Primed Pump

Gainesville

Congrats on your progress, Mom. I'm impressed-- especially since I made none at all. Never got out to do my errands, which slows everything else down.

I did manage to write my name on every card. Now if I can just get Bill to add his, we'll be one step closer to clearing out the card clutter. He insists on signing for himself.

Thanks for letting me know Thea got her gift. I hate calling her to ask. Now if only Sandy's gift would emerge from Internet limbo. I fear I'll have to write that one off. Maybe I can go back to my original idea, and have that to her by her birthday. Yeah, right. Dream on.

Oh, here's some news: today, Scooba-DO! Bill came across a baby syringe, the item iRobot is supposedly sending us, and gave it a try. It primed the baby's pump, and he scurried around, spreading water for the first time. Had to repeat the procedure, but he did finally get through the whole cycle-- and I must admit, he did a pretty darn good job on the bathroom floor. We're both impressed. The true test will be when we turn him loose in the kitchen.

Finally made the browned cauliflower with olives, anchovies, capers and all things salty. I thought it was lovely. Bill found it a bit on the salty side, but liked it. Had this with a pulled pork recipe consisting mainly of butter and Worcester sauce-- good way to use the leftover pork roast I found in the freezer. Spozed to go on hamburger buns, but we low-carbies skip that part.

Finished The Murder Room. Now I'm deep into some Battlestar Galactica books that arrived from Amazon today. It feels strange to be back in the grip of a current TV show-- starved for any bit of intelligence I can collect about a dense and demanding long-form work. Very rewarding, actually.

Will be glad when the holidays are over and a normal cycle of weekdays returns. My daily routines are reasonably intact, but the weeklies are shot to hell. Sheets and towels are current, but the blessings fell by the wayside. Still ahead, the drudgery of putting the tree and decorations away. Will start that on Wild Card Weekend. Football makes a great sound track for it.

And so, to bed. I hope. Last night I seem to have taken a dive into the sofa sometime around 1:00 and didn't crawl to bed until after 4:00. There is just no hope that I'll ever get my sleep cycle reset to an approximation of my fellow humans.

Big Frakkin' Whoop

Gainesville

The card saga gets more insane every day. No matter how far I lower my expectations, something keeps me from getting it done. I'll not bore you with it all, except to say that at one point we physically moved Bill's printer to attach to my machine (his doesn't have MS Word installed, and Open Office couldn't handle the fonts and spacing that I needed in order to cut up the labels. D'oh. And if that weren't enough, the gold ink pen I was using gave out. I'll have to shop for another one and hope it works long enough to make 40 more hand-drawn stars. Very bad craziness. Finished up the canned letter (to be included with only about 15 of them) but may have to play the same move-the-printer game to get the little color illustration printed. Gah.

Thanks for letting me know about the Jan 2 Fed holiday, Mom. That lessens the pressure to get them mailed, since Wednesday is the earliest delivery date anyhow.

I am never doing this again. Ever. If next year's cards aren't perfect out of the box, I'm outta here.

I did a load of towels. Big whoop. I should have made broth with the chicken carcass today but didn't. I suppose I should toss it (and the leftovers) now, but it kills me to do it.

Congrats on putting your shoes back on, Lucy (anyone remember that song?) You'll get used to it, and it should help with your rehab too. It's good you have your upcoming party to motivate you to continue decluttering.

Spent too much time reading both online (the ever increasing number of blogs I frequent) and hard copy (rereading The Murder Room).

Tomorrow I need to go to the P.O. Box (been over a week), to Office Max (in search of a gold pen) and Publix (food for next week, including yet another Big Frakkin' Holiday Meal for two). Enough, already!

Mopping Up

Gainesville

Scooba-Don't, at least so far. After the long charge, he was back to his old trick of "Check Tank." I called tech support and went through a long process with a very nice guy (and in the process got the thing registered), involving trying things with a turkey baster and a straw. No joy. The upshot was that they will send us a tool to help get his itty bitty pump primed -- we'd already guessed that was the part that was having the problem. That will take at least a week.

I spent countless hours being obsessive/compulsive about creating some sort of greeting on the computer that I can hand-decorate with shiny ink and stick in the blank cards. This is so crazy, and I have no idea if it will work, i.e., if it will satisfy the inner perfectionist. I'll need to go out and buy special paper. Maybe take them somewhere to do on a color laser printer. Insane.

Made a big pot of Super Chili tonight, and it hit the spot, more satisfying than any of the fancy things I made over the past few days, and appropriate, too: after a week of 80's, it rained like a SOB all day Christmas (summer-type downpours and thundershowers) and has since turned very cold.

Great blog, Sandy, and thanks for the neat pix. I still haven't made the cauliflower recipe, though I have everything to do it (even a new jar of whole coriander seed). It's the one in FC #83, p. 21 (w/ Anchovies, Olives & Capers). Will probably do it Saturday, though I'm a bit discouraged about fancy cooking just now. I was way too ambitious. BTW, I do get Penzey's catalog, but strangely enough, I have some home-made garam masala on hand. More details about recent FC's later.

I had totally forgotten about drawing a full scale "magic chimney" for Chris-- thank you! What a weird little kid I was-- for a while there we both were. I knew I was a nerd, but at that age didn't care, and kind of reveled in it. Anyway, thanks for the nice memory.

My house is out of control too, and didn't make much progress with regaining it today. An overdue load of wash was the best I could do. Bill has this week off, and is spending it mostly in Azaroth (WoW). He does break for meals, though, and looks up briefly when I hand him a drink. He and his fellow hordies are celebrating the "Festival of Winter Veil" holiday season.

Mom, please start wearing your lace-up shoes again! Moccasins are NOT real shoes. I bet you'll feel better and more secure on your feet. I didn't realize you'd gotten away from that important, basic FL lesson. Now more than ever, you need that firm foundation.

Good to hear that you are taking baby steps to get your house in shape for the up-coming party. Sounds like a great tradition in the making.

Enough for now.
[corrected 28 Dec]

3rd day of Christmas

Here's Ben "camping" at our house:
(should have caught this red-eye before importing, and I'm too lazy to go back)

And here's Ben watching Puss eat a mouse. He found it funny:


7:42 a.m. Dishwasher is running, and the first load of laundry is almost ready for the dryer. It's chiropractor day, meaning that Chas left at 6:30. Sometimes I come along, once in a while I go back to bed. Today I must begin to catch up. I declared yesterday a far niente day, for the final day of recuperation from strep, but today I have to get a handle on the house again. The tree will stay up another few days; normally I take it down on the first of January. Dwight and K are spending New Year's Eve here, so there'll be someone else to see it. I was happy that Marty, Ben and Nate came out this year. Last year the only people who saw our tree were Charlie and me (and maybe Jimbo).

Well, I'm glad that the ribs were a success, Suze. I overcooked ours a bit; the barbecue was really hot, and I didn't watch it closely enough. It got up to 400 at the end (indirect heat, but still), so the ribs were slightly dry. Still good, though.

What an ambitious Christmas day menu, Suze! Yow! I never make stuffing from the ground up (I used to make corn bread dressing, aeons ago). What a drag, with all that work, that it was not perfect. I don't often make the "cooking without recipes" recipes. I'm too much a slave to following exact directions, at least the first time through. As for the chicken, you're probably right about the bird. I notice that it calls for a 5-pound chicken. The normal supermarket bird weighs in at around three. Go for the kosher, free-range, whatever you can find of that type. I also usually brine chicken (caution: kosher is already brined).

[Aside: All this smug chicken talk is no help for yesterday, when I put half of a (quite good, alas) chicken into the crock pot (after browning it) with sliced parsnips, leeks, carrots, celery, some garlic and some thyme, a little wine, and some stock. The idea was to have a hot meal ready when we got home from Marty's. There was l/o rice from the egg fu yung, even. Well, I guess it was all right. I had anticipated bland poached chicken, but it was really bland. After the juice was degreased and boiled down and I heated the rice and some frozen peas, I could have just cooked a couple of breast cutlets and had a better meal. I'm sure there's a way to get a decent chicken stew from a crock pot, but I haven't found it. I went to the internet to find a recipe. What a jungle. I finally made this one because I've had parsnips (not our own) in the fridge for ages, and I wanted to use the mandoline to slice vegetables. Think I can rescue the leftovers with some mushrooms and other things.]

