This 'n' That

 

Well, here I am again, enjoying every day of my week off!  I scrolled through my pictures file for some specific shots and thought that there were a couple of things that might be interesting for you.

 

 

I saw something like this on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try for supper one night!  Yum-o!  I used my mandolin to evenly slice equal sized potatoes and, once sliced, re-formed them into their general potato shape.  Oiled my cast iron frying pan well, placed the potatoes on top in spiral fashion, seasoned with salt and pepper and rosemary, then drizzled (too much) melted butter on top and a few bacon crumbles as well.  Baked it for around an hour or so and it made for an enjoyable potato dish that night.  I think this would be a nice presentation dish for company?

We carved our pumpkins last week.  This is a tradition that I just go ahead and plan for, I don't ask anyone if they want to do it because, hey, if I asked, they'd all mumble something about not being that 'into it' or something like that and I'd get all discouraged and not bother.  However, if I just do it, it makes for a fun family night.

Loves his Minecraft!

Music, music, music!

The school band puts on a quarter carnival every year on Oct. 31.  It is a hefty fundraiser for the school band so we put our shoulders to the wheel and help wherever we can.  This year, however, I had just finished a 'more-than-usual' number of shifts at work, ending with 3 days of immunizing, so when Dean and I arrived at school, I was not quite awake yet.  The carnival started promptly at 0900 with the older students of the school bursting through the doors and all of a sudden this carnival had begun!  Noise, candy, a hawker announcing "POP-corn, get your POP-corn", water started to hit the floor from the 'bobbing for apples' booth, screams came from backstage of the haunted house. 

I looked at Dean - "All day?"
He replied - "All day!"

And so we drained our coffee cups and were soon in the thick of things, mopping up water, sweeping up popcorn, getting apples ready to be bobbed for - and then onto rolling quarters.  We made over $1700.00 that day - that's a LOT of quarters, just sayin'.

We came home after 4 p.m., exhausted and yet happy to have been able to be part of it.

I got thinking - the things that weary me the most are probably the things I will soon miss the most.  And the things that deplete and drain me are equally the things that give me cause to jump out of bed to be part of.

There's some irony there, methinks.

I have tried, all through my motherhood career, to enjoy the stages and to not wish them away.  And so, we spend our days in the school gym, counting quarters, sweeping up popcorn, mopping up water - and are very happy to be part of something special.

Speaking of school, we attended our first Parent/Teacher interviews at the high school last night.  I have to say that we walked away shocked and surprised.
















I thought I'd leave you hanging with that sentence to see what kind of conclusions you came up with.
















The teacher from whom the child received the poorest marks (that were, unfortunately, deserved) thinks my boy is succeeding. 

Her idea of success? "He wants to be here, he is a happy boy, he is respectful, he is getting along with others, he always participates, he is succeeding!  .....    And his marks will improve; I'll help him."

Huh?  I mean, WOW!  I have to say that I didn't expect that from high school.  I so appreciate a teacher seeing the bigger picture of what it takes to succeed.

Darn near made me bawl.

Happy sigh.



 

We got bombed with a major snowfall this week and it seems to be here to stay.  On Saturday, we spend the afternoon cleaning up the yard.  It was warm(ish!), sunny, and was simply a gorgeous fall weekend.  Sunday we woke to inches of snow and it kept snowing all day and into the week.  I had this emotional moment on Sunday when I realized the back yard of Saturday had disappeared and wouldn't be seen again until spring.  So final.

It was a perfect day to go to the park outside the city.  We had some photos we wanted to try to get and the snow was falling from a blue sky and everything sparkled and I couldn't help but gasp a few times at the beauty. 

I had to think about my emotional reaction on Sunday - sometimes we get slammed with changes that we aren't ready for or don't want and sometimes you have to dig deep emotionally to find something beautiful, hey, even likeable, about it. 

This morning, there was beauty.

There was a method to our madness of traipsing through the snow this morning.  We want to enter a photo challenge from TRX (his fitness system) that depicts TRX-ers TRXing in extreme weather situations.  I'm not totally convinced that we got the photo that we wanted today (and I won't post the one that we're happy with so far...) but here's Dean doin' his thing, northern SK, Nov. 6/13, -11C.  (I know, for us die-hard northern SK folks, that's a balmy day....)

It was just a gorgeous morning.  Soon we will dig out our snowshoes and make some trails.

I came home and whipped up 2 batches of cookies and neither one looks particularly......good.  I've been having all sorts of bad luck with my cooking lately - meals are either too salty or too bland, my buns and cinnamon buns are flopping.  Kinda hard on the ego, ha ha!  And then Son #2 announced to his friend the other day that "my mom cooks more but my dad's a better cook."

Well, then.

Harumph.

How's that for honesty?

.....a little too honest for my liking......


Anyway, I did manage a decent meal the other night and thought you might like a new recipe to consider for your own meals!  It is a one-pot dish and we all enjoyed it.

One Pan Cheesy Smoked Sausage and Pasta Skillet

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb sausage, sliced (I used farmer's sausage)

1 cup diced onion

1 Tbsp minced garlic (about two fresh cloves)

2 cups Chicken Broth

1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup milk

8 oz dry pasta (any small pasta will do - I used small bowties)

1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each (I found it too salty - maybe my sausage was salty too?)

1 cup shredded mozza cheese

1/3 cup chopped scallions, for garnish

Instructions

Add olive oil to a 4-5 quart pan over medium high heat. Add onions and sausage and cook until lightly browned. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add chicken broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, and seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until pasta is tender.

Turn off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cover for about five minutes to allow cheese to melt. Top with sliced scallions and serve.

Makes about 4 servings.

 

 

 

 

That's all from our house to yours for this time!  Stay warm!