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Monthly Archives: November 2015

Pansies and pine

30 Monday Nov 2015

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Boston, postaday2015, Public Park

   
   
I loved the juxtaposition of blooming pansies and a decorated Christmas tree, but it threw me for a loop and it made me realize that I wouldn’t quite know what to do about Christmas in a warm climate.  The Boston Public Park was so beautiful this gorgeous sunny day  that my husband was inspired to take selfies.

  
   
 Boston was  calm and peaceful this Sunday, the last one of November. I can’t believe that December is already upon us, where does the time go???!!!!!!  Our son did us a huge favor and brought down the Christmas decorations, so by next weekend our home should be all ready and suited up  for Santa’s visit. lol  Time flies by way too quickly, thank goodness I write everyday so that I have a written account of what happens to make time seem to pass so quickly, I need a reminder that things actually get done. lol

   
  

L’heure bleu

29 Sunday Nov 2015

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blue hour, Boston, postaday2015

   
   
Looking out of our window yesterday late afternoon on Atlantic Avenue, I was reminded of what my cousin Francoise taught me about the blue hour, that time at twilight when the light is just so,  the red light shoots straight out into space, while the blue light remains scattered throughout the atmosphere giving us the soft blue hues that soften the harsh edges.

Even with the damp gloom that permeated the entire Northeast all day yesterday, the blue hour still made Boston very pretty for those forty minutes. 

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

28 Saturday Nov 2015

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Christmas, decoration, postaday2015

   
   
A quick jaunt into Boston, never any rest for the weary, but I’m so glad we had a chance to walk around Faneuil Hall because it is so cheery and bright, everything needed to put one in a festive spirit.  We saw so many adorable litle ones, looking way up at the lights strung up everywhere, their little eyes bright with wonder, Christmas is all about the little ones.

   
   
While we were walking and admiring the decorations, I started getting in the mood to decorate, we both started to laugh just thinking of Stanley. This is Stanley’s first Christmas, Lulu’s as well, but she won’t be paying any mind to the Christmas tree, she isn’t a chewer, not like Stanley and Christmas trees are the ultimate chew toy. It will be interesting to say the least. lol 

Thanksgiving hangover

27 Friday Nov 2015

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hungover, postaday2015, Thanksgiving

   
    
 I suppose hangover may be the wrong word for how I feel because I don’t drink, but between all of the work, the aromas, the constant focus and calculations, the coordination and the heavy lifting, I feel hungover. lol But like many a day after, I don’t regret it because I had fun, I love cooking  and creating, so even if the next day I may feel like crawling, I never say never again, I just say give me a minute, I mean a day or two to recover and then we can go at it  again. lol

My husband took most of these pictures and he did all of the decorating and the presentation, he has a lot of talent in those areas, much more than I do and I am more than happy to have him take over because that takes all of the pressure off me and allows me to concentrate on what I love best, poking around the kitchen, making sure that everything comes out alright.

  
 
   
   
  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I know how fortunate we are, I try to never forget that, it is something I want to be mindful of each and every day. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

26 Thursday Nov 2015

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postaday2015, Thanksgiving

   
   
I want to wish all of my WordPress friends a very happy Thanksgiving! It’s early for my post, but I still have much more chopping, roasting, sauteeing and coordinating to do, so I thought, while I am enjoying my breakfast, why not wish some happy thoughts to my friends while I can.

I am thinking of those who are without and I hope that somehow, today is a little better for them and they encounter some holiday kindness and generosity, and hopefully it’ll last throughout the holiday season. Days like today does drive home the fact that my family is so very fortunate and we try to remember that way beyond this one day of celebration and thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A captive audience in the kitchen

25 Wednesday Nov 2015

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cooking, dogs, kitchen, postaday2015

   
 
Today is pre-Thanksgiving preparations, making as much as you can get away with so that the oven is freer, the schedule is lighter and your sanity stays intact. So far, I got the brioche dough done, it is doing its second rising, it might go in the oven tonight or at the latest tomorrow morning, the pumpkin pies are in the oven as we speak, the dogs were very excited with that one, they love pumpkin so I had a lot of circling and sniffing while I was busy spooning the filling into the pie shells and later I will be making my butternut squash soup. That should clear my time table quite a bit for tomorrow. I will also have more time to pay attention to our attention demanding beasts.lol

  

Jack, Lulu and Stanley are hovering in the background, focused on not missing anything that may fall to the ground. Wait until tomorrow my canine friends, you will be in sheer heaven because the poultry will be in the oven, basting itself with the blanket of white wine and melted butter I will have drenched the cheesecloth in that will be draped over the bird.

