making a list and checking it twice

It seems as if Christmas shopping has gotten more difficult over the years.  I never know what to get anyone, and I never know what to put on my wish list.  Sure, I could put a lot of things on my list, but I have to be realistic, otherwise my husband will think he needs to go out and get something that I would really like, but scarcely need. 

So this begins my dilemma for the week. 

I was complaining about the difficult to shop for people in my life just the other day, so my husband decided that he would break down and create a list of what he would like.  Of course, his list is a little on the abstract side.  He put down things like what fabrics he likes…what metals…what textures…nothing specific.  So a probing I will go…

I am trying to pin him down to even one thing that he would like to have, but would never buy for himself.  I have just over three weeks to get the answer and buy the gift. 

My mom is just as difficult.  After her miniature schnauzer decided to escape while traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday, my sister has decided that we should buy her dog a shock collar for Christmas.  I think this might be a little extreme, but perhaps obedience classes are in order.  Either way, the choices are hardly personal.  But what do you get your mother for Christmas?  Last year was easy.  She was going to Las Vegas in January, so we got her crisp new dollar bills for gambling, and clothes for traveling.  This year she is staying put at home, so I’m out of ideas. 

Even the kids are tough this year.  They have finally reached the age where I can no longer shop for clothes for them without leaving the tags on everything and the receipt in the box.  It is the age of iTunes, so buying CDs is passé.  They would all love a new car, but I would need to buy a winning lottery ticket before shopping for three automobiles.  I suppose its video games and designer handbags for everyone! 

And what about me? 

What do I tell my loved ones when they ask me what I want?  Peace on Earth?  Good will toward men?  The Lenox Butler’s pantry china in a service for twelve? 

I’m sure I’ll think of something. 

Until the next time…I’ll be shopping online!

another one of those rainy mondays

It’s a wet and blustery cold day in Atlanta, Georgia.  I swear it has rained on the last several Mondays.  I'm beginning to expect it.  Today, the rain was falling in a steady sheet and the wind was sure to see to it that it would blow directly into your face as you walk.  So why I decided to leave the house at all is beyond me.  But I did.  And I did it more than once. 

The first thing I did was to get in a little Christmas shopping this morning.  I had more elaborate plans, but as often happens…those plans didn’t work out.  I still have a lot of shopping to do, and not a lot of time with which to do it, but I’ll get to that later. 

Once I got back from shopping, I headed out with the dog for his weekly weigh in at the vet.  He seems to enjoy his visits, and even showed off a little by rolling onto his back and exposing himself to the friendly vet techs.  He weighs 114lbs for anyone who might be keeping track. 

Several dog treats later, he was loaded into the Land Rover and we were headed back home. 

My daughter talked me into seeing Burlesque, the new movie starring Cher and Christina Aguilera.  I enjoyed it, so it was money well spent.  After that, we headed out to do a little more Christmas shopping…in the rain. 

All in all it was an ok day.  Nothing to write about, but I didn’t hate it.  I have much higher hopes for tomorrow.  I’ll keep you posted…as usual.

Until the next time…it’s a warm fire and a romantic comedy for me until it’s time for bed.

have you had your christmas goose?

This was probably the most hectic, yet uneventful Thanksgiving weekend I can remember in ages.  I finally finished all the dishes, and I’m ready for a normal boring week to begin.

Of course, my Thanksgiving could have been more hectic.  It could have been crazy.  If only Uncle Paul had decided to show up after all…things would have been very different, indeed.

Over the years, I have spent many a holiday with Uncle Paul, as we still call my sister’s ex husband.  Those were always interesting holidays.  My mother almost dropped the turkey one Thanksgiving as she was pulling it out of the oven; after Uncle Paul “goosed” her while her back was turned.  There was also the year everyone descended on my former in-laws for Christmas.  My ex-husband’s parents had never been exposed to Uncle Paul’s antics, so they were not prepared for his little “pranks.”  Uncle Paul discovered a way to cause the showers to blast either cold or hot water by strategically flushing toilets and running the hose in the yard just as someone in the house was shampooing their hair.  There was a lot of screaming going on that year. 

