Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Dinner Party
Deb, our friend across the street, invited SM and I and Don and Jean (our other neighbors) over last night for a dinner party with her husband James.
Deb is the glue that holds our little part of the world together. She knows everyone. Seriously. Don was telling us that he had a handyman over at his house and when Deb stopped by, she knew the guy. We also call her the "oracle". If something is going on in the hood that we don't know about, we call Debbie. And Debbie's go-to housewife is Don. We tease them all the time that they're a couple of hens clucking...always gossiping.
SM and I headed over at 6:30 with a couple of bottles of Two Buck Chuck in hand. Deb's got a ham on the table that she got on sale. Sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and lots of laughs. A homemade pineapple upside down cake. With the little cherry in the middle of the pineapple. Aw.
We talked about wine, water softeners, neighbors that we "think" are still alive that we never see. Everyone wanted to know about the "kidney stone incident". We talked about home improvement, a yoga class that Jean wants us to sign up for, the tree disease that's taking out the birch trees in our area. Don shared stories of his "stoner" days and he and SM did a really good rendition of Cheech and Chong's Christmas Story.
We talked about everything and nothing at all. And had a really great time.
A sit down dinner is something that we just don't do anymore. I turned our formal dining room into my TV / dog / reading room. We usually eat at the coffee table in front of the TV. We sometimes use the small dinette in the kitchen for breakfast. Alot of the time it's just a plate or bowl in my lap or in my hand as I walk around.
I wonder what happened to the sit down dinner? Last night we sat at the table for 2 hours talking. Face to face. Not texting, not using our cellphone. An honest to goodness personal interaction.
We need to do this more often.
Deb is the glue that holds our little part of the world together. She knows everyone. Seriously. Don was telling us that he had a handyman over at his house and when Deb stopped by, she knew the guy. We also call her the "oracle". If something is going on in the hood that we don't know about, we call Debbie. And Debbie's go-to housewife is Don. We tease them all the time that they're a couple of hens clucking...always gossiping.
SM and I headed over at 6:30 with a couple of bottles of Two Buck Chuck in hand. Deb's got a ham on the table that she got on sale. Sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and lots of laughs. A homemade pineapple upside down cake. With the little cherry in the middle of the pineapple. Aw.
We talked about wine, water softeners, neighbors that we "think" are still alive that we never see. Everyone wanted to know about the "kidney stone incident". We talked about home improvement, a yoga class that Jean wants us to sign up for, the tree disease that's taking out the birch trees in our area. Don shared stories of his "stoner" days and he and SM did a really good rendition of Cheech and Chong's Christmas Story.
We talked about everything and nothing at all. And had a really great time.
A sit down dinner is something that we just don't do anymore. I turned our formal dining room into my TV / dog / reading room. We usually eat at the coffee table in front of the TV. We sometimes use the small dinette in the kitchen for breakfast. Alot of the time it's just a plate or bowl in my lap or in my hand as I walk around.
I wonder what happened to the sit down dinner? Last night we sat at the table for 2 hours talking. Face to face. Not texting, not using our cellphone. An honest to goodness personal interaction.
We need to do this more often.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
And You May Find Yourself...
You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
You may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
You may ask yourself, "Well, how did I get here?"
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads
"I think 2012 is going to be the year we invest in the house." SM declares. "I really love this neighborhood." He says as he looks out the window.
"So we're staying put?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
To those of you who might not know (or didn't read my post a few days ago), SM and I have had discussions on the idea of ditching the suburbs in favor of a country lifestyle for years now. And I do mean years.
Why country? It's how we grew up.
We both lived in small towns in Ohio and when we graduated from school, we found there was no work to be had. SM could have worked in the coal mines like he did after high school. I could have found work as a waitress in my hometown but the pickings were very slim. It was the early 80's and the US was in a recession. Like many of our generation, we migrated to the jobs and lifestyles that the big city had to offer. We chose our career paths. And we chose to incur the debts that go along with modern living.
With age comes wisdom. Everyone middle aged or older hits a moment in their life when they realize that the simple life is best and you try to adapt to a more "down-sized" lifestyle.
Unfortunately when you change your mind midway, you discover that the umbilical cord that ties you to the cash you need, that provides you with your chosen lifestyle...Well, that cord can only be stretched so far. Money rules.
You must feed the beast that you created.
Since becoming self employed 5 years ago, SM can work from anywhere. I'm the problem now. I work in an "elective" medical field. Patients choose to have the work done. So I need to be where my peeps are. And my income matters to our household survival, so ditching my chosen field would be financial suicide.
If we were younger we'd be more likely to take the chance on a major upheaval in our careers. Not so much now that we're in our 50's. SM chose self employment because of age discrimination. (Please don't tell me that anyone still believes that potential employers don't consider how old a new employee is. Hard to prove legally, but we know it happens all the time.) He has good months and bad months financially. Nothing consistent. But overall, I think we're both happy with the arrangement. SM depends on himself. He can work or not work, it's up to him. But the groundwork is there. As he gets older, I would think that this would be quite liberating and allow for a lot of flexibility.
As for me, while I do love what I do, I've placed a 1 hour drive time limit (one way) on how far I'm willing to travel to work. We live at the 45 minute mark right now. As the big city grows, the suburbs expand and country life gets farther and farther away.
When we moved here 14 years ago, we were in the country. Cows mooing and roosters crowing. We're on the edge of the burbs now. They're planning a shopping center a mile away. Another big subdivision has been in the works for the past few years just waiting for the economy to turn around. But we both acknowledge that our neighborhood, with it's 1/2 acre lots and wide streets, is a far cry from true city living. Our neighborhood is a bit special. So we're staying. Granted, it could be better. But it could also be a hellva lot worse.
Now living in the burbs is not all bad. I don't need to list the conveniences, they're obvious. Thankfully, we don't have an HOA. We have a bit of privacy along with a good sized patch of land. I'm not the only one in the neighborhood slowly converting my back yard into my own local farm.
Why the garden? It's pretty simple. It's because we know we face a future of limited funds. Believe it or not, the government now categorizes us as low income. Our house is now our biggest investment, our savings account. Any Social Security we get in the future will be eaten up by the high cost living.
