If Snow May Fall

 They are predicting a big one.  They meaning the meteorologists and big one translated means snowfall. Do I believe it?  I am deciding to go with yes so I have my Kindle locked and loaded.

One of the good things that has come from living with COVD, if you want to call it good, is that we are now use to being confined indoors.  Very little will change once the snow starts and after it is on the ground.  I usually work from home and my company never closes.  It is after all health care.

But like thousands of people, I woke up this morning and made my COVID grocery run.  Mask on, I entered the Giant and joined the many others who were stocking up as usual and those who were stocking up due to snow in the forecast. Since COVID started I do one big shopping as infrequently as possible.  I have been swamped at work so today was my only option.

I started early , but by the time I had been there for ten minutes the store was getting very crowded and social distancing was becoming very difficult.  Usually when I grocery shop,  I take the opportunity to get a lot of my steps in but, my fit bit told me I was behind so I decided to speed up my shopping and get out of the store.

Usually when a "snow storm" is expected I stock up on lots of goodies, including potato chips, ice cream and baking ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies.  

The baking of chocolate chip cookies is a leftover tradition from my college days.  When heavy snow was in the forecast, one of  my roommates or I would stop off to pick up the ingredients after class.  There is nothing like the smell and taste of chocolate chip cookies during a snowfall. 

 Back in the day I could eat several chocolate chip cookies because the college campus I attended was huge and to make it to class with 10 minutes between each class you practically jogged.  I  also had a loaded backpack. so my cardio and weights workout was covered. Let's just say 10,000 steps was an easy goal.

This grocery run my grocery basket contained no potato chips or ice cream.  Believe me I struggled to just walk away and  leave them on the shelf.  I bought healthy foods like salad fixings and chicken wings.  I am so boring. 

Once my grocery needs were met, I focused on my reading needs and loaded up my kindle.  Here are some of the books I downloaded.  

My back up plan if I can't read anymore is to  Knit my sweater or do a puzzle. 

So if Snow may fall, I am ready. Happy Snow Day!

Date night during the Time of COVID

 

Even though we are in the middle of this COVID pandemic, my husband and I try to still have a date night. I use the term date night very loosely because it really isn't our typical date night. It is more a break from me cooking dinner every night.

In the beginning of this whole mess, we tried to frequent some of our favorite restaurants, but they just didn't seem to have the carry out routine down.  On my husband's birthday we ordered from our favorite BBQ restaurant.  The ribs were hard and tasteless the sides dry.  For my birthday, we ordered from our favorite local Mexican restaurant.  I love this place and it is not part of a chain so the food is always great.  Not when we ordered to go it just didn't taste as good.

We tried a few more places but ultimately we decided to give up which actually broke my heart because we want to support local businesses but to spend $50 a pop for inedible food is just not worth it.  So we looked elsewhere and what we came up with is Chik-Ful-A.  They have their drive through strategy down to a science.  

Our date night now consists of placing a mobile order, driving 3 miles to our neighborhood Chik-Fil-A and getting in the drive through line.  Our meal is handed to us.  It is hot and fresh.  The order is correct and When we get it home the temperature of the food is pretty good.  We pour a glass of wine and we have a pretty decent meal.  The best part is that every time we go through this process it turns out the same.  The food is good. 

I found this article on foods American's like to take out.  Not surprisingly, chicken is on the list.

Just in case you are interested read this article America's 15 favorite foods for take out

Smile during COVID

 

Looking back on the last year, I can honestly say I almost forgot how to smile. As I have mentioned in previous posts I work for a large health care organization with multiple hospitals, urgent care centers and pharmacies.

I work in IT so I am not directly working with patients but I do work with the front line workers who do.  We are not immune and several of my colleagues including team members have been down for the count with this crazy virus. I have also had family members who have contracted the virus.  In the beginning I was really doing great, but as the virus has dragged on I find it hard to lift my spirits. 

Please don't get me wrong, I am thankful for so many things.  It's just that at times it get to me.

I was looking at You tube videos, something I do to  relax and I found some of my favorite musical artists singing the song Smile so I thought I would share the link with you. 

Just tap on the word Smile.

I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did and maybe it might bring a smile (in a little bit of a sad way) to your face as it did to mine.  

Ready Knitter One

 

My Mom loved to knit.  The house could burn down around her but if she was involved in her knitting she would not have noticed.  We gave her many nicknames like Bella Abzug after the politician, but when she was knitting we called her Madame DeFarge.

For those of you unfamiliar with Charles Dickens Tale of Two Cities, Madam DeFarge was the character who was one of the leaders during the French revolution who would watch beheadings in the square while knitting.  I always remember that being totally bizarre but memorable. 

