devil's den, a quick day trip

Yesterday, although nobody was feeling real super,

Tyler wanted to be a good papa, so he took the kids on a little explore to Devil's Den.

Most photos were taken by Brandon.

A few were taken by Tyler.
I'll let you guess which ones ;-)

several quick takes

It's been so long since I've done a 'quick takes', I can't even remember how many takes there are supposed to be.

I'll just see how many I've got. How 'bout that?

1.

I was writing a letter to Ton' shortly after it started snowing yesterday.

In it, I told him about how the kids were premature in asking me to set out some carrots for snowmen noses.

Said that I doubted we'd get enough snow for that...

Guess what my next letter will say?

2.

Whenever Lexi has a headache, she says, "My head-fore hurts."

I can't bear to correct her, it's so sweet;

and what's more, I reinforce her mispronunciation by asking about her head-fore later.

3.

Shopping at Sam's the other day, Lily pointed to the three-pound container of Daisy sour cream,

"Oooh," she squealed, "It's so cute!"

We buy the five-pounder ;-)

4.

So far, all of my sewing, with the exception of some mending, this year has been for others.

First a happy colorful quilt. 

do you see that thread? drives me bonkers. 

(for which Nancy generously paid me, despite my not charging her for my stitching services. 

All my blathering on about 'nobody can afford what my time is worth',

and now I'm not sure she got her money's worth....

So now, I'm humbled. 

And I'm deciding what to do with it...;-)

Then I took in (took up?) a bridesmaid's dress for a young friend.

(a task I cheerfully did out of love, but was reluctant to take on, for fear I'd ruin it. and thus, ruin her friend's entire wedding)

After that, I helped another friend with some sewing;

she just recently taught herself (and her daughters) to sew using this book,

and thought she'd gotten in over her head with her latest project.

Turns out, the directions were just really confusing,

and I'm confident that with proper directions, she could have tackled the job beautifully.

I was quite happy to help out anyways ~ the fabric was so soft and pretty,

and I added to my ever-growing arsenal of sewing knowledge in the process.

I also realized, sewing up 3 of the same pattern,

that it is best to start with the littlest size first.

The larger sizes will be passed down, and therefore worn (and looked at) much longer.

So it's best to work out any kinks (and there are usually kinks...) on the clothes that will be receiving the least wear.

I, of course, did not do this.

5.

I am remedying the above only-sewing-for-non-family issue

with a not-at-all-secret, very-likely-won't-be-finished-on-time quilt for TJ, for his birthday.

As much as I love surprising people,

I think it's actually going to be more fun this way.

Now I can pester delight both Lynnet and T with pictures of my progress :-)

You, too, can get crappy in-progress photos texted to your number. 

Just let me know... I'll be happy to add you to the list ;-)

I've also been collecting fabric for a quilt for Tyler,

since he's claimed my red and aqua quilt 

and will only relinquish it when he receives a similar quilt (in different colors. and a bit bigger...)

He was whining muttering something the other day about having to buy his own quilt on e-bay. psh.

I'm working on it...

6.

Remember when I snuck in that little brag about my poinsettia?

She was just a pitiful looking 7(ish) leaf $.99 Black Friday special, but look at her  now:

I realize that, for most people, this is, like, normal,

but I have never been very good with growing anything except kids, cucumbers, and cats,

so I'm quite tickled with myself.

7.

Lily and Lexi were snotty and stuffed up last night;

(weird how you can be both...)

they slept horribly.

Consequently, so did I.

It wasn't all that long ago, that getting up a kazillion times a night was normal.

I'm grateful there's a new normal.

(which still consists of getting woke up during the night - but not every single night, every few hours...)

8.

Tomorrow, our neighbor is coming over for dinner and games.

I should probably figure out what to fix, huh?

snow day

Photos by Brandon (and Kacy)

poor li'l Lex'

Lexi is having such a hard time wrapping her little mind around death.

Last week, after I'd hacked away a few branches of a scraggly tree with a machete,

so I could more easily dig sweet Dallas' grave back by the bushes he loved to explore,

she stood there with her lip quivering.

"How many lives do dogs get?" she asked, trying not to cry. again.

"Only one, Baby. Only one." I told her sadly.

