Welcome to Second Winter!

March is such a cruel month... hopeful with sunshine, gentle temps and daffodils and then wham! Today we have 8 inches of snow. My six foot butterfly bushes are bent to the ground, Emma beagle is gleefully leaping and bounding through the backyard in snow to her belly and Wendy dog, along with the rest of us are quite disgruntled with the whole weather event.

Fortunately, the dogs had a lovely walk yesterday while my daughter and I chatted and laughed about the ridiculous predictions regarding this recent storm. Since we live in the capricious weather land of Missouri, we did make a quick run to the grocery, primarily for chocolate, cooked up a big pot of chicken and rice soup and started new knitting projects. We are consequently snug and content, albeit truly irritated that this snow prediction came true with a vengeance. Spring will obviously be waiting until April for us.

I had been in a bit of a knitting funk having completed the large shawl and a bunch of Christmas hats and mitts. The weather had been delightful, giving hope to gardening opportunities sooner, rather than what now looks like a lot later... I usually switch to smaller knitting projects for spring and summer such as mittens, socks and the occasional lace scarf, since I truly only enjoy knitting with wool. I have tried cotton fibers but miss the scent and springy hand of the wool yarns. Shopping my stash, I have pulled out some lovely Regia self-stripping sock yarn for a fun burst of purples, blues and gray colors making a new sturdy pair of warm socks. Val has been working on her first pair of socks for about a week, using the Patons Kroy sock yarn in gray brown marl. Her pair is coming right a long! And yes, I prefer #2 wood needles, she loves metal ones.

We are also considering cranking up the oven and attempting to bake some croissants with help from a Julia Child recipe. Since our mother/daughter Paris trip last year, there are quite a few weekends I simply crave a croissant and coffee. I know they will be difficult, but we do have the 1-1/2 cups of butter required on hand. Since we no longer have any other plans for today, why not? I will probably do another post a bit sooner than usual featuring the success or failure of the croissant crafting. Perhaps then the snow will be histoire?! Most likely not, but I can dream and probably will open a bottle of French wine as we bake a la Julia.

Prepping

Perhaps planning for disaster is not tops on the daily list of chores but taking a few minutes before tornado/ blizzard/ hurricaine season or even looming banking crisis, to consider what might be valuable assets for family comfort and safety is a nifty practice to do annually on the Spring or Winter Equinox . When my kids were young, our family happened to live in California, basically on the San Andreas fault line and although they were trained in earthquake drills at school, you don't get over the primal fear of feeling the earth move and your house shake. Then we moved to Texas, the kids were relieved earthquakes were out of their lives but they were terrified of tornadoes. I invented the family mantra "don't be scared, be prepared." Our little rhyming chant was ever so much better than screaming and tears. It helped the children to focus on safety and be team players with their equally frightened, but more stoic parents.

Decades later,our mantra is a fondly recalled bit of family history, as well as a reminder that being even a little prepared gives you some peace of mind in disaster circumstances. I thought I would share a few hints and tips my kids and I have brainstormed over the years. We currently live in the tornado prone Midwest and one of the best items I have purchased was NOAA Weather Radio Alarm. It hangs on the wall between the bedrooms, plugged into an outlet, but with battery back up and it alarms for severe weather or flooding.

Other upstairs disaster preparedness habits we've developed are: keeping leashes for the dogs near to where they usually sleep for quick grab and go and making sure each bedroom has a working flashlight or LED lantern ( keep one handy in the kitchen too). I've trained myself to leave my purse with keys and phone hanging off my bedroom doorknob, easy to take on my way out.

Since we usually head to the basement under a tornado warning, we've got a cache of stuff accessible there. We have a lockbox stored about four feet off the floor.  A few good things to remember to keep there besides your important papers are: photocopies of your homeowners and auto insurance policies, emergency phone numbers, copies of health insurance cards and a hundred dollars in smaller bills.

I learn that Emma is afraid of grate bridges.

I do not have a finished basement, but we have managed to create a comfortable space with a couple of futons, blankets and a rug. I've stashed some non-perishable snacks, spare batteries, pet food, and a basic first aide kit  in a big plastic tub. Add to those, some bottled water and a deck of cards, and we are ready to sit out an evening or longer of tornado warnings. A terrific site to learn more is http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/home-family . And remember, "Don't be scared, be prepared!"

