Quick Hitters

I. Crosswords
You can do crossword puzzles on your iPhone. This seems like something I would have known about a long time ago, but I just came upon it last weekend while waiting around for a concert in Syracuse. It's become a thing for J and I. We lie in bed at the end of the day and work through them together, either congratulation ourselves on knowing who the Greek goddess of Peace is (Irene) or shaking our heads in amazement that we couldn't figure out what "Writer's Complaint, five letters ending in ---ck" might be. I don't know if Mom still gets the Sunday newspaper delivered or not, but the availability of crossword puzzles might be what finally pushes her into the smartphone era.

II. Ramekins
I've been doing a lot of work with ramekins recently. We had a pair of 8 oz ramekins for a long time, and within the last month I've started an institution of making baked oatmeal for breakfast. Regular preparations include cookie butter baked oatmeal, ginger/cardamom baked oatmeal (topped with a little raspberry jam and creme fraiche), coconut macaroon baked oatmeal (sweet and condensed milk with coconut flakes), maple pecan, peanut butter cup, and today cinnamon-graham. It's really the only way to start the morning. A little egg, milk, some oats, a dash of salt and baking powder, whatever sweetener and spices you're using, and then 20 minutes later you have a hot breakfast. We picked up a set of smaller ramekins for the most recent DNI. (J would blog about the experience, but I have the computer today). The 6 oz ramekins just BARELY contained the egg dish she made...spinach, tomatoes, garlic, and cream under gruyere and an egg. I picked up 2 baby 3 oz ramekins as well, and just last night made a mess of the oven by putting single serving brownies in them. It's mostly clean now, and the brownies tasted fine.

III. Running
The running season is winding down. I'll keep on running, of course, but I'll be running alone, or alternating runs with J. It's just getting too cold to take the boys out anymore. We've been bundling them up in winter coats and wrapping them under a blanket, but they are still complaining by the 2nd or 3rd mile of a run. It's really just James that complains, and I suspect his problem is more being bored than cold. Owen just sort of looks around for airplanes with a semi-frozen expression. We may still be able to sneak a few runs in on warm afternoons. Last year we ran on Christmas Eve, after all. But I think that the every-day season is just about finished.