Snapshot from Along the Broken Road: 2016 - Week 3

Checking in for the week of January 17 through January 23.

WHAT I READ |
O Is for Outlaw (Sue Grafton) - This was, by far, the best book in this series, to this point. For the first time, I felt like Kinsey was a character I was getting to know. The previous books have successfully made good on her claims of being a closed book (so to speak). Amazing that you can get through fourteen books of a series, narrated by a character, and feel like you've been held at arm's length the entire time. The case was a good one, with all the right twists, turns, amusing characters, and red herrings. I'm really glad that I kept with this series instead of walking away from it after several dull and uninspired "letters" in a row.
The Dark Tower (Stephen King) - Just getting started. This picks up exactly where the previous one left off, to the moment. It will probably take me til April to finish this beast, since it's way too gigantic to be toting back and forth to work.

WHAT WE ATE|
Apparently, the chilly weather we had this week put us into hibernation-prep mode for our menu. We started off the week with T's super comfort food, chicken and dumplings. The next night, we had a corned beef brisket from the slow cooker with boiled potatoes and French-cut green beans. It was my mother's lasagna out of the freezer after that. T's stuffed cabbage on Wednesday. We finally "lightened" things up a little on Thursday and Friday, with fish sandwiches and burgers.

CANDLE SCENTS|
White Christmas (YC) - We've had an especially chilly week, by Florida standards, but we're loving it. Something I learned about this particular scent: we sleep with our slider open in the bedroom all not-summer, and the chillier, the better (no heat on at our house!). When I come into the bedroom at night, the combination of the fresh, brisk air, combined with this scent, is intoxicating!
Dream by the Fire (YC) - I don't smell anything smoky in this scent, but more of this warm, masculine combination of cedar and musk. I actually kind of love it.
Christmas Cupcake (YC) - The warmth of vanilla mixed with the sweetness of sugar frosting. Yum!
Frolic and Play (YC) - I love this one in the hall bathroom. It's fresh and a bit minty...but the mint in this one is spearmint, which is such a fun change from the peppermint that's so commonly used. I also love the way it mixes with the fresh air and White Christmas scent from the bedroom. It makes the hall between the two rooms smell delicious.

WHAT THIS WEEK LOOKED LIKE|
Now, here's a forecast I can get behind! (Saturday turned out to be a high of 52 and a low of 36!)


We have a new grill. We actually wore our last one out. All hail being able to grill all year round!


Christmas came down, but winter stayed up. I love these trees.


You can mock my plaid fleece pants if you want, but I was nice and cozy, even with the heat kept off!


This is how it is, when you work in a large, uninsulated, metal building.


Spaceship Earth. I never tried the "work" option before. I could not. stop. laughing. (Also, still a dork.)


Technically beautiful photo, this is not. But the bowl of soup I ordered for dinner at California Grill was just way too pretty not to capture, even if I wasn't schlepping my big camera around with me. The menu says: Pumpkin Bisque Mocha Latte - Roasted Pumpkin, White Chocolate, Espresso, Almond Biscotti, Spiced Chantilly. I've no clue what "spiced chantilly" is, but this was a surprisingly tasty and comforting bowl of goodness.