Encounters at the Grocery Store

     With next week's menu planned and the grocery list in hand we headed out on our weekly grocery run.
      Arriving at Aldi I hurried through the cold, into the questionable warmth inside. Grocery stores aren't known for their coziness, but even those temperatures felt better than waiting outside in the snow and wind while LV and his quarter selected a cart.
     We made our way up the first aisle checking off the items on our list as we went along. Rounding the corner we met some people we knew and stopped to talk for a minute or two before resuming our quest to find the groceries we needed.
     And thus the awkwardness began. Entering another aisle, we met the same people. What were we supposed to do? Ignoring them felt rude, acknowledging them again felt weird, so an awkward smile would have to suffice as we continued our mission.
    Meeting again and again in other aisles felt more awkward each time. It was with a sigh of relief when we got checked out and exited the store.
    Finishing up at Aldi and heading to Walmart to get the remaining items on our list, the last thing we expected was to run into the same people again. Even the items in our cart felt noisy this time around. The pack of toilet paper sent out a beacon "Look at me! ... Look at me!" while the potato chips for LV's lunch box seemed to wave for attention.
    I love friends, and meeting someone I know while out shopping is fine and even fun if it's a one time happening, but all the extra meetings and their layers of awkwardness about do me in.
   

New Year's Thoughts

  I'm sitting in my favorite chair in the living room with my laptop open waiting for me to make a blog post. 

    Outside the window everything is in varying shades of drab browns and grays, except for the telephone wires that are stretched across my view. They have glistening raindrops clinging to them which makes things look just a little less gloomy for now. A fog is creeping in, inching its way down over the hills blanketing everything in its path in its misty shroud. It's only a matter of minutes before all the grays and browns have been swallowed up and I'll see nothing but fog.

    2018 had been the dreariest year I have ever experienced while living here. In total, we had only thirteen sunny days all year. Sunny as in, the sun shone from sunrise to sunset. There were days that the sun shone for a few hours, but then it rained or became overcast and cloudy.

    So far, even though we are only two days into the new year, we have yet to see the sun. 

    Growing up we always kept careful watch on the weather the first twelve days in January. Jotting down temperatures and weather conditions hourly. By studying it, we could predict the weather patterns quite accurately for the remainder of the year. Somehow we got away from doing that. Is it because weather no longer fascinates us as much? Are we too busy and it's too time consuming? Or …?

    Instead of focusing on the weather yesterday, the girls and I were working on our lists of things we hope to do this year. Our New Year's goals we tend to keep more on the fun side instead of imposing lifestyle changes or harsh rules upon ourselves that we would very likely not meet.

     We're still putting our finishing touches to them, and I'll share the lists once we've finished them. And as we do the things on those lists I might share them here as well.

     As I'm standing here at the beginning of a new year, I can't help but reflect on the year we have just completed. There were times of joy, times of sorrow. Blessings heaped upon blessings, and even during the hard times, God remained faithful, true, and ever present. And so as I look out at the year stretched out before us, I don't know what joy or pain lies ahead, but I'm so thankful I know Jesus and He knows me. 

Poblano Sausage Pillows

Driving home from the library yesterday at 4 PM my mind turned to what we'll be having for supper. And then it hit me, I had forgotten to thaw the meat I needed. I mentally scanned the refrigerator and pantry supplies to see what I could make instead.

I had a pound of sausage and two poblano peppers in the refrigerator, but what to make with them when I had other menu plans for their use, that wasn't going to work tonight. And then an idea was born.

Supper was a great hit, and no one guessed it was a last minute idea. We enjoyed it so much I knew I had to jot down how I made it, so we can enjoy it again someday, and I decided to share it with you. It's been a while since I shared one of my recipes here.

The name, because Steven thought they looked like little pillows.

Poblano Sausage Pillows

1½ cup warm water
1½ Tbsp sugar
1½ tsp salt
1½ Tbsp melted butter (or vegetable oil)
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp yeast (heaping)
3 cups flour

Mix water, sugar, salt, and melted butter. Add one cup flour, yeast, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper. Mix until smooth. Add another cup of flour and mix well. Add remaining cup of flour and stir until it gets hard to do so. Use your hands to work in the rest of the flour. If dough is still sticky keep adding a little more flour until it no longer sticks to your fingers when you poke it.
Cover and let rise for 45 minutes.

In the meantime start working on the filling.

Filling

2 poblano peppers
1 lb sausage
Colby cheese (sliced)

Char the poblanos until covered in black blisters. I prefer using the top rack in the oven and broiling on high. Turn the pepper to make sure each side gets blistered. Remove from heat and place in a bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap to keep the steam trapped inside.

Once cooled use a paper towel and wipe off the charred skin of the pepper. Remove top of pepper and slice it open. Remove and discard seeds. Dice pepper to your preferred size. (I like mine small-ish) Set aside.

In a skillet, fry up sausage. Drain, and then stir in the diced poblanos.

At the end of the 45 minute rising time for the dough … spray cooking spray on counter top and place your dough on it. Roll out to about ¼ inch thickness. Cut into squares. Place a one inch square slice of Colby cheese in center and spoon some of your poblano sausage mixture on top. Fold edges in to form a ball. Place edges side down on parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 350º for 20 minutes.

I enjoyed sour cream with mine to help with the heat from the peppers, but the rest of the family enjoyed theirs without.

Leftovers made an easy lunch for LV and Kenneth to take to work today. And since I forgot to take a picture when they were fresh from the oven last night, here's how they look after being in the refrigerator overnight.

Currently ...

