I'm here...

Oh, my... Talk about AWOL! I have not posted in a while because frankly, it has not been very attractive around here... except my kitchen. It has become my life's guiding star to go to bed with a clean kitchen. My son is on a roll, and I will not even cringe because I want him to continue!!! However... while his room is becoming that spare, lean, clean, "NASA meets Rambo" thing he has going on., I have not decided to become minimalist just yet... lol... Shocker!  

 *I tossed together a Valentine tree and decorated a small bit of the house.. more on that later.

We donated this dresser, and I  had my hauling crew take some dolls and keepsakes to a room I plan to transform this summer. Right now? It is pretty promising to become a doll room. However... I wish for some help from my Amish magic workers. I have to wait on COVID... aren't we all waiting on that?

So I have been reorganizing my art and craft supplies... my Studio is going to be so fun! I moved in a huge hutch with a lot of Mom's dolls and favorites... Actually, I hate to share any photos because they all look like this! Trust me... Good Lord willing, this week will see a transformation in there. 

My son, However, announced we were doing the hall closet this week. He plans to tote it all to the kitchen---  a huge cavern loaded with decades of stash... I am secretly hoping he loses just a little steam until I can catch up. 

So More of this (hopefully categorized and stashed) later. In the meantime I have been so blessed with flowers! My cousin called last Sunday to say she had a porch delivery. Soon I saw her standing there with a huge bouquet of Astamaria lilies! I love those and was able to replace the roses I had bought a couple weeks ago. Beautiful! We are missing our sit and chat coffee parties at my kitchen table. 

Then my son surprised me with an early Valentine gift of two dozen roses delivered by UPS!!!! He said he forgot to check the box for delayed February 14th delivery, but I am fine with some early cheer. I think it is the first time for me to get two dozen roses! My son's dad bought me a dozen when we had our little boy (almost 40 years ago), and my dad bought me a dozen when I retired the first time (around the turn of the century! lol)... These roses are so huge and lovely!

Big breakthrough! I chose a really pretty quilt my mom had cross stitched, and my grandmothers had both set together and quilted.  -----And I am sleeping under it! I came to that decision when I woke up cold and rather cranky this past week... You know?  I am the last girl, last handwork appreciator, last sentimentalist in this long, long line of women... I have just been  reading through some letters from my classmates this week who all had some real, alarming and sad medical problems.  I just decided

it was time... 

I cannot tell you how warm and cozy -- how like a cloud of memories and love --- this quilt just wraps me in the memories I have of watching Mom, Ma, and Gramma work with their hands. It rather feels like a hug when I fluff it over my shoulders at dawn... In this lonely time of COVID, I really can use the comforts of that kind of embrace.

I've been crocheting up a storm... I finished this little baby afghan for my friend's new grandbaby coming today!  After I know the gender, I will order a little outfit to go along with it...  (She just texted it's a boy! Little Alec joins his big brother Braxton!)

And I decided to do a cheerful granny block afghan with all kinds of summery colors... just for the joy of it! I do grannies because... I love them... and they are just perfect automatic stitching for watching tv... 

Icy weather again this week, so ....I made a new recipe on Sunday for

  Keto Tuscan Soup. 

Oh, my! It warmed our spirits and has been added to our rotation of menus! 

Ingredients:

1 # sausage

2 tomatoes

1/2 c. sun dried tomatoes

1 onion

garlic

Italian seasoning or parsely, thyme

6 c. chicken stock

fresh spinach or kale

2 c. heavy cream

salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

I browned  a pound of medium breakfast sausage (It called for spicy Italian, so I added a pinch of red pepper flakes)

Drain, and add a diced onion, 2 T. minced garlic, 6 cups Chicken stock, 1/2 c. chopped sun dried tomatoes, 2 chopped fresh tomatoes, 1/4 c. Italian seasoning...  I simmered all that about 30 minutes 

I added a whole bag of fresh spinach and 2 c. cream after I had turned the heat super low.  Salt and pepper to taste (I had used stock with salt so mine didn't need a thing in my opinion.) I would have maybe added cannelloni beans and a thickening slurry if I had not wanted it keto... but it was fine without... 

Add a generous amount of Parmesan cheese at serving time. I like to use both kinds (shredded and powdered) for each bowl. 

Have a super week and stay safe!

 

Whimsy and Hugs!