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]