Some More of my Favorite Things...

 

Thanksgiving is a time to focus on the positives in our lives and be grateful for what we have. So I’m wanting to explore some more of my favorite things. In my last post I talked about some of my favorite kitchen tools...pretty mundane, I know! (I just feel like we should rejoice even in the commonplace.) Today, however, I want to focus on things that are more intangible.

I love sunsets! My kitchen window faces west, so I get to see the sun set almost every day. We have been privileged to enjoy innumerable displays of color since we’ve moved to this area of Texas. One of the things I enjoy about them the most is the constantly changing hues as the sun dips beneath the horizon. I never tire of it!

I also love the smell of rain. I recently learned that there is actually a word for this: petrichor. It is caused by water coming in contact with dry rocks or earth. Whatever the science of it, it is so refreshing!

I also love to listen to thunderstorms! There is just something very powerful and moving about them. Listening to the rain coming down in sheets and hearing the rumbling and booming in the distance is very soothing and exciting at the same time.

I love the smell of bread baking, and the subtle scent of pine as you walk through a forest, and the soft scent of a baby after a bath. I love the sound of ocean waves breaking on the shore, and wolves howling in the distance, and the sound of a young child laughing. I love the sight of a rainbow, and snow-topped mountains, and fields of wildflowers. I love the feel of a warm, fuzzy blanket; and the soft, smooth skin of an infant; and the feeling of buoyancy while floating in the sea.

I love the feeling of joy that fills my heart when I’m surrounded by those that I love. I love hearing about the kindness of strangers. I love stories about those who overcome great obstacles. I love watching children as they play. All of these, and too many more to describe, are some of my favorite things.

"My Favorite Things"

 

This is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies! I love the sentiment behind it…focus on and enjoy the little things that bring you joy. So that is what I’m going to do in this post…focusing on kitchen tools.

One of the very first kitchen utensils that I got when Dennis and I got engaged was this paring knife. It was a gift from Elkins Hardware, where I had my gift registry set up. I didn’t grow up using good quality knives, so this Chicago knife was my first…and I was hooked. Forty-three years later, it is still one of my favorites…and my go-to every time I have something to peel. Although I don’t put wooden handles in the dishwasher, it has accidentally happened a few times over the years. So the handle is a little worse for wear, but it still cuts beautifully.

Zoom forward a few decades, and we found a Zwilling butcher knife at an estate sale and bought it for $15. We loved it so much that when Dennis found a similar one on sale online, he bought me another one…plus one for each of our girls. If it is in my knife drawer, it is the one that I grab when I need to do some chopping! Good tools are so important!

When Granny passed away, I was asked what I would like to have of hers to remember her by. Without hesitating, I asked for her Saladmaster pots and pans. When I think of Granny, it is usually of her in the kitchen, cooking. I think my love of cooking and feeding others came from her. I don’t remember when she got that set of pans, but they are probably at least 50 years old. We’ve had to replace a few handles over the years, but the pans are still as good as when they were purchased. I love a good set of stainless cookware!  They were all that I used for decades, other than a non-stick skillet for cooking eggs and some cast iron cookware.

Speaking of cast iron, I have always loved a good cast iron skillet or Dutch oven for frying. The downside is, of course, maintaining their seasoning. So a few years back I decided to splurge and get an enameled cast iron Dutch oven. It is now my favorite pot! I use it for soups/stews, deep frying, and even for baking artisan bread in. It has all of the desirable properties of cast iron, plus is easy to clean! (And I love the red color!)

These are all a few of my favorite things in my kitchen. I’ll explore a few more favorite things later on. What are some of your favorite kitchen things?

Thankful and Blessed!

