Potato and Corn Chowder: for my son's birthday :)

Today is my sons birthday.  I miss him..... I want to fix him dinner.....I want to see him sitting at my table......SON, where are you.....?

Happy Birthday my darling.  Wanna come over and have a bowl of soup with us?

In the fall and winter months I love to fix soups.  If it is cold outside and warm inside, soup makes being home magical.  The house smells so good, and it is a meal that doesn't take much time.  Usually, the soup can even be made a day before you may need it.  It can simmer and the house smells delightful.

On this day I decided to use some of the potatoes I had bought from Scorsbys.  The Idaho grown Russet potatoes are my favorite, and I have about 25 lbs of them to use up.  So, sit back and relax and let me teach you one of the easiest soups to make.

It was this pound of bacon that gave me the inspiration to go with the potatoes and make soup.  It had been in my fridge for a week or so and it needed to be used up.  It is thick sliced from the deli at Win Co.  It is my new favorite bacon.  The flavor is rich and pungent.  I really like it.

I don't fry bacon anymore.  Baking Bacon is the Best Thing Ever.  Just put it on a rack in a cookie sheet at 12 minutes at 375 or so.  Check it at 10 minutes, but it may need to bake 15 minutes.  It all depends on how crispy you want the bacon to be. 

Baking the bacon makes clean up so much easier.  No more splatters all over the stove top.  It is great.

Put a pot of water on the stove to get hot.  Add salt to the pot.  Then it will be ready to add the potatoes/spuds.

Next, get your "spuds".  That is what we, by we, I mean those of us in Idaho, call a potato.  I love spuds.  I have them hidden somewhere in nearly every meal.

Do you know you can buy soap made out of spuds?  It smells good, too.

Just peel the spuds.  You don't have to be perfect when peeling them for soup.  The peelings have lots of nutrition in them, and I leave them on the spuds for lots of dishes.

Dice the spuds up into bite size pieces.  Try to keep the size consistent.  Then they will all cook in the same amount of time.

These spuds are locally grown.  They were dug from a farmers field about 2 days before I bought them.  On one of the ends of a spud there was still a little green.   If you ever find the same thing when you buy spuds, just cut that part away, as it will taste bitter.  I don't want bitter soup, so I whacked that end off.

Or if you find a little brown (rotten) part in the middle of the spud, cut that away.  That is usually caused by too much watering while growing.  Some times, in the fields the ends of rows will get too much water.  Or it might be in the middle of the field that gets too much water, whatever.  I was told by a high school classmate, Kenny Anderson, that it was the farmers way of making a place for the butter to go.  Kenny now serves on the board of the Fish and Game.  What does he know about farming?

Anyway, just whack that part out.  The rest of the spud is still very good.

The water in the pot, that is on the stove should be hot by now.  Go ahead and add the potatoes/spuds when the water is hot.

Now it is time to doing some onion dicing.  I love onions in my soups.  I always put in twice what most recipes call for.  Since this is my recipe, and I am making it up as I go, I am adding lots of onions so you can see what I mean.

I use red onions, white onions or yellow onions.  Just use what you have on hand.  This is one whole red onion and a part of a yellow onion I had in the fridge.  Just chop or dice them up.

You can add vegetables that you like to most soups, but for this chowder I am keeping it pretty plain.

I also add chopped celery.  I like lots of celery, too.  So, I add the whole bunch of celery.

I chop the whole bunch, tops and leaves, as well.  I cut off the bottom white part of the celery about an inch.  I don't like that "woody" part in the soup.  Cut it all up and then.........

Add the onions and the celery to 1/2 cube of butter in a fry pan.

Saute the onions and celery until the onions are turning translucent.  Add a little more butter if you want.  That amount is up to you.  Stir the onions and celery occasionally so they will cook evenly.

Check on the spudtatoes. ( I love that word.  It says spuds and potatoes all at once)  They should be at a low boil, just simmering away, and making foam.

The trick is to not put a lid on the pot.  If you do, I promise you, the pot will boil over.  It is a fact.  I have proven it over and over.  I used to think, "the water will heat faster and the spudtatoes will be cooked faster", and it is true.  But in the process they always boiled over and made the biggest mess on my stove.  I don't get a lid out of the drawer anymore!