And I'm not blind. Food is getting more and more expensive. But that is the one expenditure that I have some control over. If you want quality, grow it yourself. And I have some land. So make it produce something, will ya?
So if we're going to stay here, then it's time we make some improvements and invest in our home.
With money being tight the past few years we've opted to only do what has HAD to be done. Looking around the house now, I'm sorry to say that it's seen better days. Toss in the damage that 3 dogs, 1 cat and 2 adults can do day in and day out, and the house is looking like I do first thing in the morning when I roll out of bed. Just a little rough.
So we're hoping to unstick ourselves from our habit of pinching every freakin penny and "Suck It Up", the house needs work. So $pend it.
We need to:
Replace windows and flooring. The windows we hope to do ourselves, with some help from a hired handyman. The carpet and vinyl flooring (no tile for us) we'll need to hire out. (*We tiled our guest bathroom and while it came out nice enough, we both don't like how cold the tile is. Seriously folks, does every house have to have hardwood or tile floors and granite counter tops? Here's a hint...HGTV is selling you a bill of goods that you can never pay. Practical is my new middle name. If it's not functional, than "Goodbye!" I've heard from friends that granite counters and tile floors are both a big PIA.)
Update our master bathroom. Our shower stall is broke down and busted. Pretty nasty if you ask me. We have a fiberglass tub that we never use. We'd like to rip out the tub and create a large walk-in shower area. Re-surface (or replace) the cabinet and replace the counter top with a recycled glass composite material that's durable enough that I can't hurt it. New lighting. Replace the toilet and paint.
Expand and hard-top the back deck. One of my favorite places is our back deck. I love hanging out there when the weather permits. It's an awkward space though. There's no room for a table and chairs and the seating areas are split up. We want to expand it out a bit more and SM wants a lower "sundeck" area that's not covered. When we moved here, I had an awning fit over the deck as our intense summer sun heated the house up something awful. SM has never liked the fabric awning though and has wanted to hard-top it for years. We've replaced the deck wood a few times since we've lived here (the sun is THAT bad). I told SM that I'm done with that. I hate to buy the "artificial" wood but if that's what can survive the elements than that's what we're putting in.
Backyard / Landscaping We're expanding the garden yet again. (Does it ever stop?) There are some areas around the garden that I just don't want to mow anymore. So we'll be laying out the landscape fabric/plastic to kill the grass and toss lots of pine bark mulch over those areas. Towards the back shed there's a long strip of grass that runs along the back fence line. I discovered that the shed (that SM moved last year) creates a wonderful shaded private oasis that's nice and cool in the late summer afternoon. I told SM that I'd like to salvage the wood from the back deck and build a "floating platform back there. I'm thinking of a "secret garden". You know it's back there but you can't really see it. I could plant more perennial flowers and make it quite lovely. Maybe toss a hammock back there.
I'm sure most of this will shift and change as we get into it. I'm also sure that I'll be dragging my feet when the reality of the cost to do these projects hits me in the face. I just have to remind myself that it's OK to spend the money. It's our best investment. And we really DO love it here.
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
You may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
You may ask yourself, "Well, how did I get here?"
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads
"I think 2012 is going to be the year we invest in the house." SM declares. "I really love this neighborhood." He says as he looks out the window.
"So we're staying put?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
To those of you who might not know (or didn't read my post a few days ago), SM and I have had discussions on the idea of ditching the suburbs in favor of a country lifestyle for years now. And I do mean years.
Why country? It's how we grew up.
We both lived in small towns in Ohio and when we graduated from school, we found there was no work to be had. SM could have worked in the coal mines like he did after high school. I could have found work as a waitress in my hometown but the pickings were very slim. It was the early 80's and the US was in a recession. Like many of our generation, we migrated to the jobs and lifestyles that the big city had to offer. We chose our career paths. And we chose to incur the debts that go along with modern living.
With age comes wisdom. Everyone middle aged or older hits a moment in their life when they realize that the simple life is best and you try to adapt to a more "down-sized" lifestyle.
Unfortunately when you change your mind midway, you discover that the umbilical cord that ties you to the cash you need, that provides you with your chosen lifestyle...Well, that cord can only be stretched so far. Money rules.
You must feed the beast that you created.
Since becoming self employed 5 years ago, SM can work from anywhere. I'm the problem now. I work in an "elective" medical field. Patients choose to have the work done. So I need to be where my peeps are. And my income matters to our household survival, so ditching my chosen field would be financial suicide.
If we were younger we'd be more likely to take the chance on a major upheaval in our careers. Not so much now that we're in our 50's. SM chose self employment because of age discrimination. (Please don't tell me that anyone still believes that potential employers don't consider how old a new employee is. Hard to prove legally, but we know it happens all the time.) He has good months and bad months financially. Nothing consistent. But overall, I think we're both happy with the arrangement. SM depends on himself. He can work or not work, it's up to him. But the groundwork is there. As he gets older, I would think that this would be quite liberating and allow for a lot of flexibility.
As for me, while I do love what I do, I've placed a 1 hour drive time limit (one way) on how far I'm willing to travel to work. We live at the 45 minute mark right now. As the big city grows, the suburbs expand and country life gets farther and farther away.
When we moved here 14 years ago, we were in the country. Cows mooing and roosters crowing. We're on the edge of the burbs now. They're planning a shopping center a mile away. Another big subdivision has been in the works for the past few years just waiting for the economy to turn around. But we both acknowledge that our neighborhood, with it's 1/2 acre lots and wide streets, is a far cry from true city living. Our neighborhood is a bit special. So we're staying. Granted, it could be better. But it could also be a hellva lot worse.
Now living in the burbs is not all bad. I don't need to list the conveniences, they're obvious. Thankfully, we don't have an HOA. We have a bit of privacy along with a good sized patch of land. I'm not the only one in the neighborhood slowly converting my back yard into my own local farm.
Why the garden? It's pretty simple. It's because we know we face a future of limited funds. Believe it or not, the government now categorizes us as low income. Our house is now our biggest investment, our savings account. Any Social Security we get in the future will be eaten up by the high cost living.
