2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1 cup milk
In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Sprinkle the flour over it and stir to incorporate. Cook over medium low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the milk.
Variations:
Cream of Chicken - If you want to make a cream of chicken flavored sauce, use half broth and half milk. If you have troubles getting this to be smooth, try heating the milk or broth before adding to the flour and butter. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat, barely simmering, for a few minutes until thick.
Cheese sauce - To make a cheese sauce, add grated cheese and stir until melted.
Cream of Celery, Mushrooms or Onion - To make a cream of something, saute 1/4 cup or so finely chopped celery, mushrooms, or onion in the butter before adding the flour and use half broth and half milk.
The midwife that delivered Haven (I talked about Wendy before) is heading back to Haiti working with Midwives for Haiti. Here’s a video about her efforts, where you can see Wendy in action. Want to help? A donation of $250-$300 can pay for a midwife’s salary for a MONTH.
For the record, Kimberly’s ADORING husband did reserve the banquet space at the restaurant Zaytinya, but it did not require the preparation that the cake did. And, Kimberly did not have family members arrive from overseas, nor is she in the running for a reality show. But, that could have changed after her long birthday weekend in Vegas…
Late Friday morning the snow started, but it wasn’t until the middle of the afternoon that it really started to stick.
Saturday was a different story. The snow began to taper late in the afternoon, so we went to shovel the sidewalks, dig the truck out of the snow, clear off the camper and dust the snow off the Leland Cypresses while Haven was sleeping.
Sunday afternoon we headed out with the dogs and Haven. We chatted with the neighbors while hanging out in the middle of the streets. Even after a busted lip, Haven really seemed to enjoy herself. While Matt dug the car out, Haven explored up and down the sidewalks. With the snow as high as it is, we really didn’t have to worry about her heading into the street…snow makes great baby gates! Before heading inside we built a snowman and named him Herbert. While Haven was napping we watched as this nut in a Toyota Prius tried to navigate through the snow. Lucky for him some neighbors with shovels came to the rescue.
This morning we checked on Herbert. Looks like he might have celebrated too much after the Superbowl, because he’s looking a little tipsy. We had no idea he was a Saints fan! Early this afternoon Haven and I headed out to the post office to mail a package. I headed for the main drag, hoping for cleared sidewalks, but many weren’t cleared or had a path too narrow to fit the wagon. The wagon surprised me and was fairly easy to navigate through the snow, ice, slush and puddles.
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
The circle game. The highs, the lows, the ups, the downs, the good, the bad. We are all players, but it’s different when it’s your turn to be on the sidelines watch the game from the bench.
Last night Matt’s great aunt died…This week my cousin became an aunt for the first time…Yesterday I found out a friend is pregnant (adding to the list of a million babies I know being born in 2010)…One relationship is flailing…Another relationships is thriving…A friend must decide whether or not to take a once-in-a-lifetime job, which will mean making personal sacrifices as well as family sacrifices.
It’s not easy, going through this circle game of life. We can only huddle together, choose defense or offense, help each other determine what’s the next play, only to get knocked back down again, then we pick ourselves up, dust each other off and do it all over again. Play after play after play. And, every now and then we give each other pats on the back and revel in the moment. Which makes it all worth playing.
My friend, Kimberly, turned the big 3-0 this weekend with a SURPRISE! birthday party by her adoring husband who started planning the big event a year ago! What was the first thing he worked on in preparation of her big day?
a. Reserved the banquet space at the restaurant Zaytinya. (Executive Chef Michael Isabella, was featured on Season 6 of the show Top Chef.)
b. Coordinated with family members, who live abroad, to come in for the special occasion.
c. Began negotiations with a major cable television show about doing a Vegan reality show.
d. Ordered a cake from Charm City Cakes, the bakery featured on the show, Ace of Cakes.
Guess what! Due to popular demand, I’m starting up Take a Guess Tuesday again. Some of you might know all about the series, but some newbies may not be clued in. So, here’s how it works. On Tuesdays there will be a quiz and you will have a week to post in the comments your answer. The answer (along with a brand new spankin’ question) will be posted the following week. It’s all fun and games here, so step right up and be the first contestant on the second series of Take. A. Guess. TUUUUEEESSSDDAAAYYY!*
Haven loves to shake her groove thing and has gone crazy recently when we play the following song:
a. I Will Survive, by Gloria Gaynor
b. Axel F, by Crazy Frog
c. Folsom Prison Blues, by Johnny Cash
d. You Raise Me Up, by Josh Groban
* To be eligible to actually win, contestants must be living and have a valid name and email address. I haven’t actually figured out what the prize may be, but at the end of a certain period of time (again, TBD) it will be SOMETHING.
Hello faithful readers (Hi, Nana!). Welcome to my FIFTH year of sporadic blogging. I wish I had something new and exciting to talk about, but I don’t. But, many of you are wondering what’s going on, so here’s a recap.
Christmas was great. We rang in the New Year. We went to Vegas. We came home. Veni, Vidi, Vici!
And, then reality hit. We learned of the earthquake in Haiti. Alarm clocks started going off. Laundry piled up while the plumber didn’t show up. Snotty noses and sore throats appeared. Cold, wet rainy weather was the forecast. We were being conquered.
But, look on the bright side! Spring is just around the corner (or so I keep telling myself so that I don’t fall into a deep depression). The days are getting longer. Plumbers are scheduled. As far as that other stuff, we are just mucking through it as best we know how.
But, before we depart, I must admit I have some cool things on the horizon, including tidbits about Las Vegas and exciting lists! I just know you can’t take the suspense!
I grew up in a small town. You know, the kind where you have watching eyes seeing every (good or bad) move you make? I’m sure some of you know what I am talking about.
I left for college and with the exception of the summer of my freshman year never looked back. Until now. Facebook has (like it or not) reunited me with old friends and classmates.
I have been surprised. Of course, there are the strange people “friending” me, and those that I would have rather not “friended”, but in retrospect, it’s been nice. I’ve gotten back in touch with lost classmates. Like the shy kid with the witty status updates that make me laugh when I am drinking my morning coffee. Or, that I have several common interests with the classmate voted “most likely to be pregnant before she graduates” (No, I didn’t win that illustrious title). And, when it was reunion time we had an impromptu reunion solely using the social networking site.
When tragedy strikes, news spreads ridiculously fast. As you can guess, Facebook is like crack for gossip kings and queens. Deaths, miscarriages, burning buildings and near fatal car wrecks are reported faster than a blinking eye. Of course, it is a little disturbing to have (almost) complete strangers up in your business decades later, but in a different way because you have some sort of control of the flow of information…sometimes. I’m still leery of intentions, though. I constantly wonder if people really care or if they have an agenda. But, I guess growing up in a small town, the whole “I GOTTA KNOW thing is in our blood. I mean, you are practically brothers and sisters with these people you interacted with every day of the school year since you were five, or ten in my case. With Facebook, arch high school enemies are no longer at each other throats, cliques are nearly non-existent, socio-economic barriers are minimal…not to mention you don’t have to LIVE in it. I keep waiting for everyone to join Mary Poppins in a chorus of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious before the fight song. YAH!
