Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Cabin fever...




We were feeling a bit of cabin fever yesterday and since Daisy didn't have school and Ruh and I both had the day off we decided to risk any rain that might fall and go on a walk. Ruh discovered the Clearwater Creek Trail in Silverdale this past summer so we decided to go there so we could pick up Daisy's friend Sabrina who just recently moved to Silverdale. It is a very lovely trail although a bit gray right now. Ruh said all the trees, brush and grass are very pretty in the summer. Now that Daniel is a toddler it is so nice that he can get out of the stroller and run around. He had a great time running after Daddy and "Sar-buck" (Starbuck).
Daniel pulled the Taggy my Gramma made him for Christmas out of the diaper bag. At first I was worried about it ending up in the mud but it was just too cute so I let him carry it until we got back to the dirt path.



Ruh and I were chatting about how much we can't wait for camping and hiking season to begin. Until then I am taking advantage of the dreary days with crocheting and sewing which I don't feel like doing when the sun is out. I have actually already started on some homemade Christmas presents! :)

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Chorizo Pumpkin Soup...


I made this scrumptious soup yesterday. I really stocked up on canned pumpkin when it was available during the holidays because stores were starting to run out. Now I have a ton of canned pumpkin in my pantry so it was nice to find this recipe so I could use up a couple cans. This is a very good soup for cold January days.




Chorizo Pumpkin Soup
about 8-1 cup servings

1 lb Chorizo sausage or any other sausage you would prefer
1 medium onion - diced
2 stalks celery - diced
2 medium apples - peeled and diced
2-16 0z cans pumpkin puree
2 to 3 cups low sodium chicken broth to reach the consistency you like
ground cinnamon - to taste
ground nutmeg - to taste (I used freshly ground)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown the sausage and add the onion and celery and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion and celery are starting to get soft.
2. Add the apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook about 5 minutes more.
3. Add the canned pumpkin and chicken broth. Keep adding chicken broth until it reaches the thickness you like. I like mine a little thick.
4. Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Enjoy! :)


Saturday, January 01, 2011

My electric night and Happy New Year...


Happy New Year everyone! I rang the new year in nice and cozy in bed.

The night before had been very exhausting. I had put Daniel to bed at 7pm and took a shower. I pulled out the blow dryer and when I started using it the exhaust fan in the bathroom shut off and then the outlet started crackling and sparking! Since Ruh was at work I called my dad. He told me to go out to the circuit box and shut off the the switches to the bathrooms. Well, none of the switches are marked so I had no clue which ones to shut off. I called dad back and he said it would probably be best to shut the power off completely and come and spend the night at their house. Mom said she would come over and help me pack up Daniel. While mom was on her way I went to the bedroom to pack some things. The light only turned on dimly and made a humming noise and the outlets starting crackling. I went to the back bathroom and tried turning that light on and the exact same thing happened and the outlets started sparking! I could hear the printer turning off and on in the spare room and when I checked that room the outlet was doing the same thing! Mom soon arrived and we started packing up to go. I went out to the circuit box and shut off the main power. Mom was talking to Ruh on the phone and as we started to leave all of a sudden I smelled something burning down the hallway and my mom started smelling it too. We quickly got Daniel out of the house and into the car and I called 911. I couldn't see any smoke but there was definitely a strong burning smell. Three fire trucks arrived at our house within 10 minutes. They brought a little infrared device in to see if there was any heat behind the walls. Thankfully there was no fire. We figured that the burning smell had been from the burning ozone from the sparking of the outlets. It also caused a weird metallic taste in my mouth. Ruh arrived home just as they were about to leave. They told us to leave the power off of course until we had a electrician come out and check things out.

I was thinking we were going to have to have all of the wiring replaced in the house and that it would cost us several thousand dollars. The electrician checked the outlet in my bathroom first and found that one little wire had come loose and that is what caused the sparking and then all of the other outlets and lights to go crazy at that end of the house. He said that one little wire could have burned down the entire house. So he fixed it and now all is well! It only cost us $141! The Lord was definitely watching over us! This could have gone so much worse in many different ways. I am so thankful to Him for how He took care of us.

So that is why I spent New Year's Eve cozy in bed! :)