lucky dogs

Cooper and Marshall have been spoiled lately. It's been kind of cold, and we have been feeling awfully holiday-ish, so we have been letting the dogs come inside much more than usual. Last winter we put them in the garage when it got cold, so the carpet and heat is a vast improvement. They first started coming inside when I was in Florida and wasn't around to counter Joseph's soft-heartedness. I like having them in here, so I didn't put up much of a stuggle and they have been coming inside for part of the day ever since. They are pretty low-energy these days, so it's really just a matter of having to step over them and kicking them out of the kitchen every now and then.
Here they are relaxing in front of the Christmas tree
These are some of the best picture of Marshall ever taken, I think. He doesn't ever let me get a good shot of his face
I will be glad when it starts getting warm again because out they'll go and stay until next winter. Cleaning up after two people is one thing, cleaning up after two people and two hairy dogs is another thing. A thing I had grown very used to not doing any more. My floors are all suddenly completely nasty, filthy and practically furry. Gross! At least I've got the time to clean them.

dare I say... b-o-r-i-n-g?

I have come to the conclusion that Joseph and I are too young for retirement.

We have been enjoying these lazy winter days of my joblessness and all the free time and quality time together that it provides. Joseph has organized his work week at Lorraine's so that he works four nights a week and one morning. His nights don't start until 6pm and that one morning is done by noon. This means that we are at home together with nothing to do and no place to be... A LOT!

Of course, when I say nothing to do, I mean nothing pressing to do. There is PLENTY to be done, but as far as having anything scheduled, yeah, nothing. I'm thrilled to be home, my kitchen is where I am happiest, and Joseph has no complaints about the baked goods and homemade dinners. I should have used this time to reorganize my closet, which has now exploded its contents into my "closet room", but I haven't. Instead I stay in bed with cozy, cuddly, warm Joseph until noon and then spend the remaining five hours of daylight trying to find something to entertain ourselves.

Last night we watched three movies (all Joseph's picks: Deception, There Will Be Blood & Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) and wrapped over 100 pieces of caramel.


We usually occupy our afternoons with disc golf, running, swimming and picnics, but since it's been so cold we've been holed up in our house hanging out with the dogs. Today Joseph and I wrote Christmas cards (he signed his name 23 times) and then he helped me in the kitchen with some candy making. While I was busy stirring something constantly he did the dishes and even emptied the dishwasher without me having to ask!

Joseph grating 4 ounces of hard chocolate, after he complained that I made him do the "bus boy jobs"
Filling peanutbutter cups
Testing a peanutbutter cup

Joseph just got back from playing basketball and I'm getting my clothes ready for an interview tomorrow. I better get one of these jobs because it's about time for me to have something to do.

For now, it was, as they like to say around here,
Another beautiful day in Horseshoe Bay

goodness

Yesterday was a lovely 78 degrees, sunny and bright all day.

Today is another story altogether. A wicked cold front blew in last night and ruined our disc golf/swimming/picnic plans for this afternoon. Instead, we decided to treat today like a "Texas Snow Day". I threw a pot of chicken & dumplings together on the stove while Joseph went to rent some movies. Now I've got some sourdough rising, caramels cooling and some other sweet goodness happening in the kitchen. That's all we've got planned for today... some couch snuggling, movie watching, candy wrapping and soup eating. Good day. Good day.

Here is my chicken & dumplings photo play by play. Elizabeth "taught" me how to make dumplings like this. Actually, I misunderstood her instructions completely and ended up with these veggie dumplings by mistake. But they turned out to be so good that I've never made them any other way, and in our house they are called "Elizabeth's Dumplings".

Carrot, celery, onion, garlic in creamy chicken broth
This is the part I misunderstood. Elizabeth said to add some veggies, meaning carrots & celery into the broth. I thought she meant into the dumplings, so that's what I did... removed a few of the cooked veggies from the broth and chopped them up with parsley and thyme and added them to the dumpling batter.

Before adding the dumplings, I added 3 cups chopped grilled chicken breast. Then drop spoonfuls of batter into simmering liquid, cover to steam 10 minutes.

And there you go

Drum roll, please

We put the Christmas lights up on our fence today. It looks AWESOME! I'm a huge fan!

Our yard backs up to the highway (which sounds really ghetto, but somehow is not), so rather than decorate the front of the house, which has very little traffic, we prefer to decorate the back fence so everyone can see it. The dogs like the lights too, twinkling all the way around their big wooded yard. This year I put a wreath on each of the three stone pillars, which looks so great too!
I'm opening the Christmas candy factory tonight in my kitchen. I'm not going to mention what I'm making, it's a surprise after all!

