Tomorrow the snow is supposed to come.  We’ve also made it to January 11, 2012, without a major snowfall yet.  The most we’ve had so far, is about 2 inches and that was long gone already.  The weathermen tell us to expect 5-7 inches of white fluffy snow, that will be blown around like crazy, because of the wind.

So, no knit-night for us tomorrow!  We will be staying home!  Darn it all.  We went grocery shopping yesterday, so we don’t have to go shopping tomorrow.  I will probably have to work both my jobs tomorrow, because the snow isn’t going to be fast and furious. I’ll have to dig out the boots.

Back in November of 2010 (based on the comment I left on a blog post), Emily and I made Stuffed Acorn Squash and White Bean Chicken Chili.  I’ll be darned if I remember what recipe we used for the white chili.  I just remember it being good.  Then I remembered the yummy soup I made once for a Lenten soup and sandwich supper, that everyone liked and tried to remember where that was from.  Sheesh.  I googled chicken soup with spinach and rosemary and found this link:  Italian White Bean and Spinach Soup  Phew!

It will be fun to take pictures of snow, once we get it!  I took pictures of the yard, the other day, so I could document our snowlessness.  They are still on the camera, though!

Our Christmas tree from this year. It was a combination of a balsam and a fraser fir!  I’d never heard of that before.  My coolest gifts were a Mac Mini and a small 4-cup Cuisinart Food Processor!  The kids are having fun learning how to use the food processor.  Some day I won’t have to work so much and I can have a little more time to play with it.  I’m still working hard on getting my computer set up with my old files and trying to navigate a Mac.

Tomorrow the temps and dewpoints will go up again. Just in time for us to have to mow the lawn again! Ugh! Still it won’t be as hot as last week’s heat advisories. We might have to dodge some raindrops, though.

The flowers are blooming nicely. I should take some pics tomorrow. I have off tomorrow, so I will have time!

Sauce:
3/4 C chopped onion
3 T. oil
2 1-lb cans tomatoes (4 cups)
2 6-oz cans (1-1/3 cups) tomato paste
1 T. sugar
1-1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 bay leaf
1-1/2 t. oregano
1 cup water

Cooked chopped onion in hot oil until tender. Add next 7 ingredients, along with 1 cup water. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf. After mixing and baking meatballs, add them to sauce and simmer another 30 minutes.

Meatballs:
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1 lb. ground beef
2 eggs
2 T. chopped parsley (or 2 t. dried parsley)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t. crushed oregano
1 t. salt
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix ingredients together thoroughly. Form into 1-inch balls. Bake in broiler pan for 20 minutes. Add to sauce.

We haven’t had this in a while, but I was reading this post, about saving money at the grocery store, and it made me think of this recipe.  This home-made marinara sauce is so much better than store-bought sauce!

http://morethymethandough.com/shop-smart

Here’s some other things that I made in 2010!

Matching Hat
Basketweave dishcloth designed by Andi Worthy
Mason-Dixon Ballband – knit with ecru Sugar’n Cream and Premium Peaches & Cream in Spice (scroll down to pattern link)
Ho Ho Ho Snowman by Alli Barrett
Linoleum Dishcloth – another Mason-Dixon design

2010 Dishcloths

Mid-July – Ribbons and Lace – Janet Nogle
August – Starfish –  Elaine
Mid-August – Ice Cream Cone – Andi Worthy
September – Mouse (Do I Smell Cheese?) - Elaine
Mid-September – Lacy Leaves – Andi Worthy
October – Spider – Andi Worthy
Mid-October – Witch – Alli Barrett
November – Peanut the Elephant – Elaine
Mid-November – Snowy Drops – Andi Worthy
December – Christmas Tree – Frugalhaus
Mid-December – Fire and Ice – Janet Nogle

Geez, I’ve been a slacker.  I didn’t post all winter!  These dishcloths were all fun to make.  I just got lazy about posting them on here!

Wind stirs up Lake Michigan on 10-26-10.

Emily and I made soup for supper, because with such blustery weather, what else would you be hungry for?

TURKEY VEGETABLE SOUP

1 1/4 pound ground turkey
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
6 cups water
1 can diced tomatoes with juice – 14-16 ounces
1/3 cup white rice, uncooked
1/4 cup ketchup
1 T. instant bouillon – chicken or beef
1/2 T. dried basil
1/8 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf

Crumble ground turkey into a Dutch oven. Stir in onion, carrots and celery. Cook and stir over medium high heat about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Drain.

Return to kettle and add the water, tomatoes, rice, ketchup, bouillon, basil, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Cover and simmer 25 – 30 minutes or until vegetables and rice are tender. Remove bay leaf before serving.

I don’t know where my mom found this recipe, but I’ve had it so many times as an adult, I finally asked for the recipe. Tonight we served it with Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and salads we made at the grocery store salad bar.

I need to brave one more trip outside with the dog and then I can go to bed.

Oh yeah, diagnosed with bronchitis last Thursday, October 21st, after coughing for 1-1/2 weeks. Finished my Z-pak yesterday. I’m still coughing. I’m hoping for improvement by the time the full 10 days is up, which will be October 30th. Everyone, including me, is sick of hearing me cough. Coughing for 2 weeks is not my idea of a good time!

My new blue sweater has been keeping me nice and toasty all evening! I’m so glad I have it!

Carousel by Mags Kandis
Cascade 220 Heathers in 2447 Peacock – dark blue with hints of purple

Dawn's birthday sweater

I think it’s awesome and it fits beautifully. I think it’s a wonderful birthday present and worth waiting for. The thing is, it would have been too warm to wear during the summer anyway!

Also, at the ends of the triangular pieces on the bottom of the sweater, my mom put little gold beads in.  I think those are cool, too.  That was her own inspiration.

I wore it to my knit night last night and everyone thought it was pretty, there, too.

A little girl needs your help.  She is 5 and just found she needs glasses.  She needs to know that there are lot of girls out there who wear glasses and are proud of it!  I myself got my first pair of glasses when I was 5, too. I really don’t remember a time, when glasses weren’t part of my life.  I’m 50 now, so I’ve been wearing glasses for 45 years now!

Girls with Glasses blog post!/

My childhood family has 4 girls with glasses and my current family has 3 girls with glasses! (Plus my dad wears glasses and so does my husband!)

A picture of our family and a picture of Vollrath Bowl, at graduation.  From left, Gary, Emily, Sarah, and Dawn, taken in our backyard.  At Vollrath, you can see Lake Michigan in the background.  South sits to the south, in red.  North sits on the other side, in blue. It’s so pretty.  The band (not visible) dresses in khaki and white, so they don’t detract from the grads.

June and July dishcloths: All fun to work on.  The contrasting yarn in the Peacock cloth made it more fun.  The Father’s Day cloth was knit sideways, so it was hard to tell what the picture would be!  The Flamingo was hard to see at first, because we started with the legs.  Eventually, you could tell it was a bird. I love doing cloths that you don’t know what they will be, before you start.