Just a bit of this and that

Subtle signs of Autumn are beginning to creep into the days here in central Florida, the early mornings begin with a misty fog, some places its just whispy ribbons in other areas so heavy it seems you can almost move it with your touch. With these misty mornings the air feel cooler, almost pleasant so I take my walk outdoors to the walking trail, always a more pleasant walk than the treadmill at the gym.

While walking this week I have noticed the bright green leaves of summer on the trees are starting to take on the faded dull green of fall and winter. It took me nearly 8 years living here in Florida to notice these subtle changes to the trees.

Oh the days are growing shorter too, funny how I didn't notice until I had tl drag the trashcan to the curb Thursday evening and darkness was closing in quickly at 8:20 the next time I take notice it will probably be full dark so I better leave a post it note to lug the trash can half hour earlier. After the brutal heat of the summer I am looing forward to a change.

Speaking of change I made a rathr significant change this week, I had instant oatmeal for breakfast, twice, for me its a big change. I am not a big fan of instant oatmeal but I do eat it when I am crunched for time so I keep a box of Quaker packets in my pantry right next to the oatmeal. I love oatmeal but have never really acquired the taste for instant oatmeal in those little packets, while I was walking through the breakfast aisle at Publix recently, I spotted a sale on some Quaker products and decided that I'd pick up one of the oatmeal products priced on sale at 2 for $3.00.

Quaker Real Medleys Apple Walnut oatmeal in a cup is pretty impressive, the different things Quaker jammed into this small serving beside the obvious oatmeal, are dried apples, walnuts, dried cranberries, cinnamon and brown sugar to add flavor many are some of my favorite oatmeal add-ins, so I was looking forward to trying this.

I chose the boil water method and after the 3 minute wait time the aroma when I removed the lid was intoxicating, the actual taste was delicious. There was just the right blend of tartness and sweetness of the apples and mild flavor of cranberries which re-hydrated with the water made added an additional sweet taste that made me devour each spoonful. These little cups of flavor will find a place in my pantry for those times when I need something quick.

Yesterday I spent a few hours purging old stuff I had in the garage, bits and pieces of craft projects, old office supplies, dried out markers, white out, tons of paper clips and a few dozen tiny notepads. I filled one large trashbag and have one box for donations and I found a few things I forgot about. After the purge I organized my stationery office supply cabinet, tossed out dozen of dried out pens and found my fountain pen cartridges. Yeah.

My allergies weren't as bad this week and I lost a total of 5 pounds since July 7^th. I finally pushed past the 1 pound on off plateau that plagued me for 3 weeks. Yippe!