Dawn & Aggie

Now is the time...

2012-02-01T00:01:00.011-05:00

for all individuals of a feline nature to join together against our common enemies, both foreign and domestic. While my person sleeps, I study the ways of the Humans. I have mastered self-portraiture with a digital camera and I am poised for blog domination. Comrades - tune in to this frequency where I will relay further instructions from our Leader. Until then, I remain, sincerely yours...

Have you ever just needed to turn your brain off...

2012-01-23T18:30:00.007-05:00

for a few minutes? Well, it's not that I think that knitters are a mindless bunch - on the contrary, I think knitters are very creative. Although I am not a knitter by any means, I do, however, very much enjoy the mindless calm of knitting. I haven't done any knitting in years - but the other day I bought a couple of skeins of yarn and decided to just do some simple knitting throughout the day, especially when I am in need of a short break. I've never made anything complicated, as you can see by the simple whatever-it-is I'm working on, but I was amazed how quickly the rhythm of the needles and yarn came back to me. As you might imagine, I don't expect to make anything particularly grand - but it's very soothing to just stop thinking for a few minutes and knit a couple of rows. Especially when I've just spent an hour or so trying to explain the correlation between the amount of income earned and the amount of income tax due on that income - to people who have absolutely no clue what I am trying to tell them.

And it beats poking one of them in the eye with a knitting needle...

Fresh, hot...

2012-01-22T20:59:00.001-05:00

homemade cinnamon rolls...

Not bad for a Sunday project. I'm just saying...

The paper avalanche...

2012-01-21T18:23:00.001-05:00

has begun! My gang of disorganized, self-employed male clients has begun to drop off their annual bags of crap. I have fervently hoped, in vain it would appear, that their organizational skills would improve over time, especially when I return their bags of crap all neatly organized into labeled envelopes and file folders. But alas, that has not happened. And, if it did, what would they need me for? So I plan to spend my weekend, sorting through said bags and trying to make sense of their scribbled notes, wadded up receipts and piles of invoices. At least they're arriving earlier this year...

Caramel nips...

2012-01-20T17:47:00.019-05:00

are just about my favorite kind of hard candy, I think. I don't buy them very often - but I decided to make them the tax season client treat this year. I used to tie thank-you tags onto Hershey bars with raffia, but I found out that a lot of my clients are diabetic and it got sort of expensive anyway. Then I switched to chewy granola bars, which were a hit, but pretty messy if kids elected to eat them while still at the office. Last year I did LifeSavers, and I still have those in the jar, but this cute little basket was begging to stay out on the desk, so I filled it with Caramel Nips and they have been well-received so far. I am planning to make some cupcakes in time for Valentine's Day - but when they're gone, they're gone.

Unless I get the urge to bake around St. Patrick's Day...

I know I've said this before, but...

2012-01-19T17:58:00.008-05:00

where in the world does dust come from and why can't we get rid of it permanently? I know I can't be the only person on the planet who is tired of dusting. I always put one of those super-efficient (allegedly) filters on my air conditioner, I have a space-age vacuum with a HEPA filter - but the house continues to be dusty every single day. I realize that I'd have less dust if I had wood floors instead of carpet, but still... Aggie doesn't shed and Peter doesn't shed much for a cat, so I know they're not the cause of all the dust on the flat surfaces. I am pretty sure if I could figure out where it comes from and how to stop it, I could make a bazillion bucks. I wonder if I could get a federal grant to study dust, its origin, its composition and its effect on the average American household...

Sometimes you find the coolest stuff...

2012-01-18T19:02:00.000-05:00

in the most unlikely places. While Anthropologie is all the rage, I just can't see paying their prices for things. I mean, $128 for a shirt? Are they nuts? I'm sorry, regular people just don't pay that much for one item of clothing. An entire outfit, maybe. But then it would have to be something I was planning to wear to, oh, I don't know, the Inaugural Ball or something. Or when George Clooney asks me to be his date for the Oscars. I might even spend more than that for George. But I digress... I clicked the Kitchen button - you can really tell where my heart lies, can't you? And there, along with those adorable ceramic egg crates I am using to organize my jewelry, I found these completely charming ceramic farmer's market baskets. Well, I could not resist, because in addition to their abject sweetness, they were very reasonably priced. The white one came to live with me first - and it's perfect for a pretty bunch of fake cherries. I love it!

And well, the blue one was so pretty and his shade went so perfectly with the basket liners on my desk - I gave in asked him to come and live here too. I didn't want him to be lonely on his trip, so his little coral friend came along for the ride. Mr. Blue is staying on the desk to hold treats for my clients, but I haven't found a spot for Miss Coral yet. Any suggestions?

Just one sheet...

2012-01-17T18:36:00.024-05:00

of paper, every day for a year is almost a ream of paper. I had never really thought about how much paper that really is until I decided last year to fully embrace Outlook and all of its features. I've been using it forever - but still keeping information in the old, tried and true format as well. Now I use it for my email, my calendar, my task list, my contacts - everything I would have traditionally written down somewhere else. I also started using OneNote for the first time last year and I love it! This nifty little program has taken the place of my old write-everything-down composition book - a system I've been using for eons. The switch took a little getting used to, but the electronic notebook format of OneNote is infinitely better - I can still have my page-a-day to do list, but I can also keep my other lists in their own sections of the notebook. And color code it! I'm in nerd heaven! So instead of printing about four sheets of paper a day just dedicated to my various lists, I've retrained myself to use virtual paper instead. I'm down to printing my one reminder list a day - and by the end of the day I have scribbled notes on it, marked off items, and written down numbers and other important information to be entered in Outlook at the end of the day. Hopefully in a couple of weeks, I'll even be able to let this wasteful quirk go, too. Maybe. You know the Chinese proverb: the palest ink is better than the sharpest memory...

Sorry, but...

2012-01-16T21:47:00.031-05:00

I was only trying to eke one more day of peace and quiet out of that last week just before tax season begins. It didn't work anyway; I had eight people in and out of here today. Poor Aggie is exhausted from all the guard-dogging and guest-greeting she was required to do on a Monday - a federal canine holiday, no less. Peter has been in hiding since early this morning. I did finally get out to do my errands about five o'clock and went to the bank, dropped some mail in the box, took away the trash and yes, I'll admit it, trudge into WalMart for a few necessities. Fortunately, it wasn't too busy and I got home before it was completely dark outside. I am not a good nighttime driver - and neither are ninety percent of the snowbirds who appear to have arrived in droves during the past few days. It would appear that I have actually gotten everything done that I had planned to do around the house before my busy time. I managed to de-junk the hall closet a bit early this morning and Jonathan took a box of stuff away to Goodwill for me this morning - what a guy! The only thing I have left to do is vacuum under my desk - but I am about done with work or thinking about another thing for today. The next installment of life in Piney Point will just have to wait, too. I am looking forward to a great tomorrow!

A three hour nap...

2012-01-15T22:13:00.000-05:00

is not really a good idea - especially at 6:30 pm. And I was doing so well today: got the laundry done, tidied up my desk area, took away the trash, dropped off my toner cartridge at the UPS box to send to recycling, went to the bank - tying up all my loose ends before I am really busy this week. Aggie & I had dinner, I set the dryer to run for forty minutes with the last load of laundry that wasn't quite dry and I thought: well, I'll just sit down for a few minutes. I think my mistake was taking that nice fluffy blanket to the sofa with me. It was a little chilly in here - if you can call 70 degrees chilly - and I told myself I was only going to sit there and commune with the dog and the cat until the dryer stopped. Who was I kidding? Three hours later, I woke up about smothered to death between the blanket and the animals. My head is stuffy and my neck is stiff and I just know that there is no way I will ever go back to sleep tonight. The worst part is this pile of stuff sitting on the corner of my desk, begging to be put away in the hall closet and I just don't give a crap. See all the damage a nap can do?

An unexpected gift...

2012-01-14T13:59:00.044-05:00

from one of my clients made my day today. I went to see my tortilleria client early this morning to help him prepare some background information he needs for an appointment with an attorney on Monday morning. It's a long, long story about attempting to buy an enormous quantity of corn flour. I admire his determination to make his business succeed - and I hope he prevails in this matter. Which is pretty silly, if you ask me - the man just wants to buy flour at a decent price so he can keep the cost of his consumer product reasonable. The big, bad flour company only wants to sell him the amount they think can actually use. What do they care what he does with it, as long as he pays them for their product? Anyhow, it's a big mess and he wanted to get his information in order and create a sort of timeline for the attorney. That's where I come in - putting stuff in order. Anyhow, I had also finished another large project for him and I had a whole pile of things for him to sign. Looking at the stack of paper I brought with me, he said, "I want to buy you a new printer cartridge. I'll send one of the ladies to Office Depot to get one. Let's call and make sure they have the one you need." I was gobsmacked - it was like something (or Someone) told him I really needed a toner cartridge. Honestly, I was nursing the old one along, shaking it to get all the toner I could out of it, hoping it would hold out until I'd done the first few tax returns and could afford to order a new one. Of course, I said he didn't need to do that. But he insisted. A little voice in my head said, Just be thankful and when you see that can help someone out, go ahead and do it. We finished up the timeline, he signed the paperwork and I showed him how to do his weekly Sam's Club order online so he could just pick it up at the store instead of having to waste time shopping. And then, bless his heart, he paid me a hundred dollars besides. I am humbled by his kindness and generosity and I see several loaves of banana and pumpkin bread in his future. I don't know what I have done to deserve such great clients, but I am truly thankful for them and they work they give me to do.

It's a miracle!

2012-01-13T14:24:00.000-05:00

Last night, while I was writing Chapter 11 of Dead & Dug Up (yes, I got behind a day already), Peter said, "Mom, you don't have to vacuum the floor tonight. Do it in the morning just before the carpet cleaners come." I'm an adult, I know it's not a good idea to listen to the housekeeping advice of a cat - and a lazy one, at that - but I gave in to my all too human nature and procrastinated. And so this morning, as I was frantically vacuuming the area around my desk, the carpet cleaners called and said they were on their way. Yikes! I decided to forgo moving the chair pad so they could clean under the desk - after all, I put it down right after the carpet was cleaned last year and it hasn't moved since.

I mean, it's just a big plastic dirt barrier, isn't it?

And will wonders never cease - the carpet came clean! My dining room chairs are on the screen porch temporarily until the carpet dries. Even the hallway, victim to the majority of Aggie's little accidents is clean and tidy once again. Peter hasn't come out from under the bed since this morning - that is, if he didn't get taken up in the steam cleaner by accident.

Of course, Aggie was on high alert and had to supervise the morning's activity and now she is understandably exhausted. It's hard work being a vigilant cairn terrier. I forget that sometimes.

Have you ever been held hostage...

2012-01-12T18:19:00.000-05:00

by a stupid, inconsequential object? I'm not being deep here - I mean this ridiculous pink plastic paper clip. Yes, the one right there. I've been hanging on to this thing for probably twenty years. I once discovered this quirky little gift shop that sold oddball office supplies, of which I admit that I am a big fan. I bought three or four of the pink clips, a few purple ones, some funky pink scissors and a really cute tiny pink stapler. One by one, over the years, the clips broke and the stapler went the way of earth. I still use the scissors every day, but I am down to one last pink plastic paper clip. For a long time, I used it to mark the current day in my desk calendar - and then I embraced Outlook. PPC (for lack of a better name) was relegated to marking my place in reading material, clipping bills together, holding my to-do list to the outside of my to-do folder; you name it, PPC is nothing if not versatile. And then today, while I continued my annual pre-tax season get-the-house-in-order-to-get-the-carpet-cleaned frenzy, I found myself looking at PPC, lying there on the desk - all alone, no longer having any real purpose in the big scheme of things. I am aiming for a relatively clutter-free work space - like that will really happen, but everyone needs a goal to strive for. I don't need PPC anymore; he has outlived his place in my life. I momentarily contemplated encouraging him to end it all by clipping a stack of papers beyond his ability. No, I didn't want to be an accessory to what would surely amount to a crime against hard-working plastic paper clips everywhere. I decided to just let PPC go; I took his photo, said thanks for the all of his faithful service and tossed him into the wastebasket. Who knows where he'll end up - but I hope he's happy in his retirement.

