Bits and Pieces

* I should be asleep, but I took a late nap and even Benadryl isn't putting me to sleep tonight. I'm tired, just not sleeping.

* I made soup yesterday. Chicken with vegetables. Thankfully I have Sergio to help me eat it because I don't know how to cook for one. It's a family size pot of soup, but I'm missing the family.

* It's been an emotional weekend. Processing life can be teary even after all this time. It doesn't help that I dropped my favorite camera lens at the park on Saturday and broke it... It may be a very long time before I can purchase a replacement. I'm trying to remember that I was once perfectly satisfied without it, but I'm still sad.  :(

* I went to the pottery studio Friday evening and again this afternoon. There is something comforting about being surrounded by familiar faces, each of us with a ball of clay in our hands. Perhaps it is a distraction, perhaps therapy. Maybe a bit of each.

* More than likely this little sculpture will be lost to the sands of time, like so many before him. It was actually broken when I took it out. Too much being jostled about. This is why I don't do much building at home. Or maybe that's just a good reason not to.

* I am looking forward to being back at work tomorrow. Little arms and slobbery kisses are the best therapy for me. My only regret is I will be home too late to catch my little grandson before he goes to bed tomorrow evening. He's been away since Wednesday morning. He and his mommy are visiting Minnesota. We miss them.

* Pained moments are teachable  moments. It's been an emotional weekend, but a profitable one too. God is good. He put two special people in my path at church this morning; my beautiful Bethany appeared in front of me in the foyer after first service (and again in the Ladies' Room), and my sweet friend Brenda spotted me when I popped into the gym to see the missions tables on my way out the door. Long hugs from old friends mean so much. I am loved and I am blessed. Jesus loves me this I know.

Pick a Card

Make a choice and go with it. I've made two choices recently...

First of all, I've decided to drastically cut back on my coffee consumption. It was a week of chasing headaches away with Excedrin, but I made it through. I did have two small cups last weekend, but for the most part I've been drinking tea. Caffeinated in the morning, herbal thereafter. The coffee craving has waned dramatically and nature is calling in a more reasonable voice these days.

Second, I'm playing the gluten-free game again. I've done this before and found many of the daily aches and pains slowly disappeared. My joints and muscles were less achy, and I felt better overall. Then I would start eating it again and those symptoms would gradually reappear. Being gluten-free is a hassle but I'm climbing back on the wagon. It'll be two weeks tomorrow. Thankfully there is a vast array of good gluten-free foods out there.

This afternoon I decided to make soup. I perused the store in search of ingredients. I wanted something a bit different from the tomato based soup I made a few weeks ago, something gluten-free for me, and vegan for my sweet girl. I came up with this. My first post on this blog in four years. Who knows, maybe I'll resurrect it.

A Thrift Shop Treasure and a Grocery Run

Today I meandered... Goodwill, Walmart, Aldi, Target, Barnes and Noble, Panera Bread, Hobby Lobby, Wegmans... My wandering through Goodwill found me with a painting in my shopping cart. It's not huge, maybe an 8x10, has a beautiful bouquet of red and yellow flowers, and says "Hecho en Mexico" on the back. I love the frame too.

In Panera Bread I bought a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup and ate it with my free for the month of December bagel. Mostly I bought groceries. This afternoon I made my own pot of broccoli cheddar soup. We ate it with salad and batard bread, My newest grandson came for supper and he smiled at me.
:0)

Chicken Soup, Because

I'd planned to bake a few pies today, but after my morning appointment and a stroll around the shopping plaza, I opted to make chicken soup instead. Autumn made me think of soup, and though it was a warm sunny afternoon, by the time we ate it was cool, dark, and rainy. Perfect.

I couldn't decide which of my ladies would be most tasty, so I picked up a big package of chicken thighs from Wegmans. Garlic. Onion. Mushrooms. Celery. Carrots. My kitchen smelled absolutely yummy with chicken baking and vegetable sauteing.

The chickens knocked at the door, but when I inquired, I found they had no interest in helping with the soup. "You've got to be kidding me!" said the first chicken. She was not impressed in the least. In fact, I thought I heard her say something about my intelligence, but I can't be entirely sure. Her look is telling though.

My Take on Italian Wedding Soup

I haven't been doing much cooking as of late, but this evening I had enough time and plan. I made Italian Wedding Soup, even though I am not Italian and no one is getting married.

 My Take on Italian Wedding Soup

1/2 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 T butter
32 oz container chicken broth
1 pound mild sausage, browned and left in bite-sized chunks
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans
par boiled acini de pepe (maybe 3/4 c.)
 7-9 oz. fresh washed baby spinach
2 T. chicken stock
black pepper
few shakes each of 
 dried basil and oregano

Saute onion and garlic in butter. Add to soup broth in large Dutch oven. Add cooked sausage, (I had venison sausage), beans, par boiled pasta (I didn't measure, but I boiled them for 5 minutes in water before adding them to my soup.), spinach, chicken soup base, and spices. I turned off the heat after I put the spinach in and let it sit for a while then garnished it with Parmesan cheese when ladled into bowls. Dee-licious!