My Blogging by Mail Package Arrived!

My BBM Holiday Edition pal was April of Gastronomicon, who lives in Pittsburgh, PA. I had listed on my signup that I was interested in regional foods, so she obliged me. She also cooked up some pretty good stuff herself!

Here's what I got:

Tulip Poplar Honey from a local apiary - DH and I are looking forward to some of that on our toast in the morning!
Brown Sugar marshmallows from a local confectionary - I've already tasted them, and they are sooo goood.
Chocolate S'mores Balls from another local confectionary - It's hard to stop eating these. They chocolate-coated marshmallows with a graham cracker "crust."
Pistachio-Dried Cherry Chocolate Bark - delightfully unusual. And delicious.
Chocolate-Covered Apricots - these will go with us on our camping trip to snack on.
Cinnamon Snaps - sort of like Snickerdoodles - really good!
Rugellach from a bakery near April's apartment - another breakfast treat - I think we'll eat these "on the road"
Cardamom cookies - sort of like a soft shortbread - not too sweet - yummy with coffee.

So you can see, I "hit the jackpot!" What a wonderful assortment of goodies! Thanks so much to April for sending the package, and thanks to Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness for organizing Blogging by Mail. This is so much fun!

If you'd like to see what I sent to my partner, go to Erin-Go-Blog! and see.
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I DID get that cold, and boy was it a doozie! Sunday was the tickling in the throat, Monday was the beginning of the sniffles and congestion, and by Monday night I felt like I was hit by a semi truck. Tuesday was spent in bed all day; I used up an entire box of tissues. My poor nose is so red and tender! Yesterday I was a little stronger, but last night the coughing started. The cough syrup wasn't strong enough; I got only a few hours' sleep. Today I feel like I'm on the uphill side, with a little bit of everything still hanging on.

The reason I'm such a wimp about this is because I haven't had a cold or been sick for almost 4 years. When I was in the classroom, I caught every virus my students brought in, especially around semester finals time, when my resistance was low because of the exhaustion and stress. But when I became union president, no more kids. I guess I was awfully lucky not to catch colds from my colleagues, but I didn't. Still haven't - I'm sure I caught this from DH.

I should be fine for our trip - we leave Saturday for almost two weeks of camping in our new trailer on Lake Mead. I'll be posting all about it after the trip on my other blog, Wanderlust. This will be our second year to go; we went last year and fell in love with it. We go to Overton Beach, on the Overton Arm of Lake Mead. Picture Lake Mead as an upside-down T, and then go to the top. There's a marina there, plus a 30-site campground, which is probably packed and noisy during the summer months with seadoos and ski boats. But this time of year, the only ones there are snowbirds (full-time RVers) and us. Last year, within an hour of our setting up, two different ladies came and knocked on our door to tell us that on Christmas Day they all do a potluck, and wanted us to come. We did - and ate turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and an assortment of other sides, breads, and desserts. We brought a pumpkin pie I was able to get at a market in Overton, which is 10 miles north. This year I'm planning to make a cranberry salad, and I'll be sure to post a pic and recipe later.

At night, you can sit in your chair, look out across the desert and see nothing but some far off twinkling lights of Overton, and listen to the coyotes and the occasional bray of the famous Lake Mead burros. We saw four of them one afternoon, so I knew what that strange sound was. The lights of Las Vegas brighten the western sky some, but not enough to dim our view of the stars. It's heaven - no kids, no atvs, no seadoos - just peace and quiet.

Last year DH met a guy his age, also retired, also with wife still working (she's a nurse), who also has a passion for fishing. They hit it off and spent lots of time together fishing. Gary's from Las Vegas, and parks his motor home up at Overton Beach for the winter; he's let us know he bought a boat and plans to take DH fishing a lot. We're also looking forward to spending the day with DH's niece and her husband - they're both stationed at Nellis Air Force Base and will come up to see us Sunday.

Oh, I wish I was there already!

food & drink