What a Year

Remember when I had a blog?  Needless to say, life has run away with my brain over the past six months or so.  I have at least four unpublished drafts that I started and then stopped.  Those memory verses I committed to doing?  Total fail.... I send heartfelt apologies to anyone who was actually following those with me.  Recently I visited my family and my cousins pointed out that I haven't been writing and encouraged me to start again. Thanks, cousins.

So HI! I'm back. For now... This post is just to catch everyone up. :)

Is 2013 over yet?  This year has been a truly crazy year.  Totally awesome - but crazy.  I just want a breather.  I just want a routine and for life to be a little boring for a while.

I think I started flaking out on the blog around the time I started my level II OTA fieldwork rotations.  First I did eight weeks at a continuing care retirement facility.  I loved it!  My clients were sweet as pie and even those that weren't were endearing.  Then I did eight weeks at an outpatient pediatric facility and loved that too.  The kids made me laugh, my instructor trusted me to lead sessions, and by the end of it I felt like I could actually do this job!  Those were very busy but enjoyable months.

During my pediatric rotation we started looking at houses, not expecting to find anything we liked right away.  A few weeks later we found THE house for us, and because of the market in Austin, we jumped on it right away.  We closed on the house the week after I finished my fieldwork.  We love our big bonus room over the garage with vaulted ceilings.  It's the perfect lounging room!  We also rather enjoy living near the high school and hearing the football games and marching band practice.

Shortly after we bought the house, my mother-in-law and nephew came to visit!  Tyler loved playing in the sprinklers and Debbie enjoyed checking out our new place.  

We went to Lowe's...

 Debbie and Tyler also were around to see me graduate!

A few days after they left, my mom came!  We painted a lot.  I finally got my green room.

The next thing I knew, we had a dog.  I'd been wanting one to train to be a therapy dog, and this sweetie fell in our laps at just the right time.  Who could say no to that face?  If only training could happen overnight.  Stanley the cat still rules around here though.

My name is Elsie Margaret Houdini Thompson!

Once I felt sufficiently settled, I spent my energy throwing a big housewarming party.  I was so excited to have SPACE to have more than six people over.  So I threw a party for 30!  We had a great time, even though it rained.  We needed it so badly here in Texas that we were thrilled with it. After everyone left, we got 5 inches that night. Praise God!

Our home is officially warm.

After all this, I felt like I could finally focus on taking my certification test to become a COTA and find a job.  I scheduled my test for October 10th and started studying.  And immediately, life took another turn when I got the phone call.  We've all had that phone call that changes our lives, and if you haven't yet, then you will.  My dad called to tell me that my Papa Jack was at the hospital after falling unconscious.  We rapidly learned that he had suffered a massive stroke with damage to multiple areas of his brain.  My family opted for no life support, and he was moved to hospice where he passed on to Glory two days after his stroke.  If you don't know about my grandparents and how special they are to me, they were the subject of my second blog post.  So I rescheduled my test and booked a bereavement flight to North Carolina to be with my family.  My entire family showed up from all over the country, as far as Seattle and Hawaii.  It was a blessed week, and because of the timing of everything else I was still jobless and available to stay with my grandmother an additional week.  Spending quality time with my grandma in my favorite mountains in the fall was a gift.  I miss my Papa fiercely but know that we will meet and hug and laugh again.  Because my Papa loved and served the Lord with all his heart, I know he is safe and dancing with the angels.

Cruising in the Bahamas with my grandparents 2002

My last picture with both of them. Christmas 2012. Matt and I left from there
to go to the Biltmore Estate after my grandparents eagerly bought tickets for us.

Grandma and I at the Memorial Service

Papa loved these mountains, and so do I.

I came home after an emotional couple of weeks (or months, really) to face my test.  I found out two days later that I PASSED and am now a licensed Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. I have letters after my name.  My next task is to find a job where I can use those letters!  I have so many other things I'd like to share with everyone, but I'll have to save them for the next posts - which I will do. For real.

Christmas on Your Thanksgiving Table: Spiced Cranberry Sauce

My mom, the Kitchen Goddess, puts together an awesome Thanksgiving spread.  One dish that we never did without was her cranberry sauce.  I think cranberry sauce tends to get a bad wrap, something that most people really think is just ok and a traditional dish to have.  I never hear anyone getting really excited about it.

But....I get really really excited about this cranberry sauce.  It's special.  It throws you into the holiday season.  It tastes like Christmas. It smells like Christmas.  It makes your whole house smell divine while it cooks.  It is excellent with turkey.  It is fantastic to eat like jam on fresh biscuits or rolls.  If you enjoy cranberry sauce, or you have always wanted to enjoy cranberry sauce, or you're a skeptic - please try this dish.

What makes this dish so Christmas-like?  Oranges, cloves, and candied ginger!  Heaven.  Here's the full list of goods:

Cranberries, sugar, oranges, crystallized ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves

What is cardamom? I'm glad you asked.  Cardamom is used in many Indian dishes as well as Scandinavian dishes, which is why my mother cooks with it, being Danish and all.  It is the secret ingredient to her pancakes.  It is also a common spice in the popular and tasty Chai tea.  Cardamom  is an expensive spice, but oh so tasty and a little goes a long way.  It pairs very well with the "fall spices" like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and it makes people stop and wonder what magic you have infused your dish with.  For these reasons I highly recommend the splurge.  If you choose not to use it, you could add some nutmeg to the sauce for the good fall spice flavor.

