Of Snow, Books, and Such

22°f/-5.6°C this morning. Snow began around 9:30am, expected to continue til late afternoon, but not much accumulation,  about 1-4".

Another snowy day here, surprise, surprise. This is such a beautiful winter, with enough snow and cold to stay pretty, but not enough to be a problem, except of course for the ice. Several friends have reported broken bones, sprained ankles, and even Larry took a couple tumbles before giving in and putting the Ice Traxx on his boots. Fortunately all he got was a slightly twisted knee, but it scared him enough to listen to reason (me!). He has had both knees replaced, and I think he was worried that he had messed up that one. 

The birds are happy---plenty of good seeds and peanut butter and set cakes are out there for them.

These two don't seem to notice the snow falling like rain. They love playing in it.

They like helping Larry too, as he fills the feeders and takes care of the chickens and rabbits.

Clyde, however, has found a box I emptied as I worked on the workroom, and he wants no part of snow.

Pup, worn out after hard play. He usually sleeps in this funny position.

In between working on my room and listing on ebay yesterday, I made these very odd cookies. I had a couple over-ripe bananas and wanted to see if there was a recipe for cookies using them and oats. 

These cookies have no flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, butter, oil or milk in them. Just oats, bananas, a little honey, salt, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. I added some hickory nuts too. They are actually quite good! Larry likes them, and they are a good treat for him as a diabetic, I think. Gluten- free too, I think?

I am afraid we are going to lose the gutter on the back room. It's full of ice and starting to sag. I took this yesterday, which was a bright, sunny day until the afternoon.

The moon last night was so pretty, but I could not get a good photo unless I wanted to wait up til midnight, when it would clear the trees. 

Recent reading: i bought this book to read at Christmas and then forgot about it. 

It was quite a good read, a bit simplistic in style and the plot was easy to see through, but the details about the life of the Wrens who manned the signal towers on Orkney Island during World War II were fascinating. I also learned some new words, some colloquialism and others to do with the signaling. The story follows three friends, all of whom have suffered personal losses in the war, as they try to make a good Christmas for an older Orkney couple they befriended. Add in a love story and a spy mystery, and there you have it. I admit, I skipped a lot of passages where the main character dealt with her angst over loving again after the death of her fiancé,  which I found repetitive and not moving the story forward. But the author certainly did her homework, and I appreciated learning about this facet of the war.

I have been listening to audiobooks while working too. I chose Agatha Christie's The Unexpected Guest, and found it a good read; although again I had figured out "whodunit ", the ending still had a surprise. Now I am listening to Murder at the End of the World by Ross Montgomery, and finding it delightful once I block out the f word--which, actually, is used by an elderly woman so is kind of funny. The reader is amazing, .managing to convey a great range of different voices. I must look up who he is.

Adding to my daily reading two books: The Book of Days by Kate Marshall Lee and illustrated by Kate Greenaway. I have owned this book for years and occasionally check a date to see what the book has to say about it, but now I am reading each day as it comes. Here is today's entry:

Another addition to daily reading is The Assassin's Cloak, edited by Itene and Alan Taylor. 

I saw it recommended by one of you (was it you, Jeanie?) and ordered a copy. What a tome, at 686 pages! And what a delight. This book is also arranged by date, and features excerpts from diaries of all kinds of people dating back to at least the 1600's. Fascinating stuff. 

Simple meals this week-- mac and cheese with some broccoli stirred in, cabbage from the freezer and sliced tomatoes one night, cream of broccoli soup on another, and last night spaghetti and meatballs with salad. Kinda pasta-heavy but given this weather it seemed fitting. Tonight, a loaded salad, and tomato soup from the cellar. 

That's about all the news. Maybe next week I will get out again, but currently i am still enjoying my housebound days.

Stay safe and warm, friends.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.