Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What was your biggest worry five years ago?  Is it still a worry?

One of my biggest worries five years ago was that Sailor would have a really hard time with school, especially with math.

Thankfully that is no longer a worry. Somewhere along the line something clicked and he is now a math whiz and counts it among his favorite subjects.

2. Yesterday (October 15th) was National Grouch Day...what makes you grouchy? What cheers you up when you're feeling grouchy?

Heat makes me grouchy. Having a nice air conditioned place to cool off cheers me up, as well as a tall glass of ice cold lemonade.

3.  In one word, how does it feel to be photographed?

Awkward.

4. Besides your parents, who would you say had the greatest influence on you in choosing your life path?  Explain.

LV.

All the major decisions and happenings in my life have been directly influenced by my husband.

5. The crisp days of autumn are here ...what's something you like to eat, but only if it's crisp?

Iceberg lettuce.

Sailor loves cooking and experimenting in the kitchen and I usually cheerfully taste any concoction he creates, but being served with wilted lettuce dripping in melted butter was too much.

6. What's the most useless object you own?

A bread dough mixer. I never, ever use it. It's much faster and easier to simply make a loaf or two by hand than drag out that contraption and use it. Maybe if I'd make six loaves of bread at a time like we used to while I was growing up I might give it a try again, but for the past fourteen years it has been resting in the storeroom.

7.  Share a favorite fall memory.

One of my favorite fall memories is the day LV and I attended a wedding in a neighboring church district. The twelve mile ride in the buggy was perfect, the horse seemed to know we weren't in a hurry, having started off early enough to allow him to walk most of the way. Orange and yellow leaves glistened in the morning sun as the frost melted away. We both knew that the entire community would find out we were courting that evening when all the steady couples entered the house together and we would be among that group.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Rosebud and I are already working on choosing our Thanksgiving menu. We don't do the whole turkey thing since we would all much rather have a feast of our favorite foods and try out a few new recipes as well.

Fall Fun

The tree in front of our house has lost most of its leaves and Sunbeam and Buddy have been enjoying playing in the pile that has gathered around the trunk.

 

 After hiding in the pile Sunbeam calls to Buddy to come find her.

 

 He walks over to investigate and she sits up.

He turns to run away with shrieks of laughter as she bounds out of the leaves after him.

Moments like this make me wish I was a child again.

Algerian Meatballs

We have been trying new recipes ever since Rosebud expressed an interest in trying foods from other countries. Since she had been studying about Algeria we decided to try some Algerian meatballs last evening. They turned out to be delicious and we enjoyed them a lot more than the recipe we had tried that included brown rice, plantains, and peanut butter.

 

Algerian Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp onions, minced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Bake at 400º for 15 minutes.

In the meantime sautè in 1 Tbsp butter

½ cup diced onions
7 cherry tomatoes, chopped

Once onions are translucent add:

2 cloves garlic, minced

Sautè for an additional 30 seconds.

Add two tablespoons of drippings from your baked meatballs and simmer for a minute or so. Spoon your onion mixture over meatballs and serve,


We liked these well enough that we'll be making them again!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What's one thing you learned in September?

I can't really think of anything new I learned, but I was reminded of a whole lot of things I had thought I already knew. Like it's okay to be flexible with schedules, that every cloud has a silver lining, and that spending time with family is really my favorite thing in the world.

2. Acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, yellow squash, zucchini squash, or blech! hold the squash... what's your favorite squash? What's your favorite way to prepare your favorite squash?

I like all squash. Zucchini stir fried with onion and garlic is something we all enjoy. Butternut squash is also a family favorite. I like them thinly sliced and fried in butter and flour.  We also used them as a substitute for pumpkin in pumpkin pies and desserts. So much easier to work with and no one ever knew the difference.

3. The older I get the_______________________________.

The more I try not to let the little things bother me.

4. What's your favorite television theme song ever?

I haven't watched enough television to have a favorite theme song.

5. What do you wish you'd spent more time doing five years ago?

I wish I would have spent more time journaling.

6. What item do you most need (or want) to add to your wardrobe this fall?

A new pair of shoes, maybe.

7. On October 2, 1950 the Peanuts cartoon was introduced to the world. What was your favorite cartoon when you were a kid?

Cartoons weren't a part of my childhood. Comics were considered to be part of the forbidden parts of the world and we were discouraged reading even the few that made their way into our house as part of the newspaper packing in boxes from mail order companies.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Rosebud and Sunbeam are in a phase of having real tea parties. The daintiest foods are being created and lots of tea brewed and all served on a pretty china tea set. If they keep this up I might actually learn to enjoy tea more.

That Type of Day