HELLO MARCH . . .

March is the time to bloom with kindness and grow with grace. 

Welcome, March! Our month of birthdays, extra cake, and maybe a few added pounds — and so much love. I’m incredibly thankful for all the special people in my life that I will get to celebrate this month. 💗

On my playlist -  Written by Hank Williams, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” is one of my favorite songs. It’s often called one of the most beautiful songs ever written, and I believe that’s true. I especially love Glen Campbell’s version — he sings it so beautifully. It speaks to feelings I carry more often than I wish I did.

The Birthdays – Nathan is our very first March birthday, and he sets the bar high for the whole month. He’s a freshman in high school this year, and somehow he manages to be amazing, smart, talented, and genuinely funny all at the same time! He can be a little goofy (which definitely keeps life interesting), but underneath that is a steady confidence and capability that makes all of us so proud.

Nathan can fix just about anything. If something’s broken, he’s the one we call. He’s an incredible welder—patient, precise, and creative—and he has such a natural artistic ability. It’s a rare and wonderful combination: strong hands that can build and repair, paired with an artistic eye that notices beauty in the details.

He loves to fish, run, ski, play video games, and camp—basically anything that gets him outdoors and moving. He’s happiest with fresh air, open space, and something to accomplish. And yes, he’s very handsome too. ;0) But even more than that, he’s kind, capable, and deeply loved. We are so grateful he is ours to celebrate this month.

Update – Nathan has a bad cold, so we won’t be able to celebrate with him today. :0(

I'm Thinking About - Clara! This is one of my beautiful granddaughters! She is smart, talented, sometimes a little crazy and playful, sometimes quiet, sometimes giggly — but always amazing and so very loved, especially by her family.

Clara is a freshman in high school, and last month she placed first in the state debate competition, competing against seniors! She will be heading to Virginia for the national competition, and we could not be more proud of her.  She is also number one in her freshman class at her high school!

She’s a girl after my own heart — I loved debate and speech when I was her age. I’ll be cheering her on every step of the way!

I’m Wearing – Comfy jogging pants, a t-shirt, and my fluffy white slippers. Even though the sun is shining, it’s still cold here in Idaho. Sunshine doesn’t always mean warmth this time of year!

I’m Creating – I ordered the yarn to make a blanket for my granddaughter, and I’m so excited to get started. I hope it turns out as cute as the pattern. I also finished my cross-stitch project! I can still see plenty of little flaws (why do we always notice those first?), but it will be beautiful once it’s framed and hanging on the wall — whether in my home or someone else’s. ;0)

I’m Dreaming About – Warmer weather, garden plans, camping plans, vacation plans, patio-sitting plans… you know, all those things we start dreaming about when spring is on its way. 

We’re planning a trip to Nauvoo, Illinois, with one of my daughters and her family this summer. We’re so excited to visit the places that are so important to my faith — to walk the same ground the early Saints once walked, to imagine their sacrifices, their courage, and their deep trust in the Lord. There’s something powerful about standing in a place where so much faith was lived out in real, ordinary days. I’m looking forward not just to seeing the historic sites, but to feeling the Spirit there and remembering what matters most. There’s still plenty of planning to do, but we’re getting there — slowly but surely.

I’m Working On – Getting into shape and building my stamina. I bought a rebounder (aka, a mini trampoline), and I’ve been using it for about two weeks now. I love it! I can already feel improvement in my balance, stamina, and strength. If you’ve been thinking about something easy and effective, get a rebounder. It’s also fun! I put on some upbeat music, pop in my earbuds, and bounce away.

From My Kitchen – Earlier this week, I was in the mood for soup. It was cold, snowy, and windy — basically a perfect soup day. I always buy a rotisserie chicken when I go to Sam's Club because they’re delicious and one of the best bargains in the store at $4.98 each.

This week, I put the chicken bones in the Instant Pot along with carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and a few tablespoons of vinegar, then pressure-cooked it for two hours. Perfect bone broth every time. I picked through the bones and vegetables, saving the good bits for Indy, and discarded the rest. Then I added more fresh vegetables, some chopped cooked chicken, and a can of white beans to the broth. It was delicious with fresh rolls — I love a good, brothy soup.

I also made bread. I usually bake bread every two weeks.