It's all good

Today being 3.14 = Pi Day! All you math geeks know this and truly, although I enjoy a bit of algebra on occasion, I really love pie. Yes, this is one of the days I feel very justified to have a couple of luscious wedges of fruit pie for breakfast.  No kidding, my roots hail from Down East (Maine, Connecticut & Massachusetts) and "back in the day" pie was and acceptable breakfast food. It's a bread, fruit and goo that is truly wonderful with a cuppa coffee or tea; beats a jelly filled donut hands down! This morning we all had pie smooshed into a bowl and covered in cream, microwaved or cold, it was marvelous... Of course to celebrate Pi Day one should really know a bit about the mathematical value so I refer you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi for an interesting synopsis. Those not so fascinated by math scroll through the formulas and you will find some very cool trivia to impress your friends. Oh, and do have some pie to honor Archimedes...

Snow is gone although we have had flurries, the temps are not sandal worthy. My son and I did get the bird houses cleaned, reassembled and hung in our sugar maple. I went over to our local farm store, El-Mel, for a look and came home with some radish seeds. I am hankering for some crispy veg so while waiting for my radishes to sprout I may whip up a summery salad to feed my longings. Nothing like a fresh potato salad or a crispy salad to spice up the dietary dreariness between seasons. This recipe is an easy quick fix and since I saw some new potatoes at the grocery this might be on the menu soon:
                                           
  3lb new potatoes, cut into 1" pieces (any potato red or yellow works, no peeling)
Cook in saucepan 10-12 minutes until fork tender. Drain.
  1/2 purple onion, slice thin
  1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved  (do I measure, NO! just add til it looks good)
  1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (No garden grown, substitute fresh spinach or celery)
  1/4 cup diced radish
  1/4 cup bacon bits  (can add individually as topping instead)
Toss all  in a bowl and stir with a fork. Now in a measuring cup combine:
  1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
  1/4 cup Miracle Whip or mayo
   2 tsp. dijon mustard
Whip dressing ingredients together then pour over veg & mix a little. Refrigerate until ready to serve but this salad is good warm too. Makes 8 generous servings of picnic salad and feeds the fresh craving.

Is Spring sprung?

Dare I say Spring has started to happen? We've had about twelve hours of rain and now some early evening sunlight is slanting through the clouds and patches of blue sky are visible. Most of my backyard is very waterlogged. Unfortunately, my rain barrels weren't all set up to be collecting rainwater this early in the season. Yet today, the air is much warmer and it smells like Spring! I found some miniature iris bulbs blooming already in my stump garden.

This past week, I saw "sky rivers" of blackbirds returning to the area while walking the dogs one evening in a freezing wind. A pair of cardinals have returned to my backyard, perhaps searching for this year's nesting spot. No asparagus spikes yet, although lots of daffodils, hyacinths and a few tulips are exuberantly pushing up through their protective mulch. Exciting stuff, watching my personal environment...

I have started to make lists of yard projects that will be needed before the garden growing season begins and I still have one indoor painting job to complete as well.  I must have been a wintertime slacker or very sleepy, yet Christmas doesn't seem that far past. Life surely is a great distraction.

This year I hope to increase the number of raised beds for vegetables, improve the rain barrel system, build a protective netting cage for the blueberries and continue my stealthy elimination of lawn. I am looking forward to dividing my hostas & daylilies, encouraging my climbing roses to greater heights and severely pruning a prolific wisteria which is pulling my arbor apart. My herb garden also needs some serious design help. I better remember to take my vitamins and stock up on some Icy Hot muscle rub too.

Saving and Celebrating

This past weekend was my baby's birthday, she turned eighteen... One of us is getting old! She is not a cake eater, thus a cookie cake was my game plan. I have bought many over the years but their price has steadily risen and I wasn't happy about spending $10 for one, so I decided to make my own.

Ease of preparation and tastiness were my primary concerns, and I thought a tube of delicious cookie dough from the refrigerated  grocery shelf would be just the ticket. I could feel guilty about not doing a from scratch cookie but iffy results and a kitchen full of dishes aren't my idea of birthday fun, so no guilt here. I went to this link and got the super easy recipe info:
 http://www.pillsbury.com/products/cookies/refrigerated-cookies/pillsbury-refrigerated-chub-faqs

I formed about a ten inch dough circle with my hands and baked the giant cookie for 15 minutes. It spreads out an extra inch or two and is indeed a lovely, "glass of milk" deserving cookie. We cut it into eighths like a pizza after the birthday girl blew out the candles. The Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough I found was on a twofer sale and since everyone devoured the first cookie, I made up the second tube too. No stinting on celebration at our house! (Plus I saved at least 50% on the overall cost of a bakery cookie cake, even making two cookies.)

