pros and cons

Five good things about the frigid temperatures:

1. Yesterday I arrived at my house at the exact same moment as the Jehovah Witnesses. But because I was wearing my burka - er - parka, I was able to walk right past them without them recognizing me.
2. It's sunny! It's sunny! Hurray!
3. I like sleeping in socks with lots of heavy blankets.
4. Coffee tastes even better than usual when I have my hands wrapped around the mug.
5. Lexi enjoys winter and it is nice to have an enthusiastic companion when I head out doors.

Five bad things about the frigid temperatures:

1. My poor chapped hands. :[
2. It is nearly impossible to get out of bed in the morning, what with all those blankets weighing me down.
3. The wind really does a number on my eyes. And the constant tearing really does a number on my cheeks. Bought facial oil today!
4. Despite my enthusiastic companion, I don't really want to go outside. But because of her, I have to.
5. Our heating bill will be through the roof.

Aforementioned enthusiastic companion...

january theme song - bonus edition

Two theme songs this month. Although the original speech given by Haile Selassie I at the United Nations in 1963 referred specifically to the exploitation of Africa and the nuclear arms crisis, his words are still incredibly relevant today. Feeling dispirited on several fronts this week and not sure that Bob Marley is helping. 50 years and nothing has fundamentally changed...

That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned; That until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained; And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and in South Africa in subhuman bondage have been toppled and destroyed; Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and good-will; Until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in the eyes of Heaven; Until that day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if necessary, and we know that we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil.

But there is another part to the speech, which didn't make it into the song. And this is what I'm trying to keep in mind while I listen... to be a better person; to have courage; to stand up against prejudice; to be thoughtful and considerate.

And we must look into ourselves, into the depth of our souls. We must become something we have never been and for which our education and experience and environment have ill-prepared us. We must become bigger than we have been: more courageous, greater in spirit, larger in outlook. We must become members of a new race, overcoming petty prejudice, owing our ultimate allegiance not to nations but to our fellow men within the human community.

it was a dark and stormy day

Not much snow yet but the wind is howling and the temperature is dropping. The sun never came out and I haven't been able to wake up properly today. I can't imagine living in Iqaluit or someplace colder and darker than Winnipeg. It is definitely one of those days to fill your belly with something hot. May I suggest roasted parsnip soup? If you have the ingredients on hand, of course. No sense heading out in this. I don't have the ingredients; I have something better...... leftovers!

This soup seems complicated but it's really not. Roast the veggies, warm broth and cream (I used milk), blend. I found the immersion blender didn't work very effectively so I used a regular blender. And the parsley oil was really pretty but it didn't add much flavour. You can definitely skip it.

Yukon Gold Potato, Parsnip & Roasted Garlic Soup with Parsley Oil

Parsley Oil:

1/2    cup (125 mL) Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2    cup (125 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt

Roasted Garlic:

2    heads of garlic, tops sliced off
Olive oil
Sea salt

Potato & Parsnip Soup:

1    tbsp (15 mL) melted butter
1    tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
2    lbs (1 kg) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
3    parsnips, peeled and cubed
2    onions, peeled, stemmed and quartered
4    cups (1 L) vegetable broth
1/2    cup (125 mL) heavy cream
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Parsley Oil:

Combine parsley leaves with olive oil in a food processor. Process until puréed and bright green. Let steep for about 1 hour then strain oil through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding solids and reserving oil. Season with a little sea salt then transfer oil to a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

Roasted Garlic:

Drizzle garlic heads with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil.

Potato & Parsnip Soup:

Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). In a large bowl, combine butter and olive oil, whisking to mix. Add next 3 ingredients and toss to coat. Place mixture and wrapped garlic in a baking dish; season vegetables with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for about 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring the vegetables halfway through the cooking time. Remove baking dish from oven. Place vegetable mixture into a large pot set over low heat along with broth and cream. Using an immersion blender, process until mixture is smooth, adding more broth if soup is too thick. When garlic is cool to the touch, squeeze cloves into soup. Using an immersion blender, process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste; cover and cook until soup is warmed through.

