My name is Katherine J. Krein. I lost my father in June of 2013, and then I lost my mother in November of the same year. After they both died I went through a mind-warping number obsession that has taken me years to control. This is my story. It is now 2025. I still use this site to post some poems and thoughts. My obsession has faded, however, I still notice the numbers. Faith, hope, and love is what guides me now.
My husband said take a picture of your salad. It was served with a big roasted turkey, cornbread sausage stuffing, and gravy, and banana nut bread. Very simple.
Christmas day food update: Romaine lettuce, baby spinach, a little chopped mix of cabbages & carrots, Chopped cucumbers, orange & yellow peppers, a mix of small tomatoes, chopped marinated artichoke hearts, feta cheese, and toasted pine nuts. We have a small selection of dressings to please everyone. Individuals can top the salad with the dressing of their choice.
We want to start off the new year of 2025 with more healthy choices of food. The cornbread sausage stuffing has lots of celery & sweet onion cooked into it.
The salad was twice covered and briefly stored outside on the deck. The refrigerators are full. The outdoor temperature was perfect for it. (app.41 degrees F)
I received a mustard seed necklace from my grandmother Florence when I was a young girl. I was reminded of this today when I saw a modern version of it for sale. The mustard seed can hold powerful symbolism depending on one’s faith. Jesus uses the mustard seed to represent how the smallest grain of faith can grow and grow into something big and powerful.
I cannot say that I have always been faithful. However a small seed was planted in me long ago when I was a young girl. It was pushed into the back of my mind as I grew. As an adult and a mother my faith has been remembered and nurtured again. I cannot say that I am the most pious person, however, I have never sought to harm others. I try to live by a creed of kindness, and by acceptance of others different from myself. During the past decade my faith has come to my rescue many times as I struggled with depression and the illness of family.
Seeing the mustard seed necklace recently reminded me how this symbol can be a great gift for someone. It serves as a reminder to them that through faith they can thrive, and become a force for good. Life can be long and tiresome at times, but faith will hold your hand, and God’s love is unconditional.
This is the AI image generator’s version of a mustard seed necklace. It made me laugh, however, I like the idea of showing some growth. The common version is simply a lone seed.
A downy woodpecker in a juniper tree. This image is AI generated, however, its creation was inspired by a real sighting outside my dining room window this past Sunday.
The downy woodpecker is especially close to my heart since we have an artistic carving of a downy pair which we purchased long ago at an indoor craft’s fair. We also have real live downy woodpeckers that come around our home during this time of year. I saw only the male with a full vivid red patch on the back top of its head. It was a perfect specimen of a real bird in action. It hung around longer than I expected, though I was still too busy doing other things to take its picture.
The tree outside our window is a Juniperus virginiana (aka red cedar). It is tall enough to hug our home and protect one corner of our covered deck which would otherwise be exposed to wind. Junipers are in the cypress tree family along with sequoias. We also have three of these trees along our back fence line. They stand closely together which has made them grow straighter and taller, and they are less spread out than the one surrounding the corner of our dining room and deck. We have one more of these trees which had been partially cut down at one time, and now has a tall daughter tree that grew up and out from its base. It protects another corner of our home along the backside.
Since my recent woodpecker sighting I have been reading up about all types of evergreens that are used as Christmas trees, and all the traditions surrounding its origin. During my research I ran across a Willa Cather quote that I found captures a sentiment that I have felt before.
“I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do. I feel as if this tree knows everything I ever think of when I sit here.” ~ Willa Cather
Downy woodpecker pair is made out of carved wood and then painted. We purchased this long ago at an indoor craft exhibition.
Old brass bells found in box of books. Now they hang from the doorknob of a new door.
The holiday decorations in our house are getting sparser as I age, especially since it has always been only me that puts them up and takes them down. The bells help celebrate the “reason for the season”. I put the new keys to the new door on a guardian bell key fob. Keeping with the bell theme, I decided to hang the bells pictured above from the door lever. They make a strong and clear clanging that is musical to my ear.
This new door was one of the upgrades that was researched this summer. Planning ahead is always a good idea. This door is fully accessible and opens out to our deck, patio, and back garden. It replaced an old sliding glass door that was too narrow to be fully accessible.
As I went through the old Christmas decorations picking and choosing a few reminders of the season, I found a garland of tiny gold bells. Hanging them over the new door was my private celebration. The 3 brass bells were found this summer in old box of inherited books. They seem appropriate for Christmas, and I can imagine them being attached to a gift box of books. Giving books for Christmas was something my great aunt Bess liked to do. You cannot take the teacher out of an older retired teacher.