 

We are doing our Thanksgiving dinner next Saturday. Even with all the hardships and sorrows of 2020, we have much to be thankful for! I’m very thankful that all of our family are planning to be together…and that all have stayed safe and healthy during this crazy time. I’m thankful for Dennis and the guys’ successful hunt last week. They each killed a buck and 2 does, which was the limit for the lease. They all had a wonderful time and can’t wait to return next year, Lord willing! I’m thankful for being able to have visited with some dear friends this past week that I hadn’t seen in many months (as well as 3 of my kiddos). I’m thankful for the progress that Dennis has made on the house this year. With each renovation made, our house gets more and more efficient and comfortable…and hopefully will see us into our “declining years”. I’m thankful for the 43 years (this week) that Dennis and I have shared. God blessed me with a wonderful husband! I’m thankful for all of my kiddos, and that they are happily married and “settled”. I’m thankful for all of my grandkids and the love and laughter that they bring to our lives. And I’m thankful that I have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus and have the hope of spending eternity with Him! I am incredibly blessed!

I know that most of you still have another week and a half until you celebrate, but I want to go ahead and wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving! I hope that you are able to spend it with those that you love, and that you all recognize the abundant blessings that are yours to enjoy. Love you all!

Have I mentioned how much I love this time of year?

 The trees are really starting to turn colors right now. There is one tree that we pass by on our way to the church house that is absolutely gorgeous...a brilliant reddish orange sumac. I wish I had asked Dennis to stop this morning so I could take a picture of it. I'll have to make a point to drive by this week and get one. I haven't been out driving lately, but Dennis says the countryside is ablaze with color. I'm hoping to see for myself this week. I don't know if y'all realize it or not, but I LOVE FALL! 😉

Dennis' gums are much better this week. It looks like the infection is going to go ahead and clear up without more antibiotics. That's good! He has had to take so many already over the past month or so. It looks like this specialist may have done a good job of saving those two teeth.

I've heard of several more cases of the virus among my dear friends. I hope and pray that all recover quickly and completely. It is really spreading again right now! Thankfully, it seems like the cases are less severe among most of the ones that I know. I'm hoping that the virus continues to weaken, and treatments continue to improve, so we can put this all behind us!

Dennis has been packing up all afternoon for his yearly hunting trip. He and the guys are leaving first thing in the morning and will be gone until Friday. I always look forward to these weeks that he goes hunting. It is nice to have a little alone time to do things on my schedule. I can set the thermostat where I want it, eat what I want when I want it, and not concern myself with doing things on Dennis' timetable. (He is very much a man of routine!) Diane B. called a couple of days ago and invited me to come spend the night while he is gone. (We usually do a sleepover sometime during the holiday season.) So I plan to meet with Sheila for lunch on Wednesday (always looking for an excuse to spend time with my girl), and then head to Diane's house afterward. I'll be going with her to HC that evening for services, so I'll get to see all of my friends over there...and hear Ricky speak! I'm really looking forward to that! We also plan to make some cards to send to the nursing home that Daddy was in. Diane came up with the idea, and I thought it was great. The nursing home is supposed to be compiling me a list of (first) names, so we can personalize them. I would love to be able to hand them out, but I know that isn't going to happen. I'm hoping to start doing some volunteering there when restrictions ease up some. 

I have been doing my Christmas shopping (online) for the past couple of weeks. I finally got everything ordered, and have been wrapping the gifts as they are delivered. My guest room is filling up! I always like to get mine done early. Since we see Stephen's family at Thanksgiving, but not at Christmas, I try to have theirs ready to give to them at that time to take home. Sometimes they send me videos of the kids opening their presents. I really get a kick out of that! Since I've finished my shopping (and most of my wrapping) so early, I might even get around to sending out cards this year. (I'm usually not very good at that!)

I am ready for Thanksgiving! I'm still hoping that we have our bathroom usable by then, but I'm not sure how likely that is. I have my menu planned (with everyone's contributions) and paper goods ordered. Since we plan to eat outside, we are going with paper plates and plastic cups this year. That will cut down on cleanup and give us more time for visiting (plus we won't have to worry about any breakage!).