She's asked the question about twenty times since then.

The question, and the answer, are always the same.

But now, she's moving on to people.

"A doctor could help a person if they die, right?"

"No, Sweetie. If somebody dies, only God can help them."

She asks again, emphasizing the word 'doctor', thinking I must have misunderstood.

The answer doesn't change.

"But what if they get shot? 

A doctor could help them then, right?"

"Yes, if the bullet didn't kill them, a doctor could help."

"People live longer lives than dogs, don't they? People don't die when they are just little."

And I have to tell her that, yes, little people die too, sometimes.

"But I won't, right?"

And all I can tell her is, "I hope not!"

Lexi and the electric shaver

Tyler has used a cordless electric shaver for years.

He keeps it in his car

and brings it in every few weeks when it needs to be recharged.

He'd had it in the house this weekend, and brought it back to his car when he left for work Monday morning.

Tuesday,

he couldn't find it.

He thoroughly searched his car before telling me he had a problem.

I wasn't overly concerned;

Tyler's thorough looking and my thorough looking are sometimes very different.

Meaning - just because he couldn't find it, didn't mean it wasn't really there...

(You know it's true ;-)

So I went and looked for it,

and you know what? It wasn't in his car.

He was positive he hadn't brought it in, but I checked the counter in the bathroom anyways,

and also his little landing pad for stuff he brings in

in the living room.

No razor.

Best we could figure was he must've kicked it out of his car (?)

So,

I went to Amazon.com and ordered him a new one.

In doing so, I realized he'd had that one longer than I remembered and he was probably about due for a new one anyways.

We don't really do gifts for valentine's day,

but I thought it was awfully suspect that he lost his razor two days before v-day

and we have free two day shipping with amazon prime ;-)

(not really, but it was fun to tease him)

(and he did buy me a cute little rose bush. Probably because I've done such a good job with my poinsettia from Christmas ;-)

(Like how I got that little brag in there?)

As he was opening the Amazon package 

we were discussing again

how he just couldn't figure out what had happened to his razor.

Lexi pipes up, "I know where it is."

And she ran to get it!

She had gotten it out of his car

and brought it in the house

and put it in the drawer that the charger goes in.

Nobody looked in there for it,

because there was no reason for it to be there.

Then we were discussing what we should do with the new razor

send it back? 

use it, but save the old one for back-up? 

keep using the old one, but save the new one for when the old one dies?

when Lexi hugged the box to her chest, "I want to save it for my husband. He's going to need one of these."

needle and thREAD ~ brought to you by the number 125

Last summer, she asked Tyler if she could hire me to make her a quilt.

"No," I told him; 

"I could never charge somebody what my time is worth, I'd rather gift it.

If she buys the fabric, I'll make one for her."

In January, I told Tyler to tell her

I was ready to make her quilt.

She wanted:

Lightweight.

Red

purple

blue

orange

and aqua.

No pink.

No flowers. 

(um. I didn't exactly abide by this one...)

A smidge of green and yellow.

Totally random.

A bohemian hippie vibe, with a nod to re-purposing.

Oh. 

And the quilting should be unexpected.

After a few e-mails back and forth, and visiting over coconut coffee, 

I had a pretty good picture in my mind of what she wanted.

I ordered a rainbow bundle of fat sixteenths (light on the greens and yellows).

I added a little bundle of purple,

and another of oranges.

I dug through every piece of fabric that I own,

looking for pieces that met the above requirements.

Then I shopped at thrift shops, Hancocks, Hobby Lobby, and The Bargain Shack to round out my (admittedly tall) stack

and ended up with 123 different fabrics.

after shrinkage, quilt is 69x81 (did you see the pop of orange in the binding? :-)

I spent 5 hours over the course of 3 days cutting 4 1/2 inch squares.

(It takes a lot longer to cut a few squares from a bunch of fabrics

than it takes to cut a bunch of squares from a few fabrics!)

A week of sewing (and ironing) here and there

resulted in a finished quilt top.

In early January, a friend had offered to let me dig through some bins of fabric;

she knew I was a quilter (I'm a quilter!!:-) and thought I might find something I could put to good use.

I kept hoping that when I dug through the bins, I'd find fabric that would be perfect for the back of Nancy's quilt.

