Monday PM



Tuesday AM



Happy Friday!  Here we are with some crocuses coming up on Monday after work.  They are later than usual due to the cold weather not wanting to give up it's hold.

And here are the same two crocuses on Tuesday morning after it snowed (again!) on Monday night.  Thankfully, crocuses are hardy little things and these are still blooming. 

I think we are out of the woods as far as snow goes but I am afraid to believe it.  It's supposed to rain pretty hard all weekend so outdoor activities may be out of the question.  But we can handle the "liquid snow".

Peter Kevin continues to soldier on at work. Monday is the meeting to discuss the progress of his Performance Improvement Plan.  He's met all of the goals, just not by the deadlines set in the Plan.  Partly this is due to the changing requirements of one of the managers but I'd bet they are not going to take that into consideration.  He's been bringing home personal things a bagfull at a time so that if and when they tell him he's terminated, he won't have to be escorted out with a big box.

One of our new doctors (a good one) is leaving on July 1st to work in another part of the health system.  His wife is pregnant so I'm trying to whip up a baby sweater to give them before he leaves.  I hate that he is leaving.  He's bright and personable and works hard for his patients.  He's also young and ambitious and I can see him running the entire system before the end of his career.  We've hired some new young doctors to take the place of the ones that have left but they don't start until July so until then we juggle. 

If someone asks you to describe yourself, what's the first word that comes to your mind?  Woman?  Mother? Wife?  Author?  Craftswoman?  Artist? Do you identify your role before your gender?  I've been thinking about this alot because I want to try it with my social rehabilitation group on Wednesday.  I'm curious to see how they define themselves.  Where will the illness fall on the list of descriptive words, or will it be on the list at all?  I don't identify myself as a person with arthritis, hypertension and thyroid disease.  Why would someone with a mental illness add that to their description of themselves?  Unfortunately, I have a feeling that more than half the group will say whatever their illness is first.  It's what society has taught them.  "the most important thing about you is your mental illness".  It's what they get the most attention (both positive and negative) for so I guess that makes it the most important. 

So, what would you say?  I think I would describe myself as a Woman, Wife, Mother, Social Worker, Craftsperson, but those are my roles.  I would also describe myself as compassionate, kind, loving, hard working, patient and allergy prone (especially to strong scents). 

I am part of a team in a study of movement, walking in particular.  I had to install an app on my phone and it keeps track of my steps all day and then transmits them to the study people.  When we signed up, we had no idea that there was a minimum number of steps we are supposed to hit each day.  It's 7000 steps.  I hit 2000 yesterday but didn't come close to the 7000.  My team is never going to be eligible for prizes at this rate!  I think the idea is to see if with encouragement, people can be coaxed into walking more steps.  Pk has offered to walk around the block with me after work to make sure I get my 7000.  I'm going to take him up on it.  We've wanted to get some exercise and since we don't like the gym, this may be a good way to get started.

I'm getting sleepy sitting here at the computer so I am going to get up and walk around for a bit. (More Steps!!) Today is a mostly paperwork day so I'm going to be fighting off sleep for a bit I think.  Have a good Friday and a restful weekend.

This was our house on Tuesday when we got home from work.  Those are deadly looking, aren't they?  Our gutter leaks there but the ground has been so wet/snowcovered/muddy under the window that Pk was afraid to put a ladder up to put on a new piece of gutter.  As soon as the weather clears, he'll do that.

Needless to say, the peas did not get planted.  We're hoping to get to them this weekend (no rain in the forecast). There are, however, snow showers in the forecast for later next week.  I will try to remember this in August when we're complaining of the heat.

Pk has been having a hard time at work.  One of the managers wants him gone and gone he will be.  Probably sooner rather than later.  And since PA is an "at will " state, they can fire him without giving a reason.  It's very stressful since the job market is so tight.  And we only have a year and a half on our mortgage.  It would be a good time for us to win the lottery.

He actually feels a bit relieved.  The writing is clearly on the wall and he doesn't have to guess anymore.  I am feeling stressed and more than a bit anxious.  He'll be covered under my insurance but his salary is significantly more than mine.  There will be a lot of belt tightening in our household.

All of this cold weather has brought out our need for warm comfort foods.  I've made chicken and dumplings and pot pie and stew and this.  Cream of Potato soup with bacon and cheddar cheese.  It was absolutely delicious.  I really like the soup alone but the bacon and cheese just make it better , kinda like how a hamburger is good but a bacon cheeseburger is better.  Bacon and cheese make most everything taste better.

I found a new copy of the pattern for Kate's dress and the cutting and pinning will commence soon.  She has opted not to help but wants to leave it up to me.  Kate has never een a frilly girl and this style looks just perfect on her.  I love making formal dresses.  I like playing with the sparkly bits and the fancy fabrics. 

I just finished most of the grocery shopping here at my desk and will stop at the store to get the rest and pick up my order.  I am getting used to using this service.  It feels like giving myself a small gift of time.