To Assemble:

Spoon soup into bowls then drizzle with Parsley Oil and some fresh cracked pepper. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

january theme song

I miss O. On Skype, there are no debates over the correct meaning of the word 'fey' or how tight Lexi's collar should be. Even the purchase of a new duvet cover happened without any wrangling. *sigh*

We used to leave the blue lights on and there was a beat
Ever since you have been gone it's all caffeine-free

Hmmmm mmmm hmmmm....
None of them want to fight me

Combat baby come back baby 
Fight off the lethargy
Don't go quietly
Combat baby
Said you would never give up easy
Combat baby come back

Get back in town I wanna paint it black
I want to be wrong but

La la la la....
No one here wants to fight me like you do

I try to be so nice 
Compromise
Something something.... seventies child 

Do doo doo doo Do da doo doo

Combat baby come back baby 
Combat baby come back
Bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye baby
Combat baby come back

How I miss your ranting
Do you miss my all time lows?

i hereby resolve to....

Looking back at previous years, it is clear that I don't have a great record of success. *sigh* The two main resolutions that keep showing up are fitness and finances. I do okay for a while and then something happens, I falter and then try again the next January.

My 2009 resolution was actually accomplished. When I turned 40 a year and a half later I was in great shape. Very fit, felt fantastic.... and then..... grad school, followed by a midlife crisis, followed by bronchitis, followed by more grad school, followed by meningitis. First on the list...

1. Exercise daily. With no specific goals in terms of losing weight, shrinking a size or anything like that. Just want that fit, fantastic feeling back.

1b. Eat properly. This is really only for the next three months. I usually have a good diet but when I'm on my own I tend to get lazy. No popcorn for dinner.

Finances are okay. Not saving but not going deeper into debt. Just need to maintain the status quo. The monetary problem I've had the last year is my lack of employment. I don't need a job while I have a scholarship but not being able to find a job has been incredibly distracting and caused a great deal of anxiety. So...

2. Quit stressing about lack of work. It isn't helpful and it is taking up brain space that should be used for school.

Which brings me to number three...

3. Buckle down! O. is gone until the beginning of April. How much of my thesis can I get done between now and then?

And finally...

4. Brush Lexi's teeth daily. I was doing this in the fall for about 6 weeks and her breath improved noticeably. Then I went away for three weeks and didn't really get back into it when I returned. It would benefit both of us if I take up this task again. :]

minus 27 (minus 37 with the windchill)

But it's not the weather that's making Lexi and I feel grouchy. Nope. We're totally prepared for the weather. The problem is that Alpha Dog has mysteriously disappeared. Lexi figured out that there is a gaping hole in the hierarchy when he didn't return home two nights ago and we've been battling for top position ever since. It's making me a bit crazy. Hoping she figures out that I'm the new alpha soon. Because I am. Hmph.

fortune (?) cookies

Spent six bloody hours making fortune cookies today. Quel désastre! I put great faith in Martha's recipes but this one was baaaaad. The oven was too hot, the cookies too small.... Checked out some other recipes online and adjusted as I went along. In the end, I got enough good ones for tomorrow evening but I'm super grouchy now. And still have an evening of baking and cooking ahead. I see a glass of wine in my near future...

First attempt. Oven at 400 F as per recipe.
Lowered to 300 F after this mess. 

Second attempt. Damn thing wouldn't unstick from the pan.
Wasted quite a bit of batter this way, then borrowed a
non-stick pan from my next door neighbour.

Third attempt. Temperature is good. Pan is good.
Folding technique needs work. You have to work fast,
and the bottom of the cookie should be on the inside.

Finally!

Managed a dozen half-way decent cookies.
Recipe is supposed to make 3 1/2 dozen.
Ugh.

Thankfully my other baking turned out great
or I'd be hanging up my apron.

Our fourth year taking baking to our neighbours.
Was a good way to meet people the first year
and we've kept up the tradition.

beautiful day

Frost, fog and big, fluffy flakes. Of course, that also meant no sunshine but nice to have a break from the extreme cold.

martha stewart, eat your heart out

Ready to decorate.

