Coffee, wool and veggies

I finally got around to sampling one of my Christmas prezzies this week ......Starbucks 100% Natural Roasted Instant & Microground Coffee. Did you know about this stuff? The box comes with 12 of these handy-dandy little pouches ...... which you snip open and pour into a cup and add hot water (and, in my case, cream), and VOILA! Starbucks at home! This may NOT be a good thing ... I am apparently genetically programmed to be overwhelmingly addicted to coffee. For me, coffee 2 or 3 days in a row, and I HAVE TO HAVE MORE COFFEE!!! Once I start drinking the stuff, I suffer incredible headaches until I pour some into me ... intravenous would be good! ... and unbearable cravings all day long. Consequently, I DON'T drink coffee regularly. I've even learned to travel to and from work AWAY FROM temptations like Tim Hortons and Starbucks. Out of sight. out of mind, right?

Did I mention a brand new Starbucks is opening on the corner by my office on Monday?

Pray for me, people! I'm going to need willpower!

I discovered this new Starbucks one day last week on a mid-day brain break. I wasn't hungry (having ate a large breakfast plus a donut and two cookies at work), but needed to get out of the office for a bit. So I strolled down to Robyn's Woolgathering for a bit of fondling. Yarn, people! Fondling wool! Sheesh! I wasn't planning on purchasing, but fell in love with the blues and greens and yellows in this ...

It is a lovely soft blend from this local handcrafter ...

... of merino wool and alpaca with enough nylon thrown own to make it quite sturdy. I bought 3 skeins, but have no vision of what I'm going to do with it just yet. At the moment, I'm still into quilting. I've just finished joining the 3 pieced hearts for my wallhanging ... sorry, the photo didn't turn out. My camera's battery chose that moment to demand recharging!

Have I mentioned becoming the regular recipient of an organic veggie box? I signed up for this service last fall from this local organic farm and have been getting a bin ...

... filled with luscious fresh organically-grown veggies, herbs and fruits ...

every second Thursday for the incredibly reasonable price of $30. Here's an example of the contents from one delivery:

No, oranges don't grow here. The farmers supplement the bin with additional organically-grown goodies when necessary. Let me tell you, those fresh pears were DIVINE!

However, the one item that always gets me excited on Thursdays is FRESH LETTUCE!

I despise iceberg lettuce ... no taste, no food value ... and really despise the fact that the iceberg (and other) lettuce in our local grocery store is both imported and not organic. So I am always thrilled to pieces on the Thursdays that my veggie box is delivered ... oh, did I forget that bit? DELIVERED RIGHT TO MY DOOR! Can you imagine??? ... 'cuz dinner is going to include the FRESHEST YUMMIEST salad ever!

(My first veggie box, the lettuce didn't even make it onto a plate ... I just stood at the counter and ate the entire head like a rabbit!) Sometimes these wonderful people include cool recipes ... such as Eggplant Tacos, above. I haven't tried that one yet. I was too hungry for Eggplant Parmiagana! I could receive this box every week, but sometimes I have a crazy work schedule that interferes with regular dinner hours, so have had concerns about wasting.

Well, that's all that's new and exciting for me. The weather here is still unseasonably warm and we're definately a foot or so short of snow, but it is a lovely bright and sunny Sunday.

Have a great week y'all!