Quick Soup Update

The Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice soup is even better left-over. It gets all nice and thick in the fridge overnight. Mmmmm. I will be very sad when it's gone.

Typical Tuesday

Daphne didn't take a nap today, so instead of relaxing in my chair with a book or some knitting, or getting some chores done, I got invited to a birthday party for Elephant Gerald (in the green chair). According to Daphne, he is two years old, and he wished for a box of frying pans when he blew out his candles. He plans to make pretend Lemon Soup with these pans.

In the high chair, you may notice a sort of Daphne-looking Cabbage Patch doll, courtesy of Aunt Kimmie and Uncle Marty. Her name, as stated on her birth certificate, is Anna Wanda. I call her Anaconda. Daphne calls her Anda-Wanna, and says her birthday isn't until Saturday.

Time to get back to the party. I am missing the cheese course. I think it's Gouda.

The Winter of Soup Begins

Soup 1
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Last night I began the Winter of Soup with this Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice. Very good, and very easy. I used this recipe, and added carrots, mushrooms, and a little garlic. Next time I will use more rice, but otherwise I probably won't change anything else.

Big Wheel!

Big Wheel!
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

So, here it is. The Big Wheel. Don't you wish you could ride it?

Kev moved the seat as far forward as possible, but she can still really only go backwards.

Christmas was good. It seems like we spent most of it driving in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania goes on forever. Maryland, on the other hand, takes about 15 minutes to cross. The funny thing is, when you leave Maryland, there is a sign that says "Maryland thanks you for your patience."

Kevin turned 40 in NY the day after Christmas, so we all went sledding. In the snow. It was great. Daphne liked it, but was more interested in eating snow. One time, Kev and I went down together on my nephew's toboggan. It was so much fun...the sled just kept going and going and I thought we might end up in the Hudson River. It was one of the few carefree moments I've had in a long time. (Once I knew we weren't going to wipe out, that is.)

I got lots of nice gifts, so thanks to everyone. Daphne got some great stuff too. And we all pitched so Kev could get a new bike for his birthday, so there are going to be some fun bike-rides in our future.

Now that Christmas is over, it is time to buckle down and get some things done. I have a feeling I am going to know all the people down at the DMV by name before it's all over. There is a lot of stuff you have to do when you move from another state, and much of it requires about 10 forms of ID. Such a hassle, but it's gotta be done.

And the boxes. So many boxes.

And Christmas cards.

So, I better stop blogging and get some things done. I have promised the Peanut a walk today, as well as a game of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I guess the boxes can wait.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah. At last. Christmas is upon us. And I am DONE. Well, except for sending out Christmas cards, which I have had to just let turn into New Years cards.

This has been a difficult year, and a difficult Christmas, for a variety of reasons. But now I am ready to move on and look forward to all the exciting things that are going to be happening in the next several months. Big things, of course, like my parents and brother moving up here to join us, but little things too. Not the least of which is making soup for the Winter of Soup (I got a new Williams Sonoma soup cookbook for Christmas). AND I also FINALLY got my Easybake Oven (thanks, M and D), so there are going to be a lot of teeny tiny cakes in my future. And now that Christmas is almost over, we will be able to concentrate on unpacking and getting more settled. A day is coming when there will be downtime. And knitting.

I had a very nice Christmas Eve, and plan to have a fun day tomorrow. Daphne is all excited, so she'll be fun to watch. She's getting the Big Wheel I bought a couple years ago. Kev put it together the other night and I cannot tell you how badly I wished I could ride it.

I hope all of you have a really great Christmas. Gotta get to sleep now before Santa shows up...

The Winter of Soup

I have officially declared this the "Winter of Soup." This means that I am going to make a whole bunch of different kinds of soups this winter since we now live in a cold climate. I am a little worried because Daphne, who used to eat everything, isn't crazy about soup these days, and I don't want dinnertime to be a stressful event. Anyway, feel free to suggest a soup recipe that you like, and I will tell you if it makes the cut this season.

