faux fur and blizzard pictures and bread baking

 Here I am in my new faux beaver coat. I'm in the backyard during the blizzard. This is what I do during blizzards: nothing of much consequence. Some people might look at it as a chance to clean the basement but I look at it as a day with no obligations. It's like someone plucked it off the calendar and said here you go do whatever you feel like doing.

Here's the bookshelf behind the love seat in our dining room. It's really not the room where we dine because I moved that into the living room. The dining table is at one end of the room and the television, which we don't watch very often, is at the other end. It was part of my design to use the parts of the house for things we do frequently instead of having rooms we never used.  It made sense in my head when I first thought of it, and for the most part, it serves us well. Anyway, aren't the bookshelves of other people interesting?

This is our Christmas tree. Regis used the star filter to get that effect. Isn't it beautiful? It isn't real but we like it. The last time we had a real tree, the leaky tree stand left a hundred dollar spot on the rug. This is better.  Regis would like it if we had tinsel and shiny garland but I don't think you can even buy that stuff anymore. We were laughing the other day about that spray snow we used to put on the windows. I bet that was a mess to clean up, Mom!

I made a loaf of bread yesterday to have with the bean and ham soup I made from the Easter ham bone. The soup was delicious and so was the bread. The recipe is from this cookbook:

Heck, I found the recipe so here it is!

Chunks of roasted walnut mixed with white and whole-wheat flours, a poolish, water, salt and yeast; such simple ingredients. Such stunning results. A round free-form loaf, deep mahogany in color, with slashes around the edges and a rich chewy taste--it's heaven with butter and one of our favorites. We use organic flours and pure spring water for best results. RECIPE INGREDIENTS For Poolish: 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon water 1/4 teaspoon bread machine yeast 1/2 cup bread flour 1/4 cup organic whole-wheat flour For Dough: 2 cups walnut pieces 1-1/8 cups water 1/2 teaspoon bread machine yeast 1-3/4 cups bread flour 1 cup whole-wheat flour 1/2 cup medium rye flour or meal 1 teaspoon salt cornmeal for dusting the top

DIRECTIONS FOR POOLISH: In the bread machine on the dough setting by combining the water with the yeast and flours. Let the poolish sit in the machine from 2 to 10 hours before completing the bread. FOR DOUGH: While the poolish is standing, toast the walnuts in the oven or a toaster oven. Arrange the walnut pieces on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degrees F oven until lightly toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir a time or two and taste to see when they begin to taste toasted. Don't burn them. Transfer the nuts to a cool plate and refrigerate until baking time. When you're ready to make the bread, add the nuts, water, yeast, flours, and salt to the bread machine pan with the poolish and process on the dough setting again. Once the cycle is completed, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down the dough and form into a tight ball. Cover with the bread machine pan and let it rest for 30 minutes. Flatten the dough with the heel of your hand into an 8x10-inch rectangle. Form into a round loaf. Place the loaf on a peel generously sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover the loaf with plastic wrap or a clean towel and set it aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk. Preheat the oven with a baking stone in place on the middle rack to 400°F for 30 minutes. Just before baking, slash 4 straight lines around the edges of the loaf, forming a box design. Give the peel a trial shake before opening the oven. Bake on the stone in the preheated oven until the crust is a deep mahogany color and the bread is done through, about 40 minutes. Spritz the oven 6 or 7 times with plain water during the first ten minutes of baking. Cool on a rack. Store in a paper bag.

This is me fussing with the Christmas tree. I have on red and white striped tights and a pair of red felt reindeer antlers. Oh, and lots of Christmas jewelry and rhinestones. This is just to march around my house baking bread and making soup. Someone asked me once if I don't ever just wear sweat pants. The answer, I guess, would be no.

Ella helped decorate our tree this year. She loves to unwrap the ornaments and find a place to hang them. We brought out the kitchen stool and she climbed up and down to get ornaments in the right places.

We're hoping we can get to the Nutcracker this afternoon. It doesn't look like a snow plow has been down our street yet so that makes it dicey. Even if the main roads are open, you have to get to them. We have a floater ticket, purchased for Betty who changed her mind, transferred to Joanne who can't make it because of weather, and now we'll see.

plan for the day

1. Already made a blue cheese and bacon omelet.
2. Did the dishes from last night's pizza dinner.
3. Spent an hour internet shopping for Ella, Alex, and Elliot.
4. Watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer this afternoon.
5. Do the Jingle Bell Jam 4-mile run on the treadmill in the basement.
6. Watch the snow fly.
7. Feed the birds and squirrels.
8. Take a picture of my new faux beaver coat.
9. Make bean soup.
10. Write our Christmas letter.
11. Take pictures of the snowstorm.

friday night fun

went to bed early for an attitude adjustment

At 6:30 last night, I announced that I was going to bed to read. Regis knew better. I cranked up the electric mattress pad, put on my warm pajamas, and crawled into bed with a magazine. I think I made it twenty minutes. I was afraid I would wake up at 10 and wonder what day it was but I slept right through until 4:00. A good night's sleep is so nice...and so rare anymore.

