ME Monday...

Today I am sharing my most prized ME-inspired possession:  Aggie, my cairn terrier.  Yep - that's right.  I always wanted a little dog like Toto and Mary's illustrations of this little dog are what I am positive made me choose the little brindle cairn on that fateful day in 1998 when Tim took me to buy a dog for Christmas.  Sure, the poodle was cute and I loved the corgi - but I kept going back to the feisty little cairn.  At first, I was going to name her Dorothy but she wouldn't even look at me.  Then Tim called her Agatha - I had just made him read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie - and she looked right at him, as if to say, "You talkin' to me?"  That settled it.

Aggie is my ME item for ME Monday!

She was such a cute puppy!

Her first collar was pink plaid to match her pink leash.

Any excuse to run around outdoors!

She had her own boogie board - and could hang 20!

Aggie was gracious enough to give me permission to share her photos for today.  She says that she may be famous someday and doesn't want just any photo out there on the internet.  Diva!

Check out more ME Monday over at Cherry Chick!

 

Oh - and if you like to bicycle, click here to enter to win a free bike!  Aggie thinks it would be really cool to ride around in the basket on this bike.  I don't know where I'd put it if I won, but what the heck.

Here's what you need...

when you are installing new software to your computer: extra strength pain reliever for your headache (oh, believe me, you're going to have one), scrap paper to write all of the error messages on, a pen to write the error messages down with, a red pen to correct your errors when writing down the error messages, and most importantly, a phone to call Microsoft.  Oh, and the software.  I was surprised - Tim got me the whole Home & Business version of Office 2010: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook.  So I'm up to date for another ten years or so - after a fashion.  I didn't even get to take advantage of my extra hour of sleep; I was up until three - no, wait - two (but it was really three, wasn't it?) installing the software and trying once again to import my old Outlook pst file.  All I really cared about at this point was the Contacts file - it had too much information in it that I didn't have written down anywhere.  Sound familiar?  Anyhow, I re-ran the utility program again this morning in another vain attempt to fix the old file and managed to salvage the contacts and move them into the new format.  Whew!  Enter the e-mail problem.  That one really had me stumped because my internet connection was working - but Outlook wouldn't connect to the internet so I could get e-mail.  After three hours of futile attempts to fix it myself, I gave in and went to the Microsoft support site and started a chat window for support.  I waited patiently for a couple of minutes and then up popped a reply:  Good afternoon, my name is Pradeep.  How may I help you?  I was seriously glad that this was chat and not a phone call because I am sure Pradeep would have been sorely offended at the snort and hoot of laughter that burst forth.  I am normally quite polite, but this was too much.  Icing on the cake.  A cherry on the whipped cream of my software sundae.  I managed to type Hello.  He asked me some questions about the problem and I replied.  When we ran into a snag setting up a direct connection to his computer, he asked if it would be all right to call me.  My Outsourced-related mirth had subsided by then and I agreed.  Let me tell you, this guy was extremely helpful and he logged into my computer remotely and fixed the whole problem in about fifteen minutes, thank you very much.  I will have to say, without a doubt, that he is the most helpful tech support person I have ever dealt with.  Even better than the Japanese tech support at IBM in Texas - where grep is whole other story for another day.  Now I need a nap.

The saga continues...

as I try once again to restore my damaged and possibly hopelessly lost Outlook pst file.  After using the utility software I got online, my Outlook calendar and email program disappeared completely.  Richard brought me his Office CD so I could re-install it, which I did, and I got Outlook back, but no files.  When I spoke to Tim about my dilemma, he offered to buy me the new Outlook 2010 software that should remedy the problem.  He was on his way to Naples this afternoon, but he has stopped at Best Buy and purchased the software - I just have to meet him at the I-75 exit tonight to pick it up since he needs to get back to Tampa as soon as possible.  I can do that - anything to resolve this computer issue!  And so I have distracted myself today by watching online episodes of NBC's new sitcom Outsourced.  It's apparently based on an independent movie with a similar plot line: Todd has to go to India to run a call center or he's out of a job.  It's pretty amusing - the characters are funny and it's hilarious watching this guy trying to explain why oddball American novelties are funny to the rather uptight call center employees.  As you might expect, Todd has fallen for the very attractive Asha who is in the beginning stages of choosing a husband for her expected arranged marriage.  Todd fills out an application - under the name of Pradeep - and slips his application into the file, in hopes that Asha will realize that Pradeep (Todd) is her soul mate.  Guaranteed to make us wish for a happy ending!  If you haven't watched it and like a good pointless sitcom, check it out - it's sweet and funny - with no redeeming social value.  My kind of TV show.

