Cooking Frenzy

About once a week, I try to set aside three to four hours to cook some of the meals we will be eating in the days to come.  This morning I got started before 8:00 am and finished around 11:00.  I made a TexMex Veggie soup that will be our dinner tonight and then part of lunch another day alongside a sandwich.  The quiche is for tomorrow's dinner and if there are leftovers, it gives us a lunch when paired with a side salad.  I made a buttermilk pie with a walnut pistachio top crust to be part of tomorrow's brunch and then a few breakfasts served with a cup of fruit during the week.  The cookies are for a neighbor as a thank you.

And finally, some cranberry pistachio fudge just for fun.

I won't be cooking again until Tuesday's dinner because everything we will be eating in the next 72 hours is either fully prepared now or doesn't require use of the stove/oven.  Time to relax!

Picture Of The Day

 

Halloween 2020

Many of us weren't sure whether a pandemic Halloween would be fun for anyone, but in the end we actually had one of the best Halloweens ever in our family.

Over the month of October, we were able to build up the excitement with our home schoolers by reading books like Room on the Broom and Where the Wild Things Are.  We created a lot of autumnal and spooky crafts as well.  The wooden pumpkins were a favorite.

I planned some super easy creepy foods for our Halloween brunch: guts and gore cinnamon rolls, some banana ghosts and tangerine pumpkins.

Our neighborhood had organized a scavenger hunt for those who would not be trick or treating in the evening.  Kids had a list of items to find on our street while collecting candy along the way.  On our property, the hunters had to find floating eyes.  We headed out mid-afternoon to see if we could complete the hunt.

And, of course, we had costumes: Ella was Gerda from The Snow Queen, Rex was a Jack-o-Lantern, and Emilia was the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland.

Add some takeout dinner and a few favorite sitcom reruns (Halloween-themed, of course) and Halloween 2020 was anything but a bust for us.  Once again, we're thankful to find the silver linings in a year that has brought so much hardship to so many.

Happy 11

A few weeks ago we celebrated our little lady's 11th birthday. I really find it hard to believe that she is actually 11, but this year she was super aware of getting older and anxiously awaiting her special day.

Happy birthday to our chaos-creator, gummy bear aficionado, queen of all costumes, ballet devotee, high-pitched screamer, budding photographer, Doraemon and "waving cat" fan, poacher of iPads and phones, pretend traveler, and body artist.  You discover new music to enjoy and sing along all the time. Your favorite meal is chicken with strawberries and chocolate coconut milk which you'd have three times a day if we'd let you.  You've finally passed the 50 pound weight mark and outgrown a wardrobe you've had for years.  You've been crying big tears because you "want to go to the theater and see the stage again."  You hand out smiles, hugs, and kisses along with words of love and praise like there's no time to lose.  Your joy never ceases to battle your pain.  You are "wonderfulsmart" and make our hearts dance with delight.

We love you.

Picture Of The Day

 I really enjoy her social commentary in the margins of her workbook.

"Sexist but true"

Fall Getaway

Pandemic or not, some traditions are too important to give up, so we headed to Maryland for our annual fall getaway with our friends.  Both they and we have been very responsible with Covid-related health guidelines and we felt that the risk for any of us to contract the virus during this trip was quite low.

We had a lovely long weekend that included pizza, fairy houses, campfires, a birthday breakfast, a boat ride, golf, pumpkin picking, smores, hot tubbing, card games, and plenty of time to talk and relax.

Hand Revision

Big girl had an outpatient surgery yesterday to do a revision on her hand that has a congenital difference.  A skin graft and some pins are involved, but everything went well and we got home after just six hours at the hospital. She's in a cast for a month and will need some OT post-cast, but we think we'll have a really favorable outcome from this surgery.