I always make a cranberry-orange relish. Mine is 12 oz cranberries, 3/4 whole orange and a cup and a half of sugar, all run through the meat grinder (though the cuisinart would do). Yours sounds interesting; the vinegar would make it more sweet and sour, which would be nice. I'll have to try it.

I've made (and liked) the smashed potatoes. In fact, I'm planning to do them again quite soon. I wonder if I cut down on the olive oil, because I don't remember them being greasy and -- more important -- Charlie didn't complain. He doesn't like food to be too greasy, since it gives him bad gut trouble. Did you also make the cauliflower on p. 10 (for you others, this is all in FC 81, except for the potatoes, which are in 83)? It looks good.

While I'm on FC, here's a quick update and some comments on the last 3 issues. In 82, I made the butternut squash recipe (rosemary, shallots) on p. 57. I liked it a lot, but Charlie didn't. He just puts up with b. squash anyway, and it was too crisp. Note to self: cut it up larger or cook for less time. On page 75 Fettuccine with tuna, lemon and fried capers was really a winner. Used the good tuna. I don't even like capers, though recently I cook with them some. But fried capers! Yum! I picked this dish because it had no cheese. We are getting tired of the endless parmesan or pecorino romano.

In 82 I made the lemon shortbread bars (73); excellent! Ditto the caramel turtle bars (74-75). These last did not look like the photo. The ganache did not set up enough to make the lines. I was in a hurry (and followed the directions), but I think it should have been refrigerated for 30 minutes before the drizzling. Anyway, these were a fair amount of work, but good. And I realize that I've talked about both of these recipes in the blog already, so I apologize. I've also, in the Q&D of this issue, made the sun-dried tomato tart, using fried guanciale instead of prosciutto. This was a big hit at a dinner party we had for Ruth and Dave. The second tart (the recipe makes two) I made with spinach and a little mozzarella. Also good. The great thing from that issue is the arugula salad with grapefruit, also previously commented upon. I plan to make this again on Sunday. God, I'll have to buy arugula.

I'm just getting into 83, really. I want to make the cauliflower recipe (21). Is that the one you did, Suze? I've lost track. I made roast chicken with rosemary-lemon salt (39), but I did it with half a chicken, and I guess I even cut that into two quarters. I did not brine it because of the salt in the recipe. Did not use the half lemon, having no cavity to stuff it into. This was wonderfully good, very crisp skin. In Q&D, I've now twice made the buttermilk chicken. It's excellent. The first time I made it with the salad, and it's good, too. The second time I made it Ben was here, so I cut up one of the breastlets (these are the things we get from Schwan, unbreaded boneless breast pieces) and made it into "chicken nuggets" for Ben. He scarfed down all of his nuggets, drenched in ketchup. I also very highly recommend the stir-fry on the back of the magazine. I need to make it again. I have some store-bought garam masala (Penzey's -- do you get their catalogue, Suzy? Let me know; if you don't, I'll get it sent to you).

Well, enough of that. I'll be interested to see if Scooba does. I've had the interesting experience of three and a half years with no kitchen floor to scrub. (I did scrub the upstairs bath floor last week, but I don't do it often.) When my black rubber mats get dirty I take them out on the deck and hose them off -- this is less easy in winter, of course, meaning they are cleaned less often or less thoroughly. Anyway, as eager as I am to have a Real. Kitchen. Floor., I dread getting back to the scrubbing of it.

We had a nice time at Marty's last night (also, as Mom said, a nice time at the Woods' the night before -- third year in a row of not cooking Christmas dinner, which I don't mind at all, though we are beginning to long for lutefisk). Julia and Ben photographed us multiple times; what great presents for them, S & B! And Marty's stockpot is gorgeous!! She's thrilled, as I'm sure she's told you. One thing we got for them was a little weather station. I chose it because it has a little boy on the front, and it shows him how to dress, depending on the weather (if you have the Wind and Weather catalogue -- which you must -- you'll see it there).

Christmas memories. I don't remember much about specific Christmases either. Like you, Suzy, I remember looking at trees through windows (though I don't connect it so much with the drive home from SF/Berkeley/Oakland, but more with the streets of Palo Alto). I still consider the tree in the window the ultimate Christmas decoration. We can't put ours in the street-side window any more, since that would put it cheek by jowl with the wood stove. Some years we drive around RF to show the lights to the elder(s), though we didn't do it this year.

Well, one Christmas thing I remember was in Los Altos, when we were still in the original living room. Suzy and I got a big piece of paper (butcher paper) and drew a fireplace on it. We put it up on the west wall of the room and convinced Chris that by magic it would turn into a real fireplace just long enough for Santa to come down its chimney and bring presents, and when he (Chris) woke up in the morning, it would be a pretend fireplace again. Do you remember this, Suzy? I always loved Christmas stockings (which I stopped doing, for some reason, and wish I still did them); tangerines still smell like Christmas to me. I also remember that, time out of mind, we sang Christmas carols around the piano. Am I making that up?

I'll add a couple of photos here -- a before/after fireplace set -- then go about my housewifely business. Second load of laundry has just finished washing. Time to fold, continue laundry, and do some serious vacuumage.

Pre-Christmas fire fanning:


Post-Christmas fire fanning, with the blow-poke, Mom's gift to Charlie (thanks!!):

Scooba-Do

Gainesville

It's over. Thank god. I am cooked-out, at least for now. I'm sure the urge will return.

Sandy's ribs, which I made Christmas Eve, were probably the biggest success of all-- we loved them. I used the rub, chilled them for about 6 hours. I only got one, largish rack of baby backs, as I wanted to try them before piling up a lot of leftovers, especially on the eve of a big feast. Next time I will get two. I put the BBQ sauce (Bull's Eye Chipotle) on the table, but not on the ribs while cooking. Wonderful! I wish I had a pile of them in the fridge instead the the remains of the chicken.

Spent about five hours Christmas Even on PRE-prep for the next day-- mostly getting things ready to build the stuffing. Also made the Fresh Cranberry Relish, which was easy and very yummy-- my favorite part of the meal.

Even with that much prep, I was in the kitchen for 9 hours, with only time out for hot crab dip and stuffed celery around 1:00 (20 minutes) and to eat dinner around 6:30 (10 minutes-- Bill eats fast). Clean-up extends several hours after, despite having run the dishwasher once mid-prep.

The stuffing was a disappointment, especially given how much work it was, and how I labored over every ingredient. I had to bake it ahead -- only one oven is a handicap with this kind of meal -- but that's no excuse. I'm sure some of it was pilot error (overcooked the veggies a bit, maybe didn't get the moisture amount right), but still, it should have been better. The chicken was okay, but the glaze did not stick well, and that which did either burned or got stripped off after I tented it to prevent further burning. Then too, it was an inferior chicken, just a plain Publix one. I should have gotten a frozen kosher bird, as I've always had good luck with them.

The potatoes, well... they will get another chance. This is the recipe from the current FC-- boiled, smashed, cooled, doused with olive oil and salt, then roasted. I used Yukon Gold fingerlings. I had to bake them with the chicken, though, at 425, when what they wanted was 375. They got a bit tough, and are very greasy, but they were yummy yesterday, and made a great leftover today. I will definitely try this again.

We are both of the Christmas-Morning tradition, preserving the Santa's visit notion, stockings and all. We drink Champagne throughout the gift opening and resultant chaos. We also honor the morning crab tradition with famous "GD's Dip de Crab" -- Bill and Carrot both love it, and it's a whole lot easier than "Crab on a Red Sea," which the people like, but the cat disdains.

