A Catching Up Post

Popping in with a little random slice of life this week and some of last.

Cold weather descended on north Florida very early this year. I am not complaining since I was pretty much over the heat that the last two summers have brought, but wow, it was unusually cold. It can get below freezing here in January and sometimes even February, but those freezing temps are one or two nights and only for the couple of hours just before sunrise. Folks, it was below freezing for about 6 hours the other night. I was charged with making sure the heat lamps were on the lemon tree. Hubby had to go out of town for work this week, so he set this scene up around the lemon tree on Monday.

IT got down to 28 and it was 28 for a couple of hours.

It worked and quite honestly most of the lemons could be picked already. I have already brought in about 8. We weren't really worried about our harvest of the lemons, but the tree itself.

I think it is fine, but a few of my plants in pots may have gotten blistered and will need to be replaced. I really just didn't think it would actually get that cold, but alas it did!

I was on a roll last week with cooking at home. We had been rushing out way too much and I put a stop to it and got busy cooking. I came across a new chicken tortilla soup recipe and doctored it a wee bit. It was extremely good with my additions.
The original recipe can be found here...https://www.recipegirl.com/chicken-tortilla-soup/?utm_campaign=yummly&utm_medium=yummly&utm_source=yummly

I made some changes that I definitely think kicked it up a notch, but the basic idea of this recipe was good.
***I didn't have tomato juice so I used a large can of tomato sauce and a little water to rinse out the can. I also used fire roasted diced tomatoes rather than plain.
***I did use fresh cilantro and basil, but I think from the spice rack would have been just fine.
***Two other changes...I doubled all of the spices (chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder) After getting it going I felt it was a bit too bland for our household. We like spicy, so I did another round of each of these. IT was worth it!
***The final change was a fresh diced jalapeño pepper. It was definitely needed.

The soup was really good. I printed it off and added my changes to the copy.

All that soup making and spice using made me think of a Christmas gift for my son. He loves to cook, so I think I am going to get him a spice rack. I think he will like that idea. It isn't something he is going to go out and get himself.

Let's see, my mind is trying to think Thanksgiving and Christmas at the same time. I plan to go shopping for Thanksgiving next week, so I am trying to get my list of things needed together. We will eat at my sister-in-law's just around the corner this year. The farm is sold and I know all will miss the day there, but it was a huge load off of my mind. IT was WAY too much to handle and care for. It is in the hands of a wonderful family who plan to build a home where the existing home is and their daughter will build on the back side.

I have been looking through old Christmas magazines. I haven't bought any new ones and don't plan to. I don't think there is anything new under the sun. A few years ago I put a basket under the coffee table to store just my old December magazines. I have quite a collection and really enjoy pulling them out each year to get inspired. I think last year I felt I had just the right amount of Christmas decorations out and will do pretty much the same things. Of course, this year I will have new stockings.

One of my absolute favorite Christmas magazines is from December 1990. It is a Colonial Homes magazine. I have held onto it for a long time. There was one home that just alway captured my attention. It still makes me swoon.

Oh and I saw that Kelly at the former blog Talk of the House has brought gingham back into her new lake home. I liked what she was doing to the lake house, but her home was just perfect at Christmas. I am excited she is bringing it back. I miss her blog. Y'all Instagram is just not my thing. I have several things I love to follow, but it is just not the same as a blog.

Let's see...Tucker is just the best. I am noticing that he is happily moving around and exploring which has kept me on my toes, but I must say a jar of straws is a better toy than any purchased item. I find that he is often content with jar lids from a drawer than all the store bought toys in the world. But, we all know that!

We are headed to Auburn for the Georgia game this weekend. It is always my favorite game of the year. I have always thought it is a true fun rival not an insane event like the one at the end of the season. It should be nippy so I will get to use the warm clothes.

I joke that this weather brings out my LLBean clothes. I have a few things that come from there, a flannel shirt, a pull over, and even a jacket. Those can only be worn in really cold weather, because they are much thicker than the usual winter fare for Florida. I pulled them out this year a bit earlier.

The game is during the day, so I am hoping Hubby will build a fire for me outdoors on Saturday evening. I love sitting by an outdoor fire about as much as anything you can do.

I will share some stitching next week when I get back.

Until then - Stay warm and War Eagle!
Sandy

Gus's frisbee that was on the deck had a full circle of ice.