What a morning this has been! Cold and clear, fading stars twinkling their last as the sun comes up in a blaze of color. Pinks, lavender, reds, dandelion yellow raining down in the air as the street was awash with a riot of hues and the stars said goodbye while the birds and the sun sang hello.
I enjoyed the birdsong this morning as I strolled outside. Through the winter some birds stay around, which I love. The dearth of sounds in Maine winters, except for creaking branches and occasional branches breaking under strain of ice, and the scrape of plows, was something I never really got used to. I love that there is some birdsong all through the year in Georgia.
But in February all the migrating birds come back! When I opened the front door today to view the sunrise, the riot of sounds was a delightful wave of bird songs and calls. The rooster next door of course was doing his cock-a-doodle-doo thing, and in the trees, alive with movement in the gloaming, were birds singing and calling. When it lightened up enough, I spotted this cardinal having a party of one in the highest treetop, singing to whoever would listen:
Friday is payday. I have a good amount of food left so I'm not going to do a huge shopping today. I'll cook what I have. This includes:
Proteins/Dinners:
Frozen salmon
Frozen shrimp
Leftovers. We're having dinner after church today and they allow us to pack some leftovers to take home. Usually it's chicken.
Lunches
Lentil soup
Crudite: radishes, carrots, celery
Veggies/Sides
Spaghetti squash is in the crock pot. It comes out pillow soft. And I don't need to mess with it prior to cooking which is dangerous. The rind is thick and it's hard to cut. I just poke a few holes in it and pop it in as is, cover, and set the crock to high.
Peppers. I got a great deal on some colored peppers. Red/yellow/green in a bag for 99 cents. I bought two bags. One pepper went into the lentil soup. The others are being sauted and will be mixed with quinoa for salads or mixed with eggs for dinner or breakfast.
Eggplant. I also got a deal of two eggplants for 99 cents. I bought two bags. One became a caponata last week. This week I'll do the same, and mix in some quinoa for protein. I can also mix it with the spaghetti squash.
Greens. I still have some greens and will make salad to go with the salmon or the shrimp.
Dessert/Snacks
Fruit. Grapes and Strawberries. And whatever else is on sale this afternoon when I go to the store after church
Edamame nuts, a high fiber, low carb snack that is pretty crunchy (mouth feel) and pretty filling (stomach feel).
Popcorn. I don't have a microwave or popcorn machine. I just make it the old fashioned way on the stovetop.
I'm deliberately not buying potatoes or gluten free bread this week. We'll see how it goes.
So... I broke down and bought a stepstool. I can't reach the top of the shower curtain rings to change out the liner, and I can't reach the curtain tops to take them down and wash. The days of climbing precariously on some stack of books or a rolling chair are gone. The days of standing on tiptoe on the tub lip are gone too. I'm not limber, I'm too clumsy, and I live alone. It's foolish to take chances.
I guess I really am over the hill and picking up speed on the downslide!
Enjoy your week! Meanwhile enjoy these pics of fresh wildflowers, just starting to bloom in the yard
And this unknown guy, hundreds of feet away, he looked pretty sizable but I can't figure out what kind of bird it is
4 comments:
Beautiful shot of the cardinal!
I've never heard of cooking a spaghetti squash in the crock pot but it sounds interesting. No liquid added? How long does it take to cook? Have you ever cooked sweet potatoes in the crock pot?
Why are you avoiding potatoes and gluten-free bread this week? (imagine me asking that in a mildly-curious-and-a-little-concerned tone of voice as opposed to a demanding-to-know-in-a-bossy-way tone.) :)
Good for you for being wise and safe! When my husband and I first married he made me the safety officer of our home and I had to give weekly safety talks. I did such a poor job I got demoted. LOL (imagine my husband using the demanding-in-a-bossy-way tone and you can see why.) :D However, he did succeed in making me more safety-conscious, which was his point. So did falling in my parents' driveway and fracturing my elbow in two places - in the middle of a move. Miraculously, neither of the fractures were serious and I didn't even require a cast, but I took it as a real wake-up call how just one moment of carelessness can turn your life upside down. I never go down stairs without holding onto a railing now.
Could the beautiful bird at the end be a common grackle? I thought so because of the greenish sheen on his breast, but he's a mighty fat one if that's what he is!
Spaghetti squash: I do add a bit of water just so the rind doesn't burn to the bottom. Cooking time depends on the kind of crockpot you have. I got a crockpot that was free, but it's old, the interior bowl is HEAVY and it's huge. It is very heavy for me to lift out of the bottom cupboard (it doesn't help that the handles are broken.) SO I bought a spiffy smaller one. One problem: the smaller one takes literally twice as long to cook anything, lower BTUs. Comparing: I make both sweet and white potatoes in the crockpot (I add water, no need to poke holes) and one layer of 6 potatoes takes 2 hours in the large crock and 4 hours in the small one. I test for doneness with the spag squash if the knife goes into the rind easily. I haven't timed it but, like an hour and a half to 2 hours in the large crock?
GF bread: it costs $5. I'm sick of paying that much for a loaf of bread. Potatoes: trying to go lower carb. I managed it this summer and the weight fell off.
Safety officer: LOL!
Someone else asked if it was a grackle. I looked it up. It isn't but I did eventually discover it is a European Starling, info here https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling/overview
Thanks for the crock pot info!
Low carb: I lost 40 lbs a couple years ago in 4 months and it was amazing, but it's so hard to keep up long term. So looking forward to that glorified body! :)
Apparently the European Starling and common grackle get mistaken for one another
often...found websites that actually differentiate the two. :)
thanks for the info about the starling v the grackle! I was mixed up too, after people suggested it might be a grackle! Phew, I'm not crazy
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