And I'm not blind. Food is getting more and more expensive. But that is the one expenditure that I have some control over. If you want quality, grow it yourself. And I have some land. So make it produce something, will ya?
So if we're going to stay here, then it's time we make some improvements and invest in our home.
With money being tight the past few years we've opted to only do what has HAD to be done. Looking around the house now, I'm sorry to say that it's seen better days. Toss in the damage that 3 dogs, 1 cat and 2 adults can do day in and day out, and the house is looking like I do first thing in the morning when I roll out of bed. Just a little rough.
So we're hoping to unstick ourselves from our habit of pinching every freakin penny and "Suck It Up", the house needs work. So $pend it.
We need to:
Replace windows and flooring. The windows we hope to do ourselves, with some help from a hired handyman. The carpet and vinyl flooring (no tile for us) we'll need to hire out. (*We tiled our guest bathroom and while it came out nice enough, we both don't like how cold the tile is. Seriously folks, does every house have to have hardwood or tile floors and granite counter tops? Here's a hint...HGTV is selling you a bill of goods that you can never pay. Practical is my new middle name. If it's not functional, than "Goodbye!" I've heard from friends that granite counters and tile floors are both a big PIA.)
Update our master bathroom. Our shower stall is broke down and busted. Pretty nasty if you ask me. We have a fiberglass tub that we never use. We'd like to rip out the tub and create a large walk-in shower area. Re-surface (or replace) the cabinet and replace the counter top with a recycled glass composite material that's durable enough that I can't hurt it. New lighting. Replace the toilet and paint.
Expand and hard-top the back deck. One of my favorite places is our back deck. I love hanging out there when the weather permits. It's an awkward space though. There's no room for a table and chairs and the seating areas are split up. We want to expand it out a bit more and SM wants a lower "sundeck" area that's not covered. When we moved here, I had an awning fit over the deck as our intense summer sun heated the house up something awful. SM has never liked the fabric awning though and has wanted to hard-top it for years. We've replaced the deck wood a few times since we've lived here (the sun is THAT bad). I told SM that I'm done with that. I hate to buy the "artificial" wood but if that's what can survive the elements than that's what we're putting in.
Backyard / Landscaping We're expanding the garden yet again. (Does it ever stop?) There are some areas around the garden that I just don't want to mow anymore. So we'll be laying out the landscape fabric/plastic to kill the grass and toss lots of pine bark mulch over those areas. Towards the back shed there's a long strip of grass that runs along the back fence line. I discovered that the shed (that SM moved last year) creates a wonderful shaded private oasis that's nice and cool in the late summer afternoon. I told SM that I'd like to salvage the wood from the back deck and build a "floating platform back there. I'm thinking of a "secret garden". You know it's back there but you can't really see it. I could plant more perennial flowers and make it quite lovely. Maybe toss a hammock back there.
I'm sure most of this will shift and change as we get into it. I'm also sure that I'll be dragging my feet when the reality of the cost to do these projects hits me in the face. I just have to remind myself that it's OK to spend the money. It's our best investment. And we really DO love it here.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
What A Guy
SM was at a loss on Monday. His suppliers were closed (Christmas Holiday) so he ended up doodling around the house instead of "working".
While his slacker wife was snoozing with a nap, look what SM did.
He started the garden expansion! We like the double dig method around here with our hot summers.
All these clods of clay need to be exposed to the air and rain. They'll breakdown in a month or two and then this Spring SM will cultivate it and we'll toss in some composted soil from our local source down the street to help build up the quality of the soil.
We'll have to shift the fence over to enclose the new area and add a small extension to it. I keep going back and forth. Sometimes I want a nicer looking picket fence with a gate, but the shorter "rabbit proof" wire fencing does a great job and all I have to do is step over it.
"Have you bought all your seeds for the year?" SM asked.
"Probably not. It always seems like there's something more to get." I replied. "I'll need to get onion sets and I also need to order the strawberry plants." (D'ya'll have any favorite places to get those?)
We also played a game of keep away with the dogs.
I thought this pic with Casey in the sawgrass was a good one.
I played around with the photo editing on SM's new computer. Lots of fun choices.
While his slacker wife was snoozing with a nap, look what SM did.
He started the garden expansion! We like the double dig method around here with our hot summers.
All these clods of clay need to be exposed to the air and rain. They'll breakdown in a month or two and then this Spring SM will cultivate it and we'll toss in some composted soil from our local source down the street to help build up the quality of the soil.
We'll have to shift the fence over to enclose the new area and add a small extension to it. I keep going back and forth. Sometimes I want a nicer looking picket fence with a gate, but the shorter "rabbit proof" wire fencing does a great job and all I have to do is step over it.
"Have you bought all your seeds for the year?" SM asked.
"Probably not. It always seems like there's something more to get." I replied. "I'll need to get onion sets and I also need to order the strawberry plants." (D'ya'll have any favorite places to get those?)
We also played a game of keep away with the dogs.
I thought this pic with Casey in the sawgrass was a good one.
I played around with the photo editing on SM's new computer. Lots of fun choices.
Monday, December 26, 2011
This Ain't No Green Acres
Green Acres is the place for me. Farm livin' is the life for me. Land spreading out so far and wide...Keep Manhattan just give me that country side.
New York is where I'd rather stay. I get allergic smelling hay. I just adore a penthouse view. Darling, I love you but give me Park Avenue.
SM and I see eye to eye on lots of the important things in life. That's a good thing in a marriage. But we are still two very different people choosing to walk the same path.
To have a successful marriage you have to accept compromise. Maybe that's one of the reasons why divorce is so high. It's hard to give up what I want in favor of a watered down version of what you think I should have.
I admit it's tough. But walking any road is less satisfying if you're doing it alone. If you love someone though and have that partner in crime, walking the middle of the road is still an adventure, it's just not the adventure you'd originally hoped for.
After 25 years of marriage and compromise, we still look at each other from time to time and say "Are you nuts?"
SM is the extrovert in the family. He gets his energy from outside stimulation. People, places and things. Example: He went to the mall the other day "just to look around and get into the Christmas spirit." He asked me if I wanted to go.
