Sunday, February 10, 2013

We Dodged a Bullet


The photo above, taken on my cell phone, is a picture of the sun making its appearance between the two buildings on the morning after the storm. 

Monday morning after the storm.  We got about 8 inches here.  Not bad at all. Now comes the sloppy part.  City snow never looks pretty for very long.  In one day it turns into a dirty, gray, icy slosh.  Needless to say, I move fairly slow on these days.  Actually, I didn't get to seem much of it.  The bulk of the storm occurred at night during sleep hours, and by the time I arose on Saturday, the prettiness had already begun to wear off.

I was so glad this wasn't a cooking weekend for me.  For one thing, we had plenty of food on hand since cooking weekend is also shopping weekend....and, I didn't have to venture out in the snow to buy anything. Last weekend I tossed a few ingredients into the pot and made a chicken soup that was out of this world.  I took containers out for my Saturday lunch and, along with some white rice, a Sunday dinner. Ingredients included: chicken, red, yellow, orange, and green peppers, carrots, celery, spinach, tomatoes, onions, no salt chicken broth, garlic powder, rosemary, fresh basil, and a touch of cayenne to add a little spice to it.  I always use different colored peppers when I cook, something I learned way back when when I took a course in catering.  We tend to eat with our eyes first, and the even the simplest foods taste amazing when they look pretty.   

On Saturday I made some applesauce.  I'd told hubby to buy me some fruit for snacks as we prepared for the storm, and he'd forgotten that I cannot digest apples so he came home with six of the most beautiful apples I'd ever seen.  Made my mouth water to look at them, but I knew better than to even try so I cooked them up. Afterwards, I just sat in front of a marathon of Valentine's Day love stories on Hallmark and did some off and on reading. Finished my book on birds and picked up "On the Right Path: Walking Through God to Get to the Goddess" by Tara Black, a somewhat true story of one woman's  transition from Christianity to witchcraft. Here is the book description:

From hallelujahs to spells, and crosses to cauldrons, On the Right Path:Walking Through God to Get to the Goddess, is the story of one woman trudging her way through Christianity and organized religion, until she found the right path for her. That path happened to be Witchcraft.
Tara is a confused child with open minded parents, stuck in a fundamental Baptist school. This contrast fuels her on a life-long journey to discover what it all really means. After a failed stint as a wanna-be pastor, she stumbles onto Witchcraft and slowly discovers the Goddess.
Funny, serious, and informative, this story takes you through a struggle to live without the confines of organized religion through the eyes of a woman.
  
It's not my usual type of book, but I have to say, it is truly engaging and I love it. There are parts of it that remind me of the young me who searched for belonging during childhood.  And, although my church was very liberal, I could relate to the author on several levels--fear of going to hell, thinking myself as 'bad', feeling like the 'odd girl out', and bursts of hyper religiosity in order to 'save' myself. 

And so now, it is time to shower and prepare myself to venture outdoors and onward to work.  After being housebound for three days, it certainly isn't easy.  It's weekends like this that remind me how easy it would be for me to become a hermit.

Hoping you all have a great Monday and a fantastic week. 

7 comments:

  1. Here in Edmonton our pretty white snow turns brown, not grey. It's because our roads get sanded when it's icy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's a great picture. Showing how-it-was then. I think cell phones take great pics, where there is more light...

    But come on, when are you going to *spring for* a regular little camera, for yourself??? Hu? Hu? Hu?

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I kept an eye on the weather channel and was releived to see that the brunt of the storm was going north of New York. Tread safely. X.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like you got more snow than we did Mary, and then the rains came. Yesterday it rained all day long and today it is snowing again and super windy and cold. I won't be venturing out at all, except to take out the garbabe, lol.
    Your soup sounds delish and the book sounds intriguing...when was it written as it sounds like I may have read it or one similar?
    I hope the weather this week is much kinder to you as I know you have a hard time getting around. Stay safe Dear Heart and talk with you soon. xoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  5. Having lived in So. Cal my life and never having snow I can only imagine how difficult it can be sometimes to get around. And I'm glad that you were able to have a cozy weekend for yourself with reading and watching t.v. It is very easy to become a Hermit, I agree!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Here in Fort Worth it's been warmer than normal. Rain is in the forecast, I'm happy for that. I'm having a bit of snow envy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad to hear that you didn't get the worst of the storm. It seems that it made for a nice relaxing weekend for you. Kudos to you for enjoying it! I do believe I will pick up that book,sounds like a good one.

    (((HUGS)))

    ReplyDelete