Weekend Report

 We had nothing planned this weekend except "hopefully go for a hike". The weekend turned out to be busy and fun. Maybe not productive in a conventional sense of the word, but definitely fun.

Saturday.

• Sourdough pancakes with blueberries for breakfast.
• Girls had gymnastics in the am. Because of covid, you can't wait inside (they have a very small sitting area - it can get very crowded). C has an hour-long lesson. H has an 1.5 h lesson. During the first hour, I went for a walk. It was in the teens but sunny and no wind. I was bundled up in multiple layers. The walk was great - I ogled at houses and daydreamed. I came back to the car after about 45 min and read a little bit before it was time to pick up C. C and I then went around to the back of the gymnastics place, where there is a large grassy area, a stream, and some puddles. Everything was frozen and we had a blast playing on the ice, slipping and sliding and pretending to figure-skate.
• Then I decided to use up some cabbage that I had sitting in the fridge. Piroshki with cabbage are delicious, so I figured I'll make some. I kind of forgot how time- and labor-intensive it was to make piroshki. The kids did not show any interest in helping (and I was fine with that -I was kind of in a zen space, rolling the dough, putting in cabbage stuffing, pinching piroshki closed). 
• And then I ran out of cabbage but I still had about half the dough left. So I improvised. We had some Ricotta cheese in the fridge. We had some super-sweet apricot jam from the Russian store. We had raisins. I mixed it all together and it turned into a delicious sweet "tvorog" (a type of farmers cheese popular in the USSR). The kids eyed the manipulations with ricotta suspiciously, but got pretty excited when they tried it (H has made a similar mix herself the other day for snack). 
• Unfortunately, piroshki with tvorog were a bit of a disaster - most of them burst open in the oven, with stuffing leaking out all over the baking sheet. Still - they taste good. 
• C and I made apple sauce.
• Kids watched a movie (it was C's turn to pick)
• I made salad and quinoa with raisins for supper (husband baked chicken).
• I read, played & chatted with kids in front of the fireplace, and played with Vlad the Ripper (our cat).

Sunday:

• Sourdough pancakes with blueberries for breakfast (yes, again... they are delicious).
• 2 loaves of sourdough bread (part-whole wheat, with orange zest, and caraway seeds.
• Family hike at the local arboretum! We explored new trails. H did not freak out. There was a stream crossing that I, with my terrible balance and weird anxieties about taking risks, had a hard time getting across. The rocks looked slippery! Jumping at the narrowest place from one shore to the other did not look possible (although H managed it)! Walking across a fallen log (but what if I loose balanced and fall in!!!) - I did it. (It wasn't anywhere as terrifying as I anticipated when looking at the log and the stream).
• C and I went off on our own, following a trail that lead to a nearby state park, and then walked home. The rest of the family finished the loop trail at the arboretum, had some fun at the stream, and drove home. 
• C and I got home first and made matzo ball soup. 
• The kids played with neighbors outside. For hours. 
• The kids played minecraft at home while husband and I sat in front of the wood stove (outside) and talked.
• I made eggplant stew (turned out delicious!).
• Husband and I moved some more wood closer to the house. We've been having fire in the fireplace almost every day.
• Laundry.
• We all read in front of the fireplace. And played geography trivial pursuit-type game. 

What didn't get done:

• I didn't clean anything (living room and family room need to be vacuumed; my study needs to be cleaned up and vacuumed).
• We forgot to set up birdfeeders.
• I didn't organize/make things pretty/tidy around the house.