Madras Rasam Veggie Bowl

I received a package of Madras Rasam powder for a Christmas gift.  Madras Rasam Powder is made with coriander powder, red chilli powder, redgram, black pepper powder, fenugreek powder, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Rasam is a thin, spicy South Indian dish made with toor dal lentils, tamarind and jaggery (brown sugar).

I couldn't wait to try this mixture.  I made the Rasam sauce with the organic tomatoes I canned last summer and fresh garlic from the garden.  I poured it over steamed vegetables and brown basmati rice for a New Year's day treat.  It's got that great Indian flavor without being too spicy. It's a pretty fast and easy meal too. 

Madras Rasam Sauce

3 cups filtered water
4 medium sized tomatoes, medium chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons Rasam powder
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, ground
1 teaspoon curry

Bring the water to a boil, add the tomatoes, garlic, and Rasam powder.  Gently sauté the mustard seeds, coriander, and curry in about 1 teaspoon of oil in a small frying pan. Cook just a few minutes until you can smell the spices.  Add them to the sauce mixture and simmer for about five to ten minutes.  Serve over rice and vegetables.

I steamed together some fresh organic carrots, peas, broccoli, leeks, and chopped red onion and served with some brown basmati and wild rice. 

A little spinach Mango salad went very well with this dish.

Baby spinach leaves, Romaine lettuce, chopped mango, grated carrots, chopped celery, the juice of a sweet lime and a dash of balsamic vinegar.

My Magic Boots ~ They Cause Smiling

Christmas is all put away, and I start out the new year slow and comfortable.  We spent a quiet warm New Year's weekend at home together. Most the cooking is done for the week and it's a peaceful day. My big plans are to make a salad, finish a crocheted hat, and maybe make it out to take some winter photos in the woods a bit.  My last Christmas ornament, my blog picture, needs to be changed, but I have one more holiday story to tell.

This has been a blessed Christmas having our son home.  I haven't felt like participating in the whole season's traditions and spirit with a whole heart for three years.  It still took awhile for me to pull it out this year, but I got there.  I had a lot of help from some colorful boots I purchased recently. Not out of the ordinary for me, I like art, bright colors, and I like hand made, but pretty wild for some.  My jackets, hats, and scarves are always bright and cheery, especially around the holidays. I put on these warm colorful boots and went around doing my business.  I noticed very quickly that my day changes when I wear these boots. These wild boots make people smile.  I mean smile out loud.  I've had people walk across the room and ask where to get these boots and want to talk about the Mola prints.

I've found that Quilters know these fabrics.  Many women stop me and ask if my shoes are Molas.  Pretty fun, "Yes, they are."  I'm calling them my magic boots.  I cannot go out with these boots on and NOT smile throughout the day.  I have left the house in a normal mood and come home just about laughing while thinking about all the fun I just had going to the post office or grocery store.

The best day was two days before Christmas.  In the process of making sure there were gifts mailed on time, cookies made, and all the things I wanted done for the holidays, I had forgotten to plan our own Christmas dinner.  This meant I had to go to the grocery store two days before Christmas, Yikes!  I had a long list of errands this day and set out to get it all done.  I wasn't thrilled about so much to do on an afternoon 'off work.' I had already heard stressful horror stories about angry people in the local market.

When I got there the parking lot was completely full. So many people were circling, it was like rush hour in a big city. It was hard to stop and scope out an area.  I found a place pretty close after circling only about ten minutes and went inside to find it bumper to bumper shopping carts.  I am lucky that the whole food ingredients I use for cooking are considered the 'health food' section and that's right near the produce, I'm not going to be long.

