Early this morning Dave and I got to visit with our friend, Mari, who flew down from Alaska where she lives to take her oral qualifying exams this coming week. She borrowed my bike so she could get around for the few days she's in town. Once she left our house to study, Eddie went down for his morning nap. I gave him a few teething tablets before he went down and he slept for a full two hours. Dave and I enjoyed a leisurely pancake breakfast on the patio while listening to Car Talk on NPR. Then we got a bunch of yard work done. Man, nap training was time and agony well spent.
I randomly checked the 'free stuff' section of Craigslist this morning and saw a posting for a nice looking patio swing right here in Davis. I emailed to see if it was still available. A few minutes later the lady responded with her address and a note saying it was just sitting in the front yard so we'd better hurry. Dave hopped in the van with his tool bag and picked it up.
Because Eddie was feeling better today, we got to go on our date today!
Jacob came over while Dave was fetching the swing and I got him all sorted out with Eddie. After unloading the swing, Dave and I headed off for our "hot date." It was such a Dave-and-Julie type date...
First we went to the hardware store to buy some clear plastic tablecloth stuff to put over the cloth tablecloth on our dining room table. The saleswoman cut it for us and she accidentally gave us a whole extra yard. I'm trying to think of something clever to do with my freebie plastic...
Then we had lunch at our favorite all-you-can-eat sushi buffet before heading down the highway to Ikea. Dave said I could pick out a new kitchen faucet for my birthday!!!!!!!!!!! My special day isn't for another 2 weeks but it was fun to celebrate early. I'm sooooooooooooooo excited to have a new faucet. The one I picked is super tall so washing big pots won't be such an issue anymore. What more could a gal want for her 28th birthday?
To finish, we treated ourselves to frappacinos and Dave used a giftcard he got for Christmas to buy a new video game. (Like I said, it was a very typical date for us.)
Jacob and Eddie apparently had lots of fun together. With Eddie in the backpack they went on a walk to the Food Co-Op so Eddie could flirt with all the customers. He even took a 1.5 hour nap for Jacob!
Dave was nice enough to set up the new patio swing for me right when we got back and we were able to sit outside enjoying it before it got too dark and chilly.
Speaking of chilly: I just made a double batch of my mom's chili recipe (with my modifications) to stick in the freezer. I just transferred it into jars but I'm letting it cool a bit before storing it.3 Bean Corn Chili
- 1lb ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1-2 chopped bell peppers, any color
- 2 T chili powder
- 1 t cumin
- 1 t coriander
- (if you don't have those last two, just use another tablespoon of chili powder)
- 1 t whole leaf oregano ("Mexican oregano")...if you have it
- 1 t salt
- 1 T your favorite hot sauce
- 2 cans chopped tomatoes, undrained
- 1 8-oz can of tomato sauce
- 1 can corn, drained
- 3 cans beans, drained--black, kidney, white navy, pinto, etc.
- Cook beef in large pot over medium high heat. Spoon off grease.
- Just when it starts to stick to the bottom of the pot and brown, add the onion.
- Once the onion is getting translucent and the beef is browned, add the garlic and stir. Cook 1 minute.
- Add bell pepper and cook for 3 minutes until soft.
- Add everything else, except beans. Bring to a boil, then knock down to a gentle simmer.
- Add beans and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Eat with cheese sprinkled on top and with corn bread. (It freezes very well.)
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