I used to be Snow White...but I drifted...

  Aren't these gorgeous? A gift from my dinner guests on Friday.  And they look beautiful.

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  It snowed here today.  Not real snow. The kind of snow you see on tv on Christmas movies.  Big beautiful flakes that drift lazily down to earth...but never cause car wrecks or  power outages or slick roads. The kind that just looks so pretty you want to Ooooo and Ahhhhh all over it.  It was about 39 degrees, so it melted as soon as it touched anything.  But it sure looked pretty coming down. And then it all went away. 

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  So, I went to the 10 AM meeting with the Irishman and it was a small group because there was a round-up going on. But it was nice and I got to see one of my old sponslings and she and her boyfriend are engaged and we had a nice chat.  Afterwards the Irishman and I headed for Big Lots to try to find a new doormat for the front porch. Found one that was the material I wanted and had dog tracks all over it. lol   It says   WELCOME: Wipe your paws.  Then he pulled one of the broken shelf pins out of his coat pocket that go to my cookbook bookshelf and said "Let's hit Lowe's" (right across the street).  I was down on the floor one night, getting the dog's ball out from under said bookshelf when I foolishly leaned on the middle shelf  trying to get myself up ( a heroic endeavor with this bad knee) and I leaned too hard and snapped off the plastic pins holding the shelf and all the cookbooks came whooshing out onto the floor.   Sigh....   anyway, my thoughtful husband put one of them into his coat pocket so he would know what he was looking for in the event that he found himself in a hardware store.  Voila!  This time, we got steel pins. That whole bookcase may come crashing down again, but it won't be because the stupid plastic pins snapped off.

  After that, we went to the Chinese buffet for lunch and then headed back to Honeysuckle Hill...which was when it started to snow.  We also stopped at one of the farm stores to see if their chicks were in yet.  They weren't.   boo hiss....  

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  It was a lovely lazy Sunday, spent watching television snuggled up with my honey and  [at any given time]  3 or 4 different animals.  Around 5 o'clock, I decided to make a vegetable soup for dinner and some extra to take to some sick friends.  I chopped onions and garlic, celery and carrots, potatoes, zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, . I went out to the garden and picked about 4 cups of kale (chopped).  I threw in a handfull of dried corn and opened a jar of green beans. I opened a pint of tomatoes and okra and a pint of tomato juice and then added  1 can of tomato paste. I added a quart of water to it 3 times, and it still was a thick and hearty soup...but man, was it good.

  It looked much prettier after I put the chopped kale in at the last minute...  I had some leftover french bread that I had made on Friday, and buttered it up and that was supper.

  It was good, full of yummy organic vegetables and really satisfying...as only soup can be.  And I have to tell you...that dried corn ( remember it? The stuff I had frozen on the cob year before last, and then took it out to make room in the freezer and cut it off the cob and dehydrated it ??)  has the sweetest flavor, and anything I put it in is sweetened by it too.  It is so good in this soup!

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  It's been a long day and I guess I should get myself finishing up here.  It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow, but only about 46 degrees.  Then mid 60's again for a few days. Wacky weather. The daffodils are up though and the trees are starting to bud. I hope we have a good growing season this coming summer and that this crazy weather doesn't mess stuff up. When I went out to get some kale for the soup, I couldn't believe how much it had grown over the past few days...filled out and sprung up, baby!  I had to go look and see if there was any sign of parsley or anything else, but sadly, there wasn't.  Expecting a miracle, I guess.  lol

  Anyway, my big plan for tomorrow is to make some sourdough rye bread.  The sourdough is ready to use and I am excited to try it. Oh, and I do have to make a trip into town to activate my new ATM card. I almost forgot...

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  Have a sweet night, y'all.

Namaste.

A new week...ready--set--GOOooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

  Feeling a little old today, lol.  But grateful to be on this side of the dirt and still having fun.

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  I've been out in the garden, pulling up the parsley plants by the roots to hang in the back pantry to dry. Also pulled 2 large brown grocery bags  of basil (2 whole plants of one type) and a lot of small branches and tons of leaves from the rest.  We have some cold weather heading our way this week and I'm trying to NOT leave everything until the last minute.  Still need to get the heat lamp connected in the henhouse, the covers for the beans and peas at the ready, and the last of the green tomatoes picked. The turnips are looking really good, as is the kale. I picked another mess of young green beans today. This cold snap is only supposed to last a couple of days, and then back up to 50 degrees at night. At least that's what they're saying...

