Um, it's just been brought to my attention that I have not blogged in a very long time. Here are some excuses. Please choose the correct answer from the list below:
A) Okay, I admit it: my own blogging bored the kr*p out of me, so why would anyone else want to read it?
B) With the kitchen under renovation, the tasks of everyday life seem to take twice as long, especially food preparation, cleaning, and laundry.
C) My free time is again reduced because the dogs now have to be walked at least twice a day. We have seen the light with Invisible Fence and prefer NOT to shock our dogs because they act like dogs.
D) Facebook is a LOT more fun. And addictive
E) All of the above.

If you chose "E", you'd be pretty darn close. And if you chose "D", you wouldn't be far off the mark either.

Not only have I not blogged, I have not exercised, and that, too, is showing up BIG TIME in my circumference, general mood, and overall fluffiness. I am far more likely to take up blogging than working out, I think.

Anyway, the Big Thing going on right now is the kitchen reno, and it's thankfully in the final stages. The painters will be there tomorrow, and I hope the electricians will FINALLY hang the pendant lights, install some wall outlets (just boxes of wires at the moment) and throw the switch. Truthfully, until one can hook up the coffee pot, it's not really a kitchen, is it? The tile guy has to put in the backsplash, and the cabinet guy has to install some cabinet doors and pulls. There are some little things that we'll just have to catch up in the future. I have a lot of moving-back-in left to do, but with the abundance of dust that's still being generated, I'd like to hold off on 'washables' such as dinnerware, cookware, & glassware. I just may try to use that new range sometime this weekend, even if we are still halfway camping out.

The new washer/dryer is delivered tomorrow, and I am as thrilled about that as anything. These new machines are enormous, which means they can handle king-sized comforters. With four dogs, rarely do we go a month without having to take something to the cleaners or commercial laundry because of a canine indiscretion.

So, that's it from the pine pollen-covered Southland, where everything's in bloom & beautiful; the Easter Bunny's on his or her way; and life is good!

Country ham, oatmeal, and President Obama!

Just reading an article in the morning newspaper about a dying culinary art in NC--air-curing of hams, using salt, some sugar, lots of time and fresh air.  Not that I was ever a fan of country ham--it's kinda leathery, and even though it's supposed to be rinsed by an overnight soaking, it's still pretty SALLLLLTY!!!   (Of course, give me the same piece of meat in a foreign romantic country such as Italy, and I'll wax poetic for days over the complexity and authenticity of the flavor...)  It seems that the demands of the consumer market, pressed for time and hungry more for convenience than flavor has just about *ruint the traditional country ham market.  Even though I'm not a fan, the story generated a bit of melancholy, as the tradition of country ham was so rooted in my own family.  They knew!  Hams are moldy: just cut it off.  Don't just cook it!  You MUST soak overnight & boil for a bit before you score the remaining fat & bake it.  But as the ham plant owner's wife noted....Country ham cooks are dying off; for example, my family.

I read the article as I was basking in the warmth of a bowl of REAL oatmeal, the stuff that comes in a tin, takes about 45-minutes to cook, must be chewed to be consumed, and yes, it takes about 45 minutes to clean up as well.  But like the country ham, people just don't have the time any more.  And oh yeah, I was actually reading the paper at breakfast.  What's happening to newspapers across the country is well documented....at least for a little longer.  Reading a newspaper shouldn't be a luxury, but it is.

Where did I get so much time?  On a WEEKDAY???   Must have been yesterday's snowstorm that closed schools and businesses and sent us back to a time when there was time....   

As I watched the inauguration, I felt so heartened by the fact that millions of Americans are behind this person...that millions will offer their support....that millions do believe.  A lot of folks have missed the point, I think, about leadership.  IMHO, the true mark of leadership is the ability to unify through words, deeds, empowerment.  I felt that yesterday, and like country ham, this has been a craft that has been dying out, in this world of :07 soundbites and political play-making.    

I think it's time to go back to being a united country.  If that means we get more time, even if we have to make some sacrifices, and even if I have to eat country ham, I'm so there!  

*ruint--yep, that means 'ruined.'  That's how eastern North Carolinians and Elizabethans say it, so there.

Weak and Girly

So a coupla days ago, following a lot of rain and wind, I felt compelled to sweep out our garage. If you've ever seen our garage, you would think that an accumulation of fallen leaves was really NOT the problem. . .but in my little world, it is the easiest to fix. The garage is situated in such a way that any little breeze blasts whatever lightweight flotsam is in our driveway or yard directly into the garage, where it gets tracked into the house. . .ya-da ya-da ya-da.

But I digress. On this day, there were leaves and a bit of water on the floor. The water had dripped from our wet vehicles as we parked after commuting in a heavy rainstorm the night before. So, with my car running in the driveway, dressed up in my go-to-work costume, including heels, I set about a quick version of sweeping out the leaves with a wide broom.

