Coming for a walk with me?

How was everyone’s Monday?   Work wise, my Monday was really status quo, I woke up tired and never seemed to shake the fatigue, but it was a GOOD Monday anyway because after what seems like a long grey rainy spell, we had bright sunshine today.  Amazing how the sun puts people in a good mood and lifts their spirits.  The rain is supposed to return tomorrow, so I “carpe’d my diem” and went for a walk at lunchtime.  Through these photos, you can walk with me!   I decided to look for reflections, shadows and colors, though there are a few other shots thrown in just because.

I LOVED the color of these berries.

And there was color and shadow here.

Smiley face color on a dull grey guard post.

My own shadow taking a photo.  The way my coat and my skirt are shadowed, it looks like I’m wearing a jaunty peplum outfit.  I was not…but I do think we should all use the word “jaunty” more often!

The only color really worth mentioning in the next two shots is the blue of the sky.  My Mom always said “If a bird poops on you, its good luck”.  My Mom is a very wise woman, but I have to disagree today, I stood under the tree to get these shots, and I think I’m very lucky NONE of the birds pooped on me…..

The crow singled out here was particularly vocal about me standing there, and I’m pretty sure if he/she COULD have pooped on me, it would have.  HA!  I win this round Crow….however, I’m sure you or one of your species will get me back when I’m driving VERY soon!

B&K, may your love last a lifetime!

Pops of floating color in this one.  And I’m going to say something very controversial here….our city is pretty….because we have water and mountains.  The skyline of the city itself?  IMHO…blech.  WHERE is the character in these buildings????  Thank you, I’ll step off my soapbox now.  And hey, to each their own…

Ever looked up the nostrils of a duck?  Thanks to the reflection in the duck pond…you have now.

Color in this shot?  The Guard Duck’s feet.

Ever looked up the tail feathers of a duck?  Thanks to the reflection in this shot, now you’ve done that too.

“Oh HAI!!!!”

I loved the green color on this duck.

To all seasonal allergy sufferers….my condolences.

Rusty color and shadow in this “train” thing.

Shadows under the bridge as I walked away from the water and back to my office.

And finally, my attempt at an art shot with a bike taken through a sculpture.

By reading this post and walking along with me, you have each earned approx 2-3 weight watchers activity points!  Chocolate for all!! 

There was no chocolate on my point friendly menu today, but here is what I did have….and there is a recipe.

Breakfast was a bagel thin with 1 tbsp light cream cheese.

Yesterday when I was grocery shopping I was given a sample of “Buddy fruit” – basically applesauce in a bag.  I had it and a 100 calorie pack of dried cranberries and nuts during the morning.

My lunch was delicious, however, this picture doesn’t actually look that good.  It’s a salad with spinach, roasted butternut squash, roasted beets, sun dried tomato, nutritional yeast and light feta, blueberries, some pomegranate seeds and a hard boiled egg – that I topped with fat free balsamic dressing that I made with vinegar, dijon mustard, nutritional yeast and a little squeeze of honey. I also bought this new seaweed snack on the weekend, but it’s still sitting on my desk.  Maybe I’ll have it tomorrow.

Later in the afternoon I had an ambrosia apple and 1 tbsp almond butter.

We’re in “use up what we have in the freezer, cupboards and crisper” mode, as we seem to have all kinds of things that have been around for a while.  I pulled out some turkey sausages from the freezer, did some research and found a recipe for sausage, white bean (had a can in the cupboard) and kale (had some that needed to be used) stew from Cooking Light Magazine in 2005.  (I found the recipe on line).  Here is the recipe as published, and my modifications in red.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 (4-ounce) links chicken sausage, cut into (1/2-inch) slices (I used hot italian turkey sausages)
• 1 zucchini, quartered and cut into (1/2-inch) slices (about 2 cups) (omitted, I didn’t have one)
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 6 cups chopped trimmed kale (about 1/2 pound)
• 1/2 cup water (I used vegetable broth)
• 2 (16-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained (I only used one can, that seemed like plenty)
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained  (didn’t have chopped tomatoes, so I used a can of crushed tomatoes instead)
• I had a couple of handfuls of spinach in a container, and threw that in too
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I didn’t think it needed additional salt, there was plenty of salt in the sausage, tomatoes and broth)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onion and sausage 4 minutes or until sausage is browned. Add zucchini and garlic; cook 2 minutes. Add kale and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve immediately.

Lia Huber, Cooking Light
JANUARY 2005

Very tasty, fairly low point, and lots of leftovers.  This recipe will be making a return for sure.

This post turned a bit long winded….sorry ’bout that.  Hopefully you have made it to the end without falling asleep, and also that the sun is shining, or will shine soon in your neck of the woods.