It's warmer today and that will help, too.

I wanted to welcome Jill and Larry back to solid ground. They've been on a cruise to the Panama Canal for two weeks, or on the Big Boat as Miles calls it. She's been posting pictures and stories on her blog and I love it. I'm not much of a traveler but I enjoy very much hearing about the travels of other folks.

I got a Christmas card from a high school friend who talks about a two week trip to Antarctica. Now that's a big trip, too. Penguins, polar bears, seals, lots of snow and cold. Except for the wildlife...a lot like here.

I have a traveling day at work again today. I'm looking forward to tomorrow when I can sit at my desk in one place all day with my little blinking snowman and Christmas tree on my desk. Yesterday I turned off the overhead light and sat in the dark for a while with only the desk lamp on. And Miles Davis. It was calming.

Here we go into the day.

arrghghgh the weather

I made the mistake of reading the weather forecast tonight. So much better than hearing the alarmist weather people go on and on about it but alarming just the same. In the next few days, they are predicting freezing drizzle, snow up to four inches, high winds, and plummeting temperatures which means very cold wind chills. Oh, for God's sake. Who needs this? I am all for the change of seasons but really... Siberia? I can't stand it.

Mom says I should stop paying attention to weather forecasters. She is probably right.

On top of that we have been monitoring files at work which is a lot like giving birth and having a root canal at the same time. You're so glad when it's over but you never want to repeat it. Bad ass stuff.

I have all the lights on tonight and I have a glass of wine. It's not helping. Now what?

Regis is in the midst of finals for his two classes, one of which is networking. He says it's like giving birth and having a root canal at the same time. We're in trouble now.

I have been making it to the Pulse to exercise. I have to get up before 4 a.m. and drink coffee and warm up the car before I have the courage to go outside. Once I'm there. I'm pretty much fine but I'll tell you this. I have a different body temperature than some of those people. I go in long pants, boots, a thermal shirt, and a fleece jacket. And that's what I work out in except that I change my boots to shoes. Some of those women oh my God wear shorts and tank tops and blow a fan on themselves. I have gloves in my pockets in case I need them. Do I need to eat more lefse? Do they need to eat less lard? What gives?

And another problem. These are people who apparently like a different kind of news than I like. I thought the regular cable news about recent robberies and murders was bad. How about E with news of some young actress whose name I don't remember having a face lift or going to rehab? How about ESPN with news of some basketball player doing something illegal and having to forfeit his multi-million dollar home? I'd rather watch cartoons. I do everything I can to block it out. Ugh. Who needs that shit in their head?

I went to Gordman's last night with my friend Vickie. We went in search of bling. Rhinestones. She bought some beautiful jewelry there and offered to take me shopping. I bought earrings, a necklace, a couple bracelets, and an ostentatious ring. Less than fifty bucks. I love it. It sparkles. A guy said to me today that his grandma loved rhinestones and he knew they could be expensive. I said not this, pal. I like a good deal. Anybody with rhinestones they don't want...send 'em my way. I'll wear them gladly.

We're having chili and parmesan chicken strips for dinner. Smells delicious. Come on over, Gayle!

Stay warm, friends! Leave a trail of breadcrumbs when you take the trash out.

this is my favorite time to write

I came home very late from school, when it was almost dark, and I'm tired. We made dinner and I cleaned up that mess and the apples in the dehydrator. Now, I sit in front of the fireplace with a glass of pinot grigio. I have nothing to say but it's my favorite time to write.

When I taught writing classes, I always said that the days you least feel like writing are the most important ones to write. Things percolate around in your brain and eventually (most days) something travels through your brain, down your arm, and out the end of your fingers. You don't know what you're thinking until you write it.

My work has been stressful this year. I feel grossly incompetent in almost every area and I don't know why but it's painful. I think it's because I travel so much and I'm an inch deep and a mile wide. That's a bad analogy but what I mean is that I know a tiny bit about a lot of things but I don't know anything very well. I'm not anywhere long enough to know the whole scoop. It's wearying. Words swirl around my head like black birds in the fall. I can't identify acronyms anymore. Curriculum studies? PLCs? Selling the orange peel? Am I mixing metaphors? I've come a long way from teaching writing and I'm quite sure I'm not happy about it. I guess that's life and it sucks.

