JOUR DU SOUP

Last weekend we spent a very lazy Sunday drizzling around the house.
Scratch that. We spent a very drizzly Sunday lazing around the house.

Aaron cleaned and shined his boots and kept the laundry piles moving.

I worked on a few sewing projects and wiped mud off the dogs' paws approximately 182 times.

We also put a big pot of Minestrone soup on to simmer.

It was so nice. We had the windows open, and there was a stretch of time where the only sounds were the quiet rain pattering outside in harmony with the knife chopping down through hearty root vegetables (no fingers this time!) and the soft sizzling of sausage and garlic and onions sautéing on the stove.

It was the perfect soup day.

Dinner was ready just in time for one of our favorite t.v. shows - America's Funniest Videos - so we ate our soup on the couch, giggling between bites at the antics of America's zaniest pets, clumsiest adults and adorablest children.

AFV is always the beginning of the end of Sunday for us. It kind of signifies the wind-down of the day and weekend. (Mad Men signifies the end, in case you were wondering.) In the Bussey house, whatever you're doing on Sunday, you better be done by 6:30 and ready for dinner and some hilarity.

The Minestrone soup turned out quite tasty. The author of the recipe notes that the soup is really better the second time around, after it's been chilled and reheated. Aaron and I concur after having leftovers on Monday. Next time, I might make it a day ahead just so we can have it reheated the first time around. And we'll invite the neighbors over for a bowl of Day Old Soup.

I DREAM OF GENIE IN A BOTTLE

Before and After. dingdingdongdoong I would totally win on Wheel-of-Fortune.

I know, it's I Dream of Jeannie, so that would never really be a puzzle on WoF, but this would: Not The Point Break!

("Take my hand!" - that's mostly for Renee', and if you get it too - hooray!)

Now on to the real matter of this post a.k.a. something that makes sense...supposedly.

I made these granola bars to take on our camping trip a few weeks ago.

Actually, they are not so much bars as hunks. I've figured out that the things I make at home don't generally present as well as commercially made foods. But they sure do taste good!

That there is a hunk (2 hunks to be exact) of cranberry-almond-honey-oats-and-some-other-stuff goodness.

Very nutritious and delicious... and most importantly Fast and Easy.

They ended up being great for the camping weekend...and we had some to bring home and enjoy with coffee at breakfast...as an after-school snack...and at bedtime with Sleepytime tea...

I've been dreaming about granola hunks. Maybe it's time to whip up another batch.

NOT THE OLD SNAKE IN A CAN TRICK

The cool weather and early sun-setting have given me a hankerin' for warm soups simmering on the stove. Oooh cozy.

And I want to use the soup mug my Mom passed on to me. I bet that thing is as old as I am!

Aaron first requested his childhood favorite, Rattlesnake Stew, which I for some reason invariably pronounce Rattlestake Snew. It's one of those wonderfully savory snews to which you can add just about anything you wish and you don't have to measure ingredients. Swirly egg noodles are the namestake facnor. I think they are supposed to resemble rattlestake nails...kind of...maybe...not really. I'm pretty sure the snew got it's name simply because it came from a house full of rowdy boys. Arrgh arrgh arrgh. It might have been dubbed Butterfly Stew (which I can pronounce without issue) if it came from a house of little girls. Wait, that doesn't really work does it?

Next up, Creamy Corn Chowder with Cheese and Bacon, or as we call it, 4Cs&B. In the picture, you sadly can't see the awesomeness that is the chowder - although that topping of cheese looks yummy, eh - but it has corn, red potatoes, onions, garlic and bacon(!). The perfect chunkiness for a chowder if you ask me. It hit the spot. More 4Cs&B please!

On the menu next are Minestrone and French Onion soup. Mmmm mmmm good.

ATB ROCKS IT OUT WITH ARTS & CRAFTS

Aaron made this little door-hanger for me circa 1999, the year we started dating.


I found it in a box of keepsakes. It found its way on to a door-knob.

Proof Aaron has been privy to my nerdiness all along.
I think he kinda likes that about me.

I'm glad I never threw it away. It makes me smile.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...a time to keep and a time to throw away...
Ecclesiastes 3

It's nice to know that in some seasons of life
I've held on to the right things.

