When The Sun Goes Down...

 


No Mississippi mud here, just a pretty sunset when I crossed the bridge last night.  Traffic was very light so I risked taking a couple shots.



 


I wore my new embossed denim Dress no. 1 today and it's very comfy.  There's a little spandex in the fabric so it has nice drape and isn't as stiff as plain denim.







Did I tell you about the blog I found?  It's called The Pound Dropper and she posts WW

Freestyle recipes that are far away from any sort of deprivation.  Today I made Zero Point Chicken Burrito Bowls.  You make Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice (her recipe) which is nothing more than pulsing cut up cauliflower florets until they're rice-ish (do it in batches) then heating it in a skillet with garlic, once it's hot you add a bunch of chopped cilantro, and finish it off with the juice of two limes.  Yum.  I cut the kernels off four ears of charcoal grilled corn and drained and rinsed a can of black beans.  You make a pretty highly flavored spice mix to stir into the chicken strips then cook them in a skillet.  Each bowl gets 1/2 cup of each ingredient, then topped with fat-free salsa, fat-free Greek yogurt, and some sliced avocado (but that counts points).  I was afraid that the meat might be a little spicy for me but with the yogurt to tamp down the heat a bit it was perfect.  Now I know what I'm having for supper the next three nights.  Not sharing this, nope, not sharing.  I've got a couple avocados ripening in a paper bag so maybe one will be ready for tomorrow's supper.  So. Good.



I've been knitting along on the Bellin Baby Hat but couldn't face working on it tonight so I started on the leg of the Choco Rainbow Wandering sock.  Got two repeats of the pattern done and know that I chose the right stitch pattern for this variegated yarn.  The slip-stitches remind me of the Ballband Dishcloth that I keep in the pocket of my car door.




16 August--Barbara Malcolm, Horizon. 

December

It was my turn to drive Clara and me Christmas shopping.  I was a little nervous about the whole day, since Clara had had her temper tantrum in the Walmart Ladies’ room last year.  But I was hopeful that over the last few months we’d cleared the air and put all those old resentments to bed.  We were still good friends, although I felt that some of the closeness had slipped away.

            I was determined not to set foot in a major discount retailer this Christmas season.  I had spent hours thinking about the people I bought gifts for, their tastes and hobbies, trying to choose something meaningful for them.  I wanted to break the cycle of reflexively buying gifts for people I love, of being swayed by whatever’s trendy or most loudly touted in the ads

            I called Clara a few days before our scheduled Christmas shopping date.  “Clara,” I said with a bit of a knot in my stomach, “would you mind terribly if we didn’t go to Walmart this year?”

            There was a longish pause.  “Not go to Walmart?  But where will we shop?”

            I could feel my palms begin to sweat.  “I thought we might at least start out in Simpson.  You know, there’s been a real boom of interesting shops and boutiques opening up there this past year.  I thought we could check them out and maybe surprise our families with gifts they won’t see under everyone else’s tree.  What do you think?”  I held my breath, ready for another lecture on how much I’d changed while she was the same down-to-earth person she’d always been.

            “Well, that might not be such a bad idea.  Hank and I were talking the other night about needing to cut the list down a bit, that I’d been getting a little out of hand.  Walmart always makes me feel a little drunk.  Maybe shopping in places where I have to really think about what I’m buying will help.”

            I let out a sigh of relief.  “Oh, good.”

            Clara laughed.  “You were waiting for me to pitch a fit, weren’t you?”

            “A little.”

            “I guess watching you make such big changes in your life isn’t so scary anymore.  You’re making me look at myself a bit and thinking I might make some changes too.”

            “Clara, that’s great.  I think we’re going to have a fun day.  Let’s get an early start.  We can have breakfast at a café in Simpson and plan.”

            “Okay.  That sounds good.  I’d better haul out my list again.  Hank can help me make a few changes.  Oops, gotta run; the timer’s buzzing.  See you Thursday.”

            “Bye, Clara.”

I took another surprise nap for an hour this afternoon and woke up to pouring rain.  It didn't rain for long but it sure rained hard.  Of course the sun came out and dried up all the rain.  I'm enjoying my naps but I wake up so groggy.  I don't like that.  
--Barbara