Dennis has most of the sheetrock up in the bathroom and has taped and floated a good bit of it. He's going to have to wait to finish until he gets the bathtub in...and he's going to have to have help doing that. I used to would have helped him, but I can't trust my arms to carry that much weight any more, with my shoulders being like they are. He's also having to find a special fitting to correctly line up the drain. I tell you, it is one thing after another when you work on an old house! Things aren't square, a lot of the plumbing and wiring is shoddily done, and other unexpected problems are constantly popping up. I'm thankful that Dennis is so skilled at dealing with all of it, but I sure feel sorry for him at times. He can get quite vexed!

I hope that you are all enjoying the cooler weather and changing leaves. How are all of you doing with your holiday preparations? Stay safe, be kind, and continue to trust God in all things! He's got this!

Getting ready for cold weather and deer season

 We’ve really been enjoying the cooler weather that we’ve been having! Unfortunately our fireplace didn’t get delivered and installed until the cold/wet weather had passed (for now). We’ve been able to use it a little in the late evenings and early mornings, but it has mostly been for pleasure rather than the needed warmth. We do love it though! There is something about sitting, looking into a fire, that is so soothing. Plus I love the instant warmth that comes from sidling up to a fire/heater. I grew up with space heaters, and love them! I love backing up to a gas fire and feeling that warmth, right where you need it. That’s what this fireplace reminds me of…only much prettier…and safer! It warms up the living room very well, without the uncomfortable (for me) hot air blowing on me that comes from central heat. It does have a fan, which we use, but we can adjust the force of the fan the way we like it. I think this is going to be one of my favorite things about our remodel!

Dennis had his second root canal last week, which went well. He still has some tenderness, but this one caused even less pain than the first one did. He thinks that there is still a little infection in the bone. His endodontist didn’t want to keep him on antibiotics any longer, so he just has him rinsing with hot salt water to see if that will take care of it. He has had some sinus issues this week (his tooth infections and sinus infections seemed to go hand in hand), so he’s watching it closely for now. If the tenderness and drainage doesn’t clear up soon, he’ll go to his allergy/sinus doctor.

I got my steroid shot in my right shoulder on Thursday. It has helped, just not as much as I had hoped. I’ll give it another week. Sometimes the full effect takes a while to kick in. My doctor said if I was still having problems after 2 weeks to call and he’d set me up for an MRI, so he could find out exactly what is going on in there.

Dennis has finished most of the wiring now. That’s what he has been working on all week. When he tore into the wiring in the hall bathroom, he found a real rat’s nest of wires that didn’t make any sense. He had a time sorting them all out! He has now replaced all of the aluminum wiring in the house except for 2 circuits (one in our bedroom, and another going to the heater/ac unit). He rerouted the crazy circuits in the bathroom and actually lined them up where they made sense! He also framed up the window in the bathroom. Neither of us ever liked having a window next to the toilet! I had it covered with plastic cling for privacy, but we decided to just wall over it on the inside. We didn’t remove the window, since that would complicate things on the outside wall. He just boarded it up (inside) and will put sheetrock over it. On the outside, I used the frosted cling film so that you couldn’t see the board inside. I think it will work out ok. At first we were going to put the cling film inside the glass, but it started peeling off, and we realized that wasn’t going to work! Once we had it walled in, we’d never be able to replace the film if it came off again. I’m sure I’ll have to eventually replace it on the outside, with it being exposed to the elements, but at least I can get to it there!

Dennis plans to start sheetrocking the bathroom this week. (I think I’ve said that before, but the wiring took a lot longer than I expected!) I am really looking forwarded to getting the hall bathroom back! Once it is serviceable (at least with a sink and toilet), Dennis will focus on his hunting for a while. Remodel will have to wait until January or so!

We also bought us a small chest freezer this week. We have always struggled with freezer space…especially when butchering deer. Now I can neatly organize my upright freezer for everyday use, and then keep the extra meat (or whatever) in the chest freezer. Since gun season starts this next weekend, the time was right to increase our freezer storage space. I’m looking forward to having some fresh meat. I think I am down to just 3 or 4 packages of ground deer from last year. Dennis plans to hunt locally this next weekend, then he and a few guys are heading down to the hill country the next week for a few days. Hopefully we’ll have a full freezer again soon!

Well, that’s what’s going on here. I hope you are all staying safe and warm!