I think I finally have enough lights up to chase the zombies away. I have lights everywhere. I filled a glass cookie jar with lights and ran the cord out between the jar and the lid. I filled a giant Coke bottle up with lights and plopped the flowers in on top of them. I have lights everywhere as I think you should in the winter.

We had nine hours of daylight today which is barely enough time to get to work and home in the light. It's only going to get worse, folks, so hang on to your flashlights and your wine bottles.

We're having each of our kids over for a night's dinner before Christmas. The holidays get so rushed and we hardly have time to visit when they're all here at the same time. I am not promising anything fancy and maybe some of them will get a pizza delivery but it will be nice. One of them wanted to know what the deal was with the separate dinners. I told Regis he should have said we're giving them all big checks and we don't want them comparing amounts on Christmas Eve. Holding up the joke sign. Hahahahaha!!!!

My skin already feels like I've done an ultra marathon across Death Valley. I'm reading a book about a guy who did that and he's insane. Certifiable. Nothing courageous about it. Just plain nuts.

Regis made a trip to the grocery store with a long list today. We hadn't bought groceries since before Thanksgiving and our refrigerator showed it. No eggs. No bread. No milk. Good to have a well-stocked larder again. He also went to Aldi's which we kind of like when we don't see a guy with the world's worst mullet eating cold wieners out of the trunk of his car. We love their coffee and their dark European chocolate and their dried fruit. We can make a meal out of wine, dried fruit, nuts, and dark chocolate. That's all the food groups, right?

for Karen

Back row, left to right: Peter, Glen (family friend), Regis Jr., Robert

Next row, left to right: Me holding Elliot, Tiffany, Amber holding Ella, Betty (family friend) and Tom is over her right shoulder, Regis on the loveseat

Front row: Emily holding Alex

weekend half gone

We've had a nice weekend, so far. I went to exercise yesterday, picked up Ella on my way home, we decorated the Christmas tree, went to Patrick's for lunch and watched the fish house parade. Our float concept would have been a hit so we're already planning for next year.

This last car was our favorite. The license plates are from South Dakota. Not sure if they meant to be in the parade or not but they were such good sports. They all wore Santa hats and the windows were rolled down so we could hear the Christmas music. Beyond this, there was not a lot of imagination or humor in the fish house parade.

Regis and I went out for a quiet dinner last night and ran into some old friends. We had a good time at Pappageorge with Ann and Brad, then stopped at Patrick's on our way home. The band, the New Primitives, is one of my favorites so pretty soon it was dancing time. Two young women who were not born in this country, Teresa and Christina (twins) were fairly inebriated and they decided I was their spiritual mother or something. The band was fun but we got out of there before the crowds came and I was kidnapped by the drunk girls.

They had an ugly sweater contest at the bar last night. There were lots of ugly Christmas sweaters but you were afraid to mention it in case it was just a sweater somebody wore.

The temperature is zero. Zero. What the hell. It's going to be a cold week, Miles, so keep your long johns handy.

more things to be thankful for

1. Birds. Here I am in a pair of red velvet reindeer antlers with jingle bells on, feeding the birds. We had two pair of cardinals at the feeders yesterday. They were so beautiful against the white snow in the dusk. It takes your breath away. Regis took the picture through the window and the white lights are the reflection of our Christmas tree lights. 
2. Fun today. Ella is coming over to decorate our tree then we're going to the fish house parade and maybe downtown to see Santa.
3. Boots. I have been on a boot kick for the last year. When I was ahem, fatter, I always wanted to wearboots but my calves were too big. Now that I can fit my strong legs into boots, they're all I want to wear. I like a good deal, though, so I shop the clearance area of 6pm.com and this is my latest purchase. They're Carlos Santana snakeskin/leather boots. They were 180 bucks originally (yeah, I don't know where...) but I got them for 38 bucks. Wow. Great deal. They are not good on ice, though. Wherever Carlos lives, they apparently do not have winter. I wore these out last weekend and had to stand motionless on an icy sidewalk while Regis ran to get additional footwear.
4. My mom pointed out in a comment on the previous thankful post that I should be thankful for her and I am. She's a woman with a kind heart and good sense of fun and adventure. I hope I can be as much fun as my mom is when I'm 80. Speaking of 80, she said she got something from her car insurance company that said her car was only driven by an 80 year old woman and she thought, "Who in the hell is the 80 year old woman driving my car?" That's a hoot. Of course, Mom didn't say hell because she doesn't cuss as much as I do. Hardly anybody does.
5. Coffee. Not really but I had this great cartoon.

