New Year's Comin' - December 31, 2022

New Year's Day dinner is well under way.  Cabbage rolls, ready to bake.  Blackeyed peas soaking.  A chess pie and a chocolate pie done.  A daughter-in-law is bringing turnip greens.  Tomorrow, I'll make a pineapple casserole and some cornbread.

I was going to sprinkle a little cornmeal in my chess pie, but there was an issue.  Because The Husband and I have been on a low-carb diet for the past 6 months or so, the cornmeal canister hasn't been opened in months.  When I opened it at Christmas to make dressing, there were BUGS in it.  Now, this is one of those canisters with a sealed lid that latches down with a metal latch.  Those bugs had to have been in that cornmeal when I got it; I don't think they could've burgled into the canister.  I dumped the cornmeal outside, washed out the canister, put a fresh bag of cornmeal in it, and went on with the dressing.  This morning when I opened the canister, the cornmeal was GREEN.  MOLDED!  Needless to say, that cornmeal did not go into the pie.  

The Husband is on his way to the grocery store with a list.  There's still the cornbread to make.

We're planning on a quiet New Year's Eve, as usual.  I'm cooking a few nibble foods for tonight, and there's a jar of margarita mix waiting in the refrigerator.  I've invited my margarita-drinking sister-in-law and her husband to test the mix with me, but she's a nurse and might be working today, so it may be just us chickens to ring in the New Year.

What a difference a week makes.  This time last week, the temperature was in the low teens, and a sharp wind was blowing.  Today, it's almost 60 degrees, and I've had the back door open to let in some fresh air.  It will be okay with me if we don't get any more frigid temps this winter.

Whew...Christmas is Over - December 27, 2022

I hope you (both) had a good holiday.  

Mine was kinda busy, but it was nice.  We got to see all of our children and grandchildren over the weekend.  

I spent most of Saturday cooking.  It was touch and go there, for a while.  Because it was SO FREAKIN' COLD, to save electricity, the power company was staging 15-minute blackouts throughout the county on Saturday.  What a terrible day to have blackouts, eh?, while folks are trying to cook for Christmas!  When I woke up around 6 a.m., our power was going off once an hour for about 15 minutes.  I had two nearly-fossilized bananas on the counter that I wanted to use to make banana nut bread, but I was reluctant to mix it up and put it in the oven for fear that the power would go off during the baking (it has to bake for nearly an hour).  Finally, the outages stopped, and I baked the bread.  Although I hadn't planned on starting the rest of the food so early, I figured I'd better "make hay while the sun was shining," after I put the bread in the oven, I started on the rest of the cooking - finger foods and a big pot of chili.  

Son #1 and his family and the folks on the hill came over about 6 p.m. Christmas Eve.  We opened a few presents, drank a few cocktails, played and sang some Christmas songs, ate like pigs.  It was fun.  

Christmas morning, The Husband and I exchanged gifts at home.  I got him YET ANOTHER UKULELE.  He already had several soprano ukuleles, a tenor ukulele, and a banjo-lele; I got him a baritone to add to his collection.  I was kind of worried I'd gone overboard in the ukulele department, especially since he'd have to learn new chord structures for the baritone.  But then I thought, Shit, his ass can just learn something new.  He seemed to like it, and he started learning the new chords even before we went to brunch at Nanny's.  We both like its tone.  Whew...home run.  :)  He got me some bling, some fuzzy warm socks, and a digital notepad thing that I might not be smart enough to use.  

At 11, we had brunch at Nanny's and passed out more presents with the folks on the hill.  Later that day, we went over to Son #2's house to take their gifts.  

The Grandson spent the night with us Christmas night.  Our gift to him was a little bit of cash and a gift card to a sporting goods store.  He'd told us he wanted hunting clothes for Christmas, but there was no way we were going to buy them without him being present to try them on/pick them out.  We'd been trying to get together with him for a couple of weekends, but our schedules wouldn't mesh.  So he spent the night here Christmas night, and yesterday he and The Husband had a "man day" at the sporting goods store.  He was a happy camper when they came home.

I am a happy camper because I finished the three grant-writing classes I was taking online.  Got 3 official-looking certificates to show for it.  

Christmas is Coming! - December 22, 2022

Christmas is almost here.  I am ready.  Almost.  

There is no one in the world who hates shopping more than I.  My oldest grandchildren have learned to send me their lists of things they want/need, and to send them early.  I get online, and the shopping is done.  Easy-peasy.