Didn't really get a chance to really look at new toys, let alone play with them yesterday. Started unearthing them from the chaos a bit at a time as I began the decluttering. Major gift this year was a Scooba-- Roomba's big brother, who purports to scrub floors. And we do have a lot of floors in need of scrubbing. Like any robot, Scooba-Do needs a lot of set-up and hand-holding at the start. We decided to try him on a small room-- the hall bathroom-- for his maiden scrub. No matter what we did, he refused to go, his "Check Tank" light coming on, along with his sound, a sort of "Uh-Oh!" I was all ready to call tech support, but after checking the web site, saw something about pressing down on both sides of the top, not on the latch, and poof! He suddenly started scurrying around the room, bouncing off things and presumably sweeping. But before he got to his water-phase, he shut himself down, complaining his battery was low. The instructions said he should be charged overnight the first time, but since his battery light indicated a full charge, we decided to go for it. Wrong. He's charging now, and we'll try again tomorrow. Now mind, it takes me ten minutes tops to do this bathroom's floor (swiffer dry, then wet), but I'm hoping that he can be a help with the impossible kitchen floor. We shall see. Maybe Scooba Don't.

Mom, your card today-- beautiful as always. You do set a high standard for yourself, and for the rest of us too. I find myself somewhat paralyzed trying to figure out how to put a message into what turned out to be blank cards. I have no problem personalizing with small touches a nicely printed message, but just don't have the artistic chops to do them all completely by hand. I know what I want it to look like, and have the perfect gold and silver shiny ink pens. Just not the skill. And there is no way to scan or copy the effect I want. "Oh, Naughty Words," as we used to say in high school.

Your mention of the **** reminded me of that old song, "The Thing" ... get out of here with that [thunk tha-thunk] and don't come back no more! Of course, I knew exactly what you meant... You didn't want to be a spoiler, right? :-)

Thanks for your great X-Eve post, Sandy. What beautiful ice-sparkly images! Neil lives near you, and recently posted some nice ice storm photos too, though not so dramatic as yours. Take a look at The Frozen World. More to say on this later.

I have thought about your Blog Challenge. It's strange, I don't have a memory of a specific Christmas, other than gifts: the year of Sparkle, of Toni, of the Bikes, of the Green Coats. The others run together in medleys: the trees and dinners at Pa and Dan's, the ones at Grandma's house. The trees on Berry moved around so much they blur, and I don't think we usually had a Christmas dinner there.

Maybe most vivid is driving around and looking at lighted homes (a tradition Bill and I have carried on, although not this year) -- I remember driving back from Oakland and/or Berkeley in pre-freeway days, going through lots of small neighborhoods and checking out all the trees in windows. This was before the days of yard extravaganzas. Once in awhile you'd see a string of multi-colored lights strung along a gabled roof, but that was the exception. Mostly it was trees in windows. Each one made me happy, and made the long drive home seem shorter. This is one reason I put up a tree every year, and make sure it is visible from the street. At least our neighbors, when driving to and fro at night, might see our tree, and maybe feel the small bit of affirmation I felt as a child, and still feel now, seeing multi-colored lights through a window.

eve of Christmas

We're by a fire, not open, not roasting chestnuts, Jack Frost is about, but he's not terribly nose-nippy. And outdoors, the ribs, as we decided at the last moment, are being done on the barbecue. I'll be eager to know how yours come out, Suze, and will want every detail. We've done these on the bbq before, but maybe not when it's been so cold. Not that it's really cold -- about 28 at present, nothing, really. Denver, on the other hand (on the TV, football) looks pretty grand.

Our public radio station plays serious and comforting Christmas music constantly at this point, so we even have that on. Very festive. I'm feeling better. I put the Christmas tablecloth on, too.

Marty, alas, has my strep throat now (how? I barely saw her last weekend). I ache (figuratively and literally) for her. That part of Christmas, supposed to be tomorrow, is postponed for a day or two. Mom, Chas and I will dine at the Woods' tomorrow evening.

As y'all may know, Christmas in Charlie's world is Christmas eve, and that's when presents happen. It's been several years since we got gifts for each other (time, money and/or laziness constraints), but this year I decided we should give it a go. Took the change box to the bank and got a couple of hundred from it, split it. We managed to wait until just before lunch to open them (yes, it's supposed to be evening). I got Charlie a set of bionic wrenches (google it) and a silly golf viewfinder. He got me -- oh joy -- a mandoline. I'd hoped hard for one, but never told him that's what I wanted. We've played with it some this afternoon and will have scalloped potatoes tonight. He's been looking for things to wrench, but I had to stop him as he was beginning to take apart the wheelbarrow. We need it to haul wood.

Last night I made lobster bisque, salad, and foccacia (I always think of Suzy when I do this; it was when she was here that it occurred to me that my blobs of frozen pizza dough could be easily turned into a sort of instant -- and delicious -- bread). This Christmas weekend is so long that it cries out for new traditions. Christmas eve eve supper, for a start. At noon today Charlie made egg fu yung, something that's been on his mind for quite a while. Maybe that'll be a new Christmas eve day tradition (remember that if you do it twice, it becomes a tradition -- an old Cottey rule).

It's good to be having a quiet Christmas. I'm better, but still kind of weak. Yesterday I did make half a recipe of those kind of cookies made of ground pecans, butter, a little sugar, vanilla, rolled in powdered sugar. "Tea cakes," Charlie calls them, "Mexican wedding cakes," according to the J of C, "Everybody else's family's cookies," to me. I don't remember any side of the family making them. Anyway, they are (shortly to be were) good, and I wish I'd made more. Easy, though.

I have much more to say, but wish to launch a blog challenge:

How about writing up (yes, Chris and Marty, this means you guys, and Julia, too, if she's up for it) a family Christmas memory. Mom gets to write of her childhood, if she wishes (or any other time), and the SSC generation might want to include as many of us as possible. Julia could write of her earliest Christmas memory. Just a thought. It could be general (good) or specific (even better). You may also spit in my eye, if you prefer.

Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carols" is coming on the radio, and I'll get about my cooking duties. Soon I'll update on my recent FC efforts. But in the meantime, here are a couple of photos, taken this morning. Context is an endless ice storm we had while I was sick. Still hadn't melted this morning, but is gone now.

Early morning, Christmas eve:


I think this is the effect we were striving for with tinsel:


This is our white Christmas this year. Not too bad.


Dateline Spring Valley, Christmas eve '06

Reality Check

Gainesville

Sandy! I've been worried about you. Glad to hear you are well enough to read and post. Take it easy, please, take good care of yourself, and Christmas can wait. It's a very movable feast, as FL tells us. The most important part is a healthy you.

I managed to make a menu plan, shop, then realize once home that I'd forgotten to buy the main thing for tonight's meal: a couple of steaks. Hard to fake that... so we did pizza. I'll figure out something to do with the leeks I bought as a side.

The plan is probably unrealistic: Sandy's Xmas Eve Ribs and one of the cauliflower recipes from FC #83 tomorrow night, and a poorly thought-out extravaganza for Monday-- GD's Dip du Crab and champagne, the FC (#82?) Chicken w/Cranberry Glaze, smashed roasted potatoes, Stuffing from same issue (Tuscan bread, fennel, olives, etc), sugar snap peas, rolls, etc. I also forgot the rolls, eggs, and a few other details, so will have to go out again tomorrow. Wish me luck!

I'm not even halfway though addressing the cards yet, let alone writing and signing them. Plugging away 15 minutes at a time.

Have yet to wrap the merry (pitiful) little Christmas gifts I have for Bill, let alone figure out what his mom will give him (I'm the designated Elf). It would be nice to think this will all be over Monday, but for me it will go on and on and on. Next year I AM doing that FL Cruise or bust!

One card today: Sandy's 3-D poinsettias. It came wrapped in a thick rubber band-- apparently the envelope did not seal properly, but our friends at USPS somewhere along the line loved the card so much they took the time to protect it. Sweet!

