Blooming again...................

My Thanksgiving cactus produced new buds and burst into blooms last week.  I thought it would only flower once each season.  What a delightful surprise!  

Kale and Swiss chard are still thriving outside in the raised kitchen garden.  The first week of March I can plant lettuce and other leafy greens in the protected garden and peas can be planted in the big garden.  Yesterday I gently spread some compost and a small bag of manure without hurting myself to prepare a small area for late winter planting.  Rumor has it that tomorrow, Thursday, we're supposed to get 2'' to 4" of snow during the day. Walmart and Ingles are probably full of people buying milk and bread.  

I found a recipe for gluten-free rosemary crackers, better tasting than wheat thins and satisfy me when I have afternoon tea.  

Fresh Rosemary crackers.......

Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment or wax paper to about 1/8" thin.

Cut into squares with a sharp knife. Slide the paper onto a cookie sheet and set in the freezer for 10 minutes.  Then using a spatula transfer the crackers onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake.

Some GF crackers and prepared foods are outrageously expensive so it's nice to be able to make my own healthy snacks.  The best part of this recipe is cutting fresh grown rosemary into the dough.  I've been injecting the methotrexate now for four months which is the time it takes for the full effect.  I'm doing great, no ill effects other that a slight loss of head hair and eye brows and eye lashes. The Rx is keeping the inflammation in check which keeps my arteries free of plaque build-up.  I feel less anxious and sleeping calmer all night.  This spring I should be able to wean off the old Rx.  And I've been behaving myself, (mostly) and keeping out of trouble.  Last week I started to lead the Zumba class in the cool-down dance.  Elena, our Zumba instructor, is also our hair dresser and when I showed her how I move to one of the slower songs when we were in her salon, she told me I need to do the cool-down with the class.  I dance in the kitchen to my Pandora stations.  So I've been dancing the last song and she joins the class for the cool-down.  It's really a beautiful piece. Andrea Bocelli joins Ed Sheeran singing Perfect.  Cliff still enjoys his Zumba class three days a week.  It's a very diverse class made up of dancers in their twenties to late seventies.  Yes, someone older than Cliff!  When you're dancing and singing, you can't help but smile.  

Cliff heads to Florida in a few weeks with his friend, Dutch, for Bike Week.  They will avoid the Daytona crowd and ride mostly in the Jacksonville area.