Et voila!

Second annual Adam and Omar cookies.

Spent a lovely afternoon at Marilee's apartment eating cheese and crackers (and fudge and oranges and chips) and decorating cookies. This has become an annual tradition and one that I really enjoy. Marilee and Heather made the cookies and icing and I just had fun. Thanks to my previous blog post, no Christmas music was played, though Ayva did mention several times how quiet is was. What can I say.... we were concentrating!

december theme song

This is my December song for three reasons:

1. O is leaving on December 29th for Calgary and Edmonton. Not quite 2000 miles (more like 800?) but still..... it's very far.
2. Even though it has been 6 years since I've had to deal with customers, I still have a Christmas retail hangover and this is one of the few pop Christmas songs I can still stand. Along with that oddly endearing David and Bing duet, of course.
3. Have long loved Chrissie Hynde and have just cut my bangs. Again. My mom will be relieved that they aren't eye-skimmers this time so she won't have to spend the holidays saying "get your hair out of your eyes!"

Photo evidence circa 1987. Not the greatest picture but the only one with a top hat, which is part of a costume by the way. The sweater however.... I have no excuse.

you know it's cold out when...

Woke up to -34 with the windchill. Has since warmed up to a balmy -26. Quite the shock to my system after three weeks of beautiful weather in New York. I can no longer pretend that it is fall.

This was the scene in the house at 11 o'clock this morning. Very much wishing I was curled up with my tail over my nose as well.

Rufus in front of the heat vent. 

Cleo snoring. Literally.

Lexi in the smallest ball possible.

new york diary - day 19

Still here. Bonus day thanks to my flight being canceled for reasons unknown to me. Since it is beyond my control, I'm just enjoying the extra time with my friends and away from winter. Kana is jetlagged but we still had a chance to hang out this morning and went for lunch with Brad. Molly and I had another long walk this afternoon. Quiet evening in front of the fire. Early to bed. We'll try heading home again same time tomorrow.

new york diary - day 18

My last day here. It didn't feel like it was going by fast but now that it's basically over.... man, did it fly by! Kana and Brad arrived safely around noon. Tired, of course, so it will be a quiet evening.

Tomorrow it's back into the city to catch my flight home. Looking forward to being there but not looking forward to -4 (feels like -14) and scattered flurries. Have loved extending fall until December!

new york diary - day 17

Drove to Ossining this morning to get my legs waxed. Since I was there (a whole two towns over), I thought I might check out the museum as Brad told me it had an interesting and gruesome collection on the infamous Sing-Sing Prison. Alas, they are open by appointment only. So I went grocery shopping instead and then drove home to do a bit of cleaning. Had an email from Kana as they were boarding their flight from Seoul to New York. They'll be home tomorrow around lunch time. Hard to believe my trip is almost over!

This evening was spent working on my resume and cover letter for yet another job application, and creating a Linkedin profile. I had planned to have a fire and spend the evening reading with a glass of wine but time got away on me. I think I'll vacuum (with that glass of wine) just to work out the kinks after hours spend at the computer, then early to bed.

And since it has been a couple of days since I've posted a picture, here's one more of Molly!

Variations on a theme...

new york diary - day 16

An absolutely do-nothing day. Drove Deb to the train station first thing this morning. Watched the snow falling. Walked with Molly. Ordered pizza for delivery and got called 'sir' on the phone. Surfed for info on yarn from angora goats. And then got sidetracked looking at pictures of baby angora goats, which then turned into looking at pictures of angora rabbits. Read Middlemarch. Talked to my mom. Zoned out. Needed to coccoon after yesterday in the city.

new york diary - day 15

I almost had a fantastic day.

Deb was supposed to leave this morning but she found out that her sister would be speaking at the Culinary Institue of America in NYC today, so she bumped her departure until tomorrow. We took an early train to Grand Central Station and then parted ways. She, to have breakfast with her sister. Me, to visit the American Museum of Natural History.