So is everyone following the FBoFW fire story? I knew none of Mike's family would die, but was worried about Lovey and the Kelpfroths. I can't help but wonder if this strip has already jumped the shark. I know Johnston is wrapping it up this next year and will freeze everyone at this age, but I hope she has sense enough to not go for a TV-style blowout ending.

Only a fraction of what I have to say, but it will have to do for X-minus 2.

little Christmas indeed

Yesterday (in the clinic waiting room, actually), heard that very song sung by James Taylor, and he uses the right (though obviously not the original) words. Too bad he can't really carry a tune on something like that. Thank you for the update on the series of unfortunate words. It's a song I like, too, and for the same reasons. Only a few more days of Christmas muzak. Good to be sick so I haven't had to be out in it much this week.

I am feeling better at last, after a terrible whizzy night. 1000 vivid mini-nightmares. Guess I really can't take codeine. Too bad. It worked for the pain, but is terrible for my head. Anyway, at about 3 a.m. I began, at last, to sweat. Now it's just recuperation and antibiotics. Four days of pain and fever lays ya low.

Condolences and good wishes to Bill!

I have much more to say, hope to say it in the next couple of days, which should include consciousness but not a lot of activity. I'm glad Christmas is not until Monday.

A Rainy Little Christmas

Gainesville

Well, we have an injured person in the house. Bill was reading last night, didn't realize one of his feet had fallen asleep, got up and promptly fell, spraining one ankle and bruising a hip. (Who knew reading was such a dangerous sport!) After a miserable night, he hobbled off to work in the morning (a meeting he just couldn't miss). His ankle was so swollen he couldn't get any of his work shoes on, so he wore his sneakers and jeans. With a shirt, tie, red vest and blazer on the top, and leaning on his gnarly walking stick, he cut quite the colorful figure. He was sent home at noon-- his fellow Dirs couldn't handle the spectacle, I guess.

I ventured out in the afternoon for some last minute elfing. Most importantly, I needed to pick up another box of cards. No matter what I did, I couldn't make 45 cards stretch into the 55 I needed. We now have some bizarre cat cards to supplement the Met card. Most of the readers of this blog will see the Met card. If interested in also seeing a bizarre cat card, let me know, as I'll have many left over. So far, I have about 15 cards addressed over the past two days. I'll be lucky to have them done by the end of the year. The canned letter is not finished-- that will go to about 15 of my friends, and of course will need to be somewhat personalized. That will take even longer.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the holidays? Oh-- well, never mind then.

The venture was more eventful than necessary. Since Bill was home, I took Moonbeam. While on the road, it started to rain, which made me realize I'd never driven Moonbeam in the rain before. I found the lights, but where the frak were the wipers?! After punching and twisting everything in sight, I finally got them going so I could SEE where I was going.

Once there (the Butler Plaza area), I found a Zoo of overflowing parking lots and traffic jams. I decided the only reasonable strategy was to park one time, and walk long distances, returning through the dangerous vehicular free-for-alls after each mission to deposit the spoils. Most of the time it wasn't raining.

But ... there was no way out! All my usual strategies were choked and backed up beyond recognition. Everyone was cranky and rude. I finally decided just to take my usual default route, but to NOT be cranky, rude, or otherwise impatient. Just go where I needed to go and be as polite as possible. It worked! I got out, and headed home on my usually quiet backroads.

Except, as soon as we escaped the Butler congestion, it was NOT quiet. No traffic to speak of, but very noisy in the car. Thought it might be engine trouble, but it went on even when stopped, and was clearly independent of the engine. It sounded like a window was open-- didn't see that one was, though. Finally, as I was turning left at 34th and Williston Road, I realized the tailgate window was wide open -- and at the same time, saw that Moonbeam's dashboard had a message telling me so! D'oh! I made the first available right turn and pulled the window closed. Apparently, in the rain, I'd accidentally unlocked both the tailgate AND it's window, but had not reclosed the window. The first bump I drove over, the window popped open.

As I got ready to pull out again, I saw that the tailgate's wiper was going. It had long since stopped raining. I couldn't figure out how to get it to stop! Thank god I didn't have anyone with me to witness this multi-fiasco.

Yes, the Wind and Weather box is from me, Mom. As soon as I saw it, I thought, there's stuff Mom would like. I should have realized you'd have seen the catalog too.

It started raining in earnest later this evening, just about the time the cat usually goes out for her evening stroll. Even some thunder with it-- in the low 80's again here. Rain off and on the rest of the night, dripping in between. Have a soggy, boggy Christmas. I hear the folks of Moscow are highly incensed that they are having their warmest Christmas in recorded history-- not a trace of snow to brighten up the dreariness.

Which reminds me. I've long ranted about how the modern version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" sweetens up the melancholy original, especially the line "Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow." What I didn't realize was that the REAL original, which was to be used in the movie "Meet Me in St. Louis," was so very much darker than that! According to the latest Entertainment Weekly, here's how the song was first written:

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
It may be your last
Next year we may all be living in the past

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Pop that champagne cork
Next year we may all be living in New York

No good times like the olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who were dear to us
Will be near to us no more

But at least we all will be together
If the Lord allows
From now on, we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now

Is that not the biggest bummer of a Christmas song ever? Yes. And one of truest. No wonder it has been censored ever since it was written-- first of all by Judy Garland, who thought it was too bleak for the movie and demanded the rewrite, and later by Frank Sinatra, who knew what would sell in the long term and what wouldn't. It's a tribute to the plaintive melody and the core backbone of the lyric which survives that the hidden meaning of the song still resonates with people who find the relentless cheer of the holidays an ordeal. And that's what makes it the second-most popular Christmas song this year. Come next year, who knows, maybe first.

I see there is still some night left-- good it's a long one. Maybe I should sleep. Some.

Long Night

Gainesville

Yes it is. The one winter marker everyone on the planet shares, whether they know it or not. I first realized it 35 years ago. Since then, it seems the number of others who realize it grows smaller every year.

Murky overcast day, no glimpse of the sun or where it set. We were singularly blessed at FBR to have a perfect southwest vista across a vast prairie, where the sun would drop framed by trees dripping with Spanish moss. A huge fireplace set in a wall of native stone facing the SW window. We hung home-made banners over the yule log, melted cheese, and hosted legendary, infamous celebrations.

That was in another world. In this one, nobody celebrates the solstice, but planet Earth still circles its star, and reaches the same point at a predictable night. It made me smile today to see that reruns of Calvin and Hobbes featured the disgruntled, snow-capped aliens protesting about the miserable planet he'd sold them in exchange for a homework assignment.

Good going with your cards, Mom. I spent too much time trying to update my list, and prune it down to a reasonable number. Long overdue, but prompted by my error thinking I had 56 cards when I really only have 45. You are lamenting only getting a max of 3 per day? We have a grand total of 3 so far! Last year we sent out 60. Go figure.

Several paragraphs have been written, then deleted, and just as well. The best thing to do at this point, just after midnight, would be to take a shower and go to bed. Sounds like a plan.

Muddling Through

Gainesville

I made some progress on cards too: I found some. It wasn't easy--the past few years I've gotten them at Book Gallery, an independent new/used bookshop in the Millhopper area. Not this year: they had exactly one design left, and it was too weird even for me ("Is that possible?" Bill asks.). It looked like a paper doll chain of 50's era rocket ships decorated with metallic flowers in bright primary colors. Fascinating, but not exactly Christmas-y.

I resisted the urge to panic, run in circles, scream and shout. I started going into every store: drug store, craft shop, Publix, the cooking store. No luck-- if they had any cards at all they were unbearably cute or maudlin. Thought I might pick up stamps at the branch P.O. there, but the lines were out the door.

Finally went into Upper Crust, and of course, nothing but single cards. But I doggedly wandered through the whole store, looking for stocking stuffers, and Lo! in the very back corner, a couple of boxes of beautiful cards for the Met Museum of Art-- and one I loved at first site-- a Japanese print. You will see it soon.

Picked up some stone crab at the fish market-- the season is short and it's expensive, so this is a once a year indulgence. Had this with braised asparagus tips and a rather strange cuke salad recipe I found on the Net: with sliced tomatoes, minced red onion, lots of lime juice and some cayenne pepper. Rather good actually.