My favorite soups are:
Mushroom,
Lobster Bisque,
Chicken and Dumplings,
Split Pea with Ham,
the delicious Roasted Butternut Squash soup I had in NYC last time I was there,
Cream of Tomato,
and
Gumbo.

Also, I would like to include more goat cheese in my meal plan. Please make suggestions if you have them.

I Have Always Wanted a Banister

So, I decorated it. Perhaps this will satisfy the neighbors...



Speaking of the neighbors, here is a tree that lives next door. It is a ginko tree. Here is a story about that tree:

The day we moved into our new house, we went on the front porch to take a picture. We smelled something bad, and I thought it was dog poop or fertilizer. A few days later, the Verizon man came to install the Fios package. Every time he came near me, I smelled a poop/fertilizer smell. I thought maybe this was a guy with real problems! Then a couple hours into the job, he told me that he had been stepping on fruit from the neighbors tree, and boy, did it stink. Aaaah! Mystery solved! So, as it turns out, every fall, this giant tree sheds the smelliest fruit you ever smelled, and there is nothing you can do but go out there and clean it all up from the yard, but you have to be careful not to get it on your skin because it will give you ginko berry disease which resembles poison ivy and can make you very sick. I suppose we will just have to make do. Poor Kev was outside for two days picking up all that mess.






Finally, here is our Christmas tree. We let Daphne help put the ornaments on. It was stressful, but sorta fun. Nothing got broken, anyway. And the stockings were hung by the (faux) chimney with mantle stocking hanger things from Target, which I have also always wanted.

So, I got my banister and my mantle things. Is it worth the price of the stinky tree? I reckon so. But then, I'm not the one who had to clean up the fruits.

Turkey and Such

So, Thanksgiving was good. My parents were here, and my mom taught me how to make all the food. It really wasn't that hard, just a lot of work for a meal that lasted about 15 minutes. I shouldn't say that, I guess. We actually got four meals out of the deal, so it was all worth it. Plus, there was pie. You can't beat that. Above, I am taking the finished turkey out of the oven. I used a bag, and it was good. Below, is everyone waiting for me and my dad to stop taking pictures so we can eat. The centerpiece was Daphne's hand-turkey surrounded by pinecones from the yard. What would Martha think?



While my parents were here, Kev and I made a quick overnight trip to New York City to see the great Dave Brubeck at the Blue Note. The show was great. So glad we went. Dave Brubeck must be almost 100, but he could still play, and his band was fantastic. We entered the club just as he arrived, so I took a picture with my phone, but I can't get the picture OFF my phone without subscribing to some expensive service, so it doesn't do much good.



We took the bus from DC to NYC, which wasn't bad. On the way home, we got stuck on the New Jersey turnpike, though, and a 4 hour trip turned into about 6 hours, which is a long time to sit on a bus without getting up. Still, it was way better than having to fly.





Tonight was the annual Christmas parade in our town. It went right past our house, which was very convenient. We bundled everyone up and braved the cold, and enjoyed the parade, which featured a camel! I think even LarryFeathers, who is visiting this week, had a good time. Daphne loved it because the people in the parade kept giving her candy. I think she got more candy tonight than she did on Halloween.





For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to decorate my house at Christmas by putting one candle in every window. This year, we made it happen. We also bought a wreath for the door from a local farmer, and we have a groovy retro light-up Santa by the back door. Apparently I am going to have to step it up next year, though. One of my neighbors told me to relax and not worry about trying to decorate this year..."We know you're new," she said.

That being said, she, and all of our other neighbors, could not be more friendly. Everyone has really gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. I am looking forward to getting to know people. I just have to get through the holidays first. I have not even made a dent in my Christmas shopping. The holiday knitting I planned to do is just not going to happen. And it will be a miracle if I get my cards sent out on time this year. Oh well. There are more important things than all that.

