I love beets!

 I have always loved beets but I have never made Borscht.  I finally did yesterday and I was not knowing what to expect but I loved it!  Not only that but it is a super healthy dish.  It was suggested to serve it with some sour cream on top so I did!  This soup has beets, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, onions, celery and tomatoes.........

I don't know if you remember Jenny Jones who had her own talk show years ago....80's?  I never watched as I was working all the time but I did remember her.  I found some recipes and they were healthy.  I discovered that it was the same Jenny Jones but her website is called Jenny Can Cook.  She has wonderful recipes, healthy, delicious, and no exotic ingredients.  This is where the Borscht recipe came from.  All my recipes this week are from her website.  If you watch her videos she is funny and gives excellent directions and tips.  She even has a recipe for Kettle Corn that you  make in a paper bag in your microwave.

My menu for the next few weeks (all from her recipes):

pizza with homemade dough

stuffed cabbage rolls

salmon patties with caesar salad

fall off the bone ribs

for lunches and/or  breakfasts:

quesadillas

green eggs, no ham

cheese blintzes

Today was beautiful.....65 and sunny so I went out to the highway and filled up the tank.  I changed sheets and did some laundry.  I decided that the 13th and Fridays would be Halloween cross stitch so I worked on the Satsuma ornaments..........

I've been watching the Olympics in the evening.  I watched a couple episodes of Yellowstone but was not impressed.  Not only do they swear like troopers but the violence and cruelty is enough to give you bad dreams.  I will try and watch to see if it improves or if there is some kind of story line but I can't really make any sense out of it.   I finished Where the Crawdads Sing and that was very good.  The Wednesday Sisters not so much.  I'm reading Agatha Christie's biography which has some interesting parts but is just very strange for a biography.  I always hate to give up on movies or books hoping that in the end it will all come together and be wonderful.  I am also reading the 4th book in the Mitford series..........I call the Mitford books "comfort reading" similar to "comfort food" but without the calories.

I hope you had a good day and have wonderful plans for the weekend!

Happy Trails!!! 

I might be able to relax a little tomorrow...maybe?

 Yesterday I made the other "treat" for the grands...much easier than popcorn balls......good ole Rice Krispie Treats with a Valentine spin on them..........agai.n I wrapped each one individually and then placed them inside a zip lock bag.  I had 2 boxes...one for Valentine's Day which I mailed priority and one that had books and magazines in it that I mailed as media which is much cheaper but probably won't get there for 3 weeks but that's okay.

After I ran up to the next town to mail them I went to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions.  I was going to go out to the highway and fill up with gas since it was in the 60's yesterday but I had 1/2 tank so I skipped it for now.  When I came home I made my menu and grocery list and ordered groceries.....by then it was 5:00 p.m.!

 Today, I picked up the groceries at 10:00 and came home, unloaded into the garage, debagged in the garage and then I take a few at a time (an armload) into the house and disinfect.  I put the disinfected groceries on the other counter and when that's all done I put them away.  I take several breaks too!  I needed a lot of things as I had used  some of my backups when I couldn't get out to the store during the snow storm.  All stocked up again.  It was in the 60's so really nice for being outside.

I got my Chicken Salad quilt "simple Shapes" from Lori Holt.  The QAL starts on the 14th....Happy Valentines Day to me!  The shapes are for the applique chickens on the quilt.  I've never done her method of applique so it should be interesting

I also received my new Roku Express 4K+.............I can see Peacock now and Amazon Prime video!  I installed it after I got all the groceries put away.

Peacock has the Olympics on which I haven't been able to watch and also it has Yellowstone which I've been wanting to watch.  I will be relaxing tonight!  There are lots more channels and voice activation and more!

I'll leave you with this...............

Happy Trails!!!

Front loader as snow plow?

 They plowed a bit...bless their hearts.  It was 48 F today so there was melting but it's still on the drive way and streets.....the grass is peeking through and the deer are right on it!    They're not used to this much snow for this long either.

I spent the day making a mess of my kitchen.............

to make these..............

 

and then I wrapped each of them individually with saran wrap....which is so much fun...said no one ever!

I doubt if I will make them again.....big mess, a lot of work and hard on the hands to stir....I'm sure the grands will like them though.  Grayson has a nut allergy....severe....so anything I make for them is homemade so I know exactly what goes in it.  A lot of things are made in factories where they process nuts...even M&M's...he can't even go to the ice cream parlor.  He's smart about it because he remembers how sick he was before they discovered it was a nut allergy.  He questions everything you give him just to make sure.  Hopefully, he will grow out of it someday but meanwhile we are very careful.

There's one more thing I'll be making tomorrow.  My Valentine cards haven't arrived yet but I'll mail them when I get them.  Are you doing anything for Valentine's Day?

I hope you had a great Monday so far!

Happy Trails!!!

YOP Week #32 Year #11

 It's been a tiring week with not a great deal of progress.  Between not feeling great at the beginning of the week to the storm which really was not bad since we didn't lose power.  But it is still cold and the snow is still here which is rare.  We still have travel advisories because they don't have salt or snowplows except maybe in the big cities.   Today is supposed to be 47 so I imagine some melting will take place.  I'd like to get some groceries sometime soon.

