*I started reading, instead of listening to, the book You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie. I need to finish it by tomorrow when my book group meets.
*Because of the subject matter of many of the stories he shares in the book, I have to take breaks from reading. So my comedy relief throughout the day was the sitcom Friends.
*There have been some clothes in the laundry room that have been there for a while and needed laundered. So I spent time getting caught up on laundry today.
*I am by no means a bird expert, but at one point this afternoon, these beautiful colored birds with long beaks were feeding at the bird feeder outside the dining room window. I had seen one earlier in the fall, and thought it resembled a woodpecker, but seemed more colorful. I grabbed my Peterson Field GuidesWestern Birds book I keep by that window to see if I could identify these birds. I believe this bird is a Northern “Red-Shafted” Flicker. It is in the woodpecker family, but not a woodpecker. They have a beautiful salmon-red color under their wings. It is a little pleasure, but I love the fact that I am able to be home to see these birds feed in our bird feeder, and take the time to identify what kind of bird it may be.
*I also napped.
*We didn’t get as much snow as they predicted yesterday. It rained some. It snowed some. We had maybe an inch or so of new snow by the end of the day. It is beautiful outside.
*On Wednesday, I forgot to post this photo. This is Cosette on very last first day of school. Only one more semester to go!!
Cosette's last first day of school for semester two at U of I
*A fun evening was had by all as we gathered at Chris Schonewald Meyer’s beautiful home for a birthday celebration for Christy. Chris prepared a delicious meal, and the company was good for sharing many funny stories and lots of laughs. It was a wonderful way to spend an evening, and celebrating my sister’s birthday with Chris, Dawn Arnhold McLees, Teresa Hill Baillie, and Debbie Diedrich.
*The flu continues to reek havoc on the students and staff in our school district, and our community. So much so that all schools are closed Thursday and Friday and plan to reopen on Monday. I think I was becoming a hypochondriac throughout the day, thinking I was developing flu symptoms, but, in all reality, I was just fine. I think I may have been a bit dehydrated is all.
*Part of my morning was spent at the school district office doing some invoicing for my program, and having a wonderful conversation with with Nancy Larsen, who oversees my grant for the district, and the new business manager Angela Durick. It was nice having those little moments of interaction with people when you don’t expect it, but you come away enjoying the talk so much.
*I wasn’t expecting to see our little blue truck we just had towed off on the road so soon. As I was driving over to pick up Christy and Debbie and Dawn for the party tonight, I saw it drive past me, and pull into the Conoco Gas Station by Yokes. That was kind of weird. But I am glad the truck has found a new home.
* Paul and I always look forward to being able to be home together and just hang out around the house when these unexpected days of no school happen. We are suppose to get between six and 12 inches of snow tomorrow, so I look forward to being warm and cozy in our home, watching the snow fall.
*Requiem to two blue vehicles. In the early morning hours, our friend Brandon Church and another employee from Jim’s Bobcat and Towing hauled away our two old vehicles. We had called in early December for a guy in CDA to come and get them, but then the snow arrived, and he was never able to come. On Monday, these two vehicles were “tagged” by the city. That means they needed to be moved so they could get the snow removed they were parked in on the street. So they were generously towed away before the city towed them away for us, and charged a fee. It was sad to see them go, even though these vehicles haven’t been used for a while. The blue pickup was Dad’s last truck. The Lumina car was Mom’s car that she gave to Molly so she could have a car to use when Mom bought her last new car. There are lots of memories associated with these two vehicles. And now we say good-bye.
*Today was Christy’s birthday, and her and Everett were going to Wallace to have dinner, and she asked us, and Bill and Debbie to join them for dinner. Unfortunately Paul had a meeting at church, and I had a meeting as well, so we were unable to join the celebration. But I did briefly see Christy earlier in the day, and wished her a very Happy Birthday.
*As I work with seniors now, a lot of it is making sure they are taking the steps needed so they are on track to go to college, if that is the path they have chosen. I helped three seniors complete their FAFSA and submit it during homeroom. Woo Hoo!!
*I had more students in my drama group in the after school program today. What a joy to work with these students, and get to hear their stories and learn about them. At the end of the day, before the students were getting ready to go home, they were handed a note saying there would be no school or after school program for the rest of the week due to the flu that has swept through the elementary school. Right now, KHS, KMS and Canyon are still having school, but are being monitored.
