Author: Carol

Excitement for the Day

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Yesterday the tub in the upstairs bathroom wouldn’t drain. Drew got some drain clearer and it seemed to work… until this morning. Everything got backed up and wouldn’t drain upstairs. Ugh!

So after he got back from driving Jake to meet up with his roommate and head back to school, he got to work on the clog. It didn’t work. And now we have this too.

Water leaking through a light fixture is always good, right? Sigh… 

So tomorrow will be a call to the plumber because we have exhausted all options that we can tackle. This will be interesting!

Lazy Saturday

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  • Slept in
  • Vacuumed floors and put away laundry 
  • Drove my daughter to meet up with a friend 
  • Wrote up a grocery list for tomorrow 
  • Picked up Noah from rehearsal 
  • Started making an Easter wreath but ran out of glue sticks 
  • Enjoyed pizza for dinner per Jake’s request 
  • Watching Murder Mystery on Netflix and relaxing before bed

VIP Patron

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Meet Carmel. She is a VIP Patron here at the library! VIP = Very Important Pupper of course!

Carmel is the best dog on earth. No really, she is. I have never met a sweeter, gentler, quieter dog who follows direction. She is a pedigreed collie who was unable to breed, so one of our patrons adopted her. At first she was a little unsure around people, but she has obviously come around! I love when she comes to visit me at work. 

I am still very much a cat person, but Carmel has definitely found her way into my heart!

Yes, It Snowed

Carol 4 Comments

Well, it definitely snowed! There was barely a flurry when I went to bed last night and around 5:30 AM I was woken up to the dulcet tones of chainsaws (ha!) across the street. It took me a few minutes to register what the noise was, but then I saw the beacon on one of the highway vehicles and put it all together. The heavy snow weighed everything down and while we have luckily not lost power so far, friends nearby have.

These first two photos were around 7 AM before Drew had a chance to go out, clear the driveway, and shake everything off.

You can see one of the branches on the pussy willow broke.

Same with this tree by the shed – the weight of the snow was just too much for it. Obviously, everything was closed. Both the governor and our county executive declared a state of emergency for the area, which meant no driving on the roads.

Believe it or not it is still snowing as I type this at 6:30 PM! The wind is supposed to kick up tonight, but I am hoping it doesn’t. We don’t need anymore branches down! All told, I think we got around 10-12″ of snow. It’s so hard to say when it is compacted like this, but it is more than enough regardless!

Waiting on the Snow

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Storm, storm, storm. It’s all anyone has been talking about today. Rain or snow? How much? I thought winter was over! LOL, it was quite the day. Accumulation predictions have been reduced to 6-12″ but it’s supposed to be wet, heavy snow with wind gusts up to 40 MPH, which mean there’s high potential for downed branches and power outages. Nothing to do but wait and see!

Meanwhile, I have my meal plan ready for the week!

  • Monday: Subs
  • Tuesday: Ham, mac & cheese, steamed zucchini
  • Wednesday: Crock Pot beef stew, salad, cheddar-garlic biscuits
  • Thursday: Gyros, fries
  • Friday (St. Patrick’s Day, dispensation granted woo hoo): Corned beef sandwiches, potato salad
  • Saturday: Jake’s choice! (His last night home on spring break)

Also, we got great news over the weekend! N. was accepted into his first choice music program! I am super proud of him — he put so much work and time into this. Although this was the first acceptance letter he received, he has gone ahead and accepted. It was the program he wanted so, really, why wait and delay that decision? So we definitely celebrated his success and I can’t wait to see the amazing things he will do!

Well, I guess that is about it for today. I’ll be back tomorrow with the snow update. I’m sure you all will be waiting with bated breath, LOL!

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Squares

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Yesterday I had a work event in the morning and we all were supposed to bring something brunchy. I knew one of the people attending was vegan and I wanted to make sure whatever I brought was something she could eat. These breakfast squares checked all the boxes! They are compliant, delicious, and made with pantry staples. I may not be vegan, but I will definitely be making these again.

Print Recipe

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Squares

Course: Breakfast, Snack
Keyword: healthy, vegan

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer

Ingredients

  • 2 bananas
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla)
  • 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • pinch salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, Be sure to leave some of the paper hanging over the sides to help you remove the squares when they're done baking. Set aside.
  • In bowl of your stand mixer, use the paddle attachement to thoroughly mash the bananas. Add peanut butter, applesauce, and almond milk and mix until wet ingredients are well combined. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and evenly spread. Bake for 25-28 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan at room temperature for about an hour and ten chill in the refrigerator for at least another hour (it is easier to cut the squares when they are cold).
  • Lift the parchment and bars from the pan and cut into 16 squares. Squares can be warmed in the toaster oven or microwave to take the chill off. Store leftovers in the fridge.

These were a big hit and I liked that they were not overly sweet.

Springing Into… Winter?

Carol 2 Comments

What did I say? I thought it might be a snowy March and it seems to be holding true. A couple inches fell last night and we are looking at a Nor’easter on Monday that may bring 12”-18” of snow. 

The library board already canceled our monthly meeting because the snow is supposed to start on Monday afternoon. I’m expecting a snow day on Tuesday as well. Hopefully the winds won’t be too strong, but the generator is ready in case we lose power. 

Maybe we all can curl up like Marlowe here and enjoy winter’s last hurrah. In like a lion as they say, right?