thanksgiving part deux.

 

thanksgiving day proper is past, one for the memory books. we’re so thankful for dear friends in this bit of paradise. but today dear wendy and rafael are on their way. we have leftovers warming in the crockpot, hugs for them both, and flannel sheets on their bed to keep cozy warm through the night for the temps are ice cube strength. I set our dining table with fresh linens and brought out the dishes purchased when we moved to Haven Haus. 

here’s a few pictures..a hint of what’s to come. 

see you soon..

giving thanks.

let’s take a little ride .. 

these are our views heading to 

our church fellowship. 

thankful as to where and 

how God has led. 

.our tiny town treetops. 

.a touch of autumn remains.

.a treasured view all my own.

.mountain curves.

“This Thanksgiving, for the beauties and abundance of the earth, for family near and far, for friends, old and new, for the gift of each brand new day and the chance to make a difference, let us give thanks.” {unk}  

the hubs set up an additional table so

we have one in the dining area 

and one in the living room. 

each sits six. 

largely using items from my stash 

i put together simple tablescapes. 

identical tablecloths are actually 

vintage sheets. surprised?

I think not. 

use what you have 

and elevate it a tich. 

last night’s shadowed view..

and yesterday afternoon..

the light was right. 

love love love

the hutch my hubs built. 

made cereal the other day..

and hot cocoa mix. 

and dehydrated a couple bags 

of marshmallows. 

like candy. 

from here on out I’ll be a busy bee..

I’ll be back after thanksgiving.

until then, hold one another dear. 

hold your memories of those dear

& tuck them away

in the most special

crannies of your heart. 

🍁🤎🍁

with much love,

.sherry.

this & that.

 

the prettiest of hydrangeas

thoroughly dried, 

graces our hutch.

visiting a dear friend,

she offered clippers and the

rights to prune the bush

before winter sets in hard.

the right lighting and a rather large

egg from a local gal's prized chickens.

made for a fine breakfast.

this life ...

today's main meal is welcome

on this very cold very rainy day

all due to the weather pattern off the

pacific coast. there's nothing like

staying home on such a day

though we did toodle to a favorite

thrifty place - or two. 

it's my favorite sort of day.

*

glad i picked up tortillas at the market

the other day. i usually make them but once

in a while i reach for simplicity. i'll make

chipotle beef quesadillas, with sour cream

and guacamole on the side, and a pile

of cole slaw close at hand. 

good spicy groceries.

had to share another view of these dried beauties.

beef stew was processed and put away.

we have months of snow just around the

corner. it'll be a welcome thing to reach

for a jar, add more veg, and a cast iron

skillet of biscuits too.

professor kimi went to new mexico and upon her return 

gifted me some anasazi beans. they're gentler on one's

innards .. those and white beans. i (finally) canned

the beans which makes it convenient in planning a

meal in mid-winter. they're delish!

five quarts in total of chipotle beef for the pantry.

*

"It's a sweet thing to sit quietly in the early morning light

and talk to God for a while. It's amazing what you gain

from the conversation." {Richelle E. Goodrich}

a cup of hot cocoa being sipped intermittently as i type.

this reminds me to buy marshmallows.

i best get busy with dinner..

the hubs will start a fire - looking forward

to the warmth it'll bring. 

blessings on this stormy day,

.sherry.

hello {mid} november.

 

{this gorgeousness was snapped by a local in our village}

yesterday, it snowed. unexpected. large heavy flakes, just enough to grace roof tops and pines with powdered sugar sweetness. and with a mug of tea by my side, i relished the serenity of the moment though as quickly as it began, it subsided. and melted. more's the pity.

comfy blankets are making their way from storage to the great room. there's something special about snuggling with a comfy, hm?

milling wheat for 'cream of wheat' makes for a filling and delish breakfast on these chilly mornings before we begin our day(s) in earnest. 

i'm not sure time moves more swiftly due to age or as a state of mind... but this year? gracious sakes it seems to be at warp speed.  before you know it it's mid-november.

"if God gives you a few more years, remember, it is not yours. your time must honor God. your activity must honor God. and everything you do must honor God." 