*I have shared before how little things can set me off in strange ways regarding the loss of Mom. This evening I was watering plants. Some needed some dead leaves removed, so I brought all the plants into the kitchen so I could clean the plants up, remove dead leaves, and give them a good watering. As I was watering one particular plant, which had been Mom’s plant, I found a small green Monopoly game house in the soil. It struck me as funny, and started me questioning the reason why it was there. Which got me thinking about Mom as well. I think there is a story or poem that needs to be written about this discovery. I’m going to start working on coming up with something about the small green house.
*There are certain things I realize I am picky about using in the kitchen. For example, there are a few forks that really feel good that I like to use. Another is what I drink my coffee out of in the morning. I have my favorites. And Molly gave me a new “Best Mom Ever” mug for Christmas, and it has a good feel to it, too. I had another “Best Mom” cup that got broken over the summer, so it is nice to get another one!!
*Today was the first day of doing drama with students at the PASS after school program at Pinehurst Elementary. I enjoyed working with the four students that were there today, and talking to them, and hearing their stories. The numbers were low because Pinehurst Elementary had almost 150 students home sick today, and KHS had almost 50 students home sick. I guess the flu is running rampant in the schools. I pray that the kids start feeling better soon.
*Recently I cleaned my bedroom, and I love that my bedroom is clean, but now I am missing a bag of knitting supplies I had got out so I could start using them, but I don’t know what I did with the bag when I cleaned up the bedroom. Before the clean up, it was at the foot of my bed on top of a bunch of boxes. The boxes are gone from the bedroom, as is the bag of knitting supplies. The boxes are out in the hallway outside my bedroom. The knitting bag....who knows where it went. I looked everywhere I thought it could be this evening, and I could not find it. But I will not be deterred. It has to show up eventually.
*I continued listening to Sherman Alexie’s book You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me. I love the way he writes this story, combining prose and poetry. Some of the things he shares are really hard to hear. For me, the hard part to listen to is not the mourning of his mother or his grief, it is the stories he shares of growing up, and being a Native American and the heart-wrenching tales he tells of his treatment because of his race.
*I spent the day doing what I love. Cooking and sharing that meal with family. Our family dinner tonight was a celebration of Christy’s birthday. A couple of weeks ago she sent out a request for her birthday menu: roasted chicken, Caesar salad, green beans and rice pilaf, and a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. And she wanted Old Fashioned cocktails served before dinner. Bill said he would take on the cocktail duties. I said I would take on the meal preparation duties.
*Sometime over Christmas break, Christy was looking at my bookshelf of cookbooks, and said she didn’t know I had Julia Child’s cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I had forgot I had it. My friend Anita had sent it to me sometime in the last year or two. After Christy shared her menu requests, I looked up recipes in this cookbook, and found out I could prepare everything on the list from this cookbook, except the Caesar salad. I used the Bon Appetit website for that recipe.
*What a marvelous experience preparing these items. As I mentioned yesterday, I worked on the cake close to six hours on Saturday. I baked four round layers, made an orange filling to go between the layers, and then covered it in a chocolate butter frosting. And it turned out pretty good. The cakes were made by separating eggs, and whisking the egg yolks with sugar and vanilla. Then you take the egg whites and beat them with sugar until they form stiff peaks. Then you fold in the whites with the eggs a little at a time, and also add flour. At the end you add melted butter. Then bake. My right arm is getting stronger from all the whisking I have done in the past two days!!
The birthday cake
*I have never been a big Caesar salad fan. But I am now after making homemade Caesar dressing for the salad. You take crushed garlic and salt, and combine it with two large egg yolks, fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil, vegetable oil, finely grated Parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper. I made the salad with leaf lettuce rather than the traditional Romaine lettuce, because there is an e coli outbreak associated with Romaine lettuce, but the red leaf lettuce worked just fine. Before serving I plated the lettuce, added some dressing, put on some croutons and topped with grated Parmesan cheese. Again, much whisking involved!
Caesar Salad
*The French way of preparing green beans is to boil them for about 8 minutes, then remove them from the water and cool them off in cold water, dry them off, and then they sat in a colander on the counter until just before they were served. I heated a pan up on the stove, and added the beans to a dry hot frying pan to remove the water. Then I added butter and lemon juice, and heated the beans back up. After putting the beans in a dish, I added some fresh parsley on top.
