Archives - Weekly Update

Once again folks, the weather was the star of the news week. It snowed in Minneapolis. A lot. It hailed in LA, and there was some snow in southern California. It was 70 in Ohio. It was 80 in Washington, DC. Okay, the later three factoids were definitely out of the norm. In the New York area, I still am waiting for a really great snowstorm, but I am not seeing this happening. A few years ago, a big snowstorm would shut the city down. Now it would mean I would not walk to the mailbox to get the mail. Nothing else would really stop.

I am a huge fan of amaryllis plants. I gift dozens of bulbs at the holidays, and this year I potted eight for myself. Some white blooms looked spectacular in my office, but the plant got large, and I failed to stake it in time. Thus the stem broke. I cut all of the flowers that had burst and put them in a vase...turquoise, of course. So I can still enjoy them. I also bought some bulbs with new colored flowers this year, including a lemon yellow that looks really pretty. And there is an orange one blooming in the family room. It's really nice to have brilliant color around at this time of year!

At our house, the Super Bowl always needs a menu. Each year, I seem to forget what we made in previous years, except pigs in a blanket, which are a must. We have to dash to the supermarket early on Saturday to get them before they sell out like they did two years ago. Yes, I have a long memory for things like that. I am thinking about homemade queso and guacamole with blue corn chips, and I ordered peach salsa from The Peach Truck, which is supposed to be here on time. Now I am fine with all kinds of appetizers. But Tom will ask, “What are we having for dinner?” or “What are we having for the main course?” And once again, I will have to define that Super Bowl Sunday has neither.

This weekend, an arctic chill is sweeping through the New York area and most of the country. The way it is being reported on the news, it’s like this is happening during the summer. It’s winter, folks! It’s supposed to be cold. When it's warm, it's an anomaly. Snow in Texas? Well, yes, that is something out of the ordinary, especially when it shuts down the airport. But here? It’s supposed to be cold. The other day, it was reported that we were at the longest stretch of time where there was no snow in Central Park. And finally the flurries that fell on Wednesday counted. Whew, one less thing to worry about!