wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

I didn't go far from home this past week. By last Tuesday everyone was here and we all cooked a ton of food, played with the the little ones, visited with one another, one-by-one shared our gratitude and then the Thanksgiving meal, the kids caught up with their in-town friends, we hosted a small engagement party for Patrick and Kelsey, and when Sunday arrived and the last of the gang had left, it was SO QUIET. 

Shoes, shoes, and more shoes!

We read lots of books in Owen's "teepee."

First thing in the morning with these little rays of sunshine on my lap. 

I used my mom's silver for the Thanksgiving meal. She set the standard for using your best dishes and china for holiday meals. And yes, I made sure it sparkled before setting the table. She set that standard, too.

The traditional post-Thanksgiving pot of soup using the turkey carcass. My mom had a set of Le Creuset cast iron cookware. As she got older, the cookware became too cumbersome and heavy for her so she gave it to my daughter when she moved to Cincinnati for her first job out of college. Fast forward, daughter got married and received a new set of pots and pans as a wedding gift. All of mom's grandchildren have fond memories of Grandma's orange pots and pans so I gave one to each of her grandkids. I kept the soup pot.

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"Be present in all things and thankful for all things." ~ Maya Angelou

50%

50% = 1/2 = .5. It's one of those math skills that should be automatic once a person graduates from high school, but for some it's not.

This past summer while working at the farm, my boss gave a recipe to me for pickled garlic and it called for 8 ounces of garlic. One of the rules is that when buying produce, another employee checks you out. I took a few bulbs, handed them to my co-worker to weigh them, he put them on the scale, and those bulbs weighed in at .5 of a pound. 

"BINGO! Got that one right on the nose!" 

What a silly little thrill and he had no idea what I was so excited about. 

"Didn't you want 8 ounces?" 

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A more recent story...

My mom collected the Snow Village series, it has been packed away for many years, and this year I'm setting it up in my new family room. I needed some "snow" to put on the shelves so off to Joann Fabric to buy some white felt. It should be a quick, easy purchase, right? It wasn't. The less expensive felt that was labeled white wasn't white. It was light gray. No dirty snow for Mom's Snow Village. The nice lady behind the counter took me to the other felt. The one that cost $15.00 a yard. Yikes. She was concerned about the price, I didn't want to pay $15/yard (I needed 4 yards. Do the math 4 x 15 = 60), but I didn't want to drive across town to another fabric store. Anyway, as she measured and cut $60 worth of nice wool felt, this sweet lady shared, "There's a 50% off coupon in the app."

I have the app. BINGO!

At the cash register, I showed the young lady the 50% off coupon. She informed me of another option - a coupon for $10.00 off a purchase of $50.00 or more. 

"Can I use both?"

"No. Only one coupon per purchase."

"Well no, thank you. The 50% off is a better deal." She smiled and had no idea what I was talking about. 

Next in line, please.

 
 

monday's mulling: 'tis the season

I am still full from Thanksgiving and now we're rolling into Christmas cookie season. 'Tis the season for food, food, and more food. And you know what? I'll accept and appreciate the gifts of food that friends and neighbors give. They're gifts from the heart, something they took time to make, maybe sharing Grandma's fabulous sugar cookies or popcorn balls tinted with red or green food coloring. What I have come to appreciate more than the physical gift is the visit that comes along with it. Even if it's just a quick chat, the face-to-face conversation, that personal touch brings a sense of connection, of grounding, of genuine care, and in the big picture, we all need to know that we are loved.

just do it

Bring on the Christmas holiday and all the shopping, wrapping, decorating, cooking, Christmas cards and ABC Family Letter, and whatever else comes with it!

take a walk

After the busy-ness of Thanksgiving Day, when the meal is done and the dishes are in the dishwasher, there's nothing like taking a walk outdoors to process and decompress from the commotion of the holiday. The escape from the noisiness of the house to the quiet outdoors, breathing in the fresh, crisp air, putting one foot in front of the other at your own pace, thinking about just how wonderful it is to have the whole family together, brings about a calmness, a sense of peace after barreling through the day. This walk is the blessing that pulls all the moments together to fill a very happy heart.

 

the friday feed: spices

When having a house full of people, resorting to sheet pan meals is such a time saver. It's a technique that allows you to cook an entire meal on a single baking sheet. It's so efficient. All ingredients cook together in the oven at the same time, minimizing the need to monitor multiple dishes. Clean-up is easy. Only one pan needs to be washed after cooking, unlike using multiple pots and pans for different components of a meal. Sheet pan meals save time spent in the kitchen, which means more time for visiting and playing with the grandkids.

Last week the New York Times published a recipe for a Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka with Vegetables. I don't do much Indian cooking but this sounded really good, I knew most of my family would like it, and I wanted to try something new. Such a blend of spices, none of which were in my spice cabinet. How I wish stores would sell spices in smaller quantities. I would gladly pay more for a smaller amount.  But they don't so now these four spices are part of the seasoning repertoire. I know I will use the turmeric, ancho chili powder, and cumin seeds. The garam masala has a distinctive taste, one that Todd doesn't care for, so I will look for a new spice cabinet for that jar to get some appreciation and good use.

an attitude of gratitude

Tonight we give thanks for the great gift of friendship. Thank you for the circumstances that brought us together and have bound us into the sacred bundle of life. Thank you also for the gifts of our friendship: for knowledge that comforts, for words that encourage, for insight that blesses, for all the experiences shared, for the sweet bliss of deeply knowing each other ins os many ways; for history and a hope of the future, for conversation and laughter, for silence, for bearing each other's witness truly, for holding each other safe in our hearts with great love and tenderness.

~ Daphne Rose Kingma

 Gratitude art by Patricia Saxton