But I suppose the most interesting holiday spent with Uncle Paul was one I didn’t even witness first hand.  It was the year Uncle Paul decided to take my parents out to a special holiday dinner. 

He and my sister were still married at the time, and looking back, this may have had something to do with why they aren’t married anymore. 

Paul was an Air Force recruiter in their small town, and when he came home to announce that he was given tickets to a fancy holiday dinner for the whole family, everyone was thrilled.  My divorced parents were both scheduled to have dinner with them that year, so going out for dinner seemed like a very special treat.  Everyone got dressed up.  The tickets promised a formal multicourse meal with all the trimmings. 

When they arrived at the banquet hall, they were pleased to see the holiday decorations and pretty lights everywhere, and they could smell the wonderful cooking coming from inside, but as they entered the ballroom, the tables were dressed in holiday finery, but the other guests were not.  In fact, the other guests looked as if they hadn’t recently bathed, or eaten for that matter.

It was a dinner for the homeless.

My sister was of course, mortified.  As were my parents.  Especially when they were seated at large banquet tables surrounded by the unwashed masses.  I’m sure they felt very awkward eating food that was probably meant for other unfortunate people who had nowhere to go on the holiday.  But I’m also sure they were very gracious about the whole thing.  I just really wish I had been there.  I would have loved to have seen their faces.  But I’ve been there for so many other holidays with Uncle Paul, I’m sure I can imagine. 

Maybe it was a good thing Paul didn’t make it for Thanksgiving dinner…but as crazy as it would have been, I’m sure it would have been entertaining. 

Until the next time…I’ll be finding interesting ways to cook leftover turkey and rabbit.

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

As of Saturday, November 27^th, I have the Christmas tree up in the keeping room and it is fully decorated.  This officially puts me ahead of schedule.  The goal is to have the entire house decorated by December 1^st.  If I keep up this pace, I may even have the outside lights done before Wednesday.  I’m not making any promises though, because hanging lights outside involves a ladder, and we all know how dangerous ladders can be for the tragically clumsy. 

Now if I could only get the Thanksgiving paraphernalia put away. 

We have gone through two pies and a carrot cake in less than three days, but we still have leftovers of everything else.  This, of course, means that I will be eating turkey, ham, and possibly rabbit for the next several days.  The good news is, I won’t have to actually cook anything.   I suppose this means it’s time to start the Christmas baking.  If I have any energy left over tomorrow, I’ll get right on that. 

Today I spent some time with my mom. 

Mostly we sat in front of the fire trying to warm up.  It was a beautiful, freezing cold day today.  A perfect day for a raging fire.  I think we went through an entire tree.  We might need to restock our firewood! 

Right now, I’m lying on the sofa with the lighted tree on one side, and the hot fire on the other, watching movies with my husband.   I love Christmastime! 

And it’s not even December yet!

Until the next time…I’ll be hanging a whole lot of lights!

black friday

Today was the biggest shopping day of the season, and what did I do?  I stayed in bed.  I wasn’t about to get up at three in the morning to stand in line at Wal-Mart, no matter how much money I could save on a 32 inch television.  That sort of thing is something you do once in your life, and I already did my time.

It was a lifetime ago.  At least it seems that way.  It was Christmas 1998 and it was the year the Furby—the furry little talking robot toy that looked like one of the Gremlins, before they ate after midnight—hit the store shelves.  It was the most popular toy that year, and nearly impossible to get your hands on one.  The only surefire way to get one for Christmas was to stand in line at any toy store at three am when the doors would open on Black Friday. 

I wasn’t overly interested in a Furby, myself.  My kids hadn’t requested one, so I had no intention to lose any sleep on the day after Thanksgiving just to buy an overpriced toy. 

