This week has finally brought with it a taste of winter. The past few days it has been snowing on and off. Today we are suppose to see the most of it.

Not as much as we saw in our previous home but enough to close the school for the older boys. (Much to their delight I might add!)

Ariella and Gabriel enjoy watching the snow come down and begin to pile up on the sidewalk. They are still(!) getting over being sick, in fact Gabriel took a turn for the worse last night so I am closely watching him today. I don’t want to risk them going out in the cold so we are enjoying a nice quiet snow day indoors coloring, reading stories, and playing dress up.

Taking care of sick little ones while determinedly fighting off getting sick myself has left little time (or energy) for reading this past week. I am still enjoying The Peach Keeper, even if it is at a very slow pace.

I just finished up Gabriel’s vest last night while watching the snow coming down and have yet to sew on the buttons. I really wanted an action shot of him wearing it but he was just in no mood for trying on Mommy’s knitwear today. I’m worried it may be a tad too small. I knit the 2 toddler size but am now thinking perhaps I should have made the 3. It may fit him for a very short time.

I can’t seem to decide on the buttons. I rummaged through my vintage button stash that I have been hoarding for nearly 8 years now and came up with three choices.

I would much rather use some handmade wooden buttons like these but would still need to get around to ordering them and I don’t want to wait even that long for him to wear the vest. He just might outgrow it before I get around to sewing the buttons on! Which ones do you prefer? I’m leaning towards the dark blue ones.

Thanks again to Ginny for hosting this week’s Yarn Along. I look forward to reading all of your posts.

Yesterday I had my younger two children outside in the garden with me and it sure seems that spring is indeed coming early over here. I noticed the chives have returned and are already at least 3 inches tall. It seems early to me unless my memory is failing me! I’m looking forward to using the chives again. I noticed yesterday that last year’s chives reseeded themselves nicely so I will have plenty this year for soups, salads, bake potatoes, dips, I could go on and on.

Some chives would have been a nice addition to a soup I made the other night for dinner. It was a really simple, creamy soup that tasted so good and was gluten free and dairy free. It made a lot which is a good thing because my son can take the left overs to school for his lunch. We have been struggling to find lunches that he can take that are both easy to prepare and gluten free. Don’t even get me started on what his high school serves for lunch! They really need to think about adding some gluten free choices.

ingredients

Gluten Free Dairy Free

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

To make the soup:

• Chop up one head of cauliflower
• Slice up about 3 leeks, white parts only
• peel and chop one celery root
• mince a couple cloves garlic

Toss all of this into a pot with some homemade stock (or store bought if you don’t happen to have homemade on hand). I used enough stock to cover everything by about an inch or so. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 25 minutes or until the celery root is tender. Puree the soup to your desired consistency. Enjoy!

It was really very good and you do not miss the cream from dairy at all.

We have now been gluten free for a full 2 months. It is still a struggle but we are adjusting.

I am still undecided about where this blog is heading but thought I would share this yummy soup as it makes a nice and light early spring meal.

How is everyone’s garden doing right now? Anyone else noticing spring is on the way?

So much snow fell today and when it stopped briefly this afternoon we had a treat just outside our back window as the view was simply breathtaking.

I cannot believe Christmas is only 5 days away. I am not as ready for it this year as I normally like to be. All the issues with the kids’ health and whatnot have taken a toll on me. I am trying to get over a particularly nasty cold as I type this. I had wanted to post a few things about some of my handmade gifts that I will be giving this year but as I look at the calendar I am realizing I have all but run out of time. Instead I think I might pay a visit to some posts I have previously written that are appropriate for this time of year and weather.

Some recipes worth revisiting:

• Spicy-Herb Roasted Nuts
• Mulling Mix for Apple Cider
• Hot Buttered Rum
• Ginger, Lemon, and Honey Tea

I do believe this will probably be my last post this week (maybe even for this year) seeing that the big holiday is so close to being here. I want to wish all my readers a wonderful Christmas and a safe and merry New Year.