A homely* kind of day

I'm off work this week thanks to Winter Break. Besides appointments with the dentist and doctor (both simple routine checkups) I didn't make any plans, other than just enjoying myself doing whatever I wanted. So far, it's been really nice. 

On Saturday morning I met up with two friends from book club for breakfast. The place we went has the most wonderful Eggs Benedict, a favorite of mine, so of course that's what I ordered. The next day, I made a big batch of homemade vegetable soup, which has been simmering on low in the crockpot more or less ever since (it's had one overnight in the refrigerator). Today the weather's turned frigid again with the possibility of freezing rain and snow flurries tonight, so we're looking forward to that soup. And as I type this, two loaves of homemade bread are just about done baking. Between the bread in the oven and the soup simmering in the crockpot, my house smells wonderful right now.

Added a little while later while finishing this post:

I added an egg wash and sesame seeds to the bread this time. I hope it tastes good!

In other news: I am a domestic goddess!! HAHA. :) No, but seriously, in between making the bread, I finished a knitting project! I've been wanting to start knitting again, but it had been a loooong time, and I wanted something quick and easy to start with. Gregg has been pestering me for a while now to make him a new hat, so that's what I did! Nothing's any quicker and simpler than a hat and I didn't even need a pattern. I'm happy with how it turned out, and he really likes it. It's thick and warm. Just in time for our winter weather over the next few days!

I only talked him into letting me take his picture by telling him I'd take a side photo. I don't know why he hates having his picture taken, but he does.

To finish off a good day, I have book club tonight. That's always a fun time and I'm looking forward to it. I'm only about halfway through the book, but I'm not that invested in it, so I'm not worried about finishing. Seeing my friends is the main thing, although the drive home might be a little bit icy. Depending on the weather I may need to leave a little early, but I hope not.

Have a good night, friends!

*Homely in the British sense.

Another weekend rolls around

The full Hunter's Moon rising over our street Friday night.

October is really flying by this year. Before we know it, it's going to be the holidays and then the end of 2023. I wish it would slow down a bit.

Marla and Martina came over yesterday for one of our "girls' nights". Marla's birthday was Thursday, so I invited them early in the week, then almost canceled at the last minute. I've had some low-level depression going on, and then yesterday morning my dad had to go back to the hospital, so I wasn't sure if I felt up to company. In the end I decided to go ahead with it since I'd already purchased food and drinks, and I'm glad I did. Spending a few hours with my two best friends really boosted me up and made me feel better. As always, we laughed and laughed. It was just what I needed. 

I kept the food super simple. We had toasty ham and Swiss sliders on Hawaiian rolls covered with a buttery sauce and poppy seeds, homemade guacamole with assorted chips, one of those pre-made rings of cold shrimp with cocktail sauce, and store-bought cupcakes. In keeping with the season I had an assortment of chilled ciders to drink. 

I didn't get a picture of the ham and cheese sliders, but they were the best part. 

And Martina brought me a present! She was shopping for some new baking dishes and she saw one she thought I'd like. I was chuffed!

Isn't it pretty? And I really need new baking/casserole dishes. I told Martina that the next time they come over, I'll bake something in it to share. That was so sweet and thoughtful of her!

Today I'm on my own until early afternoon. Gregg has started going to the three nursing homes where he cleans aquariums early on Sunday mornings. There's not much traffic and things are quiet and he's able to work efficiently. Plus, he has to take my car, since all three jobs are out of town and his old truck just isn't trustworthy to drive that far. We really need to get him another car, but we'd have to scrape to afford it at the moment, so we've been putting it off. Getting a decent raise with this new job has unfortunately been somewhat eclipsed by inflation.

But anyway, I have several hours to myself this morning. It's a pretty day and I'll take the dogs for a walk whenever I finish this post. Fall color is almost at its peak and it's nice to be outside. This afternoon I'm going to make soup. Not to brag, but last week I made the most delicious batch of chicken soup ever! Gregg isn't normally much of a soup guy, but it was so good he eagerly ate it for supper three days in a row. We finished every drop! So when I was looking for a good, cheap recipe for making my customary large meal-with-leftovers Sunday supper, I asked him if he wanted soup again and he said, "Sure!" A cold front is on its way next week and temperatures will be going down almost to freezing, so soup will be just the thing.

I always serve chicken soup with grilled pimento cheese sandwiches. Yummy!

Back to work

It was my first day back at work after the two week winter break. Most of the teachers and staff seemed notably more relaxed and smiling than before Christmas, and the kids were relatively quiet and well behaved, too. Some time off seems to have done everybody some good!

Last night I seared two pounds of stew beef meat and started simmering it in the crockpot with beef stock, crushed tomatoes, sautéed garlic and onions, and two bay leaves. It went into the refrigerator overnight, and then I put it back on low heat before I left for work this morning. As soon as I got home I tasted it for salt and pepper (the meat was falling apart in the broth) and then added two bags of frozen soup vegetables and a generous splash of red wine. Now it's simmering on low heat, still, and will soon be ready. I'm looking forward to having soup for the next few nights! It will make my first few days back at work easier if I can come home to a tasty dinner that's already made.

Have a good week, everybody.

Day 10 and falling behind!

It's day 10 of the Halloween Countdown blog party and I feel bad that I've missed a few days. I originally intended to try to blog every day during the month of October, but I realize now that was a bit ambitious. My job has been tiresome and stressful lately, and now GB is sick with some flu-like bug. I am crossing my (sanitized) fingers that I don't catch whatever he has. So I will still try to blog every day, but if I miss a few I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

That being said, here are some pictures I took yesterday and today to show some of my ongoing preparations for Halloween (and fall in general):

These are some little artificial flowers, leaves, and berries I stuck in the glass mosaic jars that live on my kitchen windowsill.

These are the pumpkins I bought on Friday afternoon. I love the tiny one with the long stem!

I tried and tried to get a picture of Ginger posing in front of the pumpkins. She refused to cooperate. She finally laid down beside them, looking irritated at me for trying to get her stay still and look at the camera. This was the best I could get!

I'm so over that camera thing.

Another way I am getting in the spirit of fall is by cooking big batches of chili and soup, and then freezing half. So far I have made pots of vegetarian black bean chili and vegetable beef soup, and I have several quarts of both stored in the freezer. Today I am making chicken soup for my sick sweetheart. So far a stock is simmering with local/organic/free range chicken pieces, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, sea salt, and pepper. Here is a picture taken as I was starting:

I will continue to work on building a flavorful stock for a day or two, then strain it and add back some deboned chicken, carrots, peas, celery, shallots, more garlic, and egg noodles. It should be just the thing for my sick guy!

Those are my seasonal activities this week. Happy Day 10!