Auntie Florence's Soup

Auntie Florence died a year ago this June at the age of 98. She was the last of my older relatives and my Mother’s sister.  With a jolt I realized there was no generation ahead of me anymore. I was overwhelmed with a sudden urge to retouch all the lovely things she had given me and make sure all were safe and accounted for.
Here follows, a bit of her lovely:
 

Auntie Florence’s wonderful Mushroom and Barley Soup:

• 4 cups of cold water
• 1 beef bouillon cube (I use Knorr’s)
• 1 cup of barley (use real barley & rinse it well, checking for stones & grit)
• 1 large tomato, chopped with skin and seeds
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1 stalk celery with leaves, cut in 1/4′s
• 3-4 carrots, peeled and cut in 2″ pieces
• 2 pints of mushrooms (1 crimini & 1 button) sliced
• 2 TBS ketchup
• S&P and garlic powder to taste (easy with the salt until the bouillon cube is dissolved)

Add everything to a heavy duty soup pot. Bring it to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, partially covered, for at least one hour or until the barley is tender. Add more cold water if needed. This soup should be fairly thick.