Frigid Sunday

I woke up Sunday morning just after 7:00 AM and immediately checked the thermometer. It's at 8 degrees F (-13 degrees C) and a strong wind is blowing. I warmed some of yesterday's coffee in the microwave and went in to write and post yesterday's Blog.

The sun is shining and the wind is blowing all the loose snow around, so the sunlit, swirling snow is quite a beautiful sight. But, I ain't going out there!!! I skipped breakfast and by 10:30 AM, I'd shaved, showered and had dinner in the slow cooker.

I did my usual, but never the same, roast beef. This time, it was all about using things up. So, instead of my normal russet potatoes, I quartered about 10 smaller redskin potatoes that were starting to sprout. I did use three carrots, but I also threw in two sliced big parsnips that were starting to look tired. I briefly debated peeling, seeding and then cutting into chunks the acorn squash I'd got out last night before Melissa's call, (hey, it might have worked, ya know?) but I decided I'd really rather have it baked. So, it went back outside to the root cellar. I added two small whole, peeled yellow onions to the veggie mix.

I used the rest of the homemade beef stock (I thawed it for my Polish comfort food back on the 1st) and the rest of the white wine (I know, I usually use a good, hearty red, but its all about "using things up" remember?) from the Tilapia en Papillote I made for B___. I massaged my house seasoning into both sides of a beautiful, bone-in roast (instead of the usual Montreal Steak Seasoning). That went on top the veggies. Then I surrounded the roast with nice-sized Crimini mushrooms, splashed the roast with Worcestershire sauce, topped the roast with fresh parsley, thyme and rosemary herbs (stems and all) and topped all that with onion rings cut from a big, sweet white onion. I turned the slow cooker on high and walked away.

Sometime after I had put the kitchen and bathroom throw rugs up on the daybed to wash the floors, one of the cats decided the bathroom rugs was a GREAT place to cough up a hairball (hey, I'd much rather it was on something I can wash as opposed to, say the living room rug!) So that and the downstairs vinyl shower curtain went into the washer.

Now, onto darning my slipper socks. I sat in the living room (listening to Sunday Morning, Over Easy) and just took my time, weaving the thick thread back and forth. I was right! I needed the wooden darning thingie as a backer for this or it wouldn't have worked. But, it worked GREAT!!! I am very proud of this, BTW and the saleslady at Joanne Fabric's can just bite me! I took a better "before" picture (with a black sock stuffed under the hole so you can really see it and then an "after" photo and am posting now.

So, it is just before noon and I have calls to make. I called Luanne to see how she's doing, but had to just leave a voicemail. I called Mom and she was eating lunch (my split pea soup). She told me that my sister-in-law, Jean (Pete's widow) had visited her. Jean said a bunch of the St. Mary's alumni are planning an "anybody who ever went to St. Mary's" reunion on September 21, 2008. Since I am never invited to the normal reunions (as I didn't "graduate" from St. Mary's) I just might go...

I went into the bedroom and started to read, to fall asleep. But, the phone rang around 1:30 PM. It was Luanne. She's doing a lot better, and is now only using a cane to walk. They've had a couple of "surprise" goat births and the resulting trials. Apparently, the "brush goat" (I'm not sure if that's a breed or just a term - she says they look like little deer) bucks are able to breed at 13 weeks and they didn't get them separated in time.

After hanging up with Lu, I decided to watch a movie, so I dug out GI Jane (Jeremy & Jyl gave it to me as a present a few years back), which is where I was reminded about D. H. Lawrence's poem I posted.

Jake & Carla called around 5:30 PM and we caught each other up on recent activities. Then it was time to eat! I wouldn't say it was one of my best roasts, but it was warm and filling and just "hit the spot" on this cold day.

I cleaned up the kitchen and got the last load of laundry in the washer. By the time that was in the dryer, it was time to watch my Sunday night shows. I still wasn't sleepy, so I read until about midnight and then went to sleep.