Mind Hacks for Minnesota Winter

Bare with me for a sentence while I bemoan the -30 windshield and below 0 temperatures expected this weekend-and a three day weekend at that. A beautiful hike in a local regional park, snowshoes or cross country skiing, or outdoor ice skating are not so nice when there are skin freezing advisories. We're hunkering down for the most part-minimizing the wear and tear on the car, but I'm testing a few mind hacks to remember that spring and then summer will be here before I know it.

DD#2's birthday was on Thursday. It was a hectic day and evening and we had dinner out, so no need for additional desert. I've been hoarding the last of the summer rhubarb and strawberries in the freezer so made a dump cake for her birthday cake today. The sweet smells of June are lofting from my kitchen as the cake cools. 

I've got zucchini to roast, a package of brats I found hidden in the back of the freezer, ready to first cook in beer then "grill" in the oven as well, for a summer themed supper tonight. I kept a handful of the strawberries back and along with the remaining bottle of a strawberry daiquiri mix and rum, I'll be blending up some tropical frozen drinks tonight. We have four partially used bottles right now of rum.  DH has a habit of picking up a new bottle when he has a semi regular get together, then sticks the used bottle back up in a high cupboard. I made a small dent in the supply on frozen drinks for my girls weekend, and at a few Christmas gatherings. I don't know if blending bottles is a good idea or not-different batches, or lots, so they have sat individually. DH is only a light social drinker, hence why so much is brought home, and other than frozen drinks, I'm not a rum drinker. We don't have this issue with vodka.

We keep the daytime temp fairly low, so I'm not going to dress in my summer finest to get the feeling, but I've got a St Martin t-shirt on under a flannel shirt. Nothing says warm and sunny like obnoxiously bright souvenir wear. I scrolled through some old vacation photos from our 25th Anniversary  trip three years ago and almost need to pull out the sunglasses. Two of my sisters are heading to St Martin for a week in mid February-I have envy today. 

I do like our home state most of the time. Every now and then, weekends like this in particular, when the cold gets to be even too much for me, I allow myself some pity. Then, I bring out some food, drink, pictures, or an activity that puts me in a sunny and warm frame of mind. I just polished off a cucumber and hummus sandwich, not a locally grown one, but still crisp and tasty. In just seven short months, it will be the real deal.

Perhaps a New Savings Strategy

 
 
 We have another rare weekend with no external commitments on the calendar.  It is a beautiful, though cold, winter morning, perfect for getting some puttering done around the house, some home cooking and baking, and good walk once properly bundled. I will need to do a store run, but I think milk, bread, bagels, yogurt, and eggs might be all we need and I can pantry plan for the week.  I could walk to the store, but would need to go separately from walking pup, so not quite sure if I am ambitious enough for two long walks.  Here's a few pictures out our back door, and with pup lounging in his bed, enjoying the morning.

I spent the early hour I was up getting all my on boarding business taken care of for my new job on the employee website.  An option I have that wasn't available to me before was doing multiple deposits to different bank accounts rather than just a straight checking direct deposit.  I'm noodling around doing a nominal percentage to both our family savings, and a small account I have of my own.  We both have one, started with small amounts of inheritance money.  We've both tapped into ours to help the older kids over the years with a first car, camera equipment, and rent security deposit.  We felt the use of the money was in line with the intent of our loved ones; not quite a hand out to the kids, but a gift to help them get launched into the grown up world.  

I think if I send a percent or two to that account, we might not miss it at all, and I can slowly build it back up a bit to have in place for DD#2 and for any unexpected expenses that might arise with either of the older kids moves or career changes.  We are pretty disciplined about moving  most surplus income into our savings, but I think we probably keep more of a buffer in checking than needed, and then justify extra little expenses.  I'm looking at all the strategies, big and small, that families use to manage the leaks in their bank account, and direct more to long term savings. Are any of you using multiple pay deposit strategies in order to increase their savings rate? How do you maintain the discipline to not touch those other accounts for daily expenses? as always, your thoughts and suggested links to those wiser than me are appreciated.

He does a good job monitoring the wine bottles.



He alternates between his bed and rug,
choosing the rug if he get's too hot.



The light, but big flaked snow is calming.



The red maple sleeps until spring.



Not a good picture, but I love that the flakes
 are so individually visible falling on top of our
 big pine tree in the back yard.

Waiting for the Big Snow Storm

This is not a weather report but a lament.  I'm waiting for the snow storm of the year to hit.  I'm feeling cheated right now.  If I'm going to live in Minnesota in the winter, I want some bragging rights.  After the last week of warm January days, there are complete spots where we can see green grass coming through. I want to have a good deep bury that makes everything slow down for a day, giving reason, not laziness, to hole up inside with popcorn and hot beverages.  I want the brown muddy patches to be covered in sheets of billowy white.  I want to drive blinded by the sun shining so brightly off the crisp snow. 

Well, maybe not that last one, as I'm not a danger seeker.  I know winter has not released it's grip on us, and March is the snowiest month historically, and we've all of February left to get our snow quota, yet I am longing now for the snow to come.  I am a true four seasons kind of gal.  Snowy winters, melting and budding green springs, hot and humid summers, and crisp and cool autumns is what I want to experience. We've had some weird weather patterns the last few years, where I'm not sure, without looking at a calendar, what month it is.  Weather cycles should follow a pattern. I love the day after day of April rains.  You won't hear me complain about the heat and humidity in July and August.  Blustery winds in October have me reaching for a wool sweater and some hiking boots for a good long walk in the woods.  Something about getting a big snow fall in the heart of winter will feel right.  None of this green stuff on January 26th.

Sledding in the Snow is Still a Simple Joy

The jokes and the outrage across the United States abound due to many cities invoking sledding bans on public property.  I read an article from the BBC news covering the topic as well so the trend has garnered international attention. Commenters had a field day laughing at the over precautious Americans, living in a nanny state.    However, despite the blame on the bans by litigious happy lawyers, injuries are real, and failure to assess or outright ignore probable dangers should have been the focus.  In one several million dollar lawsuit, the city knowingly, and despite public discourse, planted trees in the park, in direct line of a known sledding hill. It isn't so cut and dry about where to put the blame for the horrible injury to a child, but widespread banning, in my humble opinion was an over reach.  This writer, Melinda Wenner Moyer in her post Let them sled!, does a strong job of outlining why there should be precautions and foresight yes, but outright banning no.

Living in the world of snow my whole life, the thought of kids no longer sledding is a sad one. My best childhood memories in the winter months, and those with my own children involved finding the best hills, and tramping back up for just one more ride. I grew up in rural Minnesota, in an area that was very hilly due to the proximity to the Mississippi River bluffs.  We had some incredible hills in back yards and country fields.  There was nothing better than sledding all day, until your toes were near frozen, your body a mix of sweat and frost.  I don't recall ever having the snowsuit sets my kids always wore, but we layered pants over pants, over pajama bottoms, over tights or long johns.  Our boots weren't the ones suitable for the polar vortex as we have now, so multiple socks, a great use for all the mismatched socks without partners, and a bread bag worn over the top layer of socks to create a water proof barrier. You get the idea.  The kids with head to toe snowmobile suits had it the best. Once home, the layers would get peeled off, and laid out somewhere to dry for the next time.  Nothing tasted better after a day of sledding than a mug of hot chocolate and a slice of toast with peanut butter.

