Winter Thoughts At The End Of February

I'm thinking it just might still be snowing in June this year.  Nothing has melted but a few icicles on the south side roof edges.  On a positive note: we can see the black asphalt of the driveway for the first time since all this snow started falling.

Did you see the pictures of our 70 car pile up?  No one died.  Nothing really serious.  Heart attack, broken bones.  All of those people were very very lucky.  Especially the pregnant lady in the folded up SUV and the guy trapped in his car under the bus--he had to sit and wait until they had removed enough cars to finally reach his car.  How do you not get panicky.

Our carpenter (who was going to be doing the bathrooms this month) has a winter job plowing.  He says he hasn't done one tiny bit of carpentry since the snow started falling.  Just endless plowing and then endless repairs on the plows or the trucks.  Sounds depressing.  Since most winter contracts for plowing are for the season----not for endless, twice weekly storms.

I am looking forward.  To planting seeds.  Even as my husband warns--there won't be any place warm to plant them when they need to be planted.

I have been making pots of red chili beans this winter.  From small red dry beans.  No canned stuff. and eating the beans with brown rice.  Healthy Food.  I have been making my own chili seasonings from dry chilies, coffee, chocolate, onions, etc.  Like chemistry.

I have also been making pots and pots of chicken soup for G.  He says it makes him feel "warm" after all the outside work with the snowblower.  He had to make wider paths in the back yard for the dog. We also have paths to all the exits--in case of emergencies.  We see too many homes, on our walks, with no way to get to the front door.  The garage, yes.  The front door, no.  And I bet, no way out the back door, either.

Riley is resting--even though he much prefers being active.  We are trying to keep him off the snowbanks where he likes to do "his business".  So--he isn't the happiest of dogs.  Not even looking out the window at the squirrels and big fat black crows.  If you can't chase them, why look?

And there are no rabbits here in Maine (not even polka dotted ones).  I've often wondered why that is, as I saw rabbits all the time in Illinois.  Perhaps it's the Fishers.

It's All Good

When the Vet had Riley all knocked out and ready to do the aspiration of what he felt might be a  dangerous cancerous lymph gland, he said to his tech--"let's just take it out" and so they cut and took out the ...... ta da fatty tissue ball.  Not a swollen lymph gland.

At this point Dr H. and the tech nearly broke out into the happy dance and high fives.

People. (!!!!!)

Man.  Are we all happy right now.  The fatty mass is going to the lab.  Riley is on pain meds for the incision and is very Zombie-like.  He's drinking water, sleeping and going out on the leash to pee.  He'll eat treats but not his food.  An hour ago he barked.

It's all good.

Oh, the lymph gland is still in Riley and other than being a bit irritated by rubbing against the fat ball, looks normal.

Walking The Dog

That's about the only reason G and I have for going outside these February days.  How many storms in the past few weeks?  Coming two or three in a week.  No melting.  The snow is piled up so high that Riley is way up over our heads as he climbs to the top and then swims (walks) across the top. The roadways are getting more and more narrow and G and I have to tuck ourselves into the slush so cars can pass safely.  It gets tricky if on coming traffic has bald tires.  I though my ticket would be punched as a newspaper delivery guy lost control of the car and--luckily for me---plowed into a snow bank and not my knees.

The restaurant G used to manage is being closed and he has been invited to join the Breakfast Club in their last meeting there tomorrow morning.  He should go.  The Breakfast Club will be happy to see him one more time.

Riley has a vet appointment tomorrow morning regarding his lymph gland.  Aspiration.  To see what it's all about.  So, it would be good for G to have somewhere happy to go while that is happening.

My daughter is enjoying her new job.  Not the drive to work, this winter.  But her co-workers are very nice and she has her own office.  I am very thankful she is happy.

My son is enjoying his new job (it's been almost a year now) and he has just moved into an new apartment.  NEW.  After living in a1950's rental with no updates for too many years.  He did a very brave thing (well, moving was pretty off the charts as well) by deleting a large pile of "things he no longer needed" before moving.  He took only what he loved or needed with him to the new place. A fresh start.  He sends us pictures of his new home. I am very thankful he is happy.

Our neighbor across the street is moving.  And I wish she was getting rid of the things that no longer matter.  Instead of getting rid of things she is packing up the past (her failed marriage) and trying to take it with her into the future.

She wonders why we stay here.  In ice cold Maine. But as I told her, it's only 2.5 months.  And then it's almost May when Maine is absolute perfection.  And, it's home.

Happy New Year

The year of the ram.  I don't know how that translates for the dogs that G and I are. We'll see. But I will be taking the Swedish wooden horse down off the mantle and replacing it with the Irish wool ram I received as a gift from Ireland when G was a "traveling man".

