Well now look at this little darling who turned 29 today and he's just as handsome and endearing as ever.
I love this photo and it sits right here on my computer desk.
I am very close to my grandson from the time he was born to present. He was my first grandchild and I was a young grammie so we had so much fun together.
When he did not live near us we still had him for two weeks in the summer and spent every Thanksgiving with him as well as frequent visits.
He will be here with us this Thanksgiving as usual he is bringing his girl friend Lindsey and his dad my son Mike. I will be so happy once again to have this young man gracing our thanksgiving table.
So Happy Birthday Tyson from your grammie Zo and grampy Imre. We love you so and we will see you soon.
Blustery today. I wanted to walk but the wind makes it miserable and I guess I feel whimpy today. Do not want to put myself out much. I know I have sat on my butt to much today and that is not good. Every once in a while I have a lazy day. I did spend time in the office this morning taking care of my managerial duties and I have done laundry and stripped the bedding off our king bed and put all fresh linens on. So something accomplished I suppose.
Tonight for dinner we are having spaghetti with my summer tomato roasted, pepper and garlic sauce. No meat in tonight's sauce, just straight up and simple. We will add fresh grated Parmesan cheese and I have purchased a chewy olive bread with a thick crust. Nothing better than a meal like this on a autumn evening. I can see us now slurping spaghetti, sauce on the chin.....dipping bread, sauce on the chin....well you get the picture.
Well have a lovely Tuesday whatever the day holds for you.
Later.
My take on Zuppa Toscana soup.
This soup was so delicious last night that hubby kept giving me a high five. Too funny. It was the same as always but maybe it tasted so lovely because the evening was wet and dark and we were cozy with our little fire and bowls of soup and wedges of bread.
We each had a cupcake later, a perfect finish.
This is what I do for this soup.
Ingredients
3/4 pounds more or less of mild italian ground sausage.
4 russet potatoes peeled, and cut into quarters then sliced fairly thin across.
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 red pepper chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
2 cans of chicken broth
1 cup of half and half( or you can use whole milk or canned milk)
1/2 bag or more of fresh spinach copped into large pieces.
Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish.
In a large soup pot add the chicken broth and sliced potatoes. If you need to add a little water to cover the potatoes do that.
In a med size non stick skillet slowly fry (do not fry crispy or dark) the sausage, onion, red pepper and garlic till done. When the potatoes are just shy of tender add the contents from the skillet into the potato pot.Then add the Italian seasoning and the half and half. Continue to heat on med low till all is melded and well heated. Then add all the spinach and stir till wilted.
Ladle into deep bowls and add good quality grated Parmesan cheese over the top. Serve with a good crunchy bread for dipping into the soup.
Note. The idea of this recipe is that you can basically do what you like. We like it this way however you make it thicker, just cut down on the liquid. You can extend it, add more liquid. Add more meat if you like or potatoes. You can add more veggies ie carrots and celery. You can use a combo of whipping cream and milk just be carefully not to let it boil. For the greens we like spinach as that is our fave but you can add arugula, chard, collard greens or any assortment of greens you prefer. So bottom line when I made up this soup recipe I just had fun with it. Enjoy.
Home alone again today. It is a good day though. A lazy day for me. Took me over an hour to drink my coffee and read the thick Sunday paper. Then onto the computer for a bit. Did my house chores. Wrote to a couple dear friends snail mail.....who does that anymore? And I researched more mattress's online. Thinking now of going with latex foam. I am certainly not looking forward to this task. Tomorrow it starts.
About two I snuggled down into my comfy chair eating a bowl of ramen noodles that I loaded with lots of spinach. I am nuts about spinach. I finished my book a great gals novel by Judy Blume. I love her writing she puts you there.
So now I get to start a new book. I have two waiting lol. But first I have a few cooking magazines I must browse through. I only take five but they come all within the same week.
Now I am going perk up my face before hubby comes through the door and unload the dishwasher. Oh such an exciting Sunday for Zo.
Later.
Now this little project entailed about two hours plus in the kitchen. I had forgotten how long baking cupcakes from scratch took by the time you make a couple of batches and cool them and make frosting and frost them. Whew!
It sure brought back memories though. I made cupcakes for my two children throughout their young lives. Before I would start baking anything, cookies, cakes whatever the kids would have to choose who got the beaters or the bowl. Well the bowl was mighty popular but knowing that the beaters held less I always kept a good amount of batter on them. It took longer to lick the beaters than to swipe out the bowl with little fingers. So I suppose it was really toss up. Now days I would not let them do that. I guess I never thought about raw eggs. But they survived.
Funny how doing something like making cupcakes put me back to those days with my little ones. It made for a fun couple of hours to reflect.
