Saturday, It was cold: to the tune of Saturday in the Park :)

Today has been a good day.  I'm grateful.  I got myself out of the house, which was a good thing -- the continuing rain and resulting off and on drip drip over my little family room window have been the source of worry even though there's no good worrying. I've been home a little bit more than usual and have missed meeting up with friends a couple of times a week due to weather, holidays, and having to miss church last Sunday.  

So, having breakfast out scheduled at a favorite little bitty local place was a good thing.  At the last minute my friend had to call off; a sudden stomach bug hit her upon awakening. I thought about it and decided to just run along and breakfast out on my own.  I was already dressed and ready, had decided what to have, and fortunately I've become very comfortable through the years eating on my own.  So, I did. When I arrived shortly after eight, I was the only customer. Breakfast ordered, I enjoyed my fully-leaded coffee (half-caff at home).  The music was country, which is fine as I like it along with most music.  But I had to laugh, it was a straight set of sad cowboy songs all the way through my time there (and I enjoyed my breakfast leisurely). A few more folks came in after I took the below picture, but none were sitting very near me,  so I hummed along to the sad songs, the waitress and I chit-chatted from time to time and I entertained myself with pictures and eating the breakfast which was delicious because:  it included bacon, eggs over easy were just right, and I did not have to cook it.  And my coffee cup was covered with cartoon drawings of dogs and the declaration:  "I am a dog person."

I do not know why my face looks so skinny in this picture.  I can assure you it is not in real life.  I think it's the hairstyle and the angle.  

After breakfast a few errands; the tire place, as the weather has changed enough that air needed to be added.  The little meat market where I picked up four pounds of pork leg meat ... chili verde is in my future; I usually make it with a pork shoulder, but this was already cut up for stew so I don't have a huge cut of meat that needs to be trimmed of the really tough skin and shredded; I'll be interested to see if it tastes as good as the larger cut on the bone.   On to Aldi for some egg whites and a couple of other items. Then the post office box which was full as I've not been there since December 23rd.  Home again, home home again feeling quite cheerful after being out and about with other people.  

Above is the Persian Lamb Stew I talked about and actually made today.  It's meant to be served over rice, so that's how I ate it.  It looked quite pretty in the bowl ... the picture doesn't capture the color just right here.  It has such a lot of fresh green produce in it (two bunches of parsley, two bunches of cilantro, two bunches of green onions, lime juice) that it's fairly green. I'll take some to my friend tomorrow after church; she enjoys lamb and experimenting with new foods so is looking forward to it.  My adult children are not fans of lamb, and in any event we cook for ourselves which works out best for us. We generally offer to share a serving if we make something the others like, though.

It is still raining off and on and predicted to do so through tomorrow.  Because it's not quite as cold as it generally is (not yet down into the 30's regularly) I now have a bumper crop of beautifully healthy green weeds in the yard. I get out there about ten minutes at a whack when it's not raining or too muddy just now and pull or hula hoe a few.

No big events in life just now, but I enjoy my family, my faith family, my girlfriends, and retirement.  I'm fortunate and blessed.

Happy Saturday! 💋💜

An Enjoyable Foggy Day

The second day of the new year and while I stayed up a bit too late last night, I made myself get within my preferred get-up window between 5:30am and 6:00am.  I'm much happier getting early to bed and early to rise ... so when I do stay up until 'all hours' I either sleep late, feeling like I've wasted my day, or get up early anyway and feel tired but happier at the end of the day.  Ten years into retirment and I still prefer a day where I am somewhat scheduled and accomplish a bit ... even if it is only a bit.  Housework. Decluttering. Prep cooking. Bible study.  Working out at home or the gym. Contacting friends and what little family remains and meeting up as we are able. Loving on the dogs.

Do I stay up late because of my fabulous and enriching social life? No, I rarely stay up late for social events, as my friends are my age.  The 'rarely' times are for the most part a concert,  other type of performance, and I never regret the tired day after. My 'usual' of late is I want to see one more episode of whatever I'm watching (currently a Korean reality show with hair and make-up makeovers), doom scrolling on FB, or reading/listening to a novel.  Do I scold and shame myself?  No.  But I do remind myself of how much more content I am when I avoid too much FB, and maintain a regular schedule. 

Lamb shoulder cut for stew, thawing.  Tomorrow is the day I'll make Persian Stew with the lamb.  The recipe beef or lamb would work equally well, and I enjoy lamb. The 'kids' don't, so I'll share part of it with my friend, Cindy.  I've not made it before and hope I like it.  The recipe calls for fresh cilantro, dill, parsley, and whole dried limes among other things.  So, off to the grocery store at 6:30am.

 

The morning is foggy, hooray!  Most folks would not say hooray, but I live in a mountain valley desert and fog is very rare here.  Sunshine is the norm, even in the cold winter. I grew up down at a lower elevation near the coast and spent several years of my young adulthood there; fog was very common. Like rain or snow or any other particular weather, fog has its own feeling, loveliness and atmosphere. As with rain, it takes some extra care to drive in, but I learned to drive in it, so the fog itself doesn't worry me.  The other drivers not used to it concern me.  The picture in the store parking lot is my favorite of the bunch, and the line of trees fading into the fog near the park is my second favorite.  It's pretty convenient that phone pictures have improved to the point that they take pretty decent shots.

Breakfast, yum!  I had to eat a banana and some glucose before my trip to the grocery store, as my sugar was too low to wait.  When I got the groceries put away, I made a quick omelet to use up some fresh spinach and feta. As almost always, one edge stuck!!! The whole eggs were a treat; I usually eat egg whites only.  But I need to go to the 'other' grocery store to buy more egg whites another day. I've gotten into the habit of shopping at more than one place for groceries ... for price, for availability of products I want, and to support some of the smaller businesses. I recently started purchasing some of my meats at a small independently owned butcher/carniceria, which is where I found the lovely lamb shoulder.   For years I've popped into a locally owned Asian market where I can get plain noodles, good kimchi and some amazing mushrooms along with experimenting with new spices.  My newest place is recently opened and has all things Mediterranean.  They make their own Turkish Delight, and I purchased a small sampler to try; it's unusual and quite sticky but delicious.  I bought a spice mix that is all-purpose and will be trying some chicken and vegetables seasoned with it.  (Zaatar, Lebanese version ... there were five or six specific to countries, so I just chose one.) 

Now time has been flying, and I need to get onto my Bible study time.  

Happy second day of the new year!

💋💚