My Winter Minestrone is way too heavy on the tomato.  A 28 ounce can of pureed tomatoes.  I have added more water and tried to lower the carb count by not adding the pasta in the recipe.  I will be adding MORE water to the next 100 bowls (it made so much) and I will be adding the pasta.  It doesn't taste bad.  It just has a "one note" taste.  Tomato, tomato, tomato.  All the nice vegetables: celery, carrots, butternut squash, kale, onions, garlic, white beans and potato are lost.  I looked at the picture posted on the blog where I first noticed this recipe--and it is indeed pretty tomato-y but the broth looks more watery than mine.  Sometimes a recipe is good from the beginning.  And other times it takes work to get it right.  And sometimes the effort to fix a recipe is wasted.  I have a perfectly perfect vegetable soup recipe I didn't use. Duh!!

We had another storm last night.  The plow just went by the driveway so I think I will jump up and look out the window and see how high the pile is at the end.  Well.  Not high enough to keep us from blasting through it at some speed.  But it still needs clearing.  G is getting ready to go out and get the newspaper--along with his trusted assistant Riley.

It was calm and sunny the past two afternoons and we took Riley for a walk on neighborhood streets.  He, typically, climbed every high snowbank (and they are taller than G or I) and typically--chose to poop on the top of the tallest pile.  G got to climb up and collect both days.  BUT, the up and down is really excellent exercise for a large muscular dog like Riley.  Not so much for a 60 something dog owner.

These twice a week storms are tiresome.  And the Blah, Blah, Blah of the weather men on the news is even more tiresome.  After the last "oh, gosh, it missed us" storm they are now saying "might" more than "it's gonna bury us".  We were supposed to get 6 to 10 inches of new snow last night and possibly-- the hype-- up to 12 to 20 inches.   Looks like 3 to me.  We'll see who is right when G goes out to shovel the back deck.

Anyway, I think we should go out today and eat some Chinese dumplings and noodles for good luck.

Riley finally--after all these years of chasing them in the yard--caught a squirrel.  G was hoping it was just stunned but it hasn't moved from the spot where G put it in the garden.  Riley can't get into the garden.  We'll see.  Circle of life an all.  But Riley wants to go catch another one.

Wanting Some Color MidWinter

The backyard looks like the surface of the moon.  All white, cold and pitted with surface craters. the "blizzard " brought only a tiny bit of new snow--but the winds (which howled all night) moved the dry snow all over the yard.  It's very very cold.  It's almost like we actually DO live in the Arctic as many of our friends think.

I've been making lists of plants, shrubs and trees.  Thinking about adding a few things to the landscape here. Some things with color.

Edit: the tree in the picture is a Tibetan Cherry (Prunus serrula) good for zones 7 to 10, slow growing and up to 20 or 30 feet at maturity.  This tree is growing at the New York Botanical Garden.

Today's culinary projects include Muffin Cup Lasagna using won ton wrappers instead of pasta.  Well, won ton wrappers are pasta.  I made a muffin pan of 12 for my daughter on Friday.  No report on how they turned out but G has asked for his own pan of lasagna muffins.  I sent him out for more ingredients and found a quarter pound hamburger patty in the freezer--so I think he may get meat and spinach.

G has finished off the pot of chicken soup I made for him on Friday.  I am having brown rice and a few scoops of the red bean dish I made for myself.  I added onions, peppers, tomato sauce, cocoa and guajillo chile puree (the Vitamix) to the cooked beans.  I also added a bit of brown sugar, some honey and some mustard.  I like this batch almost as much as the first pot of beans I made at the beginning of the month.  The first batch got too sweet when I tried to overcome the bitterness of ancho chilies.

The dry chilies I used this time have subtle heat.  Next time perhaps one ancho and four or five of the guajillo.  We'll see.  G got me small red beans and I like them better than kidney beans.

I think I may use the vegetables I have in the fridge to make a small pot of winter minestrone.  I saw it on a blog this morning (Diary of a Locavore) and it looked delicious.  An Ina Garten recipe. You could look it up that way.  

Riley is giving me the dog's version of the "stink eye" so he must want me to go get G and "do something".  The cold and the snow have kept us from the daily walk and the dog isn't too happy about it.  We have a few errands to do.  And that gives the dog a "ride in the car" which--even though it seems less than interesting to me, must be right up there with cheese wrapped pills for the dog.  That's another issue.  Riley doesn't have any more pills to take--so therefore no more cheese.  Not a happy guy.  But he is compensating by licking birdseed off the snow under the feeders.

G is going outside to clear the bottom of the driveway.  Then we'll go do errands.

The sun is shining and the wind has stopped blowing and I finally have room in the freezer for ice cream.  So it's not all gloom and doom around here.

Early Wishes For A Happy Valentine's Day

We'll be getting more snow and some very very frigid temperatures for the holiday so I thought I would post now--just in case.

Things I Have Noticed Lately and Just Don't Understand:

The two books I just read had some connection to old Amsterdam.  The Miniaturist and The Signature Of All Things.  And both books had never had their book spines cracked open.  I was the first to read them.  And, in further investigation, the book I am reading now, Dominion, was never opened either-- in 2 years.