This week I worked on my New Years cross stitch on the 31st and the 1st..........this is a long-term project

then there was my birthday start on the 4th..............Ida Mae!

the Valentine XS..............

and yesterday  I worked on the Blackbird weekend project.........

Things I did but did not photograph are I sewed the backing fabric together for the Christmas quilt...finally and I worked on Stu the snowman just a bit...........

I did try the Join As You Go blanket but it was too fiddly for watching t.v. so, I went back to my tried and true Giant Granny Square blanket.  I'm making this one big enough for a real blanket for my bed.I've made 2 throw size Giant Granny Squares and I still have lots of acrylic yarn left!  This is the best project for watching t.v.

Today, I will be stitching on my Sabbath Stitch and hopefully get my quilt backing and batting and top all pinned together.  I've been cleaning and cooking this past week too.  Today I'm making linguini with broccoli, pine nuts, and feta....another favorite!    

Here's a little humor for you....at least I thought it was funny........so true, so true..........

Happy Trails!!!

So blessed!!!

 I woke up this morning and we had power!  I checked outside and it had rained and was sleeting and was about 20 F.  It stopped fairly soon and turned to snow.  It was quiet most of the day...no precipitation until just a few minutes ago and now it is snowing like crazy!  This picture is mild compared to right now.  From the radar it looks like we will be getting snow for quite a while!  Yay!

I did chores and some cleaning and then this afternoon, I made a Waldorf salad and sausage stuffed acorn squash with maple syrup.  It should be really good as the sausage was Jimmy Dean maple flavored.  This is one of my favorite winter meals.  It's all set to go in the oven in a few minutes!  I usually buy 2 squash which is perfect for 1 pound of sausage but I must have forgot and only bought 1.

I hope you are all safe and warm wherever you are.

Happy Trails!!!

Ready or not here it comes!

 All day has been prepping for the storm pretty much.  It rained in the night and this morning.  It was 50 something and now it is 31 so if it rains there will be freezing.  From the radar it looks like we are right on the edge of the line between freezing rain and snow.  If it gets 1/2 to an inch of ice and it's windy we will not have power...Arkansas is like one giant forest beautiful but treacherous during an ice storm.  Last time there were elderly people that died in their homes because so many trees were on the roads they couldn't get to them.  Some of them lived way outside of town.

I did all the laundry so even if it's cold I will have clean clothes.  All the dishes are clean and I ran the dishwasher.  I replaced batteries in my lights and candles.........

I prepped for a fire in case I wake up to a cold house it's ready to light..........

Plenty of wood and kindling and more in the garage.......the green can holds paper

I also hung curtains in the doorways....I have a few more to hang.......

I don't have to worry about water because I have city water and it flows regardless.........I did manage to start a Valentine cross stitch....free from the Colorado Cross Stitcher.  The link is on her You Tube channel.  I should have just done the heart........it's bigger than I thought........plus I thought the fabric was blue but now I think maybe it's green.....it's sparkly too............

Here's a little something to make you smile........it did me!

If you don't hear from me tomorrow I probably lost power or maybe you did or maybe both of us or all of us!  Stay warm!

Happy Trails!!!

Sick yesterday......again?

 I had a stomach ache in the night and all day Monday....all systems were "go" so I have no idea where the pain came from.  I got up and made my bed and laid out my clothes and then I crawled back in bed and slept until noon.  When I got up the pain was less but I could tell it was still there.  I had no appetite but finally ate some supper so I could take my pills.  I slept good last night and woke up feeling fine.....go figure?  More "adventures in aging" evidently.  So, today I tried to make up for lost time plus we are going to get a winter storm that may leave us without power so I am making sure I have food made, and laundry done, and the fireplace prepped.  Since the last ice storm back in 2009 or 10?  I've purchased tension rods to put in the doorways to the family room where the fireplace is so I can hang blankets and/or curtains to keep the heat in that room.I'm hoping we will get snow and not ice.

Today I made bread........

and peanut butter cookies....peanut butter has protein you know.....lol!  BTW, those cookies are not burnt....I just like them that way............

I also started a granny square afghan....something I could do while watching T.V. in the evenings.....actually the giant granny is the best for that.....maybe I should make another one of those.

I also ordered a book on my Kindle.....I was listening to NPR and they were interviewing.....Rosalind Williams who wrote a book about The Science of Heartbreak...this is non-fiction.  She went through a divorce after 25 years of marriage and had some health issues and so she researched the subject.  I went through a divorce after 21 years and I came down with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Graves disease, and I had a thyroid storm and had to have my thyroid obliterated by a radioactive pill.  This was all the year of the divorce.  I will be very interested to read this book.  I may even try to contact the author. Evidently there is a connection between heartbreak and your health. 

So, it was a good day, I have food, firewood, books, handwork projects, and gobs of batteries.  It's just now starting to rain....wish me luck!

Happy Trails!!!