You could feel the stress in the air. I could tell if I stopped the cart in the isle for any length of time someone might offer some cross words.  As I was shopping a very old gentlemen came up to me and hugged me and told me how much he loved my boots.  Soon after I had another inquiry about my colorful shoes from a lady who said she walked across the room to check them out. Her seven year old daughter was very giggly over them.  They introduced themselves and we exchanged Christmas hugs.  How awesome was that?!? This followed suit throughout my day.  Each place I stopped someone asked about the boots and admired the colors, the animals, and many asked to feel them.  I was laughing out loud by the time I got home. I loved this feeling, I was laughing for a change and feeling that Christmas fun and love in my heart.

I'm not a fashion queen, I consider myself a modest dresser and thrifty shopper.  I'll cruise the discount and thrift stores for deals. I live in jeans most the time, but I love adding lots and lots of color and fun shoes. I love art and I do love wearing art.  I will spend a little more to wear someone's original art. I do like to be comfortable and colorful, very colorful. 

In an effort to live a more vegan life, I've decided not to purchase leather items.  My purses are made from recycled material and so are some of my shoes now.  Last year I came across a website for some really colorful shoes while reading a Veg News.  Kuna Prints has a fun variety of handmade, colorful shoes. I couldn't resist, I purchased a pair of their moccasins right away.   I love art and I love hand made, these are made from hand made Mola fabrics. I saw the fabrics on The Amazing Race when they went to Panama this last season.  I watched for the fabrics on the locals.  I saw them, mostly as those tiny, tight wrap around shorts or sarong things worn by the local native men. Made me wonder wear my Molas had been before I had them. Oh my! They are made with recycled materials. **giggling**
 
I've had some fun wearing these shoes, but not half as much as when I wear their boots.  People have stopped, asked where to get them and even taken photos, but I make a new friend EVERY time I where the boots. They are magic, they cause Smiling. Some are laughing at the wild clothes I wear, I do border circus clown sometimes, I know it, but either way, they are smiling.

Santa saw fit to put another pair under the tree this year.  These showed their magic the first day.  My husband broke his arm a month ago and I'm sitting and crocheting while waiting in the doctor's office during his check up, a woman tapped me on the shoulder and asked where I got my boots.  I handed her one of the business cards I found in the package and she said, with a big smile:  "I'm getting some today!"

I noticed lots of magic this season.  We bought our son a nice used bicycle for Christmas.  Not too expensive, but nicer than the one of mine he's been using for his only transportation.  It was stolen while he was working three days later.  Two days after that someone brought a men's ten speed to work for him that they hadn't been using.  We grabbed the same bow and re-created Christmas.  Life is good.

Happy New Year!

This is just a story about my experience, no one paid me to write about these shoes. 

Happy Holidays ~ Home Made

The last gift is wrapped, all the cookies are done, plated, and on their way to friends and family.  I just got word the kids in California got their Christmas from grandma, I can stop worrying about that. I have a four day weekend coming up, and I'm ready.  I think we'll spend Christmas morning watching the sunrise from a nice hilltop playing with our camera. I think we may have done that last year.  That's one of the benefits of keeping pictures in this blog and Facebook, I can look back and find out what we did last year.

This year most all the presents I gave are hand made by myself, a local artist, or thrift store items headed for a new life.  I made some U-Bake Cookies and Lentil soup mix in jars, a great idea I got from Care2 make a difference.  Marty, who I am thrilled is home this year, helped me bake cookies so he could gift some to his friends.  He made the oatmeal cookies, which was a great way to spend some time with him.  I also got some practice instructing instead of doing the baking. I kind of like being on that side of the recipe.  That was fun.  We tie dyed the cardamon sugar cookies too.  I started with one just to see how it would work and then the fun was on.  I called my husband into the kitchen and told him to try it, we had a great time tie dying our cookies and using different techniques to get the patterns flowing.

