Octobers I have known

I have loved October for a long time.

Like that one evening at our tree farm...

Or our fall camping trips to Port Crescent State Park...

Walking through the woods with a couple daughters

Joining another daughter and her family at the pumpkin patch...

...or shopping at Flint Farmers' Market

Visiting our old stomping grounds near Kingston, MIchigan...

A color tour up north with the red Mustang...

Or exploring the Finger Lakes region on that road trip to New York state...

But maybe the best is coming back home to our new "old" house ...

...for a yummy bowl of hot soup...

Because there's just no place like home!

I’m so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers.

-  Anne of Green Gables

Amazing Day #14: Soup

There's a chill in the air.
Yep.

Hoodies
Warm cozy slippers
Steaming mugs of coffee... or chai... or hot chocolate...
Comfort food
Soup simmering on the back burner.  
Yah, soup.

I do love soup.
Decided to make some potato soup
I remember my mom's version with sliced potatoes, chopped onions and pools of melted butter, but I didn't remember how to make it.

So I looked at several other recipes and gave it a try.  Mostly I used my recipe for white sauce figuring I could thin it down from there.  So I cut up a bunch of potatoes and an onion and got them cooking.  Should have used at least one more onion!

Meanwhile I got started on that white sauce.
Things got a little sticky there for awhile...  and my hands and wrists were aching from painting the porch. But I persevered and eventually got everything smoothed out.  Well, the white sauce anyway.

Sure enough the soup turned out.  It was nice and thick - something the hubby appreciated. Because you see, he tends to think that soup is rather worthless - so runny and all.  But he said he really liked this soup - once he added additional ham!

But was it amazing?
Hmmm...

It was pretty tasty.
It was better than several I've tried in restaurants and maybe even on a par with the best of them - and I have tried a lot of them around the country.

I would however make a few changes - mostly additions.  
I'd use lots more onion.  
And ham.  
And corn.  
And maybe a dash more pepper.

...

I do consider it a success.  It has already stood the leftover test - which is a really good thing since I ended up making such a huge pot of it!

...

Oh, and the pretty bowls were a gift from an amazing friend!

Cold day, hot soup

I feel like an old-fashioned woman today.  

A real woman who knows how to make real soup.  
I love soup.

I love to make soup.

I love to eat soup.

I love to smell soup simmering on the back of the stove.

But this soup story starts back at Christmas time.  After we pulled off the last tender slice of our spiral-sliced Christmas ham I wrapped the bone up and stuck it in the freezer to make soup “some day.”  Today seemed like the time - because it might be our last really cold day for this winter.  

So I simmered that ham bone until every little scrap of tastiness fell off. To make hubby happy I also added one of those cheap cans of ham from the dollar store.  The kind where the ham is diced and therefore doesn’t work so well to make sandwiches, but I am happy to report that it works really well to supplement a soup bone!  Meanwhile I diced a couple carrots and threw them in… and then some cabbage and onion and some celery leaves. Added a handful of soup mix from Country View (the “Mennonite store” in the Thumb) which contains lentils and a few other goodies. At the last minute I decided to dump in the leftover fried potatoes from breakfast.

So was it good?

You bet it was!

I am quite sad that I failed to get pictures along the way.

As we were savoring the yumminess and speaking of the accomplishment, I easily admitted that this was really no big deal.  This is simply making good use of what we have - like my grandma would have done. All. The. Time.  Every day. Every week.

But…  it can feel like a big deal in these “modern” times.  These days when we don’t always make use of every little scrap.  Bob wondered aloud what people usually do with the ham bone.  I suppose they toss it in the garbage; right? I have to admit I almost made myself pitch this one at Christmas time - because I figured I wouldn't really follow through to make soup from it.  But hey, I'm rather glad I didn't toss it and that I DID follow through.

At any rate it was fun.

And tasty.

And gratifying.

And fortifying.

I hope to do it again.

Maybe even make it a habit.

...

Did I mention that I love soup?
Soup warms your innards.  Therefore coming up with a new soup recipe is something to celebrate.

Amazing Day Number Three: Tiny Places

Amazing Day Three

I got up early and came to my new/old little study spot up in the corner of the loft – just under the tin roof.
'Tis a noisy spot.
Scratching and chewing of critters trying to get in to share the warmth

Loving the view out the tiny little window I am.
Leaves are turning!!!
Trying to get the perfect shot for the top of my facebook page

I love my smart phone!
Who knew we’d one day be able to take pictures on our phones and zip them off to our facebook pages?
Yah, I kinda’ love Facebook, too.
I pretty much love technology.
It is all rather amazing.

And then the dentist...
I have to get a crown.
Ugh.
Where’s the amazing in that?
But then again, how wonderful is it to have decent dental insurance coverage?
Oh, yes, I'll have to pay a good chunk out-of-pocket, but still I'm thankful.

And then...
A night of NCIS on Netflix!

Oh, and did I mention that I made another pot of tasty soup?

Another amazing day it was.

Amazing Day Two: Reading

Amazing Day Two

How long has it been since I set aside a reading day?
What a wonderful thing, amazing even.
While reading, I found inspiration for some stories I want to write – and yes, I got them captured on paper.

...

Also, while taking stretch breaks, I whittled away at some clutter to make my little house look better, more amazing. I like this place. I love my life!

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AND I had some more of that amazing soup.
Finished it off...

Amazing Day One: Soup

Amazing Day One

I finished some things.
Some amazing accomplishments.
Wahoo!

...

Soup season!
I have been craving soup – particularly barley and lentil soup.
I made some today.
It turned out to be amazing.
Hearty.
Tasty.
I could eat it every day.