Click your heels together three times and repeat after me...

there's no place like home. It's what I crave when my life gets too crazy - my home. Today has been a day of pure contentment for me. With a live broadcast of La Boheme streaming from the Met to my kitchen, I'm catching up on library work while enjoying the warmth and peace of my home. Trust me, my home certainly isn't a showcase. More like an absolute house of horrors for the white gloved neat freak. It has its store of cluttered closets, junk-filled drawers and dust tumbleweeds hiding out in the corners waiting for a breeze. But more importantly, it is full to the rafters with the spirit of my family. Sometimes I swear these walls really breath. In the stillness, the quiet which is plentiful now that my kids are making their own way in life, I can hear the whispers of life that has been happening these 16 plus years since we first moved in.

The infectious laughter of my kids, balls erroneously bouncing off walls, doors slammed in frustration, tears over boyfriends and mean girls, the swish of a prom dress as a daughter descends the stairs, nerf darts swishing through the air, the strum of my son's guitar, the merriment of friends and family from celebrations past...all these memories that live and breath in the foundation of this house. New sounds now...our Grandson calling "read to me PaPa," our little Granddaughter giving "Shake-r Booty" a little competition with her falsetto rendition of Once Upon a Dream. Sure...in our neck of the woods its brutal outside. But the weather inside is perfect. For dreaming, creating, cooking, rearranging...for just making memories out of the life that is "every day."

Terence Conran was quoted as saying, "Home is the heart of life...Home is where we feel at ease, where we belong, where we can create surroundings that reflect our tastes and pleasures. Making a home is a form of creativity open to everyone." Welcome home. And remember...if you ever go looking for your heart's desire, don't look any further than your own backyard!

-t.

p.s. Want to warm your place up with a pot full of comfort? Try this easy but amazingly satisfying crock pot gem. It's a favorite at my house - total comfort food, perfect for a cold winter day!

Chicken-Noodle Hot Dish

1/2 cup butter

1 - 16 oz. frozen mixed vegetables

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

3 - 3oz. packages chicken flavored ramen noodles

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves - cut into 1" dice

Cut butter into small chunks and put into prepared crock pot. Add the veggies and the soups and stir around a bit. Layer chicken over soup/veggie mix. Sprinkle with garlic and onion powders and the seasoning packets from the ramen noodles. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

One hour before serving, break each ramen noodle bunch into quarters, put into crock pot and stir to cover noodles. Cover and cook for one hour on high setting.

Trust me, you're going to love this one!