Green beans with lemon juice and parsley
*The roasted chicken involved lots of basting. To prepare the chicken, you put salt in the cavity and rub softened butter inside the bird. Then you rub the outside with butter as well. I didn’t really truss the chicken as it said to, but I did tie the legs together as it cooked. I melted butter and olive oil on the stove, and this was used to baste the bird every 10 minutes throughout the cooking time until it was gone, then you used the drippings in the bottom of the pan. You also roast the bird on the left side for about an hour, then the right side for 45 minutes, then you roast at the end with the breast side up. Then you take the pan drippings and make a sauce to put over the meat once it is sliced.
Roasted chicken
*The preparation for the rice pilaf began with sauteing some minced onions in butter. Then you add the rice to the butter and onions and saute the rice until it becomes a milky color, not brown. Then I took the boiling chicken broth from the stove and poured it into the pan and stirred. Then I put a cover on the pan and the rest of the cooking was done in the oven. about 20 minutes later, it came out from the oven cooked perfectly.
Roasted chicken, green beans and rice pilaf
*In a world of processed, boxed, convenient food, it was nice to have the time to go through the steps to prepare a meal that was quite labor intensive. But the smiles of satisfaction on my family’s faces as they ate the food made it truly a labor of love. The steps were not difficult to do in these recipes. It just took time. And I loved slowing down today and taking the time to prepare this kind of meal.
*The evening turned out to be slow paced as well. We had some wonderful conversations at the dinner table, then adjourned to the living room, where we continued to talk about a wide variety of topics.
Getting ready to enjoy Christy's birthday dinner
A wonderful evening with family.
The birthday girl blowing out the candles.
I look forward to returning to this cookbook and preparing more recipes.
*My life is moving into a different tempo. It is slower now. I am transitioning from Allegro to more of an Andante lifestyle. But it doesn’t come naturally to me. Like any change, it takes time, and relearning is involved. But, so far, I am enjoying the process. And, like a piece of music, it takes practice.
*Last year when Christy and I started fixing dinner for Mom, and also started weekly family dinners, I started enjoying cooking again. Well, I have always enjoyed cooking, but it was fun to cook and plan and prepare again. And our family dinners now have continued that love of planning, and tomorrow we are hosting, and I am preparing Christy’s birthday dinner, and, after reading her requests, it was fun to look at recipes and decide how to prepare the requested items.
*And it is fun to take time cooking and baking and preparing food again. I took some time today preparing her requested birthday cake. I worked on it for a good portion of the day. It was fun and satisfying. Because I had the time. I didn’t have to rush. I could make adjustments that added more time to the process, but that was okay, because I had the time to make the changes. I tried something totally new, and the joy was in the process. Even if the cake tastes awful, it wasn’t a total waste, because I learned so much from the process. (And for those of you who watch The Great British Baking Show, the whole time I was preparing the cake, I kept hearing May Berry making comments in my ear. I sure hope this cake has a good sponge!!)
*My sister Christy picked up Cosette around 9 a.m. this morning to take her to Coeur d’Alene, where a friend from Moscow would be picking her up later. It was so nice having Coco here for the last couple of weeks, and it still seems unreal that she is starting her last semester of college next week, and will graduate in May.
*I love Fridays when I get to stay at home and work on little projects. Today I cleaned the kitchen and also cleaned our bathroom. It felt so good to get those projects completed. I have so many things I want to work on and get done, that I have decided to set a goal of working on at least one a day, so I don’t feel so overwhelmed.
*While working on these projects, I started listening to my book club book for January. It is memoir by Sherman Alexie called You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me: A Memoir. Alexie writes about his relationship with his mother, and about her death. There was one scene in the book when his mother was in a care facility, and Alexie was there with his sister, and his sister was trying to get her mother from the bed to her wheelchair. It brought back vivid memories of being with Mom in her room at the nursing home, and the CNAs doing the same thing. I am thankful for those memories. I don’t want to forget those moments. I am glad I can read or listen to something that evokes memories of Mom. Yes, some are wonderful memories, and some are not so wonderful, but that is what memories are, and I am thankful for them all. I look forward to continuing to listen to this book.
*Paul and I went to Andrews Gymnasium at Kellogg High School tonight to watch the Girls and Boys Varsity Basketball teams play Timberlake. We hadn’t had a chance to attend a game yet this season, and I am so glad we went.
