Lunch Salad

I haven't been out of the house in about 8 weeks, so sometimes it's hard to remember to eat an actual meal instead of just picking at something, or even having a cup of hot tea to get through to "later".  Whenever "later" might be.  Because, you know, what day is it?  "Day."

Meanwhile, Patrick is finishing his last semester of his senior year of his accounting degree online, and cursing roundly about it.  But at least his having to do zoom classes a couple of times per week defines Wednesdays and...which other day was it again?

So, a couple of days back, I decided to make myself a better than average salad.  I took some spring mix, chopped up an apple, cucumber, mozzarella, a touch of leftover steak, and walnuts, and added balsamic vinaigrette.  It was inspired by a salad I had at Panera (which had chicken involved, so the connection is shaky, at best).

One of these days I'll be inspired to post and actual recipe.  Meanwhile, on my sewing blog, I just posted pictures of the dresses I made for myself and my beautiful granddaughters for Christmas.  Nothing like getting pictures out there on time, right?

Happy Wednesday (I'm pretty sure), everyone!

Life in Strange Times

Well, it looks like I've been MIA for about 4 months.  Sorry about that.

Christmas lasted for almost a week, which is to be expected, given that everyone has their own schedules.  The good news is that the fun lasts longer, and the post holiday letdown is gradual, more like a sigh of exhaustion.  The bad news is that it's exhausting cooking many Christmas dinners.  Oh, well, I hope for many more.

For my Christmas present, my girls took me to Washington, DC for a ballet the first weekend of February.  It was wonderful; the ballet was beautiful, the weather was nice, we walked around plenty, and I got to spend 2 days with my girls.  They couldn't have done anything better for me.

And then the Corona virus hit.  Oh, Thatcher is delirious with joy; Patrick never leaves for school!  He stays home and plays!  It's a great time to be a dog!  Me?  Well, I don't like being ordered to stay home.  I didn't really have any place I wanted to go, but I don't like being told I must stay home.  So, while I've heard that everyone else is cooking like it's their obsession, I'm not motivated to do so.  Well, I was motivated on Pi Day.  I'm not sure why.  But I made a quiche for brunch, served with radish soup (which was great, BTW), then fish pot pies for dinner, and dessert was Apple Pie and French Market Pie.  The Best Pie Crust Ever was the star of everything.  Like I said, I got up early and just started cooking; it was weird.  Of course, the quarantine was only about a week old then, so I wasn't mad yet.

I've been walking Thatcher the mile down and back up our driveway every day, except when it's raining; Jeff gave me a long puffy coat for Christmas so I would be warm enough.  My first tree, a crabapple, is finally in bloom.

And I have these daffodils.  I managed to cut 2 batches of them from my yard.  A rare bit of sunshine in my breakfast room.

And I think I'm going to jump start my car and go to the gas station this weekend.  I'm pretty sure I have 1/4 tank.  But I'm going to fill it anyway.  And probably drive at least 5 miles up the interstate, just to be sure the battery's charged.

So, stay safe, everyone, stay well, and stay sane.  Go outside and get some sunshine; it lifts the spirits!  And remember, it's Friday!  I mean, Day!  Because they all pretty much blend together now....