The library where I used to work, used to buy quite a lot of fiction.  Now they don't.  And they removed any fiction from the shelves if it hadn't been checked out in the five years before the day they checked.  The books were taken off the shelves and sent to Goodwill.  Now, when I order books they come from other libraries.

I also checked the three fiction books I purchased at last year's book sale and haven't read as yet.  They also had never been opened or read.  The pages were solidly together.  No gaps when the covers were opened and spread out to 90 degrees. Purchased and then never opened or read.  Gifts?

One is Wolf Hall.  Now in the process of being turned into a Masterpiece production by PBS.  Ahhh!  Loved the book when I read it a few years ago.  Bought the book sale copy so I could read it again any time I wanted in the future.  My library doesn't own a copy but sent this pristine, unopened copy to the book sale rather than add it to the collection.

I remember visiting a newly built library in Georgia.  Built to replace an old, smaller building.  In the new library--all the books were brand new.  Author collections contained only the newest releases.  I asked about the older books from the old library and the library personnel I spoke with said "we got rid of all that old stuff".  It honestly felt like I had been punched in the chest.

I just don't understand.  A library is a place where books are kept.  Kept.

It's Pantry Clean Out Month

Before I get started on the Pantry Clean out---  We found a Hoosier just like this one at a garage sale down the street from us (that house we bought where we only saw the roof because of the snow) when Spring arrived.  It was coated in paint.  But we stripped it and used in in that house, for 6 years in Germany, in the next house in Chicago and finally here in Maine.  The Hoosier lives with our daughter now but isn't used as a pantry.

I love that the mixer sits in one of the cabinets.  In our Hoosier there is a flour sifter over where the mixer is in this picture.  Same doors and drawers.

Anyway.  In February there are lots of Pantry Challenges on the internet.  The one I remember that first got me interested in this was probably 10 or more years ago.  I sometimes wish I still had the names of those great websites.  I don't.  The idea is to "shop" your fridge, freezer and pantry and use what you already have.

I am interesting in doing it this February because I want ice cream.  And I don't have room in the freezer for even a PINT of ice cream.  Yes, it's that full.  And, Yes, the freezer is that small. Remember I had to remove all the frozen berries and make jam.  It's that space challenged.  I may have to remove the frozen peaches and strawberries in order to make room for ice cream.

The first site that I went on 10 years ago had a few rules.  Such as only being able to buy a few "fresh" things each week.  Usually eggs, milk, bread etc.  Stuff that is best used fresh.

I tried it and it was fun.  Mostly I opened the freezer to see what I might want to thaw out and then checked to see what sort of recipe I could find to use the freezer item and whatever I happened to have in the fridge or pantry.  Can't make pasta if you don't have pasta.  You get it.

I found that the things I had to buy "fresh" were often onions, carrots and potatoes.  With those three things I could make quite a few meals out of whatever was in the freezer.  In fact, most of my recipes start with peeling an onion or two.  Spell correct just said "peeling an opinion or two".  Well that too.

Things I Did Today.
Potted up all the Spring Bulbs I didn't get into the ground in the Fall (and making quite a dirty mess)
Drove to work to buy more dirt to pot up the bulbs.  (first time I have driven the car in 6 weeks)
I am silently sending "love" to someone (in my thoughts) who may need a bit of extra care and love.
I am enjoying The Signature of All Things, my new book
Changed the linens on the bed, started three loads of wash.
Eating the remainder of the Super Kale Salad (with added carrots and red onion)
I found a recipe for Butternut Sauced Penne Pasta which will use up some of the butternut squash I roasted a few days ago.  A Weight Watcher's recipe--8 points whatever that means.  I'll just have it with the brown rice--- in a bowl.

What I Like Today-Thursday 2/5/2015

That my visit to the doctor is a thing of the past.  Not that it was terrible.  She didn't yell but told me I only get "one pass" each year.  And I wasn't one of the sad souls wearing a face mask and feeling terribly sick-- there were many of those.

My biggest decision this morning was whether to eat breakfast and drink coffee before going to the office and being weighed.  I even wondered about removing my boots before stepping on the scale. And--well, to both I said 'screw it".  I am what I am. Weigh what I weigh.

I did have a baseline EKG because I had never had one in all my 68 years.  It was positively normal.

I refused the pneumonia vaccine.

I now have an inhaler ($40 co-pay--boo!!)  which is making my breathing easier.  It should be extra good on cold walks outside.  Doctor checked back into my files and I had inhalers before.  When I worked at the library and it was very dusty with new construction.  I wheezed.  I think every member of my immediate family had some sort of breathing/asthma issue.  Had--no longer with us.