While you stir the onions and celery, watch the pot of spudtatoes, be sure to check on the bacon in the oven..don't let it over cook.  Turn down the oven heat if you think it is getting done.

Watch the spudtatoesspudtatoes.

Cook the spudtatoes until they are fork tender and then turn off the heat.  Add the partially frozen corn.  I say, partially frozen, but it can be completely frozen.  Just add it to the water and the spudtatoes.  The corn will cool down the water and stop cooking the taters. (Another word for the potatoes.  You are learning so much today :)

I froze corn last September.  It is what I got from my nieces in-laws corn field.  It is so tasty and good.  I take it out of the freezer and pop it on the edge of the counter to break it apart enough that I can get it out of the bag.

Add the corn to the potatoes and the water.  Don't drain the potatoes, as the water needs to thaw the corn and start it cooking a little.

As the corn warms up, break it apart so it can cook through and stop the potatoes from cooking.

Check the bacon again.  Oh, look, it is done.  I am sure of it.

 When the bacon is getting firm, so you can chop it up, it is done.  Soft soggy bacon is my preference when I eat it for breakfast, but not for soups.  It needs to hold up under the sauce and other ingredients so it needs to be a little crisp.  Not much, just a little.  When you see it is good, remove it from the oven.

Your mouth will be watering, you ears will hear the simmering of the cooking bacon, and it does that so you will remember that it is hot.  I mean really hot.  Hot enough to burn your fingers.  So fight off the urge to snag a strip of bacon and toss it carelessly into your mouth.  It is hot.  I speak from experience.  Believe me, it is hot, and simmering, just listen to it.

While it is cooling off it is time to make the White Sauce.  I love white sauce.  Love it.

In a heated sauce pan, (this one is a pan I inherited from my Aunt Erma after she died.  It is part of a set of Guardian Cookware.  I love it, and use it whenever I can) melt 5 Tablespoons of butter, or more or less if you want.  I like white sauce so I tend to make a large pot of it.

To the melted butter add equal amounts of flour.  If you used less butter, use less flour.  I added 7 tablespoons of flour and 2 more tablespoons of butter.  I could see I wanted more white sauce.

Stir it up. Or whisk it up.  You want to have a Rue.

This is where you will sort of know that you can add more flour or butter.  It needs to be like a paste.

Then add the milk.  I started with a quart of milk....but added more as it started to thicken.

Keep whisking it as it heats up.  It will fool you and thicken quickly.  You must not stop whisking.  Just whisk away, feel the underarm flab jiggle.  Whisk, whisk, whisk. It will thicken on the bottom of the sauce pan, where all the heat is, so you must not stop whisking.  Add a little salt and pepper to it.

Suddenly it will thicken, like magic and the white sauce is ready.  It is magic, I tell you!

If it gets too thick, just add more milk, or half and half would be good.

Take it off the heat. 

It is time to chop the bacon.  It should be cooled by now.  (Is your mouth watering still?)

Now, at this point the photos are going to change a bit.

Remember how I was making this for dinner....well, the sun was setting and I was losing my light.

It was a beautiful sunset.  One I would have loved to go outside and watch.  You would have loved it too.  This is what it looked like from inside my house.

A typically cold winter sky.  With the promise of a cold night.  When we have clouds it stays warmer, but when the clouds go bye-bye, well, the fireplace is turned on and we cuddle.....and eat soup.

Get away from the window and chop the bacon. You have to have this dinner ready soon!

Mouth watering isn't it? 

Stop yourself from chopping it all up.  Save just one little piece for later.  I will tell you when to use it.
No, my son, you can't eat this.  I need it for later.....I said, No!

It is time now to drain the potatoes and corn.  Just dump the pot into a strainer and drain most of the water off.  I save a little of the water in the pot if the white sauce is too thick.  It will help to make it a thinner consistency.  Just use your best judgement.

The corn is warmed through, but not over cooked.  We want a little crunch somewhere in this soup.

Now the fun starts.  Just add the other stuff.

Add the bacon, the onions and celery.......

Add the white sauce.  Doesn't that look wonderful?

Now stir it up.

Take a bite.  That is an order.  You must check to see if it needs salt and pepper.  Although the bacon is salty I usually add both salt and pepper to bring out the flavors.

Sometimes I add a can or two of diced chili peppers.  That always gives it another dimension.

