So this is Christmas!

Season's Greetings and all the best of everything to the dear ones who clicked on my blog today. I have understandably been kind of awol for a couple of weeks,but I'm back with all the best intentions for a lovely, quiet, cozy Christmas on Meadowlane. We have not been awol from our ongoing quest to spend every penny this year we can. Ha! 

For quite a few months both this year and last I kept telling my son that I smelled something like car exhaust. At first he'd go to the window and see if there happened to be some stray vehicle idling away in our drive while its occupants strolled around somewhere. But that seemed dumb after a bit because we live in the middle of nowhere, and to get here, you drive down a very long driveway in clear view of our  front picture window...  He has the sensitive olfactories of the family, even to the point that he cannot tolerate most of my beloved candles. I have missed that familiar scent of vanilla and banana bread and caramel pecan, but of course, I love him a gazillion times more, so I have most of my candles put away until maybe a miracle comes to cure him of this asthma. So I figured if he didn't smell that awful pervasive exhaust, I was probably just being weird. But finally last Monday, I got the furnace guy here to check it out. Ya think?

He went to the basement and then I saw him flat out running to his panel truck. I have to admit that I have always felt just a little rich when there is a panel truck in my drive.  And oh, my goodness, if it's a truck with a piece of furniture or an appliance? I'm in over the moon with button-bustin' pride! LOL... I think all that is due to my angel daddy who was a do-it-yourselfer with a fierceness unknown to common man. That man could do anything and did. He would never call in a professional. I know if he would have had access to YouTube, he would have been unstoppable. Anyway...  the guy comes to the door and announces, "I don't have very good news for you." I was not surprised, actually, given the amount of cash these teeth have cost us. He told us the dampness in our basement had rusted the burners on our twenty year old furnace, and we needed a new one at the tune of four grand. Of course we did. So I am hopeful to see it in the near future. It's ordered, supply-chain nonsense  has ensued, and we are awaiting a phone call for that. One man said don't run it, but the other one said to run it low due to Carbon Monoxide!!!  eeek!

Meanwhile, my son's toilet has backed up AGAIN. Did I ever stress just how old this house is? It could just be the typical backup, or it could be frozen because we've had the furnace set as low as we dare until the new one comes. I am actually not as chilly as my son. He really has taken the colder house to heart, and he spends his days divided between his room with its new computer and frigid temps and the living room where we are running a space heater.

Oh, yes. The space heater blew a fuse and we had to call an electrician. He announced that we really should start looking into rewiring our house which is peg and knob or pillar and post or something I've heard said on renovation shows. I am pretty sure he tossed out the figure of maybe 30 thousand?!!!  What? oKAY.  I will start thinking... and then I'll probably stop.

And then just this second my phone rang, and the plumber has a stomach ache. There were a lot of details, but my mind thankfully has an off switch. I haven't told my son he has to traipse through the house another day at least...  

Oh, did I start this post with Merry Cozy Christmas?  I really do mean it. All this stuff really doesn't bother me very much. It's just part of a funny story or expected string of misfortunes that don't really matter in the great scheme of things. Health issues and life and emotional well-being.... they matter.  Money and broken furnaces don't. I am truly glad that I finally had some sense and had that smell checked out because it was actually carbon monoxide... although our detector has yet to screech... 

I will be posting again soon, maybe before Christmas. Our house is welcoming and I made a huge dutch oven  of delicious chicken noodle soup. It was super easy. 

Winter's Chill Chicken/Noodle Soup

1 package curly or straight egg noodles. (Mine are short and straight)

I boiled these in a minimal amount of water, and I didn't drain them...  Use your own judgement and stir a lot. I didn't salt my water either due to the salt content of what follows:

Add

2 large cans Swanson Canned Chicken

1 pound cubed Velveeta

1 can Cream of Chicken Campbell's Soup

I can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 can green chilies

generous black pepper.

1-2 t. cumin

1-2 T. chili powder

Stir all together until cheese melts

Add

1 scant carton sour cream. Don't boil after this.

1 splash of heavy cream or milk. I had cream just sitting in the fridge after a quiche.

I didn't add salt because there is a lot of sodium happening so far due to the soups and the cheese. 

This would have been great to have other spring vegetables in there, but I just added half a bag of fresh spinach.  It sort of soaked up the extra liquid and added some color. I think frozen peas would have been amazing.  I even had some, but I just didn't add them.

Well...  I have been thinking of candidates for my word of the year 2023.

You would never guess in a million years!

I'm here to tell you there is nothing like being done with Christmas really early and then taking a figurative nap and seeing that old tortoise chugging by! lol...  Six days until Christmas!

I didn't get Callie a sweater. She couldn't have moved a muscle in it anyway. I've tried clothes on her, and she acts as if she's been shot with a machine gun. Boom.... flat on her side! lol...

Whimsy and Hugs!