In My Kitchen- January 2014

Not such a lot going on in my kitchen this month, yet.

 

I had my grandsons for a week while their parents went to

 

a coffee plantation in Nicaragua for a much needed break.

 

So – I spent a lot of time playing video games (mostly watching )

 

working on science observations with microscope and magnifying

 

glass- reading a large number of books, putting on boots, taking off

 

boots, keeping track of mittens, making lots of bacon dishes, and

 

basically trying to keep them happy to be with grandma while

 

Mommy and Daddy were gone.  Did I mention they were 3 and 5 years

 

old?    So the first item on my list is outside my kitchen-

 

on the deck…

 

These two did a great job cleaning off the deck- and they didn’t stop until it was done- pretty good for a 3 and 5 year old

 

 

 

where these two little sweeties were shoveling the snow off of for Grandpa!

 

 

In my kitchen…

MY kitchen chair!

 

Is this chair that I bought at a thrift store many years ago.  I love it- it is the right height

 

for a kitchen chair for me- it is perfect to sit at the counter and chop vegetables.  It is also

 

perfect for little boys to sit at the table.

 

 

So I haven’t been able to use it the last week or so.  My youngest grandson thinks this

 

is HIS chair!

 

In my kitchen…

 

A wooden spoon and flat spatula- made of ash and walnut!

 

is this lovely set of wooden utensils.  I love treen ware- my niece bought these from

 

a man who makes them in his state of West Virginia.  I love them!

 

 

In my kitchen…

 

is this picture of a bird on a coffee bush and…

 

 

 

a bag of coffee from the plantation where my son and his wife stayed!

 

 

 

 

And in my kitchen…

Sourdough marbled rye bread with caraway seeds!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beef stew- one of my husband’s favorite

winter meals!

 

That is what is in my kitchen- what is in your kitchen this January 2014?

This is part of an on going series hosted by my friend Celia at Fig jam and lime cordial.   Take a look

at all the posts there this year!

30 thoughts on “In My Kitchen- January 2014

  1. Heidi, you described that “bundling up” process so well. (Adorable snow shoveling crew you’ve got there, too!) No doubt they were as warmed as I was with the goings-on in your kitchen. Happy New Year!

    • Thanks, Kim- we did have a really wonderful time together! They are back in Long Island, NY with their parents now and I have a very quiet house. Thanks for stopping by- and have a marvelous new year, yourself! 🙂

  2. Heidi, what a wonderful time you’ve been having, I can hear it in your voice! Even if you did end up with a cold after they left, I bet it was worth it! 🙂 How good of the boys to shovel snow for Frank! I love all the things in your kitchen this month, especially your chair, which must feel like an old friend. And as always, your bread looks magnificent! xxx

    • Hi Celia! It was totally worth it. They are so much fun and such of flurry of love and attention- I miss them terribly when they leave.
      The chair has a USN 8700 painted on the back- and I really am quite attached to it!
      And the bread is very tasty!
      Thanks again for visiting!

  3. I’m so glad you got to have your grandsons for a week! How special is that. Glad you survived it too; they sure can wear you out, can’t they! But it’s so quiet and empty when they leave. I really understand that part. Hope the Lord brings some other kids for you to enjoy. Bless you!

    • Thanks, Lily- it is wonderful to have them- hard to see them go and I’m usually worn out in a happy way afterward. I just keep getting sick at the end of their visits!
      And – I have Allyson’s Aiden this coming week on Friday!

  4. G’day Heidi and nothing like family holiday memories, true!
    Happy New Year and loved your Sourdough marbled rye bread with caraway seeds and can almost smell hubby’s stew!
    Thanks also for this month’s kitchen view!
    Cheers! Joanne

    • Thanks< Joanne for stopping by!
      I do love getting together with my family- although I was too busy interacting to take many pictures this holiday!
      I DO love rye bread and forget to make it often as I usually make a white or French bread because my husband prefers them!

    • My chair is quite special for me- I’ve had it for years and years and had to have some repairs done but I love it.
      Aidan was quite impressed with our snowfall- on the coast it melts overnight and so having over 10 inches of snow was quite a novelty for him.
      Frank was still in his work clothes and didn’t want a picture taken- but stew is so homely that I think it worked together quite well.

    • Hi Tandy- I thought it was a great deal! 🙂 Although I also think my sons should keep me in coffee since they are the ones who go me hooked on it. I was only drinking tea my whole life until my boys turned into men and kept asking me to have a cup of coffee with them.
      Thanks for stopping by!

    • Thanks Fiona- winter is a vicious circle anytime – but this Polar Vortex is really messing with us. And the “slave labor” is gone until Easter, I think.
      I’m taking a long time to get through all the IMK’s this month- but I really love seeing the different personalities and kitchens (and gadgets and goodies!)!

    • Oh darling- I absolutely loved having the boys! Thank you for the opportunity! We had such a good time- after I finally decided that I would just feed them what they wanted we go along perfectly. And I have a poor immunity system- so the cold wasn’t their fault at all!!

    • Thanks Laila- I was telling my youngest son that I wasn’t cut out to be a mother to small children anymore after the first day- and I realized I was right I wasn’t cut out to be mother- but a Grandmother- well that I could and would do. Then it became all fun- I didn’t worry about them eating right or about strict bedtimes- and we just had a marvelous time, together. 🙂
      Being a grandmother is such joy!

  5. I’ll bet the house seemed very quiet after they left Heidi. I have such fond memories of spending time with both sets of grandparents as a kid, (it’s nice to spoilt a little by someone who loves you to the moon and back.)

    • It is very quiet- I miss the laughter and the silliness- I miss the constant questions and marching down the stairs in unison- the songs and the prayers at night and the giggling in their beds before they fell asleep. I miss my little boys.
      We went out for milkshakes with whipped cream and sprinkles their last day here and they said “We never knew you could have ice cream in the winter before”.
      I guess the spoiling was rather rampant!

      • Little guys come up with the funniest sayings. That is so cute. You did great taking care of them for a week. I am sure you are happily exhausted. Nothing like being a grandmother. Frank looks good. Love you guys.

  6. I also love the kitchen chair, it really looks like a comfortable old friend! How sweet that it became your youngest grandson’s chair.
    Thanks for the view of your kitchen this month, it looks like a warm and happy one.

    • You know, it is a comfortable old friend. 🙂
      My kitchen has to be warm- it has been ridiculously cold here!
      I appreciate your visit and comment, so much, thanks for stopping by!

  7. Hi Mary- I love a good kitchen chair- I used to use a three step stool, but when I found this chair- the stool was regulated to the basement. And yes- ALL the little people who come to my kitchen have had use of this chair. In fact, it is only by using the ” Darling, you are really too big to use this chair now” gambit that I have gotten the older ones to give it over to a smaller child.
    😉 funnily – not one of them has ever mentioned that I use the chair so they really can’t be too big to use it, now!
    !Thanks for stopping by!

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