Broccoli and Christmas Trees

Yesterday, I stayed home with little man who has his third bout of pink eye within the last five or six months.  I have to admit I was kind of glad.  Not that he has pink eye of course, but that I got to stay home with him.  I was feeling quite domestic yesterday so decided to experiment with a broccoli and cheese soup I have been wanted to make for years.  I was moving along quite confidently when I discovered I was missing one small ingredient...the broccoli!  However, a very quick trip to the store solved my problem and I was back in the kitchen within 20 minutes of my discovery.  The next step in the recipe said I needed two cups of diced potatoes.  I cut the potatoes into small squares...assuming this is what "diced" means.  I put all the ingredients in the crock pot to wait until the "potatoes were tender" so I could add the finishing touches.   Four hours later I wondered why this recipe (which was passed around at one of our teacher luncheons many years ago) didn't mention WHAT or how to "cook" the soup.  I thought I had been clever by using the crock pot.  For those of you who did not know this; potatoes take a very long time to become tender when using a crock pot.  I recommend a pot over a stove burner set to medium/high.  But who am I to give advice?  Rachel may be my first name but "Raye" is not my last.

Next on my Holiday agenda is to set up and decorate the new Christmas tree I bought over the weekend.  I was quite pleased with the deal I made until my sister informed me that she got her tree after Christmas a couple of years ago for just $10.00.  Not so pleased anymore. I am however, anxious to set it up and get it decorated.  The office staff at school set up their tree today and as I walked by to admire it I noticed the box it came in sitting on the floor.  The box said the tree was 7.5' tall.  This is the same height as my new tree.  The tree in the office is quite large, my new tree is supposedly the same size, new question to ponder...will it fit in my living room?   Guess I will find out on Friday!