Still cooking...

my way through solving this computer debacle.  It's no longer just a problem, no sirree.  I am having a major meltdown here from which neither the computer nor I may soon recover.  Gotta keep busy - can't think on an empty stomach...

Pepper Jack Cheesy Mac

2 cups dry elbow macaroni
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese, divided
1 12-oz can evaporated milk
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup broken tortilla chips
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a casserole dish.  Cook macaroni in a large saucepan of salted water for about seven minutes.  Drain and return to saucepan.  Add cheddar cheese, 1 1/2 cups of pepper jack cheese, evaporated milk and black pepper to macaroni.  Stir until combined.  Pour into casserole dish.  Combine the remaining 1/2 cup of pepper jack cheese, tortilla chips and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.  Sprinkle over the top of the casserole and cover with foil.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes until lightly browned.  Fills the tummy and clears out the sinuses!

When all else fails, cook...

Chocolate Cinnamon Bread Pudding

Thanks to Pepperidge Farm!

ingredients

12 slices Cinnamon Swirl Bread, any variety, cut into cubes (about 6 cups)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
2 1/2 cups milk
4 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Sweetened whipped cream  (optional)

directions

Heat the oven to 350°F.  Place the bread cubes into a lightly greased 2-quart shallow baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate pieces over the bread cubes. Beat the milk, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl with a fork or whisk. Pour the milk mixture over the bread cubes.  Stir and press the bread cubes into the milk mixture to coat.  Bake for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with the whipped cream, if desired.

That's one way to drown your sorrows and computer issues...

The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day...

also known as Wednesday - and it's only getting worse.  If that can even possibly happen.  I feel like Alexander from the old Judith Viorst book (thank you, Judith for the blog post title!) - did you ever read it when you were a kid?  Thinking about that book is about the only thing that has kept me from bursting into tears today - and over a computer!  Honestly, I could just puke.  Something somehow ate my Outlook pst file - and now all of my calendar, contacts, tasks and emails are gone.  I have struggled mightily to even find the hidden file where all of the data is stored!  Once I did manage to find the thing - thanks to help from a client's computer nerd buddy - I am unable to repair it because my MS Office installation is lacking the file needed and I don't have the disk - Tim does.  And while I am sure he doesn't have the disk with him, he is also not patient at all with me when providing computer assistance.  He acts like I am the village idiot even though I actually possess an above-average IQ - and well, I admit that he pisses me off a little when he does that.  Consequently, computer support sessions in which both of us participate do not go well.  At all.  I am at the point where I realize that I am going to have to break down and pay for a utility program that specifically scans and repairs my pst file - which, come to find out, is a problem when your file grows to over 2 gigbytes in size, which mine apparently has.  I haven't thrown anything and my computer has not moved from its spot on my desk, so I am at least trying to remain calm.

Trying.  Really trying.

Random musings...

Today I am thankful for:

Fall - or what feels like might become fall soon.

Instant maple brown sugar oatmeal.

Clean socks.

Intuit Online Payroll and how easy it makes helping my clients.

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.

Herbal tea.

Blank composition books.

Adopt a Shelter Pet postage stamps.

Mini pumpkins that last from before Halloween until Thanksgiving.

Krusteaz Banana Bread mix.

God's daily provision for my needs.

ME Monday...

Is is Monday again already?  Today we're sharing our prized ME clock - not only does the illustration look a little like me, it's something I say a lot.  "Oh, no!"  Not only has that ceramic clock survived being hung on the wall in a houseful of cats, it's had the movement replaced twice.  I love it - and I was so thrilled when I found it in the sale corner at The Persnickety Cat (in Sarasota) for only ten dollars - this was years and years ago.  I do like a bargain - especially on something I didn't really need in the first place!

