- I woke up early, feeling rested.
- I got my chores done in good time.
- I have my eyesight
- It's a beautiful day outside.
- I have my mobility.
- The laundry is hanging on the line, absorbing the sunshine.
- I have my marbles and play with them regularly.
- I've spent hours writing, working on 'In A Green & Shady Place' before I set it aside for the month of November.
Tomorrow I have a couple of meetings and a big stack of work, so I won't go in and cast around for something to do. That's always a good thing.
Yep. Overall, life is very darned good, and I'm pleased.
One of the things I want to do in the next week or so is come up with a recipe for baked potato soup. I've had it from a restaurant, and it was good, although a bit too salty for my liking. On top of the salt in the bacon, I suspect they added more for "flavor". I've also had it from Safeway - their story version. It's quite good but I like my soup thicker. Progresso makes one, too, but that one's full of chemicals and crap to keep it "fresh" inside the can.
I want rich potato taste, thick broth and lots of savory flavor. I have my ideas, so I'll give it a try next weekend. As with everything having to do with cooking, if it's edible when it goes in, it will probably be edible when it comes out, even if it's not palatable. Fortunately, my palate is pretty forgiving and I very rarely end up with something I refuse to choke down.
Instead of heavy cream and/or half-and-half, which some recipes call for, I'll go for whole milk and yogurt instead of sour cream. There's no avoiding the bacon, * snap of fingers * oh darn! Celery, a bit of green onion for the milder flavor, sauteed together in butter since this is not something that will permit olive oil, unfortunately. Lots of black pepper, because I like black pepper, and lots of potato so it will be thick. Mmmm.
Right now, though, while it sounds good it's not mouthwatering. There was left-over salad from a catered lunch on Friday. No one else wanted it, so I bagged it up and brought it home. It was pretty limp by yesterday, even worse today, but it was still tasty.
And I keep telling myself that the calorie count really isn't that bad. It's all in the dressing, right? I'll ignore the croutons and shredded Parmesan cheese (it was mostly Caesar salad).
I managed to convince hubby that I didn't want to do more house clearing this weekend and he agreed. It was a grudging agreement, but it's Sunday afternoon and he's only complained once. By next weekend I expect we'll be nearly done and he can call for the bin. I just hope it doesn't rain once the bin arrives. But it probably will. That's how these things go, right?
The NaNoWriMo exercise is getting to be a challenge. I haven't started because that would defeat the idea, but my naughty alter-ego is pushing me to start. My angel side keeps saying, 'no, not until next weekend.' Fortunately, with the intervention of a week of work, I should be able to keep my honor intact and not start before November 1. Next Sunday. One more week and then...
I've played out what the first chapter will be in my mind, and I know what will come next and next. It's just hard not to put it down on paper. But I won't. Not until it's time and the starting gate lifts.
Looking in on the NaNo site I get the sense that some people are pushing the boundary. That they've started their writing. One even said they'll "reduce their November word count" by whatever number they have before then. Uh, yeah. Uh huh.
Sorry - but if you're going to cheat once, why would I think you won't cheat again?
Whatever. It's not really a competition with others. It's a competition with self - a how much quality can I put down on paper in thirty days? My goal is to get the 50k down in ten days and then spend the next twenty days editing and cleaning. That's pretty ambitious. Five thousand words per day, consistently. I just checked, copying from 'Shady' and discovered that five thousand words is roughly eighteen pages in Word. That's a lot of pages everyday and everyday.
But, it's a goal - not a requirement, so we'll see.
Anyway. Life and hubby are calling so I'm going to wrap this up. I hope you have a lovely day. Take a minute and count your blessings, too. Even the little ones have value - never take the good for granted.
Best~
Philippa
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