MoxieLife

Life Around Here: Hives and Sleepless Mornings

This morning my daughter called to say that she had "hives in her eyes." Literally, hives in her eyes. They were also on her arm. 5AM is not a good time to call and also not a good time to share about hives. That said, dad jumped in the shower and got ready to go over to her apartment. 

Hives, if you haven't had them, are horrible. If they are on your face you have to be careful that they don't block your throat or nasal passages because you can die. Seriously. So, dad stopped to get Benadryl (which there are too many kinds of, these days) and brought it to the girl. He then settled in to watch her sleep.

A trip to the doctor this afternoon confirmed hives and she is now getting a prescription for steroids.

I had all of these big intentions to be really productive today. That didn't happen. I did a little work, I went to a great meeting, I kept tabs on the family, and soon I am going to crash.

Sometimes that is how it works. Sometimes the best laid plans get thrown out the window because you have something else happen. Something like hives in your eyes. That's ok. The thing I have finally learned is that usually there is time and energy to get the things done that need to be done. Tomorrow is another day and, fingers seriously crossed, my morning won't get derailed.

I'd post the picture she sent me, but it looks like she has been severely beaten - not exactly the most flattering picture of our girl.

 

Crock Pot French Onion Soup Sunday

Today we have the scent of vegetarian french onion soup wafting through the house. Years ago we instituted Soup Sunday at our home. Sometimes it is something I make on the fly, sometimes it is planned, sometimes in the crock pot - the variety is endless, depending on my mood. The reasons are two fold: 1) It is easy and nutritious and 2) It makes great left overs.

French Onion Soup Recipe (adapted from one I read in the San Francisco Chronicle)

2 Leeks - white part only (save the green ends in your vegetable stock bag in the freezer)

2 Yellow Onions

2 Bay Leaves

Olive Oil

Fresh Ground Pepper

Dash of Dried Thyme

4 Cups Homemade (or bought) Vegetable Broth

3 Garlic Cloves

Swiss Cheese

Toasted Bread (French is traditional)

Directions:

Slice Leeks (make sure you wash them really well) and onions extremely thin. I did this by hand, but if you have a mandolin this would be a perfect use for it. Saute in pan with olive oil until onions are translucent.

Mince Garlic and place in crock pot.

Add Onions, broth, herbs and pepper into crock pot. Cook on High for 4 hours or on low or up to 8 hours.

Place slice of cheese and bread on bottom of bowl and spoon in finished soup to serve. This is the cheaters way. If you want to be traditional you would put the soup in the bowl, then the bread, then the cheese and place in the oven an broil it. I am too impatient to do this when dinner rolls around.

Serve with a small salad and dinner is done!

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Keeping it Simple this Holiday

Simple is in for the holidays this year.  Just a few family gifts, some home made gifts for a few friends, simple comfort food, and activities that warm my soul.

I realized, when I wasn't feeling the big push to celebrate the holidays in a huge way, that I could do it easier. I put up our lovely little tree, am cleaning the rest of the house, but not adding any other decorations other than a little stuffed Santa and mason jars filled with candy canes. 

Shopping got a whole lot simpler. I decided that I didn't have to spend gobs of money on my family, I could choose small things that they would enjoy, I made a few things, and I sent our daughter out to do a little of the shopping for her dad. He had her do a little shopping for me too. It brought it all down to a level that was simpler.

I will be doing quite a bit of cooking, but this year we chose to do a roast which I will actually do in the crock pot, and you can't get easier than that. Some baking, some orange rolls... easy peasy.

We do a lot of fun things during the holidays that make it last for days. We do a puzzle, drive around and look at our towns Christmas lights, walk through the Christmas forest, drink hot chocolate, bake cookies, watch movies, sew, and just hang out together.

Granted, our daughter is in her 20's so we aren't pressured to get the latest toy and those that she wants (iPad and Kitchen Aid Mixer) just weren't in the budget this year. So our festivities are smaller, just like our little house in the woods and our family. Small, but happy.

 

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The Fall of the Squash

It was a quiet weekend, by design. Resting, eating good food, reading a bit, and massacring the squash bug population. Ok, that wasn't quiet, but I hate those little bastards. They just haven't evolved enough to understand that you can't eat the host and survive yourself. It is an annoying lack of understanding of how to be a parasite. You can live on my squash plants if you a) do not kill my squash and b) do not kill the plants that you are residing on. Because they are not yet developed enough to understand that concept I ripped out my beautiful squash plants; once again vowing to never plant squash again. Until next year the sweet allure of how robust and easily they grow gets to me.

The painting? My husband is forever trying to get me to draw, paint, create something so he set up my easle on the screened in porch and I did this little still life.

Debating Chickens or Where My Life Is Today

For the past 5 years we have kept a small flock of free range chickens. We love our ladies. So much so that my husband doesn't like to leave them home alone, one of us should be here in case a hawk, coyote, or other random chicken snatcher comes along and gets one of the girls.

This year I hemmed and hawed about getting more chickens. We had four at the time. I just wasn't up to the commitment of getting 25 more - which is what you have to order - or finding someone to split the order with. I figured we would take our chances this summer and hope the girls survived. Then there were three.

Then last week we lost two more. We have one beautiful golden Brahma left. She is a great layer and although a bit perplexed about her lack of chicken sisterhood, she is adjusting to the single girl life. The question, for us, is do we begin again or do we allow a moment in our lives to be chick free?

Photo: not the best photo, but this painting hangs in my dining room and was painted by Ada Elizabeth Murdock, my sister May 2008.

