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Holiday Craziness

This time of the year has become pretty crazy these last few years. I don’t have experience with that many Christmases since, as a child, I wasn’t terribly aware of the stress and culture that existed around Christmas.

Consumerism

This year like the previous two, Walmart started their Black Friday sales at six o’clock on Thanksgiving night. This action perfectly represents what is happening to our culture related to Christmas: Consumerism. This of course causes stress to different types of people. Some people like to shop, causing stress to their close relationships, because of the inability to stop or consider the consequences of shopping. Others buy gifts to one up other family members and for “bragging rights”. While others overspend hoping to impress, buy the affection of their spouse, or fix the distance in their relationship with their child. Some are in constant stress wondering what bills can be pushed off another month in order to have money to buy gifts, because they live paycheck to paycheck. Parents struggle to afford to buy gifts that will help their child fit in, and others struggle to have food on the table, lights on, and even heat. To some, Christmas has become a hassle and never worth the meaning behind it. Their years of hardship make Christmas a burden, and keep it a burden. Years of striving to out perform last Christmas and rushing for the biggest piles under the tree, ruin any joy that others may experience related to Christmas. The stress is all consuming and is a terrible storm that disorients your heart as well as your mind.
I am reminded though of the gift-giving love language from Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages. If we were all able to see and experience giving in that way, I feel the season would be easier. That way, referring to the way those with the love language will give gifts as a sign of love, and in the same way, they are joyful to receive any gift because they see love as a gift, even if it is just a flower, note, or gift of time. But, I suppose the human heart is greedy and not teaching gratitude at such a young age can grow a greedy and even entitled heart.

Remembrance

Besides consumerism, we also see remembrance. Christmas is also a time when we remember those we’ve lost and reflect on the year that passed. Many times Christmas is shrouded is sadness and despair. Memories of past Christmases prevent us from enjoying what we have now, and who we have. The “Ba Humbug” sentiment can still be felt and quietly echos through the lives of someone you may know. Change is usually unwelcome but sometimes the way you react to the change can cause more damage than the acceptance ever would. Flexibility can help with some changes, such as changes to family structures or life events or changes in location/jobs, but others just require acceptance of reality and the finality of life.
Remembrance is normal and should be encouraged since there is much to gain from the past and better times, but constantly looping better times and being consumed by the change is not healthy. Remember those you have with you and take time to do things that are good for you, even if you do not fully want to or feel you deserve them.

Generosity, A Hope

However, we are lucky enough to see generosity. It is true that many have a “me” mentality, others still exist with a generous hand they are always willing to offer. Drives this time of year that are gathered within the community they wish to serve are examples of generosity. Toy drives, clothing drives, and even food drives directly benefiting those locally that need help remind us that this season encourages a helping nature and a desire to serve other. Even a simple action like caroling to nursing homes, or delivering cookies to a neighbor can make a large difference to the bleakness some face. One thing that continues to bring joy, is the fact that we are trying to reach our elders and children at this time of year. Christmas is a holiday for everyone. Though not everyone receives help or friendship this time of year from others, the fact that some do, still brings some joy and reassurance that we have not completely lost the spirit of the season.

I could start rambling now about how Christianity fits into all of this, such as Christmas being a day and time to celebrate Jesus’ birth, however, I do not feel I have to do that, because it is in the name. If you celebrate Christmas, than you are celebrating in his name. Even if you do nothing some would consider “generous”, a simple gift to a family member, a co-worker, or a neighbor is an act of generosity, an act of service. Though Christmas has become a time of consumerism and remembrance, Christmas retains the spirit of generosity despite all else that gives a sense of hope that things will get better or we can muster on because we always have. Hope is a great gift to give to others.

If you’ve made it this far, allow me to thank you for reading my Christmas musings.

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New Light Fixtures

This weekend, Josh and I went to a new liquidation store a few towns over. While we were there, we were looking at their light section, and we had talked many times about how bad our lighting was and how our fixtures didn’t match what our styling was. On top of this, this store had a good selection, and we were able to get the ceiling light for $23 and we bought their last one, and the wall sconce was only $8.

After that, we finished our Christmas shopping, and crashed for the night. On Sunday, we had to run out to Home Depot to get the 13 watt bulbs needed for the kitchen, and boy was it worth it! Josh spent to rest of the afternoon putting up the lights. It was kind of weird since the ceiling light needed the ground attached to the bracket before it attaches, so I had to hold the light near the ceiling while Josh attached the bracket. Also, it was nice to find light boxes in the ceiling and wall, since we didn’t have one behind our medicine cabinet. The light box in the ceiling isn’t attached to the ceiling at all, but the wires attached through a smaller hole, so there is no risk of that falling. The original kitchen light also had insulation underneath the plate. Though that was the case, we installed the new light without insulation, with the thought that we can always add some later if we so desire or need.