This thing is starting to mess with my formatting so I have to stop with the list. I don't like bad formatting...or spelling mistakes in public places.

Regis and I went to Patrick's last night for a glass of wine. They had posters up advertising a band called the New Primitives. Primitives was spelled like this: Primatives. Holy crap. I thought they would be stunned to know this so I took a couple of them down to show Brian who is in charge of things like that. He shrugged. I told Joey who was waiting on us. He shrugged. So, I guess in the world of Patrick's, it doesn't matter.

Onward and upward. Ella is coming over this morning to help decorate the tree. We will venture out to see the fish house parade and Santa later. It should be a wonderful weekend. Hope you enjoy it, too.

being thankful

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the crap in life because there certainly is some of it. Anybody who reads the paper, listens to the news, or who gets dressed and leaves the house once a day knows it. There are so many things for which to be thankful, though, so my mental exercise this morning as I drink my coffee and watch my fireplace is to think of them.

1. The safety of our friend, Bob, after his terrifying roll-over on an icy road near Alexandria. It took me two days to respond to his email because it was such a frightening story. As he is a good and kind person, he didn't curse the state for not sanding or even nature for sending such road conditions, but he was grateful for the kindness of a stranger and for his health. For all of this, I am thankful.
2. A warm and well-lit house, tiny as it is. Regis and I have lived in this bitty two-bedroom, 1950's style rambler since we married 13 years ago. Most days we are overwhelmingly grateful for it's coziness and lack of storage space. We accumulate enough crap without storage space. What would happen if we suddenly had spare rooms? Our house is warm, covered in Christmas lights this time of year, and a fun place for our friends and family to gather.
3. Our similar temperaments when it comes to things like Christmas buying. We are well-suited to Christmas shopping together because what has evolved is that we don't. We enjoy buying things and doing things with other people but insanely buying Christmas presents is not one of them. Thank God we are both like that. It must be the hippie liberal coming out in us. We should have lived in a commune.
4. My sweet and supportive husband. Over the past two years, Regis has been kicked in the pants by job loss and unemployment. He struggles with it from time to time but for the most part, has picked himself up and gotten an education so he can be employed again. He berates himself at times, for all of this, but I think I got a good deal when I found him. He cares about my welfare almost more than his own. he knows my thoughts sometimes when I am not aware of them myself. I'm not describing a weird alien symbiotic relationship or anything, folks, just a man who loves me and takes care of me. What a treasure.
5. Good flavors in my food. When I had weight loss surgery, I thought I would give up the appreciation for good food. What I gave up was quantity and really bad food. I'm fussier now about what I eat and I love lots of flavor. Yesterday for lunch, I had a half a quesadilla with hot peppers stuffed with Andouille sausage and Mexican melting cheese we had grilled this summer with a cranberry and jalapeno dipping sauce. Oh, my.
6. Words and music. Scan to the right here and down the past month for all the beautiful words. A couple weeks ago we heard a crazy Irish rock band from Minneapolis. Saturday night there is a reggae band playing downtown. We have an iPod loaded with music that plays all evening. No commercials and no political ads and no news. Just music.
7. Exercise. I never thought I would say I enjoy exercise but I do. I look forward to a walk on Sunday when the sun is shining. I like the treadmill at the Pulse. I ran in the Mankato half marathon this fall and it was much harder than I thought it would be much a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Hey, I'm an athlete!
8. The internet. I was in a meeting yesterday where someone was cursing the internet and cell phones. I know there are bad things associated with each but I also remember the days of one telephone in the kitchen. The internet has made it so much easier for us to be connected and I like that. I have an online support group. I have relatives I have never met that communicate regularly on Facebook. I have friends who read my blog to find out what my recent rant is all about and to see pictures of my grand babies. What could be more fun than that?

There you go. Not a bad list at 4:30 a.m.

Welcome Baby Grace

My friend Jane's son Devin and his wife Hiroe welcomed Baby Grace Yushika on Wednesday, December 1st.  She weighed about 6 pounds, 5 ounces.  Mother and child both healthy and in good spirits.  

i am haunted by the dark this year

This year, more than others, I hate the dark. I come home from school and I need lights and lots of them. I light candles, I light the hula girls, I turn on lamps. Yesterday, I asked Regis to stop at one of the big box stores to find more lights. He came home with a string of 300 LED lights and four packages of min-lights and two sets of battery operated lights. I should be set.

