What Would You Grab?

     My internal clock wakes me up at the same time every day, which means I rarely ever sleep in. When Saturdays roll around I  am up at my regular time while the others grab an hour or two of extra sleep.
    And so it happened that I was once again up early. I headed to the living room and my favorite chair, grabbed my laptop and got to work in the peaceful quietness.
    The sun came up, extra bright it seemed. The amount of dust motes dancing in the streams of light coming in through the window seemed extraordinarily heavy. I didn't pay much attention to them though as I focused on my task at hand.
    Before long Sharon came down the stairs. She poked her head into the living room. "Why does it smell like burnt honey nut cheerios?" she asked.
    It was then that I noted. The dust motes weren't dust motes at all, instead the air was filled with smoke and I had been so focused on my project I never even noticed, and without a sense of smell I didn't have that to alert me either.
    With the furnace off for the season, and nothing happening on the stove in the kitchen I knew there was something a bit scarier happening. I ran up the stairs to wake LV. He immediately smelled the smoke and said it's definitely something electrical. He flew down to the basement and shut off the power at the breaker box and then called for help.
    We tried to locate the source of the smoke, but couldn't. 
    We gathered up all our important papers and then surveyed the rest of the house helplessly. Should we start running things outside? Should we assume since the power is off now everything is okay? At what point will the smoke turn to flames? And why in the world is it taking so long for help to arrive?!
    When it finally did they clumped throughout the house looking at all the electrical outlets. They found several that needed to be replaced, but none that looked like they were the source of the smoke.
    Finally they turned the power back on and then we noticed. The one living room light was completely brown, Further investigation revealed charred bits in the ceiling behind the light.
    They removed it and we got it replaced. 
    The panicked helpless feeling though before we knew what was causing the smoke was awful. And other than important papers we still can't answer the question of what we would grab first if the house was on fire.
    Do you know what you would grab?

Currently

Reading ...  in the Bible I'm making my way through II Kings. In other reading I'm stalled out. So far this year I have reread several of my favorite series, but any other books I'm picking up are simply not holding my attention. It doesn't help that there seems to be a thousand and one other things begging for my attention

Watching ... Steven informed me that there is a spinoff series of Andy Griffith called Mayberry RFD, so I went ahead and requested it from the library. We have been watching an episode after lunch most days. It's decent, if you're okay having different main characters, and Millie doesn't get on your nerves too much.

Listening ... to happily singing birds, pleasant notes from the wind chimes as it sways in the gentle breeze, and voices in the other room.

Baking ... there are some chocolate chip cookies in the oven.

Cooking ... I have been trying a new recipe everyday so far this year. I have really been enjoying it and the family has not been complaining about it either. Two of our favorites so far have been recipes for honey pepper chicken and a creamy ravioli soup.

Feeling ... energetic and ready to tackle life with renewed vigor. 

Disliking ... the spiders that are beginning to create their webs in the corners of the windows.

Several years ago someone introduced us to some spray to to use outside windows and doors to keep spiders away. It worked beautifully. Prior to using it the outsides of our windows got dirty within a day or two of washing them because of all the spider activity. 

I didn't spray last year and now this year they seem to be returning so time to dig out the spray. I have searched both basement and attic and have been unable to find it. Unless I am able to find it in the next day or so we'll have to buy some more because I really don't want to have to do battle with spiders until winter rolls around.

Loving ... all the flowers that are blooming right now. I'm featuring two of my favorites here.

 

Playing ...  Skyjo is still one of my favorites, but House of Anubis has been making it to the table quite a bit lately and it's always a good time to be had by all when we play it.

Cleaning ... I washed some windows today, but decided to wait to do the rest until I locate the spray for the spiders.

Creating ... things for the upcoming wedding. 

Thinking ... I really want to get back to blogging more regularly.  I've missed it during my almost three month absence.

I've instructed myself to make at least one post per week for the rest of the year with occasional extras tossed in. 

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 1. February is coming to a close. Give us a two-word phrase that tells us something about how yours went.

Too fast

2. If you had to describe how you're feeling right now as an amusement park ride, what ride are you on? Explain. 


I've never been to an amusement park, so I'm not familiar with the ride options other than a roller coaster which would work for this answer with all the ups and downs, twists and turns.

3. What's something on your desk or a nearby wall that cheers you up when you see it or walk past? 

On our desk, well technically it's inside our desk, but since the roll top is open the majority of the time I see two recipe boxes that make me feel happy every time I see them. The girls and I had gone to Hobby Lobby where they saw these lemon design recipe boxes and asked if I'd fill them with our favorite recipes for them before they move out.

I've been enjoying working on them as I have time.

