Birthdays and Love

Happy Birthdays this month to special, lovely ladies - my niece Brooklyn (3), my like a niece Nev (7), mi Mama!, my auntie Kack and my dear friend Mary.  Beautiful girls, all of ya.  Love you.

Spinach Tortellini soup is so good and so easy.  Thanks for the recipe, Mom!  It's sautéed onion and garlic in a soup pot, add a box or more of chicken broth and a can or diced or crushed tomatoes, bring to a boil, add the tortellini for ~ 10 min, then lastly S&P and a bag of spinach…parm over the top is always good.

Jason grills some mean chicken breasts.  A lot of grilling for January and February.  This is the most mild winter - pretty nice and way out of the ordinary.  He uses barbecue sauce and sometimes with Frank's hot sauce and butter.  And I'm telling you, the vegetables - we've been heavy on the squash - zucchini and and yellow - just olive oil, S&P and grilled or roasted are SO tasty.

Another incredible pasta dish with asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes and fresh parsley and parm to top.  One of the main keys to all of Jason's pasta creations is the sauce.  He'll use combinations of wine, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, corn starch, garlic, pasta water, chicken broth and on and on.

And a Valentine's dinner - filet, those luscious grilled vegetables, twice-baked potatoes and an old favorite - 7 Deadly Zins.

Graham had Catholic Schools Week a few back and got to dress special every day - this one was 'spirit wear' and a cross if they wanted.

My Dad came for a visit while Jason was on a work trip and found a specs twin.

Graham had his last K5 basketball practice/game - he did great and had a great big smile all season.

Lots of love to you.  xoxo

February?…or April? WI?…or NC?

How mild was it 1/31/12?  Sunny, warm and totally springy.  Graham said when he stepped out Tuesday morning - 'smells like spring!'  Indeedy.

On that note, burgers and potatoes on the grill!  Fun - it's like having breakfast food for dinner - summer meal in winter.  And it happened to be mismatch day for Graham at school for Catholic Schools week - coinkeedink!

Jason made posole (I'd never heard of it) in the crock pot.  Used part of the pig from Aunt Dar and then various ingredients including hominy (I'd never had) which was so very good.  He added chipotles in adobo sauce so it was spicy but really it had such a great, great almost mild flavor.  Fresh cilantro and shredded cheese on top with a tortilla on the side.  This is what unceasingly amazes me about Jason is his ideas and creativity.  Also the foresight and prep and all of the work and thought that goes into it.

My mom was here for a visit and we had some tea and I thought it was pretty - the different colors.  So soothing and comforting - especially sharing with my Mom. ( :

Estelle is working on smiling upon request:

There's no lack of effort but the real ones are the best especially when it's with big awesome brother Graham:

Just about everyday I think about the generosity and the incredible feeling from the gift of hand-me-downs.  I love everything about it.  First, the obvious: the reuse/greenness of it, not buying new mass manufactured, money saving and convenience and more.  Secondly and more importantly is the love and thoughtfulness and generosity from the givers/lenders!

Below is a picture I took when I noticed that each winter outwear piece here is not only quality, so cute and useful but one is from Jen and Brooklyn, another is from Katie, Abby and Emily, the purple from Bridget, Josie and Isla and yet another from Mary and Evelyn.  Wow.  I love it and I love each of you girls.  We are deeply grateful.  I think you are all angels.

Geez, I always think to myself, I'll just post something quick and make it quick and readable.  Whoopsies.  Not so.

A little blip from Feb 1 from God Calling:

I can only bless glad, thankful hearts.  You must be glad and joyful.


That's a challenge for me.  It also says in so many words…we worry and fret so much and it soils our lives - we crush blessings with worry and fret.  A daily challenge.  But worth every step striving and refocusing on gladness and joy.

The Holiday Season Closes - and Happy MLK Day

Belated Happy New Year!  May the year be blessed and fulfilling…

Jason made chicken noodle soup in the crock pot for dinner last night - no picture but it was nice and soothing and a great winter day for it.

Breakfast on the weekend is nothing short of gourmet - at least in my book - whole grain blueberry pancakes and these two egg-centric (hee hee) ones to name a few:

Jason's omelets - they're so good.  The egg is cooked and baked separately and the insides are either fresh or sautéed.

This is reminiscent of a favorite breakfast we had in Mexico a few times - scrambled eggs with onions, peppers, cheese and cilantro - we put guacamole and salsa on them - wrapped in a  warm corn tortilla!  Woo hoooooo!

