I've Just Seen A Face

Caught this on the wall one morning... (morning sun shining through the glass on the front door)

That's just a little bit creepy, don't you think?

Evidence

Tiny has a new spot. "I own this car," she purrs. 

It's not like I didn't know about it earlier. There were many tiny paw prints on the windshield, most noticeable while driving west as the sun sets. But this is the first photographic proof I've gotten. M-I-L says Tiny also likes to get IN the car so I better keep my windows up. 

And here's Homer, caught in the act stealing Francine's food. 

No wonder he's plateaued on his diet. 

Scam

I recently got one of those IRS scam calls. Yes, there's a warrant out for my arrest and so on and so forth.

© aihumnoi – Fotolia.com

These make me so angry. I can imagine there are some people who would believe them. Case in point, my late aunt. Every time she did her taxes she would say, "the sheriffs are coming to get me." Note she used the plural. She was a feisty bitch and more than one sheriff would be needed to take her down.

As an adult, I can see that she was a paranoid old biddy. But in my childhood, I was really worried. Not that they'd take her away, no I would have been delighted about that! But I always worried that my mother would be taken, too. We moved several times when I was very young, I spent a lot of time being shuttled back and forth to my dad's house, and my mom was the only person I felt secure with. I was terrified at the thought of her being taken away and me having to live with one of the aunts.

So thanks, scammers, for bringing back unhappy childhood memories.

I Should Have Known Better

Don't go to the store when you're hungry. This was on sale for 99 cents. How bad could it be, I wondered.

I should have known better. 

Things That Go Bump in the Night

It's been refreshing to have the windows open at night but then there is often some external noise that wakes me up.

One night I heard something of the wild animal variety walking around in the creek. Tromp stomp clomp, nuffle rustle scuffle shuffle. It scared the birds roosting in the trees and they started to squawk. They are some kind of egret, but I call them pooping cranes because they leave such a mess on the ground. I think they literally had the sh!t scared out of them that night.

Another night it was a broken sprinkler. I got up and went outside at 3 a.m. to make sure it wasn't in our yard.  We've had all the sprinklers in the back yard turned off at the valves for over a year, but you never know if a pipe has burst. Luckily, it wasn't us, it was from the apartment buildings behind us, those water wasters.

After that, I decided to close the windows.

Of course the cats are active, so I can't eliminate the noises inside the house.

Signs of Spring 2015

I didn't intend to stay away so long.

Nothing really exciting has been happening until yesterday, when PLOP I dropped my phone in Homer's water dish. That's not as embarrassing as if it had been the toilet. I was so lucky! It is still working! I am not good at doing backups so I guess that should be my next goal.

It is definitely spring here and various things are sprouting.  These popped up in the middle of the library's lawn.

My wisteria bloomed ferociously but now much of it is on the ground. Why yes, that is a hobbit house.

Spring Break has come and gone.  Of the four students from Hogwarts who went on to the same eastern college, (should I call it the Auror's Academy?) the three that are not my children returned home for spring break and enjoyed our unseasonably warm weather.  But not our Ernest. At first he was planning to go rock climbing somewhere in West Virginia but then it was too wet so they went somewhere closer in New Hampshire.  They had a few days camping and climbing but then it got too wet there, also. Snow melts. Who knew?

There is evidence that Ernest went skiing. Oh yes, he did tell me he did but did he take any pictures? No. Thank goodness for his reliable Facebook friends, from whom I shamelessly steal photos.

Happy Spring, everyone.

Where are you, rain?

Where is our rain? It was supposed to be a blustery weekend. I am waiting.  

Oh. There is is. 

Still waiting. 

The View from Here and There

This was our view Sunday evening. Yes, my husband barbecues in the rain.

I've been begging Ernest for a snow picture and he finally came through with his view.

What's your view like right now?

Phantom Clock

While Ernest was gone last fall, I plugged in his iHome clock so I could see what time it was as I puttered away at his clutter.

(He generally relies on his phone for an alarm although he sleeps through it so often that I wonder how he manages.) Well, he didn't have any problems with the clock while he was here. It was only after he left that the clock went crazy. 

For several mornings, I wondered, am I hearing something or is it just the normal ringing in my ears? It would gradually get louder and I would realize it was that clock. I would stumble into his room to poke at buttons until the damn thing shut up. Its controls are not instinctive at all. I have no idea how to actually turn the alarm OFF. I kept meaning to download a manual but in the light of day I would forget.  So it kept happening. Finally I unplugged it and the next morning it went off again! I pulled out the batteries, thinking that if it went off the next day I would swear that ghosts are real.

...It didn't go off... so the jury's still out on ghosts. Meanwhile, I have to look up the damn manual.

We Made a Hat (Just Call Me the Mad Hatter)

We're working on ways for my lovely M-I-L to knit one handed. 

After quite a bit of internet searching we did not find anything really suitable. Suggestions from knitting friends are most welcome. 

By now, my long time readers will see where this is going. You know he's the Handy Husband. He's a doityourselfer. 

