Betwixt and Between - December 5, 2025

Once again, I am in that most abhorred place, "betwixt and between."  Stymied.  Idle.

I mailed a stack of Christmas cards to friends and relatives early this week.  Yesterday, when I was moving things around in the studio, I found a whole 'nother stack of Christmas cards I painted last year, already in envelopes, with cute little motifs (to match the cards) on the envelopes - better art than I've been slapping out for the past month.  Oh, well.  <Shrug> 

We're going out of town next week.  There's not much time between now and then to tackle a new project.   I've already done all the laundry.  Stacked up some clothes for the suitcase.  What to do today?

I could vacuum.

Nah.

Chauffeuring Nanny - December 4, 2025

Nanny's doctor appointment was set for 1 p.m. yesterday in the big city.  All of her biological children were at work, so I volunteered to drive her to her appointment.  Not knowing how long the doctor visit would take, I took my e-reader and some mini-Snickers left over from Halloween.  My plan was to read and snack in the waiting room while Nanny did her business with the doctor.  

I should have known better.

Long story short, I wound up in the exam room with Nanny, which turned out to be a good thing.  We had driven nearly 40 miles for routine bloodwork and a 3-minute visit with the doctor, who proclaimed that all was well, come back in 3 months for another test.  I asked if Nanny's GP doc (10 minutes from home) could do the vein stick and forward the results.  We worked it out.  

It's hard to have a conversation with Nanny.  I guess it's because she spends a lot of time alone, with no one to talk to, but she won't let you get a word in once she gets going.  

 

I hate cars - December 3, 2025

Since Son #2's car died Monday night, I loaned him my "daily driver," intending to drive my old Wrangler until Son's car is fixed.  I had not driven the Wrangler in weeks, so before The Husband left for work yesterday morning, I went out to make sure it would start.  It cranked right up.

At 11:25, I cranked it again to let it warm up before heading out for my noon lunch date with my former boss.  At 11:30, when I proceeded to back out of the driveway, the engine quit.  I cranked and cranked and cranked until I feared that I'd run the battery down.  I was about to call my boss to tell her I couldn't make lunch, but I tried to crank the Wrangler one more time, and it fired right off.  

Dilemma:  do I go on with my lunch plans and risk getting stranded in town, or do I call off the lunch?  

I decided to go on to town.  Over the years, we've owned so many P.o.S. vehicles that I am on a first-name basis with the tow truck.  If the Wrangler wouldn't crank after lunch, I could get home.

After lunch, the Wrangler cranked on the first try.

Instead of coming straight home, I went to the auto parts store to buy new wiper blades for the Wrangler.  When I prepared to leave the store, the Wrangler would not crank.  I cranked and cranked and cranked.  Eventually, it started.  I hurried home.

Later, I had to make a run to the dollar store up the road.  I intended to leave the Jeep running while I was in the store, but I turned it off out of habit.  It did the same crap when I came out of the store.  Crank, crank, crank.  Almost give up.  Then finally start.

This weekend, I'm going to ask Son #1 to get to the bottom of this problem.

Meanwhile, I am supposed to drive Nanny to a doctor appointment this afternoon.  My original plan was to drive the Wrangler, but we probably ought to go in her old mini-van, instead.

It's gonna be a long day.

For the Birds - December 2, 2025

Birds invade our back porch when it gets cold.  We can't figure out how they get in, and they can't figure out how to get out.  It wouldn't bother me for them to be on the porch except that they POOP on stuff.  This morning, I found two big white splatters on my worktable (which I am not currently using because it's too cold to stay on the porch for long).   Disgusting.

This week has been tough, already.  Recall that The Husband and I are trying to give up cigarettes and have bought vape gizmos to help us do it.  We're not snapping at each other . . . yet.

(I am convinced that the nicotine is only a tiny fraction of my addiction.  If I'm busy, I don't think about cigarettes.  But there are triggers.  Driving is one: get in the car, crank up, buckle up, back up, go forward, hit a long stretch of road, light a cigarette.  Might not puff it three times before I put it out.  Crazy, I know.

So I may have to give up driving in order to quit smoking.  ;) )

Last night, just as we were about to sit down to supper, our daughter-in-law called to ask us to come get the granddaughters.  Son #2's car croaked when he cranked it up after work (he thinks it's the transmission); she needed to go pick him up and didn't want to take the girls.  So The Husband went to get them.  

After everybody had been fed, The Husband began the task of putting together the Hot Wheels racetrack I'd bought for the Little Rotten Baby (who is now almost 5).  We have no good toys in this house - nothing that hasn't already been through four grandchildren and is "old hat."  All the dolls are naked and have crazy hair.  The one toy that engages the LRB for a little while is Thomas the Train, left over from The Grandson's tender years (he's 18 now).   She mostly enjoys putting the track together, figuring out the right curves to get the ends to meet.  Once that's done, she typically moves on to something else, leaving The Husband playing with the trains.  I figure they'd both have better fun with the racetrack.