My sister had other ideas.  And she was determined to pull me into her plans. 

My younger sister has always found inventive ways to earn extra money, and this particular year her idea was to buy as many Furbys as we could get our hands on, and sell them for more than what we paid. 

On paper it sounded ingenious.  In reality, it was horrible.

We were not the only ones who were planning on turning a profit on Furbys.  There were hundreds of people standing outside the local Wal-Mart.  I lost count of all the people whispering about where they would sell their treasures.  The rest of the crowd was there to fulfill the wishes of their own children.  And then the store manager risked life and limb to squeeze out the door to inform the growing line that there were far more people in line than Furbys in the store, and we would be given tickets in order of our place in line.  Each ticket could purchase one Furby. 

Just one.

This meant that we would only have two Furbys to sell on the black market.  That is, if we survived the running of the bulls once they opened the doors to let everyone in. 

Somehow we survived.  It was a close call…there was more than one scary woman with a black belt in shopping pushing her way through the jam packed aisles.  But we got our Furbys and escaped Wal-Mart, and with several hours left before sunrise, I was more than ready to head back home and crawl into my nice warm bed. 

Again, my sister had other ideas.

The toy store at the local mall didn’t open until five, so we had plenty of time to get there for another chance to buy a few Furbys.  We piled back into the car and headed to the mall. 

The line wasn’t as long at the mall, but the stash of Furbys was even smaller.  Somehow we still managed to get our one Furby per person and make it back home just before dawn. 

I don’t remember how much the Furby’s sold for, but I do remember that it wasn’t the huge profit my sister was expecting.  Certainly not enough to stand in line for hours in the middle of the night.  Definitely not enough to withstand the pushing and shoving by women with rollers in their hair at the local Wal-Mart. 

But I suppose it was one of those things you just have to do…once.  And then never do again.

Sort of like pole dancing…or self bikini waxing.

Until the next time…I’ll still be cleaning up the kitchen from Thanksgiving!

guess who’s (not) coming to dinner?

My former brother-in-law was supposed to come for Thanksgiving dinner.  This alone was going to be an adventure.  Anyone who knows my sister’s ex-husband knows that he is, for lack of a better way to describe him, infinitely unique.  My husband was not necessarily thrilled with the idea of him coming to dinner with his daughter, my niece, but he must have been feeling the holiday spirit when he agreed.

Uncle Paul, as we affectionately call him, is a well known prankster.  He has a long track record of pulling some of the most memorable pranks on multiple family members.  So when he called my niece to tell her that he had a change of plans and would not be coming after all, we were more than a little suspicious.   We were certain that this was all an elaborate ruse to fool us into thinking he wasn’t coming, only to surprise us on Thanksgiving morning.  He has done this before. 

So my niece and I spent some time trying to foil his plan.  We began doing our own detective work to determine where exactly he was on the day before Thanksgiving.  We were determined not to be caught by surprise.

Wednesday afternoon, Crystal called her father to see if he was actually where he said he was going.  At that point, there was no way to know for sure.  He was clearly NOT in New York State where he was supposed to be, but according to him he was still driving.  There was no way to corroborate his story until he arrived.  She didn’t dare call her grandmother in New York and spoil the surprise if her father was in fact going there.  For all we knew, he could be planning on shocking other people for Thanksgiving.  But there were clues pointing to him heading to Georgia. 

We continued to expect him to show up all the way until midmorning when he called from his mother’s house in New York.  We verified the phone number.  The joke was on us!  He managed to pull a classic prank on us without doing a single thing.  He’s good.  I’ll give him that!

Until the next time…I’ll be braving the lines on Black Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

One pie down

I am proud of myself.  This year I got a jump on the Thanksgiving cooking by making one pie, the sweet potatoes, and the cornbread dressing the night before. 

Well, I helped…with some of it.  Ok, I did the shopping.