Now it is time to put it in a bowl.

I sprinkled some Monterrey Jack Cheese on the soup.  It is what I had.  A Cheddar would be good for color, but make due with what you have.  It isn't going to add much flavor, but it makes a girl feel good to make it "prudy".

Remember that one piece of bacon you saved?????
Now is when you use it.  Chop/crumble it over the soup with the cheese.
Add a sprig of parsley for color.  (From my herb garden, which I brought inside a week or so ago.  It would freeze outside, so now all the little plants sit in front of a window and bask in the sunshine.)

I called my DH to come and eat.  He came.... but my son didn't....where are you my son?????

Once DH started eating I didn't hear another word out of him until he was finished.  I was afraid he had died and gone to food heaven.  He was so quiet. If you want a man to love you, feed him good home made food.

I added a couple of slices of fresh home made wheat bread to accompany the soup.  A little butter and honey and we were in food heaven.

Oliver, I will save a bowl for you, just in case you show up later....okay?  I will put a candle in it for you.  I love you, and Happy Birthday!

Love, Me

Carnival Squash

Have you ever heard of Carnival Squash?

I bought some this year at Scorsbys.  My favorite produce market, with locally grown food.

I was assured I would love the flavor.

So, the serpent beguiled me and I did buy, even though I have about 10 giant banana squash in my garage and the community garden storage has about 8 spaghetti squash and a few acorn squash.  I don't think we can have too many squash, as I love it, and could eat it everyday!

This is a Carnival Squash.

This is about 8 inches wide.  It isn't very big.
They come in variegated colors of all kinds.
Ain't it purdy?

It has a very strong hard skin.  It is like an acorn squash in that respect.  It is a winter squash if it has a hard skin.  Did you know that?

If you buy squash with soft skin it is a summer squash.  Summer squash are zucchini and yellow crook neck squash. 

If you can pierce the skin with your finger nail, it is a summer squash.  If it is too hard to prick it with your finger nail, it is a winter squash.

Winter squash keep along time, if they are in a cool dark place.  I have a storage room downstairs and I kept squash last year until March.  By March we had eaten all of it.  You should build a storage room like mine.....only with less crafts in it.....my storage room is a multipurpose room.

Anyway.  .  .  .  I want to tell you how to cook this kind of squash. (This recipe was shared with me by my friend JoyLynn.  She is a fabulous cook). Also, Acorn, Monkey Butt, and other squash can be cooked just the same way.  Yes, in Utah, they sell Monkey Butt squash.  I haven't bought any of that, but I have eaten it, and it is delicious.  I am going to grow some next year!!!!

Step 1.  Take a strong knife and pierce about 3 or 4 holes into the top of the squash.  (You know how you have to do that to a potato so it won't explode, well this is the same process).

Step 2.  Place the squash in a dish or on a plate and put it in the microwave, on high, for about 15 minutes.  You will need to adjust the time based on the size of the squash.  Start out with a shorter time and check the squash.  It just needs to be softened.  Let it sit and rest for about 5 minutes.

Step 3.  Cut the squash open with a sharp knife.  It will have a soft skin after it cooks and it will cut open every easily.

Step 4.  All those seeds and fibers must be removed.  Use a large spoon and they will easily scrape out.  Don't take the layer of the squash meat out.  That is the dense part of the squash between the outer skin and the fibrous seed area.  Just scrape out the seedy part.  If you are like me you will discard the seeds.  Some people save them ad bake them and salt them and eat them.  I throw them away.

Step 5.  Now scrape out all the squash meat. Be careful to only get the meat, not the skin.  Use a big spoon to do this.  Get it all, right close to the skin.  Place it in a microwave safe bowl.

Oh, it is so so good. 

Use a fork or a masher and mash all the squash meat.  It is a little fibrous so it needs to be mashed. 
Some squash are softer inside, and some are fibrous, and this little jewel needs a little help.

Just mash it like you would mashed potatoes if you want it really squishy.  I happen to like the texture of squash and like to leave it a little fibrous.  You choose how you like it.

Step 6.  Put a few dabs of butter on the warm squash.  It will melt pretty quick.  Add some Salt and Pepper, as well.

Optional:  I added a drizzle of maple syrup over the squash.  You could use brown sugar, instead.  What ever your taste buds like.

