No title today

[copied from dland]

Less emotionally battered today, but not a bit more energetic or motivated. I'm actually typing my entry directly into the dland New Entry screen, which I never, ever, ever do, so it just goes to show you that I'm too lazy to click on my HTML writing program to open it up.

Yesterday, I was incredibly good about the WW and I even got an exercise point. Yet this morning, I had gained a pound. So the honeymoon is over, and now I will never lose weight again. Swell.

Why is Lost on so late? I mean, really. It is Wednesday, isn't it? Why is Lost on so late?

Okay, so I'm not in the clearest of head modes this evening, as things go. I just ate a Lean Cuisine frozen pizza -- only 6 points -- and now I could go right to sleep. But not. R is likely to call any second, as she often does when walking home from the train, so I have to keep at least one wit about me.

School was just meh today. No cataclysmic conflicts, just more of the same shit and I'm deciding not to care. We'll see how long that lasts. Why have our two most recent vice-principals been such self-centered dicks? (Both women, btw.) I do not know. I wish they would stop trying to make their marks somewhere by sucking the resources out of the library. Oh, right, I don't care anymore. I forgot.

I'm going to eat a 100 calorie pack of Hostess cupcakes now. Still under target, just so you know.


WATCHING REBA :: ENTRY #1388

Yeah, Whatever

[copied from dland]

I actually had a totally horrible day today, and it was all about school, and I wasn't event there. I'm not going into any details; I feel somewhat better after two phone calls with the Colleague (who was also right in the thick of things, but actually there) and venting to the Sibs and K, and I'm not thinking about it anymore until I have to. Suffice it to say that in my next life, I'm going to choose a career that's much more self-explanatory. Maybe I'll be a bricklayer. Everybody knows what a bricklayer does. Apparently, not so many people know what a librarian does. Who would have thought so?

Beef and Barley Stew today, folks, and it was yum. And I even made up the recipe myself, culled from a few others that were close to what I wanted, but not exactly. And there's a ton of it; I have to let it cool in the fridge overnight and then put it in those little vacuum freezer bags tomorrow. I guess I'm getting the hang of the crockpot.

I decided not to hang out with the Chum today; for one, I wasn't feeling great this morning, and for another, she's on the somewhat terminally cheery side, and I wasn't in the mood to be all light and happy and making jokes about school when it was eating me up. Which left me with very little to do all day. I could have watched Flags of Our Fathers, which I had from Blockbuster, but I just couldn't do a war movie today, y'know? At one point, I determined that what I needed was some good, healthy retail therapy, but there was absolutely nothing I needed. So I went to Target, where I got an exercise shirt in the men's department -- nice and roomy -- and some clips to put on open chip bags. Yes, that was my retail therapy; I think it came to $13 and change. But it got me out of the house for awhile. Then I took a nap for awhile, and then all the phone calls started and K came home, so I'm okay.

Did I ever mention this little story? I've told it at work many times, and will tell it again many times, I'm sure. On the night I graduated from high school, I came back to the building with everyone else from the football field (where the ceremony was), returned my cap and gown, and then, on the way to my car in the parking lot, I said out loud: "Thank god I'll never have to set foot in the building again as long as I live." Pretty funny, huh?


WATCHING RAYMOND :: ENTRY #1387

And What's More ...

[copied from dland]

Postscript to my last entry: As I said, my mother's mother's family was not religious -- they were what used to be called Free Thinkers, which was a prelude to being a Secular Jew, which is, I guess, what I am -- and so keeping kosher wasn't even a thought to them. But my mother's father was raised Orthodox, and held those beliefs and customs all his life as best he could, so my grandmother did keep a kosher home for him. However, one of my grandmother's sisters -- Aunt Becky -- was very good at business, and at one time, she and her husband ran a deli. An Italian deli, of all things! So from time to time, my grandmother would take my mother and her brother there and they would gleefully partake of the sausage and ham and other foods that they couldn't have at home.

Second postcript to my last entry: When My Fair Lady was over, Gone With the Wind came on. **deep and repeated sighs** As soon as the music started, I was swept away (no pun intended.) When I hear "Tara's Theme", I start to sway back and forth. I cry often when I watch this movie, and over the years, it's more and more because of the horrors of war that this movie shows, I think, particularly well. It shows them from the home front, a home front being devastated itself. It gets me when all the young southern men run off gladly to fight, because they have no idea what's coming. When all the families wait to get the lists of the wounded and killed at Gettysburg, and every family has at least one loss, it's heartbreaking. And of course, the famous scene of the train depot with all the bodies lying helpless, waiting for medical care or death. Say what you will about Gone With the Wind, what it does well it does exceptionally well.

Let's talk politics. David Geffen, in his recent show of support for Barack Obama, said that Hillary Clinton would be the easiest candidate for the Republicans to defeat. And I think he's right. A presidential candidate needs to be, as they say, Caesar's Wife; that is, above suspicion. Clean as a whistle. Hillary is not. There is too much the opposition can attack her on, and that makes her a bad candidate. What can they say about Obama that we know of? He did drugs in college? Yeah, well, he's already said that himself, moving on. Hillary -- and I like her, for the most part -- is just not good candidate material.

I'm not 100% behind Obama either; his lack of experience disturbs me. Edwards, for some reason, seems to have more; he's my favorite at the moment. I like Bill Richardson, too, but I don't think he's in for the long haul. Now he's got experience, as does Joe Biden, but he doesn't have the charisma to win the nomination.

I'm pulling for an Edwards-Obama ticket at this point. I think they have the best shot.

---

It's a little after 6:30 am. They've declared a delayed opening of school today, so instead of leaving now, as I usually would, I'll leave in two hours. I don't know what to do with myself.

The Hubs emailed that his drive to work was not terrible, but of course, there are hardly any other cars on the road when he goes at 5:30. As for K, well, Houston. (We've got a problem) The college is open. The public schools in the town the college is in are closed for the day, not a delayed opening, but closed. The college, I think, must believe that the students who live on campus can get to class, so, no problem, but it's maybe an 80% commuter school, so what's up with that? She and I decided that she'll skip her first class -- she emailed the professor -- and then see what develops. As always, I'm most worried about her night class that gets out at 8:00 pm, by which time the walkways and parking lots there, as well as all the roads, should be pretty slick and frozen.

Ooh, hot flash time! How nice that I have all this extra time and haven't put my make-up on yet.

---

Later. Much later.

I won't go into my day, since I've already vented to the Sibs and a bit in email to the Chum, and anyway, I'm not there anymore, so things are a bit better, and I've heard from K so I know she didn't die on the way to school and since the roads aren't that bad she probably won't die on the way home, and so in general, my totally sucky day has eased up some and I'm not going there tomorrow, so that's good. The audiologist's office says that just maybe my hearing aids will be in tomorrow, but I don't think so and I'm not counting on it. I gained a pound since yesterday, it seems, so that bummed me out first thing this morning, but now I'm going to eat a nice Lean Cuisine and look forward to Heroes tonight.

Signing off.


WATCHING REBA :: ENTRY #1386

Food and Things

[copied from dland]

Okay: What the hell is chorizo? Is it some kind of sausage? Why do so many recipes call for chorizo? You know, it would never in a million years occur to me to put sausage into a recipe; I would eat sausage for breakfast at IHOP or McDonald's or someplace, and I do at this moment have veggie breakfast sausage in the house. But sausage for dinner is completely off my radar.

I learned long ago that as adults, we tend to eat -- and cook -- the way we were brought up to. I learned this lesson via Phantom, my college boyfriend, whom I wrote about not too long ago, here, and the extreme rural-ness of his background.

My second year in the dorm -- his last, he was a senior -- we had decided to screw the meal plan and cook our own food. A terrible idea in retrospect, but I digress. I made scrambled eggs once, or an omelet or some kind of eggs, and the first thing I did was drop a chunk of butter in the pan and let it melt.

"Ew!" he said. "Why would you cook eggs in butter?"

This was like asking why you would put milk on cereal.

"Wha...? What else would you cook eggs in?" I finally asked.

With an air of authority and of-courseness, he said "Bacon grease."

"What if you're not making bacon with your eggs?"

Now his air turned to how-stupid-can-you-be, and he told me that at home, they saved the bacon drippings and had a can of it on the kitchen counter near the stove. Now it was my turn.

"Ew! You keep bacon grease?"

Certainly they did; why didn't we? I thought about it for a minute, and knew why.

I learned to make eggs from my mother, who learned it from hers, and so on, and so on, and so on. Now, even my grandmother's mother did not keep a kosher home. But she certainly didn't cook bacon in her kitchen in her Little House on the Shtetl. It's just not in the cultural background of Jewish people to cook with pork products, even if you're not kosher and even if you eat pork products yourself (which I do, as did my mother, and even my grandmother, once she moved to New York and was first exposed to it.) There are many Jewish people who do not keep kosher but who are grossed out by the thought of anything that mixes meat and dairy, like, say, chicken parmesan, or even drinking milk along with a meat sandwich. They'll eat the ham sandwich, but drink a glass of milk with it? Ew.

There's no value judgment here, certainly, just an observation, and it works both ways. I can't think of a great many non-Jewish people who chow down on gefilte fish, but if you were raised with it, it's a comfort food.

