recycling

These flowers



are



these flowers.

my dream

I had a dream last night that has been stuck in my mind all day so I decided to draw a part of it. I used to be able to draw much better than this so pardon my drawing. In my dream B and I were on vacation somewhere. We decided to take a tour. I think we started out on a bus full of people but ended up just the two of us traveling on some kind of large open wagon. The trip was very long through winding country roads. B started to complain that the trip was long and boring but I knew that somewhere along the way we were supposed to come to a historic house. Just as I spotted the George Someone house in the distance, B spotted our original departure point - some kind of apartment complex or resort - down in a valley. He started running toward it and yelled at me to follow but I wanted to see the historic house. He came back and stood by while I entered the house via a set of wooden steps. The floor was hexagon tiles like a honeycomb. Little piles of dried brown leaves sat in various spots on the floor. Opposite the stairs was a door leading back outside. To the right was a china cabinet filled with lustreware which I collect. But to the left was a china refrigerator. A refrigerator made of fine china. The doors opened from the middle and the handle was serpentine and made of gold. Inside it was full of food stored in exquisite little antique dishes. In my dream I could see all these dishes in detail but when I awoke it all started to fade.



This is a terrible drawing but it is an earring that I designed in a dream a few months ago. The outside is a lacy wire wrap with an indistinct shape. The stone is a many faceted pale milky green stone. After I had this dream I went to a jewelry show and I saw a necklace that looked almost exactly like the one I dreamed. I have designed many lovely clothing items in my dreams also, but almost all fades upon awakening. I think living in a dream world may not be so bad.

shades of red and orange

fresh orange yogurt tart

Yum. The crust is ground almonds, flour, butter and sugar. The filling is honey Greek yogurt, gelatin powder and half and half.


spiced pumpkin rolls rising before baking


Italian stuffed Peppadew peppers

Wegman's made these. I baked them.

wooed by wegman's

Like the siren wooing sailors to their destruction, Wegman's seduces me to destroy my bank account. This year I bought most of my Christmas gifts along with my groceries in just a few hours at this store racking up my biggest Wegman's bill ever. Today Wegman's lured me to buy more. I bought this CuisineLite magazine and more groceries than I really needed.


Peppered steak with spinach and tomatoes with potato galettes


my version

I didn't use peppercorns. Instead I used Penzey's Chicago steak seasoning. The bourbon mustard sauce turned out delish. The spinach is flavored with lemon juice and garlic.


As I was checking out I noticed this display of suitcases. My suitcase is on it's last legs and is such a nondescript color that I don't always recognize it at baggage claim. For just $29.99 I bought this suitcase which seems to be fairly well made and will be a stand-out at baggage claim.

day out

The day after Christmas B needed to exchange a pair of jeans at Old Navy and we wanted to stop at Best Buy to pick up a web cam. We went to Walden Galleria. I was able to avoid this busy mall during December except for getting stuck in mall traffic a bit every night on my way home from work. This mall was already big and has expanded a lot in the last few years by adding on a new wing with upscale stores and four or five restaurants. Also several more big anchor stores. They have built several new parking garages and we still had a terrible time finding somewhere to park. I think everyone in Buffalo and Canada turned up for the sales.

So we are in Old Navy, the line is fifty people long. I've lost Bill. I call. I text. No response. I pick up a couple camisoles in colors I don't already have and a cute gray tank top because I can't resist anything in that sweatshirt gray color. You can never have too much of that. I get in that line. It moves along quickly because there are eight cashiers. I have a clear view of register 8 from my place in line. There is a little flurry of activity at register 8 so I look and see a poor little maybe three or four year old boy standing in a puddle of puke that he had just barfed up all over his sneakers. He just stood there looking so sad that this didn't bother me as much as I would have expected. Watching the clean-up gave me something to do while standing in line. After my purchase I stood around the front of the store waiting for B. I finally spotted him way in the back of the store. He was heading to the dressing room to try on his jeans. So then we stood in the line again.
We followed up with dinner at Bravo, a trip to the Verizon store and Sherlock Holmes at Transit Regal Cinema. I spotted L'Occitane on our walk to Bravo. I didn't even know we had one in our mall. I had bought this honey and lemon cologne at L'Occitane in Scottsdale a couple years back and loved it. I ran in to buy another bottle and was delighted to get it on sale and in this precious bag. Plus I had a nice chat with the sales girl who noticed I was wearing an NCCC hoodie and she had just finished up a semester there and thinks it's a great school which pleased B to no end when I told him.

feed me

awaiting Christmas dinner

Since there were only three of us celebrating Christmas and no set time to eat, I had plenty of time to put together a nice dinner. I made whole wheat yeast rolls the day before.



Beef tenderloin, twice baked potatoes, corn and broccoli casserole, red, white and green beans and beet salad with walnuts and Emmenthal cheese the day of.


Also found the time to make this chocolate log which turned out perfect and perfectly delicious.

christmas kitties

Smudgie under the tree with the other animals. I have taken him to the vet for his allergies and his eyes are looking much better now.


Brody with elf...or is it Tess? Who knows?


Tess under the tree...or is it Brody? Who knows?


Brody and Tess getting chummy with Uncle Sam


the Brodster


Uncle Sam


the Tess monster


Poor Uncle Smudge never did warm up to the kitties and retreated to the guest bedroom where he spent his Christmas