and on this monday.

here's a peek at one area of my hutch and corner

nearest a west facing window. our wedding picture

is on the lower right - 37 years coming up in july.

my great grandmother Lula's tea set sits just to

the left of our picture. the vintage coffee pots

were found at a garage sale for $1 each.

i have more, but of course.

they came with electric cords and the whole

lot is in excellent condition, 

making the smoothest coffee ever.

*

there are four pounds each of frozen ground beef

and frozen ground chicken on my countertop,

 thawing in tepid water. my plan is to cook them

into crumbles (separately, of course) this afternoon

 then portion/freeze for future meals. 

it's a time saver when assembling a main meal. 

once thawed which takes little time,

you can reheat the crumbles with

a good drizzle of your sauce choice or 

seasoning, depending on your main dish

and preferences. 

there's a small beef roast thawing alongside the lot

mentioned above, for tomorrow night's dinner 

that will provide leftovers for a day maybe two.

i'm trying to get back to cooking three times

a week rather than a new meal every day.

a great sale on boneless skinless chicken breasts

offered an opportunity to purchase a couple

large'ish flats of the meat. tomorrow i'll flatten

it to about a quarter inch thick, season, and 

fold into bread pans to bake. i saw the tip

on pinterest (chicken shawarma) and figured

it'd work with different seasonings as well.

once baked and cooled a bit i could invert

the chicken to a platter and cut slices

for the dish i'm preparing or to portion

and freeze for a later date.

it's an experiment and i'll share my findings

after the fact. regardless, that chicken's going

to get baked and it'll be yUm. 

i hope. that's my plan.

made salmon and asparagus the other night.

.fail.

too much seasoning on the salmon

and too much salt on the asparagus.

it happens - fails.

it's noon'ish.

a cup of coffee is at my side along

with a cookie made yesterday.

once this blog post is published i'll

continue working on my study topic of

*contentment*

due to be delivered Saturday morning.

a cookie helps. 

as does coffee.

strong, please.

a storm is expected, beginning late tuesday night

and continuing through the weekend. 

so they say.

i'll believe it when i see it.

yet i'm a little ticked we've been experiencing

a false spring - tulips and daffies are

reaching for the sky. no buds or flowers

yet so hopefully they'll be safe just in case

the storm is substantial.

until next time,

.sherry.

"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,

therewith to be content."

Philippians 4:11

 

a muffin & powdered greens.

 Aspire to live quietly,

and to mind your own affairs,

and to work with your hands.

I Thessalonians 4:11

*

on a recent early morning i came across

a recipe for apple-oat muffins and decided to give

it a try. once the hubs was awake and 

settled in his comfy chair in the

loft, coffee in hand, i set to work. 

the recipe calls for oat flour. 

i have oats in the pantry 

thanks to Azure Standard 

so i simply put some in my food processor,

grinding to a fine powder.

(no need to purchase the flour)

if you have a fancy dancy high powered

blender it'll be quicker job

than a food processor.

the recipe came from Gimme Some Oven

which i'll link at the bottom of this post.

i did make a slight alteration of using

whole milk rather than almond milk.

the muffins were wonderful

and i'll gladly make them again.

one addition i'll make at that time

is raisins along with the apple.

a pat of butter on the muffin, along with a small

dish of greek yogurt mixed with protein powder

and topped with raspberry fruit spread,

and a cut up mandarin orange..

enjoyed while doing my devotions.

last summer's harvest 

{from my garden & farmer's market}

was enjoyed in its fresh state

and i decided to make good use of the

remaining leaves. no sense in tossing.

you've most likely seen and possibly

even purchased *super greens* or similar

products - a good way to add more greens

to your foods - baked goods or smoothies.

i dehydrated and vacuum sealed the greens

then into the pantry they went. 

i used them here and there through

autumn and winter:

soups and baked goods.

this morning

i chose to condense the lot into one

jar by making the greens into a powder

mentioned above. easy peasy!

no longer have i the

need to purchase powdered greens

as a nutrition aid.

a big plus is that it came mostly from our

garden ..... with a couple from

the farmer's market. 

an additional plus being i used

the entire plant. no waste.

here are the empties:

swiss chard, beet leaves, kale, carrot,

sorrel, bok choy, radish leaves

our swiss chard grew SO well last summer,

i plan on growing double 

the amount this coming season.

and here is the 1.5 pint jar holding the powder.

you can see the layers before i mixed it up.

nearly 3 cups of edible greens

a scoop at a time.

thankful.

thinking a protein shake of

blueberries, banana and greens

would be yUm on a warm day

lounging on the front deck in early afternoon.

or on the back deck in morning

after tending my garden plots.

