Looking At The Stars With Riley

Is my favorite part of the day.  It happens when we decide to stop watching television.  I ask Riley if he wants to go see some stars and he jumps up and runs to the front door.  Any other time, he runs to the back door.  I have seen dippers and Orion.  I have seen Venus.  But I have never seen Vincent's Starry Sky.  But, I can hope that one night I will see something like it.

My Winter Furlough is coming to an end.  I go back to work on March 15th.

Yesterday and today, G and I have been mucking about in the muddy yard pruning shrubs.  I trimmed up two (seriously) overgrown weigelia, some roses and two spirea.  I removed the tags from the two new Beach Plums and the two Serviceberries.  They made it thru our "warm" winter.  Daffodils and hyacinth bulbs are poking their heads out.  One of the Lenten Rose plants is blooming.  Two of the three Witch Hazels have yellow flowers.  It must be Spring.

I have "re-found" an author.  I read the first book a while ago--well, it must be quite awhile since she has written three books now and that was the first.  Kristina Ohlsson.  I guess I am always looking in the "O" section???   Unwanted was first, then Silenced and now Disappeared.  Silenced is waiting at the library--where I was this morning--but the notification just came in at 4pm.  Too many things have already been told in book three (I have read 104 pages) that I don't think book two will hold many mysteries.  It is incredibly odd for an author to retell plot points from a previous book, but this author does.  Anyone reading this one first--would not be tempted to read the others.  Perhaps it should come with a warning on the cover?

We had lunch at Ruby Tuesday and I had the "Salad Bar" last week.  Today I purchase a small red cabbage and sliced it into slivers along with my carrot curls.  So very pretty.  I had a bottle of Ken's honey mustard salad dressing in the fridge which the Ruby Tuesday staff had told me was what they used.  I didn't believe them--but it is the very same.  Now I just have to figure out the croutons-- and never need to go to RT again! I had my VERY favorite salad at Applebee's this week--Oriental Chicken Salad.  It comes in at 1400 calories but I just can't figure out how.  But it was worth it.

I have been so very lucky at Goodwill.  Both times I have gone to the new, larger one in Town, they have been having a 50% off sale on Women's clothing.  I have gotten some lovely things--linen.  For just $2.50 each.  And I got a gallon sized Target storage jar for $3.  But today-- with the weather between Winter and Spring--I re-discovered that I do not have a suitable outdoor jacket or coat to wear---to say, the dentist appointment.  I have to start a list of things I REALLY need.

We'll be have a real New England Boiled dinner in the next few days.  Corned beef, red potatoes, carrots and cabbage.  I may even dig out my favorite recipe for Soda Bread.  I am always reminded of eating Irish Brown Bread and really wonderful Irish cheese when I visited our friends in Ireland. The closest I can come to that is the soda bread recipe and Kerrygold Cheddar.

Well, that's about all that is going on here.