Some Reasons Why....

There is a long story behind this post, but I don’t think it is necessary to tell it. I will simply say that it has to do with music. You can draw your own conclusions. Here and now, I intend to answer, in part, a question I asked of Ski the other day. So, I will tell you now why I married you (or at least some of the reasons).

• You make me laugh
• We were friends first
• You were a poet and you wrote my heart
• You walked in the rain with me
• You understand things I never say
• You have always listened to me (unless you were asleep)
• You think I am funny
• You didn’t think I was weird
• You are the most creative person that I know
• You have a song for any occasion (even if it is making dinner)
• God intended us for each other before we ever knew each other
• You showed me what you loved
• You wanted to know what I liked
• You never complain about my music
• You were persistent
• You think I am fun to be around
• You’re my best friend in the world
• You showed me that I should never be ashamed of myself
• You find me interesting
  

Those are just a few of the reasons I married you. And all those and more are the reasons I am still married to you…A few more reasons are below

• You are fun to be around
• You write down things that I say I like
• You think about me
• You have held me and cared for me when I thought I would never smile again
• You help me enjoy life and forget myself
• You try new things when the old stuff is more comfy
• You love Italian and Chinese
• You love my children
• You are the most persevering man that I know – you’re such a wonderful and inspiring example to me!!
• You say that you like my music (even the opera)
• It brings you joy to see me smile
• You hold my hand
• You are the most patient man that I know
• You miss me
  

Tell Me It Isn't So.....

Ski has vowed not to post about this, so it is left to me. Lucky You!!!

Last night, Ski said, "How about a date night?!?!" I am always game for a night out, so I said, "Sure!!" We weren't sure what to do. Our favorite thing is to go and have Italian, but we were a bit short on the moolah and had had dinner anyway. We thought we would have dessert. Well, as much as I like ice cream, I am not keen on getting ice cream in the winter. My choice would be some pie, but apparently, there aren't any places that make pie anymore. Oh, and before someone mentions Bob Evans, I was sorely disappointed last time I ventured out for pie and tried them. After much thought and a stop at our usual romantic spot (Walmart), we decided to get tiramisu to go from Carraba's and take it down the road to Starbucks where we could sit and talk for awhile. When we pulled into the parking lot of Starbucks, I got a bit excited. I noticed what I thought was the car belonging to our favorite Barrista/SB manager. She doesn't normally work nights, so this was a real surprise. We ambled on up to the door only to find that it was CLOSED!!!! WHAT?!?!?! So off we went to the next closest Starbucks. It looked promising with people inside. And what is more, I was nearly run over by a Volvo driving, maniacal patron. Nope. It too, was closed. I think the maniacal patron was desperately in need of a caffeine buzz!! So, dear Ski, who is a determined kind of fellow, drove off 11 miles further to find us some good coffee. To our amazement, that store was also closed. So we forlornly headed to a nearby Chick-fil-a where I had a pretty darn bad cup of coffee. I think it was the dregs of the pot. :( Let me tell you, CFA is not very conducive to having meaningful conversation. This is especially true when there is a table full of noisy teens nearby discussing who is "Hot" and why they don't like that singer's music anymore.

Later, we discovered that all of the Starbucks stores in the nation were closed last night (unless you found yourself in an airport or a grocery store). But seriously, we were in a grocery store later and that one wasn't open either. Now, apparently Dunkin' Donuts and a local coffee chain knew about this and had deals for their patrons. We had no clue. And Ski had even watched the morning news and read his online news yesterday and didn't hear a word about it. I am even on their email list.