"Are you nuts?" I hate crowds. I hate traffic and noise and concrete and fluorescent lights and stuffy, stinky places. Home is where I want be. Outside if the weather allows. Nothing says heaven like the sun on my shoulder, the wind in my hair and the sound of birds singing. Peace and quiet. That's for me. If you guessed that I'm the introvert, you'd be guessing correctly.
Now that's not to say that SM doesn't like being outside. And it also doesn't mean that I can't be sociable. I can have a good time at a party. If you can pry me out of the house and get me there in the first place.
So over the years, SM became more and more of the city boy while I have always longed for the wide open spaces. So we compromise. It's the suburbs for us. Always has been and likely always will be.
But it's hard sometimes. I go into withdrawals where I hate the suburbs and really, really, REALLY want to move to the country. I start trolling the real estate ads searching for some land. I have Eddie Albert's dreams. And while SM is no Zsa Zsa, we do see the world a bit differently.
And in SM's mind this ain't no Green Acres.
SM came home the other week upset that a deer had dashed out and clobbered head first into the side of his van. He's not upset that he has to have body work on his new van, he's upset that the deer died. He's telling me how he and others had stopped to check out the situation. The deer had a broken jaw and was flailing around a bit. Fortunately a fellow pulled up who had a gun and put the deer out of it's misery. SM was so sad.
Me? I said "Damn...wish I'd learned how to dress out a deer. Think of all that free venison."
SM looked at me like I was nuts. I think he was hoping for some wifely sympathy and here I am matter of factly wishing I could have a deer hanging from the maple tree in my back yard. (SM did say that he went back that way a while later and sure enough the deer was gone. Someone had the same idea I did.)
These are the differences between SM and I. He won't hunt. I'd have no problem with it. I talked to SM once about buying a gun (rifle) and the two of us taking shooting lessons. "No Thanks." It's just not for him and he didn't like the idea of having a gun in the house.
We don't have chickens because a certain someone says "NO chickens"! He'd likely name the chickens while I'd be the one to cut off their heads. (I'm surprised he's not a vegetarian, he's so tender hearted.) I mentioned the idea of raising meat rabbits to him once and SM looked at me (again) like I was nuts.
And I guess in his mind I might be. A few years ago when I talked to him about growing our own fruit and vegetables, he agreed to help. Maybe because gardening is an acceptable "quirk" to have. We all grew up with gardens so that's not hard to imagine.
But I can't do all this by myself. The garden is getting bigger every year and with a full time job, my free time to pursue my "quirky hobby" is limited. I need SM to help out. And if he's not into farming or animal husbandry, well, I guess that means no farm for us. No small homestead either.
But I'm adaptable. I'll take my half acre and do the best I can with it.
SM does dangle one carrot in my face though. A carrot that I actually sold to him. He knows that I hope to eventually live a part time life. That within the next 10 years or so, I'd like to live the summer months (April-October) here in NC, gardening and preserving, and then spend some of our "downtime months" (November-March) RVing and seeing the country. I guess you could say that I hope to have it all.
We both love to travel. But SM won't camp. He wants to be in a hotel. I wouldn't mind camping. So again with the compromise. We stayed with my Mom in her RV a few years ago when we went to Alaska. SM liked the RV. So that's what we're working towards. And SM points out that "It's easier to leave if you don't have animals."
Sold!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Dreaming of a White Christmas
We've been warm and humid this week with lots of rain. Definitely not Christmas weather by any means. I stepped out this morning with the dogs and "squished" our way across the front yard. Ewww. Soggy and boggy and wormy. I say again...Ewww. Worms are fine in my garden, but the thought of stepping on them as I walk gives me the willies.
As I walked around the block looking at the night time sky, seeing stars peeking through the broken clouds, I thought about Christmas songs.
SM and I had watched the Michael Buble Christmas special that was on the other night. That man was more talent in his pinkie finger than all of us combined. I admit I'm envious. He can do something that I wish I could. Sing. Make music. It seems the purest form of celebration. What joy it would be to be singing through your life. Maybe it's a good thing that I can't sing. I'd be singing like a sparrow through every event in my life. How could you not if you had the ability?
I thought about the words to songs that resonate deep with me. At this time of year, more than any other, the songs of the season bring back memories, hopes and dreams. Faces of loved ones come and gone flit through my mind, but they're always in my heart. Childhood memories and snapshots in time seem to be fading, but these songs bring them back and make me long to recreate them one more time.
I think my favorite is White Christmas. It really sums up everything that's in my heart right now.
These pictures are from last years snowfall. Such a rare occurrence around here. But I go to these pictures often seeing the beauty and joy in them.
To all our friends out there...SM and I wish you Joy, Happiness and Love during this Christmas weekend.
"And may all your Christmas's be white..."
As I walked around the block looking at the night time sky, seeing stars peeking through the broken clouds, I thought about Christmas songs.
SM and I had watched the Michael Buble Christmas special that was on the other night. That man was more talent in his pinkie finger than all of us combined. I admit I'm envious. He can do something that I wish I could. Sing. Make music. It seems the purest form of celebration. What joy it would be to be singing through your life. Maybe it's a good thing that I can't sing. I'd be singing like a sparrow through every event in my life. How could you not if you had the ability?
I thought about the words to songs that resonate deep with me. At this time of year, more than any other, the songs of the season bring back memories, hopes and dreams. Faces of loved ones come and gone flit through my mind, but they're always in my heart. Childhood memories and snapshots in time seem to be fading, but these songs bring them back and make me long to recreate them one more time.
I think my favorite is White Christmas. It really sums up everything that's in my heart right now.
These pictures are from last years snowfall. Such a rare occurrence around here. But I go to these pictures often seeing the beauty and joy in them.
To all our friends out there...SM and I wish you Joy, Happiness and Love during this Christmas weekend.
"And may all your Christmas's be white..."
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
This Too Shall Pass
I've been having a "pinchy" pain in my lower left abdomen for about a week now. Last night the pain increased and this morning I felt better for about 3 minutes and then felt like I was going to pass out with pain, sweats and nausea. I managed to squeeze in a healthy anxiety attack in there too.
