Making Lemonade

Today I indulged in a little "kitchen therapy" -- having caught a bad case of the grouchies, I addressed it by making a batch of Rice Krispie treats with the kids and putting together a crockpot of Mexican Bean soup. Though I tend to forget the fact, and though it can be hard to motivate myself to do it while I'm in the midst of a funk, it's a simple truth that making food almost always makes me feel better. Sharing a sweet treat with the kids, smelling the yummy smells of dinner making itself, I knew I'd made the right decision.


So when BB suggested that we make some lemonade to go along with lunch, I immediately agreed. It turns out that our fabulous lemon tree in the back yard of our old house is one of the few things I miss without qualification now that we've settled into the new apartment. Happily, we'd picked a bunch when we were there working on the house last weekend.

Another bonus of the move has been finding long-lost items, including the vintage aluminum juicer that was given to me by my mom. I have very fond memories of her using this when I was a kid, so when I found it tucked away at the back of the cabinet I was delighted. But I also knew that we'd have limited space in the new place. Should I pack it into storage? I vacillated and then finally decided to keep it out, giving it a more front-and-center storage place here in the new kitchen so it wouldn't get lost again!

And as soon as I saw the fun that the kids were having with it, I was glad that I'd not boxed it up. It's can be hard to get it to squeeze -- you need a fair amount of hand strength -- but they embraced the challenge!
Here's BJ making his face that says, I'm pressing as hard as I can!

Apparently it helps to use your chin:

As I felt my mood shift and lighten, I had to acknowledge that the moment was perfectly symbolic -- there we were, making lemons into lemonade. And then sitting down to drink it together!