And here are a couple of my favorite ME prints - in my favorite color frame!

Be sure to check out more ME Monday over at Cherry Chick.  Have a great day!

Happy Halloween...

Instead of answering the door for trick-or-treaters - of which there were none (knocks or trick-or-treaters), Aggie, Peter and I watched the pilot and first two episodes of Warehouse 13, a series from the Syfy channel.  I saw it in Netflix and it sounded good, so it went into my queue.  Since I don't have cable, I wasn't even aware that the show is still being broadcast.  Apparently it is now in season two - so I will have to catch up before season 3 starts.  I wonder if you can watch it online...  Anyhow - it was cute.  Sort of like X-Files meets the Librarian, both of which I loved.  It also has Saul Rubinek as the caretaker of the Warehouse - so that's a great reason to watch it right there.  I loved him on the Nero Wolfe mysteries with Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin.  If you've never seen Warehouse 13 and you like light science fiction with a bit of mystery and humor mixed in - and can suspend disbelief, as Ambrose Bierce would say, my furry associates and I highly recommend it.

End of an era...

and it appears that I have really been out of the loop.  As I have previously admitted, I am powerless over the rabbit poop ice at Sonic.  There's just something about it - and I'm not the only one who craves its icy goodness.  Since I've been working from home, I don't get out much, and I have only occasionally had a Route44 drink from Sonic since the first of July.  I was out doing my Saturday errands this morning and my planned route took me near the Sonic.  I wasn't hungry but I was really looking forward to the ice.  I ordered a drink, asked for extra ice and reminded them that I had a window sticker.  You know the one: 99 cents for a Route44 drink.  "The window stickers expired about three weeks ago," I was not very politely informed.  "Do you still want the drink?"  I said that I did indeed still want the drink, as well as the extra ice.  Well, how do you like that?  No warning, no nothing.  See, I'm officially out of the loop.  I wonder how much those rabbit poop ice machines cost...

Now here's a trained cat...

named Quidditch.  My friend Carolyn and her husband, Larry, belong to him.  They live near Atlanta.  Isn't he the cutest thing?  She says that he sits on his stool and patiently waits for his portion at every meal.  Apparently, he is a very polite and well-mannered boy.  Aggie could take a lesson - or two.  We had catfish for supper tonight and Miss Thing and her partner in crime were concerned that I would not give them their fair share.

Like just when did that ever happen?

Cat box wars...

Peter has come a long way.  He has gone from a scared kitten I found in the street to a skittish cat who steered clear of the dogs at home.  He refused to move to Pennsylvania with the other cats and spent a couple of days in our empty house until Tim could catch him and transport him to the office.  There he made himself scarce and only came out when he thought the coast was clear.  Petey gallantly suffered the indignity of being neutered and moved home with me & Aggie - and they have become good friends.  Almost too good, I sometimes think.  You see, Peter is an enabler.  What? you ask.  Well, like most dogs, Aggie loves to eat cat poop.  That's just gross, but it's true.  Unfortunately for me, Peter is a nocturnal pooper and my two housemates seem to have a system all worked out to inflict the maximum sleep interruption on me.  Little varmints!  Just when we have all settled down for the night and Aggie is dozing nicely, Pete heads to the litter box where he makes his deposit and then digs.  And digs and digs and digs.  This is that noisy Tidy Cat Breeze pellet litter, mind you, and the racket is absolutely thunderous in a quiet apartment.  If the exaggerated digging fails to get Aggie's attention, Peter marches out of the bathroom meowing at the top of his lungs to alert his sister to the presence of a fresh tootsie roll treat.  Off Aggie trots to the box to attempt to make her nightly withdrawal - where she is most often thwarted by an thoroughly irritated and sleep-deprived person with a poop scoop in hand.  And I wondered why I was having trouble getting to sleep - or sleeping for more than an hour at a time.  It's not insomnia - it's furry creatures with nasty nocturnal habits.

Tonight I am going to try and wait them out - wish me luck!

