...another snow day...

...I know it's crazy...but there was no school again today...

...because of all this snow...which is lovely...

...and I promised to show you what Scout had been up to on his day off yesterday...not knowing that he'd have another one today...

...he's completely re-done his big aquarium...he's ordering new fish too...so we'll show you those when they arrive...

~Have a lovely day!

...Vegan Fish Dinner over at the Vegan Version...

...our water situation is improving and I've finally taken a shower and started doing some laundry and dishes with the tap water...it really has been an eye-opening experience as to how little water we can get by with...of course there is still quite a mountain of laundry that we've not dealt with at all...but just in general I think we take our tap water for granted and waste quite a bit of it...so we're going to try and do better on that front...

...anywhoo Scout had one more day off from school and this one was already scheduled for the holiday...so I spent some time in the kitchen...I'll show you tomorrow what Scout has been up to...

...I made a delicious creamy 'fish' dinner...I've come to the conclusion that it's definitely the sauces that make French cooking so wonderful...the sauce for this was superb...

...hop over to the Vegan Version for all of the details...

~Have a lovely day!

...vegan broccoli soup...

...I made a delicious soup...simply by throwing some veggies in a pot...

...there are broccoli stems - trimmed...the florets were just steamed...and eaten up...some carrots...mushrooms...onion...and a potato...

...then when everything was nice and soft...I blended it all up...

...I thought about adding some vegan creamer...but it was already so creamy and good that I didn't bother...I think the potato does that...

~Have a lovely weekend...

...learning to shift...

...another first in the life of our teenager...

...Scout is learning to drive his Papa's straight shift (manual) car...

...I can remember that so well from my own teen years...the anxious grinding of gears...and the popped...and slipped...clutches...the jumpy starts...and then suddenly it all clicks and you're gliding smoothly down the highway...that transition amazed me even then...one minute you can't do it...and then the next minute you totally get it...

...anywhoo...Scout's doing really well...shifting and driving around the church parking lot...we'll get out on the highway soon...there are lots of hills around here to practice easing out the clutch...and not rolling backwards...

~Have a lovely day!

...Cook's Illustrated Green Beans...

...I found this recipe over at Serious Eats...

SAUTÉED GREEN BEANS WITH GARLIC AND HERBS
Published November 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We wanted a green bean recipe that gave us tender, lightly browned, fresh-tasting beans in just one pan. Reversing the conventional process of blanching and then sautéing, we sautéed the beans first, then added water to the pan and covered it, so the beans could cook in some steam. Once the beans were soft, we lifted the lid to vaporize whatever water remained in the pan and to promote additional browning. A little softened butter added to the pan at this stage gave our green bean recipe richness and promoted even more browning.

...the only substitution was Earth Balance for the butter...

...1 lb of greens beans...end's snapped off and cut into 2-inch pieces...

...get the oil smokin' hot...and toss in the green beans salt and pepper...toss until spotty brown...

...add a 1/4 cup of water and cover...cook until bright green...

...remove the cover...heat to high...and cook until the water evaporates...(just a few seconds really)...

...add the thyme...

...Earth Balance and garlic...

...toss with lemon juice and parsley...

...serve immediately...

...these green beans were so delicious...this recipe is definitely a keeper...

~Have a lovely day!

...W.I.P. Wednesday...the ski trip project...

...Of course I got a little bit of knitting done on the trip down to Winterplace and back...

...as you can see I'm about half way through the back...just ready to decrease...the colour is way off...it's really navy just like the one in the pattern...not sure why it looks purple here in the van...

...this is the Chilly Morning Cosycoat from the Unofficial Downton Abbey Knits...on Ravelry...

...this was the original on which the pattern was based...I like it a lot...the higher neckline especially...

~Have a lovely day!

...a new day dawns...

...There was a pretty pink sunrise this morning...

...Thank you for all your sweet worry about us with no water...

...we are still under strict water restrictions...but the end is in sight...as the red areas turn blue that section of the county can begin purging their water...our area is still red...

...but on the positive side of things...the stores have water in stock...

...plenty of water...

...every available square foot of floor space is now occupied by pallets of water...

...we're managing pretty well with our bottled water...we wash our veggies in a bowl...I'll show you what I made with those green beans soon...so very delicious...

...we wash our dishes in a big bowl of soapy hot water...

...then we rinse them with hot water directly out of the kettle...

...we catch that (basically) clean water in a pot...and it will become the wash water for the next load of dishes...

...but we have a good supply of paper products so that our dishwashing is minimal...

...not sure what's up with the tiny pictures either...Fixed it...HA!

Be thankful for your water...and have a lovely day!

...Youth Ski Trip...

...well...we are still under extreme water restrictions here in West Virginia...and I'm sure I'll have more to say about that tomorrow...

...but right now I want to tell you about the annual ski trip with the Jr. and Sr. High Youth...

...'cause it was AWESOME...and it got us out of town for the weekend...where there was WATER...that you could actually touch...

...we arrived at Winterplace shortly after dark...

...headed to orientation and got our gear...

...then back to the cabins for a quick picnic supper on the porch...

...then there was fellowship and games...both outside...

...and inside...

...all too soon for our excited teens it was time to climb into our bunks for the night...

...our cabin...the cabins were SUPER!...

...the view from our cabin...

...heavy rain was in the forecast...

...but we strapped on our boots...some of us got a little help...

...and headed out onto the slopes in the pouring rain...

...needless to say...by noon we were soaked...and I do mean SOAKED...

...so we headed in for some lunch and some drying out time...

...I had extra dry clothes so I changed and headed back out on the slopes...

...just as the skies began to clear...

...conditions were still pretty bad...

...I felt sort of bad for the new skiers...

...learning to ski on slush and ice is not much fun...

...the first time they ski on fresh powder...they'll be like...'Oh...this is what it's supposed to be like...'

...there was a pretty sunset...

...and the moon peeked out between the clearing clouds...

...then we had some supper...

...and headed back out for some night skiing...

...Happy Trails to you!

...it was such great Youth Ski Retreat...Last year's Ski Trip here...

~Have a lovely day!