Here's to your health....

Doctor's orders? I'll drink to that.
Red wine is supposed to be good for you too, but it sometimes leaves me with a headache. Now Guinness, well, there's an improvement as far as I'm concerned. Good and good for you.

Quit Complaining!

I shouldn't have whined so much. There were people that had it so much worse than we did. There are many that still don't have power. We were merely inconvenienced.

If you would like to see pics of the storm, here are 2 good links.

The Manhattan Mercury
Hale Library at KSU

Just in time

Within hours of power returning to our home Friday night, the snow began and this is what we woke up to Saturday morning. A forecast low of 8 degrees tonight makes us feel even more fortunate.

After the Storm

I am such an idiot. When I wrote the last post I had no idea how bad it could be. I didn't really think it was possible for us to go four days, yes four days, without power. Our power went out Monday night about bedtime, came back on for a couple of hours Tuesday morning and stayed off until about an hour ago. Tuesday morning, the situation seemed quaint, "Oh we have such a snug little house, look, it only got down to 60 degrees!" Our neighbors invited us over for ribs we had cooked on the grill for dinner, then we we went to my parents to spend the night. Isaac had been fussy all day and had a little fever, but we didn't think that much of it. Then when I was getting him ready for bed, he felt really warm. He had a fever of 104.6. Mom put Joe to bed and Kirk and I rushed to the Emergency Room, Isaac screaming the entire way. It turned out he had an ear infection. We came home, got settled in for the night and my parents power went out. We all slept through the night bundled in tons of blankets and discovered in the morning that my brother's power was back on. So after my parents treated us to Wendy's, we went to my brothers and hung out until after supper. Then we went to another friends to spend the night and they informed us (yeah!!!) they had a generator we could use. So Joe & Isaac played with their son while Kirk and Chris set up the generator. We got home after nine to a warm and slightly lit home. The generator served us well Wednesday and Thursday. Sputtering out a couple of times, but still keeping our house warm enough.

First I have to say how kind our friends and family were. It was so great that we had places to be that were warm. People were so kind and welcoming. We had several offers for places to stay, laundry facilities, and meals. We were fortunate in so many ways.

Second, I have to say, Wow that sucked. By Wednesday night we were exhausted, after going from house to another, dragging along this poor sick baby and cranky 4 year old, forgetting medicine in the fridge, underwear in the dryer. It was so good to be finally at home in our own beds, even with no dishwasher, washing machine, stove, microwave, deep freezer, and few lights. Chris and Marcy are my heroes!

Now Kirk and I are actually planning what we need for when this happens again. All of our readers (all 3 of you) go now and read what you need in the case of an emergency. You may someday have need for such information.

Storm Brewing

Word is there's quite a storm coming. Bar the door, batten down the hatches! I never know how much to prepare for these things. There are some who say that I prepare a little too much (I've been called the Safety Patrol). But as I snuggle in the warmth of my pile of blankets eating my canned beans and corn, I will welcome even those who mock me. Their breath will keep things warmer! Wish us luck as we face THE STORM!

p.s. The pic is from the Bethel College Collegian.

Cheese success

With a little help from friends, the first trial run was successful and it really was quite an effortless task. The curd took a little longer to set than the recipe indicated, but a few more minutes of patience was all that was needed before we could cut the curd and remove it from the pot.After separating the curds & whey we heated the curds so they would be the right temperature for kneading into a nice ball of cheese. Taking turns kneading the 135+ degree curd, We finished in under an hour just like the Cheese Queen predicted. There will be another trial run, or two, before the holidays because we ate all the cheese already. I also want to make some herbed mozzarella. If I can just figure out what to do with the almost 1 gallon of whey I have in the refrigerator. I have many possibilities according to the enclosed directions: "Whey can be used in almost any recipe calling for sour milk or buttermilk.... It may also be turned into lemonade by adding sweetener." (?) "If you won't be using it in cooking, we are told it makes excellent plant food"