Christmas Eve 2009 Video

Here it is. Facebook's new privacy regulations made it impossible to embed in the sidebar, so we uploaded it to YouTube instead. Enjoy:

Pentimento, Part VI - Floor Tiles and Friday Night Dinner

The picture above is facing South, with the morning sun lighting up the room. I love having our bedroom on the south side of the house, so that we get a lot of light throughout the day. The picture below is taken by the windows so one can see the floor and walls better. The tile is down but not grouted yet.

We anticipate being back in our bedroom by Thanksgiving.

Note the fan in action.

Below is a picture of Friday night's dinner on call at the hospital. It was the second time I had ever gone to the cafeteria, and I got a vegetarian wrap. I basically asked for everything on it, and the lady kept piling on stuff. Just before wrapping it up, she asked if I wanted some black beans on it.

"Of course," I said.

She stared at me for a second, then put some on and proceeded to wrap it up. Beads of perspiration popped out on her forehead. She called for help from a co-worker. I wandered off to grab an apple, and when I came back, it was done.

"There you go. Enjoy," she panted. Her colleague leaned over the counter, breathing heavily. He looked a little pale.

"Never again. Don't ever let him order that again," he said.

Garden Progress

Some views of the garden, with some of the vegetables planted: After tilling the soil, we put down this biodegradable barrier which is supposed to limit weed growth, hold moisture, and make your children's teeth straight while they sleep. All we had to do was cut a hole in the barrier and plant our little peat pots into the gumbo - I mean, soil.

That is my shadow running along the fence line. I took the picture while standing up on the tractor.
Another view. We planted beans, peas, zucchini, two types of yellow squash, carrots, tomatoes(Cherry and Roma), and OKRA! We are Texans, you know.

Here are the bones of some unfortunate ram or goat critter which was carried onto our property after dining. There was an empty jar of mint sauce with it....
And finally, here is the ubiquitous Texas brush pile. We were moving some of the wood from the front part of our property and I decided to place it right on top of a large patch of prickly pear cactus. I figured I could eliminate two things with one fire.

I got to thinking about when to burn this brush pile, and then it hit me. St. Patrick lit a bonfire on Easter - rather, at sunset on Holy Saturday. What better time to burn our little patch of flammable Ireland than on this coming Saturday? Of course, several criteria would have to be met: verification that the burn ban for the county is lifted, standby water, minimal wind, and some other issues would all have to fall into place. I am hoping I could start a new Irish tradition on our property, and I am certain I could come up with a pile of brush just as large next year!
Now that I have thrilled you with the photographs, here are a couple of videos of the garden/property work:



Watch little brother almost take out big brother with a stick throw:

19th Wedding Anniversary

July 1, 2008 is the 19th Wedding Anniversary of dadwithnoisykids and Wifeofdadwithnoisykids!

For better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, 'til death do us part.

These past 19 years have been filled with graces from God.

We have seen the birth of twelve children and eagerly await the arrival of the 2009 Model of Noisykid.

We have migrated around Southeastern Michigan, moved to San Antonio, Texas, and then moved up to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Our home has grown from a 700 square foot efficiency in married student housing to a 12 acre slice of Texas soil.

We have survived medical school, internship, residency, fellowship, military service, and private practice - so far.

We have suffered the loss of two children by miscarriage, and lost our third child, Theodore, this past April.

The strength to stay together in the face of so many trials is truly a gift from God; the graces of the Sacrament of Matrimony, as well as the Eucharist and Confession, have held us up tremendously.

Give Thanks To God.

That is Theodore in front of the picture of Divine Mercy.

All of these experiences have just made me love my wife more and more; with each day, my love for Wifeofdadwithnoisykids grows.

Tonight we went out to Nick & Sam's for our Anniversary Dinner. I was sitting at a table where I could see all that was going on in the kitchen. Being a man who is distracted by shiny objects, I kept on looking at the chefs as they hurried around the kitchen. At the same time, I kept thinking about how deeply I love my wife. As my wife pointed out to me, love is an act of the will, and can be expressed in various degrees.

For myself, I love my wife deeply, sincerely.

Thoughts of love blend with visions of chefs at work.

Suddenly it hits me:

I love you.....

Madly?

Noisykid Kitchen - A Friday Night Dinner

Vegetable lasagna with green beans:

File photo with the still-missing Captain Merrill Stewbean in happier days. Stewbean is presumed to be lost at sea.

Chefs:

Lasagna: Wifeofdadwithnoisykids, 15-year old girl noisykid - made previously and frozen; pulled out and baked today.

Vegetable, Bread: 16-year old boy noisykid

Fish: dadwithnoisykids

The Meal:

Fish: Grilled Mahi-Mahi filets, seasoned with seafood/vegetable seasoning; butter

Starch: Mushroom Lasagna(see recipe below)

Vegetable: Microwaved frozen green beans, drizzled with Italian or raspberry walnut vinaigrette

Bread: Honey Whole Wheat Bread(recipe below)

Beverage: Water or Gevalia medium roast coffee

Mushroom Lasagna by Wifeofdadwithnoisykids

Ingredients:

20-24 oz fresh sliced mushrooms

½ t garlic powder or fresh garlic to taste

3 tbsp Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (24 oz.) carton cottage cheese

2 eggs

3 T parsley

¼ t salt

12 oz. lasagna noodles

1 ½ cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

1 ½ cups grated Mozzarella cheese

1 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Sautee mushrooms and garlic in olive oil; add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, parsley and ¼ t salt in bowl.

3. Cook and drain lasagna noodles.

4. Combine Monterey and Mozzarella cheese in a bowl.

5. Place a layer of noodles in the bottom of a 9”x13” pan.

6. Spread a layer of cottage cheese mixture over noodles.

7. Add a layer of mushrooms, then Monterey and Mozzarella cheese, then parmesan cheese.

8. Repeat layers until all ingredients are in, ending with cheese.

9. Bake covered at 350° for 30 minutes or until hot all the way through.

10. Uncover the lasagna and bake for another 10 minutes to brown cheese.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups Whole wheat flour

½ cup Nonfat dry milk

1 tsp Salt

2 pkg Dry yeast

3 cups Water

¾ cup Honey

2 Tbsp Oil

4-5 cups White flour

Directions:

1. Mix whole wheat flour, dry milk, salt and yeast together.

2. In saucepan on low heat, mix water, honey and oil until warm.

3. Pour warm mixture over flour mixture

4. Beat for 3 minutes

5. Add white flour and knead for 5 minutes

6. Place in greased bowl, cover and let and let rise

7. Punch down dough and divide into greased loaf pans

8. Cover loaf pans with towel and let rise until it reaches top of bread pan

9. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes

Makes two large or three small loaves

Noisykid Kitchen - Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Chile rellenos?

No!

Poblano rellenos!

Being adventurous and liking the flavor and texture of the poblano pepper, I choose it over the more mundane green pepper.

1. Start by cutting or coring out the stem and the veins as well as the seeds.
2. Stuff with whatever you wish. In the case above, one was stuffed with seasoned ground beef and cheese, and the other two were stuffed with seasoned grilled chicken and cheese.

3. Put them over the grill until the skin started to pucker and blacken, then roll them over to continue the cooking.

4. Serve hot, along with all the fixings for fajitas.

A visiting friend said she remembered her mother making her these when she was a child. She loved them.