Confessions of a Grandma

Putting on a Show

2012-01-27T13:49:00.000-05:00

Twitterpated. That's what they are. It is that time of year and the pair of Sandhill Cranes that frequent our lawn in search of grubs in the sand have caught the fever.

Actually, early last week we saw just one crane. It was bleating and walking around looking exactly like it was looking for its mate. We were afraid something may have happened to one of them, but then the pair was back on Sunday. Well, we are believing that it is the same pair. Whatever...they were obviously a pair and in the mood.

We got to watch the male do his courting dance right there on the lawn. I mean, he was all that and a bag of peanuts. M'lady pretended to be unimpressed, but I noticed that they did leave together.

Walk

2012-01-25T21:53:00.000-05:00

It is no longer quite as easy for me to stroll through the historic section of Venice (FL) now that we are off the isle and across the main highway.

The traffic at nearby intersections is a bit intimidating. I swear the crossing lights are timed to maximize the possibility that pedestrians will be flattened by oncoming cars and trucks. There is no audible signal and the "Walk Now" flashing guy last about two seconds--just enough time to get half way across the road. Right turns are never not allowed, making it all that much more of a challenge.

Still, I did manage to make it two miles down the road to an athletic park that features a fitness trail.

It's a well marked trail through pines and cabbage palms with twenty exercise stations spread out along the length of it.

Doesn't this hanging vine make you want to grab hold, swing out, and then drop into the water? Actually, it made me want to have a second cup of coffee even though it was 80 degrees today.

There were whole moments when I had the feeling I was out in wild jungle territory, but in reality I was never more than hammock away from civilization in the form of residential neighborhoods or ball fields.

Knit Towel

2012-01-22T13:12:00.000-05:00

I have not been knitting too much lately. I only have patience for small, quickly finished projects like this towel. It still needs blocking, this is fresh off the needles. I think I should immediately start another since it took me so long to finally get into the rhythm of the pattern.

I knit a lot of hats in the round. That involves pretty mindless knit stitch and some counting. I usually start from the top and work down. That's not how most of the instruction I have say to do it, but I find it easier for some reason. I have convinced myself I don't have to worry about gauge so much that way. Also in a hat, the occasional extra stitch doesn't become a big worry. Knitting along almost becomes a meditative state.

Not so with a fussy pattern. I kept ending a row with an extra stitch or a missing stitch. Then I would have to undo and try again. That kind of knitting has the opposite effect of a meditative state. My muscles tense, my blood pressure spikes, my mind is no longer empty but filled with negative thoughts about knitting ability and my very worth as a human being. I work myself right into a spiritual crisis.

But if nothing else, I can be persistent. Eventually the pattern gets in my head--or maybe into my fingers--and I get a feeling of having completed a task and of having made something with my own hands.

These little towels are decorative and they make a nice hostess gift. They may have some aggravation factor, but they knit up quickly. I'll make some more. I have convinced myself that I only need one lace shawl in this lifetime.

What is it?

2012-01-19T17:42:00.000-05:00

What is it?

What's it worth?

Have you seen the number of shows that follow a similar theme to American Picker? They are meant to be, I'm guessing, the next step beyond (or down from) Antiques Roadshow.

People hit the road to track down a barn full of junk that just may have something of value buried within, or they bid on packed storage sheds in the hopes that they are filled with precious, resale-able stuff.

That's a big part of what Mike did for a living although they didn't make a TV show about his working life. Back then, lots of folks would have called him a junk dealer. He and his partner had a motorcycle shop that repaired, restored, and sold antique American made motorcycles. Probably the bulk of the business was selling parts to anyone who was looking to restore their own vintage bike. That meant hunting down those parts to have on hand.

It's not that glamorous. I can remember spending an entire day sitting outside a barn so packed with stuff--telephones, typewriters, appliances large and small, car parts, motorcycles, sports equipment, on and on--
while Mike and a friend literally crawled through it. Then the guy was hesitant to sell them what they had pulled out--they maybe ended up with a third of it.

In the process of stocking the shop shelves, Mike also was able to build up a considerable personal collection of motorcycle memorabilia. He always called it his retirement fund. And that is what it turned out to be.

He sold his half of the business to his former partner and invested that money in the stock market. Let's just say, "Thank God" for that personal collection and e-Bay. And once in a while he still finds things and scores.

Actually, I would have liked to keep this piece for a while. We have a small grouping of pen and ink sets decorating our computer desk at home. This would have looked nice among them, but we have a winter place to furnish. It's worth what someone is willing to pay...and I can't afford it.

Have to say, though...junk collecting has been very, very good to us.

Caspersen Beach 2

2012-01-17T17:03:00.000-05:00

According to the local Herald Tribune, Venice has the highest median age in the United States, around 68, if I remember correctly.
Only about 30 percent of Venice (FL) residents have jobs--not so much due to the bad economy, but due to the number of retired people who live here.

So you see a lot of people fishing.

Of course, some have to fish for a living. I missed the picture of the crab boat, but this pelican was hard at work diving for fish.

I no longer have a job, nor am I crazy about fishing, but I do enjoy a quiet walk on the beach. This was way quiet and the water, very calm. It was still early, though.

The "dead tree" has always been a landmark for beach walkers and shark tooth hunters. I don't know how much longer that will last.

I told someone recently that I did miss walking in the snow. That was a fleeting feeling. I don't really miss it that much.

Dreams

2012-01-15T20:54:00.000-05:00

"Surely the day will come when color means nothing more than the skin tone, when religion is seen uniquely as a way to speak one's soul; when birth places have the weight of a throw of the dice and all men are born free, when understanding breeds love and brotherhood." Josephine Baker

This quote in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. He was not alone in having a dream.

**************************

Now, on a far less serious note...I have had recurring dreams, nightmares, in which I am on a college campus. The settings vary, but always I am frantic because I cannot find my way to a math class. The room has moved, it's impossibly far from the last class, even requires my taking a boat to get there.

I keep wondering what this means. Something is not adding up in my life? I feel a sense of failure over something? Math teachers are generally mean and petty people? I don't really know. (Really, though, I know many very nice math teachers!)

BUT, last night there was a break through of sorts. I dreamed I was actually in a math class. I finally made it! No relief though. I was hopelessly befuddled by the problems the professor was posing. I could start a computation, but then get so confused I could not go on. The pace the professor was setting was way too fast for me. A teaching assistant came in to offer help, but he took one look at my scribbles and just scoffed, then went on to someone else.

Okay, that's not much of a breakthrough.

I don't know if this is true for other places, but some VT colleges offer free classes to those over 65. I'm looking forward to that, but I definitely will NOT be taking any math courses...free or otherwise.

Remember the 80's?

2012-01-13T09:26:00.000-05:00

Do ya remember the 80's? The winged hair, the baggy knits, the football uniform shoulder pads?

Sadly, I do. Even sadder--we thought they were such an advancement over the 70's. Is it just me, or does some of the 70's look have a much fresher and recent kind of look to it? Okay, I know everything old is new again, that fashions come and go and then come again. This has got to be one of the most vicious aspects of aging--seeing the trends of one's youth flashing once again before us.

I was thinking about the '80's because I was thinking about cars I used to drive once again. During the 80's, I drove a Nissan Sentra. The first one I had was actually my first brand new car. It was a grey sedan with upholstered seats, radio and cassette tape player. I loved it. My son learned to drive in that car. It had all kinds of other bells and whistles--like a tachometer (which I never learned to use). It did have that pesky standard transmission--a problem for me, not those learning to drive. It also was not good in the winter weather, not a great feature for a car driven in Vermont. But I liked it enough to trade it for another Nissan Sentra when the time came (meaning when I was looking at yet another expensive transmission repair).

The second one was a black sedan, used. It was two years old and had 2000 miles on it. Literally, it was only driven to church on Sundays. That car was also a standard transmission, but it had no bells, no whistles. I had to put a radio in it. The dash board boasted a fuel gauge and speedometer and that's about it. My daughter learned to drive in this car. It handled like a dream. It had 102,000 miles on it when I gave it to may son in 1995. He drove it across country and around town until it had 202,000 miles when he finally traded it in.

But it wasn't a perfect car. It did have one tiny flaw. It would stop running completely at random--but anytime, anywhere. I'd be zipping down the highway and the engine would just stop running. I'd pull over with the aid of momentum and in a few minutes it would start again. Sometimes it would be weeks and weeks before it would happen again, but it always happened again--no pattern, no rhyme nor reason. As many times as I took it to the dealership and other mechanics, a problem was never found that would explain this quirk and that's the way it was til the end.

Maybe I just have bad car karma.

Shelling

2012-01-12T12:11:00.000-05:00

A storm blew through last night but the sun was up this morning to shine on a newly washed world.
The beach, though, was holding onto the storm. White capped waves pounded a mist covered shore line. Only shards of shells were left along the back shore where the angry gulf had taken another bite out of the dunes, toppling several palm trees and exposing the underside of a long ago paved road.

But the tide always turns. Just as we reached the end of our walk, these shells were released from waves.

So today, I had a small present from the universe and I left the beach with a smile that felt almost like a prayer.

A Few Stray Thoughts

2012-01-09T20:11:00.000-05:00

After six winters in the same neighborhood, it is interesting to be exploring a different side of town. The new area does not have the historical cache of Venice Isle, but it is a work in progress in its own right. We are close to good food, that's for sure.

An eagle flew over my head yesterday--not much higher than the telephone wires. Cool.

The walk to the beach is 3.5 miles. I put on my pedometer and measured it this morning. (This is opposed to 2 miles from the old neighborhood.) I do a LOT of walking here. The funny thing is, when I get back to VT and walk up that first hill by my house (like the first 100 yards or so) I always wonder why it feels like I am hopelessly out of shape. Maybe it has something to do with the altitude versus sea level.

Fresh squeezed Florida orange juice is a reason to get up in the morning.

I am going to attempt to stay in touch with my writing group over the next few months by sending out by pieces and giving feedback to the others. There is something about that group that keeps me working when I am attending, but it is too easy to slack off when I don't have the audience and the deadline.

And...reality set in. The December bills have all arrived.

However, it is my brother's birthday (62nd) and there is a full moon rising. I have poured myself a glass of wine to toast the occasion.

Handy

2012-01-06T13:14:00.000-05:00

It's nice to own rather than rent until something doesn't work and there's no property manager to call.
I tried the dishwasher for the first time and...nothing. Water filled the bottom and then didn't drain. The motor whirred and whined and got smokin' hot. The dishes remained dry and dirty.

Fortunately, Mike will always try to fix things himself if involves plumbing, mechanical or electrical tinkering. More importantly, he's good at it. He has the ability to look at these things and figure out how they should work, then problem solve what's not working and how to get it to do what some design engineer intended. He did some research on line, never having fixed a dishwasher before, then took off the foot plate and reached underneath. It took him a few trips back and forth to the computer, but he got it running like new. Voila! We have a working dishwasher.

Mike is not so confident with projects involving wood, but I really wanted this Sauder sewing table and he was a good sport and put it together for me. I am slightly ashamed that I did not even attempt the assembly myself, but there is something to be said for admitting our limitations. It's not because I am female that I cannot operate a simple screw driver, it's because I am just plain clumsy. Who wants a wonky sewing table? But I did help. I handed tools when requested and held things in place as needed.

So, now I have my sewing table and I am ready for some projects of my own.

Here it is all set up and ready for action.

My first project was pillows for the outdoor furniture. It's white and really needed a shot of color. I recycled an old beach umbrella that got broken spines a couple of years ago. I held onto the material because I always liked the colors. I guess I should say that I "upcycled" it but I am not sure that this little project qualifies.

Antipasto

2012-01-04T20:28:00.000-05:00

Our New Year's Eve celebration was an early and a quiet affair.

Antipasto means "before the meal," the first course of a big Italian dinner, meant to take the edge off for hungry diners. In our case antipasto, was a large part of the entire meal, served with a bottle of white wine.

There is an Italian market just a mile from the house that may prove to be our downfall. And how easy is this? Arrange food on a plate, then let it come to room temperature and enjoy.

Resolutions, 2012

2012-01-03T10:59:00.000-05:00

I am not so big on resolutions because they always tend to bring out my inner "should" lady (not because I'm perfect already).

You know, as in:

You really should be nicer to others.

You should get more exercise.

You should lose ten pounds.

and on and on and on...

That inner lady really bugs me sometimes. Still, it is that time of year and old habits die hard.

My intentions are good; my resolution, my on-going determination, often falters.

So this year, 2012, I am making only one resolution and that is to be kinder and gentler to others AND to myself.

This morning, I went to the small gym at the club house and worked out for 30 minutes. It felt good and I intend to make regular use of the workout equipment because it makes me feel stronger and healthier. And sometimes I won't feel like exercising and that judgmental inner "should" lady will nag at me, but I will just thank her for her concern and decide for myself whether or not to exercise that moment or make a plan for another time.

I'm Reading

2012-01-02T13:58:00.000-05:00

I was intrigued over learning that Christmas celebrations were once banned in Boston so I am reading Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates. I am learning more about the country's Puitan heritage.

Usually, I am a nonfiction kind of reader, but I do try to expand my horizons. Speaking of which, I suggest checking out these resolutions for readers.

Virginia Heffernan's New York Times book review called the book and its author annoying. She said its cocktail mix of paraphrase, topical one-liners and "blogger tics" made the book the literary equivalent of Long Island iced tea--"festive, but bad."

Of course her review title was "Mayflower Power" and the book was nothing about the Pilgrims at all so I question whether she even read the book. Although Heffernan did say that, while she kept being annoyed, she did keep reading.

Another blog review also seemed to find the book annoying. Quoting:

Perhaps the best way to pinpoint my problem would be to say that it's not what Vowell says, but rather how she says it. She's hilarious and witty and fills the stories about the Puritans with pop culture anecdotes and modern day comparisons. For instance she compares the differences between the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies to both the rift between the Sunni and Shia and a love for The Godfather Part II while having an equal amount of disdain for Part III.

That exactly states why I am liking the book. It's a serious topic, but it is funny. The author jumps from primary source writings to current events to her peculiar and personal life events, but I find myself entertained as well as informed.

Roger Williams--I remember him as the founder of Providence, Rhode Island, champion of religious freedom. What I didn't ever contemplate was that that did not mean he thought all religions were acceptable, he just thought people have the right to be wrong. You just can't force everyone to be right-thinking.

There were lots of little tidbits and insights into the religios debates of the 1600's that have to make one stop and think about our "National Character."

I consider it a book worth reading.

Who's Calling?

2012-01-01T15:01:00.000-05:00

When Mike got his cell phone last fall, I gave him my carrying case because it has a clip for a belt. I just carry my phone (when I remember) in my purse. I made myself a new cover.