It takes about an hour to walk from Grand Central to the Museum. I headed up 5th Ave and was feeling irritated by the crush of people, oppressed by the buildings and the honking and all the Christmas lights and music, and depressed by the terrible poverty next to such extreme luxury. And then everything was alright. I could see Central Park probably 10 blocks before I got there. The skyscrapers just end and my spirits lifted.

Central Park is amazing! If I'd known how wonderful it is I would have planned a day there instead of at the Museum. But on my way there I just cut through, stopping to take a picture of the angel for O. And that's when my day went from fantastic to just okay. I forgot my memory card for my camera in the computer. So no picture taking today, just lugging my camera around for nothing.

Feeling like an idiot, I continued on and had pretty good time at the Museum. I guess it is quite spectacular but sociology has kind of ruined things like this for me. Went to the Our Global Kitchen exhibit; it was really interesting and well put together but the content was thin. All of the content of the Museum was a bit thin, actually. And very American. Which makes sense, of course, but I left feeling a bit underwhelmed. The most interesting part for me was the exhibit on the State of NY, including history, flora and fauna, and geology, which answered my one big question: what kind of rock is Kana and Brad's house built on? Answer: gneiss.

On my way back to the train, I spent more time exploring Central Park. It is truly a gem. As soon as you step in the air is cooler, it is much quieter, it smells better, the people watching is excellent... I wished over and over that I could use my camera. Argh! Next time I'm here I will set a day aside just for this beautiful space.

new york diary - day 14

Our day...

 

Followed by pancakes and beer for dinner.

new york diary - day 13

Today's big outing was to the Peekskill Museum, just a few blocks down the street. We were the only people there and got a personal guided tour, including the maid's quarters on the third floor, which is not open to the public. The only shortcoming of the musuem is that there isn't much signage to explain the displays. But since we had the guide's full attention, this didn't matter. Here are a few pics:

The Museum is in the beautiful Herrick House,
built around 1878.

Bust of Lincoln.

Intricate handiwork.

 

Peekskill's Famous Ball of String
Begun on January 11, 1911 by Jay R. Decatur
Weighs 230 lbs; diameter 30 inches
A penny is at it's centre.

new york diary - day 12

Made cookies last night as Deb and I were craving something sweet after our super healthy dinner. It took an hour to mix the dough. Kana's pantry is so well stocked that each ingredient required a major hunt. It's so much easier to find things when there is nothing in the cupboard! But the results were well worth the time. The recipe is eggless so you basically end up with chocolate chip shortbread. So yummy!

This morning I was up early, having cookies and coffee for breakfast and enjoying the most gorgeous foggy morning. Dropped Deb off at the train at 8:15 for another day in NYC. Contemplated joining her but since it is Black Friday and I decided to spend the day as a country mouse rather than face the mayhem.

Afternoon and evening - reading on the patio in the sunshine, cleaning the house, walking the dog and starting the ethics portion of my thesis.

Cookie Recipe
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp all purpose flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 300 F.
2. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in vanilla.
4. Add flour and baking powder; beat until just mixed.
5. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans (dough will be stiff).
6. Using about 2 tbsp of dough, shape into balls and arrange a couple of inches apart on a cookie sheet; flatten slightly.
7. Bake until cookies are slightly brown at the edges, about 30 minutes.
8. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

new york diary - day 11

After a late night yesterday, I slept in properly today. Deb brought me coffee in bed around 10:30 and we spend half an hour chatting and watching the deer. Such a great way to wake up!

Another work day. Finished the MALT grant application. Nice to have it off my plate. Then took Molly for a walk around the nearby lake, which was a total drag. Quite literally. She didn't want to walk.... she just wanted to sniff every single leaf. We had words but explaining that Ceasar says she is not the pack leader didn't seem to help. When we got back, she was done with me and parked herself outside Deb's door until Deb finished doing yoga.

Today is American Thanksgiving, or as they like to say down here... Thanksgiving. We're celebrating with ratatouille (minus the peppers) made by Deb and wine bought by me. Then maybe some knitting or reading by the fire. Tomorrow will be about as exciting as today but I promise, I'll do something besides lounge about on Saturday!