Well it's been quite a ride since I last posted. There's mold in our place, and we lost an entire room of our house, storage and use wise. We're still trying to figure out what that means, though not much it seems to our landlord. Someone came and looked at it, told us to stay out of there. Another guy is supposed to come replace the sections of wall affected and the window. We have not heard from him yet. Oh, the joys of renting! Guess its time for another call to the landlord, or rather the message line that is the only way to get ahold of anyone. I miss the previous landlord. He was reachable, personable, and willing to take care of problems as they arose. Sadly, he moved and sold to a company that owns many rentals around this area. I don't think we would have rented from them had they been the original owners of the place. Nonetheless, I guess I'll have to see what our options are. I'd put up photos, but it just makes me frustrated and they look gross. You'll have to use your imagination.
 On a brighter note, it is March, which means Spring (and my bday) is just around the corner. I'm not sure the weather around her got the message. It snowed the whole day yesterday and left a few inches of powder. It is very pretty. But I'd be alright with it melting in the next couple weeks.
 I read "O Pioneers," by Willa Cather recently. I'm a big fan of Willa Cather. I wouldn't say she's my favorite author, but I love reading about the Nebraska prairie and the people who broke the land. She has such a different style than any other author I've read. The first Cather book I read was "My Antonia." I fell in love with the characters and Cather's writing. I was only about 10 at the time, and the book has always been a tragic romance that could never be, in my mind. "O Pioneers," has similar storylines, but is written a bit differently. It's harder to connect with the characters and the story seems to have only the bare essentials. I enjoyed the book, but it was not what I was expecting. I have a feeling I will like her other works more.
 I'm now reading "One of Ours," by Willa Cather. (I love my Kindle Fire and all the free classic books I have access to now!). I'm not very far into it, but am enjoying it. The characters are more relate-able than those in "O Pioneers." I'll let you know how it is overall, I'm just getting into the thick of the story.

 I uploaded a chunk of our recipes via hand scanner to my computer, in hopes of being able to use them electronically and getting rid of the cupboard full of cookbooks we've acquired. It's a bit of an undertaking, and I'm not very far all things considered.  I thought I'd share a recipe with you that I've uploaded. We make this every once in awhile. It has a little kick and is a nice change from regular chili.
That's all for now. Enjoy!