Box Mix Inspo

Now that Valentine's celebrations were over it was time to turn my attention to the next event. This year Mardi Gras is Tuesday (and Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, is the next day).

Back in October Hubby Tony and I attended a trivia night, which also included a silent auction. There, I won a Mardi Gras themed basket that had a few decorations and a few New Orleans-themed ingredients. We immediately started working on some of the edible items (like Popeyes Mardi Gras Mustard Dipping Sauce and Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning). Last weekend when I was rooting through the pantry I found the box of Cafe Du Monde beignet mix. The mix for French-style donuts just cried out to be used for Mardi Gras, and the box had an expiration date of February 26th!

The problem was that the box made four dozen donuts. With a small household we would never be able to eat that many, and they don't store well. Also, a while back I decided I'm not a big fan of deep frying any more (because there's too much to clean up). I searched the internet for alternate uses for the beignet mix and came up with a recipe for banana bread.

Tonight Son Donald came to dinner. Keeping with the Mardi Gras theme, Tony made some excellent red beans and rice, cornbread, and a pot of greens. Dessert was thick slices of the beignet banana bread topped with fresh pineapple sauce and whipped cream.

Valentine's Day 2026

February 14th is, of course, Valentine's Day.

With the "day for lovers" falling on a Saturday this year Hubby Tony and I knew that restaurants would be slammed. We planned a low-key celebration on Friday night, which included attending a local murder mystery dinner.

And it turns out we both independently did a little Valentine's purchasing. On Friday afternoon I came home from running errands to find a beautiful bouquet of mixed flowers and a tiny box of good chocolates waiting for me.

 I responded by pulling out my gift bag of Tony's favorite herbal teas and some fresh cherries I splurged on at the grocery store. (As we do, we shared the sweet things and decided that chocolate and fresh cherries make a wonderful combination.)

Our Saturday tradition is to go to church and then out to dinner. After lunch Tony asked if we wanted to do that tonight. I reminded him all of the restaurants would be busy, but I also really didn't want to come back home to eat. Our meal at a Culver's just down the road from our church wouldn't win any awards for fanciness, but my Butterburger and Chocolate Covered Strawberry custard scoop tasted pretty darn good.

 Five years ago: Brunch And A Show

A Notable Date

Today I was chatting with the woman next to me while we were waiting for a meeting to start. She said she had heard on the radio that the numbers of today's date 2-13-26 (or 13-2-26 if you live in Europe) could become the basis of an equation.

Adding a multiplication sign between the first two numbers and an equal sign before the date would read 2x13=26 (or 13×2=26).

We agreed the information didn't have much practical value, but it was interesting. Five years ago today: Cajun-ish

Out And About

A collection of photos from my camera roll from the past six weeks.

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Am I the only one who feels like, even though it's almost halfway through February, the year has just started?

I had never heard of a Kindness Rock Garden. The pot had a layer of pebbles and large rocks (some decorated), and a sign that said to "Take one for inspiration, share one for motivation, add one to help our garden grow."

Hubby Tony and I saw this 25-foot tall statue in a park in San Diego near the USS Midway Museum. "Embracing Peace" is based on a famous 1945 Victory over Japan Day photograph depicting a sailor kissing a nurse at he end of World War II.

At first I thought someone had trained a flock of geese to line up in a row along the street in front of their house. A second look revealed that even though each goose was in a different position they were all statues 😆.

A couple of days ago Mary at Dark Thoughts posted about her apartment complex, recently repainted in a white/grey/orange color scheme. Although the orange in her photos is much brighter, the YMCA I go to uses the same scheme.

Five years ago: ValenSpines Day

What If English Were Phonetically Consistent?

The title of the post says it all 😏.

And....if you want more of the same, there's a Part 2

Five years ago today: Cat Naps And Catnaps

Shepherd's Salad For Me (And You?)

Tonight Hubby Tony and I are headed to a small Super Bowl party at a friend's house. The hosting couple will provide dinner. When I asked what we could bring, I found out they wanted a salad-specifically the Greek salad with no onions I made when they came over for dinner last month.

I said I would be happy to do that if I could still find the recipe. I couldn't. Lucky, during that dinner menu planning process I had sent a couple of different versions to Tony and asked him to pick one. He forwarded me the information I needed and we were back in business.

I often use my blog as a personal journal, so I'm putting the information here for my future use. Maybe yours too?

SHEPHERD'S SALAD-NO ONIONS

 Serves 4 

1 lb Roma tomatoes, diced

1 cucumber, diced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

½ to 1 teaspoon sumac (optional. I subbed a dash more lemon juice and a shake of paprika)

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Prepare the Vegetables: Chop vegetables into bite-sized pieces.

Combine: In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumbers, and green bell pepper. Add parsley and feta.

Make the Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, salt, and pepper.

Dress the Salad: Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss gently to combine.

Season and Serve: Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld before serving. The salad is best served fresh, as the salt and lemon juice will draw water from the vegetables over time.

