Hello Again!, Chicken Soup & Glue Ghosts

I am sorry I've gone missing. I have missed you dearly.
I get so crazy in strong waves of what I want to do. Sometimes I am all about blogging and chronicalling my existence almost breathe by breathe. Other times I just go and go and go for over a month without really thinking about how the time has passed. I am not sure if it has to do with Mom being sick and being so cognizant for so long and needing to break free and live again like no one is sick for hope's sake. But, for whatever reason, here I am now.

Now that is turning to fall, I am all about soups, chowders & stews. I tried a new Tyler Florence recipe tonight for Chicken Noodle Soup that I came across in a family magazine put out by Scholastic, called Parent & Child. I somehow got a free subscription to it which is an added bonus. Knowing cold/virus season already seems to be setting upon us, I thought this is a nice easy, handy recipe to keep at the ready...great to make for a sick friend/family member or just good for a comfort food night.

Chicken Noodle Soup-- (This is a good base recipe. Makes a nice traditional mild flavored homemade tasting soup...without all the sodium of canned, but could easily be spiced up to add much more flavor.)

Ingredients:
1 store bought roast chicken
2 qts. cold water
2 carrots, cut into circles
3 ribs celery, roughly chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/4 bunch fresh thyme
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 c dried pasta noodles ( I used penne & loved it).
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 bunch fresh parsley, roughly chopped

1. Place whole chicken in stockpot. Add enough water to just cover chicken.
2.Add carrots, celery, thyme, onion & garlic. Place over med heat & slowly bring to boil. Simmer for 25 minutes. Remove chicken and shred meat.
3. Season shredded meat with salt & pepper. Put back in pot. Add pasta.
4. Gently boil pasta until cooked, add lemon juice & parsley. Serve! Makes 4-6 servings.



Also, looking for a super quick and easy for all ages Halloween craft?
How about Glue Ghosts?
We made ours in a jiffy after preschool today.
What you need:
Wax paper (ours was recycled from another craft. pardon our wrinkles.)
White school glue
Googly eyes

Spread out wax paper. Squeeze glue onto paper to create a ghost shape. Decorate with googly eyes (and any other adornments you might like). Allow to dry over night. Peel off wax paper, punch a hole through and hang at your window or in a tree outside!

And last but not least for those of you who have been following along with my mom's progress, here's an update:
Mom (Bev) completed her 7 weeks of radiation therapy. She, with her oncologists, decided that chemotherapy was not best for her concurrently, so she has not taken it yet. She is feeling good, all things considered. They did do a CT scan last week and found that there look to be new nodules (what spots on the lungs are called when under 1 cm in size) in both lungs. They can't tell if it is more cancer. She is scheduled for a PET scan on December 3. So, until then, we are just living life and praying and hoping. She so loves her cards & everything sent her way. Your kindness and love means the world to her & me both. Oops. I think that may be bad grammar. Sorry. :-)
Much love to you all!!