So, I hope that you are all doing well and enjoying the holiday season so far. I will try to blog more, and I assure you there will be pictures the minute we get snow. Tomorrow, we're decorating the Christmas tree, and there will likely be Kerbey Lane pancakes. Not much could be better than that. Maybe if there's time, I'll get back on here and tell you about the Stinky Tree.

Home Sweet Home

Here are a few pics of the new house. We finally got internet/phone/tv hooked up today. We're still swimming in boxes, but we've made progress and it's starting to feel like home. People here are really nice. They keep coming over with cookies and pies and baskets of stuff. I hope that eventually I will have time to blog a real blog. The next blog will probably be about Thanksgiving. I am cooking the dinner this year, and it will be my first time, so tune in for tales of kitchen disasters...

Happy Day

Today we moved into our new house in Leesburg, VA. Pictures coming soon. It was a freezing cold day with flurries of snow, and now we are drowning in boxes, but the difficult times are over and we can begin to settle in and enjoy life again. We won't have any internet until they come hook us up next Sunday, so if you email me and I don't reply, that's why. Hope you're all doing well and staying warm. See you soon.

Time for a Blog

Helping Aunt Kimmie
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

I think it's about time I blogged a blog, so here goes:

First of all, a shout out to my good friends, Rob and Michelle...hope you like the pancakes!

Next, the picture there is Daphne helping her Aunt Kimmie feed my awesome little nephew, Jackson. He is a really good little baby. I think the Peanut didn't know quite what to think about him...she was a little nervous when she got close to him. But, she told me that she is going to have two babies, named Jackson and Jackson, so I think she likes him.

Things here are pretty OK. If all goes well, we'll be in our new house next week. There is a lot that has to happen, but things seem to be on track. I will spare you the details, but it has been very complicated and difficult selling our house and buying the new one. Nothing has really gone smoothly, but thanks to my good friend and real estate agent Anne, who has gone above and beyond the call of duty, my family back home, who have been a HUGE help in too many ways to list, Kev's mom and dad, who drove all the way here to babysit so we could go house-hunting, my friends who have supported me through the whole ordeal, and Kev, who has somehow been keeping the wheels from flying off, I think everything is going to work out.

As soon as all parties sign by the X, I will post a picture of our new house. I don't wanna jinx anyting...

Over the weekend, we took a break from all this moving and shakiing to trek up to NY so we could see our afore-mentioned new nephew and hang out with kev's family. Daphne and her cousins are getting better and better at playing together, and they all had a great time. Kev's mom had lots of activities for them, including tie-dying shirts and making foam Christmas trees. It's a good thing, too, because it rained all day Saturday, and we didn't even leave the house. The drive to NY is long, but not TOO long, and it's very pretty. There are plenty of places to stop along the way. And we discovered that our new house is only one hour from Gettysburg, and a little over two hours from Hershey. We are never ever going to run out of cool stuff to do up here.

So, I am homesick, but hanging in. We have a play-date tomorrow with my nice knitter friend and her little boy. I can finally see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, and I know I will eventually feel normal again. Or something resembling normal, anyway. If there was only a way to watch the Mavericks...

Hope things are good with all of you. Thanks for sticking with me through the lean blogging.

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Hope you all had a good Halloween. We enjoyed ours. Daphne was Dorothy, as you can see. It was a last-minute choice based on that was about all they had left in her size at Target. I am far away from my sewing machine, so I couldn't make her anything. Maybe next year. Anyway, we thought she looked pretty cute with her ruby slippers and pigtails, so it's all good. A nice lady that I met via a knitting forum invited us to her neighborhood for trick-or-treating, which was great because we didn't have to drag the Peanut all around this apartment complex. I can't wait to get out of this place. It is so noisy, and there are weird smells now and then.

Daphne's asleep, so I'm gonna go eat some of her candy now. She'll never know...

White House, The

White House, The
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Today we finally took a trip into Washington DC. I had never been there, and I wanted to see the White House. There is a picture of it that I took today. Look at that lawn! On the roof, to the right of the flag, you can see a sniper-type guy. There were other guys walking around the grounds with big machine-gun looking guns. What a sad world we live in.