And I did!

Of course, I had to add some piecing to the back, too.

I used up every cm of those fat sixteenths ~ I had to; that was some expensive fabric!

After a quick trip to the church to baste it,

I spent the next 3 days quilting with my new Juki exceed f600.

Then it was time to decide on a binding.

And then, of course, make, and attach the binding,

then hand-sew it to the back.

(I forgot to take pictures, but my corners were perfect. I was so tickled!)

123 fabrics, plus the blue back

and the black binding - so, 125 fabrics

and about 31 hours of cutting, sewing, and ironing (ironing is a big part of quilting!)

and Nancy got the quilt she's always wanted her whole life.

Thanks, Nancy, for letting me make your quilt.

It was a fun challenge :-)

I hope you and Bruce enjoy many picnics on it

and snuggles on the couch under it.

Most of the photos in this post are by Brandon ~ thanks, Bud!

Linking up with my quilting mentor's Finish it up Fridays

and my friend's with needle and thREAD, although very little reading transpired.

sorta lazy stitcher

Natalie  says that thread for hand-sewing should never be longer than from your finger tips to your elbow.

Long thread - Lazy girl she says.

I measure from my fingers to my elbow twice. (This is acceptable when doubling thread)

And then, 

before cutting the thread,

I unwind just one more round from the spool.

I guess that means I am a sorta lazy stitcher.

sadness

Dallas, our grandpuppy, Tony's puppy, died in my arms last night.

I am so sad. So, so sad.

I was apprehensive about him moving in, to be honest;

Lola wasn't overly found of the little thing - he made her quite nervous.

So I'd told T&K that Dallas could live here on a trial basis; I didn't want to torture Lola for months.

Lola adapted to Dallas just fine,

and Dallas adapted to life in a full house pretty quickly.

He loved all the kids, but Josiah and Brandon were his favorites.

Of course they would be, they are the most like Tony.

And Dallas loved Tony!

On Thursday, when it was raining, I traumatized the poor thing, trying to make him go potty in the pelting rain.

I made it up to him by carrying him around in the ERGO for an hour or so.

Tyler gave him a bath on Saturday, washing him with men's body wash, so he'd smell (almost) like he did before Tony left 

(Tony always washed him with Old Spice; all we had was Suave)

You'd think a bath would be torture - considering how he acted about the rain, 

but no, Dallas loves warm baths.

He was so soft and yummy afterwards.

Lola got a bath, too. 

Only, Tyler didn't wash her with men's body wash.

And she is not a fan of warm baths.

Sunday afternoon, I smiled, watching the two of them playing together

and thought, Lola is going to miss him when he leaves.

I had no idea he'd be leaving us so soon.

He was fine all day, but come bedtime we started noticing a few things weren't quite right.

Around 9:00, I decided he was sick, so I texted Kacy to let her know something was up with him.

I really figured he'd be fine in no time, but thought she should know, in case she wanted to come home...

I snuggled him next to me  on the bed while Tyler and I watched an episode of Bones.

Around 10 he was still pretty lethargic, but responded to kids coming in the room (again!) by wagging his tail.

I called Brandon in, to see how Dallas would respond to him.

He lifted his head and wagged his tail more vigorously.

I took it as a good sign.

We watch him pretty closely, but as you know, there's always crap on the floors here,

so I figured maybe he ate something and had a tummyache,

and he'd be better in a few hours....

Brandon and I fixed him up a bed in the chair right next to me, and around 11, Dallas crawled into it.

His breathing seemed kinda labored.

I was worried, but not terribly so.

I kept praying that he'd be okay.

Kacy would come home and take him to the vet in the morning...

I put my hand on his tummy as I laid in bed.

He'd wagged for the kids. He must be feeling a little better.

Around 11:20, he climbed up next to me.

I grabbed the towel I'd put in his bed, thinking it was quite possible he'd pee.

Encouraged with his movement,  I decided we should sleep on the couch, so we wouldn't disturb Tyler's sleep.

I felt kinda silly being so watchful, but I'm a momma. And mommas are watchful. 

He did pee, so I was glad I'd grabbed the towel.

I turned on the light.

Dallas did not look good.