The wall sconce however was a complete disaster trying to install. Originally, Josh thought that would be the easy one, and the ceiling light would be hard, but it was quite the opposite. First, we had to paint it, because it had an oiled brass finish, and we decided it would look better in nickle. But, the problems began shortly after. There was a light box behind the wall sconce, however it sticks out of the wall by about an eighth of an inch. So, the whole fixture is away from the wall a bit, but everything is weird about the design of the fixture. The bulb screws in toward the bottom left edge of the glass, and to not see the bulb, the bulb has to be twisted toward the right. So, the light is uneven, which can be seen a bit in the lit photo below. Also, nothing aligned with the new sconce. A bolt on the back hit the edge of the box making it stick out more, and the ground screw on the mounting bracket also prevented the light from laying flat. So, Josh had to switch brackets, and grind down the light box, making it so the light was nearly even with the wall.

Overall, things didn’t go as we had expected them to, however, they both turned out well nevertheless. The lights take a second to turn on in the kitchen and though we will probably change the wall sconce again in the future, it turned out well in the end. What do you think of the new fixtures? I’m excited to make a new recipe in the kitchen to show off my new lighting soon!

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Stroganoff without Sour Cream

Beef stroganoff is one of my favorite dishes. It’s creamy, savory, and makes a meal that will keep you feeling full for hours. I like making stroganoff, but I almost never have sour cream in the house. If we do have sour cream, it’s a small container and is eaten within a few days, usually with baked potatoes.
For this recipe, like other recent recipes, I used sliced venison. I should have made my pieces a bit smaller, because they were definitely larger than bite sized. But, you can also use leftover steak to make this meal and it works really well!

  1. Cube your meat (1/2 lb.) into bite sized pieces/strips and start heating a pot of water for your egg noodles.
  2. Add 1 Tbsp of oil to a dutch oven, place over medium heat, then add and cook your beef/venison.
  3. Chop one small onion (approx. 1/2 cup). Slice 3 large mushrooms/open 1 small can of sliced mushrooms and strain. Add onions and mushrooms to meat.
  4. Cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms are cooked. At this point, start to make beef broth and add half a bag of egg noodles (8 oz) to boiling water.
  5. Add 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and heat. Add 4 cups of beef broth, then bring to a simmer
  6. Strain your noodles, then add them to your broth.
  7. Add 1 cup of milk to your broth, and begin adding flour until it begins to thicken (5-7 Tbsp).
  8. Slowly heat and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Add more Worcestershire sauce to taste (3-4 Tbsp).
  9. Remove from heat and serve. Makes 3 adult servings.
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Minute Steaks with Peppers and Onions

Hello again. Last night, I made minute steaks with peppers and onions. I used left over peppers and onions from the sausages that I made on Sunday, but you can of course, cut new or open a new bag of frozen.

For this recipe I used venison, but if you have beef or chicken minute steaks you can use them. You can also add some different flavors to the mix by adding some Worcestershire sauce, ginger, or pepper rub to your steaks.

My minute steaks were made by cutting steaks to be about 1/5 inch thick on my in-law’s slicer, but you can also cut them thinner/thicker as you desire.

  • Heat your frying pan over medium heat and add some oil. Once it is hot cook your minute steaks (about 2 cups, or 12 slices) until cooked, only about a minute each side.
  • Remove your steaks and add your chopped peppers (2 cups) and onion (1 cup). Add more oil if it’s dry.
  • Once veggies are cooked, add the steaks and juices, stir. Heat for only a minute, remove from heat and add to buns/bread, or serve over rice.
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This Weekend: Shower Disaster and, Filling our Freezer

Shower Problems

One thing that happened this weekend was our shower stopped working. When we first moved in, the shower was already not working correctly. The hot water knob would slip and make it very difficult to turn on and off the water, as well as hard to close it enough to prevent a leak. In September or October, Josh pulled apart the hot water knob, and was able to tighten a clamp on the cartridge. But, Sunday morning when I was about to shower, the clamp finally gave again, so Josh pulled apart the mechanism and broke the old clamp, but it needed to be actually fixed this time anyway.
We turned off the water, took out the cartridge, and took it to ACE hardware to find replacement cartridges. We found two, so we could also replace the cold water too, and we also bought new handles that attach directly to the splines on the cartridge. We returned home late, but we still fixed it and with that we finally have water again. What do you think of the new knobs? Have you ever had problems with your shower handles?

Packing our Freezer (Venison)

We are not vegan or vegetarians, but my husband and I are fervently against animal cruelty. We also understand that our meals come from animals. We understand that some are against hunting, however hundreds of deer die every winter from starvation and car accidents in our area, and if hunting will prevent animal suffering and if hunting can provide food for someone, we feel hunting is worth it. We don’t enjoy the action of hunting, but our ecosystem is cruel. We also use as much of the meat as possible, and find that the meat is often healthier than normal grass/corn fed beef, and has a fat content of less than most beefs. Deer usually has a fat content of less that 5%.
With that understood, Josh went hunting this weekend and managed to get a button buck. I had gone hunting with him earlier this year, but this weekend we were fortunate enough to get a small buck. We then took Sunday to process the deer and get it cut and packaged for meals. We are grateful that now we will have 36 meals covered as a result, and it is a blessing that we won’t have to spend as much on groceries in these winter months as a result.
What does this mean? It means I’m going to be making a lot of recipes in the next few months using a mixture of my normal beef, pork, chicken, but now also venison. This will be my first year cooking venison, so bear with me as I try new recipes and give you alternates to Venison if you want to try the same recipe. As you can see my freezer is now mostly meat and frozen meals, so please consider subscribing or following if you want to keep up with everything to come!

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