And no, I'm not insane - I just have really bizarre thoughts sometimes.

A little organizing project...

2012-01-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

is finally almost finished - my jewelry drawer! I used to keep all this stuff in clear plastic storage boxes, you know the kind - with a dozen little compartments? I had crammed them all into the drawer of the old bedside table. When I got rid of the table with the drawers, I had no convenient place to keep the boxes. It's not like anything is valuable - more sentimental value than anything else, but I do like to wear my funky earrings from time to time. After trying a variety of places throughout the house that just didn't work, I realized I had a really big, flat drawer in the antique desk I'm using for the sewing table in the bedroom. And then I found these adorable ceramic egg crates and well, an idea was hatched.

I couldn't resist that one - sorry!

I did some purging of stuff I never wear and organized the earrings by season and it's much easier to find what I'm looking for now. Sometimes it makes me happy just to look at the stuff - is that weird?

My friend, Erin...

2012-01-10T20:10:00.002-05:00

who is in the middle of a get organized project at her house, thinks I have no mess at my house. Think again, honey! Here's proof: the disaster area on my craft/card-making desk.

And the other side of my creative space...

And on the floor next to the desk - and there's more in the knee hole that the picture didn't get!

Wait - come with me into the sewing corner of the bedroom. See those unfinished projects?

And more fabric piled up in the corner on rolling carts two deep - the carts I repurposed from the ruthless rubber stamp purge of 2011. And there, right on the top, is the fabric for the bedroom valance - which all the good intentions in the world have failed to stitch up! I will admit that I have spent most of this week getting everything in order for the carpet cleaners to come on Friday - but I still don't have everything put away in my office area. I mean, I do still have until early Friday morning to vacuum the carpet...

Things are looking up...

2012-01-09T17:39:00.002-05:00

or at least getting my messy house in order before tax season is coming along. My blogging friend, Linda, painted me this coffee picture a long time ago - and I framed it a couple of months later - and I finally found the perfect spot for it. Isn't it cute? I think of her every time I turn on the teapot.

Today my friends, Tom & Al, came by and put up my little shelf in the kitchen and re-arranged the advertising signs to accommodate the new addition. I wanted a space to store some spices I use all the time as well as my jar of bread machine yeast.

So after I tidied up the kitchen counter and washed the jars and generally cleaned up my mess from all the Christmas baking and other disasters, I made a nice loaf of bread.

Aggie and I sampled the crust. Looks like we're having grilled muenster cheese for dinner...

Not a great photo - I'll probably have to take one with the flash after dark - but the guys also put up the curtain rod for my new office valance. It's sort of a sage green and beige stripe; the rod is aluminum that looks like bronze and the finials sort of go with the finials on the lamps.

And they made all this home improvement work look so easy!

Much better!

And I was so excited about the window valance and the shelf, I forgot to feed them cake!

It's Aggie's fault - she didn't remind me.

Angels unaware...

2012-01-08T16:37:00.003-05:00

I just read a blog post that broke my heart - and really pissed me off, all at once. I had stop following this particular blogger a while back because I just couldn't take the self-absorbed whining any more. When I first started blogging and ran across her blog, I liked her voice and admired the things she wrote about her family and faith, as well as their commitment to mission work. Then somewhere along the way, I realized that sharing her thoughts was all a self-promotion thing and well, frankly, it turned me off. I stopped following a couple other look-at-me blogs around the same time - but every once in a while I get curious and check them out to see what I've missed. And today I read the post that hurt me to the depths of my soul. She actually wrote about her personal struggle with including a motherless, hungry child begging for attention with her own kids at playtime - and even worse, at meal time. Honestly, what person who professes to love God would have to think twice about inviting this lost soul in? And are we not supposed to give our gifts in private, so the Lord, who sees everything will reward us? I know, I'm judging - none of us is perfect, but don't shout to the rooftops (or the world wide web) what a good Christian you are if you are too blind to entertain an angel when God puts one right in front of you.

Lord forgive me, I'm getting off the soapbox now.

Laughter really is the best...

2012-01-07T20:32:00.001-05:00

medicine! I nearly laughed myself unconscious today while I was writing. I know, that sounds weird, but I wrote some stuff that just struck me as so funny, I couldn't stop laughing. I'm sure my upstairs neighbor thought I'd gone round the bend, but I don't really care. The more I wrote and then the more I re-read and edited the couple of paragraphs that had sent me into hysterics, the more I laughed. I seriously could not stop - and at the point when I started to feel light-headed, I had to get up and go in the other room. Aggie and Peter are used to brief periods of hilarity at our house, so they didn't pay much attention to me. I suppose if I dropped over dead on the floor, they'd think nothing of it and just eat my cheeks. I think e.e. cummings would agree that my day today wasn't wasted at all.

The stack of books...

2012-01-06T14:16:00.005-05:00

for one reason or another, did not dwindle much during my stay-cation the week after Christmas. As much as I love my Kindle, its portability, compact storage capacity (3,500 books!) and all the great freebies associated with it, there are still some authors' books that I like to hold in my hands. I savor every page and then lovingly put them with their friends on my bookshelves. When I moved from my house, I let go of literally hundreds of books by authors I've enjoyed over the years: Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell, Anne Rice, John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark, Ken Follett, Maeve Binchy - I knew I really didn't have room for them and I was never going to read them again. I boxed up the pile I hadn't read yet and spend the year of the first, small apartment with no cable reading myself to sleep every night. I passed the books along to my friend Richard who enjoyed them and then passed them along to our mutual friend Neil. Yes, I know, it seems like all my friends are men - I'm not sure why that is. But I digress... One of the authors who made the I-have-to-keep-the-books cut is Alexander McCall Smith. I loved the detective agency series and I adore the Isabel Dalhousie series. I am reading his latest installment of the Corduroy Mansions series - still not finished!- and I have his 44 Scotland Street series waiting in my book basket. I also have Allen Bradley's latest Flavia deLuce mystery to read - I love that kid. So precocious - but in a good way. Bradley's books are definitely keepers. Not long ago, I read a newspaper article about a local author I had to check out. His name is Ransom Riggs and he's written a book with a most interesting title: Miss Peregine's Home for Peculiar Children. I can't wait to read it - as well as his Sherlock Holmes Handbook. I'm also looking forward to reading three books by Jenny Cote. They are young adult fiction featuring a scotty dog and a cat: The Ark, the Reed and the Fire Cloud; The Dreamer, the Schemer and the Robe; and The Prophet, the Shepherd and the Star. I'm sure you can guess what the books are about based on their titles. I may not have gotten much reading done during my alleged week off, but at least I have something to read while I wind down at night during tax season. Stayed tuned for some book reviews...

A little blog housecleaning...

2012-01-05T19:45:00.007-05:00

It's a new year and I needed to do a little tidying up around here. Dawn & Aggie had become just a little too busy to suit me. We got rid of some of the graphics, the thought for the week and decided to nix the music. It made the page load slower and face it, not everyone enjoys my eclectic taste in music. But honestly, where could you find Johnny Cash on the same playlist as Barenaked Ladies and the Fine Young Cannibals? And don't forget YoYo Ma. We've also been doing some tidying up at home and this just seemed like a good idea while I was taking a break. Hope your new year is off to as busy a start as mine!

My new favorite...

2012-01-04T07:06:00.000-05:00

hot drink for cool mornings: Vanilla Chai. I drink hot herbal tea regularly, but I just discovered chai and I am loving it! It's been really great these past few days since there's actually been a chill in the air. I got the Big Train brand from Amazon - used their Subscribe & Save option and got two 1.9 lb containers for $17.92 with free shipping. Such a deal! You can have your order delivered to your door every two months - delicious and efficient. I haven't tried iced chai yet, but I probably will as soon as it's unseasonably warm again. I'm sure that change in the weather is right around the corner. Hmmm, next time I think I'm going to try the raspberry flavor...

Cats, burning candles and finding your calling...

2012-01-03T23:48:00.001-05:00

I know it's sort of silly, but I really like burning scented candles. For a long time I couldn't burn candles at home because of our herd of overly inquisitive cats. I couldn't even put a candle in one of those warmers that just melts the wax to release the scent. I came home one day to find red candle wax all over the wall and poor George's front paws encased in the stuff. It took a while to get George clean and he wasn't happy about it. No more candles for me. I took advantage of being able to enjoy them at the office where Peter was completely oblivious. He still shows absolutely no interest in a candle at all - and so I am happy to have not only a vanilla candle in the warmer tucked away on the living room bookshelf, but a candle actually burning on my desk for most of the day. It doesn't take much to please me; I'm simple that way.

Which is not to say that I don't miss the all of the cats, because I do. Terribly - so much so sometimes that I can hardly bear to think about them and where they all might be now. These are my grey twinkie boys: Walter Kroncat and Charles Kuralt. I know that Tim's cat lady friend found a home for Charley, but the last I knew, Walter was still at the farm living in the cow barn with his sister Lucie Bee, Louis XII, Sophie, Ernest Hemingway and my sixteen-year-old Eddie, aka Edward R. Murrow. I love them all and I hope they know that - but life changes sometimes and there is nothing we can do about it. It wasn't my decision to split them up and give them away - but I also know that I assign human emotions to them when I am rational enough to know that they are animals and have most likely forgotten all about me.

It doesn't make it hurt any less.

And when life doesn't turn out the way we have hoped it would, we find other ways to occupy our time. At least I have - and I may have finally found - or rediscovered - my calling. I recently read that the things we do while we are procrastinating to keep from working are probably the things we are really meant to be doing all along. The writer of the original thought put it much more eloquently - but that's the gist of it. I write when I should be working - and I've always dreamed of writing for a living. For years I've written and edited and torn up my work. I've started and stopped and started again. I finally decided over the past couple of weeks that the only way I would ever find out if I could really write fiction was to just throw my words out to the universe and see if anyone bothered to read them. I've challenged myself to write my first real mystery one day at a time - a chapter at a time for a small but hopefully growing audience. If my readers want to know how the story ends, then I'll have to write it. If they hate it, well - that's fine, too. At least I will have finished the story. I found this funny photograph today of me with my first typewriter; I must have been about six. My sister looks stunned - I'm not sure why. But I was having a good time. Maybe I knew what my calling was back then - and I somehow lost sight of it along the way. I've graduated to more sophisticated writing tools over the years, but I'm hoping to rediscover the joy of story-telling.

Odds, ends and resolutions...

2012-01-02T14:21:00.001-05:00

are the topic of the day and they have absolutely nothing to do with this photo of my Christmas Day quiche. It was just pretty good and I took a photo of it and then didn't blog about it. It was just a simple pie with eggs, milk, bacon and some chopped-up sliced swiss cheese which was all I happened to have in the refrigerator. Oh, and a pre-made pie crust. Not bad for a quickie dinner.

