Snow in Morocco and It’s Cold Here

I guess it was time for me to get a geography lesson - I didn’t realize Ifrane (where M K&Z are) was known as Little Switzerland. They recently received 14 inches of snow – quite a plus for the local ski resorts. I was also surprised to learn the coldest recorded temperature in all of Africa was a negative 23 C (around –9 F) in Ifrane in 1935! Al Akawayn University’s web site home page has a beautiful winter slide show now – check it out at http://www.aui.ma/
Ok, out of Africa and back to the Midwest USA – it’s COLD! It’s windier today so I went online to see what the temperature felt like if you factor in windchill:

Our weather hub was showing –12 at the same time; perhaps the online probe is out in the open while our probe is under the deck railing. I checked Ifrane's weather - it's 45 F there now.

Pics are really computer screen shots rather than digital photos – apologies in advance if they’re hard to view. ~~K

That’s a Negative

Hope you’ve arrived safely wherever you need to be this morning!School is closed today so I’m snug at home (68 degrees in here); but look at that outside temperature –6. ~~K

Colorful Eats

As I was preparing my lunch this morning I was struck by the bright colors.
Leftover teriyaki chicken wings from last night, one wheat tortilla, some red pepper, celery, carrots and an apple.

Again at supper I thought the colors were “flavorful”. Meatloaf, traditional salad, rice with garlic, green peppers and fresh orange and red peppers (I bought them the other day for 34 cents from what D calls Meijer’s “used” vegetable rack). ~~K

Where’s the Beef?

In the freezer and in our tummies!
I bought a whole center cut round roast for $1.99 a pound the other day. I realize it’s a bit of a tougher cut of meat, but at that price I thought it might add some variety to our menu. I cut off two “steaks”; D grilled them in the stove’s oven since the weather is so yucky, they were tasty, but not tender.

The rest is now in the freezer.

I cut off a hunk for a crock pot roast; cut some up into chunks for a crock pot stew; and it’s been years since I’ve made Braciole so I sliced some thin, later I’ll pound those slices flatter, stuff it, roll it, and cook it in the crock pot with some spaghetti sauce. Hopefully the slow cooking in the crock pot will tenderize the meat. ~~K

Too Many If’s

If it’s warmer than 30
If it’s cooler than 80
If the wind is calm
If the road isn’t snowy/icy/slippery
If it’s not during a thunder storm

I’ve tried running in the cold and wind, but it only proved I’m a fair weather outside runner. I thought my “rule” would be to run when it was no colder than 30 degrees F. I then adapted that to say the wind chill temp couldn’t be lower than 30. While running Dec 27 in 60 F with 25mph wind (in NW Ohio) it was difficult just walking into the wind much less doing a RUN (my knees really felt the extra effort). I then had to make an addendum to my rule – the wind can’t be greater than 15mph. I think this should apply even in hot weather as I recall some warm breezy runs!

There have been some exceptions: I’ve been known to run when it was 86 and B and I had an enjoyable run during a light rain (it was raining even before we walked out the door).

Notice my great Christmas presents I’m wearing to help me be safe and comfortable during my runs – snuggly fleece and a wrist heart rate monitor!

Saturday I ran 3.1 miles on our home treadmill, but slowly – it took almost 35 minutes. My warm up was .25 mile and the cool down was another .25 mile. I need more confidence and balance to not hold on.

I finally made it to the Y today after school. 3.125 miles around the track – I walked a minute after each mile, but did each mile between 10’30” and 11’00” – I used my headphones with music and tried to keep the beat so it should have been 6 mph – I’m trying to get faster, but not experiencing much success yet. ~~K

Diner Dinner

Do you ever crave a greasy-spoon diner breakfast? But for supper?Well, we did and prepared it all at once (other than toast) on our cool-touch griddle. Good eats! ~~K

Now on Tap …

Smoothies! Well, actually this is a frozen mango margarita – yummy!Fill lines on the container side indicate correct proportions of liquid ingredients and frozen ingredients to make three tasty servings. How convenient – it fits in the fridge and has a spigot that works well. I’m enjoying this Christmas present! ~~K