Crystallized, or candied, ginger is another addition you don't want to skip out on.  (You could do ground ginger...but again, not really the same.) If you have trouble finding it, check the bulk sections of your local grocery stores, especially places like Whole Foods or Sprouts.  Chop it up finely.

Set aside your measured spices and then zest two whole oranges.  And here is what makes this cranberry sauce so incredibly aromatic and flavorful!

1 tsp Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1 tsp cardamom, 2 tbsp crystallized ginger, and orange zest of 2 oranges!

Measure out three cups of sugar and set that aside. Peel the two oranges that you just zested and chop them up.  Use a sharp knife to trim off as much white pith as you can.  Take two more oranges and squeeze the juice into a two-cup measuring cup.  Add water to the juice to total 2 cups of liquid. 

The prepped ingredients.  Your kitchen will already smell super yummy.

Combine all ingredients, except cranberries, into a large saucepan.

Bring to a boil.  Throw in the cranberries!

Bring it back to a boil.  Keep stirring until cranberries begin to pop.

Now the intoxicating smells will waft throughout your home to bring joy and delight to all!  Put the lid on and turn down the heat to low.  Simmer for about an hour.  If you happened to use frozen cranberries, as I did today, then take the lid off for the last 10 minutes since they will be juicier. 

Bonus: While you're waiting and cleaning up, go ahead and throw some of those orange peels into your garbage disposal while you run it for a fresh smelling sink. 

Here's the best part. After an hour, taste it!...Then taste it again...and maybe again.  Add any extra sugar or spices that your heart may desire.  (This is a pretty sweet sauce!)  When you are satisfied, take it off the heat and allow to cool before transferring to containers and moving it to the fridge.  It will have a thickened, syrupy consistency and will set in the fridge to become more jam-like.  You should make it at least a day before Thanksgiving for it to set and all the flavors to mingle together in glory. 

Here it is the next day after it has had time to set!

 Enjoy, friends!

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
4 cups cranberries, washed and picked over
3 cups sugar

4 oranges - and this is what you do with them:
2 cups liquid: Juice from 2 oranges + water = 2 cups
Zest from 2 oranges
Orange sections from the 2 zested oranges, chopped

2 tbsp crystallized (candied) ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Directions:
Combine all ingredients, except cranberries, into a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil. Add cranberries and continue to stir until berries begin to pop and it is back to a boil.  Put the lid on and allow to simmer for about an hour. **  Taste and add sugar if desired.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Chill until ready to serve.  This is best to make one day before serving.

**UPDATE - I've found that this recipe followed exactly can occasionally make some fairly runny sauce.  To increase the consistency to a more jelly-like texture, remove the lid around the one hour mark and allow to simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes.  This makes it about the consistency of fruit preserves.   Increase the time without the lid on even more if you like it really thick or you're using frozen cranberries.  Expect it to stiffen a little more once it's been chilled as well.

My Heroes

My grandparents are my role models.  Papa Jack and Grandma Mitzi have been married for almost 67 years!  Papa always gives the advice, "Never go to bed angry."  He says that he and Grandma have only ever pulled one all-nighter sorting out a dispute - he doesn't remember what it was about.  That is advice that Matt and I have taken to heart and live by.  It's good advice, because it's also biblical!  Paul said in his letter to the Ephesians,

Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 

and do not give the devil a foothold ~ Eph. 4:26

My grandparents are my picture of a successful Godly marriage.  Just look at how precious they are!

Dancing at my wedding!

My grandparents met when they were both students at LSU.  Grandma was stunningly beautiful and dated around!  Papa was one of those boys she dated, and he determined to marry her.  The story goes that he asked her every night for a month to marry him before she said yes.  Grandma says after all that she knew he really meant it!  Matt and I have a somewhat similar story, but more on that later.  

My grandparents are also my picture of hard work and service.  Papa grew up in hard times during the Depression.  He was one of seven siblings under a strong single mother.  They all had to chip in and work hard to support the family!  Papa fought in WWII with the Army Air Corps.  When he and Grandma had their four children, he worked for something like 30 years as a salesman at Sears (back in the good old days!).  He and Grandma served in the community multiple ways.  Papa used to love to drive the bus to pick up the very elderly and the disabled to bring them to church.  He also served with the Methodist corps on numerous disaster relief trips.  They've been on missions and supported missionaries.  They raised four successful children, including my daddy.  My Grandma is intelligent and wise.  She is a historian and an author and has faithfully stood by my Papa's side through thick and thin.  She's the glimmer in his eye.  I am so proud of them!

I've been thinking about them a lot lately because my 90 year old Papa recently had spinal surgery.  What was supposed to be a 4 hour procedure was only one and a half!  He bounced back incredibly quickly and is proving to be a difficult patient that can't sit still!  I can only hope that I'll encounter patients as fun and lovingly difficult as he is when I am a COTA one day.  We are praising God for the success of this surgery and are praying that it will prove to relieve his back pain and leg weakness so he can keep on keepin' on.