That Hobbit Lady

Every now and then I like to take a look through the images I’ve collected on my cell phone, and while most of them are of the Whimsies, and end up on their Whimsieville blog, I sometimes take pics of other things that are going on in my life. Here, in no particular order, or some of those other pics.

First, I have to say: isn’t it wonderful these days to have access to a device that so quickly takes pictures that can so quickly be uploaded and edited? Remember the Not-So-Good-Old-Days when you had to purchase FILM, which you put into a camera, which you then had to carry around with you in addition to all your other stuff, and take it out when you saw something worthy of snapping? And then, since you only had 24 shots on that roll of film, you were very particular about what you used your film for. Because afterwards, you would have to bring it to the store to be developed, and you paid for that too! And if you had sub-standard pictures in there, oh well. After a while, the stores got smart and gave you the option of not paying for the “prints” you didn’t want to keep, but you still had to pay for the film you used to take those bad pictures. All in all, it was a very expensive and inefficient way to capture images.

Because of all the potential pitfalls in picture taking, unless you were a professional photographer, you usually just took “snapshots” of people, posing and smiling. Nowadays, even with all the great convenience of my camera phone, I find I don’t do that as often as I should. I take way too many pictures of things (and Whimsies!) and not enough pictures of people. But I think I’d like to start making an effort to do that more. But in the meantime, I mostly I take pictures of odd moments and strange things, and that’s usually what I share here. A brief glimpse into a unique moment in my otherwise hum-drum life.

So, with all that being said…let’s get started!

One morning I’m making Russ’ sandwich for work, and the bread has a “hole,” as bread sometimes will. To me, it looks like a heart. So, this is strange, right? And worthy of capturing on film. Well….maybe not. But I did. So here it is.

I went on to complete the sandwich, and did not try to sell the slice of bread on E-Bay. Wait. Maybe I should have??

Now here’s a little story that leads up to this coffeemaker. When Russ and I recently visited South Florida, we stayed at Mary and Ken’s house while they went to visit her dad. We had the whole place to ourselves, watching their cats. We got to sleep in their bed, which is much different than our bed. It’s a foam mattress, and at first I thought it was going to be entirely too soft, but the weird part is that once you get settled, the mattress conforms to your body, and you end us sleeping very well, very comfortably.

Every time I visit my family in South Florida, I always come back with some good ideas. This time, the idea was: we need this mattress! And Russ was in hearty agreement. And here’s the best part: though you can spend thousands of dollars on a mattress like this at Tempurpedic, Mary and Ken actually bought this mattress at Wal Mart, for about $400. No brainer! Our mattress, at about five years old, was already showing signs of age and wear, and was nowhere as comfortable as it had been at first. So we went to the Wal Mart website and purchased a Spa Sensation for ourselves, and they delivered it to our door.

It comes all rolled-up and compressed, in a big box, and once you lay it out on the boxspring and cut off the protective plastic covering, it expands, like a liferaft. It’s actually pretty amazing. We didn’t tape ourselves doing it, but here you can see a video of someone else setting up this bed. (People will document just about anything on You Tube.)

So anyway…what does any of this have to do with a coffeemaker? Well, when you set up the bed, you’re supposed to give it 36-48 hours to fully expand, before you sleep on it. With that in mind, and with us having a day off work for Martin Luther King Day, we decided to spend the night at Pearl River Resort, about two hours away, and do a little gambling. We’ve been before, and sometimes we come out a little ahead, and sometimes a little behind, but mostly we just break even. The hotel room was not too expensive, and this gave us the opportunity to have a mini overnight vacation.

Well, the gambling did not go as well as we would have hoped, and we ended up on the “sometimes a little behind” end of it. Of course, if you’re going to play the slots, you have to be willing to lose a certain amount of money and call it “entertainment.” This was not money earmarked for food or utilities or a mortgage payment, so it’s not really a big deal, though we both decided we could think of a lot more entertaining ways to spend our fun money. So, for the moment, I feel I’m somewhat cured of “Gambling Fever.” Trip to Las Vegas just dropped several notches on my Bucket List.

But while we were staying in the hotel room, I used this cute little one serving coffeemaker, and thought it worked just dandy! I’m not a big coffee drinker, but like to have a cup every now and then, and this was just so cute! At work we have one of those Keurig things, and I’ve tried using it, but to me the coffee always comes out tasting very weak. But when I used this little Cuisinart, the coffee tasted great!

I haven’t been able to find the Cuisinart on Amazon, but did find a similar Black and Decker for only $20. I haven’t bought it yet because, as I say, I’m not a big coffee drinker, and I already have a little coffeepot at home that works just fine. But when I’m ready for a new one, I’m keeping something like this in mind.