My niece made the pie.  My husband made the rest.  What did I do?  A whole lot of laundry.  My husband will be thankful for clean clothes this year.  And clean clothes are important!

I will be up early tomorrow cooking.  Even if I will only play the part of the chef’s assistant for much of the morning, I will still be quite busy.  And the stuffing and the gravy are all my responsibility, as is the pumpkin pie.  So I will hardly get off easily this year. 

But I’m leaving the rabbit to my husband. 

No rabbits will be harmed by the writer of this blog!  Not even rabbits that were purchased already cleaned for cooking at the local Whole Foods Market. 

The turkey will not be so lucky.  I will gladly get my hands on him first thing in the morning, so I’d better head to bed.  Tomorrow will be a very long day!

Until the next time…I’ll be elbow deep stuffing a turkey!

rabbit stew?

Bugs Bunny would never forgive me.

Neither would the Easter bunny, the Cadbury bunny, or Peter Rabbit.

In addition to our newly purchased, free range organic, never frozen, locally raised turkey, we are cooking a rabbit for Thanksgiving. 

Let it just be said…this was not my idea.

To my knowledge, I have never before eaten rabbit.  I would much rather do with a simple turkey for our annual feast, but apparently the pilgrims were fond of rabbits as well. 

And the amazing thing is…a little rabbit costs a whole lot!  I mean, it’s not like they’re rare.  You can find them on almost every street corner. I have seen more than one in my yard on the same day!  And yet, buying one at the local Whole Foods Market is akin to purchasing lobster…and almost as expensive per pound.  And at that price, I suppose I’ll have to eat it too.  I was hoping to sneak buy with a few pieces on my plate that I would push around until the end of the meal only to scrape it into the trash completely uneaten.  But that scenario assumed that rabbit would be dirt cheap considering the ease of which one can find one, and the fact that they are quick breeders.  It’s not likely that rabbits will become extinct anytime soon.  I should have let my husband trap the bunny in our yard.  At least I could have passed on eating it on moral grounds. 

Of course, the dogs may just be getting an extra special treat in their bowls on Thanksgiving Day.  After all…dogs can be thankful too!

Until the next time…I’ll be baking pies!

talkin' turkey

I used to have a recurring nightmare that it was just before midnight on Christmas Eve and I had forgotten to shop.  This fear plagues me each year to the point that I start my Christmas shopping way in advance.  I may not get it all done until a few days before, but if something suddenly happened to me, I would at least have the bulk of the work done. 

Unfortunately, this productive fear does not apply to Thanksgiving. 

I have come to the sudden realization that Thanksgiving is just over two days away and I still do not have a turkey.  I have not shopped at all, in fact.  So there will be no turkey, no mashed potatoes, no pumpkin pie, or anything else unless I get to the store first thing tomorrow.  I have no idea how this holiday has crept up on me so completely.  I knew it was coming.  But I had been so busy Christmas shopping that I no idea it was already here!

But all is not yet lost.  I still have time.  I just need to get up early and head to the grocery store to scoop up whatever they have.  Maybe I’ll even get some turkey flavored doggy treats too!

Until the next time…Thanksgiving here we come!

priorities

The dictionary defines priority as something of the greatest importance.  The state of having most importance or urgency.  And it says right in the dictionary that you’ve got to get your priorities straight!

But do we know what that means? Do we really know what should be given the highest rank among all things in our lives?

I don’t think most of us do.  Not often enough anyway.  Because if we did, no one would have debts for luxury items, or own homes or cars that far exceeded what any normal person could possibly need.  People would make do with less, and spend more time enjoying life instead of working extra hours at stressful jobs to pay for the extravagances. 

I personally had to make a shift in my priorities when it became evident that my job was causing me enough stress to make my blood pressure unmanageable.  So in a precedence setting decision, I left my job to live a more stress free existence.  I would write full time—something I have always wanted to do—and my husband would bare all of the responsibility for supporting our family. 

