Dreary Sunday

 The weather hasn't been all that great today, although it's fairly warm - in the 50s - and we had no snow on the ground this morning. That's always a plus, when there's no new snow to measure!

I have been busy all day doing laundry and going through files in the basement. It works well to be in the basement while the laundry is getting done, and I have made huge progress getting files cleaned out and sorting stuff. I find I'm rearranging things constantly, with the main purpose in mind of having things better organized so I can find whatever I'm looking for more quickly. Trouble is, rearranging isn't always a good thing. I tend to look first in whatever place an item was before I reorganized and sometimes don't remember where the "more logical" storage place is. A lot of what I'm tossing is basically obsolete now, like old calendars, clippings, and recipes I've saved over the years. Now when I want a recipe, I look for it on line and can usually find a quick, easy one that is perfectly adequate and may even be better than those from the 1950s or earlier, if they were handed down from family. Mostly, recipes today are less complicated. But there are some that I am saving - some from my Scotch aunts and that my mother used to make that I don't want to part with; some were favorites of mine in years past that I might try again, just to see if they were really as good as I remember. Some take me back a lifetime (or two).

There were different stages in my life that required different approaches to cooking. There were the early years with lots of entertaining, pot-luck office gatherings, and wanting to do something impressive; then there were the years when the kids were growing up and food became centered around growing boys' appetites (and teaching them to cook), and because I was working, sometimes more than one job at a time, there was little time for being fancy. Then, after the boys were on their own and I met Fred, I adapted somewhat to his preferences, but I also introduced him to a different sort of diet than he was used to either growing up or as a bachelor. He was a most appreciative customer and promptly put on about 30 lbs! Later, of course, we both wanted to "eat healthy" and keep our weight in check, so that meant another learning curve in cooking. Now, there's just me. There are no restrictions for any reason. I eat whatever I want, when I want. Why worry about cholesterol or my waistline at my age? Nobody cares if I'm a size 16 or a size 6, and I am fortunate enough not to have health issues. Some days I'm ravenous, so I eat; other days I couldn't care less about food, so I "graze." My need for recipes is limited, for sure. Most of what I cook these days I can do with my eyes closed, and sometimes it tastes like that's exactly what I did. So I seldom entertain, sparing my friends from my concoctions, and only offer wine and maybe some cheese or chips. That said, I'm keeping very few recipes, and those will probably be tossed soon in another round of "cleaning out," and I'll depend on memory, experimentation, and the internet.

I had an interesting response after posting Tangeni's painting the other day. I never knew Andy Rudin paints. I knew his mother did, and some of her paintings are hanging in the West Danville Church. Today Andy sent me a link to his website where some examples are displayed (see right), and I found them very interesting. Click HERE to see more of them.

I'm sure there are other artists we don't know about here at the pond, and if you would like me to post some of your work, I'd be happy to do that. Perhaps I'll post some of my own sometime. We'll see. Watching Tangeni on Friday sort of inspired me to pick up a brush again - to do something more creative than staining cedar lumber or touching up trim around the house!