Here comes the sun!

Photo courtesy of stockxchng.com

The last couple of weeks I have really been noticing the sunlight (when it's not snowing, of course).  It is sunny when I go to work in the morning, and it is sunny when I am driving home at the end of the day.  I am even needing my sunglasses for driving!  But, apart from the longer day,  the actual quality of the light has changed.  Although the temperature is still low, the sunlight makes it feel warmer than it really is, and some deep, ancestral part of my soul is starting to whisper, "spring...spring...spring...".

It feels like time to start stirring from my winter's hibernation and get active again.  Everything just seems a little easier to accomplish these days.

Bit by bit, the house is getting pulled back together again.  That's a good thing, too, since we are hosting a party in just two weeks.  Amazing how motivational that is!

Bruce found the bottom of the laundry hamper, and I discovered that our bedroom closet has a floor.  The dining room and kitchen tables are peacefully clear.  Best of all, the hole in the downstairs bathroom ceiling is repaired!  (Thanks to Bruce and my Dad.)

Schrodinger is feeling a lot better on the thyroid diet.  His diarrhea is gone, so no more nasty surprises on the downstairs carpet, I hope.  His hind legs, which have been bare for at least 4 years, are now covered with downy black wisps of fur, and his ribs are slightly less prominent.   He still needs to gain quite a bit, but I am so happy that the diet seems to be working.  He seems happier, too.

Before thyroid diet

My handsome boy, today.

Outside, the snow is starting to melt; a little more each day.  I can see the black of our driveway for the first time since the icestorm.  There are huge icicles hanging from the eaves, due to the melting snow on the roof.  I even noticed I can see the dirt of the flowerbed around our big birch tree out front yesterday.  It made me start thinking about the gardening I want to do this year.

I have never been much of a gardener, but now that I don't watch as much tv, I am looking forward to spending more time outside this summer, and seeing what I can accomplish in the yard.  It has been more or less ignored, so there's lots to do.  I can't wait!

I am still happily cooking my way through "Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans".  Last week I tried making "candied tomatoes", which are slow roasted with olive oil and herbs.  They really pack a flavour punch.

Next, I tried veal "polpettine"; deliciously light tiny meatballs, with garlic mashed cauliflower replacing the traditional breadcrumbs.  I am definitely making these again.  In the photo, mine are served over spagetti squash with tomato sauce, the bowl in the background is regular spagetti.  I ate all the leftovers without sauce or "noodles" for lunch the next day.

I also made these "spicy tuna cakes".

They are mixed with mashed sweet potato and various spices, and they taste really yummy!  In fact, everything I have tried from this cookbook has been fantastic.  Michelle Tam is the queen of umami.

Television worth watching?

There are only a few shows I am watching now.  The Walking Dead, of course, and MasterChef Canada on regular tv.  On Netflix, we have been binge-watching House  of Cards and Video Game Highschool.

Two months after vowing to reduce my tv time, I find I don't want it very often anymore.  However, I also find that once I start watching, I have a hard time stopping.  Another manifestation of all-or-nothing thinking?  Or perhaps, some kind of will-sucking subliminal messaging designed by (evil) marketing scientists?  In any case,  I guess it's the next thing I need to work on.

In the meantime, like Katrina and the Waves, I'll be walking on sunshine and looking forward to spring.  The Vernal Equinox is only 25 days away.