Monday, January 18, 2021

Snow, shortbread, and a whole lotta coffee

We woke up to snow again this morning. And wind. Always with the wind, good grief. It has snowed off and on since Saturday, flurries here and there, then the sun pops out, then drizzle, then flurries, you get the pattern. Naughty Harold is keeping an eye on things from the front porch for me, a handsome fella with his checkered scarf. I keep reminding myself that we are not yet even a month into winter, this is to be expected. I do love the way snow looks. It's beautiful, but it creates so much mud and muck. It's a constant effort to keep floors respectable when it's like this.

I felt like it was a shortbread and coffee kind of day. Love my Border Collie cup from England. Absolutely adorable. It's hard to find mugs or cups and saucers with a true BC on them, especially a delicate kind of cup, porcelain or quality china. This mug has several different types of doggies, but my mom got it for me years ago for my birthday, specifically because it has a prominent and obvious BC, my heart breed. 


It's also a day for candlelight. Sooooo gloomy out there. I love birds year round, but there's something about Cardinals that just say winter to me. I've had this candle shade for over a decade - maybe longer - now. It was a gift from a girlfriend who knows my love of birds. I do not use it at Christmas. It's for my winter decor instead and only ever gets used from December 26th through February 28th or 29th. The candle is simply called "Apple," and it has a gentle apple smell, like what you would expect if you leaned over a barrel of apples at a farmer's market and inhaled a deep breath. Heaven. Clean and sweet and mild and comforting. 


I've been trying to decide what new type of flower I want to put in the garden this year, but after browsing through what felt like ten million types of flowers (nah, not that many, it just felt like it), I actually think I'm going to plant two huge patches of Calendula in the front gardens this year. I've done them before, but it's been years ago. I had forgotten about them! They're very hearty, love morning sun and do well in partial shade. They're orange and yellow and they last through the first hard freeze, so they should do beautifully in summer and up through the first month and a half of Autumn. Birds and bees and monarchs love them, as well. I don't plant anything that doesn't provide for that population. The whole point of the flowers, after all, is to help the earth along. The fact that they're so beautiful is a bonus.

Am dying for egg noodles tossed in melted butter with a ton of salt and pepper and a glob of sour cream. Has zero nutritional value, but that's what lunch is today. I just need it. I may crumble some vegan bacon over top of it for protein, or I may not. Sometimes, you just have to indulge in that comfort food and tell your conscience to keep quiet when it's telling you that you need to add something green or orange to that plate!

I have come up with a crazy house project that I'm going to be mapping out soon. We''ll see how it goes, and it's something that can be done as the winter weeks drag on. Spring is rainy and cold and muddy, too, so if I drag my feet on the project, it won't matter. Spring will provide additional time for it, as well. 

I'm off to cook my noodles and to maybe spend an hour reading a book while I eat. It's certainly a day built for staying inside!



2 comments:

Dinahsoar said...

The noodles sound yummy...did you make the shortbread? or is it that which was gifted.

Robin said...

It's the shortbread that was gifted to me. I have butterscotch chips that I soften and spread on it. It's REALLY good that way b/c it's not a super-sweet shortbread. You can get away with adding butterscotch for the right amount of sweetness. I love butterscotch with hot tea, too, so it's just right. I'll be sad when my can is empty, but I took a picture of the address so that I can order more if I want some.
The noodles were good. I had them for two meals.