That was a long story to tell, just to get around to a picture of a coffeemaker. Maybe this one will be more direct. I’ve had this Christmas Cactus for about a year now, and was looking forward to blooms in December, and even did what the online experts say, locking the plant in a dark bathroom overnight. But that didn’t work. Christmas came and went, and no blooms. New Year’s came and went, and no blooms. But finally…finally! Some time last week, in the middle of January, I actually got a bud. Only one. And now it’s become a flower. And it’s beautiful!

The strange part of all this is that I’ve seen Christmas Cactus that other people have, and they leave them in a sunny window, and never lock them in a dark bathroom, and those plants bloomed like crazy at the correct time. So why is it that I’ve followed the advice of experts and get less than spectacular results? From now on, I’m just leaving this guy in the window. And maybe next year we’ll have lots and lots of blooms.

Russ goes to get his hair cut every 6-8 weeks (like you’re supposed to) and if I go along, I look at the books full of hair pictures, and sometimes I see something that intrigues me, and snap a picture of it. This is the one I saw last time. I love it!! Maybe it’s because my hair is so straight that the idea of all these crazy curls is so appealing. I’m beginning to make plans for when I’m going to stop coloring and let the gray take hold, and I wonder if a crazy hairstyle like this would be just the thing for my gray hair. Of course, for me it would have to be perm, and I’ve heard that gray hair is notoriously difficult to perm. But then, I also heard that you should lock your Christmas Cactus in a dark bathroom if you want it to bloom and bloom, and we can see how well that worked out for me! So maybe, instead of assuming the experts are right, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to try this out for myself. This is one hairstyle I might like to try.

So, a recent trip to South Florida, and as I’ve already confessed, I don’t take enough “people pictures,” but I did have enough sense to ask my two favorite men to pose together for this shot. I call this one “My Two Favorite Men in All the World,” and I wish I had had enough sense to ask my dad to join to picture as well (instead of being seen only in the background), then I would have a picture of “My Three Favorite Men in All the World.” Well, I guess this just means Russ and I will have to be making another trip to South Florida some time soon! 🙂

Last year for Christmas one of my co-workers gave me a Cat Calendar, which I used through the middle of September, but then it got really busy, and I stopped pulling off the pages. This year she gave me another Cat Calendar, and I’ve set it up on my desk in such a way that I look at it every day and get to enjoy “The Office Cat.” This one in particular really intrigued and amused me. “With his nearly horizontal ears, this fascinating fellow has a style all his own.” Oh, yes indeed!

The weather’s been relatively cold (though we haven’t had any snow yet this Winter), so I’m always wearing my comfortable boots, along with big, fluffy socks. The other day as I was tying up my boots, the thought occurred to me that wearing comfortable boots with big, fluffy socks is one of Life’s Chief Joys. I’m serious. There’s nothing better than feet that feel good. I know we should never say never, but I’ll temper my next statement with I hope I never have to be in a position where I’m expected to wear stockings and high heels for too long. I would be simply miserable! When Russ and I talk about where we might like to move when we retire, one of the things on my “Wish List” is a place where I get to wear big fluffy socks, comfortable boots (and flannel!!) for a good portion of the year.

Going back to our recent trip to South Florida, Joey gifted us with some original works of art. He’s gotten involved in “spray paint art,” which, if you ask me, sounds like graffiti, but here’s what the finished product actually looks like:

It’s nice to have an original piece of art, rather than a simple “print,” like all the other art in our house. I got this one, and Russ got a smaller one. The small one is a standard size for framing, but this bigger one is 11 X 22″ so it’s going to be a bit more difficult finding a frame. We’re thinking we’ll hang these in the master bathroom because…well, why not? The bathroom does not have an established “theme,” but I try to incorporate a lot of color, and this art is nothing if not colorful!

Finally, can’t get through a “My Life in Pics” post without visiting Mr. Squee! Here he is between Christmas and New Year’s, “helping” me put away the decorations. Good boy!

New Year’s is over, and we’re firmly into 2015. So far, so good! And I’m sure this coming year will yield many more opportunities to document my life…in pics!

It’s Sunday night, and tomorrow it’s back to work, after one and half weeks of vacation. I say “vacation,” as if there was only one vacation, but in actuality, it’s felt more like FOUR vacations. Here’s how it went:

VACATION #1: CHRISTMAS EVE
Our last day of work was December 23, and we actually both got off a bit early! Which was great, because we needed the little bit of extra time to get ready for Christmas Eve at Russ’ dad’s house. We had food to prepare, and presents to wrap. Then we went over, and there was family, and gift-giving, and eating, and more eating. Oh…and did I happen to mention, there was a lot of EATING??

