Bits And Pieces

It's been a busy weekend, so I thought I'd share some things I've found intriguing or fun lately:

-- This sesame noodles recipe is at once really simple, and incredibly yummy looking.  So much so that I want to have it for breakfast because I'm not certain that I can wait until later to try it.  (Found this via the NYTimes' Reader Recipe contest.)

-- Through the same NYTimes recipe contest, I found a new (to me!) food blog that I really like:  Opera Girl Cooks.  Huzzah -- it has clean eating recipes that are full of veggies and whole foods. 

-- Speaking of clean eating, I just finished reading Tosca Reno's new book and there was information in there that was incredibly helpful and encouraging.  Especially for someone who is on the front end of her weight loss and fitness journey (and still trying to figure out who she wants to be when she grows up, frankly, if we're being totally honest).  It's comprehensive, dealing not just with eating and exercise, but also the mental changes needed to sustain a healthier lifestyle and the support you need to give yourself to find the courage to take the steps to get healthy.  Well done book and well worth a read: Your Best Body Now: Look and Feel Fabulous at Any Age the Eat-Clean Way.

-- The high temperature average for Yellowstone in June?  68.5 F.  The low average?  36.6.  We'll be packing lots of layers.  LOTS of layers, because sometimes they still get a blizzard in June.  It's going to be such a great trip.


--The birdfeeders got refilled yesterday, and the birdies are thrilled.  The ravenous hordes -- which at the moment consist of a chickadee that is eating his weight in seeds in one fell swoop and a pair of titmice that are dive-bombing in and out for hulled sunflower chips -- are munching away outside my sun room office window, and my new desk chair allows me to swivel around to see them instantly (instead of getting that crick in my neck and shoulders from having to contort in the old, hulking La-Z-Boy recliner).  Life is good.

-- The Peanut announced this morning that she did not want to be disturbed because she wanted to write in her journal.  Oooooh, we've spawned a writer.  Yay.

-- Does anyone have a recommendation for binoculars that are small, lightweight, but work well for wildlife spotting?  I want something we can take with us to Yellowstone, but that won't weight a ton around my neck -- I don't want lupus kinks to flare up from carrying binoculars, ya know?  But I also don't want some crappy pair that won't really allow us to see anything clearly, and would definitely trade weight of binoculars for clear sightings.  All the reviews of everything are mixed, so I'm asking for suggestions from the birding crowd out there -- I know you have faves, so please share.

So, anything new with you?  Do tell...

(Photo via jjjj56cp.  Lovely colors in this shot.)