I was just sure I must’ve written something with this title before; looks like it was hashtag winterblahs in 2014, and winter blahs in 2013. Nothing on the newer blog for winter blahs, but I found Still January from 2018.
Anyways, I’m feeling frozen and not in a good way – sluggish, like my metabolism is all tamped down. Pale and dried out. Although outside frozen means I can walk across the backyard to dump the compost, since the mud’s frozen, and now covered with snow. And my walk to work this morning was kind of pretty.
and kind of cold, too.
Speaking of walks to work, there’s construction now on Bascom Hill, that’s causing pedestrian detours, so I have three choices for getting around it: turn left off University Ave. and go up a long steep set of concrete steps, walk a little farther and turn left and go up a much shorter set of concrete steps and cut through a building – the Law school, with its hush & serious students (haha), or stay on the flat and turn left on Park St. Monday I thought maybe the long steep stairs would be a metabolism boost, so I tried that. It didn’t seem to do much, so I went on Park St. Wednesday and through the building Thursday and Friday.
I keep hearing about limited fasting as a weight control thing, like only eating one meal a day, or even easier only eating between a set of times, like 11:00am to 7:00pm. I’ve been sort of trying the latter, I usually don;t get hungry for breakfast until at least 10:30, but I love my milky coffees at like 7:30, and have been allowing myself that, so probably it’s reducing the good effects.
Winter came back last weekend and I’m only just writing about it now, the following Thursday. Friday was crunchy rainy snow, while we were going to and coming home from Susan’s retirement party. It was pretty fun – she got a local Dead cover band, Tumbledown Shack, looks like they’re regulars at the place where the party was, and there was Fantasy Factory on tap and dancing.
Saturday we got up and shoveled, and then I went out to run a few errands by car, and came home and pretty much holed up, though we did go walk for coffee. I finished unpacking the boxes of kitchen stuff from the Chicago apartment, and made cauliflower curry for dinner. I broke into the leftover cookies – ate way too many of the springerle while I was washing the dishes because sometimes it feels like if I eat a little too much it’s actually a metabolism boost. Don’t think it worked in this case.
And we got hooked on Mandalorian. I got a free trial of Disney+ starting Saturday, and we’ve now watched all 8 episodes. I should cancel now before they start chargeing me $5.99/month – I can always sign up again – season 2’s not going to be until fall.
Sunday morning we didn’t really need to shovel again, it all kind of blew away. I made apple crumb cake for breakfast, and worked, and we walked on the Lakeshore path and a shorter walk for coffee – so 1200 plus steps for Sunday. I made snacks: Pigs in blankets, and potato puffs, still those ones from the freezer that I forgot to put out at the party, and peeled the last three holiday clementines, and we ate in front of TV. Dipping into the Packer game, but mostly we watched Howards End and Sanditon – featuring Mr. Pamuk – on PBS. It must’ve worked because the Packers won. John says I am a jinx, I am not allowed to really watch Packer games, although it’s OK if I check the score on my phone from time to time while watching other things.
Oh yea and I made a test batch of vegan gingersnaps, that might be our offering for this year’s edition of the Culinary Ladies cookie grab for Planned Parenthood.
Monday was pretty much a normal workday. I came home and made a gratin of almost the last of my CSA veggies – celeriac, sweet potatoes, and parsnips. And lots of cheese. And the cup of heavy cream lurking in the back of the fridge that I mixed with a pint of skim milk from the Union to make the 3 cups of milk the recipe called for.
Tuesday I went to help serve the food pantry breakfast, then came home to work on my class, stopping to put gas in the car and buy us an ice chipper. After I showered when I got back – I fried a lot of turkey sausages at the breakfast so a shower was called for – I was putting lotion on my face and I scratched my forehead with my raggy thumbnail. Nobody’s really said anything about it, and Mark didn’t even see it until today. See overleaf for denthead.
I worked until about 3:00 when Mark was driving to get his haircut, and the library is on the way, so I had him drop me there, and walked home, which meant on top of all the schlepping at the pantry I had a good number of steps for Tuesday, to0.
Al and Emma came over for dinner and I made chorizo and garbanzo beans tostados, and chilaquiles with chicken. And coleslaw. Seeing how much I can cook without buying anything – it’s so satisfying (to food geeks like me anyways) to use up stuff from the freezer, and not let that last handful of cilantro turn to mush in the vegetable drawer..
Wednesday after work I went to see my friend Maria’s new house. They moved from the East side to over off Lake Monona. It was pretty nice, and there was a place when I was driving away when I was coming down a hill right towards the lake. Must be an awfully nice view n the day time. I think they made a good move.
And that’s about it, for now.