Sunshine Makes Me Smile

This morning as I was readying my coffee I looked out into the living room and saw this ray of sunshine and needed to take a snap. We can certainly use a ray of sunshine in our lives. So here it is.

 A sunny Friday to you all.

You know, no title

Let's have something lighthearted today. 

Mark had to go to the post office yesterday so he stopped at the deli for Taco Tuesday. This week's taco was made with slow cooked rump roast and spicy pickled peppers. That brings to mind Peter Piper picking pickled peppers. Has anyone figured out how many pecks he picked? Ok, I am my father's daughter. Sometimes you don't argue with genetics. Back to the program....I had a small tomato and an avocado with the really good taco.

We are in a warming period, which will end in a couple of days. It's nice to give the propane tank a break, sort of. I've been looking for my absent mojo without any luck. Maybe it will show itself today. I did make bread yesterday. And.....

....more food. I had some bay scallops I used with asparagus in a lemon garlic butter sauce. It was very good, but somehow I don't think it was low in calories! But, it did have sea food and a vegetable, that counts, right?

 Good Wednesday, everyone.

Down the Sinkhole

Frieda aptly expresses my attitude lately.

 Gulf of America........

Food Deck Line

Is this Rocky or one of Rocky's kidlets? 

There were two of them so I'm thinking the latter.

I don't think the cat the food is put out for is getting it anymore. There was a beautiful dark grey cat eating yesterday. He was vocal. Big puffy cheeks so very likely male. Racoons are top of the food chain lining up for a snack, beating out cats and possums. This or those racoons seem to be bringing me gifts, as there are lots of bits of gravel showing up around the bowl. They are thoughtful.

Shopping, Whimsey, Food, Thinking

My friend, Boud, has a weekly delivery from Misfits Market. I started ordering from there several years ago, but I am an on-and-off purchaser. Usually when I want fennel, it's very well priced on Misfits. I am following Boud's example and posting the order I got on Friday. BelGioiso ricotta has no additives like most others and is creamy, so I buy it rather than make it.  I will be making fennel frond pesto with the pistachios I also bought. I don't often use the service but when I do, I am never disappointed.

Remember the day of retail therapy that was mostly made up of food? This is the non-food part of that day. I gathered these photos off the internet, I don't know where, over a couple of years. They were not copyrighted. I like whimsey and these are certainly that. I don't want to give too much away, but that cat reminds me just a bit too much of my younger self!

And then there is food. I made a sauce from some of the roma tomatoes I froze whole and added meatballs I made with leftover meatloaf mixture and froze. The meatballs weren't my usual but they did actually work just fine.

I thought today about blogging. How many of us will occasionally write about, or perhaps simply think about, how there is nothing of much interest to say. I know in my restricted world this is true. Then I thought how this is actually how we come to "know" the people we interact with. What, at least some of the day-to-day looks like. What is of interest, what food someone likes. Do they have children, grandchildren? A spouse or a significant? A cat person? A dog person...or both? So many things that seem immaterial but actually say much. This thought made me realize my days don't need to be exciting, they are just my days, the parts of a day I share some of with the world of blogging. I feel so much better!

Soup. No Sandwich

The subzero weather is back. For today. I made a hodgepodge soup yesterday, finding I had only a small amount of lentils, I had to use beans as well. There is enough for today, which is a good thing considering the cold weather. I'm going to make stock again today. I need to get some of those bones and vegetable bits out of the packed freezer. 

You know you are getting old when your week is a series of medical appointments. PT for me on Monday, primary for Mark yesterday and the dermatologist today. Last week was his urologist. He has a couple of 'gists. We have become one of those!

May the day be a good one for us all.

Buongiorno

Happy Wednesday to you all. We are out of the freezer for today, put back in tomorrow and then it's moderate temperatures for the foreseeable future. My little Frieda joined me for an afternoon in a sunbeam. She graciously allows me to use her ottoman and throw. She is so kind and gracious. It was so cold yesterday I didn't bother to get out of my warm robe.

I followed through and made a pasta dish with the leftover salmon. Pasta stretches a small amount of protein into a meal. As you have undoubtedly noticed, pasta is the main carb used in this abode. 

I really like gelato and have decided to make some. I have an ice cream maker and have made ice cream often, but never gelato. May do this today or tomorrow. Add a bit of diversion into my life, but not too much! On that note, soup will be made today and life will carry on.  