My new favorite thing at the grocery.  It used to be chicken tenders from the deli--all crisp and fried.
Now it's the Super Foods Kale Salad.  I had a small one yesterday and today got a one pound container.   I detected kale, red onion, walnuts and a few blueberries in it.  Whole Foods had one--but they don't anymore and it had some seeds in it.  I liked it very much as well. I have seeds and can always add some.  In fact, I am going to google super foods and find out what they are.

Yesterday I bought a 5.6 pound butternut squash and peeled and cubed it (quite a workout) and roasted the cubes with olive oil.  Today I found a bunch of large beets (organic) and they are wrapped in foil and roasting in the oven.  I also have a big batch of brown rice resting in the rice cooker.  I am seeing a few Rice Bowls in my future with kale, red onion, butternut cubes and beets.  Perhaps a few raisins or dried cranberries.  And walnuts?

I am trying very hard to eat the 5 suggested fruits of vegetable recommended.  I eat larger servings so perhaps I needn't try so hard?  I already had a banana and yesterday I had fresh pineapple with my yogurt.

We heard a commercial on the radio--while driving through town to the doctor on slippery, unplowed streets--- that people can have --21 POUNDS of "stuff" clogging their colons.  The radio guy had a "PRODUCT" we could send for/order which would remove that 21 pounds.  How could this be true???  So people really could be full of s**t.

What I See Outside

I think it is supposed to snow again.  40% chance of more snow.

Tomorrow I go for a doctor's visit.  Postponed (due to weather) from Monday--and previous to that postponed from last Thursday--for weather.  The phone may ring in the morning postponing the appointment yet again.

I ordered books from the Maine Library Service.  Lots of the lending libraries said there was a long holding time. So, I ordered nine.  Thinking it would take time to get them.  Not so.  I have a huge pile on the table. I am working my way through the first one-- The Miniaturist by Jesse Burton.  Takes place in the last half of the 1600's in Amsterdam.  It's quite dark.

Not much else to write about.  G and I took Riley for a walk on neighborhood streets on the leash. He (and us) hadn't been out walking since last Monday.  When we got back home I took Riley out on the paths around the yard.  Riley was running around like a crazy dog and knocked me onto the ground. And---I had fallen and couldn't get up.  Really.  I had hoped G would look out the door and come help me up.  Eventually, I did manage to get up and back into the house.  I was covered in snow.  Riley thought it was all the best sort of fun.  Wanted to do it more often.

I eventually dried off and warmed up.  Riley took a nap.  G had to go out and charge up the battery in my car--I've not driven the car in many many weeks.  Since it started snowing.

Well, back to reading.

Endless, Endless Snow.

G and I went outside today.  Well, G went outside yesterday as well, at 10 pm when the wind finally quit, to snowplow the 8 inches we got during the day.  It seems like 80 inches.  I don't think we got over 5 degrees yesterday--with wind it was below zero.

Today the sun is shining and I had an appointment for a haircut.  The roads---OMG--slushy, slippery, messy.  So, not the way life is here in Maine usually.  At the salon I was being coaxed into another visit in the afternoon for a pedicure.  Massaging chair and the possibility of little flowers on my toenails.   But I am not driving this winter unless the roads are perfectly dry.  And G had a job removing snow (Friday's and yesterday's) from a friend's driveway.

When G gets back, we are going to the library to get me a book.  I need a book.

I also stayed home for a "fact finding interview" by the unemployment office.  One second into the call-- an apology because there was no reason for it. They had made a mistake.  How nice is that? I love when someone, cheerfully, admits to an error and begs my pardon.  Nice.

I made pizza for the Super Bowl on Sunday.  And I even watched the game.  And I was happy I did as the game was a very good one, entertaining and exciting.  50% of the of the multi million $$$ commercials were good.  What a waste of money.  And the Patriots won.  Which was good because G was beside himself with worry and anxiety through the game and by the 4th quarter 11 second mark he was very very sad.  By the 10 second mark he was very very happy.  I hope the very same two teams (Patriots and Seattle) get to do it again next super bowl ---and I have a feeling it will happen.

G made me two planting boxes for my onion and leek seedlings.  Very posh boxes.  I will show them to you when I have them filled with dirt and seeds.

I sorted my seed packets yesterday and chose the items I want to plant this year.  More flowers.  More onions.  More herbs.  More carrots.  No turnips. This year I want kohlrabi instead.  And I want fennel that makes bulbs.  Last year I waited and waited for the fennel to make seeds and it never did.  I need fennel if I am ever to make my own sausages.

I am also going to plant smaller tomato varieties in hopes of more tomatoes--sooner.  We had terrible luck with wilt last year on the tomatoes and struggled to keep the plants alive until the fruit could ripen.  I am starting the seeds WAY earlier than the seed charts recommend.  I need to have really hefty seedlings ready to go into the ground in June if I am to have a good crop of tomatoes.

And I want to have all the items for ratatouille in the garden.  I made three huge pots of the stuff (for the freezer) and it just wasn't enough.  I especially love eating it when it's snowing.

