Tuna & Potato Chips for Dinner

I think that this recipe will spark some memories for my mom and my siblings...

One of my new blog followers, Diane*, directed me to a really cool "recipe detective" blog** (thank you, Diane!) This is a site where people can look for lost recipes. While browsing there this morning, I found a woman who was seeking a tuna casserole recipe made with potato chips.

It is interesting to me how one simple dish can spark a number of memories.

Tuna -Potato chip Casserole is a dish that my mother used to make for us. She got the recipe from her Aunt Sally. Aunt Sally lived just south of Yakima in the town of Wapato and I have great memories of visiting her home in the summertime when we were growing up.

Sadly, Aunt Sally passed away a few years ago - she was such a warm person, with a great sense of humor. To me, this dish speaks of her....it is simple and comfortable and the addition of potato chips adds a bit of fun to it too.

Aunt Sally's Tuna Casserole

2 cans tuna

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 cup chopped celery.

1 box (3pkg) potato chips (crushed)*

1 to 1 1/2 cans of water

Mix ingredients together and put in baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees.****

Notes on this blog:

*Visit Diane's blog: http://knittinginthemethow.blogspot.com/

**Visit Recipe detective blog: http://old-recipe-detective.blogspot.com/

*** I don't know if you can still get the 3 bag-boxes of chips- we will have to experiment with quantities!

****My recipe card doesn't say how long to cook it, but I recall the top should be lightly browned and bubbly. This is not a healthy recipe-but that might be why it tastes so good. I recommend pairing it with a green salad. My mom used to add a little shredded cheddar on top as well.

Shaken and Stirred this morning.

Shaken: I woke this morning with a jolt. At first I thought my husband had slammed the front door as he left for work, but quickly realized that he had departed for work over a half hour ago!

Stirred: Got up, got some coffee (lovingly prepared by my personal barista before his departure) and made my way out into the world wide web to confirm my suspicion:

A 4.6 quake centered in Poulsbo, about 50 miles from my home in Monroe. The picture above is a shot from the NOAA website showing the location and intensity of the quake.

The NOAA has a fabulous earthquake site where you can view maps of recent activities. you can report your earthquake experience there- if you felt something- and you can learn all about quakes- what one sounds like, where the biggest quakes have occurred, etc...:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/dyfi/events/at/00332190/us/index.html

You will be surprised to learn that you probably had several small quakes in your state (especially if you are on the West U. S. coast) as recent as a few days ago- they were just so shallow you didn't feel them.

You can also check out the local weather, river levels, tsunami alerts, ocean tides and a plethera of other geological conditions. This is one of my favorite websites.

Yes, Sir - That's MY baby

Just wanted to post a current picture of my son, Jake, sporting the latest in college attire.

Jake will be graduating from Monroe high school and Everett Community College in June. He was just accepted by Western Washington University and he plans to begin classes as a Junior there in fall.

At this point he is not sure what his major will be, but it is rumored that his interests are math and communications.

I will say no more-so as not to embarrass him further- except that I am seriously proud of him and I think the sweatshirt looks great!

Ugh!

Ugh. I am so tired today.

Just sitting here with a menehune mug of coffee, contemplating today's schedule. I should have been at work an hour ago and I haven't even showered yet. I might get to work before noon, but I am thinking of torching my schedule and going back to bed.

Today's Schedule:

1)Work
2)School

Doesn't look too bad...it would only make a small flame....but within those two tasks are a multitude of demanding subtasks, and the commute, and finding a parking space (there is NO freakin' parking at work!) and the added stress of all the stuff that was outprioritized today because of work and school.

I just don't feel like I can cope with it all today. I really don't. I want to stay home and bake sourdough bread. And read a magazine. Maybe I could give myself a pedicure. I could do some YOGA!...and study...or I might just go back to bed......

Okay..okay!...I am getting into the shower now!!! (Damn!)

Sweet Blue Milk & Cheesey Bread

This is my nephew, Peyton. Today is his 8th birthday!

I spoke with Peyton yesterday about his birthday plans, and it turns out that next weekend he is having a party at the ice skating arena. Sounds like a fun way to celebrate!

