Deathly Cold

My house feels particularly tomb-like tonight, quiet, cold, and depressing, and it's adding to my serious case of the blahs. I'm suddenly ready for summer or at least spring, with their long sunny days and warmth. Every morning, I dread the mile hike from the parking lot into work against the north wind. That's only a slight exaggeration. At least work gets me out of this cold house.


Last night, I tried out Alton's Steel Cut Oatmeal recipe. Scottish oatmeal is my new favorite breakfast. Alton's variation kicks it up a notch - wait, wrong host - Alton's variation turns humble horse feed into good eats. He notes that you shouldn't add salt to your oatmeal before cooking it, because salt soaks up too much water and keeps your porridge from getting creamy. He also toasts the oats in butter before adding the water. He adds milk, buttermilk, brown sugar, and cinnamon to the final product. I ate it for dinner last night and again for lunch today.

Today marks the first New Year's holiday that I've been in Lubbock in awhile. I've been in Houston, Las Vegas, Austin, and Vegas again over the past four years. I say, if you have to ring in the new year in Lubbock, you'd best be drunk and unawares. But if that's not your thing, Google "non-alcoholic cocktails new years" as I did, and you'll find some interesting mocktails. I found a link to the Great Pretenders Pamphlet with several mocktail recipes. Shows how tired I am, I thought it said it was put out by AA, but it's actually AAA. Now there are a couple of groups who know how to party!