The Tree is done, or at least as done as it's going to get this year. The last thing I put on are those large plastic icicles from several years ago-- I think I sent some to you, Mom. I don't do tinsle, because of the cat, but these give at least a hint of that shiny/drippy stuff. Tree looks rather nice, and I love each and every ornament that Bill put on himself.

Your Christmas day dance card looks pretty full. Hope you enjoy it all. And thanks for reminding me that if we're going to have the requested Champagne breakfast, I need to score some Champagne in the next few days. To say nothing of whatever it is I decide to cook for it.

The weather here is disgustingly beautiful-- great for getting around and shopping, but not for the holiday mindset-- in the low 80's by late afternoon, clear, low humidity. Sigh. We'll just have to muddle through.

Serious Elfing

Gainesville

Up early, worked like a rabid dog all day, and now too pooped to peep. Progress was made, but head is not exactly above water either. Couple more days like today, maybe.

Mom, glad you are back in the fight today. And I just want you to know that you indirectly made Bill a very happy man tonight. I will tell you about it in email, as I don't want to publish any Santa's Elf secrets to the world just now...

In fact, much of what I did today falls into that classified Elf-category. Still have no cards, though I did rough out what I think of as the Annual Report to enclose with them.

I also interviewed myself for a library newsletter announcing my retirement. The questions were submitted via email, I have control over both the questions and the answers. This is what passes for journalism these days. Not that I'm complaining in this case, though!

Bill and I discovered tonight that we disagree on the definition of "fried chicken." I did it according to instructions Sandy gave to me in 1973, which she received from Pa: floured, fried for a long time in a whole lot of butter and a little oil. To Bill, this was "sauteed" chicken; his idea of "fried" requires that the fat rise above the chicken pieces. To me, this is called "DEEP fried." Whatever, the result of the grease-fest was enjoyed by one and all, as were some beautiful fresh-snapped (by me) blanched green beans, and lots leftover for a later treatment with bacon and mushrooms. And there will be cold fried chicken too, which is what I think the dish is all about.

And while on the subject of cooking, the latest issue of John Thorne's wonderful Simple Cooking newsletter has what I think is his greatest essay yet -- about the rise of the celebrity Chef and cooking as entertainment. If I can find it online, I'll post a link-- everyone who reads this blog will enjoy it.

Our tree remains about half decorated, but there's a week to go. Inspired by Sandy, I'm thinking I'll do ribs for Christmas Eve. When I asked Bill what he'd like for Christmas dinner, he replied that he thought the Christmas morning tradition of Champagne was a great start. :-)

Wonderful that Nate and Marty got to see a Packers victory yesterday-- at least I assume they saw it-- report, please! We watched the first half of the Jag's meltdown, and could see the writing on the subway wall. Switched to the Pack game, and searched in vain for pictures of your smiling faces in the stands. Hope you had a wonderful time. And though it's annoying to think about Brett hanging it up ever, I confess I love hearing the Stones' "The Last Time" coming over the TV. Oh weren't they splendid way back then?

Too Much Football

Gainesville

I'd be happy to have a handle on anything about now. Today was nearly non-stop futility with dollops of frustration and a dash of terror to spice things up. This is the price you pay for thinking you can ignore all the FL Holiday Cruise emails and adopt the carefree Irving approach. Everything will be late. Deal with it. Or sue me if you can't deal.

And we promise a picture of us Real Soon Now. I've nagged Bill enough that it's on his radar.

To my happy surprise, I found he'd put about a dozen ornaments on the tree when I woke up this morning. They weren't where or how I'd have placed them, according to the RULES I apparently absorbed from childhood (each thing must dangle and not touch anything else, etc. etc.), but you know, who CARES?? They look fine, and I love that he took the time to put them on the tree. And he gave himself a mission-- to put things in places I'd have a hard time reaching. How sweet! I do thank Fly Lady for this crucial insight about perfectionism.

After thrashing around on the Net to shop and striking out, I ventured out in the late afternoon to get cards at B&N-- and of course, struck out. Then got caught in a terrible traffic jam trying to get out of the parking lot, and ended up in a contested middle lane trapped facing another car who also thought it was HIS left turn lane. Luckily someone finally let me into the right lane so I could again get into the left lane again. AArrrggghhh!! I will never try that maneuver again.

Shopped at Publix without a menu plan, so who knows what will happen meal-wise. At some point we'll have fried chicken, unstuffed cabbage, and rib lamb chops. Tonight we had a broiled ham slice, faux-hash browns, melon cubes, sushi, and fresh sunflower bread. I need to sit down with cookbooks and magazines and try to make some sort of plan. I can always pick up other stuff Monday when I'm out on my desperation card search.

Watched Saturday Night Football on the NFL network-- this is so wrong: football five nights a week. And yet, if it's there, I'll watch it. How exciting that Marty and Nate will be at the Packers game tomorrow! I didn't mind the Jags games when it was cold, but truly despised the hot weather ones-- which was most of them. If I'm ever tempted to go to an NFL game, it will have to be in cold weather, and in Very Good Seats where respite from the elements is offered. We had the worst of the cheap seats. Four years of them! What were we thinking?!

Anyway, I hope Nate and Marty have seats offering respite from the cold if they need it, and that it's a great game, and that the Pack wins. It wasn't all hell, I must admit-- there was a lot of euphoria too. Especially the one memorable game where I was listening on an earphone radio and suddenly started screaming "YAAAYY" at a point inappropriate to our game... "Denver LOST!" I shouted, and everyone within earshot turned to look at me, and then started screaming too. That loss gave us a chance, in only our second season, to make the playoffs! But it looked grim. The score was tied at the end of the game, and the other team, Atlanta, had their can't miss kicker there to kick a reasonably short game winner as the clock ticked down. But, miracle of miracles-- Morten Andersen (who tonight became the NFL's all-time leading point scorer) made a rare miss, and we were IN! Talk about adrenalin overload-- Andersen got a Christmas card from me that year, and apparently from thousands of other Jaguar fans too. Congrats, Morten, and thanks again for the nice Christmas gift!

Whoa, I've obviously had way too much football this week. And thanks to the NFL-N, I can feed this addiction 24/7/52. Oh noooooooo.......

The Exodus is Here

Gainesville

Not sure why I missed Wednesday night-- little memory of what happened that day or even yesterday, other than the usual routines and hit or miss Blessings.

All the boxed ornaments are on the tree, about 1/3 of what there is. I have all the un-boxed ones unpacked and laid out on the card table-- they are some of the oldest and most interesting ones. Also the fancy glass globe ones. (Plain ones still packed, to be used to fill in any blank spots.) I realized I'd been assuming Bill did not want to be involved in the decorating, when actually it was me being a perfectionist-- I've done this so many years and have my set ways. I asked him if he'd like to help putting things on the tree, and he said yes. So I am going to step back and let him do what he will over the weekend, and will finish up next week.

Had planned to go out and get cards today, but was up most of the night with a stomach bug. When I finally got to sleep in the morning, I slept until after 1:00 PM. Kinda fouled up the day.

Hanging my head in shame that we still haven't gotten a picture of our charming selves taken for Marty. [Hangs head, shakes it slowly.] Will work on it tomorrow.

BSG "mid-season finale" tonight. A miserable cliff-hanger that won't be resolved until Jan 21, when they move to Sunday night. Luckily, Sunday night football will be over by then. I hope they do re-runs meantime, as I have only the vaguest idea of what is going on. It's always dense and confusing, but I've completely lost several of the many threads. Guess I need to search out a good fan site.

I finished reading Death in Holy Orders, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've learned to read P.D. James with a guidebook to England by my side so I can look up where things take place. Makes it much easier for me to picture the surroundings. The final scene with Adam and Emma made me cry!

Speaking of James, I'll be interested to see what the upcoming movie makes of her one non-detective mystery book, The Children of Men, coming out over the holidays.