 Vegan Cookies for Christmas

Cardamon Sugar Cookies with Meyer Lemon Glaze
Raw Almond Butter Cookies
Almond Crescents
Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Carrot Ginger Oat Cookies
Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip with Buckwheat Flour
Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dried Asian Pears with Cinnamon and Nutmeg

Four Ingredient Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Way behind on posting, I've been neglecting my blog.  I have been busy in the kitchen, as usual, but a lot of the meals I've been making have been repeats.  Although there are a few I want to share, many of the meals I've been making have become staples like the vegan mac & cheese or flax crackers.  It's been pretty handy having the recipes I like or create posted somewhere so I can look them up again.  So many meals in the past I've not been able to repeat very well because I didn't write down what I did.

I've had a great four day holiday weekend complete with some cookie baking with my son, cooking and crafts with my granddaughter, and some great meals at the dining room table.  Thanksgiving has been a week long celebration here beginning with a Vegan Compassionate Thanksgiving last weekend with the NW Veg folks in Portland, OR.  Three hundred and forty people gathered for a holiday vegan meal.  We met some new friends and shared some hugs with familiar friends.  There were so many wonderful dishes.  We walked around the tables looking at them and taking some photos as guests arrived.  I could tell there was no way I was going to taste everything I'd like to.  I am also really glad we got some photos of the ingredient cards as well as the food.  I can recreate some of the ones I like and some of the ones I didn't get to try.
I brought the pumpkin pies I've been making this fall and winter. I found a pretty easy pumpkin pie recipe. It contains only four ingredients that bakes up like the traditional pumpkin pie people are used to.  It's firm, but creamy when you slide it in your mouth with the cashew coconut creme.  They disappeared pretty quickly.  I took home two clean pie plates. I made it with a gluten free oat flour crust for Thanksgiving and my granddaughter loved it.

Four Ingredient Pumpkin Pie

vegan, makes one pie

1 1/4 cups raw soaked cashews
1 cup maple syrup
1 can organic pumpkin puree (16 ounces) (or use fresh puree)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

optional: 1/2 tsp salt to taste (depends how much salt you soaked your cashews in)

ingredients notes: using high quality spice is helpful. Also, I prefer grade B maple syrup for its rich amber tones and caramelized flavor - but grade A works too.

One standard vegan pie crust - or make your own using my instructions in this post. Also reference my crust-making how-to video here.

To Make:

1. Soak about one cup of raw cashews in about 2 1/2 cups of water in a large bowl. Add about 1/2 - 1 tsp of salt to the bowl - mix to dissolve. The salt allows the water to absorb more efficiently into the cashews and also adds some salt for your recipe. Note: you may want to soak more cashews than needed and make two pies - or use in other recipes.

2. Soak this cashew bowl for two hours. You want well-soaked cashews so that your pie mix blends up perfectly creamy.

3. The day of your actual pie making allow at least 3 hours from the time you start to the time you wish to serve the pie. I like a cool time of at least 2 hours.

4. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

5. Drain the water from your cashews. They should be very soft to bite and a slight purplish dark hue. This is normal. Add 1 1/4 cups of cashews to your food processor - or even better, or high speed blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec.

6. Add pumpkin to blender. Next, add in the maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice. Blend on low -> high for about 3-5 minutes until the mixture is completely creamy. If your mixture is a bit thick for some reason - you can add in a few teaspoons of either water, maple syrup or even non-dairy milk. After blending, do a taste test and add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt if needed. I added in about 1/3 tsp extra salt. But taste before adding.

7. Pour your mix into a par-baked vegan pie shell (I toast my raw pie shell in the 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes). You can buy a frozen crust or make your own per instructions linked in recipe above.

8. Bake pie at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Then reduce to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes - or until the edges look fluffy and a darker caramel orange tone. Use a toothpick in center if unsure. The tooth-picked filling should come out slightly wet - but very thick and dark. It is important to remember that your pie will firm up significantly upon cooling and chilling in the fridge.

9. Remove pie from oven. Cool on counter for at least 30 minutes. Then place in fridge until ready to serve. At least 2 hours cooling and/or chilling time is my preference. A warm pie will be tasty, but still a bit "wet" to slice.