Yesterday I had a Rice Bowl.  Brown rice, wilted kale and spinach, onions and peppers tossed with a very odd Parmesan from Trader Joes that melts and gets sticky.  The cheese made everything stick together in big chewy clumps and it was quite wonderful.  I'm making another bowl today--with a bigger pile of rice and the addition of some edamame since I am almost out of kale.

More snow coming on Thursday and again on the weekend.  Two a week storms for the next 6 weeks? we'll see.

If Only It Would Stop Snowing

The forecast (here in Maine) is for over a foot more snow tomorrow.  In addition to the 24 inches on the ground and the 10 plus feet of plowed snow in every parking lot and along the sides of all the roads.  Visibility is slim to none.

Reminds me of going from our home in Florida up to Chicago in 1979 house hunting due to a job promotion for G.  The house we eventually purchased was seen, by us, as a roof sitting on top of a huge pile of snow.  Imagine our delight when the snow melted and we discovered a brick patio and double gas grills.

We can still see the houses here in Maine--not just roof tops.  But we can't see oncoming traffic at intersections.

Before Maine got all environmental the snow piles were loaded on dump trucks and driven to the ocean where it was dumped.  Now, well, they try and find vacant lots and open grassy areas and dump the snow there instead.  That's if they have time between storms.  Two days isn't enough time.
and that's the way it is here.  Every two days--another heavy storm.

Riley, G and I haven't been out for our daily walk since Monday of last week.  Businesses have already announced plans to be closed tomorrow.  The rush will be on to get to the grocery store.
Here in Maine--the typical list is to get a loaf of bread, milk, bottled water and batteries which sounds reasonable.  G's list is for orange juice and rice wine vinegar so far, but he might need more gas for the snowblower and the generator if the snow is heavy this time around.

I think I will be canceling my doctor's appointment for tomorrow and possibly making a few wabi sabi placemats out of fabric scraps.  I just wish my scraps looked as nice as the ones up top.  Like solid colors.  I'll have to repurpose some shirts--maybe.

Happy Superbowl.  I have pizza dough started and some stuff to make nachos.  And lemons and limes for margaritas.  I won't be watching but I do like the food.  (smile)

Digging Out

Monday night we went to sleep listening to the wind howling.  Tuesday was quiet in the morning with a light, snow globe, snow coming down.  By late afternoon the snow was falling sideways and we couldn't see past the 2 or 3 foot area around the house.

We had no where to go.  Didn't need anything.  And Riley was refusing to eat or drink-- because he was also refusing to "need" to go out.  Around 5pm he decided he was hungry and ate his breakfast, then his dinner and jumped like a rabbit through the drifts and peed for what seemed like 5 minutes.
G thinks he may have done his other business on his second trip out.  Slept like a log after that. It's business as usual for Riley today.  And G used the snowblower to carve paths through the half acre yard so Riley can get around easily.  We should have known he would continue to snow surf and knock snow piles into the paths.

Another storm is coming on Friday.  Yippee!

I am working my way through bags of magazine tear-outs.  Things I ripped out of magazines before tucking them into the re-cycle box.  It's been years and about 75% of the pages are going into the recycle now.  I did find the foot image relating to reflexology.  It keeps me busy.

G and are are making some progress eating the "storm food" I had made before the storm hit.  Today I veered off course and had a bowl of Greek yogurt, a third cup of Bran Buds and some juicy red grapefruit segments.  Delicious.  The grapefruit segments always remind me of my old friend K (who cut me loose in the friendship department 4 or 5 years ago).  She liked grapefruit segments when we had a big Sunday breakfast.  I wish I could make her a big bowlful of segments.  I didn't know how to do it (cut segments) when we were friends.  And now--well, I wish I could.  For her.

I am reading Faithful Place by Tana French.  I am only reading it because I couldn't find anything else at the library.  Which reminds me to see what I have written down in my "library book" book and order some books.  I finished The Son by Jo Nesbo and gave it a B minus.

The third season of the Americans on FX starts tonight.  G and I are wondering if we should watch the episodes each week or save them up and binge watch them when the season ends.  Binge watching becomes a very strong habit--real fast.  How about you?

We're Okay

It's snowing sideways outside.  Bitter cold wind.  The snow is so dry it crunches under your feet and hurts your skin.  White out conditions when the gusts.

We still have lights, heat and books to read.

Riley is having the most trouble.  He waited until 15 minutes ago to go out for his morning pee. The pee lasted a good long time and then he plowed his way back to the porch (at least 24 inches deep in the yard) and wanted to go back in.  He's refusing to eat as well--no breakfast and no lunch.  He will eat if I hand him food.  Hope it's all due to weather and not something else.  He most likely doesn't want to have to go out to poop either (dogs are smart that way).  The birds were eating at the feeders this morning but I hope they found a spot out of the wind to rest up.