{A.W. Tozer}

"so teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

{Psalm 90:12}

________________________________________________

we're hosting thanksgiving again this year, gathering local friends who have become more like family in many respects, some being orphans like us. it's a joy to have a table surrounded by dear souls, quiet conversation erupting into gregarious laughter, sumptuous food, fire blazing, prayer of thanksgiving for such a day to honor the freedoms as detailed in our constitution. in moments of the day i breath thanks heavenward. as we once again open the doors of Haven Haus - a refuge from the storms of life - to others, i pray they sense the peace God offers, embracing it deep within their own hearts. Selah.

there will be 10-12 'round our tables this year. maybe more. God always makes a way to provide extra places at a table as well as sustenance. i have a fairly set menu and have begun prepping what i can in advance. i found humongous yams so yesterday set to roasting, cooling, coring out the gorgeous orange flesh, then into the deep freeze. once thawed a day before thanksgiving i'll prep the casserole to be easily popped in the oven the next day. i'll make whipped potatoes in advance, sharing space with the sweet potato casserole. i don't often make turkey for thanksgiving - i'm a bit of a rebel i suppose. this year will be pork tenderloin & german sausages and a countertop full of sides. here's the menu .. 

*****

appetizer yet to be determined

apple cider glazed pork tenderloin and german sausages

sweet potato casserole

whipped potatoes and apple cider gravy

roasted brussel sprouts with bacon

cornbread stuffing

harvest salad with pumpkin vinaigrette

cranberry sauce

crescent rolls

desserts a'plenty

coffee - H2O - martinelli's cider

*****

i doubt we'll end the day hungry.

________________________________________________

well dearies, i need to get ready for the day and all it entails. bless you dearly as you step softly through your own days, giving thanks for every little blessing. 

with love,

.sherry.

busy summer days.

hello there.

our days have been busy here at home and beyond.

do you sense time slipping away at warp speed?

it's july 1st. june flew by and the previous months

of this year were no different. to me. 

Tozer said,

"If God gives you a few more years, remember, 

it is not yours. Your time must honor God,

your activity must honor God,

and everything you do must honor God."

i've been thinking on those words lately,

knowing that for me and other faith-based

folk, it is truth. may my words, thoughts,

intent .. may the core of my heart .. honor him.

my garden grows. mostly. not everything is 

growing well if i'm to be honest. the pole beans

have issues and i'm *this* close to ripping

them from prime garden real estate. 

i'm tired of watering something so forlorn.

the hubs says wait. he didn't say for how long.

will they miraculously change their tune

and develop healthy leaves and grow a bean?

or two? hard telling since locusts from the

pit have arrived in this area. how thoughtful

they waited until the buffalo gnats died.

torturous gnats gone .. enter the next plague.

.wink.

i spy with my little eye,

a sweet fawn resting under the 

protective shade of a 

zucchini leaf.

(the white powdery stuff is diatomaceous earth)

swiss chard.

both delish & beautiful.

happily coexisting with calendula.

before the chard turns bitter i'm snipping,

cleaning, trimming, using .. 

planning to use in salads,

eggs, dehydrating, and in place of cabbage.

there's plenty more where that came from.

ever made cabbage rolls?

i have. plenty. popular dish on my father's side.

i read about using chard instead of cabbage

so thought i'd give it a go. there's a slightly

different flavor (leaf-wise) but i'd gladly do it

again, next time though i'll double the chard leaves,

and a quick-blanch first.

i didn't quick-blanch these leaves before filling

and rolling. hm. it would have been an easier

process if i had. just extra care in the steps.

before the lot went into the oven:

i trimmed the chard spines and threw them

on top. the chard stalks i chopped fine and

added them to the meat mixture. 

and plated:

i was sharing about using chard in this dish

with a dear friend. she asked if i was plating

with potatoes. gulp! i forgot about the potatoes

and in fact had no potatoes in the pantry!

lickety split quick to our miniscule town market

the hubs went, returning with two beautiful

russets which while the chard rolls were

baking, i cleaned, peeled, sliced, boiled,

whipped ... ready shortly before the 

chard rolls. whew! 

the dish was delish!!!

we had a very cool morning recently .. high 40's.

best time to bake, 'specially since temps are

spiking this week for a possible extended

number of days. ew. ew. ew. & ew.

good for the garden i suppose ..

i don't do heat well.

rather than baking bread i chose to make oodles

of sandwich rolls which can be used for sammies,

burgers and dinner rolls. we sampled one,

but of course! with a slather of fresh homemade

butter.. didn't require anything else. 

pillow soft wonderfulness.

once cooled they were individually wrapped and placed

in freezer bags .. then into the deep freeze for later use.

and today i made a new batch of ranch.

i know what's in it. IYKYK.

no strange ingredients or golly gee "additions."

i've so much to share .. in later posts.

pictures, quips, stories, thoughts, etc.

in time. until then, please care for yourselves

tenderly. for those who reached out asking

for prayer.... i'm still praying. 

let me know via email if there are updates

to the original requests.

bless you all dearly,

.sherry.