I ran in to Tyler and cried, "He's dying. Dallas is dying."

So Tyler came and sat by me and held me.

While I held Dallas and cried

as Dallas died in my arms.

And I am so, so sad.

laundry expository

I  don't make my kids do laundry.

There.

I said it.

I've often thought it was due to some laziness on my part;

it's easier to just do it all myself, than to devise some scheduled system

that I would have to stay accountable to.

(I'm not terribly good with schedules)

It's also due, in part, to my perfectionist tendencies;

I'm good with laundry.

(I am the stain ninja, after all ;-)

And I like laundry done the way I do it.

I have a system, and it works for me.

(when the hamper is nearly full, I wash what's in it - that's my system ;-)

Just so we're clear, all children over the age of 5 do know how to do laundry,
(Adult males in the household are an entirely different story... ;-)

and I have a chart hanging inside of a cabinet, telling how to wash what
and what temperature to dry it on.
Occasionally, everyone has to pitch in and fold.
And often I have someone grab a particular hamper for me.
(we have one for whites, one for towels, and one for coloreds. A separate basket in our bedroom houses line-dry items)

I just don't require that people do their own laundry.

More than my perfectionism, laziness, and pride though,

is the simple fact that one of the ways I love my family,

is with laundry.

Washing it.
Drying it.
Folding it just so.
(It's not all gushy; it makes me crazy to find folded clothes in the laundry hamper - just like it does every other mom.)

I do a lot of laundry.
So,
I must love my family an awful lot ;-)

needle and thread ~ the letter edition

We just got a letter!!

Our first letter from our boy!!

:-)

So, that's what I'm reading today.
(I've also been slowly making my way through last week's library stack. I'm not as enamored with The Everlasting Meal
as some people seem to be, but I'm only a few chapters in, so that could change, I suppose.)

In sewing news, I finished the quilting on my first quilt of the year, and it's on to the binding...

linking up with Elizabeth's with needle and thREAD again ~ no surprise there ;-)

makin' me chuckle

Jeremiah and Tyler were going to buy this sign to put on a tree.

(which I think is hilarious and perfectly appropriate for this one-bathroom household)

Unbeknownst to Tyler,

Jeremiah snuck it out of the shopping cart and bought it with his own money

and put it on the bathroom door as a joke for me.

I'm leaving it there

because it makes me chuckle every time I see it.

And also because I think it lowers the cleanliness expectation.

I mean, you expect to see pee all over the gents' bathroom, right?

so maybe I won't get as frustrated when I find it all over in mine.

Maybe?

all the colors of the rainbow, except pink

When I'm using needles and thread, 

I have great difficulty managing to also fit in the reading part of Elizabeth's with needle and thREAD.

This week's trip to the library yielded a nice stack of books though,

so we'll see if I can pull myself away from working with my squares-of-many-colors

to actually crack the covers.

It could happen.

one thing

There's not much I'm going to miss about this house whenever we finally move into the new one.
(oh! We met with an architect last weekend ~ yay!!)

I'm not going to bother listing all the things I will not miss about the place;

it's much quicker for me to jot down the one thing

I will miss.

Sunshine on my face when I shower in the afternoon.

That,

I just might miss.

state of emergency

Remember back about 3 1/2 years ago, when I bought that huge roll of batting?

The very first quilt I made with the batting was a throw sized quilt for Lana.

I made it at pretty much the same time I made Josiah's quilt 

(neither of which got blogged apparently)

only I purchased Josiah's batting from the store,

which prompted the whole buy batting in bulk idea in the first place.

Every time my sewing buddy or I make a quilt,

we 'buy' the correct yardage for the project at $5 a yard, and put the money in a crumpled envelope

where I jot down the quilt name or prospective owner and approximate date of said project.

My envelope has been getting full, and the roll empty,

so I've been keeping my eye out for bargain batting for a few months now.

The price of batting has gone up considerably!

I just went in the dining room, backed a chair up to the yellow cupboard

and climbed up.
I reached up and pulled the now fairly lightweight box down from it's perch on the top of the cabinet.

I lifted the batting out and began unrolling it on my cutting table.

(aka - the dining table)

I was totally shocked to discover I only have 45 inches of batting left.