I decided to make cookies for Bob.  He's been asking me to make these for a long time.  I love a nice chewy chocolate chip cookie.  He loves fluffy, soft, chocolate chip cookies.  This could be  problem!  But, This recipe is the best one I've found for perfect, fluffy, delicious chocolate chip cookie...

I'll freeze these cookies and just take a few out when we want them, and keep a few to eat this week.

You can find the recipe here!

Something Fun - On Friday, we went to the Elk refuge in, Jackson Hole, Wyoming with my daughter and her family.  It was a windy day, but not too cold... Just a gorgeous and fun day.

When we boarded the wagon and started talking with the young woman who was taking us on the tour and steering the wagon, we realized we knew her. She’s the same age as my granddaughter — they went to school together and played baseball together for years! I remember her being such a fun, bright young woman. She still is!

It really is such a small world. My granddaughter was so excited when she saw this photo — it brought back so many memories for her. It made the tour even more special for me.

You can see Snow King ski slope in the background.  I learned to ski at Snow King... Such great memories!  A few runs have been added since I skied there ;0)

You can see how bare the ground is this year.  Usually, you would take the wagon ride in the snow and watch them feed the elk, but because of the lack of snow, there has been enough vegetation to feed all of the elk and buffalo this year. This of course is just a few of the elk on the elk refuge where we were, and no buffalo... There are actually another two thousand or so elk that we could see way in the background.

The horses that pulled our wagon were a beautiful pair of Percheron's.  Their names are Colt and Rugger.  They are smaller than some of the other teams they have at the refuge, but they're so beautiful and equally strong.  It made me miss the days when we had our own horses in our pasture.

At The End Of The Day - I haven't  really looked for sunsets lately.  I know they are there, somewhere under the clouds.  This is a beautiful sunset photo from, September of 2024.  

Just sayin' - 

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead.  I will try to have one as well.

Hugs and Much Love,

Barb

Almost a new month. . .

I hope everyone has been warm!  I know it's been a very snowy and cold winter for most of the country.  I hope you're getting some much needed sunshine and drier weather.

Outside my window - We finally got some much-needed snow! It’s been such a dry winter, so we were truly happy to see white fluff falling from the sky. We only received about four inches, but that’s more than we’ve had all winter, and it felt like a gift. Our world looked fresh and clean again.

I'm hoping that March will come in like a lion, bringing lots snow and rain.  Then it can go out like a lamb, with warmer weather and sunshine.  

Something from my playlist -  I love the message in this song . . . 

Something I'm thinking - We don’t go all out for Valentine’s Day. Bob and I get the gift of being together every day, and I like to think we find little ways to love each other all year long. But this year, I made a special dinner (the recipe is in my last post!), and it was absolutely delicious. Sometimes we just like to have simple food, a quiet evening, and the comfort of being home — and that feels pretty fabulous to us.

Peach Glazed Chicken, green salad, rice pilaf and homemade buiscuts

Peach cobbler with ice cream and caramel sauce

On Sunday, we celebrated Valentine’s Day with all of our children, it was so much fun. We made Cafe Rio-style salads and topped the evening off with warm brownies, ice cream, and every sweet “fixin’” you could imagine. The food was delicious, but honestly, that wasn’t the best part. Having everyone together — hearing the laughter, watching the conversations around the table, just being in the same room — that was the real gift. Days like that remind me what Valentine’s Day is truly about.

I had so much fun, I forgot to take any pictures to remember the Day!  

What's cookin' - Last week I made one of our favorites -  homemade mushroom soup!  I make this recipe in the InstantPot, it's so easy and always delicious.  

Bob likes lots of salt and pepper, I like lot's of oyster crackers ;0)  This is a recipe from, Step-By-Step, Instant Pot, by Jeffrey Eisner.  The recipe looks complicated, but it's not, I promise!  And what I love about this book, is that you can make the recipes your own.  For instance, I don't use truffle oil, and I didn't have heavy cream that day.  I did have evaporated milk, so that's what I used instead.  I also like my soup a little thicker, so I added and extra 2 tbls. of flour to the sauted mushrooms, and it turned out perfect.  

There are so many delicious recipes in this book.  I'm looking forward to making more of them, especially this coming summer.  

I must have been in the mood to cook last week, because the very next day I made bread. I rarely buy store-bought bread unless I absolutely have to — I just don’t care for it, and truthfully, I really enjoy the process of making it myself. There’s something so satisfying about kneading the dough and watching it rise.