Peyton told me that his favorite food is "cheesey bread". This, essentially, is bread with cheese melted on it. Peyton explained that you take bread and cut it into two parts. You put white cheese on it, put the parts back together and then put it in the oven and cook it until the cheese is melted. This sounds a lot like garlic bread with parmesean on it- but I could not get Peyton to say for certain that this was what he was talking about. His Mom told me that they have cheesey bread with many different types of cheese and Peyton does not discriminate- he loves cheesey bread.

One of Peyton's favorite things to drink when he visits me in Monroe is blue milk. This is a crowd pleaser, really, a favorite among the elementary set. My wonderful Grandma Muriel used to make this for her grandkids - just one of the many things that made her such a fabulous grandma really!

Grandma Muriel's Blue Milk

Into a tall drinking glass, place a little bit of sugar, a few drops of vanilla extract, and several drops of blue food coloring. Fill the glass with milk (I prefer organic- just don't want any extra hormones and antibiotics in my milk- especially when serving it to kids!) Stir until the desired shade of blue appears (it helps if you think happy thoughts here- I am not sure why).

The drink should be somewhat sweet and vanilla-ish- adjust your ingredients until pleasing. Most important of all: Blue milk should be served with a straw...kids generally find that the last few drops of blue milk make wonderful blue frothy bubbles when blown at with a straw....just have them keep the straw in the cup when blowing-they can play with their food without making a mess this way!

While Peyton loves his milk in a blue shade, it is important to note that other colors taste great too...Pink Milk was my favorite when I was a kid, and Peyton's younger brother always asks for his to be Yellow- which tastes better than it sounds. You will probably find that each child you serve it to has their own preference.

Undoubtably, Blue Milk goes great with Cheesey Bread. We will have to try that when Peyton comes over again. Happy 8th Birthday, Peyton! I love you!

Man-Cleaned.

My goodness! Has it been a whole week since I last posted? My poor followers - all 5 of you- I do apologize!

It has been an incredibly hectic week for me though. Unrealistic deadlines at work have me a bit frazzled and I worked way too many hours this week as a result. My schoolwork has been neglected, my family has been neglected, and I am afraid that I have neglected myself too and each of you. Isn't that how it is with women? Trying to juggle everything and when one thing needs your full attention for a while, everything else just sort of falls apart!

While I was out, slaying dragons and dealing with drastic program replan #16 (don't ask), my home was certainly not added to the list of things falling apart this week...because I have a husband who "man-cleans"

Man-cleaned. (adj.) : Some cleaning, as performed by a well-intentioned and everso thoughtful domesticated male.

Man cleaning is not like woman cleaning. It is more like "picking up" and "clearing the surface" type cleaning. Not a lot of attention to detail is required- just enough "scruba" to dub it "done".

You can tell that something has been man cleaned when:

1. Dirty dishes have been strategically packed into a very full dishwasher which has not been turned on.


2. The sink is empty, except for a thin, slimy residue and small bits of food particles that remained after the dishes were removed and the water drained out.


3. The countertops are clear, but littered with crumbs and dried spills.


4. The washing machine has been run, but is overfull with a mix of towels, jeans and your favorite wool "dry clean only" sweater.


5. The living room is picked up, but all of your plants are dead.

I am not complaining- God knows, when you are a working girl, you don't look at any "picked up" room with contempt.

No doubt he will just apologize for the sweater - say "well, I didnt know!"- and buy me a new one soon (and the vicious cycle will be repeated again next week when he forgets again that I banned him from the laundry room...) The way I figure it, every little bit helps.

We have a saying in our house (well, I say it anyway) "Nothing is ever where I put it, but always where it belongs" The shoes I left under the table can be found moments later in the closet. My keys...left on the table...somehow get placed in "key basket" next to the phone. So if I have to clean the sink and turn on the dishwasher, I do not complain. I sincerely appreciate that I have a man who believes in sharing the housework and keeping my crazy life in order. I am a lucky girl to have a man who man-cleans!

Coconut Buns from the "Magic Recipe Box"

Decided to pull another recipe from the same "magical recipe box" that I posted English Monkey from a few weeks ago.

Many of the recipes in this box appear to have been jotted down quickly by hand and little extra detail is provided for clarification. It is obvious to me that the author was quite versed in cooking and found a simple overview of ingredients and instruction sufficient in her baking. I imagine that she was one of these brilliant and skilled individuals who created masterpieces by adding just a little bit of this and..a dash of that.

