Nature

We have had a string of lovely weather days recently with temperatures in the 60's along with no rain.  Ward and I were able to take advantage of one of those days by taking off early and going for hike at a state park not too far away. You may remember we did the same thing a couple of weeks ago. This time we were on another part of the same mountain we visited before but in a different park. There were a few people around but we didn't see anyone on the trail we chose. That may be because much of it was steep and rocky. That meant when we found an old logging road, we were very happy. 

Once again, it was a refreshing outing. Nature has a way of doing that. Below are a few pictures from our afternoon along with some quotes about nature.

All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child. —Marie Curie

Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purifying the mind. —Amit Ray

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. —John Burroughs

Leave the road, take the trails. —Pythagoras

A Lapse

Everyone is tired these days from the vigilance needed to keep COVID-19 at bay. Eight months is a long time to be on hyperalert. Even with that being said, I still get very annoyed with people who don't wear a mask around others or only pretend to wear a mask with it pulled down below their nose.

Well today, one of those annoying people was me. I had gone for my allergy shot, fully masked, and was trying to decided whether or not I was going to stop at Aldi's on the way home. We didn't really need anything, but finally decided to stop in for some bananas. Then I contemplated whether or not I'd need a cart in case I found some great deals, and whether or not I had a quarter to get one. With all of these considerations bouncing around in my head, I forgot to put my mask back on before I went into the store. There I was darting up and down the aisles with a totally naked face when I finally noticed a woman who gave me a side-ways glance. Then I realized it. I had forgotten my mask. Embarrassed that people would see me as one of "those inconsiderates," I rushed to the car and suited up.

I went back into the store hoping that I'd see some of the same people who had seen me before without a mask. I don't know if anyone noticed me without or with my mask, but I felt better with it on, not to mention that wearing it is a county and state ordinance. 

The store wasn't crowded and, as usual, I avoided people the best I could. I think it's going to be alright.

Have you ever forgotten to wear your mask when you've gone out?

Thankful Sunday, November 1, 2020

 I am thankful for a friendly neighborhood. 

I couldn't show you neighborhood kids,
but here's a pumpkin from the Pumpkin Festival
 in ME we visited two years ago.

Our neighborhood is relatively small, but active. We have several people who organize different events for the whole neighborhood throughout the year. Yesterday, Halloween, was one of them.

At 4:30 all of the kids gathered for a costume parade down our street, followed by a costume contest. The weather was cold, but there was good turn out with 25-30 kids with many of the parents in costume, also. Ward and I wore our clown wigs and joined the fun. I was getting cold, so we left after the judging and didn't stay for more kid-focused activities. However, we did participate with Trick-or-Treating. The kids were polite and happy when they came to our porch for the treat bags we had made up. Another organizer posted a poll on our neighborhood Facebook page to see how many planned to go out for Trick-or-Treating so we knew what to expect. Some kids rang the door bell and said thank you and others waved to us through window where we were watching from inside our warm house. A good time was had by one and all.

So for a friendly, inclusive neighborhood that makes an effort to get together (in a safe way), I am thankful.

From the files--Soup

It's been cool and rainy the last couple of days--perfect days for soup. So when I ran across this recipe for potato soup, I decided to make it. The recipe calls for cream cheese so it didn't hurt that I've had a brick of cream cheese in the refrigerator for a while now that we needed to use. 

Below is a post where I originally published the recipe. The cream cheese gives it a slight tang that you don't always get with a cream soup. However, I love cream cheese, so that was a big win for me. 

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Wally Makes Soup

Wally likes to eat. No, let me correct that. Wally loves to eat. However, he doesn't like to cook. But today, he did just that. I asked him to help me with some potato soup by peeling the potatoes. One thing led to another and in less than an hour he had created a delicious potato ham soup.

True to the family tradition, he didn't follow a recipe. He looked at couple of recipes, took inventory of ingredients on hand and started cooking. For better nutrition he added carrots and used low-fat cream cheese. He didn't use onions as a favor to Ward and he added his own special optional ingredient at the end--Stubb's Spicy BBQ Sauce. The result was a very delicious soup that reminded me of scalloped potatoes with ham. I hope this successful cooking adventure is the beginning of a new trend.

Below are basic instructions for making the soup. Detailed recipe at the end.

Chop potatoes, celery, carrots and ham.

Saute celery, carrots, and garlic before adding potatoes and water. Cook until veggies are tender. Add cream cheese and ham.                                     

Garnish with cheddar cheese and/or Stubb's Spicy BBQ sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Wally's Potato Ham Soup

Ingredients:

Oil, 1 T

Celery, 2 stalks chopped

Carrots, 3 large chopped

Garlic, 3 cloves minced

Potatoes, 7 medium--5-6 cups chopped

Water, 4 ½ cups

Chicken bouillon cubes, 2

Low fat cream cheese, 8 oz, softened and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

Ham, 2 cups chopped (¾ lb)

For garnish:

Shredded cheddar cheese

Stubb's BBQ Sauce, 1 teaspoon/bowl

Saute celery, carrots, and garlic in oil until celery is starting soften.

Add potatoes, water, and bouillon cubes. Bring to boil and boil until vegetables are tender. Approximately 10- 15 minutes.

Lower heat or turn off heat on electric range and add cream cheese. Stir until melted.

Stir in ham.

Note: I added a little of Stubb's spicy BBQ sauce into my bowl. It gave the soup just a hint of spicy hotness without overwhelming the other flavors.

My mom and dad just put a little shredded cheese on theirs.

Everyone was happy. I hope you like it too.

Printer friendly version

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When I took a look at this post, I found it interesting. First because, back in the day, I did recipes on my blog. And second, it has a printer friendly version of the recipe. I'm impressed with myself on that one. :)

Until next time...

Quotes

These mums surprised me just like the request.
They are a new color that I don't remember planting.

The library where I work is not open to the public yet, but we are providing a contactless pickup for materials. The customers have to make an appointment to decrease the chance of too many people showing up at the same time. There is an online form they fill out to make this appointment which has a field for any special instructions. Yesterday we got a different request from the usual of asking for us to pick out a book for them. The person asked for us to include our favorite quote.

Well, of course, I drew a blank on that one. I read clever, funny, and meaningful quotes on Facebook and elsewhere everyday, but I couldn't remember any of them. There wasn't time to search for something so that meant I just went with the first things that popped into my head. This is what I wrote on their receipt.

"Everything in moderation." 

"This too shall pass."

"It's all good."

These are part of my everyday self-talk that I use to help put things into perspective. After the bag was stapled shut, I remembered one that I heard recently that I liked. 

"It's okay to visit the past and the future, but you don't want to live there." Another way of saying, "The present is the present," which is also one of my self-talk sayings.

So, do you have a favorite quote? How would you answer that question if you had essentially no time to think about it and no time to Google for it? What's the first thing you think of?