listening after dark

Breakfast favorites: 15 minutes or less

I have the deepest sympathy for people who say they don't like breakfast. Maybe they've just never found breakfast foods they really like. Maybe they think they don't have time for it. Maybe they're just not hungry in the mornings. In case any of you think along those lines but would like to change your mind...

I used to eat cold cereal for breakfast fairly often, but I've found it doesn't satisfy for very long. And walking to work, even less than a mile, requires a bit more energy. I try to avoid excess sugar and grease, because those usually make me feel jittery or too full. Peanut butter is a staple. I've also taken to baking big batches of breakfast cookies to keep in the freezer for an instant breakfast or energy snack. They thaw at room temperature in a matter of minutes. (I've been modifying the recipe to include chopped unsalted peanuts, chopped dried apricots, dried coconut, cooked bulgar, applesauce, chopped dried cranberries and/or cherries—and whatever else sounds good.)

Here are some of my favorite breakfasts, which I choose depending on the amount of time I have in the morning. Sometimes the thought of breakfast is what encourages me not to languish in bed too long.

5 min
Fruit and Yogurt
• Mix 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt with a sliced banana and 1/2 cup applesauce
• Eat with whole wheat toast and peanut butter

PB and Banana Sandwich
• Spread two slices of whole wheat bread with peanut butter
• Add sliced/mashed banana
• Eat with a glass of milk

Fruit Smoothie
• In a blender, place 1/2 cup frozen fruit, 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk (or fruit juice) and 1/2 to 1 cup fresh fruit such as a banana or strawberries

10 min
Spicy Egg and Toast
• Cook one egg over-easy
• Toast one slice of whole wheat bread
• Spread toast with honey, top with egg and Tabasco
• Eat with a glass of milk, a banana, some applesauce or orange slices

Toast as Waffles
• Toast two slices of whole wheat bread
• Spread with peanut butter and top with applesauce, canned peach slices, plum sauce or another sliced or sauced fruit
• Eat with a glass of milk or fruit juice

15 min
English-ish Breakfast
• Cook one egg over-easy
• Heat a few slices of precooked sausage alongside the egg
• Toast one slice of whole wheat bread, spread with marmalade
• Heat 1/2 cup of canned whole tomatoes (unflavored)
• (For the daring, add 1/4 cup heated baked beans)
• Eat with favorite black tea (with or without milk and sugar)

Slow-Cooked Oatmeal
• Prepare according to can or box directions
• Add raisins after 5 minutes, then cook another 5 to 10 minutes
• Add honey or brown sugar, milk, banana after cooked
• Eat with whole wheat toast and peanut butter

As you can see, bananas, milk, whole wheat toast and peanut butter are my basic necessities. If none of these ideas sound appetizing, fine. Just find some things you like to eat for breakfast and keep them on hand. You don't have to rely on cold cereal, boring bagels or gummy instant oatmeal. The world of breakfast is much bigger than that.

Tornadoes in Wyoming? Really?

Apparently a tornado touched down in parts of Casper yesterday. I wish I could have seen that. From work, I had a nice view of the hail, the dark sky and the building across the street.

I don't ever remember a spring this wild. Of course, this is my first spring in Wyoming. After last week's snow, I suppose anything can happen now.

Time for cleaning and exploring

Found a couple of interesting sites today:

unclutterer.com • It's getting to be the time of year when I feel the need to ransack my drawers, closets and cabinets—and get rid of stuff. Oh, stuff. Even after moving once a year two years in a row, I still have too much of it.

walkscore.com • My address gets 68 out of 100 points. (My parents' gets 91.) It is amazing to me how many people drive where they don't need to and when they don't need to. I walk to work every day and home for lunch—an hour total. (It's less than a mile each way. It would be only slightly faster to drive, and in the summer when it's too hot for walking, biking is the fastest of all.) I buy gas less than once a month, especially since I haven't been out of town much lately. I walk to the library, to church, the post office, the bank, sometimes to the grocery store. Even so, I could drive less.

