2020 arrived along with new hope for the coming year and perhaps hope for our HGTV special house on Jenny Lane, We have doors on our room now, beautiful, solid six panel doors that make a thud when you close them. I am not sure what it was about the doors that made me so excited to get rid of the old ones. Perhaps it was the fact that the old ones were split up to six or seven inches above the floor. Pieces just peeling back on themselves, most probably from a soaking from one of the water leaks but nevertheless they were a mess. No amount of painting was going to fix them. They were so light that you could lift them with one hand and throw them in the dumpster. The new doors have added yet one more layer of upgrade to the current situation that we can revel in.

Building Something Back In

We added a closet to Jack’s room this week too. It is small but efficient, Framed in with some of the sheet rock already attached, John demolished the hall walls only to discover that the wiring was not up to code so we need another visit from Jimmy. One of the walls was insulated and replaced with sheet rock – remember, it was all that 1960’s paneling which is still throughout the house. Slowly we are getting rid of it. The other wall remains open so we can have the electrical work done hopefully this week and then we can insulate and sheet rock it. Every little step is celebrated and we did just that this week. We are thrilled with each piece of the puzzle being completed and with the enthusiasm with which our team is making this all happen. They are totally amused by my candles and the light classical music I have playing in our room. It doesn’t take them long to replace that with some solid country but they are kind enough to put my station back when they leave. We’ve only just begun but what a start we have made to remake Jenny Lane,

Walking/Hiking/Snowshoeing This Week

We had a beautiful snow fall which made it not only imperative but necessary to use snowshoes to go out on the trails. It snowed about 8 inches on New Year’s Eve – oh how we wished for it to happen on Christmas Eve but it was not to be. However, it did give me a wonderful opportunity to get the snowshoes out and to break trail through the woods. Bean couldn’t climb over the pile of snow at the entrance to the trail because it was too high. She and I figured out how to go around it which worked just fine. Wyke sailed over the pile with ease.

Our walking went from glorious sunshine and beautiful snow to wet mess and then to a walk that was brutal with the wind whipping across the fields so that at one point I actually thought of cutting through the woods and taking a short cut home. I didn’t, I stuck with it and was glad I did. Because of the rain we had to give up two days of good walks. It just wasn’t anything any of us wanted to be out in. Even the pups would go out and do what needed to be done and then bolt back in to the fire.

Sometimes the perfect picture happens. I think Wyke could be a model for the LL Bean catalog. It might have been cold and windy out there but he didn’t seem to care. Must be that fur coat he has.

Here’s another picture that is rather fun. We actually had all four on the bed this morning you can just see Lena off to the right keeping an eye on things. Cleo is book ended by Wyke, her first love and Bean. They are pretty good about waiting to be invited to cuddle in the morning (well maybe Bean isn’t but Wyke is). It makes my heart warm to see them like this. It was a very nice start to the day.

Cooking for Fun and Health

I was lucky enough to get the Blue Zones Kitchen cookbook for Christmas and have been reading it and marking recipes with post it notes for the better part of a week. At this time of the year I am craving vegetables but not really wanting cold ones. Therefore soup has become my go to food to get my vegetable component each day. From Big Batch Adventist Soup to Minestrone to this week’s Mushroom Soup (Oh My) and the best Sweet Potato Vegetarian Chili from Cookie & Kate. I have served it all up with sourdough bread. Part of my bread making kit arrived this week and now I am waiting for the sourdough starter which should be here by Monday or Tuesday. It has been years since I have baked bread and I’m very much looking forward to trying it again. Sourdough has a very low glycemic index and since I like to watch those carbs it is a good bread for me to eat. Well, it is good for most of us. According to my research (yup on Google) regular white bread has a GI of 71 and sourdough has a GI of 53.

Cream of Mushroom Soup (from Cafe Delites)

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
2 onions diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 pounds (750 g) fresh brown mushrooms sliced
4 teaspoons chopped thyme divided (I used Italian Herbs)
1/2 cup Marsala wine (any dry red or white wine)
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I think this is too much, maybe 3)
4 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock
1-2 teaspoons salt adjust to taste
1/2-1 teaspoons black cracked pepper adjust to taste
2 beef bouillon cubes, crumbled (I used Better than Bouillon Chicken Stock)
1 cup heavy cream or half and half (sub with evaporated milk)
Chopped fresh parsley and thyme to serve

Instructions

1. Heat butter and oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until melted. Sauté onion for 2 to 3 minutes until softened. Cook garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. Add mushrooms and 2 teaspoons thyme, cook for 5 minutes. Pour in wine and allow to cook for 3 minutes.
3. Sprinkle mushrooms with flour, mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add stock, mix again and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low-medium heat, season with salt, pepper and crumbled bouillon cubes.
4. Cover and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, while occasionally stirring, until thickened.
5. Reduce heat to low, stir in cream or half and half. Allow to gently simmer (do not boil). Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.
6. Mix in parsley and remaining thyme. Serve warm.

End of the Week High

We attended a reception for alums and prospective campers for Camp Wabun where our grandchildren have been campers for the past seven or eight years and our daughter was a staff member for 10 years in the 90’s and early 2000’s. We love that place and we love the folks associated with it. The reception was attended by a mix of people who had been campers or staff at one time in addition to a current camper or two and a couple of prospective campers. It was such a treat to see everyone, to catch up on their news and to revisit some memories from this past years paddle in. We can hardly wait to have August come around again. We are so lucky to have these people in our lives. If you want to know more, click on the link and if you are interested in sending a child to camp and want to learn about scholarships, check out their foundation Red Canoe Foundation. Every child deserves a chance to throw away their electronics and get out in nature and learn to trust themselves and their section mates.