Sunday Night Chit Chat: Snow Bound

Hey Humble Readers...

So I did it again.  Went and fell off the face of the earth.  Really, life has just been quiet, and I've been feeling a bit uninspired in a lot of areas of my life, blogging included.  I feel like I'm coming out of a slump (again) and I wanted to attempt to get back in touch. 

The weather here in the Shire has been dramatic, at least for the last couple of days.  We got our first real snowfall last weekend, but it was mostly gone by mid-week, and Halloween was a relatively nice day.   Ginny (as Curious George) and Pip (as a puppy) were able to go out trick or treating with my Beloved and came home with pink cheeks and noses, and a whole lot of candy.  Fast forward to Saturday morning, and whomp... we got hit with a major snowstorm.  Seriously, we got 25cm of snow in less than twenty-four hours.  Here's the view outside my kitchen window this afternoon...

Snow, snow, and more snow

Ginny loved it.  She went out and played in it, and built her first ever snowman with my Beloved yesterday afternoon.  The likelihood is that it will still be out on the front lawn until March, provided no one knocks it over.  Getting the car out of our parking lot (in the back alley) was a challenge this morning, and the roads were pretty sloppy.  I'm thankful that we managed to get the car in to change the tires on Friday. 

Ginny's Snowman

You might recall that early in October I ended up with a not-so-fun kidney infection.  It was a doozy, and it took the full ten days of antibiotics before I was starting to feel better.  Sadly, the antibiotics had a few unpleasant side-effects on my digestive system, and I am just now really starting to feel more like myself.  All of this was just one more excuse for my exercise and weightloss progress to come to a stand-still.  I've gained back a bit, but I am still weighing in lighter than my Beloved, and I know that once I get back to being active, I'll see those few pounds disappear quickly. 

Confession time... I have become a serious Who-vian in the last few weeks.  When I was a little girl, I used to watch Doctor Who on PBS all the time.  It was Doctor number 4 (the one with the scarf and the big hair).  I got away from it for a long time, and had been wanting to check it out again, but I could never figure out where to start to get back into it.  This fall, the Space Channel started doing Doctor Who marathons every Sunday, starting with Doctor number 9, and I started recording them.  I watch an episode here and there throughout the week, and I have become addicted.  I'm up to the end of Donna's time with the Doctor, and I think he's going to be regenerating soon.  I have fallen in love with David Tennant, and I bawled my eyes out when he said good-bye to Rose.  I'm such a nerd. 

Ok, on to this week's chit chat.  Here's what I'm...

Reading - I'll be finishing up Ender's Game tonight.  I'm loving it.  I find it so fascinating to think that this book was published in 1977, and the internet ('the nets') and laptop/tablet computers ('desks') are key to the story.  In fact, it threw me for a loop when Card brought up the politics on Earth (Cold War-esque, mentions of Soviets, etc) and the internet in the same paragraph.  Next up on the reading list is Game of Thrones.  After having watched the first couple of seasons, I've decided that I want to give the books a try. 

Watching - Tonight is Once Upon a Time and Masterpiece Classic ('The Paradise').  Counting down the days until Downton Abbey!

Cooking/Baking - Tonight was pretty typical Sunday night fare.  Roast beef, mashed taters, green beans, and Yorkshire puddings.  It was my first time making yorkies in several months, but I'm happy to say they turned out well.  I've been trying really hard for the last few weeks to make sure that we have some good leftovers from our Sunday night supper that I can turn into soup for my lunches for the week.  Tomorrow I'll be making beef barley soup!  Yum!

Listening To - My Beloved mutter to himself as he does the reading for his next quiz. 

Happy I Accomplished This Week - Flu shots all around.  I put out the Christmas lights on our balcony rail on Friday, thankfully before the snow fell, so they'll be ready to plug in next month.  Got Ginny's birthday party invites printed.  Made some progress on my Christmas shopping. 

Looking Forward To Next Week - Date night on Friday with my Beloved!  Starting on a couple of Christmas crafts.  Getting my kitchen faucet fixed.

Thankful For - A cozy warm hobbit hole.  The fact that my winter coat, which was super snug last winter is now really baggy.  THAT MY WEE LITTLE MISTER LOOKED AT ME AND SAID "MUM-MUM-MUM" TONIGHT!  I almost fell over.  It feels like I've been waiting forever to hear him say it.  I confess I got a little teary. 

Pip, after eating a hot dog... head to toe ketchup

***Bonus Question*** Describe your "Perfect Pizza".  Oh my... well, the dough would have to be crispy on the outside, but soft and airy inside.  I like my pizza sauce to be very tangy, with a bit of spice.  Top it with spinach, Italian sausage, pesto sauce, and ooey-gooey mozzarella.  Alternately, the same crust, with pesto sauce, shredded chicken, feta, and pine nuts.  Yumm!

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This was posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Click over and check out what the others are chatting about tonight.