Oh, here's another one, one that I didn't figure out until I was grown up. Do you eat strawberries and cream? If you do, I bet it's sweet cream you pour over your berries. Over here, it's sour cream. In Jewish cuisine, anything served "with cream" means sour cream: blintzes (crepes with cheese or fruit filling), strawberries, bananas, borscht (cold beet soup), latkes (potato pancakes). When I was a kid and one of my grandmothers was giving me lunch when my mother was out, or when I was with them, it was bananas and sour cream. Literally, with sugar on top. Talk about your comfort food, man. What's more comforting than what your grandmother fed you?

.
.
.

One of the things I wrote about last night was the classic movies that are on -- it's Oscars weekend -- and how I couldn't watch Lawrence of Arabia if you paid me; the Hubs was certainly watching it for the zillionth time. So now, My Fair Lady is on, and you can bet that I'm watching this one, although he isn't. I know I watched it not that long ago; did I ever mention how I first saw this movie, in a fancy theater in New York at night? OldFriend's parents got tickets, just like getting tickets to a Broadway show, and took us both and bought us programs and everything. We got all dressed up and it was very cool. We were 11, I guess, based on the date of the movie. An unusual experience, I would think.

Speaking of musicals, the musical director at school has conceded that he may do a Rogers and Hammerstein musical once before I retire because he knows I love them and I've been trying to convince him to do one for years. He doesn't like them because a) they're not dark enough for him, and b) there are no opportunities to dress girls in scanty costumes and/or dress them like hookers. (He leans towards Chicago and Sweet Charity and the like. And he likes to sell tickets.) So he's considering Carousel, which has no naked girls, but is pretty dark, and about death and morality and all that. Not my favorite -- that's probably The Sound of Music, just because it was the first musical I really knew -- but I'll take it. I wish he would just do The Music Man, which is actually by Meredith Wilson, but it's so much fun. And it's about a librarian, too.

I'm going to feed the cat, who's eating now but her schedule is all off, and then peruse the crockpot recipe magazine I just picked up at the supermarket. Oscars tonight!


WATCHING MY FAIR LADY :: ENTRY #1385

Rant On? Rant Off.

[copied from dland]

I got a rant in me, but I'm not sure if it's ready to come out yet. Let's give it a couple of minutes.

In the meantime, I just noticed that my wedding ring is slipping on and off somewhat easily. I don't know if it's a sign of anything (weight loss, people! Not troubled marriage! Sheesh!) but I haven't been able to do that in a while, not easily anyway, so I'm thinking it's a good thing.

I had my typical Saturday of accomplishment, but when that was all over by like noon, or maybe before, I had no motivation whatsoever to do anything else. I futzed around on the computer here and there, or slept off an on. I didn't even watch a movie; I only found out after the Hubs came home around 4:30 that The Bridge Over the River Kwai was on earlier and I could have watched that. By that time, Lawrence of Arabia was on, and I've successfully avoided that one for more that 40 years now, so I wasn't going there. Not that Peter O'Toole wasn't a cutie pie and all, not to mention Omar Sharif, but I could never get into it. I may watch A Man for All Seasons later, which oddly enough, I could get into, and have seen several times, even though there's practically no action or activity or plot in it, but I like British history.

Our crockpot today yielded a vegetable stew, which was okay. It didn't set the world on fire, but it was okay. Tomorrow I'm making a variation of the split pea soup I made earlier in the week, but this time with green split peas and parsnips. For some reason, I like parsnips.

They're predicting weather for tomorrow. I don't know what that'll do to school on Monday, or how bad the driving will be all over. It's another we'll-see thing.

My rant is about our government and how it has decimated our military. An odd subject for me? It started when I read an article yesterday -- I can't find the link now -- about the number of civilians in service to our country who have been killed in Iraq, quite a large number. These are people who provide the support services, like transportation, and food, and cleaning, and vehicle maintenance, and so on. They are employed by Haliburton and a few other companies, and they make excellent salaries for being there. In some cases, people make nearly $100,000 a year for doing the same job that an Army private does for much less, like maybe $25,000 a year.

Excuse me?

I am horrified and I am appalled. This is why, apparently, we can sustain a volunteer military: if we don't have enough soldiers (to use a generic term) to do the job, we pay huge money for some outsiders to do it. And I guess we have to pay those people whatever they ask because if we don't, our troops are out in harm's way without food or gasoline.

This is not the way to maintain a strong military, Mr. President. The military must be self-sufficient. They must have motor pools and cooks and laundries, enough to support whatever the fighting troops need. No wonder Haliburton has the power it has. They want some no-work big-money contracts for work in New Orleans that they're never gonna do? We have to give it to them. They have got our government by the short hairs, as it were.

I think this is just another example of the exceptionally poor treatment the members of our military are receiving at the hands of our government. They already don't get the right body armor and they have to buy their own socks. And we have the temerity to pay someone else who didn't volunteer to risk his life four times more for doing the same work?

Hell approaching. Don't bother to check your hand-basket for brakes.


WATCHING BILL MAHER ON DVR :: ENTRY #1385b

No Catchy Title

[copied from dland]

I borrowed this from bozoette, who got it here.

Appetizer
Where on your body do you have a scar, and what caused it?

I have two surgical scars: one on my belly from last August's unexpected appendectomy, and one on the back of my neck on the right side, running up into my scalp, where they took out the brain tumor 15 years ago.

I have two somewhat odd scars that match each other, one in the center of each palm. (Yes, in the center of each palm.) This must go back ten or twelve years; I was at work and I was assembling a four-legged stool we had just gotten, with tubular metal legs that fit into each other, and they wouldn't fit, so I leaned my weight onto it while holding two of the legs in my hands, and suddenly, they fit just fine, one part jerking into the other, and taking the skin of my palms along with it. Hurt like hell.

Oh, I have another scar on my right palm, at the very bottom of one of the lines -- life-line, I think -- where a friend poked me with a rusty bobby pin when I was about four. And a similar poke-hole in the center of the sole of my right foot, from the Sibs leaving a knitting needle sticking up out of a bag in front of the chair I was sitting in, when I was about 14.

Soup
What is something that has happened to you that you would consider a miracle?
Giving birth is absolutely a miracle that nevertheless happens every minute of every day. Having a brain tumor and not getting dead was also a miracle to me.

Salad
Name a television personality who really gets on your nerves.
I'm gonna go with Bill O'Reilly. When I think of others, I'll let you know; there are many, but I'm drawing a blank this minute.

Main Course
What was a funny word you said as a child (such as "pasketti" for "spaghetti")?
When we would drive into the Bronx from New Jersey every few weeks or so to see my grandparents, or pick them up, there was this COLOSSAL billboard we passed every time, I think on the New Jersey side just before we drove onto the George Washington Bridge. The picture was of a colonial New Yorker reaching out his arm with a mug of beer in it. The mug stretched up and off the billboard, and the sign said in huge letters: DRINK KNICKERBOCKER BEER, which was the big local brand of the time. I knew what it said even when I was very little because of the TV commercials, but I would try each time we passed the sign to say it out loud and I could never get it right. I always said "Drink nicker-nocker neer."

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I have always thought ______ was ______.
I ... okay.

---

In other news ...

I neglected to mention yesterday the doorification of the upstairs steps. Yes, there's a door there now. No, the cat did not totally freak out when denied access to his usual pooping grounds; he doesn't appear to have noticed at all. K says she didn't make her bed today, and WTF do I care? I know there's still tons of papers and shoes and other crap on the steps, too, and I don't care about that, either.

I tried to take a picture for you all, but it didn't come out. Anyway, here's the thing. The door looks very nice. But it totally makes the house feel smaller. And it's a small house to begin with. Now it's like the upstairs has disappeared. I'm not complaining at all; I'm glad the door is there, but it's adjusting somehow to the house I've lived in for 20 years. Y'know?

I slept pretty well last night and yet am still tired and dragging. And we need to eat something for dinner, I should think. Better get right on that.


WATCHING THE HISTORY CHANNEL :: ENTRY #1384

Tidying Up

[copied from dland]

My recipe is at the bottom of the page, so as to avoid going Betty Crocker all over those of you who would rather not see such a spectacle. (But bluesleepy, your recipe sounds yum. My email address is up there. Thanks.)

As long as I'm referencing, LA said something about ... um ... men and their ... um .... aim. Or lack thereof. I've heard women gripe about this -- if that's the right word; how about righteously complain -- before. I have to say I haven't given it all that much thought, but when I do, I realize that I have never been confronted with this issue in my life. Ever. And then I realized that in all of my life, I have only ever shared my residence with three men. Total. Isn't that weird?

As a child, of course, I lived with my father. He would never have done that because he was a) militarily precise in all things, and besides, he b) was the person who washed the bathroom floor. Case closed on Jack.

Grandpa Sam lived with us from time to time when I was a kid, and he was just such a quintessentially good little boy that he wouldn't have been that careless.

And the Hubs. When we were married for maybe a week -- less, probably -- I said something to him about my falling into the toilet in the middle of the night because I didn't expect the seat to be up. And in 30 years, he has never once failed to put the seat down. Miss the bowl? I don't think so.

(And why was I unaccustomed to men leaving the seat up? Because neither Jack nor Sam did that, either.)

I had no brothers. I have no sons. Three men. That's it.

That's just odd.

---

Here's the recipe:

Slow Cooker Split Pea and Yam Soup

7 cups of water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
2 small yams (3/4 lb) peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium potato, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 package (16 oz) dried yellow split peas (2 and 1/4 cups)\
1 package (6 oz) sliced Canadian bacon, coarsely chopped

Mix all ingredients, cook on low for 8 to 9 hours. 8 servings.