I offered to make one for Mike's twelve year old grand son. He declined. Something about making him a middle school target. I would have taken him for more of a leader, but he said that if owls become all the rage at his school, then I could give him one. Some just are not cut out to be trend setters, I guess.

Do the Math

2011-12-31T14:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning:
Jericho temperature--minus 1
Venice temperature--60 and sunny

This morning:
Jericho--34 degrees, freezing rain
Venice--62 degrees, partly cloudy

There are certainly many who love the Vermont winter, who rejoice in snow for skiing, or who relish the darkness as a period of drawing inward.

I don't happen to be one of them. However, with deep gratitude, I can now say that winter is my favorite season.

A place down the street, decked out for Christmas.

I have never seen so many things in bloom at this time of year.

The community pool has a decidedly un-Christmasy look.
There have been plenty of kids making use of it during this holiday vacation week.

It's Over So Fast

2011-12-29T09:12:00.000-05:00

Christmas morning...

And grandpa watches in wonder...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-12-20T11:21:00.000-05:00

And to all those who celebrate differently this time of year,
Peace, Joy, Love

Lunch Ladies

2011-12-16T17:42:00.000-05:00

My friend Donna hosted a lovely Christmas lunch for eight of us 60 somethings and one delightfully well-behaved four year old. I kick myself for forgetting to take my camera because her house was perfectly decorated. It would be hard to spend an afternoon there and not feel in the Christmas spirit.

Her house is always nicely decorated, but she goes all out for Christmas. Her rooms are decorated according to themes. So the Adirondack room has a tree with canoe ornaments and all the Santas are fishing or hunting in their L.L. Bean plaid togs. Her Victorian room has a tree and angel decorations. And so it goes. All so tastefully done. She is one artistic lady. I can only marvel.

Everybody got an angel.

Now, this is an angel I found on a walk in the woods a few years ago. I added a bit of decoration, but it was clearly an angel when I picked it up. It even had a face.

No, really! It is too an angel!!

Doctor Appointment Day

2011-12-14T20:09:00.000-05:00

Mike had his check up after the last cardioversion--everything is A-OK. I went with him to make sure he was not just giving me an overly optimistic report and I got the "A-OK" report directly from his doctor. He just has to keep taking the handful of meds...but they are working.

As we left the doctor's office, I said, "At least now I know that you can shovel your own damn driveway." (Never mind that we actually share the driveway, and I actually go out more than he does in the winter time.)

Later, I had my eye examination. No problems there...except those dilation eye drops do not seem to be wearing off. Maybe I should just close my eyes and go to sleep for the rest of the night. My eyes are perfectly healthy...I just can't see. Oh, and those spiders I see running around on the wall or across the pillow every morning--just floaters. Fortunately, I had already figured that out for myself. It was the time I saw a spider running across Mike's back when I first woke up. I stopped myself from screaming and thumping it
as Mike still slept. Good move on my part.

I did finish a couple of good books this past week. Three Junes by Julia Glass is a book I checked out of the library three times. I did not get past the first few chapters until the third time, the charm. I read the whole book and really enjoyed it. Must be I just was not ready before.

I also read The Lace Reader. I know, I know...it was on the NYT best seller list three years ago. I take my time and don't just fall for all the trendy stuff. Anyway, I really did enjoy this book--witches, mental illness, all kinds of abuse, suicide ideation, lost twins, religious fanaticism, psychic powers, romance--it had it all. I wasn't even on the beach and I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

Another Chocolate Cake

2011-12-12T11:02:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine gave me this recipe many years ago. She called it Not To Be Believed Fudgy Chocolate Chickpea Cake.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, melted
2 cups well rinsed and drained chickpeas
4 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously grease a 9" round cake pan.
In a food processer, mix the melted chocolate chips and the chickpeas.
Add the remaining ingredients and process well.
Pour into prepared cake pan.
Bake for 45 minutes.

My friend says, "This cake needs no frosting."

Well, it may not need frosting, but it dosn't hurt it in any way. My friend is the type who will have cut down on the sugar from the original recipe, I am quite sure. Frosting and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, I say.

No claims here that this is health food, but did you know:

Chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans or bengal gram) are low in fat, cholesterol and sodium while high in fiber (29% of your daily need) and protein. They also supply nutrients such as copper, folate and manganese. I read about it here.

Chocolate contains polyphenols which is good for antioxidant properties. It also supple essential minerals--calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium and manganese. Look here to check these facts.

Do you think Christmas is too commercial??

2011-12-09T15:12:00.000-05:00

I like to visit the History.com site now and again. Today I was wondering about the history of Christmas trees. I had long been aware that there were numerous connections with pre-Christian cultural practices, but I wanted a refresher on some of those practices and the purpose behind them.

Well, lo and behold! I learned something that was entirely new to me. Christmas as we know it today was banned in Boston, as they say. I guess it makes sense although for some reason I had never heard this before. It seems that the Puritans so prevalent in New England felt quite strongly that heathen acts such as singing carols, decorating trees, or basically any kind of "joyful expression" of the season served only to make a mockery of a sacred event. Church attendance was the only acceptable way to mark the day. Anything else was subject to a fine. I read about it here.

We are not putting up a tree this year. It's not a statement about the sacredness or religious meaning of the day. We did put up other decorations. I am thinking it is a good thing we decided against the tree, though, because Mother Nature is messing with our usual tradition. There is very little snow.

There are no shortage of Christmas tree farms in our neighborhood. We have always liked to go to a nearby farm and cut our own tree. We are careful about picking the day--and no matter what the forecast may have been, the actual weather will be freshly falling snow that has deepened to knee level over night accompanied by frigid, howling winds. Temperatures below the zero mark seem mandatory. I am sure that day will come, but it has not arrived yet this year. So Mike is spared lying under a tree with his shirt and jacket slipping up and his pants slipping down enough to freeze a section of backside as he struggles with a hacksaw and I, in an effort to hold the tree shower him with more falling snow in icy clumps. But it is tradition!

I do wonder how the Puritans might have reacted to someting like Black Friday.

Sun and Snow

2011-12-08T12:32:00.001-05:00

Last night, we had a first real snowfall of the season. Only about an inch, but the trees look pretty.

This is what passes as a bright, sunny high noon in Vermont. There are a few blue patches visible and the sun did peek out enough to cast a shadow or two.

I told Mike I didn't think he should be out shovelling wet snow when he has not had his check up from the last cardioversion. I went out to do it myself. Fortunately, some random passerby felt the need to turn around in our driveway even though there is a paved public drive clearly visible 100 yards down the road. That added iced tracks to the job. Exercise, good exercise for me.

I do love the look of fresh snow blanketing the world as much as anyone, but, seriously, this is what it really looks like before too long. Gray and dirty, not so pretty at all.

Goofy Animals

2011-12-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

For some reason, Brody thinks he is a lap dog.

Richard looks less than thrilled to be dressed in a Santa suit.

He is pretty docile and long-suffering, though.

The Joy of Little Things

2011-12-02T11:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday there was a picture of toddler gratitude posted on Grandma's Briefs. It is adorable.

Although I do have to say it is a perfect example of why I could never, ever be a pre-school teacher Just the image of a group of three-year-olds stepping in paint (chocolate pudding?) to make footprints for this craft--shudder.

But the post did make me think about how I had spent Thanksgiving being grateful for family and friends, both near and far. Not that that is a bad thing to do, but I didn't really give much thought to the little things. If you are feeling safe and loved, fed and secure, little things can bring a bundle of child-like joy into life.

I think the world could use a bundle of child-like joy this holiday season.

Here is a little thing that I am grateful for: self-adhesive stamps. Mike bought Holiday Bauble forever stamps and we put them on the cards to send out today. Revealing that I am old, I do remember 3 cent stamps. They steadily went up in price. I remember that my depression-era-surviving parents were distressed by this, but at some point there came the trade-off--no longer having to lick (yucky) or otherwise moisten the stamps. I don't even send out humongous numbers of cards, but self-adhesive stamps make my happy.

And then, there was the time when envelopes needed to be addressed by hand. Writer's cramp waiting to happen. How great is it that we can use a computer printer to pump out cards with the addresses from a list and our own return address?

I guess if I were really up to date, I would send out e-cards.

The Fading Frenzy

2011-11-30T15:19:00.000-05:00

Maybe it is because we have had an unusually mild autumn that lasted right through November. No snow yet to remind us of the time of year. Maybe it is because we bought a winter home in Florida, thereby insuring a lack of a large amount of discretionary cash to spend on the holidays. Maybe it is just that we have reached that stage in life. We are not so much slowing down as spending more time examining our intentions. In any case, less is appealing this year. The frenzy of the holiday season...I am just not going there.

This is not to say that I am ignoring the season. I put together two advent boxes for my grand kids. I wrap up little gifts...candy, coins, crayons and colored pencils, stickers, an ornament or two...twenty-four of them for both kids. I get a real sense of joy in doing this because it makes them happy to pull out a little surprise each day while waiting for Santa.

I made most of my Christmas cards this year. I got together with friends a couple of times to work on cards and it felt like no pressure at all. It felt like feeding my creative spirit.

I decorated the house yesterday--1 day and I am done. I took out less than a fourth of my decorations, but the house still feels festive.

This morning I did my shopping, but nothing on my list of things to buy required standing in line on Thanksgiving night waiting for big box stores to open. One trip to the mall on an early morning workday. Avoiding crowds gives me satisfaction. I hope the record spending is a good sign for the economy, but I am glad I did not feel I had to participate. Now it is on to wrapping, but that is one of my favorite things about the holiday.
I will have my family for an early Christmas, I will deconstruct the decorations, and then we will head to Mike's daughters to spend Christmas Day in South Carolina. We will be in Florida before New Year's Day this year.

I have thrown away my "Have To Do" list and am justgoing with what feels pleasant and satisfying to me.

It's kind of nice.

Weekend Ends

2011-11-27T15:37:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

We went to Mike's sister's house in Connecticut for a most pleasant time with family and an excellent meal.
The damage from the Halloween weekend Nor'easter is still very evident. I am quite certain that in some areas, residents surely must have thought the end of the world was upon them.

We managed to avoid any Black Friday shopping crowds on our forays into Hartford and we had an easy return trip.

I'm ready now to sift through e-mail and Blogger Reader while sipping a cup of tea and munching a couple of Italian cookies (The ones you just can't get anywhere but Hartford).

Creamy Mints

2011-11-23T12:27:00.000-05:00

This recipe came with my KitchenAid stand mixer. It's easy as can be...if you have a powerful stand mixer. Otherwise, I think you would need a really, really strong mixing arm and I'm pretty sure I would not attempt it.

Creamy Mints:

1 3-ounce package of light cream cheese

1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

2 drops food coloring (as you can see, I used red and green)

4 1/4 to 4 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Superfine sugar

Mix cream cheese, extract and food color is mixer bowl just til smooth (30 seconds or so).

Keeping mixer on low speed, gradually add the confectioner's sugar and mix until very thick (at least 90 seconds).

Shape teaspoonfuls of the mixture into small balls and roll in the superfine sugar. (It's like playing with play dough. My grand son would love it.) Press flat with fingers or a fork to form patties.

Refrigerate, tightly covered.

Planting and Parking Lot

2011-11-21T11:34:00.000-05:00

Our Vermont property abuts a town-owned tract that is used for both the town highway business and recreational purposes.

A parking lot was built by the Town of Jericho in the fall of 2005. Then they found out they needed a permit to do so...a small whoops. The Developmental Review Board issued approval for general outdoor recreation use on the town owned Mobbs Farm property. The DRB also approved the site plan for the two parking lots already in place--one on the Fitzsimonds Road and one on Brown’s Trace-- with conditions in July, 2007.

One condition was that the Brown’s Trace parking lot be adequately screened from the view of abutting property owners. That project finally got a bit of a boost the weekend of October 28 and 29, a few weeks ago.

Gulf View Farm is a family run operation out of Williamstown, Vermont. They supplied a number of blue spruce trees. Owner Jason Cone was assisted in the planting by his wife, his brother, his sons and nephew, and our neighbor Bob, on Sunday, October 29, 2011.

Jason Cone said primary focus of this side business has been Christmas trees, but they have also supplied border screening plantings of blue spruce trees for other towns in the area. Gulf View Farm is also set to add a maple sugaring operation in the coming season. “Anything we can do to keep the land and the family together.”

Three young and industrious Cone family members hand dug all the holes for tree planting on Saturday, October 28, 2011. A lot of work...and they remained cheerful through two long days of digging and planting.

There are other conditions that must be put into place before the parking lot can re-open, but a step was taken in that direction. Thanks, Bob.

Party Pooper

2011-11-19T16:01:00.000-05:00

The news left us all wondering today about the future of a fine University of Vermont tradition.

It seems that since 1996 (long after I graduated) it has been the practice of students to celebrate the last day of classes with naked bike riding at midnitght and a 45 minute PARTY(!) in a sectioned off portion of the campus.

Of course! What more fitting way is there to celebrate than drinking and getting naked? These are college students we are talking about here. It was forty degrees at the last naked bike ride in May and it is bound to be colder in December, but they are young and carefree and happy that another semester is over and done.

The thing is, though, that now the University says they are not going to send the $17,000 dollars to provide lighting and security because bad things happen. Besides the nasty and embarrassing bike accidents, there are those who need to be taken to the hospital for alcolhol detoxification. There are physical assaults and sexual assaults.

So will the students carry on with a fifteen year old tradition without the sanction of the University? We'll just have to wait and see.

Thanksgiving Squash

2011-11-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

As you know by now, Mike is kind of a picky eater He is definitely not fond of many vegetables, but he has a particular aversion to orange vegetables. It might be somewhat of a family thing because it has never been a given that one would see squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, or even pumpkin at his family's Thanksgiving dinner. They have a joke about the sweet potato being saved from year to year in the freezer.
I, on the other hand, could quite contentedly eat all orange vegetables with maybe a spoon of cranberry sauce on the side.
We will drive to Mike's sister's in Connecticut for the big meal this year. We went to Costo's today and bought wine and Cabot cheddar for our contribution. This year, I am also going to take a dish of the glazed carrots I mentioned a while ago. I am tempted to also prepare this squash dish, reducing all the measurements so it only serves one or two:

Baked Squash with Apples

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup VT Maple Syrup
1/4 cup apple cider
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
dash of salt
about 3 pounds of winter squash*, pared, seeded, and thickly sliced
3 baking apples (Such as Granny Smith), pared, cored and thickly sliced.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a glass baking dish, 13x9x2.
Arrange the squash and apple slices in the baking pan.
In a small saucepan, combine all the other ingredients and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.
Pour this syrup mixture over the squash and apples. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for abut 50 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake for five to ten minutes.

*I like Delicata squash the best, but butternut works well and you can often find it already peeled and sliced, which saves a lot of work.

Weekend Visitors

2011-11-14T16:15:00.001-05:00

My grand children spent the weekend.