The Frigid Northland

Good frigid morning

 

We reached a low of -20 F during the night. Later in the day it will start to warm and we will leave this behind for awhile. I purposely stayed off my computer and phone yesterday. I decided it was best for my mental health to do so. I had a consult in the morning with a physical therapist. She was impressed with how stiff my back and neck are. I tell you what, when I do something I do it! I was given exercise to do at home and I will see her once a week for however long it takes. I do have some hope, she was very good. Otherwise, we spent the day inside, other than the horsecare. Mark ventured out for that.

As we know, cats know what to do when it's cold. Or when it's anything. They have it down.The two girls stay on the bed all morning and often all afternoon.

This guy knows where the real warmth is and he tends to stay there. The two outside fellows are inside kitties until further notice.

It's also been a few days of comfort food. My favorite kind of food. I braised a couple of beef country style ribs. I really, really like braised food. I made some pork stock a couple of days ago and think soup will be in order. I also think I'll turn some leftover salmon into a creamy pasta sauce for this evening's dinner. I know I've been stressed because I have ordered groceries from everyplace I have an account, which is many. Food, I have understood, is a way I find or feel control. That means I have no freezer space left and the pantry, which is large, is overflowing. No matter what, we will eat. For a few months anyway.

 Good day to you all and stay warm.

It's January

Cold frigid morning.

Currently -14 F / -26 C in the frozen tundra otherwise known as Minnesota.

I baked bread on Friday and then panini yesterday. The panini dough needs to rest 24 hours before baking. We got the pellet stove working just in time for this cold snap. Bill got the new auger motor installed Friday afternoon and so far, so good. It makes such a difference in the living room.

This little guy/gal shows up just about everyday for a little cat chow. The orange stray I actually put the food out for is still around so I keep putting out food. 

Gatto has wiped his mind free of his time as a stray cat outside in a Minnesota winter. 

The irony of the inauguration being held inside the Capitol tomorrow is not lost on me. How eerily fitting that the person who encouraged overrunning the building is now, once again, being sworn in as President of the United States and it's happening in the very building people with Confederate and swastika flags swarmed with intent to hang Mike Pence and do only-they-knew-what to Nancy Pelosi. 

The Blog is Called This & That Afterall

Good Friday Morning!

I think it's been awhile since I graced you with Frieda. Gatto has taken her limelight. She is finally a fully adult cat, in other words, she sleeps a lot. Yesterday and today we are warmer, tomorrow we drop into the freezer again. I actually got out and about yesterday. A trip to the clinic for a blood draw does count as out and about, right?

I have felt gloomy, I know it's because of our political scene. I know I've been down because yesterday I impulsed shopped and I never do this. I accidently, or subconsciously, clicked on the Martie app instead of gmail. By the time I'd finished scrolling through I had managed to buy sixty bucks worth of things I can use but didn't need nor had any intention of looking for. Then I saw an Aldi ad for nice kitchen glassware at a good price. Yep, bought that plus another sixty bucks worth of groceries I wasn't looking for. Then.....I ordered three canvas prints. Now those I had been thinking about so that was no spur of the moment purchasing. I can see how impulse shopping is what a lot of people do when they feel down or helpless. I did feel a little lighter, or perhaps it was my bank account that felt lighter.

I have been in a cooking mood. Wednesday I made pizza.

Last evening it was a white bean casserole. I think I've posted this before. It's so simple it should be illegal and it is good. I spruce it up some with onion, bacon and this time, roasted brussels sprouts. Also Herbes de Provence, a go-to-herb for me. Lots of cheese, this time Gruyere.

Today I've designated bread day. Bread and ciabatta rolls are on the roster. Sometimes I think this should be a food blog but then where would loose horses in the dark and an old boy cast in his stall fit in? So, a hodgepodge it is.

Happy Day to you all. 

Horses

Topper decided since it's been a couple of decades since I've dealt with a cast horse he would test my skills this morning. Casting is when a horse gets itself stuck close-in against a vertical surface, too close to be able to use its own leg power to get out of it. This is usually in a stall, but I've had it happen against a fence and even a snowbank. I have a long lead rope I use for the purpose of pulling them out. You loop the rope around the hind leg closest to the surface, usually a wall, and PULL. The horse cannot help you so you need to get it turned away from the wall far enough for it to get up on its own power. It took us both pulling to get that old boy out of it. Once upon a time either one of us could do it alone. It's amazing what adrenaline can do.

*google image

*image from Google

Topper got on his feet and I swear he was indignant. A super athlete like himself caught in such a position! It's hard for me to believe he is 28 years old. He's my special fellow. 

When we were both younger.

