Serials and Scenarios ~ Looking for a Good Family or Kid's Gift?

Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect Hardcover – September 1, 2012
by Richard H. Schneider (Author)
Hardcover: 28 pages
Publisher: Abingdon Press; Stk edition (September 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1426754868
We used to read this book when the kids were little. 

It's always been one of my favorites. 

Last night I got to read it to my little ones. Ok. Two of the three of them were mostly distracted. But I remembered why I loved the book so much. A message we all need during the Christmas season. Of note, Toad-Boy and & remember it as a favorite book, too, so maybe, eventually, the little bits will share that sentiment. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ My Dollar Cabinet Makeover

 I've had this broken three drawer cabinet around for about two years now. It was a solid built ugly little thing that cost a whole buck. So I grabbed it and then let it sit in one of our ugly rooms. We have three of those ugly rooms, little works in progress that have become catch alls for crapola. I decided I needed to do something with this cabinet, though, now that we have a few toys and games and kid odds and ends around, drawers and storage are great. And a bamboo television tray is not the most attractive side table. 

So I pulled out the broken drawer to use as a shelf for books and magazines and painted it up. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Vegan Shepherds Pie

I decided to put some vegan leftovers to use and recreate a whole different delivery system. 

Used:  

Mashed Potatoes

Leftover Seitan Roast

Added. Chopped Veggies. 

What and How.

I had a few cups of dirty, garlic mashed potatoes (dirty = skin on) (garlic mash = garlic cloves boiled in the potato water and whipped into the potatoes. I thinned them out a bit with vegetable broth so I could spread them easily. 

I chopped up the seitan roast. There were about 6 meatloaf sized slices and I crumbled them in the bottom of a greased casserole dish. 

I sauteed diced celery (2-3 stalks small dice), carrot (1 small dice) and onion (1 small) until caramelized. 

I placed the veggies over the crumbled seitan and covered that with the potatoes. I added salt and pepper to the top of the casserole along with a few shakes of paprika and dried onion. 

I baked it in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes. Yum. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Lazy Wednesday...

So here's a 7 week vs. 7 month picture series of the hounds. 

Significant changes have occurred. 

I did google how much more to expect regarding growth cycles. And the sources estimate another 2 pounds. But not much more in height. The little stinkers need to chill out.  

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Just a Few Things I Wanted to Show You....

It's real cold in Iowa. But we don't have snow and ice (currently) so I'm embracing that truth with these pictures. 

http://www.boredpanda.com/natural-winter-snow-ice-art/


And here's something useful to do inside on a cold winter day...er, season.

http://www.boredpanda.com/nail-sculpture-john-bisbee/



Since perception is 9/10's of communication (79% of statistics are made up on the spot)  here's a good old laugh. The milky one makes the most sense to me, but I did breastfeed two babies back in the day. 

http://www.boredpanda.com/english-words-japanese-clothing-shops/

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Full Holiday Weekend

I haven't had such a fun weekend in a long time. I'm tired, and a little shell-shocked by temperature extremes, but, hey, that's not uncommon around these parts. 

Wednesday night Rob put in a new floor in the mud room/aka puppy room. They have a room. :  ) With a nice big back door entrance and lots of easily swept and/wiped up flooring. 

The girls have been alone in their room a few hours at a time with just a couple barricades and plenty of room to roam. So far they are respecting "the crib." This move opened up more room in the living room where the kennel has been resting since May. So we rearranged the living room furniture a little bit and I finished up a functional project I've been working on. 

Thursday was a wonderfully laid back day. We had a simple brunch with & and her little ones and a couple of friends. Thanksgiving was the 5 month anniversary of the little ones moving in with & and it was a cherry on the top of the sundae. The kids have bloomed under her mothering and we all love them. They spent the day and we pulled out all the Christmas items and we decorated and loaded up the Christmas tree. I tipped it over and broke two ornaments. But a good time was had by all. And my house feels festive. & and I cooked all the goodies we were going to be eating later that night. 

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my folks house. Another lovely get together. And of course the food was pretty amazing. & and I made several vegan options (our main dish was mushroom seitan loaf that was perfect but which I will add maybe a bit more garlic to next time I make it.)  and my new sister-in-law and brother made a delish pumpkin cheesecake.  Super delish. 

Friday night found me at &'s helping them decorate their place. The kids had so much fun. The 5 and 3 year olds especially got into decorating little Christmas trees for their rooms. So cute. Pure excitement. 

Saturday night we headed over again to decorate gingerbread houses with Toad Boy and the Mrs. One more Christmas thing on Sunday night at church rounded out the whole kid centric weekend. But. In exchange for all the work, I got lots of hugs and kisses, and a raging cold. Ha. Ha. I'm good with that. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Maple Ginger Broccoli Slaw

A little tart, a lot refreshing. 

Maple Ginger Broccoli Slaw

I package of broccoli slaw. (I used Trader Joe's organic. It was probably 4 cups unleashed.)

1 good sized Granny Smith apple matchstick sliced (I left the skin on) 

2 TBSP maple syrup 

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1 TBSP soy sauce

1 teaspoon ground ginger (or shredded fresh would be great if you've got some and love ginger)

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

salt to taste

Toss all items together. 

Add dried cranberries to make it extra festive.