We went in on the Metro, which was pretty fun and easy. DC is nice and calm...not at all like New York City. I didn't hear any cars honking all day. There is so much to do that I can't imagine we'll ever be able to do it all. Today we just walked around and took the Peanut on the carousel by the Smithsonian. It was a really nice day. Almost hot, even.

Tonight we went for Indian food at a little place in the shopping center by our apartment. It was really good. Daphne even liked it.

Now everyone is asleep. I am trying to stay up late because the time changes and I don't want to be up at 4:30am. Curse the inventor of daylight savings time. Oh, wait. Maybe that was Ben Franklin. Hmmm...I usually like Ben Franklin. Oh well.

A Taste of Home

A Taste of Home
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

The other day we received a package from my mom and dad which included some of Daphne's toys and book, Kevin's favorite house-pen, and this stuff in the picture: my favorite coffee mugs with some coffee from Central Market, my milk frother thing, and some Kerbey Lane pancake mix. I have been enjoying my morning lattes since this arrived, and there will be pancakes in the near future. Thanks, M & D...we needed a little cheering up around here.

We're Here

Just want to let you know we made it Virginia. We are currently living in a corporate apartment with noisy neighbors, but it's clean and it will do for now. I miss my family and my friends and knowing how to get places without a map. Today we got a GPS, so that should make things better. I don't get much computer time, but when I do, I will blog more. I hope you are all doing well.

Cruel Cruel World

Just in time for me to move away, they opened up a Paciugo gelato shop a couple blocks from my house and an Oklahoma Original Fried Pie shop near my parents' house. I swear, if the New Albany Redmen come down here and bring Chicken and Dumplings, I'm not moving.

UPDATE: Today we went to get a fried pie, and there was a sign on the door that said, "Sorry. We are sold out. Please come back tomorrow." I guess I missed my chance.

Indiana Road Trip

Indiana Fall
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Last night, my mom, Daphne, Jeff, and I returned from our big road trip to visit my family in Indiana. There is way too much to blog about, but the bottom line is, we had a great time. I got to do all the things I wanted to do (Zesto, Hubers, chicken and dumplings, apple dumplings, Fun Slide, Pizza King, etc.) and Daphne had lots of adventures. She was really good in the car and only had 2 major meltdowns in ten whole days away from home. She did manage to dial 911 at the hotel in Memphis somehow, but other than that, there were no major incidents. Please feel free to check out the pictures on Flickr...there are quite a few.

My biggest regret is that I was not able to meet the mysterious Fooie McGoo during my visit. He is supposedly a real hipster, though, so he is probably too cool for me and Daphne. Well, maybe next time, Foo.

PS. If you have never driven through Tennessee, I recommend it. It is very pretty.

Front Roll

During our trip, Daphne got to go to gymnastics class with her cousin Eavie. It was pretty hilarious. They put Daphne in this room with all kinds of colorful exciting stuff to climb on, and she went nuts. She mostly ran to a round pit in the back corner and dove headfirst into it. You can see it back there in the video. Then, one of the poor teachers would retrieve her and put her back with the group, where she would quickly squirm away and run off to the corner again. This happened at least 30 times. I promise. But, even though she didn't really follow the rules, she had a blast, and I never have to go back there and face the teachers again.

And on that Farm She Drove a Jeep...

EIEIO.

While we were in Indiana, Daphne got to drive a jeep at my Aunt Darlene and Uncle Marty's house. They live sorta out in the country. We got to see cows and horses, and pick tomatoes and peppers from the garden. Daphne got to feed the cat. But this jeep was the best part.

Breakfast for Dinner

Breakfast for Dinner
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Tonight we had breakfast for dinner. What a treat. These are the Kerbey Lane pancakes I was telling you about before. If you are ever in Austin, please go to Kerbey Lane for the real thing. You will thank me.