Rainy Day and Oatmeal

1/3/2015

I'm still practicing the 2015 thing.  I originally typed 2014 before I remembered!

The weather in Maryland is ugly today.  It's not really cold as much as it is cooler (40's), and it's raining.  

I hate gray, rainy days.  With weather like that, it can be an uphill battle to stay positive - at least for me.  The thing about rain is that if you are out in the rain, you get wet, really wet.  If it's snowing and you're outside, I don't get that same "drenched cat" feeling.  I don't understand everything, or anything, about weather, but while snow maybe piling up all around me, I just don't feel as damp as I do in rain.  To be sure, noses, fingers and toes get cold, really cold, when you're outside shoveling.  

I maybe just plain selfish, but I'd rather look out my window and see the beauty (for a moment anyway) of snow falling.  The world is very quiet after it snows and my world is peaceful.  Unlike during my working years, where I actually dreaded the arrival of snow and the enviable questions: are the schools open or delayed, is work open or delayed. When you have school age children, if the schools are closed, this presents a real problem for the working parent.  I know - been there - hated it!

As I sit here typing, Jeff is making oatmeal from Steel Cut oats.  If you haven't tried Steel Cut oats, you should.  Mind you, this kind of oats is not a five minute process, but well worth the time spent stirring the oats.  Jeff adds cinnamon to the oats, so right now my kitchen smells as if I had been baking.  If you eat a bowl of Steel Cut oats, you won't be hungry for hours, because these oats fill your stomach up.  Once the oats are cooked, then you can "doctor" your bowl as you see fit - sugar, brown sugar, butter, milk, raisins, etc.  

I've already had my breakfast, but there is no rule against oatmeal for lunch!

P