Dane completed this six foot long puzzle--with only a tiny bit of help from his Uncle Kevin.

We had popcorn and watched movies from the library. We went to the playground--a couple of times. We went out for pizza and played in the arcade for a while. We did some drawing and card making and story reading.

Kristen did some shopping at Plato's Closet. Dane kept saying he wanted to go too. He doesn't like shopping so I was a bit confused, but I took him, too. He was very disappointed when he realized we were not actually in a closet full of play-dough (one of his favorite things).

We didn't have his pajamas, but tee shirt from Mike's old Motor Cycle business made a good enough night shirt. He liked it enough to put on his boots and go out to do a happy dance on Saturday morning.

Kristen is modeling a felted hat I made for her. She doesn't like to have her picture taken anymore, but she looks adorable in it. Mike thinks that I used her life time supply of patience for photo shoots in the first three years of her life. That's likely to be true.

It's Coming

2011-11-11T09:30:00.000-05:00

Christmas is coming. I suspect this is true because Mike had to get out the furniture dolly to bring in the Sunday paper with all the toy catalogs stuffed inside it.

Also, since I did not buy Halloween candy until October 31, I had to hand out candy canes to the trick or treaters. I guess normal people know enough to buy Halloween candy in August.

Finally, one of the local radio stations has always started playing Christmas music exclusively the day after Thanksgiving. This year the tradition has been altered. They are all Christmas, all day, every day from November 1st until December 25th. A bit much, I'm thinking.

Don't get me wrong. Unlike some of us in this two-person household, I actually do enjoy the holiday. I like getting gifts and I like giving gifts (especially to the kids) even more. I like the baking and the wrapping and the decorations. I even like listening to some Christmas music once or twice about a day or two before Christmas. But the commercial manipulations make me very sad. I wish there was a way to stop it.

So, I am also thinking that if you are occupying someplace, stay there. Don't go into the stores. If you don't have a job or you don't have the money, don't take out a credit card. If you moved your money to a small friendly bank or a credit union, leave it there and celebrate in in a quiet way that is meaningful with family and friends.

Night on the Town

2011-11-08T20:26:00.000-05:00

My friend and I put on our big girl clothes and went into the big city on Friday night...after dark...and we stayed out past 10 P.M.

We went to a comedy club. It was a hoot. And the cover charge was only five bucks...a bargain to boot. Might as well laugh and might as well have some fun.

Oh, ho! Look at that. I even have the start of a poem to take to writing group tomorrow. Or not.

I'd love to share some of the humor, but it would be lost in translation. You really do have to be there sometimes.

I'll be going out after dark (twice in one week!!) for writing group tomorrow even though I'll be home by eight. With the clocks falling back, it will be pitch dark by four in the afternoon here in the hills.

Books

2011-11-05T12:04:00.000-04:00

My most recent reading:

The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by James Ford. This is really two stories separated by forty years. During the second World War, Henry Lee is a young boy living in Seattle. His two friends are a Jazz musician working the streets as he waits for his big break and a American-Japanese girl. It is the second friendship that causes problems with Henry's Chinese family. Forty years later, he has just lost his wife to cancer after caring for her himself for seven years and he is trying to restore a relationship with his own. son. The two stories weave together and we know at least one of them has a happy ending and we are left to speculate on the ending of the other.
The Good Daughter by Jasmin Darznik is subtitled A Memoir of my Mother's Hidden Life and tells the story of her mother's life in Iran based on tapes that her mother sent to her. It's told in the third person so it reads like fiction except that there are things that go on that one just cannot make up. Some parts were easy to skim over.

Neither one of these books has made it to my all time favorites list, but I did find them interesting. They shine a certain light on how different cultures can impact outward lives while the universality of human nature simmers underneath.

A Burning Issue

2011-11-03T12:48:00.000-04:00

Look out. Breasts and bras are floating around the blogosphere these days.

As predicted, Mike was quite taken with the notion of the purported therapeutic effects of gazing at breasts. He did argue that all studies have flaws when I pointed out the idea was looking...nothing said about touching. He also does prefer that I refer to him as "science guy" rather than "dirty old man."

Ronnie Bennett at Time Goes By wrote about bras for us mature women. I tried several times to comment, but for some reason could not make the right connection. So, I'll make my comments here for what they might be worth.

For many years I wore a 36B bra. It was uncomfortable. I actually would wiggle out of it on my drive home from work. And people think that texting and driving is a distracting practice.

I would sometimes have a "fitting" and the verdict was always, "36B." One time I was "fitted" while wearing a baggy sweater--"38B" she said. At that time I was noticing sagging, hence the desire for a professional assessment. Oprah was urging women to get fitted, for Pate's sake. I tried on the 38Bs, but the tatas sagged right out from under them. I left that store without making a purchase.

Fortunately, it was about that time that I attended a clinic sponsored by a local fabric store. It was about fitting styles and patterns for your particular body type. The woman teaching this seminar looked at me and said. "We can knock ten years off you with a new bra." And she was right. I don't take my bra off until bedtime now. It's comfortable and it keeps things where they were meant to be.

Finding this little miracle was a two step process.

The first step was 3 measurements:

Measurement A--around the body above the breasts and just below the arm pits.
Measurement B--around the fullest part of the breasts.
Measurement C--around the body just below the breasts.

Average measurements A and C. (Add them together and then divide by 2.) That gives the band number. Mine was 34.
Find the difference between B and C (subtract). For each inch, go up a cup size. My difference was five inches which translates to a DD cup. Who would ever guess?

The second step involves trying on. I tried lots of brands of 34DD and let me tell you there are many variations in fit. I so wanted to buy Olga brand, but that didn't work out. I stick with Lilyette, style 0921.

It took decades, but I am happy in my bra now. That's as feel good as a good haircut.

Anatomy of a bra

Hats

2011-11-02T19:42:00.002-04:00

Some people are hat people and some people just are not.

If you are female and you ever expect to get invited to an English garden tea party, you'd best be a hat person.
Please, if you get to attend a Royal wedding...hats required:

I am not a hat person in the sense that hats do not really do much to flatter me in any way. I am a hat person in the sense that I realize that I need a warm and woolly one when I am out walking in the cold and I need a wide brim when I am out in the sun. I do try to time my outdoor activities so that I shower and wash my hair (hat head) after they are done rather than before.

I am also a hat person in the sense that I like to knit hats. Recently, I completed my first somewhat successful felted hat. Felting, if you wonder, is knitting something over sized out of wool and then shrinking it.

I have attempted some hats before but ended up with small containers. Actually, I kind of like the containers and just finished this one on purpose to be a container.

My dear husband is not a hat person at all. He would really prefer to have red, burning, frost-bitten ears to putting on a warm hat. Since he has had a few scrapings of pre-cancerous lesions off his scalp, he has gotten conscientious about wearing a ball cap when on the beach or out mowing the lawn. Now that he is taking blood thinning medication, the scraping has been scraped. He was prescribed a chemical cream to apply to his scalp, but he had to shave his head before applying it. The cream goes on at night and then Vaseline goes on after a morning shampoo.

Does any one see an alternative to a cotton knit cap?

Really, I just do not know why he is so resistant to my efforts to help and keep him healthy.

PS: So after I wrote this, I read Mercyn's post at Six Decades and Counting--Life Reinvented. It is amazing what one can learn from reading blogs. Consider this tidbit of information that came from a German scientific study that I gleaned from her post:

men who stare at women's breasts regularly have, "lower blood pressure, a lower resting heart rate and fewer cardiovascular incidences". The activity can prolong a man's life by as much as five years. All it takes is about 10 minutes a day of boob-staring activity.

Now this is something Mike is interested in. He is willing to schedule this kind of activity into his day.

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T20:47:00.000-04:00

When kids came to my parents' door saying "trick or treat!" my dad would always say, "I'll take the treat."
Happy Halloween

The sun made an appearance today and I was happy to see its face. It wasn't sharing a whole lot of heat though. I went out for a walk just a bit after noon and I noticed that my shadow was about six feet long as I traversed to the north with the sun behind me. Coming south at the end of my loop, the sun was shining right in my eyes. The wind was pretty bitter, but we have not had the dumps of snow that they have had in southern New England, so no complaints. I was out and I was getting exercise and it felt good.

I was tempted to make the trip to Rutland, VT for the Halloween parade. School bands from that county and area businesses submit floats and my son-in-law put together a float this year. He has a roofing business. Grandson Dane was apparently quite excited about Halloween this year and was greatly looking forward to being on the float with his vampire costume. I'm betting it was too cute for words.

I didn't go--a 140 mile round trip--because I have to take Mike to the hospital tomorrow for his second cardioversion procedure--at 6 A.M. again. We are really, really hoping that it takes this time. Then he has to go back in the afternoon for a dermatology appointment. He is happy that if they find any suspicious spots, they will not be able to do any cutting because of all the blood thinners. He had to cancel a colonoscopy because of the blood thinners, too. I am not quite so sure this a good thing, although I do completely understand the desire to avoid too many icky procedures in any given day. He is distressed about all the new drugs all of a sudden and all the doctor visits--says getting old has become a full time job.

Dried Herbs and Carrots

2011-10-28T19:58:00.000-04:00

YUM

Any one who walked into my house right now would think I am busy cooking up a storm, but I am not.
I have been slowly working on getting the gardens cleaned up and bedded down for the winter. Today I cut a bunch of rosemary, some sage, the parsley, and some thyme. Yeah, I dug out some old Simon and Garfunkel to listen to as I went about drying these herbs.

I don't use a whole lot of sage, but it does make an attractive plant in the herb garden. I tend to use it mostly to garnish a platter--like for the roast chicken I served the other day.

I prefer rosemary and parsley when fresh, but it is nice to have a bit on hand in the spice drawer just in case. You never know when a spice emergency will occur.

Now, thyme is my favorite. I have two huge clumps of it and I use it all the time...er, a lot. I filled a colander with cut thyme, washed it and started picking through it to spread sprigs on paper towels before drying it in the microwave (so much faster and cleaner than hanging in the attic!). Thyme is a bit harder to handle than the other herbs. It grows in a tangle. It's hard to scrape off the little leaves without getting stems mixed in, but it is worth the effort to have some available for any kind of vegetable. My favorite is carrots and onions with honey and thyme glaze.

Boil a pound of carrots and some chopped sweet onion til crisp-tender. Drain. Add 3-4 tablespoons of butter, a pinch of brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons of orange juice and a teaspoon of dried thyme. Cook, uncovered, until glazed (about three minutes).

Seasonal Confusion

2011-10-26T09:17:00.000-04:00

Google image

I have had my battles with depression. Seasonal Affective Disorder? Yeah, I know all about that.
I tried a number of times to get my health insurance company to pay for a February trip to the Caribbean, but I found out they are just not nearly as committed to prevention as they claim to be. Can't they see a savings from not having to reimburse all those antidepressants? Short-sightedness...that's what is wrong with this country's health care system.

My seasonal blips seem to be more about a period of change. I get anxious when I feel that summer is going to give way to fall. Then I adjust to fall but get anxious again when it is turning dark and wintry. Of course I get the most down when it is time for winter to change to spring and it just isn't happening in the cycle of Vermont seasons. It's the lack of change for the better that gets to me.

This year has had my head spinning. We made three trips to Florida. We came home in March to a fairly mild spring that turned into a long rainy period through May. We went to Venice in June and enjoyed a week of heat and sunshine. We came back to a cooler Vermont summer, then went back to Florida for a few weeks of more heat and sunshine. Now back in Vermont, we have seen little sun at all and the dark time is here. It looks like the sun has moved South, although, I am sure it is more accurate to say that our part of the world has tilted on its axis away from the sun.

Two weeks ago we were walking on the beach and taking dips in the Gulf of Mexico. This week we are expecting the first snow of the season. I haven't had time to feel depressed and anxious so much as confused. Put away the bathing suit and pull out the winter jacket and wooly hats and scarves.

Hang on. In a couple of weeks we will be throwing the resetting of clocks into the mix. I'll certainly "fall back" into temporal confusion for a week after that...and start packing my bags again.

Hearty Salad

2011-10-25T14:46:00.074-04:00

This salad is a mixture of garbanzo beans, edemame, corn, chopped red pepper and onion. I dress it with fresh squeezed lemon juice and olive oil, cracked pepper and sea salt. I mix up a batch and can eat it for lunch on its own or as a side dish for a few days. I also add dried cranberries to give it a nice sweetness, but I prefer not to have them sit in the mix for too long.

It earns a zero on the Mike approval rating scale.

Edamame is the immature soy bean that is often served with Japanese cuisine. It has a good amount of protein plus nine essential amino acids so it is worth considering if you try for meatless meals.

This is kind of an example of my season confusion. I ate a lot of this while we were in Florida. Since I have been back in Vermont, I find I want to crawl into bed early and sleep late. I want to spend the afternoons roasting and baking, followed by eating. I want hot drinks and thick, creamy soups. I want to forget about my walking routine and knit hats instead.

I'll indulge myself a little bit.

I shouldn't brag, but I do make a wicked good pie crust that goes to the top of Mike's approval rating scale.
It's not very good nutrition, but it just would not be autumn without one apple pie.

For one double crust pie:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur is the best)
1 t. salt
2 t. sugar
8 T. very cold butter, cut in pieces
6 T. solid vegetable shortening, very cold
5 to 6 T. ice water

Combine dry ingredients, then quickly cut in the butter and shortening until it looks like crumbs.
Add water a bit at a time, tossing with a fork until you can form a ball.. Divide into two balls and flatten. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.

It may not feed the body, but a warm slice does feed the soul.

You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
Psalms 128:2

Tips on Roasting Chicken

2011-10-24T17:28:00.000-04:00

Sunday dinners...remember them? Come home from church and mom would be in the kitchen for hours roasting some meat and peeling, boiling, mashing potatoes. My grandmother was fond of serving turnip and she mad an excellent cabbage slaw with a sweet-tart vinegar dressing. There was always dessert. Although if the meal was big enough and late enough, dessert might be turned into Sunday night supper.

Later, Sunday dinners were alternated between my parents' and my in-laws with siblings and their children also likely to be attending.

My point is that after so many years of being treated to Sunday dinners, I never really got too much in the habit of doing that kind of cooking myself. This is not to say that I don't occasionally jones for roasted something with all the trimmings in a fit of nostalgia for past generation.

I was in the store on Saturday and happened to see a woman hoisting a large roasting chicken onto the counter. All of a sudden I needed to get a roasting chicken.

On Sunday afternoon, I washed that chicken and patted it dry. I squirted lemon juice all over it--inside and out. Then I massaged it with a mixture of Dijon mustard, ground ginger, salt and pepper. I tossed a few carrots in the roasting pan. I wanted to use onions, but a certain member of the household strongly objects to visible onion touching any of his food. The roasting pan went into a hot oven (425).

