Weekending

 Good Morning!

How are you?  How was your weekend?  Ours was snowy and cold, but we were spared unlike a lot of New England and the coast line.  Our snow started Friday morning and continued most of the day.  However, it was so fine and falling so lightly we hardly had any accumulation.  It started again overnight and I heard the snow plow go up and down the street early, early - like 3 or 4 a.m.  Saturday morning we woke up to 3" or so and it was still snowing.

Mabel ventured out several times, but stayed on the patio.

Once she came in, bird tracks accompanied her tracks on the patio.  The birds were feeding steadily all day long.  It snowed till about Noon and Fletch said we ended up with about 5" which is not a whole lot.  Luckily it was dry powdery snow and he had an easy time clearing the cars and making some paths (out to the bird feeder to fill it, out to the compost to dump stuff), clearing the sidewalk and front porch (so Amazon can easily deliver!!).

It was pretty, but quite cold and the wind was howling.  We did not venture out (well, Fletch did to shovel, but I stayed inside).  Usually we do grocery shopping on the weekend, but with plenty of food, there was no need.  It is still pretty chilly (10 this morning), so I think it will be another day at home.

The weekend filled up quickly.  I baked a chocolate olive oil cake (Smitten Kitchen recipe), made some veggie dumplings for lunch, cleaned bathrooms and did a bunch of laundry.  There were naps, reading, stitching and knitting and last night we watched "Around the World in 80 Days" and "All Creatures Great and Small."  A nice balance of chores and fun things.

Let's hope the start to the week is a good one.  It is supposed to warm up to the 40's by Tuesday or Wednesday - time to haul out the grill again!!

Happy Lunar New Year to all - Year of the Tiger!!

Friday Felines

 Good Morning!

The snow has started here.  Not sure how much we will get - predictions vary, but it started about an hour ago and cars, picnic tables and benches are coated.  Someone is out there enjoying it.  That would be Mabel!  I love that she comes racing across the yard when I call her.  She is fast.

The other thing she loves to do is roll on the patio - especially when it is really, really cold outside.  Tyg used to do that too.  Go figure.

She's a goofball at times, but a loveable one.

Hope you all have a great weekend.  I've got to run - I've a conference call in less than 15 minutes.

What's For Dinner 1/27/22

 Hi and Good Morning!

Work, for a change, has been quite busy this morning (I've been at it since 5:30 a.m.).  Now I'm in the waiting mode...there are things I need to do, but I can't do them until others do their things.  Patience is not a virtue of mine by any stretch of the imagination and I simply hate waiting for others to do things (that are their jobs!!).  Anyway, enough whining.  I'll flip my attitude and look at it as found time for knitting or stitching or reading.

But right now, let's talk food.  Last night's dinner was not a success - LOL.  Most weeks I try to make a new-to-us recipe, and last night was the night.  It was a chicken dish done in the crock pot which I normally love.  It called for chicken thighs (or breasts, but we used thighs because that's what we had), a sliced granny smith apple, a chopped onion, the juice of a lemon, a bit of honey, some cornstarch, fresh rosemary and fresh cranberries.  All things I love.  But, there was too little sweetness in the dish (you know, cranberries are so tart).  I never tasted the apples but the onions were good.  And the chicken, though flavorful, grossed me out because the skin was just there.  And gooey.  Yuck.  But, we consumed it and I saved the leftover chicken meat (removing skin and bones) and threw out everything else.  We had some carrots cooked with cinnamon to go with it, and those were good.  

The best part though was I made beer bread that Bonny mentioned on her blog.

Now, that was good!  I had found a bottle of Coors Light in our basement (none of us drink light beer, so no idea where it came from).  The taste and texture is definitely different than any bread I have ever made, but it is tasty and FAST.  Bottom line - dinner was not a complete loss!

And for a bonus, I will tell you about the potatoes I made the night before.  I took new/baby potatoes (roughly ping pong ball size, but some were a little larger, some smaller).  Threw them in a bowl with minced garlic.  Then sprinkled on some chili powder, a little paprika and a little cayenne pepper.  Drizzled the whole mess with EVOO and then cooked them in the air fryer at 400 for 15 minutes - shaking them every 5 minutes or so.  OMG - we could have eaten 5 lbs of these!  They get nice and crisp on the outside and very creamy on the inside.  Pure comfort food.  

And now I'm hungry.  I've been drinking coffee, but have not had breakfast and now it feels like it is too late (too close to lunch time).  I'll survive - it's not like I will waste away to nothing - LOL.

We are almost at the weekend and for that I'm very thankful.  Have a great day!

Unraveled Wednesday January 26, 2022

 Good Morning,

Still dark here and a little chilly (18), but I think tomorrow morning it is only forecast to be 9, so I will take today.  Plus it is supposed to be sunny!  Yesterday did not turn out to be as mild as we thought for grilling.  There was a major wind chill going on in our neighborhood and it was grey and damp all day long.  Fletch still grilled our steaks and they were very good.