What I did:

I used about a cup and half less water, so mine was very thick. I also left out the Canadian bacon. This is a WW recipe, so it's low calorie (about 227 a serving) and low in fat (1.2 grams) and high in fiber (5.6 grams). Just so you know.


WATCHING AMERICAN IDOL :: ENTRY #1384b

Oh! Am I Still Here?

[copied from dland]

Sometimes I lose track.

Once again, I had a pretty good day, which leads me to believe that I really will enjoy retirement, when the time comes. Let's see. I walked away some pounds this morning; I've really got to try to do that every day, because, you know, the newest true information about health says that every woman is at risk for heart disease, and what you've got to do is 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day, and take an aspirin every day if your doctor says to, and god knows what else, stand on one leg on your front lawn and swing a dead chicken in a paper bag and howl at the moon. The real truth is that everyone is going to die from something, and if you live long enough, it will be your heart giving out. Cynicism aside, I am at risk for heart disease thanks to all the people who loved me in previous generations, and that's the way it is, and walking away some pounds every day isn't going to kill me.

Where was I?

I made Sweet Potato and Split Pea soup in the crockpot, but I omitted some of the water because I like things like that to be thick, so it's kind of a cross between a soup and a stew. Not bad, not bad. I'll take some for lunch tomorrow, too, since it seems I have no choice but to go back to work, seeing as how today was the last day of vacation.

I also went to the accountant, so that's done, more or less. This is going to sound like a giant duh, but my accountant is boring. The woman who used to own this accounting practice was a dynamo, a real powerhouse and a fantastic person. When she retired, her daughter took over, and she was like a cuter, more petite version of her amazing mother. (Who had been widowed young, and raised two children and built a successful business and became a community leader, etc.) Anyway, they moved on to bigger and better things about eight years ago and sold the accounting part of the business to this schleimel. He's nice enough, but a low talker -- I just love that -- and he seems to be permanently depressed. Let's just hope he got it right.

When I came home, having asked a question or two, I did K's taxes, which are very simple. Uh ... wait. The federal taxes were very simple, very clear directions. Who ever thought you'd hear someone say that? But the state taxes ... oy. Awful. Ridiculous forms, useless directions. I think I got it, though. And the state of New Jersey owes her a refund. of $4.00.

The handyman did not come and put in the door today; he called and said that the paint wasn't dry, so he's coming tomorrow after school. The hearing aids are definitely delayed, and I made a new appointment for March 7. (quack.) In the meantime, a water main broke in front of my next-door neighbor's house, which prompted him to speak to me for the second time ever; he doesn't even sound unfriendly or weird, I guess I'm just not on his radar. So they were digging up the street in front of his driveway, but we're fine. Funny how that works out.

No other news. Man, I love days off.


WATCHING THE SIMPSONS :: ENTRY #1383

1. Quack. 2. Quack. 3. Squawk.

[copied from dland]

So I got all my little tasks done today, and more, and when I got home there was a message from K that the audiologist's office had called and there will be a delay in my hearing aids after all and I can call them tomorrow between 12 and 7.

ARGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Now really, is it the day -- or god forbid, week -- delay that's going to kill me? No. It's that I thought I had it all settled yesterday and now it's not settled. They always call when I'm not here and then it takes me forever to get them back.

MY DUCKS ARE NOT ALL IN A ROW!

Because this, I just realized, is what I crave. This is my OCD. I don't need to wash my hands a million times a day a la Shirl (although I wash my hands plenty, but not obsessively; I just get them dirty a lot) and I don't come home a million times to see if I left the iron on (because I almost never iron, so that one is moot) or to make sure the door is locked. My problem is this:

I must have all my ducks in a row. At all times. If any duck is out of place, I must IMMEDIATELY nudge it back in line. I must make that phone call to secure the appointment. If I perceive that I need something that I lack, I must get it, even it's only a package of file folders, as I had to make time to go pick up today before my nails appointment. My biggest frustration of the day today, other than the audiologist-thing, is that I had things to do, and so by the time I got the ingredients for my next slow-cooker recipe, it was too late to start it. (Not that it was tonight's dinner or anything, but I don't need to be awake at midnight spooning soup into freezer bags and washing out the crockpot. Even I have my limits.)

Well, this is my big revelation of the day, and it only took me 54 years to get here. Aren't you proud of me?

---

I threw out today's list because everything was crossed off, so I can't even tell you most of what I did. I did go to the mall briefly with the Sibs; among other things, I got some brown eyeshadows that I want to try. So I'm sitting here with them tried on, slightly different on each eye, and I ask you: what is the point of having grown daughters if neither one of them is going to be around to tell you which of your eyeshadow tests looks better? How useless are husbands for this kind of thing?

"Hey, Dear, which of my eyes looks better to you?"

*Wheels turn in his head as he tries to decipher where the trap is in the question, and which of your eyes you want him to say looks better, when all he can really see is that yes, you do have eyes, probably two of them; he's pretty sure, although he hasn't looked that closely in years*

"Uh .... uh ..... "

"Never mind."

---

My good deed of the day, I think, was getting someone here to get that door put up. Turns out the old door I have that used to be at the top of the basement step fits, so he took it away to paint it and is putting it up tomorrow afternoon. You should have seen the look on K's face last night when I told her the handyman would be here at 8:30 in the morning. Not that he had to go into her room or anything, but he and I would be talking at the foot of the steps, and it might wake her, because, of course, there's no door. Like I was personally responsible for killing her day off. You know what? Wash the cat poop off your sheets and blankets every single night when you get home; whether or not there's a door there makes me no never mind. And R, when I told her we were putting a door up! I could hear the disdain in her voice over the phone: "Why didn't you ever put a door there when it was my room?" You know why? BECAUSE I NEVER THOUGHT OF IT BEFORE. I kept trying -- for yeeeeaaars -- to figure out a way to put a door at the top of the stairs. And guess what, she never thought of it, either.

Speaking of which, here's one. Our little house is set up with a front door and side door, which is in the kitchen, and leads out to a cement porch about the size of a very small room, and then there are steps down off the porch front and back. In front of the porch is a little side-walk-paved area with trees and shrubs around it, and this is where our trash cans are kept. So, in any weather, taking out the trash meant stepping off onto the porch and walking a few feet, and then down some steps. It meant that the Hubs must always shovel snow there so that we can get to the trash cans.

About two months ago, he moved one of the cans up to the porch so that I can lean out the kitchen side-door and drop a bag into it without stepping outside. When the can is full, he swaps it for an empty one down the little steps, which gives him some time to shovel, if necessary. Anyway, the upshot of the story is that he did this one day, and within 24 hours we realized that it was, like, the best. idea. ever. And I started to laugh and laugh. He asked me why I was laughing, and I said, "Imagine what ideas we'll come up with after we've lived here another twenty years!"

Okay, not funny? TMBS? (Too much boring story.) Okay, then.

I thought it was funny.


WATCHING REBA :: ENTRY #1382

Cooking 101

[copied from dland]

Here are my criteria for a good recipe, i.e., something I'm willing to make:

• It has to have less than 5 ingredients.
• It has to use one cooking method. No "brown in skillet, then transfer to oven-proof casserole." It's a skillet meal or a casserole meal, it can't be both.
• No cilantro. If I see cilantro in the ingredients list, I'm outta there.
• No weird ingredients that no one has in their house. No "freshly grated orange zest", for example. No "freshly grated ginger root." Any spice or herb has got to be in my cabinet, or I'm leaving it out.

Okay, so the crock pot experiment turned out well, so I've got something else in there now, a mushroom and wild rice stew. Even the Hubs can eat it, and if he does, it'll be the first time in years he will have a eaten a dinner that I prepared. Don't ask.

This is Day One of a three-day vacation, and what have I done? Lots, actually, and relaxed, too (although the relaxation had a premature end, which I'll get to.) I started at the gym, go me! Then I bopped across the mall parking lot from the gym to the supermarket and picked up tonight's few ingredients. I made a variety of phone calls and appointments (so now the rest of my vacation is busy) and crossed things off my list with mad abandon. I've eaten all the right things, and I've even washed my hair.

Ahhhhhh.

Part of Monday is that K is in class until about 8 pm, so, around 2:30, having finished everything I could possibly do (but one), I was all ready to nap on the couch when she called and said she was skipping her night class because she didn't feel well. Relaxation period over, as far as the couch is concerned, anyway. So now she's here, and not cranky, particularly, but I haven't had my hearing aids on all day and now I'll have to put them on because she's talking softly, and I suppose she'll want me to answer.

The only callback I'm waiting for is from the audiologist's office, and I'll call them in a few minutes. The woman I need to speak to to find out what's going on comes in at two, which is an hour and a half ago, so I've given her time to call and now I can be OCD me and call again.

I've got a handyman coming at 8:30 tomorrow morning to look into putting a door at the bottom of the upstairs steps, the better to keep Boo the Cat from randomly pooping in K's room up there.

I got an appointment with the accountant on Wednesday because there was a cancellation, which is good, because I'd completely forgotten to call in January, and by now, I figured I'd be lucky to see someone in April. I even made an appointment with a podiatrist for Wednesday morning because, man, my feet hurt all the time! Is that part of the delightful getting old process? Because I don't think I've heard old people all my life say Man, my feet hurt all the time! The Sibs says I need orthotics for my shoes, so I'm going. This podiatrist is such an odd duck, though. For one, he answered his own phone when I called, which I thought was strange. I have met him, but I don't remember why; I think I took one of the kids there for something years ago. But the Sibs goes to him for her orthotics, and he was very nice to my parents for the years that they saw him. (He made house calls to the senior citizens building they lived in.)