Philosophical Moment: Saving cash the yummy way

Keep tightening the belt

Well, my taxes are done and I'll be getting two small refunds. Gratefully, I didn't owe anything. Staring at the cold, hard numbers of my slice of the US economy, I now have numeric proof that my income took a bit of a nosedive in 2012. Not that I hadn't suspected, even as I continued to work at a job I've had for years. Gone are the days of tax refunds big enough to finance a vacation; today my refund is cash for gasoline.

My point being, frugality has become a necessary way of life. I have never been a spendthrift, although on occasion I have impulsively enjoyed dinners out, been known to buy coveted yarn I really didn't need, and taken a trip I didn't budget for... It's just getting harder to justify purchasing anything over a five bucks that will not be used daily, eaten over a couple of days or has limited usefulness.

When I am in need of an item I'll search dollar and thrift stores or estate sales before heading to a commercial shopping center. Online shopping is probably the only instance I will use a credit card. Actually, I haven't been to the nearby mall in years, preferring to shop local small businesses. This all sounds pretty hard line but truly other than food or car repairs, most purchases can wait a few days or weeks. The challenge (fun in my mind) is to use resourcefulness to find a cheaper way to accomplish household needs:

•  Choose what is really important for you; my household no longer has TV but we do have computers & internet. 

• Simplify needs; get rid of the extra, especially kitchen equipment, clothing or collections that no longer give you joy.

• Socialize, today we are surprisingly isolated; participate in games, clubs, sports or hobbies. 

•  Be energy efficient and limit resource waste; try LED light bulbs, hang clothes to dry, use insulating curtains, create rain barrels and compost vegetable scraps & yard waste.

The Reduce/Reuse/Recycle mantra can really make a difference. I have been able to save some money by giving thought to personal essentials and experimenting with the rest. It is surprising what learning opportunities are created by a little introspection; gardening and composting have become a hobby, saving on my electric bill a monthly challenge and I have learned to enjoy a bit of kitchen creativity. The old adage "live and learn" certainly applies. I grew up during a time of plenty and now have to deal with a dwindling economy. Relearning the resourcefulness our grandparents of the Depression Era had will re-infuse valuable skills into our culture and allow making-do-with-less go a lot farther.

Is there a difference between Muffins & Cupcakes?

Ahh, yes I have been contemplating some serious issues... I've been on a bit of a bake here lately, starting with a box of Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix. I have never liked any "airy" box cake mix so I augment the ingredients with some density infusing goodies. Every cake mix benefits from 1 cup of quick-cook oatmeal, just stir in and follow the egg, oil and water additions as written on the box.

My secreting of oatmeal into baked goods stems from my sense of utter failure as a new mother when my toddlers would not eat a bowl of the stuff. There was more oatmeal on chairs, walls and table than ever passed the lips of my little ones. I remember once rolling my son, in his high chair outside (we lived in sunny California then) to hose him off, as he had upturned the entire bowl over his head! Consequently, I started sneaking oatmeal into the kids' food. I have no idea why I was so obsessed, but in my mind nutrition = good mothering.

Almost twenty years later, my kids beg for oatmeal brownies or breakfast cake. Yes, breakfast cake, we aren't frosting fans, so for all those past school mornings I'd make a 13 x 9 cake from a mix, add in oatmeal, a 1/2 cup chopped nuts and some dried fruit or carrot and let them eat it for breakfast. Lately, I have been enamored with the cupcake size for breakfast cake; portion controlled and portable. Tonight I made some from scratch, with a bit of guidance from my ancient Betty Crocker Cookbook. I used the Oatmeal-Raisin version but without the raisins, instead topping them with bits of thawed raspberries & pearl sugar. Very yum while warm and sipping a stout cuppa tea.

That was our return snack after walking Emma & Wendy in the newly fallen 5 inches of snow. Happy, happy dogs although it was a bit icy going. Emma is shorter and had to leap from footprint to footprint when she got tired from breaking through the snow crust.

Regarding my initial blog question about cupcakes and muffins... There's no real difference, other than my dictionary says muffins are eaten warm. And I'm good with that!