Poor SM. Yanked from a deep sleep with his wife yelling at him to call 911.
A 6:00 am emergency room visit, 1 CT scan and 3 hours later and I've been diagnosed with a good sized kidney stone about to drop in my bladder with 2 more hanging out in my kidney still to come. Oh Joy! My first kidney stone!
But get this...even the Dr said this was weird...Everything is on my right side. All the stones.
"But all my pain is on my left side." I said to the Doc.
"Yeah...I know it's odd. I read the radiologist's report and went back to look at the scans again myself." He shrugged. "But I'd bet that's the source of your pain."
So I'm hanging out at the house today, hoping for an early Christmas present.
Hopefully with the shot they gave me to dilate my ureter and the percocet Rx sitting on the counter, I won't have a Kramer moment.
Poor SM. Yanked from a deep sleep with his wife yelling at him to call 911.
A 6:00 am emergency room visit, 1 CT scan and 3 hours later and I've been diagnosed with a good sized kidney stone about to drop in my bladder with 2 more hanging out in my kidney still to come. Oh Joy! My first kidney stone!
But get this...even the Dr said this was weird...Everything is on my right side. All the stones.
"But all my pain is on my left side." I said to the Doc.
"Yeah...I know it's odd. I read the radiologist's report and went back to look at the scans again myself." He shrugged. "But I'd bet that's the source of your pain."
So I'm hanging out at the house today, hoping for an early Christmas present.
Hopefully with the shot they gave me to dilate my ureter and the percocet Rx sitting on the counter, I won't have a Kramer moment.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Christmas Cravings
It's one week till Christmas and I'm getting hungry. For beef.
We haven't had beef here in the house in so long I'm having withdrawals. We had turkey for Thanksgiving of course, and we've also managed to demolish 2 hams so far. Sauerkraut with pork is a New Years thing around here, so beef is on the menu if I have anything to say about it. And I do.
Something medium rare, butter knife tender. So flavorful the only thing you need is salt and pepper. I want to feast on a beast. I want to gorge myself silly and have enough of leftovers. (Mmm, cold beef with horseradish sauce.)
I've made beef tenderloin before but shockingly have never tried a standing rib roast or without the bones, it's known as prime rib.
I've been eyeballing the grocery advertisements waiting to pounce. Tenderloin is running $14 lb but the rib roasts are $7 lb right now. I'll also need to get a meat thermometer. Can you believe it? I've been cooking for 30 years and have never owned a meat thermometer. I've gotten by with the finger poke technique all these years, but I need a medium rare roast so badly. I'm not planning on screwing this one up so it's best to have a little insurance.
I've also got fudge on the brain. Chocolate is such a part of my Christmas's growing up. Dad was a chocolate salesman for Nestle. He would sell bulk chocolate to speciality candy shops. We always had boxes of chocolates laying around. Up in Ohio, Dad sold to a shop called The Yum Yum Tree. I loved their particular blend of chocolates. Mom would get a box of some kind of mint chocolates and maybe if we were lucky she'd let us have one. They were that good. Us kids weren't picky about chocolate...anything and everything was fine by us. That was our Christmas breakfast. Chocolate at 5 am unwrapping our Christmas presents. I'd eat chocolate all day long. Christmas just isn't Christmas without some kind chocolate in the house.
I've never made fudge before but it looks like the easiest thing in the world. I think that's what I'll do today. Make fudge. Slide into a sugar coma.
At least I'll die happy!
So what's cooking at your house? Any cravings you'd care to share?
We haven't had beef here in the house in so long I'm having withdrawals. We had turkey for Thanksgiving of course, and we've also managed to demolish 2 hams so far. Sauerkraut with pork is a New Years thing around here, so beef is on the menu if I have anything to say about it. And I do.
Something medium rare, butter knife tender. So flavorful the only thing you need is salt and pepper. I want to feast on a beast. I want to gorge myself silly and have enough of leftovers. (Mmm, cold beef with horseradish sauce.)
I've made beef tenderloin before but shockingly have never tried a standing rib roast or without the bones, it's known as prime rib.
I've been eyeballing the grocery advertisements waiting to pounce. Tenderloin is running $14 lb but the rib roasts are $7 lb right now. I'll also need to get a meat thermometer. Can you believe it? I've been cooking for 30 years and have never owned a meat thermometer. I've gotten by with the finger poke technique all these years, but I need a medium rare roast so badly. I'm not planning on screwing this one up so it's best to have a little insurance.
I've also got fudge on the brain. Chocolate is such a part of my Christmas's growing up. Dad was a chocolate salesman for Nestle. He would sell bulk chocolate to speciality candy shops. We always had boxes of chocolates laying around. Up in Ohio, Dad sold to a shop called The Yum Yum Tree. I loved their particular blend of chocolates. Mom would get a box of some kind of mint chocolates and maybe if we were lucky she'd let us have one. They were that good. Us kids weren't picky about chocolate...anything and everything was fine by us. That was our Christmas breakfast. Chocolate at 5 am unwrapping our Christmas presents. I'd eat chocolate all day long. Christmas just isn't Christmas without some kind chocolate in the house.
I've never made fudge before but it looks like the easiest thing in the world. I think that's what I'll do today. Make fudge. Slide into a sugar coma.
At least I'll die happy!
So what's cooking at your house? Any cravings you'd care to share?
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Antisocial Me
There was an article the other day about Facebook Resisters. Yep that's me! My Mom has an account and we actually had a discussion about it a few weeks ago.
Now I put alot of stuff about my life here in the blog. SM thinks I put TOO much out there. I've actually deleted one post after SM got upset about me telling it "to the world". It's a fine line. But the way I look at it, Facebook is WAY more personal. It wouldn't be hard to find out everything and anything about me and there are just some things that I like to keep private.
I did have to laugh when I read the article. It cites that 16% of the population doesn't have cellphones either.
I just love being the rebel.
