"The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are."--John Pierpont Morgan
Friday, January 16, 2009
gathering courage
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
ice storm
Another day off, and it was the perfect day to stay inside one's warm abode and cook. It's been raining and sleeting all day long, and with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark, the roads are pretty treacherous. I was so grateful to not have to be out in it.
I finally completed the braised short ribs with parsnips that I started over the weekend. The recipe said that the meat should be falling off the bone when done, and falling off the bone it is! I made a pot of garlic mashed potatoes using Yukon Golds (the best variety for mashing, in my experience) and gobs of butter, and the smells wafting through the house are irresistible. I hope the boys are hungry when they get home from work.
I finally completed the braised short ribs with parsnips that I started over the weekend. The recipe said that the meat should be falling off the bone when done, and falling off the bone it is! I made a pot of garlic mashed potatoes using Yukon Golds (the best variety for mashing, in my experience) and gobs of butter, and the smells wafting through the house are irresistible. I hope the boys are hungry when they get home from work.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
a day off
Has it really been five months since my last entry? Truth be told, I'd almost forgotten I'd started this blog. Then I needed a place to plant my new playlist; my other 2 blogs (which are nearly as lame and neglected as this one) doesn't allow embedded music players without plunking down big bucks for upgrades, so I tracked this one down and installed my Playlist player here. Not that anyone but me will ever get to hear it, since this is my "secret" blog.
*smile* (As if I harbor secrets anyone would be interested in.)
Today is my day off and I am basking in the joyful indulgence of an entire day without responsibility or obligation. Relatively speaking. At the moment my driveway looks like a refuge for juvenile delinquents. My son and his motley assortment of buddies have congregated there in their respective hoopties (aka beat-up cars) to compare woofers and tweeters, rev their engines, and in general wreak what in this neighborhood passes for havoc. Every so often, I open the front door to grimace painfully or shake my head disapprovingly at the noise, ever mindful of my adolescentless neighbors.
I can't believe that tomorrow marks the last day of 2008. How did another year pass so swiftly? It makes my head spin. Last night I told Mike that, despite the financial wreckage that befell so many in 2008, as far as my own family is concerned it wasn't that bad, in that for the first year out of the past five nobody close to us died a tragic death. Somehow that feels like a victory.
Speaking of Mike, I need to start planning in earnest for my trip to the UK to visit him next summer. To prevent its overwheming me, I think I should do it in small bites. For example, next week I can apply for my passport. Then I can start looking seriously at booking flights. I can hardly allow myself to believe that this is really going to happen. I have been longing to visit the British Isles for so long that I am finding it difficult to grasp the idea of actually going.
Oh my gosh! I just had a brilliant idea! I should turn this blog---at the moment so vague and directionless---into a sort of online travel journal. It can be a record of the entire process, from the thinking and planning and making of reservations, to the actual embarking on and execution of my trip!
Woo-hoo!!! England here I come!
*smile* (As if I harbor secrets anyone would be interested in.)
Today is my day off and I am basking in the joyful indulgence of an entire day without responsibility or obligation. Relatively speaking. At the moment my driveway looks like a refuge for juvenile delinquents. My son and his motley assortment of buddies have congregated there in their respective hoopties (aka beat-up cars) to compare woofers and tweeters, rev their engines, and in general wreak what in this neighborhood passes for havoc. Every so often, I open the front door to grimace painfully or shake my head disapprovingly at the noise, ever mindful of my adolescentless neighbors.
I can't believe that tomorrow marks the last day of 2008. How did another year pass so swiftly? It makes my head spin. Last night I told Mike that, despite the financial wreckage that befell so many in 2008, as far as my own family is concerned it wasn't that bad, in that for the first year out of the past five nobody close to us died a tragic death. Somehow that feels like a victory.
