Finally got to the office after 11:00 am today, leaving very late thanks to a coating of ice on our driveway and news media reports of Dallas' crazies driving like lunatics on ice-laden freeways. We picked the right time to go, discovering that most of the worst of it had melted, evaporated, or simply disappeared.
As usual, our Aussie staff member was the first one to brave the frozen streets and made it to the office before anyone else. We felt like we owed her a meal in appreciation, so we took her and our other admin, who has resigned and is leaving this week and who pales badly in comparison to the Aussie, to lunch at a Thai restaurant. We do need to do something special for Aussie...and only Aussie...to express our appreciation and our admiration for her dedication and hard work.
I learned tonight that one of my favorite bloggers has included me in her list of 'recently read, seen, or heard - and enjoyed'> blogs. I am humbled and appreciative of her inclusion. And I urge readers to visit Bev's blog, Burning Silo. You will be enriched by it and exposed to wonderful photos, fantasitic information about the natural world, and...how else to put it...wonder. Take a look all over her website and you will be impressed and appreciative of her sharing nature.
Another of my favorite sites is moving to a new location and I encourage you to move along with it. Phil has decided to exit Salon with his blog, Perils of Caffeine in the Evening, for more attractive environs. My own recent 'update' to a new, unattractive color scheme pales in comparison.
One of my favorite sisters-in-law lent me Snow, by Orham Pamuk, while we were in Mexico over the holidays. I've been intended to read it ever since last Christmas, when I picked up a copy while everyone else napped and read the first chapter and was transported by it. I mention it because I see the book sitting here on my desk, looking accusingly at me for failing to have read it by now, and I know I must return to it soon. My brother and sister-in-law, I am convinced, own most books that have been published since the 18th century. They rent storage facilities in Portland, Oregon, to store massive numbers of books that they are slowly relocating to Mexico to their new home. I once collected books like that, but I got help and have overcome it. It's fun to watch others deal with the dementia, though, and benefit from their investments through literary loans.
I don't recall whether I've mentioned this and am far too lazy to check...I spent a good part of this cold and dreary weekend making soup. I like soup, at least I like soups that like me back. For example, I like the roasted cauliflower soup that I made over the weekend. It should have a different name, because it also included garbanzo beans, lots of spices, and heavy cream (I used low-fat half & half, instead). I also like the wonderful soup that I created by thoroughly abusing someone else's recipe for a basic Chana Dal. I was in no mood for a bland Chana Dal, so I added lots of 'stuff' to it, turning it into something that was delightfully spicy, wonderfully filling, and (probably) very good for me (i.e., low fat, low sugar, low everything else). I'll share it with you if I get sufficient interest (i.e., if anyone asks). Obviously, I was in the mood for Indian soups over the weekend. I am ready to do more.
We watched the 2nd pair of 24 season premieres tonight. I find the program compelling and interesting, while simultaneously a bit racist annoying. But, overall, I really like it. I've watched it for 4-5 years (since the first season), and have discovered that I like it (as does my wife) quite alot, despite the fact that it is so utterly, completely, and fully irrational and improbable. Maybe that's part of the appeal. I rather dislike that it's on FOX, but I'm not willing to boycott a channel only because its political views are horrible.
It's cold, still. According to my computer's report from weatherunderground.com, it's 28 degrees. Windchills take it down to 12 or 13, thanks to a high wind. But it's warm inside in the geezerhood, so I'm happy!
3 comments:
Thanks for the plug! I think getting my old posts imported was in large part dumb luck, and I still have a chance to screw it up as I try on different themes.
We're getting a coating of morning snow as I write, and I'm not venturing anywhere until I hear what traffic is like. I just heard the newspaper hit the porch, so I know someone is able to motor around.
Mrs. Perils made a roasted cauliflower dish over the weekend that was delicious. She also enjoyed Snow, and several other Pahmuk works. Hmmm. When she starts flying to Texas, I might start to get suspicious;-)
Never worry, Phil, she assured me on her last trip out that you are always number one;}
Thanks for the kind words about my blog and website, John. Very much appreciated.
I've been hearing about the cold weather down there. I always think that such weather must have a greater impact than our very cold weather up here (the low here was -9F last evening). Our houses are built for those temperatures and we have clothing that helps a great deal. When I've traveled in Arizona, Oregon and California during freak cold weather, I've often found that places I stayed felt very chilly compared to my place back home.
Btw, I'm not a tv watcher, but Don seems to be addicted to watching 24 - I think he's probably seen all of the episodes. He likes it but also thinks it plays on many of the fears that are flying around.
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