Homemaking Edition

Last Monday, knowing that we had a heinously busy week ahead of us, Michael and I made a giant pot of clam chowder and a full batch of Mom's famous rolls. And we ate this food ALL week: Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday lunch. We didn't even get sick of it, so I'm sharing the recipes here.

Christmas Eve Clam Chowder
2 6.5 oz cans minced clams
1 cup finely diced onions
1 cup finely diced celery
2 cups diced potatoes
1/2 cup butter (that's why this chowder is SO good!)
3/4 cup flour mixed with water (for thickening)
1 quart half and half (the other reason this chowder is delicious)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
Drain juice from clams and pour over vegetables. Add enough water to cover vegetables. Simmer covered over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add cream and butter and heat thoroughly. Add thickening and cook until thick. Add clams.

2 hour butter rolls (makes 3 dozen)
Sift into mixing bowl: 4 cups flour (I like half white/half wheat), 1 tsp salt, 4 Tbsp sugar
Soak 4 tsp yeast in 1/4 cup warm water
Beat slightly 2 eggs
Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk (heat to 150 degrees F) add 1/3 cup butter. Cool.
Add all ingredients together. Beat until smooth. Cover and let rise until double. Roll out to desired rolls, let rise again. Bake at 375-400 degrees for 20 minutes.

This week was heinous because of my work schedule. I was giving library instruction sessions to graduate students: how to use library databases, how to keep track of your resources, how to conduct online searches, etc. I really enjoy teaching and the classes went well. These were evening workshops (6-8 pm), plus I worked at the reference desk one evening, so on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday Mike and I were on campus from 8 am to 8 pm. We survived, and the week ahead should be easier.

Friday night we babysat for some friends in the branch while they went out on their first date since . . . they're not sure when. We had a good time with their three little kids.

Speaking of kids, some other friends of ours are expecting a baby. This is the cute little project I've been working on for that little one:

This picture is sort of dark, but you can get the idea. It's for a 3-6 month old -- a yellow cabled jumper. I'm going to get a little white top and tights to go with it. There's just a little more finishing I have to do: neckband, armbands, and buttons.

Lest you think that all we do around here is cook, knit, and babysit -- last night we went to a performance on campus of the Vagina Monologues. We saw the Vagina Monologues last February in Salt Lake City and decided it needed to be a family tradition for us. Last night's performance was great -- very moving, very entertaining. It almost made me think I ought to audition for the show next year. We'll see.

Tonight we're staying in, checking on the Oscars webcast occasionally, and praying for spring to come soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe that the holiday season is here. We're counting the weeks (4) until our Christmas trip to Cache Valley!

We had a really wonderful Thanksgiving. I baked pies and rolls and Mike cooked the apple and yam dish. It all turned out great! And I only called Mom twice on Thanksgiving morning to find out what to do with the rolls.


Mike carved up the turkey after we were done eating. We've got a ton of leftovers in the fridge, but we're sure enjoying them!

We had Thanksgiving dinner with the Holms, a sweet family from our branch. Kira and Steve Holm are a couple of years older than Mike and me and they've been living here (in St. Joseph -- about 15 miles from Chambana) for the last few years while Steve has been doing his residency in oral surgery at Carle Clinic. (His supervisor is extracting my wisdom tooth this coming Tuesday!) Kira and Steve have three kids: Maci (almost 4), Micah (2), and Caitlin (1). They are a high-energy herd.

This is Micah and Maci. We were playing while Kira and Steve finished getting dinner ready and I asked the kids if I could take their picture to show to my family. They suddenly got very awkward and Micah's hands went straight to his nose.

Micah likes to play rough sometimes. He enjoyed running and jumping onto my lap and Maci enjoyed running to the kitchen to tell her mom that Micah was being rough. Ahhh, big sisters.

Maci took this series of pictures of me, Micah, and Mike:
We missed being with our families very much, but I felt a lot of love from the Holm children. All day they were saying, "Sister Terry! Sister Terry!" and sharing stories with me. They gave me lots of hugs and kisses and made the holiday very happy. We hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too.