.. my steps are ordered by the Lord ..

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly, 

he delights in every detail of their lives. 

Though they stumble, 

they will never fall, 

for the Lord holds them by the hand." 

Psalm 37:23-24

one potato two.

never despise meager beginnings..

I planted potatoes in buckets the latter part of April. purple potatoes gifted from my sweet sister Shirley and her husband, and white potatoes - organic from the market. yesterday I did a bit of preliminary scrounging the spring potato buckets, unearthed this darling wee purple then set to empty two buckets resulting in a nice little harvest of purples and whites. I’ve a potato patch in another area of our property.. hoping the harvest will be far greater than seen in the picture. It’s a darling potato, don’t you think? quite small. but perfect. 

 the buffalo gnats have died out for the year... save for mosquitoes, it’s now safe to venture out of doors without risk of blistering bites from the pit. Glorious!

the garden .. the starts are in ground and surviving if not flourishing. we have a short growing season so every day counts. visiting the nearby garden center yesterday (so thankful for our village garden store) I bought various pepper plants as my starts had zero germination. Bah! they’ve been repotted until July when space will open in a garden bed reserved just for them. I also bought five shrubs for a sunny area. And steer manure.. 

scapes are ready! professor kimi gifted me oodles of garlic which I planted last October with the advisement to watch for scapes. they’re here! her further advice is to sauté the scapes in butter. yUmmmm.

this morning I’m setting up twine for the tomatoes. trying the Florida Weave style this year. then we’re heading to the farmers market in the next county, my favorite thrift store, and checking out a Jeep trail to a lookout point. 

with that I’ll bid you all a blessed good day. 

love, 

.sherry.

a basket of bits & pieces.

while i'm not of the mind to borrow jargon to describe life's happenings, i'm using a bit of jargon to describe life of late .. it's been a minute. it truly has. sometimes i find my day has whisked by with barely a thought of the tucked away list i wanted to check off as complete simply because i was too busy. such is the case. it's been a minute since visiting this little corner of blogdom. it's been a minute since i attempted to put thought to keyboard. it's been a minute. truly. it's been a minute. i'd like to try posting more. we'll see how this goes, hm?

this blog post will be here, there and everywhere. when i uploaded pics somehow they got all coddiwomple rather than the planned way in which i wanted them shared, which i guess is fitting for my blog name IS coddiwomple. regardless, carry on if you choose.

i love the mornings when fog hangs low, the air is damp, and looking across our property to the neighbors, as pictured, deems a picture should be taken to commemorate the moment. i zoomed in to get a closer shot. one for the memory books. cool foggy mornings calm me.

i must say this is a fair depiction of late. sigh. i like to feel the dirt in my fingers and do use a nail brush - but there always seems to be a tich of earth just underneath. working on it. this is a funny meme though, hm? maybe i too can use my nail beds as start plugs. wink.

the hubs and i turned 66 in april

and boy howdy do we feel every year of it.

due to a recent photo shoot i now have a 

picture to share with you. charming.

that about covers our height - or lack thereof - issue.

i've missed flowers since moving here.

the hubs is sweet and to bring a bit more happiness

to my already content heart, he planted over 200 bulbs.

this shows just a sampling of the beauty. 

i went out this morning and snipped a few tulips,

daffodils, lilac, and a sprig from a flowering bush.

into a pretty jar and on my counter next to where

our yogurt is incubating. so pretty. 

after refurbishing/rebuilding/restoring eleven vintage

trailers, we're set to release number eleven and going

a different direction for our travel needs.

this darling is a 1955 Boles Aero Monterey.

we rebuilt/restored it from the ground up.

* blood * sweat * tears *

.. literally ..

she's a beauty but we're moving on and saying

a fond farewell to that part of our lives.

a week ago's tulips on the monstrous-sized hutch

the hubs built. aren't they so so pretty? 

oh! oh! oh! this is good. yesindeedy. 

a bit of yum for dinner recently. i used a burrito size

tortilla and added the taco ingredients, lightly brushed

evoo on all sides then into a toasty cast iron skillet to

get all crunchy delish. served with sour cream and

*illinois hot sauce* it was lip-smackin' yum.