Lynnet and I have used all but 45 inches of  forty yards of quilt batting!

This is most definitely a state of emergency

that needs to be remedied right away.

for her fourth

Two days before her actual birthday,

two days before he left,

her big bub (and his wife ;-)

took Lex' to get her ears pierced (or 'piered' as she calls it)

She got flowers just like her sis, in the color we call 'Lexi blue'

double date

"You know what I'm disappointed about?" she said with a sigh,

"I'm disappointed that in all the time we've been married (almost 6 months ;-)

- and even before that -

we've never gone on a double date with you and Dad!"

Well.

Having your beautiful daughter-in-law disappointed for something so easy to fix

is just plain silly,

so last night,

we remedied the situation and went on a double date.

And even though we were all exceptionally lousy bowlers*, we had a great time,

and came home to three sleeping kids

and

a clean house. 

(thanks so much, Bran!)

*I would like it to go on record that, for the first time ever (and according to him, also the last time...)

 I beat Tyler bowling.

Never mind what our scores were....

heartsore

I've been walking around fighting tears for days now.

Today, the tears are winning.

Tony leaves for basic training in a week.

And my momma heart just hurts.

Not long after they got engaged, Kacy 

(who has mentioned on numerous occasions how much she loves our Sunday snacky dinner and a show tradition)

asked if they could still spend Sunday evenings with us after they got married.

Well, of course!!

So, even though he's married, we still get to see him fairly often.

But even if we didn't get to see him pretty much weekly,

the thought of not seeing him at all, for months

(and maybe not even talking to him)

makes me sad.

And I'm a little worried for him; Boot Camp can be brutal, you know.

And it's not like he's going on vacation; ultimately, he's going to war.

And, of course I'm sad for Kacy ~ she's going to miss him so much.

(although I'm not worried about her, since she'll be staying with us)

I'm sad for the kids, especially Josiah. and Brandon.

Since tears are already lurking just beneath the surface,

I cried when I read my (online) friend and mentor's post, saying she was going to quit blogging.

And delete her blogs.

I cried again when I read Elizabeth's post about her boy going to college.

'specially when she shared that her little girl (whose oldest brother just got married 2 weeks ago) said,

"My whole childhood will be people leaving!"

and I thought ~ it don't get any better, kid. 

It's really too bad my machine is in the shop ~ I could sure stand to be immersed in a project right about now.

Somehow, I don't think cleaning will be as therapeutic as sewing...

kicked the habit

Through all of the changes in dietary habits over the years,

there was one 'bad' food item I hung onto. 

Sam's Choice Extra Rich (Fake) Creamer.

Love the stuff.

Other powdered creamer - not so much,

but the 'so creamy it actually whips' creamer? Delish!

I'd rather quit drinking coffee, than drink it without my creamer. (and I have, multiple times over the years.)

A few months ago, I decided I was ready to start trying to give it up.

I slowly (very slowly) replaced some of my powdered creamer with real cream (and sometimes coconut milk).

I'm happy to report that I can now

enjoy a cup of coffee with real cream.

Without even a sprinkling of Sam's Choice fake creamer.

in the shop

You know how I've been whining for months about mentioned my machine not being quite right?

Since I am not currently immersed in a project

(although, I will be starting one next week that I'm getting very excited about!)

I figured it would be a good time to go visit the shop.

(I really like Jeannie and Patrick at the Sewing Machine Center; they're good people.)

Jeannie messed and messed with it - they always try to get me fixed up without having to leave the machine if possible. 

(I must get a wild, desperate look in my eye when they mention it staying.)

We determined that no amount of adjusting would fix it - it needs a new tension unit.

A computerized ($250!) tension unit.

(It's a very nice machine!)

And it'll be a week or so 'til I get it back.

I actually cried a little.

I think I may be emotionally attached to my machine.

I briefly considered trading it on a new one - just so I wouldn't be without a machine.

I quickly came to my senses and remembered that I didn't want a new machine; I wanted that one.

(but gosh - the 12 inch throat on the Janome 8900 sure did look nice!)

~

You know, when the girls and I bought that sewing machine for Jesus, I had to think long and hard about it.

I mean, it isn't exactly food or life-saving.