I am a big fan of Charles Dickens and I recommend that you read a book or two of his works.  Don't start with A Christmas Carol, that would be cheating. Try Great Expectations, Little Dorritt, Oliver Twist or Tale of Two Cities. 

My Mother was bound and determined to teach me how to knit. She showed me the knit and purl stitch and a made the obligatory scarf.  Once finished I put away my knitting needles and retired from knitting.

Years later, I married and my husband being in the military was transferred to Germany.  I was fortunate to get a job with American Express Travel Gmbh and met some really great people. One of my German Colleagues would come in new sweaters all the time.  It surprised me because buying clothes in Germany at the time was pretty pricey. Also her sweaters were so different than the ones in the stores.

I finally got up enough courage and asked her where she bought them.  She told me she knit them.  That sparked my interest especially when she said one of the patterns was relatively easy.  Her words not mine.  Of course the pattern was in German but I knew enough to understand it. 

The next day I went to Kaufhof where I discovered the beautiful selection of yarn and bought enough to make the sweater.  I brought it with me to my office.  She gave me a refresher course in casting on, watched me knit and purl a row and I was on my way.  She did comment that she had never seen anyone knit the way I did.  Apparently when my Mom taught her self that was the method she used and passed it on to me. 

It took me three months to make the sweater but it came out pretty darn good.  I started another one but got bored.  I am a Gemini so it takes a lot to keep me engaged. I packed up the sweater and it never was completed.

Because of COVID I have been looking for things to do inside.  I decided that as part of my New Year Resolution I would be more creative so I decided to start to knit again.  It is a basic sweater but it's a start.  

It has been so many years since I knit that first sweater that I completely forgot everything.  Thank goodness for You Tube.  I watched how to cast on, knit a row and purl a row.  Oh and yes the "correct" way of knitting is completely different form the Flo method. But for Flo, her method worked.

Everyone should be free to create as they see fit.  I will try to keep you updated on my progress. Above is when I first started.  The picture below is where I am now.

Cookie Season is Over

For me holiday cookie season begins the day after Halloween, pretty much when the Christmas music starts playing at the grocery store. I will not lie, when it comes to cookies I have absolutely no will power.  To make matters worse, a lot of my friends are great bakers.  Luckily I am not.

This year no one I know baked their usual batches nor did I. Did that stop me from gorging myself on cookies.  Absolutely not! The store bakeries and the Keebler Elves stepped up to the plate and filled in the gap.  That means our house was constantly filled with the smell of store baked goodies.  

On a normal year, I pace myself for a slow go but this year due to being stuck in the house almost 24/7 the pace picked up considerably.  When I had blood work done my results were absolutely scary. Damn COVID.  I blame this on you.

So this weekend I did a kitchen cleanse.  Any cookies and other crap got thrown out. Our kitchen is now a cookie free, junk free zone.  I feel like I accomplished something great.

While I did not make a New Year's resolution to not eat so many cookies, I think going forward I will definitely monitor my cookie intake. It is not realistic to think that I can stay away from cookies altogether but  I think I will set a quota of 4 or 5 cookies each week and adjust my daily calorie count to accommodate for it.  As I work the sugar out of my system perhaps I can go several days with no cookies at all.  Baby Steps.

Wish me luck!

Goodbye - 2020

 

2020 was not a good year.  In fact, it probably will go down in my book of years as one of the worst. Sadly 2021 may not start out much better.  One of my family members has COVID, one of my colleagues has COVID and someone I have known for 20 years is in hospice.  I am grappling with what to do, what to say and how to deal with this whole situation.  I am sure I will eventually work it out.

Since it is the New Year and the expectation is to make New Year resolutions I really thought long and hard on what mine would be this year.

Instead of the two that are always on my list, go on a diet and do more exercise, I wanted to take a different approach. So here are my resolutions for 2021.

• Eat less potato chips and junk food. I figure going on a diet has never worked so at the very least taking out these addictive and less healthy options can only be a good thing.

• I need to just get up and move more.  Be more mindful of getting out of my chair.

• Be more creative.  I work in IT.  That can make me a very boring person.  Sometimes I sit in front of my computer working and don't say a word for hours. So I want to be more creative.  I am not a crafter but I figure there are things I can do that will allow me to use a different side of my brain.  My Mom was a great knitter.  In her honor I am going to knit a sweater.  I found what looks like a relatively easy pattern so I am going to try it.  I thought if it came out ok, I might try it again with variations.  I don't want to get too ahead of myself so I will try the first one and see how it goes.

 

• Each day I want to end my day by looking back and finding something up beat or satisfying from the day so I end it on a good note.

• I will of course continue to read.  In fact, I have been reading many books that I have not shared with you.  But I will get you up to speed on my lists. I don't think I would ever sleep if I couldn't read before bed.

• Lastly, I am going to count my blessings and try to stay upbeat.