Friday, December 9, 2022
In bed at 10:30 after dealing with beef broth, awake at 3:50, up at 4:10, thoughts flitting through my brain like minnows in a bait bucket, 4 pss, no toddy, some discomfort during the night, not pain. 35 degrees outside, also the expected high, wind chill 25 with 17 mph wind out of the west, a wintery mix of precipitation also expected.
Immaculate Conception. I think it was in the year 2000, Geri and I were in Rome on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and on our way to dinner that night we happened upon a gathering parade on the Via della Conciliazione, many people from different sections of Italy, dressed in native dress bringing gifts to the then pope now saint JP II. We stayed to watch the pageantry and the procession into Saint Peter's Square where a huge bonfire was lit under the Pope's window where the celebrants gathered to wish him a blessed Christmas and to receive his blessing. Unforgettable sights. My third seeing of JP II, first occurring with Mike Hogan on an earlier trip. We happened to be near the entry area to Vatican City when JP II was returning from a stay at the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo. He waved at us in a crowd from the back of his limousine. Then we saw him again at his window leading the Angelus. "The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary" and the response "And she conceived of the Holy Spirit." (Not to be confused with the Immaculate Conception.😇)
Wintery Mix looks more like a little blizzard at 10 a.m. Big, wet snowflakes, and strong winds from the southeast. Nasty! Not keeping the birds from the feeders, but the SE sides of the feeders were covered with sticky, wet snow. The goldfinches are getting a bit feisty contending for good spots on the NW side of the long niger feeder. Male cardinals and snowbirds foraging on the ground and egad! I notice my suet feeder is not hanging from its spot on the shepherd's crook. Squirrel work, I suspect. Now there's a feeding frenzy occurring on the niger feeder, more goldfinches than I can count, probably a dozen, with others waiting in the wings.
Sinema Bolts Party! 😱😱😱 which should come as no big surprise to Democrats since she has been their bete noire all year, with her own Arizona Democratic Party voting to censure or condemn her for - basically - being a Republican when it comes to many vital issues, including filibuster reform. I suspect she answers to someone in addition to herself but not sure who (other than Big Pharma cash-dispensing lobbyists.) She says she won't caucus with the Republicans but what that means in terms of voting is anybody's guess. In a chamber full of freaky oddballs, she's right at home with everybody and with nobody. It's a little surprising that Joe Manchin hasn't gone independent or more likely Republican after all the heat he has received from Democrats unhappy with his positions on, e.g., the filibuster, clean energy, etc. In any event, the Democrats' triumphant 51-seat majority in the Senate now looks to be maybe 50 and 1/2 with everybody waiting for a shoe to drop from some Democratic senator's illness, death, or another dropout.
Beef Stock for Cabbage Borscht kept me up later than usual last night. 2 and 1/2 lbs. of beef shank, onions, carrot, celery, and peppercorns, 8 cups of water simmered for 4 hours. Refrigerated overnight, fat removed this morning, rich in collagen, almost 'plasmatic'😋 Later this morning, I'll chop up a Savoy cabbage and dice the meat from the shanks, add some onion, garlic, sugar, vinegar and lemon juice and simmer some more. Then, lunch. . . . .correction: dinner. I screwed up the recipe, forgot to wilt the cabbage before adding the stock and other ingredients. It turned out OK, probably better than OK. It will probably be better tomorrow. Soup recipes are pretty forgiving. Next time I will stick with green cabbage and forget the Savoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment