The Weather Service is calling for more snow starting tonight. We are on the southern edge of the storm so it's hard to say what we'll get. It could be 10 to 20 inches, or not. We just got shoveled out to the street, the mailman delivered mail today, and now we'll have to start all over again.
I don't remember where I found the following poem. I looked up Jesse Winchester today and discovered he is a singer-songwriter, and these are song lyrics. I've never heard his stuff, but I can totally get behind the thought he expresses.
Jesse Winchester
Snow
Yes it can!
Now you know what they say about snowflakes
How there ain't no two the same
Well, all them flakes look alike to me
Every one is a dirty shame
My ears are cold my feet are cold
Bermuda stays on my mind
And I'm here to say that if winter comes
Then spring is a ways behind
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
What Seemed a Good Idea
Some times I eat and I don't know why - maybe just because the food is there. I get up to let the cat out and stop by the pantry on the way back to grab a couple of pecans. No rhyme or reason. It just seems like a good idea at the time. (The difference is that now I stop at 2 pecan halves instead of 2 handfuls.) But a whole day of unmindful eating can lead to big-time regret.
I found the following poem by Connie Bensley in my collection and decided to share it for all of us who ever made a poor decision.
Permissive Society
Wake, for the dawn has put the stars to flight,
And in my bed a stranger, so once more,
What seemed to be a good idea last night,
Appears, this morning, sober, rather poor.
Connie Bensley
I found the following poem by Connie Bensley in my collection and decided to share it for all of us who ever made a poor decision.
Permissive Society
Wake, for the dawn has put the stars to flight,
And in my bed a stranger, so once more,
What seemed to be a good idea last night,
Appears, this morning, sober, rather poor.
Connie Bensley
Monday, February 08, 2010
Let It Snow
What a winter this has been for snow! First we had the big storm right before Christmas. Next we had a small snow in, was it January? Then last Friday and Saturday we got two feet of snow, a real blizzard. Some winters we don't shovel at all, but this past weekend we shoveled for hours. Thank goodness my son spent the weekend with us and helped his two old parents clear the driveway out to the street.
He also shoveled a path to the bird feeder so we could continue to keep the birds happy. We've had two pairs of cardinals, a red headed woodpecker, a blue jay, and dozens of smaller birds taking turns at the feeder.
Now the Weather Service is calling for another 6 to 10 inches (or more) of snow starting tomorrow afternoon. The Federal government closed today and tomorrow so none of us has to go to work, and there is plenty of food in the house. Things aren't going too badly.
I found this bit of poetry by Ralph Waldo Emerson recently, and it seems an appropriate time to share.
From The Snowstorm
Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o’er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farmhouse at the garden’s end.
The sled and traveler stopped, the courier’s feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.
He also shoveled a path to the bird feeder so we could continue to keep the birds happy. We've had two pairs of cardinals, a red headed woodpecker, a blue jay, and dozens of smaller birds taking turns at the feeder.
Now the Weather Service is calling for another 6 to 10 inches (or more) of snow starting tomorrow afternoon. The Federal government closed today and tomorrow so none of us has to go to work, and there is plenty of food in the house. Things aren't going too badly.
I found this bit of poetry by Ralph Waldo Emerson recently, and it seems an appropriate time to share.
From The Snowstorm
Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o’er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farmhouse at the garden’s end.
The sled and traveler stopped, the courier’s feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Eating at Outback
My husband and I ate at Outback Steakhouse a couple of nights ago, and I made some sensible choices.
Previously at Outback I'd have eaten:
Small Cheese Fries (shared) 374 calories
Side Salad with Ranch Dressing 319 calories
7 oz Victoria’s Filet 587 calories
Baked Potato with Butter & Sour Cream 455 calories
Chocolate Thunder from Down Under (shared) 478 calories
Coffee with Cream 39 calories
Total calories: 2252
This time I ate:
Atlantic Salmon (1/2 order) 364 calories
Baked Sweet Potato (no butter) 418 calories
Fresh Steamed Green Beans (butter) 228 calories
Decaf Coffee (no cream) 0 calories
Total calories: 1010
A thousand calorie meal is not great, but it's less than half the calories I previously tucked into at a visit to Outback. And I wasn't dissatisfied at all with the meal. My husband was as charming as always. We had a good talk and enjoyed ourselves just as much as we always do, only we ate a much healthier meal by skipping the appetizer and desert. I got some fiber with the green beans and sweet potato, and the salmon was definitely healthier than my usual steak. I only ate half the salmon because it definitely looked bigger than a deck of cards! Next time I might only eat half the sweet potato, too. I pushed off the ball of butter, but there were still a lot of calories there.
Maybe I'm starting to figure out this weight loss thing. You don't have to deprive yourself of everything enjoyable. You do have to make small changes and better choices towards healthier eating.
My poem to share today is by Dorothy Parker who was one cool woman. It's not about food, but it is about staying out of trouble (or not).
Portrait of the Artist
Oh lead me to a quiet cell
Where never footfall rambles
And bar the window passing well
And gyve my wrists and ankles
Oh wrap my eyes with linen fair
With hempen cord go bind me
And, of your mercy, leave me there
Nor tell them where to find me
Oh, lock the portal as you go
And see its bolts be double…
Come back in half an hour or so
And I will be in trouble.
