The mac and cheese was a hit, as I predicted it would be. In preparing the cheese for the sauce I noticed that I had bits of several kinds so I put them in along with my usual sharp cheddar, so it was a cheddar/pepper jack/parmesan/brie sauce spiced up with some Grey Poupon and adobo. Not conventional perhaps, but delicious and very much in keeping with my current, "oh, what the heck" state of mind. The Boy Wonder tried a couple noodles (I used rotini) and preferred to eat plain pasta instead so he got lots of approval for trying something new.


Dinner tonight is a little less thrown together. I've got a roast in the oven and have just added some carrots to cook along with it. We're also having spoon bread and homemade applesauce. The leftover roast will go into tomorrow's Bigos while the leftover spoonbread will become tomorrow's breakfast, with stewed apples and thick cut bacon. As evidenced by this menu, it's either very cold outside or I'm getting nesty again. Actually, both are true.


I'm also quite a bit calmer after this fiasco of a week. My husband sent me out to go the library and have a manicure (he knows where I seek peace!) and told me not to come back until I was nice and serene. Who am I to argue with such wisdom. The only fly in the ointment was that today's viewing at Happy Nails was a movie featuring (in the 25 minutes I was there) two gun battles, a large explosion, and two men being shot in the head, execution-style. No one else seemed fazed by this, so maybe I'm just being oversensitive. Seems to me, though, that this is not the kind of entertainment such an establishment ought to be offering.


My friend Mike once had a manicure on the "mens' floor" of a swanky Philadelphia spa as part of a bridal party (the groomsmen and bridesmaids all took part in this outing, which was followed by lunch). Anyway, he said that sitting in the polished wood and brass room getting his nails done and watching the last quarter of a big Eagles game was sort of like how he always imagined heaven would be. Fair enough - and proves my point that the right viewing at the right time can complement the whole indulgence business. The wrong viewing can be just too bizarre. And, today, Happy Nails was nothing short of bizarre.