February 2010 - Already!

A February Day: The weather is a mixed bag - rain and snow so far, but not bad right here. A granddaughter in Virginia/DC is expecting a weathered-in weekend. I just looked out and it is snowing rather briskly at the moment. Do I want to walk across the street to check on the mail, which is most likely only fodder for the blue bag? [recycles] Maybe yes, maybe no.

A little more than a week to Valentine's Day. Hope you have a good one. And a little bit more until I get older again. But, that's what we've all been doing since the day we were born. I just have a more advanced degree on it.

Have you forgotten about "Do One Nice Thing?" I've managed to do some small things since I heard about the idea, nothing major. Available energy and pocket book don't allow for major.

I advised a grandaughter that a weather day like this was a good "soup day" and later took my own advice. I made some cheesy/potato/bacon soup. It hit the spot very nicely. Going back to work on a couple of small projects. The bigger one just won't get done. I'll want to celebrate if/when it ever does.

You all have a good day.

Thanksgiving and After

My plans for Thanksgiving included dinner with Russ, Jan and family; however as sometimes happens to the best laid plans, mine went astray. I didn’t feel well, I think due to reaction to the new medication, that I hope might help with the after shingles pain. I didn’t feel like going anywhere, so I thought it best to stay home. Russ and the two youngest grandkids, Matthew and Kelsey, brought me a delicious dinner; which is not surprising since Jan is a very good cook. Fortunately, this round of not feeling up to snuff didn’t affect my taste buds and I enjoyed it all.

During the first months after getting the shingles, perhaps due to some of the medication, everything I ate tasted like so much nothing. I didn’t care if I ate or not, but knew I had to, so I forced myself to eat, though probably not as well as I should have.

I am gradually feeling better, but my head still doesn’t feel as it should. It’s rocking a bit as I write this; so, more R & R when I finish this piece. This R & R translates to reading and resting.

Needless to say, I spent a relatively lazy weekend, mostly doing just the essentials: one of those essentials being food intake. I had some broth left after putting the dressing together [before I began feeling so punk]. The broth would make good soup I thought. Then the idea of dumplings entered my mind, but it would have to be the quick and easy kind. So, I chopped a few carrots and a short stick of celery in my little food processor, along with a bit of onion and set it to boil. Next, I got out some baking mix and mixed about a half cup of that with a little olive oil, water, and a small amount of protein powder into a thick dough.

I wanted small dumplings, so I rolled the dough into about marble sized pieces, and dropped them into the boiling water. The broth absorbed enough of the dough to slightly thicken the soup. All of that, including the cooking, took little time, energy and effort. I think it was one of the best soups I’ve ever made.

Now back to resting again.