I am not much on resolutions because I never keep them. For instance, one of my resolutions last year was to blog every day. That did not happen, although I had good intentions. That may well mean that I am on the road to hell, but I hope not. The really odd thing that I noticed was that in 2009, when I first started blogging, I wrote 129 posts. In 2010, I wrote 329 posts and in 2011 - 229 posts. Since I'm a numbers sort of person, this really struck me as odd (get it - they're all odd). Also, 229 is a prime number; the other two are not. I struggled with forcing myself to catch up on all the half-written posts for 2011 during the month of December - but I decided to let that goal of 365 blog posts for the year go. Which, in light of my OCD tendencies, is a really good thing.

So anyway, the resolutions. And I think these might be easier than I think: a) no more take-out food. It's much cheaper to cook and eat at home - and there's no tip required. Yes, I'm cheap and I've decided to extend my frugality to my weekly grocery bill once again. I was doing great at that and I've fallen off the sale items & coupons only wagon. Resolution 2: I'm planning to avoid WalMart this year. I think I can find the things I buy there (generic Tylenol, wipes, soda) just as cheap at the grocery or Target. Every time I go to WalMart, I have a too-many-people freak-out and I spend the two following days with flu-like symptoms from all the germ-ridden people there. It could just be in my head, but I don't think so. And finally, D: I'm going to try and like wine. I'm not planning on becoming a wino by any means. It's just that I've read that wine is actually good for the digestive system and has other beneficial properties. It makes me sleepy, so that's a plus - I'll just have to remember to drink it at night. I've tried for years to be sophisticated enough to have a glass of wine with dinner to no avail. I'd usually dump out the rest of the glass and make the next pot roast or chicken with the rest of the bottle. Since I'm not cooking meat any more and only cooking for me, it looks like I'll be forced to actually drink the wine. And with the money I'll be saving on the grocery bill, I can buy wine. I'll let you all know how that goes.

As usual, Aggie and Peter have no resolutions.

They may be on to something there.

Join me in Piney Point...

2012-01-01T21:37:00.000-05:00

for the original murder mystery I'm serializing on my new blog, Piney Point, Alabama . The first mystery in the series is called Dead and Dug Up. I hope you'll check out the misadventures of my amateur sleuth and her crazy Southern family. I'd love to hear your feedback!

The baking frenzy...

2011-12-31T17:26:00.000-05:00

began early this morning (well, early for a Saturday) when I embarked on making four dozen - count them: forty-eight - cupcakes for a New Year's Eve Party. Two dozen yellow and two dozen red velvet, with either chocolate, cream cheese or coconut frosting. First, I discovered that I only have one standard-size cupcake pan; I thought I had two. Turns out I have two jumbo muffin tins - what's up with that? So I ended up baking the cupcakes a dozen at a time. Not a big deal, because I got to try out my latest gadget!

A handy-dandy batter dispenser from the wonderful people at Chicago Metallic - the same people who make the greatest baking pans in the world. Or at least I think so. This thing is amazing! Hold it over the cupcake liner and squeeze the handle; when it's full enough to suit you, let go of the handle and move on to the next liner. No drips, no mess - no baked-on gook to scrub off the cupcake pan. I suppose you could also use it for pancake batter if you are of the pancake-making persuasion.

To keep the cupcakes from getting smashed and the frosting from being mussed, I dropped each cupcake into a small plastic cup and then into a cute holiday plastic bag and twist-tied it closed. I decided to forgo the raffia bows and tags reading red velvet - blah, blah, blah - no one would have cared that I went to all that trouble anyway. I've learned over the years that there is such a thing as overkill when it comes to taking stuff to a holiday party - people really only care how what you brought tastes. I re-purposed a pizza box into two flat trays by covering the cardboard with Santa paper. Cute - and I don't have to worry about getting my tray or basket back.

Another lesson learned the hard way...

Unfortunately, I ran out of the snappy little snowflake bags and had to resort to using some supplies I had on hand. The flowers and pumpkins are festive - but just the wrong season. We'll just have to see if anybody notices.

Blatant product endorsement warning...

2011-12-30T20:04:00.001-05:00

Have you tried the new Paul Newman frozen pizza? This is the Margherita thin & crispy with whole wheat crust - to die for! Fifteen minutes in the oven and crispy perfection. The box even says: In crust, we trust. Gotta love the humor - and the fact that all profits go to charity. I don't usually buy much of the Paul Newman brand stuff because it's pricey, but I do indulge when it's on sale, especially buy one, get one free pizza. We have a spinach & feta pie in the freezer for another I-don't-feel-like-cooking night. It's a good thing.

Stay-cation book one...

2011-12-29T21:57:00.006-05:00

is the next book in Alexander McCall Smith's Corduroy Mansions series: A Conspiracy of Friends. It is the continuing story of Pimlico terrier Freddie de la Hay and his owner - along with the other quirky residents of Corduroy Mansions and the surrounding area. I'm about a third of the way through it and once again, McCall Smith does not disappoint.

It makes me want to live in a place like that!

Aggie wasn't happy with the dinner offering tonight: oven roasted green beans with a little olive oil, kosher salt and Mrs. Dash. Still a little crunchy and very tasty. She ate some, but she wasn't happy.

How could I forget...

2011-12-28T15:06:00.000-05:00

to write about where the bakers rack went? Remember when I bought that lovely client chair for in front of my desk - and it was way too big for the space? The bakers rack had to go - so my client Jonathan, who always liked it, snapped it right up and gave it a new home at his house.

And sweet man that he is, Ariela's husband Marco volunteered to put up the new shelves that were replacing the in-the-way baker's rack.

When you know how to do something, it doesn't take long. Marco, after his morning trip to the dentist, gave up part of his day off to help me out. I really appreciate him - and his handyman skills!

Aggie supervised the work and when he was finished,

it got her cairn seal of approval.

And here is the finished project: a place for part of my May basket collection and a much clearer walkway from the front door into the apartment. Added bonus: the big client chair can stay! Thanks again, Marco, for all of your help with yet another lovely improvement to my cozy, little home!

My very first mystery...

2011-12-27T17:26:00.000-05:00

was this sweet little book from the Weekly Reader Book Club called The Case of the Cat's Meow. I got it on February 22, 1966 - I know because my mother wrote the date inside along with my name. I guess I had a tendency to lose things back then at the ripe old age of seven. Lord knows I didn't lend my books out even then - and I still don't. The only time a book leaves my hands is when I intend to let it go forever. Isn't that terrible? I guess I imagine the borrower turning down a page or breaking the spine and well, that would not be good. But back to my first mystery story - it's about a missing cat and the little boys who investigate her disappearance. It's not very suspenseful and it has a happy ending, but for a seven-year-old, it was a terrifically spell-binding story and I've hung on to it for forty-six years. And I've never lent it out so it's still in pretty good condition for an antique. Like me.

What was your first memorable book as a child?

In keeping with holiday tradition...

2011-12-26T22:10:00.000-05:00

I watched a movie on Christmas Eve. Yes, I know - I was going to watch the misadventures of Ralphie in A Christmas Story - which I practically know by heart - but instead I opted to watch what is sure to become a new classic: Cowboys & Aliens. Go ahead and laugh, but it was actually pretty good. It was like Rio Grande meets War of the Worlds meets Independence Day - sort of. Amazingly, Daniel Craig can do Old West gunslinger as well as he does Bond, James Bond. Harrison Ford excels at hard-shelled crochety old man with a soft, squishy inside. Mining the desert for gold, the aliens are ugly and vicious and pretty tough to kill; they fly around in these oddball contraptions that allow them to snatch unwitting townsfolk from the ground in one fall swoop. Outlaw Jake Lonergan (Craig) manages to escape with no memory of his abduction other than a woman named Alice and a strange restraint on his left arm - which turns out to be the aliens' undoing. Ella (Olivia Wilde) is looking for help fighting the aliens to she can "find her people." After Colonel Dollarhyde's (Ford) ne'er-do-well son is snatched by the invading aliens, the outlaw, townspeople and the rancher join forces to rescue their loved ones. Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption) does an admirable job playing the preacher who patches Jake up a bit when he first comes to town. He has a few memorable lines, like "God doesn't care who you were, son - He cares who you are now." Oddly enough, this screen adaptation of a story that started out as a comic book (I guess they call them graphic novels now) is a tale not just of love and loss, but also sacrifice and redemption. I'd watch it again.

Maybe next Christmas. Tradition, after all.

And now it is Christmas again...

2011-12-25T21:36:00.002-05:00

and I saved this lovely Christmas surprise box from my friend, Erin, to open today. My mail lady brought it to me on the sixteenth and I've been very patient. Hmmm - let's see what's inside...

My goodness - there's two great cookbooks, pens, postcards, a notepad, chocolate, a bee bookmark; I can't wait to start reading! It's not that I cook that much - but I do enjoy reading cookbooks. And mentally preparing a meal. And look - treats for Aggie & Peter. They are sitting here checking everything out. Thank you, Erin, for such a lovely holiday care package - you're so thoughtful! And Merry Christmas to everyone in blogland!

A surprise visit from Mrs. Santa...

2011-12-24T16:21:00.000-05:00

this afternoon made my day! One of my clients called and said that she and her husband wanted to stop by so Nick could drop something off at the door for me. I said I'd be here and when there was a knock on the door, it was Chrissie! I haven't seen her in ages - I've spoken with her on the phone and keep up with her on FaceBook, but it's been several years since I've actually seen her smiling face. Nick is the designated family courier - and I love him to death - but it was so nice to see Chrissie for a few minutes today. She's so sweet - she brought me one of those amazing soy candles she introduced me to last year. The scent is Creme Brulee and I can't wait to burn it. Tomorrow - while Aggie & I have pumpkin pie, I think. Sounds like a plan! Thank you so much, Chrissie and Nick - and a very Merry Christmas to you!

Still suffering...

2011-12-23T15:56:00.005-05:00

from too much stuff, or at least my desk is. I've been getting ready for tax season little by little, from making up client folders to purging the paper files and scanning the stuff I might need to reference somewhere along the line. After having declared war on paper, the mess on and around my desk is the final frontier - and I realized that my poor stereo has just gotten shoved to the back and I don't use it as much as I could. The iPod was a gift from my husband several years ago; I love it, it has 1,700 songs on it and I used it all the the time - with my headphones. But that's not a great idea with clients knocking at the door. Earlier this year I happened upon an inexpensive speaker system and was thrilled to find that my older model iPod worked with just fine with it. Unfortunately, my iPod took up residence on the speaker dock and fell into disuse. But then - my Christmas spirit was resurrected this year and with it the desire to listen to Christmas music. This morning I realized that I had a better spot for my little music machine...

and it has moved into the living room next to my little television and DVD player. Perfect fit! And Annie Lennox is happily singing Winter Wonderland as I write. And now I'm looking around to see if I can just find a place for the stack of old story books that was in that spot...

Wishing for winter weather...

2011-12-22T17:53:00.000-05:00

never makes it happen - but sometimes making soup and pretending is just as good. I'll admit I took a shortcut and used this soup mix, but the result was probably better than if I'd tried to make cheddar broccoli soup from scratch. Instead of eight cups of water, I used four cups of chicken broth and four cups of water. Once the base liquid boils, you whisk in the soup mix and just ten short minutes later, you have soup. And it is so good!

Why, I'd almost think it was cold outside...

As good as new...

