Tuesday morning

Little things...

Today I built the first fire of the season.

No, it wasn't actually needed.

But it was welcomed.

There is something terribly cozy about a fire.

The gentle warmth...the crackle and pops.

I built a small fire and  one of my kiddos proclaimed...

"and thus begins the winter season''

"Little things seem nothing, but they give peace, like those meadow flowers which individually seem odorless but all together perfume the air."

Welcome to  cozy.

I put out a few candles and some small fall decorations.

The twinkle lights are up all year. (they make me happy)

All this 

and chicken pot pie for dinner.

 Little Things.

Life is a special occasion.

Saturday Sanctuary

Donald has always worked odd hours or shifts, working most holidays too. So, the traditional weekend never really held a lot of significance for me. But, somewhere along the way I fell in love with Saturday morning.  I still get up early. (but not as early as during the school week) I have the house to myself. It's quiet. 

I drink coffee and just ''be''

In Montana, I remember, sitting there drinking coffee and reading Nie ... long before her plane crash or book deal. I loved the life she lived...the little touches she added...how she made each day special. I would also spend time at Apartment Therapy. I lived in a house. But, again, just the ideas...the beautiful spaces....all made my Saturday morning time. 

Along the way, I stopped reading blogs...I still don't read any regularly...

but I'm taking my Saturday mornings back.

There is something about a Saturday morning...and I want to get back into the habit of appreciating it. :)

So, this morning...

I had coffee...

I went for a long walk...

I planned out my day...

I'm finding , lately, that little adjustments are making the biggest differences...

This week, I posted about my swirly scarf. This is the handwarmer... well, there will be two...and , if I am honest...this is NOT one of them. This one is completed...but I am going to tweak things a little . But I should finish them up this weekend. :)  

See those beauties? I baked them for an hour and now they are sitting in my fridge ready to be made into homemade tomato basil soup for Meatless Monday.  I found the recipe that I love using for this soup over at Annie's Eats.

and that...which , honestly, doesn't look like much there...is currently bubbling away in the crockpot. Donald's very favorite soup. Zuppa Toscana. 

I browned off the sausages in a skillet and then added some water and a diced onion and let it cook for about 15 more minutes.

I sliced them and then added the sausages and the onion into the crockpot.

Along with 5-6 chopped up potatoes.

And 32 oz of chicken stock.

I added a bit of water-just till everything was covered...

Then I added a liberal sprinkling of black pepper .

That will cook till the potatoes are done (4 ish hours on high...)

and about 30 minutes before we eat I will mix some milk (or cream...but I'm using milk) with flour and add that to the crockpot.

Along with some kale.

I'll let it cook on high another 30-45 minutes.

And voila.

Zuppa Toscana. :)

Donald brought home donuts this morning. Do you contemplate how to spell doughnuts? I go back and forth. ;)  But, anyway, Donald brought home donuts ...which means the kids were very happy. I made the two ingredient banana pancakes for me. They are my very favorites but today I added a splash of coconut flavoring-fabulous!

I'd planned on making some banana bread today. Using this recipe. Alas, I don't feel like it. So, I took the VERY READY (as in they reallllllly needed to be used today) bananas out of their skin...and dropped them into freezer bags (4-5 to a bag...I had two bunches READY) and popped them in the freezer. Did you know you could do that? Yep. Now, when I get around to making the banana bread, I just have to take them out and let them thaw and proceed with my recipe. :)

So, there you go... 

My Saturday...

still left...football

and supper

and laundry 

(always laundry)

and maybe

another walk...

Happy rest of the Weekend. :)

Mid-week

Today I finished a scarf. An uber soft and fun...swirly, twirly, heather grey beauty. I'm making it for the auction we're having over at Middle Places to benefit Rapha House. I'm going to make a pair of equally soft and snuggly handwarmers to accompany it.  When the auction goes live, I will link ...I'd love for you to bid and to make a difference in the lives of those that Rapha House helps daily.

Do you love that I put what the above picture was... Ha. I mean, really, did I need to do that? Probably not, but it's fun...so there you go. ;)  Yes, Chicken Noodle Soup. I have a sick husband and three kiddos , all battling a summer cold. See, you might think, don't you mean a fall cold? Well, no, I don't. It was 92* here today-we are still full on summer. So, I made a huge pot of chicken noodle soup with tons of garlic and hopefully this stuff be exiting our home soon. 

Ah, and we made this today too! We did a little study of Johnny Appleseed. (brought on, by the fact, my 3rd grader had no clue who he was....so, um, yeah...lol) and then made this tasty apple crumble pie. Everyone loved it!

I was talking to a friend tonight about the shutdown and she summed it up beautifully. 

God  > Chaos

If I choose to look at what my eyes can see. If I grab on to the worry and the wondering...I will waste so much time--trying to fix something I have no power over.  I have to trust that God is able , more than able to care for us. We are essential to Him. :)

Here's to a great rest of the week! 

Looking ahead...

We did it. 

Today we trekked the three hours for Donald to unhook from his chemo pump.