The giblets and neck went into a sauce pan with 2 cups of chicken stock, a bouillon cube, and onion powder (sneaky me). I would normally have just chucked out the livers, but Mike fried them up and had them for an appetizer (ick). I left the saucepan to simmer slowly for about 45 minutes.

After the chicken had been roasting for a half an hour, I poured a cup of chicken stock in the pan and lowered the heat to 375. I basted a couple of times in the next half hour. Then I strained the really dark, rich stock from the simmering saucepan and added that, pouring it over the chicken and leaving it for another half an hour.

The meat is not quite falling off the bones now so I took out the roasting pan and covered it with a sheet of aluminum foil after basting once more. Another fifteen or twenty minutes should do it.

Here's where the tip comes in: Try not to hit the hot oven rack while replacing the roasting pan. Really try not to drop the pan on the open oven door, sloshing all that almost gravy-like sauce. Trust me, it makes a huge mess to clean up just when you want to be setting the table and pouring some wine.

And when the cleaning up is done, you will be overly tempted to get down the really huge wine glasses instead of the usual modest size.

This makes a delicious roasted chicken--with mashed potato and the roasted carrots, a pear tart for dessert, a generous glass of white wine--a fine and satisfying supper.

It won't be repeated any time soon, though. We'll go back to our habit of getting Chinese take-out on Sunday nights. The next time I hanker for a whole chicken, I'll pick a rotisserie cooked bird from the deli.

Priorities

2011-10-23T09:57:00.000-04:00

The first things I loved about retirement was that I didn't have to wake up in the morning to the sound of an alarm clock and that I did not have to follow a schedule. Not having to wake up to a blaring alarm clock--I love that still, pretty sure I always will. Lately, though, I have been bothered by a lack of schedule--maybe not schedule so much as some kind of routine. It is almost cliche for retired folks to complain that there is not enough time in the day to fit in everything they want to do, but I have been feeling that.

I have been feeling that I have all these "things" to do and yet that I am spinning wheels and being quite unproductive. I start one thing and then get distracted by something else that seems important to be doing. I go out to clean out the car and notice that weeds need to be pulled along the driveway. I sit down to write and get distracted by the beep of the dryer calling me to fold laundry. I put water on for a cup of tea and then wander into another room and sit down to read, forgetting the stove is on.

I thought about making a schedule for myself--so many minutes for the crossword, then so many minutes for yardwork, then so many minutes for inside the house work, then so many minutes for writing, so many minutes for computer time...And that is something that is not going to work.

I knew it was not going to work, but I didn't really figure out why until I read Linda Meyers' post, "Retriement, Year 2." The penny dropped. It's not a schedule that I need. I need to set priorities! Thank-you, Linda!

I remember when I was working that we would once in a while have a two hour snow delay. That meant that school would start late so the roads could be cleared. I would think about how great it was to have that extra time. I could relax with an extra cup of coffee. I could start a load of laundry and get a jump on the weekend chores. I could go out and help shovel snow. Then I could drive to school and get there early enough to take care of a few things on my desk. Really, the most productive two hours of my life to date!
Of course what happened inevitably was that I would lose track of time and end up in a mad dash to get to school on time with those two "extra" hours at my disposal.

Having a regular start time, if not an actual clock to punch, was not just a routine. It was a built in priority. That, I realize, an epiphany from the thoughts of a sister blogger, is what is missing from my life right now. I have a long list of things I'd like to accomplish but I have been looking at that list as just a series of items to check off, not assigning weight or value. Maybe I have always relied on external forces to dictate priorities so I am not accustomed to doing that for myself--but what a revelation!

I have some work to do. I'm liking the feeling.

More on a haircut...

2011-10-21T20:00:00.000-04:00

Some people wanted a picture of my feel-good haircut so here is one.

My hair is fine in texture but very thick. As is obvious, it wants to wave where it wants to wave. Not curl or fall softly. It is more into the Medusa snake dance if left to its own devices.

When I was much younger and wanted a particular hair style--like for a year book picture or a wedding, my hair actually caused hair dressers to break down in tears of frustration. So imagine how I felt.

Now, there are times when I walk out of the salon feeling pretty good about a haircut, but once I wash it myself it is over. For a time I wore it really short not because I liked the way it looked but because it was wash and go. Then I grew it long enough to pull back into a perpetual ponytail but that got to be too severe looking.

The professional blow out of this haircut was very nice, but this picture was taken after a few washes and it really seems to work with the texture of my hair somehow. I like the way it feels on my head. I do not spend a lot of time fussing with my hair and make-up so how it feels is important to me.

Have you noticed that some hairstyles can place a person in her home state as accurately as speech accents?

And for those who prefer to cut their own hair, you might find some interesting tips here.

Mammogram

2011-10-20T19:43:00.000-04:00

Today was mammogram day for me. I understand that there is some question about this screening test, but I go once a year without fail. I don't even think that I am in a particularly high risk group. I just do it and hope for the best.

I once worked with a woman who would not get any kind of screening test--blood pressure, nothing. She said if there was a problem she would just rather not know about it. Actually, I understand that line of reasoning but I have not given myself permission to go there. I also understand the cynicism about all the "pink" merchandise and the issues of awareness versus actual commitment to prevention and real cures but I optimistically hope that good intention prevails in the world.

Whew...

2011-10-19T12:45:00.000-04:00

Whew...a long trip home. Under the most ideal of conditions, the trip between Venice and Jericho is every second of 24 hours. We split up the trip over three days. It is doable in two days, but then we find ourselves out of it for another two--so best to just take it a bit slower.

When we find a place to spend the night, I run the bed bug routine. Strip the sheets from the bed. Inspect along the seams. Wait for the whole body itch that starts in my head to subside. It's pretty worrisome. I have not ever found bed bugs, but I have found places that are way too grimy. At this point, though, we have made the trip enough so that we pretty much stay in the same places along the way and know the places to avoid. And sometimes, "Under New Management" doesn't mean any improvements were made.

The drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia was our best taste of fall this year. It was clear and sunny and the trees were all turning and that is just a beautiful landscape. We did get to experience some Vermont fall color driving up the Lake Champlain valley. At our house, the peak has passed and there is tons of work in putting the yard and gardens to bed for the season.

I am forcing myself to take the yard work step by step, one bed at a time. Sometimes when there is a lot to be done, I keep pushing myself to get it done and I get overwhelmed. I try to understand that certain jobs--yard and garden work, housework--are just plain never done so why wear myself out. Is it wisdom that comes with age? Or just lowered stamina?

Mike went for his post-cardioversion check-up today. It was not such good news since the procedure did not work and his heart rhythm is still erratic. They will try once again in early November. In the meantime, all the drugs to thin his blood and prevent stroke are still in his immediate future. Frankly, I prefer to worry about bed bugs than my husband's health.

Hair Cut

2011-10-14T08:23:00.000-04:00

I have to say--never, ever underestimate the feeling good benefits of a really good hair cut.

Pantry

2011-10-12T08:17:00.000-04:00

I just gotta love having this pantry. It would probably be much more practical at our regular house than at the winter house. I do like my VT kitchen for its efficient work space, but storage is a bit tight. We have plenty of shelving in the basement for after those trips to Costco, but a pantry in the kitchen is more convenient than having to run downstairs for that can of tomatoes.

Well, I had to give up running down the stairs after the falling incident last July. I am reduced to creeping down the stairs while clinging to the railing. If only I could learn to be that cautious!

Before I took that tumble, I had been out in the front garden snapping a couple of pictures of lovely lavender in bloom. My shoes were wet which I realized just a bit too late. When I came in and headed down the stairs, I slid and went rolling noisily down. What I didn't write about at the time (I don't think, but forgive me if I repeat myself. Age seems to do that to people.)--part of the noise was the camera flying into the air, hitting the wall and then hitting the floor with a bang.

Now this was right when Mike was using the camera daily as he put items up for sale on e-bay. Remember that that is how he generated his share of the money for a Florida home. As he came running out of his office to find me writhing in pain at the bottom of the stairs, I could see the concern in his eyes. I also saw his eyes momentarily flicker to the camera. They widened with even more concern. He made a good choice, though. He tended to me before he checked out the camera. (It was not harmed.)

I am treating myself to a haircut today. I think that there must be something about the heat and humidity that makes hair and nails grow like crazy because this haircut just cannot wait until I am home next week.

A look at the new home

2011-10-08T16:20:00.000-04:00

As can be easily seen here, we are working with a very neutral color palate in our Florida place. This is the main entry door. We added the clock, the key hanger, the small blue rug and the place mats.

The window in the dining area faces directly east so we watch the sun rise over coffee in the morning.

The laundry room is off the kitchen. I will need to get an iron and ironing board, but that was not a high priority for this trip. I love all the storage space.

We got a rug for the screened lanai. Mike put a new globe over what was a bare bulb on the ceiling fan. We bought the table and chairs from a consignment shop. There was an older table and chairs here, but this was more to our taste. It won't hurt to have the extra chairs available and we can use the old table to hold the little Weber grill and cooking utensils. The palm tree was left by the previous owners. It has twinkly lights, but we have not plugged them in yet.

We put in a computer desk, a recliner, a lamp table and a small tv stand in the office area. I will probably get myself a work desk on the next trip.

We have the very basics as far as kitchen ware and dining needs, towels and bedding. Picking up that kind of stuff will keep me busy over the winter months. And I will be start working on the decorative touches to color up place. That, for me, will be the fun stuff. I think we are both looking forward to just spending beach time for the next week, though.

In the Yard

2011-10-06T08:20:00.000-04:00

I made a trip to a local plant nursery. Two extremely helpful women helped me to identify the plants in my yard, gave me the Sarasota County Extension service phone number, and steered me to a web site with plenty of information about taking care of the yard.

This may be the slow season here as far as tourism, but it is a great time for customer service. I am glad we get to do the big shopping time instead of during the winter months.

Frangipani flowers (a bit spent)--they have a lovely scent.
The tree looks like dead sticks in the winter, though.

These white flowers smell so much like an orange blossom that I was guessing it was some kind of mock orange. The woman at the nursery called it an orange jasmine. On the net, I found out it is also called a tea tree. The smell is wonderful (and I thought of you, Arkansas Patti).

These are seeds on a crape myrtle, which blooms in summer and shed leaves in the winter.

What Florida yard would be complete without an hibiscus?

These are Mexican petunias. They will pretty much be in bloom year round so that is one plant we will get to enjoy more fully than some.

Dancing

2011-10-05T09:30:00.001-04:00

I have been watching Dancing With the Stars on Monday nights. This was something I could never get into before, but I have enjoyed watching these past few weeks. I don't get around to watching the Tuesday night part though so I learned this morning from a peek at Good Morning America that this week's elimination was a "shocker" for the judges and the eliminated couple.
Personally, I did not enjoy the performance of the booted dancers--costume and choreography bordered on soft-core porn in my opinion so am glad that they weren't rewarded for it. I'm not really that much of a prude, but there were much classier dances and touching stories told through them.
Now, I have to admit that I am not much of a Nancy Grace fan and I thought her performance was a bit of a yawn, but did you see the shot of her little girl clone? Was that kid seriously up past her bedtime or was she just plain scary? Movie trailers like "I see dead people," and "They're heeere," popped into my head.
Sorry...I do not like to let my inner mean girl come out to play very often, but sometimes she just insists.

Tool Shed

2011-10-03T16:18:00.000-04:00

It's no lie to say that Mike picked out Vermont home for its huge garage complete with its own storage room and its own furnace. I think that this shed influenced his interest in our Florida home.

First order of business was to get this organized. If you know us, you understand--Mr. and Mrs. OCD (or as a friend likes to call us, CDO, because that's alphabetical order).

We scored the peg board at a Habitat for Humanity Re-Store for two bucks a sheet. Mike's spent a lot of time picking up the extra tools in anticipation of this shed.

There is a fan in the shed, but with the temps in the 80's it really could double as a sauna room.

Sandhill Cranes

2011-10-02T12:35:00.000-04:00

These three sandhill cranes took a stroll through the neighborhood.

They stopped to inspect our front lawn.

Then they rounded the corner,

and kept right on walking down the street.

Cake Pops

2011-10-01T09:02:00.000-04:00

The public library in Venice, FL has a rather large used book store run by the friends of the library. It is almost as big as our Jericho Town Library circulation space. The store is staffed full time by at least two volunteers--an advantage of a large retired population. They wear pink pinnies. One of my volunteer activities is to keep the sale book shelf tidy and supplied, but I don't have to wear any particular uniform to identify me as a library volunteer.

Anyway, I went there (Venice library) to pick up some magazines for some light reading in the evenings--since I knew I was going to be pretty worn out by then most nights here for a while. I got (for $1.00--I am so, so frugal lately!) a September Coastal Living and October issues of Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens, and Country Living.

What are the odds? I ended up with two recipes, timely for Halloween celebration, for "easy" cake pops. The process involves baking a cake from mix, reducing it to fine crumbs, mixing it with prepared frosting, shaping it into balls, poking in the pop sticks and then decorating it somehow (I never got that far).

What kind of crazed Martha wannabe does one have to be to attempt something like this?

Don't get me wrong. I am fascinated by Martha Stewart for a lot of reasons. Her delight in all things ghoulish and ghosty isn't among those reasons.

Full on celebration of Halloween has crept into our culture though. Although, if you haven't already purchased all your costumes, candy, and decorations, you will either be totally out of luck OR you will be able to snap up some sale bargains. Because stores are in the process of clearing space for Christmas season items.

Moving In

2011-09-29T16:55:00.000-04:00

The house we bought came "partially furnished." This means that there was a furnished master bedroom. spare bedroom, living room, dining area, and all the major appliances. There was a patio set of table and four chairs and a few decorative items. But of course we want to make the place our own and then are are the little things we needed to furnish for the kitchen and the stuff of life.

We have a budget and a set of priorities. We want to be able to cook and clean before we start adding some decorative color. We wanted to use the one completely empty room for an office/work space. But we find that we have to be flexible. Venice, Florida is a good place to score deals at consignment shops and charity resale shops. They are everywhere. Some places are like dumpster diving and others are so high end we can't even afford the used stuff. So we might set out looking for one thing (a bookcase for the office) and come home with something that was slated for a year or two down the road (a better patio set).

This set was used, but very lightly, I would say. It was really clean and included the two swivel rockers with ottomans, two regular chairs, a dining table and a small table and we got it for merely half our furniture budget. The guest bedroom goes down the priority list now. We may have to ask people to bring their own towels.

The place we happened upon that had this set is Pelican Cottage in Osprey, FL. I have the feeling I will stopping in there again before the house is done.

Fortunately, I found a Bissell vacuum for ten dollars and this cephalon pan for eight at the Venice Goodwill store. The vacuum is purple, but I was feeling a need for more in the way of color so we picked up this bench for the master bedroom.

