Cooking and Sewing and other Pursuits

The other night I made "Italian Bean Balls" served with thinly sliced cabbage cooked in a tomato/pesto sauce. 100% vegan, reasonably low fat (1oz of walnuts per serving), and 100% tasty! Another favourite to add to the growing list. It does have a downside though - I started prep at 5pm and we didn't eat until 6:30, and that was with Carm taking care of the Caesar salad (vegan and low fat as well, but high on flavour).

I actually made it out of the house and into the city! Tuesday I went to donate blood for the Ontario health study (I thought they were greedy, they took 5 vials), tried to meet up with my brother (he was busy), and met with a friend of Carm’s for a quick visit. Norm is a criminal lawyer who has represented some pretty interesting characters. We couldn't visit for long as he had a young client anxiously waiting to see him.

The last few days have been bright and sunny, however the wind has been picking up early afternoon. I can hear the wind howling and see the snow doing its dance across the fields and roads. The roads in our area are in bad shape, so it isn't a surprise to hear of chaos on the news.

I heard Grace say "Oh, you know what" this afternoon - it made me laugh, and also feel grateful that she wasn't swearing. Sewing has been happening, and it is 100% paired with swearing. I had quite a time with the bag that I made. I puzzled for days how to sew things together so when they are pulled right side out they match up. I finally had to get out some paper napkins, tape and a stapler to get it figured out. I forgot one thing though so had to make a few adjustments. Still, I think it turned out okay. Perhaps more dorky looking than I had envisioned, and I hope I don’t have to sew on stronger straps...

The fridge was delivered yesterday morning. Shelves were measured, and then a trip to a few dollar stores netted us some plastic bins for organizing. The fridge is “reach in as far as your arm can go” deep, so some containers to corral the stuff in the back are a must. The giant bag of 5 heads of romaine gets its own shelf, there was room for 4 boxes of the mixed greens, Grace’s food and the dogs food all fit. We got everything else in, including the stuff from the little fridge, there was even room for a few bottles of beer. Not exactly sure where the bottle of bubbles will fit though (which should have been our first priority)!. I don't have tons of leftovers right now - that will be the real test. We were able to turn off the little fridge, which is a good thing.

I am grateful that I needed a bigger fridge to hold all this lovely fresh produce. What a wonderful country we live in that there is such bounty. I am grateful for taking a day of rest from exercise, and feel even more motivated to get back at it today. I am grateful that Carm does such a good job with keeping the snow cleared away - it is a lot of work. I am grateful for the sun! I am grateful that I remembered that it is not spelt greatful!

 

The snow itself is lonely or, if you prefer, self-sufficient. There is no other time when the whole world seems composed of one thing and one thing only.  ~Joseph Wood Krutch