Now I put alot of stuff about my life here in the blog. SM thinks I put TOO much out there. I've actually deleted one post after SM got upset about me telling it "to the world". It's a fine line. But the way I look at it, Facebook is WAY more personal. It wouldn't be hard to find out everything and anything about me and there are just some things that I like to keep private.
I did have to laugh when I read the article. It cites that 16% of the population doesn't have cellphones either.
I just love being the rebel.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Last Nights Dream
I woke up at 4 this morning and rolled over hoping for another hour of sleep. I went back down hard.
And I dreamed.
I dreamed I had a black and white pygmy goat in a pen on the side of the house. The Vet had stopped by..(It is a dream)...to give her the once over. He said "She looks good but you know you can't keep this goat here. She needs more room." I waved at the back shed and said "That's were she's heading but I need to fence it all off. We have dogs."
The Vet left but I got to thinking I'd let the goat loose in the back yard since the dogs were in the house. So lead her over and watched her run into the back yard and closed the gate. I turned and headed to the front of the house as SM walked around the corner.
"Don't let the dogs out. I just got a goat and she's in the back yard." I told him.
SM said. "I just put the dogs out..." We turned and hustled over to the backyard fence to find the dogs and the goat getting along just fine. Sniffing and running and playing. Awww...
I turned to SM and said "I wonder if you can house train a goat." SM's expression was horrified.
And I woke up.
(*I've been hanging out with you guys entirely too much.)
And I dreamed.
I dreamed I had a black and white pygmy goat in a pen on the side of the house. The Vet had stopped by..(It is a dream)...to give her the once over. He said "She looks good but you know you can't keep this goat here. She needs more room." I waved at the back shed and said "That's were she's heading but I need to fence it all off. We have dogs."
The Vet left but I got to thinking I'd let the goat loose in the back yard since the dogs were in the house. So lead her over and watched her run into the back yard and closed the gate. I turned and headed to the front of the house as SM walked around the corner.
"Don't let the dogs out. I just got a goat and she's in the back yard." I told him.
SM said. "I just put the dogs out..." We turned and hustled over to the backyard fence to find the dogs and the goat getting along just fine. Sniffing and running and playing. Awww...
I turned to SM and said "I wonder if you can house train a goat." SM's expression was horrified.
And I woke up.
(*I've been hanging out with you guys entirely too much.)
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
I'm always surprised at how much the dogs follow me around when I'm home. They're always underfoot.
"Do they do this to you?" I ask SM as I stumble over another dog. "They'll kill me...I swear. I'll be dead from some freak head injury after tripping over one of you guys." I say to the dogs as they look up at me, tails wagging with love and devotion.
"No. They sleep all day." SM informs me.
"Yeah but...Don't they hang around outside if you're home working?" I ask.
That's what they do with me. If I'm busy working and it's nice enough weather, I just leave the back door open so they can come and go. But if I so much as "twitch"...There they are. Watching me. All day. Everyday.
"Nope. Sofa. All day. Sleeping." SM replies.
"I don't believe you. They're always barking at something when I'm home here all day." I inform him.
"That's cause YOU need protecting. I'm telling you they just lay around here all day long. Not a peep out of them." SM says.
I still don't believe him.
When I came home yesterday SM says "I have something to show you." He holds out the camera.
Proof. As if I need my nose rubbed in it.
Awww...
"Do they do this to you?" I ask SM as I stumble over another dog. "They'll kill me...I swear. I'll be dead from some freak head injury after tripping over one of you guys." I say to the dogs as they look up at me, tails wagging with love and devotion.
"No. They sleep all day." SM informs me.
"Yeah but...Don't they hang around outside if you're home working?" I ask.
That's what they do with me. If I'm busy working and it's nice enough weather, I just leave the back door open so they can come and go. But if I so much as "twitch"...There they are. Watching me. All day. Everyday.
"Nope. Sofa. All day. Sleeping." SM replies.
"I don't believe you. They're always barking at something when I'm home here all day." I inform him.
"That's cause YOU need protecting. I'm telling you they just lay around here all day long. Not a peep out of them." SM says.
I still don't believe him.
When I came home yesterday SM says "I have something to show you." He holds out the camera.
Proof. As if I need my nose rubbed in it.
Awww...
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Money Talks and Bullsh*t Walks
We are a two TV household. SM is a college football and basketball fan so, for at least 6 months out of the year, there's sports on our main TV.
So like most couples, we've adapted a separate room for me to do my "girlie" TV viewing. We have this big ole clunky projection TV that sits in my room. We bought it in 1992 so it's going on 20 years old. For years now SM has wanted to get rid of it and replace it with a new flat screen. I've resisted SM's replacing it by saying that the TV did just fine for the few hours a week that I actually used it. While the picture wasn't all that good anymore, why spend the money on something that was so secondary? SM decided that this was the year to replace it, mostly because there's such good deals out there right now. Fine. I'm cool with that.
SM is the shopper in the family. I've very little interest in this so SM called our neighbor Don who is an audio/visual wiz and together they came up with a plan. Don said that LG makes a really good LCD flat screen TV, so SM went and bought a 47 inch from Sams Club. He brings it home and we put it together. The picture is beautiful but somethings wrong with the sound. It sounds VERY "tinny"...far away...weird. Thinking we had our cords mixed up, we called Don who came over and gave it "the once over." He swapped some cords out with spares he had at his house to improve the "digital signal". Still no good. By this time it's late and I've got a migraine so we leave it for the day.
The next day we try again. Still bad. So SM calls the LG "hot line" which means we're talking to some dude in the South Pacific. Nice enough guy but get this...Turns out that this model has a speaker/sound defect that LG is trying to resolve but has no solutions for at this time.
Say what?
So you're telling me that the manufacturer knowingly is selling a product that is defective? SM popped a cork. Me? I'm waving him off as he rants on the phone, "Just take it back." I say "And DON"T buy an LG ever again."
My Daddy once told me that "Money talks and bullshit walks." In other words...Show your displeasure by not patronizing a business. I've lived this motto for years. It could be as simple as a bad meal at a restaurant or bad customer service. Treat me well and you've got my business. Treat me bad and I'll tell everyone.
