Friday the 30th: More Food

 *For Christmas my Husband bought chocolate from 3 fancy places so we could compare.

*Before the snow day I made a lemon sweet potato chicken soup that we ate on for days. It had such a nice broth and was filling but delightful. 

 

 

Thursday the 29th: Food of the Week

 *Tomorrow we're having braised white beans and fennel, but with celery and fennel seed because fennel is really hard to find. I will probably have the husband pick up something as a supplement.

*Tonight is buttermilk poached chicken and salad. Even though it's a slightly long ingredient list I can make the dressing while the chicken is poaching. 

*Last night we had lasagna that I made just after Christmas. It was so nice after a long day to have a really good supper.

*Tuesday the Son made udon noodle bowls. He really liked them; they were okay to me? Just not quite my thing.

*Monday I made turkey biscuit potpie. It's really simple even with a little zhushing, and there was only one serving leftover, and it's already gone.

*Sunday we had Thai chicken stir fry from Cook's Illustrated. We didn't have quite enough basil, but the sauce is so potent it's still quite good. I made it with rice. 

Wednesday the 28th: Music of the Week

 *I have 3 Masses at 3 parishes this weekend, so I'm working through that pile of music.

*For "fun" I'm still working on Vittoria's Toccata, FFIX music, and G minor Hanon 4 octave scale.

*For work I've added Ad Astra from the fall, Vive La Compagnie arranged by John Leavitt, and Hold Fast to Dreams by Susan LaBarr.

*We are less than a month from Barbershop Explosion which starts off our "concert/festival" season for third quarter; we don't have one big event but many many smaller events. 

Tuesday the 27th: Icy day Cooking

 We had a snow day on Monday and ice and snow all weekend, so I baked. Bottom picture is Cherry-Apricot Breakfast bread; middle is angel food cake; top is meringues with leftover egg whites. I used up half of the egg whites in my freezer.

Monday the 26th: Saint of the Week

 Today is the memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus. It's also the beginning of Catholic Schools Week, and we're beginning with a snow day. I personally feel it's the best way to start this week. I'm grateful for the day off!

Timothy saw Paul in Ephesus and converted; he is mentioned in 11 of the 14 Paul-written epistles, in 6 as co-sender. Titus was bishop of Crete and also friend and disciple of Paul; Paul wrote the Letter to Titus to him; he was eulogized by John Chrysostom and Jerome when he died in 105.

 (From Pinterest traced to https://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k27/jakyl32/365%20Rosaries%20YEAR%202-%20january/126timtitus2.jpg)

 

Friday the 23rd: Purchasing list

 Over almost 20 years my sister and I have managed to accumulate almost all of the Agatha Christie novels and short stories. I'm hoping to finish out the list in 2026 as she prepares to move to a new house and make a new start.

 

 

Thursday the 22nd: Food of the Week

 We've had a pretty good food week. We had three meals out for Restaurant Week: Blind Box BBQ, Trofi Restaurant, and Minsky's Pizza. Everything was very good, but my favorite may have been the bottom picture, the charcuterie tray from Trofi for my appetizer. There was enough variety (except of crackers) to be really delightful.

*On Sunday the Son made some steaks from the freezer with a brandy rosemary pan sauce; the Husband made some frozen peas and some lovely mashed potatoes.

*Monday we had meatball sliders in tomato sauce with provolone cheese. The Son ate some of the slider buns before I could stop him but we had plenty. It was a slow cooker recipe but I did it in the dutch oven because it tastes better if I have the opportunity to make it that way.

*Tuesday we had spaghetti al limone from Cook's Illustrated. The Son helped me cook (Husband it out of town until today) and the sauce was probably the nicest it's ever been. We ended up leaving out the cheese and only putting it on top because otherwise it clumps up despite all our efforts.

*Last night I wanted to wimp out and grab chicken strips but the Son helped me put together the top picture below, Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo. The broth was wonderful, and we have enough to get us through the cold days this coming weekend.

*Tonight we're doing a salad kit and pierogis from a friend.

*Friday will be leftover pork with eggs for tacos. 

 

 

Wednesday the 21st: Music of the Week

 This week is slowly collecting the solos for small group festival and starting to practice them. Pieces for small and large group festival are coming together, we've solidified the beginning of almost every piece.

Tuesday the 20th: Happy office

 Did you know we have a whole tea station at work? We've also collaborated to also have snacks all the time this year. It's been a blessing especially since I don't usually feel hungry first thing in the morning; this way I can grab a snack once I get to work for my breakfast.

 

 

Monday the 19th: Christian Unity

Yesterday started the week of prayer for Christian Unity, an ecumenical prayer that somehow, someway, Christians everywhere could be united. The theme for this week is below. We can only each do our own small part to reach out to others to share our one spirit and one hope. 

Picture from  https://www.atonementfriars.org/2026-week-of-prayer-theme-announced/