Just stir in the butter, syrup and salt and pepper and whatever you add and............

Last step:  You are ready to eat.

I forgot to take a picture of it dished up, but I am sure your imagination can conger up that.

Actually, I think it was eaten by DH (it couldn't have been me) before I had time to focus the camera for a picture.

Anyway, check out the squash this season in you markets and enjoy it.  Feed it to your babies and your teenagers.  Your husbands and friends will love it.  I promise. 

With much love, Me

Garage Sale

My garage is really quite big.  It is big enough for our car and our truck.  And it should be big enough for our car and our truck. But, the problem is....we also have had lots and lots of, as our neighbor says, "stuff".  Yes, we have had many boxes that were still not unpacked from our move.  They were boxes of the "stuff" we didn't know if we needed or not, so we moved those boxes 1,000  miles, piled them in the large garage and let them sit through 2 fall seasons, one winter season and one summer season.  As the second winter season approaches we knew we HAD to do something about those boxes.

The problem has been we felt the need to purchase a couple of 4 wheelers and play ever so much this summer.  We used our 5th wheel, and even talked our friends into buying a camp trailer. That meant time away from home and our garage.  And then we planted this garden, which produced like little rabbits.  That meant canning and freezing everything I could get harvested from the garden.  But, having my own garden wasn't enough, because I have friends with apples and plums and ...... well, I thought it would never end....so the garage was the last thing on the list.

Reality hit us a week ago, when the temperatures started to drop and we knew fall was near the end.  That reminded us about all the boxes in the garage.  So, DH and I looked each other in the eye, and we had a conversation. 

Me:  "Honey, how do you feel about having that garage sale we have talked about having one for over a year now"?

DH:  "Sweetheart, I think you are the smartest woman on earth, and you can read minds.  I was thinking about that, too.  You are amazing".

Me:  "Dearest, I am what I am because of you.  And so is that garage what it is because of you.  How about a garage sale next weekend"?

DH:  "Darling, let's see what the weather report is and then decide".

Me:  "My love, the weather is going to be cold, windy, and possibly snow.  However, the weather man has been wrong before.  Let's get busy and get stuff out and priced.  I bet it will be okay".

DH:  "Sugar, you get everything priced and I will put up tables.  You get the signs made and I will put them around the neighborhood.  You write the ad for the paper and I will call them and have it put in the paper.  You talk to the neighbors and see if they will help and I will help, too".

 And that is just what the "little red hen did". 

Fridays weather was predicted to be rain and possible snow.
Fridays weather was high 40's and low 50's and sunny and not bad, in fact, it was a wonderful fall day.

We had a good day, lots of people came and bought.  We were happy to wave goodbye to so much of our "stuff".  We had a tall heater in the garage and it was pleasant and many shoppers commented on our wonderful heater. We could have served refreshments and because so many nice people came and visited and we simply had FUN.

8:00 am to 2:00 pm went quickly.  People continued to come as we were bringing things inside and closing up.  By 3:00 pm we had closed up shop.  Our neighbors joined us and we went out to dinner to celebrate the fact we finally had the garage sale.  We spent a leisurely 2 hours at dinner.  We laughed and ate till we would pop.....we love Mexican food, and the chips and salsa just keep coming so we keep eating..... that is how we do it here.

Then DH and I said we had to get groceries so we finally brought the celebration to an end.  We spent the next 40 minutes in Win Co Grocery Store filling our grocery cart with fresh produce and cookies.  When we opened the door to leave the market the sun had set and it was dark outside.  A very cold wind hit us in the face and there was 1 inch of snow on the ground.  And the snow was still coming down...and down and down, or rather, sideways...it was blowing and snowing sideways.  That is known in these parts as a blizzard.

Now, remember, we were having a two day garage sale.  So, when we saw the snow we immediately started placing bets in Vegas as to the likelihood of us having anyone attend our sale in the morning.  Well, we really didn't place bets in Vegas, but you can imagine what our conversation was like.

When we woke up Saturday morning we had about 2 inches of snow on the ground, and a horizontal snow blowing blizzard in the air.  It was 21 degrees. The driveway and sidewalk was a half inch of ice.  Not exactly the best conditions for a garage sale.