Gotta love Etsy...

where you can browse through thousands of interesting handmade and vintage items until you find just the thing you didn't even know you were looking for.  The very thing, as my grandmother used to say.  As I have admitted on previous occasions, I am a lover of all things holiday - Valentine's, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween, Christmas - and I love holiday-themed shirts, sweaters and jewelry.  I have been wearing my old faithful Halloween shirts and while browsing on Etsy one evening when I couldn't sleep, I realized that I didn't have any really suitable autumn earrings.  Like anyone really sees me on a daily basis, or that I even needed any, but nevertheless - I had apparently found the very thing.  The best part is that you can get adorable handmade earrings with glass pumpkin beads for under $10 - a steal!  While I was at it, I bought a pair of cute, cute, cute art glass pumpkin earrings for my pumpkin-obsessed friend, Marie.  With free shipping!  I haven't spent much money frivolously over the past year, but finding these two great bargains - pumpkin earrings! - just made my day.  If you have never checked Etsy out, you should take a few minutes and have a look.  It's like eBay only less commercial - wonderful hand-crafted things!  In fact, I'm going to be listing some of my sewing projects on Etsy soon.

An annual tradition...

is back - and Aggie & I just had a free Angus Bacon Cheeseburger for dinner.  She was more impressed than I was, but hey - it was free!  Growing up, McDonald's was always considered a big treat at our house.  We very seldom went out to eat and when we did, my sister and I begged for McDonald's.  My dad tried to avoid it except on road trips because he loved the convenience of driving through and eating in the car.  We would sit in the back seat and chant, "Ronnnnn-ald," until he would stop at the next exit.  I suspect that Daddy secretly liked McDonald's too - after all, he was an early computer geek whose job often entailed installing point-of-sale systems at various fast food restaurants.  The year Tim and I got married, we took a short honeymoon road trip a couple of months later and the McDonald's Monopoly game was going on.  I think we ate at every McDonald's between here and Savannah.  Well, maybe not - but it sure seemed like we did.  Every year thereafter, we made a point of visiting the Golden Arches at least once during the game.  The most either of us ever won was a free order of fries or a sandwich until a couple of years ago when I actually won some computer game downloads.  One was Yahtzee and I think there were two others - possibly a Monopoly game.  I'm back to my comparative losing streak this year, but I did get a free cheeseburger and some Coke rewards points.  I still love their fries in my old age, so it was worth the trip.

ME Monday...

I am Queen of the Kitchen - or this one at least.  Just a quick stop on yesterday's brief kitchen tour.  Check out more ME stuff over at Cherry Chick.

Have a great Monday!

No one's in the kitchen...

so it's finally time I gave the kitchen tour - I think it's the last room I have to blog about.  The laundry closet doesn't count...  As you can see, it's small but infinitely larger than the kitchen in the first apartment.  Both kitchens have been an adjustment after having had an enormous kitchen in my house - 28 cupboards, a huge pantry, two sinks and a double wall oven.  But, downsizing is good.  I'm down to one set of dishes and only one cupboard full of baking dishes and pans - and other assorted items.

I wasn't kidding about the baking dishes and pans.

Or the one set of dishes.  Mary Engelbreit, of course!

This kitchen has more counter space than the last one, which I have managed to fill up rather quickly with all sorts of treasures and other junk...

And I have a spot for the tea kettle and tea.

It also has a much larger pantry which has come in handy for all sorts of storage.

And, last but not least, room for an actual garbage can.  When I first moved in, I was using a basket with a liner bag, but two pets who shall remain nameless kept knocking it over to investigate the contents.  This can not only closes, but it opens automatically!  I'm in love with the trash receptacle!

The ultimate comfort food...

that isn't macaroni and cheese?  You guessed it: tuna noodle casserole.  Around here, we call it Tuna Nooda.  I have no idea why.  But it can really cheer you up when you're feeling down - and it makes you feel better when your throat is sore and you feel like crap.  Either way - it's good to eat and not too bad for you.  Here's our foolproof recipe:

You will need:

1 pound of pasta - any kind will do
1 large can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken - you pick)
1 small bag of frozen peas
2 tbsp butter (everything needs a little butter!)
2 cans of albacore tuna packed in water (drain and give the juice to your kitty)

Cook the pasta al dente.  Drain and add the butter.  Stir and add the tuna.  Did you give the tuna juice to your kitty?  You'd better.  Add the mushroom soup and mix well.  You can stop now and serve it just like it is - or if you want to be fancy, spoon it into a baking dish and top with bread crumbs or mashed up potato chips and a sprinkle of grated cheese.  Put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts.  Makes four people very happy at one meal or it can make one person who will eat leftovers happy four times.  Enjoy!