This one is called "Cocoanut Buns"

Rub 1/2 c butter into 2 c flour add 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 c sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 c chopped cocoanut, 1 well beaten egg, milk to make a stiff batter. Put in pieces on butterd tin. Brush with milk and sprinkle with cocoanut. Bake 15 minutes in a hot oven.

I put on my apron (I dare not bake handwritten, old recipe box, recipes without an apron!!!!) and grated cold butter into a mixing bowl. I used my hands to rub the flour and butter together until crumbly, then added the rest of the ingredients in succession. I hesitantly used sweetened, shredded coconut- but I would not doubt that our esteemed homemaker would have taken the Martha Stewart approach and started with a whole coconut and chopped up what she needed. (note to self: research this). It took about about a 1/2 c of milk to create a "stiff batter" which I interpreted to be the consistency of cookie dough.

My "pieces" were 2 inch balls of dough and, my "tin" was a pampered chef rectangular cooking stone. The buns were baked at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. The recipe made 24.

As you can see, these appear to be more like coconut "biscuits" than "buns". They taste slightly sweet, like a "scone".

Simon- my official taste tester- suggested drizzling these with chocolate (Can you tell why I love this man?)

I think these would be lovely with tea. A dollup of jam and devonshire clotted cream would be everso nice.

Man, I love this Salmon!

I was so excited tonight when I arrived at my college class and found that they were serving this salmon again! It is just the right amount of smokey paprika and sweet too- reminds me of a barbequed potato chip, sort of.

The caterer tonight is a regular at our program, Special Occaisions http://www.specialocatering.com/ . They do a great buffet. The salmon was served chilled with a red pepper aioli, green salad, rice pilaf, and roasted vegetables. A very nice meal. The owner, Brian Blake, provided me the ingredients and his card to give him a call if I have questions.

Ingredients (I used Brian's ingredient list, but had to search the web for amounts)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, to taste
2 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (1 tsp if not freshly ground)
1 tablespoon crushed dried thyme, to taste

Directions
1Mix all ingredients together.
2Use as a rub on salmon fillets that have been drizzled with olive oil.

3Grill until cooked.

One more interesting note about salmon....you should seek out wild and not farmed salmon. Wild Salmon feeds on algae and provides higher levels of the good-for-you Omega fats.

Sending Roses to the Moon (and where to find a homely girl)

Two fabulous perks that I get from attending the University of Washington Technology Management MBA program is the cultural diversity and the wonderful food that is catered in.

We are served dinner before our Wednesday night class, and we get breakfast and lunch served to us on our every-other-Saturday class. The food is catered by various restaurants and the variety is often quite diverse- anything from Brazilian to Bulgarian- it is often a great culinary experience.

Many of the students in my class are from India. Today we had an Indian buffet and it was delicious. I cannot tell you exactly what all I ate, although ingredients were identifiable as chicken, lamb, rice and spinach, also some naan bread. My favorite (as is often my favorite) was dessert pictured above: Gulab Jamun.

Those little golden balls of dough in syrup were spectacular. Two of my classmates, Dinesh and Raman spent a little time educating me on this delicacy. Dinesh said that there is a Hindi/English joke about "how do you send roses to the moon". The answer is Gulab Jamun. "Gulab" is "roses" in Hindi and "Jamun" sounds an awful lot like "the moon" in English. There are many recipes available on the web for these sweets, but the one I selected below sounds closest to Raman's description of using real milk and also rose water.

Another note, while looking these up on line, I came across this ad for an Indian matchmaking website that promotes "homely women". Apparently homely does not have the same meaning in India!

Back to the Gulab Jamun...

This recipe was taken from recipezaar.com as submitted by "minathebrat" http://www.recipezaar.com/member/324069 . She has an awesome blogspot at http://mytasteblog.blogspot.com/

Gulab Jamun

Traditional Method
1 liter milk
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
Powdered-Milk Method
2 cups powdered milk
1 1/2 tablespoons self-rising flour
1/2 cup warm milk
1 teaspoon ghee or butter
Scented Syrup
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 tablespoon rose water or 1/2 teaspoon rose extract
1/2 teaspoon saffron (powdered, and optional)
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder (optional)
Ghee
1 lb butter, -unsalted is best but salted will work in a pinch
Directions
1To Make Ghee: Put the butter in a good saucepan and bring to a boil on medium heat. Then reduce to low. Now this is what will happen as the butter slowly simmers. Moisture will be evaporated out of the ghee. The white protein-solids from the butter will sink down to the bottom of the pan and slowly turn golden. A foam will rise to the surface, and as it cooks will form a bit of a crust. The butter will cook into a gold color as well, and it will have a slightly nutty smell. When the moisture is gone, the ghee is done. Decant the oil and save the delicious golden buttery bits on the bottom of the pan for toast, or mixed with veggies or potatoes. If you've used salted butter, you don't want to use it on toast- the salt will knock you out, but it's still good in potatoes or whatnot.
2Making the Scented Syrup: Combine sugar and water and bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add rose water or essance.
3Traditional Method: Use a heavy-bottomed pan because the milk will stick. Use a non-stick pot if you have it. Boil the milk down over medium heat, while stirring, until it forms a paste. Add the flour and mix into a smooth paste. Oil your hands and roll them into uniform balls, place them onto a buttered plate and set aside.
4Powdered-Milk Method: Combine the warm milk and ghee together. Mix the powdered milk and flour together and sprinkle slowly into the wet mix to form a dough. Oil your hands and form uniform balls (about 24) and set aside on a buttered plate.
5Cooking the jamuns:.
6This is the most delicate part of the operation. Gentle, low heat is a must. Use a wok or karai for best results, with the ghee about 2.5-3 inches in depth.
7Heat the ghee on low to 215 degrees.
8Slip in the balls, one by one. They will sink. No touching at this point.
9Gently shake the pan to move the balls and keep them from getting too brown on one side. After about 5 minutes they will begin to float. You will notice them getting bigger.
10Now, use a wooden spoon or equivalent to gently agitate and keep them evenly browning.
11The ghee will slowly get hotter as the balls cook.
12After about 20 minutes, the ghee will have risen in temperature to around 245 degrees and the balls should be nice and golden.
13Remove a ball and put it in the syrup. If it doesn't collapse after 3 minutes, remove the others and add to the syrup.
14If it does collapse, fry for another 5 minutes and try again.
15Let soak for 2 hours at least before serving.
16Serve room temperature or warmed up.
17Enjoy your gulab jamuns!

A weight loss plan I can live with....

This is dedicated to the one I love...

In line with my January theme on keeping warm....please allow me to comment briefly on my best and most favorite source of warmth...Mr Simon Cook- my "Man".

Let's face it...is there another more perfect way to keep warm (especially in January) than to have another person to snuggle up to? I think not.

I am afflicted with a very cold and slow metabolism (although-fortunately- my heart is quite warm). I am especially afflicted at night and on more than one occaision I have caused Simon to curse under his breath when I have slid under the covers and tried to get warm. Apparently, it is as much a human tendancy to seek a source of warmth when you are cold, as it is to be immediately involuntarily repelled when you are warm and toasty and someone as cold as death curls up to you.

Nevertheless, Simon has never turned me away. Often he will sacrifices his own warmth and comfort to ensure that I am comfortable and warm. To me, this is a clear affirmation that he loves me.

In appreciation of my warm and wonderful Man, I am enclosing one of Simon's wintertime comfort foods...

Stuffed Peppers (for two)

4 Green peppers, cut off tops and clean out seeds

1 lb ground beef

1 cup of rice

2 cups of water

An assortment of chopped onions, chopped green pepper tops, chopped black olives, and chopped mushrooms

Shreaded Parmasean cheese

1 jar spaghetti sauce ( I really like Rising Moon sauces - I think it is about 2 cups of sauce per jar)

Italian seasoning, salt and pepper

Ketchup (optional, but recommended)

Sour Cream (optional, but recommended)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Bring water to boil and cook the rice per cooking instructions - cool slightly

Steam the Green peppers until tender ( a fork easily removed)

Mix ground beef with chopped vegetables (are olives vegetables? hmmm...) add the rice, a sprinklin' of cheese and a few splashes of the spaghetti sauce and seasonings.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and and place the four steamed peppers into the dish. Stuff each of the peppers with an equally divided portion of the ground beef mixture. Pour remaining jar of spaghetti sauce over the top of the peppers and sprinkle some more parmasean cheese on top.

Cover and bake for 45minutes to 1 hour- until the hamburger is cooked.

To serve (This is how Simon does it):

Place two stuffed peppers on a plate and split them open to spread burgery contents. Apply a generous dollup of sour cream and make a happy face on top with your ketchup. Add another sprinkling of parmasean if you desire.

I know the ketchup and sour cream addition sounds a bit odd, but it really does taste good- just try it!

Of Cooking Shows and Rock Concerts....

This is my little sister, PJ, and today she is 38 years old.

You may be wondering how it could possibly be that I could have a little sister that is THAT old, but it is true-we just have very good genes in our family and all of us girls just age very gracefully and slowly. (Remember how I just turned 40 a month ago - I know how unbelievable that must have seemed to everyone- and it is easy to forget)

My sister is one of my best friends, which is not something I ever would have imagined when we were younger. We used to fight a lot- pulling hair and calling each other names. She would wear my clothes and ruin them, get into my stuff without asking, and do all those annoying little sister things that used to drive me crazy. I used to tell her she was adopted and the she was such a slob that she would never find a man to marry her. I used to always make her sing back up whenever we dressed up and put on rock concerts in the living room, and during our cooking shows I never let her be "head chef"...she just got to chop vegetables and stand in the background.

She was not a complete pushover though, PJ is a master at getting what she wants. Back in the day (am I old enough to actually use that phrase?) , PJ would get out of doing chores by doing a really poor job- if she did it halfway, I was usually called in to do it right- it seems it was easier to ask me to do it over than to make PJ do it right (do not deny this, Mom!) and PJ knew she could just play that baby card whenever it suited her. (I am not bitter anymore though).

Today PJ is pretty amazing- she has 4 kids and is studying to be a teacher. She coaches sports, builds fences, fixes truck headlights. She is a good cook and she sings pretty well too (in spite of always having to be just the wind beneath my wings...) and I am sure she could do anything else she puts her mind too. She has a knack for dealing with people. I have seen her in action- making people laugh. She has amazing negotiation skills and she is brilliant at getting donations for fundraisers.

I am not sure how we became such good friends. We definately have a history that we draw on- I have known her for her whole life, we shared a bedroom and secrets and jokes and schemes and she was so good at singing "doo-wap".....

In PJ's honor I am going to attempt now to recreate one of our famous cooking show entrees. We had such an abundance of food growing up on the farm- a few acres of fresh vegetables, fruit trees, chicken and duck eggs, and a freezer filled with pork and beef and poultry- for some reason though, all of our recipes ended up being some combination of eggs and potatoes.

PJ and Nancy's famous farm lunch casserole

2 eggs (stolen fresh from the chicken coop)

2 potatoes, washed and diced (dug fresh from the garden)

Any of these: carrots, peas, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, peppers (whatever you can find in your garden)

Ground beef or pork, browned (minimally processed- straight from the freezer)

Add each ingredient to a skillet where butter has been melted. Be sure to state clearly both the ingredient being added and your prep technique as you combine. Look in the camera often and smile. And be sure to let your "assistant" have the spotlight every once in a while.

Love you PJ- Happy Birthday!

Warm Thoughts

It is snowing again tonight. This winter has been absolutely unbelievable. We never get snow! But this year is different, it just keeps on falling and I can sit here in my warm little office and stare out the big picture window at the snow falling softly. It is really quite meditative. Occaisionally a gust will come and the snow just swirls and dances. I really love falling snow- even though snow is cold.

Is there nothing better than being cozy inside and watching the snow fall outside? Nothing says "warmth" like a curling up in your favorite micro-fiber blanket (mine is pink) and pulling on your favorite micro-fiber socks (in cookie monster blue) and drinking tea while the snow is falling.

English Monkey

As I mentioned before, I have a small collection of old wooden recipe boxes which contain a large selection of beautiful handwritten recipes. I have picked these up at estate sales, on ebay and in antique shops over the last decade.

