I've moved my blog completely now, but will keep this one for awhile yet as I like my archives and don't know if they can be successfully moved just yet.
While I was writing, scribbling, pondering one night, my attention was caught by the holiday candles in the window of my room and I jumped up to turn off the lights. I simply sat there in the dark, looking out my window into the dark—my wee candle being the only light. I won't go into a long, introspective analysis here, but what a refreshing, restoring time it was. I sprawled on my bed with my camera, taking various shots of the room in candlelight, of the candles in the window. (The second picture is where I 'oil painted' the shot in my editing software)
Lucubration:
\loo-kyoo-BRAY-shun; loo-kuh-\ (noun) - 1. The act of studying by candlelight; nocturnal study; meditation. 2 : That which is composed by night; that which is produced by meditation in retirement; hence (loosely) any literary composition.
The act of studying by candlelight; nocturnal study; meditation. That which is composed by night; that which is produced by meditation in retirement.
I completely fell in love with the meaning of this word. I wrote it over and over, absorbed with the feel of my pencil on the slightly rough paper...my favorite part being 'that which is produced by meditation in retirement'--this significantly ups the value of rest and even sleep ;)
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LOL! I love Friday nights at our house :) We usually have fun foods like pizza or nachos with a big batch of brownies or cookies we baked Friday afternoon, and after the last babysittin' babe leaves our home, we sweep all the baby toys and playpens into a corner of our library, change into oh-so-comfortable pjs and the weekend begins.
While we enjoy getting out and about (we do that on Saturday or Sunday) Friday nights in winter time are a close-the-doors-n-snuggle-up relaxation affair. We gather the food and all pile into the living room to watch tv, talk and laugh--just be together with no worries of places to be or sleep to obtain just yet. While we do this piling up and having fun alot of nights, the fact that it's Friday with nothing to get some sleep for makes it extra-festive. (The babysitting begins at 5am most weekdays)
Thursday, November 29, 2007 - Fresh Perspective...
This past holiday weekend, after the leftovers were put away for at least a couple of hours, we embarked upon The Raising and Decorating Of The Tree. This endeavor involved many boxes, a pair of scissors,lots of 'watch out,coming through!' calls and a few dusty sneezes to boot as we brought the Christmas decorations down from the bonus room in the garage. In order to Raise said Tree, our living room had a to be rearranged just a bit. Now, during the week, my living room is full of toys and five wee babysittin' babes in addition to my own two tween/teen hooligans. It's a nice big room--and still quite full lol.
In order to facilitate and maintain the Raising and Decorating project,I decided to put away most of the toys the wee ones are privileged to play with, keeping out only likely recalled soon items Legos and a Fisher Price farm set complete with only half the fifty zillion animals/people/cars. And wouldn't you know that when the babies returned on Monday,after the awe and wonder of the Tree upon first sight, they have played with the few toys I left out like they were given brand new novelty items. I know this about kids, I've pulled this trick in the past on my own two hooligans but, at 14 and 12, it's been awhile. I have shaken my head in amazement that I could have forgotten how HARD wee ones will play when toys presented in a new way or in smaller amounts. Not to mention there's more room to admire The Decorated Tree, which I do so love to admire and enjoy.
Fresh perspective is apparently refreshing if you're 14 months old, 2 years old or 37 years old even older.
So you have leftovers—either from your own holiday cooking or those that were sent home or left with you by other Thanksgiving cooks in your life. In this household, Thanksgiving leftovers are first relished—simply reheated by the plateful and immensely enjoyed.
I myself like to take leftover turkey or ham and grab a leftover roll to simply stuff the meat inside and eat lickety split—this usually first occurs mere hours after the first plate has been consumed. Then, plate lunches are fixed up for that hard-working Husband o' mine to take with him to work and enjoy tremendously in the day or so after the holiday.
Finally, the turkey is properly idolized in the form of specially made sandwiches—unique to each turkey eater. That Husband o' mine likes his leftover Thanksgiving turkey on soft white bread spread lavishly with Miracle Whip and topped with a slice of real American cheese.
The Queen of this House prefers my her turkey on rustic Italian bread or an artisan roll, sprinkled with salt and pepper, topped with green olives and provolone cheese—all toasted to crunchy, gooey goodness and maybe even dipped in good ranch dressing every bite or three mmMMmm.
The hooligans kiddos? They just heat n eat the turkey all by itself for days—especially if there is gravy to reheat as well--for dipping, ya know.
What about ham? Ditto for ham as for the turkey, deliciously relegated to sandwiches made very similar to those listed above if not exactly the same.
How 'bout your family, what do y'all do with those leftovers?
The star of the menu this week is the ham we baked over the weekend, I'll freeze some of it but we'll eat a lot of it as well!
After a full week of cooking rich and delicious dishes—and it was wonderful—and then a weekend of baking cookies and decorating the Christmas tree, I plan for this week to be fairly simple cooking-wise. I'm focused on a couple of other projects at the moment, so simple in meal-planning and preparing is good—filling and good :)
Breakfast:
*scrambled eggs and toast
*cinnamon toast
*pancakes
*yogurt and fruit
*cereal
Lunch:
*ham or peanut butter sandwiches
*pasta with parmesan/butter or sauce
*grilled cheese or grilled cheese and ham
*burgers
*any ideas the kids may come up with
Snacks/Desserts:
*always fruit available
*rice krispie treats
*pudding
Supper:
*ham, sweet tater pie, deviled eggs, whatever else in the leftover category lol
*pinto beans and cornbread, spinach-- burgers for the boy
*steak sandwiches, cottage cheese, fruit(those sandwiches are all they want when I make them!)
*breakfast for supper: ham, biscuits and gravy, fried taters
*pizza night Friday!!