But just about the time The Husband got it together - it was a maze of loop-de-loops - the DIL called to say that they were on their way home and that the girls should go home and start their baths.  It was raining, so I took them home in the car.  When I got back and tried to move the racetrack, it fell apart.  Just as well.  It seems to be the assembly that engages.  

Today I'm having lunch with my former boss.  This is not our usual lunch day, but I will be out of town on our regular lunch day.  I need to go a little early and shop for a present for her.

I will want a cigarette while I drive.  :-\

December 1, 2025

Thanksgiving Day was a l-o-n-g day.

Dinner at my brother's house was set for 1:00, an "aspirational" target in the words of my brother.  We arrived about 12:15. Dinner was served about 2:30.

The dinner at Son #1's house was set at 4:00.  We arrived at 4:05, still stuffed from the first dinner.  We ate a few bites and headed to Son #2's house about 6:00.  Son #2 had plenty leftovers, but we declined them and just visited.

Friday, we were slugs.

Saturday, The Husband suggested that we go to a vape store and buy stuff to help us stop smoking.  We did that.  Neither of us is a heavy smoker, and although we bought reduced nicotine "juice," mine is still too strong.  I may be getting more nicotine from this than from cigarettes.

It's cold this morning, below freezing.  Later today, it's supposed to rain.  I need to go to the grocery store before that happens.

Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2025

I am thankful for a lot of things, too many to list in the time between now and time to load the food into the truck and hit the road to dinner at my brother's house.  Later, we'll have another dinner at my son's house.

I still have to bake the sweet potato casserole.

I'm a little worried about the sweet potato dumplings.  I wrapped the sweet potatoes in dough and baked them yesterday.  This morning, I made the yummy cream sauce to pour over them.  This is not what the recipe said to do.  The recipe said to pour the yummy cream sauce over the UNBAKED dumplings, sprinkle them with sugar and cinnamon, and THEN bake them.  

I made this dish according to the recipe last week, when The Husband had to take a dish to the office Thanksgiving dinner.  They were ok.  I baked them on a sheet pan instead of in a casserole dish, and the wider pan left more of the dumpling tops sticking above the sauce, which worked out well.  The cinnamon and sugar on the dumpling tops made a nice crust.  But the parts that were below the sauce were a little gummy.  

I can't decide whether to pour the sauce over the dumplings (which are now nestled together in a casserole dish) or heat the sauce and let folks pour it over the dumplings.  The dumplings, by themselves, are kind of blah.  I should have rolled the sweet potatoes in a cinnamon/sugar mixture before I wrapped them in dough.  Without the sauce, they are just a sweet potato in a roll.  

It would be nice to preserve the brown crust on the rolls, but I think I will just to ahead and pour the sauce over them, bake them, and re-heat them when it's time to eat.

Looking forward to today.  After dinner with Son #1, we'll go across the street to Son #2's house.  Granddaughter #1 is home from college.

Sweet Potatoes - November 26, 2025

There's cooking to be done today.  We'll be attending a Thanksgiving dinner around noon, and another around 5.  I am taking dishes to both.  Sweet potato casserole and spinach dip to my brother's house, and sweet potato dumplings and pecan casserole to my son's house.  

The sweet potatoes are in the oven now. 

Historically, I boiled the sweet potatoes.  I never, ever drop a sweet potato into a pot of water that I don't think about Nanny and The Husband's grandmother, Mama J.  (She was a card.)   

The three of us were sitting at the kitchen table, discussing a recipe for sweet potato pie.  I was probably 30 years old hadn't had a lot of experience cooking from scratch.  I commented that the only problem with sweet potatoes was that they were so hard to peel.  Mama J said, "Boil 'em, first."  

It was like the heaven's opened up.  I heard angels singing.  

Evidently, Nanny had that same experience, for she exclaimed, "MAMA J!  You could have told me that THIRTY YEARS AGO!"

Cracked me up.

The angels sang for me again this morning as I was washing sweet potatoes, preparing to boil them.  

My biggest pan is in the refrigerator, half full of chicken noodle soup.  As I was taking a bowl out of the cabinet, planning to transfer the soup to the bowl so that I could use the pan for the sweet potatoes, it occurred to me that I could BAKE them instead of boiling them.

I hope there is not some down-side to baking vs. boiling that I have not considered.  I couldn't think of any, except a possible difference in texture.  We'll see.  

This year, for the first time, I bought bagged sweet potatoes instead of loose ones.  It was a mistake.  Whereas I can choose loose potatoes of similar size, the bagged potatoes came in a variety of sizes.  The little ones will be done far earlier than the big ones.  I've set a timer to remind me to check them early.

* * * * * * * * 

Yesterday, I spent most of the day fooling with Christmas cards.  During the past year, my watercolor practice produced a stack of 4" x 6" mini-paintings, just the right size for attaching to 5" x 7" greeting cards.  Yesterday, I gathered up the best of the Christmas-themed ones, stuck them to cards, and addressed them to friends and relatives.  This morning, I found a few more.  They'll have to wait until Friday.