We have had a busy December with lots of outdoor walks as well as workouts on the Peloton. Most recently I have been doing a 45 minute workout on the treadmill and then taking the dogs for a 1 1/2 hour trek through the Colby-Sawyer Morris Trail. It seems to be working well for all of us and it accomplishes a couple of goals for me. I want the workout effort but I also want to be outside with the dogs giving them exercise and getting fresh air for myself. As long as the weather cooperates this plan should continue. If we get a lot of snow I will dig out my snowshoes. So far the walking hasn’t been too bad but I am using my walking pole just in case I come upon some icy patches.

Big News from New London

Jack (on the right) was voted onto the New London Fire Department at last Monday’s meeting. Taking steps in his dream towards becoming a full-time fire fighter/EMT. He is almost done with his EMT training and is now doing practical training by riding along on ambulance calls. I love his enthusiasm for helping people and we all are so very proud of him as he keeps working towards his goals.

News from Asheville

Edie is learning how to be a big sister. She is occasionally allowed to feed him, very carefully and under the watchful eye of her Mum. She is conscious of how important it is to support his head especially when feeding him. What a wonderful way for her to learn to care about her baby brother. I can’t really tell if Orin cares just so long as he gets his tummy full. This is one of my favorite pictures so far of Orin at 5 weeks old.

Update on Jenny Lane

Slowly, slowly, slowly the bathroom is getting finished. The shower tiling has been finished and one wall has the grout in it, the one with the cool looking glass window. The floor has been done but has cardboard on it to protect it while they were working on the rest of the shower walls. Hopefully the grouting will finish this week and the shower doors and hardware will go in and we will have a working shower in that bathroom. The cabinets have been installed, except for the one that the sink goes in but that will happen this week too. The counter top has been picked out and the measuring will take place in January so it may be awhile before that piece is done but we are really getting close. After four years, we are now into our fifth year, of renovation we might just be done on the rebuild but as always there are some other items that need to be fixed up. Yikes!!!

Lots and Lots of Cooking

If it’s December then Katie is in the kitchen. It was recently decided that we would have a standing rib roast for Christmas dinner and Katie was determined that we had to have Sweet Mustard Pickle to go with it. We grew up in Canada with Habitant Sweet Mustard Pickle but some marketing genius decided it was not a money maker for Habitant and discontinued it. Our lives have never been the same. I even tried some from Australia and it just didn’t cut it. So yesterday we made our own pickle and it is delicious. The recipe is ridiculously long and hails from Newfoundland but it makes a delicious mustard pickle if you like that sort of thing.

Here is a recipe I will share. This is probably the most yummy and, in fact, the prettiest salad I have ever made. You can almost taste it. First time I think I’ve ever taken a photo that makes the food look good.

Best Strawberry Spinach Salad from The Pioneer Woman