Tonight I am making my rendition of the Olive Gardens Zuppa Toscana soup. I think mine is every bit as delicious It is a soup made from spicy italian sausage, potatoes, greens in a creamy broth. Makes my mouth water to know I will be having a big deep bowl of that tonight along with an artisan loaf of semolina sesame bread. This bread is dense and chewy on the inside and crusty crunchy on the outside. So good for dipping in the soup.
We are going to watch the OREGON STATE game tonight while we eat. The game starts at seven they are playing Utah. I even am wearing the orange and black today in honor of OSU and Halloween of course. I am all for OSU to do well. Makes me proud to have two Oregon teams so high in the ratings. However I am a OREGON DUCK fan through and through. So obviously when the Civil War game rolls around I will be screaming GO DUCKS! That may well be our hardest game and it will not help us that it is at Corvallis this year.
I did spot the sun this morning for about a half hour but that was the extent of it. It is just gray today out there like an ol wool blanket spread over the sky. Oh well if I can get a quick walk in that will be good if not I will survive. It is that time of year sometimes I get the walk in sometimes not.
When the weather turns like it has at this point I certainly do get more interested in doing things in the house which is a good thing. I do not mean like cleaning necessarily but you know little projects, things I have been wanting to tend to. Also I love to change little area's up like rearranging accessories.
I am quite stuck in the family room as far as changing up the furniture. It fits one way and that is it. The living room I have a little more flexibility. However it is always fun for me to re-accessorize. I have a large dresser in the quest room that holds my extra accessories. So I can get a new look occasionally by trading items out and setting themes to go along with the season. So my mind is always calculating as I walk through my home imagining this here and that there.
Seems I have always been that way. A good thing I suppose as that led me to a career in the design field.
I am looking forward to this coming week and not looking forward to it at the same time. Reason being I need to shop for a mattress set. I dislike shopping and shopping for a mattress set is equivalent to shopping for a swimsuit when you know you are too old to be wearing one. Not fun either one of these shopping excursions.
I think we are going for a Temperpedic. Maybe not the brand but a good memory foam mattress with a solid core. I am through with the innerspring's. I heard latex foam is good also. The cost of these types of mattress's for a king are prohibitive. But we must bite the bullet as they say and go for it. So that is my task this coming week. I am so tired getting up in the morning with a crimp in my back. I roll over so many times a night to get comfy so the sleep I do get is not restful. So it is time.
I am going to leave you now and take a chance on walking. It is still gray but not raining. That does not mean it will not shower on me. I so like living on the edge lol.
Ciao
Today is October 17th my brother John William Nesbitt's(Jack as he is known) birthday. He is 83 years young! And I mean that. This photo was taken this past July. That man is healthy except for a bout of gout at times. He takes no medications except for the gout. He is active and stays fit. He moves around better than I do and looks fifteen years younger than his age. I love and adore him so and I am so proud of him because more than anything he is a fine human being.
So Happy Birthday dear brother.
Last evening we took our first hot tub. Crystal clear hot water, oh it felt so good. Did not stay in long as it was late already. We watched the presidential debate before going in. We needed some relaxation after watching that aggressive debate.
The stars were a glitter and it was so peaceful. We only stayed in about twenty minutes but it was enough to unwind.
This morning we woke to thick fog and it still lingers three hours later though is not as dense. It was so heavy this morning it was actually dripping, first time I have seen that. It is chilly this morning also. I believe it is about time to start the furnace in the mornings.
I never made muffins yesterday I got sidetracked so today I am going to make cinnamon rolls instead with my grammy's bread recipe. I put nuts, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon inside them. On top I make a glaze of cream cheese and powered sugar and vanilla to drizzle over them.
Has anyone noticed the price of walnuts right now? Hello, nine dollars a pound, say what? I bought just enough for the rolls. I think I will run out to the farms for a few things and buy some of our wonderful Oregon hazel nuts(filberts). They are probably more reasonable than walnuts. I will keep them on hand for my baking.
Well I need to get my day started. I will spend a good deal of time in the office today. Filing, sorting, paying bills etc.
Tomorrow is grocery shopping for the week so I must make up a menu and grocery list also. I like to get to the grocery early in the morning as there is no one there.
Have a nice hump day.
This is the scene on our street.
Very pretty this time of year. It will actually get better over the next week or so. Last year I took some amazing shots.
Seems our big rain storm is over. Today we woke to clear skies once again. At the moment we have sun, white huge clouds and a few gray ones scudding across the sky. It is mild out.
I was out for a while today. I thought I felt like doing a little shopping for a few needed things. It did not turn out however. I just had no heart for it once I was on my way. I only found and purchased three things on my list. I went to four stores in two I left empty handed.....so much for a shopping outing.
It feels good to be home. I just ate a hot bowl of noodles in broth it really tasted good and filled my need.
I think now I will make a batch of lemon poppy seed muffins. Then read the afternoon away.
