Happy Birthday for me!

My big plans. . .



Cafe Au Lait and Breakfast Crepes at Crepes Parisiennes.





The last moment for a dying snowman. He is going down, the Pittsburgh heatwave is too much for him.




Next stop, Phipps Conservatory, to enjoy the orchids, and lush greeness.














Surprise dinner destination, LePommier! It is a romantic little French Bistro in the South Side of Pittsburgh. We had mussels, and a perfect dinner of duck with huckleberry and hazelnut sauce. So wonderful!



Friday agenda, CHECK! We did everything on my list, and then some and it was fantastic!

My parents came for a visit yesterday, and took us to this lovely little restaurant.






I had a great birthday! I feel so so loved!

embracing french

i have been in a french mood lately. . .not sure what the gravitational pull is, but it is there.

Craving crepes from Crepes Parisiennes in Oakland, but haven't ventured yet, as the lines there are really long, and they aren't open very often. Maybe my honey and I will go there on Friday when I take the day off from work.

I have been sipping Les Confitures a l'Ancienne drinking chocolate from Mon Aimee Chocolate shop.

I want to get a Elastomoule Madeleines so that I can bake the little fluffy cakes at home.

I have been reading these. . .



watched this over the weekend. . .




And I have these books coming in the mail soon.

Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery



French Milk



now if I could just speak the language, since I took four quarters of it at Ohio State! :-)

"got to let your soul shine"

The weather is icky, and I am a wimp. I love to walk but I am opposed to the cold. I feel like I have pinned up physical energy that needs to be released or I shall explode. Must. go. to. the. gym. tomorrow. yay. I did take advantage of my free time being stuck indoors this weekend digging out my art journaling stuff and doing a few pages. I pulled out pictures from summer in Boston, and that made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I made sausage and lentil soup, that I pulled off of a recipe website to make today. It was tasty. Had freshly grated cheese and a crusty whole wheat baguette from Whole Foods. Perfect winter perk me up! Being in the kitchen takes my mind off of things, and when my creations turn out the way they are supposed to, it gives me a little confidence. If I can handle a Martha Stewart cookie recipe, then maybe the bigger things in life aren't really that hard.





A lot of folks are sick or crabby or blah right now. Gotta keep the positive energy flowing, so that I do not let my soul shine fizzle out. There is a song called Soul Shine performed by Warren Haynes; live at Bonnaroo, and my friend Carrie and I used to love to listen to it while we were driving around back roads. In fact, she and her husband love this song, so much that they danced to this song at their wedding.

Here are some of the lyrics as far as I can tell and Warren Haynes wrote this song:

When you can't find the light
That guides you through a cloudy day
When the stars ain't shining bright
And it feels like you've lost your way
When those candle light of home
Burn so very far away
Boy you got to let your soul shine
Just like my daddy used to say

Chorus
He used to say the soulshine
It's better than sunshine
It's better than moonshine
Damn sure better than rain
Well now people don't mind
We all get this way sometimes
Got to let your soul shine
Shine 'til the break of day

I grew up thinkin' that i had it made
Gonna make it on my own
Life can take the strongest man
And make him feel so alone
Now and then i feel a cold wind
Blowin' through my aching bones
I think back to what my daddy said
He said, boy, in the darkness before the dawn. . .

Sometimes a man can feel this emptiness
Like a woman has robbed him of his very soul
A woman too, god knows, she can feel like this
But hey, when your world seems cold
You got to let your spirit take control

If you are in a crappy mood and need a little help, listen to this song. It works! Ask my old co-workers, I used to make them listen to this song all the time!

i likey. . .

i went to the strip district for a little bit. it will always be one of my favorite pittsburgh places. i like the way it feels to walk around there. it has a good vibe and makes me smile. i started out without knowing that it was drizzling rain, so i didn't spend much time there.








The holidays are over and tomorrow it is time to go back to work. No more freebie vacation days. it is kind of dreary outside and it is chilly. i am avoiding the tv because i usually keep it on when i am home alone, for background noise. today, though, i just want peace. OK, spring. . .ready when you are! Actually, I guess this weather is all right. It makes you appreciate the nice days more. Instead of wishing your life away endure the cold and be glad you are here!

snapshots

Embee was being a turd today. She likes the new comforter!



My love and I posed for a New Year's Eve self portrait. We spent the night in, with CNN on the tele, a wonderful steak dinner (marinated in wine) and a little bubbly.



Yes, I am one of those people that takes lots of pics of the cat. I can't help it, she is too cute.



I love this hat, I picked it up at a little boutique in Pittsburgh called Sugar.



