A LITTLE BIT OF VITAMIN D DOES A BODY GOOD, AND OTHER MUSINGS

I might just make you not want to look at one more flower today (if that's possible), because I have tons here and not much else in the photo department.  Tuesday I had to go to the doctor way out in the southwestern suburbs and there is a Trader Joe's that I love to hit on the way back.  I like the prices and some of the "not your everyday" flowers and plants.   I bought 2 bunches and broke them up among three vases.  And I couldn't help but get tulips, of course.  Mine in the garden are just peeping up, I can see them when we don't have snow on the ground.  We've been getting the white stuff here and there and then it melts during the day with the much needed sun. Today is a little frigid...of course, Mother Nature guessed that I had a zillion errands to run and made her self known with a wink and a nod.

It's odd looking at the pictures I take on the glass coffee table, a little surreal.  Everything looks like it's floating.   I have so many pretty spring pieces that I keep putting out, there's no room for a mug of coffee or a book.  I've never been called a minimalist. :)

I went to my doctor in follow up of some blood work she had ordered back in December at my last annual exam.  Yes, I got a courtesy call reminder (she wasn't really happy), so I rushed and got the ordeal over with and then saw her Tuesday.  And I have good news, I have a huge deficiency of vitamin D!  This isn't about seasonal depression or anything you may have or may have heard about.  She wanted my levels checked because vitamin D is being linked to everything and anything from cancer, to Alzheimer disease to autoimmune deficiency.  I have very severe asthma, as well as eczema that has plagued me my whole life.  She thought it was worth looking into and...my levels are at less than half of where they should be.  I now have a prescription strength vitamin D supplement that I take once a week until June, then I will be tested again.  I really can't tell you how happy this makes me...this sort of light at the end of the tunnel.  I have had many doctors from all sorts of university hospitals tell me over the years that my breathing and skin issues can't be cured, not even treated...just managed.  So I have hope.  My doctor also said that with a level this low, it's quite possible I've always been deficient and will have to take a supplement the rest of my life.  Did you know that only about 20% of your vitamin D comes from food?  The rest is sun and supplements.  Amazing.

I hope I didn't bore you with all  that info.  I'm feeling good about my health, working out everyday and just moving.  I really love the DVD I'm using.  It's called Denise Austin's Daily Dozen.  I used to do her "video's" years ago and the woman still looks fantastic and I love her personality.  What is so cool about this workout is that it includes five 12-minute workouts.  For example, I usually do the 12 minute cardio-fat blast.  This gets me totally winded and panting, and then I move on to something like lower body sculpt or cardio kickbox, yoga stretches...whatever I want.  I try to do three 12 minute workouts a day, and believe me, each is like 12 minutes of boot camp.  The premise is about time, not ease.  Then I plop on my bed for a 30 minute cool down.

Enough about health, I just sort of feel that spring breeze saying, "Come out of hibernation, Jane.  Breathe in the fresh air, breathe out.  Holds those abs in and raise your arms over your head..."  Oops, I drifted off there.

I'm excited about Easter.  At last count I have 14 people coming for dinner.  Next week I'm going to make a tablescape and I'll put it on here.  I mentioned that I'm going to do a lot of mixing and matching so it's probably a good idea to see how it all looks.  And I hadn't realized the day was creeping up so quickly.  

I sometimes feel like my grocery shopping trips are like my sort of "Club Med".  Who needs friends when you can be surrounded by multiple chatty strangers while checking out artichokes?  Seriously, I casually asked a woman how she prepares them, I've had them in restaurants and only have a vague idea of the clipping and trimming and removing the "choke".  So she started to explain her method of steaming them when another customer, a tall slender man with wire glasses, a beard and a French accent, suddenly appeared and said. "Garlic.  Garlic is the key."  And the woman looked at me as if he had never interrupted and said, "Lemon juice."  As if this wasn't enough, the boy stocking the cauliflower at the end of the bin called out. "Parmesan cheese!"  Well, this went on for awhile as I made the mistake in asking how to pick the best ones.  We now had six hands grabbing and squeezing artichokes and chattering about ripeness.  So tonight I'm making steamed artichokes with lemon, garlic and Parm.  I'm wondering how my little Artichoke Group is doing.  :)

I had the nicest lady helping me at Trader Joe's the other day,  it was like having a personal shopper.   One of you girls mentioned these little crunchy pea snacks they carry, so I asked an employee about them and she insisted on walking me right over to the snack aisle to show me what they had.  Then I asked her where the ricotta cheese was and she had me follow her right over to that area.  She glanced in my cart and saw that I had the pizza dough that the store makes up fresh, and her eyes sort of lit up.  "Oh, you're going to make a pizza with the ricotta?  Good choice!"  So we chatted about that, she makes something similar and we exchanged ideas.  And then she saw some fresh Eucalyptis in my cart as well, and started to give me ideas for crafting with it (a bit involved), and she also said that she keeps a few stems in her bathroom and the steam from the shower makes it smell heavenly.  Lovely lady.  And really, sometimes you may smile at strangers and they may just look away, this happens quite a bit to me because smiling is like a reflex for me.  And last Friday?  You would have not wanted to be around me when I was trying to order fish at the grocery store and the employee behind the counter got a little snarky with me.  I wanted to just cancel the order and walk away in a serious huff.  But it was Friday.  And it's Lent.  So I was nice.   I did however,  suggest they take one of the girls away from the smoothie bar and get her behind the seafood bar.  After all, it's Lent.