Sometimes, instead of shaping two loaves, I’ll turn one loaf into cinnamon rolls or dinner rolls to go with a meal. We don’t eat a lot of bread, so when I do make two loafs, I always freeze one. When I pull it out later and let it defrost, it tastes just as fresh as the day I made it. There’s nothing quite like homemade bread.

I'm creating - I only have one more color to do on my cross stitch project.  There are so many mistakes, but cross-stitch can be pretty forgiving - thank goodness.

Something cute - Our cute little, Indy really needs to have some time outside.  She doesn't like to go out without one of us with her, so, this is what she does all day...

And at night, this is what she does... Sleep all day, play all night... Such a stinker!  I really need to do something about that. 😕

Just sayin' -

I hope everyone has a great week-end.  And I hope you are safe, happy, healthy and feel loved.

Hugs and love,

Barb

My Daybook . . . 2 of 12

Hello, February....A quiet, hopeful, reflective month filled with love—and sweet little joys like pink sugar cookies, conversation hearts, and delicious meals made for those we love.

Outside my Window - January was a very slow month for me, and honestly, a hard one. I really struggle with the lack of light, and it affects me more than I wish it did. The darker days tend to bring a heaviness that’s hard to shake. We haven't had had hardly any snow this winter, it's just been a very gray winter.  But today felt different. The sun was out, and it was almost 50 degrees. Standing in the sunshine, I could feel my mood lift. It reminded me how much I need light—both physically and emotionally.

On my Playlist -  Because it's the month for love!

On My Mind -  Like everyone else, I'm ready for spring.  Winter seemed very long to me, and I really needed to have a day out.  We did manage to take a short day trip in January. I didn’t take many pictures, but that’s okay. What mattered most was getting out of the house and being surrounded by nature again. It felt grounding and refreshing in a wonderful way—it was just what I needed!

It was a beautiful day, from the beginning of the day to the end of the day.

We found out earlier this month that my granddaughter and her husband are expecting a baby in August, and we were also thrilled to find out that they are having a baby boy!  Needless to say, I have been thinking of all the fun and cuddles I hope to have with this new addition to our family, even though it seems so weird to be a great-gandmother!

I'm Creating - I’ve learned I need something to do with my hands in the evenings while I watch TV. So, I picked up a cross-stitch project, and it’s been such a joy to watch it slowly become a beautiful piece of art. This particular design is called The Tree of Life.

I also want to crochet a baby blanket for the new baby.  This pattern is one I'm thinking of making.  She has some specific colors in mind, so I'll use the colors she wants.  This is an Etsy pattern... here is the link.  You do have to pay for it, but it's not expensive.  I also want to make her a white blanket to use for the baby blessing, or other special occasions. 

In the Kitchen -  On Valentine’s Day, we usually go out to dinner and have prime rib. This year, though, because of the price of beef, we decided to stay home and make something delicious with chicken. The recipe is delicious and inexpensive. I'll pair it with a green salad and rice pilaf.  For dessert I'm going to make peach cobbler with ice cream —it’s one of my husband’s favorites!  Don't worry, we'll have plenty of chocolate as well. ;0)

Peach-Glazed Chicken

•  4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thighs or tenders

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 1 tbsp olive oil

Peach Glaze

• 1 cup peach preserves (or peach jam)

• 2 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari)

• 2 tbsp honey (optional, if you like it sweeter)

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• ½ tsp ginger (ground or freshly grated)

• Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Optional garnish

• Fresh thyme or parsley

• Sliced peaches (fresh or canned, drained)

---

Instructions

1. Season the chicken
   Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.

2. Sear
   Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook 4–6 minutes per side, until golden brown and mostly cooked through. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.

3. Make the glaze
   In the same skillet, lower the heat to medium. Add peach preserves, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Stir and let it simmer for 2–3 minutes until slightly thickened.

4. Glaze the chicken
   Return the chicken to the pan, spooning the glaze over the top. Simmer for another 3–5 minutes, turning once, until the chicken is fully cooked and coated in that glossy peach goodness.

5. Finish & serve
   Garnish with fresh herbs or peach slices if you like. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or with roasted veggies.

Remember - 

HAPPY FEBRUARY!!!

Hugs and Love,

Barb