In other news here....we had snow today.
Seriously!!
It was hilarious! I had to drive Ski into work and I had the talk radio on. People were calling in from all over telling about the snow. I drove through it. It was SECONDS of flurries!! I heard that in Vermont, they were calling for 32 inches!! I told Ski to tell his boss about people going crackers over flurries. She lives in Chicago and I think she would find it hysterical. The weather guy said that there would be blowing and drifting sunshine. Two of my Skibums saw the snow. The rest did not believe us.

iPod wOrthy: Larry Norman

Call it what you will, I started earnestly following The Lord in 1982. I also started listening to "Christian music" then. After attending quite a few concerts, I noticed there were certain artists that, when they spoke, what they had to say was just as good, if not better, than the music they were performing. I had not really formed any sort of theological convictions at that point but I still remember things I've heard from folks like Phil Driscoll, Leon Patillo, Mylon Lefevre, Glen Kaiser, and Larry Norman that have stuck with me.

I've seen Larry Norman in concert at least three times (even had an "Ntv" t-shirt back in the day). I remember how humbly childlike he spoke. He was an amazingly brilliant song writer and performer. Yet, he wasn't polished vocally. He left coughs and giggles on his records. He was SO in love with Jesus and his boldness and honesty was uncomfortable and inspiring at the same time.

I feel about him like some folks feel about Bob Dylan. He was a voice and an example for many and much of today's gospel music would still be in the dark ages if God hadn't used him as a means of grace. Larry had SERIOUS health issues late in his life and he recently went on to be with his Lord at age 60. I will miss him and I feel a loss but I'm happy that Larry is in heaven worshiping Jesus.

I only have a few CDs from Larry and iTunes and Walmart have a totally LAME selection of his songs. (shame on them!!) I'll have to dig around eBay and fill out my collection.

Larry put out around 62 albums ("count 'em") so it's impossible for me to pick one song that's iPod wOrthy. I've chosen ten songs I love from him that I have yet to acquire. If you can find any of his CDs, especially ones with music from the 60s and 70s--buy 'em.

Good bye Larry. Thank you.

1) If the bombs fall
(a song that wonderfully expresses how I feel about B)
2) Moses in the wilderness
3) Six o'clock News
4) Christmastime
5) Up in Canada
6) Sweet sweet song of salvation
7) We need a whole lot more of Jesus
8) Hard luck and bad news
9) Watch what you're doin'
10) Put your life into His hands

In Memory of a Legend

Hope you're havin' fun with Jesus, Larry!!
Here's one of my favs. Enjoy!!

I'm going to plug in my top ten here.
My fav's are (in no particular order):

1. 1) Why Don't You Look Into Jesus?
2. Why Can't You Be Good?
3. The second and happier version of "I Love You"
4. Up in Canada
5. If the Bombs Fall
6. One of the "Nightmare" songs can't recall with number
   
7. His version of People Get Ready
8. Sitting in My Kitchen
9. Let That Tape Keep Rolling
10. Shot Down
    

Tis the Season?

We're doing daily breathing treatments daily for Isaac. I am thankful that I stocked up on his nebulizer medications recently. We're not sure if it is a cold or pollen (due to unseasonably warm weather). It all goes straight to his chest and the coughing never ends. I am leaning towards allergies. We're chucking the cold medicine tomorrow (since it isn't really helping anyway) and trying our good old buddy Zyrtec.
I am having some very bad "achy" days here lately. I suspect that they will be over soon, but they wear me out a bit. So we rested today. Last night, Ski took the Ski Bums out to a church thing. I stayed home with The Pie. He ended up falling asleep on me while watching "Winnie the Pooh." I kind of got stuck there for a few hours until he roused enough for me to wake him.

The kids and I watched "How Green is my Valley" and I relived some fond memories of childhood. Ah, mom....you would have loved it!! It reminded me of St. David's Day and cakes and tea. Sigh.....

What Has My Life Come To?!?!?

This post should rate #! for most boring and uninteresting post.

