January Fun and Stone Soup!

January is different here.

I live along the shores of Lake Ontario. We're in a snow belt and Buffalo and Rochester, NY are the two larger cities with the MOST SNOWFALL per year.

This is not a dubious honor, by any means! THIS ROCKS IF YOU LOVE WINTER!!!!!

And I like winter well enough but like the rest o' youse, I'll be whining in four weeks, ruing February and longing for spring. But right now we're enjoying the season to the max....

Which means this:

He lasted about two minutes outdoors, and yes... snow-covered babies are a favorite around here!!!

These guys are big, brave and bold 3-year-olds:

They're TOUGH!!!!

And this photo shows one of my eternal blessings of being a totally rockin'-it daycare Grammy....

Clumps of snow.

'Lijah calls them "presents" for me.

Even the cat is dumbfounded, but smart enough to stay quiet... Who wants to insult a three-year-old????

I sent him off to get me MORE!!!!  :) And he asked to wear the pink snow pants, and I smiled, nodded and said "sure!".... I think the brown jacket and rugged mittens complement the snowpants perfectly!

Did he bring me more clumps?

He did.  :)

January is a time for white-chalk-on-black-paper pictures....

For cotton ball snowmen....

This snowman knows a good cookie when he sees one!!!

For warm woolen mittens made by Dave's Mom....

It is a cause for celebration when we can find MATCHING socks and/or mittens.
We are delighted by the simple things in life around here!

And for stories and candlelight and making stone soup:  I still remember the first time I heard the story of "Stone Soup" (the Marcia Brown re-telling) back when I was a kid... 

and how fun then to carry on that idea and tradition with my own kids... The idea of making something from nothing is the basis for this fun story of wit, sharing and caring for the lonely stranger wandering through town. A great lesson learned all around.

STONE SOUP:

Well, first, get a stone and wash it well.

Fill a pot with water.

Add stone.

And that's it, that's the BASIC RECIPE...

But, wait.

:)

It would probably taste even better if you added a few tablespoons of Chicken base to the pot...

And pepper.

Mmm.... that's GOOD!!!!!! Nice stone broth!!!!!

But, wait.

:)

How much better could it be with just a little chicken thrown in? A can or two should be fine!!!! Or last night's leftovers!!!

Mmm..... that's GOOD!!!!!! Chicken and broth, oh yes!!!!

But, wait!!!!

How 'bout if we throw in a couple of potatoes? And a couple of carrots are always welcome! And if the neighbor up the road has a spare onion, well... let's chop that baby up!

And if you surreptitiously remove the stone at some point, that's okay, but it should be given a place of honor at the table...

Because stone soup is all about caring and sharing.

I love the life lesson in the simple story. 

January is "let's eat out of the freezer month" here. The hodge podge of whatevers that need to be consumed so I can defrost the freezer. Stone soups, one pot meals, pots of sauce... I should clean other things too, but hey, one thing at a time! I'm still waiting to put away Christmas this weekend!!!

Tossing together quick eats has become the norm around here. Because frankly, I'd rather write books and play with and teach leastun's than fuss with fancy after the holidays. I think it's a natural reaction (please say YES!!!!) :)

And I'd show you a pic of Jeter in the snow, but Jeter never stands still. He's huge. I'll try and catch a picture of him out the window, where he doesn't see me.... It's warm here this week, the 30's and MUDDY.

Youse can all sympathize with that, I know. A back yard that was a construction zone last winter + two dogs + mud = Muddy Wet Dog.

YUM!!!!

I prefer the snow (and we've had plenty of that) but a January thaw reminds me that after every winter comes a "spring"...

And I saw daffodil bulbs peeking up in the church garden in North Carolina!!!!!

FOR REAL!!!!!

And not for nothin', but did you know that sunrise is earlier and sunset half-an-hour later in North Carolina than it is up here?

A half-hour later??????

SUHWEEEET!!!!