First, Handy built a little tray to hold the future device. This turned out to be the best thing, maybe not rivaling the entire internets but at least since sliced bread. It holds books and food plates and... Well, it's really nifty and she's delighted her son made it for her. One of her caregivers is also a handy guy and so he and Handy have discussions about plastic and other handy stuff...

Back to the knitting. Handy has adapted a loom onto a lazy susan (apologies to all the susans out there for that horrible name). Now he is working on the best way to secure the loom to the tray. 

Working with the prototype, M-I-L and I made a baby hat! 

(Modeled by Flower. She's the little sister of the dolls you met earlier.)

I added the embellishment. I'm like that. 

Flower thought it was a lovely hat but it didn't match her outfit. What to do? It seemed easier to make another hat. 

Flower's happy with her 1920's cloche look. 

Just call me the Mad Hatter.

That hat was supposed to be for Handy but oh my he has a large head. It fits me and Frank...I wonder where Ernest is in the head size range. He could get better use from it. 

My lovely M-I-L wants to do a scarf next, so Handy's working on adapting that loom. He was hampered a bit from a little exacto knife mishap: 

But now he's down to band aids so we should see the scarf loom soon. 

Weekend Snapshots

Shhh. Don't tell Homer about Louie. 

We truly wish we weren't having summer weather. 

Surf and turf for Valentine's Day. $81 a plate at a restaurant. $10 at home. 

Damn. Those newfangled LED bulbs are bright!

It's a Cool Cali Kind of Weekend

We had a bit of desperately needed rain, which left a snowy drift of petals on the ground. 

But not enough rain to interfere with the barbecue plans tonight. 

For lunch, a little avocado and Artichoke Bruschetta. 

Handy's noodling on the guitar, I'm reading, and the cats have staked out their usual napping positions. 

Last night Frank had all three cats on the couch. He's a cool cat, too. 

Ripe Not

The "ripe now" sticker on the avocados causes me a lot of trouble. The restaurant guy has solved the mystery. It is a trademark, not a notification.

People keep pinching them to see if they're ripe, The nearly ripe ones end up being so bruised they are often too disgusting to eat. 

I have learned to reach to the back or under layer of the stack to find hard green ones. Put them in the fruit bowl for a few days. Avoid squeezing them. When the stem can be easily pulled out they are ripe and keep for a few more days in the fridge. No bruises!

I am going to send Ernest 3 months of heirloom avos from the Avocado Diva. Fresh from the trees! 

An avocado a day would be lovely. It doesn't always have to be guacamole.
Avocado on toast, on eggs, in a BLT, in fruit salad, on pizza, or like yesterday just eaten out of the skin with a little vinaigrette.

A month's worth of ideas!

Snow Day

I asked Ernest to send me some snow pictures and I got a couple like this.

"It's a winter wonderland," he exclaimed on the phone, and planned to go out to play. I'm so grateful one of his friends had a camera. 

That would be Ernest as the attacking Ninja on the left. 

Meanwhile I'm going to pretend I have a snow day as Amazon just delivered this trove of treasures. 

The Circle of Clutter

It seems I can't deal with one thing until I have dealt with something else. I hardly know where to begin.

Since the Christmas decorations are still out of the closet, I dug around in the back and pulled out 4 large boxes of my aunt's travel slides that have been in there for 15 years.

(from this...)

In the trash! A few trays were not labeled so I did quickly look through them. Treasure - some slides of my wedding in '83 and a few others from '75, plus a couple of my small town in 1955! I guess it's time to get out the scanner.

(to this...)

So there I go, starting something else.

The Partial Family Picture

Ernest was here for 4 weeks and I kept announcing, "I need a family picture," but we would put it off and so of course it never happened.

I did manage to corner him and Frank the day before he left. Homer is the most easily manipulated of our cats (i.e. the slowest) so he was dragged into the picture.

Ernest swears he hasn't grown any more. Maybe it's just the positioning in the picture and his puffy hair. Or it could be that Homer's weight is dragging Frank down.

The Usual Bye Mom Picture

So I have confessed I am a worrier, but I seem to be a selective one.

I was worried we wouldn't get to the airport in time. But we got there quick enough (2 hrs 15 minutes with no traffic). Ernest checked in with a bit of time to spare (before the 45 min before flight limit). After we left him, he found out there was a flight delay which caused a missed connection and a reroute. He spend six more hours at the airport.

I didn't seem to be at all worried about that. He's been around the world and on mountains. He can deal with an airport.  I hope he got a nap. His luggage beat him back.

He called last night. Yes, of course he wanted something, but it was nice to talk to him anyways! Classes are good. He has a long weekend to visit his sweetie.

I've been worried about his feet in cold weather as the only shoes I ever see him in are canvas converse but he assured me he could wear his his hiking boots if it got too bad.

The Joy of Maps

We had an estate sale at my father's house last fall.  He didn't have anything really valuable. Most people were out for something cheap. Don't get me started on the Bitch and the Barcalounger.

He was a collector of information. One thing he had a lot of were maps. I think he kept every map he ever had. And the maps seemed to draw the most responses from people.

