Thursday

Vince fixed corned beef and cabbage
(and cheesy potatoes and barbequed little smokies)
for New Year's . . . some tonight, leftovers tomorrow.

Playing with the camera
while waiting for the cookies to be done . . .


The cookies are Cake Mix Cookies (just 3 ingredients) . . .

These were made using a Fudge Chocolate cake mix
and Heath chips.

Cake Mix Cookies [from Rosalynn]

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine:
     1 box cake mix
     2 eggs
     ½ cup oil

Mix well until lumps are gone.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes.
Variation: add nuts, raisins, chocolate or other chips.

Wednesday


Today . . .
scrapbooking November in 2009's photo journal . . .


and putting away a few more Christmas decorations . . .


Tuesday

Today was errand day:
Senior Center (closed), post office, bank, WalMart.

Meals for the week . . .
Taco Salad
Corn and Sausage Chowder
Mexican Pasta
Barbequed Little Smokies
Enchiladas

Veggie Fish Chowder from last Sunday . . .


Veggie Fish Chowder
     [from Better Homes and Gardens, May 2008, page 203]
Makes:  6 total servings

Mashed Potatoes:  Make garlic mashed potatoes
     from scratch   or   make ½ of a 7.2 ounce instant box
     using some of the soup broth after Step 4 of the soup.

Soup:
1 lb firm-texture white fish, cut in 4 pieces (thaw if frozen)
2 med carrots, sliced (or half a bag of baby carrots, sliced)
1 cup sugar snap peas, halved diagonally
1 T olive oil
1 can (~14 ounce) vegetable broth
2 ¼ cups water (or another can of broth and a cup of water)

salt
course ground black pepper
shredded parmesan cheese

1. Lightly season fish with pepper.
2. In 4-qt Dutch oven, cook fish, carrots, and peas
       in hot oil (medium-high) for 3 minutes.
3. Add broth and water; bring to a boil.
4. Immediately reduce heat. Cover; simmer for ~3 minutes
       until fish flakes easily with a fork.
5. Break the fish into bite-size pieces in the pan.
6. Put a scoop of mashed potatoes in a bowl
       Ladle the soup around the potatoes.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed.
       Serve with parmesan cheese.

Monday

31° and windy . . .
here's what's happening at my house . . .

time to get out the toys, start a fire, and have fun.


(Me? I'm inside with a cup of tea and a puzzle.)

Sunday

The beginning of the snowfall,
standing on the porch and looking north . . .


Friday

Christmas Day dinner . . .
Tortellini Minestrone Soup with Focaccia Bread


Tortellini Minestrone Soup

Put 64 ounces of vegetable or chicken broth on to boil.

While it’s heating,
     slice 10-15 baby carrots
     slice 2 trimmed celery stalks
     dice ½ medium onion
     quarter and slice 1 medium zucchini (remove seed core)

After the broth boils, add the vegetables.
After the veggies have been cooking for 5-6 minutes,
     add 1 small package (9 ounces) of cheese tortellini.

Boil for another 7 minutes; then change to medium-low heat.

Add: 1 can drained/rinsed pinto beans
       1 can drained/rinsed dark red kidney beans
       1 can undrained diced tomatoes
       1 can drained uncut green beans

Spice with: 1 teaspoon salt
                1 teaspoon basil
                ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
                ¼ teaspoon minced garlic

Five minutes before serving,
     add a large handful of washed, uncut fresh spinach.

Serve topped with shredded parmesan cheese.
Pick a great bread to accompany the soup.

Thursday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Another Ian-ism . . .
(while putting some new lotion on my hand)
"Gramma has cracks".
Me, Christmas 1955


Monday

[Dinner conversation with a toddler]
Grandpa:  Tell Gramma about going to the gravel pit
                 and seeing the big pile of sand.
Ian:  It was big.
Gramma:  Was it huge?
Ian:  No.
Gramma:  Was it gigantic?
Ian:  No.
Gramma:  Was it humongous?
Ian [using his hands]:  No.  It was BIG!

Saturday

My oldest ornament,
from when I was 5 or 6 years old . . .


Thursday

In front of The Book Nook . . .
a used bookstore on Main Street


Wednesday

Tuesday

~ The great Santa give-away ~
the participants . . .

and some of the Santas that now have new homes . . .


Sunday

Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of every human being.
~ Ecclesiastes 12:13

Tuesday

And, the results are . . .
(my bee in progress, my bee finished,
Anne's compass rose finished)





(this morning, the pink area has already disappeared)

Monday

Be cautious what you promise an 11 year old
with a very good memory . . .

Today, she is 18 and this evening, we get tattoos.
Happy birthday, kiddo.

Sunday

How a toddler scrapbooks . . .

on his shirt, hands, legs and the bottom of his feet.

Saturday

The tree was up with only the lights.
Low light; 1 second exposure; move the camera . . .


Friday

A halo above my beaded cross . . .

. . . created by reflections from                
                      Anne's snow globe display . . .

Thursday

And before the day goes into fast-forward,
three of my blessings on Thanksgiving . . .

So . . . I'm gone from mid-morning until 9 pm yesterday and I already missed my goal for the month.  Ah, well.  Here's a post for Wednesday, December 2 (Happy birthday, Em) . . . a truck for sale [on a corner near where I live].  I had some fun with Photoshop (PSE 5.0).

Tuesday


Goal for myself:
for the month of December, I will post to my blog everyday.
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