The Bass

Lydia has been asking Malachi to teach her to play the bass.  Today, he voluntarily called her downstairs for a lesson.

It was really good timing, because Lydia was sad and missing Katie, but then Malachi asked her to come learn the bass.  Now both of them are giggling, and there may be some learning going on.  

In any case, he has made her inordinately happy.

Tacos de Lengua

Any idea what this is?

I spent the morning simmering this beef tongue on the stove.  After I pulled off the membrane and started cutting it up, Lydia kept snatching pieces and mumbling something about how vegetarians are stupid to not like meat.  I will saute the pieces tonight to serve as tacos de lengua.  I can't wait.  I already made the tomatillo sauce and have the cilantro and onion ready to go.  Nathaniel laughs at how much I enjoy food.  Elijah is disgusted by the idea of eating a tongue.  Malachi is game to try it, and Gyunay will try just about anything once.  (I do have some chorizo to serve, too, and everyone loves that, so they will have tacos one way or another.  But first, they must try the tongue!)

Chess

Elijah had a great day at his chess tournament.  He won 4 matches and lost only 1.  He got a 4th place overall trophy, and his team won 1st overall.  

Book Review - Collateral Damage by Lynette Eason

Collateral Damage by Lynette Eason was an action-packed read that I really enjoyed.  It starts in Afghanistan, and although I am a civilian, it sounded realistic.  The main characters, Brooke and Asher, felt very well-defined.  Both suffer from forms of PTSD that are realistically and compassionately portrayed.  I felt that the author did a good job of making the plot, characters, and settings feel authentic.  The main characters were also very easy to like.  I was intrigued by the plot, and the constant action kept me very interested.  There were some points where it was a bit hard to remember who certain characters were.  There are a lot of characters involved, and sometimes it was difficult to place who was who.  Although I enjoy details and backstories, there were parts that could have been pared down a bit for clarity.  Overall, though, the plot kept me very interested, and I enjoyed the emerging romance between Brooke and Asher.  I am eager to read the next installment in this series.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Revell, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.

Gardening in January?

I was out in the yard earlier, and I saw that arugula was growing in the hugelkultur garden:

Now, generally speaking, I would never expect to see fresh arugula growing in the yard unprotected, but the weather has been incredibly warm for this time of year for quite a while, and the seeds have decided it's time to sprout.  Since it's been to warm to freeze the ground, I was also able to harvest some baby carrots:

While outside, I heard one of the hens make her "I laid an egg!" sounds.  I saw her come out from under a tarp, and went to check.  Sure enough, there was a huge clutch of eggs there!  We thought the chickens were not laying, but it turns out, they have been laying sneakily.  So I stapled some fabric scraps over the nesting boxes:

Some people make chicken curtains to encourage the chickens to lay in the boxes.  I've never had to do this before; they've always just laid where they are supposed to.  However, these hens have been finicky.  They were laying on the floor of the coop in a little "nested" area they made.  I tried to discourage that, and although they did lay in the real boxes for a bit, they apparently decided to find a new place.  Luckily, I found it, and I hope with the "curtains" they will start laying appropriately.  I really don't want to have to go searching for eggs all the time!

December Harvest Totals

Bok Choy - 1 cup
Chicken - 3.7 pounds
Eggs - 75
Lettuce - 1 cup
Oregano - 1/2 cup
Peppers, Bulgarian sweet - 2

So, basically, I harvested a salad and some chicken and eggs.  I'm looking forward to seed starting this month!

Reading in 2019

For the first time ever, I tried to keep track of all of the books I read in a year.  I probably forgot to write down one or two, but overall, it's pretty accurate.  I only included books I read cover to cover, so although I did quite a bit of research on medieval manuscripts and various gardening topics, a lot of those books didn't make the cut, since I only read parts.  I don't necessarily recommend all of these books, but I did read them all.  Here are the books, in chronological order by category:

Fiction:
We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Never Let Go by Elizabeth Goddard
Almost Home by Valerie Fraser Luesse
A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politano
Living Lies by Natalie Walters
All Manner of Things by Susie Finkbeiner
The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Yours Truly, Thomas by Rachel Fordham
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Finding Lady Enderly by Joanna Davidson Politano
The Gryphon Heist by James R. Hannibal
Unscripted by Davis Bunn
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Over Maya Dead Body by Sandra Orchard
Deadly Deceit by Natalie Walters

Non Fiction:
St. Margaret Clitherow (a biography) by Margaret T. Monro
Woman-Powered Farm by Audrey Levatino
Bringing it to the Table by Wendell Berry
Norman Rockwell: A Sixty Year Retrospective by Thomas Buechner
Character Carved in Stone by Pat Williams
When Life Doesn't Match Your Dreams: Hope for Today from 12 Women of the Bible by Jill Eileen Smith
Bibles and Bestiaries: A Guide to Illuminated Manuscripts by Elizabeth B. Wilson
The Apostles and Their Times by Mike Aquilina
St. Nicholas Owen: Priest-Hole Maker by Tony Reynolds
Seven Lies About Catholic History by Diane Moczar
The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky
Letter to a Suffering Church by Bishop Robert Barron
Winning Your Sugar Battle by Richard Furman
Elephant Company by Vicki Constantine Croke
And Still I Rise (poetry) by Maya Angelou
Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Gordon H. Chang
Groundbreaking Food Gardens by Niki Jabbour
Building a Better World in Your Backyard by Paul Wheaton
100 Words of Affirmation Your Husband Needs to Hear by Lisa Jacobson
Upside-Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive and Foster Families by Shannon Guerra
How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art by Elizabeth Lev

Memoirs:
An Immovable Feast by Tyler Blanski
Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez
A Voice in the Chorus: Memories of a Teenager Saved by Schindler by Abram Zuckerman

Juvenile Fiction (only the longer chapter books):
Will Wilder and the Relic of Perilous Falls by Raymond Arroyo
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth
By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic by Jennifer Trafton

There are several books I'm still reading, but they weren't finished in 2019, so they will go on my 2020 list.  Several of these books were on the blog in book reviews, but many (most) were my own choices, or ones recommended to me.

And here's a family picture, just for fun: