Rain!

Yesterday afternoon, when the morning clouds cleared and the sun shone from a blue sky, I thought the weather forecast had exaggerated the storm that we were supposed to get.  However, late at night, it poured with rain!  At first, there was a fairly heavy rain which was over in five minutes or so.  But, a little while later, the main storm arrived with rain, hail, thunder, and lightning!  We haven't had such a big storm in months!  Poor Dancer was spooked by the sound of the rain and thunder.  My daughter and I kneeled on the living room sofa so we could look out from the living room window to watch the rain!  LOL.

It has been raining steadily all day today, too!  More of a light rain slowing down to a drizzle at times, but, still, RAIN!  No doubt the higher elevations received snow.  The garden got a good soaking and I am happy about that.

Yesterday, in the evening, my daughter made us a nice salad:

Salad

And I made us a dish of turkey tetrazzini:

 

Turkey Tetrazzini Fresh from the Oven

After We Took Out a Serving 

  

I didn't follow any particular recipe but, based on what I had read, I used a 12 oz. package of egg noodles, a can of cream of celery soup and a soup can of half and half, cut up turkey leftover from Thanksgiving, some onion, and a handful of frozen green peas.  Plus salt and pepper, of course. Some of the recipes said to add cheese, but, my daughter doesn't like cheese; she was OK with me sprinkling just a little bit of grated parmesan on top, however.  I boiled the noodles, sauteed the onions and turkey, added the soup and half and half mixture and brought it to a boil, put the boiled noodles into a 9 inch x 13 inch baking dish, and poured the mixture of turkey and soup over it, then, baked it at 375F for 15 minutes or so.  My daughter thought the noodles could have been mixed with the turkey and soup and eaten just like that, without the additional baking or, put under the broiler for five minutes just to brown the top.  We both enjoyed a portion of the casserole as it was and she took a second helping to which she added chili powder and some other spices!  LOL.  There is plenty leftover for tonight's dinner, too.  I might try cream of mushroom soup, another time.

I made a dessert with lime gelatin and condensed milk for dessert, but, I didn't take a picture of that.

Today has been a relaxed day.  I made us French toast for brunch, then, oiled daughter's hair for her.  She is cleaning up her bedroom, going through stuff in her desk drawers and finding mementos saved from middle school onwards.  I practiced the piano and took the trash cans to the curb.  It is 5:30 p.m., now, and the rain seems to have ceased.  Plans for the rest of the evening include having a cup of tea, watching news, and maybe making a New Year's Card for my aunt.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Rain!

- A non-leaky roof above my head (I used to have a hole in the roof which caused part of the kitchen ceiling to collapse a few years ago!  There's still some water damage from that which hasn't been repaired, yet.)

- A working heater and a warm house in which to shelter

- Chatting with my daughter throughout the day

- Dinner is in the fridge, just waiting to be warmed up (leftovers)

Today's joyful activity was just relaxing at home with my daughter.

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for tomorrow?

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