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Monday, February 1, 2010

dogloos, watercress soup, and a whole city shutting down

2.5 years ago, Khan lived in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida where a January afternoon often consisted of a merry romp through salty waves and fetching seashells across the sand.

We then moved to Charlotte, where he has often wondered what happened to that place called the beach and why we don't take him there in the afternoon. No matter, he concludes. The Charlotte parks are fabulous havens for a dog.


So that's all fine, but now THIS, the Khan thought early Saturday morning.
What's this curious thing outside our front door?


So the brave Khan checked it out. And determined it was good.


We got barely enough snow to cover the ground by the time it was finished.

But that was enough reason for Charlotte to shut down.


There was hardly a soul out on the road or walking the streets downtown. The entire choir skipped church on Sunday and the lack of their leading voices caused the substitute pianist to cut the recessional hymn down to two verses instead of four to put the the thirty folks in the congregation out of their humiliating misery. We who came to church to hear a sermon and say a prayer just couldn't get the tune by ourselves. It left me very thankful for the choir.
And today, school is canceled indefinitely.


In the meantime, the colors that usually blend to make a harmonious palette of earthy tones and occasional hints of brighter, merrier colors, are popping out like fireworks against the snow.

It feels very wintry, indeed.

I havn't even noticed before now that Husband has not pulled his shriveled peppers from the ground, they blended so well in the dead grass.


Yes, Charlotte's population had a good time with this winter luxury, which the weather channel termed "ice pellets" rather than snow.



It crossed my mind to metamorphosize into a modern-day Laura Ingalls Wilder and pour squashed strawberries and sugar into this bucket for nature-made slushies. A vague understanding of pollution and human filth was all that restrained me.



Khan noticed some things that brought him joy and enthusiasm as well.

He worked long, hard hours to excavate his favorite sticks from the snow.


And soon he resembled a frozen version of that dirty-nosed pup on the beach.

In honor of the cold, I made Julia's Watercress Soup.


And discovered I don't like watercress soup.


So,


I won't be making that again.


I did, however, like the peppermint mocha brownies I made to share at a cookout and a Bible study.

And Husband made a Dog-loo for Khan,


but couldn't force him inside



So he agreed to let him sit beside it and have his picture taken.

I also made a Linzer Torte:




Which wasn't exactly delicious,

But we ate it anyway because we were snowed in :)
It's been fun having a little snow this winter!


12 comments:

  1. Weather is sooo hot here, as we're having Summer, that your pictures refresh my soul :)
    I loved all the pictures ! The first one is soooo cute !
    The peppers in the snow are also so interesting if we think about the contrast of their hot flavor and the snow :)

    Well, I loved everything in your post and this make me feel so proud to be your reader :)

    I wish you a wonderful February !
    xoxoxoxo

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  2. Great photos! I was in Asheville when the snow started coming down - in an outdoor hot tub at the Grove Park Inn. Was amazing! I certainly didn't want to leave to come back to Charlotte, but we did - slowly but surely.

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  3. fantastic photos! You do good work. Khan is freaking adorable too. and all that cooking, I kinda want you to come live with me and cook for me too. And, as an aside, I have been inspired to look for a Julia Childs cookbook!

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  4. Great! I can't wait to hear how the search goes...

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  5. wow...you have been busy in the kitchen...loved all of this..the khan as a puppy on the beach..and that wonderful photograph of the lonely street...

    and the khan's igloo is so cute...and LOVE the julia child cooking...i never have made the watercress soup..but her potatoe and leek is really really good! I think she mentions serving it hot or cold..me no like-ee cold soup...and the tart is a winner..what a beauty..AND your honeymoon in MAINE ! MY FAVORITE STATE...Sharon still lives back there 1/2 time of the year..and alot of the antiques she brought back to Heart's Ease were from MAINE..and I am lucky enough to have some in my little house..

    great post, my friend..
    oh, i have navy beans soaking for soup tomorrow...and am making my dilly casserole bread...for toasted cheese sandwhiches...rain is on the way here...hmmmmmm

    kary and buddy
    xxx

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  6. nope..never have ventured into cold fish mousse territory...can't do it...me no like-ee that either...

    where did you stay in Maine...
    my friend, julie..who i talk about on my blog..we went a few years ago..we stayed in Grafton, vermont at the ol' Tavern..we cried when we walked in it was so cute..stayed at The Pomegranite Inn in Portland, Maine..ate at Fore Street..WINNER of MY LIFE ! then went up to Castine..stayed at The Castine Inn ( she is a friend of mine..that..this is weird..i met AFTER we stayed there)that place is DARLING...we did camden..stayed at The Squire Tarbox... it was late October..right before Halloween..we were the only ones there..and it sits in a graveyard..spooky.... and then we went to visit sharon and jeff in christmas cove at their cottage..cried when we walked in there too..so DARLING....

    we cried everyday on that trip..and to top it off..i was HOMESICK and MISSED BUDDY BAD ! kept showing julie pictures of buddy for 14 days ..poor julie..what a trooper...

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  7. Such pretty pics! ... Khan looks a bit perplexed by that cold fluffy white stuff...but he sure seems to be having "snow" much fun in it :)

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  8. oooohh... we've spent some summer vacations on Ponte Vedra Beach... the ocean was like warm bath water. One of the most relaxing times ever, just walking the beach and gathering sea shells. When we get that much snow here, we call it a 'dusting'.

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  9. Adorable Khan! I love to watch dogs in the snow - they just get right into it.

    And what a great torte - love the snowflake on it!

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  10. I LOVE these posts with Khan, SL! Sooooo sweet!! And too funny that "dogloo", very creative!!!

    Sounds like your book got there just in time for your little snowday! Hope you love it as much as I did, SL....Lotta meaningful stuff there....

    Happy day to ya, SL... : )

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  11. I love your honesty here! 'Wasn't exactly delicious' - you could have lied as it looks great! I also laughed at the Watercress soup episode...I think I would like it...what was the issue? Are you guys in one of the Carolina states? I'm trying to get the geography right. I'm planning my trip to the US for the autumn and was thinking of travelling down the East coast as an option and stopping along the way in places...I think when i was looking at the map I saw Charlotte in one of those states - am I right or is my memory rubbish? Can you recommend any amazing places to visit if I do decide to wander down the coast? xxx

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  12. my fav has got to be the dog-loo. so creative. the pie looks yummy too.

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