Morning Coffee and Choices

I'm hoping I just made my toughest decision for the day!  I don't think I've ever had to make this choice before, and I was torn between the two choices.  What were my choices?? 


Sit on the porch and enjoy my morning coffee with porch puppies by my side, or sit in my living room and enjoy my Christmas tree lights with couch puppies??  I don't recall ever having that first choice in December before!  Well... I could always sit on my porch but normally enjoying my coffee while sitting there in December wouldn't happen.  Unless sitting in freezing weather with snow up to my ankles is considered enjoyment. 


I threw a hoodie on and took my pups outside this morning with my steaming cup of coffee.  It was pitch black out and I could hear rustling in the woods.  So could the dogs - they were on high alert even though they had done border patrol just 15 minutes earlier before their breakfast.  My coffee was about half gone when the door opened and Jon asked if he could steal Annie.  He wanted to go down to the dog club and see if he could get a goose for her to retrieve.  I knew I could never sit on the porch with Suzy while they left so I came inside and turned on my tree lights.


Here I sit, finishing up my coffee with Christmas lights on and dog sleeping beside me on the couch.  Later we will head out for an afternoon of winery hopping.  We have four more wineries to visit on the Tannenbaum Wine Trail.  The rest of the weekend will be spent finishing my shopping and baking.

Playing Teacher

Several months ago I decided to start making pasta.  I had thought about it for a long time, but when my son called and told me how great his homemade pasta was I could not stand to be outdone by my kid!  So, I did a little reading up about how to do it, watched a few videos, listened to my son, bought a pasta roller and decided to give it a try.  The day I planned to try it we had a slight change in our plans for the day -- Jon's cousin, Barb and her husband, Tim, came over for the afternoon.  She saw the roller and asked about it.  I told her I was planning on making pasta, but could make it the next day instead since they were there.  She wanted to try it with me, but I like to try things out alone for the first time; in case I failed miserably nobody would be the wiser. 


I ended up being very successful and I have made quite a few batches of fresh, yummy spaghetti and fettucine.  For Mother's Day Steve sent me a ravioli mold.  I have had success at that, as well.  When Steve and Shannan came home in September we made lasagna.  Steve used my kitchen-aid for the mixing and kneading of the dough.  Why had I never thought of that?  The only downside to making pasta is the kneading hurts my fingers and hands.  Now it is ready for rolling in no time!


Every year we get together with Barb and Tim around Christmas.  This year, due to the unexpected and sudden death of Tom (Barb's brother-in-law) there was not going to be the usual party.  Barb invited us up to spend Sunday with them and have a brunch.  I brought everything for mimosas and baked a cheesecake for later on in the day.  We had a "twist" on eggs benedict.  Barb grilled some thin steaks and placed on toasted English muffins.  Then topped with poached eggs, fresh spinach, a slice of cheese and a slice of tomato - topping all with some hollandaise sauce.  Delicious!!


Barb had mentioned she really wanted to try her hand at pasta and make ravioli for their Christmas dinner with Tim's family.  I brought all my pasta making tools and after we ate we got to work.  I played teacher and instructed Barb on just what to do.  We made around 175 raviolis!  She grilled some seasoned chicken breasts for the filling.  We placed the chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and spinach in the food processor and chopped it all up very small.  It was a delicious filling that I plan to duplicate soon!  We boiled up a few of those delectable goodies and Jon doctored up a jarred sauce Barb had.  We all declared them definitely worth the effort!  She froze what was left for their Christmas. 


This day was a day spent not only having fun but also accomplishing something.  Now if I can get my cookies started!