Our AGA is fixed... and other things

This morning a repairman came out and fixed our AGA.  As DH said, "OMG, it's alive again!" That's what it feels like when the pilot is lit and the whole thing becomes warm again. It is the 'heart' of the kitchen and we've had it since 2005. 

It's only had one repair in all those years and that was in 2011. But when the workman who were putting in the generator last week tried to put it back on, they broke the simple mechanism that lights the pilot. So the poor thing went cold after all those years. We were lucky to find someone who knew how to fix it, as you don't find too many AGAs in Texas. But we love it... and really missed it. So we are so happy to have it back working again! 

She's back!!

Of course we also have an old wall oven... but we've had it for 36 years and the thermostat on it doesn't work well.  We have been told that it is too old to repair the thermostat so we either have to put a bought thermostat into the oven and regulate that way or just order a  new wall oven... (and who knows when that will get here - and it's definitely not a priority).

We did go out and buy a Breville toaster oven that has air fry capacity. THAT is supposed to be delivered before Christmas (we shall see). This was a precautionary measure in case the AGA parts had to be ordered and we wouldn't have any kind of oven for Christmas dinner. 

And I have to say that these last few days without an oven has taught me how to microwave more. Up until now we only used the microwave for heating things up... not actually cooking. But I've learned to cook scrambled eggs in the microwave (and baked potatoes)  as well as some microwavable dinners (like Stouffer's lasagna). I always knew they were microwavable, but just preferred to put them in the oven.

Anyway, now you are up to date on our latest Christmas dilemma.

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Our oldest son and his wife drove in from Texarkana this past weekend and we had our little family get-together Sunday. They were going to come Christmas Eve, but for one reason or another ended up coming this weekend. It was so good to see them as they have moved from Oahu, Hawaii to Grandbury, TX to Texarkana during the pandemic and we haven't gotten to visit much. 

Their dog is a Golden Doodle... (funny name for a breed I know), but very family oriented. I think he really believes he is just another kid. 

Here is a picture of Winston in his Christmas sweater.

He usually runs around the house except when we're eating - and then they 'corral' him for a little while. But he is a sweetie, loves to play and loves to watch TV... especially dog shows... but he watched football with us Sunday. 

We won't see our daughter and her family this Christmas, but we did see them Thanksgiving... and hope to be able to visit them in the hill country this spring or summer (if this virus would stop mutating and we could feel safe to travel).

Youngest son and his family will come over Christmas evening. Granddaughter is 9 now and her class recently had a Christmas event at school. We almost always go to these events, but decided that perhaps with Omicron rearing it's ugly head, that we would forego any crowded gatherings. They understood. No one wants any of us to get sick.

Tomorrow I will continue baking my Christmas rum cakes since the AGA is back in service.  I need to get these out to my neighbors sometime this week... and then I'm finished baking. We have gotten so much in the mail from friends and family... and even neighbors that we have enough goodies around this house to last for a year. 

These are the cannisters and rum cakes I send out... 

DH's brothers sent us a ton of dark chocolate 'everything' from the Chocolate House in Houston and bags of Italian seed cookies as well as quarts of Spumoni Ice-cream from Angelo Brocato's in New Orleans and a variety of different flavored pecans. I will have to put some of this away or we will all have diabetes by the end of the year. 

Well, Merry Christmas to all of you! Stay well and stay safe! And I'm glad that we at least have this safe way to stay in touch and communicate during these strange days. 

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

* For those who have shown an interest: Sorry I couldn't get the sequel to "Time after Time" out before Christmas. But hope to do it sometime early in 2022.  But good news is that I'm still getting hits on Amazon for both the paperback and the kindle edition. *

cats, grandkids, pottery, and books...

Ghost and Tux sleeping by the Aga

Today was a very busy day (not for the cats as you can see). It was our youngest grand daughter's first day of Kindergarten and we were all apprehensive. As it turned out, she did just fine... and I think she even enjoyed it. Today was only until noon, but tomorrow is until 3. She says she's looking forward to recess tomorrow so they can go out and play on the playground... (she explained to me that there wasn't enough time for recess today since it was only a half day)

I'm working on a few more clay projects, more windchimes, another bluebird soap dish, and an egg shaped bird house. Once I get them a little further along, I'll post a few pics on the Cheeky Chickens Studio site. By the time the new semester starts at the end of August, I should have several things to fire.

