This Perfectly Imperfect Life

As I wrote this last night, the world outside was turning royal blue as the sun set behind gray, snow filled clouds that were ready to burst any moment. The candle lamps brightened the windows with their warm, flickering glow the darker it become. I've been missing my father-in-law a lot recently and this week I decided to make what I call his tomato garbanzo bean stew. He made it for us the first time during his visit in 2006 and left me his recipe. That tiny, handwritten slip of paper hasn't left the bulletin board just outside the kitchen since. I've changed the recipe up some over the years, adding two cups of low sodium/low fat chicken broth and a palm full of parsley. I use whatever pasta I have on hand. I tend to buy pre-shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese because it's difficult & often painful for me to shred my own because of my arthritis. And this week, I added a few healthy dashes of curry powder. It's not for everyone and I must admit I h...

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Finally! Accumulating snow arrived here on the coast in the wee hours of yesterday morning, but (isn't there always a but?!) unfortunately it turned to sleet the rest of the day and we've iced up something awful! (Temps are headed back up into the 50s early this week so we won't be frozen for long). Turned into a cozy day at home with the Hubbs filled with cooking & baking thanks to our well stocked pantry & freezer, writing my latest gardenchat column, reading for this week's evening bookclub, knitting with new yarn picked up this week, taking photos (of course) during a garden walk etc., dreaming of my garden in Spring thanks to stacks of gardening catalogs & dreaming of France again (because that just happens from time to time). One of those good days that helps you through the bad! Hope you've been enjoying your weekend too, no matter the weather, and enjoy the slideshow! (If the slideshow goes too quickly for you, you can click on it and this ...

and a beautiful day it is! yup, i'm wearing green! i had 2 slices of irish soda bread, toasted w/ a little butter & jelly, for breakfast! (bought at acme foodstore & i'm quite impressed because it's delicious!) and i've got the st. patty's day parade from nyc on the tv! just before 1pm i started the corn beef brisket in the crock pot! i've never made it before, so i hope it comes out good! about an hour before it's done i've got to add the potato's & maybe carrots and a half hour before it's done i have to add the cabbage & onions. i'm feeling rather festive today! not sure why. i miss my nana a lot around st. patty's day! she was irish and growing up i thought today was as important to her as any other holiday! *my 1st corn beef, cabbage & potato dinner was a success! hubby & mom both liked it! (i thought it was pretty good too!) i've decided it's now going to be a tradition on this here day! (i didn't...