I'll explain quickly how I threw this pizza together after reading a post at New House New Home.  Feel free to check out her recipe.  Doesn't this look exceptional?  I used the pizza dough from Trader Joe's, and as the nice lady there advised. pre-bake the dough crust for about ten minutes or it will just get soggy (this has happened to me).

I did things differently than the original recipe.  The ricotta cheese must be as dry as you can get it, so I lined a colander with a paper towel and then plopped in one cup of ricotta.  

Not looking so pretty here...

Place a small plate or saucer over the cheese and then weigh it down with a clean heavy can.  I let this drain for about a half hour.  After, I rolled the glob of cheese up in another paper towel, getting out as much of the moisture as I could.  This is about as difficult as it gets.  Spread the cheese on the pizza crust, using your clean bare hands works the best to smoosh it around to all the edges.  Sprinkle a layer of mozzarella cheese, about 1 1/2 cup, and then top with your choice of spring veggies.  I followed the original recipe and used asparagus and spinach.  I did let the asparagus spears hit a pan of boiling water for about 2 minutes, I had the feeling they would just harden up if I didn't.  After the veggies, sprinkle a little more mozzarella over as well as some Parmesan, some S & P, whatever you'd like.  Some garlic?  Italian seasonings?  I like the "springtime" aspect of the recipe so I had a little restraint. Add a few dashes of olive oil over the whole mess and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes.  Simple, tasty and impressive looking, don't you think?

I posted this picture on Instagram, took it in the car where I seem to live.   I'm not really huge on selfies, I guess I don't want to act vain.  And if I had 1000 pictures of myself, I might only choose just one that I thought was okay-I'm very self critical.  Do you see that right eyebrow, how wonky it is?  It drives me crazy.  My brows are naturally thin and they are getting even thinner as I get older.  I have bought a zillion brow pencils to try to make that right one "normal".  How silly can one be?  Ha!  And I have lots of freckles, including one on my top right lip...see that?  Drives me crazy.  Yep..self critical.  I need therapy for sure. 

Anyway...what I'm leading up to is how much I pass the time listening to music in my car. I really like the Top Forties.  I guess I just love Pop Culture all around.  As Oscar Wilde said~Youth is wasted on the young.  Not that I want to be young (and foolish) again, I just enjoy the heck out of so many forms of entertainment.  No, I never watched Masterpiece Theater, (although I spent my fair share of time watching Monsterpiece Theater, hosted by Alistair Cookie, on Sesame Street back in the late 80's and early 90's).  But I'm not ashamed to say that I watch some reality TV and never miss Jimmy Fallon.  Enough...I just want you to have a look at one of the most popular British singing groups with fans all over the world.  I've always loved them, the "boy band" insignia and all.  I'm not a fan of looking at videos on blogs or social media, but this is worth it.  Turn your volume up, sit back and then enjoy this wonderful performance from Saturday Night Live by the fabulous group, One Direction.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZn40csx9qg

See you gals soon!

Jane xx

EVERY LITTLE THING IS GONNA BE ALRIGHT

I love to start out posts with a pretty picture and I think this is something you just have to make up your own mind about.  Southwestern Michigan in March.   I personally like green fields  and sunny skies, and even more so, a crisp and colorful landscape in the fall.  Waxing poetic, I believe each season prepares us for the next.  And in this wide open country, I always drink in the vastness, and am grateful...this somewhat city girl.

We went to the lake on Saturday...Friday proved to be a little busy.  Too bad, Saturday was cloudier and colder and I was so not in the mood to see what had become of the lakehouse after 2 weeks of the "cleaning up pro's" there.

It looks like a new construction doesn't it?  In reverse.  First, this crew did a fabulous job...everything was swept and clean, a few pieces of furniture they didn't move (why...not sure) covered in heavy plastic.  No drywall dust which would have kept me outdoors for sure with my breathing issues, and gigantic fans working overtime to continue drying the house out.  Everything is on generators...no electricity.  

This is a skeleton of my kitchen and the hall on the other side.  I know it's confusing and I won't elaborate on what is where.  But remember me telling you my kitchen was not effected by water damage?  No such luck, a lot of water seeped through and under the wall from the hall that received so much of the damage.  So that's what you see on the mid-left.  The floors in the kitchen were removed, as were all of the floors in the house.  We had thought these floors were saved.