*Between the games, the boys from the 2017 3A State Golf Championship Team revealed the banner that had been hung in the gymnasium this past week. All of the golf team members but one were also varsity boys basketball team players (the other one is a very successful varsity wrestler). Congrats to them all!
*After the game, we stopped by Christy and Everett’s house to pick up some items Christy had purchased for me in Coeur d’Alene today, and eat some Chicken Pot Pie. We had a great discussion about the book I am listening to, (Christy has already read it), about other books we had read, and I also enjoyed some cuddles from their cat William while a sat there.
*As much as I enjoy going and watching students play basketball in the gym, it is one of the places that I experience a bit of social anxiety. I tell myself that it is weird to do feel this way. I attended this high school. I am from this community. I have worked for this school district for 10 years. My daughter played in this gym for four years. But it doesn’t matter. Part of me still feels like the odd man out, someone who doesn’t belong. Yes, it is a bit irrational, but it is all true.
*One of our KHS seniors received VERY exciting news today. In the fall there were about eight students who applied for the Horatio Alger Scholarship. Sylvia West received news today that she received the National Horatio Alger Scholarship. This is worth $25,000, and she is one of 106 recipients in the whole United States, and the only recipient from Idaho. I couldn’t be more proud of her!! There are also state scholarship winners to be announced, so I am hoping some of our students may still receive one of those, too!!
*Since this was Cosette’s last day home, and the fact she had to spend the morning at the dentist getting about 8 fillings, we thought going out for dinner would be a good idea. She decided Mexican food sounded good, so we went to Casa d’Oro and enjoyed a delicious meal. Paul had the fish tacos, Cosette had a burrito, and I had seafood enchiladas. It was a fun way to spend the evening.
*After seeing the movie The Greatest Showman, Cosette had found a great video that she shared with us, and she had to show it to Paul last night. We all agreed that it would be so incredible to have an experience like they showed in that video part of your work day. If you would like to watch the video, you can see it here.
*When we got home, we helped Cosette with her resume and application for an internship she is applying for that she would do this summer. Keep her in your prayers as she applies for this opportunity and other opportunities as she leave the University of Idaho after graduation in May and decides what is next in her life.
*Paperwork, data entry and invoicing were some of the items I was able to get done at work today. Also, it was so fun to have one of the seniors come in at lunch because she was SO EXCITED she was accepted to the University of Idaho, and just wanted to make sure she had done everything, and asking what are her next steps.
*I was once again sucked into the Friends vortex for the evening. I got home from work, and Cosette asked if I wanted to watch Friends, so I easily relented. I thought to myself, “Oh, I will only watch few episodes, and then I’ll start working on one of the many projects I need to get to around the house”. Well.....the projects were never tended to this evening. But I did watch quite a few episodes of the show. I am now into Season Two.
*Our family received a wonderful box of Italian goodies from Paul’s brother Kevin and his wife Linda. One of the items was a bag of Trofie pasta. (I think I prepared a similar pasta when I was in Italy last summer.) I cooked the pasta and added some pesto to it, and we had some bread, and it was really delicious!!
*Over my break I was playing around on Snapchat and found where the Ed Sheeran Bitmoji would sing a part of his song Perfect my own Bitmoji. I had posted the video on Facebook. Yesterday I received a message from my friend Sherri asking if I had seen or heard the Perfect Symphony by Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli. I had not, but I did take some time to watch it on YouTube, and also watch the official Perfect video on YouTube. Both are beautiful. And I love the song Perfect. The lyrics remind me of how Paul makes me feel every day. That is a pretty wonderful thing, and I am so grateful I am loved this way. If you want to watch these videos, you can see the Perfect video here, and the Perfect Symphony here.
*It was time to return to work today. I am not sure anyone, teachers, staff or students were ready to be back. But it is part of the circle of life of the school district calendar. Christmas vacation must come to an end, and we have to return.
*I spent most of the day in my office working on little things here and there, and starting to plan out the rest of my schedule for the school year.