This Thanksgiving season I am grateful for many things. My father’s favorite poem, Desiderata, comes into my mind. He used to have it on a poster in his home office. My favorite lines from this poem are: “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
My hope during this time of year is that love and faith continues to guide me. And to anyone that might read this post, I hope that you can find peace and joy during this season of Thanksgiving.
Tomorrow night 11/15/2024 will be the peak of the last super moon of 2024. (AI generated image)
The chill in the air today gave me hope that our winter will be memorable.
The beaver prepares for winter. It builds a dam and stores up food. Here it looks to be praying by the water, asking the moon for guidance. This month’s full moon is named in its honor.
This reminds me of the new Reservoir Park in Loudoun County, which is a partnership between Loudoun Water and NOVA Parks. It is situated on the southeast side of Beaverdam Reservoir. I have not yet had a chance to visit it this year. I will have to put this on my 2025 list of things to do if I do not get a chance before then to visit it.
My hope is that the sky will be clear of clouds tomorrow night. It is raining now and expected to continue through until morning. Shine bright Beaver Moon!
I would highly recommend this Crate and Barrel pizza plate. It thoroughly cooked the whole wheat dough. Additionally, it is light weight and easy to clean.
The only problem was I added too much cheese. There are sliced peppers under all the cheese that you cannot see very well. Next time I will make it with less cheese and the sliced peppers on top.
I voted around 10:15 EST in Virginia today. This is the sticker I was given.I used a None Such jar of mincemeat and added thinly sliced jarred Pears from Wegman’s. I made a streusel topping, then added some toasted black walnuts in the middle. Oops, I misspelled streusel on the picture.
It is evening now.I am not so sure I will be able to successfully avoid election coverage. My curiosity will probably make me look.
Evening update: The tart has now been taste tested. It is delicious!
AI generated image. “Pastry board and rolling pin.”
Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie is a phrase that keeps whirling around my head.I kick it out and it circles back. I discovered it was a song popular when I was growing up, though, I don't remember it from then. It was chanted by some when playing hide-and-seek. Who's not ready? Holler, "I".
I have had pie on my brain, and tarts, and crostatas, and galettes, etc., etc.
Last weekend I made a granny smith apple tart with a chopped ginger cookie and pecan crumbled topping, and then I got fancy and cut out circles with the remaining pie dough and decorated the top. It was delicious.
Is there a real difference between a pie, tart, galette, and crostata? Not really. There are differences. I read that a pie has two crusts, one on top, and one on the bottom, whereas tarts, have no top. Galettes and crostatas appear to be the same thing, one with a French name, and the other with a Spanish or Italian name. Both are free form tarts placed directly on a baking sheet and folded up at the edges.
I have invested in some new things to make my kitchen more baking friendly, and I am also branching out into gourmet pizza making. I invested in a carbon steel pizza plate with holes on the bottom in order to have a crisper crust.
This weekend I made a dense hearty cornbread for the chili cook off at my school tomorrow. I plan to make another pie or traditional tart or possibly a free form tart on Election Day. I will need to keep busy to stay off the news channels.
I have also been cleaning and organizing up a storm. My shower walls are sparkling now. I took a carload to Good Will this past week. You have to clean out the old to make room for the new.
All of this activity has helped me to stay away from the internet and all the political news. It drives me crazy! Are you ready for election day? I just want it all to be over. I pray that whatever the outcome, everyone stays calm and thinks about the consequences before they act. Crowd mentality can make people go wild and do things they would not normally do.
By the end of the week, it will all be over. Thank God! Whatever the result we all need to find some peace. My peace will be found while baking.
Sweet olive flower artistically designed as a drop earring. I imagine it can whisper.
Osmanthus fragrans is its scientific name.
This flowering plant is native to Asia from the Himalayas through several provinces in China, Taiwan, southern Japan, and S.E. Asia as far south as Cambodia and Thailand.
In China, it is the “city flower” of several cities, and in Japan it is a “city tree” of several prefectures.
In Chinese mythology it is said that it grows on the moon. Wu Gang was a Chinese character who is known for endlessly cutting it down. It is seen as a divine punishment for him because this “self-healing” Osmanthus could and would regrow an equal amount every day.
I was inspired to look up this flowering plant when I saw this pair of earrings today. All the information here I have gleaned from Wikipedia. The picture has been edited from a picture on the Etsy website. Wikipedia did not suggest this flower can whisper. This thought came from my imagination, and when I read about the mythology, it confirmed to me it must have magical powers. Ha!
I even looked to see if I could grow this fragrant flowering plant in my garden. I think it needs a slightly warmer garden zone than where I am located. In the future when I get the chance to seriously renovate my garden, I will explore this possibility again.
movingforwardslowly 