Planning meals

As we're eating one meal, I'm usually planning my next one.  Cliff thinks that's weird, but that's because he never had to prepare all the meals.  I've explained to him that some things take longer to cook, some things have to be thawed, and you can't just go into the kitchen half-an-hour before dinner and wonder, "What are we going to have for dinner?"
By the way, I notice over on Meesha's blog, both in his entry about the visit to California and in the comment section, that there are people who actually consider restaurants a big factor in where they live.  I guess it's because I've lived in the boonies most of my married life and cooked most of our food from scratch.  Somehow I just can't imagine that being a factor in where I reside.  Culture wouldn't enter into the picture, either.  We're not big on culture around here.  But I digress.
At least once a week we'll have salmon at dinner (our noonday meal) because it's supposed to be especially good for us; we buy it frozen in individual four-ounce servings.  I microwave a potato and fix broccoli or spinach, and viola, we have a quick, easy, and nutritious meal.  I can do that meal really fast, with a minimum of fuss.  
We have our low-fat chicken jambalaya and chicken gumbo often.  Either of those is a meal all by itself.  Both of the recipes require tomatoes, and so does the chili I make often in cold weather.  This is why I'm going to run out of my home-canned tomatoes within four to six weeks, and then I'll be buying canned tomatoes again until July when, hopefully, I'll have producing tomato plants.  
This rambling entry was all brought about by my trying to decide what to cook today.  I have some low-fat bran muffins in the oven for breakfast, but I'm not sure yet about dinner.  I'm leaning toward Tuna-noodle casserole with some sort of vegetable on the side.  For Cliff's work-lunch and my supper, there's just enough hamburger stew left for the two of us.

Good grief, how is it that we're getting any reception on our television?  There's about a quarter-inch of ice on everything.

Wordless Wednesday: Ice!

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Today we walked

Cliff and I walk a half-hour daily; it helps us with our weight, and it's actually vital for him, since he had open heart surgery. We walk briskly in our pasture, up and down hills, enjoying the view.

Once in awhile, to avoid mud or snow, we have to drive a mile to our little community park and walk on the track there.

Nine days ago, we had sleet followed by freezing rain, which meant there'd be no walking anywhere.

The ice lingered all week long. School was out until Friday. There was a good bit of thawing Friday, but it promptly froze back into a regular ice-skating rink Friday night. And then we received four inches of snow on top of the ice Saturday.

Now, I did get a little action by taking the dog back in the pasture, tromping through the snow in my boots and trying to avoid icy areas. But it wasn't the regular, brisk, timed walk to which I'm accustomed. Cliff works out during his lunch break at work, in their well-equipped exercise room, but he missed our walk too.

This morning, he said, "I think we'll drive down to the park. Maybe they cleared off the parking lot, and we can walk around there, at least."

It was not to be, for we found there another ice-skating rink, and returned home.

We live just off a little highway that is dry and clear; Cliff suggested we simply walk up that road for fifteen minutes, then turn around and come back.

That's what we did, with Sadie on her leash and halti. Oh, it felt SO good to be walking again. I guess we'll be walking the highway for a few days, because the forecast doesn't look as though things will be thawing any time soon.

Finally! We made it to Wal mart for groceries!

I know, I shouldn't get so excited about a trip to the grocery store. But we were out of so many things, I was getting desperate.

Oh, there was plenty here in the house to keep us from starving for at least two weeks, I'm sure. The son-in-law brought milk last night, in case the granddaughters needed cereal for breakfast. But I hate to be without fresh fruits and veggies. Both girls have already had grapes and a banana, just since we got home. See those bananas? Eight pounds of them, and I'll guarantee you they'll be gone within five days. No, it won't be only the girls eating them! Cliff and I eat lots of fruit.

School is out yet again. The girls slept in at home, since their big brother was there to watch them. We couldn't take them shopping because we had to take the pickup (four-wheel drive), so obviously there wasn't room for them. We unloaded groceries and then Cliff went to pick them up.

The ice is falling off trees and power lines; hopefully our yard will be thawed before this weekend's projected snow storm arrives.

I read a thread on an equine message board this morning where someone's horse had fallen on ice and broken its leg. That's scary stuff, and I could hardly wait to get out and check on our horses, just to make sure they're OK, after reading that. They've done plenty of slipping and sliding, even though they're staying in a relatively small area.

ice-bound, but blessed

These country roads are so slick, the mailman didn't even get here yesterday. What happened to that old oath they used to take... "neither rain, nor sleet..." something like that.

The temperature is around 10 degrees, and the granddaughters are already out playing on the ice. They have black-and-blue bruises on their knees from falling so much on Monday.

I hope I don't give folks the impression that the girls are difficult to have around; actually, they're great. Oh, they have the usual sibling tiffs, three or four times a day, but Cliff and I know how to nip that in the bud, so it doesn't last long.

Honestly, my main problem is I'm such a loner; I like my space, and I hate to share my computer (it's an only-child thing). Add to that the fact that I need to be outside every day for a while to keep from mentally and physically "rusting". And at my age, I don't want to take the risk of falling, so I'm getting pretty rusty.

Funny thing is, it's only about eighty yards from our house to a main highway that is very negotiable now. But our Mercury Grand Marquis is so helpless on ice, eighty yards may as well be five miles.

I'm thinking that if school is in session tomorrow (and Lord knows it had better be), Cliff and I will take the old four-wheel-drive pickup and get groceries. We're out of milk, Kleenex, paper towels, bananas, apples... well, you get the picture. We have plenty to eat, but we really do need a trip to the store.

ways to spend an icy day

Granddaughters are here today because it's Martin Luther King Day; they'll be here tomorrow too...no school because of icy roads. Monica's outside playing, even though the temperatures are below 20. Natalie was outside earlier, but opted to stay inside watching TV from the comfort of my bed this time around, and was lulled to sleep.