In The Refiner's Fire

Christmas Dinner this year. I am having a hard time believing 2019 is almost finished.  Where on earth did it go?  Here's our menu for this last bit of 2019 and the first bit of 2020: Sunday, December 29:     Brunch: Out, courtesy of my Father     Snacks: Crackers and Cheese     Dinner:  Salmon, Maple Glazed Brussels Sprouts, Couscous Monday, December 30:     Breakfast: Pancakes with Blueberries     Lunch:  Salad with leftover Salmon     Snacks: Christmas Cookies     Dinner: Leftovers Tuesday, December 31:     Breakfast: Oatmeal Muffins, Bananas     Lunch: Leftovers     Snacks:  Christmas Cookies     Dinner: Appetizers, Christmas Cookies Wednesday, January 1:     Brunch: Buttermilk Coffee Cake, Bacon, Fruit     Snacks: Crackers and Cheese     Dinner: Jambalaya Thursday, January 2:   ...

Sweet pickled cucumbers from this past fall - every time I look in the cupboard, I am grateful (this was right after I put them in the jars, so the jars have not all sealed yet!). It's been quite the week!  The children auditioned for the spring musical at school and landed HUGE roles in the production cast.  They are thrilled - a lot of work ahead but very exciting for high school freshman!   John had two funerals - one that was just fun and one that had to have plain-clothes police in the congregation (yikes!). One of our children's really good friends was the victim of a very nasty bullying incident at their new high school. His mother hosted an impromptu get-together for his friends from his old school (our children's old school), so of course out children had to attend (they were quite irritated on their friend's behalf!) and our son ended up sleeping over with several other male friends.  And, I ended up in the emergency room with what turned out to b...

I found this photo while cleaning off old photos from my phone.  Think spring!  We have not even really had winter yet.... We had an early snow here this year.  It has mostly stayed, making winter feel long already!  Typically, we do not get a "real" snow - snow that stays more than a day or so - until the end of December.  This year, it was middle of November!  I am hoping that means winter will be done by mid-April.  I am not making bets about that but I can hope, right? Anyway, it is a good week for soup and other winter meals.  Here is what we are eating this week: Sunday, December 8:     Breakfast: Toast, Strawberry Smoothies     Lunch: Egg Sandwiches, Carrot Sticks, Apple Slices     Snack: Popcorn     Dinner: Turkey Stir Fry, Rice or Noodles   Monday, December 9:     Breakfast: Eggs and Toast     Lunch: Leftover Stir Fry     Snack: No Bake Bites ...

A recent sunrise - with the day starting later, I am so grateful that we get to see the sunrise on a regular basis! We have had lovely warm-ish weather the last few days - right around 40F (~4C).  That is normal weather for us this time of year, but with the cold snap we had a few weeks ago, it feels quite balmy.  We finished hanging the outdoor Christmas decorations and made sure the walkways were treated for ice.  I think we are officially ready for winter here! We had a very busy week this past week - auditions for the spring musical at school for the Children, another school event, John has several parishioners on Hospice (end of life) care and two upcoming funerals. I am heading into final exams for the term, which always seems crazy busy.  My Mother had two outpatient surgeries this past week and is doing well.  Add in all the busyness of Advent and the upcoming Christmas holiday, and I feel like we never stop! Here are some of the frugal things we...

A gender-neutral baby quilt! We have a dear friend who is expecting her third baby immediately after Christmas.  I typically do not give Christmas gifts to friends, apart from occasional baked goods (cookies, bread, and the like) but, her older children are school age and she donated all her baby things a couple of years ago.  I had all the materials in my sewing stash so, I made a small quilt for the baby.  My friends are not finding out the gender of the baby before the baby is born, so it is a deliberately gender neutral quilt.  You can make this in your choice of colors for either gender, gender neutral or whatever pattern or theme you like. Materials: * Four rectangles of fabric in your desired color(s) - mine are 12" x 8 inches.  I chose  one each of pink, yellow, green and blue. * A piece of fleece in coordinating colors for baking (large enough to cover the back of the sewn-together squares).  I chose a plaid in white, blue, pink and g...

Part of our carrot harvest this year - we planted "Rainbow" carrots: a variety of colors - orange, yellow, white, purple and red.  They are delicious! We are trying to eat from our stores as much as we can and stock up a bit this month at the same time.  We will be eating several things from our garden - including the carrots seen above - as the garden did very, very well this year! I inventoried the freezers and we have some frozen foods that need to be used up.  We also have several things that have been in the pantry for quite a while. Time to use those up! Here is what we are eating this week: Sunday, December 1, 2019:       Breakfast: Toast and Banana-Mango Smoothies       Lunch: Pancakes with Chunky Applesauce and Walnuts       Snack: Popcorn       Dinner: Three Sisters Soup, Cornbread Monday, December 2, 2019:      Breakfast: Eggs and Toast      Lunch: Left...