W: Chicken/Broccoli/Cheese/ Rice Casserole

Th: Reubens, Bean Soup

F: Take out Pizza

Old Fashioned Life: Bath Day

Every Sunday night of my childhood was bath night. We weren't a church going family, so we all had our baths on Sunday night so we would be squeaky clean for school on Monday.


Bath night was quite a production at our house. We started by filling several of our largest pots with cold water (we did have cold running water in the house; which we were ever so thankful for). As the oldest girl at home I filled the pots while my mother stoked the fires in the wood stoves in the kitchen and mudroom. We had an electric stove in the kitchen; we used all three stoves to heat enough water for all of us, plus hot water from the wood stove reservoir in the mudroom. It took some doing to get just the right mix of cold water added to the boiling water from the stove to make for a nice warm bath.


The baby and smallest children were bathed first while everyone was in the house. We had one of those old fashioned white enamel coated tubs that the baby was bathed in. I recall Mom taking great pains to make sure she held the baby carefully so baby's skin wouldn't come in contact with the cold metal. After the littlest ones were bathed, the men were headed off to the barn or workshop and us older girls had our baths.

So, how do take a bath without a bathtub? Well we had a couple of choices: we had an old metal tub, but even as a child I thought it quite small and didn't like it. The other choice was to bath in our big farm sink in the kitchen. My preferred method was to sit on the drain board and do most of my washing and then finish up by standing in the sink filled with water and pouring water over myself like a shower. I'm sure that made quite a mess. The one draw back to bathing in the sink was that I was the farthest you could get from the stove and right next to a window. Winter time baths were known for their brevity.

One of my chief occupations as a child was to see how dirty I could get. Each night before bed I got a good scrubbing, but there was still plenty of dirt on me by Saturday night. When you're taking a week's worth of grime off at once, a bath feels great-- even to a little kid. We went through a fair amount of Castile's hard water soap. I still love that soap.

After Mom was sure we were good and clean and all dried off we had to stand there in the kitchen on a towel while my mother doused us in Johnson's Baby Powder. We could hardly breathe as we were enveloped in a cloud of white. One time I decided to help my mother out by dousing my sister Kendra. As she stood there I squeezed nearly the entire bottle on top of her head. Mom thought she was going to suffocate for sure. My sister and I still tease each other about this today. Once we were all powdered up Mom would hand us our clean nightgowns all warm from hanging next to the stove. It was such a heavenly feeling to put on that warm nightgown!

My older siblings, Mom and Dad always washed up at the kitchen sink every day and took their main baths/showers out in the carport. My dad rigged up some sort of camping style shower enclosure on the back side of the carport by where the old windmill was. We had a 5 gallon bucket with small holes punched into the bottom of it that we filled with water and hung up on a hook. The person bathing would use this just like an indoor shower -- except they made sure they showered really fast before the water could run out!

I was thirteen years old before I ever got to take a bath in a modern tub in a bathroom. I was so very impressed at the size of it. I thought there just might be enough room to take a swim.

Want to read more about my Old Fashioned Life? Click here to read all about how we produced our own food, butchering day, laundry day, chores, cooking, etc.

Home for the (Stress Free) Holidays: Baking

One of my favorite ways to celebrate Christmas is baking and sharing homemade goodies of every kind. In my zeal to have the perfect assortment of goodies, I've been known to go overboard with holiday baking. You know what? That just leads to a stressed out Christmas (and eating far too many yummy cookies).

For the past several years I limit myself to making only 4 kinds of cookies -- some years, depending on how my schedule is, I've only made just one or two varieties. And, that's completely okay. The point of the Christmas season is not to get all stressed out trying to live up to some made up expectations. You might not be a cookie lover or enjoy baking, even baking one variety of cookie might not be your cup of tea. Don't worry about it, just do what works best for you.

The one must have Christmas cookie in our house is my favorite cut out cookie of all time. I love make cut out cookies for each season and frost them. It's so much fun! My recipe bakes up a very tender cookie that frosts well and stores well no matter where you store it -- counter, fridge or freezer. For the other varieties, I usually like to try one or two new cookies I've never made before or, an old favorite that I haven't made in a long time.

Here's the 2009 Cookie List:

Christmas Cut Outs

Pecan Cookie Balls

Peanut Butter No Bakes

Coconut Macaroons

The plan is to get all the goodies baked up the Saturday before Christmas. Then I'll make up little tins or boxes to share family, friends, the office, neighbors, and a handful of my husband's customers and deliver them on Sunday and Monday. There will also be a box of goodies left on our counter for hubby. I also like to keep treats like this in the freezer and pull them out to surprise him a month or two later.

Our Menu for the Week

Goodness, is this the second week in a row that I've skipped putting up a menu? Well here you are!

Sunday

Pot Roast, Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts

Often times on Sunday after lunch I'll toss a roast of some kind in the crock pot. Once it's tender, I'll serve a little for a late supper and save the leftovers for a super easy Monday night supper.

Monday

Roast, Potatoes, Garden Salad

Tuesday

Salmon Patties, Sweet Potatoes, Mixed Veggies

Wednesday

Turkey Sandwiches, Broccoli Cheese Soup

Thursday

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Salad and Garlic Bread

Friday

Homemade Pizza