Thursday Morning Meanderings . . .

The lazy man said,
Turning over in bed,
"Today's going to be such a bore,
The time will pass slow
For I've no place to go
And nothing to do any more."

The busy man said,
As he leaped out of bed,
"Today there's so much to be done,
The time will flash by,
The minutes just fly,
For I'm going to be having such fun!"
~Author Unknown

Todd has always found it hard to understand why I get up so early in the morning. I rise at 5 o'clock every morning, no matter the time I have fallen in to bed the night before. I need no alarm . . . that's just when I wake up. He sleeps another 3 hours after that. I just can't help it though, that's when my body clock tells me enough is enough and it's time to get up! Life's just too darn short to spend it sleeping! (Mind you I really enjoy crawling into bed gone 9 o'clock at the other end!)

Each day to me holds such promise . . . a new adventure waiting to unfold, a new page in my story waiting to be written upon. I would say that something exciting happens to me every day, that there is some new discovery. Oh, it may not be exciting to anyone else . . . it might even seem mundane to an innocent onlooker, but to me it's all a part of the "grande adventure."



It could be something as simple as discovering a new flower or as exciting as getting to watch mother birds and their fledglings at the feeders in our garden. It's all new and it's all pretty wonderful to me.



There have been lots of rabbits in the garden these past weeks. Most afternoons on these sunny days, if I look out my kitchen window, there is a nice fat one sitting on the patio area next to our clothesline, seemingly sunning himself. He looks so content and happy sitting there. Often there are one or two sitting in the grass and munching on clover that is growing there. It's so idyllic and restful to watch . . . just like a private show from God just for me.



We got a new nut feeder a week or so back. The squirrels had been emptying out our old one on a daily basis. We had tried everything to put them off. Todd tried putting a plastic flower pot on it upside down and that worked for all of several hours before they had figured out a way to get around it. The next day he tried putting another larger pot over top of the bottom one, only standing upright and that seemed to work for a couple of days. Later in the day I looked out and one of the squirrels was actually sitting in it. He looked like an adventurer sitting in the basket of a hot air balloon, just waiting for it to take off and carry him on a journey to parts unknown. We thought it quite amusing . . . later in the day when we got back home from church we realized just how crafty they had been, when we noticed that they had chewed through both pots and down into the nuts!!!



And so we looked at each other and decided that it was time to invest in one of the squirrel proof nut feeders and so we did . . .



It's ever so clever. It's a nut feeder within a boxed affair with holes in the sides just large enough to let birds in and out. The squirrels tried for days to get into it but it would seem we have finally managed to outwit them!!! (not that they haven't tried really hard to find a way to conquer this challenge! One almost feels quite sorry for them!)



Each morning I receive an e-mail sent to me from my brother's ipod. He and his wife and their four girls are enjoying a lovely holiday on Prince Edward Island at the moment, and at the end of each day he sends everyone an update on what they have been doing for the day. It sounds as if they are having a lovely time. I think tomorrow they are on their way to Nova Scotia to visit my mother and then off to Quebec to visit my father. I love hearing about their daily adventures, and am amazed at the technology that exists today, and that he is able to do this so easily! And then, sometimes when I read it my heart pangs a bit with regret . . . as I realize my children never got to go on a holiday, or at least not one like that. The only places we ever took them was home to visit the grandparents, either to Nova Scotia or to Prince Edward Island, which is where both sets lived. It makes me feel kind of sad to think that they never got to frolic at seasides or go camping or anything like that at all. We never had the money to do more than visit our folks so I suppose I have an excuse, but it sure would have been nice to do something else . . .



Todd and I try to take a holiday of some sort every year. Mind you, there are only the two of us and so it's not as expensive an undertaking. One year we went down to Devon for 4 days, staying at little B&B's we discovered along the way. It bucketed down rain for the whole time we were there, but I still look back on it fondly, and can remember having a wonderful time while we were there. The scenery was spectacular and the little villages quaint. One day we shall go back when the sun is shining, I am sure!

We've done several coach tours to Germany, which have always been lots of fun. Germany is one of my favourite places to visit. I love the scenery, the people, and of course the food! We always make some new friends on the journey and it's nice that Todd doesn't have to miss half the fun by being behind the wheel and having to drive.

This year we are spending a week up in Cumbria at the edge of the Lake District. We have rented a cottage there, at the same place we stayed at two years ago. It's lovely. Uther Pendragon's castle is right at the bottom of the hill our holiday cottage sits on and the River Eden runs by it. It's largely a ruin but the last time we were there we walked down to it every morning and evening. I loved sitting on it's stones and looking out across the fells and thinking about Knights and Ladies and magical adventures of days gone by . . . with the pleasant bleating of the sheep in the background soothing my soul . . . We had lovely weather the week we were there the last time, so that was quite lucky as it is an area of the country that gets a lot of rain. I am hoping we will be lucky like that again this time, but even if we are not, it will still be nice and we'll still enjoy ourselves.

Well, I have written a whole lot of words about nothing this morning, but sometimes that is nice . . . writing and reading about nothing can be pretty exciting and interesting at times, don't you think?

Quite often when my kids were growing up I would make this tasty side dish for them at suppertime. It seemed to go with everything and was a real favourite. I could remember making something similar in Grade 10 Home Economics at school, and loving it then, but no longer having the recipe, I improvised and invented my own. I could eat a whole plate of this and nothing else! I am sure there is a proper name for it somewhere and it's not really anything new (there is nothing new under the sun, only different ways of doing the same old thing!) . . . it is tasty though.



*Noodles and Cabbage*
Serves 4

I love noodles and I love cabbage, the two together are just wonderful!! Who knew simple could be so good, but then again . . . it often is. A great side dish that goes with just about anything, but especially pork or chicken, this is also a great Vegetarian Main dish. When used as a main the amount of servings is somewhat less though. (I can assure you the leftovers warmed up tasty every bit as good and maybe even better than it does the first day!)

1 small head of white cabbage, trimmed, cored and then sliced thinly
1 large onion, peeled, cut in half and then sliced thinly
1 large knob of butter
a sprinkle of sugar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound of egg noodles, cooked and drained
sour cream (optional)
freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Take a large skillet with a lid and melt the butter in it over medium high heat until it starts to foam. Add the onions and cook, stirring until they soften and begin to slightly caramelize.

Throw in the cabbage and cook, stirring it as well, until it is coated well with the butter and beginning to wilt. Sprinkle with the sugar and some salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and bang on the lid. Cook over low heat for about 8 to 10 minutes until the cabbage is almost cooked through.

In the meantime, cook your noodles according to the package directions. Drain well and keep warm.

Remove the lid from the skillet and turn up the heat again and cook, stirring until the cabbage is golden brown in places. Toss in the noodles and give it all a good stir, until they are well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Stir in a good spoonful of sour cream, if desired, and then tip the mixture out onto a heated platter. Sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.