Wish I hadn't plopped my heeled foot in a puddle. Down I went, and in that bizarre slo-mo recall of an accident, I felt both my knees turn at a funny angle just before my backside hit the wet (but leafless!!) concrete. So, I lay there for a minute asking myself, "am I all right?" For a second or two, I was more worried about my big fat butt, but thankfully, all that padding saved me. The dogs were barking like crazy, and I think I might have been whimpering a little bit. I dragged myself upright, and right then I knew that my knees were just not working the way they had a few moments before. I managed a lopsided and slow walk to the car. I felt a helluva lot better when I sat down.

I went ahead to work and though moving slowly, I got through the day with lots of Advil & sympathy from co-workers. That night, upon arriving home, I stepped on the stoop wrong, and the pain was excruciating...just couldn't help it, the tears rolled down. The dogs looked puzzled: AFter all, whimpering has been their gig. When D called, I boo-hooed into the phone! Thankfully, she rushed home & took care of the dogs, while I moaned and groaned. Going to bed did not help (and I refused to take the Vicodin we had lying around from a previous battle with an abcessed tooth.) You just don't realize how much you use your knees when you turn from one side to another in bed! It was an awful night. So, at oh-dark-30 the next day, I was doing what I should have done on Day One...Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation (RICE). And yep, CIS, also known as Calling In Sick.

I'm pleased to say after three days of taking it easy (but only one at home--I'm dedicated), my knees are much better. Not quite ready for a marathon yet (maybe in my next life...), but I can walk dogs and climb/descend stairs without fear of falling to my death.

My self-diagnosis? Just a sprain, and if things don't get any better, I'll ask the doc what he thinks. But it did give me pause to think about getting older. . .and the hazards of a simple misstep or fall.

Meantime, all those leaves that have since blown into the garage can just wait 'til I hook up the leaf blower and/or wear some flat shoes with lots o' traction.

Updates

Wow, it's been a long time since I blogged. It's amazing that a two-week vacation left me with less spare time than when I actually commute and work! Here's a quick summary of the holidays in expanded bullet form, **whatever that is:

• Had a great holiday with my family; wonderful gifts, loving family, and we went to see Marley & Me on Christmas Day. I had no idea that so. . . many. . . people went to a movie on this holiest of days, but I suppose it's no worse than spreading our broad backsides on the sofa and watching TV. Great movie, but that was expected. If you haven't seen it, be sure to take plenty of tissue when you go!
• Partially cleaned the attic--which means I got rid of a few things and moved some other things around. I made three trips in the SUV to the recycling center, mostly to unload cardboard. As it turns out, D's mockery has been right on target: I actually have been hoarding empty boxes for years. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but the result was no walking space in the attic and very little additional storage because the space was all occupied by boxes full of nothing. One of these days, I'll actually go through the rest of the stuff in the attic. I think there may be more disposables mixed in with the treasure. :-) I am having to eat crow as I did believe that D had more stuff up there than I. I was woefully wrong (again).
• Partially cleaned my office area. My little work area is kind of an ante-room to the attic, and until I blocked it off with a baby gate, Dakota used to head up here to use the bathroom. Yep, pretty gross, and definitely not good for the laminate flooring....ewwww! At any rate, the junk is either pitched or stored; the place has been dusted and vacuumed and gettin' ready for tax preparations. The impetus for all of this activity? My brother gave me a new office chair for Christmas, so I really needed to spruce up the office to show off the new furniture!
• Battled a cold or sinus infection or something. Not sure what was going on, but I felt pretty lousy with a stuffy nose, pounding head and fatigue. Dayquil rocks, by the way.
• Went with D's family to Vegas, babeeeee. I'm getting much better at Blackjack and had great luck at video poker. For me, losing only forty bucks or so is a good thing! Vegas was very crowded when we arrived, but the mob scene thinned out after January 1. Apparently, the sinking economy is hitting very hard there. One of the highlights of the trip--third row center seats for Bette Midler's show at Caesar's Palace. I've been a Bette fan for years, and this was as good as it gets! The woman is 63-years-old, and she looks fabulous and still sings, dances, and shticks like a 20-something. We also saw the Cirque du Soleil show "Ka." Personally, I think "O" is better, and a couple of folks have said "Mystere" is the best of all. Well, ya can't go wrong with Cirque du Soleil! Maybe we can can see "Mystere" next time..... and next time may be coming soon, as CHER is returning to Caesars! D and her sister & family all want to see Cher, so let's hope we head back soon.
• Back to work yesterday and the long hiatus was good for the soul: I was actually glad to be back in The Routine. I like my co-workers--no drama there--and I enjoy what I do. But everybody needs a break now and then, and this one was just perfect.

Happy New Year everyone. This is gonna be the start of somethin' good!

** 'Expanded bullet form' apparently means it's okay not to use formal sentence structure, amd that it's also okay to ramble on at great length.

