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| Banana-Blueberry-Walnut Muffins |
Rainy days inspire me to bake. There were two bananas that were getting over-ripe and I decided to make banana nut muffins with blueberries (homegrown frozen blueberries). Daughter and I shared some, warm from the oven and there are more for breakfasts or snacks over the next few days.
Thursday morning was overcast and cloudy. The forecast said there will be more rain and it arrived in the afternoon. Still mostly a drizzle, but, much later in the night, we had a fairly good shower of rain, accompanied by a flood alert!
A good friend of mine had mentioned a book she had borrowed from her church library and it sounded like something I would like to read. So, last week, I put in a request for the book and on Thursday, I received an email that the book had come in and was being held for me at the local branch library. I drove to the library on Thursday afternoon and picked up my book. The library parking lot was full and it didn't help that two luxury cars had parked straddling the lines so that they each took up two spaces. I had to go around the block three times before a spot opened up! There was no parking on the side roads, either; otherwise, I would have parked there and walked to the library. Apparently, some group was offering free tax filing help in the library's community room and that's probably why the parking lot was full. Anyway, I picked up my book, looked at the new books display and the cart with the books they are selling (all books, including hardcover books, were priced at $0.25 each), and decided not to get any more books.
On the way home from the library, I picked up two hamburgers and a large order of fries to share with my daughter and a regular Oreo shake for her. I had coupons for them that were going to expire on the 10th of February. The hamburgers were 2 for $5 with the coupon, the large fries were $0.99, and the regular shake was $1.49, plus tax, of course. The cost of the meal was $21+ without the coupons; it was $8.19 including tax with the coupons. Daughter saved half of her hamburger to have for dinner (along with some leftover fried rice). I was too full for dinner and ate two banana muffins and grapes for dinner. Fresh oranges for snacks.
I did a load of laundry, mended a cardigan I had knitted several years ago (sewed on two buttons that had come off and darned a hole - visible mending since I no longer had any matching yarn, but, I don't mind that); spoke with Aunt C, friend R, and friend K (late neighbor T's daughter), exchanged emails with a friend, and watched the news and a documentary on one of the Public Broadcasting Services channels.
On Thursday, I was grateful for:
- More rain for the garden
- Public libraries and access to them
- Documentaries on PBS
- Keeping in touch with friends and family
- Spending time relaxing with my daughter
Thursday's joyful activity was going to the library.
Plans for Friday include tending to the garden with M.
How was your Thursday? What are your plans for Friday?
They do free tax help at the libraries around here, but you have to make an appointment, so the parking lot doesn't fill up from it. The muffins look delicious.
ReplyDeleteI checked the library e-newsletter I receive each month and it did say that appointments are preferred, but it didn't say "required". Anyway, good to know that people are taking advantage of the free library programs and help. Thank you; the muffins turned out well. We've been enjoying them. :)
DeleteThat rain must be very welcome in the wake of the fires. The garden will have soaked up a lot after being dampened after the light rain. Hopefully it will flourish for you.
ReplyDeleteThat was an epic coupon and you absolutely deserved the treat of a burger after resisting the books.
The rain was very welcome and the ground was nice and wet, today. I also noticed hundreds of tiny weed seedlings pushing up! LOL.
DeleteI was very happy with the coupons. Normally, they only allow one of the coupons per visit, but, I asked the person at the drive through window if I could use all three and he said yes! I was able to have the day off from cooking, as a result!
Muffins are great for gloomy days, or cold ones. I think it is time I rescued the two black bananas from the freezer and made some (if they are not fossilized by now!)
ReplyDeleteHaving the oven on helps to warm up the house, a bit, too. :) I hope your frozen bananas are still good and you can make some banana muffins. :)
DeleteThe muffins look really delicious. I'm glad you were able to pick up the book from the library AND well done for not buying any of the books! I have been tempted but I'm determined to get rid of a LOT more before I can even think about buying more.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. Yes, I was glad I didn't buy the books on sale for a quarter. I suppose I could have justified it as helping out the library, but, I need to get rid of a few more books, myself, before I buy anymore.
DeleteThank goodness you are getting rain at last. Hope you enjoyed your muffins. I was thinking about baking earlier, but i don't know if it is a good idea as I have zero willpower at the moment!
ReplyDeleteElla
Yes, the rain is a blessing! More is in the forecast for later, this week. :)
DeleteThere are some muffins still leftover as my daughter is not eating them; would you like me to send you some?
Yes, it probably was the free tax help that took up all the spaces. Do you have your appointment set with your tax preparer? I've been doing my taxes but am still waiting on some paperwork so I can't finish them.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your book was waiting for you. I hope you enjoy it. You were smart to not pick up the very inexpensive sale books at the library.
Library sale books are a particular weakness of mine.
Yeah! More rain.
You put together a nice affordable treat with those coupons for the hamburgers. Oreo milkshake. yum.
Yes, I do have my tax appointment set up - I did that last year! Still waiting for all the tax documents to come in, myself.
DeleteI was very proud of myself for not giving into the library's book sale temptations.
I was very happy with the hamburger lunch with coupons. I don't much are for Oreo milkshakes, myself (I prefer vanilla), but, daughter likes them and she asked for one. :)