Believe it or not

there's a city skyline over there. Somewhere.


I snapped this from a bus going over the Charles this afternoon. The snow kinda came out of nowhere -- one minute, just a few flakes, and the next minute ... hmm, where'd everything go?

Made the bus ride go nice and slooooow, too.

An important taste test

I've mentioned Australian Tim Tam cookies before, and how you have to special-order them because it's hard to get them in the US.

Well, one of the things Tom got me for Christmas was a couple boxes of these:


That's right -- looks like Pepperidge Farm has cut a deal with Arnott's to sell them here!

However, a comparison of the ingredient lists on the Pepperidge Farm and Arnott's packages made it clear that they weren't quite the same.

So, I did a comparison of my own.

Both looked about the same from the outside.


As well as on the inside.


But the actual taste comparison? Well ... The overall texture is about right, though the Pepperidge Farm version might be a bit crisper. But the difference that jumps out at me is the outside coating of chocolate. Now, there is some variability between packages even of the Arnott's brand, but still ... the thickness and flavor of the outer chocolate shell ... I mean, it didn't taste bad by any means ... but it wasn't the same. The Pepperidge Farm cookies are good, definitely -- they're just not quite "the real thing".

Both cookies do provide very good slams, however.

Conclusion: If you've never had the Australian Tim Tams, the Pepperidge Farm Tim Tams are worth a try, just to see what we're all talking about. If you're already an Arnott's purist, however ... well, you've been warned.

Our post-Christmas kitchen countertop

It's a little crowded right now.


Not pictured: the rest of the luscious chocolate cookies Tom baked last week, and the leftover cake from Christmas Day in the fridge.

Whoa.

I know it's a day late ...

... but Merry Christmas!

I'm so fast ...

I walk faster than the subway!

... when it's not moving at all because a disabled train has shut down the line. And when they've piled everyone on buses, which then clog the main road and therefore don't move.

That's what happened yesterday evening. I'd been thinking about riding a bus home because it was actually pretty chilly and windy and I had a heavy backpack, but I took one look at the roads with the extra load of buses, and knew I'd rather be cold but moving than jammed into one of those non-moving buses.

Brrr though. Definitely brrr.

How about that!

Yesterday after leaving work, I headed for the bus stop to go home.

A bus was approaching as I reached the corner. It was after dark, and I have to cross a semi-busy street -- with the aid of a crosswalk-- to get to my stop. Seeing the bus coming started my adrenaline going a little, but I hesitated at the curb -- I wanted that bus, but not enough to cause an accident! But cars began stopping for me at the crosswalk.

The bus I wanted also stopped for me in this crosswalk. Yes! Once I saw that, my bus-catching instincts took over, and I sprinted across the rest of the street (traffic was stopped and there was no chance I'd startle any motorists) and ran up to the stop.

Plenty of time! I got on the bus, panting but pleased. The driver gave me a quick surprised look, but I didn't know why.

He told me why a minute later, after we were all in our seats. "That was a great run, back there!" he said. He even turned to look at me, grinning. I said, "Me?" And he said, "Yeah! I thought you were fourteen!"

Fourteen??

I laughed and said that seeing a bus pull up took me back to middle school when I had to run for a school bus. I didn't tell him that my ability to run at all is limited to short bus-catching sprints. And yes, it was after dark.

But hey! FOURTEEN! Ha! What about that?!

We finally did it

We turned the heat on.

Actually, we did it last week. Last year, we cracked just before Thanksgiving, so -- even though I don't remember details -- it must have been much colder earlier than it has been this year.

It's nice to not have the heat on, especially with the whole forced-hot-air heating that I've had ever since I've lived in this area.

But when it gets down below 20F at night? The heat wins.

"Hmm, what should I do today?"

That's what the weather was asking itself this morning.

"Let's see ... should I rain? Or should I snow?

Hmm ... I know!

I'LL DO BOTH!"

You know those weather maps that show green as rain and blue as snow? Well. Where I live is PINK.

Ugh.

By now it's mostly cold rain, but there's all kinds of slushy puddles all over the place. It is NOT a good day to be bus walking. It is a much better day to ask for a ride to the bus stop (which Tom did for me, thank you Tom!) and then hide under a nearby awning until the bus pulls up.

And to hole up at work for awhile. And make hot chocolate ...