Cold As Ice

We had a small ice event this week. After trekking home in slushy weather on Monday, I was awoken at 4 am Tuesday by an ice storm warning alarm on my phone. The initial predictions were a little scary for those of us who remember Ice Storm '94. But in the end, there was barely enough freezing rain to qualify for an ice storm warning. I'm not complaining - I don't want power outages or a tree through my roof! I wouldn't have minded being homebound for a day or two, though. The roads remained mostly fine, except for some black ice here and there.

It's still really cold, so a lot of the ice is still around. I snapped these pictures yesterday evening while killing time before church.

You can sort of see the ice on the trees in the streetlight!

In other news: this is my new camera! My old Canon Powershot SD1200 was lost/stolen at a wedding I went to in October. I was happy with that camera, so I bought an exact duplicate for cheap on eBay. Unfortunately, it was a lemon (lesson learned about buying electronics on eBay). The focus didn't work at all on zoomed shots, and only sporadically on wide shots. After perusing reviews, I bought this Canon Powershot SX260 with Christmas money and am loving it so far. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to sew a case for it, so I'm carrying it around in the flimsy plastic wrap from the packaging. Classy!

Blueberry Bran Muffins

My love affair with blueberries continues. Now is the perfect blueberry time when every pint is fantastic, and I eat at least a pint a week all by myself, usually standing over the sink. But blueberries this good deserve more dignified treatment.

So last night I pulled out this muffin recipe I've been saving for a while. I tasted the batter, as is my custom, and it was so delicious that I thought these muffins must be like 300 calories each. I mean, they even contain real sugar (not Splenda)! But after consulting ye olde recipe calculator, I'm pleased to announce that they're only 108 calories each, and chock full of fiber and protein. So eat up!


Blueberry Bran Muffins
From Allrecipes. Makes 1 dozen.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups wheat bran
1 cup 1% milk
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar, not packed
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup blueberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F and prepare muffin tin or cups.

2. In a medium bowl, combine wheat bran and milk, and let stand for ten minutes.

3. In a large batter bowl, combine applesauce, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add bran mixture.

4. In a third bowl, sift together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the large bowl and stir just until blended. Fold in blueberries.

5. Scoop into muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes.

***

This is an aside, but I want to make it clear that many of the photos I use on this blog weren't taken by me. I get most of them on weheartit, so it's usually impossible to find and credit the original source, though I'm happy to do so when the information is available. Lately I've felt increasingly guilty about my lack of original, topic-pertinent photos, but photography isn't really a passion of mine (although I get a good shot now and then). Most successful bloggers are excellent writers and excellent photographers... but I'm not. I'm okay with that. If that keeps me from ever being really successful, oh well.

Three good things about today.

1. I have the last volume of the story of one of the all-time greatest YA heroines in my hands. I don't know when I'm going to read it because I have no uninterrupted 6-hour block of time in the next few days. Unless I want to skip sleep. Which, let's face it, I may end up doing.

(Also I discovered like 50 other books that I want to read. In addition to the hundred that were already on my list.)



2. I ordered this! :D More info and an initial review once it comes in...which I'm hoping will happen before Myla's wedding next weekend.

3. At work I was able to help a client who was in a tight spot. That doesn't happen often (most of my job consists of laying down the law), so when it does, I really enjoy and get a lift from it!