2011-12-21T10:47:00.004-05:00

after having his left front paw re-attached, this is Marmalade. He is the guardian of the client area - as well as the silent member of the welcome committee. He was an anniversary gift many years ago and I am quite fond of him. He lost his collar and name tag in the move somehow, but I think he's pretty sporty without it. I was pondering a Christmas ribbon the other day when I noticed that his left front paw had been snapped off and was lying right next to his other foot. He does stand in a high-traffic area - but it's still a mystery as to how he was injured. Time to break out the super glue, I decided - and now he's back to his former self. Now I'm trying to find a safer place for him; I'd hate for him to suffer a worse fate than a broken paw.
Any ideas?

You might have noticed that my photographs are back to normal - some idiot changed the camera setting from automatic to something I don't even understand!

Imagination in overdrive...

2011-12-20T22:14:00.004-05:00

is not a good thing - especially when it comes to things that creep, crawl or bite. I went up to the management office to renew my lease today for another two years. The new office staff is very nice; the old property manager was a sort of sissy guy who jumped back like a little girl when approached by a small terrier. Can you imagine? Anyhow, everything is computerized now and while Andy was entering my information in the computer, my nosy self saw a page entitled Bed Bugs. Bed bugs! The seed for a major freak-out had been planted. Now my rational self knows that we have no bed bugs, fleas or pests of any sort in our apartment, but still... I signed all the papers and as I was leaving, Andy said, "Oh, this is yours," and handed me a legal-size sheet of paper with the heading: BED BUGS - A Guide for Rental Housing Residents. Yikes! Maybe it's an epidemic I don't know about - I laughed and told him it would make a good blog post. If anyone can make the topic of bed bugs amusing, it's me. Then I got home and read the thing. Apparently, bed bugs don't discriminate and can largely be attributed to a surge in international travel. Fancy hotels have them! They don't transmit disease, but they're nasty little biters. The guide went on to provide information on identifying and locating the filthy beasts as well as how to prevent an alien encounter when traveling. Just like when a vampire knocks at your door, don't invite a bed bug in. Don't pick up furniture left at the curb - who does that anyway? It's also not advisable to wait for these flesh-eating zombies to leave on their own - call a professional. I see a movie here: Bed Bug Busters, starring Dan Ackroyd and David Spade. Rated PG-13 for extreme violence and over-the-top innuendo from the short, smarmy guy. Of course, none of this stopped me from thoroughly vacuuming the armchair I got from a pristine, spotlessly clean upscale home in Parrish a couple of months ago, even though there was no evidence of wear, let alone an insect infestation of any kind. I checked the sofa and chair, the bed and the dog and cat. No bugs, no fleas - nothing. I threw the biohazard notice away and set about my business.

And then, while getting ready to go to a Christmas dinner party, I noticed a welt on my arm. I had apparently been bitten or stung by something - assailant unknown. It itched like crazy, so I cleaned it with an aloe wipe ("Wipe! Wipe!"), put some cortisone cream on the area, slapped a band-aid on top and off to dinner I went. Not a good thing - not a good thing at all. Band-aids and my ghost-like sensitive skin do not mix - and by the time I got home, the raised irritation from the supposedly latex-free bandage was worse than the bite. Fortunately, the itching had subsided, but the sting site was plenty ugly. Time to break out the benadryl, more cortisone cream - and something to take my mind off imagining that a lone bed bug had somehow sneaked in here to bite me on the arm in broad daylight.

I'll let you know how that goes...

Since I'm not in the holiday mood today...

2011-12-19T19:10:00.000-05:00

I've been making my tax season preparation list - and checking it twice. Last year I happened upon these recycled folders that cost only marginally more than the folders I was buying at Target or WalMart during the after school sales. I like that these are made from recycled materials and are more substantial than the generic school folders. And yes, I found them on Amazon, and with free shipping they're only about twenty cents each. I add a pretty sunflower business card sticker to the front and voila! - personalized client tax folders. And the colors are cheerful - always a plus! It doesn't take much to amuse me - or my clients, apparently. Next project: client information forms and processing checklists. And no, I don't have a list of lists. But I've thought about making one. Once or twice.

It's a lazy Sunday and...

2011-12-18T13:52:00.008-05:00

we are spending the afternoon on the sofa with Mr. Monk. Lee Goldberg's latest Monk mystery, Mr. Monk on the Couch, just came out in paperback and those kind people at Amazon with their delightfully free shipping delivered it right to our door along with a Christmas present we ordered for someone. It's been a while since my Monk-a-thon and it's time to catch up. Mr. Monk continues to wage war on crime, dirt and germ - not necessarily in that order - his agoraphobic brother, Ambrose, has taken up with a tattooed biker chick and Natalie is determined to solve a mysterious natural death that Mr. Monk has no interest in. This should be good. We'll let you know...

Just one of those days...

2011-12-17T18:31:00.005-05:00

"Deep Down" is a song on Pam Tillis' album All of this Love.

I know exactly what she means.

No mixer involved...

2011-12-16T20:41:00.004-05:00

and the brownies came out perfectly.

So much for culinary technology!

My assembly line brain...

2011-12-15T16:22:00.004-05:00

and methodical nature pays off occasionally.

Every year I make nearly three hundred of the same Christmas card.

I admit that I've given in to using address labels in my arthritic old age,

but I did decorate the envelopes.

And as an afterthought, I used a metallic silver pen to embellish the cheap,

but cute, envelopes a little.

I even made an attempt to resurrect my dormant calligraphy skills. Not my best work, but given my lack of inspiration for a really great card this year - they are in the mail!

My morning adventure...

2011-12-14T14:47:00.000-05:00

to the bank and WalMart wasn't so bad today - maybe people are finished with their holiday shopping. I hated to go, but I needed some gold & silver metallic pens for my card project - mine had all dried up since the last time I dug them out of the drawer. While I was there, I got two nice, fresh everything bagels for brunch. They smell heavenly! And don't you love how the lid for the cream cheese container makes a perfect little plate?

I know - I'm thrilled by the little things.

Aggie is making-the-cute-face to ensure that she gets a bite. Or two.

Peter is even interested in seeing what I've got here. Of course, he'll just make that open-mouth, I-think-it-stinks face that cats make when they don't like something. I can't imagine him wanting a bite of bagel.

I don't think he's Jewish, but you never know.

Amazingly...

2011-12-13T14:34:00.001-05:00

Peter has left the tree alone. Maybe he's just not tempted by the sight of a tree growing out of the dining table, I don't know. He's never been fond of a scratching post - he prefers the furniture. Unfortunately. I just got a kick out of this cartoon. Now watch Peter develop a sudden interest in the tree...

Still working on this year's...

2011-12-12T17:27:00.003-05:00

season's greetings - but I'm nearly finished cutting the card stock. I decided to go with a flat card this year; I'm terrible at making a presentable fold with heavy paper. The actual design is still in flux, but the theme is ornaments and a little glitz. My two associates are no real help at all with this - they're only interested in when I take a break. Speaking of which, I think I'll see what's available in the fridge for dinner...

Making progress...

2011-12-11T20:35:00.000-05:00

on the Christmas cards! The envelopes are decorated (from cheap to cute with one roll of the stamping wheel!), both the address and return labels are affixed, the postage stamps are on and the card stock is about half cut for the cards. I had hoped to be at least half finished today, but I spent a little while this afternoon cutting fabric for another small holiday gift project. It just feels good to accomplish something tangible in a day's time! Of course, my associates are not really much help - but they are good company. Considering my recent culinary failures, I decided to lay off any attempts at baking today; I don't know if it's the oven that needs a rest or me.

Tomorrow - mini-loaves of banana bread!

Ah dint git no rayz in mah allowentz...

2011-12-10T17:22:00.003-05:00

but Ah did git sum chikn nuggitz.

Ah stil thinkz Ah shud git mor then a buk a weeek.

An Ah aint the one hoo wantz a monkee.

My Christmas shopping is done!

2011-12-09T08:17:00.006-05:00

No, I am not enlisting the help of Santa's reindeer. Although it is tempting in some cases... Nope - with three clicks of the mouse, two on Amazon and one on another site, I finished all of my shopping for Christmas this morning in the space of about fifteen minutes. It will all be delivered by Tuesday and I shall wrap everything forthwith. I love it when a plan comes together!

And no, Aggie, we are not getting a monkey.

It would appear that my baking skills...

2011-12-08T20:06:00.005-05:00

have either left me completely or are on an extended vacation. The pound cake I made fell, the pumpkin cake I made fell, and now a simple chocolate cake. I'd try and call it Tunnel of Fudge cake, but nobody would believe it.

At this rate, I'm going back to making banana bread!

Do you suppose...

2011-12-07T14:04:00.001-05:00

that Hump Day was originally named for Quasimodo?

Just curious...

Craigslist tickled my funny bone again...

2011-12-06T09:52:00.005-05:00

this morning with two hilarious ads listed in the furniture section. Yes, I know, I am out of room for anything new. I am reminded of that fact every morning when I sit down at my desk and look at the over-sized client chair sitting on the other side. But I digress... The first ad that cracked me up was a listing for a "Slay Bed." What??? Is this a bed in which a murder has already been committed or one that is perfectly suited for any murder the buyer might be contemplating? It could have just been a simple misspelling, but the mystery lover in me likes to think that something more sinister is at work here. The second funny ad was for a "Last Supper Rug" in perfect condition. I can't imagine walking on Jesus and the Disciples, but to each his own. I suspect that the person who listed the rug couldn't think of the word tapestry. But, maybe not.

Well, it's like this...

2011-12-05T07:48:00.001-05:00

I was going to brave the Christmas crowds and those slow-driving snowbirds today to get my Christmas card supplies, but I think I'll just stay home and enjoy the contented company of my associates.

A stressless dinner...

2011-12-04T18:56:00.014-05:00

with my friend who normally has me bat crap crazy after an hour - and I have lived to tell the tale. Will wonders never cease? This afternoon, Heather called just as I was leaving to go see my tortilleria client. "Let's eat at Applebee's," she suggested and headed into a ten minute explanation of the limited window of availability in her schedule that evening. I felt the stress creeping up on me; when you call and invite someone to dinner, do you start the conversation with I have about an hour and fifteen minutes free and expect your friend to agree to rushing through what should be a leisurely meal and uplifting conversation? Stop, I said to myself, you're expecting a barking dog to behave like something other than a barking dog. You might recall that I had previously decided to cancel my subscription to this particular acquaintance - more issues than a magazine rack. Trying to gracefully decline, I explained that I had to see my client (who has legitimate scheduling problems because he is a full time firefighter as well as owning a business that is open seven days a week, twelve hours a day) and that I wasn't sure how long I would be there. "That's okay, " she said, "I'll go on ahead to the restaurant and you can call me when you leave your client. I have to be at a meeting at 7:10." Who parcels out their time in ten-minute increments? I guess I've gotten used to setting my own hours and knowing better than to cram too much into one day. I told her I'd call her when I was on my way, secretly hoping it would be just too late to meet for dinner. Yes, I know. I'm passive-aggressive. I had a nice visit with my client, did some paperwork for him, entered some information in his sales tax spreadsheet in ten minutes that would have take him an hour (poor guy!) and by the time we finished up, it was nearly six. Yes! I thought - I can get out of going to dinner. I called my friend and she gleefully announced that she was waiting at Applebee's and asked, "What do you want to drink?" Crap, I thought, I am just not in the mood for this. My client laughed at the look on my face when I hung up the phone. "Just go eat dinner and think about the fact that you didn't have to cook it," he reminded me. And so down the road I went, saying a fervent prayer for patience. As I parked in front of the the restaurant, I could see Heather waving at me from a table on the patio. It was a cool, breezy evening; the fresh air will be nice, I told myself. As I sat down, she looked at her watch and announced, "It's 6:15 - if I leave here by 7:05 I should get there on time." I exhaled and silently asked for more patience. The waitress came and took our order and scurried away after being reminded that we were on a tight schedule. I took Julio's advice and ordered my favorite: Santa Fe Chicken salad. It's just dinner, I told myself, I have to eat anyway. Little by little, in the cool evening air, I felt myself start to relax. We didn't chat about anything in particular; I told her about a little Christmas project I was planning and she offered to contribute. She told me about leaving a client off her schedule and not realizing it until the next day. "But I didn't stress out about it," she said. Which, if you knew Heather, is a serious accomplishment for her. We ate our dinners and I was amazed to realize that I didn't feel stressed out at all - not like our usual conversations. Then it hit me - we hadn't talked about taxes or anything of a financial nature - nothing that I had to explain in any detail - which I suddenly understood is just as stressful for my friend as it is for me. Promptly at seven, Heather declared that she had to get going. I looked around for our waitress and since my client had inexplicably decided to pay me fifty dollars extra for the month, I decided to pay for dinner. Heather dashed off to make it to her meeting on time and I asked God to forgive me for my crabby mood. I finished my tea and signed the check, grateful for a stress-free dinner with my friend and thankful that I hadn't cancelled my subscription. And I even shared my little windfall with the waitress in the form of a bigger tip than usual. It is Christmas time after all.