So the TV went back and SM is still deciding what he wants. In the mean time I do have a good recommendation. IKEA.
IKEA has a store in Charlotte that SM and I visited last year. Not really my style but they do have some neat stuff. The TV needed a TV stand and I recalled that IKEA had one for about 50 bucks. So SM went and bought it and we put it together. No tools, easy directions, lightweight, sturdy and attractive.
I like it.
I also like this.
I toss my compostable items (coffee grinds, veggie and fruit scraps) in a bowl beside my sink. SM doesn't like those tiny bugs that flit around it, so he bought this little container with a flip lid from IKEA. Neat.
He bought some food storage containers from IKEA too. I haven't tried those out yet but I'm sure they'll work out fine too.
So like most couples, we've adapted a separate room for me to do my "girlie" TV viewing. We have this big ole clunky projection TV that sits in my room. We bought it in 1992 so it's going on 20 years old. For years now SM has wanted to get rid of it and replace it with a new flat screen. I've resisted SM's replacing it by saying that the TV did just fine for the few hours a week that I actually used it. While the picture wasn't all that good anymore, why spend the money on something that was so secondary? SM decided that this was the year to replace it, mostly because there's such good deals out there right now. Fine. I'm cool with that.
SM is the shopper in the family. I've very little interest in this so SM called our neighbor Don who is an audio/visual wiz and together they came up with a plan. Don said that LG makes a really good LCD flat screen TV, so SM went and bought a 47 inch from Sams Club. He brings it home and we put it together. The picture is beautiful but somethings wrong with the sound. It sounds VERY "tinny"...far away...weird. Thinking we had our cords mixed up, we called Don who came over and gave it "the once over." He swapped some cords out with spares he had at his house to improve the "digital signal". Still no good. By this time it's late and I've got a migraine so we leave it for the day.
The next day we try again. Still bad. So SM calls the LG "hot line" which means we're talking to some dude in the South Pacific. Nice enough guy but get this...Turns out that this model has a speaker/sound defect that LG is trying to resolve but has no solutions for at this time.
Say what?
So you're telling me that the manufacturer knowingly is selling a product that is defective? SM popped a cork. Me? I'm waving him off as he rants on the phone, "Just take it back." I say "And DON"T buy an LG ever again."
My Daddy once told me that "Money talks and bullshit walks." In other words...Show your displeasure by not patronizing a business. I've lived this motto for years. It could be as simple as a bad meal at a restaurant or bad customer service. Treat me well and you've got my business. Treat me bad and I'll tell everyone.
So the TV went back and SM is still deciding what he wants. In the mean time I do have a good recommendation. IKEA.
IKEA has a store in Charlotte that SM and I visited last year. Not really my style but they do have some neat stuff. The TV needed a TV stand and I recalled that IKEA had one for about 50 bucks. So SM went and bought it and we put it together. No tools, easy directions, lightweight, sturdy and attractive.
I like it.
I also like this.
I toss my compostable items (coffee grinds, veggie and fruit scraps) in a bowl beside my sink. SM doesn't like those tiny bugs that flit around it, so he bought this little container with a flip lid from IKEA. Neat.
He bought some food storage containers from IKEA too. I haven't tried those out yet but I'm sure they'll work out fine too.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
A Seasonal Kitchen
My kitchen, like yours I'm sure, is the heartbeat of our home. I find myself spending more and more time in it. But it depends on the season.
In the spring I spend most of my time outdoors. I crave salads and start grilling meats during the Spring and into Summer, so the kitchen is used mostly as a clean-up station.
During the Summer we all start harvesting and preserving what we can. Fruits and veggie's alike get squirreled away so the kitchen becomes a cluttered work zone.
As I move into Fall I'm still preserving but I'm also starting to get creative and want to cook and bake more.
Once Winter hits I'm in full blown cooking mode. For some reason I love to cook in the morning. I rarely cook a "dinner" at dinner time. I guess I'm inspired early in the day. Or maybe I just get lazier as the day goes on and want to relax in the early evening instead of starting a whole cooking production.
Regardless, I hardly ever cook during the week. Leftovers all the way, Baby. During the Fall and Winter months I make a TON of food over the weekend and let SM decide for himself what he wants to reheat on a daily basis. I don't get home most nights until 6 pm or later and by that time I'm just not interested in cooking. Reheating, Yes. Cooking, No.
So yesterday morning I was up and cooking by 7am. I wrapped things up at noon. On the menu?
Steelcut Oatmeal with cinnamon, maple syrup, a touch of brown sugar and Craisins.
Ham Soup. I simmered a ham bone for 3 hours and then tossed in the veggies. Some were frozen like the cherry tomatoes from my garden this year. (Thanks for the suggestion Jane!) I pulled fresh carrots out of the garden and added them to the soup. Love the smell of fresh carrots!
And look what SM had for lunch!
I also cooked down some frozen strawberries I'd picked this past Spring to make a sauce to top the cheescake I'd made the other day. The cheesecake was OK taste-wise but lumpy. That's the thing about mistakes. You always remember them and rarely repeat them.
In the spring I spend most of my time outdoors. I crave salads and start grilling meats during the Spring and into Summer, so the kitchen is used mostly as a clean-up station.
During the Summer we all start harvesting and preserving what we can. Fruits and veggie's alike get squirreled away so the kitchen becomes a cluttered work zone.
As I move into Fall I'm still preserving but I'm also starting to get creative and want to cook and bake more.
Once Winter hits I'm in full blown cooking mode. For some reason I love to cook in the morning. I rarely cook a "dinner" at dinner time. I guess I'm inspired early in the day. Or maybe I just get lazier as the day goes on and want to relax in the early evening instead of starting a whole cooking production.
Regardless, I hardly ever cook during the week. Leftovers all the way, Baby. During the Fall and Winter months I make a TON of food over the weekend and let SM decide for himself what he wants to reheat on a daily basis. I don't get home most nights until 6 pm or later and by that time I'm just not interested in cooking. Reheating, Yes. Cooking, No.
So yesterday morning I was up and cooking by 7am. I wrapped things up at noon. On the menu?