Even the crow gets lights this year.

another post

When I signed in this morning I noticed that I have written 1,221 posts. That's a lot of blah blah blah, I'd say. But I've had 18,483 hits on my main page which even accounting for me going back to read what I wrote myself and family who like to see their own pictures and friends who want to make sure I haven't moved to Poland, that is a lot of readers. Here's where the current readers come from:

	457	91.40%	Minnesota
	9	1.80%	New Mexico
	5	1.00%	Colorado
	5	1.00%	New York
	5	1.00%	Wisconsin
	4	0.80%	Massachusetts
	3	0.60%	Kentucky
	3	0.60%	Illinois
	3	0.60%	South Carolina
	1	0.20%	North Carolina
	1	0.20%	Texas
	1	0.20%	Georgia

I don't think it means much. I'm just saying is all.

Regis is watching the squirrels and birds in the front yard. They've been really active lately, building up their reserves for winter, I suppose. We have quite the fat squirrel population and they're fun to watch. They sort of hog the feeders though and the birds won't come if there is a squirrel sitting there. We've had more variety this year in the birds: nuthatches, chickadees, two pair of cardinals, flickers, woodpeckers, blue jays, finches.

I made the menu for the week composed completely of left-overs. We have meatloaf, turkey, chili, and chicken in the freezer in those vacuum sealer bags. Not much cooking required this week so we won't even have to make a trip to the store tomorrow.

We wanted, in the worst way, to have a float in the fish house parade but it looks like it won't happen. The guy who had the trailer says that part won't work out. We don't know anybody else with a truck and a trailer. And, pitiful as this sounds, apparently they have only had one entry. What is the matter with people?

I have a busy day planned but it might include a nap. I want to get the Thanksgiving dishes put away. I'm going to make soup with the turkey stock I made yesterday. I might even drag out a few Christmas things. Today will go by quickly and then it's back to work. A five day week. It's true, if work was fun, rich people would keep more of it for themselves.

aftermath of Thanksgiving and exercise

Regis and I got the most immediate aftermath cleaned up yesterday. I made some turkey stock with the wings, we froze the left-over turkey in small packages, and froze the bread. Too good to throw out, you know. There are dishes all over the table but those will be put away tomorrow. Today is a day for fun.

I went to the Pulse this morning after a two day hiatus. I was beating myself mentally for being a slug lately and worried that I was losing my motivation. I have meticulous records of my exercise going back to August 2008 when I started so when I got home, I dug them out and analyzed the data. Here's what I learned:

September 2009 = 19 times/month with an average 226 minutes/week
September 2010 =  15 times/month with an average 234 minutes/week

October 2009 = 22 times/month with an average 220 minutes/week
October 2010 = 14 times/month with an average 213 minutes/week

November 2009 = 21 times/month with an average 188 minutes/week
November 2010 = 15 times/month with an average 197 minutes/week

Looks like I exercised less times per month this fall but about the same number of minutes per month. So, nothing to worry about, I guess. It's a busy time of year, the start of school and the holidays. Things will pick up in January.

I'm making the transition from one season to another. I don't do a lot of decorating for Christmas but I love winter music, Christmas dishes and linens, and I love Christmas scents. I bought evergreen scented candles yesterday, one of those reed diffuser things, and a tiny light-up snowman.

Betty, Tiffany, Ella and I are going to see the Nutcracker in Mankato on the 12th. Tiffany loved the Nutcracker when she was little and we went several times. I was always fascinated that she was so little but loved a long story with few words. Maybe it's the dancing. Ella, here is the slideshow from last year's performance. Ella has been over to watch the McCauley Culkin version a  couple times and always wants me to read the names of the characters in the credits. The story is always a little different. We have front row seats so it will be fun!

On with the day. We're piddling around this afternoon and celebrating the end of the weekend with dinner at Pappageorge. Enjoy the day, my friends.

Oh, for anyone who is interested in the spoon-hanging picture below....there are spoon hanging tutorials on youtube. LOL Actually, there are tons of them. Here's one.

here's the menu

Jalapeno Cranberry Compote

Onion Tartlets

Alton Brown's Turkey

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Traditional Stuffing

Andouille and Cornbread Stuffing

Green Bean Casserole

Roasted Root Vegetables

Cranberry Chutney

Lefse

Italian Country Bread

Pumpkin Pie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Pumpkin Truffles

we got out the best silver for you!