And that's that. Now, I'm hungry. Aw, I've got a few points to spare, I guess. I just need to find something to eat that'll fill me up. (See, if I'd been asleep now, this wouldn't have been a problem.)

---

Hey, renovatingme, do I know you by another name? If you'd like to email me your password, I'd be happy to take a look.


WATCHING KING OF THE HILL :: ENTRY #1381

Me. ME. ME!!

[copied from dland]

Yvonne has kindly shared a looong survey, which has got to be more interesting than telling you I have a lamb stew in the crockpot that seems to be a disaster waiting to happen, so here goes:

WHAT WOULD YOU RATHER BE CALLED
01. Babe or Baby: Neither one appeals, but I'd prefer Babe if I had to pick.
02. Sweetie or Honey: Either way. I routinely address kids at school whose names I don't know as Sweetie.
03. Darling or Hun: The Hubs and I use neither of these. We also rarely call each other by our first names. We both call each other Dear.

PRESENTLY
01. Is your hair wet? No, not today. It's Sunday.
02. Is your phone right by you? Yes. I'll hit it with my mouse if I'm not careful.
03. Do you miss someone? Uh ... no, I don't think so.
04. Are you wearing chapstick? Nothing at the moment. My preference, though, is Bare Escentuals Buzz Latte Lip Balm.
05. Are you tired? Always, but not particularly at the moment.
06. Are you excited? Oscars tonight? Oh, that's next week. No.
07. Are you watching tv? Always.
08. Are you wearing pajamas? No, not until later.

HAVE YOU
01. Recently done anything you regret? An excellent question, because I'm a major self-second-guesser, but I can't think of anything specific recently.
02. Ever lied? Of course.
03. Ever stuck gum under a desk? No
05. Ever tripped over your own feet? Always.

TODAY & EXPLAIN WHY**
01. Have you sworn? Not something big enough on my radar for me to remember. So I'm guessing the answer is Yes.
02. Have you yelled at someone? Not for some time that I can think of.
03. Have you gotten mad at someone? Not recently that I can think of.
04. Have you cried? Not today, not often anymore.
05. Have you called more than 3 people? No. Only the Sibs this morning, to wake her up for our pedicure appointment.

Q AND A

Q: Is there a person who is on your mind right now?
A: No one specific.

Q: Where is the last place you went?
A: K and I went to Target before, and then the supermarket.

Q: Who do you like more, your mom or dad?
A: This is more a matter of which one of them I was having more aggravation with at any particular time in my life. I loved both of them, and liked both of them, most of the time.

Q: Do you have any siblings?
A: One older sister.

Q: Do you want children?
A: I have two daughters.

Q: Do you smile often?
A: Apparently, I rarely smile in a way that's obvious to other people. I have an overbite and had a space between my front teeth as a kid (which embarrassed me no end) and so I've always smiled with my lips closed, which seems not to indicate smiling to some people. Also, since my facial paralysis 15 years ago, one side of my mouth doesn't go up at all. Like the poster of the stern-looking bald eagle, my caption should be "I AM smiling!"

Q: Do you think that someone is thinking about you right now?
A: It's possible, I suppose.

Q: Do you wish on stars?
A. No.

Q: Do you untie your shoes every time you take them off?
A. Most of my shoes don't have laces, but when I wear my gym sneakers that do have them, I push them off with my other foot and don't untie them until I need to put them back on.

Q: When did you last cry?
A: There was some sad story last week that brought tears to my eyes.

Q: Do you like your handwriting?
A: I have many different handwritings, and always have -- which a psychiatrist could probably have a field day with -- and I generally like all of them, although some more than others.

Q: Are you a friendly person?
A: I think I am.

Q: Whose bed did you sleep in last night?
A: Mine.

Q: What color shirt[s] are you wearing?
A: I have a black v-neck sleeveless t-shirt on, and a red french-terry hoodie on over that.

Q: Do you have any pets?
A: Two elderly cats.

Q: What are the color of your bedsheets?
A: Black. With a gray plaid comforter. Always. It's a weird OCD thing of mine.

Q: What were you doing at 3pm yesterday?
A: I was getting my hair washed before a hair cut.

Q: I can't wait until...
A: I retire. And go to DisneyWorld.

Q: Look to your right. What's there?
A: Immediate right, the telephone. Farther right, the printer and a bookcase.

Q: Ever cried yourself to sleep?
A: I think the crying would keep me awake. Not that I haven't had that experience, it just doesn't put me to sleep, if you know what I mean.

Q: Ever cried on your friend's shoulder?
A: Not that I can recall.

Q: Song that makes you cry or really emotional?
A: "Through the Years" by Kenny Rogers, which I've mentioned before. It reminds me of my parents.

Q: Are you normally a happy person?
A: I think so.

Q: Has anyone ever said 'I love you' to you besides family?
A: Yes, friends.

Q: If Yes do you think they meant it?
A: Yes.

Q: What are you doing right now?
A: Taking this survey. Wondering if the crockpot is going to explode and/or if the lamb stew will be edible.

16 sections of my life

Body: SECTION 1- YOU
+ Your full name: For all practical purposes, Purple Chai.
+ Birthday: January 12, 1953
+ Eyes: Green
+ Hair color: Medium to charcoal brown, and gray.
+ Siblings : 1
+ Tattoos : 2

SECTION 2- HAVE YOU EVER
+ Fallen off the bed?: I know I did when I was a kid. Not recently.
+ Broken someone else's heart?: Yes.
+ Had your heart broken?: By a guy? No. I had a bad break-up in high school which he initiated, but I knew the time had come.
+ Had a dream come true?: Yes.

SECTION 3- CURRENTLY
+ Wearing: jeans, fleece socks, Merrell shoes, and the shirts above.
+ Listening to: The crockpot popping and bubbling -- it's not supposed to do that, is it -- and The O.C. on DVD that K has on.
+ Located: The family room.
+ Chatting with: No one
+ Should REALLY be: Putting on another sweatshirt, because I'm cold.

SECTION 4- DO YOU
+ Drive: Every single day, weather permitting.
+ Have a cell phone: I do.

SECTION 5- LAST PERSON YOU
+ Hugged: K
+ IMed: I never really do that.
+ Talked to: on the phone? R, a few hours ago.
+ Texted: R, I think, a couple of weeks ago.

SECTION 6- PERSONAL
+ What do you usually think about before you go to bed? I tell myself long stories that I make up for the specific purpose of focusing on one thing before I go to sleep. I've been doing that all my life, as far back as I can remember.

SECTION 7-FAVORITE
+ Color: I like purple and green. I don't generally admit it, but also blue.

SECTION 8- DO YOU
+ Like to give hugs: Yes.
+ Prefer black or blue: Blue jeans, all other clothes black.
+ Sleep on your side: Yes. First one, then the other, and I always wake up on my back.
+ Have stuffed animals: Many. Many.

SECTION 9- THIS OR THAT
+ Pierced nose or tongue: Neither. Both seem remarkably inconvenient to me.
+ MTV or BET: I'm sure I've never watched 30 seconds of BET.
+ 7th Heaven or Dawson's Creek: I watched 7th Heaven for several seasons, but gave it up a few years ago. I don't even know who anybody is on that show anymore.
+ Color or black/white: Are we talking TV now? Color, I suppose, but I still prefer to watch black and white movies that way they were intended to be seen.
+ Sun or moon: Yes. They're both up there.
+ 5 acquaintances or one best friend: I have four best friends, each of whom I interact with differently and share different things with.
+ Spring or Fall : Spring.
+ Happy or sad: Happy.
+ Wonder or amazement: Both.

SECTION 10- YOUR FIRSTS
+ Screen Name: I couldn't think of anything and picked chailife about two minutes before naming the diary itself Purple Chai and thought "Damn! I should have used that for my username!"

SECTION 11- LAST
+ Time you cried: Last week.
+ Phone call: A few hours ago, R.

SECTION 12- CURRENT
+ Mood: Good
+ hair: Perfect length, not super-short anymore, but I had it trimmed yesterday. It's a whole new me.

SECTION 13- WHO LAST
+ Made you cry? Not a who. A story.
+ Made you angry? Stupid things at school make me angry, but I'm generally trying to ease that emotion out of my life. It's counter-productive.

SECTION 14- WOULD YOU RATHER
+ Drink whole or skim milk? I almost never drink a glass of milk. It wouldn't matter to me what kind it was. I only use skim milk on cereal, in coffee, etc.

SECTION 15- DO YOU PREFER
+ Gray or Black? Gray. I should have included it up there with my favorite colors.
+ Lust or love? Love.
+ Sunrise or sunset?: No preference.
+ M&M's or Skittles?: Good ol' M & M's.

SECTION 16- ANSWER TRUTHFULLY
+ Are you currently in love?: Yes.
+ Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes, I do. I think it may be chemical thing, like with pheremones or something, but I absolutely believe it happens.