But our attempt to get our priorities straight was only a partial success. 

As it was supposed to play out, I would stay home to take care of the house and the kids, and Mike would go off to work, business as usual.  On paper this sounded like a wonderful idea.

For me, the deal should have been spectacular, but in truth, I found myself stressing over the fact that Mike was stressing.  Because, as “stress free” as staying home sounds, it is not as free of stress as one would think.  Not to mention the fact that I was suddenly a full time parent and housewife.  These two things make up a full time job…an unpaid full time job.  I’m not knocking the job.  It was my career of choice when my children were small, but I had no idea that even now that the kids are teenagers, it requires more responsibility and has more long lasting effects than any bank position I had held, up to and including “bank officer.” 

So in round two of addressing our priorities, Mike and I are looking at the larger picture and where we can scale back to alleviate stress from both of us, and plan for our futures.  There has to be a better way to live our lives that doesn’t involve killing ourselves to maintain a lifestyle that does nothing to add value to our lives. 

First things first…no more diet Coke for me.  That should lower my blood pressure AND save money! And the caffeine is keeping me up at night.

Until the next time…I’ll be walking through the house to see what can be sold on EBay or donated to Goodwill!

boys will be boys

Boys will be boys…even if those boys are dogs. 

It is close to midnight, and I have just finished editing a paper for my sister, and my dogs are still running around the house like naughty toddlers-climbing on the furniture, getting into mischief, and begging for cookies.  I wonder if I’ll ever get to sleep tonight. 

But this behavior is partly my fault. 

Mike and I spent a large portion of the day away from home.  Not all at once—we came home in between to feed and take them out—but still, we were gone for several hours of the day.  And just like the toddler who naps for too many hours of the day, our dogs are wound up and ready to play their way through the night. 

I’m letting them get whatever energy out they can before I am ready to head to bed.  I just hope they wear themselves out before I run out of steam.  It’s going to be a very close race.  And I’m running out of toilet paper!

I may have to switch to paper towels soon. 

Until the next time…I’ll be spending Sunday looking for some doggy chew toys!

what goes in always comes out!

I came home this evening, after being gone for just over two hours, to find my favorite pair of sunglasses on the floor in a twisted, broken, mess of parts.  This was a grim discovery.  I loved those sunglasses, and I couldn’t...I can’t…imagine what would make Indiana Jones, the gigantic puppy, assume that they were even remotely edible.

I knew right then that I should have left the spare rolls of toilet paper out where he could reach them.  So what if he had already torn through three rolls before lunch?  So what if I spent twenty minutes cleaning up the confetti of tissue strewn throughout the house?  Even the most expensive toilet paper is a lot cheaper than my favorite sunglasses. 

Still…it could have been worse.  It could have been my laptop, or my leather couch. 

My husband does not think I should leave extra rolls of toilet paper in strategic positions throughout our house, under any circumstances.  I wonder if he would feel the same way if it was his Bluetooth headset, or his leather loafers that were making their way through the miles of Mastiff intestines at this very moment. 

I suppose I can’t complain.  Indy rarely chews anything of consequence.  And sunglasses are replaceable.  And I fed him a Vaseline sandwich—just in case he did swallow any sharp pieces of plastic.  And tomorrow is Saturday, and I can hit the sunglass kiosk in the mall and find a wide assortment of sunglass on sale.  I can probably get two for the price of one…and that might not be a bad idea, really.

Until the next time…I’ll be watching for my sunglasses to show up in the yard!

the chicken or the egg

I had a chiropractor appointment today.   It was my first visit at this office, so I was given the full work up.  Not my favorite thing, having a full work up at a medical office.  Especially in unflattering paper shorts and a hospital gown—with the requisite slice up the back!

It’s a damn good thing I remembered to shave my legs this morning. 

So after my grueling ordeal wherein I was poked and prodded, twisted and bent in pretzel-like positions—sort of like playing twister without the colored circles on the floor—I have one question. 