G has done the front and back porches so we can exit the house if we need to.  Snowplowing would be useless with the wind blowing so hard.  The street aren't being plowed.  Everything is closed. Businesses etc.  As I said, the snow is light powder.  The ski areas call it champagne powder. Good for skiing terrible for plowing or shoveling.

I think in the "old days" they ran a rope from the house to the barn so the farmers didn't get lost in the blizzard on the way to and back from the barn to tend the animals.  I can see how that would happen going out to the barn and even to the outhouse.  Getting lost and wandering until you froze to death.

We'll stay inside.

Almost February, Already!!!

When I procrastinate I am usually imagining an alternate life that I could have been living if I had made better choices.  Which is why I always think about having a "do-over" life.

Would I actually do better the second time around or would I make the same choices, again?

I do think we procrastinate over things we just didn't want to to at all.  I don't like doing the taxes, but when they are completed, I feel rather proud of myself.  Why, then, do I put off doing them to the last possible moments?????  Each year I say I will do them earlier.  Right here on this blog.  And in my daily journal.  Do I?  No.  Will this year be different?  One can dream.

Right now I am procrastinating about going out to look at bathroom vanities.  I should be thrilled.  But I am feeling more dread and pressure.  Yes.  That's the feeling I get when there is a deadline.
The "why do I have to do this" feeling even when it's something I actually do want to do.

The carpenter is pulling into the driveway.  He has my tile samples.  For the bathrooms.  That need vanities.  Riley and G have gone out to greet him.  And after a longer than it should have been chat--we are on the same page for the vanities and I like the slate floor tiles.  Monday the plumber is coming to check under the house for pipes etc. for his estimate.

I did manage to hem the pants.  Now, I am assembling a basket of tools so I can mend two pair of pajamas that have holes in them.  I am always catching the sides of the pants on something.  Like the brown cords I tore at work on a nail.  Ripped from pocket to knee.  That repair has opened up a new rip from pocket to waistband.  I think the cord fabric in these Bean pants is just way too thin and cheap these days. No wonder a customer returned them.

I have a chicken cacciatore to make for dinner today.  One pot wonder.  It reminds me of the chicken paprika my mother made when I was a child.  I remember it being rather stewy with tomatoes and onions.  Lots of onions.  The leftover chicken was always in my lunch sandwich the next day.  There were a few things my mother got right.  That chicken dish was one of them and I loved, loved, loved those chicken sandwiches the next day.

Riley is pacing and wanting his walk.  The paths are rutted with footprints that we made through the snow crust into the wet slush a few days ago.  Now frozen.  Long gone are the smooth paths made by the cross country skiers.  Now it's an ankle twisting mess out there.

When I get back from the walk and the chicken is slow cooking in the oven, I am going to try making a mono print with some paint and a plastic bag right on a page in my journal (like Deborah).  And when it's dry I will embellish it with my new Christmas Sharpies.  I will also link to a new blog I found with journal cues to help me do some art work each day.  Tomorrow.

Walking The Dog

A long time ago I had G take this picture of me and Riley.  He was younger and didn't have a white muzzle. Gosh, he looks so black.  Like black velvet.  I don't know if I even own those jeans.  I still have the socks.

Life on the winter furlough is stuck in a rut already.  G gets up at 6am with Riley.  Then they go back to bed. I get up at 9:30 and Riley and I wait for G to get up around 10:30.  He eats breakfast and then we walk the dog.  Errands are done after the walk.  Lunch is eaten around 3 pm.  It's dark here in Maine at 5.  The news.  Book to read or television to watch.  That's it for the day. Occasionally I cook dinner or we go out instead of eating lunch.

I miss going to work.

Yesterday and today I scheduled a second one hour walk with a friend.  Well, two friends.  Just not both of them at the same time.  So, I am getting 2 hours of exercise each day and some conversation.

I also went up to the attic and got two more pairs of pants out of the size 16 box.  They need hemming so I intend to do that as soon as I hit publish on this post.  I was bored with the two pair I have been wearing for a few weeks now.  New colors are needed.  New socks as well.

All the laundry is done.  G vacuumed.  The dishes are washed.  I am reading another book--that's two this week so far.  None of the blogs I read have new posts.  It's like everyone has gone into hibernation.

I need another layer over my sweater--it's cold in here.  Once I sit on the couch I will be tempted to take a nap.  I'd rather not do that.

Sigh.

Must hem pants.

It's Elementary, Sort Of

I don't even want to be reminded of how many times I tried to delete this picture just to get the type to line up on the left side instead of in the center of the page. Let's just talk about the fact that one of the Clivia plants I own has two flower buds that look quite similar to this photo.  Taken the last time, years ago, that one of the plants flowered.