Wow...walls that separated the rooms we lived in for 25 years, gone.  Upstairs, the damage was so bad, I hesitated walking there.  All of the floors were gone and replaced temporarily with plywood.  A big U-Haul van had taken all of our furniture and belongings the week before.  It was our job to inventory, but I wasn't sure how to do that with nothing there.  I guess if you had a fire you would have to rely on memory as well, and that was pretty much what our instructions were.  It was difficult.  The Husband couldn't get to the garage as there was no electricity and sadly no sun that day.  Lots of damage there, so he has to go back.  

I'm trying to remember things I had on my walls, collectibles (thank you, Rita).  What, how many, from where, what did I pay?  Very confusing.  Answers will come,  I'm trying not to freak.  I have been having hives really bad.  I've never had them this bad before but I'm prone to them emotionally.  I'm scratching like a maniac and can't find a remedy.  And tension headaches.  We don't usually have a single bottle of pain reliever in the house...The Husband and I never have anything like these sort of headaches.  And I hit the Tums almost every night when my mind (and stomach) shift into 4th gear.

Still, I try to concentrate on the positive.  I've made a Pinterest board just for this "project", and since The Husband just doesn't get Pinterest, I have bought a few magazines to show him ideas.  I need to look at paint samples and flooring options.  I have plenty of time but loose ends are my demise.

A little trivial info.  The two homes to just the left (west) of us have been up for sale for a good bit of time.  They both just recently sold in the past few weeks.  I find that sort of ironic...new beginnings and new friends all around.  I just don't know when we will be back in to meet these new people.  Patience, Jane.  Patience. 

 

I needed some stress free time on Sunday after a two hour drive to the lakehouse on Saturday...two hours of crappy work, a brief 1/2 hour with Susie, and then another 2 hour drive home.  I made cookies like a madwoman.  

We made impromptu plans to visit Kevin, Mary Clare and baby Elsie on Sunday.  It was so fun.  We ordered a pizza, The Husband and I took turns holding our baby, and she did nothing more than have the hiccups.  The girl is maintenance free...at least while we're there.  I think she is such a combo of her mom and dad.  We'll see.  I love our visits.  And Chicago pizza is always good. :)

I made these cookies before we went...simple sugar cookies and I've given you the recipe before...the same old from the baby shower and then the marathon for my niece.  I made a very sweet (and tart) Key Lime icing/filling, and using various size cookie cutters, made layered cookies.  And I brought these to Kevin and MC's, as they are not safe here in my clutches!!

I have to ask for some healing thoughts, good karma, prayers for my Milo.  I've never mentioned but he's been having seizures for the past three years.  They happen about once every few months and are brief.  He's been having them very frequently lately, and it's very upsetting.  They last so much longer and they seem to happen at night.  I think dogs are very much creatures of habit, so he gets very agitated at night now, as if he expects one to happen.  It breaks my heart.  I do my best to help him weather through each seizure, we hold him tight, whisper words of comfort and just try to be there for him.  These are just gut wrenching and painful to see.  No cure or treatment unless we want to drug him...so we are just dealing with each horrible episode one at a time. 

Whoa...too much bad stuff here!  But no...good things always. That's the way I have to see things or I would go nuts.  I am working out hard, physically...The Husband made a great little work-out room in Abby's old room (and the future guest room).  He likes to lift weights some nights here, and go to the gym other nights to do laps.   I've been doing a DVD I love and it's all about cardio and strength training.  I'm not always so good about it...believe me, sometimes I can't even walk by the door of that room!  But I have my son's wedding in 5 months and I want to look my best.  How about some prayers for that?!  Yes, I know a smile is the best thing you can wear, but I smiled through the last two weddings and still don't like to look at the pics! Ha!

Truly, things are good here.  We can have so many bad things thrown at us, but I feel a sense of clarity.  It's life with all of it's ups and downs. We need to keep the important things in perspective...health, love, family, peace on earth and happiness for all.  

Happy Almost Spring to All of You!!

Jane xx

HERE AND THERE

I get daily inspiration from all over the place.  Just as I sit down now to write this post...I gather up my photos from the past few days (you do keep your camera tied around your neck all day, don't you?!), and I get compelled to elaborate on the what and whys that lift me up.  I love my cookbooks, and you already know that I've given away so many over the past few years simply because I have no room to store them. But I have a few favorites on the shelves in my kitchen, and I choose a few every now and then to take center stage in a basket on my island where I can see them all the time...maybe get inspired to peruse them and choose a few recipes to do.  That said, I have a wonderful book written by Sophie Dahl called From Season to Season.  If her name sounds familiar, it's because she is the granddaughter of Roald Dahl, that wonderful writer and poet, and the man behind Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.  But I digress.  I was feeling a little blue the other day and I went through this book as well as a few others.  Soon I was marking recipes and making a grocery list.  I made a beautiful side dish of grilled asparagus with cherry tomatoes and chopped hard boiled egg, but I forgot the pictures and well, I didn't make much more to write home about.  Ha!  Let's just call this Love Your Cookbooks Month.  Do the seasons play a big part in your food and cooking choices?  I'm hoping to share more recipes as we head into the slow awaking of springtime.

