Dragging Stuff Inside

I brought more Christmas stuff inside from the basement and cellar. As I found stuff I was looking for, I found stuff to throw away. So that was two good things. I also made more cornbread patties with pepper and onion and a mincemeat pie. My kindle isn't working for my blog or email. My hotspot is draggy. Luckily, I have some time. Unluckily, it's boring waiting for it to decide to work.

Friends and Family

It turns out a friend doesn't agree with me politically. We've been friends for years and honestly, she's not the first friend or relative to disagree with me. After a discussion, she said, she agrees right now but doesn't think our choices right now are what they should be. I kind of agree with her, but pointed out that the choices we have are the choices we have and she shouldn't decide not to vote just because nobody is what she wants. After a bit where she said I'm an elitist, she felt bad about saying it to me. I was pretty stunned that she thought that. She asked if I was mad at her and I said of course I am. I prefer everybody to agree with me. Then I said I wasn't angry, we just have to agree to disagree.

Volunteer Day

About the only thing I did today was volunteer. I guess it wasn't a wasted day. I had things on my list but didn't do any of them. Nice to be able to do that once in a while.

Volunteer Day

About the only thing I did today was volunteer. I guess it wasn't a wasted day. I had things on my list but didn't do any of them. Nice to be able to do that once in a while.

Volunteer Day

About the only thing I did today was volunteer. I guess it wasn't a wasted day. I had things on my list but didn't do any of them. Nice to be able to do that once in a while.

Warm Today

My big plan today was to cook beans, cornbread patties with hot pepper, and slaw. That worked out fine, including going to WalMart to get the stuff. This afternoon we cut some trees that have gotten pretty big in the flower strip that runs parallel to the road. We didn't get very far, maybe a fifth of the way. But it's a start. It was so warm I almost had to take off my sweater.

Decorating

I wanted to put out my ceramic Christmas village so I was taking the skull to the storage area. Larry saw what I was doing and objected strenuously. I asked if he was sure he wanted the Halloween skull to stay in the living room for Christmas. He said he did. Well, I didn't want my Christmas village with the skull, so I took the pictures and knick-knacks off the two shelves on that wall. I relocated the stuff into the guest room and put my ceramic village out. It looks great there. I'm not sure why Larry wants the skull out, but there it sits, right next to the St. Nicolaus we bought when we were in Germany. Larry said he couldn't put out the bells because I'd put pansies in baskets where he usually puts the bells. So I waited until he was off doing something and put the bells on the same brackets but above the pansies. The red bells and purple pansies look great together. Even Larry likes it.
We've been eating leftovers from Thanksgiving, but tomorrow we are going to have slaw, pinto beans, and cornbread. I love beans and cornbread:)

Curious

I'm curious about the Moore election in Alabama. If he wins, it won't be because Alabama voters support sexual misconduct, but because Alabama voters think it is fishy that this misconduct story surfaces right before an election. So he wasn't convicted or even charged. Who knows what the truth is? But I'm curious how voters will decide.

Thanksgiving Signals

Thanksgiving was yesterday so today we put up our Christmas lights and some outdoor decorations. We have more to put up, so we're piling them up until we get them out there. I will start addressing Christmas cards and looking for boxes to mail presents in. We'll start putting out our indoor Christmas stuff.

Huge Mess!

This is the third time I've tried to post this. I'm tempted to give it up because it isn't earthshaking. But I have a pound cake recipe that calls for whipping four egg whites with 1/4 t cream of tartar and then folding it into the batter. It makes it light. And it stays nice in the following days. But I make a huge mess when I make that cake. It's worth it, but there's a lot of clean up.

Night Cooking

It's 9pm and I'm cooking. There will still be a lot to do tomorrow, but some stuff can be done ahead.

Don't Wait!

If you're shopping at a small place, if you see something you like, it's good to go ahead and get it. I am constantly hearing people say they want something we had but it's gone. I learned that when we were shopping at the PX.

Allergy

My allergies have been under control with an allergy nose spray and over the counter allergy relief tablet. But now when I take the tablet it dries out my eyes as well as my sinuses. Miserable.

Check the Freezer!

I thought we wouldn't need to make dressing because we had some in the freezer. I checked and we had one container of dressing and three of eggplant parmigiana. Glad I checked!

