Ancient Mariners and Weather Apps

Gone is the spring-like weather of last week.  Today is chilly, perhaps downright cold; my desktop weather app tells me that snow is on the way.  Other weather predictors disagree, but regardless of the form that the precipitation takes, it's going to be gray and dreary today.

I am happy on a gray and dreary day, especially when I am living alone.  I have plans to make a kind of pot roast/beef stew kind of dish, with the bones and beef I brought back with me from my trip to see my mom and dad.  I'll have to strategize, because the beef was already cooked.  I don't need to simmer it for hours to achieve tenderness.  I have carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes, and those will need to cook longer.  I will make as big a pot as possible, with the hopes that the leftovers will last deep into the week.

Before I get started on this project, I'll go for my morning walk.  The radar lets me know that unsettled weather is on the way.  Once it gets here, I'll get my stew started.  I'm happy that yesterday I did the data entry part of getting my online classes ready for tomorrow's start date. 

I've got work to do for my classes that I'm taking as a student--I need to get some reading done.  Happily that leaves time for quilting.  I'm still enjoying this piece work so much.  Or maybe I'll work on the quilting that my bigger project requires.  It might be a good day to have the project draped over me as I do the actual quilting.  It's not as interesting as the piece work, but I'd like to get it done by the time the cold weather leaves for good.  Or maybe I'll save it for the quilt retreat in November.  I'll see what calls to me this afternoon.

I'm happy to report that the quilting has inspired me to write a poem or two in the past week.  I get frustrated easily and worried that I'm just repeating myself.  I've been using quilting metaphors for several decades now.  The current poem that is still in progress this morning uses the idea of a quilt assembled out of scraps left over from other projects as a map.  It references ancient mariner--perhaps I should do more with that.

Let me go and get this walk done, before the rain starts.