Friday, January 27, 2012

Just not productive

Maybe it's the weather or the time of year but I am finding it hard to be productive these days - except when it comes to food. I've been cooking up a storm all week and the fun continued today with 16 blueberry corn muffins and a peach blueberry cobbler. For supper, I'll be making cheeseburger macaroni so we're not talking low-calorie fare here!
But it is cozy food and a good thing too - we're expecting stormy weather this evening. Snow, followed by freezing rain and rain - a big general mess. I went out today to pick up some potting soil for my new packets of veggie seeds (I know it's too early to start anything but I'd love to have a few pots of herbs indoors) and some yogurt and was nearly knocked off my feet by the crowds. Umm, storms in January are just par for the course in Nova Scotia. So for 12 or so hours, you might have to stay home - and eight of those hours are overnight! We're not talking emergency here, folks.
But then, I can say that knowing I have a full fridge, full freezer, plenty of milk, canned goods and fruit and vegetables in. I probably have a six-month supply of everything in - yes, even tea, chocolate and coffee. Especially tea, chocolate and coffee. It's just the way my family works. My parents lived that way and so do my siblings. We use everything but we always feel a need to have some extra in, just in case. When they talk about family trees, they weren't kidding when it came to mine - we have to be descended from at least a few squirrels!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

January Blues

All in all, January hasn't been a bad month but for some reason, I tend to slow down too much. It seems everything is more of an effort (just getting to the car requires a wardrobe change - coats, boots and other assorted winter paraphernalia) so maybe it's all that extra work to get anything done that's making me so tired these days.
And when I feel that way, there are few things more soothing than a warm mug of my favourite brew nestled in my hands. I can't imagine getting through this time of year without a cup of coffee in the morning, tea through the rest of the day and the occasional yummy drink (hot chocolate, cappuccino, lattes) in between.
It's my therapy in a cup.
Of course, the occasional cupcake or chocolate chip cookie has its own medicinal properties ...

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Almost ready

I am almost ready to give up the Christmas food. Every year, I buy all the traditional foods and every year, I find us eating all that stuff well into January. This year is no exception except that I cut back - a lot - and there's still a ton of food around. We're eating really well (too well - there's diets in our future) but for some reason, there's always too many goodies at this time of year.
It also doesn't help that the shops have been putting on amazing food sales, which means I've been stocking up like a squirrel. Everything's on offer except the Earl Grey Tassimo discs that I have just run out of - grrrr .... not that I really need them but they go so well with triple chocolate candy cane cookies ...

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Yuck!

As you can probably tell, by the simple name of this blog, I am a big fan of tea and chocolate.
But NOT tea-flavored chocolate.
During the holidays, I bought an intriguing bar of dark chocolate that contained green Earl Grey tea. It was pricey - $4 for an 85 gram bar - but I figured I liked chocolate and Earl Grey tea so how could I go wrong? Well, I went very wrong.
I knew I was in trouble when I opened the box containing the bar and was hit in the nostrils by an overwhelming scent of Earl Grey - and this was with the foil inner wrapping intact.
I still opened the package and ate a block, which turned my stomach. It was disgusting. I threw the rest of the bar into the trash. I'll keep my tea and chocolate quite separate from now on, thank you very much!

No gardening here today

It's -4 C with high winds and blowing snow - the sort of day you're glad not to have to go out. A good day to do laundry, cleaning and all the work you've been putting off - well, at least in my case!
It's also a good day to drink tea. I've been really enjoying a cranberry black tea from Upton lately - it has a nice subtle cranberry flavour that's hard to find and I would recommend it to those who enjoy flavoured teas.
Well, it's back to the laundry ...

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Garden fun!

Canadian Saver mentioned that it was wild that I was eating greens on New Year's Day and I have to agree. Here's a little update from my garden.
I had Swiss chard and onion greens in my salad plus I harvested a few onions to have at a later date. I also had some cherry tomatoes left over from the fall harvest so we had them too. I'm not all that fond of Swiss chard but it's a real survivor and it lasts until late in the season. I'm hearing kale is the same way so I'll grow some of that next year as well.
Oh, and my cabbages, brussell sprouts and broccoli are still thriving as well - they're just not ready to be harvested yet! I don't think anyone bothered to tell them that it's way past harvest time so I am just waiting to see what happens. Because most of the bugs are dead, the plants look gorgeous - no munched-away bits - so who knows? One thing I am learning from this is to never give up on your garden in this region. Admittedly, we planted early and late - the early stuff did not do well and the late stuff came from some cheap plants they were selling off at the grocery store and wasn't in the best of shape during the warmer seasons. Now that it's chilly, they seem to be quite happy and I do think the lack of insects is helping with that.
It's also not hurting the pansies and creeping myrtle, which are also still blooming in the front yard ...

Monday, January 2, 2012

More Fun!

While the stores were jammed on Boxing Day, there was hardly anyone about in the days after - and that's when the real bargains can be found. I headed to Walmart today and pleased to find all the holiday chocolate on for 75 per cent off. Yes, that meant chocolate initials were 30 cents, pound bags of Hershey Kisses were a $1.20 and bags of Lindt chocolates were a buck. If you're not put off by the Christmas wrappings, it's a great time to stock up - chocolate stores great in the freezer. I think I'm pretty much set for the year!
Yesterday was interesting as far as meals went - I harvested salad greens and onions from my garden. Yep. I had a fresh-from-the-garden salad on New Year's Day. In Atlantic Canada.
Yes, the weather is definitely changing.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!

And good riddance to 2011!
This is going to be the year that I accomplish a lot and enjoy what I am doing. I will write a lot, play a lot and make a lot of money - and woe to those who try to prevent this from happening, like it did before. This time, I have confidence and determination behind me and I will not take no for an answer because there are always plenty of other options to explore. I am going to get what I need done and I wish everyone else the same kind of determination and success for their year - it's going to be a good one!