Do I fall down a lot because my spine is out of alignment, or is my spine out of alignment because I fall down a lot?

What came first is a question that even the doctor could not answer.  I argued that I was clumsy first because I was clumsy coming out of the womb.  The chiropractor argued that coming out of the womb is, in and of itself, a torturous adventure that can leave an infant with a misaligned spine!  The simple truth is…we may never know the truth.

The good news is, they have a half off massage special going on, and I would really like a massage.  Especially after having my vertebrae poked before I even had dinner! 

But there was no time for a massage today.  As much as I would like to have walked out of there completely cured of my balance issues, and in perfect spinal alignment, I walked out much the same as I walked in.  Well, other than those nagging sore spots where my bones were studied.  Maybe I’ll be cured after my next visit.  I have a lunchtime appointment set for next Tuesday.  I know…I’m a glutton for punishment.

Until the next time…I’ll be begging my husband for a free massage.

hey, can somebody answer that phone?

It never fails. 

The minute I find myself indisposed…in some position that makes it utterly impossible to reach the phone…it rings.  And as soon as I climb down from the ladder…or rush from the bathroom…the ringing stops.  So I call them back, and we talk for a minute, and I go about my business as I was before they called the first time.  And as soon as I am firmly positioned at the top of the ladder trying to steady something high above my head, my caller inevitably realizes they forgot to tell me something and they call back. 

This is exactly what happened to me today.  All day long, in fact.  I think I may have developed a stress disorder. 

Not really. 

This always happens when my phone is in the other room charging.  No one cares to call me when I have a full battery.  And how often do I actually climb a ladder?  Hardly ever, thank goodness.  I almost think someone was watching from the window and dialing my number the minute I reached the top step. 

But who would do that?

Sure you would…and you know it!

Until the next time…I’ll be charging my phone next to the bed, just in case!

exactly how many turkeys do we need?

Mike and I found ourselves at the World Market this evening.  We had time to kill while the Land Rover was getting new tires.  I have decided that there is nothing more dangerous on a cold, wet night than “time to kill.” 

As we walked through the market, we collected items in our cart.  I found a beautifully simple white turkey platter, and Mike agreed that we absolutely needed that.  In fact, he decided that we needed two.

Two turkey platters?

Apparently, we are having more than one turkey for Thanksgiving.  This would be more logical if we were having a large crowd for dinner, but this year we will be serving a more intimate group, and surely one turkey would suffice.  But as we have done on more than one occasion, we will be cooking two.  One in the oven and one in a smoker.  We attempted smoking a turkey last year, with disastrous results, so, of course, we have to try again—I can only hope with greater success. 

As we approached the check out, it dawned on me that we had arrived on foot, having walked from the tire shop across the large parking lot, and now it was raining heavily. 

We put the platters back on the shelf.

I may go back later in the week and buy one platter.  I still don’t think we need two.  Maybe if we don’t have room for two turkeys on a platter, we will only make the one—the one in the oven, of course.  There is still time to change his mind…after all, we haven’t even bought a turkey yet!

Until the next time…I’ll be making my Thanksgiving grocery list!

a bag of grapes, a light bulb, two magazines and a bottle of water

These were the random items I paid for when I checked out at Wal-Mart this evening.  I can’t explain the reasons behind each item...I just bought what felt right as I wandered down each aisle.  But as I stood in the checkout lane, I suddenly had the feeling that the other people in line were looking at me funny for having such an unusual set of choices at ten o’clock at night.  I had my answer ready if anyone had asked…I was on a scavenger hunt and I only had one item left to find, but it was unlikely I would win unless I was prepared to raid a bowling alley…and I know that is a strange reply to an unasked question, but what else does one do while waiting to check out at the local Wal-Mart on a Monday night?

So without having to come up with an interesting reason for my lonely little bag of grapes, my single low wattage light bulb, two holiday decorating magazines, and the cold bottle of water that I drank before even leaving the store, I was forced to leave Wal-Mart and go home. 