We lite the heater in the garage, added a few more items to sell and in 20 minutes we had seen the whites of eyes of 3 shoppers.  We had made $4.00.  The clock ticked.  And ticked.  And tick tocked.  An hour passed, and no one came.  Tick Tock, Tick Tock.....Then we started boxing up our unsold treasures and we knew we would not be seeing enough people on this cold snowy day, to make it worth our time.

We had the truck bed loaded with a baby crib, and some larger items and we were freezing....really.  A car pulled up just then and the driver was a lady, so lively and quick..... and she said, "I was here yesterday and saw a baby crib.  Do you still have it?  Oh, there in your truck, can I buy it"?

Why, of course madame.  We loaded it into her car, and counted another $20.00 into our not so bulging pockets.

By now, you must be bored half to death.  But, I just wanted to tell you that all the "stuff" is gone from our garage.  The sale took place.  The "leftovers" have been driven to our local Deseret Industries and we are done.  We have a garage empty enough to park 2 vehicles in.  It is swept clean and wonderful.  I think I will wait for a warm day, maybe in 5 months or so, and invite our neighbors over to have dinner in our garage.  Or on our deck, which is covered and way more fun.  But it is nice to know that we could do it in our garage if we wanted to.  Oh, what a wonderful feeling, oh, what a wonderful day!!!

*listen closely*  You will hear me and DH having another conversation.  Because now I can see the Christmas decorations and it is snowing outside, and another holiday is on its way.  If we start now, we might be ready on time.......... and...................

Me:  "Oh, Darling................"

DH: "Oh, Sweetheart, and the answer is, NO".

Oh, how I love that man!

Love, The Lady with the Clean Garage

ps. I was too busy to take any pictures.  I regret that, very much.  As it was quite a sight to behold.

Road Kill

Living near rural areas, and near the foothills, and by farms, and ranches and stuff like that, gives me the opportunity to see lots of wild things.

Quail, pheasant, deer, moose, grouse, squirrels, chipmunks, lizards, elk, bear, buffalo, and other things that are wild.  Skunks, stray cats and dogs, etc.  The list can be long.

And I even get to see.......................................

I hope you are leaning back away from your computer.  This could be a little scary but it isn't, because it is dead. You might have noticed that it is missing it's head and its rattle at the end of it's tail. And there is blood.

You might have noticed the tire marks where someone stopped very quickly.  I am sure they saw the snake, sunning its self on the warm asphalt and the driver hit the brakes to see it better. 

Then the driver cut off the head and the tail.  And left the scene of the accident!

Prior to the "accident" I would guess this snake to be about 3 feet long.  Which doesn't really matter because baby rattle snakes are just as poisonous as big ones....but if you like statistics, you would want to know the facts of this snake.

This snake is 2 miles from my house.  Out near the potato and corn fields.  Where I was!

Continue leaning back away from your computer, because I am going to show you a picture of the same kind of snake that still has it's head and tail.

*Cue Snake...

I hate hate hate hate snakes.

I live in fear of them.

I watch for them when we go on walks.

I watch for them when we are camping.

I watch for them when we go on the ATV's.

I watch for them on the road.

I am very happy when I see blood, no head and no tail.

Thanks for being dead Mr. Snake.

Yikes..... I have the creepy crawlers now...

Good bye...

Love, Me

Harvesting Dill

My garden no longer exists.
It is barren.
It has been plumaged by DH.
Nearly everything is pulled up and roots and plants are no longer there.
All the tomato plants are gone, all the squash plants are gone, all the onions are gone, and all the other stuff is gone.
The only thing left was a few scraggly dill plants and some frozen marigolds.
And as of today, I plumaged them, too.

The dill has been laying on my patio table.

However, even that has changed.

I am harvesting the dill today out on my deck.  And while on my deck I have enjoyed rain, breeze, sunshine, heat on my back, wind, clouds, and the temperature dropping.

I need to back up.  I picked some of the dill several days ago.  It has been drying on the patio table.  It is ready to be harvested.  But, I also got more from my garden today.  As the weather is changing and today may be the last day I have to get it done.

So I was sitting outside, enjoying the quiet Halloween morning, and picking all of the dill seeds from the stems.  Also, cutting the dill leaves from the stems.

It is tedious wonderful work.  It smells heavenly dilly.  Or dilly heaven.... or really good.