Take a look at more Menu Plan Monday fun over at Laura's! :)
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I tried a new cookie recipe that I just LOVED this weekend. Twas a Pecan Shortbread recipe—any of y'all bake shortbread? My grandmother used to start baking it for Thanksgiving and keep it in tins all around her home throughout the entire holiday season. Everywhere you might sit or stop, there'd be a tin o' shortbread :) So, feeling all sentimental, I looked for a shortbread recipe and found this Pecan Shortbread. (<
Oh. My. That Husband o' mine said it was good, the kids nibbled but didn't fall for it, but oh.my. It was perfect for me! I don't drink much coffee, but I could sure see it being a fantastic coffee cookie. I had to make a cup of hot tea just to have with this stuff and now I'm re-addicted to hot tea—wonder if that'll last when the shortbread is gone?!? ;)
Let me hear from y'all that bake shortbread...I haven't found very many folks that do or that like it even. What's your favorite recipe? What in particular do you like about it?
This was a fun idea from over at Wrapped Emotions, 'Today I Love'...(click the link for more participants)
Here were the 'guidelines' for this one:
No typing on the computer and printing words. It should be done in your handwriting. Make it neat, make it sloppy, make it uniquely yours. Doodle the words, fine line print, bold line print, scribble. Write horizontally, diagonally, backwards, upside down. Give the page some color and pop...paint the page first...collage the page first...color the page with marker. Do not be limited by these suggestions. But WRITE the lists...no typing and printing. What is important is that you know what you love today.
I used crayons and pens on heavy paper and it was SO much fun--I enjoy textures alot.
I went with relatively easy, almost no-brainer suppertime ideas this week as I plan to spend quite a bit of time getting the Christmas decorations started each evening after all five babysittin' wee ones leave. ;)
Lunches for the hooligans and I will have these choices:
*homemade pizza pockets(made Sunday afternoon)
*ham or peanut butter sandwiches or hamburgers the boyo likes to cook up
*rotini w/butter n parmesan or red sauce
*any leftovers or kid-creations they may choose to concoct lol
That man o' mine takes supper extras/leftovers for his lunch—they're his favorite thing to have. :)
Snacks/Desserts that we'll have on hand:
*pudding boxes to whip up
*fruit
*peanut butter and crackers
*sugar cookies the girlie loves to help make(made Sunday afternoon)
*chocolate pie—I'm experimenting with several different 'old fashioned chocolate pie' recipes in preparation for the holidays...we'll see lol.
Supper Plans:
*Hamburger steak n gravy, mashed potatoes, cheddar garlic biscuits, (I differ from the linked recipe in that instead of biscuit mix, I just whip up my usual biscuit recipe), green beans/fruit
*Pinto Beans in the crockpot, cornbread in the iron skillet, spinach/fruit (hamburgers for the boyo who shudders at beans lol)
*Tacos, refried beans and rice(using the beans from the crockpot), fruit
*Stir Fry(broccoli, cauliflower and pork) with rice, rolls,
Yesterday's soaking fall rain gave me the chance to tinker with my *new* camera's super-macro mode--ultra up close. It took me quite a few droplet-laden shots to get what I wanted, but man-oh-man I sure had fun!
This is my first foray into Menu Plan Monday....here goes! :) (you'll notice all vegetables, salad n the like listed /with fruit, that's because we have a boy who doesn't LOOK at such much less touch such things, but loves fruit)
The month of October is rife with memories for me, the spectrum swings wide from joyful, exciting events to shattering, life-changing events. It never ceases to amaze me how human beings can feel utter happiness and complete sadness at the same moment--joy and grief walking hand in hand, smiles and tears nestle heart to heart. Amazing.
Nothin' like crisp fall evenings and bonfires, smores and snuggly blankets.
**I have the BEST husband, as I know y'all are aware :D and thanks to him, I've a spectacular new camera (WHOOHOO)!! Check out my website link over on the right hand side for more pics**(if you're viewing this from my website, you see 'em lol)
The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, only a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, "but what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I drink a coke and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."
The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But how long will this all take?" To which the American replied, "15-20 years." "But what then?" The American laughed and said that’s the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."
"Millions.. Then what?" asked the Mexican fisherman. The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could drink coke and play your guitar with your amigos."
Between outside fun and lotsa reading, the summertime is just flyin' by us out here in the cornfields! I'm not apologizin' for my book n link posts at all, I personally LOVE it when folks give me more stuff to read!
So, in the spirit of sharing yet again :D check out this article by Chuck Holton today, my oh my does he have (yet another) good point!
Here's a few of the latest titles in my 'read that, take it back' library stack :) Heh a rhyme.
*Lean, Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich- A laugh out loud riot, this book was. Just like the other twelve in this Stephanie Plum series, a fantastic light read.
*Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver- My first by this author and definitely not my last. I really liked this book. Ms. Kingsolver has created characters with great depth and passion, that ability makes a great author and a wonderful book--in my opinion o' course.
*Alibi Man by Tami Hoag-I've liked all the Tami Hoag books I've read thus far, this one fits right in there where it belongs.
Tis hard to b'lieve the summer is just flying by us, that this is the last full week of July!
Our tomatoes and peppers have been good, for a first real go at growing them ourselves. We didn't plant enough to put up any, but will do that next spring--the ones we did plant did well and we've been eating them up. In the meantime, I've put up some of both from the farmer's market and have about 3 dozen ears o' corn to put up today.
By complete accident we have pumpkins! Apparently when we tossed last fall's pumpkin remains into the compost pile at the back of the property, the seeds made themselves at home LOL! We have a HUGE pumpkin vine back there--at least six big white pumpkins as of last night, amazing!
Hot, sunny days, warm firefly-filled starry nights....I love summertime :)