Speaking of Mike, I need to start planning in earnest for my trip to the UK to visit him next summer. To prevent its overwheming me, I think I should do it in small bites. For example, next week I can apply for my passport. Then I can start looking seriously at booking flights. I can hardly allow myself to believe that this is really going to happen. I have been longing to visit the British Isles for so long that I am finding it difficult to grasp the idea of actually going.
Oh my gosh! I just had a brilliant idea! I should turn this blog---at the moment so vague and directionless---into a sort of online travel journal. It can be a record of the entire process, from the thinking and planning and making of reservations, to the actual embarking on and execution of my trip!
Woo-hoo!!! England here I come!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
after the rain
So after I left work I decided to stop at the market to pick up "a few things." I hadn't bothered to eat anything before I went to work this morning so I broke one of the cardinal rules of grocery shopping, which is "Never shop for food when you're hungry." Of course, when I do follow that rule, my kids complain that I didn't buy anything good (AKA, junk food). Tonight I broke the rule. I bought a LOT of yummy stuff, and some things (like the variety pack of mini boxes of cereals) I don't normally buy. Here are some of the things I bought:
a nice plump chicken (to roast tomorrow)
fresh rosemary (for the roast chicken)
bottle of white wine (again, for the chicken)
salad ingredients
olive bread from the store bakery
potato chips (regular AND barbecue)
red licorice
Asiago cheese
frozen waffles
heavy cream
3 bottles of Rose
I also picked up some of the staples, including food for the critters.
As I was leaving the market, I noticed that it must have just finished storming. Or, at least, it had been raining very hard. The air was still misty and moist, but smelled crisp and fresh, as it always does after a storm. The parking lot was full of random puddles. On the drive home, directly in front of me, I spied the most enormous rainbow I have ever seen. It seemed to fill the entire eastern horizon. I had to catch my breath, it was so beautiful.
After I returned home, I put away the groceries and then I opened one of the bottles of wine. It is one I have never tried before, Red Guitar 2006 Navarra Old Vine Rose. It's from Spain. The grape is a Garnacha, which I have been reading much about recently. Roses are still (if you believe the New York Times) all the rage this summer, and I selected several varieties. I had placed the Navarra in the freezer as I was unpacking the bags; it was chilled to perfection when I opened it. I am sipping it now. It's good; not too sweet, not too dry. Cheerful. Perhaps a hint of berries. The color is a deep rose, almost the color of strawberries. I am no wine connoisseur so I can't spout the jargon, but I know if a wine tastes good or bad. I think I would buy this one again.
a nice plump chicken (to roast tomorrow)
fresh rosemary (for the roast chicken)
bottle of white wine (again, for the chicken)
salad ingredients
olive bread from the store bakery
potato chips (regular AND barbecue)
red licorice
Asiago cheese
frozen waffles
heavy cream
3 bottles of Rose
I also picked up some of the staples, including food for the critters.
As I was leaving the market, I noticed that it must have just finished storming. Or, at least, it had been raining very hard. The air was still misty and moist, but smelled crisp and fresh, as it always does after a storm. The parking lot was full of random puddles. On the drive home, directly in front of me, I spied the most enormous rainbow I have ever seen. It seemed to fill the entire eastern horizon. I had to catch my breath, it was so beautiful.
After I returned home, I put away the groceries and then I opened one of the bottles of wine. It is one I have never tried before, Red Guitar 2006 Navarra Old Vine Rose. It's from Spain. The grape is a Garnacha, which I have been reading much about recently. Roses are still (if you believe the New York Times) all the rage this summer, and I selected several varieties. I had placed the Navarra in the freezer as I was unpacking the bags; it was chilled to perfection when I opened it. I am sipping it now. It's good; not too sweet, not too dry. Cheerful. Perhaps a hint of berries. The color is a deep rose, almost the color of strawberries. I am no wine connoisseur so I can't spout the jargon, but I know if a wine tastes good or bad. I think I would buy this one again.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
the beginning
So this is my first blog post. I christen thee "just a wee blog," and I hope that I will be able to pour out my heart here in a way that I haven't been able to in any other forum.
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