Worth Sharing November 2 - 8: Boys!

Did any of you receive the Amazon toy catalog?  My grandsons were over the moon about it! Isaac's face had a look of pure wonderment.  He oohed and ahhed.  It was magical for him.

It made me remember the catalogs we received three times a year from Sears.  The mail order catalog was a BIG deal in life back then.  My how we dreamed over those catalogs and most especially over the Christmas catalog!   With three children and Mama and Daddy too interested in seeing it, we had to call for our turn.   By that I mean that when one said, "Me first!" someone else spoke up mighty quick and said "Me second!"  When the big seasonal catalogs came, it was my joy to sit beside Mama or Granny and look through the pages of clothes and shoes (and with Granny we always looked at the dishes, as well).  

In the Christmas season we were very careful to keep our lists handy, which were edited and re-edited numerous times as we discovered something new or decided on another item as we flipped through the catalog for the hundredth time.  I don't think I ever once got an item off those lists of mine but it was still fun making the list each year.

Granny did a majority of her personal shopping from the Sears catalog.  I think that's why so many of us have so easily transitioned to online shopping.  I mean, who doesn't like to get packages in the daily mail?  Sooo much nicer than just the usual flotsam and jetsam of bills and junk mail, which is really a waste of paper that seems to never cease.

But catalogs?  NOT a waste of paper!  The joy of flipping through those pages and seeing all sorts of goods one might order to furnish a home,  the lovely outfits and accessories, the tools and necessary items that you might not be able to buy locally...It was an ageless thing, dreaming over those catalogs.   My great grandmothers did it, my grandmothers did it, my mom and I used to do it...and even my children had a time when they too knew the joy of a proper Christmas catalog.

Tell you what...I think Amazon is being just plain SMART with that toy catalog.  And though it's not the catalog of our childhood, I'm happy to see my grandchildren get a chance at a bit of dreaming over one.




My slow cooker died this week.  I had dinner in it and it got cooked through but it quit working about the time the food got done.  And that was that.  No screws to take the thing apart and check why it wasn't working.  John said, "Well order another..." and so I shall.  But I wanted to research them a bit.

In researching, I stumbled upon this article at Food &Wine.   It gave me an insight into what I ought to look for in a slow cooker.   I'm trying to make up my mind just now if I want to go with her top recommendation which is more than I'd planned to spend but sounds like an ideal replacement or spend half as much to get one exactly like what I've had the past four years (I've had two and they've each lasted about two years.)



Blissful moments this week included: driving by a field that was being plowed for planting of rye or winter wheat.  I love the aroma of freshly turned earth on a cool day. And the sight of a tractor slowly plowing the fields, and the dark damp earth itself.  I love thinking about the seed down in that lovely loam just waiting for it's time to spring to life.

We left home early enough to see sunrise the morning the baby was born, and didn't come home again until the sun was setting.  And it was a glorious sunset!   I haven't been out at the sunset hour in quite awhile.  Each time we top that hill that looks out over the river valley we cross to come home, I remember topping the hill as a child at sunset.  I was convinced heaven could be seen clearly in the sunset sky.  All these years later, I still believe it to be true.


Our first glimpse of this little fellow:

Though we had a cloudy and gray week overall, his birth day was sunny and glorious.  A perfect fall day.


Sweetest picture of the week was another of Isaac that Katie shared.  Bess was holding our new baby and Isaac was 'reading' him a story.  If you look beyond the isolet you'll see Bess's dark hair.  She's kneeling in front of Isaac.

And my last sweet moment this week involved this little boy...

...who walked to my house from his all on his own for the first time.  And why?  Because he wanted me to come to his house to see him!   I was trying to watch the livestream of our church service on TV, so Josh helped himself to my Kindle and found a game he liked.

After the church service was over, I walked with him back to his house.  What a joy to share with him the little things of nature about us.  We pulled onion grass and smelled of it.  We stopped to sniff the cedar tree branch.  We looked for rabbit trails in the deeper grass and admired the winding trails they follow.  When he mentioned the many little divets in his own yard, I explained to him that skunks were digging for grubs which had a strong garlic smell to them.  He thought it funny that stinky skunks like to eat stinky grubs.

It was a completely happy day that day.  I had time alone, time with the two little boys, time with Katie and Sam and Bess.    I'd worked hard in my home and it showed.  It was just a lovely Sunday altogether.


A lovely TV series we discovered earlier in the winter of this year was Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories.  John and I sort of fell into the program and got hooked on it rather quickly.  Each episode is essentially a short story of someone who has visited the Midnight Diner.  

Season 2 came up this week.  It's subtitled so you'll want to pay close attention to the screen.  At the end of most episodes they share a simple recipe that was the featured comfort food ordered by the customer whose story is being told.  Often the characters turn to the camera and say "Good night" at the end, too.

This is not a strictly PG rated program but most episodes have little of anything that would offend.  I think the Japanese idea of what is 'natural' is a little different than western ideas.  Most episodes have nothing objectionable but every now and then...Anyway, having been warned, if you feel inclined to watch, do give it a try.


I did a lot of cooking this week, despite our eating fewer meals at home.  I spent Monday morning in the kitchen prepping these meals, some of which I'll share with Katie and some of which will go into the freezer for our own use over the weeks ahead.   My best hint about doing  a prep day is this: Prep and start your dinner for that day before you get knee deep in doing too many other dishes.  I made the simple Alpine Chicken in the crockpot (the last meal the slow cooker made, lol).  I've done these sort of prep days before and was so tired and hungry by noon and there I was surrounded by partially prepared foods and not a bite ready to eat.   Here's a second tip:  Making dinner first thing before sinking your time into any big project day is always a huge help!



The recipe I'm sharing this week was one I made on Thursday for our dinner today, but we went to visit the baby.  So we'll have it for our Sunday dinner instead.  It's one John and I both like a lot.  I got the recipe from blogger and friend Dawn.   The recipe I'm sharing is one I halved and serves four or five easily.  Double it if you want to serve more folks with it.  I usually split this between two smaller dishes and freeze one for later.

Dawn's Tuna Casserole

6 ounces noodles, cooked and well drained (I've used just about any shape pasta I had on hand, but rotini is my favorite if I don't have noodles)

1 5.5 ounce can of tuna, drained

1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp. butter

1/4 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1/4 cup of milk
1 can mushroom soup

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

crushed potato chips (nice use for those bits at the bottom of the bag)

Cook onion in butter until tender.  Mix pasta, tuna, onion, sour cream, mayonnaise, milk and soup.  Spread in 7x11 pan or split between two smaller casseroles that have been sprayed with non-stick spray.  Top with cheese and chips.

Bake at 375f until heated through about 20-25minutes.


Have a lovely weekend!