Feeling like the weather while eating a Meal in a Bundle

It's a cold and rainy night, and the sun didn't make much of an appearance in my neighborhood today. Someone asked me if I was feeling ok or like the weather today, and the infamous quote by Mark Twain about weather in New England came to mind: "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute." I've been feeling that way all day--awake, zonked out, motivated to do something, completely apathetic, relatively happy, miserable, snippy to Mr. Wonderful, affectionate to Mr. Wonderful, achey, not achey, not hungry, starving....feeling a little crazy here!!

I'm going to tell myself that feeling worse is a good sign since it gets me closer to the RAI. In my ok moments today I made three different loaves of LID bread: wheat in the bread machine which I thought didn't come out right but did, a loaf of cinnamon swirl from the Thyca cookbook and Sis came over to help me out with a loaf of cranberry almond bread that was half-made before I ran out of sugar and realized that I needed cranberry juice to finish. All three came out perfectly delicious, and if I get motivated tomorrow, I might throw together one more loaf of banana bread to put in the freezer for later. Other than that, I didn't do much of anything.

Dinner was a stupid move on my part, but I figured I'd give this one recipe a try. I should have known better, but I usually have to find things out for myself. Mr. Wonderful had a field trip today that ended up at Kelly's Roast Beef, so I didn't have to worry about cooking for him. In the Thyca cookbook is a recipe for a meal that my mother made when we were little. I can see why she made it--easy to throw together, easy prep and not too many ingredients on days when she put in long hours at school or taking care of my grandmother. However, I hated it. She called it "Meal in a Bundle".

Meal in a Bundle

Basically, you take a hamburger patty, put it in the bottom of a tin foil pouch, layer it with sliced potatoes and onions (and carrots if you want, but I hate cooked carrots), liberally sprinkle with Mom's favorite go-to spices, salt and pepper, add a dollop of butter, seal the foil and throw in the oven for about an hour.

I decided to use turkey with onions, mushrooms, garlic and parsley mixed in, added some other spices and some olive oil. I figured the spices would help, right? No, just as bland as ever. And the only other thing I could use to liven things up was a lovely bottle of salt-free ketchup. I ate it, but it brought back childhood trauma! :) I will never cook that again. Never. See? We are doomed to repeat our mistakes. Who thought that was a good meal? So I had cinnamon bread for dessert to make up for it. Mom was a pretty good cook, but I don't know why she had to serve this one every now and then. I think I finally spoke up in high school (maybe college?) and refused to eat it. So disappointing! At least I can look forward to the bread choices tomorrow if Mr. Wonderful doesn't polish off a loaf in the morning.

In honor of all the weather talk tonight, this song came to mind. It's by 10,000 Maniacs and from the album "In My Tribe"-- I probably wore it out in college. I love Natalie Merchant's voice. This popped in my head, and sounds like a great way to describe feeling hypo. And, how many songs do you hear with the word "torpor" in it? I'll post the video too...

Like the Weather

The color of the sky as far as I can see is coal grey.
Lift my head from the pillow and then fall again.
With a shiver in my bones just thinking about the weather.
A quiver in my lips as if I might cry.
Well by the force of will my lungs are filled and so I breathe.
Lately it seems this big bed is where I never leave.
Shiver in my bones just thinking about the weather.
Quiver in my voice as I cry,
"What a cold and rainy day. Where on earth is the sun hid away."
I hear the sound of a noon bell chime. Now I'm far behind.
You've put in 'bout half a day while here I lie
with a shiver in my bones just thinking about the weather.
A quiver in my lip as if I might cry,
"What a cold and rainy day. Where on earth is the sun hid away?"

Do I need someone here to scold me
or do I need someone who'll grab and pull me out of this
four poster dull torpor pulling downward.
For it is such a long time since my better days.
I say my prayers nightly this will pass away.
The color of the sky is grey as I can see through the blinds.
Lift my head from the pillow and then fall again
with a shiver in my bones just thinking about the weather.
A quiver in my voice as I cry,
"What a cold and rainy day. Where on earth is the sun hid away?"
I shiver, quiver, and try to wake.