Blue Monday

.......and we had blue skies and above zero temperatures for most of the day so not depressing at all. This is supposed to be the saddest day of the year, a result of cold and overcast skies, weight gain due to overeating and the arrival of all the Christmas bills. However, none of the above are bothering me, so I am feeling quite chipper.

   I had some good hands at Bridge this afternoon and managed to make a few contracts. That's about it for today. I will be going out in about an hour so better get some dinner in me. Freezing rain forecast overnight so shall tuck the car away in the garage when I get home.

Light on the Food

    Still no sun but it did get above zero for a few hours. This week is supposed to be milder and not much in the way of snow. We are having a very easy January.

   I had a very light breakfast - half a banana, yogurt, coffee and a muffin - and just a bowl of my minestrone soup for lunch. In listing the ingredients for it yesterday I forgot to mention that I had fried up a couple of rashers of bacon and tossed that in at the last minute. It really enhanced the taste.

  Demo practice this after and I had to trail down to Grace Church on the Hill (yes, that really is its name!), a thirty minute drive. Usually it is 10 minutes. The practice was shorter today but I still felt exhausted when we were done. I think this may be my last year in the demo pool. Three demos this week and I really am not looking forward to them - another reason to give it up, but we will see.

   I have concocted a new recipe to use up the beans and tomatoes left over from yesterday's soup. I mixed them together, added some cheese and put some panko and parmesan on top. It's baking right now - I'll let you know how it turns out.

A Quiet Day at Home

   I've just checked all the blogs I follow and only a couple have new entries. I guess they are all busy with their lives. I like to keep up with my entries in case I have to go back and check what I have been up to.

   It was -7C this morning and, although it got up to -2 this afternoon, it was rather chilly and miserable. We haven't seen the sun for a few days which is depressing. However, I have managed to keep busy with errands and chores - my grocery bill today was almost $50, my first big shop since before Christmas. I really needed to restock! I got a lovely piece of salmon for 30% off which is now sliced into three fillets and in the freezer. Also chicken thighs were "on special" so that was another three cheap meals. Now the freezer is full again and should keep me going (apart from fresh fruit and veg) until the end of the month.

   I made a humungous pot of minestrone soup for lunch - it was very tasty with lots of veg (carrots, onion, celery, green beans and tomatoes), pasta and beans. After it was cooked I blended about a cupful to thicken it a bit. I used a can of mixed beans for the soup and picked out all the chickpeas to make hummus which I had with red pepper slices and naan. Very garlicky and lemony, just the way I like it.

   I decided not to go to the monthly dance tonight as demo practice is tomorrow afternoon and that would be too much dancing! So it's a night in front of the fire with the TV to keep me company - hope there's something decent to watch!

Friday the 13th.

   .....turned out to be a good day for me. The temperature was just below zero and the wind was from the north and quite strong, but I had good company over coffee at the Senior's Centre. Of course, we had to get through the Fitness class first!

    I stopped by the mall on my way home and got my hair cut. My hairdresser is so obliging, she took me almost right away - I had to wait 20 minutes so went over to the library and read magazines until she was ready. Then home for lunch (the last of the soup made from the carcass of the Christmas bird. Don't worry, it's been in the freezer since then). After a nap I organized the name tags for the RWTO lunch next Tuesday. This is a new job for me but turned out to be far easier than I thought - took me about an hour and a half. There will be 110 people attending and the speaker is our former Director of Education.

   Salmon for dinner tonight with peas and a potato which I will bake with cheese sauce. I broke down and had a cup of coffee and a muffin this afternoon (I don't usually have a snack between lunch and dinner) as a reward for working on the name tags. However, I mustn't make a habit of this as I still have a couple of pounds to shed from the holiday binge eating. Wish me luck!

Scalloped potatoes straight out of the oven - hope they taste as good as they look!