Nothing even close to interesting was going on at home tonight.  It was a cold, wet, November day and I didn’t even have the foresight to bring some firewood inside before it started to rain, so there was no chance of a nice warm fire tonight either.  I had a paper to edit for my sister, and a blog to write, and once I finished those things, I was heading straight to bed with little to show for the entire day.

I did make dinner.  It was a nice fall like dinner too.  I made Swedish meatballs and gravy over egg noodles with a side of garlic Brussels sprouts.  And I even made the meatballs from scratch!  I had never made this dish before, but it was a hit, and my stock with Mike has gone up a few points.  This was perfect timing as I didn’t get any cleaning done today.  The only thing I washed was the dog, and that was only because he decided to go swimming in a mud pond in the back yard before lunch.  The good news is, he will smell very nice when he climbs into my bed in the wee hours of the morning to take up every available square inch of mattress at the foot of the bed. 

I hope it stops raining in the night.  I don’t mind the cold, but I don’t like the wet.  All things considered, I would rather it snowed.  And since I can’t use the rain as an excuse not to clean two days in a row, I guess I will be vacuuming tomorrow. 

And if the rain keeps up, I’ll be washing the dog again too. 

Life is nothing if not predictable!

Until the next time…I’ll be eating my grapes while I read my magazines by the light of my brand new light bulb!

another vacation bites the dust

Despite a full schedule that was carefully planned in advance, I don’t think I did anything at all today, and I’m fine with that.  I was supposed to take Indiana Jones to doggy classes, but I just wasn’t up to it.  We were supposed to clean and organize our bedroom, but that will have to wait until another day.  I didn’t feel as awful as I have all week, but I still just don’t feel my best.    

As busy as this week was, and as much as we accomplished, it still feels like we did absolutely nothing.  Our “to do list” sits, practically untouched, on the kitchen table waiting for us to complete it.  And somehow the house seems messier than before we started cleaning it.  It would seem as if I have a lot of work ahead of me for the coming week.  But at least I’ll be here by myself to do it.  For some reason, I get a lot more done when no one is around to distract me.  Then again, my health would have to cooperate with me first.  With any luck, I’ll at least feel good enough to vacuum.

Of course, whether or not I feel better, Mike has to head back to the office tomorrow morning.  I’m sure that will be a bit of a shock to his system after sleeping in for an entire week.  I know he isn’t looking forward to the end of a too short vacation.  I keep reminding him that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, and he’ll have a few days off to sleep in again.  I think that at least cushions the blow somewhat.  And the impending holiday raises my spirits and gives me something to work toward while I attempt to tackle the house this week. 

Next week, I will be devoting the blog to Thanksgiving. 

Until the next time…I’ll be dusting off that “to do list” to get things done!

is it really worth it?

I'm not talking about life in general, but rather, I’m speaking about energy conservation.  I mean, yes…of course, we should conserve energy at all times.  It’s the responsible thing to do.  But does that mean we have to sacrifice comfort and aesthetics?  Does it?

My husband has been on a mission this week—a mission to reduce our carbon footprint and save some money in the process.  I’m all about reducing our carbon footprint.  As long as it doesn’t detract from my quality of life.  But when I go to use the bathroom and can’t tell if the toilet paper is going over or under the roll, I think that is taking energy conservation a bit too far!

Over the course of the last two days, Mike has gone through the entire house and replaced the light bulbs in every light fixture with low wattage compact fluorescents.  Seven watts each, to be exact.  Now, I would have been perfectly happy keeping the sixty watt incandescent bulbs right where they were, but as he broke it down to me…we were using enough energy to run the refrigerator every time we switched on one chandelier.   When he added it up, we were able to save four hundred fifty five watts…in just that one light fixture!  Multiply that savings over several chandeliers on the main floor and we can run several refrigerators, the washer and dryer, and probably a few old fashioned tube televisions. 