Catching up...

this week - or so it would appear.  Breakfast with my high school friend, Beth, yesterday and my college roommate, Anne Estelle, called me today.  I'm sure she hates the whole Anne Estelle thing, but I think it's cool that her name is the same as Mary Engelbreit's alter ego.  We had a lovely chat - and reminisced about a lot of good times.  Anne and I met in the fall of 1976 when we were assigned as freshman roommates at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Her hometown is Columbia, Maryland; mine, a little further south.  Both away from home for the first time, and a little timid about everything, we got along like two peas in a pod - unfortunately, Calvin was enjoying its largest freshman class ever that year and we were blessed with a third roommate - a smoking drinker from Massachusetts.  We had both requested a non-smoking roommate and neither of us could stand it, but you try to do the best you can with what you've got.  Anne and I both had early classes and so were inclined to bathe at night to save time in the morning - that and the fact that it took all night for Anne's beautiful, waist-length hair to dry.  Our roomie, a smoldering night owl, would drag in from the bar at two smelling like the inside of an ashtray and proceed to lock herself in the bathroom between the two bedrooms in our suite and have one last drag before turning in for the night. It was a complete nightmare and we would lie awake in our beds plotting revenge.  Anne would say, "I am so fizzed - my hair is going to stink again tomorrow."  I'd chime in, "All my sweaters stink.  People think I smoke.  I could just puke."  Night after night, we would gag and complain to one another until one fateful night...  I'd been pondering what to do for days and after the first good freeze, daydreaming in chemistry class, I'd come up with a foolproof plan.  Anne was too nice to plot revenge, but not nice enough to stop me - we made a good team.  I should also mention that this nicotine-head was completely opposed to fresh air.  We'd open the window; she'd close it.  The smoke stench was bad enough, but she also had a serious addiction to Final Net.  Honestly, the girl wore so much hairspray I worried that one evening in a drunken stupor she'd light her hair instead of her cigarette.  After dinner, we bade The Smoker adieu and set about hopefully ridding ourselves of this extra person once and for all.  The facts were these:  Anne and I both had electric blankets on our beds.  Cozy and warm, even on the coldest night - or on a merely freezing night in a room with the window open.  At about ten o'clock, after we had performed our nightly ablutions and Anne had semi-dried her hair with the blow-dryer so as to avoid any potential pneumonia threat, we flung the sliding window wide open and filled the track with ice water.  We climbed under our electric blankets into toasty warm beds and tried to nap a bit before the inevitable fireworks.  We dreamed happily of clothes that did not smell like stale smoke and not being awakened at two in the morning with the careless slam of the door and the glare of the lights, to say nothing of the stench of smoking wafting from under the bathroom door.  Finally - the moment of truth had arrived.  We heard her voice in the hallway.  I could practically see Anne's hands clench the blankets in her bunk above me.  The door flew open and slammed shut.  "#%***&_#( it's cold in here," the third wheel muttered and headed into the bathroom.  I sat up, waiting.  It must have really been cold because she didn't spend too long puffing away in the powder room.  Suddenly the door opened and she appeared in her nightgown - and turned to check to see if the window was closed.  She uttered another expletive and tried to close the window.  It wouldn't budge.  I stifled a triumphant giggle.  I heard Anne moan, "Here it comes."  We didn't have to wait long.  "You )(*^#&*%&% people!  I don't (&^%^%(^ believe this!"  She grabbed the quilt off her bed and stormed out the room.  I am not sure whose room she slept in, but I was relieved that she wasn't around to see our frantic ice-chipping and blow-drying the window track in the morning when it was time to get up and get ready for class.  She moved out the end of the week.  And Anne and I roomed together happily ever after, firm believers in the eternal truth that where there's a will, there's a way.

