Weekend so far

Friday night I went out for dessert at a friend's. It had been a long time since I'd seen people (a function of not having enough interest in making it to shul in far too long; I teased people that I'd become really frum, since lots of women almost never go to shul, but it's usually the ones with husbands and kids, in certain communities....). And I found out that I'd missed things: people who moved, people who are pregnant, people who are in a local opera production. OTOH, I did have things to talk about that people hadn't heard, so I guess it balances, somewhat. The desserts? Green grapes, red grapes. Strawberries. Brownie tart. A yellow cake with yummy lemon frosting. There were roses in a vase, presiding over the desserts, too. At one point, someone heard some heating noises, the weird sounds of an old building's heating system, and was sure it was mice: the Mouse Heating System...

Quiet day on Shabbat, reading, mostly. Thanks to Bitty, I had reading material for much of the day (though not all.... I did end up with some rereads).

Saturday night, after dinner, to the 7 x 7 show (already mentioned). It was a *cold* walk to the theater and back; definitely around zero, or whatever temperature everyone decided that it is when your nose starts freezing to itself. At least I'd put on some leggings along with my skirt...

Sunday afternoon was a birthday tea, an all-women event. I wore a hat, as instructed (a black one I'd gotten years ago in London), and brought a plate of rose truffles, which were appreciated. There was a mix of people I know reasonably well, people I know some, and people I've never met before, which was cool. There were times when things were chatty, others when everyone seemed to be engrossed in whatever they were reading/looking at (did I mention there was a theme of erotica?), times of frank conversation. I had fun, and consumed far too many cucumber sandwiches. Yum.

Sunday evening was a story reading. There were more people this time than previously. Luckily there was a second futon, so people mostly fit. There were interesting things read, ranging from kid books to chapters of longer works to sf stories, etc. I enjoyed hearing what people read (OK, and I have a soft spot for Harold and the Purple Crayon), and got some crocheting done (not as much as I wanted; I ran out of yarn).
[How could I have forgotten? Someone said it looked rather like his hat, so of course I had to try it on... I'm not sure it's my style ;-), though a picture was taken, in the end.]

The sky already looks like the snow is coming sooner than predicted. The prediction is for over a foot, I believe. I need to find a parking spot on the other side of the street, the side that allows parking during a snow emergency (just in case). Happy President's Day...

Flavor of the week

In truffles: rose water.
In bread puddings: onion, sesame, cheddar, feta.

Both came out well, though I think the rose is a bit not-what-I-want-with-chocolate. It's not bad, but not quite as happy-making as other flavors, somehow (I still have a decent-sized bottle of rose water. If anyone has suggestions for uses, I'm all ears.).
It's the first savory bread pudding I've made in a long time. I sauteed the onions into partial caramelization first, but I didn't add enough zing, somehow. If I'd had leeks, perhaps, or a bit more pepper, or some Emmenthaler, perhaps. Still, pretty darned good, and a happy thing for breakfast (finally). And it was pleasing to be using things up, too (the end of some cream, the last of a dozen eggs, some dehydrated onions, etc).

I went out to move my car just as someone across the street was leaving. Score! Now I definitely don't have to move the car if there's a snow emergency announced (and it's less likely I'll be egregiously plowed in, too). I did a first pass at shoveling the front stairs and sidewalk, and it was already covered over again by the time I finished. I suppose another pass this afternoon is in order...
(How there can be this much snow after all this storm has dropped everywhere else is another question. Rather impressive, actually. And it looks different than a lot of the snow we've had recently, with some flakes a different white than the rest, and somehow it all looks a bit more individually crystalline even while on my porch, not just in the air.)