VACATION #2: FLORIDA
On Christmas Day, we traveled to Gainesville, and stayed overnight in a hotel. We weren’t certain how many gas stations and restaurants we would find open along the way on Christmas Day, so Russ mapped out where the truck stops were, and we stopped often for gas, never going below half a tank. In Gainesville, there was a Steak and Shake open just down the road from our hotel. We don’t have one in Tuscaloosa, so it’s always a pleasure to eat somewhere we can’t usually get to. We watched some football, and in the morning, set out again for South Florida.

Arriving in the middle of the afternoon, we spent the rest of that day with Mary and Ken, going out to eat with them. The next day we visited with Mom and Dad and James—a lot of good family time, and did I happen to mention, more EATING of all kinds of delicious foods?

But that was nothing in comparison to the next day, when we visited again, and this time John and his family were there as well, and Terry, and Joey also showed up! We played Apples to Apples, and there was more eating, and lots of good times.

The next morning we got back on the road, stopping overnight in Dothan, where we watched more football, before heading out again in the morning, arriving back home slightly after noon.

All in all, it was a great vacation, getting to see everyone, and I also brought home a bunch of stuff Mom was getting rid of, that she doesn’t want anymore, but is going to work out great in our house! Also, on the trip down and back we got to listen to the entire Serial podcast, which was extremely compelling!

Also, we got to stay at Mary and Ken’s house (while they went to visit her dad), and found that we both really appreciated the comfort level of their Spa Sensation Foam Mattress. This will be our next big purchase!

VACATION #3: NEW YEAR’S DAY
On New Year’s Eve day, we steam cleaned the carpet as we always do in preparation for our New Year’s Day party, which includes football, and you guessed it…lots and lots of delicious FOOD!! The food and the day were great, but the football was not as good as it could have been, since Alabama did not win against Ohio State.

But on the plus side, I’ve discovered that I’m becoming less of a “sore loser” than I used to be. I started following Alabama football at the same time that Nick Saban started coaching, and as a result, I’ve followed the team through many, many more wins than losses. Up till now, whenever we lose, I take it badly, usually swearing “That’s it! I’m done with football!” But this time, I was much more philosophical about it. We were #1 for several weeks, and we also won the SEC Championship. We got to play in the first college football playoff. Not a bad resume’. And now I’m just about ready for next year’s football season.

VACATION #4: THE LONG WEEKEND
New Year’s Day was on a Thursday, leaving a long three day weekend for getting caught up on all kinds of things around the house. I’ve puttered around, putting away the Christmas stuff, filling boxes for Goodwill, cleaning, fixing, and just generally enjoying my own house. I finished my Cat Who book and have moved on to the next in the series. We moved the treadmill to a new location, and set it up with a TV and DVD player, to make exercising more enjoyable. Today I made a delicious pea soup from the New Year’s Day hambone, and we also discovered a great new TV show, Downton Abbey!

Tomorrow it’s back to work but after so much varied vacation activity, I think I’m ready to get back in a routine. And by “routine” I mean a schedule that includes a lot more exercise, and a lot less EATING!!!

So, today at lunch, I treated myself to a visit to the Public Library. Not only did I find the book I was looking for, but I also found several others that looked interesting. I love being able to try out books from the library, before deciding if I actually want to purchase them. A lot of times the hype at Amazon makes the book seem much better than it actually is. A lot of times, a couple of weeks with the book is sufficient, there’s no need to actually purchase the book to sit on your shelf.

But that’s not what I came here to talk about. I came here to talk about this marvelous Christmas tree I saw in the library. How cool is this? And how appropriate! A tree made entirely of books! Just stack them up properly, then string some lights all around. I’m so impressed, not only with the “tree” itself, but with the imagination that went into dreaming up such a project.

This tree has brought back a memory from my childhood. Once upon a time, I was a lot more interested in “crafts” than I am now. I recall creating Christmas trees by folding the pages of Reader’s Digest, then spray painting them. The trees pictured here are not mine, but this is what they were like. Pretty cool, huh? And for a little kid with not much money and not much in the way of skills, so easy, and so satisfying.

Nowadays, you won’t find me doing crafts of any kind, but as a kid, and as a teenager, I would occasionally sew, make patchwork quilts, crochet, do needlework. Later, I also learned how to do “Pysanki Eggs,” which are very time-consuming and complicated. I don’t have the patience for stuff like that anymore. And then of course the problem is that once you’re done with your “craft,” you have this extra thing clogging up your life. Don’t we already have way too many things in our lives? Well, I know I do. I don’t need more. I need less.

But now I’m going off on a tangent. This post is supposed to be about the Christmas Tree of Books. I like it. At least, I like to look at it. I’m just glad I personally don’t have to put it all together, then take it all apart once the holidays are over.

