Snow on snow on snow!

So, we’re stuck in the house on another snowy day.  This time coming to us from Winter Storm Linus at a rate of 1 - 2 inches an hour.  It’s not so bad though.  I like the board game playing, reading and movie marathons that come from a day like this.

One of my favorite snow day lunches is grilled cheese and tomato soup.  But wouldn’t you know it, we don’t have any tomato soup in the pantry, nor do we have the ingredients I need to whip some up.  So today I’ll make do with Bloody Marys. Hey, it’s not like we’re going anywhere anyway, right?

A completely home crafted Bloody Mary is great! Fresh (or summer canned) tomatoes blended with horseradish, hot sauce, lemon and all the right spices is not too difficult and great to customize.  However, that’s not what I’m doing today.  I don’t have all the necessary ingredients (namely tomatoes), but I do have a bottle of Christie’s New England’s Best Bloody Mary Mix.

It’s game day, America!

It’s time to get your tailgate on, no matter where you’re from. Whether your home team made it to the Super Bowl (Go Pats!) or not, I suspect most of America will be watching the game today. But for many what’s even more important than the game itself, is the food that goes along with it.

Today we’re making chili.  It's such a perfect food to pair with a football game, wouldn’t you agree? I’m not much for writing (or following) recipes; I tend to make it up as I go but here’s a rough “recipe” (with pictures) for our game day go-to meal. Feel free to follow these instructions or just do what I do and make it your own

Pantry ingredients

We just had a big snowstorm here in my part of New England.  It was two and a half days of snow, snow and more SNOW! To tell you the truth though, I didn’t mind it.  It was nice spending time at home with my family without worry or thought about going outside.  It also gave me ample time to work on some knitting projects.  

Source

As if he knew I’d need something to do during the blizzard, a friend posted a link on Facebook tagging me in the comments asking “Pretty please?”  Well, I was up for the challenge and knew I had seen a good pattern on Ravelry for a similar mitt.  I went through my stash and began work on Monday evening.

I love to knit.  I find the rhythm of it relaxing.  Sometimes it’s something that I can do without a thought and other times it takes some serious concentration depending on which project I’m working on.  But usually in the end I have something useful, pretty or both.  On the Needles will be a post series showing off what I'm working on now.

Or am I?

What did you do today?

I ask my son this question everyday when he comes home from school.  He almost always replies, “Ummm… nothing.”  I find it very hard to believe that to be true, in fact I know it's not true.  Honestly, six hours of nothing?

Actually I think our days are so packed with things that these daily activities barely register as something we've done; it just seems like the white noise between the bigger events.  You don’t have to plan an outing to have done something worth the recognition.  Sure, some things are more exciting or memorable than others but they’re all things worth doing.  Sometimes the best things are the little things.

I’m trying to be more aware of and appreciate all the things I pack into a normal day. Today I brought the boy to soccer practice, made someone laugh, cooked a meal for my family, met someone new, took time to read, played a board game, found time to knit (even if it was just 10 minutes), did two weeks' worth of grocery shopping, watched my football team kick butt, made a gift for a friend, laughed out loud, told someone I love them, daydreamed, told a story, gave praise and wrote this post.  Not to mention I kept the kitchen (mostly) clean and did two washes of dishes. Actually, I did quite a lot today! Okay so it is the weekend, but it’s still a lot more than nothing.

I never realized just how much I do in a day until someone pointed it out to me.  And that’s kind of where the idea for this blog came from.  I can't tell you how to do it all.  I don’t have the answer.  And you don’t have to “do it all.”  Just do the things you do, recognize and appreciate them.

So... What did you do today?  Tell me in the comments below.

.. Laura ..