Our Thanksgiving Menu

I made a menu and asked Larry what he thought. He changed it a little but decreased the amount of money and work so I'm glad I asked. As of right now, we are having chicken and dressing (only two of us so no turkey), ham, candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, baked beans, turnip greens, jello salad, ambrosia, Pound cake, mincemeat pie, and rolls. We will have leftovers:) But not so many as if I'd chosen a huge ham and a whole turkey.

Tomorrow

I talked to the guy who is going to repair my car today. He said he will go to get the hood tomorrow. I don't know if he'll start work tomorrow, but at least it will be that far along. I told him I dreamed that he got a neon green one. He laughed and said he will paint the hood to match the car and buff it out until it matches the red that has been on the car for several years:)

Sharpe's Honor

I read the series several years ago, but then the series was televised in such a mish-mash of the plots, that I lost interest. Now I'm going back through them. For a while audible didn't have the beginning books so I didn't try to get them. But this time when I looked, most of the titles are there. The books are really good historical novels with good character development.

Spaghetti

I ran out of spaghetti sauce before I ran out of noodles so I opened a jar of Bartolli Alfredo sauce, nuked it, and sliced cherry tomatoes on it. Better than tossing the rest of the noodles!

Cultural and Social Expectations

I've been watching a bunch of sexual harassment allegations shown on television. The thing is, over the years men expect the power of their positions to serve as a voucher of their worth. Their looks aren't an issue. For women, good looks are the same. Smart women are denigrated. Forceful women are termed bitches. The "cute girls" expect to have their way. Now, after having traded on their looks for years, they whine about it. To say somebody had a nonconsensual sexual relationship with someone in a position of power decades afterwards, seems weak to me. They were afraid to complain at the time because they were not relying on their worth in the first place, but their looks. I liked Condoleezza Rice because she didn't try to be one of the "cute ones." I'm not saying that if a woman dresses attractively she is "asking for it." I'm saying if she relies on her looks for advancement, she shouldn't complain later. If someone is groped and shrieks with an embarrassed overreaction, that person will think twice about doing it again. If that is the stance of the woman, she'll have to make sure she doesn't do anything she can be called on because she won't be cut any slack. Also, looking the person dead in the eye and asking where the sexual harassment papers are kept is usually enough to let the lecher know you don't want to play. 

Dry Eyes

I went back to my opthamologist today because my eyes were burning and bloodshot. He said it isn't a result of the cataract surgery or inflammation, but is dry eye and use some drops for three weeks and then come back. It was a relief to know I don't have an infection. I told him I couldn't see how I could have dry eyes when my eyes were watering profusely. He said good tears have a little oil. Degraded tears are just salty and the eyes feel like something is in them, gritty, and burning. Well, that describes how they felt so I guess he's right.

It Wasn't You!

I had a small order from a snack vendor so a nice person who isn't a volunteer offered to pick it up for us to save the $5 delivery fee. When she got there, one of the employees told her we were two months in arrears on our payment and we wouldn't be able to use their services if we didn't pay promptly. She indignantly told me that, and another person who relayed the message to me. So I called our treasurer and she told me the last two invoice numbers with dates and the check numbers with dates. I called the snack vendor and asked to speak to the billing department. There was some confusion in the background about a billing department, but finally somebody got to the phone. I introduced myself and she immediately said, "It wasn't you. We got the check yesterday and it was another gift shop. I'm sorry!" That's all well and good, but she was pretty rude to a person who was just helping us out.

Lucifer

After television shows we watch together, Larry usually says, "That was a good one." I usually agree. We don't watch many shows together, but we watch a few. After last night's Lucifer, Larry said, "I don't know if that was a good one or not." I said I thought it was good. He wanted to know why. I said that Lucifer said he didn't actually punish humans, they did it to themselves by reliving parts of their lives where they had screwed up. Then the bad guy died. As he died, he said he had redeemed himself by setting up another bad guy to be taken by the police. Then it showed the bad buy starting back at the beginning of the episode...he was in hell, reliving his mistakes. Larry decided maybe it was a good episode, just not the stand up and cheer kind.

Baby Wipes

I keep a box of baby wipes in the bathroom and just this year noticed that they are really cold. So I went online and checked for baby wipe warmers. They exist! Now I will check t local stores to see if I can see one. The one I saw didn't list which wipes to use with it so I need to see it.