On to more important things.  I'm a big fan of stores like HomeGoods, Marshall's and TJ Maxx.  I know you are all gasping in surprise.  I actually think they are all "connected" in ways other than we all love them.  I know you hear me drop a few lines here and there about what I've picked up here and there, but it's never my intent to play "Show and Tell", and goodness knows...we are all pinching pennies these days.  But I do have to use my little spot here in the Blogosphere to talk about the savings I find here and there (that's a little theme I have going, here and there. lol).

Well, first and foremost, I gravitate to the shelves with the pretty soaps. Why on earth would anyone buy pump dispenser soaps at their grocery or drugstore when they can get beautiful bottles of natural, organic, vegan and pure soaps like these?  I simply go nuts and stock up whenever I'm at one of these stores. Beautifully wrapped cake soaps go into a big basket in my bath, and the bottles I have pictured above are in both bathrooms and at the kitchen sink.  The big bottle on the left is 28 oz. and I paid $4.99.  Incredible.  And this is the norm.

I can also see that this is almost as interesting as my cookbook monologue above.  

One last thing...I find bathroom rugs for $9.99.  Table runners for $12.99.  Pillows for $16.99.   Just saying.  And there is no compensation for my sharing any of this...maybe just a plea for some sympathy for my terrible addiction to these stores, and forgiveness for writing totally inane posts about them.

It's time to hop along the bunny trail.  I'm bringing them out a little at a time.  This guy just may be a year round keeper, if you know what I mean.  Not relegated to that big dark box labeled "Spring" in the basement come June.  Shudder.  Have I ever mentioned that we had a bunny as a pet for a few years?  I was at the mall one day and saw them in a pet store.  I got this insane idea that we just needed to have one and brought home this cute little white baby bunny, a sort of gift for Emily, who was about six years old at the time.  She named him/her Snowy.  Snowy was very cute and sweet, and she hopped all over the house and even our German Shepherd, Shadow, seemed to love her (when he was not hiding).  It was weird though...as far as the pets we had been accustomed to,  she dropped little "pellets" out of her rear end with just about every "hop" she made.  Because of this phenomenon, she came out of her crate a bit less and less and over time.  We soon realized she would be happier dropping those little nuggets somewhere other than our home...a place perhaps where she could "hop and drop" to her hearts content.  A neat lady up at the lake took her off our hands and let her do her thing with all of her own little bunnies in a pen in her yard...a rightful place for all bunnies, I think.  Love ya Snowy.  And for the record, Emily never forgave me for giving him/her away.

And for my second bunny purchase this spring (I allot

 myself two per year), I went for the whimsical.  Isn't his face precious?  I have a few more to bring upstairs but I was feeling a bit lazy today.  I'm excited that one day Elsie will love all of these bunnies.  My own children think I'm certifiable insane.

 A few speckled eggs in an old Atlas jar I found in Michigan.  I rarely bring home anything from our house in Michigan, I think of everything belonging in their own respective places.  I had a very protective feeling for some of these things when we went up there two weeks ago.  I wanted to bring home everything and nothing.  Leaving my treasures meant the whole place would be resurrected.  Taking anything would mean the disintegration.  I brought home this one old jar from a great collection I have, found at all sorts of barn sales and antique shops over the years.  And I filled it with these little eggs I found at an antique store in the town we visited last weekend.  It's a symbol to me...the "here and there" as I wrote earlier, the "then and now", and the inevitable birth of a home better than it was before.

We are going up there tomorrow to do an inventory of all of our personal things.  All of the debris has been removed...they've moved a lot around to dry things out and sterilize.  I think I'm in for another jolt.  We're also meeting with our first contractor to get a bid on the repairs.  So many of you mentioned that this will be a time to have a little fun renovating and redecorating and you are all so right!  I felt a little guilt in the beginning...this was so tragic.  Yet I saw walls being repainted in colors that I would prefer now...window trim being finished, the staircase finally being completed.  This is not going to be easy...The Husband and I clash a lot on design/decor ideas.  But we did agree...since all of the wood flooring has to be replaced, upstairs and down  (we had all the floors done in new hardwood about 8 years ago, it was just carpet before that) maybe we could make some changed there as well.  I mentioned to him that I was less than happy with the over-varnished oak look, and could we possibly redo it with wider planks in a different stain..sort of gray-ish?  And likewise, he suggested we do the staircase and balcony off the master bedroom (that looks out over the Great Room) with wrought iron instead of the cheapy looking painted wood spindles our last contractor used.  Yes and yes.  But we are seriously avoiding upgrading a lot of things.  Our mantra has always been that this is a second home...a "vacation" home.  The overall quality and craftsmanship is very important of course for home value purposes, but we just can't go wild, especially with The Husband looking at retirement in a few years.