Amazing Muffin Recipe

Yesterday my daughter and her partner made the most amazing muffins in my teeny tiny kitchen. I have always wanted to know how to bake Starbucks like muffins and these are them. Big, fluffy, filled with goodness. 

Basic Muffin Mix
Makes 9 Muffins in the Large Muffin Tins 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Oat Bran
• 2 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon  Sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon Milk
• 1/4 stick Butter
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 1 tablespoon Vanilla
• Desired Mix In's - see Directions
• Jumbo Liners
• Raw Sugar for Tops

Directions:

• Mix dry ingredients.
• Beat eggs lightly in another bowl.
• Melt butter.
• Mix wet ingredients, then slowly mix butter in to the wet mixture.
• Spray LARGE muffin pan (the huge ones, not those little cupcake pans) heavily and place jumbo liners in.
• Mix wet and dry ingredients until just incorporated. Do Not Over mix or you WILL have bricks.
• This is where you can add your goodies: you can incorporate anything you want. We had half with walnuts and honey and the other half with white chocolate chips and raspberries. Let your imagination run wild.
• Scoop mixture into cups making sure to fill them up all the way to the top.
• Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with Raw Sugar if wanted.
• Bake at 325 for 40 - 45 minutes checking and turning at the 20 minute mark.

 

I Remember Why

Now I remember why we made the decision to move to a small town. I forget sometimes. I whine about what I don't have. I feel trapped. Stuck. Unsure of our decision. And then life, big and messy, comes crashing in and I get this:

The love that came pouring in both humbled me and reminded me of why I chose this life. I wanted community. I wanted to be connected in a meaningful way to the people I live with. I wanted to touch peoples hearts and be touched by them. I wanted this:

I have had a meal delivered, phone calls, cards in the mail, emails, text messages, flowers delivered and the offer to help me find a way to afford to go to California if I need to. That kind of friendship and kindness was missing in my heart when we lived in San Francisco and we went out searching just for that. I found it and I am tremendously grateful. Thank you.

Here Piggy Piggy

These cute little guys were found roaming around our creek bed that flows under (and sometimes over) our driveway. They were keeping cool and seemed extremely unaware of us. We just kept wondering where mom was. Apparently, we are able to kill them on our private land, but we don't plan on doing that. Granted, if they started to show up and be over 300 pounds we might change our minds. Until then we plan to live peacefully with them. (And, honestly, squeal with delight when we see their cute little piggy ways!) That, folks, is what it is like living in the middle of a nature preserve.

Living in Vacation Land

A few weeks ago I was sharing with a friend that I didn't like to vacation. She was appalled. Here I am, a Travel Tourism expert and I don't vacation. It's true. It really isn't my cup of tea. I would MUCH rather move someplace and treat most of my days, even when I am working, as vacation. Which is what I do now and what I have always done. When you live in a vacation destination it is always happy - or at least there is the option of finding something or nothing to do that makes you happy.

If I look back at why I don't like to vacation there are probably three culprits. One, I work in the travel industry and that puts a bit of the charm out the window. If you are constantly working with lodging owners, shop owners, and travel professionals that are griping about tourists, well, you don't want to be one. Plus, seeing the other side takes a bit of the magic off the idea of vacationing.

I also didn't come from a  big vacationing family. Sure, my dad was a teacher so he had the summer off, but we didn't really do anything. In fact, I spent most of my elementary school years playing school in the summer. We would go off to Montana once in a while to see his mom, but she died when I was 9 so that didn't last long. We vacationed once when I was a baby, I have been told. Our VW bus broke down and we were stranded somewhere in Central or Northern California and we lived - yes LIVED - with some old man for a week or so before our part came in. A complete stranger took this family of hippies in - I think at some point my mother and I took a bus back home and cried the whole way home. Great trip. Glad I don't remember it.

Then there  is the money. Not having a lot and paying for everything in cash makes vacationing hard. Sure, you can do it on the cheap, but that isn't fun either. Plus, I couldn't dive into the personality of a town or location in a week. I need more time to get the real feel of an area, of the people, the food, the vibe. I am slow to get accomodated and need to sink myself in completely. So, moving is my only real option... the Slow Food version of vacationing, I guess.

I'm not particulary sad about my lack of vacation status. I feel good knowing what I like and what I don't. I understand that others love it, and in my profession I like to give them what they are looking for: that sense of happiness that they are trying to attain. That happiness that I get to experience every single day because I live in my vacation land!

A Real Humdinger

Darn bees. This weekend we found that our hummingbird feeder was attracting bees. Lots and lots of bees. The hummingbirds wouldn't land. They were swarming around the feeder. I am extremely allergic to bees. I swell up like a football wherever I get stung. So, I have to be really careful. 

I went online and read about the bees to feeder phenomena and apparently it is normal. Well, normal when your feeder is old and cracked from being exposed to the elements. Ours was definately that. It said that the bees flood to the cracked areas where they can get to the sugary sweet stuff.

On Sunday I noticed it wasn't just attracting bees it was now dripping onto the deck and the bees were swarming the deck - well, like bees to honey.

So, even though I am super allergic to these little guys, I set my coffee cup down and pulled the hose out. I started spraying the deck to wash off the sticky substance and then I sprayed the feeder. The bees weren't happy, but while spraying I was able to get the feeder down, empty it, and toss it into the recycling.

Goodbye bees. And sadly goodbye hummingbirds. Well, until I get one of the recommended feeders! Its a real Humdinger!