Happenings at the Sprucehaven

This morning we were greeted by 3 wolves. I got some pics (with my phone) and a small video of them. They are about 200 yards from our house so, needless to say, the hound doggies had a conniption fit!

I couldn't get them all in a picture but there were 3 all together. So, for the time being the doggies will be quarantined to the pen only. It's breeding season for the wolves so maybe for the next month or so the doggies will need to stay closer to the house.

I'm not sure what happens when it gets cold but it puts me into hyperspastic cooking mode. I wish it put me more into hyperspastic cleaning mode. Not super helpful with the new eating plan but it will pass.

Biscuits are just 2 cups self rising flour, 1/2 stick butter (cold), and some milk or buttermilk - enough to make the dough.

The bread is a good recipe but I can't link it, I can't find the link anymore. Blogger won't let me upload a pdf file either but it's basically a white bread recipe and then I used lard to oil the pans, generously. It is soft and super good! I made (but forgot to take a picture) Salisbury steak to go with it and green beans. I didn't have a recipe for Salisbury steak, just added what I thought would work.

I bake with recipes but I rarely cook with them. I can remember asking my Mom how to make certain things like how much of this or that to add and her response was, "Until it looks right." - Really? Well, now I'm doing the same thing so I guess it has come full circle.

Here's the thermometer at our place on Saturday morning - Sheesh!

That's air temp - a bit colder with windchill.

For Better or For Worse

39 years ago I walked down the aisle to join my soulmate in marriage. It was a simple ceremony - very low budget but meaningful nonetheless. We took our vows seriously and have, to this day, stayed true to those vows. Not to say it has been an easy path but nothing that is worthwhile is easy, or so they say.

We have been able to weather the worst of the worst and enjoy the best of the best. Maybe it's because we were driven to prove the naysayers wrong? Either way, we've made it this far and there's no turning back now.

Tonight we celebrated by visiting a local restaurant where we were surprised and thrilled to get a great meal, great service, and share some memories of days gone by.

When we eat out I am the one to try something new, hubby goes with tried and true. And so it is:

Steak and mashed for him.

Pecan encrusted walleye for her.

And the empty plate that was - French silk pie drizzled with extra chocolate sauce - YES!

A Great Time Was Had By All

The long weekend with the family went too quick. Time flies as it is but it seems to just sail by when there are new things to do.

On Friday all of us girls (Crystal, Angie, Abbie, and me) took a road trip to do some shopping and just have fun. The boys (Dale, Mike, Frank, Frank-o, Milo, and Rowan) stayed behind to hold down the fort.

We stopped at a cute little town with lots of cute little shops first.

Abbie reluctantly posed on the cool smore's bench. How cute is that? Ok, maybe I need to get out more.

I didn't take tons of pics but when any of us girls see's one of these - oh, it's on and is a MUST stop and have a kodak moment or two.

Anyway, then we were off to the next town to have lunch and more shopping but this time of the big box kind - Costco. We had a great lunch with a delightful waiter at Grizzly's. I didn't do much in the way of food pics but I did get one of these. They were so good! Plus we were starving by this time.

They were called Texas Egg Rolls. They were filled with pulled pork with a pretty spicy chili sauce. I would definitely order them again.

Oh, and the rotisserie that they cook their chickens on - OUT OF THIS WORLD! Best.Chicken.Ever.

And then...

P.S. One month today off the smelly sticks - wahoo!

Comfort Food

“We learn much by tribulation, and by adversity our hearts are made better.”
― David McCullough, The Wright Brothers

It's rainy and windy out today. Yesterday was nice so we got a ton of outside stuff taken care of before winter. One of those things was covering the wood piles - good timing as it turns out.

I was in the mood for some comfort food since I wasn't feeling "up to par" today. I don't know what it is, seems to be sinus related. I always tackle something on days I don't feel well. I think it goes back to the days of raising the girls when getting sick and doing nothing just wasn't an option. So, today I decided I wanted to make hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes. I would normally use cream of mushroom soup but I didn't have any so I decided to make it from scratch. I know how to make a roux and I used beef broth for the liquid. I used to have trouble remembering how much of what I needed so I came up with what works for me. 1/4 - 1/4 - quart. 1/4 lb butter 1/4 c. flour and a quart of liquid.

I threw one of those gorgeous carnival squash in the oven with a little butter and brown sugar, roasted the seeds just like pumpkin seeds. Used sour cream in the potatoes instead of milk. It was perfect!

Angie got me a really useful kitchen tool that works wonderfully for mushrooms. I'm sure it works equally well for other things but, so far, that's all I've used it for.

We had a visitor early in the week. I tried to take a picture with my phone through the glass door. I had to zoom so it's not a great picture but you can see him but maybe not identify him. It was a hawk, not sure what kind but saw it fly in.

We took an impromptu drive earlier in the week fearing the weather would turn and we wouldn't get to do our annual "fall color tour" so we loaded up Coop and took off. Well....the colors were few and far between and I didn't even capture one picture. One thing was right though, with this rain and wind the leaves are coming down pretty steadily at home here.

Picture of the week: 

Neighbors

P.S. We won (we would have tied but the "guys" decided to risk it)