Month of Thanks Day 8: Thanks be to God for Baking Weather!

Bam-bam was sick with a cold, so we didn't go to morning Mass ... instead, I baked!  What a great way to warm the house (and make it smell great, too!).  I made 3 loaves of pumpkin bread and tonight I baked a Leek-Mushroom-Red Pepper Quiche (to serve with cold leftover ham from last night).

Wow, did the house smell good.  And since it didn't get much above 60 today, it was so nice to rev up the oven!

God is so good isn't He?

BTW, if you've got a minute ... I know so many folks who need prayers; prayers for illness, diagnoses, family issues, pregnancies, etc ... please add all my friends' prayers to your own!  Bless you!

 

Recipe: Rick's Take on Tollhouse

Rick's bithday celebration isn't quite over since we all have today off for Columbus Day and we're going Pumpkin Picking at Miller Farms with a great group of friends.  One of the specialties of the weekend was "Rick's Take on Tollhouse" cookies; this is the traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe, edited to Rick's preferences, and BOY are they delicious (and a bit better for you than the traditional).

Rick's Take on Tollhouse (makes about 2 doz large cookies)

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• /2 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet choc chips
• 1 cup walnuts

Cream together butter/oil, sugars, eggs, vanilla. Sift and stir in flours and soda. Mix till thoroughly combined. Add chips and nuts, distributing evenly.

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls on lightly greased cookie sheet. Chill while warming the oven to 375.  Bake about 8-10 minutes till golden brown and slightly soft. Cool slightly before removing from sheet.  ENJOY! [BTW, did you know if you place a home-baked chocolate chip cookie on a plate and re-heat for about 10-15 sec, it takes just like fresh-baked? ]

Budget: belt-tightening just a bit more

Dh and I have a running battle with our budget ... in the words of Mr. Micawber from David Copperfield (played to perfection by Bob Hoskins in the excellent BBC version): 

He [Mr. Micawber] solemnly conjured me, I remember, to take warning by his fate; and to observe that if a man had twenty pounds a-year for his income, and spent nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and sixpence, he would be happy, but that if he spent twenty pounds one he would be miserable.

Well, we'd rather be happy than miserable. 

So, we have to belt-tighten just a bit more ... trying to shave off the monthly budget (and keep it UNDER budget) is not hard, but does take some additional strategies and willpower (and I'm pretty good at the strategies, not so good at the willpower part!).

What are we doing?

• by making and baking our own sandwich bread; we are saving almost $50 per month while also getting a better food-product for the kids and warming the house with the oven.  Besides, making the bread not only gets out my agressions but is building my upper-body strength.
• by saving our credits from Amazon to buy resources for our home-school unit studies; for instance, I just ordered The Winter Olympics: An Insider's Guide to the Legends, Lore and Events and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games with our credits.  See, everytime someone orders a resource from Amazon that I've linked, I get a small (REALLY, REALLY small) commission ... but the commssions add up and I didn't have to pay anything for our upcoming Winter Olympic Unit Study!
• by baking cookies, brownies and other treats from scratch; again, we're saving probably $10-15 per month by not buying the already-made or packaged mixes for treats.  When Lent starts, we'll wipe out this category completely (well for Monday-Saturday; Sundays we can indulge!).  Again, the kids are getting a better, healthier option and we're heating the house.
• by putting the thermostat down to 66 and using the gas-log to take the chill off the house in the morning.
• by designing and knitting gifts for various folks; as I knit a gift for someone, I always say a prayer for the recipient.  So, not only is the recipient getting a unique gift, they are also getting the benefit of the prayers said.
• by grocery shopping every two weeks, avoiding the pre-packaged and sticking to the staples -- flour, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, cheese, etc.  It's amazing how much I can shave off our monthly grocery bill by avoiding the seductive pre-packaged stuff.  And, again, we're eating better.

Some of the other ideas I have "cooking" include ebaying some of my knitting books -- many of which are now collector's items but are just collecting dust -- and my unused home-education resources.  I have some amazing books, supplies and resources I've collected over the years ... but if we're not using them, what's the point?  Someone will get a great deal and we'll get a bit of cash ....

