Close the Door on January

Before we close the door on January some pieces of the puzzle of 2019 are coming together. With everyone in the family looking at change seeping into their lives, we are waiting on the sidelines to see what happens. Some members of the family are exploring employment opportunities, some are travelling for college tours and some for independent school tours. Others are planning a move in the late spring or summer. As of this week the college puzzle has come into focus with grandson Jack’s acceptance to his #1 school choice, The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennesee. We are delighted for him and are so happy that he will be somewhat close by (7/8 hours I think) not that he wants to see us all the time. However, he has also been asked to join the football team and we will certainly try to go to a game or two if we can. It takes a village so they say and Jack had help opening the door to the interview and application process but he was the one who walked through it and convinced the college they wanted him. Congratulations Jack and thank you to Tom Miller for all his support and assistance.

The rest of the puzzle will come into focus in due time. School decisions don’t come until March, who knows when job offers might or might not happen and no house hunting has started yet. Throw the idea out to the universe and see what happens. My new favorite quote is from Deepak Chopra “Perform action without regard for the fruits of action” and you won’t be disappointed in the results.

Open the Door to February

Walking and walking and more walking. This past week was a very big training week. I have committed to walk in a race in Sarasota, Florida on February 3 which just happens to be a week away. January in New Hampshire wasn’t the greatest location for serious training walks but I did get a few done. Once I got home I went full speed ahead and managed to do 37 1/2 miles (60.35K) with two days of 10K plus walks. I found something interesting this week. I am a member of Audible and they offer some free books every month. One of them appeared to be appealing so I downloaded it. The Man on the Mountain Top. I discovered, to my amazement, that I love listening to a book on tape when I walk. Up till now I have listened to music. Now I am hooked on books on tape so to speak.

Despite not doing a lot of training in the first three weeks of January, my time was acceptable so I am optimistic that I won’t be left behind on the roads of Sarasota to be driven home by the sweeper. This coming week I will do my daily 5K plus our daily walk with the dogs and perhaps another beach walk and plan on only one 10K in the middle of the week so as not to be too tired to race on the weekend. I did take the dogs to the beach this week and my they were happy to be back out there again and so was I. It happened to be the one sort of warm day that we had.

Open the Door to Friends and Neighbors

We belong to two different social groups one from our church called a Foyer Group and one from the island called, of course, Island Friends. Both of these groups are created by someone who is the master mind behind it so you never really know who will be in your group. This was our lucky week. Our Island Friends met on Monday night at the home of one of our neighbors. We all bring something to share and the host or hosts provide drinks and the location and sometimes the main course. Below I am sharing the recipe that I used for my contribution to the meal. We had a wonderful time with all of them. The really nice part of this is we get to see people we might not otherwise run across in our other activities. Not everyone is a golfer or a tennis player.

Our Foyer Group is another group that we really enjoy and we had our first gathering for brunch this weekend. Oh my, the food was delicious and the setting just wonderful. The group was fun and we shared lots of stories and laughter. A huge part of the Blue Zones way of life is to share your life with friends and family. We certainly found our community of friends this week and consider ourselves so very lucky. We brought our Baked Croissant French Toast recipe that my sister and daughter invented last summer and I added the twist of cinnamon to it. Click Here for the recipe.

Recipe for You to Try

New Red Potato Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette (from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:

3 pounds unpeeled whole mixed new or red potatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup roughly chopped celery leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

Directions:

1. In a large pot, cover potatoes with 2 inches water and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high and continue boiling until potatoes are fork-tender, about 9 minutes. Drain, transfer to a bowl, and lightly smash. Toss with vinegar, lemon juice and zest, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
2. Stir in onion, parsley, celery leaves, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, or refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 day (bring to room temperature before serving, about 30 minutes).