Who is going to be begging from under the table I wonder. lol

A Beautiful late November sunset

24 Tuesday Nov 2015

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postaday2015, sunset

  
Sunday late afternoon, driving down to New York, the sky was magnificent. My husband captured this exquisite sky with his cellphone in between e-mails and phonecalls. I kept pointing to the sky saying as each mile passed, “look at it now”, it just kept getting more and more dramatic, the blues graduating to the reds, morphing into oranges and then transitioning to the darker purple before giving over to the dark of night. 

  

New York City starting the holiday season

23 Monday Nov 2015

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New York City, postaday2015

   
   
I was going to write that there is no place like New York City during the holiday season, but I haven’t spent the holiday season anywhere else, so I don’t really know. However New York City is most definitely something during Christmas time; and walking around the city watching the maintenance men string up lights, erect scaffolding to support the annual Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and put up all other types of beautiful decorations, it definitely put me a festive mood and a bit excited for Christmas this year.

   
   
New York City looked especially sparkly on this day  I was visiting so in between the outdoor sculptures and the beautiful decorating, I really enjoyed my day in New York. Which should be old hat by now, you would think, I really love New York.

   
   

Busy in the kitchen

22 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by laurieanichols in postaday, postaday2015, Uncategorized

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cooking, food, postaday2015

  
I felt culinarily inspired after some food shopping, with the chilly nights coming our way, I felt the need for soup. I had emailed my mother a link http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/healthy-fall-recipes_5638fdd5e4b027f9b96a4f43 and among those recipes there was one that had intrigued me, a cauliflower and leek soup. The recipe is extremely easy, however I changed it just a bit, instead of using two leeks, I put in 6 and instead of cutting up one head of cauliflower, I chopped up two heads and roasted them at 375 until nice and toasty brown, I added one potato that wasn’t in the recipe and lastly I added fresh thyme and fresh sage along with chick stock. I pureed it and the all important jury, the kids and the husband, approved the addition to my repertoire of recipes. I would have made it again anyhow because I really like it a lot and it’s so easy to put together.

When  I went into the back to harvest some thyme and sage, I looked over towards my garden surrounding the pond and I saw some beautiful color, a lovely surprise.

  
The next dish I worked on was just as easy; sauteed shrimp and steamed littleneck clams over thin spaghetti with a garlic lemon butter sauce.

  
My father showed me a neat trick, once you’re done sauteeing the shrimp, your pan will have nice browned bits from having sauteed the shrimp, those browned bits have great flavor, so to harness that flavor for a sauce, I deglazed the pan with what I have on hand, usually chicken stock, but if you have white wine, that will work even better, so after putting the shrimp off to the side, I put the littleneck clams in the pan with a cover and steamed them in the shrimp infused stock, once they were open, I took them out and worked a  bit more on the sauce, adding fresh lemon juice and a nice amount of butter.  Meanwhile the pasta was cooked and finally I put everythng together and voila, dinner!

I was happy working in the kitchen, chopping, roasting and sauteeing, smelling and gauging how everything was turning out, I love being quiet in the kitchen, focused on my inner dialogue and getting it as right as I can at that moment.

The Hunger Games Part Two: movie review

21 Saturday Nov 2015

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Hunger Games, movie, postaday2015

   
 
My husband and I went to see the final installment of the Hunger Games, we loved it of course. It brought a very solid sense of closure to the series. I didn’t read the books, which while watching each part at the movies made me very glad, because the suspense and the emotional response was completely spontaneous. 

This last movie was no different, I went in without a clue as to how the story ended and I wasn’t disappointed, I sat on the edge of my seat through all of the trials Katniss endured in her quest for societal justice.

What I enjoyed about Katniss’ evolution as a character was, despite her being drafted as the rebellion’s mascot, she never lost sight of the greater good, never lost sight of how easily tyranny encroaches, if there aren’t checks and balances, in addition to open and transparent elections, she knew she had to make sure those mistakes weren’t going to be repeated. Her strength sustained her, no matter the challenge or the danger.

I am going to miss the fictious world we were invited to visit for the past several years on the big screen. I really enjoyed the journey with Katniss.

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