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Tag Archives: snow

creatively comforting

12 / 13 / 13

hot chocolate

There are days when we are just not meant to go outside.  This morning seemed like one of them.

Around 8:30 AM, my daughter let the dogs out for their morning potty.  The steps to the front porch and the sidewalk were a solid sheet of ice.  One of the dogs could not make it back up the two brick steps of the front porch, so my daughter ventured out, slowly and cautiously, to attempt a rescue.  In the process, she managed to strain every muscle in her back and arms attempting NOT to fall!  OUCH!  We decided, at that point, that the second dog was on her own to make it skate back inside.  We stood at the door and watched her, opening the door every 30 seconds or so, to holler HURRY UP! words of encouragement… It was at this point that my neighbors garage door across the street went up.  He started backing up, in a straight line, as one would normally do.  As his tires hit the driveway, however, we watched, in slow motion, as his car proceeded to slide down the driveway sideways, half on the driveway, half in the front yard… landing in the street, facing the wrong way.  It was at this point that I made the decision to forego my morning plans of a trip to the grocery store for dinner.  Nope.  I would simply make some sort of (delicious) concoction out of what we had on hand.  Let those creative juices flow, baby….

About an hour later, I went to the refrigerator to evaluate what I had to work with here.  Now those of you who know me well know that I really do love this game.  I love the challenge of taking what I have leftover and making it into something.  Edible. The problem comes in when you try to play this game two nights in a row.  Last night I made some pasta and used up the chicken breasts and the last of the kale… so they were no longer options.  I stood there for quite awhile… pondering the “hodge-podge” of what was left in the refrigerator.  We had the last of a honey bake ham, leftover whole wheat pasta from last night, a bit of chicken broth,  2 avocados and some carrots.  Hmmm…

creamy ham & pasta

My daughter and I eat dairy free, so creamy sauces are usually a no-no.  However… there is more than one way to skin a cat – Right? (Just realized what a horrible saying that is!  Ewww…!  Who made that up; and why??)  So the avocados went into the food processor along with a little chicken broth and a splash of dairy free milk.  Voila – dairy free “creamy sauce”.  I cut the remaining ham into small pieces, tossed in a large bowl along with the leftover pasta, the avocado sauce and a jar of one of my very favorite “staples” from Trader Joe’s, the tomato Bruschetta.  Now it was time for a little taste test.  The result?  Creamy and delicious!!  Definitely a “thumbs up”!!!   Did you think that I forgot about the carrots?  Didn’t.  I’m going to oven roast those with a little garlic and rosemary when we are warming up the pasta tonight.  (Don’t you just LOVE the smell of garlic??)

white christmas

Good news: As it ends up, the perfect “comfort food” kinda meal for an icy cold winter day… We are gonna snuggle in for a toasty night by the fire with a glass of red wine and a movie classic… Either “White Christmas” or “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

Bad news: Tonight’s weather update – It’s supposed to start snowing here soon, and continue through most of the night.  (More) Bad news: After two nights in a row of “creative refrigerator concoctions”,  we are down to 4 eggs, almond butter, hummus and half of an apple.  Let’s face it – If we get snowed in… we’re screwed.   

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a birthday to remember??

5 / 5 / 13

april showers 2When I was writing my May newsletter, I mentioned how much I loved May.  And springtime.  And flowers.  The grass is green, the trees are budding, the warm sunshine a welcome reward after a cold, never-ending winter.  I feel especially blessed to have a May birthday.  May 2 to be exact.

I awakened on my birthday to the sound of our local weather forecaster, Joel, sharing the good news for the day; “An absolutely miserable day ahead…drizzly, dreary, raw raindrops…”  Wait – Did he just say RAW raindrops?  What the heck…?? He was, obviously, confused.  This is May, and May is warm and “springy”. There was only one thing to do.  Change the channel.

BD snow 2013 tree

Well – looking on the bright side (huh?) – It appears we have very accurate weather forecasters here in Kansas City (on “KMBC”; Channel 9. And BTW – Just kidding about changing the channel – TeeHee!)  Yep – They were spot on.  “Raw” was certainly an appropriate adjective to describe the moisture that was falling from that dark, dreary (May) sky. All. Day. Long. By afternoon, my “Happy Birthday” songs, via family phone calls, had joined chorus with a rather unique style of “background music”… the ping, ping, ping of sleet and ice pellets whipping against the window.  This sleet and ice soon turned to (gulp!) SNOW… at which point I declared that my birthday had been officially postponed. 