10. I serve chilled with a swirl of my vegan coconut whip on top!!

Cherry Rhubarb Pie ~ Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

We're headed to Rachel's for the afternoon.  I like it when we get together for a meal.  It's a very relaxing spot out on an island not too far from here on the Columbia River. It's very peaceful out there, she's got a nice spot.  She's a whole foods cook and we really don't know what we're making until we make it.  I usually come up with some kind of salad and a dessert. Most the time we don't even discuss the meal, but no matter what we each make, it usually blends together quite nicely. In the summer, I'll show up with a cooler.  I just throw in a lot of fruit and vegetables and some favorite cooking essentials and figure it out when I get there.  We both like to cook 'in season' and local when we can, so we tend to come up with the same base dishes many times without talking about it.  For instance, I'll post a blueberry cheesecake and later she'll post the blueberry coffee cake she made. It happens a lot.

While looking through the items in my kitchen looking for the inspiration yesterday, I came up with the idea of a cherry rhubarb pie.  I picked up some fresh rhubarb at the farmer's market yesterday and still have some sweet cherries I put up in the freezer last summer.  Cherry Rhubarb pie it is.  Her husband is borderline diabetic so I made this with no sugar.  I used the finely ground dried stevia leaves from the stevia I grew last season.  I also added 1 tablespoon of local honey and the juice of one orange.  This could be omitted or replaced with Agave for a vegan pie. I wanted to mask the potential after taste of the stevia. Stevia is a great sweetener, but it only takes 1 teaspoon to replace a cup of sugar.  It's easy to get a little too much. I'm still not comfortable with the measurements with the dried leaves. I tossed the rhubarb, cherries, stevia, honey, and juice with 3 tablespoons of tapioca.  I tossed in a handful of slivered raw almonds and a half teaspoon almond extract. Baked about an hour at 400º. Very simple.

I made the crust with date sugar instead of sugar.  Date sugar is the best, it's just ground dates.  But, it doesn't dissolve, so it's not a great sugar replacement for everything.  It worked just fine for the crust. I brushed the crust with some hemp milk and sprinkled date sugar on top the last 15 minutes of baking.

And as usual, we think alike.  I sent her a text with a picture of this pie and she returned a picture of her pie.  We did not discuss fruit pies. She returned a picture of the marionberry, raspberry, strawberry pie she just took out of the oven.

Now we will be eating some veggies and grains too.  I cooked up some spelt berries and black rice yesterday.  Not sure what they will be blended with, I'm thinking some cucumbers, red bell pepper, a little jalepeño pepper, some lamb's quarters, and chopped pineapple.  I'll add a little raspberry balsamic vinegar too.  I'll let you know how that works out. I have a couple sweet potatoes. I'll throw those in my bag too.  I'm thinking braised sweet potatoes.

Vegetarian Pizza at Grandma's

Monday morning, January 3. Time to get back to work. It's been a nice couple of weeks. Work has been really quiet and this long weekend has been very relaxing. I am looking forward to being busy again though. It's only 5 a.m. and I have our smoothie ready and my lunch packed. Fruit, black eyed peas and greens, and piece of a spice cake I made with some sweet meat squash for lunch, easy.  I think I have enough time to tell you about how our pizza turned out.

When the kids arrived Saturday afternoon I had most of the pizza makings ready. The last time they were here, Eryk wasn't too thrilled with my choice of meal.  I think we had au gratin potatoes and broccoli.  Lots of kids don't like the idea of putting broccoli in their mouths, I get it.  I thought I'd make something more kid familiar for dinner. It worked, he liked our veggie pizza. It was fun making it together too.

We used fresh spinach, caramelized onions, roasted red bell pepper, sun dried tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and some Gimme Lean meatless sausage that I cooked in a little garlic chili oil and added some sage. I made the sauce with home canned tomatoes from our garden and a can of tomato paste blended with some dried basil, oregano, and fresh garlic. For the cheese topping I used a combination of dairy free Almond cheese and organic mozzarella cheese.

