Little Mr is 5, no school, jam and such

What a happy little buster! He has enjoyed spending the past few days turning 5, and we have loved helping him ring it in. I will say that yet another snow day today made us all feel a bit blue- Ol really wanted to see his pals, Jack needs to have more of a schedule, and I am so far behind on life now it's almost not worth trying to make it up. Serious sigh.

The pear preserves are in the waterbath canner now, and we've made great headway with all manner of thank you notes. I think I might work up some dashi in a bit so that I can make a soba noodle soup for dinner tonight. Sounds so warm and cozy and comforting. I love soba noodles- do you? The buckwheat is great, and I love how they slip-slide around any dish.