November weekend -

 

This week has been busy around the house.

Our guy did the crawlspace work under the house - took out old

and replaced new waterproof vapor barrier, made sure insulation

was secure, and checked there was no mold. . . . . or a large

black snake such as found in a close by neighbor's crawl space recently!

Now, any mice sheltering in winter have a safe, squeaky clean area

to play in!

I was in the kitchen doing my usual flipping through cookbooks, searching

 for something new to bake, but resorted to a batch of pistachio muffins,

 most of which went into the freezer.

Made the quiche to use up last week's eggs and a bag of baby spinach.

 I ordered two dozen eggs for this week from my farm lady Linda - picked

 them up yesterday - as her chickens are laying well again so I wasn't

 limited to just a dozen as during the past couple of months.

I changed up the quiche a bit this time. Added a big dollop of that

pumpkin seed pesto to 1/2 cup of Ricotta cheese. That was

spread on the bottom crust after the 15 min. par-bake, then 

added the grated Gruyere cheese, the chopped spinach, the

 egg/milk/cream mixture, and topped with the remaining Gruyere. 

Baked as usual and was pleasantly surprised when I cut it and

 found all the layers visible, making it look really neat.

Also it was very tasty!

Garden chores to be revisited today as the weather is lovely - mostly

 emptying/cleaning the summer pots remaining. Still some basil which won't 

survive winter, the dahlias which are just about over, and annuals now

 on their last legs!  Planning to scrub out the bird baths also, they're a mess.

Amaryllis bulbs did get planted up in narrow pots on Thursday - they

 like to be snug - four large bulbs and one surprise bulblet. 

My fingers are crossed they will all grow.  

I have few areas to place them where they will get enough sunlight,

the best being right here on the dining room table.

Note I've already stuck a twig in each pot ready for tying up

leaves and hopefully tall blooms!

Boxes of Christmas cards are at the ready - I plan to start writing a

 few a day which is easier for me with this often achy shoulder/arm. 

Rotator cuff surgery is still on my To Do list, needless to say it's close

 to the bottom as I'm not excited by the thought of being out of commission

 for several months. I plan to wait as long as I can!

One cooking pumpkin remaining - will prep it this weekend.

I bought a few holiday items, including this door mat, when at Target

 this week - and must say I now feel better about Christmas coming.  

At first it sounded all too much to bother with during these

stressful times, now I'm going to make the most of it with

perhaps a bit less baking as I won't be throwing my usual

parties/meals, but plenty of decorating, roaring fires, candles 

lighting up the winter nights, and of course, as always,

 will be hoping for a White Christmas!

What are you planning for this November weekend?

Whatever, I hope it's relaxing and fun.