Blogtober 5: Close to Home

 

My husband has breakfast with a group of friends on Monday mornings and leaves the house early. I tend to get up with him and go for a walk. A thin crescent moon hung in the sky as I started out. I debated which jacket to wear and was glad I chose the light down one for the air had a distinct chill. 

Groups of crows flew by, black silhouettes against the lightening sky. Other birds began singing their morning songs and I stopped to listen and identify them with the Merlin app. A trio of Sparrows - Golden-Crowned, White-Crowned, and White-Throated. The last has a distinctive whistling sound suggested by the app to say "sweet Canada," and now I think I'll recognize the sound always. There were Spotted Towhees and Dark-eyed Juncos, all making merry noises but staying hidden in trees and shrubs. 

Half-way through my walk the horizon changed to soft pink, not just in the east, but in every direction. Early cyclists raced by on their way to work or school. I met a few people walking their dogs. 

Breakfast has never been my favourite meal. When I was a child we often had cooked oatmeal, and I grew to hate it. The texture is what bothered me the most despite the added brown sugar and milk. I've heard a lot about Overnight Oats but couldn't imagine they would be an improvement. When we were in Mexico last December, overnight oats were on the breakfast buffet and I decided to give them a try. To my surprise, the texture was fine. I now enjoy them several times a week. I mix equal amounts of rolled oats (not quick), plain yogurt, milk, and a couple of teaspoons of maple syrup. This morning I added a handful of the raspberries that are still producing in the garden. I find it quite satisfying with a cup of tea alongside. 

The chilly morning soon gave way to a sunny warm afternoon. Roses continue to bloom. Molyneaux has now spent a full year in the garden and has produced beautifully. Her colour is rather autumnal now, a deeper yellow than earlier in the season.

I spent the day mostly at home doing this and that, and ventured out just to the grocery store this afternoon. For dinner I roasted a garden-grown zucchini along with carrots and mushrooms, made a lettuce salad with radishes from the garden, pan-roasted some chicken breasts, and my husband had some rice. Best of all, there's enough left over for another meal. 

The kitchen is tidy and I'm sitting in a pool of lamplight in the living room. After I post this, I'll begin reading a book I picked up from the library, The Cromarty Library Circle by Shona Maclean. I probably learned of the book from a blog, but I can't remember whose.