Late Night Musings

I’ve been away. Seems like an impossible task to make (uninterrupted) time to sit and write.  I’d love to stop time for a while… could you imagine what craziness would ensue if I could? Although, I know I do it to myself. Not making time. I’m trying to do lots of things: cleaning up, putting away, making lists, crafting during little snippets of time.

But really, we’ve had a little bit of sickness in the house. The below zero wind chills do not make for good outings, and then the little one had a bout of hives which are still unexplained. We were just really sensitive because he has a nut allergy already.  I can’t convey the worry and stress we were going through, but if you’re a friend on Facebook, you’ve been following all the action. I’m happy to report he’s been hive-free for two days now. I’m keeping a journal of what he’s eating, and I’ve washed just about everything in his room. I think he’s okay.

On another note, here’s the scene in our living room on Super Bowl Sunday.  Yeah, that’s right. My two kids. Two laptops.

img_1363

They were both playing on the same website, too.  I think it’s funny that a two-year old who doesn’t speak much can navigate through the Windows Menu and find a website, play a game, and then shut down the computer, correctly.  I’ll turn around one day and he’ll have a website of his own.  My 6-almost-7 year old just asked me when would she be allowed to have an e-mail account. That’s a good question. I tabled it for another day. This was after the Super Bowl. The two of them in our bed. It’s so sweet how they get along.

img_1358

Last thing, I tried to make candied orange and grapefruit peel on Monday. Wasn’t too difficult, and I wanted to do something to get my mind off of Ollie’s hives.  I saved a few rinds in the refrigerator figuring I’d get to it, and I did.  The kids LOVE them.  The chocolate covered ones are divine.  Too bad they don’t all look like the one in the picture, but who cares.  Trial run for a possible bridal shower treat.  Let me know if you want the recipe!

img_1368

img_1373

sugar spice and everything nice

Spent a lot of the day watching the Inauguration coverage. I have to say, I do enjoy all the orchestration, the performances, the weird trivia (I learned about the President’s limousine), the tv cameras following every move down to what they’re eating for lunch (which by the way sounded very intriguing… venison, shellfish… fancy!). I don’t know, I guess it’s voyeurism at its best. I did feel proud today to be living in the land of the free, home of the brave. There aren’t that many places where there is such peaceful transitions of power. At least it seems like that.

I also spent a very small amount of time reorganizing our spice rack. I don’t know why I bother. The little one will be in it again as soon as I turn my back. I just let him. There isn’t too much in there he can harm or can harm him, really. He’s out of the “put-everything-in-my-mouth” phase and has been for a while. I tease that maybe he’ll be the kid with the fine palate. He pulls out the small spice rack, and takes the little bottles and puts them on the floor. Then he says, “Mom! See!” and runs away. That’s about all he does.

Our spices bottles used to have that McCormick red plastic cover, then I started buying the fancier McCormick’s spices. We still have bottles (empty) from the no-name brand from our wedding registry, but some are now housing fresh spices, like the ones you see here from one of my favorite places, The Spice House. I can’t believe how nearby it is, and how long it actually took us to visit the location in Evanston. Abby can’t stand it, poor thing. She smells the place 1-1/2 blocks away when we’re walking. And, Ollie, he’s a little “klepto” thinking he’s shopping while he takes the little bottles and puts them in the stroller bag. People, if you find yourself in Evanston, and like cooking, go here. I always want to cook more when I visit, and I want to try new recipes.

img_1348

Our friends, Jeff and Tricia, gave us a baker’s gift set from here at least 4 years ago, and it was only two summers ago that I actually stepped into the storefront. We’re loving the Mexican spice collection given by my sister-in-law and her fiance.

img_1350

Look! I think it’s original “dot matrix” printed labels. Classic. We keep refilling these bottles.

img_1349

Here’ another favorite that Eastman brought home from a cooking class at Viking Cooking School in Glenview. This is muy delicioso!

img_1353

Okay, here’s our growing collection of yummy teas from TeaLula, our local tea shop. I LOVE the selections here. So many to choose from. You’ll find Ollie and myself there some mornings just hanging out with the owners, Sheila and Fred. I was considering making my own chai spice blend, but thought, 1) I already have green tea chai flavored, and 2) I should just buy some from The Spice House where they’ve already figured out a nice mix.

Related Posts with Thumbnails