WATCHING THE O.C. :: ENTRY #1380

Meet the Presidents

[copied from dland]

The U.S. Mint started issuing these coins this week. There's going to be a dollar coin for every president, except any still living, because there's a law against putting living presidents on currency. (Who knew?) I have been collecting those state quarters because, apparently, I am a huge dork. (Really, what are my grandchildren going to do with my stupid set of state quarters? And the Hubs'?) But the quarters, at least, are in circulation; you get them in normal change. Nobody uses dollar coins, so I'm not really sure how I'm getting my hands on these. I guess I'll have to go to the bank when each one comes out and trade in a dollar bill for the one I want. But I must have them.

When I was a kid, my most favorite all-time game was

Mine was a few years older than this one, and had a different picture on the box. I can't believe that of all the things I've saved from my childhood, I don't still have it. (The box actually fell apart ages ago, but I saved the parts for years.) The game board was a big map of the United States, with circles all over where you could insert your game pieces when you got a question right, just like in one of those booklets where you keep coins. Because the game pieces were little silver-colored coins, each one with the image of one of the presidents on it. There was also a big, complicated wheel thing that you would turn -- I forget the actual rules -- and it would ask questions about the presidents, and if you got it right -- the wheel showed the answer someplace -- you could put one of your tokens into the map. There were levels of difficulty for the questions; I always played the easiest level because I was, like, nine years old. My grandfather played the harder levels.

I never played this game with anyone but Grandpa Sam. It was the highlight of any visit he and Grandma made to us. (They lived in the Bronx at this time, which was maybe a half-hour bus ride to us, tops, so we saw them once a month, or maybe every six weeks.) Grandpa and I would sit in the little den downstairs and play Meet the Presidents. It was our thing, man.

I've certainly written about Grandpa Sam before, but I can't get the entry to come up, so I can't link to it. My grandpa was a very magical being. His appearance was entirely ordinary, maybe even less than ordinary. He was about 5'2", which made him the tallest male his family had produced up to that point. (His son, my Uncle Sol, was about 5'4".) Grandpa Sam looked like the most ordinary little man in the whole world.

But he had this amazing, quiet charisma. It did him no good in the world at large; he was never a success at any business he tried, and sometimes, employers would take advantage of his good nature. He was, by trade, a glovemaker, when the style in the world was that all ladies and gentlemen wore leather gloves. Whenever he lost one of his businesses -- he had a candy store, at one point -- he would go back to glovemaking. (He was a cutter; he used a giant hot press to cut the leather pieces and then they went to a stitcher.) During the Depression when gloves weren't selling so well, he took whatever job he could find to feed his children.

His magic was that everyone who knew him -- other than the above-mentioned occasional employers -- liked him immediately, wanted to befriend him, wanted to hang out with him. He and Grandma were unbelievable social butterflies. They had lots and lots of friends, and made new friends wherever they went in an instant, because of him. The magic he exerted over children cannot be described; every child gravitated towards him and he would play with them, talk to them as if they were real people. I was lucky because as the youngest grandchild, he spent more time with me, because he retired not long after I was born.

He had only gone to school long enough to learn to read and write in English; he came here as an immigrant when he was 13. But once he learned to read, he kept on going. He had three favorite topics to read about, learn about, and remember every detail about: opera, baseball, and American history. His most special thing was that he loved everything about the presidents. Our favorite trick was for him to recite the list of all the presidents, Washington to ... well, I first heard him do it with Kennedy, but could ultimately do it up through Nixon. No mnemonic devices here. He just knew them.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my presidential dollars, and they are gold-colored, not silver, but I may just stack them up on the edge of rolltop here at my desk in little piles, like Scrooge McDuck, and ask myself presidential trivia questions from time to time. Andrew Johnson never went to school, didja know that? Who was the only bachelor president? (It was James Buchanan.) These were questions on the wheel, my friends, and Grandpa Sam knew the answers. And so do I.


WATCHING THE HISTORY CHANNEL :: ENTRY #1379

Okay, Here I Am

[copied from dland]

I'm not sick and not particularly busy, but I kinda just forgot to post until someone reminded me. (Someone locked, no link, sorry!) I'm cold now, too, so it's a quick one so I can change and burrow under the blankets ASAP.

It was no kind of day, a little more aggravation with the library secretary, but that's about it. K and I went out to Applebee's for dinner and I had a good WW meal, but then I had dessert, and it was good, dammit. I'll record my first official weight tomorrow morning. As of this morning, I'd lost about 6.5 pounds since I started, which was ... nine days ago? It sounds like a lot because it is a lot, but I know I'm going to stop that pace any minute now. Probably now. That dessert (bread pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream) put something back on. Whatever, tomorrow will tell.

I'm actually on vacation now, although it doesn't really feel like it at all. I guess when my alarm doesn't go off Monday morning it'll feel like vacation. No big plans. I hope it doesn't snow or anything. Actually, it's supposed to be 41 tomorrow, which would be nice. I'm getting a haircut, more like a hair trim. I'm wearing my hair longer than I have in years and I love it, but it needs a little bit of shaping, I think.

My eyes were bad again most of the day, but are a bit better now, since I put the ointment in. It's like seeing the world through a smeared-over window.

I slept better last night, but I could fall asleep right now, wake up for Bill Maher at 11, and then go right back to sleep. Or watch Bill tomorrow. We'll see.

This was my big project of the day. I had this teaching unit a few years ago that my friend E would let me do with her classes, but no one's been interested in it since she retired until now. So I was updating the files, getting the materials together. If I can figure out how, I'll post my sample file for you over the weekend. It's a fun unit. The idea is that each of us is connected to the world in many ways, you just have to think of how and then show it. The project is called "I'm History!" (E gave it that name.) I actually used this unit as my final project when I got my master's in education a few years ago. (Seven years ago! Doesn't seem that long.) Anyway, the idea is for each kid to create a three-page website that is autobiographical, and to show by linking various words in their writing to outside websites how they are connected to history, geography, etc. (It's a critical thinking exercise, for those of you into teacher-jargon.) Anyway, I think it's fun, and some kids would really get into it. My sample is totally made up, although I based the second page on my father, so if you've been around here awhile, you'll recognize him. I used his first name, Jack, but absolutely all the other names and facts are made up, except for an anecdote or two on Jack's page.

Oh okay, here it is.

Jammie time.


WATCHING RAYMOND :: ENTRY #1378

Blah Blah Blah

[copied from dland]

I was majorly tired this morning, but somehow got over it, which is always nice. I had had a lot of trouble falling asleep last night, and somehow was moving slowly this morning, despite the fact that I allowed myself enough time to leave earlier because of the drive on the icy streets. Even so, I didn't have time to go to Dunkin' Donuts and brought coffee from home in my thermos. You know, it was okay. Will wonders never cease?

But my eyes were very bad this morning, which makes me feel more sleepy, and then they eased up around ... 9:00? 10:00? I don't know, but the day got better and very, very busy later, which was excellent. The big library news of the day is that we got our photocopier, finally, and the two guys who came to install it were very funny, like a comedy act, but also very nice and taught us how to make it do all its tricks. (It's a very basic machine, but it sorts, it duplexes, it staples, all kinds of stuff. The coolest thing it does is this: if I have a form or something that I often need copies of -- like the daily attendance sheet -- I can scan it into the copier's memory, and when I need more, just call it up and print it out without having a hard copy of it on the glass. Cool, eh?) As the guys were finishing the installation, there was already a line of kids waiting to use it.

We have three days off next week, Monday through Wednesday, for Presidents' Day and then what's left of what used to be our winter break, a week off. I think having three days off is great. But days off are never enough for the SCM; if they give us three, he must take one more, and so he is out tomorrow so he can begin the trek to his other home in Vermont. I'm sorry. I know the days are his and he can use them however he wants. But it's obnoxious to always take off the day before a school vacation. He hasn't missed a one since they bought that other house.

I got a call from the audiologist's office before and my new babies may be delayed, which makes me very sad. :( Especially since I already have plans for the afternoon of the morning I was taking off to get them! So now, everything is up in the air.

I agree with Yvonne, 10:00 is too late for Lost! Not that I didn't watch Idol at 9:00, but if I had to choose between them, I'd choose Lost without question. I haven't watched Idol for the last two seasons because it was on against other things I liked more. But I have to think about Lost, and it's hard to do when you're old and sleepy. Idol is just eye candy, so to speak; you can still enjoy it without really watching it or paying attention.

No stuff falling from the sky today, but cold cold cold. I had no inspiration to do anything at all after school, but I had to go pay for the car that was serviced on Monday, mail some mail (too late to mail it this morning), and get some stuff at the supermarket. And now, my microwave dinner is ready, and tomorrow's lunch is sitting in the fridge just waiting to be picked up, and hopefully I'll have the brains to take out tomorrow's clothes tonight. Looking forward to a better morning tomorrow (although the rest of today was okay.)

'Night.


WATCHING REBA :: ENTRY #1377

You Knew ...

[copied from dland]

That I was never going to scrub those tiles.

It's nearly 1:00, and what have I done? I have taken the nap, the first one. I did watch last night's American Idol. If K goes up to her room for awhile, I'll walk away pounds. (But I hate to do my exercise things when anyone else is around.) As for the movie .... a little too heavy for today. We just finished watching When Harry Met Sally.

K stayed home, too. She had gotten email from her professors that two of her three classes were canceled and that was enough for her, no point in trying to get in for the one class, and the one she hates, to boot. So here we are. It is very, very nasty outside. Although the ground is covered, it's not thick, no more than a few inches at most. But the layers of snow are intermixed with layers of ice. Most of what's been falling is sleet and freezing rain. The roads and walks look treacherous. There's nothing to sweep, and no point in digging up the layers to clear off the porch or paths, since it's still falling.

