EOW No. 34

I meant to post this at the end of last week but here we are.  Happy February my fine folks and I hope you all are well.

Happy Lunar New Year!  If you celebrate, I hope you did something festive and food-ish to ring in the new year.  My last distinctive memory of celebrating the new year was the celebratory dinner we had with my family, pre-COVID and before my dad’s stroke.  We ended up at a Sichuan restaurant with its mouth-numbing peppercorns and fire engine red “sauce” soaking everything.  As my mom reminded me this week, every meal that you are able to gather together with friends and family is a cherished memory and occasion.

And if you’ve been participating in dry January, you’ve made it and congratulations!

Lastly, if you’re involved in any outdoors activities, IT IS FINALLY WARM AGAIN.  We’re expecting temps in the 70s next week, which is just ridiculous, but I’ll take it over freezing temps any day.  I believe there is another cold front moving through in two weeks so let’s soak up the sun while we can.

For Bryan’s sake (and because he had his annual dr’s visit), we’re front loading the year with “healthy” eating again.  That means lots of recipes with lentils and seafood.  I’m pulling out some of the tried and true favourites from last year (see lentil and chicken recipe here) but we’re also trying a few new ones.  I will make sure to share any good ones we try (don't worry, no chickpea brownies this year).

Bryan’s parents are on their annual trek down to the Texas coast (read: escape from snowy Michigan) and are staying at our Country Club for a few weeks on the way down.  It is surreal to think that we have a place where we can host friends / family and give them a place to get away.  There is something very grown up but also very gratifying to be able to gift someone peace and quiet.

This is a quick read on NPR and has confirmed a lot of thoughts I’ve already had, but we are all donating too much dopamine to our phones.  One of our favourite things about our neighborhood and our Country Club is our neighbors and getting to know the different people.  I am seriously guilty of closeting myself in my house and this is a good reminder to GET OUT THERE.