I have had the most disappointing week.
It all began last Friday. I am in need of a bunch of books for school and being the skin-flint that I am, I cannot bear to buy them all new. So, I went off to the biggest used bookstore that I know (which is not the cheapest place to buy books) with my giant lists in hand. I took two of my dc who were not thrilled with the fact that mommy looked so long. I only found one book out of the stacks and stacks that are there. I also stopped by two other places. In one, I located a book that was not on my list, but I could use for the younger kids. It is funny how they are low priority when I have three in hs next year. Wow!!! Did I just say that?!?!?! Anyway, at my third store, I found a book I needed, but it was still $48!! Ka-ching!!! And I had a hard time paying $6.95 + tax for the one book I bought. So, I am waiting a bit for the pricey book.... So, my trip to used bookstores netted me one book crossed of my list.

On Sat, I went off with Hannah on the excursion where I was unable to locate two supposed used bookstores -- see my post below. Not a fun day for book hunting although I did enjoy my company.

Monday...visit to thrift store row netted me two books. One was for this year and saved for the future. One was for fun. Neither were on the list. Oh, but I did find a very cool and old hc Marguerite Henry book in another store that deals in cheapo paperbacks (which was another stop that netted me zero books for school).

Tuesday, I decided to run up to a pharmacy a few towns over to buy a new jar of cream for Iz. Now, this cream if very effective, but you cannot buy it just anywhere. I have two places where I buy it. The place that I went to last time had the 1lb jar in stock. Since this is much more cost efficient, I decided to go back there to buy another jar. Well, wouldn't you know, the stuff wasn't there. Argh!! So, I went back home and stopped by the dinky pharmacy down the road from my house and asked them to special order the 1lb jar. While I was there, I asked them if they knew of a place I could buy nebulizer parts so I can have two sets -- a piece from one of my sets was pulverized. Sometimes I give Iz two medications within 10 minutes of each other and it saves me from having to completely clean a set between the dosing. I knew of a place in town, but I thought if there was somewhere closer, I would go there. The nice pharmacist gave me three numbers to call. Great!! I go home and call one and the number is out of service. Another number is the pharmacy two towns away where i had just asked while I was there searching for cream and they didn't have any. So, I go online and become a detective. I found another phone number and called. This time I got a lady who did not seem pleased that I had called. No it wasn't the pharmacy. Sigh....I could order the parts online, but the shipping would cost more than the neb set.

Today.....I go to pick up the special order cream and a bar of Iz's soap. Yeah!! It is in. Then I go off with address in hand to see if I can find the other pharmacy. I drove to one end of the road, turned around and drove towards the other end. I DID find it. They did have a neb set, but it had the tubing as well which I didn't really need. Oh well, I bought it anyway. It saved me a trip in town. While I was there, I noticed a bar of Oilatum. You would have thought I had found gold. I practically exclaimed "Oh, Wow!!" I had heard of it, but I had never seen it before. I am sure the cashier thought I had lost my mind. In fact, I didn't even buy it. I already have a soap that works. Then, it was off to Walmart. While I was there, I looked for a cream I was trying to locate for my older three dc . Walmart was supposed to have it. Nope....it wasn't there. I stopped by another dinky pharmacy and I couldn't recall the correct name of the cream, so they couldn't order it for me. My girls and I went out tonight which was the bright spot of my week so far. On our way home, I stopped at Harris Teeter and was about to give up looking and amazingly found the stuff. Now, with my luck and the way my week has been going, it will not help.

I know that you all must wonder why I do these things. TBH, I was wondering that myself this week. It gets VERY old store hopping. My dream is visiting one store -- I really don't care which one -- and buying every single thing that I need there. I know people who actually do this and it really is amazing to me. What a luxury it would be!!! Even if I ordered online, I would have to do it from various places. I seriously think I must have gone cuckoo to do all these nutty things. I guess that the Lord knew my kids needed a mom who liked research, was just a bit adventurous, and was willing to ferret out places and things to serve them. When I arrived home today and I handed Iz a bag and he looked inside, it was all worth it. "My creams!!" he exclaimed. You would have thought I had bought the moon and packed it in a bag for him.

