Weather: I woke up at 7:41 am to a grey, rainy, cool day! Love days like this. The forecast calls for high pressure and cool temps the rest of the week.

School: We started math again yesterday. Tally marks, counting by 5’s and then adding in 1’s. Like ‘18 cents’ for example. Horizontal, vertical, and oblique lines. Patterns. Didn’t get to language arts today as we had unexpected guests.

Cooking Part 1: I made the usual bread followed by chocolate chip muffins. Thankfully, I had something to offer.

On My Mind: My father -in-law’s father (90 yo) and sister are in from California. They called during the middle of ’school’ and wanted to drop by. This irritated me at first, but then, you gotta just go with what the day brings you in spite of what you wanted to get done on your to-do list. So, we had a lovely time drinking tea and eating muffins.

Chocolate Chip Muffins
2.5 c freshly ground soft, white wheat flour
2t baking powder
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c milk
1t almond extract
2t vanilla extract
1c Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips
2 eggs
1/3 c oil
demerara sugar to sprinkle of batter once in pans.

You know the drill. Mix dry. Mix wet. Add wet to dry and gently fold together. Add chips, again folded in. Sprinkle demerara sugar for sparkle and crunch to each muffin. Bake 400 deg. F for 15-20 minutes till done.

Cooking, Part 2: Next, must think of dinner. Went to freezer and located 2 rolls of frozen, ground turkey that I had scored at Kroger for $1/each. Made turkey meatballs a la Giada de Laurentiis recipe.

Second, I have so many tomatoes, marinara is in order.

Beloved’s Fresh Tomato Sauce

Le Creuset cast iron dutch oven
tomatoes, as many as you have, skinned
several glugs of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
white wine, 1/2 bottleish

Olive oil in bottom of dutch oven. Saute onions a little bit browned add garlic. Start adding peeled tomatoes. I like to squish them in my hands. Salt, pepper, sugar, and wine. Cook a…………long…………….time.

Cook some pasta, bake your meatballs, slice your bread, throw it all together with a little fresh basil…….. and voila, dinner.

Gardening: Just grabbed, oh, about 20 tomatoes.

Knitting: Working of shoal water shawl by Evelyn C. Clark. Cast on for EZ’s moccasin socks in leftover handspun from DH’s sweater. Had to frog Ethan’s look alike sweater for that, but I didn’t think I could stomach going around in circles again in stockinette quite yet.

Oh, and note on the moccasins. The 1st time I knit these, I checked out Knitting Around from the library. Someone, not I, has boosted the book and it is NO LONGER in the library system. Luckily, I have Knitter’s Almanac, BUT! EZ gives the directions, for the same moccasin, on straight needles not circular in Knitters Almanac. I am gonna have to think now! I do try to avoid that as much as possible, it seems.

Homekeeping: Me and the kids did a very, quick de-clutter before our guest arrived. Then, I had 2 messy accidents in the kitchen involving tomatoes. I have NEVER missed my dog more.