soup dupe

 

I thought the frost was a little much this morning - a little too white - but then I realized it was snow. Not much!

I didn't have a plan for supper today; I've been making soup almost every day during Lent - and then I got an idea. Pacific brand makes a red pepper and tomato soup in a carton, which is Very Nice. Late last summer I froze whole red peppers and fresh from the garden tomato wedges, and they've been in the freezer all this time. I would look at them and not know what to do. But I thought I might try to copy this soup. So I defrosted them, simmered them with two cups of vegetable broth for forty minutes, and smoothed it all out in the blender. I added some cream, basil and a bit of honey because the peppers did give it some bitterness. But, with a tuna melt sandwich, it was dinner! 

a good idea

 Last month at the library, we wrapped up some of our books in white paper, with a heart sticker and pink labels with room for a book review. A blind date with a book, we called it. It wasn't our idea, but Suzy Q wanted to try it. It was not a total blind date - we also pasted short paragraphs from the books on the outside, so folks would get some idea of what might be within. And to anyone who checked out one of these, we gave a baggie with Valentine candy. It was more popular than I expected! Some of my co-workers chose popular fiction to wrap up, but I grabbed a lot of non-fiction and some older novels. 

Today I saw a review I hadn't read, for Random Harvest, by James Hilton. He was a favorite of my father's, so I wondered if anyone else might like it. The reviewer said she realized she must be a lover of older books, because she loved it!  We're going to have a drawing soon. 

not related to the library

fur and foolishness

 Can you guess what this picture reminds me of?

I think it was when I saw the "ribbons" hanging down the side -

Lizzie's, of course, is much more elegant.

quiet trust and faithful labor

 It's the feast of St. Joseph - a day later than usual because Sundays take precedence over saint's days.

Almighty God, who called Saint Joseph to a life of quiet trust and faithful labor,
grant us the grace to imitate Christ's foster father, that we may be pillars 
of patience and integrity in our homes and places of work, through Christ our Lord.

- from Magnificat, March 2023

open windows

 A fresh-air kind of day. 

greening

The snow has vanished - it's fifty one degrees. Tomorrow is the feast of St. Patrick, and the grass is suddenly green!

another snow day

The weather people said a big snowfall was coming, from Monday, through Wednesday. It would start with rain, then snow mixed in, until the real snow began - six to ten inches predicted. 

After raining most of the night, snow was supposed falling around eight this morning and continue heavily all day. Our town offices decided yesterday afternoon to close for the day.

I waited all morning for the snow to commence, for that cozy feeling to come. But Accuweather kept changing the snow times: to eleven, twelve, then two. I couldn't see any whiteness in the sky that always precedes a snowfall; it was just rainy, gray and overcast; I was not convinced we'd have snow at all! Finally it did begin in earnest around three thirty. 

The ground is very wet, and it's a few degrees above freezing; it isn't likely we'll get six inches. The businesses which closed could have stayed open. Other parts of New England did get hit hard. But here, it was nice to have an extra day off.

I made some rye bread, and did a bit of knitting. It was restful and quiet, and I appreciated it.

the real thing

My brother actually has a customer who works for Kerrygold. And at Christmas the man gave him ten or so coupons for the cheese and the butter -  Free Coupons - did I say that? Some for cheese, some for butter.

I didn't want to wipe out the store, so I used two each week until they were gone. We ate the cheddar, but the butter is safely in the freezer. 

like a child at home

The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days;
O may your house be my abode
And all my work be praise.

There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest,
But like a child at home. 

-  Isaac Watts

signs of life

 I went outside looking for new life.

some buds on the crabapple

the rhododendron

the daffodils! It's a little soon, isn't it?

"It isn't quite a dead garden," she cried out softly to herself. "Even if the roses are dead, there are other things alive."

                                                      - from The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

surprised by three books

 I finished The Middle Window. It was a very compelling story, well written, as all her work is. But it took a turn and went into the past, to two young lovers not unlike the modern-day ones in the earlier part, and there was sort of a thing going on where the couple from the past - the husband of which was involved in the Battle of Culloden - they and their vision for their land were living on in the later, modern era couple. For a brief time the present-day (well, not exactly, the book was written in the 1930s) couple's minds were taken over by "memories" from the past. It was a little far fetched and fanciful, even for me, and I certainly didn't expect it from this author. 

Sarah Clarkson's book for this month is The Secret Garden, which I've read once, a few years back - not as a child. I didn't actually read a lot of classic children's books as a child, but I'm happy to make up for it now and then. Anyway, I'm surprised at how much I am liking this, more than I did the first time. And Beowulf! I never imagined I'd want to read that, but there's a category in the reading challenge for an epic poem and for some reason this is what came to mind. And I actually like it! I've got the Seamus Heaney version from the library. 

the blessed desert of Lent

 "God is very present in the deserts of our lives. It is in the desert that God revealed himself to Abraham. It is in our dryness and desolation that God is often working the most marvelous transformations. Let us rejoice in this blessed desert of Lent where Christ reveals himself."

                                                -  Magnificat,  March 2023

bark from the brave little cherry tree

burrowing

 Our pretty snowfall melted on Thursday, as always is the way in March. But more came today, with some sleet mixed in, It wasn't as bad as it could have been; it didn't get cold enough to be icy. But it looks nice.

Indoors, I made this cake and froze it for Easter Sunday dessert. Today, though, I used a gluten-free flour and sugar substitute - not erythritol! bad stuff! - but an allulose/monk fruit mixture I've used before. The only sugar in it is from the chocolate chips I put in. I like to experiment with recipes I'm very familiar with, to see if we still like it with other ingredients. 

Meanwhile, Daisy continues to get into everything. This afternoon she tried to burrow underneath a throw on the back of a chair; I didn't move fast enough.