Five years ago: Party For Two

Birds And Balsamic

Today Hubby Tony and I made our approximately once a year trip across the Mississippi River to Alton Illinois to replenish our supply of balsamic vinegar (which we use in dishes both savory and sweet). In 2023 I wrote this explanation about why we make the trek:

We stumbled upon the store in 2018. Even though it's a half hour from home, across the Mississippi River in Alton, Illinois, Tony and I think it's worth the drive. Their balsamic vinegar is the thickest and most flavorful I've ever found (and I've looked in a lot of places). I've been known to drizzle it on a salad straight up.

Alton is a half hour trip, and we always try to do another activity while in the area to justify the gas and time. I searched for activities in the area and came upon the Audubon Center at Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, which is close to the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

The visitor center parking lot was almost full, and when we entered we found out that was because there was a group of schoolchildren there on a field trip. A naturalist was giving them a presentation about birds in the area. We stood in the back and listened, and met Patriot, a bald eagle who was 30 years old.

After the presentation ended Tony and I walked around the small inside display. I saw this banner that showed the wingspans of different birds. I had no idea some of them were so large!

Tony found out the center had about eight miles of trails. Unfortunately, most of them were still snow covered, but we were able to walk along a short paved trail down to a viewing area.

A lot of bald eagles migrate to Missouri in winter from Canada and the Great Lakes. The rivers rarely freeze, so there are hunting grounds for fish. There were several volunteers with telescopes trained on eagles across the river. They were really there for the students, but they let Tony and I take a peek.

From the Audubon Center it was a ten-minute drive to the Olive Oil Marketplace. I carried in the empty bottles, and carried out full bottles of Traditional, Garlic Cilantro, Strawberry, and White Pineapple balsamic vinegars.

Way More Than Sunrise And Sunset

This morning when I woke up a little before 6:30 I sensed that it was a tiny bit lighter outside than usual. Could the days be getting longer?

The answer was yes, according to my friend Google, who told me that today First Light was 6:38 am. However, they also threw in some terms that I didn't know, like Astronomical Twilight, Nautical Twilight, and Civil Twilight. Then at the end of the day they repeated the terms in backwards order (Civil, Nautical, Astronomical).

So I went down an internet rabbit hole to find out what the heck all those terms meant. This is what I found:

• Astronomical Twilight begins - when the sun's center is 18 degrees below the horizon
• Nautical Twilight begins - when the sun's center is 12 degrees below the horizon
• Civil Twilight begins - when the sun's center is 6 degrees below the horizon
• Sunrise - when the upper edge of the sun's disk appears above the horizon
• Transit - when the sun reaches it's highest point in the sky
• Sunset - when the upper limb of the sun disappears below the horizon
• Civil Twilight ends - when the sun's center is 6 degrees below the horizon
• Nautical Twilight ends - when the sun's center is 6 degrees below the horizon
• Astronomical Twilight ends - when the sun's center is 18 degrees below the horizon

Picryl

Five years ago: Writing By Witness

Incalescence

According to Google, incalescence refers to the process or state of growing warm or increasing in temperature. That's what happened in my area today.

For the past ten days the temperature has been way below freezing, which made today's high of 46 degrees Fahrenheit feel fantastic. This morning when Hubby Tony and I left for church to do our monthly volunteer money counting shift I wore a heavy winter coat, but when I went out again after lunch to run errands I switched to the lightweight one and wrapped a scarf around my neck.

It snowed eight days ago. All of the roads in my area are snow free, but the shoulders and sidewalks aren't. Thanks to the outdoor nastiness I've been unmotivated to do anything outside, and today I had a large list of places to go, all along a major thoroughfare close to my house.

I headed east, stopping by the post office, thrift store, and pet mart before turning around and heading west to come back home, hitting an antique mall, florist, and craft store along the way. There were a lot of cars on the road, and rather than pull in and out of a bunch of strip malls, several times I took advantage of connecting parking lots to walk from one place to another. By the last errand I ditched the scarf and had my coat unzipped.

Needpix

It's only the beginning of February and the temperature will be yo-yoing all over the place, so I have to keep every conceivable piece of winter gear handy. I never know what tomorrow will bring.

Five years ago: Stuck Song Syndrome

A Teeny Tiny Good Thing

 

 

Winter is sticking around, and I've been doing my darnedest to find something positive in each day, but it's hard when there's more gloom than sun and the temperatures are stuck way below freezing. 

 

In order to get exercise I've walked at the mall way too many days the past week. Today Hubby Tony and I branched out. We left early for church and drove to Menards, a big box hardware store, for two things-steps and furnace filters.  

 

I buy filters that last for three months. When we reached the correct aisle I was pleasantly surprised to find the filter type I usually buy was on sale. And on top of that there was a rebate. I normally don't bother with rebates, but this time jumping through the hoops of filling out the form and mailing it in my four filters will get me eight dollars to use on a future purchase.

Five years ago: Who Drove What?