I have customers, who bring me enormous plants to divide, who say their Clivia blossom all the time. Wish that I was so lucky.  I did divide my plant (one huge thug) into many individual plants perhaps 2 years ago.  I think it (they) have to get back to their large pot bound selves before flowering.  They are all orange.  This one is perhaps the yellow.

Did you see them on Elementary this week.  Part of the plot.  The murdered guy gave all his girlfriends yellow Clivia and brown paper bags of fertilizer.  That smelled of coffee and mackerel.
The name rhymes with the name Clive.

I am reading The Son a mystery by Jo Nesbo.  But, while it's quite interesting, it's not Harry.

I am walking with G and Riley each and every day.  It's a cold walk.  But I feel so much better having gone on the walk each day.  I think it takes between 45 minutes and an hour depending on the condition of the snow pack.  The sun was shining one day and the walk in the snowy woods was very beautiful.

Riley has an infection (or something).  We are soaking his right rear paw four times a day and he is taking 2 capsules twice a day.  Wrapped in plenty of cheese.  None of this seems to be bothering the dog--well, he hates having his foot soaked-- and we were thankful he didn't have an allergic reaction to the pills.

I haven't accomplished one damned thing on my list in the three full weeks I haven't been working.

I have consulted with the carpenter regarding the bathroom remodels.  And the tile guy.  The plumber will be coming by also.  I have two weeks to go looking for bathroom vanities, toilets and sinks.  The tile guy is sending samples of the tiles I mentioned wanting (along with his estimate) so I can carry them to stores with me. We are hoping the plumber has samples of porcelain finishes (along with his estimate) so I can match the 30 year old cast iron tub to the new sink and toilet in bathroom #2.  Number one will just need matching white sinks and toilet.

Did you know that there are many, many whites in bath fixtures.  And they look pretty awful next to each other if they don't match.  I thought white was white.  NOT!!!  And "white" subway tile is just the same.

I now have a Pinterest Board devoted to the bathroom remodel. Me.  I have no idea how to look at my board but I suppose I can ask the kids at work to help me out.  And if I can remember my password?

Consider Everything An Experimemt

I pulled that quote from "And Sew It Goes" blog post.  I have always followed this rule.  I love a good experiment and usually try one or two of them each vegetable gardening season and share the results with my students.  The successes and most of all the failures.  We tend to learn more from our failures.

I kind of think of my life as one long, involved experiment.  I am always day dreaming of a do-over.  A chance to go back in time and make different decisions.  There is a new show on one of the young people channels -- Hindsight-- where the young woman goes back in time to 1995 and chooses NOT to marry--right at the altar.  And the trick here is she remembers the future.

My current experiment involves the bathrooms in my house.

The carpenter is coming tomorrow and we will be discussing the eventual re-model of the two bathrooms on the main floor of the house.  They sit in the architecture back to back.  One opening on the hallway for use by occupants of the two bedrooms and any guests we may have.  The other opens from the master bedroom. I want them both to look exactly the same--same cabinets, toilets and sinks.  Same tiles.  Same round black knobs on the cabinet drawers.

I have been considering the bowl sinks in the above photo.  I am thinking there would be an enormous amount of cleaning involved if I choose this sink.  It's very lovely to look at.  But the sides of the bowls would get dirty, the countertop around and behind would get dirty.  And do I really want to spend time cleaning all that every time we use the sinks????  I think under mounted sinks are the way to go.  Wipe off the counter top and done.

I like the fact that everything in the photo can be mopped--under.   I now know I don't like cabinets that rest on the floor.  Scrubbing those baseboards is not something you can count on me doing.

I am doing (thinking of doing) all this work--because my husband thinks I should have (finally) a really nice bathroom in this house.  And he hopes this morphs it's way into a kitchen I actually love.  He's off the mark on that one--as the kitchen I have was a huge upgrade to what I was used to in other houses we owned.  It's just gotten old.  As we have.  It's been 23 years.

Thank goodness he isn't thinking of replacing me.  Yet.

Indoor Gardening and Walking In The Woods

My orchids are planning for a show of flowers around March.  Lots of new flower spikes.  Just a few inches tall so far, so I must wait.  The white orchids are blooming as are the paperwhites and the lemon lime amaryllis.

G pulled the frozen solid bag of potting soil into the house on Saturday morning and I tucked it (well, shoved it) under the table of orchids to thaw.  Took two full days but now it's ready for me to drag it back onto the cold sunporch (no sun) and pot up the spring bulbs I never got around to planting in the ground.   I have quite a few bags of tulips, daffodils and some little crocuses.

I think I will layer them in the pots.  Big bulbs, cheek to cheek, in the bottom and then dirt and then some smaller bulbs on top.  I have "rescued" forced bulbs from the trash at work in past springs and they do eventually realm when planted into the ground (2 years later).  Usually forced bulbs don't have much regenerative energy left.  But I think it's better to try and force them than to tuck them into the compost pile.