And in case you didn't see this yet, let me introduce you to the newest time suck I have found.  It's a game called 2048.  It was developed by an Italian teenager and it's here http://git.io/2048.  I apologize in advance for the hours you are going to lose.  It's deceptively simple to learn and then unbelievably addictive.  I am not a number game person but this one grabbed me and won't let go.

"Hello, my name is Donna Lee and I am addicted to 2048"........(I can see it now)

 Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

This isn't what it usually looks like around here on March 17 but this is what greeted me this morning as Iwalked out my front door.  What you can't see is the snow continuing to fall at a good clip as I made my way to the car.

And then down Locust Street.  Look how much lighter it was once I got into Philadelphia.  You're supposed to plant your peas today but I don't think we're going to get there.

And in the Here We Go Again category, clothing division, I went wedding dress fabric shopping with Kate yesterday. 

This is the colors and fabric she chose.  The green will be the underdress and the lace (which has sequins all over it) will be on top.  We've made this dress before.  When Kate went to the ROTC ball in high school she chose this dress pattern and we made it in an ice blue color with a sparkly overdress.  It is a perfect style for her and this color will look lovely.  There's plenty of time until the wedding in October but I think I'd like to get it done before the heat of the summer sets in (if it ever stops snowing!).

I made 6 loaves of soda bread Saturday.  We ate one right away after it came out of the oven.  I only make this once a year and it is so delicious. I used dried cranberries in place of raisins because we like them better.  

And it may be all white and grey and brown outside but look at the lovely bright spring-like colors in this yarn.  It's one of Zen Yarn Garden's artwalk yarns.  It's Monet's Roses and the colors are just so pleasing to the eye and it's so soft and squishy (merino/cashmere/nylon blend) that it's such a pleasure just to touch.

It may be St Patrick's Day but that doesn't make it a holiday here.  I have a busy Monday ahead of me as long as my clients can make it in for their appointments.  It's 8:15 and no one has called to cancel so I guess we're on for the morning.  Happy Monday everyone!

We made it through what will be (hopefully) our last snow storm of the season.  There are flakes in the forecast for Wednesday night but they are not supposed to amount to much.  I didn't have to take a day off on Monday so I can start accumulating vacation time for the days when the sun is out and I can get outdoors.

Here's a few of the things happening in our world here in NJ.

There have been interesting ships in the river.  This is an amphibious craft docked on the Delaware river.  It looked like a giant Lego ship.  I kept trying to get a photo every day as the train went across the bridge. 

There have been soccer games on weekend mornings.  This was the reason we broke down and bought a television and Pk has been taking full advantage of it.  The English games are winding down and the  MLS games here are just starting up so it's soccer all year round.  And let's not forget World Cup this year. 

Peter Kevin gets up early and sits there in the sunshine, "photosynthisizing". 

Kate wanted a pair of socks to wear with her boots when it's warmer and naked legs won't be too cold.  She admitted she hates making socks so I started a pair of Snow Queen socks for her.  They're about 9 inches tall, just enough to stick out the top of her boots and look cute. 

We get the NYTimes electronically.  I like reading the paper and it has lots of links to additional information (and lots of photos).  One thing I did not anticipate was Food.  They have one or two food writers.  Not critics but actual food writers. 

We've tried a few of their recipes with mixed success.  This one was a hit.  It's Polenta with butternut squash and sausage and fried onions.

I've only ever had polenta in one of those plastic tubes where you cut it into rings and cook it.  It has some corn flavor and some interesting texture but not impressive.  The food writer said this stuff would blow the tube stuff out of the water.

So, we went out and hunted down a butternut squash and Peter Kevin ground our polenta a bit to make it finer.  I grated the squash and cooked it with the polenta and then spooned the sausage on top.

I liked the polenta itself.  It was warm and soft and very comforting.  It had good corn flavor, slightly salty but not overly so.  I will state right out that I am not a sausage fan.  I should have just gone for the onions and left the sausage off but Pk and Elanor really liked it.  This will be added to our resevoir of recipes.

DST is kicking my ass this week.  I am dragging.  I had a hard time sleeping Sunday night but last night I slept fairly well and I am still not my energetic self this morning.  I know it takes about a week for my eyes/brain to get accustomed to the change in light.  This week will be a bit of a struggle. 

So, life has been fairly quiet.  Kate and I are going out Sunday to look for fabric to make her wedding dress.  It should be fairly easy since she already knows exactly what she wants in the way of a dress.  I made her one to wear to a formal in high school and she wants the same dress, only in a different color.  It's fairly plainly designed with an off the shoulder neckline and short sleeves and a fitted bodice which falls away to a slightly a line skirt.  It was ice blue taffeta with a lace/sequined overlay.  She looked beautiful.  It was feminine without being frilly.  I still have the pattern so she can get exactly what she wants. And I get to spend time in a store with fabric and sewing things.  Win/win.

It will be 60 degrees today (15.5C) and will be 29 degrees on Thursday (-1.6).  Welcome to Almost Spring in NJ!