ah, solid food...
finally, my mouth is feeling well enough to endure chewing on some (almost) solid food. I whipped up a killer Caesar salad tonight, with home made croutons, red leaf, romaine and spinach, fresh grated Parmesan cheese, home made dressing and lots of black pepper, topped with strips of nice, hot, rare roast beef. Yummy. All washed down by an excellent Liberty School 2001 Cabernet.
Anyone who says they eat only to survive is nuts. Savoring good food is one of the great experiences of life.
We took down all the Christmas/Solstice/Yule decorations today. The manor looks so stark and joyless without them. I think it's time to do some major redecorating around here to liven the place up a bit. It's nice and dark and homey right now, but I think we're due for a change. I think my ideas of home decor have been influenced by the recent kitchen overhaul; it went from being dark, full of unpainted wood and earthy tones to mostly bright greens and white, which was quite a transformation. It was a room I only spent time in when I needed to cook or eat, but now I enjoy just hanging out in there.
Maybe I'm just a little depressed that the holidays are over and the weight of winter looms ahead. It's been grey and cold for so long, I wish it would just snow and get it over with. It's either been cold and rainy or misty or unseasonably warm and sunny. Winter in New Jersey hasn't been what it used to be years ago. When I was a kid, it was usually snowy around Christmas and definitely through January and February. Now it's hit or miss. I find myself torn between wanting to spend the rest of my days in a place where it's warm most of the time and where winter is something to contend with in order to survive. I really wouldn't mind living in a little house in the woods of Vermont or Maine, where I'd be stranded for a month or two during the winter. Then again, living in some land of eternal summer would be nice. At least I could garden year round.
No matter, I'll probably spend the rest of my life here in the manor, wishing I was somewhere else...
pearls before swine...