I managed to make a pot of beans yesterday.  I think my problem with cooking dry beans is that I let them get too old being stored in the cupboard.  These were "newer" red beans and I presoaked them in boiling water and then slow cooked them with garlic cloves, a halved onion and two carrots.  I now have soft beans to use in chili instead of the weekly soup.

I was less than enthusiastic about the French cabbage soup this time.  Just wasn't "tasty".  The only change I can think of was the first time the cabbage was from my garden and this time the cabbage was from the grocery.   The carrots from Whole Food are incredible.  I wish the store was closer.  I would be there right now to buy some giant beets to roast.

I have been following the "activity" portion of my To Do List for my furlough.  Walking with G and Riley in the woods behind the house.  The path is ice and snow covered and uneven.  I trudge along behind the two of them and try not to sprain an ankle.  It's snowing today and everyone is looking like they may not be going for a walk.  We'll see.

The food part of my resolutions isn't going as well.  To solve the problem I decided to just go ahead and eat all the Christmas candy.  Now it's all gone.

Baby, It's Cold In Maine

And I'm searching the internet for bathroom ideas before the carpenter shows up.  I like this bathroom minus all that grey grout between the tiles.  I think the tiles could be tightened up, meaning less grout.
But where would all the "stuff" one uses in the bathroom be hidden.  A sunken box in the floor? I tend to like this spare design because I really, really, want to live like this.  Just enough, but no more.

I am quite the "packrat" when it comes to bathroom supplies.  I find something I like and "presto pronto" it is discontinued.  Now that I have a Trader Joe's within a 30 mile radius I am buying the refresh citrus body wash whenever I see it.  The shampoo and the conditioner are already gone and not coming back.  So I shampoo my hair with the body wash.

I no longer have any of the body lotion I loved.  Discontinued.  It was fragrance free and the new ones are so stinky (fragrant) that I get a headache.  My soap is a thing of the past as well.  My toothpaste isn't being made anymore.  I have had to buy small tubes of other brands and try them out. So far, no luck.

Does this happen to you???

It's is terribly cold here in Maine.  It never even made it up to zero today.  Riley didn't get a walk.

I started work on the dining room table.  Trying to clear it off.  Tomorrow the tree gets undecorated.
I have been trying to make a list of projects to get done during my 12 weeks of unemployment. It isn't going well.  I keep getting sidetracked by the table clutter.  There is so much.  I sort something out and then have to find the spot where it goes and then get it in with what is already there and usually find something that should be somewhere else------and that leads to not much being accomplished.

I did change out the shower curtain---- LOL----

The Zen Of Being Joanne

I sometimes feel the need to re-invent myself.  A calmer, more centered self.  I was doing just fine the first four days of my unemployment.  Walking with G and Riley each morning--centering myself, enjoying the woods etc..  Then the snow happened.  G has snow shoes.  I do not.  And it's cold out there with a windchill of 19.  And the surface of the snow cracks with ice.

Today I folded washed clothing instead of walking.  Changed the tablecloth and napkins on the table.  Filled up the flour and sugar canisters (they had gotten low with all the "baking" of cookies this year) and I used up the last of the walnuts.  I'm baking loaves of Date Nut and Banana bread today.  The Date Nut takes 90 minutes to bake at 300.

G will go to the store at some point today and buy the things we need for chicken soup.  I also added a few things to the list so I can make French Cabbage Soup for myself.  It's very nice to eat soup on very cold days.

Nothing is really as good as a walk in the woods.

Back to the Zen.  Folding clothes.  Sorting art supplies.  Writing on smooth white pages with a new black thin line Sharpie.  Thinking about making another moss fairy garden. Wishing I had a shallow rectangular bonsai dish  for it.

My collection of orchids are showing signs of new flower spikes.  Caused by a cold snap (orchids need a chill to set flower spikes).  The largest Clivia has two flower stalks in bud.  The others are showing new leaves as I began watering them again on New Year's Eve and I can always hope there will be more flowers (?).  The paperwhites are getting taller.  My Lemon Lime Amaryllis has three out of four of it's blooms open.  It's a very pale green and quite petite.  A much larger one has two fat stems going but no flower buds as yet.  I am hoping it's the deep dark Red Pearl from last Christmas.  Three whopping huge stems of four last winter.  Glorious.  The third one that will possibly make flowers is a red and white stripe.  All the others are resting in their new pots, not even making leaves.

Flowers in Winter.  Such beauty and wonder on cold sunless days.  I am loving my terrarium with it's cheerful robin in the middle.  I found another bird (a grey dove) at Goodwill and, while not as cheerful as the robin, I think it will be a delight in another terrarium with different colored foliage. I was very lucky to have found the two of them.  About 4 to 5 inches tall with very pale coloring.  Peaceful.

G just brought in the mail.  A beautiful card from our friend in Germany, Marianne. Thank you dear friend!!

Well, there are things I need to do in the kitchen.  The Zen of chopping vegetables. (smile)