Doing Nothing but Cooking on a Cold Weekend

Last week I wrote about volunteering on a cold day. Sunday, January 17,  I can say it was a day with nearly nothing on a cold day. When I woke up that morning the temperature was -12 (-23C). This weather was highly expected and forecasted in the weather reports. On the day before I picked up my older daughter. When we returned to my building we braved walking across the parking lot to the grocery store and picked up some things to get us through the weekend.

I made a salad and took wild rice soup out of the freezer for our supper. We watched TV during the evening. I had a knee injection earlier this week, and spent a couple nights with insomnia as my reaction to the kenalog med. Last night was great-- no insomnia and no pain. Didn't get up until 9:30.

We had brought cinnamon rolls home yesterday after having a late breakfast at a restaurant. They were easy to warm up for a quick bite with coffee and orange juice. Then I put together a quiche.

We enjoyed that about noon along with some fresh fruit. When I put this same picture on Facebook, four people asked for the recipe.

During the afternoon I went exploring in the closet for some craft items I need for a project. When I moved into this apartment in  2014 I put boxes on closet shelves just too quickly get things put away, spent the next 9 weeks in Poland, came home to two cataract surgeries which was followed in March 2015 by bad arthritis pain. I really didn't remember where I put what hoping I had labeled boxes correctly. Found half of what I need. Just now getting back to doing things like craft projects. I will plan a trip to a craft store sometime when the weather warms.

We spent the afternoon watching movies on TV. Noticed out the bedroom window I could see birds flying -- an odd view from the 6thlevel of a building on such a cold day. I went out to my balcony windows where I could get a better view. Quite a surprise -- I found a whole group of eagles soaring about. I wonder if they have to fly to build up some body heat on such a cold day. 

For supper we made a chicken recipe I got when volunteering in Romania. And it was cooked in one of my Polish dishes!

We did enjoy this and also had apple crisp for dessert later in the evening.

On Monday, January 18, which is a legal holiday in the United States, we just enjoyed leftovers. A relaxing weekend in a warm place with good food is the best way to spend a cold, cold weekend. And I hope the weather forecast is right -- this is the only one for this winter. 

Volunteering on a Cold Day

What do I mean by a cold day? Sunday was almost the first cold day of the 2015-2016 winter in the Upper Midwest. That is what made it feel even colder.

This is what the Weather Channel showed early Sunday morning. -9 in Fahrenheit is about the same as -22 in the Celsius system.

Every morning I get a text message from the meteorology service of Minnesota Public Public Radio. Below  is what it said yesterday.

But this was a day for a volunteer effort to help people who have a much more difficult life than I do, even on a very cold day.

At my church we hold a "re-gifting sale" early in January. People bring things they have that are new or very gently used. They are sold at a discount with proceeds going to Mano a Mano. Mano a Mano seeks to help people in Bolivia who need health clinics, schools, water reservoirs, and help adapting their agricultural methods to the coming changes caused by climate change in Bolivia.

The term, re-gifting, may be unfamiliar to readers of this blog who arrive from other countries to this page. Today I happened onto a Facebook page that says this is a term that came from the Seinfeld TV series. It means giving away a gift one has received to another person  because one doesn't want the gift. Of course, in a real gifting situation one has to make sure the person who gave you the gift doesn't know you gave it to someone else. In this case, we bring things to the sale.

On Saturday evening my older daughter helped me carry down things from my apartment to the garage and we loaded up the trunk. I had things given me by two friends to take along in addition to the things I wished to donate.

We got up early on Sunday morning and grabbed a cup of coffee and a muffin. Then we set out, planning to arrive just after the 9 AM church service had started. I wanted the crowd to disappear form the door, so I could pull up very close to a door to unload all this very quickly. We were successful and even had the great courtesy of another woman arriving about the same time to help us unload and take all this up one level in the church building using the elevator (yes, I know it's called a lift in many other versions of English).

Once we had everything delivered we took off for breakfast and then I took her home. When I returned during the 11 AM service, I could see many things I had brought had disappeared, purchased by those who had attended the 9 AM service. The co-coordinators of the re-gifting sale were counting the money and already the sale has produced a bit more than $300. I don't know what the final total turned out to be because the sale didn't end until after the 4:30 PM afternoon service.

To the right is part of the sale table -- everything from candle holders to a baby blanket.

And  what a good idea -- taking things one doesn't want and use -- and turning them into money and giving them a home with someone who wants them.

