Life Lately

 

1. A lovely and inspiring picture-text from a dear friend.
2. Indian take-out. That channa masala was hands-down delicious.
3. Spring pattern mixing. Polka dots and floral always on my mind.
4. Polish groceries. Pierogi and herbal tea, mm.
5. Dear Friend always gifts the best teas.
6. A relaxing and fun-filled visit to the coast (where the guest room appropriately provided some very New England literature).

Long time no see.

Hello. It's been a while, hasn't it? I finally got around to developing the last roll of film I used up. All of these snaps are from last spring/summer/autumn. Now that spring is officially here again, I think it is time for a new roll. Or two. I hope you've been well. See you soon.









Camera: Kodak VR35 K40
Film: Kodak Gold 200

Winter scenes

Over the summer I joined the modern world and got a smartphone. I've become rather snap happy with it and am kind of blown away by the fact that the camera on my phone boasts more megapixels than the first digital camera I ever owned. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said a great many of the pictures on it are of my fluffy four-legged friends (they're just so amusingly photogenic). Today, though, I am sharing a few (unedited) winter scenes.

January and mixed feelings

It is January once again. The start of a new year. For many people this means looking ahead, making goals, starting fresh. As December waned, I was apprehensive about January's arrival. I was apprehensive about 2013.

2012 was a very difficult year. No, it was excruciatingly difficult not just for me, but for nearly everyone I love and hold dear. I experienced and felt things that at one time seemed so unfathomable. That won't ever happen to us. That won't ever happen to me. After enduring so much you may be wondering why I wasn't looking forward to a new year and to "starting fresh." The truth is, despite all of the pain, I wanted to hang on to 2012. I wanted to hang on to the last thing, apart from my wealth of memories, that you were physically part of. There is no you in 2013 and moving on without you hurts just as much as losing you.

As the sun went down on December 31, 2012, I went outside and snapped this photo. I had your favorite song playing inside and I could hear it pulsing from the house.



I know that you know it is my favorite song now and that it always will be. There is one line in particular that always makes me think of you: "Somewhere between that setting sun I'm On Fire and Born To Run." Yes. Your time here may have been short, but it was precious. I am accepting that you were born to run.

 I have disabled comments for this post, but will try to be back soon with an update less somber. I guess I just needed to get this off my chest and to continue to be not just honest with myself, but with my blog as well.

Scenes from Christmas

Here are some quiet little scenes from Christmas. I really liked my outfit and thought I'd share it here before the clock ran out on 2012. I wore pretty much the same thing on Thanksgiving as I have the same dress in navy blue and matched it with navy tights. The sweater (that buckle!), locket, and shoes were all the same. I guess it became my easy, go-to, pretty outfit for the latter part of the year.

The tree greens in tea cups served as a quasi-centerpiece for our Christmas dinner table. I am hesitant to disassemble them and will probably leave them out for a while longer. This will placate any longings to leave the actual Christmas tree up, I think :)

I hope the new year is good to all of you.

A knack for knick-knacks

I have spent much of today enjoying the heat from the wood stove and the company of my four-legged critter friends. It has been a pleasant, unplanned day off spent at home. Yesterday I was asked to work later than my scheduled shift and nix working today. I welcomed the opportunity of a complete day to re-charge and not think about too many extra things (it has been a regular occurrence for me since the summer to work seven days in a row for a few weeks at a time). I have, though, saved a little extra brain space for blogging and decided to share my newest (and, honestly, completely unnecessary) little collection of vintage salt and pepper shakers. My sister will agree when she reads this that the last thing I needed to do was start up a new collection of something, but I couldn't resist these wee gems when I spotted them at various thrift stores and flea markets this past spring-summer-autumn. Could you?

My knick-knack loving heart is quite content with these four and I think I could resist any further acquisitions, unless that is I come across another pair of squirrels... or some little skunks!

Comfort Food Season

Try as I might, I just can't seem to get a handle on blogging. Every time I think I'm ready to post in a somewhat consistent manner, my intentions fall by the wayside. To those who continue to read my sporadic updates, thank you. I very much miss interacting with all of you, but my attention span for internet-things has been very limited these last six months. Most days I wake up already mentally and emotionally exhausted and the thought of trying to squeeze internet time into my routine is overwhelming. I wish it wasn't. I do plan on devoting an afternoon sometime in the near future to blog reading and reestablishing contact with all of you.

In the meantime, I do have both the time and concentration for an update. I cannot decide if that sentence should be left as is with a period or if an exclamation would be more appropriate. Haha.

So, it is well known (or, used to be!) around here that I love autumn. Though, I can never fully decide if autumn or spring is my favorite time of year, so I've stopped trying. Anyway, one of the greatest things about autumn is that it heralds in comfort food season. We all have those favorite dishes and treats that somehow taste so much better when there's a chill in the air. For me, it's my mother's macaroni and cheese and any of her homemade soups, as well as my father's goulash and beef stew. This is my favorite time of year to bake both pumpkin-oatmeal and carrot-honey cookies. And, I have something new to add to my list: pumpkin black bean chili. I know what you're thinking: pumpkin chili? Trust me, it's good! The flavor is smooth and subtle. Try it!

Pumpkin Black Bean Chili
Adapted from The Ordinary Vegetarian.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 10 to 20-ounces mushrooms*, cleaned and diced
• 4 cups cooked black beans (or 2 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree (or 1 15-ounce can)
• (2) 15-ounce or (1) 28-ounce can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 tbsp. smoked paprika
• 3 tsp. chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. rubbed sage
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 2 tsp. ground cumin

* I used baby portobellos, but small white/button mushrooms would be fine as well. Also, the mushroom quantity can easily be altered to your liking. I always say the more mushrooms the better! For this recipe, I used (2) 10-ounce packages.

Directions:

In a large soup pot, heat 1/4 cup water and add the diced onion. Saute for 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for an additional 2 - 3 minutes, until fragrant.

Add the mushrooms and saute for an additional 2 - 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spices and stir to coat the onions and mushrooms. Saute for 1 - 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour in the broth  and allow to simmer for about 2 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes stirring occasionally.