chatty saturday

 Welcome to March in my part of the world...gray and gloomy, and still obviously cold. I see people posting on social media and blogs about how they're already gardening and planting flowers. Trees are bushes are budding and daffodils are pushing out of the soil. I'm so jealous! Next week will be in the 50's and one day even in the 60's but rain is forecasted every single day. Blergh.

It has definitely been a stay-at-home day today. I'm reading these two books: It Was Me All Along is a memoir about an overweight woman's long journey to self-acceptance. It's another book from Blogging for Books that I will review when I'm done reading it. I'm sure you're all familiar with Simple Abundance. I've had this book for many years and even though I've read it numerous times over, I still pick it up from time to time and glean new wisdom.

 It's also been a good day for puttering. I'm always playing with this bookshelf. A few days ago, I picked up those creamy Shawnee pottery pieces that you see flanking the books in the middle shelf. I had just visited my lymphedema therapist (for those of you who don't know, I have late-onset primary lymphedema in my left arm, which is a rare disease) and got fantastic news from her. My arm swelling has gone down to where I don't have to wear a compression sleeve during the day - I only have to wear my nighttime garment, which I lovingly call my "oven mitt". I also did not need any manual lymph drainage therapy and bandaging, which I was dreading (the bandaging, not the therapy - the therapy is  painless) AND she said she didn't need to see me again unless my arm is noticeably more swollen. They don't treat lymphedema unless the swelling is over 2 cm. All the points along my arm that they measure were under 2 cm. If you're interested in learning more about primary lymphedema and/or want to see photos of my arm when it's bandaged after manual drainage therapy, and also pictures of the "oven mitt", click HERE to read my old blog post. Coincidentally enough, tomorrow is Lymphedema Awareness Day.

So, anyhoo...I was so elated after that appointment that on the way home, I treated myself to a bouquet of flowers, an iced coffee, and a stop at a little vintage shop. These pottery pieces were one of my finds. They're not marked on the bottom, so I put them on Instagram to see if anyone would know who they're made by. It was Claudia of Mockingbird Hill Cottage that suggested either Shawnee or Haeger. I figured Claudia would come to my rescue, as she's a big collector of vintage pottery. (Check out her blog to see her beautiful collections of McCoy and Roseville!) 

After doing some searching online, I found they are Shawnee. I was also relieved to find I paid a lot less for them than the asking prices I found on eBay and etsy. ;-)

 It was also a good day to dig out my spring bunny collection. This is only part of them. I'm still playing with where to display the others.

 I don't recall a winter where I've made so much soup. Which is fine...it's something I enjoy making because it's easy to throw together and I can be creative. I usually don't follow any soup recipes - I make up my own. Yesterday, I had roasted of pan of various veggies...broccoli, cauliflower, parsnip, and white carrot. (Trader Joes sells packages of organic tri-colored carrots...orange, purple and white.) We never ate the roasted veggies and today I was wondering what I could do with them. Eating them as is wasn't doing it for me. Looking around in the fridge, I also found a container of my homemade stock. So, I simply simmered the veggies in the stock and to give it some flavor, I added curry powder, turmeric, garam masala, and a little cinnamon. I tasted the soup and to me, it still didn't have enough flavor! I obviously didn't go heavy-handed on those Indian spices. So I then added just a little bit of Thai green curry paste. Tasted again - perfect. I then got out my immersion blender and went to town and pureed the concoction. 

I then added half a can of coconut milk, topped with some croutons, and...

Nom nom.

Lest you think my day has been all fun and games with vignette arranging and playing in the kitchen, you'd be wrong. I also did a 45-minute yoga practice (though admittedly, that was fun, too), washed all our bedding including the pillows, and started working on cleaning off shelves full of tchotchkes in the dungeon basement. Hope your day has held some simple pleasures for you, too.