View from the Prairie Box

And no, this photo was not staged.

To Do List:

• make green bean dish
• make sweet potato dish
• concoct chip and dip yumminess
• make sweets if I feel up to it
• be thankful

Here’s wishing all of you a very thankful holiday. God is good.

Leaving a comment on a blog, only to realize moments too late that you’ve spelled something wrong or that your subject and verb are not in agreement. Argh! Then you have to decide whether to post another comment correcting yourself (thereby proving that you’re not a total dunce) or just leave it alone and hope the blog owner understands you were typing too quickly.

Maybe this is an English major-type pet peeve.

I don’t know why Time constructed this list in particular (since 1923? why?), but it’s a very interesting list indeed. (Thanks to Jason for the link.) I’ve only read ten out of 100. And those only because I had fabulous English teachers throughout my life. In fact, at least eight out of ten novels were read between junior and senior high school—and none in college. I think the teachers from my younger years (I can’t recall all their names or else I’d list them here) far exceeded, both in classroom expectations and general excellence, the professors at the college I graduated from. Sad, huh? The main reason I’m blogging about this is so that I don’t lose this list of books… I’m always wondering what to pick up from the library and this is a decent place to start.

**The logic for the list is explained here.

“They say Aslan is on the move—perhaps has already landed.”

And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it has enormous meaning—either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside.

From The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

I’ve been spurred on to reread this wonderful book, and to actually complete The Chronicles of Narnia, due to the release of the movie next month. I never truly engaged in the books as a child, I think I was a little scared of fantasy (that’s another post altogether), but I am loving, LOVING, the books now and would curl up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate and read all day long if I could.

Lewis’s writing style is one of the reasons these books are so delightful. I find his sentences very practical, logical like I imagine a proper Englishman’s should be, and yet so insightul. I particularly enjoyed the quoted paragraph above because it perfectly states the way I feel about dreams. I tend to intensely feel my dreams and nightmares, and yet when I awake I can’t explain the magnitude of what occurred in them. I love it that Lewis captured this universal sentiment in a few simple, well-placed words.

At 4am this morning I peeked out the bathroom window and noticed the streets were slick with rain. But sometime between 4 and 8, it happened… It snowed! I’m one of those people who, though fully grown, will always have a childlike fascination for the first snow of the season. There’s just something magical about waking up in the morning to a world covered in white.

Jeremy was the first to get to Livia and he got to show her the snow out front. A certain neighbor happened to be scraping his car and Jeremy mentioned his name to the baby. And for that certain neighbor I will proudly proclaim that Livia said JAY-JAY! at least two more times while watching him in the street. It seemed to take Livia several more peeks to get comfortable with the thick white covering outside, but she when she finally exclaimed, “Snow!” I knew she was in on the fun.

As for us, we’re going to enjoy a cozy day at home. I’ve got plenty of hot tea and hot cocoa to keep us warm, plenty of clothes that need to be folded and dishes that need to be put away. Praise God for His many blessings, including the joy of life on this snowy Tuesday.

Butternut squash soup sounds perfect for fall, right? The soup should have been delightful — thick, buttery and creamy, not difficult to make, and healthy to boot. I suppose my heart wanted to love this soup, but my tastebuds just didn’t agree the the sweet squash flavor. Though I tried to get past the odd taste, I couldn’t do it. Jeremy and I both agreed this soup is best eaten in small amounts. However, a boatload of folks over at AllRecipes.com disagreed and this recipe has received rave reviews.

6 tablespoons chopped onion
4 tablespoons margarine
6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
3 cups water
4 cubes chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

DIRECTIONS:
In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.

Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

**I substituted minced dried onion for the real thing and included only one package of cream cheese, per others’ recommendations.

Me: Cadence, you need to share the toys. Who says it’s good for you to share?

Cadence: Mommy.

Me: And God.

Cadence: And Santa.

Me: Um…Yeah…

One year ago she looked like this…

And now she looks like this…

Happy year and a half to my big girl Livia! We’re having so much fun with you these days. You are growing and changing so quickly, and yet you’re still our sweet baby girl. We love you!