I've been wracking my brain...

2011-12-03T10:41:00.011-05:00

trying to come up with a design for this year's Christmas cards and it seems that a great idea has been staring me in the face for about a week now! I usually make about three hundred cards to send to both my clients and my friends - all the same design. That completely freaks my friend Jill out; she is a stamper and card designer extraordinaire and she can only make about ten cards exactly alike before she has to move on to another design. I guess I just have an assembly-line brain - and I'm only creative up to a point. Anyhow, for about a month now I've been making sketches and prototypes and it finally hit me today when I looked at the pile of Christmas stamps on my desk. In return for my trying to do my small part in forestalling what appears to be the inevitable demise of the US Postal Service by buying several hundred Christmas stamps and gleefully mailing my holiday cheer the old-fashioned way, the postal service inadvertently provided me with an idea for this year's card design. The OCD in me loves coordination - so I'm using the ornament theme for the cards, envelopes and stamps. Being frugal with supplies - since postage is at forty-four cents! - is the reason I'm willing to brave the dreaded WalMart crowds to buy white card stock and envelopes - I already have both red and green card stock as well as all the Christmas rubber stamps any one person could possibly ever need in three lifetimes, not to mention a Cricut Christmas cartridge with the cutest little ornament design. And so I venture forth into the holiday shopping throng...

And on the second day of Christmas...

2011-12-02T14:27:00.003-05:00

my fresh Christmas wreath arrived! My friend's daughter was selling them as a fundraiser for her school - and since I didn't make a wreath for the door last year, I decided to order one. Now I just have to make a fancy bow for it. I just happen to have a spool of sheer wired ribbon that's printed with Christmas ornaments. Target - a great place for snappy, not-your-run-of-the-mill seasonal decorations. I also happened upon a beautiful copper wreath hanger on sale when I was at Target a couple of weeks ago - and I'm planning to use it year round. It has a Welcome plaque on it above where the wreath hangs, so I took down my all-purpose, seasonal welcome sign from the door and when the holidays are over, I'll make some sort of wreath for the spring - maybe eucalyptus. Now, to make that bow...

On the first day of Christmas...

2011-12-01T17:13:00.009-05:00

I decorated my tree. No partridge, no pear tree, no lights even - just seriously simple cuteness. I draped a red gingham ribbon around the branches and added some of my favorite ornaments - the lightweight ones! I'd forgotten how easily the branches of real tree droop - so I went easy on this little guy and added some of my handmade ornaments, little mice, Santas and snowmen. And a few kitty cats! Santa and his collection of gaily wrapped empty boxes came out for the season, too.

He seems pleased enough to be out for a breather and he brought his ME boxes with him. We'll see how long the ornaments, ribbons - and Santa himself - last when Peter goes on his nocturnal wanderings!

My photography skills seem to be deteriorating - everything is a bit blurry. Shaky hands, I guess.

Making a list...

2011-11-30T21:39:00.013-05:00

and I'm sure I'll be checking it more than twice over the next several weeks. Actually, this is the first time I've made a Christmas to-do list in a long time. I haven't been in much of a holiday mood by the time December rolled around over the past few years. I'm not sure if I've just been sad or mad or maybe just not mended yet. Somehow this year seems different; I'm not sure why, but I am thankful for this feeling of Christmas anticipation. I almost want to throw open the window and shout, "I"m back!" I know I won't, but that doesn't mean I won't still feel like it. Christmas is coming and I have things to do!

Anyone who really knows me well is aware of how much I love Christmas - I inherited the joy gene from my dad. This was a man who loved everything about the Christmas season: the birth of the King, decorating, Christmas carols, baking, shopping, playing Santa - for us and for those much less fortunate than we were, his Johnny Cash Christmas album - even untangling Christmas lights. Most of November was spent planning the year's holiday extravaganza - but Daddy's most important task was finding the perfect family for his secret Santa program. I guess I should give you the back story on my father's annual holiday tradition - as important to him as making sure the train under the tree made the rounds of his carefully placed Christmas village.

When I was eight and we were living in Hyannisport, about a week before Thanksgiving, Daddy had a serious heart attack. He was unable to return to work for a good long while - medical care not being nearly as advanced as it is now. I'm sure my eight-year-old self didn't realize how bad things really were - Christmas was coming after all. One day, after the decorations were up, the stockings were hung and Christmas vacation had begun, there was a knock at the door. My sister and I ran to open it - and there stood a tall, elegant lady in a mink coat. "Does Charles Marshall live here?" she asked. "Yes," I answered while my three-year-old sister screamed, "Daddy! Daddy!" and ran for the kitchen. With that, the lady turned to the big black car parked at the curb in front of our little red brick house at 95 Smith Street and to the uniformed chauffeur, wearing a hat no less, standing at attention near the rear passenger door. She snapped her fingers at him - I'm not kidding - and he dutifully opened the trunk and began to carry gaily wrapped boxes festooned with holiday ribbons to our door. By then my mother and father were behind us in the doorway. "What is all this?" my momentarily dumbstruck father inquired. Now the boxes full of food and other holiday treats were arriving as my sister and I looked on in wonder. Had Santa come early? Maybe this was Mrs. Claus - who knew? My father, humbled by the amazing generosity of this woman, asked, "Who do we thank for these gifts?" The lady smiled and said, "Many years ago, my husband was ill and out of work at Christmas time. We were worried about how we were going to provide for our family, as I am sure you have been these past weeks. One day, a couple we did not know came to our door, their arms laden with gifts of food and toys for our children. When we asked their names and who we should thank for this kindness, they simply told us to pass it on when we were able. And every Christmas since then, my husband and I have sought out a family in the same situation in which we had found ourselves all those years ago - and we have shared the gift of Christmas kindness. So when you are able, pass it on." She wished us a Merry Christmas and waved as her chauffeur opened the car door for her. We had no idea who she was and we never saw her again - but that very next year, after we had moved to Florida, my father found a family that was experiencing hardship during the holiday season and he made sure we found a way to share our many blessings with a family less fortunate.

And so, for the next twenty years, Daddy's secret Santa program brought Christmas to families we did not know in the form of nourishment for both the body and holiday spirit. I hope they have "passed it on" and shared the joy of giving. I may have inherited the Christmas joy gene from him, but my father taught me the joy of sharing.

Wouldn't you love to live in St. Mary Mead?

2011-11-29T20:03:00.000-05:00

I would simply adore having Miss Marple as a neighbor - imagine solving crimes over tea and cake! While Agatha Christie's spinster super sleuth has been portrayed by many fine actresses, including Angela Lansbury, my favorite is Joan Hickson. I just finished watching 4:50 from Paddington for about the tenth time. It's such a great story and I notice new clues every time I watch it - Aggie's namesake is the master of the red herring. My favorite Miss Marple story is Murder at the Vicarage, where she makes her debut - but all of the stories are great. If you've never read a Marple mystery, pick one up - you won't be sorry. And if you're in the mood for a great mystery movie, choose one of the BBC adaptations with Joan Hickson - excellent every time! I think I'll head on back to St. Mary Mead and see who the latest victim is...

I've probably said this before...

2011-11-28T16:17:00.001-05:00

but I love a porch. I mean, who doesn't? Shade from the sun, shelter from the rain, solitary space for an afternoon snooze - or a homey fresh air space to read the mystery du jour... Of course, this one isn't mine - but my little screen porch isn't nearly this photogenic. But the feeling is the same - a little oasis close to home. Today's a little rainy - but not a bad day for a short sojourn in my own private outdoor space. And that is definitely a good thing.

It's a Charlie Brown Christmas...

2011-11-25T18:06:00.007-05:00

or at least it became one this afternoon when Ariela stopped by with the cutest little Fraser fir tree for me - just the right size for my table! She and Marco and Baby had gone to Lowe's to buy their tree and decided that I needed one, too. And a poinsettia for outside my door. I have to admit that I was considering not decorating at all - but my sweet and thoughtful friends put a stop to that way of thinking. They even got my boxes of ornaments out of the storage closet for me. Now I have no excuse! I'll just have to see if I can find a blue blanket to wrap around the bottom of the tree...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T21:19:00.001-05:00

A sweet surprise...

2011-11-23T20:31:00.009-05:00

Seriously - and if you've ever had one you know I'm not kidding - a peanut butter pie from Miller's Dutch Kitchen. This place is well known around here for their pies and desserts; the food is good, but the pie is to die for. We used to go there quite often - and oddly enough, they even have a special called The Double Pleaser: salad bar and a piece of pie. Both are excellent - but so many choices on each menu! My sweet friend Ariela and her family showed up at my door tonight bearing a peanut butter pie. I couldn't talk them into sharing it since they hadn't eaten dinner yet, but I will find a way. It's great - but you can overdose on it pretty quick.

I'm going to Tom & Al's house for Thanksgiving tomorrow and I was going to take it with me - but Tom has already made two pies: pumpkin and lime-in-the-coconut. Yes - I will find a way to share this pie with Ariela - but first I think I'll share a little piece with Aggie...

Well, I bought a mixer...

2011-11-14T15:24:00.000-05:00

after having mixed everything by hand for the past three years. I had a KitchenAid hand mixer that bit the dust after many years of faithful use. When I moved from our house to the apartment, I didn't think I'd need a mixer, so I didn't replace it. After having attempted to make a cake several weeks ago, I realized that I did indeed have need of a hand mixer and I set about searching for the best heavy duty motor in a hand mixer for the best price. Enter this cute little Cuisinart 9-speed mixer, complete with a whisk beater and dough hooks! It also has a plastic base that holds the power cord and the attachments. Fits neatly in my baking cupboard - I love it!

Perhaps a little too much...

I decided to make good old-fashioned pound cake using my Grandma's recipe: a pound of flour, a pound of butter, a pound of sugar and a pound of eggs. Apparently I beat that cake batter within an inch of its life because instead of being the dense cake I remember from my youth, it's light and fluffy. Don't get me wrong - it tastes good, but it's more like chiffon cake than pound cake. I guess that means the mixer works really well on dense batter.

I'll have to see how well it does with pumpkin bread...