Tonight we are having leftovers as we still have half a casserole of chicken divan. So tomorrow taco's. The casserole was really good last night. The creamy sauce with cheese and chicken and steamed broccoli all go together so nicely. I made scratch biscuits to go with.
This morning I made small breakfast sandwiches for hubby filling the biscuits with crispy bacon, egg and cheese. He loved them.
Well off to the kitchen and muffin making. :)
Later.
Well that time of year is almost upon us.
Halloween. The holiday of witches, goblins, ghosts and all things that go bump in the night.
I recall when my children were small they rarely got to wear a cute custom. We lived in cold snow country so at Halloween time it was usually freezing if not snowing. I would drive them around our small town and drop them here and there, they would trudge along the streets bundled in their coats, boots and stocking hats. Then back into the warm car with their cold red cheeks and runny noses and freezing hands. Not too much fun I am thinking but they seemed to love it, it was that stash of candy in their bags that they loved.... I'm no fool.
Here is a photo of the roasted butterflied chicken I roasted last evening. It was so yummy. Crispy on the outside and juicy inside I do not eat the skin it just never has appealed to me but hubby does. We have a good deal leftover as I thought we may as it was well over a five pound chicken. So tonight it will be morphed into chicken divan and the next night chicken taco's. So it will be well utilized.
I love to make a large chicken just for those reasons alone. Always it is nice to have a chicken on hand to make up into sandwiches, soups, casseroles or what not.
Well I have another project today. After thoroughly cleaning out my china cabinet and sideboard I moved on to clean my huge linen closet yesterday and now this afternoon it is my walk-in closet. I have a large closet to myself as I use the one in the adjacent guest room. However as nice as it is for all my wardrobe and shoes etc it does get cluttered with extra things.......an assortment of the oddest items are perched on the shelves and stacked on the floor. Usually when this happens it is time to take a car load to St. Vinnie's. So as soon as I post this I am off to spend a hour or so in my closet. I do not mind as today I feel rather house wifey and industrious.
Until another day.
This was surely a chore this afternoon. It took about three hours to clean all that is in this cabinet and also clean the sideboard(no photo). So all the dishes, stemware etc were washed and dried the glass in the cabinet cleaned and the wood surfaces cleaned.
I was right all I had to do was reorganize it all and reclaim some wasted space and it all looked much better. I need a cabinet twice this size but the wall that it sits on dictated the size. Just around the side wall the sideboard sits and it needs to be there as the bottom of it holds an assortment of vases, specialty serving dishes etc and our alcohol and martini shakers, carafes and decanters.
There are three drawers in the sideboard. One holds an array of candles and holders, waxes, oils etc. Another holds all my cloth napkins some of which have been with me for forty some years. I still cherish them as they given by friends or loved ones. Some I made out of designer fabric's from when I worked at a design center. One large drawer is for my table runners and place mats. So all needs to be in that space adjacent to the dining table. For napkin rings and ties I have a good size woven basket with a lid that sits atop the sideboard. We entertained more in the past than we do now but I still set a pretty table for when we have quests for dinner and especially over the holidays. Making a tablescape is one of my favorite things and sometimes the table is set a couple of days ahead. My daughter who knows me so well sometimes say's, how long has the table been set Mom? Do the dishes need rewashing?
This cabinet cleaning project has been nagging at me as Thanksgiving is coming and all who sit at the table would see the dirty glass and disarray in the cabinet. So today'special project plus four loads of laundry have been accomplished.
It is now three pm and guess what I am going to do? Your right! Sit in my chair with my feet up and my nose in my current book. I just read a FB post of my daughters. She said, a cozy fire in the fireplace, my book and a glass of cab. What could be better? I so agree and will be in the same scene in a few moments.
Here it is Sunday morning. It is clear today which is a surprise as we expected clouds and perhaps showers.
So I will walk today. Some tree's are mass of color now however our street tree's in front of the house are still green but slowly fading to gold.
Hubby and I are both sneezing like crazy. Some one mentioned the other day on the radio about fall allergies. So that must be it as we do not have colds.
I am butterflying and roasting a large fryer this afternoon. I love roasting chicken. The house just fills with this amazing aroma. I cannot decide whether to make cinnamon rolls made from my grammy's bread recipe or lemon nut muffins. Both sound good.
My project today is to tidy up the linen closet. It is a huge closet and I tend to just toss things in there at times. It will not take long but surely needs to be spruced up.
I will leave you and go make myself a little breakfast. Maybe a slice of nine grain toast and a small dish of my homemade applesauce. That sounds about perfect.
Have a great Sunday. Go for walk if it nice where you are. Nothing better than taking a stroll in the fall.
Ciao
Well now look at this little darling who turned 29 today and he's just as handsome and endearing as ever.
