My Brain Is Tired

I've spent most of the day doing battle with setting up the layout of the knitting guild newsletter and my brain and eyes are tired.  Of course it's a new program, or a newer version of an old program that I'm familiar with, but there's still a pretty steep learning curve at work here.  I've got the first couple pages (of 9 or 10) laid out to my satisfaction which means I have a long way to go but the good news is that once I get the framework for the "in every issue" things set up putting it together every month will be much easier than starting over from scratch every time.


Not only did I have the excitement of slogging through a new computer program but it rained all day.  All. Day.  Cold rain fell turning the streets into torrents and unable to make up its mind as to whether it wanted to be rain, sleet, or snow.  The only sure thing it had decided on was to freeze on the pavement to make walking treacherous.  I had to go to the pharmacy this afternoon and discovered that ice forms on painted pavement much faster than on unpainted pavement.  Luckily I'm extra careful walking on icy parking lots.  I'm grateful that Durwood's doctor appointment isn't until 3:30 tomorrow afternoon to give the road crews time to deal with the icy roads.  We will be leaving in plenty of time to poke along like Granny Grunt to get there safely.  Maybe I'll even have my flashers on the whole time just to complete the illusion that I'm an old lady driver instead of the young, vital woman who speeds and careens around corners that I truly am.



Last week's warm temps that melted much of the snow uncovered last summer's straw bales where I grew such wonderful tomatoes.  Look how little of them is left.  I'm hoping there will be enough left come spring for me to rake into a corner of the garden so I can try my hand at growing potatoes.  I've never grown them before.  I know my Grandma Angermeier grew them but I was too little to remember more than her digging in a mound of dirt with the pitchfork and shaking the dirt off the plant to find the potatoes.

Since it was such a dreary morning I decided to make the Bell Peppers with Chickpea Mash, Spinach, and Sriracha WW recipe I found in December.  I'd bought a 3-pack of bell peppers at Aldi the other day, got a bunch of spinach at Meijer, had a can of chickpeas, and onions.  It's a labor intensive recipe, lots of parts, lots of chopping, lots of dirty dishes, but it's tasty.  I was afraid that the egg whites weren't cooked so I extended the cooking time thereby ensuring that the yolks were cooked hard.  Oh well, it's a filling and tasty breakfast for 0 points.  That's right, pilgrims, ZERO points.  I added half a banana and 2 prunes (1 point each) for a total cost of 2 points for a lovely meal.  BTW, by sticking to the plan one day at a time last week I lost 3.5# for a total of 18.5# lost since mid-November. 

January 22--Banded Wentletrap (Gyroscala lamellosa)  The orange and white cone-shaped seashell blended perfectly with the sand and stones on the beach.  Leslie felt the hard lump of it under her back as she lay on her towel.  Like I'm the princess and the pea, she thought, rolling off onto the sand and flipping the towel aside.  The culprit was no bigger than a Jolly Rancher but it had thin ridges that stood up like blades running from top to bottom.  She picked it up and made sure nothing was living in it.  She had once carried an inexpertly cleaned conch shell home from Grand Cayman.  It had not traveled well.  Suffice to say that she had thrown the suitcase away because the smell was so bad and wouldn't come out.

I think it's time for a little dish of chocolate ice cream.  That won't strain my eyes, my brain, or my waistline.  Adios.
--Barbara