Late the first day, a family arrived as we were closing up. Well, of course we let them in. They spent quite a while in the study. I was outside, so I did not get the full experience, but their young daughter (age 10?) loved maps. If her mother had allowed, she would have taken them all and papered the walls of her room with them.

A young couple was about to move away from California. They found a 1957 map of the state, and other maps of places they had either been to or planned to visit.

Another couple with an adorable baby also had memorable finds. The husband found topographic maps of places he had hiked. Most amazingly, the wife found a large picture map of Poland (I don't think my dad even visited Poland) which had the towns her grandparents were from -- towns that didn't normally even appear on maps.

Driving Away the Worries

I've been a chronic worrier all my life. My mother always told me I had a worried look on my face as a baby. Thanks, mom.

Yes, I do lie awake worrying about many things I cannot control. It's not fun. Thinking about worst case scenarios is not conducive to sleep. 

On the bright side, I have never worried about taxes or Ebola.

I discovered something that can drive the worries out of my head: show tunes! I watched Into The Woods twice in one day (the movie and the DVD of the Broadway show) and guess what, the earworms drove all worried thoughts out of my head that night.

So maybe an evening dose of show tunes will do the trick?

I am partial to Sondheim. Got a favorite show tune? Let me know!

We're Going to Need a Bigger Snake

The plumbing story part two:

Handy cleaned out the trap in the upstairs bathtub (through the hole in the wall) but blub blub blub. No noticeable improvement.

We called a plumber, who wasn't too interested. I think they only like to deal with the emergencies. Days later a guy showed up, laughed at Handy's redo, and said we should tear out a wall.  We were supposed to get another call back this weekend but no nothing happened.

Meanwhile, Handy bought a better (drill-powered) snake and solved the problem himself.  Ernest ran water in the tub upstairs and said he'd never seen it drain so fast.

Really, learning to do your own plumbing is where it's at.

Resolution

I think this is my one resolution for the year. 

I started slowly on this path last fall. 

Overwhelmed by stuff coming into my house, from both my father's and m-i-l's houses, as well as my own collection, I had a garage sale and Handy delightedly took two truck loads to the thrift store. 

He had a laugh because he saw several of these cat scratchers like we had just bought. And guess what, ours went on the next load. 

I might try to sell a few things on eBay, like the expensive Ehrman Tapestry needlepoint kits I never got around to making. 

I never got around to a couple small upholstery projects so I called in the professionals and now after many years they are finally done. So maybe that's a second resolution. Delegate. 

Cleaning out the mind is harder! I'm working on it. 

I Couldn't Help It

It's not what you think.

Oh, Homer. You know I am still yours, heart and soul.

Please don't get your fluffy panties in a bunch. I can't help it if a dog decided to sit on me.



And have a nap.



My lap is mesmerizing, is it not?

This is Louie, who lives at my m-i-l's care home. He used to just bark at me but lately he's decided my lap is ok. He may secretly be a cat inside.

Recreating Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Warning, this post includes dairy, gluten and fat!

I can't say I've ever eaten the famous biscuits at Red Lobster, since I've only been there once, but I impulse-bought a pack of their mix.

Lots of ingredients. 

They tasted great though. It's the garlic butter you dump on after they are baked.

I thought I'd try to replicate the recipe. I've made Bisquick biscuits with cheese before, but they were always a bit heavy. Some internet research let me to cut in some butter with the dry ingredients, like a scratch biscuit or pie dough. (By the way, I have converted Frank to the joys of food processor pie crust. Ernest remains old-school on that matter.)

My Cheddar Bay Biscuits

(Makes 12 large biscuits because the guys said to make extra)

3 c. Bisquick

1 t. Old Bay seasoning

1 cube butter

1 c. grated cheese*

1 1/4 c. milk

Preheat oven to 425°. Mix together Bisquick and Old Bay. Cut in butter using your preferred method (food processor or pastry thingy). Add cheese and toss till cheese is mixed throughout. Mix in milk. Form 12 biscuits on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make garlic butter.

1 more cube butter (I didn't say these were low-fat)

2 T chopped parsley

3 cloves minced garlic*

When biscuits are done, top with garlic butter.

*I'm not entirely sure of these amounts because Handy was responsible for the prep. He tends to go overboard.

They got a good reception.

So I used up the box of Bisquick for this. When I bought more, wouldn't you know it, look what was on the box. So yes, you could probably use less butter! However, fresh garlic and parsley are certainly an improvement.

Holds

I'm surprised I haven't hit the new library hold limit until now. 

What to do, what to do?

I think I can save a list. Or save them as want-to-read on Goodreads. 

There didn't used to be a limit, but then there was a $1 per hold charge. Now holds are free but there is a limit. I didn't mind paying. I thought it was a small price for the library personnel's extra work. 

Goodreads says I read 146 books last year. My own count is 147. So I challenged myself to read 150 in 2015. If I spend a little less time playing mindless iPad games...

I Did It

I did it.

Now I've got to get up in half an hour for my traditional viewing of the Rose Parade. 

Resolution: take a nap later today!

Happy New Year!