And, of course, there is always room to indulge the craftsy side.

You may well ask, "Why glue shells on a paint brush?" Well, this is handy to have in the car and/or hanging by the door after a trip to the beach (it's only four miles away). We use it to brush sand off our feet.

Venice, Florida

2011-09-27T17:21:00.000-04:00

We arrived at our new home on Saturday afternoon and have been keeping busy getting settled in. We have contacted Florida Power and Light and signed up with the county Water & Sewer Department. We have been hitting the resale and consignment shops along with Target and Big Lots, but we are taking our time about making decisions. Although, some of those decision come fairly easily. Mike found a Lazy Boy recliner at the Goodwill store that is the exact twin of one that was already in the house. He has put the new recliner in the office along with his closed captioned enabled TV and is relaxing a bit today.

We looked down our street last night after a rainy day and caught a glimpse of the sunset.

It reflected pink off the fence to the east.

In addition to getting the house itself settled, I noticed that there is some weeding to do out in the yard.

This tree was in the morning shade, so I weeded under that.

I'll have to learn the pruning requirements of the trees and bushes in the yard.
This is a different kind of garden than I am used to.

This bottle bush may not need any pruning.
A spritz of Windex now and then?

I am not in love with this cactus but how will I take it out of there?

I'll have to learn what some of the plants actually are.
This one has wicked looking thorns.

The grapefruit tree is loaded with fruit that should be ripe when are back in the winter.
I wish it were an orange tree. We maybe eat two grapefruits in a year.
Grapefruit is probably to Florida what zucchini squash is to Vermont.

On the Road Again

2011-09-21T13:58:00.000-04:00

The car is just about all packed up. Mike approaches the job of car loading like some kind of giant jigsaw puzzle and every little nook and cranny has something stuffed into it but nothing interferes with visibility. We will leave tomorrow morning and arrive in Venice Saturday afternoon. We plan to be back in Vermont in about three weeks time. A lot of car travel, but we are kind of excited about spending some time in our own vacation home. Most of what we are taking this time will stay down there.

I should get a air miles credit card because eventually the car trip will has lost its appeal. Anybody recommend a good one?

I have a last minute load of laundry to do and I'll give the house a quick dust up, but I am pretty sure Mike is wishing we were on the road already.

Watch Out

2011-09-19T10:41:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone in the whole world reads Arkansas Patti's blog, the New Sixty. She is a woman with an interesting life, an interesting take on life, and a wicked way with spinning out a story. I just finished reading "The Circle of Life." Please check it out now.

I was taken with this:

"Then the years pile on and I believe they do not pile on evenly. I think they pile up all on one side, causing our balance to become suspect. "

I would almost like to be able to explain my total lack of coordination as another one of the of aging, but, alas, no. I was simply born with a clumsy gene...a very dominant clumsy gene.

I actually have two vivid memories of my toddler years. Details were filled in by my parents: we were visiting maternal relatives in Toronto. I had to go to the bathroom so my mother took me upstairs. I was old enough to be toilet trained, but young enough and sleepy enough so that my mother felt the need to pick me up at the top of the stairs to carry me back down. This is the memory part--I get scooped up in my mother's arms and we step down once and then start to roll on down. That's it.

I also remember being in our house in Olyphant, Pennsylvania (so I was under three years old) and standing at the top of the cellar stairs hearing the washing machine running. I was calling my mother and stepping down the rather steep stairway. The filled in detail about that memory is that I landed on my face and broke my nose.

After I broke my nose a second time when I was ice skating at age six, my mother gave me lessons in how to fall without breaking the fall with my face or my hands. She was worried about facial disfigurement and broken arms.

And so is the story of my life. Spills without thrills. One spectacular tumble on the icy drive right in front of my high school school bus stop even got catalogued in the year book. Do people remember I might have been valedictorian of our class? No. Do they remember I landed on my butt and went sprawling across the ice in front of a bus, books and papers flying everywhere? Oh, yes, they remember that.

Bicycles, beds, skis, motorcycles, stairs, carpets, tables, chairs, school desks, doorways, level sidewalks, my own feet--I have fallen off, over, into or on all of those. I wasn't a great basketball player, but I kept the floor dusted and polished when I played. When I am not falling, I am bumping into.

Now, here's the thing about Arkansas Patti--she can take life's foibles and turn them into uproariously funny vignettes. I can't. My lack of grace is just truly sad moving into dangerous.

When Mike was in the hospital last week for his cardioversion, they let me wheel him out in a wheelchair. Wide hallways--so far, so good. Whee, ya wanna see how fast we can push this baby? Ha! Ha! Then the elevator where others are waiting. Uh oh. A door opens and I swing the chair around to pull it back into the down elevator...knocking into a young woman who miraculously managed to stay on her feet...miraculous because she had two prosthetic legs...and she was all apologetic to us...can one feel any smaller??

Fiesta

2011-09-16T09:56:00.000-04:00

It's not often that I am ahead of any kind of trend. I am not even sure that this counts. I've written about my old Opal Kadette and my yellow VW bug--small cars that got me through the energy crisis and the escalating price of gasoline right on into the 80's (remember--went up to a dollar!). I was into small, fuel efficient vehicles while others were just rolling their eyes at my toy cars. I liked small cars--putting up with the lack of room and family loading conveniences for the ease of driving and parking.

So when it was time for the yellow car to go to the car assisted living facility, I bought a Ford Fiesta. A likeness can be seen on this video if you look quickly--except mine was white. This was a small car. Very small. Another standard transmission, stripped down model, but it definitely got us all where we needed to go. This was a time when I should have had a minivan, soccer mom kind of vehicle because I spent nearly all of my time chauffeuring kids--not to soccer but to swimming lessons and skiing and gymnastics and piano and baseball and friends' houses and trips to the mall and in between that running to the grocery store for gallons of milk and loaves of bread that I just couldn't seem to keep in the refrigerator/cupboard for more than two hours at a time.

The Fiesta did have one minor quirk. The windshield wiper motor shorted out every time it rained. This was an improvement over the Opal that completely stopped all together whenever it got wet, but still quite inconvenient in an area that gets its full share of rain. After a loooong trip home from my sister's with my two kids, driving through a pouring rain in the dark, I got it fixed. They replaced the motor and that was that. I do remember it cost about 120 dollars--about 15 bucks of which was labor charge. I was worried that it was going to be an expensive car to maintain. Remember those days? Struggling on a budget?

The Ford Fiesta disappeared from the American driving scene, but I understand that it has been reintroduced. I have not run out to get one yet. I have the soccer mom car now, although I guess it should be called a soccer grandma car. No kids to transport to various activities unless the grand kids are visiting, but it is packed up full for the trip to Florida. Maybe when we get the new place all furnished, we'll look at a smaller car.

Birthday Cake

2011-09-13T17:39:00.000-04:00

In spite of the signs of autumn all around, nice weather has been hanging on in defiance of the weather forecasters and their dire predictions for frost and chilly rains. I suppose it won't last for long though.

I made chocolate cake for Mike's birthday. Let me rephrase that...I made CHOCOLATE cake for Mike's birthday.

Here's how:

Butter a 9" cake pan and line with a circle of parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper too.
Melt 7 ounces of good quality baking chocolate and 7 ounces of good quality butter over hot water. I used 4 ounces of unsweetened and 3 ounces of bittersweet. Or maybe it was the other way 'round, I don't remember exactly anymore. Stir chocolate and butter together.
Add the chocolate mixture to 1 1/3 cup sugar in a mixing bowl and allow this to cool a bit. Then beat lightly.
Add five large eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in 1 (that's one) tablespoon of all purpose flour.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. It will look like chocolate mousse.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.
The middle may look still moist when it is done, but don't over bake.
It keeps well in the freezer--maybe even slightly improved after a day or two in the freezer.
A slick of frosting, a spoon of whipped cream, or a spoon of ice cream--all superfluous, but a little bit of excess never hurt anyone around here all that much.

Now, here's the thing. The cake is good and very, very rich. The recipe is from A Homemade Life. We had each had a piece on Saturday and I knew that we would have another on Sunday and that took up a third of the cake. I figured it would be a good idea to wrap up the rest and put it in the freezer--save it for another time the urge for chocolate hits, save ourselves from pigging out on the whole thing in just a couple of days. I thought I was doing the responsible thing.

So Mike went to get himself a slice of that cake on Sunday. He found what I had portioned out for the second helping and thought to himself, "Wow, it's almost all gone. She has really been hitting this cake pretty hard." He thought I had eaten an entire half of a cake over the day on Sunday! Honestly! I'm outraged.

Thoughts on 9/11

2011-09-11T15:28:00.000-04:00

Today was meant to be a somber day--although I don't really understand why the tenth anniversary is any more significant than the first or the seventh. It was a tragic event, the bombing of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. We should remember it and especially those who rose as heroes to deal with the crisis and its aftermath. We should also learn from it and bring the human race to a higher plain. Since that does not appear to have come close to happening in the past ten years, I do consider it a very somber day indeed.

I don't know if this was planned, but the VT air guard was flying overhead at 8:45 this morning. Was it a tribute or was it an emergency? I found it quite disconcerting but when I turned on the television we were all observing a moment of silence (except of course in my sky).

I spent the day in garden related pursuits. I tidied up around all the garden beds. I picked green beans and Italian peppers. I canned three jars of pickled peppers, froze three bags of green beans, froze two bags of tomato sauce and froze a large bag of peppers. I dried my winter's supply of rosemary and Greek oregano and packaged that up.

I suppose, and the thought did occur to me at some point, with all the hand wringing and terror alerts that accompanied the news coverage over the past week or so I should really have canned everything. Frozen food will not be of any help if the electric grid is shut down.

But I am choosing not to live with fears like that. It's not that I have my head completely in the sand. I know bad things can and do happen. I try to be prudent. But for every day that I can, I will pluck what is good about life just like I plucked green beans off their vine today.

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For my lunch today, I tossed red peppers and cherry tomatoes with fresh oregano and olive oil, roasted this in the oven, sprinkled blue cheese on the roasted vegetables and served it on lightly toasted Italian bread. I don't usually have wine with lunch, but this called for a chilled glass. Yeah, that's how I want life to be.

Happy Birthday

2011-09-10T09:38:00.000-04:00

Mike's cardioversion went well and he said this morning that he feels great. Frisky, even. That is good news even though he really hadn't noticed any symptoms previously. (I admit that I was concerned at his being a bit out of focus, though.) He is still hoping that the fist full of medications he has to take each morning will be reduced. His doctor said, "We'll wait and see."

I was reminded when my kids would get frustrated when they were given an answer of "Maybe."

He had more Happy Birthday wishes than ever. Every single person that interacts with a patient in the hospital asks, "What's your name? When's your birthday?" We were out of the hospital by 9:15 AM and he took a good long nap after we had some breakfast. We'll have his cake tonight, so, in a way, he's getting a prolonged birthday.

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There are a number of puff balls growing in the back yard. This is really a mutant looking one. I can picture some kind of alien space creature evolving out of this at sun down. Excuse me while I go lock all the windows and doors.

Pictures of Vermont

2011-09-08T10:19:00.000-04:00

There are a some photographs of Vermont's recent visit from Irene to see at http://mansfieldheliflight.com/flood/.

There are still a number of schools that have not been able to open because of washed out roads. The piles of soggy stuff outside people's homes is just heart breaking to me. Of course, most Vermont towns are located along rivers through mountain valleys but few of us ever thought to purchase flood insurance. It's a sad situation.

Busy Week Ahead

2011-09-06T16:42:00.000-04:00

Labor Day was very rainy--but at least there was not the flooding of the previous weekend. The weather report for today is "cloudy until midnight, followed by more clouds and possible rain showers." I had a dentist appointment today (replacing an old filling) and then went shopping. On Friday, Mike has a doctor's appointment for a cardioinversion to reset his heart rhythm. Routine. Nothing to worry about...right?? Friday is his birthday #68. Delightful way to spend it. They say he will be done and out of there by 9AM.

In between the week's appointments, the dreary kind of weather has given me some incentive to stay inside and get started on some cleaning. The cloudy weather and Mike stepping in spilled oil in the garage and then walking through the house gave me incentive. I have mentioned the carpet cleaning product, Argosheen, before. It really works.

We are also getting ready for a three week trip to Florida at the end of this month. We'll spend some time getting to know all about our new winter home and getting that set up and ready for our winter stay. It's exciting. We bought a partially furnished place so it will be like Christmas discovering what is there and what we will need to be on the lookout for. I have started packing some things I know I will just leave there and Mike is getting the car ready for the long drive.

I am planning to take him out for a birthday dinner when we get to Venice. I picked out Mangiafico to go for my birthday and it was so good, any excuse to go again. It was not just the best Italian food I ever had. It was the best food period.

Summer's adieu

2011-09-03T15:35:00.000-04:00

Not according to the calendar, but there is something about Labor Day weekend that makes it feel as though summer is making its exit out the back door while fall is knocking on the front. My sister and brother-in-law were over for supper last night--a summery meal of chicken Cobb salad, fresh green beans, tomatoes and corn on the cob served on the deck. Still, it was dark by the time we got to dessert.
We had finally heard from our brother who lives in a town that was particularly hard hit by Hurricane Irene. He lives near a mountain stream besides. The were without electricity and the yard was flooded, but house, barn and animals were all safe.
It was very sad to ride into town the other day and see the damage that has been done. The next town, the one where I grew up, actually, was hit hard and it seems like everything is just covered with river silt. My husband's old shop was flooded with four feet of water. State offices in another town were flooded and so services and emergency response abilities were affected as well.

I don't know enough of the science to understand if this is a hundred-year weather cycle or part of man-made global warming. I do know that lots of people have asked--about our property in Florida--"Aren't you afraid of hurricanes?" No body really ever thought to ask that about life in Vermont before.

For those who commented on my last post...I took the Lake George trip the week before the hurricane and actually was blissfully unaware of Irene's existence until we got back on the Thursday before it hit.

And I do think that they appreciated the vacation. They are polite and thanked me during and after. Once in a while one or the other of them would say, "You are the best grandma in the whole world." That is thanks enough for me.

Trip to Lake George

2011-08-30T16:45:00.000-04:00

Ready for the water slide. Verdict...AWESOME!

Grand daughter liked the faster slide.
The slower one was fine for me.

We also visited a garnet mine.

Lake George public beach--quiet in the afternoon.

We had a fun three days and two nights in Lake George. I took the kids and their mom stayed home and painted and cleaned although she would have enjoyed going to the lake as well. Moms have to choose the responsible things and grandmas can have the fun. It really was a fun time.

The kids wondered why Mike didn't come with us. I had to ask if they really thought they would have got to spend six and half hours at Water Slide World if it had been up to Mike. He had fun, too, enjoying his quiet time.

Goodnight, Irene

2011-08-29T16:40:00.000-04:00

Irene swished her cape over Vermont yesterday. We didn't have the terrible winds that were predicted, but it sure enough did rain. Fortunately for us, we live high on a sandy hill so we are not flooded. Unfortunately for those who are along the river beds, there was a great deal of flooding elsewhere. We had stocked up on food and water when it became apparent we would not be making our planned trip to Rhode Island, which was a good thing since so many roads are closed. We didn't have a power outage, but that is a wide spread problem to the south of us. I am anxious to get in touch with my daughter because they are in flood and power outage central.
I went out for my walk this afternoon, and, honestly, you would not know the area is under a state of emergency within my usual route--except that I was asked by passing motorists how to get there from here with all the closed roads. Not easily, maybe wait til tomorrow if you can--that's about all I could offer.

My thoughts are with all those who were in the path of this storm. Hope all is well.

Happy Birthday, Amy

2011-08-27T13:10:00.000-04:00

August Birthstone - Peridot

It's hard to believe that thirty-eight years have gone by.

Now my baby girl has babies of her own. Just a couple of weeks ago she asked why I hadn't told her that having kids was so hard. (Payback, I replied)

But, of course, she has two delightful children to light up her life and keep their old granny feeling happy.

Happy Birthday, Amykins. I love you.

Herb Lady

2011-08-22T11:14:00.000-04:00

Some where...and I have completely forgotten where exactly...creeping decrepitude is set on getting me...some where I was reading about the phrase "cat-lady crazy."
Now I loved my cat to pieces, but I am in no danger of becoming a cat lady--crazy or otherwise. I was, am, and shall remain a one cat kind of person. Sure, it's possible that I'll get to a point where I don't remember this rule I've made for myself and I'll be tempted by a cute little kitten face, but I think it most unlikely that I would adopt cats willy-nilly. That's just not in my make-up.
I mean, the cat part is not in my make-up. I am afraid the crazy part just might be a part of my DNA.
Actually, I can see myself becoming a bit of a crazy herb lady.

[Oh, wait! I do remember. It was Chris Bohjalian's column in a Sunday Burlington Free Press. See. A little crazy, but not completely senile just yet! I take my little victories where I can these days.]

Since I had to cut back on salt I have been more and more interested in spices and herbs. I like the sensual quality--the aromas, the tastes, the visual bling-- they add to the whole process of cooking and eating. Right now, I am into thyme--as in carrots and onions cooked and then glazed with butter, honey and thyme. I also mix basil, oregano, thyme and a pinch of rosemary to season fresh green beans drizzled with olive oil. An herb butter of thyme and freshly ground mixed pepper corns on corn on the cob...mmm...heaven. Perhaps it will surprise no one to hear that Mike doesn't eat any of that stuff.

And, I'll admit, herbs are my most successful garden yields. The @#$%&* woodchuck does not seem to enjoy munching herbs. I have abundant thyme, chives, sage, mint and lavender that grows each year. I plant parsley, Greek oregano. marjoram, and rosemary annually. The only thing that bolts on me --or gets eaten by bugs-- is basil. Basil is abundant in the field of the farm market where I stop. There must be some thing that I have yet to learn about growing basil. That's nice--to have new things to learn. I get put-off my Know-It-Alls.

I made a nice bathroom cleaner out of grapefruit oil and rosemary, which is said to have antiseptic qualities. It smells better than chemicals. I also just bought some Suave shampoo that is rosemary and mint and it is absolutely heavenly to use. Of course, my hair is still my hair. Nothing tames that into submission for long. But I'm adjusted to that and it's untamed fuzziness kind of lends me the air of a crazy herb lady.

Relaxing

2011-08-20T12:51:00.000-04:00

August is the time for relaxation." Designed by Monica Corduneanu from Romania.

One minute August is shouting "Summer!" and the next minute it is "Autumn is coming!" There has been a noticeable shift in the quality of light and we have started to lose minutes of daylight, but there is still time for a bit of relaxation.

I went out to a movie last night. We saw The Help. It has been a while since I read the book, but I recognized scenes and story lines. I thought it was well done. Although, I remember the book driving home the idea that the young writer, Skeeter, was forced to learn that she was not the center of the maid's who raised her existence--which kind of brought the concept of racial bias permeating a society beyond just the outward racism of segregation.

I'm planning to take the grand kids for a vacation stay at Lake George next week. Then I will need some serious relaxation time. We plan a few days in Rhode Island the following week with Mike's baby sister and baby brother and spouses. Mike is excited about getting out for some fishing. I am excited about some fresh lobster and being near the ocean.

This weekend, though, I am devoting to just relaxing. I have a stack of books that I feel the urge to start tackling. I have several yards of material waiting for my pattern selection. These things are demanding my attention more than the garden today. It's warm and sunny. I'll be out under the shade of a tree in a comfy lounge chair with my sunglasses on and a tall glass of ice tea by my side.

Enjoy your weekend.

The book goes to...

2011-08-18T17:28:00.000-04:00

Susan Adcox who writes about grandparents at About.com had the love/luck of chocolate going for her name in my hat. So, Susan, e-mail me an address and I will send you Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life as part of the Pass-the-Book. And check out Sian's blog--High in the Sky--to get the full rundown on how it all works. The author is way too young to be a grandparent, but she has an interesting blog and some good recipes.

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Mike has surprised me big time! He has cut way, way back on salt. I never thought he would even try. Here is a man who put liberal shakes of salt on pepperoni pizza, sausage, Chinese food and tacos. I guess a night in the hospital made a believer out of him. And, he is even talking about getting himself a pair of pajamas!

***********

Can you tell how swollen my left big toe is from my graceful tumble down the stairs several weeks ago?
I have not been able to wear sandals with a thong--my typical footwear--and maybe that is just as well. I haven't been out shopping for old lady shoes yet, but I have been wearing boat shoes. Also, while it doesn't hurt terribly when I am out walking, I must favor it somewhat because my right knee has been bothering me. I should not complain--what with the serious kinds of medical problems elsewhere in the family. Still, it makes me cranky to have these little reminders of creeping decrepitude.

***********

You do know that they have to provide those toddler play areas at fast food restaurants because there is something about the food that makes kids super-duper hyper. I'm not just making this up...well, sort of, but I do believe it's the truth.

Around the age of ten or so, fast food starts to have quite the opposite effect, leaving kids logy and adults bloated.

Moon

2011-08-14T14:49:00.000-04:00

I missed the meteor shower the other night, but I did get to see the full moon rising last night as I put the grand kids to bed. That was good for "one more" hop out of bed to see.

My daughter and her husband were planning to drop the kids off at noon and go to the Stowe car show. Her car broke down (timing belt problem) on the way and they had to get it towed, then get home to take his car, the Mister Cruiser, a honking big 60's Mercury. The kids arrived here around 3 p.m. and then daughter and son-in-law went on to Stowe, where his car broke down. Not a good day for them.

I drove to Stowe today to get them and take them to Burlington where they could get a car rental for the trip home. I do wish life was a bit easier for my children, but I seem to have misplaced my magic wand.

Pass-the-book is coming soon. Let me know if you want your name in the hat for A Homemade Life.

Sunflower Days

2011-08-13T13:52:00.000-04:00

Related to my last post...the feeling that summer is ending is much less of a moodiness trigger now that I have been retired for several years. I always had trouble readjusting my routines both at the beginning of the school year and then again at the end of the school year. Now the changing of the seasons just reminds me that time marches on and I am getting older and then I am over it. I appreciate that my time is pretty much my own at this phase of my life. I am aware of the passing of seasons, years, and yet can feel like I am much more in the moment. It was the right thing for me.

I have just finished reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. I found it to be a very satisfying book--much like a well-prepared meal paired with the appropriate wine. It's a long book, over 650 pages. The fact that the story did not tax my attention span speaks volumes.

Lately, my list of books to read has grown quite lengthy. That's another thing about retirement. The time will fill up. I honestly don't remember how I got tings done while working eight hours a day. I do remember I usually managed to get dressed before 9 a.m. though.

I am thanking Betty at A Piece of My Mind for letting me know that copying a recipe is not generally a copyright infringement. Which reminds me, I am still talking names of anyone interested in Pass-the-Book's
A Homemade Life. Just leave a comment.

Subtle Changes

2011-08-12T20:14:00.000-04:00

Just a couple of weeks ago we sat on the deck and admired the green, green, green of summer in Vermont. Alas, already it is changing. Warm temperatures are still predicted for the weekend, but the signs are there. Trees are starting to become tinged with yellow. The setting sun has moved to the south and says its "good-night" much earlier. There is a chill in the night air that just was not there a while ago. The crickets are full on
singing. There is definitely a while to go before summer is over, but the signs of its fading are upon us.

Autumn in Vermont is a beautiful season, but there is something about the transition period that has always left me feeling melancholy. Here, winter settles in like ursine hibernation. Spring slithers chameleon-like between winter and summer. Summer arrives like one of those choreographed flash dances. I guess it is the only season that gives warning. That bothers me.

Most Northerners are hardest hit with Seasonal Affective Disorder in March. That is certainly the time that sees the highest suicide rate here. Me, I always get the blues in mid August.

Chocolate

2011-08-11T19:21:00.000-04:00

When Mike was 11 years old he had "the best chocolate cake ever" at a friend's house. He asked the friend's mother for the recipe so his mom could make it home. Isn't that cute?

His mom gave me that recipe, but I could never earn the "Best Cake Ever" status. My cakes all tend to be slightly on the dry side. A friend of mine has used the exact same recipe and gets marvelous, moist cake so I don't entirely get it.

Anyway..."Chocolate Cupcakes with Bittersweet Glaze" is a recipe from A Homemade Life. (Make a comment and I could be sending it to you soon!) Mike is in love with me all over again. These were a major hit. Like I said, if you get a craving for chocolate, this will fill the bill.

Now, the very last recipe in the book is also for a chocolate cake that comes with instruction that it should not be served to someone your feel just so-so about. It is for when you want to get some one's full attention.

Hmm...lots of chocolate, lots of butter, sugar and eggs, a teeny bit of flour. It's called the "Winning Hearts and Minds Cake." Do I even dare??

Oh, and I don't feel free to copy out these recipes for fear of copyright infringement, but check out the author's blog: orangette.blogspot.com...or make a comment to be next in Pass-the-Book.

Pass the Book

2011-08-10T11:30:00.000-04:00

A Homemade Life: stories and recipes from my kitchen table by Molly Wizenberg is about to be passed to another lucky blogger.

I am reluctant to Pass-the-Book, but pass it along I must.

It was a very enjoyable read and you may want to check out the author's blog at orangette.blogspot.com.
It's just that I have not cooked my way through it yet. I guess I will just have to spring for a copy of my very own.

The very first recipe is for a humble old potato salad. I love potato salad anyway, but I tried the recipe and it was to-die-for tasty. There is a 'secret' ingredient. Thankfully, I halved the recipe knowing I would eat the whole thing myself. I had trouble not downing the entire batch in one go. It calls my name still.

I learned this method of making a hard-boiled egg: Place the egg(s) in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil. When the water is boiling, turn off the heat and cover the pan. Let stand for exactly 12 minutes, then rinse in cold water. Perfection.

So, I will pass it, just not yet. I'll try to pique some interest over the next week and pull a name from hat next Monday. If potato salad has you hooked already, leave a comment and your name goes in the hat. Every time I mention A Homemade Life in a post, you can make a comment and get your name in the hat.

***Having trouble posting this ???? ACK!

I, of course, had to try the French toast after the ode to real maple syrup that preceded it.

Okay, and I admit it. I tried one of the chocolate cake recipes (there are two). The chocolate finger smudges on page 44 are mine. Sorry to the next reader and sorry to Sian, who actually owns the book. If you ever get a craving for chocolate, this will fix you right up. The directions said oven at 300 degrees and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. I was skeptical about that and it take a full 50 minutes before a toothpick came out even close to clean, but no matter. It was chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. Hard to go wrong there.

I thank Margaret for passing the book to me. I especially thank Sian for starting a Pass-the-Book. If you'd like to participate, please read about the whole concept here.

And if you would like to be the one to whom I pass A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, leave a comment. You could be the lucky one--it's a name from a hat thing.

Phone Call

2011-08-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, Mike left for an appointment with the kidney specialist at 10 a.m. He had his blood work done the day before. It was supposed to be a fairly routine visit, I thought. At noon, I got a phone call from him. He was sitting in the emergency room at the hospital where the specialist had sent him.

This is not the kind of phone call I enjoy getting.

Two hours later, he called to say that they were going to keep in the hospital overnight. The doctor took his blood pressure--very high--and a pulse--racing like crazy. (Although Mike says he had no symptoms, no idea that his heart was beating nearly out of his chest.)

Four hours after that, he called once again to let me know he was finally in a room. Six hours sitting in the emergency room staring at the walls, no food, nothing to drink--I'm sure that helped the blood pressure situation. Plenty of nurses, though, all looking for veins to hook up IV's and whatnot. Let's hope that cures him if his sexy nurse fantasies. The plan is to use medication to adjust the heart rate and that will take some tinkering through the night and maybe through another day.

"Don't worry. It's nothing to worry about," he says. He finally returned home on Friday at 7 at night.

Late middle age, he was coming to understand, was a time of life when everything was predictable and yet somehow you failed to see any of it coming. Jack Griffin from That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

P.S. He is doing well, but taking lots more medication,though. Atrial fibrillation. Salt is leaving our table--for the sake of hearts and a kidney.

Summer Shots

2011-08-05T10:42:00.000-04:00

This sunflower grew from a dropped seed from the bird feeder.
Next summer, I may just plant a whole row along the deck.

Cherry tomatoes are ripening. Sweet.

Cherry tomatoes, Italian peppers and herbs are from my garden.
So fresh tasting. I love summer food.

Food for Thought

2011-08-04T14:00:00.000-04:00

This article from Everyday Health lists five foods to avoid if one suffers from Bi-Polar Disorder:

Caffeine

Alcohol

Sugar

Salt

Fat

They are all likely to impact mood swings according to this report.

Well, thank goodness I do not have that disorder. If I had to give up those things, my mood would be pretty stable, though--dark, dreary and miserable, but stable that way.

I can say that I am most grateful that I have few restriction on my daily diet.

I am also grateful that I can afford (at least for now) to eat a variety of foods. According to an Associated Press article in our newspaper this morning:

"People who spend the most on food get the closest meeting federal guidelines for potassium, dietary fiber, Vitamin D and calcium...Those who spend the least have the lowest intakes of the four recommended nutrients and the highest consumption of saturated fat and added sugar."

The point being made was that too many people cannot afford to follow the new U.S. nutritional guidelines as advertised by a plate of salmon, leafy green vegetable, and rice pilaf.

I guess that has to mean wild caught Alaskan salmon, organic kale, and some exotic blend of rice and spices.