Grandpa likes to be the dough maker and he was very entertaining while working.

 It has been a very cold weekend, getting the dough to rise was a challenge.  The crust seemed scary, but it turned out just fine.

Kaylee made her own pizza in a smaller pan after getting some help with the dough.  She chose a few less toppings than I did.  She liked the mushrooms, sausage, and tomatoes.

Kaylee's Pizza

The Tapioca was a hit after dinner too.  After dinner Kaylee said there was a party going on in her stomach. Eryk signed a "thank you" and an "I love you" during dessert. I interpreted that as success.

New Year's Day ~ Vegetarian Breakfast

Shredded potatoes, with green onions, chopped sweet onion, a little grated sharp cheddar cheese, smokey maple bacon flavor tempeh, (Yeah, whole grains with a smoked bacon flavor, yippee! Thought I'd try it and it worked.), and slightly beaten egg whites.

New Year's Eve ~ Black Eyed Peas & Greens

 Nice to have a Friday off for the holiday.  I got my shopping done and some cooking done that I would usually do on Saturday, so I don't try cram so much into the weekend.  It's like getting an extra Saturday or extra Sunday, however I look at it .  I enjoyed having today.  I wandered out to the garden to peek at the sleeping plants this morning.  It's somewhere in the 20's and very icy, but a beautiful sunny day.  The garlic is still growing and so are the brussels sprouts.  Most of the plants seem a little sleepy or dead, but under some of the ice, I found some green, healthy plants.

Frosty Sage

Brussels Sprouts

The seed catalogs started coming last week, I'm now deciding what to plant soon.  I feel like a kid looking through the Sears catalog making a Christmas list. Late January and early February are when I can start my seedlings downstairs, that adds some sunshine to my heart.

My sweetie and I had a lovely New Year's Eve together.  We stayed close to home and enjoyed each other's company. We took a long walk along the Cowlitz River in the afternoon and played with our cameras.  The sun was out and it was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon.  If it weren't for the temperature being in the 20's the sky and air looks as if we could take a drive in a convertible with tank tops.

Walking on the Cowlitz

Before we left I cooked a pot of black eyed peas.  I just simmered them in water and sea salt so they could be used in other recipes this week. I just wanted the flavor of the peas.

When we returned from our walk. I sauteed a carrot, a thinly sliced onion, about a TB minced ginger, 2 tsp thyme, 2 tsp oregano, and a TB garlic. When they were tender I added six cups chopped beet greens and some dark green kale, 1/2 cup vegetable broth and let that simmer on low heat about 10 minutes.  To that I added about 2 cups of the cooked black eyed peas, 2 TB Shoyu, 1/4 tsp liquid smoke, 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, a dash of sea salt and a smaller dash of cayenne pepper. Let it cook for about 5 more minutes.

 Black eyed peas, greens, and carrots, A great warm meal for a cold winter night.

I WISH YOU PEACE, GOOD HEALTH,AND HAPPINESS IN THE COMING YEAR!

Vegan Winter Squash Scones

We were lucky enough to be blessed with some children's laughter around the house for the holidays.  Kaylee and Eryk were here all day Christmas Eve.  This is new for Eryk, Kaylee's little brother, and I.  We haven't spent any time getting to know each other in his four years. He is physically challenged in that he can't walk or talk so communication was fun yesterday. He does sign and I know a little bit.  We found our way.  We made some decorations and just hung out together. He found out it's fun at Grandma's house too.  We did some drumming and some tambourine shaking and just had a great time.

Grandpa came home from work in the early afternoon.  We enjoyed a nice lunch of vegan potatoes au gratin and steamed broccoli. Then we had some Christmas fun. We took pictures of the kids unwrapping gifts on the living room floor.  Eryk enjoyed ripping the paper much more than what was in the box.  Theirs were the only gifts we gave this year that weren't hand made.  I didn't spend much time in the stores shopping this year. I've been doing it less and less over the years.  I'd rather feed you, give you a hug, and a warm pair of socks for Christmas.