A PERFECTLY STRANGE DAY

at halcyon, hearing the cure, randomly thinking i'd like to remember what i looked like today



there was nothing in the world
that i ever wanted more
than to feel you deep in my heart
there was nothing in the world
that i ever wanted more
than to never feel the breaking apart
all my pictures of you



And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6

HUNG UP

Behold the November mobiles -- Fall(ing?) leaves and some fly(ing!) geese. By the way, I'm not going to call these 'mobiles' anymore, unless they are bats because then I can call them bat-mobiles. I henceforth dub thee Hangers.

To be honest, I'm not very razzle-dazzled by these Hangers. I wish I would have picked different paper in bolder colors. Oh well, now I know. It's kind of funny, though. I spent no less than 45 minutes in the scrap-booking store agonizing over the color, pattern, thickness, smell, taste, musical preferences and carpentry skills of each paper. Because, you know, this is a VIP (Very. Important. Project.) and I would NOT want to make the wrong choice in Hanger paper.

At one point, I was sitting on the floor surrounded by approximately eleven different sheets, trying to make a decision. I kept having to say "oh excuse me, am I in your way?"

Luckily, anyone who is in a store dedicated solely to scrap-booking totally gets why one would be sprawled on the floor seriously contemplating paper, and sweetly replies with something along the lines of "Oh honey, no, you're fine" as they politely step over me.



(Aaron wanted to be in this picture.)
(And please don't be alarmed by the flame-precariously-near-paper-obvious-fire-hazard. That paper is fire-retardant. Duh, like that wouldn't be a criteria for my VIP.)

By the way, sorry these pictures are so lame. I will attempt to do better with the December Hangers.

PIECE DE RESISTANCE

Sometimes I forget how much fun it is to create. I may have mentioned before that I have an issue with wanting to get to the end result of things and forget to pay attention or enjoy the process of getting there. Whether it be baking bread, drilling holes for cabinet hardware, sewing, my spiritual journey, a road trip....

Sometimes this desire to just see the finished product deters me from even starting. I think it's going to take too long, or be too hard, or I don't quite even know how I'm going to do it. But it always happens, that once I get going on a project I love the process, even when I mess it up. And seeing the end result, even when it's not what I imagined, is so much more rewarding for having been through the process.

Being crafty is one area where I'm learning to just jump on it, and enjoy the process. Plus, I figured out that I can satisfy my obsession with patterns and colors with seasonal crafts instead of painting my walls a different color or recovering chairs every few months. And crafting is my favorite way to feather my nest. It feels good to be surrounded by things made by Aaron or me or someone we know.

Earlier this month I crafted up these little bat-mobiles out of scrap-booking paper. Once I discovered how quick and easy it was to cut out each bat and string them up, there was a flurry of tracing-scissors-paper-fishingline-scissors-tracing-paper-fishingline and I ended up with several mobiles to give to friends!

Today, I finally started (and finished!) these framed dog silhouettes, which I've been wanting to do for a few months. I've had all the supplies for several weeks, but it was finding suitable pictures of the dogs from which to make silhouettes that was hanging me up. As it turns out, Scoop was easy. I easily found a picture of a German Shorthair Pointer online, print, cut-out, trace, and voilà.

Sadie was a bit more tricky since her breed is Brown Dog. So I sifted through all the pictures I have of her looking for one that would work. After two failed attempts using photos of her lying down ('cause she's our relaxed doggie) (but lying down didn't work because the silhouette always ended up looking like a cat or a big bat-lion) I found the perfect photo of her standing that shows off her curly-cue tail. She's standing elbow-deep in the ocean in the picture, so I had to fake the bottom part of her legs. I think they look kind of funky, but oh well. It doesn't have to be perfect.

You might also notice that Sadie's silhouette is kind of huge compared to Scoopie's. Oh well, it doesn't have to be perfect.

Oh, and did you see that the silhouettes are framed on top of the mat instead of fitting nicely in the 4x6 area? Oops. Oh well... it doesn't have to be perfect.

If you look really really close, you'll see that I even detailed Sadie's fluffy tail. Maybe no one else will ever see it, but I know it's there.

Anyway, I really love the way they turned out. Mostly because I think they are kind of funny and make me giggle a little bit.

I have a Thanksgiving mobile planned that I'm about to get started on. I don't have all the details worked out yet, but I'm excited to see where the process takes me!

I'm really liking this way of crafting. Just figuring it out as I go. And knowing that it doesn't have to be perfect to love it.