Teas and T's: January 2018

Thoughts and Quotes: It’s not that people want too much, it’s that they want too little. Your future emanates totally and absolutely from your present mental attitude, and you have 18 billion brain cells waiting to be activated by a big goal. When you know clearly what you want, you’ll wake up every morning excited about life.

Mark Victor Hansen

So how are you doing with your 2018 goals? Moving right along or have you lost interest? If so, maybe Mark is correct and the goals aren't exciting enough. Hmmmmmm.......might want to revise your goal list.

Tidying: Thanks to help from Nancy, my cleaning goal is ahead of schedule. The living room is finished and feels so fresh. The dining room is finished except for washing the outside of the window.

Tip: One of my goals is to take photos of everything for insurance purposes. I couldn't possibly remember everything if it all blew away in a tornado. It occurred to me that this would be a perfect time to work on that goal. Each time I finish a room, I'll take photos. I don't intend to photograph every single item, but at least a group photo of drawers and shelves.

Of course my bookkeeping mind kicked in and devised a logical plan. North - East - South - West - Top - Bottom.

Here's the living room:

North

East

South

West

Thomas Kinkade's Blessings of Autumn

Down

Tasting: My soup for the week. You've seen it before. If you haven't tried it, you really should.

LIBRARY SOUP

(Dana from the Children’s Section at the Ozark library)

1 can each:

Whole kernel corn, drained

Kidney beans, drained

Seasoned black beans, drained

Rotel with lime and cilantro

Chicken broth

2 chicken breasts, cubed

Mix together in Crockpot and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high/regular for 4-5 hours.

Serve with tortilla chips and grated Monterey Jack cheese.

Note: I used 2 cans of broth for more liquid, and used pinto beans instead of kidney beans. I love this soup and will make it often.

Remember the raspberry vinegar I made?

I promised you a vinaigrette and here are two easy samples. I'm going to try a creamy one soon.

ANOTHER WINTER SALAD

Salad:

1 bunch of green leaf lettuce

1 11-oz can mandarin oranges

1 large red apple, cubed (don’t peel)

3/4 cup pecan halves

3/4 cup dried cranberries

Raspberry Vinaigrette of your choice or a bottle from the store

Vinaigrette 1:

1/2 cup raspberry vinegar

1/2 cup light honey (clover honey is rather overwhelming)

1/2 cup salad oil

1/4 cup water

Mix in a shaker or blender

Vinaigrette 2:

1/2 cup raspberry vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup salad oil

Mix in a shaker or blender

Mix salad ingredients in a large bowl and dress, or put salads on individual salad plates and serve the vinaigrette on the side.

Note: To make raspberry vinegar, mix 1-1/2 cups white vinegar and 1/2 cup sugar and heat to dissolve sugar. While still hot, add 1 cup fresh raspberries and put in a covered jar. Leave at room temperature for about three weeks. Strain and it’s ready to use.

Muffin Tin Monday

BREAKFAST CUPS

1 cup diced ham

1 cup cooked and chopped broccoli

1 cup shredded Cheddar

12 eggs

Salt and Pepper

Heat oven to 350°.

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

Divide ham, broccoli and Cheddar evenly between the cups.

Beat eggs with salt and pepper and spoon over the mixture. First, about half so it can settle in, then the balance.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

Note: Use any combinations you like, choosing from:

Bacon, cooked and crumbled

Sausage links, cooked and thinly sliced

Bulk sausage, cooked and crumbled

Spinach, cooked, squeezed dry

Asparagus spears, cooked and thinly sliced

Swiss, Parmesan, or Pepper Jack cheese

Tissue Cards: This week's card made from a tissue box. There's not much you can do when the box is a picture.

Tidying: My seven discards for the week - can you believe that I actually turned loose of two teapots? What a good girl!

Then Joey gave me one of those individual teapots we used to buy at the 99 cents only store in California and a magnetic sheet for storing cutting dies for making cards.

So I'm giving these to my niece. Remember the movie about The Bird Man of Alcatraz? My niece is the Bird Woman of Spingfield.

The Pepper and Pals Report: Pepper's eye continues to improve, with his hair slowly filling in the wound spot.

Midnight's babies are as big as their mommy now. They slept in the carriers while it was cold, but now have moved back outside. They do, however, like to use them as playground equipment sometimes. And sometimes they come in to use the potty box instead of going outside.

Stormy and Ginger getting acquainted.

Tidbits: If you're thinking of running for Congress, you might want to reconsider. I watched this woman in the background through Chuck Shumer's entire speech, and she looked this unhappy the entire time.

Teaching and Learning: Okay - I've done a little research on hygge and here's what I learned. Hygge is pronounced hoo-ga and it's a Danish term which means taking pleasure in the simple things in life and enjoying them with your friends. You can find lists on Pinterest, but you know what makes you feel cozy and happy already, so make up your own list. If I weren't involved in this cleaning frenzy, my hygge list would look like this:

Monday: Stay in bed and read until 9:00. Coffee and a nice warm shower. Grubbies and no makeup and read some more. Soup and salad for lunch and read some more.

Tuesday: Go buy flowers and food. Make a pretty table, invite friends over for dinner, nice long conversation after.

Wednesday: A walk around the neighborhood to see what's new. Watch some recorded episodes of Aerial America and have afternoon tea.

Thursday: Work a jigsaw puzzle and make some greeting cards. Comfort food dinner of chicken and noodles.

Friday: Crochet a new doily and plan my next theme dinner.

Saturday: Get lost in the internet; listen to music on YouTube, and call friends to chat.

You get the idea. You can find lists on Pinterest by just searching hygge. Another explanation of what it means is HERE. Another, along with a list, is HERE. And a 7-day hygge challenge HERE. And I'm all for it 100%.

Tidbits: Well, here it is. Our new Lucky's Market in Springfield, MO.

Good loss leaders - apples 50 cents lb.