After the Christmas gifts we all had some of the lemon pudding cake and vanilla bean ice cream I made Thursday. That was a big hit.  Eryk wasn't too sure about the lemon cake and ice cream at first, but he was soon asking for more.

Christmas Breakfast was warm and homey. Just the two of us, no plans, just a relaxing morning at home together. I roasted a winter squash Friday and pureed it with a couple tablespoons avocado oil and a little water.

I used another of the recipes from the Vegan Dad Cookbook for pumpkin scones replacing this squash for the pumpkin.  I also added some toasted almonds and dried cranberries.

Served with home made blueberry preserves and maple coconut butter. They made a fine Christmas morning breakfast.

Making Memories - Holiday Baking

The winter is not complete without a holiday baking day.  Two or three years ago Kaylee and I had our first holiday baking day together, she was three or four.  She still remembers it and told everyone about our big day coming up this year.  She remembered making gingerbread men and a gingerbread house together.  We made sugar cookies in all different shapes.  This year she's six and able to help more and ask many more questions.  That's what we did last weekend.  Went out to Rachel's house and created wonderful treats all day. I packed up my kitchen, bringing everything I thought we could run out of or would want to play with.  Rachel lives in a beautiful, small island community on the river.  There's a store, but if they have what we would want, it would probably cost more than I'd like. She was ready for us. There were gingerbread men ready to come out of the oven when we arrived, the house smelled like Christmas. Rachel was up early making dough and getting out her collection of supplies and decorations.

I am not sure how many different things we made, we played in the kitchen and made new memories all day.  There were gingerbread men, thumbprint cookies, sugar cookies, shortbread moons, almond cookies, cheerful crispy rice treats, and homemade marshmallow wreaths.  We worked well together in her small space, not getting in each others' way was easy.  Both Rachel and I are at home in the kitchen and know how to move as we prepped, mixed, cleaned up as we went, and wrapped the final treats. We both like to cook with real food ingredients. We use our traditional grandmother's recipes omitting the dairy and eggs where we can, using natural unrefined sweeteners. Kaylee and Grandpa were great Sous chefs, taking on tasks as we needed them.  They wrapped most of the treats individually to be made into holiday gifts later.  Grandpa played with his new camera and caught the moments of the day.

~Peace~

Winter Rituals, Spirit, & Love

My friend, Morgaine, asked a question on her blog about how we see the winter's holidays, what the rituals are that bring us into the spirit of the season, and what makes them special.  I have been thinking about this for about a week.

In the last two years so much has changed in my being, I look at just about everything with new eyes and a guarded heart. Last year I tried to ignore my feelings during the holidays.  I didn't put up decorations, didn't bake to much, and took off to a friends in a secluded place so I wouldn't have to be in our home.  After a year of gradual healing I am embracing the holiday season a little at a time.  I am finding that I am more calm than I used to be during this time.   I know there is some pain when I think of Christmas' in my distant past. I still can't sing a Christmas song, even a very lively one, without crying.  But in my present life I have a wonderful circle of friends and family and I know there's a lot of love in my life. To me it's an entire season of sharing love and warmth with friends, family, people in our daily lives, and strangers. It's not just about one day, the season begins with the Thanksgiving holiday and continues through to New Year's Day.  I hope sometime along the way I can put a warm smile on someone's face who needs one.  It's a time to remember to say hello, I love you, to friends and family we don't see very often and of course the ones we do see. Share a meal with loved ones, old and new.

Then there's the children.  Christmas is magic for children and if I'm lucky the child comes out in me too.  There's magic for all of us this time of year, we just have to know its there. My children are young men now and life has separated us  for awhile.  I am blessed with my lovely, curious granddaughter around.  We made cookies and candies, and went shopping for the children who don't have a warm home, one of the best Christmas rituals I loved most with my own grandmother. When I asked Kaylee what she wanted to do last Saturday, she looked around my house and said "Get a Tree."  She helped decorate it and in the midst of our fun, she just turned to me and said "I love you Grandma."

