Today was a blend of seemingly unrelated activities, though being that it is Saturday, they were all equally enjoyable and satisfying. We headed up to our place in the country last night much earlier than normal, since I took Friday off (extra snow days had accumulated comp time) so I got up early, and was raring to go.
The morning started out fairly routine with a dog walk, then a trip to the ski shop to pick up some skiis that needed some adjustments, then it was off to the frozen pond to play… hockey!
Growing up, my sisters and I were all figure skaters, it was our brother (who now works for the Rangers, before that the Islanders, and Canucks) that was the aspiring Wayne Gretzky, but the sport has deep roots in my family tree. My Grandfather played semi-pro and all my Canadian relatives have been longtime “Hockey Night In Canada” fans, so to see my little guy take to the ice and play hockey for the first time was really meaningful, kind of like watching history repeat itself. My husband Kirt also played hockey in highschool and college (with all this hockey in my life, do you understand why I’m a big Flyers fan now?) so he was happy to organize the family hockey game, bringing sticks for all of us to use.
What a lot of fun we had, out there for hours!
The ice was a little slushy, but it was deeply frozen, so we weren’t worried about cracking. With the sun shining brightly and the blue sky above us, it was a little slice of heaven in late February.
I decided to come in and warm up my hands while the “boys” go sledding so that I could write a grocery list for dinner, and that’s where my second *new* passion comes in to play. See, I’m into French cooking right now.
Maybe it was watching “Julie and Julia,” maybe it was my husband’s Valentine’s Day gift of Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” Volumes One and Two, or maybe it’s because Saturday’s are my cheat days (and French cooking has TONS of butter and cream)– whatever the reason, it’s my latest love.
So off I go to buy the goodies that will turn into ”Supremes de Volaille a Blanc” (Breast of chicken with white cream) which I will serve with artichoke hearts and risotto. The recipes in this famous cookbook include “delicious” ways to eat everything from brains to sweetbreads to liver, so for fun I threatened my family with the cooked goose dish, smiling at their exclamations of ”noooo” and “ewwwww.” I think I’ll stick to chicken… (wink wink) for now.
What are you up to? Has your day also been a strange combination of things that make you happy?
Comment, I love hearing from you all.
KL
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