The Hubs did indeed go to work, although they ended up closing his office, so he's the only one there. R went in to work by train, so she's okay.

It's a little after 2:00, and you know what? I did those tiles after all, nyah nyah.

I am glad as anything to be home, but it's turning into a wasted-feeling day. No reason, really. The question is, should I be doing something? Do I have to accomplish a task every damn minute, every damn day? You know, I don't think so. So it's not a wasted day, then, it's just a nice day that I don't have to go to work. Case closed.

And now I've got this crick, or whatever, in my back. (I know, I sound like Granny Clampett.) You know, it just feels like my bones are quite fitting together the way they're supposed to? Okay, TMI. I'm going to flatten myself out on a heating pad for a while. Might as well, right?


WATCHING THE WEDDING SINGER :: ENTRY #1376

We're Waiting

[copied from dland]

According to someone, Accuweather, I think, it's been snowing since noon. The only thing is, it's not. Not yet a flake, although the Hubs was at a meeting in south Jersey earlier today and said it was already snowing there. We're expecting various combinations of snow and rain and freezing rain before it's all over sometime late tomorrow. I just hope they cancel school if the weather is bad and not put people at risk. Non-tenured teachers always feel afraid to stay out if the weather is bad, even if they live far away and have a really dangerous drive ahead of them, and I'm always worried about those brand-new teenage drivers who really don't know how to handle weather yet but are driving to and from school anyway.

So, chaos broke her ankle! Everybody send get well wishes!

Okay, the Hubs says there's a flake or two out there that can't even be dignified by the term "flurry." R, 20 minutes away to the west, says it's starting to stick to car windows there. K, working 5 - 10 minutes away to the ... let's say northeast, should be home within the half hour. All good. Tomorrow awaits.

What will I do if I'm home tomorrow?

1. I will walk away some pounds.
2. I will scrub the tile in the bathtub.
3. I will watch the shows I'm recording tonight while I'm watching other shows.
4. I will watch Flags of Our Fathers, which I have waiting from Blockbuster online.
5. I will take a nap. Maybe more than one.

Ah, a girl can dream, can't she?


WATCHING RAYMOND :: ENTRY #1375

Sluggo

[copied from dland]

I am incredibly sluggish today. Not just tired, although I'm that, too. This is more like moving through molasses instead of air. Everything is slowed down. The fact that my eyes are really bad today and heavy and droopy is only making it worse. I got lots of shampoo in my bad eye today, and for awhile there, I really thought I was going to have to go to the hospital. Drama queen much? I don't know; my eyes are very sensitive, and especially this one, and it felt for a long time like there was something actually in there, or a bruise on the cornea. Anyway, it's left me somewhat Cyclopean all day, but What.Ever. I'm living. I'll live.

Even so, I feel like a sleepwalker all day, and I don't think it's just me. Media Girl said she felt that way, too. We had no classes in the library today, so it was slow. I expected the rest of my posters to arrive and we were going to figure out where they went and maybe hang some of them, but UPS hasn't been to the school yet -- it's about 2:00 now, although I'll post this later -- so it's a no go. My photocopier is finally coming tomorrow. And with any luck, a snow day on Wednesday.

Yes, it's going to snow on Wednesday, our first real significant snow of the season. Which is quite late for us, but one year we had no snow at all and then paralyzing blizzards for several days in March, so it just goes to show. Will they close schools? If they close the Bizarro Town schools then I am closing school for K, since she has to drive the 20 minutes or so to the college, and I know from personal experience that it will not be pleasant in the weather.

As sluggish as I am, I have several things to do this afternoon, including some errands with the Sibs and then R is taking the train here to B.T. and we'll grab some dinner and then pick up her car from the service station and she'll be off home. I've got a prescription to pick up and .... oh, something to take to the post office. Didn't post offices used to be closed on Lincoln's Birthday?

So, Sluggo. Sluggo, you may or may not know, is Nancy's best friend.

This comic strip is older than dirt; my father used to say that he always enjoyed reading it because it was the first comic strip he remembered from like 1924. Very early in my pregnancy with K, the Hubs and were in Kennebunkport, Maine for a weekend and picked up a local paper and they were running the Nancy strip, which surprised us because we thought even then that it was defunct. One thing led to another, and by the end of the weekend, our little unborn one had taken on the nickname Sluggo. That morphed over the course of the next several months into Little Sluggo, and then The Little Sluggo, then The Little Slug, and finally, The Slug. She's never quite forgiven us for that, for calling her a slug, but it was said with love. And it was a Nancy shout-out, which she's never fully appreciated, I think. Anyway, the name has a special place in my heart.

So, Sluggo I am today. All I'm missing is the cap.


WATCHING RAYMOND :: ENTRY #1374

Sunday. Sunday.

[copied from dland]

Okay, I've finally seen all of The Supreme Court, so now I know what that was all about. I mean, I knew some of it before, but I did get a lot out of it. Not that any teacher at school will ever show all four hours of it because, you know, it's still about the Supreme Court, which gets a very healthy mention, but not four hours of video, there's just not time for that in the curriculum.

I cooked dinner tonight, real food from scratch (more or less) on the stove and everything. It was polenta with zuchini and mushrooms. I got it from a WW cookbook, and it was, as promised, easy and good and low in points. I don't know how full I am from it, but I just finished dinner a few minutes a go, so I'll see in a bit. I still have points left for snacks.

I also did a major re-organization in the kitchen today, and I'm all caught up on laundry and stuff. All that's left for tonight is to get my lunch and school stuff ready for tomorrow.

Q is finally eating a little better today, probably because I remembered to get some deli turkey this morning and tempt her with that, and she had several small plates of it and then ate some regular cat food. There's certainly something up with her, but I'm not making any pronouncements. The insides of her ears, which are normally pinkish, are kind of yellowish. Can a cat get jaundice? I may take her to the vet, but not tomorrow; she's not in pain or uncomfortable, and if the vet says there's something wrong with her liver or something, then what? Maybe I'm better off not knowing, as long as she's not unhappy.

I'm getting all distracted now, with one thing or another, so it's time to post this and get on with them ...


WATCHING GRAMMY RED CARPET SHOW :: ENTRY #1373

Hi.

[copied from dland]

I haven't been up to a whole lot here; I didn't get to write yesterday because I ended up being on the phone for long periods of time with the only three people I ever talk to on the phone: R, the Sibs, and OldFriend. In the middle of which, here and there, K came home and the Hubs came home, and before I knew it, I was crashing on the couch. And here I am.

Couch crashing/TV watching has taken on a new dimension for the last few days, and especially since last night. One of the reasons I burrow under the blankets there fairly early is that I'm just SO COLD, so I put on extra jammie layers and a couple of nice down throws and there I am, a captive. And then, I've been trying to watch the whole Supreme Court series -- it's a big four hours altogether -- on PBS. (And to quote K, who watches a lot of The History Channel, yes, I'm a dork, and I know it.) Anyway, the show is very good, all things considered, but it's also all just narration, so I tend to just fall asleep when it's on. While this is a good thing since I am generally sleep-deprived, it means that I've seen some parts of it three or four times and have always missed some of the rest. (I have it recorded, but it's also on a lot.) Last night, I put on the part I wanted to see around 9:30 and was asleep in five minutes.

I woke up around 11:30. I think the recording had run through and was re-starting itself -- I really don't know -- and managed to stay awake, more or less, until midnight, because at midnight, QVC was starting a two-hour show of my make-up! The make-up show was on, yay! So I watched from 12 to 2:00 -- when was the last time I was willingly awake at 2:00 AM? The last 15 minutes or so were tough, and I fell right to sleep when it was over. But body clocks being what they are, I was wide awake at 6:30.

This gave me enough time to wake up and go to CVS and the cleaners and Dunkin' Donuts, and be home by 10:00 for ... the make-up show! It's on THREE TIMES TODAY! (One more coming up in a little over an hour.)

So now, either you are like my children who think that I am mentally deranged (and my sister along with me), or you are a shopping channel watcher and this all makes perfect sense to you. I am not a shopping channel watcher as such, although I went through a stage of it maybe 15 years ago, but I guess the make-up shows entertain me because they're talking about something that interests me and that I'm still learning about. (These are not reruns, btw, each show is live.) While I watch, I bring up some of the items on the computer so I can see the colors more closely and the sizes being offered, and, well, yes, the Sibs and I talk to each other here and there while it's on. So far, neither of has us bought anything except refills for some of the things we use. But their special of the day today was some sort of set worth, I think, $197.00 that they were selling for $99 and change, and that included a whole lot of different colors and brushes and a bag and stuff, and as of sometime mid-afternoon today they had sold over 70,000 of them. It's all just a remarkable cultural phenomenon, if nothing else.

The WW is going pretty well. Earlier today, I pulled out all my recipes and such from last time that have the points on them, so I guess I'll be doing some of that. I also picked up more of the frozen meals, since I think I have several nights this week upcoming that K is either in class or working late. Well, actually, she's only in class on Monday, and R will be here since her car's being serviced, so she and I will go out somewhere to eat that night. I don't really find eating out a problem, but it depends on where she wants to go. Maybe it'll be another sneaky trip to Red Lobster, but this time with the other one. It's really the easiest place to eat on WW. A whole lobster with lemon (not butter) is maybe 2 points.

