happy anniversary

jacob and kate are celebrating their anniversary today!! we had such a good time with them in november and again at christmas. it's always good to hear from them. and these busy days are winding down. (not that their busy days are going away - just taking a new form) both school for kate and jacob's navy experience will soon be behind them. yippee!!

off they go!

my valentines are done, gathered in their envelope and on their way to loveland.

truth in advertising

just a quick reference to naphtali's site for her last giveaway. she does beautiful, quality work and i hope the winner truly enjoys her prize. (boy, if that doesn't get me something there's a real problem!!)

valentines plans

for the last several years i've taken advantge of the good folks in loveland, co to help me with my valentines.a group of volunteers will hand stamp your valentines with a special cachet and send it on its way. you can read more about it here i usually try to find red or pink envelopes to send to tim at work - he's sure to blush.

as you can see i've gathered my ideas and materials and need to get busy to make my mailing deadline.

this should all go away over the next few days.
tim took off for lincoln this afternoon so charlie and i have the house to ourselves and no excuse for not getting everything done in good order.

marvels

of modern technology!!
naphtali here is a picture of the hooks from ikea. as you can see they are 3" long and gunmetal grey. if you could please grab me a package the next time you go i'd really appreciate it. thanks.

tell aidan i had fun talking to him on the phone. you, too!! looking forward to the pictures of your latest find. thanks again.

winter wonderland

we've always liked walking in snow and have had few opportunities to indulge this year. so today, with a couple inches of fresh snow on the ground, no wind (a key factor) and a few flakes still swirling, we ventured out to enjoy the morning. there is something about the muffled stillness of a snowfall. the crunch underfoot. the camraderie that is so different from a stroll together any other time of year. we met a few people cleaning sidewalks but pretty much had the place to ourselves.


this week tim will step into his own presidental shoes as he represents this region of the state for nebraska health care association meetings in lincoln. they have a meet & greet scheduled with the state legislators for wednesday night. and because he's 1/2 way there he'll swing up to fd on friday night/saturday. so it will make for a long week for all of us. charlie and i will have plenty to occupy us at home while he's gone.

poor tim

as per his request there is nothing sweet in the house. generally i keep a bag of walmart smiley-face fruit snacks in the cupboard but it's cold turkey time at the jordison's. (i do have granola bars and a batch of honey glazed almonds is available) i knew he was having trouble with the adjustment having watched him stand in front of the open cupboard several times over the weekend. the desperation finally registered when i realized just how deep he was digging in there as i heard him ask "you have nyquil?" and "what would you do with marshmallow creme?" so i offered to make him something and with a hunk of fresh ginger in the house (we'd had garlic and ginger shrimp for supper saturday -mmm)we decided on gingerbread. "it means i'll have to get whipping cream." i have to say i was disappointed. the cake was dry and i was expecting this pop of flavor with the fresh ginger. it was good- but i would tweak the recipe a bit before using it again. tim ate a couple pieces. and it didn't stop me from topping it with yogurt and fresh bluberries for breakfast this morning.

and i use them!!

here's one from martha. she used a drawer in her sideboard.
i don't have much in the way of free drawer space but i had this chest (i will confess to a container fixation) from tim (i like to encourage gift giving) that i wanted to use for some storage solution while enjoying its decorative elements.


candles protected from staining or chipping through incidental contact by cardboard rolls from papertowels/toiletpaper.

ideas abound

i love collecting ideas. i have binders full of ideas. garden ideas. craft and decorating ideas. christmas and recipe ideas. my ironing board makes a perfect place to organize. because i do iron every week these piles can only sit for so long.


i can go through magazines (many snagged from the library)in the evenings, select the pages i want to keep and process the whole batch on a free afternoon.



recently i went through old martha stewarts where among other good things


i found a timely use for this.


i get to review the ideas i've already amassed as selected pages are trimmed, 3-hole-punched and added to my binders. a good way to kill an afternoon.

easily distracted

saturday was a good day. the wind howled ferociously all day and snug inide i accomplished all the things i had in mind for that particular set of hours. tim and charlie ran some errands and at one point i found myself completely distacted by a pot of flowers that i promptly re-potted in the middle of my cleaning. you can see the cord to the vaccuum running along side of my mess.

it took the aid of a cutting mat to hold the marbles in place while i inserted the glass into the bigger jar and several hours later i undid the whole thing.
oh well.


it was also my mother's birthday so i spent some time on the phone with her. happy birthday, mom.


tim did the cooking that night and i only have these 2 skewers to bear silent testimony to the incredible shrimp we inhaled. jumbo shrimp, grilled to succulent perfection with just a hint of heat courtesy of a thai garlic sauce. they were as lovely as they were tasty and i didn't even think of pictures until it was too late. so when he bounded back into the kitchen calling where's the foil??!! i thought where's the camera!!??

he cored an apple, stuffed in some butter, brown sugar and cinnamon wrapped it in foil and set it on the fading coals for about 1/2 hour. i told him not to unwrap it until i was there and ready to record the event. he rolled his eyes but he did give me my cue when the time came. mmmm the picture doesn't even begin to do it justice. so tasty. just enough for the 2 of us to enjoy.

mmmmmm

leek soup with croutons and fresh parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

quick bread with pears and cranberries.


cranberry vinegar steeping for use in dressings later.

today's top story

tragedy was once more averted in gothenburg by the fast thinking of johnny-on-the-spot resident tim jordison. jordison, as readers may remember, was recently credited
with the prevention of a house fire. at approximately 5:30 this morning jordison's morning routine was interrupted by the smell of natural gas and a persistent rushing noise.
after a quick survey of his premises jordison looked outside to discover a car parked against the light post on the opposite corner with the gas meter in the street. he called 911 and asked his sleeping wife if she hadn't wondered about the noise and odor. she replied that it was a holiday and she was asleep. local police responded promptly and notified the gas company, a tow truck, and fire department.

after con-sultation the car was pulled away from the scene to allow utility personnel to assess the situation. it was discovered that the pipe was intact, though broken off below the shut-off valve, and could be plugged until permanent repairs could be made.
neighbors gathered outside to watch the pro-ceedings. our thanks to the gothenburg emergency personnel for their prompt and professional action. and to mr. jordison, whose wife is still lamenting the loss of a holiday sleep-in, for his alert response.

happy new year to all.