The last few weeks have been a little rough. Not compared to those who have lived through fire, floods, war and famine, but in the every day “this really has to stop” way. I won’t go into the work stuff, but there is a glimmer of light that it is getting back on the right path. One of these days I may even find my desk beneath the piles of papers that amass themselves there every single day.

Gracie and Tigger have taken turns getting sick. I’m pretty sure it is their food, but whenever we get one kind that Tigger doesn’t throw up, Gracie does; when we find a food Gracie can eat, Tigger gets sick. Yes, I have tried having two different kinds out, but somehow, someone always ends up eating the one to make him/her sick, so I am back to square one.

Speaking of the kitties, Gracie decided to be cute this week. Ok she is always cute, but really, this was priceless.

That is her, hiding among my clothes. I think she wanted to get warm as we did have a rather odd cold spell here. I even broke out the boots and lightweight sweaters. The sad part is that at work, I was still freezing.

I finally seem to be kicking whatever weird ailment had me nauseous the last few weeks. After trial and error at the doctor’s they decided that I was, in a very literal sense, motion sick. Yep, motion sick. And while the cure is pretty simple, it did manage to knock me out for a while. And the cider I had with dinner Friday certainly didn’t help. Note to self, no alcohol with meds that make me sleepy.

I love a good cider, much like some enjoy a good beer. I decided to pick up a couple and try them over a few weeks. I had the Oliver that I posted a week or so ago and it was ok, but nothing that I really want to pick up again. Friday’s cider was …

an Irish cider and it was very good on is own, but only ok with food. I found this a little odd as usually drinks taste better with food.

Today’s cider was very different.

I was rather pleased with this one. It has a very strong apple taste which I like in a cider and except for the slight fizz and a very velvety texture, it could have been just a good apple cider. But it was heavier than non-alcoholic ciders and had a fizz, but not really carbonation. So far, Spire is my favorite, but I still have three more to try before my experiment is done.

For dinner tonight I did a plain old hamburger, but I tried a we side dish – grilled tomatoes with garlic and parmigiana cheese.

It was very pretty smelled fantastic, but there are a few things I really need to do differently. First, rather than half the tomato, I think thick slices will work better. I need to grate the garlic rather then chop it, and I think I need to brush the garlic over the tomato as it grills and not worry about frying it first. A different cheese may also be needed. I am thinking of a nice sheep’s milk cheese. Specifically I am thinking about the cheese we had in Scotland, but I know I will not find that in Florida. (cue dramatic sigh.)

So this week I learned:
1. Yes, it really does get better
2. When it is cold outside, cats become very, very cute
3. If the prescription bottle warns it may cause you to become drowsy, avoid any alcohol
4. Try the recipe, but try changing the recipe too