So my main mission for the evening is to get my feet warm. This will entail layers of jammies and down throws on the couch, and until 10 at least, my clipboard and the phone nearby for sibling consultations while our show is on. After that, it's another stab at John Marshall, and hopefully, a good long night's sleep.


WATCHING WILL & GRACE :: ENTRY #1372

But First ...

[copied from dland]

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Thanks for the chuckle!

It said that

* There are 14,998 people in the U.S. with my first name.
* Statistically the 1495th most popular first name. (tied with 85 other first names)
* More than 99.9 percent of people with my first name are female.

and

* There are 0 people in the U.S. with my last name.
* This name is not found in our database, this means the name is relatively uncommon.

therefore there is no one in the United States with my name, including, I presume, me.

I should like to think that more than 99.9 percent of people with my first name are female, since I have one of those Something-Anne names. I hate it to death, but it is nothing if not a girl's name. In fact, probably one of the things I never liked about it is that it's too girly. I never thought of that before until just this minute.

---

Things are going well, she said hesitantly.

I told them to go ahead and order the hearing aids today. I really wasn't wavering at all, but the office person there had to get back to me with information about the warranty. Get this. The audiologist had told me that he thought the company covered repairs, damage, and loss for two years. It turned out that they only covered repairs for two years, and damage and loss for one. So he's going to cover the second year damage and loss himself, because he told me that I was going to get it. He certainly seems to be a mensch.

I went to the gym today, and when I calculated the activity points for WW, it came out to 2, so I didn't walk away any pounds when I got home, as I had planned. Let's not be insane, shall we?

I'm very into food again, as I always am when I am on the WW, figuring points and working out what I can eat. I think it's comforting for me to do this and gives me a tremendous sense of control. My scale tells me that I've lost a pound and a half each day for the last two days, which is certainly the water weight you lose when you start a diet, but it is encouraging.

I also got nice compliments on my make-up today from two people, which you know I crave, and so that made me happy. I'm going to try to let that go now and have some confidence in the whole thing.

I had some unusual classes in today, three very small groups with the ESL teacher, which means that these were kids with very limited English. Some of them, I think, are very recently arrived here and speak almost no English. I was doing the whole plagiarism thing with them, which is something of a stock lesson of mine, but I really had to adapt it for them. It was fun, and they were nice kids, and seemed to get it on some level. Their teacher is the most wonderful patient teacher in the world who takes absolutely no crap from them, and it's always fun working with her. I also made a new make-up convert out of her today, so that was fun, too.

Not sure what I'm having for dinner, surprisingly, but K left me a note that when she gets home from work at 8:15, she's planning to eat the leftover stirfry. And so was I. But I have other options, I just haven't worked them out yet.

Oh, and another perk of the new hearing aids? The office is only open on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons, and they have no open appointments on Wednesday the 28th. So I'll have to take the day off on Tuesday the 27th and go get them in the morning. And Tuesday the 27th is ... ? AN IN-SERVICE DAY! HAH! Getting out of another one, baby!


WATCHING STILL STANDING :: ENTRY #1371

Late. Tired.

[copied from dland]

I was at the audiologist's for two hours after school, and then K and I took a sneaky trip to Red Lobster (I rarely go with just one of them, it's a three-of-us thing, but we were hungry, and R doesn't live here anymore.) Then when we got home, Boo had done his thing upstairs again -- really, gotta get a door for that room -- and we hustled K's comforter into the washing machine, and of course, it's really too big for a regular home machine, so we were mopping up there for awhile, and now it's taking at least two cycles to dry. And I had various phone calls to catch up with (R, the Sibs) and then, before I knew it, it was Geek time. And now, here I am.

I am so tired. And I am so tired of being cold. Just saying.

The big news of the day, I suppose, is that I am going to get new hearing aids. I liked the audiologist very much (he was very thorough, I felt) and the aids I've been investigating online turn out to be the best ones for me. They'll be in-the-ear ... these, actually, but they look like this:

They will have many, many fine features, with which I'm sure I will bore you when I have them in a few weeks. Their least fine feature, not surprisingly, is their price. Seriously. I have bought cars -- used cars, but cars nonetheless, automobiles with engines and tires and things -- for less. My first pair of hearing aids 15 years ago cost $750. If you're ever wondering where inflation hits the hardest, try hearing aids. And the audiologist's assistant said she has never heard of any insurance that covers them, including Medicare. Good to know.

I can't believe that Lost won't be on for another hour. How will I keep my eyes open that long?


WATCHING THE SUPREME COURT :: ENTRY #1370

Witchy Woman

[copied from dland]

I have certain subtle powers, one of which I just realized I had today. The main one is that I can make the Hubs come home when he's late and I'm worried. I do this by unlocking the side door and turning on the outside light there. Nine times out of ten, he'll come in before I even get back to my chair. I have this power.

Last night, I finally confessed to the Hubs my fear of the last few days that Q is nearing her end. Today, she is crying for food as always and eating like she lives for it. I think this is what happened last year, too, when the girls were driving to and from Toronto and Q was dragging her little body around and not eating. So, it seems I have the power to restore Q to health. All I have to do is tell the Hubs that I'm pretty sure she's dying.

Day One on W8 Watching went pretty well. I'm actually under points here at almost 7:30, so I guess I need to chow down before bedtime. When I'm into this, I just eat lots of foods that are very low in points to leave me more for the snacks I know I will have. Tonight, I made a stir-fry out of a bag of broccoli cole slaw and lots of shrimp and some rice, which is an extremely healthy meal with lots of fiber and virtually no fat. WW chocolate cake for me as soon as I post.

I was having a very K-is-adorable day today. She came to the high school this morning to interview for substituting, and then sat with me in the faculty room on my break and saw all the teachers she loves from when she was a kid and I introduced her to new chums of mine. K was looking absolutely lovely today. This kid has a way with make-up and putting herself together, she always has. I don't know how many people told me after she left how beautiful she looked. Again, kvelling.

Also, she's decided to be in sync with me, more or less, on the WW thing. She wants to lose just a little bit of weight, so all she really needs to do is be more aware of her portion sizes and the calories/fat/fiber of what she eats on her own, and eat whatever I eat for dinner. We took a marathon trip to the supermarket before, which was good to get done with, but exhausting.

Before that, I also had the enjoyable experience of arriving fifteen minutes early for my manicure and finding out that the person in the chair before me and not done yet was the Sibs. So between her finishing up and then drying while I got started, we spent a bit of time together and amused each other.

I'm telling you my day backwards, so here's what happened early on. First, let me remind you that I have been to lots and lots of college, and I am, after all, a teacher, so I am very, very smart. Just so you know.

I decided to bring a thermos with me to school today, but to get the coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, because the coffee I make at home is shit and Dunkin' coffee rocks. I left the thermos in the car -- on purpose -- and bought a large decaf, black, and took it back out with me. I opened the thermos, took the lid off the DD coffee, reached over so that I was at least performing this graceful act over the passenger side floor and not the seat, and poured from cup to thermos, mostly missing the narrow neck of the thermos, but managing to pour really, really, really hot coffee all over both my hands and the floor of the car.

Okay, maybe I didn't think it through.

The good news is that since there was no milk in the coffee I don't have to worry about nasty smells and such (not that they would manifest themselves until the spring thaw), so it's kind of just like I now have a coffee-scented air freshener in the car. The other good news, I suppose, is that I had left my gloves in the car before going into the DD, so my hands were really cold and then they got warm. Sort of. The lesson learned is that tomorrow morning, I bring the thermos in with me and ask them to fill it up and charge me for a large coffee. (Which was more than the size of my thermos, btw, which I hadn't realized, so I kept on pouring -- everywhere -- even after the thermos was full.)

The point of all this, actually, was to make carrying coffee into school with me more convenient. For me. So that instead of carrying one of those pink cardboard drink carriers with two cups of coffee on it, I could just stick my thermos in my bag and carry it along with my lunch and other stuff. Ah, yes, that worked out extremely well, I think.

My two-day headache was gone for most of the day today, but is back now. Advil first. Then cake.


WATCHING SCRUBS :: ENTRY #1369

Ch .. Ch .. Ch ..

[copied from dland]

The changes most on my mind at the moment, I suppose, are those going on with the cats. They are not well. They are not suffering or in pain, but they are clearly not themselves. K says it's as if they're senile. And really, it's a toss up from day to day which one of them is worse off, but mostly I'd say it's Q. Little Q, who has been ravenous from the day we brought her home, seems to have forgotten that she's supposed to eat once in a while. She doesn't bug me for food, although sometimes she stands and looks at me as if to say "I'm supposed to be bothering you for something now, aren't I?" but she's not crying or scratching at me. If I put food down for her, she gobbles it up for about ten seconds and walks away. If I put her face back near her dish, she gobbles more for ten seconds and then forgets. In short order, Boo steps in and eats all her food, and she's off sleeping someplace warm. When she looks at us, her eyes are bright and she seems fine. But I'm sure she's lost weight since I took them both to the vet last month. It's a wait-and-see thing, but at this point, I can't imagine either one of them holding on until summer. There's nothing we can treat them for and we won't let them suffer. So that's today's cat news.

Elsewhere, it's not as cold as it is in Wisconsin, chaos, but it's plenty cold for us. Today's wind chill was near zero. And once again, no heat in the new library, nor here and there in the new part of the building. Once again, applause for the lowest bidder, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you very much.

