Hanukkah starts this week.  This year will be different with neither of my children here for any part of the 8 day celebration.  We are not heavy on tradition but do enjoy the gifts and being together, and  I make a mean latke!

All of this has started me thinking, something I have often entertained before but have never written.  Hanukkah is NOT the Jewish Christmas. It is a rather minor holiday, but in Western culture at least, has been magnified due to it's proximity to the Christmas season into a blend of the 2 events by at least the Reform Jewish population. I pulled out my decorations yesterday.  As I was sorting them out, I realized the majority are Christmas based that I thought I would be able to modify to "appear" appropriate to Hanukkah. This is a joke!  They are Christmas decorations. I know people who actually have "Hanukkah Bushes", but I have never gone that far!

The menorahs, dreidels, Stars of David are the appropriate symbols to Hanukkah, not the tinsel and "modified" wreaths and such that I have accumulated.  I even trudged through Michael's and Hobby Lobby searching for that "perfect" item I could pass off as something else again this year.


It started me really thinking about the reasons I have done this.  Is it social pressure and a need to try to make this Hanukkah holiday something of similar social value to Christmas?  I can see no other reason.  If Hanukkah fell in June, I doubt very much there would be any significant decorating aside from the holiday table.



I also have accumulated "seasonal" decorations, snowmen and such, that I used to put out with the pseudo-Hanukkah fare. My dear son Brendan always scoffed, "Mom they're Christmas decorations, why are you putting them out".  This is the same child who bought his mother a stuffed red Santa when he was very small, to have me not "feel bad" about giving up my childhood holiday.  I treasure that, not for the fact of what it was, but for the sentiment and kind-hearted thought  that was behind it.

I don't believe my children suffered any loss by not having Christmas. They were always the odd ones out at school, but that provided an opportunity to share different traditions.  They helped decorate the tree with Christian friends, and Christian friends were invited to participate in the Hanukkah celebrations. 

Anyway, I have decided to forget the decorating. I will leave out what I have done and will donate all the rest, minus my this one  REALLY COOL guy, to charity.  Someone is in for a great supply of snowmen! 

It's winter is Spring! 32 degrees this morning and clear skies. Today is day 2 of my slab repair. Texas is in a drought, houses here are built on slabs of concrete sitting in the ground..ground composed of clay and other shifting materials. Stupid. I am not certain why basements are not done here. I know in Louisiana it was due to the water table being so close to ground level. Maybe it is similar here. But anyway, if I ever were to build a home here I would insist on pier construction to keep it steady. My house is older, and I have seen subtle signs of settling for years which I chose to ignore as they were minor. Many homes, again due to our soils, settle and no one really cares. When the walls and grout on the floor tiles start to crack, when doors will no longer close and your mascara, carefully placed on the counter, rolls into the sink, you know you have something that might need attention. My slab has a crack, my house is settling downward toward the creek, following the slope of the land, and the garage is settling to the side, pulling away from the house. After several estimates and a hefty wait time due to all the business these guys have this year, we are underway.
Pics of the back, including the massive hole Mr.Win got into last night and couldn't get out of. Needed a neighbor to help fish him out. Deaf and partially blind, but that sense of smell. There is a piece of foil in there, probably had some tempting tidbit or wonderful smell left to lour him in! He is fine. I am shaken.

Baked Pasta with Meat Sauce

I came up with this recipe last night, great for freezing and for re-heating leftovers. I made it into 2 2-serving portions, but it can be done into single serving or a larger casserole as desired.

Weight watcher points plus with cheese is 6 per serving, without cheese is 5. The cheese adds a creamier texture to the dish. This would also be good with a sprinkling of parmesan and fresh parsley as soon as out of the oven instead of the mozzarella.

Preparation: Begin by cooking 4 oz of high protein or whole wheat shell pasta as directed, but til barely el dente. I use Barilla.

Saute 1/4 cup chopped red onion, 1/4 cup chopped green pepper, 1 clove minced garlic in 1-2 tsp olive oil. When vegetables are starting to soften, add 5 oz 97% lean ground beef, salt and pepper to taste, a little cayenne pepper and a few shakes of Italian seasoning. Cook until meat is browned.

Add 1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce. I used Barilla tomato and basil (2 WWP points per 1/2 cup). Cook til hot and bubbly, taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Spray olive oil spray into baking dishes, place 1/4 cup of sauce in bottom of each dish, covering with the pasta and the remaining sauce. Top with the cheese if desired. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy with a fresh steamed vegetable or salad!

A New Blog

Well, I'm on the blog bandwagon. Why not! I'm often a little late with new trends and I am NOT a social media butterfly to say the least. The title on this blog states musings of an empty nester. This is not an alternate option for a journal to pour out my woes and innermost feelings, but a jumble of the things that I find interesting, entertaining, enjoyable and infuriating in my current life now that the kiddos have 'flown from the nest' so to speak.

I am a bit of a loner by choice, enjoy my home and my family and close friends and do not have to be in a social circle to be content. I work in healthcare, hard work emotionally with long hours so when I leave for the day I want leave it behind.

I love to garden. Digging in the dirt is good for the soul and I truly believe this. I like to create things, redecorate, reuse and remake things. I love the peace and tranquility of my home and the privacy of my yard. I like to make stained glass panels, I love to find really great bargains when I shop, and I absolutely REFUSE to pay full price for anything that I can find for less. I love my pets and it saddens me to see them growing old. I used to like to cook. I am trying to re-like to cook.

This blog will be about these things.. my current life and what I am doing with it!
So, that said, I hope whomever chooses to read this, if anyone does, will find it at least a little entertaining, informative, or whatever it is they are reaching for.