It was an interesting week to say the least. My nephew and his wife welcomed a new baby daughter whos middle name is Louise which thrilled me no end. The baby and mother and father are all doing well. She was born on my brother’s birthday. The second time for that to happen in our family. I have a great nephew who was born on my birthday a couple of years ago. We also have a god-daughter who was born on my husband’s birthday. Seems we like sharing birthdays in our family.

The other interesting thing was John and I were able to get vaccinated (Shot #1) against Covid-19. It was very easy and the system worked very well. I had the appointment and was told that I could bring John along as he also qualified. Sure enough when we arrived to check-in they asked if he was my Plus 1. I, of course, said yes. From there things ran smoothly and surprisingly quickly. We were early for the appointment which was at 4:30. We were checked in and vaccinated and back on the road again before 4:25 and that included the mandatory 15 minute wait time in the car to make sure no bad reactions. Whew! A relief to have at least the first one done. The second is scheduled for March but am hoping that we can get it sooner than that.

Exercising in the Winter in New Hampshire

It can be a challenge here in the winter time. It’s not so much the cold as I know how to dress to stay warm but sometimes the wind is horrible and sometimes it is very snowy. This week was beautiful at the beginning of the week and I was able to get out three times. I did over 5 miles each time and actually had one of my best speeds this winter. The temperatures were in the high 20’s and low 30’s and no wind. We ran into some old friends on the trail and genuinely had a good time. On those days I also rode my indoor bike. I have worked my way up to about an hour in time and 15 miles in distance. I post the bike miles to the Ring Road Challenge and the walking miles to the Camino Challenge. For the month of January I have done 194 miles of either walking or biking. The days I didn’t walk I just rode the bike. A couple of the days were just plain awful as in cold and windy with a wind chill below zero. That’s when I don’t go out. So far the bike is working out well and even John keeps riding and Katie has ridden it a couple of days too.

Update on Jenny Lane

The big news is the gas fireplace was hooked up. It is amazing the difference it makes to the whole atmosphere in the bonus room. It is not a big one but it throws off a lot of heat. We are learning how to adjust it. For the first couple of days we were told to run it on high to season the gas logs. Yuck on the smell and there was even some yuckier smoke that came out of it. We had to open the windows. That was bizarre but it’s what we did. Now it is running just perfectly. The final step on the bonus room will be the trim painting which is a pain because of course we have furniture in the room now but it needs to be done. We made a start this weekend.

The other accomplishment of sorts was to get the first coat of paint on the lower part of the walls in the sun room. Took awhile to figure out what color we wanted but think we have a good color now. Otherwise it was a pretty quiet week. The coming week is supposed to be a big one but we are also expecting a big storm so the guys might not be able to get here. They come from a town about an hour south of here. We are still trying to make decisions about flooring for the upstairs as well as the kitchen and bath. I don’t think this is our strong suit. No one is willing to pull the trigger on any of it yet. I said today that I thought the house would tell us what it wants us to do so it will come to us. That’s about as good an answer as we can get right now.

Cooking and Eating Keeps January Interesting

I am so blessed to be living in a house with people who really enjoy cooking. Libby, who has been home and in quarantine for a week, was sprung from her room when her test came back negative, and decided she wanted to cook to celebrate. We had the best dumplings and Vegetable Lo Mein that I have ever had for dinner. The mother/daughter duo cooking in the kitchen together was awesome. Well, they hadn’t really seen each other for the better part of 10 days. Libby was quarantined because someone she had been with had tested positive. She was sent home and kept in isolation in her room until they could test her. The wait time for testing had to be at least 5 to 7 days exposure. She was such a good sport about it. She attended classes in her room and wore a mask if she came out of her room even if we were not around. We are also lucky she has her own bathroom which made it easy for her to isolate. We missed her though.

Here is Libby’s Vegetable Lo Mein from Omnivore’s Cookbook

Ingredients
1/2 lb (225 g) lo mein noodles
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 cloves garlic , minced
1 ” (2.5 cm) ginger , minced
3 green onions , chopped
1 cup snow peas
3/4 cup sliced carrot
4 heads baby bok choy , sliced
Sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
4 teaspoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well and set aside.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the lo mein noodles according to the instructions on the packaging. Rinse with cool water to stop the cooking and set them aside.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the garlic, ginger, and green onion and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Turn the heat to high and add the carrots, snow peas, and baby bok choy. Stir fry until the vegetables begin to soften, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the cooked lo mein and toss with a pair of tongs to distribute the vegetables. Pour the sauce onto the noodles. Cook, tossing continuously, until the liquid is fully absorbed and the noodles are fully coated.

Serve hot as a main dish or side dish.