T Day breakfast YUM!

Yesterday was a lovely, relaxing day spent with just the three of us, mostly at home. It began with this scrumptious meal: farm fresh eggs benedict with uncured ham and homemade hollandaise sauce (no bread though it wasn't missed) and fresh brewed coffee with real half and half. Oh my! Rob truly outdid himself with this one. (side note: you can't really see it in these pictures, but the eggs were heart-shaped! We finally used the heart egg poacher we received as a wedding gift!)

As you can tell from the photo, it was a bright and sunny day here. We took full advantage of it and went for a hike with Tiika. It was great to see how many other people were soaking up some rays and stretching their legs pre-Thanksgiving Dinner.

We came home and feasted on an anti-pasta plate then played our own version of Scrabble. It was cooperative in nature and more fun than I thought it might be. =) Then it was time to get dinner going.

We had a pork roast with homemade mustard rub, roasted carrots, onions and beets and parmesan-garlic green beans. This was followed by a unique pumpkin pie (made with an almond meal and coconut oil crust and coconut milk instead of sweetened condensed milk) and real whipped cream. I felt full and satisfied but not overly stuffed.

It was a good day. Many thanks were shared and received. Though we missed seeing family, it was kind of nice to just laze around and not have to be anywhere at any particular time. As for next year...who knows what it will be like...we're looking forward to finding out!

art day

Today has been a good day. I've spent most of it in creative endeavors from cooking my first leg of lamb (for Rob, I don't care for the stuff) to puttering in my art space the rest of the day. I'd show you the piece I created as well as the journal but it will simply have to wait. I'm too tired to take pictures. Suffice it to say, I'm happy with both.

I also watched A Beautiful Mind with Russell Crowe. What a great movie and what an amazing wife! It was better than I expected. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it.

Now it's about time to wind down and hit the sheets. Tomorrow will pretty much be all chores, all day.

love the English language

Over the last week I have been corresponding with a couple of people from a British cycling organization similar to ours. And I have to say, I love the English language and how when it travels over the broad expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, it changes.

My favorite example followed a detailed explanation of the topic at hand.

"Have a mull over this and then we can converse again."

Have a mull? Love it. I've never heard that word used quite that way before. The meaning was clear, think it over. I just wouldn't have put the words in that order myself.

It's the small things that put a smile on my face these days. It's really all about the little things anyway, isn't it? Have a mull over that thought and get back to me. =)

a new cousin!

There's a new member of our family! Beautiful babe, Grace Annabelle showed up on Sunday, a full day ahead of her scheduled arrival. (I wonder if this will be a trend? An early bird in our family??) She weighed in at 9lbs 2.5 ozs and measured 21 inches. And look at all that hair!! I hear it's sort of a dark burnt sienna color, not red but something like a well worn penny.

Many congrats to Kirsten, Jer and Kellen. We can't wait to meet her...

some dinner

This was a meal I prepared for myself recently: bison sirloin steak (thanks sweetie for letting me have the best cut!), mashed purple cauliflower and a little organic red wine. What you don't see is the luscious hunk of dark chocolate I had for dessert a bit later.

The other treat I indulged in that particular evening was a some reliable tv viewing. I popped in the dvd and watched a couple of episodes from the seventh season of West Wing. Since we don't get tv reception and even the radio is "in and out scratchy" at best, it seemed easiest to take in some election coverage where I knew how it would turn out. (On the night of the election I did keep an eye on the real deal via internet news stories, too.)

just one word for you

VOTE!

monkey goodness!

Now isn't this the cutest monkey you've ever seen??

And the sound effects were pretty great, too! What a doll, my nephew is...thanks for sharing the picture (and video clip), Cassie.