- You might’ve heard that we had some snow (5-8″) last Wednesday.
- Followed by some cold – it was -5F/-20.6C when I got in my car Thursday morning.
- Brrr!
- My drive was particularly exciting Thursday morning, since I had to drive to the car dealer to get the ASC repaired.
- What’s ASC? Automatic Stabilization Control – the thing that kicks in when your car starts to slide on slippery roads.
- Yup, roads are pretty slippery after a bunch of snow.
- The drive was… memorable, in a white-knuckled sort of way.
- Sure is nice to have ASC again.
- Friday afternoon, my car got stuck while I was trying to get into the parking lot behind my building.
- Many thanks to the two neighbors who helped push and got the car unstuck!
- Sunday morning we woke up to no heat in the condo – turns out one of the pumps on the boiler went out.
- Fortunately, it only took a few hours for a repair guy to get the heat going again.
- Good thing, since the cats were holding me personally responsible for how cold it was: “If you loved us, Mom, it wouldn’t be cold like this.”
- Do you wish you lived in Minneapolis yet? 😉
- Sunday afternoon I learned how to use a drain auger and spent a nasty hour or so cleaning out a massive clog under the kitchen sink.
- Said clog seemed to have been formed by the unholy union of cat hair (note to self – try to keep Mayhem from sleeping in the kitchen sink), coffee grounds from rinsing off the espresso maker, and primordial ooze.
- Ewww.
- I am actually knitting!
- However, it’s for a present, so I’m not sure I’ll post about it until after Christmas.
- One of the things that’s been sad for me since going gluten-free is not having good bread for sandwiches.
- Most gf bread has an unfortunate texture or crumbles into bits when used for sandwiches unless it’s toasted.
- Only eating sandwiches on toast gets old really fast.
- I discovered Udi’s Whole Grain Bread, which is perfect for sandwiches! *nom nom nom*
- Sadly, it lacks substance when toasted, so I’m going to stick with my Kinnickick Sunflower Flax Rice Bread for toast.
- If you require a gluten-free diet (or know someone who does), I highly recommend the magazine Gluten-Free Living, which I’ve been reading since it was a newsletter.
- Are you confused by the conflicting gluten-free diet information provided by various organizations? Gluten-Free Living examines such information scientifically to support or debunk it.
- The current issue is especially good, as it’s a “best of” issue.
- Make sure you stop back tomorrow, when I’ll kick off an ebook (by a Twin Cities author) giveaway to celebrate its release!
Can you figure out this picture? (Nope, you are right, she’s not in the kitchen sink… at the moment.)
“…..zzzzzzzzzzzz…..” -Mayhem
It was -16 c here, so stayed in bed before I had to go outside, but wasn’t that bad. My fingers was cold, but that was cos when I went to bfs place on Friday it was 0c so wasn’t prepared. But yes not that bad since no wind, that is just freaky. I thought I would die on the spot but I guess the Finnish spirit came back to me
No cold for me! It was 41 f this morning here and I was already complaining;)…tomorrow’s supposed to be sunny and 63!!
Sounds like a normally bad winter day. We’ve had heat problems, furnace trouble (easily fixed) and were waiting for car trouble. At least it’s warmer here. Would May want to come for a visit?
The cold kicks in here later this week. Ah, the joys of North America. Not much in the way of snow though! 🙁
I’ve never heard of that magazine, must look for it. I hope it’s not just a US publication!
Minus 5F? Brrrrr! Not even your proximity to my favorite black wearing British author would get me to live in that.. sorry!
It’s 67F here right now and only going to get warmer. Very odd warm winter even for N. FL. I’ll trade you! I’d love to have cold and snow!
Automatic Stabilization Control sounds like something on a space capsule. I wonder if I have it. (I doubt it in my 10 year old car.)
Okay, I’m happy to not have the -5ºF, but I wish we’d get at least a dusting that’d stick.
Speaking of gf cooking: do you have a favorite gf apple dessert?
Mayhem- Don’t worry sweetie- I have days where sleeping in the kitchen sink sounds like a great idea.
Heh, my mom texted me this morning to let me know it had snowed some more last night. I can’t wait to go home, as I am overwarm here. (Ancient energy inefficient apartment with 78F indoor temp, even with windows open, ugh.)
Mayhem looks too peaceful to disturb.
It was FREEZING here last week. I waited for the bus on Friday and the only part of me that was visible was my glasses and my eyes. And I still froze my behind off.
Have you ever considered knitting a sweater out of kitty hair? I recall people doing that. It would be better than going in your sink!!!
