A snow day, a lot of work, a nap and an unusual dinner

Another snow day, although this one was mild compared to last week. By late afternoon much of it had melted, in spite of temperatures in the 20s--the sun came out and did its job. Still, this morning when I got up it was snowing steadily, even if tiny tiny flakes. Just not a lot of accumulation. I'm not sure if there's ice beneath that snow or not. It was a good day to stay home and at my desk. I dug in again to my chili book. The trouble with having several projects going is that I have long absences from some--spent much of the morning reacquainting myself with the chili text. I did move ahead quite a bit, not so much in terms of word count but cleaning up references, adding details here and there, checking facts. Back to work on it again tonight after this.Once I get into a project I thoroughly enjoy it--but getting back to it after a long absence takes discipline.
Today would have been a great day for chili but I had a bowl of soup left over from the weekend for lunch. It was delicious and warming. Tonight I had an unusual supper. Last weekend when I went to Central Market to stock up, I was waiting by the poultry for the butcher to cut my chicken when I spotted quail stuffed with chicken sausage, feta, cilantro, and pine nuts. Of course I had to have one. Tonight I roasted it at 350 for 30 minutes--it didn't get brown and crispy on the outside, as I would have liked, and it was a little heavy on the feta but still, it was really good, a splurge I'll repeat.
I napped today--which is no different from most days. But today I lay in bed and thought how warm and comfortable I was. Even awake, I'm reluctant to get up and leave that warm, cozy nest, with a cat curled at my feet warming them and a dog snuffling contentedly by the bed to give me a sense of company. I can lie there and spin stories and dreams forever. Today I forced myself up to see the evening news and put that quail in the oven.
When I'm working at my computer as I was today I often check Facebook as well as my email. It occurred to me tonight that Facebook, for all its detractors, is a good source of information--today I learned there of the death of a prominent local artist, read an inspirational email, a current events email about parents objecting to the teaching of Arabic culture and language in their schools (give me a break! what narrow vision), and a Wisconsin journalist's reprise of his adventures in the Metroplex last week (the SuperBowl ice storm appears to be a story that won't go away). But I never would have found any of this without Facebook. No, folks, it's not all idle chatter. Oh, and my children's half-sister posted that she made a bacon and chocolate cake--now that boggled my mind.