Life is beautiful! Every day is beautiful, but it seems like the end of the week has something extra. This observation is reminiscent of the time when I used to go to work every day when I looked forward to the end of the week, which was not always to my liking because Saturday was a day of work around the house and only on Sundays I was off work.
Sundays are beautiful and even sublime days (if we are a little exalted), for some just because they exist, for others because they can do special things on these days. I'm one of those people who are glad we have this day, although in the past when I went to work, it was the main cause of depression.
By mid-Sunday I was starting to get stressed that I had to go to work the next day!
Sometimes the day is the same as any other day of the week, sometimes it can be much worse but sometimes it happens to be a full day, full of surprises or pleasant activities. In this last category fell the recently concluded Sunday, which I would like to tell you a little about, just as a sharing of experiences. When I read such reports I try to see if they inspire me, if I can do the same. I don't think it would be an exhibition of private space and that nobody is interested in.
Beautiful and sublime Sunday, (sublime)... something that happens rarely, but we often use this adjective perhaps too lightly. I risk saying sublime because, in my country, town, and backyard, spring is getting ready to come! An extremely early spring, about a month early. If I tell you that this winter it has not snowed at all in my city (Bucharest, southern Romania), which has never happened in more than sixty years I can say I have memories!
This is no longer sublime, it is extremely strange and makes me worry about the future, even if my future can only be a near future!
If anyone asks me how I know spring is coming, below I can give some... visual arguments.
Years ago, not many, a few years ago, it was snowing in this place and at this time! Now I miss the snow. But I don't think it's that special, I've recently read a lot of posts and comments about climate change.
I love to cook and cooking is one of the main ways to relieve stress. I was hoping that changing my status from employed to retired would help me get rid of stress.
I hoped in vain...!
Life offers so many reasons for worry and stress and this year started with high hopes but I see it turning into a more complicated one than the last. So I asked my wife to let me cook the food for this Sunday.
I'm a fan of Jamie Oliver's cooking. I love the simple, rustic, and easy understanding of the way he cooks and presents his recipes. I've seen a lot of videos of his recipes, I like to reproduce them but sometimes I can't remember everything, I forget certain details and then the recipe becomes a version adapted from my increasingly poor memory.
I chose this recipe because, apart from the fact that it looked great on film, I had most of the ingredients I needed in the fridge. Except for the chicken. I bought only half a chicken, good quality, fed with grains, and raised in as natural conditions as possible.
Apart from the chicken, the other ingredients will make up the garnish.
Ingredients: onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, garlic, bell pepper, carrot, and celery root.
These ingredients are then cut into chunks, mixed in a bowl, after adding salt, pepper, and chili pepper (according to everyone's taste).
I then put these vegetables in a pan and added half a glass of wine. The chicken is ready to bake, rub it with salt, pepper, hot pepper powder, and a little olive oil.
Then place the chicken over the vegetables and tray in the oven for about half an hour.
During this time I also made a quick salad, also with ingredients found in the fridge. Cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, and onions. Salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice.
This is a classic way to make a baked chicken. Put over vegetables or potatoes. Jemie Oliver's innovation and invention come here. After half an hour of baking, we take the chicken and put it on the oven grill, rolling on both sides, and put the tray of vegetables underneath to drain the fat.
After another 15 minutes or so, depending on how strong the fire is, our food is ready!
The result was a very tasty meal, especially the garnish, which was the wife's favorite. I have to admit that maybe the food isn't very appealing, it's not for magazines. I, however, am from the old school of people who don't necessarily eat with their eyes but definitely with their mouth and taste buds.
It's relatively quick to prepare food, the preparation part takes no more than ten minutes and the rest is the oven's job. It's very tasty, I thought half a chicken was enough but if there was more, we would have eaten more!
Of course, I know that ideally and healthily we should eat less but I still think that many of us are at that place in life where we shouldn't miss any possible pleasure. I feel this more and more and recent events reinforce this view!
Since flowers are one of those pleasures, I'm using a tag by 
I'm always late, I remember below some tags that inspired me for this post, but that requires posting on a certain day of the week ... Friday and Sunday. I didn't arrive at the right time, because a lot is happening, life is full of the unexpected and at an older age. I allow myself to make this collection because I know the promoters and I know that they will not be upset for breaking some rules.
Post inspired by
@dswigle
@c0ff33a
@ace108