And ... I re-joined W8 Watchers when I got home from school. I officially weigh 20 pounds more than I did when I joined four years ago, so, hmmm, looks like I have my work cut out for me. I also walked away some pounds when I got home. Hope this lasts more than a few days. It's a bad week for the gym, although maybe I can get there Thursday. I'm going to that new audiologist Wednesday after school, keeping my fingers crossed there.

And now I'm hungry. I didn't snack all afternoon, although I'm not really counting points until tomorrow (considering what I've already eaten today, I'd be done for the week.) So it's my last hurrah; where's that beefaroni?


WATCHING REBA :: ENTRY #1368

Let Me Tell You About My Day

[copied from dland]

It's day two of The Sinus Headache That Will Not Die, and it's exhausting me. Not to mention my excursion into the cold today, from which I'm taking some time to recover.

I got dressed this morning in layers upon layers, and revived my heavy winter coat which I haven't really worn all winter (in lieu of the jacket which isn't really warm, but whatever) and got myself all put together. I went over to the Sibs' a little after noon, since I was going along to the funeral with them. She was finalizing her going out outfit with what looks like two or three sweaters. Her husband comes into the room wearing slacks and a button-down shirt and answers her request that he wear a jacket by saying he had no jacket suitable for a funeral. She insists that he find some jacket to wear and he comes back with a heavy windbreaker on. She, meanwhile, tops off her layers of sweaters with a heavy shawl. A heavy shawl? It's 15 degrees, with a wind chill of 5, maybe! The only one of them dressed at all appropriately is the 16 year old, Little K.

So we take the ride, maybe 20 minutes, and get there and have to wait a half hour for the hearse to arrive and get ready to go to the grave site. We all say hello to the BIL's sister and her various family members, and drive over to the right spot. (This is an absolutely huge cemetery, actually two or three adjacent cemeteries that merged long ago.) And we walked over to the grave.

It was just unbelievably cold. I was the only person wearing a hat. The Sibs, not surprisingly, was freezing, and I ended up standing behind her to block the wind. The BIL's sister's husband, apparently some sort of rabbi's assistant, led the service and such, and started and ending with two very long and very clichéd poems about the history of the Jewish people and so on. When it came to the actual prayers, he had to ask his daughter to turn the pages in the prayer book because his hands were too cold to work. None of these people wore gloves. I think maybe he could have eliminated the poems, huh?

By the time we got back to the car, my face actually hurt from being scrunched up tight in the cold. That's also when I realized that the headache had multiplied in strength while I was scrunching.

So it's over; I came home and only now, five hours later, am I starting to consider taking off some of the extra layers. (But I'm not still wearing the coat.) My feet are still cold.

Anyway, K had rented Little Miss Sunshine, which we watched this afternoon and enjoyed very much. Very well done, fabulous acting, and many unexpected moments. Thumbs up from Chai and K.

I just installed a little weather thingy in my browser -- it's a Firefox extension, not Weatherbug, which I never liked on my PC -- and it says that the high for tomorrow is 17. I am not keen on K walking around campus in that, since the parking is always so far from the buildings. I told her to keep an eye on the school website and her email to see if anything is canceled.

Well, the kid has just relocated up to her bedroom, so I can now take full possession of the couch and the remote. We've been watching a lot of the various history channels recently, which I may leave on. I'm certainly not watching the Super Bowl, about which I could not possibly care less than I already do, so my choices are limited.

I haven't watched An Inconvenient Truth yet since it's the Hubs' and he hasn't opened it yet, but I saw the producer on TV yesterday talking about some of the "green" things we can all do. We've already changed all the light bulbs in the house to compact fluorescents. I'm considering paper towels from recycled paper. But my big project is going to be not keeping things plugged in all the time that don't need to be, especially those things that recharge your phone and iPod and whatever. I gotta get me another power strip and a label maker and just go ahead and do it, but I never got to it this weekend. Maybe next.

Okay, I'm putting my head down now.


WATCHING THE NAKED ARCHAELOGIST :: ENTRY #1367

Cold, With a Chance of Headaches

[copied from dland]

I slept oddly last night, couldn't fall asleep at all until nearly midnight, and then woke up on the couch at 3:45. I always wake up on the couch between midnight and one, maybe 1:30, and move over to bed, so that was odd. And then I woke up at 6:15, all disoriented. The Hubs' side of the bed was empty, and moments after I woke up (with a terrible headache), I heard K say, right outside my bedroom door and clear as a bell, not cranky "Hello!" That confused me even more. The rest of it is unimportant, but then I was really awake and even got up and out of bed by seven, in time to see the Hubs and K both off to work. I felt too nauseous to eat, had no ambition, and just wanted coffee and keep it coming.

So naturally, I got dressed and planned out my morning, as I am wont to do on a Saturday. But I've been dragging all day, really tired (despite an afternoon nap) and my eyes are very heavy again, like they were the other day. I even put ointment in before my nap, but that just means that everything still looks fuzzy to me. And I still have the headache. None of which keeps me from driving -- that must make you all wonder about my sanity, but I just can't read easily; I can see the road.

I had a most pleasant experience this morning; I was in BJ's (it's like Costco, but closer to my house) and ran into another teacher I'm quite fond of but who transferred to another school this year. So we had a nice talk. I've run into her in ShopRite many times over the years that I know her, so it was funny to meet her someplace else. Although the last time I went to BJ's I ran into a different colleague from work there, too.

R came in by train about an hour ago; she and K are chowing down on some sushi and then we'll take her home. She had a great business trip -- hee hee -- and I think is really learning a lot about how to do her job and they seem very happy with her there as well. Funny, she had said over a year ago that she was going to look into working for a non-profit, and although she sent out resumés everywhere, that's exactly what turned up, and it seems to be an atmosphere that fits her and that she fits very well.

And tomorrow, the funeral. I'm wondering about these people -- the BIL's sister and her husband -- who decided to have a graveside funeral, and if they have any idea what that's going to feel like out there in the cold. These are California people, so I'm guessing the ceremony will be short.

Off to take the kid home.


WATCHING RAYMOND :: ENTRY #1366

In My Absence, I ...

[copied from dland]

I more or less forgot to write yesterday. I remembered after 9, by which time I'm generally semi-comatose, so I thought I'd spare you all the incoherence. And now here I am.

I've been very tired lately, which is not all that different from not-lately, so I took a nice long nap when I got home yesterday. Today K and I went to the mall after school on an errand or two. Otherwise, let's see.

R is in Philadelphia on a business trip. How weird is it to say that? She says she's in an absolutely huge hotel room, which is of course all paid for by her employers. She'll be back late tomorrow afternoon, and is actually taking the train from the city here to Bizarro Town, since the trains don't run at those times to where she lives, and we'll drive her home later.

The coolest thing, though, is that she sent me an image via email of the poster that will advertise the high school's spring play, with her name very prominently displayed after Written by. I am kvelling my brains out here. It's the wallpaper on my home computer (it being still unadvertised in school.) I expect to get a real printed poster from the club to hang. Heaven knows I'll be buying a mass amount of play tickets, since everyone I know will have to go see it. The ILs are even coming up to see the matinee, with the FIL presumably riding around on his new scooter.

My baby, in the meantime, has an interview next week to start substitute teaching. Where? Oh, you know. None of us can get away from that place, it seems, ever.

Speaking of which, I began my career there, at good ol' Bizarro Town High School, 30 years ago today. Just making note of it.

What else can I tell you? Oh, yesterday Media Girl commented on how nice my eyes looked with the eyeshadow, so I'm all psyched over that. Somebody finally looked at me, I guess. Although K told me today she liked it, too. I guess it's just hard to miss eyeshadow; you can otherwise look like your skin has somehow assumed a healthy glow, but your eyelids will rarely sprout a color combination of mermaid/spring rose.

Oh, and it appears I have a new medical condition, because, you know, it's a day that ends in y. For the last couple of months, since I broke that bone in my right leg and was on the crutches, really, I have had this weird pain in my left foot. It hurts when I first get out of bed in the morning and walk on it; it feels like there's a big rock in my shoe, except I'm barefoot. It's in my left heel. Once I'm up and walking, I'm okay, but if I sit still for awhile and get up, it feels the same. I mentioned to the doctor last week only that I have occasional pain in my feet, which she said was probably arthritis, which most of it probably is, but I didn't go into detail about the specific thing with my left heel. Then, last night, for some reason I Googled plantar fasciitis and this is what came up:

When your first few steps out of bed in the morning cause severe pain in the heel of your foot, you may have plantar fasciitis.

Bingo! There's more, but it's like I could have written it myself. So that must be what it is; fortunately, keeping the foot flexed stretches that muscle (or whatever) and helps a lot. Each time I woke up last night (which I do frequently) I would remember and flex my foot and it was much better this morning. I think I'll pass on the medical attention for this one, unless it gets worse.

Not much planned for the weekend, except the gym, I hope, and R tomorrow evening. This is going to sound odd as an afterthought, but I have a graveside funeral to go to on Sunday; my sister's mother-in-law passed away yesterday. Let us just say that she was not a nice person in life, and had no interest in her son, who yet cared for her in her last few years as devotedly as any son could. So there's that, a brief ceremony being held more for his sister who's flying in from somewhere or other than for him. This is a sister who couldn't have been bothered to visit her mother in life for over 25 years. Families are so weird.

But I'll write tomorrow, I should think.


WATCHING REBA :: ENTRY #1365