We went to Morgaine's and made all kinds of wonderful treats, gingerbread men, wreaths, sugar cookies, and more.  We shared a day of warmth and love around the kitchen and the decorations.  That's what it's all about.

And then there's sugar plum fairies dancing......

Happy Holiday Season!

The Jewels of Remembrance - Rumi

The spirit is like an ant, and the body like a grain of wheat
which the ant carries to and fro continually.
The ant knows that the grains of which it has taken charge
will change and become assimilated.
One ant picks up a grain of barley on the road;
another ant picks up a grain of wheat and runs away.
The barley doesn't hurry to the wheat,
but the ant comes to the ant, yes it does.
The going of the barley to the wheat is merely consequential:
it's the ant that returns to its own kind.
Don't say, "Why did the wheat go to the barley?"
Fix your eye on the holder, not on that which is held.
As when a black ant moves along on a black felt cloth:
the ant is hidden from view; only the grain is visible on its way.
But Reason says: "Look well to your eye:
when does a grain ever move along without a carrier?"

The Mathnawi of Jalalu’ddin Rumi

Mathnawi VI: 2955-2962

Winter Snow Holiday

It's been a good week inside my home. I mean inside.  I gave the car to my husband who normally rides a bicycle and just stayed home this week. Work was slow and the weather was icy and cold. I am reminded that it is a good time of year to take some vacation days. I have just loaded up on cooking staples recently at the coop and from the local organic farmer so I have plenty to play with in the kitchen. I am grateful my job allows for this time. It's safer not to drive and I just don't get that much "at home" time that doesn't include pre-planned activities. Having some time to myself, I took it slow all week, relaxed a bit, read a bit, did some home chores that have been on the list for awhile, cooked something fun toward our holiday meals every day and took the time to walk a few times when the sun was shining. It was tricky walking in the ice. I decided walking was just as dangerous as driving. I broke my ankle last year and didn't want to go through that again.  I took it slow and carefully. I also got to speak to my youngest son twice on the phone and we drove out to St. Helen's to visit him Saturday. My oldest son should be on his way to Hawaii from Afghanistan by Wednesday,  That's terrific news!

I am not too worried about my car in the snow, I do have a Subaru. The snow isn't really that deep, but what snow was there did freeze and there are an awful lot of people with sliding stories to tell. I can also hear some sliding and tire turning on the road below from the deck. I just thought it wisest to stay home and play, since I can. I got to see quite a few people, including a semi truck, work very hard to negotiate the ice on our own street. The truck did worry me some.  He shouldn't have even driven down our street in the first place, but since he did, he had to figure out how to get back out.  It wasn't easy for him.  I think it took him 45 minutes just to get by my house. His tires were turning, burning, and smokin' for quite awhile.  He even fishtailed in front of my house.  My car wasn't parked in front of my house as it usually is, thank goodness.  That would have been typical, stay home to avoid driving and have someone wreck the car anyway while it was parked.

Even though I didn't go very far from home this week, I wasn't bored. There was plenty of activity inside and outside to watch. I had Kaylee over for a couple of days and we did some grandma/granddaughter activities. It's winter for sure in my neck of the woods.

I got to see evidence of our regular visitors in the snow this week. It looks like the raccoons are still about and the deer are still cruising through.

I am grateful for all I have and I am reminded that there is a lot of love in my life.  I have decided though that coffee belongs in the disaster survival kit.  While being inside for so many days I got to thinking that I could survive if really stuck at home, I have lots of bottled water, dried beans, home canned fruits, vegetables, and dried herbs, but that I might run out of a couple items like coffee and tea. I will be adding some things to our survival kit downstairs after this week.