Reading ... I finished the New Testament last week, and decided to read the Psalms again. They're probably my favorite part of the Old Testament, and I'm taking my time with it, savoring each little morsel.
In fiction I have started the book I Capture the Castle. I haven't read much of it yet, but so far it has not disappointed.
In other books I'm loving the stack of Christmas cookbooks I borrowed from the library. I've found a number of recipes I'm looking forward to trying soon.
Then there's the stack of library books that Steven and I enjoy in our daily story time. Last week I picked up one of his favorites The Diary of a Wombat. He was excited to see it, but after reading it last night he announced sadly, "This book isn't as interesting as it used to be."
I almost felt sad as well. The book hasn't changed, but my little man is growing up and his interests are growing and changing with him.

Writing ... I wrote our Christmas letter, and completely bored myself with it. I usually write them in my style of chattering away, but this year I just did a quick "this is what happened this year to each of the children" type of letter.

Watching ... I went and deleted all the recorded Hallmark Christmas movies. There's only so much of them I can handle until it's too much for me. So instead of anything Christmas-y, last evening our family enjoyed a documentary type episode about abandoned places.

Listening ... to a play list YouTube created for me. It includes my favorite songs and songs they think I'll like. Because of that I've found some new to me songs I really like, and also some I don't care if I never hear again.

Cooking ... there's steak, fried potatoes, salad, and then Oatmeal Cake and peaches on the menu for tonight, because of a birthday and it's what the one celebrating has requested.

Wearing ... a brown and turquoise outfit. It's comfortable, which is one of the most important things when I choose what to wear.

Drinking ... mostly water, though this past week LV finally used his Starbucks gift card and we each got something to drink. It was our first time to ever visit a Starbucks. We enjoyed our drinks, but not enough that we're planning to go back.

Loving ... the glow of the lights on our Christmas tree when I plug it in after I get up in the morning.

Disliking ... when a mouse decides to move into the house. There's one that feels comfortable enough to run slowly through the house in broad daylight. We've seen it so often that the girls have named it Bella. They chose a girl name because it seems to have an affinity for chocolate and some other foods they love. We tried different kinds of traps, but nothing worked, so we finally put out some D-Con. Half of it has been eaten, and we haven't seen the mouse for several days. Surprisingly enough I feel bad about that.
Word of advice ... never name a rodent you're trying to eliminate.

Playing ... not exactly playing, but Steven absolutely loves science experiments which means I get to experience them as well. They're messy, and not my favorite thing, but the enthusiasm he has for it and getting to spend time together makes it worth it.

Yesterday ... we made our weekly library run and did a few other things out and about, which included stopping at a gas station to fuel up. I shared my experience on Facebook last evening ... I'll copy and paste it here.

I have never liked getting gas for our vehicle. I try to avoid it as much as possible, but today I had to do it once again.
I pulled into a dinky little gas station with a total of four pumps. After pumping gas I stood there waiting for my receipt to be printed. It didn't happen. Instead these words flashed across the screen. "Get receipt inside."
I headed inside where two guys were visiting, one propped up against his broom handle and the other leaning comfortably against the counter. It took them a minute or so before they acknowledged me. "What can I do to help you?" the counter leaner asked.
"I'd like a receipt for the gas I got," I told him.
"What's your pump number?" he wanted to know.
"I don't know," I said and gestured out the window where my vehicle and a blue pickup were at the pumps. "I'm the yellow car."
Yellow car??!!!! Yellow car?!! I wanted to shrink out of sight as the words that apparently exited my lips reached my ears. "The silver vehicle," I corrected myself quickly.
The guy gave me my receipt and I fled the building.
This Mom brain … grief fog … is doing weird things.
But really … yellow car???? Where did that even come from?

I post little blurbs on Facebook more frequently than I've been doing blog updates. If you'd like to see them feel free to send me a friend request here.

The Christmas Cookie

I was five or six years old the year our neighbor lady asked our family to join them at their school for their children's annual Christmas program.

I didn't know what to expect, but with a name like Crystal Valley School, I knew it had to be very special.

That evening Rachel came by and we got into her big station wagon, and we were off. The program held my attention the entire time. The singing was lovely and I couldn't take my eyes off all those girls in their pretty red dresses. They all looked so happy as they sang in beautiful harmony. Later when others came on stage dressed as angels, complete with halos, my eyes started to hurt because I forgot to blink, not wanting to miss a single second of this wonderful evening.

When the program was over we were invited to stay and enjoy the refreshments. As we approached the tables laden with festive treats, I was sure I had never seen anything prettier. And then I saw it. A platter filled with beautifully decorated bell shaped cookies. Everything else on the table kind of vanished from my sight as I zeroed in on those. I wanted one, so badly. I might never be able to have a pretty red dress, or be an angel with a halo in a play, but I could have one of those beautiful cookies.

Mom got a little paper plate for me and offered to give me various treats, but I shook my head no to all of them. I was thrilled that there were still plenty of the bell shaped cookies left by the time the line had advanced far enough and they were right there in front of me.

"Are you sure you want one of these?" Mom asked as I made my request known.

I had never been more sure of anything, and soon one of those beautiful cookies was on my plate. I didn't take anything else, and carefully carried my plate as we made our way over to a table to sit and visit as we ate.

I admired the cookie for a little while and then I took a bite. I was bitterly disappointed. It was dry, hard, and almost flavorless.

To this day I avoid pretty cutout Christmas cookies, and I always, always remember that night. The wonder of the program, and the disappointment of how a cookie so beautiful could be so ugly.