By the way, the Outback has a great interactive web site where you pick items off the menu with different options and add-ons and they give you the nutritional information.
They also have a gluten free menu.
Previously at Outback I'd have eaten:
Small Cheese Fries (shared) 374 calories
Side Salad with Ranch Dressing 319 calories
7 oz Victoria’s Filet 587 calories
Baked Potato with Butter & Sour Cream 455 calories
Chocolate Thunder from Down Under (shared) 478 calories
Coffee with Cream 39 calories
Total calories: 2252
This time I ate:
Atlantic Salmon (1/2 order) 364 calories
Baked Sweet Potato (no butter) 418 calories
Fresh Steamed Green Beans (butter) 228 calories
Decaf Coffee (no cream) 0 calories
Total calories: 1010
A thousand calorie meal is not great, but it's less than half the calories I previously tucked into at a visit to Outback. And I wasn't dissatisfied at all with the meal. My husband was as charming as always. We had a good talk and enjoyed ourselves just as much as we always do, only we ate a much healthier meal by skipping the appetizer and desert. I got some fiber with the green beans and sweet potato, and the salmon was definitely healthier than my usual steak. I only ate half the salmon because it definitely looked bigger than a deck of cards! Next time I might only eat half the sweet potato, too. I pushed off the ball of butter, but there were still a lot of calories there.
Maybe I'm starting to figure out this weight loss thing. You don't have to deprive yourself of everything enjoyable. You do have to make small changes and better choices towards healthier eating.
My poem to share today is by Dorothy Parker who was one cool woman. It's not about food, but it is about staying out of trouble (or not).
Portrait of the Artist
Oh lead me to a quiet cell
Where never footfall rambles
And bar the window passing well
And gyve my wrists and ankles
Oh wrap my eyes with linen fair
With hempen cord go bind me
And, of your mercy, leave me there
Nor tell them where to find me
Oh, lock the portal as you go
And see its bolts be double…
Come back in half an hour or so
And I will be in trouble.
By the way, the Outback has a great interactive web site where you pick items off the menu with different options and add-ons and they give you the nutritional information.
They also have a gluten free menu.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
February
I am so tired of winter.
I grew up in the midwest, where we certainly had plenty of winter. Then, when I was a young wife with a toddler, my husband, daughter and I moved to Bermuda for 5 years, and I never liked winter again. Now we live in Virginia where the winters are generally mild. Only this winter it's been cold for days at a time, and we've had lots of snow. It's snowing again right now. We're expecting 3 to 6 inches overnight, which means the commute tomorrow morning will be from hell. Starting Friday afternoon we are expecting a really big winter snow storm. It will probably snow all day Saturday, so there goes my weekend plans.
People in Virginia just do not know how to drive in the snow, and the county doesn't invest much in snow removal or salt, so you are taking your life in your hands to be on the roads. Since Friday and Saturday will not be good days for grocery shopping I may try to shop Thursday night. I need to have good things to eat in the house, like fresh fruits & vegetables so I will stay out of the leftover Christmas candy and the gluten-free cookies. (I still have peppermint ice cream in the freezer.) (I will not pig out on it.)
Maybe I can just walk on the treadmill all day Saturday.
Or I can relax, slow down, and enjoy life without running around trying to get everything done at once.
The following poem is a reminder to me, and to all of us, that winter can be beautiful if we slow down and enjoy. It's by Sara Teasdale, one of my favorite poets.
February Twilight
I stood beside a hill
Smooth with new-laid snow.
A single star looked out
From the cold evening glow.
There was no other creature
That saw what I could see—
I stood and watched the evening star
As long as it watched me.
Sara Teasdale
I grew up in the midwest, where we certainly had plenty of winter. Then, when I was a young wife with a toddler, my husband, daughter and I moved to Bermuda for 5 years, and I never liked winter again. Now we live in Virginia where the winters are generally mild. Only this winter it's been cold for days at a time, and we've had lots of snow. It's snowing again right now. We're expecting 3 to 6 inches overnight, which means the commute tomorrow morning will be from hell. Starting Friday afternoon we are expecting a really big winter snow storm. It will probably snow all day Saturday, so there goes my weekend plans.
People in Virginia just do not know how to drive in the snow, and the county doesn't invest much in snow removal or salt, so you are taking your life in your hands to be on the roads. Since Friday and Saturday will not be good days for grocery shopping I may try to shop Thursday night. I need to have good things to eat in the house, like fresh fruits & vegetables so I will stay out of the leftover Christmas candy and the gluten-free cookies. (I still have peppermint ice cream in the freezer.) (I will not pig out on it.)
Maybe I can just walk on the treadmill all day Saturday.
Or I can relax, slow down, and enjoy life without running around trying to get everything done at once.
The following poem is a reminder to me, and to all of us, that winter can be beautiful if we slow down and enjoy. It's by Sara Teasdale, one of my favorite poets.
February Twilight
I stood beside a hill
Smooth with new-laid snow.
A single star looked out
From the cold evening glow.
There was no other creature
That saw what I could see—
I stood and watched the evening star
As long as it watched me.
Sara Teasdale
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