My standards are somewhat lower than they used to be, in that a perfect day is when no one asks me to do anything I don't want to. I got up early for a change. Usually I'm up several hours in the middle of the night and can't quite get up at 7:00 or 8:00, especially since Ryan walks the girls to school, and I'm not needed except on Friday mornings.
I started this on Thursday and didn't finish until I noticed I had not published it.
My friend Mary came over 9:00 for a visit. She's so organized and always is off on an errand after an hour or so. I think we're both at the point of feeling better, so our conversation wasn't totally about our ailments. It was fun, and she brought the girls some chocolate chip cookies.
After she left, I was in the mood to bake cranberry bread since I had found a huge bag of cranberries in Safeway last week.
It's easy to make, and the only thing that takes time is chopping the cranberries in half and breaking a few of the pecans that are too big.
The loaves turned out just right. I had to cut one in half to test the middle since it's been so long since I've made them and never on this little apartment stove. So I got a taste, and they were perfect.
I shared this with Mama once, and it turned into her go-to recipe to make for everyone she knew. It has nearly a cup of orange juice in it, which makes it have a different taste. I always hated grating the tablespoon of orange peel the recipe called for and sometimes left it out, but lately I found a jar of dried orange peel that makes it so easy. I can see that I'll make more of these, next time using some little mini loaf pans.
And I did make another batch in the little loaf pans to share. I'm surprised the girls liked it so much, but Katherine came in the door today asking for "that cranberry bread stuff."
Today was Veterans' Day so no school, and the girls spent the day with me. I got them a strawberry milkshake and fries at McDonalds, and that was a nice treat. We don't go often enough to get tired of it, and I love how that trip to North Bend with them in the backseat just brings out the best conversations. I just listen and love it. We stopped at the closed library on the way back to take back some books, and Graysen got out and put them in the drop box for me. What a nice thing to have a big kid to help me, especially when the cold wind is blowing my hair all in my face, and we're all freezing.
We came back and had a picnic beside the fire and did nothing special the rest of the day, just whatever they felt like doing. They re-discovered the under-the-bed toy box and spent a long time sifting through the old toys. I'm always optimistic they'll work on cleaning it out, but they still love all the old Shopkins and Polly Pockets and crazy unexpected things.
I see the My Little Ponies and bath toys from 1985 or so. They hold up well!
They've asked Santa for a new American Girl doll this year. We've bought used ones for them and the Target brand, but this is the first genuine AG doll for both of them, and Santa is paying the price! I'm going to get them some pets and accessories but not the furniture they want. If I had $200, I would not spend it on a doll trundle bed. Although it IS cute. There were fascinated by an allergy emergency kit - doll-sized - with an inhaler and an Epi-Pen and medications. I think we can make up some first aid kits for their dolls if they come sickly.
Good news. Target has a much more affordable set for around $8 instead of buying crutches and casts and all the other AG stuff for $32. Pretty cute little inhaler. Now I'm sure both dolls will arrive with asthma. Correction: I found a diabetes kit also, so that might be a neat thing. Last year, Graysen's teacher and a student in their class was diabetic, and they had many discussions about diabetes and other diseases people might be suffering from. I'm also sure they will fight over who gets which set.
This is why I never get anything done. I'm always off chasing ideas and forgetting what I'm doing. I'll end this tonight with temps in the 20s and the idea of an early morning soccer game sounding less and less exciting.
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