That said, I have a few things to pack up for tomorrow; a picnic lunch, a good book, and my forms (20+ pages) for the inventory.  I hope to see my neighbor, Susie, and share some wine...maybe sit on the dock for a little bit with the sun on my face.  I wish we could bring Milo and Layla but it's just not the place for them right now.  Soon I hope.

Okay...now you know why I was a little blue this morning.  But tomorrow is another day.  It's all about the here and there, isn't it?  And where you choose to be.

Love to all,

Jane xxx

MARCH MADNESS

More tulips.  They jumped in my grocery cart Friday.  I think these are my favorite, a combo of soft pinks.  We've had the BEST weather here the past week yet I hesitate to take a stroll around the grounds and jinx any sign of bulb shoots.  We could get snow or another frost next week.  Actually, I'm sure we will.  It's way too soon to delude ourselves into thinking this is really spring in the Midwest.  Maybe early May...the earliest.  Until then...the grocery store or florist.  By the way...FYI, I was reading on Ina Garten's blog that we shouldn't trim the ends of our tulips or let them have a lot of water as they drink it up and it makes them droop.  That's quite the opposite of what I've learned about other cut flowers but I'll take the advice.  But...don't you sort of like when they all droop over the sides like a Weeping Willow tree? :)

When you have 60 degree temperatures and your windows and doors wide open, you get inspired.  And when your baby girl is coming home for a day or two...you get crazy!  Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  Yum.

I think she's happy.  But I think she misses home, too.  Still, she loves where she is living and this time in her life...every day brings new experiences and makes her more comfortable.  She's stayed here several times for various reasons where she had to be in our area, and I sleep SO well on these nights.  And it's not like we sit up until midnight talking and painting our nails, nor am I making Mickey Mouse pancakes in the morning, but it feels good.  We are all adjusting to the new normal. 

I think I've mentioned that The Husband and I do a lot of "Day Trips" when it gets a little slow at the lake.  I've been trying to implement that here at home as well on these cold, and slow weekends.  We really have so many cool towns to visit once we get west of the city. Yesterday I woke up and suggested we go to a town about 25 minutes away.  Very old (incorporated in 1873), with huge old mansions and blocks of shops and businesses and restaurants in the original old buildings.  We had such a good time!

I enjoyed two floral/gift shops that had things I don't get to see too much in our area.  I fell in love with this birch arbor...I even took some very close-up pics because we have so much birch from the two trees we lost the summer before last.  These were drilled and held together with heavy bolts.  Maybe The Husband can make me something like this?  :)

I'm not against faux flowers or plants, I've had my share but I really and truly love the real thing.  That said, I don't live in the woods or have an abundance of flowering trees.  This shop makes it easy for any of us to have blooming branches to force indoors and there is nothing more beautiful than that in the spring. It was all so tempting!  I tried to force forsythia branches last spring from a big bush I have but I wasn't successful...I'll try again in another month or so.  And I thought the pussy willow stems were so pretty.  Last summer The Husband planted a Weeping Pussy Willow tree in our front yard at the lake.  We have our fingers crossed it made it through the winter.  It is the most awesome tree!

The Husband is always the first to jump on the bandwagon when I suggest day trips like these, and most of you know that most of our vacations involve visiting all sorts of "new to us" towns and cities, just strolling around, trying new things and enjoying new experiences.  Still, sometimes he comes into shops with me, other times he stands outside patiently waiting.  I'm so grateful to have someone like him that is always beside me but sometimes steps away to let me explore on my own (And maybe give himself a break).  I really enjoyed this antique store.  We admired a few things right away and I was curious...no prices.  And then we both started to snicker at the same time, thinking of the old adage that if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it!  Nope...didn't even want to know.  I did find a few cute things for my Easter table that didn't set me back much, but that was it for the entire day.  I just love to browse in these little towns.  There is no hunt, there are no needs, there are luxuries we smile at and know we can live without.  Sometimes we spoil ourselves but that's rare...we have days and days like this behind and ahead of us.

And the coolest part is finding the best, most perfect spot for a drink and a small bite.  That's all we need between lunch and dinner.  And we did find this fun, eclectic and modern Mexican restaurant and we had such a ball.  The perfect margarita...

...and a plate of avocado french fries.  I bent the cooks ear.  Sliced avocado wedges dredged in Panko crumbs and spicy dried peppers that had been ground very fine in a food processor and then baked.  I don't think I'm getting the full story here, a cook and magician never reveal their secrets,  but believe me, it's going into the lab.  So tasty and healthy!!!  We also had tortilla chips with 4 different salsas.  Needless to say, we skipped dinner.