Today I'm heading to the office.  We bought some things - surprises - to ship down to Colin & Mailing, so I will send those out via UPS from the office.  I have some work to do and maybe I'll see Bruce (one of my bosses whom I have not spoken to in a couple of weeks!).

Colin called again last night and it was good to talk with him again.  They are doing well and still settling in.  The weather down there has been chilly (for Austin) and grey, but he is still managing to get out daily (sometimes twice) for nice, long walks.  They are once again vegan and picked up this cookbook from their local bookstore and have already made several dishes from it.  Sounds and looks delicious (but I would miss meat).  The cats are also settling in.  Talbot is having an easier time of it...Marcel is howling a bit.  Colin says the feng shui must not be quite right in the apartment!

Meanwhile, here we are at the last (how is that possible??) Unraveled Wednesday of January 2022.  As usual, I am linking up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  You know I (finally) finished my holiday socks (posted about them on Monday).  I love them and they are nice and cozy.  I still intend to pick up something already in the works, but you know I just had to cast on for another pair of socks.  It is always smart to have socks on some needles.

Obviously I have not gotten too far.  Just the 15 rows of 2x2 ribbing have been completed.  I'm pretty sure these will be for Fletch.  He had admired the yarn when I caked it up.  The yarn is Static from KnitPicks and the colorway is "Terrarium."  Lovely shades of green and then some lighter ivory or even a hint of yellow (pale) here and there.  It is very pretty.  I have not fully decided on a pattern yet, but most likely will make these Petty Harbour or Hermione's Everyday Socks - both free patterns on Ravelry (leaning towards Petty Harbour).

My reading in 2022 has been a little on the slow side.  Not sure why as I am enjoying what I am reading, but find myself nodding off quickly.  I am still reading "Agatha of Little Neon" which is the next "Read With Us" selection.  This is a little gem of a book - I am thoroughly enjoying it and all the quirkiness within it.

Last night I did finish "No Time to Spare" (Thinking About What Matters) by Ursula K. Le Guin.  I believe I already mentioned this book once or twice.  Le Guin wrote SciFi and Fantasy novels - neither genre a favorite of mine and I doubt I will pick one up to read.  This book, however, is a collection of essays, or rather posts, from her blog that she started when she was in her 80's.  I gave this 4 stars and really liked it.  Only 4 stars as some topics didn't appeal (or matter) to me, but a very good read.  Here are a couple of quotes from it that I love:

"How rich we are in knowledge, and in all that lies around us yet to learn.  Billionaires, all of us."

"A teaching, a blessing, may come in strange ways, ways we do not expect, or control, or welcome, or understand.  We are left to think it over."

These two quotes just resonated with me.

Mabel just came in and boy is her fur cold!  I'd best bundle up for going out.  After the office, I need to stop at JoAnn's for some more DMC floss and I need to pick up wine.  Dinner is a chicken dish in the crockpot, so easy-peasy.

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday - January 25, 2022

 Hello!

How are you this morning?  Again, I am groggy.  Coffee has not yet kicked in, but I am hopeful that it will shortly.

Yesterday was another very quiet day work-wise.  I did some stitching and reading and took a nice long nap after lunch.  When I woke up, I hopped in the shower and then came back downstairs to check email.  That was when I realized I had completely forgotten about my follow up eye doctor appointment.  The appointment was in 10 minutes and I'm a good 20 minutes from the office.  I called and, fortunately, they were good with me coming in a little late.  A good visit - quick the way I like it.  She checked my pressure and told me the results to my field vision test the week before were good.  No need to go back for 6 months when I will have a full exam.

Meanwhile, it is Tiny Needle Tuesday, or TNT as I like to call it.  Progress has been made on both pieces.  First up is the Adam & Eve sampler (still no evidence whatsoever of Adam and/or Eve).  One more alphabet completed...several more to go.

Those of you with finer vision than mine will see that things are a little off.  The U, V, W, X, Y and Z in the last row are lower by two threads than they should be.  I discovered that while stitching the W and decided to let it go.  I'm fine with the way it looks and it being a little off is just a good reflection on me.  LOL

A Visiting Bird has gained a flower!

Slowly but surely this piece is coming together.  There is another flower on the left, some more leaves and the outline on the right for the basket or vase or whatever.

I've no real plans for today.  Hopefully the usual (knitting, stitching, reading).  It is supposed to be a little milder today (before the cold comes back tomorrow), so Fletch is grilling steaks for dinner.  There are a few domestic chores I can do if I want, some bills that need to be paid and time will tell whether work will rear its ugly head or not!

Cheers to Tuesday folks - hope yours is a good one.  Enjoy!

Weekending

 Good Morning!

It is another chilly one, but at 24 it feels almost balmy (we woke up to 8 one morning over the weekend).  There is a fresh skim of snow on the roof of my car and on the picnic benches, but not enough to do anything about it.