We did a major two + week grocery haul

(our little town has one grocery store and gigantic prices, we do better to shop in the big city)

We drove the three hours home. 

The boys unloaded the van.

I put stuff away for an hour.

Then.

I went to Dollar General and stocked up on Puffs Plus

and cough drops.

Because 

I have two sick people 

in my house. 

But I have a stocked pantry and fridge.

I have IronMan 3 on dvd.

I have Sugar Free Pumpkin Spice, & Peppermint Mocha creamers.

And I have a menu for two weeks

which I'm sure you'd love to see:

 (as a note, since school started, we've been walking 3 miles a day for P.E. This brought on the kid initiated idea of Meatless Mondays )

Monday: Veggie Lo Mein (from HERE)

Tuesday: Honey Chicken & fried rice (from HERE & HERE)

Wednesday: Alfredo bake and a squash and zucchini torte (from HERE , the veggies will just be thinly sliced, drizzled in Olive Oil and sprinkled with italian seasonings and then roasted)

Thursday: Mini Meatloaves , mashed potatoes & roasted broccoli

Friday: Homemade cheese stuffed crust pizza

Saturday: Zuppa Toscana & homemade bread

Sunday: Chicken Pot Pie (repeat from last week, but it was requested)

Monday: Veggie Enchiladas (from HERE , these are crazy good!)

Tuesday: grilled chicken, roasted veggies with quinoa

Wednesday: baked potatoes & roasted tomato w/ basil soup (from HERE)

Thursday: Pork tacos (dr. pepper pork in crockpot/shredded) with rice & beans

Friday:  Pizza (yes, every Friday)

There will also be an Apple Crumble Pie this week. Anna Elizabeth has managed to get all the way to third grade without knowledge of Johnny Appleseed. This huge gap of homeschooling educational standards ;) was brought to my attention, after she got off the phone with my Aunt (a teacher) who was preparing to dress up and teach her kids about him, last week. 

While I Was Away...(and various other ramblings and thoughts on a Saturday morning...this one is picture heavy, folks)

I discovered blogs in 1997...only way back then, they were called online journals. I loved reading the day to day, seeing the photos, hearing their stories & I fell into a pattern of reading about the lives of those I'd met ...  along the way, those journals and eventually blogs, brought some amazing people into my life.  Life changes and somewhere I've stopped reading blogs and I've stopped writing in mine.

But here is the thing. While I would never coin myself a writer & I don't have a desire to write for attention...I do love the idea of what blogging represents. I love taking photos of my day to day life ... the food, the places, the spaces . I'm not a photographer or a professional blogger or a chef-but does that mean I can't then take a photo of a cake I bake or a sunset or write about what happens? I like those parts of my day-and I'm going to embrace them more. 

Last week or , well, this week , I took a little break from being online *so* much. NOW , this is not now going to turn into some mini sermon on redeeming the time, or any such...at all. This was all about me. Because I KNOW me and how I operate.  I love and adore Facebook. Because I love the people I have as friends there. I love hearing their stuff and seeing their photos. 

But I am learning that this school year is going to require more of me...and I've had to adjust my online time and commitments to accommodate that. It's not a bad thing-but it's a necessary thing. 

All that to say , I still plan to be there & I also want to work on getting back here. Taking a bit of time , a few times a week...to document the typical, ordinary days that are making up my life. :)

I crocheted a lot this week... I made a little birthday heart banner for a dear friend...

a little quote that currently resides on our fridge...

The younger kids are studying Egypt and made papyrus  for school ...

for all of the nothing that West Texas has...it sure has a lot of pretty

Donald taught AE some Korean

While in Midland for Donald's treatment, I took the kids to see the childhood home of George W. Bush...

I finished one of the projects I'm doing for Middle Places. We are hosting another auction to benefit Rapha House (rescuing women and girls from the sex trade ) in October! 

I cook, a lot. 

I take photos of what I cook...

These were a BIG hit (recipe via pinterest)

another hit (recipe via epicurious)

I read a lot , crocheted a lot, took a lot of photos, cooked a lot, realigned my focus, had some new ideas, let go of some old ones, looked at some things a different way...I took a few days to see where my time was going and to see how I could still do those things and other things and get ALL THE THINGS done. :)

I'm thankful if you share the journey. 

later...on the blog

I'm working on the "homemade" Butterfinger candy that's floating around Pinterest.
update and the crew's opinion ...in a bit.


**
update... easy to make.
now...there is the suggestion that you cut the chilled pb mixture into squares and then dip in chocolate...

however...

aint nobody got time for that...

so, I just melted the chocolate and poured over the top and let it all chill.

five of five ...give them two thumbs up.

To make the magic happen you will need:

16 oz of candy corn
16 oz of peanut butter
16 oz of almond bark

Melt your candy corn in the microwave at 1 minute intervals , stirring between intervals

add the peanut butter to your melted candy corn and stir well

line a 9x9 dish with wax paper

pour peanut butter and candy corn mixture into dish

spread

top with melted almond bark

refrigerate to chill completely

eat them all in one sitting (that's optional)

:)