  I've been busy in the kitchen all morning, making spaghetti sauce and Italian bread for supper.  The bread is in the pan and will go in the oven in about an hour or so. Cutting it way too close for my liking. I haven't cooked the pasta yet, but will do that in a bit.  I may go to MissB's an hour late today.  There's salad left from last night's meatloaf supper, so that will round it out and make a nice meal.  The house smells like basil and oregano and yeast...mmmmm.....(Of course, my hands smell like basil...lol)

   Had a nice chat with someone today who's going through some personal stuff...--aren't we all? lol  Another friend is marking the anniversary of her son's suicide, and every year, my heart goes out to her.  I cannot imagine that anguish and hope I never have to know that kind of emotional and psychic pain.  I started my morning holding her in my heart and envisioning her surrounded by love and healing light.

   I was thinking today that I have so much to be truly grateful about in my life...when I'm having a rough day, I try to make a list of 10 things in my life I am grateful. That helps to pivot the feelings of powerlessness and loss.  It changes my perspective to focus on what I do have, rather than what I don't have. Today on my Facebook page, someone posted a thing that said:  Don't dwell on those who held you down. Cherish those who lift you up.

  I like it. No reason to waste my time in the negative hallways of this life. What is--IS.  Making the best of what I have, making the most of what timeI have left.  DAMN!  If only I'd known this when I was 17....lol

  Our St. Louis Cardinals are in the World Series.  They won Game 5 last night against the Milwaukee Brewers and that was that. It was hard watching those guys from the losing team...the disappointment on their faces almost made me cry.  But then, I changed my mind about it.  The team, and their manager and coaches all just walked off the field to their dressing rooms. Nobody came over and congratulated the winning team and I got a little fired up.  What has happened to sportsmanship? The Irishman says he's not sure professional teams do that anymore.  I say bullsh*t.  It's inexcusable.  

  And that's about the extent of the news from here.  Except that I had my panties in a wad yesterday because the man who lives behind me, across the pond, was shooting shotguns for over 3 hours, terrifying me and all my animals.  I was livid.  Patrick says he thinks that he shoots clays over the pond. That was supposed to make me feel better??? That puts it even MORE in the direction of my house. I despise guns. 

  I've heated up the last of the lentil soup from last week and am having that for lunch.  Hope you have something good too.

    Namaste.

A soft rain...

That's what I woke up to this morning.  A soaking gentle rain that is giving my yard and plants a much needed drink. I'm thinking of taking my camera outside and shooting some damp shots. lol

  Something in me has a really strong connection to the poetry of Hafiz and Rumi. It's something old and mysterious, this connection, and makes me wonder about possible incarnations. The simple joy of the Divine Love reaches out to me through them both. I need that. Every single day.

  I've been making soups all week, trying out and tweaking new recipes. It's been great fun. Yesterday I made hamburger buns too. I finally made the Indian Cabbage Soup and it is NOT for the faint of heart and palate.  The first three ingredients are 2 onions, 4 cloves of garlic and a pound of cabbage. YIKES. I liked it, but wouldn't want more than one bowl of it, ever. And that's the bottom line for me...am I going to like it enough to be able to eat the majority of it soon enough?  So...today I am thinking about something as innocuous as a cream of potato soup, perhaps as anathema to the onions, garlic and cabbage. lol I do have some lovely Yukon Gold potatoes on the counter, beckoning...

   Just made myself a nice bowl of oatmeal...with added pecans and raisins and dried cranberries. Yum. My stomach was growling.  I worked late last night and didn't have any supper. So I stopped on my way home and got a soft taco (bad choice) and ate it in the car.  This morning I had 2 cups of coffee and suddenly, it was time to eat! lol

  Rambling about the house...sounds like the rain may have stopped. I am going out to check on my chickens in a minute...they are moulting something fierce and not laying well at all.  OR something is stealing eggs. Last night after I went around picking up the dog and cat food bowls that sit outside (we are having a visiting raccoon that is eating the food), I stepped out into the mudroom to make sure that door was closed, and I ran straight into a giant Rocky Raccoon trying to get the lid off the dog food container. He had gotten a box of suet blocks down from the shelf and torn into one of those too.  I screeched and he screeched and he went one way and I went the other.  I guess we're going to have to get a trap and catch and release him out by the reservoir or somewhere. He is HUGE. (probably all that cat and dog food he's eating).

  I don't seem to have much energy or motivation today. Thank goodness I'm off tomorrow, and have breakfast plans with a friend. I may try to go see my new great nephew in the afternoon. It's over an hour drive, but I haven't seen him yet and he's changing  every day. He's becoming...lol

   Already thinking about taking a nap. Must be all these negative ions. Couple of phone calls this morning, couple of  small errands and then I'm off to MissB's, where the world changes every minute and there is no memory of  of anything except childhood and the immediate present.  Probably we could all take a lesson from that.  My son thinks that Altzheimers may be a portal back to our beginnings. hmmm...perhaps it is, in the early and middle stages.

  Life is good.


Namaste.