How was your weekend?  Mine was nice.  It involved a lot of little things that added up to just being a comfortable, nice weekend.  Saturday morning (brrr) I got up and ventured out to Starbucks in Kulpsville to meet up with Dee.  It was not busy and we sat in our usual cozy corner chatting up a storm and knitting away on things (socks for me, a blanket for Dee).  Then a weird guy started asking us questions.  He left and came then came back and again was bothering us.  Dee (the braver one) finally told him to leave us alone.  We left shortly after that (I had to get going anyway) and decided that next time we'd meet at a different Starbucks (that guy had been there the previous week as well).

That afternoon, before dinner, I was able to finish Holiday Sock #2.

Despite this being a short skein (weighed under 100 grams), I had yarn left over and they did turn out to be pretty matchy-matchy which (for once) pleases me.  I'm glad to have these off the needles (size 1 BTW and the yarn is Cascade Heritage in the colorway:  Holiday [duh]).  I don't have another project in mind per se.  I have a couple of skeins that I have caked up and I may cast on some socks for Fletch (he's been a good boy lately).  I plan to focus mainly on things that are in the works.  Like my French Market Bag or my Guernsey Wrap.  I'll let you know what I pick up!

I have been in the mood for falafel but I do not like deep frying anything.  I found a recipe on line that you bake in the oven rather than frying.  Well, the recipe turned out to be a bit on the moist side...like impossible to roll into balls.  So instead I used my cookie scoop and then sprinkled the sesame seeds on them rather than trying to roll them in the seeds.

Pretty fugly, but they tasted good even before they were cooked.  Rather than baking them in the oven I decided to use my air fryer.  Though they firmed up a bit, not as much as I had hoped.  Still, the taste was very good and we had them with some cherry tomatoes, cucumber, radishes and garlic naan.  Yum!  Next time I will try a different recipe (or get the recipe Colin & Mailing use from them).  (They look greenish in the picture because there was a lot of mint mixed in with the other stuff.)

Sunday was another chilly day, though not too bad.  Still, it called for wool socks and I decided to not wait till next Christmas to wear my Holiday Socks!!

Nice and cozy and I was wearing (of course) my fleece leggings.  We did some grocery shopping (wow have prices sky rocketed and why the shortage on cat food??).  I had a delightful nap and then we fixed nachos for dinner.  I worked a tiny bit on my stitching and we watched "Around the World in 80 Days" and "All Creatures Great and Small."

On the docket for today is to go through some more stuff and add to the donation pile(s).  We did get rid of a ton of stuff on Friday and that felt so good.  I also need to start organizing things for taxes...and call our accountant and book an appointment for that.  I suppose, too, now that the holidays are over I should buckle down and get my shingles shot(s).  

Nothing too exciting, but that's fine with me.  Here's to the week ahead - may it be a good one for all of us.

What's for Dinner? 1-20-22

 Good Morning Friends!

How are you?  It is still dark here (not even 6 a.m.), but I think it's raining and then it will change to sleet and then snow.  By 11 a.m. it should all be over...hopefully.  Our forecast is for 1-3" of snow.  Colin texted that they could get a wintry mix tonight in Austin!

My day at the office was blissfully short.  I arrived a little before 8 a.m. and before 9 a.m. I had finished what I went in to do!  I hung around a little more, but was home before 10 a.m.  I saw one other person the entire time I was there.  I noticed cars in the parking lot that I recognized, but didn't see anyone else.  My afternoon was filled with chores.  The kitchen floor was finally scrubbed and both bathrooms were also cleaned.  Towels were washed as well as rugs from both bathrooms and the kitchen!  And there was still time for knitting and reading.  A good day.

Last night's dinner was stir fry.  Also known as whatever is in the frig - LOL

I started with fresh ginger and garlic (both minced) in sesame oil.  Saute that a bit and then I added some pork.  Sometimes we use chicken or shrimp or even beef, but last night it was pork.  I had thawed a couple of pork shops and cut the meat into little strips.  Once that had mostly cooked I threw in the veggies.  (If it had been shrimp, I would have pulled the shrimp out of the pan, but because it was pork, I wanted to be sure it was thoroughly cooked.)  The veggies last night were:  baby bok choy, carrots, pepper, onion, sugar snap peas and mushrooms.  Usually I throw in broccoli, but I knew we were going to have that tonight.  I also typically toss in cashews and I completely forgot them!  We had it over farro and accompanied it with the usual sriracha sauce and our favorite soy sauce - Conimex Ketjap Manis (sweet Indonesian soy sauce).  Yum!  There is even a bit of leftovers for a lunch for Fletch.

Tonight we are having Spicy Cuban Beef over brown rice with steamed broccoli.  I'll save that delicious recipe for another time.

Well, it's Thursday which means time for me to run reports.  I'll be checking out blogs a bit later.  Hope everyone is staying well and having a good week!