My Goal: COMFORT

Let's get some business over with first...of all my complaining lately, did I even tell you guys about the stale Kit Kats that I bought after Christmas? I can't keep track anymore of all the crappy stuff, complaining process, returns, hassles and finally refunds and coupons....anyway, Kit Kat sent me a coupon for $10 to 'enjoy' their product. I didn't expect that much, but I am grateful. :) Oh, the burned cheese nips? No response yet and I re-emailed the same complaint this morning.

So..yesterday I was talking about a shift in our philosophy towards purchases. Alex and I had to go out this morning and on the way back, we discovered a local store that sold kitchen supplies. The owner has been in the business 60 years, taking over his father's door-to-door "chaudron" (pot) business. He told us the history of fondue pots and the manufacturers here in Quebec. He also had one of these gorgeous enamel fondue pots left that he got as overstock and offered us a 40% discount. I think we were in that store a good 45 minutes before we decided it was worth the expense. This is quality! The pot is pretty heavy and the base is cast iron...and even though it means we have to cut down a few other expenses now, we are so proud of our purchase! And this is exactly the type of store we want to invest our money in.

Of course, this is the perfect opportunity for me to make one of the fondues from my new cookbook tonight! :) I was telling Alex about the Hygge and the Danish way of being cozy and he said that we need to find a way to have cheese fondue in bed lol...I don't think we'll every accomplish that but it's a nice cozy idea!

Speaking of cozy and comfort, I read through this book yesterday. It was a fun little book to read, and I admit I skimmed through some of the longer paragraphs that focused only on statistics. The whole concept, in a nutshell, is to make your life cozy with dim lighting (mostly candlelight), cozy nooks with lots of blankets and pillows, comfort food, warm beverages, a fire burning, time with loved ones and pets...and anything else you deem cozy.

Personally I found the focus on social interaction as a precursor to happiness to be a little off topic for me. I'm a self-admitted hermit and anti-social homebody. Alex is the same way. Society and social interactions actually have the opposite effect for us - we become mentally exhausted and stressed out. We much prefer quiet time with just the two of us and the pets around us. Maybe that's why I got through the book so quickly, I just skipped over those parts. But all in all, it's a wonderful concept and I have realized that I am already hygge-filled in my life! Everything I do is to create comfort for myself and Alex. I'm still going to read the other book I got "The Cozy Life" to see if there is anything different in there!

I used the last of the fresh tomatoes and lettuce to make BLT's yesterday for lunch, well, BLTC's since we add Cheddar. :)

I wanted to use up the leftover roast beef so I cubed it all up and made Alex a shepherd's pie. For me, I baked a chicken breast in barbecue sauce...it was such a comfort meal! :)

We stopped by the pet store to buy more bones for the dogs. Charlie looks crazy looking at me while she's chewing! If the dogs don't get a good solid chew each day, we find they get restless and antsy so I always have a "bone budget" for the winters. During the summer, they don't need as much because they're more active like us! :) 

Speaking of dogs, Alex is putting together a file for the next town meeting with regards to the loose dog and feral cat problem here. He spoke to our neighbour and they're forming a team to speak to the mayor. We heard some disturbing things about the condition of the canine control inspector's premises, the lady who is contracted out to this town. Apparently it's borderline neglectful, the stories were horrible and heartbreaking...we can't just look the other way. Ironically, we heard similar stories from two strangers we interacted with today, so we feel they must be at least close to being truthful. Alex knows that my mental health can't take too much of the stress so he's going to do all the talking and petitioning, but he definitely has my full support. We're actually going to do some investigating before mid-April's town meeting by visiting her premises. She doesn't know us by sight...it'll be like those private investigators in the movies lol. I'll be posting about this issue now and then! 

It's been a long day for us already, so Alex made us each our favourite version of an Old Fashioned and we are off to watch a few movies before the cheese fondue! I hope we don't lose power, the storm has just begun.