National Nothing Day

In 1972, columnist Harold Coffin proposed National Nothing Day. January 16th has been observed in all its nothingness ever since, the one day when there's nothing but nothing to celebrate, observe or honor.


The snow is gone with the wind, at least around here. In terms of snow, it was a spectacularly unfair storm.  The poor town of Snohomish, north of Seattle, has been cut off and without power all week, still buried under feet of snow.  The Olympic Peninsula got hit especially hard. Stevens Pass is still closed because of fallen trees across the highway. Unbelievable amounts of snow fell in the high mountains. 

Highway 2

Over in eastern Washington, the weather is brutal, even by their winter standards-- blizzards and single digit temps. Unlike Seattle, they don't close the schools with the first snowflake, so Amanda will probably have to drive to her district nurse job in Pateros today, 40 miles down the snowy, dark highway.  Mothers never stop worrying. It goes with the territory.

Well, today is somewhat of a nothing day for me. No more excuses about driving down a tiny hill, so back to the treadmill this morning.  But the first order of business? Pull a sopping fleece blanket off a very unhappy jasmine.

Sunshine on snow

What could be prettier? It doesn't happen often here, so I took a few pictures of the same old things. Usually we just make a soggy, grey transition over to rain, which is what should happen later today.  Seattle lucked out on this storm with just an inch of snow-- some of the outlying areas got over a foot.

Fortunately, the dire cold forecast never materialized. It's already above freezing this morning. Of course, winter isn't over yet, but I'm glad I covered the jasmine. Time will tell.

Oh yes.  In case you aren't quite awake yet, this should do the trick:

A mind of winter

The snow pretty much melted off yesterday, then we got another dusting last night. It's much colder today, only 27 degrees, so the sidewalks and roads are icy.  Another morning at home unless I want to hoof it. A "wintry mix" tomorrow (oh, goody) then transition back to rain by Thursday or Friday.

It's a slow news morning. Here's a winter poem:

The Snow Man
by Wallace Stevens

One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

All bundled up

I wrapped the jasmine pot like a mummy yesterday with an old fleece blanket.  It snowed about an inch here last night, but some areas outside Seattle got up to 9 inches so many schools are closed.

A certain thoughtful person gave me a new snow shovel for Christmas so that's my exercise for the day. The gym is at the bottom of a steep hill, and definitely off-limits when the roads are icy.

It's going to be cold the next couple of days-- in the 30's during the day, and high 20's at night, but not as bad as the earlier dire predictions. Everything should be fine and plain old cold rain comes back by Thursday. 

A Sharp-shinned hawk paid a call to the bird feeder this weekend. Not a great picture, but you can see him there on the left. He sat for a while and checked out the smorgasbord from the chopped off plum tree. Of course, the little birds saw him and headed for the hills.  We usually see small hawks in the fall, but the Urban Raptor Conservatory webpage said they are fairly common winter residents in Seattle.

The "S" word

Our local weather guru Cliff Mass says the weather is setting up for a "major" snow event next week.  Today will be blustery and soaking wet, about as miserable as it gets in Seattle, but then high pressure builds and arctic air pours into the region over the weekend.  If that meets up with a juicy weather system coming off the Pacific, it's the perfect recipe for snow in Seattle.  Of course, still too early to press the panic button. 

A dump of wet snow is actually good for the plants, but a hard, dry freeze could finish off my enormous jasmine, planted in a half whiskey barrel. It's way too big to bring inside, but I can put this smaller one in the laundry room and start over next year.

No particular plans for us this weekend, other than the Seahawks vs Green Bay game Sunday.  And the Ukes are playing at a birthday party on Saturday afternoon.

I spent most of the past week navigating the strange new world of Medicare and Social Security.  Our lives have gone along pretty much the same way for years, so in some ways, this still doesn't seem quite real. Like all big changes, it's incredibly energizing and a bit scary at the same time. But all good. My mind is already racing ahead to things we can do with our new freedom. 

“The only way to make sense
out of change is to plunge into it,
move with it,
and join the dance.”
― Alan Wilson Watts

Turkey pot pie

 Specialty of the house

Turkey pot pie is delicious. I don't make it often because you need the perfect ingredients, including leftover turkey and good gravy.  It also takes all afternoon, but not a bad job when you're stuck inside anyway on a wet Sunday, with football droning in the background.

First the vegetables. Chop onion, celery, potato and carrots and saute lightly.  Then cover with broth and simmer until almost tender.  

Add the gold: a cup of beautiful, homemade turkey gravy, hoarded in the freezer since Thanksgiving.

Add the cooked, chopped turkey and a handful of frozen peas. Adjust the seasoning. At this point, you have darn good turkey stew.

But now time to tackle the top and bottom crusts.

Don't cheat and make a single crust pie because honestly, there's nothing better than butter pastry soaked with luscious turkey gravy.

Now, this baby needs to bake almost 2 hours in a 350 oven, while the wonderful smell makes everyone drool.

You'll be tempted to dive right in, but let it rest an hour while the gravy sets up and it cools down to the perfect temperature for eating.  Or I should say, gobbling a meal fit for a happy king.