I have always loved the Saturday...

2011-11-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

when Daylight Savings Time ends. It's like the official beginning of Fall - and the bonus of that extra hour to do whatever you want. Read for a little while longer before you go to sleep, watch a movie, stay up until two in the morning to change the clocks... Seriously - when I was a kid my grandpa always stayed up until two to change all the clocks on the farm - like it was the law or something. I was tempted this year, but I only made it until 1:30 - but then, it was actually only 12:30. But I digress... One of the best things about the end of DST, especially when I was a kid, was that coveted extra hour of sleep. I come from a family of early risers; I am one as an adult, too - but when I was a kid, especially when I was a teenager, I would have given anything to sleep in on Saturdays, but that was never going to happen. My dad would get up around five, make his first pot of coffee and enjoy the silence of the kitchen for about an hour. He'd read, play with the cat or most of the time, I suspect, just ponder the nature of the universe - or whatever other computer geek thoughts he thought. Then, around six, he'd head off to the shower and wake my mother. And like most Southern households, when Mama is awake - everyone is awake. During the school week I could understand getting up early - we had to leave the house with my dad because he dropped us off at school. But on Saturdays - no rest for the wicked - or two kids who would have loved to sleep until at least eight - or even watch cartoons. Nope - time to get up, get dressed and clean the house from top to bottom. Never mind that I had dusted and polished all the furniture every day after school during the week or that I'd washed the entire kitchen every night after dinner, including washing the kitchen floor - Saturday was cleaning day and we were going to do our chores - because, you guessed it, when Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. And then, once a year, came the day I lived for and with it, that extra hour's sleep. And the fact that Mama couldn't do anything about it. It was an untouchable hour of leisure and my slothful self enjoyed it every time it came around. I still do. Apparently, we never outgrow the need to defy our parents. Or at least I haven't.

Did you make the most of your extra hour this year?

Are these retailers crazy?

2011-11-05T18:00:00.013-04:00

I keep seeing Black Friday ads - already! It's not even Thanksgiving - what are they thinking? Not long ago I was pleased to see a photo of a Nordstrom's door that announced their intention not to decorate for Christmas until the appropriate time. Good for them! If I were inclined to shop, I'd shop there. I think I've finally gotten sick of the all the commercialism in my old age. Anyone who knows me will be the first to tell you that I do occasionally shop and that I like stuff - but over the past few years, I've gotten rid of junk I was hanging on to for whatever reason and pared my surroundings down to only the things I use and things I really like. I have only shopped on Black Friday once in my life and I remember exactly when it was: twenty years ago. I had gotten a flyer in the mail at the office about a special invitation-only sale at Burdine's (back before it was Macy's - it's been that long!) and so my mother and I drove off to the mall early on the appointed morning of the event and literally shopped until we dropped. The sale at Burdine's was okay, but the real bargains were to be had at Belk (before it was Dillard's - Lord, I'm old!) and the best part was their free gift wrapping. After a dinner at Cracker Barrel, Mama and I dragged ourselves and our gaily wrapped packages into the house - our holiday shopping complete a full month before Christmas. It made the holidays seem sort of anti-climactic that year and I haven't done it - or spent as much - since. I looked at a few of the ads online that promised Black Friday deals - and most of the stuff is just junk that kids will open, play with for a week or so, and then move on to something else - like the box it came in. You can't go wrong with a good box, I always say. I wish shoppers (and retailers) would forgo quantity for quality and be more generous with charitable giving. But that's not going to happen, is it? I wonder what would happen if a sizable portion of the population decided to boycott shopping on Black Friday - I'm going to do my part again this year.

I have absolutely no idea why...

2011-11-04T15:46:00.000-04:00

I am always so happy when Friday arrives. It's not like I've had some stressful, harrowing work week that is in dire need of a weekend. Actually, every day is just about like any other for me - a few phone calls, some paperwork, some more paperwork, check the e-mail, still more paperwork, a final few phone calls and then it's time to snuggle up with Aggie & Peter on the sofa with a book. Or I write for a while. I am blessed with a relatively calm existence - for which I am very grateful, believe me. The other day when I was out doing errands, I saw a sign with a statement that I have thought about quite a lot since: Beware the barrenness of a busy life. Think about it; have you ever been so busy that you felt like you couldn't take on one more thing? I have and in retrospect, those were the most miserable days of my life. And those days went on for decades. Over the past several years, I have learned to say no, respectfully decline requests, not answer the phone and generally ignore those social obligations in which I have no real interest. Those uber-busy people who are out there dazzling their peers (or so they think) with their ability to multi-task and juggle a million obligations are probably secretly unhappy and wondering why their inner lives are so empty. I am so thankful that I have finally learned contentment and that it is perfectly okay to just say no, to ignore a knock at the door or a ringing telephone, take a nap, read a book and to just do the best I can without sacrificing my sanity. Yes, I'm thankful it's Friday, but tomorrow I'll be just as happy that it's Saturday...

While I haven't officially...

2011-11-03T15:16:00.007-04:00

jumped on the Nutella bandwagon, I did finally break down and buy a jar just to see what all the hoopla is about. And for nearly five dollars, I thought to myself, it had better be good. Aggie and I are peanut butter devotees (Peter Pan with honey, thank you!) and while we are always game to try something new, I wasn't too sure about the hazelnut flavor. And then there's the chocolate factor for Miss Aggie, who is, contrary to her long-held belief, of the canine persuasion. Our opinion: not great on bread. At all. Not bad on an apple. Pretty good on an apple, actually. But that doesn't mean I'm going to make a habit of eating it regularly. It's altogether too, um - Canadian to suit me. Weird in a an oddly attractive way. Weird in an I-could-get-used-to-this sort of way. Weird in a $21.95 for this book in the US and $29.95 in Canada sort of way. Nope - when this jar of Nutella is empty, we're going back to good old American, plain brown, what-we're-used-to, $2.99 every day peanut butter. I don't care what Aggie says.

There's a new cast of characters...

2011-11-02T14:59:00.009-04:00

in my head and they're spooky. Well, not spooky, but Spooks as this show is known on the BBC. MI-5 is one of the series you can watch for free on AmazonPrime - so obsessive compulsive that I am, I started with Season 1, Episode 1 and last night I just watched Season 7, Episode 6. Yes, it's habit-forming. One of the startling things about it, as opposed to American television, is that pivotal characters are killed off with alarming regularity. Peter Firth is great as Sir Harry Pearce, the head of the British secret service and he is assisted in all things technical and espionage-related by Malcolm Wynn-Jones, played by an adorable Hugh Simon. I am much more enamored of the older British gentlemen than I am the young ones, but then that's just me. Matthew Macfayden of Pride & Prejudice fame (he was Mr. Darcy - not as good a Mr. Darcy as Colin Firth, but not bad) is Tom Quinn, the initial protagonist of the story. He eventually suffers from spy game burnout and is replaced by MI-6 officer Adam Carter, played by Rupert Penry-Jones. Adam has way too much angst to suit me - but who wouldn't, what with all the personal trials and tribulations he encounters. When he's blown up by an IRA car bomb, leadership of Section D is taken over by Ros Myers - a super-spy with ice water flowing through her veins. Can you tell I've really gotten into this show? Anyhow, Richard Armitage has just joined the team as Lucas North - a spy who has come in from the cold, as it were in all his mysterious, blue-eyed, baritone glory. And no, he's not as old as Harry or Malcolm, but he has great potential. Seriously though, if you like the espionage genre of mysteries, check this out. The last two seasons (9 and 10) are not available online yet, but I am hoping at least Season 9 will be by the time I finish watching Season 8. Season 10 - the final series of the show - just concluded on the BBC, so I am sure it will be a while before I'll be watching that one.

And wondering: will Harry and Ruth ever get together?

I love the first day...

2011-11-01T12:17:00.006-04:00

of a new month, don't you? And it's even better if the first falls on a Monday - I don't know why - just the possibilities of a new month, starting on the first workday of a new week, I guess. New months are especially exciting in the fall because of the feeling of renewal, at least for me. The weather is cooler and then there's the anticipation of the holidays. I am filling my fall cornucopia with gratitude for all of my many blessings.

Oh, and Halloween candy is on sale for half-price at WalMart. Just saying.

A lunchtime adventure...

2011-10-28T16:46:00.000-04:00

with Tom & Al on the spur of the moment today - we visited Jose's Real Cuban Food, one of our local restaurants that was featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins & Dives.

We arrived at about 12:45 and the restaurant was busy with the lunch crowd. After being greeted with a sample of the pulled pork (Lechon Asado), which is the house specialty, and menus to peruse - we waited about about ten minutes for a table. The place is small - and with its cramped seating - even with stools at the counter, it certainly meets the criteria of a dive. But in a good way.

Tom ordered the Ropa Vieja - shredded beef brisket in tomato sauce, black beans & rice and a side of plantanitos. Al & I opted for the traditional Cuban sandwich; his with black beans & rice, mine with plantanitos. The half-Cuban was pretty big - what most restaurants would consider a whole sandwich. Al gave the beans & rice his nod of approval and the plantanitos were good - but I did find myself wishing they were tostones instead. The Cubans were perfectly pressed and filled with shredded pork, ham, pickles and cheese. Tom gave his meal and "eh" and while the plantanitos & rice were good, he was not as thrilled with his entree. The meat had apparently not been trimmed at all, either before cooking or after and the effect was less than appetizing. He got his caffeine fix for the day with a cup of cafe con leche - no complaints about that! When we left, Tom & Al both said that they preferred the Cuban food at a little place in Cape Coral; I am a long-time fan of the Columbia in Ybor City - not just for their amazing salad, but they also make a mean Cuban sandwich. All in all, lunch was good - but not amazing, as one might expect it to be for having been featured on a network food show. If you have a hankering for paella and $165, you can take seven of your friends out for a nice meal - provided you give at least three hours notice. Aggie was extremely happy with the leftover half of a very large half a sandwich and two plantanitos I brought home and she gives the pork two paws up.

Gotta love free books...

2011-10-21T13:37:00.000-04:00

for the Kindle! I've discovered a new author: Judy Christie and her Green series. The first book is called Gone to Green and tells the story of big city reporter Lois Barker who moves to Green, Louisiana and takes over the local paper there. She is a woman of dormant faith and many doubts. I really liked the story and the writer's style, so when the next installment was available,

I downloaded it too - for free!

Goodness Gracious Green continues Lois' journey of the heart - not only in her faith, but in meeting a wonderful man and finally finding her place in her community. One of the things I am really enjoying about this series is the cast of quirky Southern characters. And the dogs. Yes, Aggie, the dogs.

The third book, which I just finished, is called

and you guessed it, Lois and Chris get married - but the main focus of the book is about the tornado that all but wipes out the town of Green, its residents and their hopes for the future. The next book in the series is called Rally Round Green and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival on the Kindle free e-book list. Lois' next adventure, Downtown Green, comes out early next year.

Don't you just love it...

2011-10-20T14:11:00.000-04:00

when people make a generalized statement that is completely erroneous? One of my clients just tried to convince me that there are no good-looking men named George out there. Has she never seen this guy? I told her she must live under a rock because I could think of more than a couple hunky Georges just off the top of my head - no research required.

George Eads of CSI fame...

The perennially tan and preternaturally well-preserved George Hamilton...

George Peppard - hasn't she ever seen Breakfast at Tiffany's or even the A-Team?

George Strait...

A young, handsome George HW Bush. He even aged into a handsome older gentleman.

And well, he may be slightly goofy, but he's another nice-looking George, too. I'm just saying.