The dill seeds were collected on a quarter cookie sheet.
So were the dill leaves.

The aroma was so fragrant and fresh.  I wish I could bottle that aroma to use as air freshener.  Then people would think I was cooking....(and by people, I mean, DH....he is a people ).  Then I would be a hero in his mind. Because he would think he would have something good to eat soon.

I collected all the little tiny dill seeds and put them in a spice jar and use them in soups and such all through the year.  They are great in salad dressings, marinates, and dips.  I just love dill.

The dill leaves are just as special.  I use them in the same type of things as I do the dill seeds.  I also use them when I cook fish.  Oh, the aroma and the flavor is mouth watering. And in dips they add beautiful green flecks of flavor.

I just took my fingers and slid them down the stem and the leaves were gathered into my hand.

It is so easy and quick.  All of the leaves were put on a cookie sheet, then I took my hands and rubbed the leaves to crumble them up, and put them in a spice bottle and labeled it "Dill Leaves".

Now, I have two more bottles of fresh herbs on my kitchen shelf.  They are labeled and shinning and fit right into the neighborhood of spices.  They are happy there. 

So, if you have a spare 2 foot spot in your yard, may I suggest you turn it into an herb garden.  You will love it!  And they don't require any work, just water.  It is so easy!

Happy Harvesting!

Love, Me.

Harvest What You Can On Halloween

Happy Windy, Blustery, Rainy, Cloudy Halloween!

In our town we have a fresh produce store.  It is Scorsbys.  I love it.  They grow lots of produce and sell it fresh from their house to ours.



The other day I was at Scorsbys to buy potatoes.  They had 50 lb boxes of potatoes for $10.99.  Yeah, what a deal!  So, I asked if they could combine some Russet Potatoes and some Yukon Gold into one box.  Yep, they could.  And they did. 

They are so willing to do just what you want.

And do you want to know what else I bought there?

Pumpkins.  Good carving pumpkins.  $.99 cents each!

Can you believe how much cheaper it is to live in Idaho!!!!???

Anyway, as I was checking out, the clerk told me about the peppers she was selling.  They were red, yellow and green peppers.  She said they were 5 for $1.00.  However, she warned me, they might have a little spot on them, but they are perfectly good peppers.

Some had marks from laying in the dirt, some had soft spots, but it didn't affect the entire pepper.

So, I bought several of them.

I bought 2 yellow, 2 red, and 1 green pepper.  I am not a fan of green peppers.

I brought them home and washed them, and chopped them.

And chopped and chopped.
It went quickly.
I only had 5 peppers to chop.

They smelled so good. 
The soft spots were minimal, the dirt was minimal.
I had made a very good buy.

I just diced them.
Then layed the diced peppers on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer.

Because there is quite a lot of moisture in peppers they freeze beautifully.

I left them to freeze about an hour, and then they were ready to be bagged.

I put them in freezer bags and labeled them.

When I need diced peppers for a cooking recipe I will grab them and use them.
They must be used in cooking.  They won't thaw and be be good for fresh peppers for a salad or such.
They would be soft and mushy to use out of the freezer, but they are wonderful for cooking soups and things like that.

Yep, I love a good buy!

Thanks Scorsbys.

Love, Me

Snow Fell In Autumn

Part of living in Idaho requires a flexible attitude.
I am not physically flexible any more, but my attitude sure is.
It is a good thing, too.

Because the other day my darling niece and her two children came over to hang out with us. By "us" I mean  two of my daughters and one grandson and two extra dogs were already at my house.  So, we wanted more to be here.  And the fact that I was canning stewed tomatoes meant I wasn't going anywhere soon, so why not fill the house with more loved ones!

It was a cold day.  Cloudy, windy, and yep, cold.  Rain was in the forecast for later in the evening.

But, what does a weather man know?  In Idaho?  Very little!

By lunch we had the beginning of a promising accumulation of snow.

One snowflake at a time began, and then it grew into many snowflakes, and they were big and they were wet! 

My darling nieces son, Hagen, wanted to go out in the snow.  Of course he did!  It is magical when it s the first snow fall of the season.  I wanted to go out, too.  So we did.

Hagen: "Look, Aunt Tawny, I can leave prints."