A Day in the Life

Sunday morning my son, Matthew, came for a visit for my birthday. I made pumpkin/walnut bread and he brought cinnamon rolls. There was a sugar high being had. We had a nice visit and then he had to leave to shovel snow. He volunteers with an organization that aids seniors living in their homes who need help with things like shovelling. He has two seperate ladies he shovels for. He gets great satisfaction from helping people who are in need and are over the moon grateful for the help. I am proud he does this.

Then I lit a fire and had this dude.

He amuses me no end. The same can be said for annoying me. Gatto was looking for a way in. He wouldn't have liked it if he managed to find a way. It was cold yesterday. This morning it's -5 F and will be this way for awhile. It's January and can be and has been much worse. 

Last early evening we had a bit of excitement. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and when I looked I saw one, then two, three and four horses walking under the yard light. Oh Oh. I started to head out then remembered it was -6 F and grabbed a sweatshirt. I saw them just as they were heading toward the front yard and into the dark. I got to the barn, told Mark to grab one of the horses out of a stall and follow me. Of course, the trouble-making Ivy was leading the the pack of miscreants and had brought them back to the yard light. When they saw Mark with Scamper I told Mark to go back to the barn and take him inside as soon as the mares, and Zenny, got down there. One, two, three, four naughty horses went inside, I slid the door closed and then we had a rodeo roundup. Why just go to your stalls when you can get everyone riled up and why not taunt the stallion while you are at it? They saw no reason not to.

Problem solved. Isabella got the latch on the gate opened somehow and they took a romp. Except for my old grey mare, Babe. She just walked into the barn, according to Mark. She's too old for such foolishness and there was grain waiting for her.

Lilies Matthew brought me. I really like the color.

Another Year Older

Today is my birthday

It's been a long journey from this, with my cousin, Marie...

1950s

to this, with my frizzy hair and my supermodel dog, Fallon....

1979

 

to this, with my stallion, Solo, and his lovely rider, Jaimie

2000s 

to now

2024

We don't know how many trips around the sun we will make. I'm pleased I have made this many and hope for a few more.

Reporting In

Just a quick howdy-do. I saw the NP yesterday and she referred me to physical therapy for dry needling. She told me at least twice that my labs are great. She said if anyone looked at the reports without seeing my age they'd assume I was young. I responded what a surprise they would get! If only my lab reports would report to my body......

Nothing going on at the moment. Bill has finally diagnosed the problem with the wood pellet stove. I need another part delivered and then, hopefully, it will work. It's cold, which is no surprise for January, and until I get an appointment for the needling, I don't have anywhere I need to be.

That's all there is for now. Stay warm.

Trudging Along

Mark and Tabby having a moment of contemplation.

I was zoned out yesterday. I don't know what I did. I have a feeling of impending doom which I cannot happy think away. I will tell you that I am trying. Ah, well.....

I go to the clinic today so I can get a prescription renewed. I'm going to ask her about a referral to pain management. She, the NP, had suggested I try dry needling and I have decided to do so.  

It's been cold, in the minus numbers overnight and low teens during the day. I think it's supposed to get colder as the week goes on. It's a good thing the propane tank was filled last week, we go through it fast this time of year. Last evening I made a comfort meal out of leftover pork loin roast. Not a pretty photo but it was a pretty good, warming meal. Gravy makes everything better. Even a down and out mood.

 

Cold

What the leftover duck became.

AC, I thought you may enjoy my plaid pants. They are really pajama bottoms but I wear them as pants. Rockin' style!

I was doing well at dismantling Christmas when a friend called. Since we are both talkers I never did get the job done. So, on the list for today. It's cold, but then it is January. Below zero overnight and low double digit highs. We do need snow. Otherwise, life is its usual quiet. No complaints here on that. We have soup to warm us and I'll have bread in the oven. Not bad.

Another Year

The boys patiently lined up to come in.

The rain we had a few days ago took our snow. Dreary. It looks like November. We had a peaceful New Year day, a fire and a Twilight Zone marathon. Rod Serling was a genius.

Today I'll pack away Christmas and the rooms will look empty for awhile. I did really enjoy the feel of it this year, but now it's time. I don't make resolutions, I never kept them anyway, but I decided on a commitment, which is just another way of making a resolution. The past several months I fell away from my stretching and exercise routine. What did I think, I'd simply get stronger and more flexible doing laundry? As they say, I'm not getting any younger. As a matter of fact, my birthday is next week. Yes, I am a Capricorn. An old goat.

I think I'll go eat my toast and peanut butter and pedal my machine that takes me nowhere.