Only Tuesday?

• Sad news for Elmer: I found out last Friday that the engine might soon throw a rod in one of the cylinders. I learned more about my car's engine in two days than I ever thought I'd know. I'm going to get a second opinion this week. Unless the diagnosis was incorrect, my options aren't looking very good (i.e., they're expensive). Elmer and I have been through a lot together. The thought of discarding him due to ailments (even expensive engine ailments) just makes me sad.

• Good news for my back: I'm getting a replacement mattress delivered tomorrow. It's softer than the saggy brick I've been sleeping on for six months and will hopefully resolve my back/hip pain. I've been feeling much too old for my 24 years...

• ...which will soon be 25 years. The quarter-century. I'll be allowed to rent a car. Maybe my auto insurance rates will go down? Who cares what the legal changes will be; I just like birthdays.

• Some days work goes by quickly. This week has been like that. I've been busy, actually, and the days have flown by. I've been trying to learn XML as it relates to InDesign and Excel. It's the type of thing I can only focus on for an hour or so at a time before my eyes start to cross and my brain begins to hurt. With all of that, it seems like it should be at least Wednesday or Thursday, not just Tuesday.

• Oh, and I got bangs. I know, it sounds like a silly thing to announce, but I've never had them before. Even though, apparently, when I was a kid my grandma thought it was a good idea—to cover up my big ol' forehead. But I have to keep my brains somewhere. In some ancient cultures, a high forehead was a sign of beauty and intelligence. As were second toes longer than the big toes. So I must be especially...something.

Why do all the bad Christmas songs so easily enmesh themselves in one's head?

Getting ready to head to work in a few minutes...it's snowing again, covering up the layers of old snow, dirt and ice. It would be nice to have a pretty white Christmas, not a leftover sort-of-whitish-gray one.

I only have to work four hours today, and then I'm off at noon to enjoy my leave afforded by earning 700 wellness points this year. So what shall I do with myself? Go see a movie? Come home and knit while watching the snow? Read more of Lonesome Dove or that new strange book I got at the library yesterday?

This is why I love libraries: I can always find something unexpected. I didn't know what The Facts of Winter was about, but I liked the cover. It happens to be tiny vignettes of dreams by people who may or may not have existed in the winter of 1881. Translated from French, of course. Just my kind of book. I think my dreams were especially strange last night after reading just a few pages.

Oh, and...

My parents are safely home, after surviving the turkey, stuffing, mashed taters, gravy, four pies, morning walks in 16 degree weather, not much wind (!!), sunshine, sleeping on my futon, creaky floors, snowy roads and more.

It's snowing today and I'm delighted to be wearing pajamas and slipper boots, drinking tea, listening to my favorite NPR weekend shows (Car Talk and Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me are like Saturday morning cartoons for me) and getting ready to make pear cranberry pie.

Sharing is fun

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Yucky spam

Apologies for all the spam (and porn-ish) comments of late. I don't know what the sudden influx is, but I'm trying to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Any tips for preventing this sort of thing?

Flashback: June snow

Above, a view through the windshield on the way into the Snowy Range (June 6). We found it hard to believe it was actually snowing, but we failed to take the mountains' name seriously. Below, you can see the results. The photo at right shows Wes digging out his truck's tires so we could leave (a day early) before we got totally snowed in.

Quiet here

No Internet at home yet. Thus, no blogging of late. I've been working for two weeks now, settling into a routine (bike to work, home for lunch, early to bed, early to rise, etcetera).

In lieu of being online, I've been doing lots of reading. This past weekend we went camping/hiking/fishing along the Encampment River. I actually caught a fish! (In the first five minutes of the day, after which I had just a few fish tease my fly.) Later I fell in the river and had to spend about an hour on the bank drying my clothes and reading. I like summer.

Soon I'll be taking a week off to travel west for a wedding and to visit family. Before that, I get a day off for July 4th and a half day off next week for Parade Day in Casper.

And that's the news (in brief).