Because I don't really believe most people can't have a fairly balanced and nutritious diet on a reasonable budget.

I mean, there an awful lot of high-priced junk food and processed foods to be had in any American supermarket--even the "health food" places. It's not just about money. Time, traditions, values, choices, motivation, and good old appetite all enter into it.

I got my book, A Homemade Life, today and I have already read a third of the way through. In case any one is wondering why I seem a bit food obsessed today.

Speaking of...supper last night was rustic olive and roasted red pepper pizza done on the grill. The topping was a chopped mix of black olives, garlic, a couple of anchovies (seriously), and roasted red pepper topped with mozzarella cheese. I'm not Italian, but sometimes I play one in the comfort of my own kitchen.

Clearing Out

2011-08-03T13:59:00.001-04:00

Today's garden work involved pruning. I gave a pretty severe trimming to the lavender in the flower garden and to the spirea in the side yard. I pruned out the four lilac bushes and snipped off some sucker branches from the two crab apple trees. Now I have a large pile to haul off to the stump dump tomorrow.

Actually, I was quite restrained.

I have been known to go a little overboard with loppers and a trimming saw, but I haven't actually killed any of the hedges and bushes. The vegetation around here is pretty forgiving.

I am also working on my annual clear out the storage areas. Mike put a lot of stuff up on e-bay and made some good money. He knows about certain antiques and values so he can do that. I just give stuff to the Salvation Army or the Clutter Barn. The funny thing is we have yet to notice big expanses of cleared out space. Strange about that.

I recently read a magazine article about clearing people out of your life--people who are not your friends anymore or are hurtful to you in some way. That's not quite as easy as pruning branches or packing up boxes. A bit more painful...unless, of course, the saw slips.

Now, if I dared to climb twenty feet up into this tree with a chain saw to cull out the dead branches...

but I do, on occasion show good sense. Of course there is always a professional tree company that could take care of this but some of would rather let nature take its course. I just hope no one is under the tree when the next big branch comes down...that's all I'm saying,

Links, not golf

2011-08-02T17:39:00.000-04:00

If you really want to know about an ironing mitt, you can check it out here. I have used one when sewing and need to tame a seam, but it is certainly something most people can live without.

I spent time in Bed, Bath and Beyond today--looking at sheets. Like everything else, they have gotten rather expensive. I couldn't find the perfect sheets so it was just wasted time I guess. I am determined to not buy until I find the sheets of my dreams.

Today, I found out that I actually won something. It was a pass the book contest, and the book is A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. I'm getting the book from Margaret Finnegan, but the force behind the pass the book contest is at this site: High in the Sky.

Scissors

2011-07-31T19:16:00.000-04:00

For some reason, I got it into my head today that the scissors hanging naked in my sewing area just needed clothing.

I made three scissor pockets out of felt scraps and two out of the blue flowered fabric I used for my sewing machine cover. I also felt the need to make the ironing mitten because I had just enough material left.

If you think all of my scissors are now clothed, you would be oh so wrong. I actually horde scissors. I have at least two pair in every room of my house.

There is probably a scientific classification for those who horde scissors. I'd do some research, but right now I am feeling really sleepy. I'll save that task for another day. Making scissor pockets has worn me out.

The Garden in Mid Summer

2011-07-29T12:18:00.000-04:00

Bright blossoms are greeting me these days.

Bee Balm

Liatrus and Phlox

Clematis

Day Lily

There are still garden tasks that occupy a part of each day. I try to pull a few weeds on a regular basis. This time of year, it does seem that the need for dead-heading increases as well.

I look at these balloon flowers. I like their purple presence in my garden. But it does not take long for them to abandon the job I assign to them--beautifying there designated space. They quickly--and they are certainly not alone in this mid-summer season by any means--take up their selfish thrust to produce seed and ensure reproduction, taking on their own agenda entirely. When I pinch them back, they keep on blooming, but they do need reminding who is in charge with each pinch.

They kind of remind me of the politicians we elect, believing their promises of a brighter future for all. All too soon, they are off on propagating a political future and forgetting those who made it all possible in the first place. Ha! I could lop their heads off! Is there a lesson here?

Now these Johnny Jump-ups are volunteers. Someone planted them over twenty years ago along the front sidewalk. Here, they have migrated their way into the back yard. They wander where they may, but they are cheery and otherwise harmless. They have turned themselves into weeds, but I do not have the ruthless fervor to eradicate them that, say, dandelions engender. Still, some of them can stay and some of them just have to go. They will come back. Talk about politicians.
Then there is the crabgrass. Oh, it is late July and early August, the season of crabgrass. What an annoyingly opportunistic pest! I want to believe that there is some kind of intelligent design at work in nature, but then the crabgrass starts popping up and I am no longer so much a believer.

Sure, I could look at myself as a heartless colonial master banishing native plants I consider inferior in order to make room for the desirable plants of my own choosing. But I'm not going there right now.

More on Sewing

2011-07-27T12:52:00.000-04:00

I had to go to visit the sewing machine shop to get a refresher course on using the buttonhole function on my sewing machine. It is a NECCHI--a wonderful machine. Once I was reminded how to use it the the buttonholer just goes ahead and makes perfect buttonholes. EASY, no kidding!

Before my 40 year old Singer sewing machine went to stitch heaven, I was thinking about buying a serger. I thought they were complicated and temperamental after trying one out. My NECCHI 4825 has ability to do overlock stitches and it has a serger setting. It doesn't have all the threads and complicated threading that I've seen on regular serger machines. I'm not sure how it works, but it really works well.

I started a knit dress. Knits are something I have avoided in the past, but this new machine is handling the job like a pro.

I do love my new sewing machine.

Sewing

2011-07-26T20:42:00.000-04:00

It was a dark and rainy kind of day here today. I spent a lot of time sewing. It is nice to be able to sit on the breezeway and work no matter what the weather. I made this shirt and a new cover for my sewing machine.

Good grief, I could have used a bit of make-up here.

I spent so much time weeding last week, I thought I could coast for the rest of July. Guess what...the weeds I missed were about two feet high yesterday. And speaking of July, I cannot believe it is almost over. I have been in a bit of a fog lately.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

My sister-in-law introduced me to fennel last winter. I used it in a spinach salad with dried cranberries and walnuts tonight--really yummy. Mike had his lettuce, tomato and olive salad. He had chicken. I had roasted vegetables. We shared some brown rice. Some nights it feels like I am running a restaurant.

Corn-on-the-cob season is just around the corner. We both appreciate that. Then it's apple pie season after that. Oh, I never can get rid of those ten extra pounds! Darn!

BERNIE BUZZ

2011-07-25T17:20:00.000-04:00

I recieved the Bernie Buzz via e-mail today. This is a newsletter put out by our Vermont State Senator, Bernie Sanders. I copy it here, because I cannot agree with the man more than I do. I know that some pundits say boycott Vermont for our overly liberal ways. I'm thinking...Bernie for President.

With one week to go before an Aug. 2 deadline for raising the nation's debt limit, the stakes are enormous. Some in Congress continue to press for steep cuts in programs for working families. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid remain in jeopardy. Funds for education, child care, nutrition, affordable housing, environmental protection and energy independence also are at stake. When Republican leaders talk about $3 trillion or $4 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, with no new taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, please understand what they mean.

SOCIAL SECURITY — The average Social Security recipient who retires at age 65 would get $560 less a year at age 75, under a proposal to change the formula which determines cost-of-living adjustments. The same retiree would get $1,000 less a year at age 85 than under current law. Another provision pushed by House Republicans would require that Social Security always be solvent for 75 years, an avenue to even larger cuts in benefits. All of this would take place despite the fact that Social Security has not contributed one penny to the deficit and has a $2.6 trillion surplus.

MEDICARE — Raising the eligibility age from 65 to 67 is one proposal. Another would cut benefits by as much as $500 billion over 10 years. How are 66-year-old Americans with modest means going to afford health insurance with a private company especially if they have medical problems? It's not going to happen. They are going to suffer. Some will unnecessarily die.
MEDICAID — At a time when 50 million Americans already have no health insurance, Republicans and some Democrats are proposing to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid. That means that many men, women and children will lose the health insurance they have. According to a Harvard University study, some 45,000 Americans die each year because they don't get to a doctor when they should. How many more will die if Medicaid is slashed? How many children will be thrown off the Children's Health Insurance Program?
EDUCATION — Childcare and college education already are unaffordable for millions of working families. Head Start has long waiting-lists. If Republicans and some Democrats get their way, Pell grants and other educational programs will be deeply slashed. Affordable childcare and a college education will no longer be possible for many families in our country.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY — Forget about the government having the ability to protect the people from corporations who want to evade Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act regulations. With massive cuts in the EPA, the resources will not be there. Forget about this country having the investment capability to transform our energy system to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. Forget about creating millions of jobs rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and improving our public transportation system.

We don't have to make these cuts. Adopting a fair budget plan which ends tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations and makes real cuts in military spending is the kind of shared sacrifice that the American people want -- and that Bernie has been fighting for.

Sunset in the Back Yard

2011-07-24T12:54:00.000-04:00

We sat on the deck to watch the sunset

as night tried to settle in.

The sun seemed reluctant to give up its hold.

Then we went inside and ate cheesecake.

Heat Lightning

2011-07-22T20:01:00.000-04:00

I went to bed last night and watched flickers and flashes of light in the northern sky for the longest time. I heard not one rumble of thunder--although I do have to admit that the windows were closed because the air conditioner was on. It was hot and it was humid so I was thinking "heat lightning."
I understand that heat lightning is just a regular old electrical storm that is so far away that you just cannot hear the thunder. Still, those flashes were persistent and lasted for quite a long time. Someone was getting a hell of a storm.

It was hot again today, but the humidity was not so bad. I did my library volunteer gig and then went for a short walk. I even turned the oven on and baked a cheese cake that I topped with blueberries. I used my adaptation of a recipe from Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen. My copy is a 15 year anniversary edition--printed in 1992. It all of a sudden occurred to me that that makes it a pretty old book--almost an antique. I still love it, though, and use it a lot. For one thing, you can really fiddle around with the recipes and they still come out fine. I used half the ricotta called for and filled in the rest with yogurt cheese, because that is what I had. No problem. I like recipes that are mere suggestions rather than hard and fast rules. I don't always succeed, but, hey, I have fun.

Speaking of food--I actually have some bean plants that survived the onslaught of the woodchuck! I may have some green beans in a few weeks. There are even a few intrepid leaves of lettuce in my garden, although the recent hot weather has not been friendly to them. My tomatoes are starting to ripen. We had grape tomatoes today and they were so incredibly sweet. The Italian peppers are coming on strong. All is not as bleak as I had thought a month ago. I have even harvested a bunch of herbs before they bolted. Now I think I won't give up on the garden after all.

Hey! My old dashboard and post page are back!!! I don't know why Blogger was choosing to toy with me like that, but all is forgiven now. I could not go directly to my Blogger account from that interim dashboard and it made it so much harder to navigate around reader and Gmail. I'm happier now.

Hot

2011-07-21T20:50:00.000-04:00

I set my sewing machine up in the breezeway during warmer weather. Today, I had both doors open and, true to the name, a steady breeze was blowing through, Not a cool breeze. A breeze that might have originated in a blast furnace.
Now, I know that there are those who would welcome a daytime temperature of 93. And, I am not complaining. I like hot weather. I did not even raise a sweat sitting there sewing in my breezeway. I did not go out for a brisk walk, though. That might have turned me into a puddle.
It is supposed to stay in the 80's through the night. That's, at the very most, a once a year event in Vermont. Usually, we would try to arrange to be camping during these glorious summer days, but Mike has been too busy with his e-bay sales of motorcycle memorabilia. All that "stuff" he collected over the years served him well in coming up with money for the Florida house. Who would have thought?

This poster was a hefty start to the house fund. you would not believe what it sold for so I won't even say.

A New House

2011-07-20T16:19:00.000-04:00

It is official, now. We had the closing on the place in
Florida and now have the papers in hand. We own a winter home in Florida and we are very happy about that for so many reasons. We will take a trip down again in the fall just to get a feel for living there and to figure out what we may need to make it truly home for us.

It is in Venice, where we wanted to be--about four miles from the beach. It is further away from the Sarasota County libraries. I may have to get myself a bicycle to tootle around town. My brother suggested a Florida car--you know, one where I could not see over the steering wheel. Three thousand comedians out of work and he makes jokes.

Maybe winters will get longer and longer, now. Our Vermont house has been very good for us, but it is a raised ranch. That means those pesky stairs. (My black and blues are fading now, BTW.) It also means windows that are a story and a half high. My ladder climbing days are definitely over. If I can't handle stairs, think how I could hurt myself falling off a ladder. Shudder. We are replacing windows one or two at a time--getting the kind that open inwards to be washed. For the rest, I got myself a squeegee system with an extension pole (Ettori) at the hardware store. I have noticed that the new, easy to wash windows don't get any where near as dirty, nor so fast, as those old, take-off-the-storms, wash-from-the-outside windows.

At least I did learn last winter that Mike knows how to wash windows because he wanted to see out the bedroom window in the morning before even getting out of bed. Shades drawn? No, that's why we live in the country. I guess he will have to adjust to living in a neighborhood.

Just Commenting

2011-07-19T17:29:00.000-04:00

A recent post on Aunt Amelia's Attic got me thinking and wondering about comments.
I always like to read the comments that readers may leave and I often--but by no means always--like to leave a comment on the blogs that I read on a regular basis.
But I'm thinking I don't really know the standard protocol.
I see that some respond to individual comments on the same comment page. That means, if you assume a conversation is taking place through comments, that you would have to check back for new comments. That's extra time and effort I don't always make.
Some bloggers send an e-mail as follow-up to a comment I have made on their blog. It's nice to get e-mail that isn't selling me something.
Sometimes it seems a response is called for--some kind of acknowledgement--but is it always expected? Is there and Emily Post for bloggers?

Friends and family often ask me what a blog is or why I write on. I say it is just like the diary I used to keep hidden under my mattress. I would have screamed and hit and had all manner of fits if someone has read those innermost secrets. Now I blog on the world wide web for everyone to see. Strange?

Flea Market

2011-07-17T14:08:00.000-04:00

Sunday morning is flea market time for Mike. Today I took the ride with him and wandered around amongst the many vendors. Mike wandered in a different direction since we are never likely to stop and peruse the same merchandise anyway.

One lady was selling, according to her sign, "handmade" "soap" with "shea" oil and "lavender" oil and on and on. I had to wonder is her product was not really made by hand and maybe not even really soap--hence to quotation marks. I have to believe the scents she used were chemically enhanced since they really were overwhelmingly strong and made me "sneeze" so I kept on walking.

