Scattershooting

Landing in St. Louis, but no plane changing before the last leg to Boston, we were told we could de-plane if we wanted to for some “real food.”  (I guess as opposed to the Southwest free peanuts?)  The next thing the flight attendant said was, “There’s a Dunkin’ Donuts!”  Passengers bolted! There must be a shortage of Dunkin’ Donuts I was unaware of....

Have you tried that Greek yogurt yet?  I just read that the reason it’s so much thicker and has so much more protein than regular yogurt is because it’s been strained of all liquids.  Do you like the texture though?

I am irrationally afraid of blood clots, and airplanes make me crazy.  I’m also very short.  So my legs will stretch out in front of me, vertically, and not bother my neighbor in front of me.  If I lean forward though, it’s like a little exercise!  It pulls and strains my muscles as though I’m doing yoga.  I should develop a whole series of exercises to do while seatbelted into an itsy bitsy space!  Think it’ll catch on?  Nahhhhh.....me neither.

My sweet Joe bought a cookbook for his terribly clever blogger daughter who lives in a cracker box (her words, not mine.)  The kitchen, if you can call it that, is a corner.  No kidding.  It’s perfect for her, though, and she’s made lemonade out of this tiny space as she uses it for a springboard for her “Two recipes” blog, subtitled “One year.  Two recipes.  Three square feet kitchen.”  (I think that’s stretching it a bit!)  This cookbook, called “Gourmet Food from a Crappy Little Kitchen” has some interesting recipes (this is where I read about the greek yogurt) but really handy is her guide to useful kitchen gadgets with multiple functions.  Anyone with a kid in a small space kitchen could learn a thing or two; I know I’ve added a few things to Hatsie’s gift list!

Footnote:  on the last night of my visit instead of going out to dinner, she cooked for K and me.  She made “foolproof” spinach risotto that I’d stack up against any restaurant dish anywhere.  Oh my goodness....sister can COOK!  :)

So about 3 years ago, I developed an adult onset nut and seed allergy.  Who knows how long I’d been allergic to them, because I was always itchy in my nose and eyes, but just thought I was allergic to airborne stuff.   One weekend, I overdosed on almonds and nearly had sneezing fits, and STILL didn’t get link the two, until the next time I had some almonds and started sneezing violently.  Come to find out, the swelling in the roof of my mouth every single time I ate peanut butter (which was once a day like clockwork) wasn’t normal!  Anyway, I’ve got a blog about that in the future, but where Hatsie and I went out to dinner Friday night, I could hardly find anything---from breads to salads to entrees---that didn’t have some form of nut or seed.  When did this happen?

Boston is cold.  And you walk everywhere.  I told Hatsie that kind of weather would have us Texans hunkered down with a pot of chili in the slow cooker.  These Boston people think nothing of walking through the park, all hours of the night, in the snow, in high heels and mini skirts.  Beats anything I ever saw....great exercise though!  

I love to travel; I'm nervous if I don't have a plane ticket in my back pocket.  But coming home tonight, my sweet Joe has dinner ready and a glass of vino poured.  There's no place like home....