In other happenings today....
Lydia and Simon and I walked to where Ski parks to catch the bus. This isn't a big deal, but on our walk, a rottweiler came out of nowhere. I don't think it would have been an issue -- it looked friendly enough -- buy Lydia is scared to death of dogs. The poor thing began screaming and running away. The dog trotted after her because I think it wanted to play. I had to yell at the poor girl to stop running and screaming and to just walk forward without looking back. I yelled "go home" a few times and I think it got the idea.

The girls and I went out, as I said. I had coffee (oh, no!!) and they had ice cream. We sat and watched the lunar eclipse. Now and then we would howl at the moon. Yes.....we are crazy!! Apparently, Christelle felt that the eclipse was a bit anticlimactic. After the moon was dark, she said "What happens now?" Well, honey.....that's it. The above pic is for Christelle who thinks eclipses should be a bit more exciting.

Of travel I've had my share, man..

Ok, I've been "tagged".

First of all, I was informed that I couldn't pick anything B picked. Well, ok for the most part, though you don't see ME picking Switzerland do ya?. (= Second, I didn't try to weasel in TWO answers in one entry. (wazzup with that??). So here goes....

Places I'd like to see someday:
1) Tokyo Disney Seas - Japan has always fascinated me but I pretty much hate seafood and I don't like McDonalds either so I'd probably starve.
2)Lambeau Field, Green Bay - Gotta go to football Mecca. Central US is a pretty neat place to tour anyway and I could find MANY sidetrips going to and from.
3)Mall of America - just to ride a rollercoaster in a mall would be cool.
4)Jerusalem - I had more US spots but had to get outside the country for some of these. Anywhere in the Bible would be cool but if I had to pick one place, this would be it.
5)Paris - Since B already picked Poland, Greece and Italy (where I could eat like a pig), I'll pick the dessert haven (where I'd be treated like a pig). The lights, the romance, and Disneyland Paris with the dragon under the castle. Way cool.

Places I've been that I'd like to see again:

1) Cape Cod, MA - a common vacation destination for my family when I was young. My mom made scrapbooks with postcards and drawings that I still treasure. I love the beach anywhere. Plus I have family in CT which is chock full of cool places to see on the way.
2) New York City - Been there many times, done lots. Much more to do and enjoy again. My only duplicate from B's list.
3) Orlando - I'm a big fan of the mouse but anywhere in Florida, from the kitschy to the mega-parks to the ocean would be SOOO much fun for me.
4) Texas - Ok the real skinny top portion of Texas? We drove through it on our cross-country camping trip back in the 70's. I'd love to go back and experience the whole state. Yee-Haw!!
5) Nassau, Bahamas - B and I went on a cruise 6 months into our marraige. It was SOO relaxing!! There are probably better places in the Caribbean for the whole, white sand, blue water experience and I'd be up for any of them.

Where Will I Live Today?

There are times in our lives when we make decisions with the best of information that we have at the time. There is no right or wrong and we take all the info that we have at the time and go from there. Yesterday, I discovered a decision that I made years ago might not have been the best -- at least in the eyes of the world or in light of information that I have now. I wonder...why would God reveal this information to me now? Surely, his intention is not to discourage me. In my own mind, I can think that the purpose of a revelation is for me to be able to do damage control. But I know that God has a higher purpose. God isn't in the business of damage control. He is in the business of directing our lives to achieve an ultimate goal. He wants to sanctify us and make us more like Him.

I find myself at a place today where I need to make a choice. Am I going to give in to worry and fear? That would be my natural bent. Oh, well I recall those days where fear would envelop me like a cloud. Dark, dismal doubting fear. It was the kind of fear that led to me knowing that God was out to get me. It was the confidence that I had failed and the ordeal that I was facing was my punishment for my lack of faithfulness. Why would I want to go back there again? So, what is my other choice? I choose to cling to the Lord and know that this setback in my eyes is no surprise to Him. He is the author of my life and knows what is best for me. He has designed this path perfectly for me and will be faithful to see me through it.

The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is he.
Deuteronomy 32:4

My Fav's

I've been tagged by Marge.