Not sure what I want to read next. Tempted to re-read The Murder Room, to continue the Emma story. Or, I could keep reading the novelization (what a word) of the BSG pilot and the other two which have followed.

Finals are over, graduation tomorrow, then the full scale exodus. Have not wanted to even think about food today, let alone planning a week's-worth. Will most likely be a week of Plan B's or even C's. Assuming food ever interests me again.

Today there was evidence of an invasion of a monster (probably feline) in the Snow Village-- the silver tree on the mountain top (the dictionary stand) was still in place, but the two angels had been toppled, and there were signs of a minor landslide of snow. Looks like the monster attacked from above, but when she felt her claws slipping down the mountain, she withdrew. A snowman and a small Santa keeled over in terror, but were otherwise unharmed.

Such is life on the sandbar. Did anyone else see Garrison's article about Christmas letters yesterday? I loved it. I'm going to model mine after his.

TFM Again

Gainesville

As promised, more about The Fresh Market. It is apparently a chain based in North Carolina that tries to be organic, local and upscale all at once. This one is located in what was once a Kash N Karry supermarket, about the size of the Publix we were in when you visited, located in the smae Millhopper center where Upper Crust and the fish market are. (Talk about an embarrassment of riches-- and of course, on the other side of town. I hope TFM does not drive the two smaller businesses out.

Anyway, TFM is so cleverly laid out that it does not seem like a supermarket at all-- there are no long aisles-- things are clustered in circular areas, and islands. Lots of bins of stuff you can serve yourself, or find freshly packaged-- zillions of coffee beans, candy, snack stuff. Beautifully displayed produce, organic when they can get it, clearly marked "regular" if not. Spectacular meat and fish counters. Spectacular deli, including self-serve mix & match olives. A beautiful sushi display. Big area of wine and beer selections. Nice fresh-baked artisan breads. And the canned/bottled section, where I found the Magic Olives along with some other Morea products. I know I didn't get a chance to look at everything there, although I spent a bundle. I need to go back and explore more deliberately and calmly. Probably will have to be after the holidaze, though. I hear that on the day they opened, there were long lines to even get inside the door-- fire marshals were there to ensure safety. Can you spell pent-up demand?

Tonight we had broiled lamb patties, including some wonderful Feta I got there yesterday, along with beautiful artichokes, ditto and some broiled tomatoes. And all day I had munchies to die for.

Bill showed semi-good sense today: he canceled his dentist appointment and didn't go in until noon. He also wisely decided to skip the 7-9 Library Christmas gathering.

I did get Joe Montana on the pre-lit tree today, and Cal Ripken to keep him company. Got about half the boxed ornaments (ie, those that have their own little boxes, mostly Hallmark keepsake things) unboxed on a card table I set up. A long way to go, but it's a start. Bill says it looks good from the road-- the fact that there is a tower of boxes (from Beckley) in front of it is not all that obvious, what with the mirrors and angles involved.

Need to buy cards tomorrow! Also, we will try to take and send an image of us to Marty tomorrow. My hair will be uncut, Bill will be a bit sickly, but at least it'll be us, now.

I loved hearing about your dealing with a chicken with head and feet on, Mom-- how adventurous of you. Nice bit of local color/cuisine.

Watched the first season West Wing Christmas episode on the laptop tonight. It hits even harder now than it did originally. Can't help but wonder what the series might have been if Sorkin had been able to keep it together. By the 7th and last season, it was just about back to what it was at first.

Now for a few chapters of P.D. James and some shut-eye.

Gainesville by the Bay

Gainesville

Bill stayed home sick today -- his cold was much worse. Poor baby, he is not a very cooperative patient.

I made my pilgrimage to the new Fresh Market, and it was a scene out of Moscow on the Hudson: I nearly fainted several times, wondering how I'd been suddenly transported out of G-ville to NYC or the Bay Area. Will have a more detailed report tomorrow, but suffice it to say that they had THE Magic Olives. Was planning to mail order them later this week, and now don't have to. Had to make another trip to Publix to pick up the ordinary stuff.

Got a lovely piece of King salmon at FM, broiled it after a brief soak in an orange/ginger marinade. Then football (Bears over Rams, yay!) while doing a load of Bill's big whites and another of towels. And three cheers for the NFL channel, after ESPN switches to round ball coverage.

More tomorrow. I hope Bill has the good sense to stay home again, but he refuses to make a decision until morning. My goal will be to put at least ONE ornament on that @#$# tree-thing.

Zzzzzzz...

Ball of Foot

Gainesville

Football. Football all the way down. What else is there to say about today?

From Pre- in the morning to Post- in the midnight hour, all football, all day, all the time, and then some. Tends to go on longer than usual when something good happens, as in the Jags demolishing the Colts. The Saints marching in over Dallas tonight was just icing on the cake.

Somewhere in there the sheets got changed, and I fixed a rather nice Leanne dish of "Artichoke Chicken," something like your standby recipe, Mom, but quicker, and using marinated artichoke hearts.

Also dragged the pieces of the artificial tree from last year out of the store room and got it set up in the space I cleared yesterday. The ornament boxes are inside too, so I can start putting them on, and tripping down memory lane of Xmas Past. The very first ornament on the tree will be, as in many years past, Joe Montana.

Poor Bill-- as I feared, his cold is much worse today, and he did a lot of sleeping. I hope he has the sense to stay home tomorrow and give himself a chance to recover, but it's a decision he'll make in the morning.

My plan is to make it to the new store in the Millhopper area, and to get the normal food shop done too-- we are out of espresso beans tonight, since I didn't get out the past few days. Yikes!

Mom, I'm glad your sleep gods smiled last night. But if you have problems in the future, why not duplicate the things you think you need to sleep by your chair? Then you can just move there without worries. Sleep is important. Sleep is good.

In fact, I think I'll go seek Morpheus (the Sandman) now. G'night.

Nearly Buried Treasure

Gainesville

Still cold here, but not as. Big box arrived from Crate&Barrel today-- anyone want to claim responsibility? Another box arrived, and it was talking and giggling whenever the box was moved: Bill scored a new Tickle Me Elmo for Megan via an Amazon partner.

I did a bit more shifting of sh--... uh, stuff in the ground floor attic to make room for a tree, then vacuumed (with the big heavy noisy one) the area. Would have dragged the pieces out and started putting them together, except I didn't want to get grungy before the party-thing.

And what a strange little thing it was. I had no idea what to wear, but figured that the nice little fitted red suede-like jacket would be festive enough. Black t-neck, short pleated black and white skirt, black tights, black heels. It worked, but I was the only woman there in a short skirt-- most were in slacks with a glittery or Christmas-themed top. That would have been much more comfortable. Next time I'll be smarter about it.

Some nice conversations. And I was reminded that I have to interview myself next week for a newsletter-- a chore I put off just after retirement. If it's got to happen, better to have some minimal control over it.

"Fund Raiser" meant we were expected to visit the ceremonial Gator and feed him with a check. Which we did.Turns out that in addition to raising orchids (the 60's tract house was fronted on two sides with a make-shift greenhouse for them), John also collects gators of every size and variety, and the UF type were actually in the minority. Another reminder to be very very careful about collecting anything unusual but not valuable-- after a certain point, the collection develops a magnetic force of its own, and then it's too late. Be it owls, angels, frogs, rabbits, trolls, lighthouses, whatever, they will arrive to plague you the rest of your days and probably haunt those of your unsuspecting progeny as well.

I only spent 20-30 minutes today twisting the damn cube. I call that a win (that is, I didn't waste more time on it). I'm no closer to even a basic mini-epiphany than ever. I know it's there, though, and I will not give up. Or at least I will not go quietly.

On the plus side of the brain-wars, I did today's 5-star (hardest) Sudoku with relative ease.