And maybe here I should explain more. Example:  I took two children's books, brand new that I had always intended to use for teaching English. But I've had these for nearly 5 years -- and these are books that can age -- one was Anne of Green Gables and the other a children's book about Ella Fitzgerald. Both of these books are ageless, and now apparently in the hands of children who will enjoy them.

If any reader is interested in learning more more, please do click on the Mano a Mano link above. Donations are welcomed at any time of the year. Presently I'm helping, as a volunteer, to take paper records about donors from paper to an electronic form. I was surprised and gratified to find that in addition to donations from people in the United States, donations have been received electronically from donors in Canada, France, Germany, and Costa Rica.

Mundane Adventures

Life is not always travel and fun. Once in awhile the mundane things must be done -- and today, the first business day of 2016 was a indeed a mundane day.

First, I had a dental appointment. I knew I had a chipped crown and wanted to start any repair so it would not spoil my plans for going to Poland as a broken crown did last year. Good news, yes there is a chipped crown but it doesn't have to be fixed. But the dentist decided to do a fluoride varnish to keep my dental status as healthy as possible, this effort to help me manage the inflammation bothering my knees. Because of the varnish I couldn't eat or drink for one hour. Breakfast around 10:00 AM now seemed a long time ago, now that it was 1:30 in the afternoon.

So I adjusted my plans and went to do some shopping first at Target. Needed to get some things and walking around shopping counts towards the goal of walking at least 30 minutes everyday. Long lines at the check out because only 4 lanes were open.

And then finally I got to lunch at 3:15.

 

Walking about felt cold today. Winter may be arriving!

I searched out the address and hours for a nearby library branch, but when I got there I found no place to park. So I headed for the Dayton's Bluff library match feeling confidant I would find a parking place there. Got there and selected books. When checking them out I noticed books I had returned last week were still associated with my account. The desk attendant took the titles and said he would call the Highland branch -- where I left these books -- and figure out what had happened.

I am already distressed when people trash public employees. Our world turns nicely because so many of them do a very high quality of work.

So mundane!

A Samovar Saturday

On a warm November afternoon my older daughter and I took a short drive across the river (the Mississippi River for those of you not familiar with my location) to The Museum of Russian Art. I very much wished to see the exhibit about samovars. Up to this day I had only read about them and was delighted for the opportunity to see some.

The first thing we noticed was the painting shown below.

This painting is titled, The Homemaker Serving Tea. It shows the place of samovars in the culture. The painting is the work of Stanislav V. Shlyakhtin.

Next we viewed the painting, Samovar and Vessels.

This painting is the work of Geli M. Korzhev. But right beside the painting was the real samovar shown in the paiting.

During his life Korzhev was the owner of this samovar and often incorporated samovars and other articles from his home into his paintings.

Next we saw a variety of small samovars.

We saw samovars that looked as if they were made with gold.

They truly glistened. However, they are made with a copper-zinc alloy that is called Tombac. These samovars originally were sold by the Mure & Merilise Department Store in Moscow and were produced in factories in Tula. Tula -- really? I have one Russian friend and Tula was her home in Russia.

But what happened next was equally surprising. Did you know samovars were once made in Warsaw, Poland?

Above is an example of an electro-plated silver-plated samovar. This was made by the Fraget Brothers.

The above samovar which is designed to look like a steam engine was also made in Warsaw. The accompanying signage for this samovar said it could move around the table. Apparently the samovar produced heat to warm the water to make tea as well as energy to move the samovar about.This particular samovar is attributed to Roman Plewkiewisz and was made sometime between 1900-1914, a time when Warsaw was the center for making the silver-plated samovars.

We saw another painting by Korzhev.

Next we walked to the gift shop. It was fun to see a bit of Poland. 

This was a great afternoon at the museum.

Visiting the Christmas Market

Last year a Christmas Market was started in Saint Paul. This year it was moved to the East Plaza of the Union Depot. Last Saturday my older daughter and I took the light rail station two stops from my nearby 10th Street station to the Union Depot station. We both rode for 75 cents on Saturday. I can ride in non-rush hours times for that price because I'm a "senior." My daughter can ride always for that price because she has disabilities.

I had no idea where and what the East Plaza was when we arrived. I've only been in the Union Depot a couple of times since it has been renovated, and both of those times what I wanted to do were events held in the Great Hall.

We walked into the Depot and found a decorated tree at the door.

 Taking a closer look at the lights I decided they would be called Hidden Mickeys if this tree was at Disney World.

Walking through the Depot we noticed families with small children excited to be boarding a holiday train called the Polar Express.

We continued to follow signs for the Christmas Market and finally found ourselves walking outdoor to a plaza over the train tracks. In our warm winter there is no snow outside.