Places I'd like to see someday:

1. Italy -- anywhere in Italy. I don't care.
2. Mykonos
3. The Forbidden City
   
4. Spain or Poland (Hey -- why not both?!?!?)
   
5. The British Isles (I want to throw all in that I can)
   

Places I'd like to see again:

1. NYC
2. Canada
   
3. New England
4. DC
   
5. Ohio

I love Italy. I love the food, the art, the culture......
Mykonos is just one of the coolest looking places, to me.
I'd love to visit Spain because I know so much about the country after studying it for 8yrs. I think it would be so cool to see the places that I learned about. OR I think it would be cool to see Poland. It is just the Pollock rubbing off on me.
And who doesn't want to see the green hills of the British Isles. Doug told me so much about the Castles and history. Plus it is the land of Dickens, Burns, Browning, and the Brontes.

NYC is truly a neat place. Plus it is very sentimental.
My favorite vacation as a child was to Canada. Yes, and that includes the year we went to Disney World. I will never forget dancing in the streets of French Quebec and visiting the Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. And the countryside was just lovely!!
New England was my second favorite vacation as a child. It sounds odd, but it was incredible fun to visit all of those cemeteries. And I will never forget viewing "The Old Man of the Mountain" who sadly, is no longer there. My other favorite thing was seeing "The House of Seven Gables."
Ohio is simply for personal reasons. Plus, I'd like to see Lakeside again.

I tag Ski and Madiera Madness.

You Should Have Heard Him!!

The weekend so far has been rather uneventful.

On Sat, Ski replaced a closet shelf that had fallen down on his head one day a few weeks ago. I suddenly have more room on my side of the closet now!! While he did that, I ran "quick errand" to check out some used bookstores. Well, a few things happened there. I was unable to locate the first store, took a wrong turn and ended up in a different state!! Actually, it is not that hard to do, but you will have to trust me on that one. And I better not hear any laughing from the direction of Hershey!! (SOME people think I cannot find my way out of a paper bag.) When I finally got turned in the right direction, I headed off to find the second store that I was looking for. Apparently, that one did not exist either. But along the way, I did find areas of town I had never been in before!! I did manage to find Target and pick up medicine for Iz. He is almost out of nebulizer asthma meds and although we are proud new owners of an inhaler and spacer, it is so much more effective at Iz's age to use the nebulizer at home. With the flu bearing down in the area, I figured I had better replenish my supply. Unfortunately, I think I have to go to the medical supply place and buy a new neb set since one of my tiny green things got stepped on. Drat!! Hopefully I can just get the mouthpiece thing in lieu of all the tubing, etc. So anyway, we made it to Target but I never did find those stores. And here I was looking forward to some time hunting around with Hannah. When we finally got to Target, she said "I feel like we were on a long trip to somewhere."

Tonight we got home from care group and we were having the kids get ready for bed. Iz was stalling and did not want to go. I told him, "Tomorrow, Daddy gets to stay home." This did not elicit much of a response. Daddy stays home two days a week, but he is working and hidden away most of the day. When I realized that Iz thought that dad was just working at home, I said, "Sweetie, Daddy has a holiday tomorrow and he gets to stay home all day!!" The poor child nearly exploded with joy and ran off to the bottom of the stairs saying, "Guys!! It's a howliday tomorrow and daddy is going to stay Hooooooooooome!!!!!" He just loves his Daddy!!!

About My Haircolor

In my previous post, I used the example

I am not a dumb blonde.

Apparently, this is not altogether true. My 15yo Skibum was reading my blog post and said:
"Mom....why don't you add them to your dictionary?"
Ahhh!! The girl is not a blonde and is wiser than her mother. So, the correct spellings are added to my dictionary. Now I wonder if I can delete "gray" and "blonde." Hahahahahahahaha.....

