News from the Nest, September 13

Good Morning from lovely Urbana, Ohio! We are on the last leg of our 2-week sojourn, finishing up in this quiet and beautiful part of the country for my niece’s wedding. It has been two weeks of catching up with the people we’ve known forever, paying homage and reminiscing about those no longer here, reuniting with two Nourish and Nestle friends 😉, and celebrating new beginnings. We flew in my two kiddos from their respective schools, so I also got some valuable momma time! While I desperately wish we didn’t have the specter of Covid hanging over us again, we were able to celebrate safely and masked when necessary.

And what a wedding! My extended family stayed in a lovingly and beautifully restored inn, The Scioto Inn, in Urbana. If you are ever in this part of the country, I can’t recommend this charming property enough! We then made a quick trek up the road to Wren Farm, where my beautiful niece and new nephew exchanged vows and started their new life together. The reception was held in a delightfully restored barn, perfect for a wedding venue.

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Understandably, it has been crickets on the blog front his past week. It has been a lovely hiatus, but I am ready to get back home to my real life…and Flora and Peep! I miss my four-legged loves!

• Do you do this? Whenever in the air or the car on the way home from an extended time away, I make lists of all the things I want to do or make or cook when I get home. Not that they all get done, but I at least put them on paper!

So, here’s what’s on my list thus far (but I won’t be home til tomorrow afternoon, so it will surely grow!)

Bake some goodies to send in a care package

Prepare some healthy food so we can get back on track after 2 weeks on the road, including these fiber cookies.

Get back into my morning walks and arm exercises.

Finish decluttering the attic and garage when it cools down a bit. I will refresh myself with these questions to ask myself as I decide whether to keep or let go of things. Having this list of where to take my discards will also be handy…I’ll prepare boxes for anticipated ‘destinations’ in advance to make tossing easy.

Can some chicken stock to replenish my pantry.

I know I will be met with an abundance of jalapeños in my garden so will definitely make some Jalapeño cheese spread and maybe some Jalapeño Wine Jelly.

• Revisiting some of these Five Tips Friday Life Hacks

• When we arrived at my sister-in-law’s home last week, she had a batch of Sweet Potato Chews in her Smart Oven for her sweet rescue pup, Leah. If I haven’t mentioned this Smart Oven before, let me do so now. I never wanted a toaster oven, but my parents surprised me with one several years ago and I can’t imagine not always having one now. We use it as our primary oven, saving so much time and electricity given the smaller area that needs heated. It isn’t cheap, but has so many features that we use on a regular basis. I’ve cooked a whole chicken and roast beef in it and I’ve dehydrated fruits and vegetables in it. We LOVE the air fry feature and the pizza feature. The reheat feature is a handy one as well and it is small enough that I made a space for it in my pantry.

• Also while at my sister-in-law’s home, I borrowed the neck wrap I had sent her. I had a sinus/allergy headache and the warmth of the microwaved lavender and buckwheat hulls helped soothe it. I need to make some more as they make great gifts!

• Roll out this cheese cracker dough and cut it into leaf shapes for a lovely fall treat.

Well my friends, I need to keep this short and sweet as I need to finish packing so that we can be on the road in a half hour!

Wishing you a wonderful day and fantastic week.

Until next time,

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!