I was going to give you this recipe last week and ran out of time.  Now, thinking it over, I really don't think I need to give you a recipe for something like this.  I'm not going to underestimate what you know.  If you can make a basic chicken soup...you can make this.  It is simply a variation of Chicken and Rice Soup, something I've always loved.  But I wanted to make it a bit more filling and updated at the same time.  Voila!  Risotto!  It was perfect.  Now...risotto isn't something of it's own (and you know this, too).  Just follow the directions on the back of your package of Arborio rice...most every brand has a recipe and it's usually as simple as making any other longer cooking rice.  Make your favorite chicken soup and then add 1 cup cooked risotto in the last ten minutes.  It makes for a creamier, more "comfort food" sort of soup.  Some good bread or  crackers...it beats the winter blues!

My Tulo Man woke me up this morning.  This is the happiest, goofiest dog you have ever met.  Standing on his hind legs, he towers over me, yet he tries to climb on my lap all the time.  He's just so gangly and awkward and lovable...can you see that in his face??  He's like an elephant in a china shop in my house, yet as my son Jeff says, this is his fave place to go to hang out with us and rough-house with Milo, probably since this is where he first made friends as a young puppy.  You have to love that.  But sometimes I call him Tulo'/Droolo, he is always panting and drooling!!  Within 5 minutes, the water bowl is empty and Milo is covered in slime from their playing.  I do love the guy but I feel like the house needs to be hosed down after he leaves.  Anyway,  After Tulo went home, Milo and Layla were ready for a bath.  I had been avoiding it with Layla until I was sure she was over that ear infection.  And today it reached 50 degree  so they were unceremoniously dumped in the tub and scrubbed from head to toe.  I then put their stinky collars in a large bucket filled with water and laundry detergent to soak.  Then I rinsed them and let them soak in the same bucket again with white vinegar and water.  Air dry.  I think  collars make up for 99% of their stinkiness. :(  This is a great method for getting them clean and fresh smelling.

Today is the BIG Chicago Southside Irish Parade.  I've posted about it every year since I started blogging so I will spare you.  It's fun.  The Husband and I enjoyed going when we were younger and then visiting friends who had "Open Houses",  corned beef sandwiches and lots of Guinness was the special of the day.  Now our kids do the parade route and hit all of the Irish bars.  Actually this year I've seen them wane off it a bit.  It seems to be either for the very young twenty year old's, or younger families with kids.  Still, a great Southside tradition.  

I have a nice big corned beef...I usually make it the day of the parade (as in today) which is always the Sunday before St. Paddy's Day.  It's nice because the whole family can smell the aroma as it boils all day.  Today it was just The Husband and I, and I was feeling a little melancholy (baby) and defeated in all the efforts I make for him and I...no one else around the table.  And then I felt foolish and insensitive.  I'm so grateful that as time marches on we are so lucky to have each other...so I made a big Irish Stew.  And it may just be him and I when I make that big corned beef and cabbage on Tuesday but, well... he's my best friend. :)  I'm such a softie.

cead mile failte!

Linking up with Martina at Northern Nesting for Share My Style Thursday

Jane xx

HOPPING DOWN THE BUNNY TRAIL!

Have any of you been thinking of Easter?  It's quite early this year.  It makes me feel like spring is around the corner and that's sort of hopeful for me because I can't remember a cold or cloudy Easter in the recent past.  Last year I had twelve for dinner, did a buffet and made a simple table setting.  Lately I've had a lot of ideas fluttering through my head...I thought I would make a very mix and match table;  White dinner plates and then an assortment of salad plates, a variety of napkins rings for fun.   And I usually don't make a green salad on holidays as we have so many side dishes, but I thought it would be nice to start with a fresh spring salad, maybe with some baby lettuce and and a handful of cranberries and walnuts.  I'm just feeling a little creative and it feels good.  I found these plates at Pier 1 the last time I was there.  I just picked up four as I have plenty to mix and match and can pick up some of these colors. Anyway...sometimes it's all about simple and stress free, other times I love the details and making company feel special.

I was so amazed at this picture I took of a salad I was making for lunch.  I used absolutely no filter and I couldn't get over the vibrant colors.  Wonder what happened? lol!!  I love cherry tomatoes.  If you live in my area, those orange tomatoes we get this time of year just make you shudder and walk away from the bin.  But cherry tomatoes always look and taste great.  I love to bake them and throw them in with fresh pasta and some olive oil and garlic...many of them burst and ooze and make your mouth water just looking at them!  And in salads, cut them in half and the juices will liven up the whole thing.