Those Horrid Little Red Lines

I discovered something about myself today.
I hate those horrid little red lines that appear when I type out an email or blog post. I know that other people probably love them since they are poor spellers or bad typists. But they are driving me to the edge of insanity. Actually, I think that the real problem is that I must be a kind of perfectionist where these lines are concerned. I don't want to see a single one on my page. I want them all to disappear. Well, from today on, I am going to ignore them. Why? Well, I don't find them helpful at all. They do not give me correct information.

1. My son is anaphylactic to milk.
   
2. Some say that grey hair is a sign of wisdom
3. I am not a dumb blonde.

Example #1: In this example, the word anaphylactic is not in their dictionary or whatever it is. I tell you this, with the number of times I have typed the word anaphylactic and other variations of the word, they should get a clue and add it in. And what do they give me as an option for correct spelling? Well, one of the words is prophylactic. Now, how many times do you think the average person uses THAT word? Here's another option: Phylactery I bet most of YOU don't know what that is. How many times do you think people email, post, or blog the word phylactery around?!?!

Example #2 and #3: Here we have two words that I have spelled this way all my life. They are correct and acceptable spellings of these words. In the past I have given in to the red lines. But no more!! Today I typed the word blonde and I was appalled to find that red line appear. I am sorry, but blonde looks idiotic without the "e" at the end. So I am keeping my "e" where it belongs!! The silly thing is that if you type in Grey, you don't get a line. I guess if you want to spell a name that way, it's ok.

People tell me that my grey and blonde are British spellings. Well, no one ever told me it was wrong before and I have been using these spellings as long as I can remember. This is what I type automatically. There is not thought to it. It is what comes out. So, Ski, maybe I really do belong in Canada. Maybe I am un-American already. Of course, I am also still very upset that I can no longer use the word "queer" properly because no one knows what it means anymore. It is a cool word and slang has ruined it.

So I will just have to be peculiar and use my antiquated spellings. So I rebel!! There will be red lines in my documents!!!

Wierd Science

I was reading a parenting-type magazine recently that talked about yawning. (try and read this post without doing it--I dare ya)

Anyway, did you know that evolutionary psychiatrists (two words to avoid in my book), have done studies to prove that yawning is actually our body's way of cooling down our brains? They say that for only weighing in at 3 percent of our body weight, the brain can burn up to 15 percent of the fuel used from our food. (so read Systematic Theology for a workout). All that extra heat supposedly can make the brain perform less effectively. So like the fan on my Dell, the body yawns to keep the ol' grey matter humming along at peak performance.

Test subjects that wore cool packs on their heads yawned less than those that didn't--while watching movies of people yawning-- according to Drs. Andrew and Gordon Gallup of the University of NY in Albany. They also claim that yawning is contagious because our brain notices other people who are going to be more alert than we are and it tries to catch up.

Hmmm, I dunno about that. I just want to know why my flesh starts yawning when I sit down to read my Bible. (I know, there's a battle going on). Maybe I need a cold pack.

All Fall Down.....

We have entered a "first" in the B n Ski household. After 15yrs of having children, we have our first broken bone. Well, actually it is TWO broken bones!!! And actually, B did have that bicycle accident over 20 yrs ago. Here is how our "first" went down.....

On Sunday afternoon, Ski and I decided to take a walk. Most of the kids decided to stay home. However, two of them chose to accompany us. I was a beautiful day, although it was quite windy. We were having a great time and made our way to one end of our neighborhood. We turned around and were heading on home when the incident occurred. Our dearest Christelle was on roller blades.....

She loves those roller blades and is actually very good on them. I cannot conceive of it. I have never, ever been able to learn how to roller skate. In fact, I hate it with a passion. Most of our kids do not know how to roller skate because I have never taken them. Many, many, many years ago, I did used to ice skate. But believe me, the two are not related in the least. For one, the movement is completely different. Secondly, ice skating lends itself much more to my congenital tibial torsion. The problem with rollerskating, I believe, is that you must keep your feet facing forward which is nearly impossible for me to do without getting very unbalanced.