Me:  "Yes, I see that.  Are you getting cold?  Do you want some gloves?"

Hagen: "Heck, no.  This is fun.  Look Aunt Tawny, I can catch snowflakes on my tongue."

Me:  "You are so talented, Hagen.  Are you sure you don't want to wear a sweat shirt I have?"

Hagen: "Heck, no.  Look Aunt Tawny, the snow is getting on all the dogs!"

Me:  "Oh, crap.  The dogs are getting wet and they will track the snow into the house.  The floors will be wet and Asher will crawl and walk in the melted snow in my house.  Oh, crap.  What ever should we do?"

Hagen:  "Aunt Tawny, just let Asher come outside and get wet with us, now!"

Why didn't I think of that?

I was right.  The dogs, all four of them, did bring snow inside the house.  Lots of snow.  It was wet and heavy and stuck to their fur....until it got warm and then it turned into water.  .... dripping water.... and every foot on every dog left it's mark.  16 furry feet stepping, running, chasing, dripping all over the carpet and tile floors.  Puddles were growing faster than I could mop them up. Although, I should add a little disclaimer about the little dog who was visiting us from California.  She is a wimp and stayed on the deck most of the time, so her puddles were smaller than the big goof who was visiting.

Throughout the day the snow continued to fall.  Sometimes it was really heavy, falling and falling.  Other times the flakes just got really big, the kind that I call "Charlie Brown snow flakes".  They are beautiful, and my favorite.  Then other times.....well, all the other time, it just kept snowing.  All day.  It didn't stop falling. 

I ran a couple of errands and was out in the public for a short time.  Everywhere I went people were talking about the snow.  #1.The fact that it hadn't stopped all day and #2 that our neighbors 10 miles to the north weren't getting snow and our neighbors to the south about 15 miles away weren't getting any snow.  That is just plain unexplainable.  Weird, some were saying.

I stayed in my kitchen and stirred the simmering tomatoes on my stove.  It smelled wonderful.  All the spices, the oregano, dill seed (from my garden) the onions, the jalapenos, yellow peppers and all the stuff that I added.  By late afternoon bread was baking.  I cant tell you how wonderful it smelled.  Heaven can not smell this good.  Because I don't think there are any gas ranges in heaven.  And who would be growing gardens in clouds, anyway.....?

When I realized the snow was not going to stop any time soon, I started to fret about the tomatoes that were still on the plants.....  so I bundled up, and my sweet middle daughter did, too, and we braved the cold and the wind and the snow to go and rescue some of the little darlings dangling on the vines in the snow.

We picked and picked.  We filled bags, the clothish ones that you take to the grocery store.  We filled a few boxes, and even our pockets.  We picked green tomatoes and red tomatoes, and the ones in between.  All the while our backs were getting soaked, our gloves were soaked, and we were tromping in mud.

The middle daughter, who now resides in Southern California thought it was a great adventure.  She actually stayed outside and pulled the tomato plants from the ground.  The plants found a new home in my garage and in DH's shop.  They are still loaded with tomatoes and I can bottle them when they ripen a little more.

Even the strawberries were buried under snow.

I know this sounds bad, but it was fun.  The strawberries didn't seem to mind.  I could hear them talking about the soft blanket being laid on them.  They loved it.  It is true.

I took a picture of the strawberries.  Can you find the little green one sticking up out of the snow.  He is a young immature strawberry who wouldn't listen to his parents and stay down and cover up.  (Youth, they always do the dumbest things.)

By night fall we had 5 inches of snow.

My grandson wanted to go outside and play in it.  His mom wasn't watching as I went out the front door with him.  I leaned over and let him put his hands in the snow.  He didn't really like to touch it.

So we played "team snowball throwing".  It is a great game.  You should try it!

Be sure to have a good photographer to document the game.  The mother of my grandson grabbed a camera and did!  She didn't even care that her 15 month old son didn't have on a hat or gloves or a coat.  I guess she knew that "Nana" would come in out of the cold soon enough.  (She is still in her youth, too)

Step 1.  Get a snowball.

Step #2. Throw a snowball.

Step #3.  See where the snowball lands.

 

Step # 4.  Don't drop the baby!!

Just give me a call if you want to come over for a snowball fight.  I will arrange to have fresh snow just for you.

You bring the dinner, okay?

Love, Me