#100HAPPYDAYS - Day 27 - Soothing

I ordered a knitting kit a few weeks ago - project number 5,203 - and when I opened it today this nifty little can of bag balm was included as a "soothing" gift.
And it arrived just in time.

I'm not a glamorous (snort) woman. I rarely wear makeup, don't "do" my nails, and am most comfortable in jeans and a baggy sweater. When my kids were little I would often notice other women's perfectly coiffed hair and neatly manicured nails and think, "Someday I'll have the time to do that, too."
I guess I now have that time, but just am not interested.
I do "style" my short hair and decided a couple years ago to cover the gray, but makeup and manicures apparently just aren't my thing.
It's not that I don't spend time on myself - I exercise regularly, eat well much of the time, and practice mindfulness (almost) daily.
I just don't want to mess with eye liner and mascara, and nail polish never would stick to my nails.

It seems I'm always cooking or outside with the dogs or just coming in from running errands - and therefore washing my hands a lot. I'm kind of a sticker about hand washing and it tends to be the first thing I do when I walk in the door.
As the saying goes, too much of a good thing... leads to dry, chapped skin... or something like that.

A friend once told me the first thing he noticed when meeting his future wife was her soft hands. I was thinking about this while slathering on the bag balm today, which meant I was thinking about it for a really long time; apparently lanolin takes forever to fully absorb.
If my husband weren't in Chile I'd ask him what he first noticed about me.
I'd bet you my bag balm it wasn't soft hands.

#HAPPYDAYS - DAY 26 - For my valentine

Gleaning apples in Washington

My husband left for a two-week business trip yesterday.
He'll be in the summer cornfields of Chile, while I remain in the frozen wastes of Iowa.
And yes, he left on Valentine's Day.

But you know what?
I'm not bothered at all.
He's missed my birthday most years, along with our anniversary, and Valentine's Day.
Name a traditional "lovers'" holiday and he's likely missed it.

I've not always been so sanguine about his travel.
Mostly this was due to the difficulty of managing the heavy load of child-rearing alone, though I did carry a nice little backpack full of personal resentment for a number of years.

It was maybe 10 years ago or so that I realized those "special" days are not important, not really. It's the day-to-day living of a life together, the give and take, the appreciation and love, that is shown through daily actions that really matters.
Sometimes during a lull in my day I'll suddenly feel overwhelmed by how much I am cherished by this incredible man. He's seen me through depression and anxiety, never faltered as a father to children with severe mental illnesses, and is always willing to do the dishes.

He's put up with a menagerie of pets through the years; not because he wanted rats, cats, mice, guinea pigs, or dogs, in the house, but because he knew how vital pets are to myself and our children. He helps me can and freeze more food than we could possibly eat in a season just because he knows I'll worry if we don't, and despite the fact that I'll worry about how we will ever eat it all when we do.
He'll vacuum and clean, make the coffee every morning, glean fruit from public trees, brush snarling cats, and pay exorbitantly for doggie daycare; all because of and for me.
Well, he'd probably make the coffee anyway, but you know what I mean.

Now, I'm not knocking flowers or chocolates or even celebrating special events. It's always nice to show someone he or she is loved with a gift.
But I believe true love is found in the small things; the sharing of a laugh, the holding of a hand, the give and take of a life spent together.
It's in these daily gestures of caring that true love resides.

Hurry home, honey.
I miss you.

#100HAPPYDAYS - DAYS 23, 24, and 25

At the Barry Manilow Concert

Happy for flights of beer and flights of fancy with my love

Having a daughter who makes and decorates sugar cookies for every holiday makes me happy!

#100HAPPYDAYS - Day 21 Pasta

I've been focusing on making my life easier.
I don't have to make absolutely everything we eat from scratch, but I enjoy doing so as much as possible.
I am one of those people who lives to eat; deprivation and elimination are not in my cooking lexicon.

Lately I've been cooking to suit my husband and myself,  with less worry over what or whether the kids who are still at home will eat. Let's face it, the youngest is 17, and if she doesn't want what's for dinner, she's fully capable of making herself a sandwich.

I enjoy making my own pasta, but find the work involved aggravates the painful joints in my hands.
The solution was this nifty pasta machine.

We made our first batch of fettuccine a couple nights ago and it was out-of-this-world fantastic! I'm not a gadget person, but am so happy to be able to make pasta without pain.

Michael made this incredible
mushroom, tarragon and goat cheese sauce for our homemade fettuccine; paired with freshly baked bread and roasted garlic, and a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio, we ate like kings!
 
I can't wait to try some of the more adventurous flavors and different shapes. I'm just waiting for my 25 pound bag of semolina flour to arrive!
I can't wait to try some of the more adventurous flavors and different shapes. I'm just waiting for my 25 pound bag of semolina flour to arrive!

#100HAPPYDAYS - Day 18 Bread

Spent grain bread

My husband is a home brewer who makes fabulous beer.
Though I'm not especially fond of IPAs in general, I love most of the other beers he makes.
But having a steady supply of home brew isn't the only benefit from his hobby; he also makes the most incredible whole wheat bread using his spent grains.