Sledding is multigenerational too. The best sledding hills in my community are loaded with families with older infants to grand parents on any given Saturday or Sunday. As I hit closer to 50, my sled of choice is the tube type that cushion my rear on the way down.   DD#2 still prefers her long traditional purple sled, with the gray steering string.  On a hill groomed by sledders before, she shoots like a rocket from the top.  Plus, her sled has ample room to add a second or even third body for taking on other sledders in races.  Our family has had our shares of bumps and bruises, spills that have landed the rider face buried in icy snow, and sore butts from hard landings off a little jump.  My worst injury actually occurred as a 24 year old teacher, going down hill with two of my students.  I was the sled caboose, and right before being steered over a child made jump, my driver and middle rider bailed, and I sailed into the air, landing hard. Nothing broken, but I had a massive bruise across my lower back and was moving slow for weeks-unfortunate with a teaching job and 14 month old toddler at home to care for.

I hope the cities that banned all sledding on public property will rethink the fear, and move more to just educating on precaution or warnings on unsafe hills.  Hopefully the silly attention will yield more people just understanding better about the inherent risks, and better planning on where and how to sled. For those of us watching our pennies, and a day on the ski slopes is out of the question, or only an occasional treat, sledding is great exercise and totally frugal. Plastic sleds can be picked up used for a pittance and even if buying new, they are not that expensive and last for years. I'm sure we have no less than 6 in our garage, at least one  of which was purchased 25 years ago for pulling my DS around in as a toddler. All still get the job done with satisfaction.

I bemoan the bitter cold as much as my fellow Minnesotan's. Despite the cold, there are abundant joys in living in areas with four true seasons.  Sledding is one of those simple joys in the winter I hope to experience every year of my life.  Two years ago  we had a snow storm on May 1. I don't think I want to experience it for quite so long a duration this year, though.  Happy Sledding. 

Souper Sunday's

Not the most original title, but I am introducing a regular feature to my blog called Souper Sundays. This will run through the cold months of winter to motivate me to test the waters with some new recipes, or create my own from the pantry, fridge, and freezer.  Today, we have plans with extended family, but a cup of soup in a mug later tonight when we get home, and having some leftovers ready for the week will serve us well for a light and quick meal. 

Today's soup...Tomato Vegetable with Rice

This will be a crock-pot soup, and a semi homemeade, use up ingredients on hand soup.  In no particualr order, throw into you crock pot the following ingredients:
1 can condensed tomato soup
6 cups of water
5 chicken, beef, or vegetarian bouillon cubes
1 large chopped onion (or two small is what I had)
3 large but small cut carrots-about 1+ cups worth
3 large but small cut celery stalks about 1+cups worth
1/2 cup
2 tsp. of pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder
extra salt if you think to taste but with the cubes and condensed soup, probably more than anyone needs in a serving.

These were my ratios based on what I had on hand and wanted to use up.  Roughly I do a 1-1 vegetable to water ratio, 1-2 rice to water ratio, and then 1 can soup-1 cup water ratio, so a little less than equal the can. I like to have 1 cube of bouillon per cup of water, but  reserved one less since the canned soup already has so much flavor. That's how I decide on  5 cubes and 6 cups water.  Tweak as it works better for your taste, and thickness of soup preference.

Turn on high if you will be eating in 4-6 hours, or low if you want to just let it cook all day.  That is it, and while somewhat experimental, I can't see why it won't be delicious. You could add meat if you wanted as well, but we often have a grilled cheese or a deli sandwich along with soup, so I don't worry about meat with most soups.  DD#1 is vegetarian so I got accustomed to versioning things, or making one and supplementing meat sides for some meals.  This was simple and cheap, and uses some of the stocked up at dirt cheap prices  tomato soup we have on hand, but never seem to eat as soup. Some day I might put pencil to paper and do a better cost summary than the estimating in my head, but I'll say roughly $3.25 for 6 hearty portions. Some of you like the pureed soup and I think this would lend well to that if you so choose, particularly if you left the rice out.  I wanted a little more sustenance to it. Enjoy!

If some things work out for me in the time department, I'd love to do a post at the end of December, early January compiling links to some of the best  tried and true or experimental soup recipes.  Leave a comment if you think that would be a post that would interest you.  Even better, if you like the idea, and have one to include, leave me the link to the blog post that contains your recipe.  All will be duly credited.