The Howell Blessings

Meatless Monday with Mindy will be delayed,   I have found a link site to let others add their URL for their blogs to share with us Meatless Meals, but be patient as I figure out how to make this all work.  I will post pics and recipes so stay tuned.

Welcome to the 2nd Meatless Monday with Mindy. Today is a frigid, snowy, bundle up by the fireplace kind of day. Cold weather like this always makes me want a bowl of hot soup. So that's exactly what I'm going to do for supper tonight. Usually I look forward to chopping, slicing and dicing vegetables and experimenting with new flavors.  However,  I have a meeting to go to tonight so I am not going to take the time to chop all the veggies that are in my crisper drawer and I'm going to cheat by using frozen vegetables.  My momma used to make a beef vegetable soup that was a, "use what you have" kind of soup.   I have been making this same soup since I was old enough to start helping in the kitchen. It was the first soup that came to mind this morning as it's one of my favorites. So I plan to revamp this beef vegetable soup recipe that I have made for decades, sans beef.   It's simple, fast and very tasty. The new"recipe" goes something like...

I'm joining the Meatless Monday revolution!  * WHY MEATLESS? Research has shown that reducing meat intake may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. The occasional meatless meal can also help cut your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.  * WHY MONDAY? Multiple studies have shown that periodic health prompts lead to positive behavior change. Monday is the beginning of the week, making it the perfect time to reevaluate our choices and set our intentions for the coming days. With a Meatless Monday, you have a scheduled, recurring reminder to start your week off on a nutritious note. And if this Monday passes you by, next week is another opportunity to focus on health! So, each week I'll be sharing a recipe that I have made or want to make (I'll let you know which). When I get smart, and I warn you this may take a while, I hope to use a link-type program where...

Christmas came early for us this year.  Our son and daughter-in-law came in from Wisconsin so we had our family Christmases a week early this year.  This was our first year with baby Eliza and what a joy it was to watch her experience ribbons and wrapping paper and shiny lights.  This year was our turn to host the extended family Christmas dinner too, so Eliza was totally overwhelmed with all the new faces and voices.  There were 15 of us at our table this year and two more joined us via Face Time during our meal.  Overall, our new grand daughter did very well considering these types of crowds could make almost anyone anxious. In honor of our new grand baby, I wanted to add some whimsy to our Christmas table this year.  A trip to Pier 1 did the trick for inspiration and fun pieces to add to my collections. Click on any picture to enlarge it for detail. These cool looking ball ornaments were the perfect color I was after as well as the lit...

This evening, even though Dave is still up, it is quiet in the house.  Dave is re-loading software onto his computer after his hard drive was replaced. I have finally stopped working while simultaneously watching TV and checking Facebook, and now I am sitting quietly on the couch with the fireplace burning and the smell of candle fragrance wafting in the air.  This day was nothing special. As a matter of fact, I wasted too much time today and didn't get accomplished what I wanted to.  But tonight, sitting here peacefully in the quiet, I am thankful. These 30 Days of Thanks are almost up, and although I don't think hardly anyone has read these posts, it has been good for me to get quiet each night and reflect on what I am thankful for.  God has blessed me in so many ways.  The obvious, of course is easy, I have a house and can afford food for my table. I have a husband of almost 30 years whom I love more now than the day I married him.  I have two adu...

Today was a good day. It started off early this morning while chatting with a friend online. She told me of a client that raved about a candy and cookie buffet that I put together at their wedding and how they wanted to write me a note of appreciation. Later this morning I was at my clients house for a de-clutter appointment and she was in better health and better spirits than she had been in a while. We made good progress together and left with a prayer and tears in our eyes.  This evening I received a Partylite order (which is like Christmas to me!) and got that sorted for the guests. I didn't have to cook for supper as we had yummy left-overs from last nights Turkey soup. Then later this evening someone said they wanted to book a show from me!   THEN, I discovered a new musical group called Il Volo, a group of teenage tenors from Italy with heavenly voices.   This whole evening I was listening to Christmas music and bringing up Christmas decor and finalizing...

Today I started taking down the autumn decor and began cleaning and preparing to put up the Christmas decor.  Not that long ago, this phase of my seasonal decorating used to drive Dave nuts! Today he took it all in stride, knowing that the Christmas "stuff" would soon be brought up and temporarily the house will be in shambles with boxes everywhere. But in the end our house looks festive and we can relax and enjoy it for a few weeks until it's time to take it all down again.  We are both looking forward to our son and his family coming when we can both get our hands on our grand-daughter.......ohhhhh, she's so cute! In the meantime, I am already thinking about what tablescape I want to create for the Christmas holidays, so I just may have to try a few out on you and let you pick which one makes it for our family get-together table.  Stay tuned for pictures and I hope you comment to tell me which one's you like.  I'm open for suggestions!! This evening I...