Resolution Keeping and A Snowman

Happy Sunday evening everyone.  We have been busy around here lately-except for Mickey of course!  She has a life of leisure.  Every time my husband tries to lay on the couch to watch a game, Mickey is right there to stretch out with him.  I think he is as crazy about her as I am!  We have been very busy trying to organize our household.  I am a huge lover of organization and order, as is my husband so we decided to really try to make our life less stressful by making everything as neat as possible.  He has been tackling our desk and mountain of paperwork.  I can't get over how much we accumulate.  We are on the right track and things are going well.  A resolution that is actually being kept-who would have thought! 

The bare table in my kitchen has been driving me crazy so I sewed a table runner. 

Isn't he cute?  I got the idea from Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy .  I had to make one snowman instead of two like she did because my table isn't very big in the kitchen.  I also omitted the arms.  I am very pleased with how it turned out. 

I got in a hurry to finish it before dinner and wasn't paying attention and sewed it together face to face with the batting in the middle.  Have you ever done something silly like that when hurrying?  I was kind of annoyed with myself.  It ended up taking me longer to rip it out and redo the stitching.  Now I have a zillion tiny white bits of thread all over my floor.  Lesson learned-take your time!  All's well that ends well because with a little vacuuming, my craft room will be back to normal and I love the finished runner.  Finally my table has some color and character. 

I mentioned some time ago I would share my cream of broccoli soup recipe.  Because it is not a real recipe but a concoction I just throw together, I will give you the general idea and I am sure if you choose to make it, it will be fine.  I just cook frozen broccoli and baby carrots in chicken stock until tender.  Sometimes, I use water flavored with chicken bouillon cubes(quite a few) to cook my veggies in instead.  The result is saltier but that can be a good thing!  I cook whatever veggies I would like.  Sometimes I add potato cubes or cauliflower in the beginning and I almost always add frozen corn towards the end of the veggies cooking.  When everything is done to your satisfaction, you can add half and half to taste.  If you go this route, add a couple of pats of butter and you are done.  It is a thinner soup, but very delicious.  If you require a thicker soup, make a roux with 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons flour and slowly add 1 cup half and half.  I like to add shredded cheese blend if I intend to thicken the soup.  Add the thick cheesy goodness to your chicken broth based veggies and stir until thickened.  Either way it is awesome.  It is a great way to use up vegetables and I love that it is customizable for whomever you are feeding.  My oldest only likes potatoes in it-which makes it cream of potato soup! 

Our weather has been bizarre this last week.  I feel that Easter should be around the corner with the balmy temperatures we have had!  Maybe the madness will end and Winter will continue.  I have some snow days to hope for!  Take care.   Nancy