But then again, maybe it is.... 

I feel like sewing, as silly as it may seem, has been part of my healing.

The prayers have helped. And of course, my hormone creams. And Tyler's love and patience. And an improved diet.

But there were times (in the past - I am soo much better now) when the only time I felt anything close to alive,

or remotely happy, was while I was sewing.

My mind and heart and even my body would be in so much turmoil, but when I focused on what I was creating, 

for those brief moments, I was okay.

I couldn't be all bad, if I could make something pretty. right?

I feel like sewing has been a gift from God to me.

That's why I wanted to buy Jesus a sewing machine.

The woman who receives it can use money she earns from her sewing to buy food.

It will buy her freedom.

And dignity.

I see her giddy when she masters new skills.

And clapping her hands with delight at her finished projects. 

I see her focusing on her work, and forgetting her troubles for a moment.

I see her growing more confident as more people buy what she creates,

and she buys healthy food for her family.

I see her noticing beauty around her, 

now that she no longer has to wonder if her child will die today from hunger.

I see her smile.

And it's beautiful!

Maybe a sewing machine is life-saving after all.

~

I feel a little discombobulated, not having my machine.

The up side is, 

I have plenty of time to clean off my sewing desk,

which, except for the little empty rectangle space my machine usually occupies,

 is anywhere from 2 - 10 inches deep in fabric, tools, scraps, and patterns.

yikes!

books

We went to the library yesterday.

I don't know why it's so hard for  me to schedule a time to go regularly.

I guess 'cause pretty much everything is hard for me these days....

Once upon a time, we went to the library every. single. Thursday.

Now that we live 'out of county' and have to pay $40 a year for a card,

not utilizing the library is wasting of money.

Anyways.

After about 6 weeks of having an empty library basket,

it's full again (along with another box!)

and besides the occasional fighting over books,

the house is always so nice and quiet for a few days after we visit the library :-)

(which makes it especially crazy that I don't make library trips more of a priority ~ I love quiet!)

a little funny:

I ran upstairs to pick up a few books,

and the girls went with me.

Lexi picked up a book, How to Run Your House Without Your House Running You, or something like that.

I told her to put it back; she didn't want that book.

She assured me that she really did.

I told her it was a book about cleaning your house, and she happily put it down.

"A book about cleaning your house?" Lily asked incredulously,

"I already know how to do that. Why would anybody even write a book about that?!"

She just thought it was the silliest thing ever.

I didn't tell her I once bought a book called The House that Cleans Itself...

What's in our library basket:

Nate the Great books (I love these. I read them to myself, sitting right in front of the basket :-)

Putter and Tabby, of course

Henry and Mudge 

(these, I do not like and the kids know I'm more likely to say 'yes' when they ask em to read to them if it's not a Henry and Mudge. 

I forced myself to read one last night. out of love. If you must read a H&M, Annie's Perfect Pet isn't too bad)

A few Beatix Potter books

Amelia Bedelia (these are painful for me to read, also)

(Suprisingly, no Fancy Nancy this time)

What Mommies / Daddies do best

(This book I saw years ago at the bookstore, and thought it was sweet, but didn't note the title or author. I've thought about it over the years, and even looked for it at the bookstore a time or two. I found it looking for a different book yesterday and was so tickled)

Hardy Boys (another duh)

I grabbed a few books for Brandon, but I can't recall now what they were.

It's kinda hard to pick books for him.

The stuff written for young teens now-a-days is often inappropriate, in my opinion,

and I'm just not familiar enough with older books (especially for boys!) to know what to choose.

He's a little leery of my choices anyways; I've used book guides before and gotten many award-winning books for him, but they often have sad parts in them, and he hates sad in books!  Now, sometimes, he just has to read sad stuff (much of history involves sad stuff!) 

but I don't want his pleasure reading to cause him undue angst.

He's not real eager to pick out his own books (beyond the few series / authors he knows he likes)

which I totally understand - the choices are overwhelming, and it's hard to know in just a few minutes if its a good option or not.... 

Any recommendations would be appreciated

For myself, 

I grabbed I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had and Kate Morton's The Secret Keeper from the new release section

and High Fashion Sewing Secrets from the World's Best Designers

and a cookbook/memoir written by Italian sisters.