BTW, my jaw is definitely better. I don't want to talk too soon, but although I'm still careful with it, the TMJ inflammation or whatever it was seems to be gradually going away. (Hurray!) 

There's been so much political uproar on the news that I've basically 'tuned it out'.  Sometimes I think people are losing their minds. That's all I'll say on that subject.

I am reading a good book written by an 85 year old woman that decided to take notes while living in a home for the aged. Actually it's 3 books in one, "Out to Pasture", "Over what Hill?", and "Older but Wilder". The author is Effie Wilder and her stories are both insightful and funny. 

Oh, and I tried a new recipe from Cast Iron Comfort Food magazine today to celebrate grand daughter's first day of Kindergarten. It's a giant snickerdoodle cookie made in a cast iron skillet. DH actually saw this recipe in the magazine at CM and promptly bought it for me. They do have some other good recipes in it too...

Cast Iron magazine

Snickerdoodle in cast iron skillet

Happy Wednesday!

Catching up... dogs, kids, cats, turtles, and lizards

daughter's new dog?

Our daughter texted me this picture this morning saying, "Lord, help me." When I inquired what was going on, she explained that this American Great Dane's owner was moving to Germany. The owners were advised by their Vet that the shipping as well as the long incubation time involved might not be a good idea.

So my daughter is seeing if he is going to make a good fit into their household (which already consists of 2 horses, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 12 chickens, assorted turtles, and 3 fish filled ponds). So far she says he is extremely sweet, doesn't bother with the chickens, is a bit afraid of the horses, and is avoiding the cat. She didn't mention how he was getting along with the other 2 dogs... They live on acreage in the hill country... so there's plenty of room for a big dog to run. I guess we shall see. 

Years ago they took in Diego, a 135 lb Rottweiler. He was a sweetheart... up there in age and has since passed away, but the funny thing is that he took a liking to DH (who isn't a dog lover)... and would follow him around everywhere when we visited.  DH doesn't dislike dogs, but he's never felt very comfortable around them. Diego tried his best to change that.

Made next level up in swimming ! Now she's a Turtle 2!

Next news here is that our grand daughter just made Turtle 2! 
She loves swimming and was excited to go up a level...

Pottery class resumed yesterday. Just getting all our equipment back into the studio and put away on a shelf or in a locker takes time. Clay is heavy. Dropped one box which contained some cheeky chickens I was bringing in to fire - decapitated one and eye fell off another. 

Since I haven't thrown anything in over 6 months, I wasn't sure I could.  However, muscle memory came into play and although I didn't throw much... did finish throwing, trimming, and getting a handle on one mug. Spent a lot of time reminiscing with the ladies from both the pottery and painting classes... and sculpted a few chickens in between. Thinking about making some hanging chimes for this summer's project.

our 3 cats 

Tux, Ghost, and Julie send their regards. I've got chicken cooking in the Aga behind them... and they are waiting for a taste.

And turtle and lizard report! We're seeing box turtles several times a week these days... coming to eat in both the back and front yards. One was a tiny fellow maybe as big as a half dollar. Good to see those as not many little ones make it - are probably eaten by raccoons or other critters. The lizard in the following pic was taken by our Nest Doorbell. He must live somewhere close by the doorbell as he gets his picture snapped at least once a day...as he passes the camera.

doorbell lizard

Have a great Sunday!

Breakfast anyone?



Breakfast anyone?

I'm still stuck with not being able to upload any pictures from my computer... and did send feedback to let someone at Blogger know that I'm experiencing this problem.  From your comments yesterday it's obvious that I'm not the only one.

But I am able to go into my Blogger Photo File and post 'old pictures'.  So I when I came across this photo of breakfast on the Aga, I thought it looked good - probably because it's Saturday morning and I've only had a cup of herbal tea so far today.

Well, it is now 12:45 and still can't upload pics... so I guess this will be my post for the day.  DH and I just got back from Central Market.  We get our fresh produce and meat there.  Bought myself some fresh Salmon to grill tomorrow.  I really love Salmon, but DH doesn't.  So I get about a half pound every other weekend (or so) and grill it just for me in the Aga. (BTW, the cats love it too!)