I'm also trying to do a better job of submitting knitting designs to publishers ... I won't ever make a fortune with my knitting but it's a way I can bring in a little bit of income, using the gifts God has given me.

So what am I missing?  I don't do coupon cutting -- too often the products are those packaged, name-brand products we don't use anyway.  Is there a great budget-saving tip you want to share ... please post in the comments and I'll do a follow-up with all the great ideas.

Hugs and prayers for all of us that are feeling the pinch of the economy ... may it make me a better steward of our resources!

Snow Storm of 2009

As you may have heard ... Virginia got walloped by snow this past weekend (starting on the 18th and still recovering from on the 23rd!). 

It started innocently enough on Friday evening.  BamBam and I had to drive to a Tiger Cub meeting ... and the snow was just flurrying.  It took us 20 minutes to get to the meeting and by the time we arrived, the snow was starting to stick ... but I could handle it.

An hour later (at 7:30pm) I called the meeting done as we only had a couple of boys/parents and it wasn't even a quorum of our nine Tigers.  So BamBam and I headed out and found that the snow had increased, but again ... I could handle it.

TWO HOURS later (after an hour at a full-stop, only 3 miles from home) we were just one block from home.  We'd said plenty of prayers but the night wasn't quite over yet.  As I started up the hill, my 4-cylinder-front-wheel-drive van just couldn't quite cut it ... we started to slide.  I couldn't handle it anymore (even with the power of prayer!). 

So I did what any self-respecting wife would do ... I called my husband and he and String Bean came 10 minutes later ... up over the rise with flashlights, shovels and snow-salt.  Since a man had just yelled at me for blocking the road (he wasn't happy ... but I really couldn't help being stuck ....) I started to cry and slowly got out of the van ... I love my husband but Friday night it REALLY hit me just how much!

A few minutes of digging, salting, rocking the van back-and-forth ... we were home.  Thank goodness dh spent many winters driving around Minnesota!  I was a basket-case by the time we got home ... and still don't really want to go to another den meeting ... at least anytime soon.

Saturday, dh and I got up at 6:00 to see what the snow looked like.  We were supposed to go up to DC to play and then pickup Kotch at the airport at 2 p.m.  NOT! 

Here's what we woke up to:

and it was snowing INSIDE our screened in porch.

At. 7:30, it was still snowing and here's what we were looking at:

By 1000, it was STILL snowing and now we had this:

The object to the left of the front bumper is a bird bath ... and the "bush" bent almost in half in the foreground is my magnolia ... we don't know if the magnolia will make it through to Spring 2010.

By this point, we'd talked to Kotch down in Florida a few times ... suggested she try going to the airport and see what they could tell her.  By 1130, her flight had been cancelled and we had this (oh, and yes, it was still snowing):

By 1430, it was STILL snowing but dh thought it best to try and start the dig-out process ...

It continued to snow till 2100 or so on Saturday, 12/19 ... such that we woke up to this at 0600 12/20:

... and poor Kotch -- she'd tried everything to get out of Florida: a flight to BWI (canceled as they were having the same weather) and an attempt to re-book to Boston and drive down from there.  Thank goodness she was with a few other college-friends who will some day write a book about the Blizzard of 2009!

By 0800 on Sunday morning, the kids and dh were out there shoveling while I kept the home-fires burning (literally), the tea hot and provender ready for the hard-workers:

Almost five hours later ... we were dug-out enough to get to Tridentine Mass at 1330. 

Kotch got a flight up to DCA (one exactly 24hours later than the original) and a good friend was picking her up and bringing her down ... (dear sweet Karen, to appease me who treats everyone like my own kids, opted to spend the night with us ... and most of Monday, too!).

The kids got ready for Kotch's homecoming ...

It's Tuesday and we're still digging out ... and helping our neighbors dig out but the snow was picture-perfect:

the kids have had THREE days of sledding adventures:

and I got lots done .... bread-baking (and Christmas treats and gifts)

and lots of knitting finished (Big Z got a matching vest since "Big Z's birthday is Christmas Day" while LegoManiac's Christmas vest is just about completed)

But ...

most importantly ...

we have Kotch home, safely

and dh got snow days and so Christmas Break started a few days early .... and he's loving every minute of it, too!

In the final analysis .... yes, the snow is a BIG hassle and worry and yet, we needed to slow down and live, love and learn together in the midst of the blizzard of 2009!  The memories and stories will keep us warm for many years ... God is so good!

Advent: Plans for Week 2

Advent Week Two -- plans for Week 2 in the heart of our home .... [note:  for book resources, please see the post "Plans for Week 1"]

Advent 2009 Theme:
Christmas Traditions from Around the World -- thru legends, facts, foods and crafts!

Chapter Book Read-aloud:
 The Christmas Donkey: a story of France (finish from Friday);
A Grandma for Christmas: a story of Norway both by Alta Halverson Seymour
The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens

Saint of the Day:

• Sunday, Dec 6 -- 2nd Sunday of Advent; St. Nicholas
• Monday, Dec 7 -- St. Ambrose
• Tuesday, Dec 8 -- Immaculate Conception
• Wednesday, Dec 9 -- St. Juan Diego
• Thursday, Dec 10 -- Our Lady of Loreto
• Friday, Dec 11 -- St. Damasus
• Saturday, Dec 12 -- Our Lady of Guadalupe (fyi -- it is under this particular Marian title that I placed my book, In His Image: Nurturing Creativity in the Heart of Your Home, which was published this Spring.)
• Sunday, Dec 13 -- 3rd Sunday of Advent; St. Lucy

This week: Netherlands, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, France

Make dough for St. Nick cookies (Speculaas) on Saturday ...

Sunday: 2nd Sunday of Advent -- St. Nicholas -- treats in shoes and St. Nick cookies with icecream.

Monday: St. Ambrose feast -- make beeswax candles and honey cookies.  DB: Chapter 8; W: 17 "St. Nicholas"; CSRW: The Netherlands pg 46-53; continue reading The Christmas Donkey; prepare animals for the Nativity.  Jesse tree: coat of many colors.  Evening:  stories and hot chocolate.

Tuesday:  Feast of the Immaculate Conception -- attend Mass; make Marian ornaments.  DB: chap 9-10; W: 9 "Nativity Plays"; CSRW: Iceland pg 18-23; continue reading the Christmas Donkey (finish up today); make animals for the Nativity.  Jesse Tree:  cup of plenty.  Evening: game and popcorn.

Wednesday:  St. Juan Diego feast -- make santos after co-op.  Co-op Christmas feast.  Jesse Tree: whip for persecution of Jews in Egypt.  Evening: cider and stories.

Thursday:  Our Lady of Loreto -- make graham cracker "house of Loreto".  DB: chap 11-12; W: 10-11 "Christmas Crib" and "Symbolic Lights and Fires"; CSRW: Norway pg 54-59.  Read A Grandma for Christmas (we'll read in one-sitting).  Jesse Tree:  bundle of wheat for Ruth.  Evening: performance of one of the stories this week and tea.

Friday:  Damasus -- making Christmas cards.  DB: chap 13-14; W: 12-13 "The Christmas Tree" and "Christmas Plants and Flowers"; CWRW: Sweden pg 88-93; L: pg 28-29.  Start The Cricket on the Hearth -- a lead-in to our study of Christmas in the British Isles next week.  Jesse Tree:  lamp.  Evening:  snacks and family movie night.

Saturday:  Our Lady of Guadalupe -- Mexican food for dinner.  Make LuciaPepparkakor dough. Jesse Tree:  sling (David and Goliath).

Sunday:  3rd Sunday of Advent and Feast of St. Lucy -- make LuciaPepparkakor. Jesse Tree: crown for King David.

 O Father, stir up our hearts that we may prepare for Your only begotten Son, that through His coming, we may be made worthy to serve You with pure souls.  We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.  Amen.