Answering Questions

I've had several questions float through the comments lately so since I can't get my thoughts gathered enough to post anything substantial, here goes:

{ Potato Soup }

Becky asked me about a potato soup recipe. I've used my Mom's for years and used to have intermittant success with it. But I think I've finally figured it out and it is super easy, cheap and yummy. (My problem was getting the broth/sauce to thicken just so.)

Cook 3 large potatoes, diced until tender.
Melt 2 T. butter in sauce pan over low heat.
Blend in 2 T. all purpose flour, 1/2 t. salt and dash white pepper.
Add 3 c. milk all at once. If you are low on milk, you can stretch what milk you have by mixing it with the water that came off of cooking the potatoes. I've done that when I've made a double batch of soup so that I am not using six cups of milk at a time!)
Cook quickly stirring constantly, till mixture thickens and bubbles - wooden spoon is handy. Here's where I figured out the trick to getting perfect sauce every time ... I stir with a whisk along the bottom of the pan until I am sure that the flour has dissolved into the milk.
Remove sauce from heat when it bubbles. If sauce cooks too long, it becomes to thick and the butter separates out. To repair - add more milk and cook quickly, stirring constantly, till sauce bubbles.
Add potatoes to sauce and heat through. Season.

{ The Early Bird }

Several of you commented on how early I was up this morning! : ) I've been trying to be diligent about getting up and honestly and truly, it's God who put the desire in me! I wouldn't have said I am a morning person, but I now crave that time and look forward to it. Let it be known ... I didn't just roll over one morning and start getting up at 5:30. I think I start around 6:30 and then moved it back. It also helped because Elizabeth would get up to nurse anytime between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. (no set time, of course!) and I would just stay up after feeding her.

I now try and get up around 5:30 a.m. ... that's when the coffee maker is set for, anyway. If I get up them, I can usually get at least an hour and a half before the girls get up, although about half the time, Elizabeth is kicking on the floor beside me while I work on my Bible study. I've just had to be realistic about getting stuff done in the evening. By the time the girls get to bed, I'm too pooped to pull out my Bible study and then it just doesn't get done.

{ Our Sam Dog - The Conclusion }

Several of you have asked me about our dog, Sam, and whatever happened to him. After housing him for two days, we (meaning Travis) ended up taking Sam to the pound. Noelle (4) was not understanding why Sam left, then came home, then was leaving again and it seemed the easiest thing to do for her sake. (Not necessarily for me!) : ( My husband actually took him while I was at Bible study and I didn’t know until I got home.

Just for the concerned, we had called the pound/animal control at the beginning of our decision to try and find the dogs new homes. The county's shelter has a policy of putting dogs to sleep only as a last resort. They are REALLY committed to finding dogs a new home and generally only put them down if they show signs of agression. The fact that our Sam was such a great dog pretty much guaranteed him a home and good care there until someone wanted him, for which we were very thankful.

Two days after Travis dropped him off, we got a call from the pound and someone was adopting Sam! And it was a family with three kids (like us) and the Dad had done all this research into huskies and was very prepared (meaning he knows that Sam is going to run if he gets the chance – not maliciously, just his nature). I got to talk to the new owner on the phone for a few minutes because he had some questions about Sam and he sounded like a great guy, and we’ve actually talked a few times since then because we’re trying to track down a duplicate set of Sam’s registration papers for him. (The girl had taken Sam’s papers and I’m sure they ended up with the dog cage … which we didn’t get back.) From all reports we have gotten so far, Sam is doing great in his new home and they love having him.

All that to say, I’m so glad the whole dog saga has ended. And, truthfully, I am very much enjoying life without dogs right now. Granted I have to sweep up a lot of food off the floor … I had no idea my kids were such messy eaters! : ) We still talk about our dogs and miss them, but has been confirmed over and over that it was the right decision for now.

{ In Conclusion }

Off to help Noelle with a little craft project she's working on. She's still running fever and if she's still running some tomorrow (day 3), we'll go in and get it checked out. I'm taking advantage of the extra snuggling my busy girl is letting me sneak in. : )