This may be the best tea I have ever tasted. It is called Bangkok Lemongrass from Teavana. It is heavenly! Citrus and vanilla.

whiskers on kittens

christmas i had a terrible head cold, so the camera was missing in action, which is sooooo unlike me. it was gone in a flash and there was lots of driving, cough drops and not much sleep. i am thinking next christmas. . .a beach, calming waves, peacefulness and some sunshine. how does that sound??

peace

i caught a moment with izzy in the car while her mom was in the grocery store. the light from the parking lot glowing on her little face. so innocent and peaceful. so beautiful.

things are a little bit blurry. . .

Life is so so short and there is so much hate and ugliness in the world that we have to hold on to the perfection of a moment. Hold on to the rightness of a touch. Believe in the magic of love.

fun with pomanders

pomander fun tip from Stacey: poke a hole with a toothpick before shoving a clove in it, saving fingertips from pain. I made the type that don't last too long, because if I wanted to make the real deal I would have had to start earlier to have them for Christmas. Since my time machine is not working right now, the fake pomander will have to do.

a stop along the way. . .

There is an abandoned house that i love that I see on my drive between Ohio and Pennsylvania. I have stopped before and took pics of this house, there is something that draws me in. I was shivering from the cool wind, and my honey was sleeping in the passenger seat. I had to stop on Thanksgiving when it was a the perfect time of day, before dinner, when the lighting was just right, I had to stop again. I walked through the mushy mud and snow to get to the porch and take some quick photos. The soul of this place shines through the rubble and the wear of the years. The windows and the doors open to the world, accepting the light and the darkness. Open, with nothing to hide.

Wow! That's Meaty Chili!

no picture available at this time
Wow! That's Meaty Chili!

two cans of diced tomatoes (Rotel is good or fire roasted)
1 1/2 lbs of lean ground beef
3 different types of beans
(chili beans, black beans, and kidney beans, for example)
Large bottle of Spicy V8
one large sweet onion chopped
one large green pepper chopped
Aleppo pepper and chili pepper to taste

Place large pot on stove. Start by pouring V8 into the pot. Brown and drain your beef and add to pot as well. Add all the other ingredients. Be sure to open the cans of beans before placing them into the pot. Otherwise, the flavor just won't be right. Cook on medium heat for a half an hour. Simmer on low for another half hour. Serve with dollop of fat-free sour cream and chipolte (or however you spell it) shredded cheddar and bake up some yummy crescent rolls. Makes about 10 servings.

it's the most ________ time of the year. (fill in the blank with the appropriate word)

I just experienced the loveliness of human kindness while racing though the isles of Costco. OK, not really. I had to do some deep breathing exercises to avoid ramming people with my monster cart. Rudeness. People are flat out rude. I don't care who they are, the woman in the motorized wheel chair thing, especially rude. She was parked sideways in the main isle, so that no one could go past her, and if you tried she would move up or back just a little bit so that she was sure to block you. She was like a goalie with that thing. I wanted to hit her, but I refrained. So, the human kindness was there, it was me, not pushing her out of her chair. Gosh, I'm nice.
This time of the year can be unbearable. The bright part of the day is spent inside at work, and when you can come out of your cave on the weekend, the crowds can cause this girl to get a little hostile. Planning, traveling, baking, family, fa la la la la and the stupid holiday shoppers fa la la, la la la. I think I am going to do most of my shopping on-line this year, fa la la, la la la, la la LA!






It is so easy to lose sight of what the holidays COULD be. Not that they are EVER the way that they are depicted on "It's a Wonderful Life", at least not that I have witnessed first hand. Would we even really want it to be like that? It's more like "Dysfunction Junction". It feels more normal with the drama. The Kodak moments last about as long as a shutter on a camera, CLICK, Done.
What I would like the holidays to be is a time to enjoy the company of the ones we love and to see people we rarely see and wish you could more often. I miss my Jersey girl, and my Izzybug.
It doesn't matter where we are or how it happens, just as long as we are all together. Cherish the precious time! THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL! The petty crap that people hold onto is asinine. If you kick the bucket tomorrow, who really cares that your aunt made a comment about your living in sin with your live-in LOV-A???
Here's another example of human kindness. . .yesterday, a minivan or some SUV type of vehicle backed right into my vehicle in the middle of Carson Street on the South Side of Pittsburgh yesterday evening. They hit my vehicle and stayed on the front end until the light changed and then. . .kept driving. They didn't even acknowledge that they had hit me. Well, have yourself a merry little Christmas, hit and run jerk. Have a jolly big mug of cat poo coffee.

cozy cup of cocoa

Vanilla marshmallows make creamy hot chocolate even better. Mmmmm!
This fun purple mug was picked up at the Fiesta Outlet store in WV a few years ago, it is one of my favorites.

i heart pumpkin

Embee is so funny. I caught her in mid-launch onto my lap. Look at that form.






Pumpkin scones that I made today.




Pumpkin smoothie

1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons of Splenda
4 ice cubes

stick in blender and prepare to be happy




We made a pumpkin tart from a recipe that we found in Everyday Food.