These two look somewhat the same - the first is more of a summer regular but always so good - we get spicy noodles and then this fresh, cold dish has avocado, walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, scallions, red pepper with evoo, balsamic v and salt and pepper and the second is a pasta creation; which Jason is phenomenal at pulling off, with zucchini, peppers, flat leaf parsley and sun-dried tomatoes:

Jason's broadened his tastes so much since I've known him - one thing that hasn't changed though is that he does not love Chinese food…however, this dish reminds me of it and we both LOVED it.  So nice -steaming hot 'wok'd' chicken and vegetables over fresh green lettuce:

And I just had to take a photo and add this beauty.  This family is enamored with mangoes and they go so fast - so we bought a case of them at Costco - here's one now:

Such a beautiful fruit inside and out - just like us all!  And so evenly sweet and creamy

To close:  excerpts from Jan. 1 in God Calling:

...Bury every fear of the future, of poverty for those dear to you, of suffering, of loss...

...Bury all thought of unkindness and bitterness, all your dislikes, your resentments, your sense of failure, your gloom, your despondency, and let us leave them all, buried, and go forward to a new and risen life…

…And for each day [God] shall supply the wisdom and the strength.

Peace and Love, HH

Season's Greetings!

Thanksgiving came and went - it was lovely like every year - and Christmas has past now, too.  Exciting season.  The weather is definitely not typical - it feels like a nice Wisconsin spring; not its winter.

Thanksgiving...

Christmas...

Graham's school Christmas Concert

A new baby for Christmas - she's in heaven

A blue lightsaber for Christmas - he's in heaven

This Teddy Bear is made from their great Grandpa Slim's New Zealand wool winter coat with their great Grandma Slim's buttons!

And of course the latest of Jason's cooking.  There's no photo but one of my recent favorites is chicken and mozzarella ravioli from Costco and shredded carrots and coined zucchini with a balsamic sauce.  Ooh la la.  Love it.

Great chicken sandwich with avocado and arugula on ciabatta sticks from Breadsmith on the Foreman grill - with a fresh spinach salad

From the continuously added to collection of orzo or rice creations - many times containing spinach and sun-dried tomatoes (what a deal at Costco for a bag of sd tomatoes!) 

This is becoming a regular meal since we've resolved to have fish once a week.  With the grain trilogy from Trader Joe's (cous cous, quinoa and orzo) and a favorite - honey and soy sauce carrots

Pretty incredible recipe from Julia Child! Go Jason!  He made it for our Christmas here with Nan.

Fish Tacos Daily

Whoa, we made the change to a Mac!  So things are different and this old dog is trying to learn the new tricks.  There a lot of little differences that are taking time to research or get used to.

We took a family vacation to Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico and stayed at Jason's cousins' house there.  Wow, what an experience!

Jason and Graham had fish tacos everyday on the beach.  We ate amazing food.  We watched the surfers and boogie boarded.  Played in the sand.  Partook in a slew of the various local vendors criss crossing the beach and the streets...

I'd need a few days to write all about the trip so as they say 'pictures speak a thousand words'...and it also holds true that even the pictures don't do justice to our amazement and experience there.

Multitude of thanks to the Beidlemans for sharing with us this piece of Eden!  Here is a link to some of the pictures - warning: there are 100+!

https://picasaweb.google.com/107388018529096333529/MexicoDec2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL_rjq7Lmc3gBQ&feat=directlink

Robin Teresa Bate

Twelve years ago today, my sister Robin, at 20 years old, passed into heaven due to a violent car accident on her way back to university the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

She was an artist, an outdoors-woman, a drummer, a horse lover, a dancer, a music lover, an innovator, a non-conformist, a snowboarder, a free thinker, a dreamer, an optimist, an observer, a daughter, a sister, a niece, a granddaughter, a friend, a student and a forever inspiration.

As I remember and think about her today, though my heart aches; I have a sense of calm, of peace, definitely Grace and a humble trust in God's mysterious plan.

There was no other way to make it this far and long without trusting, praying and relying on the outpouring of love and support from the amazing and angelic people around me.

Losing Robin was devastating and unthinkable but the things that have come from it have forever changed me and my life for the better.  That to me is a miracle.

I've learned so much from the crushing loss.  I still find myself sweating the small stuff and getting bent out of shape about frivolous things; that at the moment seem monumental, but I've learned that no matter what happens; even the death of one loved so much, everything's going to be all right.

By letting go and trusting that there is a divine plan, I can tap into the peace and happiness and joy that is inside always waiting patiently.

There is divinity, blessing and good in every situation, thing and person; no matter how daunting it may seem.  We have to let go of our hurts, our control, our judgements, our insecurities and find it.  It's our duty and our right - happiness and peace and joy are there, we just have to live in a way to uncover and partake.

Love and true peace and hugs and laughter and smiles to you!