PS Stay tuned for more adventures of Anne Estelle and Dawn...

Old friends...

are truly a blessing.  And it's good to see them now and again - even after over twenty years!  I had the pleasure of meeting my best friend from high school. Beth, for breakfast at First Watch this morning.  We hadn't really seen each other since our ten year class reunion way back in 1986 - and we really didn't get much of a chance to visit then because it was a sort of awkward, carry-in dinner at the school with our old principal.  Beth missed our twenty year class reunion; in fact, Scott and I and our respective spouses were the only class members who showed up for that - but we had a nice visit and a nice dinner anyway.  And yes, we went to a small private high school - there were eleven people in our graduating class!  Anyhow, life gets in the way of the things we have good intentions of doing and well, we have at least kept in touch over the years at the holidays.  Enter Facebook - and the week of my birthday, Beth invited me to breakfast.  Unfortunately, I didn't read the message until some time later - I have no excuse other than stupidity when it comes to Facebook - and we ended up meeting for a lovely meal this morning.  It's true what they say about real friends - you can not see each other for eons and when you do finally get together, there is no awkwardness and you fall right back into talking and sharing as though you had seen one another last week.  We're both basically still the same - just older and perhaps a little wiser - and it was so good to catch up.  In addition to filling each other in on our families and mutual friends, we finally shared things that we were both going through in high school.  We are both oldest daughters and we both have a tendency to keep things bottled up inside - nothing major - but things that had we been taught to keep to ourselves, stuff about our families and things that happened at home.  I wish I'd known then that I really did have a kindred spirit to commiserate with!  I'm sure it would have made both of our teenage years a lot easier to deal with, knowing that everyone's family is dysfunctional to some degree. I giggling to myself now at the things we used to talk about: which boy our classmate Dru would date next, what our friend Scott's next bizarre theory would be or if Beth's boyfriend would finally work up the nerve to kiss her good night.  Our lives took different paths: I went away to college (what a relief!) and Beth chose to go to school in town.  Her boyfriend, Mark, now her husband of 31 years, finally did work up the nerve to kiss her good night and they have two lovely children, aged 19 and 25.  Beth and Mark are the hardworking and successful owners of several health food stores, proof that good things do happen to good people.  I am blessed to have such a wonderful friend all these years and I have promised myself not to let such a long while go by before I make time to get together with Beth again.

Oatmeal...

is a marvelous thing.  It's easy to make, fills you up and is bland enough to eat when you have an upset stomach.  And it didn't come from WalMart.

Just saying.

Does WalMart ever make you sick?

No, I don't mean the sheer commercialism and the fact that they have all their Christmas stuff out and it's not even Halloween yet.  I mean literally.  Nausea and vomiting sick.  Dizzy and unable to keep anything down sick.  Okay, I may be slightly crazy (who isn't?) but I am not a hypochondriac.  Every time I go to WalMart, I am sick the following day.  Yesterday, I went there to buy two reams of printer paper, a box of envelopes and a package of labels to print address labels.  Everyone knows they have the best prices on this stuff.  While I was there I bought two bagels: one whole wheat (which I ate for breakfast) and one everything bagel, which I ate for lunch.  That's all I ate all day long.  By ten last night, I was sick.  Sick, sick, sick and wanting to curl up and die.  I can't blame this on the Chinese food because that was long gone by then.  All I ate all day long was those two bagels - and I didn't even put anything on them - no butter, no schmear.  I don't know if it's something in the air at WalMart, all of the sick people infecting the air while they wait for their $4 prescriptions or all the stuff that's made in China.  I mean, it could be a Communist plot.  Or a Socialist plot, at the very least.  See, I'm still slightly delirious.

ME Monday...

Isn't this hatbox divine?  It was one of the goodies from the giveaway I won at Sweet Bee Cottage.  A whole box of Mary Engelbreit goodies - it was a glorious day!  I'll be sharing them over the next few ME Mondays.  Of course, I haven't decided what to put in it yet...  Aggie suggested that it would make a great place to store her extensive wardrobe of holiday collars.  She's such a diva.

For more ME Monday, check out Cherry Chick's blog.