Friday August 28 2015  MY DAY HAS GONE TO POTS!

Or is it pot?  Anyway, it definitely went to pots!

This was supposed to be my recuperation day from having the boys.  It didn’t work.  Well, perhaps for the first part because I did not awaken until 8:00 a.m.   That was wonderful.  Started the day by cooking my beans that had soaked all night for the soup I would make later.  And it was later when my day went to pots.

At the present I am in my son’s home theater watching Alvin and the Chipmunks “Chipwrecked”.  I have never seen an Alvin and the Chipmunks anything so I am experiencing a new event in my life.  I am in an awesome easy chair, with a place for water, kicked back with my feet up, and snuggled under a warm and cozy blanket.  The theater is in the lower level of his house and therefore pleasantly cool.  Two little boys are on an on an ottoman, lying on their tummies, elbows bent with their chins resting in their hands.  It is quite dark but I can see their silhouettes and hear their delighted laughter.  Dave sits beside me, then Courtland and then Amy.  These are the sum of the seating area.  It is our first time to be here and enjoy their new theater.  Court and Amy have lived in their new home for the past 12 months and slowly they are accomplishing the long list of changes they plan to do.  This was one of them.

I just thought I’d set the stage as to where I am right now because this is the highlight of my day.  Especially following this afternoon.  Dave and I worked out at the gym from about 10:30 to 12:20.  When we came home Dave set up lunch from the food I already had prepared and I started in on the soup I wanted to make.  If you don’t’ want to hear another soup story go down a couple of paragraphs.  Again, my fridge was pressed for space with too much food from the food box that was delivered yesterday.  Now realize, I am not complaining, just stating fact.  Last week I made Vegetable Medly.  It is a made up name for a made up soup.  Last week I used everything fresh and edible that was in the vegetable family and currently presided in the refrigerator.  This week I pretty much did the same thing but had to come up with a different name for it because no two soups ever taste the same.  Well, I named this soup “Stone Soup”.  I named it after the story written in the 1500’s about the traveler who came to a town where no one would sell him any food.  The traveler proceeded to fill a pot with water and placed a stone in the pot and built a fire to cook it on.  When asked what he was doing he told the townsman that he was making stone soup but it needed a little something else to make it taste better.  The townsman gave him a vegetable to put into the pot.  Then another man came by and asked the same thing and was told that the soup needed some spices to make it just perfect.  The spices were sprinkled in by the townsman.  This went on all through the day, people passing by and each contributing another thing to the pot until it was evening and the soup was finished.  It was a delicious pot of stone soup that served the entire town.

I did not have anyone offer me anything extra to put in my pot but I just kept adding to the pot myself.  I first started making the soup in my 6 quart Nesco Cooker.  I quickly realized it was not going to fit so I had this hot steaming mass and had to get a bigger pot to pour it into.  I put the bigger pot into the sink and emptied the partially made soup into it.  I kept adding to the pot and later realized that the second pot was also not going to hold everything from the fridge.  So out came pot number three, my stock pot.  If you know what a stock pot is you will be impressed to know that by the time I was finished it was over  ¾ full.  By the time it was finished it had over 7 quarts of homemade chicken broth, two cups of V-8 juice, 6 tomatoes, and all the liquid that cooks out of the vegetables. These are the vegetables I remember using, 3 large onions, garlic, celery, carrots, beets, beans, 4 ears of fresh corn, half head of purple cabbage, zucchini squash, 4 peppers, kale, and I’m sure there is something I am forgetting.  I topped it off with two pounds of black beans and a pot of cooked Quinoa.  And now you know why my day went to the pots.

I started by 12:30 and did not stop until after 4:30.  We had to leave the house at 4:30 in order to get to Court’s by 5:15 for dinner and a movie.  I turned off the stove, took the lid off pot number three and we left.  Hopefully it will cool enough to bottle up when we arrive home later.

The movie is almost over and it does have a happy ending.  And I guess my day that went to pots also has a happy ending.  My soup is made, my veggies did not give up their lives in vain.  And…there are no stones in my soup but at least I’ll remember what batch it is.

MY DAY HAS GONE TO POTS

By Kathleen Martens

August 28, 2015

Stone soup, a fable of yore,

A little bit of this, a bit of that.

Mighty tasty and all low calorie,

Guaranteed not to make you fat!

A full fridge

And an empty pot

That once was empty

But now it’s not.

In deepest winter

With snow on the ground

My delicious soup

In the freezer found.

I will read it’s name,

“STONE SOUP” it will say

Bringing back the memories

Of this lovely day.

Movie is over.  I have now seen the new version of Alvin and the Chipmunks.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was nice to share my evening with you, my blog reader.  Joyce, are you out there?  Just wanted you to know, I could get use to this!

I’m home and tried to send pictures of all three pots.  I could only get #2 and #3 to send.  I’m also having difficulty sending my “Calendar Wisdom” picture.  I’ll write it here

August 28:  

“The world is such a busy place

There’s so much hurry in it.

Isn’t it nice sometimes

To pause for just a minute…”

After hearing what my husband said to answer our grandson’s question yesterday I think I need to heed this advice.

Zach asked grandpa why we had two chairs in the living room.  Dave replied, “to sit on.  At least I sit in this one but you have a motorized grandma and she never sits”.  I wonder if I was meant to overhear that?  Well, I sat tonight in a plush comfy chair for over 90 minutes to watch the chipmunks (who don’t even exist).  So at least I sit sometimes.  I will try harder to sit down.  Oh yes, I also sit in my library and read, one of the great treasures of my day.

I want to tell you one more little true story that happened yesterday.  I was SITTING at my desk working on my blog last night and received an email from someone who told me she needed a word from God so she googled “word from God” and the first google response was my blog from the day I went to Olbrich Gardens (which was just the day before she googled looking for a “word from God”).  As she read the blog she realized she knew the author, ME.  She was so surprised when she put two and two together.  I don’t think she had ever read my blog before.  The thing that surprised me was that I am not on google for surfing.  My site has always been by personal invitation only.  We will be seeing each other soon…to talk about God!

Update:  I called the young lady back I met yesterday but no one answered.  I left a message with resources for help and told her I would try again tomorrow.  Please say a prayer for her survival and a close walk with God.

Good night!