What is not so easy is finding something for The Husband.  He buys what he wants, and he doesn't drop hints.  That's why he gets a bunch of socks and underwear for Christmas.

* * * * * * * * 

It's 46 degrees on the back porch this morning.  (Yeah, I'm a little chilly out here.)  The weather people have been predicting a wave of seriously cold weather (with ridiculously cold wind chill temps) that I thought was supposed to arrive last night.  So earlier this week, I did my grocery shopping and picked up some last-minute gifts.  Yesterday I made myself go out shopping for one more present.  All the gifts, except for two online purchases that haven't arrived yet, are wrapped and under the tree.  (Yes, I actually put up a Christmas tree this year.)  Now, the weatherman is saying that the cold weather will arrive mid-day today.  I have to make one more run to the grocery store, but then I am d-o-n-e DONE leaving the house until the weather warms up again!

We've invited the usual folks from the hill for supper Christmas Eve - nothing fancy, just a big pot of chili and some nibbles.  I've told everyone, "If it's cold, and you'd rather stay home in your warm jammies, stay home!"  The same deal goes for the traditional Christmas Day breakfast at Nanny's.  It's supposed to be REALLY cold Christmas morning, and Nanny wants to go to church that morning, so we've pushed breakfast to 11 a.m. instead of the usual 9 a.m.  A sister-in-law and I will be doing the cooking while Nanny goes to church.

* * * * * * * *

Granddaughter #1 face-timed me two nights ago with the news that she has been accepted into the college she wants to attend.  I congratulated her heartily, then when the conversation was over, I cried a little.  The college is alllllll the way across the state, but it's not just that; she's growing up and about to encounter all the problems that go with being an adult.  She wants to be a veterinarian and has a long road ahead of her.  

Grandmothers worry.

Monday - December 13, 2022

Monday, Monday....

I decided to go to the office yesterday, since I didn't go last week.  The plan was to go in for a couple of hours, clarify an assignment, check on a couple of "in progress" things, maybe get some face time in with The New Boss, and leave.  Anticipating this, I got my act together and ordered groceries from Walmart Sunday night, to be picked up between 10 and 11 on my way home from the office.  Good plan.

Neither my mentor nor The New Boss came in until almost 10.  By that time, I'd about given up on seeing them and had packed up my stuff, but I dug out my notebook and pen, saw all the people I needed to see, and schlepped my bags to my car.  

It would not crank.  Battery was stone dead.  This I did not understand, for I had not left the headlights on, nor a door open, nor anything like that, and there'd been not a hint of a problem when I'd cranked it at home.  

I did not want to ask anyone in the office for a boost.  The ladies were all dressed nicely, The New Boss was in a suit, and the one guy who might have actually had booster cables is about 100 years old, and I hated to ask him to come out in the cold.  

I reluctantly dug out my AAA card.  The last time I had to use AAA for roadside assistance was a nightmare (not made entirely of AAA's doing) that I dreaded to repeat.  I looked at the clock on my phone; it was a little after ten.  The groceries were to be picked up by 11; it would probably take me that long to either use the AAA app or get a live person on the phone.  I put the AAA card back in my wallet and called a local wrecker service that had boosted my car another time when I'd called AAA.  They're about 5 minutes down the road from where my car was parked.  The last time I needed them, they were there in a flash.  

It took them an hour to get to me this time.  Charged me $65 (which AAA will reportedly reimburse if I send them the bill).  

The battery cables were BLUE with corrosion.  The wrecker dude boosted me off with a little hand-held device (reckon where regular folks could get one of those?) and said I ought to have the battery tested, and not to turn off the car until then.  So after I picked up my groceries, I drove to the auto parts store where we bought the battery a year ago.  The battery was fine, they said; the cables were just too corroded.  They cleaned them for free, which didn't take long, but they dropped a socket into the motor and couldn't find it.  Took them 30 more minutes to retrieve the socket.  If they'd taken my suggestion (get the car rolling really fast and slam on the brakes), I might have gotten out of there sooner.  

There was one more errand to do before I could head home.  About this time every year, The Husband's workplace has their Christmas dinner, and he is always asked to bring a dish we call "Hanky Pankies," a combination of pork sausage, ground beef, and cheese, toasted on party rye bread.  Party rye bread is hard to come by these days.  My assignment was to find some; barring that, I was to find regular-sized rye bread that we can cut into squares.  No store in the county had party rye bread.  After two stops, I found the regular-sized rye bread.  That'll have to do.