Well, have a good weekend.  If... ever the 'picture thingy' returns to my insert image area, I will post some of the clay project pictures.





a surprise gift...



a gift

Good Morning!  It's 7:30 Tuesday morning and I'm up and about -  drinking my coffee and reading blogs. Life is good.  The cats and I had a early morning 'get together' by the Aga at about 3 am. Occasionally I awake around this time (must be age?) and if I can't go back to sleep, I head for the Aga and a cup of warm milk or tea. The cats are always sleeping on the small rag rug there (my DIL crochets these),  so I just join them.  With a cup of something hot in my hands, a warm stove at my back, and purring cats lying across and beside me, I am content.

My son brought me an unexpectant gift yesterday. Aren't they the best kind?  I had mentioned that I liked and owned a few Annalee dolls - mostly small Christmas and holiday elves.  Apparently he remembered this and thus, the picture above. Wasn't that sweet?

New grandbaby is due anytime. We're all waiting expectantly! Other grandkids are 14, 11, and 5... so, it's been a while since we've had a new baby around. We know it's a little girl, and we know her name is Aoife (pronounced EEf-fa - long E).  I'm told the name is Gaelic and means 'princess warrior'.


PS: Today the check spelling part of my blogger isn't working???

the story of Reggie (bunny) and Rupert (rat)...

This post belongs in my "Cats, Coffee, and Chocolate" blog... since it is about critters.  But it's also part of the ongoing story of our Aga... which was my "Older but better...?" site's previous post.  So, forgive me but I'm posting it on both sites.  Talking about the Aga got me to go back and read one of my old web sites called Agasite which began as a journal of the horrendous days of remodeling our kitchen. If anyone has undergone this elective devastation, you will understand.

Anyway, as I was reading I came across the story of Reggie and Rupert.  It's a true story that I put into a children's story form in a letter to my then 3 year old grand daughter.  (I send her stories about the critter activities in our backyard).  Anyway, it is a cute story about 2 real life animals that became friends and hung out in our yard.  Even the workers who were remodeling were fascinated by this friendship. So, if you're interested, here is the story of Reggie and Rupert.



Our Aga...

In 2005 we remodeled our kitchen and put in an Aga.  It's a simple story, but there is a story.
For years I followed an online friend's blog, and he made mention several times in his posts how much he missed his Aga.  He lives 'across the pond' in England. Being from the States, I had no idea what an Aga was. So I researched it and found that even though they were not popular here, they were still available.  So DH and I decided to check them out.  Well... for a kitchen appliance, we both thought they were absolutely beautiful. I had the intention of 'admiring from afar'.... beautiful, but not attainable.  DH had different ideas.  So... tada! 

And if you're wondering if we later regretted our purchase because of the Texas heat (an Aga is on 24/7 - continuous heat - no knobs), the answer is no, we love it! The cats love it!  It does get a bit warm in the kitchen in July and August, but the rest of the year it offers warmth and comfort to us all. I tend to sit on the floor with my back to it and drink my coffee with the cats in the early mornings...

 

"Pie fixes everything" dish towel

I found this dish towel in Fredericksburg, Texas when a friend and I were there visiting a few weeks ago.  Loved it!  Says exactly what my hubby believes.  Out of the blue when we are either sitting around watching TV or doing something around the house... he will say, "I need pie!"  It has become a mantra as has "Have you pilled Jack?" (another story, another time).  Told him that I plan to write these on our tomb stones: "I need pie" on his and "Have you pilled Jack?" on mine.

The tomatoes on the Aga are from my friend's garden.  Tomatoes are apparently doing well this summer. My daughter brought some up from her garden in the hill country and my friend brought these last week from just north of Dallas. Luckily for us, we like tomatoes. I especially like them broiled with a little seasoned breadcrumbs and butter on top. They can't compare to the creole tomatoes grown down in Louisiana, but they'll do.  I did miss those when we first moved to Texas... as well as creole cream cheese, pickled meat, and other delicasies that can't be found here.

We also picked the first figs from one of our trees yesterday. There's a trick to getting any figs from our trees. They produce a lot... but between the birds, squirrels, and box turtles... we have to be quick if we want even a few.  Of course we plant the fig tree for the little beasts, so we really can't complain if they take them all.  Our yard is a certified wildlife sanctuary... and we like it that way.

Hubby just brought me some fresh made sweet tea, so I've got to go for today.  I like my new made tea warm and fresh from the brew.