Self Indulgent Whining

Or whingeing. That's a better word. It sounds exactly like what it is.

Here's what I'm whining about:
1. Being cold.
2. Wanting to cook.

Ever go on vacation, or even more on a business trip, and at first eating out at a restaurant is really great, you revel in being served, in picking anything off the menu and having somebody bring it to you all pretty on a plate, and not having to wash that plate when you're done? And then by about day 3 you start getting sick of it, just wanting to have a salad because everything seems so heavy? And by about day 5 you can't wait to get home and cook again? In fact you are all inspired by what you've eaten at restaurants and are anxious to implement some new things in your cooking?

That's how I feel right now. I CAN cook, but it's only about 40 degrees out there on the porch, and that is not conducive to creativity. I'm in microwave-and-run mode and have been for a couple of weeks now, ever since fall started in earnest. I am so anxious to have a real kitchen again, with all the tools I need laid out in easy reach, a maximum of 3 steps to take within my work triangle, and not having to scoop ladybugs or Japanese beetles or whatever the stupid things are called out of the frying pan every time I try to saute something. I'm serious, those bratty little ladies are all over the porch ceiling and they love to plop down in the food. Eugheublech!

And of course being cold has a lot to do with this, because it's already chilly in this house, and then having to go out in the cold to prepare food makes me even colder, and the only relief is to go wash dishes in the basement, which is usually the coldest part of the house but right now is the warmest, actually, because we at least have a baseboard heater down there, and besides the dish water is warm. Only you have to be REALLY careful where you step because otherwise you're likely to fall in one of the trenches criss-crossing our basement floor for the geothermal piping.

There. I feel better now. See, a little whining IS good for the soul.

I'll pull myself together here soon, I promise. I have nothing really to whinge about. Life is really good, especially compared to what many people's lives are like these days.

EDITED: After hitting the POST button, I noticed the radar map there =======> . What is that BIG GREEN SWIRLY THING to the west of us? It'd better be only rain, that's all I can say. I don't think I can handle snow. At least until a) the furnace is working and b) the finish is down on the kitchen floor so we don't have to tramp through the snow to get from the backporchkitchen to the rest of the house.