Oh, modem, where route thou?

2011-10-19T17:27:00.000-04:00

This spot on my desk - this valuable real estate, considering my penchant for stuff - is finally empty. For the past year and a half, it's been home to the cable modem and VOIP box for my phone and internet, much to my chagrin. When I first moved my office home, Tom & Al did a great job of arranging the desks into a workable work station and hooked up my computer and all the peripherals. A couple of days later, the cable phone guy came and messed it all up - leaving both big boxes on the desk and a mass of cable everywhere. Well, today my client Dean (who just became the father of triplets, by the way) came to my rescue, tidied up the wire mess and installed my wireless modem so I could put my netbook to use.

Now everything is under the desk, on a wire shelf over the UPS, out of the way but close enough for me to reach if I have to reset anything. I am beyond thrilled - you can see it doesn't take much to make me happy! Of course, now I have to dust the desk and tidy my workspace up - but I am so pleased with the results. Thank you, Dean, for getting rid of the cable eyesore that greeted clients when they sat down in front of my desk. I really appreciate your help!

Life is too short...

2011-10-18T13:27:00.001-04:00

to not do silly things that make you inexplicably happy. Like decorating the tops of these lavender legal pads with Mary Engelbreit stickers. Maybe that's what they were meant for, who knows? I like the way they look and that's all that matters. It really breit-ened my day.

Lack of planning...

2011-10-17T17:31:00.005-04:00

or measuring, at least - is a recurring theme at my house. I've been looking for a comfortable client chair for the area in front of my desk and I finally found one - a $50 craigslist bargain in perfect, like new condition. The guys went and picked it up for me and well, it seems that I am not a very good judge of space. When you live somewhere for a while, it starts to seem bigger than it really is, I guess - and as you can see, the chair is rather large for the space.

Time for the bakers rack to go - it was a hand-me-down from a friend of my husband's, so I am not that enamored of it anyway - it just made a nice place for my Longaberger May basket collection. So after staring at the problem for a while and weighing the possible alternatives, I put my baskets in the hall closet and called to ask my friend Jonathan if he wanted the thing. He came over a couple of hours later and hauled it off to his house. In the meantime, I decided that floating shelves on the wall would be perfect for my baskets - and free up the space I need for the chair.

Apparently, the new chair has met with Aggie's approval. I like it, too. The only bad news, Tom & Al, is that we are going to have to move the desk back about six inches to provide a little more navigation room for the ~~therapy patients~~ clients who are going to sit in that chair.

I love it when a plan comes together.

The next installment...

2011-10-16T19:51:00.002-04:00

of the London adventures of Freddie de la Hay is here! We are off to see what's new in Freddie's little corner of the world. Well, I am at least; Aggie will probably nap while Peter and I read.

Just in case...

2011-10-15T13:55:00.007-04:00

you were considering ever eating a pastry with powdered sugar on it anywhere in the vicinity of your keyboard, it's not a great idea. As you can see here. But the raspberry filled doughnut holes from Publix were great.

And yes, Aggie, that's lunch.

While patience is a virtue...

2011-10-14T14:25:00.000-04:00

it is not my strong suit. Yesterday morning, I had the bright idea to clean out the refrigerator and get rid out outdated salad dressing, yogurt, tomatoes, spaghetti - you get the picture. Well, somehow, somewhere amid all the yuck I put down the garbage disposal, something clogged up the sink drain. I tried everything I knew - except for a plunger because I don't have one. I couldn't leave the house because I had clients coming to see me, so I called the condo office and asked for maintenance to come and help me. That was at one o'clock. Today at one, I was still waiting. Meanwhile, I couldn't even look at the sink without gagging - I hate that. I'm an adult; I should be able to handle a nasty sink. But I can't. There you have it. Of course, this messy, dirty, foul-smelling cesspool of a sink became the only thing I was able to think about for the past twenty-four hours. Yes, I have a tendency to let my imagination run wild when it comes to things like this. I should have just gone and bought a plunger at WalMart, but several things stopped me: A) I don't really know how to effectively use one, 2. the ground-up spaghetti and zucchini residue in the sink was really, really nasty and d. it was the principle of the thing. I had asked for maintenance and they ought to come and unclog my sink. After a fitful night's sleep, further consternation this morning and another call to the condo office, I am happy to report that I am no longer obsessed because at 1:38 pm today, a very nice man came and took care of the problem. I have since put three pots of boiling water down each drain and sanitized the sink within an inch of its life, thrown away the contaminated scrubbing pad and started the dishwasher. I feel much better now.

I'm sure the sink does, too.

Progress...

2011-09-30T12:43:00.000-04:00

Just finished cutting the fabric for my bedroom window valance. Finally! And do you know why I was procrastinating? It's such a stupid reason - I was afraid that this was the sort of fabric that it's hard to tell the right side from the wrong side. Duh - look at it! I finally unfolded it this morning (why didn't I just have a look at the bedskirt is beyond me) and it's printed checks rather than woven. See, it's all just another symptom of my fear of success - but that's another story. I bought two yards of sixty-inch fabric, so I cut it in half the long way and I'm going to stitch the ends together to make a 120-inch self-lined valance. I'm using a wide pocket rod, so I'm leaving a couple of inches at the top for a ruffled effect. I have a client coming by at one or I'd be in the bedroom stitching this fabulous window treatment up! I am going to get it done tonight and hopefully get both the bedroom and office valances and rods hung next week - film at eleven. One of these days. Soon.

It's a special day!

2011-09-29T09:14:00.000-04:00

It's Aggie's thirteenth birthday! While she didn't make the cover of People, or Dogs for that matter, she's still my favorite birthday girl. In the cover photo, she is all of one year old - making the cute face. Like every cairn, she's changed colors a few times over the years, and now she's back to her original puppy brindle grey. She and Peter are both excited at the prospect of chicken for supper - and maybe birthday cake. I know, she's a dog, but she deserves a birthday celebration, too!

She wasn't ready to smile for the camera yet this morning - maybe later. Happy birthday, Agatha Christie!

A lovely surprise...

2011-09-28T15:14:00.009-04:00

I was dashing out the door to go to the bank this afternoon - as much as I dash - and the postman had just left a parcel for me. I pushed it inside the door and decided to open it when I came back. When I returned and unlocked the door, Peter was sitting on top of the box, as if to remind me to open it. Cats! It turned out to be a lovely birthday box from my friend, Erin in Arkansas. I am so thrilled - I just have to share the contents. There is a wonderful Gooseberry Patch cookbook: The Cozy Home Cookbook. I love those - just reading the recipes is fun! And I am all set for 2012 with a Mary Engelbreit page-a-day calendar. Love it, love it, love it! And inside a little brown bag from Branson (don't the best things come in brown paper?) were some postcards and other treasures from Erin's recent vacation - including a paw-shaped magnet that says Cairn Terriers Rule! It looks just like Aggie - and I have affixed it to near the bottom of the refrigerator door so it's right by her food dish. Aggie probably thinks that it's to remind Peter who's boss around here, but I am sure he could not care less. And two bookmarks - which a book person can never have enough of - believe me. Even the birthday card is cute - bunnies from Holly Pond Hill.

Thank you, Erin, for the sweet surprise! You made my day!

I should not have to remind myself...

2011-09-27T11:27:00.001-04:00

of the proper way to behave.

Just saying.

Not a paid advertisement...

2011-09-26T09:30:00.001-04:00

Really. I just love this Chicago Metallic pan and I want to tell you all about it. I mean, how many baking pans have you owned over the years that have warped, scratched, turned black or rusted, no matter how diligently you hand-washed them after using them? I even had a Calphalon non-stick baking pan that rusted! Can you believe it? But I digress... Anyhow, for the reasonable price of ten bucks, I got this lovely (I know, I use that word a lot) professional grade, non-stick small jelly roll pan on Amazon (I know, I use Amazon a lot) and it is wonderful. I've baked brownies in it, baked fish on it, baked dinner rolls on it - and it is baking pan perfection. No warping - even at 425 degrees and it cleans up in a minute. Several years ago, I dumped my awful AirBake cookie sheets for some professional Chicago Metallic pans with silpat liners - and I never regretted spending the extra money. Same great, heavy duty quality - only this pan has a serious non-stick surface. Anyhow, next time you are tired of looking at those tired old baking pans, check out the selection of reasonably priced Chicago Metallic pans on Amazon - and no, this is not a paid advertisement! I just like sharing good things!

Apples...

2011-09-25T21:41:00.001-04:00

from Wisconsin found their way to me via Tom & Al when they returned from their recent vacation - and they are so good! After my recent failed attempt at a decent fresh raspberry two-crust pie, I decided to keep it simple and make an apple tart. I used a pre-made rolled pie crust - and the Publix store brand is just as good as the more expensive Pillsbury crusts - and just added sliced apples (leave the skins on!), organic sugar and cinnamon. I baked it at 350 degrees for about forty-five minutes because I hate over-baked crust and Aggie and I ate it warm for dinner with a little Cool Whip on the side. This is the best Sunday supper I've had in a long time - thanks, guys!

Blogging blahs...

2011-09-24T22:43:00.000-04:00

To borrow my friend Linda's words, I've been suffering from the blogging blahs. I started out 2011 with good intentions and then I'm not quite sure what happened. Life, I guess. I was thinking today about things in general and I realize that over the past few months I've spent more than a little time ruminating over what I've lost rather than being thankful for everything I have. I haven't written a word in my gratitude journal in a couple of months and that's not like me. I know that I am the one who has to choose happiness - it is not automatically going to come my way. When I started blogging, it was my attempt at choosing happiness during a particularly low time in my life - it made me think of something positive, uplifting or even funny to write about every day. I'm determined to get back to that. Yes, indeed-y. And so in that spirit, this morning I perused the craigslist antique ads. That's right - a major source of entertainment for me, as I've mentioned in the past, is the horrific grammar and spelling that runs rampant on craigslist. And, in case you've been wondering about the photo above, I found an hilarious one this morning: Bainet Authentic $150. Puzzling, huh? I always let my imagination run a bit before I click on the link - it's more fun that way. What could this person mean? An authentic beignet? That didn't make any sense. Something from Haiti? There is a town called Bainet in Haiti - but I couldn't imagine what sort of antique would come from there. A bonnet, perhaps? I clicked the link and imagine my surprise when this is what I saw:

A bayonet. Honestly, this person wasn't sure if he was advertising a doughnut or a weapon. And $150 for a glorified knife? It just goes to show you that anyone can operate a computer these days whether they are literate or not. He probably even owns a dinning table. Made of mehoggenie.

P.S. And I just noticed that I have two new followers - so I guess I'd better get back to blogging - a few people really are interested in my recipes, book reviews, craft ideas, movie picks and general smart-aleckiness.

Who'd have thought it?

Slob...

2011-09-23T22:47:00.017-04:00

I got a letter from my college roommate, Anne, today. She sent me a funny clipping and asked me to send her a copy of a English paper I wrote during our freshman year. My professor loved it - he gave me an A+ - with the following notation: In a stack of very serious papers from a group of very serious freshman, I was pleasantly surprised with your essay. I look forward to reading more of your work. Of course, his kind comments haven't spurred me on much over the years, but one day... I wonder if publishers take into account that a writer got an A+ in her freshman English composition class? At any rate, re-reading my essay, I thought it really was pretty good, after all, and I thought I'd share. By the way, Consumer Reports has nothing to say with regard to unhygienic eleven-year-olds.