*illinois hot sauce* my childhood growing up in

the itty bitty northeast corner of the state. 

dad would make tacos. he got the spicy sauce

and the littles got catsup. my sweet sister shirley

and i still eat ground beef tacos this way. wink.

the recent aurora borealis made a showing in our parts.

not as fancy as other pictures i've seen but my goodness

this was sure beautiful. how was it in your area?

one of two pea start areas. the hubs suggested i invert

a tomato cage in the dirt so peas can climb up the 

metal poles. so i did. the cage is held down with these

nifty holdy downy metal things i have in the 

greenhouse. do you like my techy explanation?

there are two pea starts at each pole.

the pretty mess in the middle is lavender.

i have more peas in a nearby area.

lilacs are itchin' to say hello. soon.

my little radishes seem happy.

i'll pickle some and others i'll saute

in butter as a nice addition to a meal.

potatoes are in the ground and reaching for the sun.

our last frost date is june 18 so i'm getting what

i can in the ground as our growing season is short.

with that dear ones .. i'll sign off. 

dinner needs to be put together and it isn't

going to do it on its own, near as i can tell.

bless you dearly as you see well to the ways of

your household and those you love.

with love,

.sherry.

p.s. maranatha

slow down..

see clearly..

love gently..

live bravely.

{melissa * slowliving}

rest is found, 

not when you try to understand

all the confusing twists and turns 

that shape the timeline of your life, 

but when you trust the One 

who is writing your story."

{unknown}

 

german pancake(s).

some call it a 'dutch baby.'

others call it a 'puff pancake.'

me? i call it a German Pancake.

it's a simple, delicious alternative to

the typical pancake and can be 

altered to accompany savory ingredients.

the recipe i use is as follows:

setting your oven temp to 400, put a few generous

tablespoons (real) butter in your cast iron pan

and slip it onto the rack as the oven heats up.

when the oven reaches temperature you'll

be ready to pour the batter into the pan

and wait for the magic to happen.

batter recipe:

1/2 cup AP (all purpose) flour, 1/2 cup milk,

1 teaspoon vanilla, pinch salt,

2 tablespoons sugar & 3 large eggs.

using an immersion blender

i whirl it until completely combined

and a bit on the frothy side.

just before the oven temp reaches 400

i'll give it another quick whirl

then pour it into the skillet.

set your timer for 20 minutes.

sure hope you've remembered

to use an oven mit!

while the pancake is baking you can ready your toppings. 

strawberries were cut along with banana,

walnut pieces in a little bowl, and 

three sugared liquids: 

sorghum and maple syrup and date syrup..

 !!! bacon !!!

(baked and portioned and pulled from the deep freeze)

also made an appearance much to the hubs delight.

when the timer dings simply use your mits

to bring the pancake out of the oven and

portion it for however many you're feeding.

with the toppings available for personal

taste you'll have a delicious breakfast

to share & be delighted by plenty of yUm sounds.

let me know if you make this already

or will try it in the near future, okay?

note: on youtube i saw that *roots and refuge*

used a clay baker as well as a glass pan to make

her pancake .. so a cast iron (CI) skillet isn't required.

i sure love my CI though and use it plenty

throughout the week! 

a savory application was made a week ago tuesday.

same recipe as above but no sugar, replaced with

2 tablespoons cornmeal. baked the same method

but i added a cup of cheese 

(micro-planed toscano cheddar from trader joe's) 

as well as a few slices of prosciutto. 

so... pour in batter, sprinkle cheese on the perimeter,

arrange prosciutto. quick like! then bake 20-25 minutes.

before portioning onto plates i added arugula salad

on top (golden balsamic vinaigrette .. recipe below)

and micro-planed added cheese. 

it sure made a pretty picture & was tastebud worthy.

the pancake didn't puff up like the the other one

but i think that's due to the added ingredients

and lack of sugar...? regardless, delish!

golden balsamic vinaigrette

into a half pint mason jar:

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 minced garlic clove

1/2 cup golden balsamic vinegar *

1 teaspoon dijon

1 teaspoon maple syrup

pinch pink himalayan salt

1/4 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

cap the jar and shake like the dickens'..

the jar not you.

a little goes a long way so ensure you don't

drown your greens in dressing. 

* i buy most of my staple goods through Azure Standard,

this includes golden balsamic vinegar. it's a Napa Valley

blend distributed by Stonewall Kitchen. i'm sure you 

could locate it elsewhere other than Azure if needed.

or, use a golden balsamic vinegar other than this one.

even use white wine vinegar in a pinch. 

not regular vinegar. my thoughts.

:: a couple points to ponder ::

"this morning i asked God

 for more of Him. 

the answer i received was,

'make room'"

{unk}

"The Word is like a mirror shining back 

to us the person and glory of Jesus - and as we

meditate on Him, we are changed, 

our thoughts purified, and our minds renewed."

{Dr. J. Vernon McGee}

until next time,

.sherry.

p.s. maranatha