The Beginning

On the long drive up to Lake George, NY, my boo asked me what I would do if we wont the Powerball (196 Million). I responded that I would quit my job, immediately - mostly because I don't like it. I would also want to take on any adventure I could ans try to learn about as many cultures as I could. Then I said that I would buy a complete set of Cutco knives - I only have two of them and I use them at least twice daily.  I would want to take a knife skills class. I talked about my love of writing. About an old dream of running a small catering business and realizing that I am tremendously glad that I feed and care for the ones I love, rather than other people's loved ones. My boo, "Fin" then said, "Why don't you start a blog? You'll get to write. You can share all your stories of food." Fin, being an avid fisherman and with a strong desire to hunt more than pheasant, looks forward to my kitchen experiments and stories of family recipes. He thinks it's cool that we have German Cheese Sacks and Salmon on Christmas Eve, that I love my mom's blueberry pie and lasagna in July (peak blueberry season), and that popcorn is a perfectly acceptable Football Sunday meal.

When we got to LGNY, I told my mom that I was thinking of starting a blog. Her response was a brutally honest, "Why would you want to do that?" followed by, "Do you have time for that?" "Are you going to be journal-ing?" "No one wants to read what you have to say." While direct and harsh, it was probably the exact thing I needed to be reminded of : I don't really have time for it, I don't want to write a journal, people probably don't care what I have to say. So, I will be doing this in my little free time, I won't be sharing my deep seeded secrets, and if you don't care about it - that's okay.

I do hope that this blog gives me a creative outlet to share things that I love with people I don't know (and know). I hope to post more often here than on Facebook (although that doesn't mean much). I hope to reflect on what I have learned in the kitchen from my family, TV cooking shows, cookbooks, and experiments. Hopefully one day I'll get the knife skills class and a set of sharp knives...(hint-hint, Fin)

A Simple Homey NYE

I read someone's Facebook post today that listed 14 resolutions for New Years. I think there are two resolutions that I have actually accomplished. I am not sure what that says about me...I am not sure I want to know either. I have stopped biting my nails (I was 16 when I took on that one) and two years ago I made a goal to move closer to my hometown. Now I am 30 minutes away from it! 14 just seems like I would be setting myself up for disappointment. I do that enough regularly, I sure don't need a special day for it.

Fin is sick today - which is great - cause we get to sit around and watch the History channel and college football bowl games. I am giving myself one resolution. Fin supports it, but I am not sure how good I will be. Writing. I want to keep writing. Access my ideas, dreams, and feelings in a way that only one person can. So here goes.

With Fin being sick today, I traded my mom the Christmas Eve ham bone for a chicken carcass. Ridiculous huh? I made Fin some chicken soup - chicken, carrots, celery, red onion, parsley, and thyme. I don't think it gets much better. Simple food and a good smelling house. I think this NYE might be an early one, but you won't hear me complaining. That is just about perfect.

I just finished reading a great book too - we are water by Wally Lamb. I don't know how that man comes up with the stories he does, but I am glad I am not trapped in his brain. What a crazy place. What a great book. This year, I would like to read 10 good books. 10 GOOD books. Which for some might not seem like any at all, but considering that most of what I read is for work, this would be an accomplishment. I hope it happens. I am counting we are water as one of the ten...probably not fair, but I am going to do it anyway.

Time to pour wine #1 and start tracking the snow storm. Ahhh, the joys of simplicity.