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 7th. I finally pushed past the 1 pound on off
plateau that plagued me for 3 weeks. Yippe!