Again, this weekend I forced The Husband into going out to dinner.  I have been a really good sport about making dinner 6 nights a week...no ordering pizza or getting take~out...so he's been more receptive.  :)  This is a place I tried a few months ago for lunch out in the suburbs and I loved it.  It's called Ottimo, and I have no idea what that means in Italian.  The theme seems to be pigs (or pork), little figurines and such are scattered around everywhere.  I forgot food pics as usual.  We had an hour long wait and managed to get two seats at the bar after about ten minutes.  The Husband and I actually like that, we relax with a drink, chat with the bar people, and sometimes the customers around us.  Often times we have better conversation with one another than we do when we are actually eating.  I guess we are more focused.  I love that.

And then the next day...boy, it never ends...Emily had breakfast for the whole family (and did a smash up job by the way), and we all had a chance to see Elsie.  We snapped some seriously cute pictures of The Husband with his first granddaughter, I have to have this framed.  Elsie looks adorable in this little outfit and my guy had just gotten a haircut! lol!  Totally cute. 

  

I really wanted to chill at home on Monday...I've been busy and that's always a good thing for me, but I have so many things to get done (painting the furniture in Abby's room, cleaning out a big cabinet in my living room that is stuffed with all sorts of linens and dishes and accessories I don't even need...purging a few closets and organizing some clutter in the kitchen).  But Emily has Mondays off and the Call of the Wild came bright and early.  Our temps were in the 40's and I couldn't resist.  We went to an outdoor mall in the suburbs, she wanted to look at furniture at a Lazy Boy showroom.  I was surprised...they have some cool things.  Very affordable, too.  Then we hit Williams Sonoma, World Market (which I have never been to), Pier 1 (to see if they had anything new since last Thursday!!), and Anthropology.  This is the only store location within a close vicinity to us, so it's always a treat.  Emily likes to look at clothes because of course, she can pull them off.  I love the decor, displays, books and dishes.  The books really inspired me.  Tons of cookbooks and the photography is enough to sell them without any attention to the actual recipes.  And green, green, green.  I've mentioned before that I cook and we eat "clean" here, but I can see that we are really lacking in grains.  And the smoothies...you feel like a total slouch if you aren't having one every morning to start your day.  Since I watch my carbs, grains aren't a big option, nor legumes.  But I'm seriously considering the benefits of those. What are your thoughts on this subject?   Bottom line...love Anthro.  

And finally today was my 6 week appointment to have my brown/red/gray roots touched up.  Katie, you know, does my hair.  Again, she is my daughter in law, MC's sister.  We do this at their mother Peggy's home,  who is Elsie's other grandma.  Katie also does her aunt's hair so it is just the same fun time every six weeks.  Katie's little girl, Margot, is a little over four months old.  Here is Katie holding that cutie and Aunt Kathy feeding Elsie a bottle.  See the back door open?  55 degrees!  Yay!  We have coffee and snacks and talk...it's so much better than a salon.  And now it's baby heaven.  I had to joke that about 2 years ago we would have never imagined this scene!

 

Here I am in my spa~like moment.  My hair really isn't this light...I used a filter and screwed it up.  I get my roots touched up and then foil highlights.  My favorite part is getting the blow out.  Don't talk to me, I go into a trance.  It's better than a massage. :)

I don't know how I can ever thank you for the really, really heartfelt comments on the lakehouse damage.  We are taking it one day at a time.  They are still working on drying out the place to salvage what they can...and then working on sterilizing everything so we don't have bacteria and mold when they rebuild everything.  Otherwise, it's all about patience and following along with whatever is required of us.  We've had sleepless nights but it's much better now.  The Husband has work to distract him and he spends a lot of time at the gym preparing for the big hiking trip over Memorial Day weekend (more on that later).  And as you can see, I never seem to have time to catch my breath.  I actually had a recipe to share with you but I think I've run out of time!

I'm truly feeling okay.  We will get through this and there will be many, many good times ahead.  For now...gosh, I so wanted to get a new post up so I didn't have to keep scrolling past those ugly pictures of the damage.  Now I have something good and promising to look at~ you, too.  If I didn't get by to personally thank you...know that all of you touched my heart and confirmed my belief that some of the best friendships are developed in our very own blog world.

See you soon!

Jane xxx

A FAMILIAR RAIN

Lakehouse 1991

Lakehouse 2014

3/4/15

When I last wrote I mentioned that we had heard that some pipes had burst at our lakehouse in Michigan, about 100 miles from here.  At the time I knew it was bad, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions, especially when we knew so little.  Reality dawned when we arrived in Michigan in the very early hours of March 4.  

I have spent a good amount of time  deciding how I wanted to write this post...this has been a devastating experience in the lives of me and my husband.  I didn't want to present this to you, my friends, as something dramatic and in a "Pity Party"  sort of way...yet I want to be honest and real about what has happened at our home away from home...heck, HOME.  It's not pretty and I've just slowly got my head on straight.

