C is for Cooking

My son has been cooking,
but I haven't been taking pictures.
This is the only one i could find.

As most of you know, cooking is not my thing. I consider it a chore not the creative or relaxing activity that many find. The problem is that eating usually goes much better if cooking is involved. Meals are often more healthful and cheaper when they are cooked at home. Therein lies the problem. Neither my husband or I like to cook and when we don't, our meals become more expensive and usually not as healthy. I have struggled with this for years. (My husband, on the other hand has no problem eating out all of the time.)

But then the most wonderful thing happened. My son moved back home and part of his rent was to cook dinner every night. And we are certainly getting our monies worth. He figures out our schedules and cooks our meals to coincide with when we will be coming home. He makes balanced meals and we are eating more vegetables than we ever have as he adds them to dishes (shredded carrots here and chopped spinach there) as well as having them star on their own. We didn't ask him to cook on weekends, but he does. And if he goes away, he plans ahead and cooks enough to last us while we were gone. I used to think it was funny when I heard people cook for their family when they were going away. I thought that the family ought to be able to handle a few meals for themselves. Well, they probably could, just like my husband and I can, but we sure appreciate it when he does that. He, also, studies recipes and checks the ads. Sometimes he does the shopping and sometimes I do, but he always has a list.

At this point in his life,
all my son wanted to do
was read books and climb trees,
 not cook.

Sometimes I am his sous chef or sometimes I stir something when goes back to work (he has a workshop in our basement), but he is always has a plan he is executing. He occasionally asks me for advice on cooking techniques, but student has outpaced the master. With access to the Food Network, YouTube, and wide array of cookbooks, he knows things that I never learned. He talks the layering flavors and about spices I've never used. And the list goes on.

Last January, my husband joined Weight Watchers. This is the first time anyone in our household has been on this program and it's all new to us. However, my son, mastered the points and allowances quickly. He has expanded his meal to include WW point values. For example, he asks my husband how many points he plans to eat for breakfast and lunch, so he knows how many points he has to work with for dinner. And the list goes on.

Not for one single second do we take my son's cooking for granted. We know this is the best thing that has happened to us in a long time and it won't last forever. He will move on. But for now, the quality of our life has greatly improved and we are very, very thankful.

B is for Birds

I didn't know much about birds growing up. I knew that robins were a sign of spring and the cardinal was the West Virginia state bird. The rest of them were some version of brown and gray and built nests and laid eggs. That was about all I knew. That lack of knowledge was still evident when I was in college and my sister tried to take me bird watching. I couldn't even find the trees she was showing me, let alone the birds.

But that all changed several years ago when we put up a bird feeder for my husband's birthday. Watching our daily visitors was soon my new hobby. I slowly learned that many of the brown and gray ones were sparrows and the big black ones were crows (okay, maybe I already know that). But I learned you could tell the difference between crows and hawks in the air because hawks soar while crows just fly basically in straight line. The saying, "As the crow flies" comes from this that.

I learned that many of our woodpecker visitors were black and white and preferred suet to sunflower seeds. I also sadly learned a sapsucker woodpecker can kill a healthy maple tree in just a couple of years with the holes it pecks.

In the nesting boxes that soon followed our feeder, I learned that bluebirds can put up a pretty good fight defending their territory from sparrows, and chickadee chicks line themselves up in a circle with their tails in the middle and their heads facing outward. I also found out that wrens use twigs to build their nest and put spider egg sacks in them to help control the mites.

In addition, out of curiosity and a little googling one day, I learned that birds poop and pee at the same time. They only have one opening for all the business that needs to be done so when you look at a bird dropping the poop is the black part in the middle and the white is their pee, so to speak.

We don't have as many visitors to the feeders at our new house, but we will get there, I hope. In the meantime, I enjoyed the mockingbird, juncos, starlings, finches and crows that visited this morning. And I didn't have to ask my sister or anyone else what they were. These were birds I wouldn't have been about to identify a few years ago. Slowly and steady, I am happily learning.

Below are pictures of some of our visitors over the years.

Male and female cardinals--WV state bird as well as 6 other states

Bluebird guarding the nest box from sparrows.

Wren nest made from twigs. See the white fuzzy things?
Those are the spider sacs that will help control the mites.

A robin and buds on the tree. Both signs of spring.

Pileated and male downy woodpeckers enjoying the suet cakes.

I was better at identifying crows on the ground than in the air until I learned their flight pattern.

These very young chickadees have already lined themselves around the nest with their heads facing outwards.

I've read that the sapsuckers holes usually don't damage a tree. However, we had one determined bird who eventually killed my son's favorite climbing tree.

Besides learning about birds, I've also learned a lot about squirrels since we put up a feeder.

A is for April and the A-Z Challenge

Welcome to the exciting month of April when I'm once again participating in the Blogging from A-Z Challenge. This challenge asks you post every day in April, except Sundays, with each post corresponding to a different letter of the alphabet. Except Sunday, you say, "Isn't today Sunday?" Well yes it is, but that's what happens when April happens to have five Sundays.

I've done this a couple of times in the past, 2015 and 2016, but didn't participate in 2017 because, quite frankly, it's exhausting. Posting every day with constraints is definitely a challenge for me, but I'd thought I'd give it a try this year to see if it would help me to get into the habit of blogging more regularly. The old hands at this challenge already have most if not all of their posts ready to go. But not me. I've been doing well enough to get a post out every week or so. Planning ahead just hasn't been in my schedule. So follow along as I scramble this month to post every day with a different letter of the alphabet.

As you know, today is also Easter, so my blogging time is up. Time to work on getting ready for Easter dinner which is at my house this year. See you tomorrow with the letter B

Happy Easter!

An Easter card I found in my Mother's things that I made in third grade.

Finally

I finally have the first crocus blooming in my yard. I have seen them other places along with daffodils and forsythia, but not here. Until now. Spring may come after all.

Thankful Sunday--March 25, 2018

I am thankful for M&M's.

M&Ms always hit the spot for me when I want a treat. I like the crunchy melts-in-your-mouth-not-in-your-hand covering and the milk chocolate inside. They may not be the healthiest choice, but everything in moderation is my mantra. So for colorful, tasty M&Ms I am thankful.

What is a favorite candy of yours?