In a Fog

So, I'm reading/watching the news and reading other people's blogs and it seems most of Planet Earth is either already enjoying or preparing for a beautiful Christmas-y snowfall. (apologies if you have ice....or have had a car wreck or otherwise bad experience as a result of snow.) I am so jealous. Here in The Triangle, NC, we have had some kind of miserable soggy mess that hovers between a mist and a fog. This has been going on for days, and people are getting ill (in the southern way, meaning "cranky") and depressed. And today, our temps are in the upper 60s. Really, my Santa hat is itchy enough without bustin' a sweat!

And here's a dilemma that may be common to those of us with multiple dogs: On successive rainy days when the pups are cooped up, do you get tumbleweeds in every nook and cranny in the house? By 'tumbleweeds,' I mean clumps of dog hair, that just seems to fall off these creatures. We're vacuuming daily, even as we pray for clearing skies and the opportunity to leave the quadri-peds outdoors for even a half-day. (Note to the Pet Gestapo, we have a beautiful cedar-mulched fenced-in back yard with ample fresh water, shelter, and safe toys, regularly policed and kept clean, so our pups have quite a resort area when we put them out.)

The good news is that the misty fog actually seems to be lifting, albeit briefly. Maybe tomorrow, the pups can play outside! And the best news of all, this is my last day on the job 'til Jan. 6, 2009. I love my job; I love my co-workers, but I'll be glad to get away for awhile. D and I have not overly structured our time off this holiday. We've made random mention of playing golf with some friends; maybe cleaning out the attic, putting some junk, uh, I mean treasure, up on eBay. And we have a family trip scheduled for January 1....but 'til then, even tho' we're punctuating or down time with lots of vacuuming and cleaning, we'll be on our schedule & not someone else's!
Bring it on, and let the fog keep on lifting.

Sugar Poisioning

A few widely quoted studies indicate that we Americans consume about 150 pounds of sugar a year. I think I consumed that much yesterday. But the over-indulgence was for a very good cause: By popular demand, I am attempting to re-create my mother's fudge recipe. This requires considerable tasting, right? And I made several batches, each with a slightly different ingredient list or cooking temperature. I think I hit on the right combination yesterday, but that didn't stop me from popping open the tin box at 6 a.m. today and fudging out for a pre-breakfast snack.

Scientific research notwithstanding, a bucket of sugar before sunrise almost negates the need for coffee. How sick is that???? And I packed a small snack bag for a midday fix as well, thereby ensuring a daylong ride on the blood sugar rollercoaster. Go, pancreas, go!

I hope I'm not in DTs when I meet my friends for dinner tonight, and that my insulin production can keep up with the demand, not to mention the damage all that sugar will cause to my already bulky body. Meanwhile, I'm thinking that a great resolution for 2009 is avoidance of sugar....might require a stint in rehab, but it's worth considering.

Frugality

I thought I would hate it, but in actuality, not so much. Along with the rest of the country, D and I are trying to be much more cost-conscious and well, frugal. Yes, we are both blessed with jobs that seem to be stable, but who knows? But there's one thing that is for certain: we're getting on up there in years, and our retirement nest egg is rapidly scrambling. We're trying to pay off our house. . . sooner rather than later. So, we're slashing and burning and trying to live a well-provisioned life, but this time, without the frills and waste. Without going into the details that are all too familiar to everyone. . .more careful and judicious habits in food shopping and errand-running are paying positive dividends. We are Costco junkies, and while there may seem to be some value in buying bagged salad by the metric ton, there's not much savings to be had when more than half of the bag turns brown & slimy after we've eaten all the salad we can eat.

This is the first year I haven't plunked down a small fortune on 'new' Christmas paper and wrapping supplies. Nope, in the interest of reducing waste and increasing savings, I've plundered the vast accumulation of holiday wrap & bags from years past, all stored in huge plastic bins stacked head high in our attic. So, if you're getting a gift from me, chances are the wrapping is vintage, dating back to ohmigod the Turn of the Century!!! Oh my....the sacrifices we make!

D has turned down the thermostat, and our standard setting now is 64 degrees. At least that's the temperature near the thermostat, in a cozy hallway right outside the kitchen on the southeastern side of our house. Now let's head over to the bathroom over on the shady northwestern side of the house, with all those exposed walls. I think I saw my breath condense in the bathroom one cold morning as I undressed for the shower. I don't mind piling on extra clothes for chores, cooking, and hanging out, but that's just not an option at shower time. We may have to rethink our frugality in that area.

And one more area: paper products. We have been scandalous in our use of paper towels to the degree that I will probably be flamed for admitting it. But honest, Officer, I don't know where they go. . .they just...disappear. Surely we aren't using them to clean, cuz we don't clean that much. More investigation is needed. Please let me know if you see any thieves walking around with rolls of Bounty stuffed in their jackets--those are probably ours.

Having said all that, we (as a family and as a society) have it so damn good! I'm whining about Christmas wrapping paper when 95% of the world worries about disease, not having enough to eat, or a roof over their heads. After another big thank you for all my many blessings, I'll shut up & move on. (hold your applause).