Pancake Day

Yeah, okay. So it's been, like, a year and a half since the last time I was on here. And there are probably very good reasons why that is true; unfortunately, I can't remember any of them. So it's like starting a whole new blog, basically. So those who have been on tenterhooks waiting for a new post, here you go!!

Anyway... tomorrow is pancake day. Also know as Fat Tuesday. Or Mardi Gras. Or Shrove Tuesday. Or for those who do not know what this holiday is all about, it's What-are-all-these-people-doing Day. But in our house, we celebrate it as Pancake Day, that is, we eat a lot of pancakes. Traditionally, in the United Kingdom (where I learned about it in the first place), and presumably in other places as well, Pancake Day was an opportunity to use up the eggs, milk, fat, and other non-Lenten foods in the house before Ash Wednesday. For most people I know, it has survived only as a day to eat pancakes. Which is what we do. And in preparation, we have our house stocked with pancake mix, eggs, milk, butter, and syrup. And for some reason, my DH likes peanut butter with his pancakes, so we have that as well.

So we have a chance for a record-high temperature here in Lubbock tomorrow. It's hard to believe that we're in February. I am thankful for the warm winter we are having, being as I have long hated winter, but even I have begun praying for cold weather along with some moisture (in the form of rain, snow, sleet, ice; since I don't drive, I'm not particular). Reason: let's kill off some of those mosquitos, gnats, biting flies, etc. that will plague us this summer if not discouraged by a good freeze. And since I no longer have to spend 4 hours a day standing in a drive-through window, I am totally willing for the outdoors to be frozen. (Although those of you in the drive-throughs have my sympathy.)

We are now only two months away from an entire car-free year. I feel like I should have learned something profound from this time without a car, but all I can say is: not so much. Honestly, it horrifies our friends that we live without a car much, much more than it bothers us. To be fair, some of those friends are frequently called upon to ferry us to church/work and back again, but then I do bake cookies for our transporting friends. Anyway, what depresses me most about being car-free is that I should have lost much more weight than I have over the course of the last year. All that walking and cycling and nothing to show for it. Grrrr.

Okay, so that was my "I'm back!" blog. Stay tuned and maybe I'll have something more to say later.