Katy Spors

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I didn't know Katy as well as I would have liked. I truly regret not making the time to get to know her and her husband Paul better. You always think you have more time. That is not always the case as I was abruptly reminded last week when I heard of her sudden passing. This has affected me more than I might have guessed. She was so nice and so fun and she really did have a light about her-- really, she did, and not just in retrospect either. One of those glowing smiles for sure. The world is a little less bright without her and her smile.

It was a long ride down to her funeral in Indiana and I know that there were many people that would have liked to go but couldn't so I'm glad that since we could we went to support her husband and family as well as to be supported by the others who attended. It was clear that the effect she had on me was shared by so many others. I was told by someone who counted that there were 42 or 43 cars in the caravan between the church and the cemetery-- she was loved by very many I believe because it really didn't take long to love her and feel her friendship. We will also attend her Lansing memorial on Saturday.

I miss her and would like to better follow her example of faith and enthusiasm.

Back Yard Visitor

For a few days last week I could look out my kitchen window and see this bunny. teehee! He seemed to be standing sentinel by the compost pile (just around the corner of the shed) between 5:30 and 6 :00 in the evening. I began to think it was a bunny style religious service since this is a spot where in the dead of winter pieces of mostly fresh veggies and such would magically appear-- not unlike manna. That's my theory.

It's nice to have the backyard visitors coming back.

cicles

I was lucky and these icicles decided to be photographed well. These were hanging over our back porch. That is before I knocked them down-- icicles can be dangerous. This year I had one fall and hit my hand. The tip embedded into my mitten. It didn't hurt very much but it helped me gain a healthy respect.

This shot shows how the sky gets here at night sometimes. A weird dusty rosey sometimes kind of purpley color. It's pretty striking actually. I guess this is what they mean by light pollution.

As a California kid I still geek out about how neat they are. Amazing. You'd think I'd get over it by now... I hope I never do.

Butternut Squash Soup

I want to like squash. I really do! The only problem is that I don't-- with the exception of pie of course. That is until this soup! Now I have hope. Hope that perhaps I have a gateway into squash! We'll see how that goes but for now I know now there are two squash dishes I enjoy-- and one isn't even a dessert. I'm so proud!

I used Alton Brown's recipe. I garnished with bacon and used a stick of string cheese as my spoon. This soup can be made with other types of squash or even cans of pumpkin puree. The fist time I made it I did not have enough butternut squash so I used a can of pumpkin to supplement and it worked well. My batches turned out really thick which is good in many ways except it makes an exceptional mess if you let it bubble on the stove without a lid-- so don't do that.

In the video he shows a great way to cut up hard winter squash... seems much safer.

This was a double batch of soup I made so I could can a portion for later so now I have five pints waiting for when I feel like having it again. Yay for pressure canners-- we'll see how they do from the shelf.

Spring

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We may not have seen the last of Old Man Winter but Spring is on it's way! The past week as been warm relatively speaking (low 60's) and we've been loving it. I still have some pictures of winter that will be coming in the next couple of posts.

We planted the seeds of our tomatoes last Saturday so soon we'll have some brand new babies. The pepper plants are getting bigger-- some are over 3" tall. It won't take long for the tomatoes to catch up and surpass the peppers-- I'll let you know when that happens... because I know you care and I care how you feel.