Got the weekly menu plan in place this afternoon, but no time to shop. Bill is still, as he calls it, "sub-clinical" with his cold, so I thawed out leftovers from a recent crock pot beef burgundy and turned it into an approximation of Tuscan Soup (minestrone) by adding cans of Italian stewed tomatoes, light red kidney beans and beef broth, plus 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables. It was astonishingly good! Much better than the original dish, in fact. And wonderful comfort food for a semi-sick person on a cold night.

Sorry to hear you're having sleep problems, Mom. Maybe you should try getting up and sitting/sleeping in your chair when you wake up at night. I read an article recently about sleeplessness that suggested the sometimes just a change of place can help: a couch, or a bed in another room.

Yes, Christmas cards are slower than ever this year. Got the first three today. Guess it's time to actually get some and think about what has happened over the past year.

We picked up the mail at the P.O. Box on the way home tonight, and buried amid the huge heap was a newsletter from the Cal Music Department-- I've never gotten one before, and it was so miserably mis-addressed, I realized I must have a friend in the local post office who made the multiple connections in order to deliver it. There were mentions of 5-6 of my favorite teachers from that era-- some dead, some very much alive-- and news of a new music library in a separate building. The library space where I spent so much time studying, first for my Russian exams, then for music courses, will now be turned into a small performance space-- it overlooks Faculty Glade, one of the sacrosanct campus places when I was there, and still there. An event will be held in February to honor a teacher who arrived as I was leaving: Richard Crocker. I was in his first class. It was a joy just to be there and hear him enthuse and sing, especially Gregorian chants. I worked very hard (actual research!) on a paper for his class, and he rewarded me by drawing a full page cartoon of a dragon on my title page (appropriate to the Bach cantata I wrote about). Dear God, I hope that paper is somewhere in the trunks of my college stuff, but even if not, it's fresh in my memory. I need to find out when in February that is going to happen, as I might actually be in The Area.

Well, where did that come from. A chance piece of mail, nearly overlooked in the tidal wave of catalogs. Boys and girls, be sure and check carefully through your paper mail. And your email too. Nice things could be buried there.

Snow (Scene)

Gainesville

Long day yesterday. Went in to work with Bill, with a long list of things to do. Well, let's just say I got one or two done, and count that as a win.

While Tina in HR was trying her best to straighten out the sick leave payout problem (many phone calls), suddenly loud noises and scary messages on the loud speaker. A fire drill? We all had to leave the (new) building immediately, crowding down inadequate stairs, and out into a cold mid-morning. I'd left my coat in Bill's office-- yikes! Turns out it wasn't a drill, abut a real "emergency" -- some idiot had put a metal cup into a microwave (an unauthorized one, at that), then walked off and left it. It set off the fire alarms. Can I pick the day to come in, or what?

While outside shivering, I walked over to try for a badly needed hair cut (sorry Mom and Marty-- no clippee, no pictee) but David was not around, and we had a date with Barbara for lunch. My attempt to pick up mail failed also, as there was too much to carry back across the street in my arms.

It got colder and colder all day-- looked like a snow sky, actually. But of course it didn't get that cold until later, and by then it had cleared off. We went straight to Outback from work, and for some reason they were mobbed, and it took forever. At least it was nice and warm in there, and we had a great table.

Today I got caught up with Blessings and actually made a feeble start with Christmas: got the Snow Scene set up and the other little decorations around the house. Moved some stuff around in the Attic and decided we could put up last year's pre-lit tree in the middle of the remaining space. Why, I'm not sure-- there will be no room in there to sit and look at it-- but at least it will maintain the tradition of getting the ornaments out one a year, looking at them and remembering all the Christmases past. I guess that annual touching base is a big part of what this solar holiday is all about.

On the DVD front, there's good news and bad news: the good news is, I played an episode of West Wing that was failing on my laptop, and all was well. Plus, what a pleasant experience, to be able to see everything perfectly and hear the sound perfectly-- but that's another story. The bad news is, we need a new DVD player. But that is soooo much better than the prospect of large-scale DVD-rot.

Very very cold here, by Forida standards. Never made it above 50 today. If skies remain clear tonight, could be record cold. Our central heat isn't doing anything much, so we're relying on the gas and electric space heaters.

The usual Saturday routine on tap: clear out the fridge, go shopping to put some more stuff to feed us next week. Except, we have a Library Event tomorrow 4-6 (a wine and cheese fund raiser-- ah, the joys of upper management) which will derail any dinner plans.

Mom, you must have been expecting Sandy when you heard about Pearl Harbor. The poor dear must have been traumatized in utero. Wonder where I was just then? In another room? With an aunt? I do remember those red overalls, from pictures taken at the Farm.

Dunno anything about new Blogger stuff. I'm unable to upgrade for some reason, so will just wait on further developments, and report when I know more.

And so, to bed.

Rubik's Rube

Gainesville

Bill's back! He'd called from ATL to tell me they'd be at least 15 minutes late. I factored that in, thinking I'd be early, then ran into road construction, and they weren't late after all. He was waiting at the curb. I hate that! As if I didn't care enough to be there with bells on to greet him as he stepped off the plane, as I usually do.

Anyway, good to have him back. He had a good conference-- CNI is probably the best of these library things, and he had interesting new things to report on.

I didn't get out to do my big errand run yesterday-- only made it to B&N and a quick food shop. Figured I'd go in to work when he went in this afternoon, drop him off, then do it then. But he was not interested in going in after all. We had lunch downtown at Emiliano's (good tapas), then drove to the student union so he could replace the ID he'd lost last Thursday while we were at Outback. Pretty much shot the rest of the day. But let the record show that I wrote bills tonight, and if I get them mailed tomorrow, they're up-to-date

Now the plan is to go in early with Bill tomorrow. My sick leave payout was not sent to my IRA as planned, but to me as a check. A number of phone calls made to straighten this out, but will still need to return the check and go through channels to get the transfer done correctly. Amazing how complicated all this is. Hope I can then take Moonbeam and get all the various errands done, finally.

Have done nothing about Christmas, and I mean nothing. Still trying to figure out where to put a tree, as it's clear Bill wants one. (Or maybe he's sure I want one, and is being nice. Hard to tell.) The only place in the house uncluttered enough to hold last year's pre-lit one is the middle of the kitchen, but somehow I don't think that's going to work.

Made a very simple shrimp scampi tonight, along with some store-bought hummus (Marty? Your recipe?) with veggie sticks and pita, plus salad. Nothing fancy.

While at B&N yesterday I made a really stupid purchase that I know I'll regret: a Rubik's Cube. I've always hated the very sight of the things, although I was a huge fan of Rubik's Snake, which I mastered easily and found endlessly fascinating for a few years. But something about managing to learn to do Sudoku has got my mind attuned to 3 x 3 squares, and provoked a burst of hubris when I saw the infamous Cube: I bet I could learn to do this, too!

What WAS I thinking? Just what I need: another time-gobbling sinkhole. That is why I didn't blog last night. I looked up and it was way after midnight. And I hadn't even learned to solve one cross, let alone one face. Bad craziness, and just around the holidaze, when there is already too much to do. Sigh.

Also picked up Death in Holy Orders, by P.D. James. I'd listened to the audiobook when it first came out, but had not read it. After reading her latest, The Lighthouse, I realized I needed to actually read it, as a character is introduced who turns out to be, two books later, Adam Dagliesh's true love (and a wonderful character in her own right). The right book at the right time. Again, just what I don't need.

I'm not the only one who's noticed that we're having one of the prettiest Falls ever here-- the Gainesville Sun had a magnificent front page image yesterday which I'd include here, but G-Sun is making it impossible to open the image, and my scanner is still not fully functional. Oh well, take my word for it, it's preternaturally beautiful here just now.

Mom, both Bill and I had a chuckle at your 1985 lament about how floppy disks were so expensive that you felt you had to erase parts of them to conserve space-- and at the same time you'd just taken delivery of an actual organ! And we're not talking some electronic keyboard thing. How times do change...

Let's Hear It For Books

Gainesville

I'm still here, but with neither Bill nor a job to anchor me, in a bit of free fall. Good thing there are still the FlyLady routines to fall back on. Morning and Evening done, towels, sheets, etc. And I spent a long time on the phone getting retirement stuff straightened out, with some success.