Hallway leading to front foyer 

I know it was a virtual shock for my neighbor, Susie, to walk in Tuesday morning and see what you are now looking at.  She has been a dear and incredibly selfless friend in looking after our little cottage, coming in periodically to make sure the windows are closed, lights are off, and to water our plants.  She had been on a short vacay and when she returned, she

 stumbled on this.  

  Spring, 1992  

We bought this place when Abby was just 6 months old.  She grew up, as all four our kids, escaping every weekend to the country.

I laugh now...they were all captains, sailors, swimmers and daredevils.  Many said our kids were missing out on sports in the city...baseball, swimming (ha), soccer, cross country...you name it.  To us, they had the best of all sports and activity.  They were young and strong and brown as berries.  They knew water safety, could swim and fish and water ski, ice skate and snow ski.  You can see Abby had a little too much sun here, but sometimes you couldn't grab them long enough to get sunscreen on them, they were too busy chasing toads and jumping off the dock!

It appears that the pipes burst in the upper level bath.  The water gushed for an estimated 3 weeks.  The rivers of water took many directions but seriously destroyed that bathroom and went in all directions upstairs so nothing was exempt.  Our master bedroom took a big hit.

The lower level was worse...obviously. the water had nowhere to go but down after saturating the upper level of our home.  The staircase...sad.  And then it penetrated floors and ceilings collapsed.  My laundry room is below the bathroom where it all started.  You can see that cabinets fell off the wall on to my washer and dryer.  

My kitchen is my pride and joy and I know all of you understand why.  And it's also Grand Central Station for everyone when we have company.  So it makes me so relieved that for some reason the water did not take this direction and my kitchen was unscathed.  

An old picture...the floors in the Great Room were ruined as well as the staircase coming down into this room.  Thankfully the flow of water stopped before it reached the wall that looks out on the lake...19 feet of floor to ceiling glass windows.  

The balcony off  the master bedroom...I'm so surprised it didn't just fall down. I couldn't bring myself to go upstairs although The Husband did.

I used to joke that if we ever had a fire, after getting the kids and dogs out, I would carry my Hoosier cabinet out on my back.  The kitchen (as I've said) was fine.  It's incredible that the water flowed in such odd directions.

So there you have it.  I felt it was good for me to look back at pictures we have of good times.  We have had our fair share of this beautiful escape over the past 23+ years.  We've seen our kids (and pets) grow.  And while most of our activities take place outdoors, these walls held laughter and fun and many sleepy, tired bodies.  Wonderful meals and warm fires in the winter.  A safe shelter.

Milo was a mere six months old when he trotted along after us at the lake.  He loved to go on the boat and run after the neighbor's dogs.  He made friends quicker than we did!  Layla is a bit more cautious...she liked to sit in the screened in summerhouse and watch our antics from a safe place.

  We watched rain fall when all we wanted to do was be out on our toys.  And The Husband and I rejoiced that the lovingly planted and tended to gardens were getting a natural drink of water...maybe we were the only ones!!

Days of sun and sand are what we remember most when we think of the lakehouse.  Busy activity filled days with friends and family, and then the quiet ones that The Husband and I have been sharing by ourselves in the last few years.  Lazily drifting in the boat, him fishing, me reading, and long slow meals on the patio, listening to the birdsong.

We're at home now...waiting for word on the extent of the damage...what can and will be salvaged.  The "clean up" crew had to get a plow to get through the good 4 feet of snow in our driveway to bring in a dumpster to ultimately haul out the debris.  That very word makes me shudder.  My walls and ceilings and treasures now classified as debris.  

 I have to thank my good neighbors, Susie and Mike.  And I want to thank all of you ladies who felt it in your hearts and minds to send good wishes after my last post which just alluded to this devastation...it's as if you knew me and what I was trying to hold back on.   

I truly hope you don't feel like I am being melodramatic with this post.  I felt so wrapped up in sadness when The Husband and I were there on Wednesday. I found this little corner of the Great Room where we always gathered to talk and look out at the bay, it was one of the only places that was dry.  The temp in the house was still at 55 but slowly heating up.  I crawled into a ball on the settee with my hood over my head and a small throw over me as The Husband worked with the insurance adjuster.  In a half dream I heard Susie's voice.  I sat up.  We huddled and talked.  She was shook up, too.  Later she brought over some snacks and a bottle of wine.  For about an hour it seemed okay as we sat in this one dry spot but I kept my back to the room.  The frozen bay was all I wanted to see.

Love and many thanks in advance.  I know all of you know what the lake means to me.  We have a long road ahead of us but we will be fine.  And I will keep you posted of that progress.

~~I live with regrets-the bittersweet loss of innocence-

the red track of the moon upon the lake-

the inability to return and do it again.

John Geddes

~A Familiar Rain

Jane  xxx