4.  Are you a salad eater? How many salads do you typically eat in a week? Your favorite kind of salad? 

I love salads! I try to have at least one salad per day, sometimes more. My favorite is a loaded salad we do with romaine lettuce, cheese, ham, dried cranberries, and  hard boiled eggs. With either my Mom's recipe for a white dressing or my homemade blue cheese dressing to finish it off.

5. Without telling us the category give us your top five ______________. 

Seafood
Salad
Pasta
Chicken
Vegetables

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our day started off with a boom-banging thunderstorm that has now settled into a gentle rain. I love rainy days, they make the perfect backdrop for fun projects and baking.

I want to bake some bars and maybe some cookies. My plans for the day had included baking the bars, but I'm adding cookies since my Dad called a few minutes ago saying that he's in the area today and would like to stop in for a few minutes. 

I want to have his favorite cookies ready for him when he gets here.

When Sharing Goes Wrong

     Stocking the pantry with all the basics after we got married took a little while, and it was a few weeks before I had everything I needed to finally be able to bake something good.
    The cake had turned out beautifully and was waiting on the countertop to be enjoyed for dessert with supper. 
    I heard the door open and the sound of LVs feet running up the stairs. I went to greet him at the kitchen door, but he was in a hurry. "Is the cake ready?" he asked.
    I had told him my plans for baking earlier as we ate lunch.
    I turned to get him a piece, when he asked if I could package some up for the guy who did our feed rations.
    I was surprised, but went ahead and wrapped some up and he hurried back outside with it.
    Later that evening we talked about it.
    He was used to sharing fresh baked goods with anyone who came up to the farm. It was something he hoped we would continue doing.
    It was all new to me. I couldn't imagine how much food we would have given out had we shared something with everyone who stopped in at our woodworking shop when I was growing up, but if this was what he wanted to do I would certainly do my part.
    Over the next years I lost track of all the things I baked that we never got to eat because someone stopped by. Bread, cookies, cake, pie, and more made their way out of the kitchen and into someone else's hands.
    And then one day LV had to go deliver a load of hay. I had just finished baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies when I looked out the window and saw a vehicle pull up to the barn. A guy got out and entered the doors to the milkhouse.
    By now I was used to making sure no one left empty handed. I quickly packed up some still warm cookies, and went outside to see what he wanted and send the cookies home with him.
    It was the milk inspector. He surveyed my offering of cookies and told me that trying to bribe him will not work.
    I was stunned, I had never thought of trying to bribe him, had never met the milk inspector before so I had no idea that was who he was until that moment. He must have seen the confusion and dismay because he ended up accepting them as I told him they weren't a bribe, but that we give everyone baked goods when they come to the farm.
    I never offered to give an inspector anything ever again, and it took a while for the uncomfortable sting of it all to diminish.
    Thankfully I can somewhat laugh at my naiveness now.

Currently

Reading ... I just finished reading Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich. Several months ago I read The Incredible Winston Browne by him as well and absolutely loved it. Kinfolk certainly felt like it was written by the same person, and I really liked it, but it was a bit heavier read. A book that probably should come with trigger warnings. Even so it gave me plenty of chuckles along the way, and the story will be sticking with me for a while.

Watching ... the flooding creek and raging waterfall. All the snow we had received melted rapidly causing quite a bit of flooding. Our gurgling little creek turned into more of a lake/river. It's interesting to watch, but it was nice to see the waters begin receding.

On Saturday we went to Ohiopyle to see how those falls are doing. The main falls were thundering, but interesting enough Cucumber Falls, and the Slides weren't any more impressive than usual.

Listening ... to mechanic talk. LV has Kenneth on speakerphone and they're discussing various problems and solutions in their work life.

Baking ... Sharon made a batch of cookies this afternoon using Steven's recipe that has been dubbed Geronimo Cookies. They're chocolate chip cookies, and so far the best recipe we have found. Tomorrow I have plans to make an Ube Chiffon cake. 

Cooking ... tonight we had a Korean meatloaf which was delicious and a Santa Fe salad that everyone enjoyed as well.

Feeling ... all sorts of feelings tangled up into one. Tired, happy, sad, hopeful, concerned, satisfied, yearning, dreaming, letting go, pursuing, content, it's all there and more.

Disliking ... the mud that has come in wake of all the melting snow.

Loving ... watching the activity around the birdfeeder outside the kitchen window.

Playing ... quite a variety of games with Steven. In addition to playing whatever we want to we decided to work our way through the alphabet and each day play a game beginning with the letter for the day. Today was letter "F". We played Fishing Camp for it. 

Lately my favorite game has been Skyjo. I think the rest of the family may be getting kind of tired of it by now, but I'm not at that point yet.

Cleaning ... tomorrow I'm tackling the laundry corner. Dubbed that because it's where the washer and dryer are, but I'll be focused on the cupboard and shelves that hold our school supplies and kitchen items.