I told Tyler wheat-free people probably ought not read Italian Cookbooks.

I've also been reading Grace-Based Parenting (again) and Desperate, a book that I apparently pre-ordered and promptly forgot about 'til I received notification that it was scheduled to arrive Christmas Eve.  Like any good husband would, Tyler wrapped it, Amazon box unopened, and put it under the tree.

I'll start Stepping Heavenward, soon, too, since I try to read it every January.

Last but not least, we checked out Curtis Stone's cookbook again at Josiah's request.

I should probably buy it for the kid. He loves that book!

He's got about 10 recipes marked with scraps of paper

and was thrilled to discover his old bookmark, still marking the recipe for Pomegranate Martinis.

"Why do we need that?" he laughed; "We already know how to make Pomegranate Martinis!"

(As I type, they house is silent, except for the noise of heaters and the hum of appliances. Everyone is reading.)

So.

What are you reading? And should I read it, too??

Italian soup

Gosh.

I didn't mean to leave you hanging with your leftover spaghetti sauce for so long; sorry!!

I intended to write up the recipe the next time we had spaghetti;

we always have about a quart left.

But the next time we had spaghetti, we didn't have salad,

and besides leftovers for Tyler's lunch, we ate every bit of it.

The next time, Tony and Kacy popped in and ate with us, so, no leftovers again.

The next time after that, we did have leftovers,

and I did make soup,

but for whatever reason, didn't have time to write down the process.

Since Master is getting all up in arms about my lack of posting of late,

and we had Italian Soup for dinner last night,

well,

I figured it was high time to share.

Like most of my 'recipes', it's not an exact science, more of a method...

Italian Soup

(I cut up the veggies as I go, and add them to the pot, giving it a stir with each addition. If you are not a fast slicer and dicer, or if you just want to do your prep work early, cut everything ahead of time and just dump it all in a bowl or bag 'til you're ready to cook)

Place a stockpot on your favorite burner set to medium heat and pour in a glug or two of olive oil.

To your warm oil, add 2-4 carrots, diced

1/2 - 1 whole onion, diced 

1/2 - 1 whole bell pepper, diced

a yellow squash, you got it, diced

and a couple of small zucchinis - one diced, one grated, unless your kids admit to liking zucchini, in which case, you can dice both.

a handful of parsley, chopped as small as you can get it

If mushrooms are on sale, they make a delicious addition, especially if you saute them in butter and garlic salt first. 

If you don't have a child particularly averse to spinach in soup,

go ahead and add a few handfuls of chopped spinach, too.

I, personally, don't even notice the addition of spinach, but Josiah, who really is a pretty good eater, and eats spinach raw just fine, 

can not stand the feel of spinach in soup.

I get that.

Since I am not overly fond of torturing my children for the heck of it,

I choose to feed my family spinach in other ways.

Back to your soup.

Continue to cook your veggies, stirring occasionally.

Throw in some of your Italian Seasoning mix and a few cloves of garlic, crushed.

Also a bit of seasoning mix.

When your veggies are mostly cooked, increase heat to high and add about 6 c of chicken broth.

When it's good and boiling, reduce heat back to medium and add your leftover sketti sauce.

Simmer and stir and stir and simmer.

Taste and add more spices if needed, and maybe some salt, too.

It'll be ready after about 15 minutes of simmering, but if you aren't ready to eat yet,

just reduce the heat and leave it simmering 'til you are.

Now.

As is, the soup is good, but nothing terribly memorable;

add the following toppings, though 

(I've listed them in the order of importance) 

and you take it up several notches.

Even Lily, who has been an awful eater lately, loves it, which is quite a feat these days, unless sugar is involved.

sliced pepperoncinis, with juice

cottage cheese

bacon bits

grated monterey jack

cabbage leftover from your sketti dinner, chopped small

hemp seeds

Oh ~ all those scraps from your veggies? Don't throw them away. 

Well, you can toss the carrot peels and the stem from the pepper,

but the onion, carrot, and squash ends

put in a bag or other container and stick it in your freezer.

Add other veggie scraps to it (but no pepper scraps) and I'll tell you soon(ish) what you can do with 'em.