Thank You

I'd like to thank the folks at Houseblogs.net and Bearfort Lodge for their support.

However, as Bearfort Lodge says, please don't just think of us. There must be more families like us, trying to build or rebuild homes and lives while loved ones are deployed (or keeping going after they've lost someone). Blue Star Mothers and Fisher House are good places to start, or just go directly to military families in your community and offer to help out, if you can. More resources are here.

And, also, don't forget people who have lost homes and family members to disasters or accidents. These people are also in our communities. Need is everywhere. Every little bit helps, and being good neighbors is the very best place to start. Please visit Habitat for Humanity and Modest Needs, or ask your church or local community groups where you can be of service.

Thanks from us and ours, again. The world may be smaller, but that just means our neighborhood gets bigger every day. I have some of the best neighbors in the world, and I mean that. That goes to my local community, too - if I could pick a place to be alone while my husband is overseas, this is a great place to do it.

Making Myself a Blue Star Flag

Big changes lie ahead. Delays, maybe, and certainly scary times. I am consumed by hopes and fears, and distracted from concern about our house.

My husband (former USMC) has been asked to return to Active Duty. He is going to go. We've discussed it, and I understand his reasons. If I couldn't cope with this possibility, I would have run screaming when he asked me out. It's my job to stand by him, keep the family together, and make sure he's got a home to come home to. It's my job to be strong so he can be strong.

It's going to put a cramp in our working on the house, but right now, that's the least of our problems, and at the same time the biggest. We're living with my mom right now, and working on our house just down the road, so we have a place to live, but our house isn't yet livable. I want to be *in* the house before he is gone, I want ... more time.

There's so much I want to say that's just not appropriate for this venue. Much of it is layers of emotion that's got no place in trying to prepare for this. All the personal stuff just keeps bubbling to the surface, as I write, and interrupting me. And there are things that keep coming into my head that I don't want to write because of what they might mean.

I wrote a post over at houseblogs.net asking if there were any other people trying to fix up a house with a deployed spouse, and I've had an amazing outpouring of support. It honestly floored me. I also have just realized that I have an online acquaintance who is going through exactly this, though she doesn't have the added wrinkle of kids. Her husband has been deployed 3 times (or is it 4?). She asked if I knew of anyplace to get a nice Blue Star Flag - I didn't. I'd been trying to figure out how to ask her.

I think, now, that I'm going to make her one, when I make mine.

Inching Towards a Usable Bathroom

Today, I got the last of the whole tiles up on the bathroom walls, discovering along the way that I had somehow purchased 1 box less of the white/blue tile than I thought. Fortunately, it is identical, save for the color of the accent tiles, to the floor tiles, so I spent an extra hour yanking tiny, sharp-edged, square, black tiles off of sheets of tile to finish the wall, and hunting up every single blue tile that had not yet been split, to fill in the gaps.

SO, now we need to go buy about 10 square feet of tile to finish (that's 20 bucks for this stuff, thank goodness). I cannibalized the floor to rough out the wall, and we still need more itty-bitty blue tiles to finish the wall tiling to a groutable stage. Oh, and probably another 2 bags of grout.

But it's almost a bathroom.

Venison Lentil Molé Stew

This is a wonderful cold-weather dinner, and serves fabulously the next day. It can be made spicy or not, but the cocoa really gives this dish a depth and richness that makes it extra-satisfying.

You will need:

• 4 cups lentils
  
• 1-2 lbs very lean meat (95% lean or better, like venison, but mutton or beef work equally well), minced or ground
  
• 2 medium sweet onions, diced finely
  
• 2 cloves garlic, diced finely
  
• 1/4 cup peanut or olive oil
  
• 1 tsp tarragon
  
• 1/2 tsp ground sage
  
• 1 tsp savory
  
• 1/2 tsp thyme
  
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1 to 2 blocks mexican cocoa (one is mandatory, add more to deepen the flavor)
  
• OPTIONAL: chilies, chopped finely. I'd use 2-4 small, fresh jalapeno peppers as a basic option for this. These must be added during cooking.
  
• OPTIONAL: instead of chilies, add some of your favorite prepared salsa or chili sauce to taste just before serving.
  
• 1 lemon, sliced thin
  
• sour cream, grated cheese or butter
  

Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed stew pot. Saute onions and garlic in oil until clear. Deglaze pan w 2-4 cups water, then add meat and stew until brown, breaking up any clumps that form.

Add more water (between 2 and 6 cups) then add lentils andall seasonings except for cocoa. Stir. bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and stir periodically. When lentils have cooked for 1 hour, add cocoa. Stir until cocoa is melted and completely incorporated, or it will settle to the bottom and scorch. Simmer for 1 to 2 more hours, until lentils are very soft and breaking up.

While stew is simmering, stir every few minutes, to check that the stew is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add water (or cold coffee) as needed to increase moisture - this should be a thick stew, but still have a distinct broth.

Serve in heavy bowls or mugs. Top with lemon slices and butter, grated cheese or sour cream.

If you don't eat meat, this can also be made meatless. Simply omit the meat.