Tomorrow I need to go out and prove to various entities that I am indeed married (fax and show the certificate in person) and some other stuff such as get a haircut, checkout the new Fresh Market store, and do some minimal shopping. I have it written down.

What I will NOT do is buy any more DVD sets until I determine if the medium is inherently unstable or if my player is failing. Most annoying to find stuff bought only a few years ago all but unwatchable now.

Good old books. They seem to keep forever, given benign neglect. I'm now caught up with the complete Peanuts collection (through 1962), and have a vast and semi-organized comics library ready for study, enjoyment, and casual perusal.

Many of the Peanuts strips involve snow and its unpredictablity. Every time I read one, I think of you, Mom. Despite your claims that you don't care anymore, I detect signs that the little girl in you still cares very much. And all three of your kids have inherited the same love/hate of the fluffy white stuff.

How can it possibly be nearly 2:00 AM already? Time is totally freaky on this planet. Was hoping to get the haircut done in the morning, meaning six hours of sleep max. Why am I still awake?

All the Marbles

Gainesville

Got Bill to the airport just after 5:30. after about 2 hours of sleep. He woke up and started to pack about the time I was fading. Much moving about from bed to bed to catch a few zz's.

Hard to get to sleep as the sun is coming up. After a restless hour, slept til noon, when Bill called to report he'd arrived in DC, no problems, even a bit early. Amazing, as he flew the dreaded Delta.

Despite the weird schedule, not unlike jet lag, I got the sheets changed and laundered. Let's hear it for routines. Football all day, as usual. But blow me down-- looks like the Gators are suddenly #2 and up for all the marbles! I never for a moment thought this would happen. Urban Renewal indeed!

But now time to try to recalibrate the sleep patterns. I realize this is barely comprehensible. Will try to decode tomorrow.

Indian Summer

Gainesville

Suddenly it's Fall again-- 80's yesterday, 50's today. Quite a shock to the system, but I'll take it. Actually, Gainesville looks unusually Fall-like these days, more color than just the usual (and very beautiful) Raintrees. Seems just the right mix of cold snap, rain and Indian Summer made a lot of the trees, shrubs and vines turn at the same time.

Still raining, though, and cold rain disinclined me to go shopping. Realized I had ingredients to make any of three recipes in the new FC. I decided on a Frittata. The method is different from any I'd tried before, and also more eggs than usual. I used the leftover onion/ pepper/ bean combo from last week's EdC recipe, some thick-cut bacon I had around, more of the fresh chives, some crushed red pepper and some parmesan and Feta. Pretty strange-- having Canelli beans in a frittata makes for quite an unusual texture-- but I like the method. I got it a little too brown on the bottom, as usual, but was actually able to "slide it onto a cutting board" as specified-- I laughed when I saw that instruction: as if! To my surprise, it slid. Bill and Carrot liked it. Good thing, as there is a ton of it left over.

Also managed to burn the bloody blinkin stinkin bleep out of my left hand, when I momentarily forgot the the bleepin skillet had just come out of the @#$%$ oven! Timely ice application probably prevented blisters, but did slow down putting dinner on the table.

Kitchen is all cleaned up, Bill is napping in his chair, Carrot on his lap, while I shepherd his pre-sorted laundry through the prescribed cycles. I'm glad to be able to help. And glad I don't have to go, frankly. Travel involving the air is no longer fun.

Lots of pictures were being snapped during that Retirement party, but I've never seen any of them. Will try to find some. If not, will get Bill to pose with me and the beautiful framed Donald-- that should make a nice image for your Christmas album, Mom. I can't believe you put in extra hours just to correct one little flaw only you would notice, but then that's probably why people-- everyone who sees them-- are struck speechless at the beauty of your cards. You are an artist who has found her medium, it seems.

Me, well, I watched a movie this afternoon while Bill was out doing his last minute errands: A Prairie Home Companion, which turns out to be Robert Altman's last work. I love Altman, and am really pissed that he died before ever getting an Oscar, or any major recognition for a stunning body of work. McCabe & Mrs. Miller remains in my top ten list, and Nashville holds a special place in my heart-- kind of a bookend to PHC.

I loved PHC, and am especially dazzled by Meryl Streep's musical talent. Woody Harrelson and Lily Tomlin pulled their musical weight as well. But Lindsay Lohan, well-- how sad. I was more than willing to discover that one of these teeny-divas had some talent, but alas, no. Altman was apprently trying to get his work seen by a younger audience through her, but unless it was his plan to make that character embarrassingly hapless (which I doubt), it was a miscalculation. Garrison did a swell job of underplaying himself, and the film nicely captured one of the shows. The fantasy layer was inspired-- kept it from becoming a pseudo-documentary.

Need to be bedward-bound-- need to be alert enough to drive about 5 hours from now. Of course, I'm not one bit sleepy. And of course, there is no dog endlessly barking, as there was between 5 and 7 this morning, and probably will be from whenever I go to bed until-- well, eternity.

Friday Night Fights

Gainesville

It's summer here again-- rainy with temps in the low 80's. Okay, not Florida-summer, but summer in most places. Not much for promoting holiday sprit. Good for the energy bill, however.

I was energetic yesterday, even to the point of doing something major in the Zone: I vacuumed the rug in the TV room, moving all the furniture except for the coffee table. This had not been done since we bought the carpet sweeper about four years ago. Took the swiffer to some of the other spots moving the furniture exposed. None of it the kind of thing that is real noticable, but I feel good about it. Also did the towels and the bathroom floors.

In late afternoon I settled down to watch the very last DVD of the very last season of West Wing-- only to have the disk refuse to load! Of course, you have to take the whole set back to exchange. Luckily it was less than a month ago that I bought it, and I still had the sales slip. Best Buy makes it relatively painless, but still it involved a dedicated trip to do the deed.

Watched it as soon as I got it home this afternoon. Very emotional. But very satisfying, too. They did a good job tying things up. As I predicted, now I want to watch the whole series from the beginning-- I own them all, haven't broken the shrink wrap on most of them. The great fear is that I'll find other seasons that have a bad disk in them, which will be very difficult to replace after this long.

Got all dressed up for Outback last night (well, my NYDJ's and new shoes, anyway). Bill was still wearing one of his nice suits from work, tie and all. So what do I do after just one sip of my first drink? Why, knock said drink into Bill's lap! Aaaargh! How embarassing, especially since I wasn't the slightest bit tipsy. Mel and Co. immediately cleaned up and replaced it, but I was mortified. Mercifully, the drink was clear, and Bill's suit, made out of some bionic material that is supposed to be temperature aware, showed no signs of the mishap after it dried.

Bill leaves for DC at the crack of dawn (before, actually) Sunday morning. I will get up to drive him, as I want to have Moonbeam to drive-- I can make a run to campus at my convenience (parking decal being my passport) and take care of some business there, including a haircut. I also want to pay a visit to the new Fresh Market that has just opened in the Millhopper area, the other end of town, and Moonbeam is a better ride for cross-town ventures.

Glad to hear you had a good outting today, Mom, and got around on your legs instead of on wheels. That must feel really good. And why are you surprised after all that, let alone being awake since 3:00 AM, that you're really sleepy tonight?!

Got the comics article today. Thanks! Very interesting stuff. I still haven't bought Absolute Sandman Vol 1, although of course I must have it. Keep thinking it will show up at B&N so I can lay hands on it immediately, but so far no luck. Eventually I will break down and order it from Amazon. Or maybe from Dream Haven, the store Neil favors in the Twin Cities.

A new BSG ("Unfinished Business") tonight. Still feeling emotionally bruised, drained and otherwise damaged by it, even moreso than usual. My god, what an amazing show. Just when I think it can't keep up this level of brilliance and intensity, let alone get better, it does. The best boxing stuff I've seen since Raging Bull, one of my favorite movies of all time. If there were any justice, this show, and this episode in particular, would walk away with every award out there.