Bitter, Party Of One....

....Your Table's Ready! The "bitter" I refer to isn't the below zero temps this morning but my somewhat whiny last post. Clearly, my relationship with winter is frosty at best. That said, the fact that I was a little cold, uncomfortable and annoyed hardly compares to what a great many of other folks have been enduring in their own lives. Considering the eroding situation in Egypt, the massive cyclone in flood-ravaged Australia and the truly storm-weary Northeast; my discomfort hardly merits a mention. So, allow me to balance the bitchiness with some positive karma....

In over-the-top weather situations like these, the true colors of folks often fly. I grew up in a neighborhood where folks looked out for each other. My father was a primo example of how to be a good neighbor as he looked out for lots of his own neighbors. He and Mom, in recent years, would, in turn, be the beneficiaries of good neighbors, particularly by Bobby, their longtime next door neighbor. We are now blessed to live in one of those neighborhoods and yesterday, two of the finest brought out their tractors and snow blowers and dug out our driveways as well as several others. This is prime time for watching out for our fellow man and indeed the elderly need checked on in dangerous storms like these. Good neighbors are the bee's knees.

Pets are highly susceptible to these big winter storms as well. I thought about the skinny, underfed kitten that Kathleen found cowering in between her gallery building and another building a couple of weeks ago. The little charmer is now named Picasso and he's the gallery cat. I'm quite content knowing Picasso had a nice, warm place to sleep when this massive storm landed.

We cooked from the pantry yesterday and made up a pasta dish that turned out quite well. We cooked up whole wheat penne and then baked it in the oven with Stonewall Kitchen's Vodka Sauce, leftover fresh mozzarella and a little hit of Essence of Emeril. We had picked up the vodka sauce from the Greenhouse in my hometown and the Stonewall Kitchen line is one of my favorites that they carry. Everything that I've tried from this line has been very good and they win a bevy of best-of awards. Check them out at http://www.stonewallkitchen.com. Good comfort food for a frigid day.

Yes, I went to work yesterday but if I hadn't, I would have been deprived of seeing how twisted and creative my co-worker Dennis gets when he gets bored. His creations involved two Cinderella dolls that he posed to represent scenes from each of the Academy Award-nominated best pictures. The depiction of The Kids Are All Right alone made the trip worth it.

Ooey Gooey Chocolates in Excelsior Springs started making homemade cinnamon rolls on Saturday mornings. They are sweet, doughy goodness. Get there early because they go fast!

Also several days ago, Keith brought home sushi for lunch. Those of you who know the K-Man, know of his longtime aversion to sushi. The fact that he, without any suggestions or input from me, bought Philadelphia Rolls home and also enjoyed them himself is progress of the most delicious kind.

Finally, there are some blogs I've added to my list that I highly recommend. First, my friends Kara and Drew have started blogs and they offer excellent posts representing their passions. Kara is a vegetarian and she shares some delicious recipes....check out Dishin' It Out at http://www.karavon.blogspot.com/. Drew is a music master and his musings on all things melodious are definitely worth a visit...http://earbook.blogspot.com/. My new bud Yrttle found me through a few degrees of separation and wrote a line about me that I'm totally stealing: I don't know him, but I want to hug his neck and drink a whole bottle of wine with him. Check out her hilarious and mouth-watering posts(including what she says about me)here: http://yerttle.wordpress.com/. Last but certainly not least, is Laura's blog called the Road To Remission. Laura is fighting the good fight against cancer and her blog is funny, heartwarming and incredibly inspirational. While I was whining about being a little put out by the wintry weather, Laura was negotiating getting back and forth to her latest chemo treatment in this major snowstorm. This woman is the very definition of courage. Visit http://winsteadremission.wordpress.com/ to follow her valiant battle and cheer her on! If any of these links are disabled, refer to my blog list in the right column to connect to them.

As Yerttle said in her comment to me yesterday, Snow Be Damned....Have a Great Day!!! When you get snow, make Snow Fuzzy Navels like Keith's cousin-in-law Anne...

Comments

  1. Thanks for the virtual fist bump. ;).

    I was standing, probably open-mouth-nerd-style in front of my bookstack today and I bought of you. Not because you're an open-mouth-nerd, but because of your past entries about your friend's library. ...anyway...

    Have you read "the art of racing in the rain"? Before this book, I hated dogs. Now, Her Ladyship Maggie Moo (a pound puppy) is my right-paw girl.

    Blah blah blah. I love books. I will now take my taped-glasses into the kitchen and cook something.

    Cheers!

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  2. I thought of you. I didn't bought of you. ...but I totally would if you were on sale. And I had a coupon. ;)

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  3. Her Ladyship Maggie Moo is the finest moniker ever. I have read "Art...." and dug it. And I don't dig dog books per se, even though I dig dogs. That last sentence just gave me a headache.

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  4. Greg,

    Thanks for the "heads up" on all the new blogs. I can't wait to peruse them all however I did glance at yerttle's and I LOVED IT. Yerttle should write a cookbook. I would read every word of it. Anyone who recommends telling Martha "It's a good thing" Stewart and Giada "It's light and refreshing and pay no attention to my blinding smile because it WILL eat you" DeLaurentis is more than alright in my book!

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  5. Oops, anyone who recommends telling said ladies to STICK IT is alright in my book LOL! Sorry, it's been a loooooong week but hopefully this week I'll be able to relax with plenty of new reading material in these new found blogs!

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  6. Speak it, sister! She is muy fabuloso, is she not? Indeed, she SHOULD write a cookbook, post haste. Go on, Yerttle!

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  7. Thank you so much for mentioning my little blog! I'm very excited about putting more time into it and creating something very entertaining for folks looking to be turned on to some great music!

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  8. The blog is awesome, Drucifer. Stay with it!!

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