Waiting for December

The snow was just waiting for December it seems. We've had snow, but it hasn't stuck around, and we certainly haven't had anything quite like this. There was about three inches of snow on the driveway when Luke and I went out to shovel this morning, and another quarter inch fell while I was shoveling! Luke has lots of winter gear, so we were prepared. And I was pretty excited to see him play in the snow since last year he was too tiny. Turns out his boots are a little big, so after a few efforts to wade through the snow, he gave up and crawled until I had cleared enough of the driveway for him to help.

And drum roll please.....brrrrrrrrrrrr (appropriate sound effect, no?):
The cat's name.
At long last.
Be prepared to be amazed.
It's a name like no other.
It.
Is.
Baby Cat Gertrude!
*ecstatic crowd noises*

Luke calls her Baby. Derek calls her Cat. I call her Gertrude.

It's a win, win, win, really.

Butternut Harvest Stew

Today I don't have time to put up a picture, but I thought I'd send along this recipe which has won rave reviews in a household where anything with squash in it rarely gets the time of day.

Butternut Harvest Stew
from the Simply in Season Cookbook
page 187
I used butterCUP squash instead of butterNUT because I've had six of these squash hanging around for months!! Chances are they will ALL be used towards this recipe before winter is done with us.

2 T butter
1 1/2 lb boneless pork (cut in 3/4in. cubes)
1 medium onion (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
Melt butter in large saucepan. Add pork, onion and garlic and saute until meat is no longer pink; drain off fat.

3 C chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary I used fresh, chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon rubbed or ground sage I used two fresh, whole leaves, rubbed dark and then pulled them out before serving.
1 bay leaf
Add, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

1 medium butternut squash (peeled and chopped)
2 medium apples(peeled if desired and chopped)
Add and simmer uncovered until squash and apples are tender, 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf.
If you want to make the peeling of the squash easier, poke a few holes in it and microwave it, but then don't cook it too long in the pot.

Running the Holiday Gauntlet

Setting up the tree, Luke's idea of decorating was layering each branch with tissue paper.

My favorite new addition in our home decor adds a lot of color to the house.
Also, this windowsill hadn't been cleaned EVER. It still had drywall dust on it.
It was about time to get up there.

Luke's sweater vest.

Beth's beautiful apple pie. We got to celebrate American thanksgiving with another expatriate.

We did our share in putting a dent in this beast.

Luke no longer asks for baths, but "SHAWAH!" and does this adorable bath sign.

The cat, who, as yet, does not have a name....look for it in Monday's post!

Tuesday I got all my Christmas shopping done, Wednesday Luke's molars were a royal pain. Thursday my computer died. Thursday we also ate turkey and Luke wore his new "holiday outfit" which is a new set of cords and a sweater vest. Friday my computer died again. And we set up the lights and tree and some new colorful bottles in the south window for light to shine through (we need daytime color AND nighttime color). From Thanksgiving to Christmas in 24 hours! Saturday (today) my computer went on the fritz AGAIN. And I must say, we have had a very relaxing three days without my photo programs, or the internet. Sorry to have missed you for so long, but hopefully this large dose of photos makes up for it.

MOLARS

There will be no post today due to MOLARS.

Run run as fast as you can!

We're just getting in the holiday spirit around here. This is Luke's imitation of a gingerbread man.

He does it most every night before bath time. I find it to be one of his most endearing past times. I only apologize for so much of my own voice in this video, because I'm afraid I cover up much of Luke's hilarious chatter. Oh, my cheeks ache after watching this one. I just had to pass it along. I absolutely love how his legs cross over each other when he runs. Chubby monkey.

I'm posting early because Tuesday I am headed down to Grand Forks with Helene and Jaime to do some shopping. Luke is spending the day with Celeste and the evening with Daddy. How strange it will be to have an entire day without my boy! We'll be back on Wednesday at the same bat time, same bat channel.

Luke's weekend To-Do List

Play Mozart's Symphony No.1 in E-flat major.

check.

Make aunties color with me because I am irresistibly cute.
check.

Voraciously devour donuts.

check.

Get into mischief with cat.
check.

Read to me

I have too many pictures! So you must excuse my film strip style once again, and click on the pictures to enlarge them.

We love reading "gooks". Especially ones that have "oh-jus" (oranges - see the one where his lips are all puckered up?) pictured.