Well I just feel like writing today.

Most importantly I feel like I smell spring. Is that crazy? I don't know. But I smell it. It's supposed to get down to -17*F again by Friday but based on the accuracy of any weather-predicting person, website, or phone app... we really really don't know. I'm hoping we have the earliest ever spring. Sometimes I care so much about the weather I dream about it. One year I dreamed that we had a snow-free Halloween. It almost happened but then no cigar. I just wanted a Meet Me In St. Louis Halloween for once. One where the kiddies don't have to wear their costumes over their warm snow clothes. If you live where the daffodils are threatening to bloom and the baby lambs are ominously frolicking in the vast expanse of green, please don't tell me about it right now. I'm too scared for you. I have too much empathy.

I'm not asking for your compassion. I don't need it. I eat snow for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sometimes midnight snacks. I may have a touch of cabin fever though. I have had a cold for a while and so have felt like doing nothing. Correction: My body has felt like doing nothing while my brain is screaming about the fact that it is atrophying. So I am going to compile a list of extracurricular projects and start. This may mean that I am getting better. Dear God, I hope so.

On the list:
- Apple Sharlotka. I still haven't made it and I bought green apples and a spring-form pan, so as soon as I can cook without sneezing, bring it on! (Check out Smitten Kitchen for the recipe.)

- Organizing and cleansing the large upstairs closet. No elaboration needed.

- Buckle down on the French lessons.

- New crochet project.

- Catch up on laundry. Not a glamorous item but I think a worthy goal. Well it's not really extracurricular but it needs to happen.

We'll see what happens. At the moment I want to eat a steaming hot bowl of buttered maple oatmeal and take a mid-morning nap.

My Day

I played lions a lot today. I also did some other stuff but playing lions was the most important thing I did. In between laundry and lunch and dinner and changing bedsheets I crawled around on all fours and talked in a Sarabi-esque voice. I let a baby lion ride on my back as I crossed a deep river. I hunted with my cub and ate the meat we killed together. I groomed my cub by pretending to lick her hair lovingly. I admired her teeth and how strong they were (as I was required to incorporate playing lions into the flossing routine.) I even said the goodnight prayer in my lion-mother voice. And called my own daughter Simba for most of the day. Right now my darling cub is nestled in her bed and this memory is nestled in my heart.

Time to say goodbye...

The past week has been difficult. For me and for many people in our community. What are the words when you lose someone that you know truly loved you and cared for you. I will miss you and never forget you. You were always so generous with your love. I hope in some small way I can be like you as a tribute to you and your love. I know you didn't want to go but sometimes we don't have a choice. Thank you for fighting so hard. I believe in heaven and I believe I will see you again. Until then, I will miss you.

'Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving...

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving
And all through the house
Every creature was stirring
Except for the mother
Who could have been stirring
Preparing and cooking
But instead was blogging
And facebook stalking.
The holiday cookies half-gone, quite delicious
The merry pile of unwashed, crusty dishes
(you like that don't you, delicious, dishes...)
The table covered with crap in all shapes and sizes
The laundry unwashed, nearly a crisis.
But fortunately this house is not hosting Thanksgiving
And the family is generally very forgiving
So she lets go of her high expectations
And hopes the lesson lasts for the duration.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

Thoughts for Today

It's a bitterly cold morning here in Fairbanks. No matter how long you let the car run it really doesn't get warm inside. The dog is too hot inside but lies down to protect his paws from the burning snow if we let him play outside for any length of time. He's gotten very efficient at going potty. Fortunately the forecast indicates that we will be seeing a reprieve soon, and by that I mean, it's possibly going to warm up to -20*F tomorrow. I'm taking Mia to gymnastics today, they have a cut-off temperature of -45*F and we're way warmer than that. Ten whole degrees warmer than that. So we're going to gymnastics and going to live our lives, mostly inside. Commence Christmas!!!! It's kind of nice to be stuck inside cleaning, organizing, browsing cookbooks and watching Elf. I really like this season and make it last for 2 months every year. Usually I start listening to the music in October but Jason convinced me to wait until November this year. So far in seasonal cooking adventures I have roasted an eight-pound pumpkin and pureed it for a soup (I'd never done that before and it was interesting). I also found a recipe for soft ginger snaps that turned out pretty well. This year I think the cookies I am going to focus on are chocolate dipped macaroons and Purcell Magic Cookies:

1/2 cup milk

1 cube butter

2 cups sugar

1 heap TB cocoa powder

Bring this mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute on medium heat, stirring when needed.

Take off burner and add:

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

3 cups oats ( regular oats, not quick acting)

1-2 tsp vanilla

 

Stir until thoroughly mixed, and drop on waxed paper to cool or on a greased cookie sheet. They are great frozen or stored in the fridge and they taste like a candy bar. Also they are super-fast to make and usually everyone raves about them. I really like putting the whole pan to cool right outside the door and then usually they set up instantly during the winter.

Happy Wednesday and may God bless us every one.

More Pictures From NYC

One night in New York, Mary and I walked to the Hudson River. When we came back home Jason had cooked an amazing Italian meal from scratch for us. It was heaven.

Yeah, I'm the crazy lady taking pictures of the pumpkins in Whole Foods. You just have to live in Fairbanks to understand why being in a Whole Foods feels like a magical wonderland.

Not to gross anyone out, but I realized I didn't post any pictures of myself in New York... and the only one I could find was of me making out. Sorry. And I'm totally lying. There's lots of other pictures.

For tradition's sake, we got another photo of the cool statue at the Natural History Museum. I still don't know at all what it is or who made it. We just had to take another picture since we did last time we were in NYC.

Mia was a real trooper at the Natural History Museum. It's really big! We were there for approximately 5 hours.

Sniffing Markers

So yesterday my adorable 3 year old was using a marker that writes on glass. I had given her permission to write on our big hallway mirror. Everything was going perfectly until she said, "Mmmm, I like to smell this marker." I said, don't do that, it hurts your body. Then she got worried so I clarified that only a little probably wouldn't hurt her so she proceeds to sniff it again and said, "I'm just doing a little." At the bottom of this rabbit-hole I found myself saying,

1. Don't do it again.

2. It hurts kid's brains.

3. Do you want to not be smart anymore?

Oh geez. I'm THAT mom. Also the substance abuse talk? I thought I was going to have to do that... not now.