Spent grains are what is left and after the mash has extracted most of the sugars, proteins, and nutrients, from the grains. Breweries often sell their spent grains as animal feed, though their nutrient content is severely reduced.
Though no longer high in nutritive value, spent grains give whole wheat bread a delicious nutty flavor and a nice chewy texture.

Every time he brews, my husband uses the spent grains to make 3-4 loaves of this great tasting bread we refer to as "beer bread." He never uses a recipe, so it's a little different each time, but always delicious.
I'm looking forward to breakfast tomorrow morning when we'll turn a loaf or two of his latest beer bread into French toast.
Yum.

#100HAPPYDAYS - Day 15 Warmth

New fireplace insert

Seven years ago we decided to add an insert to our then non-functioning fireplace.
I insisted, over my husband's objections, that we get a wood-burning insert. I love the smell of a wood fire, the atmosphere it creates, even the popping and crackling of burning wood.
We liked out wood burning insert, though it never really looked quite right. We have a super small firebox, built for burning coal, and it was difficult to find an insert that would fit.
We did and it was great - we could warm up the downstairs and keep the thermostat set low - usually no higher than 65 degrees during the day.
But.
And this is a big but.
A wood burning insert is a pain.
Being city folk, we had to buy our wood already cut and dried. The cost of a load had gone up to $300 for a cord (that didn't ever quite measure true). So I started checking Craigslist for free wood ads and my husband would take the seats out of the mini van and load her up.
We got some good wood that way, but usually it wasn't the best for burning and it still needed to be cut and stacked to dry.
Hauling wood in daily was a hassle, too. It was hard for everyone in the family with EDS to carry a load, which left only my husband and occasionally my oldest son, who could carry in wood without injury.
Then there was the ash scooping and disposal, the inevitable bits of wood and bark and ash that found their way to the floor and carpet, and the noise. The fan rattled no matter what we did and was so loud that it could make conversation and TV watching difficult.
We had to have the chimney cleaned twice yearly at about $200 a pop as well.
I finally cried "uncle" and admitted my mistake.
I've been focusing on simplifying our lives and the wood insert was just too much added work, mostly for my husband, who works long weeks and travels constantly. He needed a break and we needed to switch to gas.
The insert we have now is gorgeous and looks like it was made for this house.
No more messing with matches and fire starters; simply press a button on the remote.
I am so glad we were able to make the switch.
Today, my new fireplace makes me really happy!

#100HAPPYDAYS - Day 12 - Pancakes

Pumpkin pancakes with homemade blueberry syrup

Last night while talking about what we both had on tap for today, I casually mentioned to my wonderful husband that it would be nice to have pumpkin pancakes for breakfast.
He had a busy day planned, including a 30-minute drive to help and learn at a small local brewery.
Imagine my delight when I awakened to smell not only freshly brewed coffee - my salvation! - but the enticing aroma of pumpkin pancakes.
Oh, and these pancakes are so delectable.
They are whole grain pancakes with a hefty dose of our own homegrown and processed butternut squash. Over the years I have found butternut squash to be much more flavorful than small pie pumpkins and use butternut in all recipes calling for pumpkin.
But then there's the homemade blueberry syrup!
I canned it last summer from blueberries we had frozen the year before, and it is so darn good! Just perfect on these pancakes.
My husband had to dash out the door for his brew-ha-ha before I was awake enough to converse, let alone eat. After my usual 2-3 cups of java, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the pancakes he so lovingly prepared - and even left in a warm oven.
Thank you, honey.
My day surely started out on a happy note!

#100HAPPYDAYS - Day 10 - Kinky?

Dinner and a show

So the other day I opened my email and surprised to find an offer for discounted tickets to Kinky Boots. A quick check with the husband and we were Broadway (in Des Moines) bound.
It was a great show and a fun night out.

Kinky?
Sorry, this is the best I could do.

I guess you'd call my style "utilitarian."

#100 HAPPY DAYS - Day 5

Today's happy was definitely our homemade pizza!

It's one of the quickest, easiest, yet most delicious meals and we make it almost weekly.
A few years ago I started making the crusts from whatever Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day dough I have on hand.
Often I mix up a double batch of dough and make crusts to freeze. Each recipe makes 3 or 4 crusts and freeze beautifully. Just roll them out and prebake for 8-9 minutes, cool, and freeze.


We use frozen pesto or a red sauce made from oven dried tomatoes - both homemade with summer bounty. A little sauce, some cheese, and other desired toppings and dinner is ready in a flash, with very little cleanup to boot.

Last night I was pooped, so Michael made us two fabulous pizzas using ingredients that were on hand and only needed a quick zap in the microwave. The pizza pictured above had pesto, parmesan, fresh mozarella and feta.

Our second pizza had sauteed mushrooms and a sprinkling of sausage along with parmesan and fresh mozarella. Served with fresh veggies - we had colorful peppers and sugar snap peas - this was a great meal.
And it certainly made me happy.