Snowy Hope

Lightly falling flakes, record snowfall yesterday, and yet the promise of Spring is there.  The extra little bit of daylight you did not expect, and the feeling that something good is just around the corner.  Hope does spring eternal, but anticipation of something remotely positive can also seem to take an eternity as well. 

Perhaps everyone who tells me that things in life happen for reasons that we are certainly not aware of at the time, is correct. It is  in the richness of our experiences that we discover what we are truly made of.  To be tested at various times during this journey, is what makes us who we are, contributes to the list of adversities overcome, and enables appreciation for the finer moments.

After that philisophical journey, I must divulge my latest food obsessions.  Last Spring, it was Green Goddess dressing, and after trying many versions, I settled on one that did not use mayonnaise, but avocado as it's creamy base.  It was delicious.  Now, I'm perfecting a Southern favorite called pimiento cheese, and about to tackle french fries Baltimore style, with brown gravy.  There is something particularly satisfying, and outside the realm of every day "meal service" cooking, when one perfects a dish from a certain region, or country.

By the way, the attempt at BBQ brisket, slow cooked in the oven (without the benefit of a smoker, or grill at the moment), went wonderfully.  And what great leftover barbecue beef sandwiches it made!

Signing off today still waxing philisophical. What can the journey here in the frozen North teach me? What can I take away from this that can be spun into the positive, from the depths of seriously negative experiences?  Is there some enhanced focus, or surety that comes from knowing what is so not right for you?  I think so. Perhaps it is that knowledge, that  adds extra certainty and refinement.  To become the person you were always meant to be, may mean to go through things you never wanted to, and come out the other side changed in ways that will benefit someone, at some time in the future.  That will be my discovery to make, and only time will reveal if this is true.

Enjoy your weekend, spend time with those you love, and who love you.  Be a HAG.....Happy, Active, Grateful.