It was nearly 2:00 by the time I made it home.  Had to unload all the groceries and put them away before I could finally settle down to work.  Because I'd squandered 4 hours of my workday on batteries and bread, I worked fairly late into the evening to make up the time.  Never let it be said that the county isn't getting its money's worth out of me.  ;)

What the Dickens? - Dec. 11, 2022

Well, we did it.  

I'd been dreading it for days, weeks, even.  How did they talk me into this?  It must have been because I was new on the job and hated to turn down a request.

So, yesterday morning, despite the rain, we got in the car and drove to town to do our civic duty - parading around the square in Dickens-era costumes for the annual Dickens Christmas on the Square.

Bah!  Humbug!

Our costumes were waiting for us at the Chamber of Commerce.  My dress had so many layers that I could hardly figure out how to get into it.  And that hoop skirt!  Did Dickens-era women even wear those?  My dress was a little too long, and I almost tripped over the hem before we even got out of the building.

We set out walking a little after 10 a.m.  It was sprinkling rain.  We ducked into every store on the square, more for respite from the rain than to visit the store owners.  Thank goodness for the wool Dickens-ish cape I've had for years.

By 11, it was raining pretty steadily.  The hem of my dress got soaking wet.  I stumbled over it a dozen more times before calling it quits.

Not since the day of our wedding has our picture been taken so many times.

About 11:45, I said to The Husband, I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS.  We made our way back to the Chamber of Commerce, intending to turn in our costumes and get the heck out of there.  But the building was locked.  Intending to just take the costumes home and bring them back Monday, we headed to the car.  But...the hoop skirt.  How would I get in the car?  I popped into a store and used their dressing room to de-hoop myself.  Thankfully, before we got out of town, I saw people going into the Chamber building.  We hurried in, de-costumed, and headed home.

The Husband, who is a much more sociable person than I am, claimed to have had fun.

Some people.  ;)

Asheville - Dec. 10, 2022

The Husband had a 2-day seminar in Asheville, NC this week.  Neither of us enjoys flying - it's not the actual flying, it's the airports, and the grouchy people exhaling their nasty nose air in the seat next to you - so we drove.  Around 500 miles each way.  And since neither of us is fond of spending 10-12 hours in a car, we stopped for the night, coming and going.  So a 2-day seminar turned into a 6-day trip.

I spent the two seminar days mostly holed up in the hotel room, working.  (My new job, which involves mostly research, can be done from anywhere.)  

On our last night away from home, we stopped in Lebanon, Tennessee, which is roughly the half-way point.  We stay at the same hotel every time, mostly because it's relatively inexpensive and because there's a convenient restaurant in the same parking lot where we can have a cocktail or two and not worry about getting a DUI on the way back to the hotel.  But on this last night, we wanted Mexican food - mostly, we wanted margaritas - so we took a chance on driving to a restaurant 1/4 mile up the road.  This restaurant's menu was a little different from what we usually see at Mexican restaurants, and we weren't familiar with all of the terms.  In one corner of the menu was a list of street tacos, including one dubbed "taco lengua."  I had an idea what "lengua" meant, and when the waitress came to take our order, I said, "Lengua?" and pointed to my tongue.  "Si," she said.  I'd never eaten tongue, but by that time I'd enjoyed most of one margarita, so I took a chance and added a taco lengua alongside a taco pollo and a taco al carbon.  

It was delicious.

I washed it down with a second margarita, which was also delicious.  The Husband and I have been on a low-carb diet for six months and hadn't had a margarita the whole time.  We were both a bit giggly by the time we left the restaurant.  Good thing we were so close to the hotel!

Today, we have an unusual assignment on our agenda.  The merchants in the town where I've worked all these years puts on a "Dickens on the Square" festival every year, and the organizers con people into strolling the square in Dickens-period costumes.  We have never once joined in the "fun."  But the Mayor's office where I now work contributed to the festival by buying some decorations for the square and some costumes for the strollers, and I was asked to don one of the costumes and walk the streets for a while.  The Husband agreed to escort me.  

I have kicked myself a thousand times for agreeing to do this.  For the past couple of days, I have been praying for a gully-washer rainstorm that might relieve us of this duty.  And it is supposed to rain later this afternoon.  

Unfortunately, I volunteered us for morning duty.  *sigh*