I am somewhat obsessed with these culinary gems- they are unique and personal and I believe that the recipes must have some merit for someone to have taken the time to handwrite them. (Of course I do realize that this may just have been a sign of a pre-technology era- but no need to rain on my souffle!) Also harbored in my fantasies is the notion that I may have procured the prized family recipes of some highly-revered culinary diva. She must be smiling down from heaven (while eating angel food cake and fluffy cloud-like marshmallows...) to know that her prized collection is in the careful hands of an appreciative soul.

I take today's recipe from a little wooden box with dove tailed corners I bought on ebay. The box reads "Globe" and "John Wanamaker New York and Philadelphia. There is no information about the owner and only a few cards have references to their sources (no doubt other impressive culinary artist friends of this honored woman-chef)

This is a recipe for English Monkey. Neither my English mum in law or my English husband have heard of this, but both will tell you that there are no true monkeys to be found in England.

English Monkey

Soak 1 cup stale bread crumbs in one cup milk fifteen minutes

Melt 1tsp buter, add 1/2 cup soft mld cheese and stir until melted.

Add soaked crumbs and just before serving 1 slightly beaten egg, 1/2 tsp salt and bit of cayenne. Pour over toasted crackers.

January is about keeping warm

I thought I might begin each month with a theme this year....well, of course, this may be a whim and next month we would just resort back to the usual unstructured format...but for this month at least we will attempt some structure.

January is about keeping warm. As you can see, I have changed my lay out to a frosty blue, because January tends to be a bit cool in these parts. It is also our rainy season here in the Seattle zone, so it is only appropriate that I share with you all the great techniques I have learned for staying warm and dry.

My favorite way to warm up is with a hot drink. I present to you- above -a photo of my favorite mug...my "Menehune Mug". I picked this up at a little roadside stand while venturing along the road to Hana on the island of Maui. It serves as a constant reminder of that peaceful excursion- the tropical farms, fresh lemonade and banana bread, beautiful pacific ocean views...ahhhh warm thoughts...Hawaiian sun...toes in sand...palm trees swaying.....

As far as warming drinks go, Coffee is great with creamer, so is tea (with honey and a splash of milk)...Warm milk is good if you can't sleep, and also a great cure for menstrual cramps (with lots of cinnamon). Naturally, a good cocoa is always a pleasure (extra whip cream or marshmallows, please). However my favorite hot drink is a little hot buttered rum invented by Kathy Casey of Dish D'lish. The secret is a little almond paste in the batter. Serve it to your closest girlfriends- it is sure to be a hit. Or just sit back with your favorite mug and think warm thoughts.

Kathy Casey's Hot Buttery Almond Rum

Into your favorite mug, add:

3T Almond Butter Batter (recipe follows)

1oz (2T) dark or spiced rum

5oz (1/2c + 2T) boiling water

Almond Butter Batter

1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter

6 oz Almond paste

1-1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1-3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 pint high quality vanilla ie cream, softened

1T vanilla extract

1-1/2 t each: almond extract, ground cinnamon & ground nutmeg

Mix together butter, almond paste and sugars until fluffy and fully combined. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Store in the refrigerator for a week or the freezer for a month. Makes about 24 drinks.

In with the New

We spent the first day of 2009 in Seattle today, shopping and browsing and tonight I am feeling sore from walking and very tired. Got a new pair of Munro's and we found a 3-piece sofa and chairs at Restoration Hardware that we like. We are sticking to a plan this year that does not include furnishing our house, so the furniture will be a bonus if it happens, but as of now there is no plan to buy.

I have two personal resolutions this year. One is to finish grad school and the other is to finally get this extra weight off. I will spend the first half of the year focused on school and the second half focuses on the weight. But as much as possible I will try to make small changes in the food and exercise department to at least get a jump start on the weight loss.

Together, Simon and I will be working on building our emergency fund. We resolve to have 6 months worth of expenses in savings by year's end. We are also focused on replacing our doors and windows this year. I think this will make a nice improvement to our home.

Tomorrow Simon is having surgery on his leg to mend some varicose veins. I am not sure what this will entail, but I can tell that he is a little worried about it. I hope it isn't too painful.

Should be back to work tomorrow, but I am taking it off for Simon. Hoping for a restful weekend. Jake comes home on Sunday!

Happy New Year!