I’m sure some of the light fixtures were using much less wattage than the big chandelier, but they are now using even less than what they were.  Including the powder room—a room that now reminds me of the lighting in a bus stop restroom with the low wattage, barely visible glow from the triple arm fixture high above the sink.  The problem with these low wattage fluorescent fixtures is, they take a few minutes to warm up and put out their full potential of light.  By the time they are at full brightness, I’m ready to leave the room! This is where I need to put my foot down.  How am I supposed to powder my nose if I can’t make out my face in the mirror?  How am I supposed to read my decorating magazines without sufficient light?  

I may just have to creep back into that room after he goes to bed and replace the new bulbs with a few of the inefficient old ones.  He won’t even notice.  I hope anyway.

I certainly hope all of this effort results in a noticeable savings in our next electric bill.  Mike spent nearly a hundred dollars on light bulbs!  But as my husband explained, in addition to the energy savings, those new bulbs are supposed to last for ten years.  I suppose that means that when we move, we will take them all with us and put the old ones back in. 

Tomorrow, Mike will be assembling his new solar energy kit.  He will be attempting to run our flat screen TV with nothing but solar power.  This experiment is meant to be a dry run for our “living off the grid” lifestyle at the North Carolina property.  Next thing you know, I'll be expected to cook dinner by candlelight. I’ll let you know how it goes. 

But for now, I’m going to bed.  Saving energy is exhausting!

Until the next time…I’ll be trying to read a book by candlelight!

a sick blog

It's true...I'm not feeling like my usual self this evening, even though it was a good day all in all.  We finally signed the papers for our little piece of paradise and I even had my first chance to check out the little town of Murphy North Carolina while we were there.  We had sandwiches at the bakery and deli, explored some of the charming shops, and even picked up a nice pair of leather hiking boots for the next time we head up into the woods. 

We didn't go to the property today.  I wasn't feeling well, and we were under a tight time schedule, but we will be back up there very soon to start the work on our first project...the rustic cabin. 

I know you will all forgive me for cutting this very short tonight.  With any luck, tomorrow will be an eventful day with lots to share.  But for tonight...I think I'll take the night off and snuggle up under a warm blanket.

Until the next time...I'll be working on feeling better.

a little thanksgiving foreshadowing

Well, Mike’s vacation is almost over and I have no idea where the time went!  The weather has been great.  But as the temperature went up, so did my blood pressure, putting a bit of a damper on the fun.  The good news is, the kids have been extra careful to be calm and kind in my presence which has been a nice change of pace.  And I already had a prescription for medicine that was collecting dust in my medicine basket.  I really hate taking medicine...it always makes me tired.

And by tired I mean I need to go to bed really early...like now!  I have an early appointment in the morning.

We are closing on our little piece of paradise tomorrow, so that will be the highlight of our week.  Of course, every silver lining has a dark cloud in it…we forgot the banks were closed today so we will be stopping at the bank first thing in the morning to get the certified check for the closing funds.  We will likely be late for the closing…but hey, no one said having it all would be easy!

Next on our “to do list” is to get the house ready for Thanksgiving.  Mike is building benches for the dining room table to give us more seating.  In an interesting twist of fate, we will be entertaining my sister’s ex husband for Thanksgiving dinner.  This will likely give me a month’s worth of hysterical blogs to write.  Anyone who is familiar with “Uncle Paul” (as we all still call him) should be fully aware of what I mean.  And no…I didn’t just randomly invite my ex brother-in-law for dinner.  My niece asked if she could bring him with her, and how could I say no?  The kids love him, and its Thanksgiving after all.  It’s a time for family.  And what is family without that crazy uncle everyone has?  This is the argument I used to convince my husband to set aside his reservations and open his heart to an extra family member. 

Let’s just say it should be interesting…at best!  

Until the next time…lots of sleep before tomorrow’s closing activities!