This reminded me that I was in a downtown shop in Venice last winter that prominently displayed ladies' purses. I had just picked on up when the saleslady (and I think the store owner) proudly announced that all the purses were designer knockoffs. Now, excuse me, but I was under the impression that that kind of thing was against the law--so I said, "Gee, isn't that illegal?" And, wow, did she get all huffy and cranky. That's another reason why I didn't stop to chat with the soap lady--some people just don't appreciate my helpful comments.

There was one guy who had a number of old kitchen utensils on his table. I picked up a double brush-like thingy. A part of the original box was attached and that let me know that I was looking at a brush for cleaning screen windows. "Screen Cleaner" was also stamped on the devise itself (without quotation marks, BTW).
The man said, "I'll bet you can't guess what that is."
"Well, it's for cleaning screen windows," I replied.
He looked at me with utter amazement. "Your the first person who knew that," he announced.
Good, grief. I was the first person who happened by that knew how to read?

maybe I should have stuck to my original plan, which was to go out and pull weeds in the garden.

Sticker Shock

2011-07-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

I just handed over my debit card at the grocery store and did not even look at the total. That only delayed the sticker shock. I had to look at the receipt to enter it in the check book at home. How do people with large families to feed afford to eat??

There are lots of sites with coupons and lots of sites with money-savings tips available on line. I was moved to check a few out. Being the daughter of depression-era parents, most of the tips were second nature to me.

Don't shop while hungry--you'll spend more.
Shop the periphery of the supermarket. That's where the real food tends to be stocked.
Avoid processed, pre-cooked, pre-washed, pre-chopped, and overly packaged items.
Watch the specials, plan meals, and make lists.
Buy only the amount of perishable that you can use before it goes bad or you just waste food and the money you spent on it.
Use coupons only for something you would buy anyway.
Watch the scanner. Mistakes happen.

Now these things were ingrained in me as I often shopped with my mother. Still, I find them much easier to follow in my retirement years. These tips may save money, but they do not necessarily save time and effort.

Don't shop while hungry. Okay, but I passed the grocery store on my way home from work--ten miles before I got home. I'm going to stop and pick up a few things even though I'm tired and HUNGRY--two conditions that leave me completely at the mercy of impulses.
Buy real food and do the prep and cooking myself. It's five o'clock, dark, and I am TIRED and hungry. Do prepared, frozen stuffed chicken breasts and a bag of salad look good? Darn good!
Plan meals, have a list. Of course the plan and the list are sitting on the kitchen counter. Sometimes the thought of having to come up with what to fix was more daunting than the actual cooking. We went out to eat way more often when we were working.
Buying limited amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables was a stumbling block for me because in my theoretical "plan" I always figured in more than we would use--what with the impulse buying and the going out, I have thrown out more than my share of slimey produce.
Coupons are a marketing ploy. Manufacturers and processors want you to spend more on their convenience products and they are clever at reeling in shoppers. "I can afford to pay for this convenience because I have a coupon."
Watch the scanner? After trudging through the store aisles and unloading the cart, there's a quick nap time while the checkout is happening.

Actually, I have given up on coupons. Have you noticed that it is more and more that you have to buy two or even three of an item to get the dollar off? And I rarely see a coupon for broccoli or peaches. They really are meant to get you to try things you wouldn't necessarily buy otherwise. For me, a coupon deal rarely passes the "do I need it?" test.

One thing I hadn't really thought about was a tip to buy only groceries at the grocery store. Personal care products, paper products, and cleaning supplies are cheaper at a discount store. I just once bought groceries at a Walmart store and did not find it to be cheaper for what food I usually buy. I'll give it another try for non-grocery items--well, some kind of discount store, anyway.

Doing way more cooking, I do find the need to have herbs and spices on hand. I grow my own thyme (use a boatload of that), oregano, chives, parsley, sage, rosemary, basil, and mint. I dry it or freeze it and make my own blends. For other herbs and the spices I have to have on hand, I go to the health food store. I buy small quantities so even though the unit price may be higher, I spend less money and use them while they are fresh.

So now that I am retired I have less money, but way more time. I'm back to following (mostly) the rules. I do sometimes buy cold cereal for the grand kids and I still like to have a box of pancake/waffle mix on hand because I am not a morning person and breakfasts need to be easy. Mike likes the deli selections, but not too often. We go out to eat, but maybe twice a month instead of twice a week. Actually, a lot more of our lives revolve around food lately, but we enjoy it more that way.

Lake Champlain

2011-07-13T16:13:00.002-04:00

A few errands to run on a foggy, grey Tuesday morning, but by noon the sun was out and the lake beaches are finally open so we spent a long afternoon at the Sand Bar State Park. It's a nice sandy beach where a four year old boy can spend hours digging holes and then filling them with buckets of water. All that is required of a grandma is the occasional admiring comment and the offer of a drink of water.
After a hearty supper of ham, noodles and corn on the cob, with strawberry shortcake for dessert, Dane spent the longest time drawing and setting up his own "art exhibit."

Only a minor meltdown from over-tiredness before off to bed. But Mike pured me a glass of wine and all was well.

2011-07-11T18:37:00.000-04:00

My blogger dashboard page is completely different and I now have a hard time getting saved posts to edit and publish. Not impossible,but much more cumbersome than the previous dashboard and "new post" page." Also I used to be able to get to GMail and reader from my blogger dashboard and I can't seem to do that at all any more. It's just weird.

It's grammy camp week for Dane. Mike will be working in the basement while we are full tilt energy level going. Today did a craft project--a card for his mom. We went shopping for new shoes, then spent the afternoon at the Birds of Vermont Museum. I'd never been there before and it was just delightful. We took a walk to the frog pond and found...frogs!!

Then it was a refreshing dip in a cold Vermont stream.

Where there just happened to be an endless supply of rocks that could be either put in a pile to bring home for the "rock collection" or thrown to make a series of splashes. Boys are so easy to entertain.

Last night...

"Goodnight, Dane. I love you to pieces.

"Goodnight, Grandma. I love you seven pieces."

Not so cute at 5 a.m. this morning....

Dane: "It's morning time. I am all done sleeping!"

Grandma: "No you are not! Go back to bed."

Bees

2011-07-08T14:53:00.001-04:00

There was concern for the past couple of years about bees disappearing. I haven't heard anything about that this year, but I can say there are definitely bees in my garden--tons of them and it looks like at least three different kinds. Astible, lavender and thyme seem to be particular favorites. Oh, yeah, how did I forget the bee balm? They like that too. Mike said he was nervous about mowing around the flower beds, but so far they just seem intent on the blossoms.

Some bee facts:
*Honeybees make honey--the only insect produced food for humans--not counting chocolate covered ants.
*Bees are socially tolerant, living in groups of 40 to 45 thousand per hive.
*Honey making is hard work, resulting in a short life span--about 6 weeks.
*Bees are long distance travellers. A bee can travel up to six miles per pollen gathering trip. It takes 1600 round trips to make just one ounce of honey.
*Bees are speedy, averaging 13-15 mph.
*Bees are patient and persistent. If bees from the same hive visit 225 thousand flowers per day and it takes 2 million such visits to make a pound of honey--well, you do the math, but I think that's over a week.
*The queen bee is very demanding and kind of slutty.
*About 8 pounds of honey is eaten by bees to produce 1 pound of beeswax. (Does that mean that the wax is actually a waste product?

Did I miss a heads-up about the changing format of blogger?? Good grief.

Bang Up 4th of July

2011-07-05T14:43:00.000-04:00

We didn't go to the Burlington waterfront fireworks, which are always held on July 3rd. They always put on a good show, but this year the estimate was 100,000 crowding in to see them. They set off the fireworks from a barge out in the lake. People with boats make a day and evening of it. The waterfront park is always jammed. The hard part is getting out. You really can't leave the waterfront without going through the city streets where everyone else is simultaneously trying to make their exit. I guess we are old. Watch boomy lights or avoid a two hour traffic snarl--no contest.
But I did have a bang up Fourth of July...quite literally. I went out to take the picture of my lavender for a previous post in the morning. I didn't even step into the garden. I don't know how my shoes got wet, but they surely must have been wet because as I stepped on the stairs to go into the lower level of our spit ranch I slid. I completely lost my footing and went "ass over tea kettle" (I believe that is the expression) and landed in a heap in the hallway below. I scared Mike with my thumping and bumping and screams of "OOOOH, NOOOOOO!" Aches and pains, but no serious injuries--no stitches or casts required.
It's always my dream to have a single floor dwelling. Mike is coming around to my way of thinking.

Holy Tumbling Tumbleweeds, Batman!

It's not that I am clumsy or anything but consider these vignettes from my life:

* As a toddler, I am looking for my mother and become convinced she is in the basement. Fall down steep stairs. Break my nose.
* I am riding a bike and hit a walkway decorated with slanted bricks. Land on brick edge. Scar just south of eye socket.
* I try to fly by jumping off the radiator but fall instead and gash my leg. Crying.
* I carry a birthday cake I had made and decorated into the living room on my father's birthday. I trip over my own feet and smash the cake on the floor. Ha, ha, family laughter.
* My father had knee surgery and was stretched out on the TV room floor (watching TV int he dark so as to not waste electricity). I walk into the room and trip over his recently cut open and therefore really sore knee.
Strong oaths and bad words shouted.
* I walk across the school parking lot on a winter day and slip in front of a stopped (empty) school bus. Books fly up into the air and I land on my keester. Classmates are watching out the library windows. Comments in my year book for three years running--never mind that I could have been valedictorian.
* As I am delivering a high school lesson, I am so engrossed in the subject that I am gesturing and walking backwards, thrilled at the looks of intent interest on the faces of my students. I back into an unoccupied desk and land on the floor. Major entertainment, little concern for my well-being.
* I paint the back door exterior. Since the screen has been taken out, I step through the opening rather than open the door. I'm in a hurry. I catch my foot and break the middle toe on my left foot.

Why would I ever, ever try to recover repressed memories. I'm sure they would be way too painful. Past life regressions--not for me. I don't want to know.

Lavender

2011-07-04T12:47:00.000-04:00

My lavender has been blooming nicely this year, and my plant has lasted for quite some time now. I learned how to prune it and that seems to have made a difference. I am drying some this year to replenish my sachet supply in linen storage. I also found this recipe for making lavender oil and I just may give it a try. I love the scent of lavender. It is supposed to have a calming effect.
I also like Herb Gardener Blog, complete with a recipe and other useful information (like about allergies).
Of course, essential lavender oil can be bought already prepared.
If you mix about 20 drops or so of lavender oil with 1/8th cup of vodka (I wouldn't use Grey Goose or Stoli, just cheap stuff) and add a couple of cups of mineral water, you get a lovely spay for the linen closet--or spritz it on your pillow before bedtime.
It also makes a cooling foot spray. I think it would have deoderant properties as well.
With the marauding critters decimating my vegetables, I may go more and more to herbal gardening.

We had a lovely weekend with sister and brother-in-law. Saturday was a perfect kind of Vermont summer day.
We were almost tempted to go to the waterfront fireworks in Burlington, but remembered the crowds and traffic from the last time so we decided to have burgers on the deck instead.

Varmints, 4; Olga, 0

2011-07-01T17:33:00.000-04:00

I admit defeat. I give up. It's back to growing flowers for me. The neighborhood woodchuck has struck once again. That darn critter is under the mistaken notion that I am running an all-you-can-eat salad buffet. My first planting of lettuce and beans were sheared to the ground. I was spraying the second planting with a substance that is supposed to be unpalatable to woodchucks, but with all the rain, I guess I should have been more diligent about getting out there every single evening. Any evidence of the second crop is now gone as well.
Then there is the raccoon that discovered the bird feeders. Mike started bringing in the feeders at night, but that has only served to piss off the raccoon. He left a large pile or two on the deck to communicate his irritation. When that didn't have the desired pay-off, he ravaged my deck planters and broke some pottery.
Meanwhile, Mike is being plagued by a mole in the side yard. He thinks woodchucks and raccoons are cute, but a mole digging in the lawn pushes him right over the edge. He will go into Elmer Fudd mode over a mole.

*********

My grand daughter's visit has come to an end. We went shopping (shopping for a new outfit was her birthday present from me), went bike riding and swimming, visited with my friend's puppy, and made a trip to the science museum. I also got her started on learning to knit--although I notice she didn't take that home with her. We made some Sculpy clay figures. She claimed not to miss her little brother the least little bit.

I did my thing at the library today and now I have to get ready for weekend guests. Mike's sister and her husband will be here so that will be a good time. I know we are going to hit an antique mall and eat, drink and be merry. That's easy.

I did not get to see Michele Obama on her trip to Vermont but I thought it was nice that she came. Vermont doesn't get a whole lot of attention from the political ins and wannabes...which is not necessarily an altogether bad thing...just sometimes it's nice to be noticed.

A HAPPY and SAFE FOURTH of JULY!

Another rainy day...

2011-06-26T10:30:00.000-04:00

It feels like we had to drive all the way down to Florida just to enjoy a bit of sun. We sure have not seen much of its shiny face between the trip back in April and now. An old Vermontism: "Hope it don't hurt the rhubarb." Let me tell ya, my rhubarb has turned into a mutant monster plant. I'm afraid to go near it.

My son and I are off to visit my daughter and the grand children. We are attempting to pull off a fast one by bringing Kristen back for a little-brother-less week with Grandma. He will get his turn when she goes to day camp. We have a shopping trip planned--that's her birthday present--and I have sewing and craft projects lined up. We'll see how this experiment goes.

My daughter did want assurance that I would still take the two together on occasion. That will be her birthday present this year.

Part of my birthday present--downtown Savannah.

If I remember correctly, this was once the Coca Cola plant.

Painting

2011-06-24T22:53:00.000-04:00

I took it into my head to paint the bathroom. It hadn't been done for about 18 years. It needed and overhaul.

Actually, the first time I painted the bathroom, I started by stripping off wallpaper. That led to the discovery that the bathroom had been through a remodel and that who ever had completed that moved the sink but left a hole in the wall where the pipes were originally located. The hole was covered with wall paper, but that was the only attempt at repair. I had to call my brother to bail me out on that one.

Then there was my attempt to reattached a loose tile in the shower enclosure that resulted in many tiles falling into the tub and the discovery that the wall behind the tile was rotted. My brother was called in once again.

So this project took two days of my life but was relatively disaster free. I did have to call Mike to help me remount the medicine cabinet on the wall (which wasn't easy or fun, but we he did it while I gave him helpful suggestions about leveling it and so forth). I also bought a new vanity light fixture that I hope he will install because my willingness to fool around with anything electrical begins and ends with flipping a switch. I'll wait until his head heals a little more before I start nagging.

So, I was wondering out loud what I should take on tomorrow around the house. Mike suggested that it would make him extremely happy if I went next door and helped Ray chop fire wood. That would give me plenty of exercise and would be a good deed in the bargain.

I think he just wants me out of his way.