Steelcut Oatmeal with cinnamon, maple syrup, a touch of brown sugar and Craisins.
Ham Soup. I simmered a ham bone for 3 hours and then tossed in the veggies. Some were frozen like the cherry tomatoes from my garden this year. (Thanks for the suggestion Jane!) I pulled fresh carrots out of the garden and added them to the soup. Love the smell of fresh carrots!
And look what SM had for lunch!
I also cooked down some frozen strawberries I'd picked this past Spring to make a sauce to top the cheescake I'd made the other day. The cheesecake was OK taste-wise but lumpy. That's the thing about mistakes. You always remember them and rarely repeat them.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Eat Santa...Eat!
SM always complains that my cooking is making him fat. But he's the one who requests all these yummy things and at this time of the year, it's cookies and cakes and pies!
So I'll do my best to fatten my Santa up.
Eat Santa...Eat!!!!
And there's nothing in the rule books that says that Mrs. Clause can't stay slim and sexy.
Unfortunately in this house gluten free Mrs Clause likes to drink her egg nog and eat her Christmas candy and ...Hoo Boy...Mrs Clause is a bit of a lush too...So let the Asti Spumanti flow! Screw that slim and sexy crap! More of me to love right? RIGHT????
So donning my sexy Christmas socks, I got to work. First things first, some Snow Ball cookies and Peanut Butter cookies.
As I whip up my cookies, I think about all the people who say they CAN'T cook. That's a load of "hooey" as far as I'm concerned. Of course you can cook. You're just not interested in cooking. It's like anything else. You have to be curious about it, excited to do it. Everyone who is a GOOD cook started out as a LOUSY one first. Please! Some things are hits and the others are misses. You learn, you grow. I used to think I was a lousy baker. According to SM (and the girls at work) I'm not. Who knew?
SM watched me flatten the PB cookies and asked me to put some chocolate chips on top. "You want me to mix them in?" I asked. "No. Just put them on top." That's the point. Have fun! Experiment! Someone will eat your food.
True...it might be the dogs, but someone will appreciate your efforts
Even now I can screw up a recipe. Take today for example. I thought since I'm feeding Santa all those yummy cookies that I can't eat, I'd make me a cheesecake. I've made Ina Garten's Cheesecake before. It's wonderful! But the last time I made it we ended up throwing part of it away. Cheesecake dries out quick and this recipe was HUGE. Way too much for 2 people. I figured I just cut the recipe in half. How hard can that be? Plus, I wasn't going to use a crust (GF me). Uh oh...I didn't have any lemon for the zest it called for. So what? Ooop's! Did I just add the eggs to the cream cheese before I whipped the cheese for 5 minutes? Oh crap! The eggs were supposed to be at room temperature?
Hmmm....I stood there with my hand mixer trying to make this mixture smooth. It got better but still had lumps. Screw it! I tossed it into a pan with the bottom lined with parchment paper and put it in the oven. Uh oh! How is this going to time down? It's half the size! I baked it at 450 for 15 minutes and it looked done already! Crap! I backed it down to the 225 the recipe asked for and set the timer for 45 minutes instead of the 1 hour and 15 minutes the recipe called for.
After only 20 minutes I took it out of the oven trying to salvage the situation.
So how is it? Don't know. It's in the fridge now waiting for us to taste later tonight. It might not be my best effort but I know it'll be edible. Who knows? I just might have created an award winning GF Cheescake. I doubt it, but at least I tried.
And boy does the house smell good! Just like Christmas!
So I'll do my best to fatten my Santa up.
Eat Santa...Eat!!!!
And there's nothing in the rule books that says that Mrs. Clause can't stay slim and sexy.
Unfortunately in this house gluten free Mrs Clause likes to drink her egg nog and eat her Christmas candy and ...Hoo Boy...Mrs Clause is a bit of a lush too...So let the Asti Spumanti flow! Screw that slim and sexy crap! More of me to love right? RIGHT????
So donning my sexy Christmas socks, I got to work. First things first, some Snow Ball cookies and Peanut Butter cookies.
As I whip up my cookies, I think about all the people who say they CAN'T cook. That's a load of "hooey" as far as I'm concerned. Of course you can cook. You're just not interested in cooking. It's like anything else. You have to be curious about it, excited to do it. Everyone who is a GOOD cook started out as a LOUSY one first. Please! Some things are hits and the others are misses. You learn, you grow. I used to think I was a lousy baker. According to SM (and the girls at work) I'm not. Who knew?
SM watched me flatten the PB cookies and asked me to put some chocolate chips on top. "You want me to mix them in?" I asked. "No. Just put them on top." That's the point. Have fun! Experiment! Someone will eat your food.
True...it might be the dogs, but someone will appreciate your efforts
Even now I can screw up a recipe. Take today for example. I thought since I'm feeding Santa all those yummy cookies that I can't eat, I'd make me a cheesecake. I've made Ina Garten's Cheesecake before. It's wonderful! But the last time I made it we ended up throwing part of it away. Cheesecake dries out quick and this recipe was HUGE. Way too much for 2 people. I figured I just cut the recipe in half. How hard can that be? Plus, I wasn't going to use a crust (GF me). Uh oh...I didn't have any lemon for the zest it called for. So what? Ooop's! Did I just add the eggs to the cream cheese before I whipped the cheese for 5 minutes? Oh crap! The eggs were supposed to be at room temperature?
Hmmm....I stood there with my hand mixer trying to make this mixture smooth. It got better but still had lumps. Screw it! I tossed it into a pan with the bottom lined with parchment paper and put it in the oven. Uh oh! How is this going to time down? It's half the size! I baked it at 450 for 15 minutes and it looked done already! Crap! I backed it down to the 225 the recipe asked for and set the timer for 45 minutes instead of the 1 hour and 15 minutes the recipe called for.
After only 20 minutes I took it out of the oven trying to salvage the situation.
So how is it? Don't know. It's in the fridge now waiting for us to taste later tonight. It might not be my best effort but I know it'll be edible. Who knows? I just might have created an award winning GF Cheescake. I doubt it, but at least I tried.
And boy does the house smell good! Just like Christmas!
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