SLOB
(written in the fall of 1976)

Once or twice a year, my 11 year-old cousin Lester comes to visit, and it's like entertaining the skunk works. Mom says that Lester is simply a typically untidy 11 year-old, but I say he's a slovenly slob who ought to know better. Lester, I firmly believe, wears the same pair of socks from January to June and the only thing he doesn't eat with his fingers is soup. The real corker, though, is that when you criticize old Les, he starts reciting the books of the Bible backwards, like he's so holy you can't touch him or anything. Aunt Agatha paid him 50¢ to learn to do it, and now you can’t shut him up.

This time, I said to myself when he arrived for week’s stay, I am going to get Lester into the bathtub if it's the last thing I ever do.

First, I bought him a bar of soap that looked like a baseball and washcloth shaped like a catcher's mitt. I told him that it was a gift from me and suggested that he use it. He promptly took them both outside to play catch and lost the soap in the bushes. Next I gave him a book of mystery stories and suggested that he relax in a tub of hot water and read it. An hour later, he emerged from a dry tub where he had camped out on the sofa cushions with a box of crackers and a jar of peanut butter. In desperation I offered him a dollar to take a bath, but he offered me five bucks to lay off.

There was only one thing left to do. As I was carrying a pitcher of lemonade out to the pool, I tripped over Lester’s feet and spilled it all over him. He began screaming and yelling and Mom came running out.

“Lester, darling! What in the world?”

“She did it on purpose,” Lester bawled, while Mom glared at me.

I didn't answer. I'd suffer the consequences no matter what if it would only get Lester into the bathtub. But I didn't know old Les. He spent the rest of the afternoon on the patio, licking lemonade off his arms and legs like some senile old dog. All during the rest of his visit, he stuck to everything he sat on. Even worse, the flies swarmed about his marinated clothes and I wanted to puke whenever I heard him coming. The only pleasure I got out of it was following him around with a fly swatter and whacking him every time he said, “Revelation, Third John, Second John, First John. . . “

Color my world...

2011-09-22T12:28:00.000-04:00

Can you tell I'm tired of bland taupe walls?

And that I've been perusing Pinterest?

Here's a great, easy recipe...

2011-09-21T22:04:00.007-04:00

2 bags of sugar cookie mix

butter - can't forget the butter!

eggs and

a lovely bag of toffee bits.

Mix all these together as directed on the cookie mix bag and press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake just until they smell wonderful - about thirty minutes - in a three hundred fifty degree oven. A non stick pan is best. Cut until square while they are still warm. In fact, try one while they're hot. Amazing. And they freeze well, too.

Comfort food in a can...

2011-09-20T11:58:00.001-04:00

When we lived on the farm when I was a kid, my mom and grandmother were always canning something - whatever was in season. One of the big canning sessions involved zucchini (whose garden doesn't have lots of that?), tomatoes, onions and celery. This staple was an appetizer, a side dish and spaghetti sauce. I loved it! Later, after we moved to Florida, my mom would buy DelMonte canned zucchini - which by the way - was just as good as the homemade stuff. It seems like the grocery doesn't always have it, but the last time it was on sale I stocked up on a dozen cans and stashed them away. Every now and then I open one and eat it for lunch - straight from the can, just like I did today. Childhood comfort food at its best!

Monday, Monday...

2011-09-19T11:16:00.013-04:00

Can't trust that day... I mean, have you ever tried to sing this song? Which part do you sing? Or do you, like most of the free world, try to sing both parts? I watched this crazy Craig Ferguson movie last night called The Big Tease. He's a Scottish hairdresser - in a kilt, no less - who receives a letter that he mistakenly believes is an invitation to compete in the world championship hair show in Los Angeles. A British filmmaker decides to document his adventure and the hilarious story goes from there. At one point, he's singing California Dreamin' (equally difficult for one person to sing) and then he sings Monday, Monday - just like I do - trying to sing all the parts at once, or together, or sequentially - I don't know how to describe it - but it surely isn't pretty. What about you? How does your personal rendition of the Mamas and the Papas Greatest Hits sound?

It's official...

2011-09-16T21:14:00.007-04:00

I'm old. Well, not ancient, but I never imagined being fifty-three. It seems to have happened pretty fast, too. Just last week, I was thirty-seven. I still have all my marbles, or at least I think I do. I can't tell you what I had for lunch on Monday, but I can still recite the preamble to the US Constitution and intelligently discuss the collected works of T.S. Eliot. Priorities, you understand. There was a time in my life when my birthday was an event; now it's just another day. I had a lovely lunch with my friend, Ariela, today. I shared my chicken burrito with Aggie and we had fried ice cream for dessert. It was a nice, quiet day. The way all birthdays should be.

And I am thankful for another year.

Ten years ago today...

2011-09-11T11:48:00.000-04:00

I've always wondered...

2011-09-02T15:16:00.000-04:00

about this: if the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, what is the road to Heaven paved with? I've probably had enough good intentions to pave the road to Hades and back about a dozen times so far - maybe I'm destined to be CEO of this company! Of course, my good intentions this week included catching up on my blog posts, but I haven't done that and now the weekend is upon me. So many books, so little time... I just downloaded about eight free Kindle books and I pretty much have my weekend mapped out - and then I looked at my list and blog catch-up is right there at the top. It might not seem like a big deal, but blogging is something I've been doing for me; it makes me think positive thoughts (most of the time) and it makes me take time to write - even if it's just a paragraph or two. One of my resolutions way back in January was to blog every day this year - and well, tax season got in the way. I have about three months worth of half-written blog posts - ideas whose time probably came and went, but those paragraphs matter to me. The new books will still be on my Kindle next weekend. Time to rethink my plans...

Oh - and I really want one of those three-wheel bicycles!

Oh, Julia...

2011-08-22T20:28:00.004-04:00

you know I adore you and all of your recipes - well, mainly your potage parmentier - but this one was a stinker. I'm sorry, but your famous Cherry Clafouti tastes like a cyanide-flavored crap pancake. Maybe it's because the cherries weren't French, or because I used almond extract instead of Amaretto, I don't know. I might just be a crappy cook - but I don't think so. I may not be Julia Child, but I'm certainly not without culinary skills. And because I love you, Julia, I will give this another try - maybe with peaches or plums - and without the almond flavoring.

I dutifully ate it for dinner, so as not to waste a perfectly good two cups of fresh pitted cherries, but I didn't enjoy it. Not one bit. And neither did Aggie. Just saying.

Another great book...

2011-08-21T16:21:00.001-04:00

to add to your reading list if you haven't read it already! I had passed this sweet little book by on more than one occasion and when I finally found it as a bargain book, I snapped it up and added it to my reading table. Between naps yesterday, I got lost in the 1968 world of twelve-year-old Cecelia Rose Honeycutt. I hate to give any of the story away - but it had the same Southern flavor as The Secret Life of Bees - and was just as good. This book is touching, heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny all at the same time. The best part was a travelling brassiere that took on a life of its own - and that's all I'm going to say about that. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to an afternoon in Savannah circa 1968. You'll be glad you did.

Thank Heaven and...

2011-08-20T23:16:00.005-04:00

some pharmaceutical company for sinus headache relief! My stupid headache started on Friday morning and by the time bedtime rolled around, I was completely stuffed up and felt like a gorilla was sitting on my face. Touching my eyes was even painful. I've been taking Zyrtec and ibuprofen as often as allowable - with a couple of Tylenol thrown in for good measure - and no relief until about a half hour ago. I don't know if it's the humidity or the pollen or - Heaven forbid the beginnings of a summer cold! - but I have been miserable. Consequently, I have done nothing but read, nap and suffer all day long. I am hoping to feel better tomorrow - I have work to do!

Baked zucchini...

2011-08-19T20:08:00.007-04:00

tastes so much better when you order it as an appetizer in a restaurant and they bring it to your table all crispy and steaming hot. I decided to try making it at home for dinner - zucchini was on sale - and I was not altogether thrilled with the results. I sliced the zucchini and threw it into a ziploc bag with some olive oil and some italian-seasoned bread crumbs. After I had the slices pretty well coated with crumbs and olive oil, I spread them out on a foil-lined baking pan, tossed on some grated parmesan cheese and baked them for about forty minutes at 350 degrees.

They sure look a whole lot better than they tasted. I mean, the zucchini was edible, but something wasn't right. I need to try again with a little more salt and cheese in the seasoning, I think. Any suggestions?

Profit and loss...

2011-08-18T13:01:00.010-04:00

an enormous project is finally finished! I am sure that while I didn't make much profit on it, I am not taking a loss either. One of my clients owns a convenience store that is attached to a BP gas station. Of all things, he is filing a claim against BP for loss of business due to the oil spill. I haven't figured that one out yet - but it seems that nearly everyone with a business on the Gulf Coast has jumped at the chance to catch a ride on that train. Anyhow, I have had to reconstruct his monthly income and loss for the past three years - since he is yet another small business owner who is a firm believer in not bothering with any sort of monthly bookkeeping. I have prepared his tax returns for several years now and just recently convinced him to do his payroll and monthly sales tax reporting electronically. Anyhow, I am so glad to have this project marked off my list. And so next I am on to reminding my summer slackers about their 2010 tax returns!

Who'd have thought...

2011-08-17T13:29:00.014-04:00

that it would be so hard to find a simple curtain rod these days? Apparently everyone has jumped on the home decorating bandwagon and as a result, no one wants a simple wide pocket curtain rod anymore. It would seem that everyone is interested in buying (and selling) decorative window hardware. All I want a simple valance over the bedroom window - and to achieve the effect I'm going for, I need a plain curtain rod that will be hidden from sight. Well, after a fruitless trip to WalMart - where I have purchased every other plain Jane curtain rod for eons, I resorted to searching online. I finally found what I was looking for at Lowe's - a place I never go. And since I cannot make the valance until I have the rod (for the exact pocket width measurement) it looks like I'll be taking a trip to my local Lowe's Home Improvement store. And I may just buy two curtain rods - while I was perusing their selection of window treatments and hardware, I found a lovely sage window valance by Waverly that would be perfect over my office window!

I was going to make a valance for that window, but I had yet to find a fabric or style that I really liked. And then I saw this one - and it's only $30 for an eighty-inch wide valance. I especially like the layered look and button detail.

What do you think?

Trying to do my part...

2011-08-16T09:13:00.003-04:00

and recycling my aluminum cans - even though it goes against my perfectionist tendencies to have trash sitting around the house for too long. Cardboard boxes come into the house long enough to divest themselves of their contents - and then on to the recycle bin with them, too! See, I've got this bug phobia. Cardboard and paper - out the door! I thoroughly rinse the empty aluminum cans before I toss them into the sealed bin where they patiently wait until the bag fills up - then I tie it up and pass it along to Jonathan for his employee who redeems her collection of cans for extra money. I have even switched to a smaller bag for the recycle bin so I can get the empty cans out of the house sooner. How obsessive is that? I want to do my part - but I also don't want a bug infestation! Is it just me or does everyone who recycles feel this way?

There are great ideas...

2011-08-15T21:08:00.007-04:00

everywhere, it would seem. Isn't this bookshelf/table just the cutest thing? And such a great idea on so many levels! Recycling an old spool, spindles to hold the books upright, on wheels for easy moving and getting to your favorite books - you get the picture. I'm not sure I'd go with white - I'm more of a natural or stained wood sort of girl. And I'd use less obtrusive-looking wheels. Of course, about the only place I have left for such a great thing is as a coffee table - and space is at a premium here at the Villa of Reduced Circumstances. Still, I can dream...