BD snow 2013 TV

BD smow 2013 fireplaceOnce that had been decided, we settled in for a cozy evening at home.  It had been a crazy couple of days full of unexpected surprises; so a warm blanket, a glass of wine, a fire in the fireplace and an episode of Downton Abbey was just what the (birthday) doctor ordered.  Especially when there is a winter weather advisory.  In May.  At the end of the night, the hubbie had an idea.  We went outside and “wrote” the date, 5-2-13, in the snow as documentation… of a birthday to remember.  And just the beginning of what (obviously) promises to be a very exciting year!!!

BD snow 2013BD snow 2013 2

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who agrees with “grumpy cat”…?

3 / 22 / 13

grumpy cat 2Have you met the newest internet sensation; “Grumpy Cat” (aka “Tardar Sauce”)??  Well I have a hunch that this cute little kitty is simply SICK. OF. WINTER.  Am I right?  Let’s be honest… We are ALL a little grumpy.  Or a LOT grumpy.   “Spring” arrived this week… Really???  So what about the 5-9″ of snow that is forecasted for tomorrow?  Well, I have really been trying to kinda, sorta be positive about the winter thing with the whole “good moisture for the spring flowers” thingie… OK.  That’s a lie.

snow hands

Truthfully, I find it extremely difficult impossible to even remotely feign any semblance of positive thoughts when it comes to cold. snow. ice. sleet. winter. Period.

So what to do…???

Well, first of all, we vow to never, ever, EVER believe “Punxsutawney Phil” again.  EVER. (Sorry, Phil.  Nothing personal)

philSo here’s my master plan.

I think that we need to just storm heaven with positive SPRINGTIME energy and thoughts…  So simple; Right??  OK.  Since we’re being really honest here, I’m going to make (yet another) confession.  I have already (kinda) made the attempt to project these positive spring thoughts via my Facebook page for quite some time now.  In fact, I think we’re coming up on winter storm #3 since I started my little “campaign“.  OK, OK… before you start thinkin’ what you’re probably already thinking… I am not the one to blame!  I simply need HELP!!! This is not a reason to STOP!!  Oh no, no, no.  This is simply our motivation to BUMP IT UP!!!  Are you with me, friends???  I’m gonna get us started today with some happy little “springlike” images.  We need to smile.  We need warm, happy thoughts to project out into the universe.  WE NEED SPRING…!!!!  So here we go.  Hey, we’ve got nothing to lose; Right?  And to start off the whole “smile thingie”, watch this quick video clip of sweet little “Grumpy Cat”.  Too cute.  She is really just sleepy in this video, but I find her to be adorable.  HAPPY SPRING, my friends!!

spring boy with bunnyspring sheep black & whitespring scrabblespring kids toeshamockspring chickpillowcase stackHibiscus-Mint Iced Tea

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snow day

2 / 26 / 13

chocolate chip cookiesSo here in Kansas City, it’s been snowing.  And snowing.  And snowing.  Now, mind you, this wouldn’t be so bad… if I didn’t hate the cold so much.  But I do.  And snow is cold.  So today was another “snow day” around here.  Schools, businesses, roads… closed.  Kids… home. Now when my kids were little, “snow days” almost always involved, among other things, two basic foods… hot chocolate and homemade chocolate chip cookies!!

cookie dough

So today I had one of my “babies” AND my hubby here, both forced to work from home because of the weather.  It made me happy just having them here…  Happy enough that I decided to make cookies.  Chocolate Chip Cookies; of course.

cookie dough 2cookies 2

As the house filled with the warm, familiar scent of homemade cookies, hot from the oven… our neighborhood street filled with the happy, contagious laughter of kids.  It was “snow day” laughter… that “three pair of socks, frozen pink cheeks, let’s build a snowman” kind of laughter.  And it truly was contagious.  Even for someone who really hates the cold. So I gathered a plate of warm cookies… and out I went.  After all, playing in the snow is hard work!  They HAD to be hungry. So they nibbled on cookies and gave me a tour of the area while I snapped pics.  The “under the ground igloo/ fort”,  their snowmen, snow babies, a snow dog (named Lulu) and a snow horse!  And, yes… They even built a snowman for my yard!!   After awhile, I realized that my “50-something” toes were cold.  No… frozen.  So with a camera full of pics, an empty cookie plate and frozen pink cheeks… I decided to head on back inside.  I guess next time I’ll wear three pair of socks…

cookies in snowsnow fort cookies 2snow cookies 1snowman debsnowman front ydsnow fort cookies

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Hello, friends!!

I love mismatched chairs and organized closets; springtime thunderstorms and Sunday morning coffee; pearls and puppy breath; welcome home hugs and walking the beach; fresh flowers and flea markets; autumn leaves and afternoon tea.

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