Floored!

This week, starting on Tuesday, we had our hardwood floors refinished and a new hardwood floor installed in our family room. That meant that the kids and I were in exile in Aunt Beth's basement all week. Lest you feel too sorry for us, realize that Uncle Rich and Aunt Beth recently had their basement refinished, and we were hardly roughing it! I'm so thankful for their hospitality which made it possible to continue homeschooling without too much stress.

After the floors were finished, the flooring company informed us that it would be best not to put furniture back for seven days. *Gulp* That would have been nice to know ahead of time! (Maybe they didn't mention that little fact in order to get the business before Christmas.) We can possibly put some furniture back if it is not rolled across the floor and set straight down. Our piano is presently sitting atop a dolly in our dining room. We'll have to take it off there for the week so that the kids can practice for the church Christmas program on Friday.

Before we put all the furniture back, we want to paint the kitchen and family room. James bought the paint today and did a little priming.

Here are some pictures from our week:


Our empty family room...The mantel shelf is elsewhere. We will unscrew the whole thing from the wall again to paint. Maybe sometime we'll glue it permanently to the wall!


ECHO Echo echo echo
The contrast between the "old" kitchen floor and the new family room floor is not as obvious in "real life" as it is in these pictures.


The kids ate supper in the living room tonight. Since they had soup, and we didn't want to risk the carpet, they ate at the bench sitting on the tabletop.


Crowded dining room! It isn't obvious in the picture, but the piano is not on the carpet, but rather on a dolly. (And by the way, the bouncy seat in front of the TV is just a coincidence. Logan doesn't watch TV unless it is off!)


In Exile

Maybe we didn't annoy Uncle Rich and Aunt Beth too much, because they asked us to come over for lunch tomorrow!

Two Little Monkeys

Jackie and Julie

My little sister Jackie sent this picture of her family with my cousin Julie and her family.

Thirteen Years Ago On This Day

Friday Night Movie

Last night, James and I watched the movie Sophie Scholl, about the arrest and trial of a young anti-Nazi activist. The movie caused me to ponder the fine line between foolhardiness and bravery. While the story, based on real-life events, is heart-breaking, it is always beautiful to witness a person of integrity taking a self-sacrificing stand for life and truth in the face of the wicked who have exchanged the truth of God for a lie. I highly recommend the film!

Roast Chicken and Our Take on Chicken Soup

One reason why I like to browse the Well-Trained Mind general discussion board is that sometimes people post good recipes. I now have a favorite way to roast a chicken. PariSarah posted this:

"Cut out the backbone, break the breastbone with the flat of your palm, smoosh the bird flat on a baking sheet with a lip (or in a roasting pan), and drizzle with a little olive oil. The skin will lift up easily, so you can make a little herb paste if you want--either chopped mixed fresh herbs or dried herbs moistened with olive oil--and spread it under the skin.

Roast at 425. It takes about 45 minutes for one, maybe longer for two if they're in the same pan."

I roasted two chickens this way recently with success. Flattening the chickens made them easier to season and they took less time to cook. I also like the roast sticky chicken method of baking chicken at 250 for 5 hours, but lately, I don't have my act together for supper 5 hours ahead of time. I seasoned one of the birds with sage, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper mixed with olive oil to make a paste. The other bird, I seasoned with chinese five spice seasoning mixed with some toasted sesame oil. Both tasted delicious!

After supper, I debone whatever chicken is left and put the juices leftover in the pan(s) in a jar. The next day, I make chicken soup. I skim off the fat from the jar and heat the chicken broth in my 8 qt. pot along with 10-12 cups of water and an appropriate amount of msg-free chicken bouillon. I start out by adding 1/2 cup of brown rice which takes the longest to cook, or if I'm in a hurry, I use whole wheat noodles. As far as vegetables go, I usually add 1/2 a green cabbage, 2 cups of chopped carrots, a chopped onion, sometimes chopped celery, at least a tsp. of minced garlic, and towards the end, some frozen green beans. Sometimes I add other vegetables such as zucchini or yellow squash. I should call the soup "Scarborough Fair" soup, because I season it with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme and then throw in a bay leaf for good measure. Of course, don't forget to add the chicken! However, the unique ingredient that my family likes in our chicken soup is chunky natural peanut butter which I add in at the very end ~ 1/2 to 1 cup. If you are inclined to scoff, then apparently you've never heard of West African Groundnut soup! Good Stuff, Maynard.