Leaving Missouri

There are things about being in Missouri that are stressful, but, nonetheless, it's still home.  Which makes it hard to leave.  I have realized that, for me, home isn't necessarily a location but is more a group of people.  I got to see most of those people this visit.

Christmas was spent with my family.  We did minimal presents this year, which I prefer.  Gifts, expecially excessive ones, often make me uncomfortable, and given my current goal of simplifying my life and posessions (funny how moving 1500 miles will make you realize all the crap in your life you don't need), I didn't really need anything.  Except pants.  I always need pants.

I got some really warm socks, which I did need (man, am I old or what?), a book, tic-tacs (yay!), tea, and money for, you guessed it, pants.  I spent the pants money, and somehow my pants are smaller than previously.  Not sure how or why, but I'm excited about it anyway.  All kinds of interesting theories for another day.

New Years was spent with Dugan, Ashley, and Kyle--some of my favorite people on the planet.  There are no words that will make any of what happened make sense to anyone else, per the norm.  Food, games, fun.  Lots of talking.  And actually, this is what made me homesick the most.

The rest of the time was spent catching minutes with friends, lunch with Cristin and Kyle, dinner with Kristen, lunch with Tamara, dinner with Stephen and Carlyle, helping as best as I can at home, spending precious minutes with my ornery nephew, and laughing with my sister.  And forcing tea on everyone in the vicinity.

But I'm looking forward to seeing people in Boston again too, some of which are becoming a part of home.  Boston is stressful in a different way, and I'm still not quite sure how I got there.  So I'm getting on a plane and leaving home to head to home, when neither is really home.  Sometimes it's very confusing.

There was an end to this, but I seem to have forgotten what it was going to be.  I do that a lot lately.

When Life Hands You...

...a sturgeon, you know, like it does, what do you do?  Well, if you're in this family we do something silly, like have an impromptu fancy tea party in our pajamas.  To be fair, we didn't plan to be in our pajamas, we just still were...  So, yeah...

This photo session brought to you by the makers of Strawberry Rose Champagne tea.

I blame the champagne flavors for the last photo.

Grandmas Are Pretty Neat

I've had a couple grandmas myself, so I feel pretty confident that when I tell you grandmas are neat: it's true.

Huck has a thing with rolling around two liters of soda.  They make a very satisfying sound as they hit the ground.  Being a crafty lady, Grandma made Huck a toy, which I'm sure she'll post about later.  Suffice it to say, he thought it was great -- so great they merged into one person!

Where does that baby end and that lady begin?  Why are those heads floating?  Agh!

Scavanger Soup

Today was Mom's first day back at work so I thought it would be nice to have dinner ready when she got home.  I didn't quite get it done in time, but it turned out pretty good so I think it counts. The problem with not planning meals is that it's pretty hard to scrape one together, but, surprisingly, it came out okay. 

Ingredients: whatever you have on hand.

What I had on hand:
celery
carrots
onion
great northern beans
long grain brown rice (the real stuff)
sliced mushrooms
red wine
Worchestershire sauce
curry powder
tarragon
thyme
salt and pepper to taste

I chopped the onion, carrots, and celery (classic mirepoix) and sauteed them in some olive oil until the onions were caramelized.  Then I deglazed the pan with some red wine I found (surprisingly not in the refrigerator).  I added the beans (12 oz can) and about 5 cans of water (same can the beans came in).  Then I added about...3/4 cupish...of rice and another can of water.  Next I sauteed mushrooms until they were brown, and added them to the soup.  Finally, I added some Worchestershire sauce, more wine, curry powder, tarragon, and thyme until it tasted right.  Let it simmer until the rice is cooked, the soup thickens, and the flavors come together, about an hour. While that was going on I baked biscuits (flour, salt, baking powder, shortening, and milk).

All in all I think it came out pretty good.  It should be even better tomorrow after it sits overnight.  Yum!  So, you know, let me know when you want me to cook you dinner.  You're in charge of clean-up.

Calm Before the Storm

On the list of things that make me feel calm, a good sunset is pretty near the top.  Today was a good one.  Wish I'd caught it earlier, but I was making soup.  Soup on a cold day is also, to borrow a Martha-ism, a good thing.