. We enjoyed hearing music.

My daughter had quickly spotted a booth selling crocheted neck scarves and of course purple took her eye. I suggested she wait until we had looked everywhere before making a purchase. After we did that she went back and selected a multi-color one with purple as the dominant color.

I particularly wanted to find the Polish booth. We were sitting down for a moment when I noticed a booth over on the side so we headed there. Yes, it was full of beautiful ornaments and some Polish pottery. I selected Santa Claus ornament, done beautifully as they are from Poland.

 I learned the products and the staff for this booth had come from Chicago.

It was a lovely afternoon to be out and about at a Christmas Market.

Christmas Lights 2015

Recently my older daughter and I drove through Summit Avenue and River Boulevard in Saint Paul to see the Christmas lights . We are glad to share with you all.

Usually in Saint Paul people put the lights outside in a warm day in November because December is a cold month in Minnesota. Then the lights are lit after Thanksgiving. But this year December is also warm.

The first one we saw was very colorful.

Across the street was one different.

And yes the houses on Summit Avenue are very large.

 Above are the lights from a small triangle park. Last year when I stopped there for a picture the temperature was way below 0 in the Fahrenheit system for temperatures. This year the temperature was about 35 degrees in Fahrenheit.

Here is an apartment house with very nice decorations.

Above is a tree that I admire every year. And perhaps I should have taken a video rather than a photo because the light colors change several times each 2-3 minutes on this tree. But I also admire how the house is outlined with lights.

About across the street is the Minnesota Governor's House. And no Minnesota did not build a house for the Governor. This house was giving by a family to Minnesota. Once I was there for a dinner.

Further down the street we found another house with colorful lights.

Mostly lights go onto evergreen/pine trees, but some homes don't have those kind of trees. Lights look good too on deciduous trees.

And the final picture is another house outlines with lights.

I hope you enjoy to see lights from Saint Paul.

Thanksgiving Adventure

This year my older daughter and I decided we two would spend a relaxing Thanksgiving Day. Our plans didn't end up to be quite as relaxing as we planned. For some reason, since not being here for a couple of months, my granddaughter showed up about 4 AM to spend "thanksgiving day." Well, it was because her boyfriend has a job at the MSP airport where he meets people coming off flights that need a wheelchair. He was working a 3 AM - 12 Noon shift so my granddaughter decided she and a friend would sleep here.

We still went with most of our plans while the girls slept in another bedroom. I made a cinnamon bread and then when that was done put a frozen quiche in the oven to cook. Meanwhile we watched the Macy's parade and then the dog show. It was nice to do this without having to worry about getting somewhere.

We had a 4 PM reservation for dinner at the nearby Forepaugh's Restaurant. I was glad we didn't have far to go because we had received the first spit of snow. We had only about 2 miles to drive on city streets and didn't have to go out on the freeway with all of those trying to remember how to drive on a slick road at 60 mph!

The restaurant is located in a old house in what is called the Irvine Park area. This area just west of downtown Saint Paul was the location of the first homes built by those who became wealthy in the first years of Saint Paul settlement.

The house looked lovely as twilight approached.

We were early for our reservation and were asked to wait in the parlor.

Here's a photo I could snap when it was just us there. The fire was lovely. And in the mirror above the mantle one sees the reflection of the ceiling light.

Here is the light, as they would say on HGTV, look at that medallion.

Soon we were seated at table for two on the second floor of the restaurant. After the arthritis problems I've had all year, one thing I could feel thankful for is the ability to walk up a flight of stairs. he first course

The menu for this meal was on Forepaugh's web page but I couldn't quite imagine what a green bean and cranberry salad would be.

Oh, the spinach was not mentioned. And the pale segments of some kind of orange were yummy. The dressing was a red wine vinaigrette.

The second course was soup. I chose the cauliflower and my daughter chose the  butternut squash soup.

My first bite tasted a bit sweet. But then after a few more spoonfuls my mouth begin to think there was a bit of curry in that soup, too.

Then menu seemed to indicate the next course was turkey or ham. We both asked for turkey, but when we received our plates, we got both.

The shredded turkey -- actually a good idea -- and ham was accompanied by mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts. I think this was the first time my daughter had Brussels sprouts and while she seems to like everything -- those clearly  were not a favorite.

Our dessert was just fine.

It was a small pumpkin bar with cinnamon whipped cream and pecans on top. Just the right size after a big meal.

We didn't indulge in any beverages other than coffee and water. I truly try not to drink and drive even if the drive is only 2 miles!