Monday, November 14, 2011

No Scarlett, Let's Think About It TODAY!!

Biltmore Estate - Asheville, North Carolina
November 5, 2011

(In case you are very, very young or have lived your life under a rock and don't get today's post title, it is a reference to one of the most quoted lines in the 1939 movie, "Gone With The Wind," when Scarlett O'Hara says, "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.)

Autumn here in East Tennessee just keeps on keeping on!  Much of the foliage is gone from the trees in the mountains and I actually watched some peaks become snow capped one day last week while hiking in one of the remote areas of the park.  But here in the lower elevations, there are still pockets of reds, yellow and oranges that are stunning.  And I am enjoying every moment of it!

Thanks so much for your fun comments on my last post.   I loved reading your personal stories about who taught you to cook.  I could feel that some were full of precious memories and warm, fuzzy feelings.  Those are things to treasure for sure.  I am still in the process of working out my own method for keeping track of the recipes I find.  I'd love to do the copy and put in a binder thing, but being the tree-hugger that I am, can't justify the paper when I have the same thing at my fingertips via a laptop.  And fortunately, we have an old (VERY OLD) laptop that is only used when we travel and now has found a new home in a corner of my kitchen.  It has been stripped of everything except stuff needed to bookmark and store recipes.  Mr. B says we now look like a technology based gourmet kitchen.  That's stretching it a bit since it's hard to make a 1940's kitchen look "modern." 

My kitchen and I have always had a love/hate relationship, but right now we are enjoying true love.  This past week was busy in other ways plus I am making every effort to spend as much time outside as possible since I know those days of being able to do that without bundling up are numbered! But I did manage to get a few "experiments" accomplished and more are planned for this week as we are anticipating a few not so nice weather days.

Yesterday, I was reminded of something in two separate ways both of which affected me profoundly.  Although I would not have told you that I take tomorrow for granted or am particularly guilty of putting things off until tomorrow, since the reminder came to me twice within two hours of each other, it seemed as if it was a double whammy and I should take notice.  During our church worship service yesterday morning, our drama team presented a slightly humorous, but totally serious skit on waiting until "tomorrow" to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves TODAY.  Later, I read Michele's post seen here where she talks about exactly the same thing.  I loved the way Michele summed up the point both she and the drama team were emphasizing which was, "let's make tomorrow TODAY!"   I am grateful that right now is yesterday's tomorrow and looking back, I can truthfully say that I put nothing off that came to my mind as a good thing to do.  But that isn't always the case and every single one of us can recount multiple instances in our lives when we let an opportunity to love ourselves or someone else slip by and then "tomorrow" never came! 

Whether it be loving, serving and ministering to others as was the point our drama team was making or taking control of our health as Michele was emphasizing, please join me in DOING IT NOW!!  Not tomorrow, not January 1, not this afternoon, but NOW!

I am still overwhelmed, but having such fun finding new blogs and websites that are teaching me new things about cooking.  I am so thankful for those of you who focus on the cooking aspect of this journey and post your recipes via separate tab that I can search.

I'd love your help again..........................

I know this will be REALLY difficult for some of you, but please choose ONE cooking BLOG and ONE cooking website (they may be one and the same) which are your current favorites!   I'd love to end up with some new ones to read and play with this week as Mr. B's hectic concert schedule has kicked in and he is gone most of the time, we are expecting some days of ugly weather and I'm going to have lots of time to experiment without any distractions!!  If your personal favorite has already been listed, give me your SECOND favorite.  I just want new stuff!!

Have a FUN Monday and don't put anything off until tomorrow!

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for the nod and your kind words, Sharon! That is somewhat serendipitous to get similar messages from two different venues. I am working on extending that idea of making tomorrow today into another piece. The whole notion of "tomorrow" has been swirling in my head for a while so that post was my first shot at it.

    I made for the first time a butternut squash soup and sweet potato fries (although they are baked with only a smidge of olive oil) this weekend. Really good.

    Do you know this website:
    http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/Recipes.html
    We have made many of those recipes, plus I have her book, too.

    Have a great week!

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  2. Sharon,
    I really don't have any go to websites. I have old handwritten recipes mostly. I subscribe to Taste of Home magazine. I think they have a website. Their recipes are usually tasty and easy to follow. They have a sister magazine called Cooking Light. You might enjoy that too.
    Lori

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  3. Are you backing up this laptop? You will be devastated when the old laptop hard drive crashes on you one day when you accidentally spill some flour near it, and it gets sucked into the machine and gets caught in the hard drive disks... (I'm just sayin'). I don't like to waste paper, but as I see it...I'm not wasting it. I will keep these pages for years. (I keep mine in a binder with those clear plastic covers over each recipe).

    I love the Biltmore picture! We are heading over there with my family who are coming up (from MS/AL) the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

    And yeah...I'm with you in that we shouldn't plan something for tomorrow, or the New Year. Why do people always wait until then to start working on their health, finances, religion, etc? Today, is a much better day than Jan 1.

    Have a great week!!

    Favorite cooking blog: www.skinnytaste.com
    Favorite cooking website: www.eatbetteramerica.com (their turkey spinach enchiladas are amazing...and easy)

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  4. I like www.healthyeatingstartshere.com

    Have a great day!!!

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  5. Current favorite: http://www.skinnycrockpot.com/
    I'm all about the easy. :)

    Love the reminder to take advantage of NOW to begin getting things done.

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  6. That is a wonderful message today Sharon.

    I have so many blogs I enjoy that profile food and recipes. Some of the less healthy ones I just window shop at even though I know I won't make the recipes because they are too high calorie for me, I often get recipe or menu inspiration from them. The Pioneer Woman is one of them - read her love story about how she met her husband - it's wonderful.

    http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

    On the lighter side I enjoy Renee's blog, she is an excellent cook and we like a lot of the same recipes.

    http://www.mykitchenadventures1.blogspot.com/

    I recently found Amy's blog at A Little Nosh and she hosts a Thursday post where she invites other food bloggers to add a recipe, photo and a link to their blog so you instantly have access to many food bloggers.

    http://www.alittlenosh.net/

    That should keep you busy for a while. :)

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  7. Oh fun. Can't wait to come back (TOMORROW) and see what sites you get. I love allrecipes.com. I'm also a fan of Kalyn's Kitchen but that is probably because she's South Beach Diet friendly. BTW - I got the title immediately and love it.

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  8. Yes, definitely old enough to get the title here! One of my favorite lines to quote too.

    I like to look around at a lot of different sites, but probably my favorite and most reliable, because she is an R.D., is http://askgeorgie.com/

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  9. It's been pretty mild here although we have had some heavy frosts on some cooler days. And we've seen a bit of snow coming down, but nothing showing white yet (except for frost on the housetops). The last couple of days have been so mild - like spring.
    I usually have printed copies of recipes - and mine need some serious organizing. A blog that I love is: http://www.skinnytaste.com/ Lots of variety and some great recipes! :)
    I agree w/ making tomorrow today! What a great saying!
    Dawn

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  10. I have to say thank you for finding me - because I absolutely LOVE your blog and your pictures. So happy we connected. :)

    I love that Norway is on your bucket list, I want as many people as possible to come here and see what we have to offer. If you're ever in my neck of the woods I'll give you the grand tour! :)

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  11. It is still warm here! I could never pick two blogs! I read and enjoy so many!

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