*Actually arriving at Kellogg High School was a bit delayed today. Since acquiring Mom’s car, this has not been a problem. But Cosette had borrowed that car to go spend some time with her friend Sidnee in Spokane. So we only had the Chrysler. We only have one set of keys to the Chrysler. And when those one set of keys are in your husband’s coat pocket at KHS, because he walked to school and didn’t need to use a vehicle, it makes it rather difficult to drive to work. So I called him on his phone, (his new smart phone), but he didn’t pick up. Then I called him on the school phone and finally got through. Within in the next 10 minutes or so my knight in shining armor arrived at the house with the keys to the car. So it all worked out.
*By the end of the workday, Paul and I were both tired. I caught myself with eyes closed as I was looking at my computer screen. It hit Paul during his last period at the end of they day. Just part of the process of getting back to work.
*This evening I finished the show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, an original series on Amazon Prime. If it from the same creator as The Gilmore Girls, but this show definitely has a different feel to it...let’s just say Mrs. Maisel is a little raunchier than the Lorelais. And I don’t usually enjoy raunchy....but this show I like. I can’t wait for the next season.
*Paul and I also started the next season of The Crown, which is an original Netflix series. This show chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II. It is very well done, and I love learning things about history that I didn’t know, or had forgotten if I did know at some time in my life.
*It was nice to be home in the evening, relaxing, and just kind of vegging out.
*Hello 2018. A new beginning. A new chapter. A time to start fresh.
*I woke up early this morning to feed Toby and get him his medicine, then fell back asleep on the couch, and slept for quite a while. I think I knew I wouldn’t be able to laze around like this for a while since I will be heading back to work tomorrow, so why not take advantage of it today?
*Paul and I had made plans to meet Cosette in Coeur d’Alene to watch the movie The Greatest Showman. We all three enjoyed it very much! In fact, without us all know it, the whole family saw the movie today in separate locations. Molly and Travis saw it in Moscow, and Jason and Zoe saw it in Boise.
*The moon was big and beautiful on the drive home. I tried to capture a photo, but was not very successful in capturing the beauty of the moon.
*When we arrived in Kellogg, we stopped at Bill and Debbie’s house to get a mattress and box springs they are getting rid of, to bring to our house.
*Paul and I didn’t finish Star Trek Beyond the night before, so we finished it this evening. We finished up the delicious Gooseberry Pie Zoe baked before she left. Paul’s cousin Anita had sent home some gooseberries with Paul and Zoe from Meridian, and we enjoyed the pie very much. Thanks Anita!!
*What will 2018 bring? Changes. I know there will be lots of changes for sure. A whole new year of possibility. I look forward to continue gathering graces for another year.
*I can’t remember what year it was when I decided I needed to put something up after the Christmas decorations were taken down, because it was just too bare in the living room. As my snowman collection continued to grow, I started keeping them in the boxes for Christmas, and started bringing them out to keep up in January and February. Their smiling, cheery faces helped keep things cheery in our living room, and so I now do it every year. Then it gives me an excuse to keep up some of my Christmas lights as well to continue lighting the darkness of January and February.
*New Year’s Eve family dinner would be at our home tonight. Bill purchased a Prime Rib and I would be cooking it today. I got out my trusted Betty Crocker cookbook, and looked up how to cook the roast. I had it set out on the counter for a few hours. I unwrapped it and put it in the roasting pan, and rubbed Montreal Steak Seasoning all over it. I set the temperature for 325 degrees, and inserted the Pampered Chef Meat Thermometer into the center. I set the temperature on the thermometer for 150 degrees for a medium rare roast, put it in the over, and about 3 hours later, it was done. Our other menu items included Yorkshire Pudding, which I made, cooked in the roast drippings, Christy made her cheesy potato dish, and also brought a delicious Pistachio/Biscotti Gelato for dessert, and Debbie made a green bean dish. Bill make Dark and Stormy cocktails before dinner. And it couldn’t have been more delicious. I was hoping it would be medium rare, and it was!!
Our New Year's Eve Family Dinner
*After dinner, Debbie did a Google Hangout with her daughter Molly who lives in Maryland, and we got to say hello to Molly, Hiram, and Patrick. All the young kids were already in bed.
*Paul and I pondered attending the NYE festivities at the Kellogg Elks, but, once dinner was over, we decided we wanted to spend the evening together. Christy and Everett went home. Bill and Debbie went to the Elks. Paul and I watched Newsies on Netflix, and also started Star Trek Beyond on Amazon Prime. It was the perfect way to end 2017, and usher in 2018.
