The Comfort of Food: It’s in our Nature

Comfort food keeps us alive in more ways than one.

Although it was a hot day, I craved rice and beans, cooked in the traditional style* on the stove in heavy Guardian Service pots. It’s remarkable that in so many modern cultures, it’s the inexpensive food that makes us happiest. Our ancestors ate this to survive. We can eat anything we want and often choose the foods that define our pasts. Or childhoods. Celebrations. Or ordinary family meals. Our nature.

Bloody Noses and Idea Shortages

So this is where high standards get in the way of storytelling.

I enjoy the blogging challenges; The WordPress, NaBloPoMo and One Word Photo Challenge have all inspired me to see beauty and humor in the everyday.  But sometimes the well runs dry. The ordinariness of daily life shows its supremacy and gives everything a grey shroud. It won’t last. Summer is thisclose and I may have found a  new (to me) beach to explore about an hour’s drive away. For now, though, I’ll keep my eyes open for visual surprises.

Tale of Two Colors: Orange vs Teal

Orange: The offspring of vibrant red and sunny yellow, the color of sunsets, sunrises, mimosas, carrots and my favorite citrus fruit.

Teal: What happens when you mix blue and green.

Atlantic City in the Very Off Season

I needed me some ocean.

So when a friend asked if I’d like to join her in Atlantic City I gave the only correct answer: Yeah! Atlantic City is a gambling town on the ocean at the very southern end of New Jersey. Off season, in February, the casinos are busy and the boardwalk is almost desolate. But it’s the best route between attractions. I kept reminding myself that the hardy locals here do this every day.

Atlantic City is a few degrees warmer than New York, which sometimes makes a difference in precipitation: rain versus snow. Cold versus freezing cold. Able to take some pictures versus “I can’t. My fingers are frozen.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

But seafoam in the wintertime is refreshing.