Another Man's Treasure

This past Friday, my in-laws arrived from Colorado. They planned to close on their new house in Kansas at noon. Unfortunately, the bank didn’t have all the paperwork processed, and the closing was delayed until Monday… and then until Tuesday. I started to head to town for food for our weekend guests, when my husband went to the freezer and pulled out that vat of chili... Read More

Bwekfast Turtle

Once or twice a month, the kids and I try to make a trip to our county zoo. Going that often is a very different experience from the trips we used to take in grade school every May. For one thing, I don’t have to worry about where to sit on the bus. My seat is pretty much assigned these days. The biggest advantage is that we get to know the animals better. The elephants are... Read More

Catch-Up List

A quick catch-up list: 1. We had our first snow of the season Tuesday evening. (Click here to read more or leave a comment on Catch-Up List)  Read More

Fish Faces

(Fair warning: If you’re squeamish, you might skip this post. It’s for my teenage brother-in-law. And for his pet carp, may he rest in peace. 🙂 ) My in-laws came for a visit last week. I’ve explained some of their story in a previous post. It poured rain the entire weekend of their visit. Two of my husband’s younger brothers came along, as well as the... Read More

Pumpkin Muffins and the Power of Listening

This has been a busy week – no time for cooking adventures. I did make some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, though. A new friend made these when I went to her house to meet her for the first time recently. We sat on her comfortable sofas and had a refreshing polysyllabic conversation that did not involve her asking me to fill a sippy cup with milk. Not even once. (Click... Read More

Zipping By

This has been such a busy week, and Wednesday has already come – the day I would normally post on my blog. I haven’t had time for cooking adventures or for processing pictures this week. Instead, today I’m leaving a post that I wrote a few weeks ago. (Click here to read more or leave a comment on Zipping By)  Read More

Shrimp with Salsa Fresca

For years, I’ve been looking for THE perfect book to teach me to cook. I’ve assembled quite a collection of cookbooks in the process. Many of them have failed to inspire, and I was ready to decide that cooking is just one of those things that I’d have to buckle down and do, with or without inspiration. This past week, though, I may have found it – THE cookbook... Read More

Infertility Post Four: Losing Control

If I had known from the beginning how long we’d deal with infertility, I might have made a conscious decision (Click here to read more or leave a comment on Infertility Post Four: Losing...)  Read More

How Wild Horses Dragged Us Together

Recently my husband and I had a bummer of a few days. We really needed an evening at home together. A night finally freed up for my husband… but then of course, I couldn’t be there. I had to take the older two kids to a class. I was just pulling out of the driveway when our horses escaped the paddock. With a fall nip in the air and some sprinkling rain, all five horses... Read More

Spinach Penne Salad

To kick off my year of focusing on cooking, I made an easy penne and spinach salad. It has a unique flavor – and a bit of a bite! This recipe comes from a Cooking from A to Zest video. My kids love watching this series of instructional cooking videos. I hope they grow up loving to cook! To make the salad, boil a pot of water, add some salt, and pour in the penne. Cook the... Read More