So, if you did not know, there is a nice long sloping hill in the front of our neighborhood. I was being a bit silly with C. and she decided to catch up with dad. She got going downhill a bit too fast, lost control and landed on the ground. I could tell by her landing that we might have a problem. She did say "Ow, ow, ow..." but not much more than that. When we got home, I took a close look at it and it wasn't swelling, but the joint felt odd to me. Plus her range of motion was not good. So, off we went to Urgent Care. Long story short, she broke both her ulna and her radius in the wrist area. They put a splint on it and this afternoon we saw an Orthopedist. One of her bones is dislocated a little, but thankfully not enough to need a pin. She now has a cast and some pain medication. She didn't sleep at all last night because of pain, but we had no idea because she didn't come and tell us. She is a trooper!!! Oh, and did I mention, she broke her dominant hand?!?!

I'll post pics when she is feeling a little better. I don't think that she is ready for a photo op.

On top of this, Isaac is having some nose action going on so we are doing the breathing treatments again. Oh joy!! I got home rather late tonight due to the dr visit and pharmacy run and Ski was still working (but at least he was home today) and Isaac was sleeping. Iz needs "time" to wake up and he was a bit of a mess breathing-wise, but was completely happy once we got through a neb treatment and had a little snuggle time. At least I had planned a dinner that could cook all day and be ready once I was home.

Did He Just Say That?

Just the other night, we were all gathered in the den.
One of our sons was playing with a Ukelele. Just then, Ski rolls his eyes and says.....
"______, stop playing the Ukelele with your feet!!"
Ski and I just looked at each other and snickered.
He said, " I NEVER thought I would say that in a million years!"

Was the child:

• Nathaniel, the guitar player
• Simon, the limber
• Iz, the owner of the Ukelele

A Cozy Little Nest

Some day when I am very old, I think I would like to live in this little house. I have always thought that Murphy beds are way cool. I think that the pics on the website are funny. Some of them say "lots of room for...."

I just think it is the cutest little house. And a big plus is that it is in Canada. Too bad, it isn't in Quebec. That would make it a no-brainer. But I guess Toronto could do in a pinch.

The morning glories are too beautiful. And I like all of the leaded glass. Of course, you know there would only be room for me and maybe some books. Nothing else. So this is my "Widow house."

If you want to see more, go here.

Dreams.....

We all have our dreams.
I know that my mother's dream has always been to visit the Holy Land some day.
Ski dreams of visiting Disney World.
This is the place that I would like to visit.
My brother has been there a few times and I am very envious of him!!!
Wouldn't it be nice to be a well known scientist who is asked to speak around the world all the time? In fact, this is a photo that he took the last time he visited. I wouldn't care at all if I could wake up in a place like this. I am trying to convince him to take me in his suitcase next time.
Isn't it just lovely?!?!?!

Soup's On!!

We had the best dinner tonight.
Ski and I love Minestrone and I looked and looked for a recipe.
I finally found one that I adapted for our use. It turned out to be super delicious. My children thought that the best part was naming all of the veggies that they found inside. I also made some Italian-style whole wheat bread. Wow!! It has been a long time since I have made any bread.....

Minestrone
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 stalks celery, cubed
1/2 onion, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 gal chicken stock
1 tsp chopped parsley
1 tsp chopped basil
1 tsp oregano
4 carrot, cubed
4 tomato (I used canned whole tomatoes), cubed
1-2 oz. prosciutto ham (I used two ham hocks)
5 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 pound fresh green beans cut into inch long pieces
1 head savoy cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
2 zucchini, cubed
1 can kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can cannellini beans


Heat oil and sauté celery, onion, and garlic.
When those are soft, add green beans, cabbage, zucchini, parsley and basil and oregano.
Cook these until cabbage is soft.
Add chicken stock, tomatoes, prosciutto, potatoes and carrots.
Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer.
Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
Add canned beans with liquid and simmer 5 more minutes.
Remove prosciutto. Store in fridge overnight.
Reheat and serve.