This is What a Celebration Looks Like!

Justin has been having a very difficult time at his job for many months, and for many reasons. He's vented to us, sent late-night texts that are worrisome to his mother, and generally been miserable. I offered advice when I was asked, and sympathy and caring when it seemed that he needed it the most. I know that this is not really my problem nor could I fix it, but no mother wants to see her child so unhappy for so long.

Late last week, Justin called with some good news - finally! The details are not really mine to recount, but I think I do get to share that I grabbed a cider and literally danced when I got off the phone.

He came home for a quick overnight visit on Saturday to tell us the whole story, and I decided this was worth a celebration. When the boys were young, good grades, happy news, and sometimes just the fact that we were lucky to have such great kids got celebrated and marked with a special dinner. That's just what this occasion called for.

I admired the sun shining through the pie plates I got out to bread the chicken parmesan.

There were twice-baked potatoes to go with the chicken parmesan,

and a beer for each of us to raise to Justin and good news.

It may look like just an ordinary weekend meal, but I hope you can also see the hope, happiness, and relief that were a big part of this celebratory dinner. Here's hoping you've got good things going on in your world this week.

Three on Thursday

Joining Kat and Carole for Three on Thursday.

Every morning while I'm having my morning tea, I ask myself that eternal question, "What the heck should I make for dinner tonight?" I've been in a soup sort of mood, so here are three soups that I considered for dinner. 

Corn and Cheese Chowder
I like almost everything The Pioneer Woman makes, and this one had the added benefit that I have all the ingredients. It was a serious contender.

Sherried Tomato Soup
I found this one while I was perusing The Pioneer Woman's website, and I could almost taste a delicious dinner of homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Drawbacks were that I would have to go to the grocery store for diced tomatoes and sherry.

Split Pea Soup with Sausage
This recipe sounded intriguing. I always make split pea soup after I make a ham, but to be honest, I just barely tolerate ham after the childhood trauma of being made to sit at the kitchen table until bedtime because I couldn't/wouldn't finish my awful slice of ham. I used the "spit it into a napkin" trick more than once and my mother pretended not to notice. Split pea soup without ham might open up a whole new world for me.

And the winner was ...

Split Pea Soup with Sausage! Easy, delicious, and no one was forced to sit at the kitchen table until bedtime.

Head on over here to read more Three on Thursday posts.

Unraveled Wednesday

Joining Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday.

This photo is a little over four inches of ribbing on my next cowl for Justin, Frostbite Fighter. I'm actually done with the ribbing and have started the next section of rounds and rounds of stockinette, but was running out of light yesterday afternoon and ran out to take a few photos. (*Scroll down to see the rest of the story.) I love the yarn and don't mind the mindless meditative knitting at all ... yet. There are still 14 more inches to go, so I've still got plenty of time for a little whining about endless stockinette and too much ribbing.

I'm reading The Queen of Hearts and listening to The Woman Who Smashed Codes and The Power. I think I'm going to have to do some monogamous reading to actually finish something. I'm splitting my time between them now, and while they're all very good in their own ways, I'm not making much progress with any of them. So no more fooling around with multiple books this week; I'm going to pick one and be faithful.

*The rest of the story:

This is the photo you take when you accidentally drop the ball of yarn you have been carefully trying not to drop.

This is how far the ball of yarn rolls despite your efforts to chase it.

What are you making and reading? 

Before They Shrivel Up Completely

Remember this Christmas cactus that I bought back in December and my excitement over its ten buds on one segment?

Then

This is what it looks like now.

Now

As I feared, many of the buds dried up and have dropped off. Those ten buds are just shriveling up and disappearing, despite all my misting and care. Oh, well, there's always next year, and I do still have a few remaining blooms to enjoy on my other cactus plants.

And look, the sun is shining brightly and bringing us temperatures of 40 degrees today, which may be the best news of all!

Weekending

This past weekend was all about staying warm and cozy indoors.

There was knitting (accompanied by a delightfully relaxing hot toddy).

There was cookie baking.

Because I had promised to make these for him back in November, Pickle Egg Rolls were finally prepared and fried for Justin. The verdict: a little weird, but still tasty. I would make them again.

And lastly, I was fascinated again by the sun-lit, sparkly frost on the windows. After more snow and ice today, I think this beautiful frost may start melting towards the end of the week.

I hope your weekend was a good one, too!

Fun With Frost

It was dark and -4 degrees when I left the house very early this morning, so I was concentrating on not slipping on ice, not getting blown off course by the wind, and crossing my fingers that my car would start (success on all counts). Thankfully, there was enough light when I got home to notice and take some photos of the lovely and impressive frost formations we've got going on.

I wish that the sun had been in the correct position to provide a little sparkle, but the temperatures are predicted to drop even lower over the weekend, so these frosty feathers aren't going to be melting any time soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to take some photos with the sun behind them tomorrow or Sunday. If we're going to be locked in the deep freeze, I'm glad it's at least pretty.

Three on Thursday

It's cold (really uncomfortable, bone-chilling, record-setting cold) over much of the country, so here are Three Ways You Can See Just How Cold It Is.

 A Frozen-Over Fountain

I'm not sure why they don't turn off the water (maybe the pipes would freeze?) but even the tiny little spray that is still working makes for some interesting ice accretions.

Ice on the Cliffs

These are the Palisades rock formations along the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River. They're impressive enough at almost any time of year, but even more so when they become encased in ice. The really crazy thing is that people choose to ice-climb here. I saw some climbers walking along River Road when I was driving past, but had someplace to be so I couldn't stop and watch. It might also have been a little nerve-racking.

Ice on the River

I love seeing the beginning of ice formation on the Delaware River. It starts as "scab ice" (that's what everyone around here calls it) forming on the rocks in the river bed where it's colder than the surface. Eventually this ice floats up and the smaller pieces come together loosely into ice islands.

They are carried by the current, pushed to the banks by the wind, and gather on the bridge supports. I think it's beautiful, and the ice even has a voice of its own - a kind of gentle shushing as the river flows by.

Even winter's cold has a lovely beauty of its own!

Head on over here to read more Three on Thursday posts.