... planning ahead ...

thank you for visiting, friends.

hoping your day brings unexpected joys.

with love,

.sherry.

below is the link for the apple-oat muffins.

sure hope you try the recipe.

if you do, let me know. :)

there's a butternut squash muffin recipe

i plan on trying soon. i have a few butternuts

still to use up so will roast the squash

for a meal then use what's left over 

for the muffins.

Apple Oat Muffins

the day the doves returned.

having washed my first mug 

{my first for there was another - later}

which held precious liquid life,

i glanced out the window toward our back property..

a lone stellar blue jay, hungrily noshing at the area

my hubs spilled bird seed the other day.

i'm not a fan of jays.

they're loud... rude... bullish...

and squawk like nails on a chalk board.

i don't think kind thoughts of those winged beasts 

except for their coloring : intense blue

against black. that, i love.

but later today the doves returned,

not being seen since november.

over a dozen as i counted.

junco's have also returned.

they're darling wee things

and get along quite well with the doves.

i welcomed them, both species.

notice i did not welcome the jay.

wink.

lots of puttery type to-do's today.

sorted through my closet and put articles

aside to donate to a thrifty place.

a gal a few doors up the road owns

such a place in a nearby town.

into the sack they go..

and up to her cabin

when the sack is full.

she's a sweetie.

near every morning,

and sometimes in inclement weather

we see her walking up the road

with her trusted canine coming up the rear.

his name is hercules.

he's a precious lug of an old pooch

who adores the ground his 'mama' walks.

early supper today as the hubs had business

this afternoon 30 miles north 

then will stay in town for wednesday night service.

we spend loads of time together breathing the same

air so once in a while it's nice to be alone and complete

a few tasks on my own. he appreciates time

alone as well so i do try to make that happen.

then we end up missing one another

and chat about our respective days.

in january i picked up a book at another 

'little library' in our village, not my 'little library.'

A Delayed Life by Dita Kraus

the powerful memoir of 

the librarian of auschwitz

474 pages and i could only read a few chapters

or sometimes a few pages here and there as 

there were projects and to-do's to do which

take up more time than expected. sometimes.

and to be honest... there are portions

of the book which are difficult to absorb,

as you can well imagine based on the title.

regardless, i'm here to say it's a most excellent

memoir and i highly recommend taking the time

to read it. i also recommend you have a hot cup of your

favorite beverage at your side. and a tissue or ten,

for if you've a heart you'll also have a tear.

"I like canceled plans and empty bookstores.

I like rainy days and quiet coffee shops.

I like messy beds and overworn pajamas.

I like the small joys that a simple life brings."

~cottage whimsy~

i agree with all that. except.

i don't like a messy bed.

*

sometimes the light hits right

and i must simply snap a picture

to be reminded of the beauty residing

in my life.. in my home.

ever thankful.

much is happening in my life at present,

some of which i'll not go into for it's private

and i haven't received approval to share.

other things are as follows:

* a dear friend is marrying and i'm in the wedding

as matron of honor. i'm so very happy for her and her

wonderful fiancé. how thoughtful God is in bringing

two people together in their 60's. precious are His ways.

* this last weekend we celebrated the bride with

a bridal blessing brunch. the turnout was terrific,

the food yummy and the gifts so incredibly thoughtful.

* the wedding is in March. we're praying for NO snow.

March is known as a big snow month in these parts.

i've heard of a 'rain dance.' 

is there a 'no snow dance' as well?

if so, this old gal will dance!

* also in March is a women's brunch at which

i'll be speaking on the subject of contentment.

as the date draws near i look forward to how

God speaks to my heart and leads me in

preparation. if you've a mind to pray, please do.

for me - and for the women in attendance.

*

it's lighter later these days.

nearly 6pm as i complete this blog post

and the light is just beginning to wane.

i'll flip the porch light on for the hubs,

will make a snack and sit down to read

a few chapters of the next book on my list.

until next time,

.sherry.