Today's post is just a bit of a ramble.  Don't you think we should all sit down with a cup of coffee, put up our feet and ramble every now and then?  Today's my day.

I wish I was one of those designers with endless energy who can seemingly run a business AND write interesting blog posts featuring pretty pictures of world travels, incredible rooms and adorable children in riding habits.  However:

A) I am not

B) I strongly suspect they're not either, but it's not my job to call out the huge amount of smoke and mirrors it must take to pull that off.

I'm a working woman with an average amount of energy. Smoke and mirrors are nowhere to be found.  My house is charming and we love it, but it's not Pinterest worthy, if you know what I mean.  Housework and I don't pal around a whole lot, but most rooms have some semblance of order going on.  The usual exception is the kitchen island.  It's always covered with mail, lists and stuff that appears out of nowhere.  And recently our sweet dog, Raven, has decided that the couch is quite comfy, so that's a new place to find large amounts of dog hair.  But we're working on the island and shooing Raven off the couch. 

About the blog: I like writing, but it takes way more time than I usually have.   If you're reading this, you should follow my Instagram account--I LOVE taking pictures with my iPhone and it's fun to put them on Instagram because it's super easy.  I generally take photos of things or moments that give me a quick dose of joy and of course I want to share that joy, hence the current love of the Insta.  

About the pretty pictures: as I know I've mentioned before, my darling hub and I are raising our grandson.   Grandboy is 12, almost 13.  He's a super kid and we love him madly, but it's a tough age, reeking with hormones.  Our days are filled with activities and eye rolls, snarky comments, deep sighs and being told that we are annoying or embarrassing him.  Sigh.  Yeah, the deep sighs are coming from me.  Moments of joy sustain me.  They sustain every mom--and every grandmother.  Those pretty pictures are reminders of the beauty that's all around us.

Slow mornings, flowers, pets and fairy lights on timers in my china cabinet give me wonderful moments of joy.  I hope you have special things in your home that do the same for you.

Here's the promised easy recipe for a wonderful winter meal.  We'll call it "Mom's Lamb Recipe" because my mom made it and I have no idea what she called it. 

The ingredients are as follows:

Lamb - bone in.  Mom used to make this with lamb neck pieces, I think.  They were usually a cheap cut in the grocery store. I happened upon a sale price for lamb chops, so used those. Lamb is an easy meat to cook with.

Carrots (a regular size bag, cleaned)

Potatoes (I used 4 medium ones, peeled)

Green peppers (1 1/2 or 2, cleaned and seeded)

Onions ( 1 1/2 or 2, peeled)

1  14-16 oz. can Hunts tomato sauce

Garlic (I use up to a tablespoon of the prechopped garlic)

Salt and pepper (you decide how much you like)

Bay leaf if you want  (my mom always used bay leaves, what they add is a mystery to me)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cut everything up, including the lamb, into big chunks and spread out in a large pan.  I'm not sure if a cookie sheet would work.  I always use a broiler pan or a big roasting pan.  Sprinkle some garlic (not a lot),  salt and pepper.  

Pour that can of tomato sauce over all.  Give it a big stir.  Put in preheated oven.  Cook for 2 hours, stirring one more time after an hour.  Your house is going to smell SO good!  Yes, it cooks for 2 hours.  You can throw this together any day if you work from home.  Otherwise it's a weekend dish.  Would make a fabulous, old fashioned Sunday dinner and takes MUCH less effort than roasting a chicken with all the accoutrements.  Everything is in this pan.

Two hours later, take it out and serve.  You can add a salad or bread if you want.  It's so so  good.  The tomato sauce cooks into everything.   

Thanks for letting me ramble.  Enjoy your day!

Ciao,

Anne