First the KitchenAid mixer surrendered to a fatal case of arthritis while kneading a yummy batch of whole wheat rolls. Then the major networks switched to HDTV and in the process we lost all signal. Even with the handy dandy converter box from Uncle Sam we still couldn’t manage to get a single channel that we had before! And then (yes, there is an “and then!”) the dishwasher decided to give up the ghost. So, we’ve pretty much been “unplugged” for the last week. No television, no fresh baked bread or cookies, no effortlessly clean dishes. It’s been devastating and enlightening at the same time. I suppose I could use a wooden spoon to mix up some cookies, but really, I’m not that motivated.
Suddenly we find ourselves with lots of idle time on our hands, so we watched the snow fall…
…and marveled at the beautiful spring buds peeking through the ice, longing for the sunny days ahead.
The food processor is still running like a champ, so I put the kids to work sorting dry pinto beans for our homemade (unfried) refried beans. Oh hush…show me someone who doesn’t love pureed bean dip?!
Behold the discerning eye of a master bean sorter!
This bean must not have passed inspection.
Or these… So dramatic!
Well, I can kinda tell why this one didn’t.
The kids quickly tired of this game and swore they would never eat beans. Just wait until they aren’t in solid bean form…they will lick them off their plates and beg for more!
After WW Pinto Bean the troops rallied in the kitchen. What took 15 minutes, a lift & a twist, will now take an hour and some sore knees. Good times! On the bright side – good quality family time right here! ha…
Handwashing dishes is putting a serious cramp in my creative style, but 15 minutes here, and 15 minutes there is enough time to put the needle to the fabric.
This week is actually National Turn Off Your TV Week, so we have a reason not to bother with fixing the high-density dummy-maker. There are more things for us to do this week than we will have time to get to anyway. Onward to victory!
My kids hate beans but the other day I made some Black bean burgers (100% beans) they didn’t even know that is what they were eating- Heaven!
When it rains it pours. This did make me feel a little better. Both our dishwasher and refrigerator just recently went out on us. We luckily have an extra fridge in our garage, but we’ve been too cheap to actually fix anything. So we can just think of each other as we are both slaving away washing things the old fashioned way. 🙁 No tv though? Now that I’m not sure I could manage.
I think the beans sound delicious! Maybe I could get your recipe. I agree about things breaking in pairs. I just had to buy a new car battery for our van 🙁 It is a 2006 so I thought I’d have more time before it has problems.
Ah the silver lining to your storm clouds. the great thing is that you are teaching them to easily ride out the storm. You are so amazing! I love you. your post is so fun to read and so funny. Been thinking about that book? you should be writing with your talent. Love MOM
I can’t wait to see what new projects you’re working on!