glimpses

Slowly, slowly, slowly things are coming together. That shelf of jars filled with grains, flours and herbs makes me so happy. Every time I walk into the kitchen I feel like my pinterest boards have come to life! Designing the kitchen you want is the way to go. Of course it isn't finished yet. The cabinet doors aren't painted and put back on, the subway tile isn't up, one of the countertops still hasn't arrived, and we still don't have a fridge. We got a call yesterday that it had arrived locally and was scheduled to be delivered here on saturday. Such a tease! Why tell us it is in town but that we don't get it for four more days?

The kids' room is coming along nicely. All I have left to do is sew the curtains. My husband built a loft bed for Gianna, which she loves. Her old bed is turning into Dean's new Big Boy Bed. Hopefully he'll be sleeping in it by next week. Fingers crossed...

The first cold of the school year arrived earlier this week. I figured it was a good time to try out this recipe for Super Immune-Boosting Chicken Soup. I almost didn't make it because it has some strange things in it and I was worried no one would eat it. Turns out it is delicious! The only change I made was omitting the fresh ginger in the final soup. We aren't huge ginger fans and I knew it would be too much of a stumbling block for our palates. There's lots of ginger simmered in the broth though, so I knew we would be getting some of it's health benefits. That soup, combined with lots and lots of tinctures, vitamins and herbs, seems to have done the trick. I'm hoping we all will stay well. My mother-in-law arrives tomorrow for a visit. The last time she visited us we all got really, really sick. I'm hoping for a more enjoyable visit for all of us this time.

Lastly, I'm feeling settled enough to start checking out books again from the library. I've wanted to read Whole-Grain Mornings for a few months, but knew I wouldn't have any spare time for it. I made the best oatmeal I've ever eaten from it. The secret is toasting the oats in melted butter before boiling them. It gives such a depth of flavor. My husband said that if it were sweeter it would taste just like Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, which is a compliment.