Bathrooms

Once or twice a year a lightbulb blows in the bathroom. So that is the time to get a ladder and clean the vents as well as replace the bulbs. Dust cakes on the vents and rains down on the tub, floor, me,etc.

Pink Flower Bulbs

I started with a half dozen free bulbs. I've divided them, spread them around, and given some away. They are winter hardy, require no care, and bloom prolifically. I don't have any idea what the name is.

Last Tulips

I planted the last thirty tulip bulbs today. Some went in the small flowerbed across the driveway and some went on Rose Hill. Weeding the roses left holes so I enlarged the holes and dropped a tulip bulb into them. When the last of the tulip bulbs was planted, it was too late to start on the pink flowers' bulbs. I have three large clumps of them and dug two of the clumps. Larry thought they were clumps of monkey grass. I'd like to transplant some of the monkey grass, but I think it will have to be in the spring.

Fish on Friday

A local restaurant has a couple of specials each day. On Friday, they have fish. It is cooked when it's ordered, not sitting on a buffet drying out. It is a good day to eat out.

Bernard Cornwall

I'm listening to Bernard Cornell's Sharpe series. I've read them all, and am in the process of trying to get the entire series on Audible.  Larry doesn't like the series as much as I do. I tried to get him to explain why. He said he doesn't Lille it because Sharpe can't hang onto money. But I don't think that's unreasonable. A lot of people have talent that gets them a fortune but can't keep it. Football players, actors, etc., don't always keep the money their talents brought their way.

Former Students

Today I heard that a former student I knew slightly had killed his wife last week in a drug related episode. I didn't teach him, but I had his sister and knew who he was. I've never stayed in one place long enough to know how kids turned out.

Former Students

Today I heard that a former student I knew slightly had killed his wife last week in a drug related episode. I didn't teach him, but I had his sister and knew who he was. I've never stayed in one place long enough to know how kids turned out.

Lots?

An employee came into the gift shop today and asked if we have lots of candle warmers and can we get more! That's the kind of question that livens things up.

Lousy Step

My laptop isn't connecting to the internet. My stitches should come out tomorrow but they look inflamed tonight. My audible books are taking forever to download. This has not been a stellar day, although I've definitely had worse.

More Outside

I don't know if I'll ever finish my flowerbeds, but it's been a good weekend to work on them. It hasn't been too hot or too cold or too windy. I thought it was going to rain on me once or twice, but it was just a light mist.

Tulip Plans

The salvias haven't been killed by frost yet, but it would happen soon.

Yesterday's List

Yesterday's list had twelve items. I accomplished five of them. I really didn't expect to get all of them done, but if I write them down as I notice the need, I have a chance of getting to them sooner or later. The thing that took the longest was getting the salvia out of the two large pots flanking the front steps. I was cutting the foliage and blooms all the way to the soil when a neighbor pulled up in their four-wheeler. They have a very active four year old that they've adopted. He wanted to know why I was cutting off the pretty flowers. I explained that frost was going to kill them very soon and I wanted to plant tulip bulbs that would bloom in the spring. Then I asked if he wanted to cut the salvia flowers off. He happily took the snips and got to work. He carefully put the cuttings in the bucket. I went to get the cart and he emptied the cuttings into the cart. Julie spends a lot of time telling him not to do things. It would be better if she kept him busy. He is interested in just about everything.

After Halloween Sale

Larry has hit the after Halloween sales and bought a skull and posable skeleton. I had no idea he wanted those things!

Misty Fall

The fall colors are pretty this year. It's misty today and muted the colors.

Still Weeding

My tulip bulbs came yesterday. I know where I want to plant them, but I've got to clear out the flowers that are all around the places. When I'm digging up weeds and grass, that's different from clearing out flowers from the spring and summer. They both take a while to clear out, but it's all right with me if I leave dirt and roots because I know they'll be fine without a mess. The stems and blooms have to go because frost will eventually make an ugly mess of them.

Fountain

I dismantled the fountain, drained it, cleaned it, and took the pieces to the cellar. I was careful to take all the pieces to the same place this year.  I didn't volunteer today because my chin still had the pressure bandage which is larger than the bandaid I'll be using soon.