It's officially Christmastime at our house! Wish we got to share it.

Here we are hard at work. It got quite warm this afternoon and we got a laugh about putting up our Christmas lights in a tank top and t-shirt. Joseph loves the staple gun.

The final result

And us in front of it :)
From across the street

The wreath I made from the scraps Joseph sawed off the bottom of our tree. We were both impressed with my craftiness!
Pretty lights around the front door

holly jolly

When Joseph came home from disc golfing last night he had a bottle of wine to go with dinner and an armful of flowers. A Pink Poinsettia and a dozen Red Roses.(Funny thing: I had been at the same store earlier that day, seen the same pink poinsettia and wanted to buy it. I didn't buy it, but really thought about how much I would enjoy having it.) I asked why? He said, because I'm glad you're home. Sweet!
We had a lovely Christmas-y day today that put me into a super-cheerful holiday mood. First, we went to pick out our Christmas tree. Even though, to quote Joseph, "We are the only two who are even going to see this tree", it was exciting and fun to pick it together. We decided on a short, fat Fraser Fir, and it was a great choice, it's really cute!
I wrapped all of the gifts I have bought so far. I'm almost done with Christmas shopping, which is awesome so early in the month. I've got a few more things to get before I mail them all off to their various US destinations. I'm going to Austin tomorrow and I may be able to finish my shopping then. Sweet! Since we don't have a fire place or staircase at this house we have gotten creative in hanging our stockings. This suits us, Santa will understand.

could not resist

From This

To This

Aunt Mamie Loves Jack

DETOX

No no no, no one has a problem with drugs or alcohol!

I am starting a Detox diet this week, and I'm sort of looking forward to it. I got a new book called Detox: Revitalize, Rejuvenate, Revive and it describes a very thorough cleansing diet that lasts 4 weeks. It is supposed to do amazing things for your body... skin, hair, energy level and purify the toxins out of your organs, among many other benefits that can't be calculated.

I told Joseph briefly about my plan to start this detox program this morning. I fully expected him to call me a "crazy hippie greener", but he never fails to impress me. He actually agreed to do it with me! I didn't even ask, he just offered. We did agree that he would not have to go hungry and he could have grilled chicken (or another simple protein) with any meal he wanted, because the detox plan does not include any meat or cow's milk dairy. It consists mostly of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, some fish and non-wheat grains. We also agreed that we'd do it for two weeks this time instead of four, because we are not trying to be doing a cleanse over the holidays, that would be silly. If it's tolerable and brings nice results, I'll do it again for the full month next year.

Aside from changing what you eat a drink, you are also to follow a daily schedule of exercise, epsom salt baths, skin exfoliating and meditation/relaxation. And a weekly schedule of facials, homemade scalp masks and hot foot massage. All this, apparently is the key to "Optimum Health", which is described as a person having a healthy diet, fresh air, exercise, sufficient rest, relaxation, managed stress levels, a clean environment and a positive mental attitude.

I'm always trying to be healthier, so why not aim for Optimum Health and see how it feels. But not today... Joseph is disc-golfing at a new course right now, which means he will play until its dark. That means he will be starving when he gets home and some millet pilaf or roasted root vegetable stew isn't gonna get it, so we're going to have one last filling Amy-dinner tonight and then begin the detox tomorrow.

I will post as we go about our detox success (or struggles).

****I am secretly predicting that Joseph asks me to quit the detox by day 3. And that he'll be done with it by day 4. Bless him for trying, but I think he won't last. Maybe I'm wrong???****

Cheers to being healthy!

Jack and Ellie

Are reasons I made the trip in the first place. Of course, it was great to see my sister, mom and Kevin. But those kids....

I don't really have words to express how I feel about them. It's a love I've never known.

A hot shower has never felt so good...

I just got back from the very longest day of my life. I left Kate's house in Niceville at 7:10 am and drove 834 miles (Mapquest said 796, detours I guess?) all the way back to Horseshoe Bay. It took just over 13 hours, and I only stopped three times. I'm aware that other people makes drives like that all the time, and my mom used to drive twelve hours days with the three of us rotating the front seat by-the-hour all the time on our long summer vacations, but I have got to say.... THAT SUCKED!! All the encouraging texts from Mama Lisa and Joseph along the way, and those venti skinny lattes helped keep me going.

I hope it is a very long time before I make another cross-country drive alone, but it's a gratifying feeling to know that if I have to get someplace, I can totally get myself there. It was also quite rewarding when I totalled up my cost for the trip... LESS THAN $70 on gas, there and back!

a few from today