Ug, this weather!!!
May looks so comfy. My Gawd, car problems, snow storms, getting stuck in said storm, white knuckle driving, freezing condo, and a sink clog!!
Yike, hope you are surviving there girl… We have had a little snow, but not much, it’s supposed to rain today.
Hope you have a better week.
I’ll be by for your contest tomorrow. 😀
L
Heckuva few days you had there, ma’m! At least Mayhem looks comfy. Smokey and I always figure that if we ever get severe abdominal pain and blockage, it will be because of the hairballs we have developed after years of ingesting cat and dog hair.
It looks like May is on a couch, but I could easily be wrong.
I need to do something similar with our drains, but I’m not looking forward to it. I am good at dealing with some pretty nasty things provided they don’t smell. I can’t imagine anything from a drain not stinking to high heaven.
Oh my – what a time you have had. I wish my car had one of those ASC thingys. It sounds like a great feature when its working.
hairballs + coffee… ewwwwwwww
My kitties do that sleep with head upside down thing too. I wonder how the heck they can breathe like that!
Oh dear. I think you need a vacation. Somewhere warm.
We got 8″ on Wednesday, but it’s warmed up enough to melt some of it. The streets are pretty clear, which is a good thing, since they are predicting freezing rain today, followed by a high tomorrow of 8. That’ll be fun, waiting for the bus….
And Charlotte used to sleep in the bathroom sink at my old house — I think she liked the oval shape.
I could use a nap too. Pretty sad thing to say after spending just about all day yesterday ensconced in my chair with a book & a football game. Ah well – It was required meditation for todays commute & temps.
She looks like she is trying to keep warm 🙂
If you are looking for really good GF bread and rolls, check out Rose’s Wheat Free Bakery in Evanston, IL — they ship via UPS http://www.rosesbakery.com/
Her French bread rolls and French bread are the closest thing to regular bread I’ve ever found — and everything else is just excellent. And she has desserts that actually taste like real cake, cookies, and brownies! Enjoy!
I get cold even when the temp is above freezing. Remind me to come visit you in the fall, spring, or summer – but not winter!
Great – you guys have already frozen the heating pumps. This does not bode well for the coming months…
Glad it was quickly repaired!
awww. I can always tell how cold/tired Java is by how small she curls up.
YIKES, it’s not even winter yet!
Cats are the best contortionists!
At least she’s warm. That extra leg on her head probably helped a bunch!
So I guess you don’t want to know it’s 64F here right now. 😉 I don’t mind cold weather but -5 is too cold, although I wouldn’t mind some snow. I’m glad the heat repair went quickly.
May’s just trying to get into the tightest ball possible.
ahh the joys of winter in the north. 🙂
What else could go wrong – you seem to have it all covered – car, house even the bread wont do it’s thing…
90 percent of my family are vegan -so I feel your pain…
Gluten free is hard work..
Keep it up though, it’s so worth it…
E.H>
All of you northern people make hurricane season seem like a piece of cake! and I say she’s sleeping in a nice warm bed. Too cold for stainless steel or porcelain!
Sounds like your week ending was a bit stressful. I hope this week is better, not sure about the warm part though. That might have to wait until Spring. 🙁
Are you Gluten free because you have too or is it a personal choice? I’ve seen a lot of folks talk about it.
To help with the cat hair (and probably the coffee grounds) you could try a nice cheap solution like this: http://www.etundra.com/3_1_2__Mesh_Drain_Strainer-P9455.html. We have one to keep things from falling into the garbage disposal – things including cat paws – and have very little issue with clogs in the kitchen sink. Let’s not talk about the bathroom, though. 🙂
I’ve recently gone GF and have been wondering about the magazine. Ideally I’d like to pick up a few issues prior to purchasing a subscription but my local bookstores don’t seem to carry it… Perhaps I’ll have to dive in and get a subscription.
I’ve gotta say, I read and enjoyed your blog before I went gluten free. And now I find it “normalizing” (for lack of a better word – interesting and great come close too) that there are blogs I read (this has happened with at least 2 of my pre-gluten free blogs) that are not about food but the authors are gluten free.
Holy cow, that’s a lot of news! I drove my father’s car with traction/stability control while I was home in Mpls. last week, and it was really nice! Definitely a must-have on my next vehicle. It really was a chilly week, although I kind of enjoyed it. 🙂
Here’s hoping the heat STAYS on!
I’m having car issues too – glad yours are fixed!
it’s been unbelievably cold here lately – got down below zero last night *brrr*