THE ELF ON THE SHELF
As Christmas approaches, I’ve developed an interest in Christmas Pixie Elves. I think it started when I saw one on a TV commercial, and that really sparked memories of my childhood. I figured if I could find the Whimsie dolls from my childhood on E-Bay, surely Pixie Elves are there also! Well, they certainly are. But they don’t come cheap.

I believe that back in the day, you could probably walk into any “Five-and-Dime” store and buy one of these little guys for a dollar or less. Nowadays, because they’re “retro,” they go for a lot more than that. I was bidding on this cutie pie, and though I don’t remember exactly where the bidding started, I was willing to go up to $6.00. That was a couple of days ago. This morning, he’s up to $10.50, and I’m sure he’ll go for even a bit more. The really cute ones seem to be going for $15-20 each. (UPDATE 12/17/14: the pictured Pixie actually sold for $36.00!!)

If you’re ever at a yard sale and see one for a buck or two, grab it! If you don’t care about selling it on E-Bay, it would make an excellent Christmas gift….for me!!

MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER
I’m a fan of two TGTV semi-reality TV shows: The Property Brothers, and Living Alaska. I call them “semi-reality,” because the more “reality” TV I see, the more I realize how completely staged it all is, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. I’m here to talk about TWINS. On the left we have the completely handsome Property Brothers, Jonathan and Drew — highly talented, tall, entertaining, well-groomed, completely single (and if you can believe what you read on the internet: no, they are NOT gay.) On the right we have the Berington twins, Anna and Kristy, who recently appeared on an episode of Living Alaska. If I’m remembering this correctly, they are both six foot tall MODELS, and also completely single.

It’s a no-brainer. Why don’t the Property Brothers get together with the Berington twins? It doesn’t even matter which one ends up with which, the children are going to be stunning.

Of course I’m being facetious. You don’t match up with someone based strictly on looks (though I’m sure many people make their initial choices that way, and that’s probably one reason why the divorce rate is so high.) I’m just saying, IF these two sets of twins got together, they would leave the rest of us, and our children, even more in the dust than we already are.

I see a show: The Property Brothers travel to Alaska to help the Berington twins remodel their newly purchased Alaska retreat. C’mon now, don’t tell me someone at HGTV hasn’t already thought of this.

REBECCA
Russ and I are working our way through all the Academy Award winning pictures, and yesterday we watched the 1940 winner, Alfred Hitchcock directed Rebecca. It was quite good. But then of course, that’s the whole point of watching the Award winners—to see good movies.

You see, Russ and I also have a fondness for the sci-fi and horror B films of days gone by, titles like Teenagers from Outer Space and The Wasp Woman (both 1959), the Christoper Lee Dracula movies from the ’60’s and ’70’s, and of course the Japanese tales of Godzilla, King Kong, Gigan, Gamera, etc. These kind of movies are fun, once in a while, like cotton candy, but you can’t have them as a steady diet. You need to balance them with a healthy does of…CULTURE.

Rebecca is based on the best-selling novel by Daphne DuMurier, which I read and loved (and re-read, and still loved), many years ago. It’s a favorite, so I was looking forward to the movie. I hadn’t realized until I saw the credits that it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, but learning that only raised my expectations.

Well, I am here to report that my expectations were both met and exceeded. Great movie! Though I had always pictured Maxim as Harrison Ford, Laurence Olivier did a good enough job. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Joan Fontaine in a movie before this, but she was precisely what was needed for the unnamed heroine of the piece.

The most delightful surprise of all, however, was how closely the movie stuck to the original. Don’t you just hate it when you read a book, and love it, then go see the movie, and have to ask yourself…what the #$%& is this all about?? Was the director reading the same book I was reading? It seemed to me the opening lines of the movie were directly lifted from the first page of the book, and from that point on, I felt we would be in for a treat. I say again: not disappointed.

ORIGINAL AUTHOR FAN-FICTION
Currently, I ‘m working my way through to the end of the “Cat Who” series. There are 29 books in the series, which I’ve been reading sporadically for the last several years, but now I’m up to The Cat Who Went Up the Creek, which means I’ve only got six more to go. For the last four or five, the moment I finish one book, I immediately pick up the next, so that the transition is seamless. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just all one great big book.

My mom is a fan of this series—in fact, she’s the one that got me started on it. But I remember her saying that she didn’t like what the author did with some of the characters towards the end. I have to wonder if I’m getting to that point. Though for me it’s not so much about “some of the characters” as it is about the main character, Jim Qwilleran.

It’s obvious to me that the author , Lilian Jackson Braun, is totally in love with Qwill. I don’t know that you could say he has any faults—except perhaps that he’s an alcoholic. But he’s a recovered alcoholic, so that doesn’t even count. If anything, it only makes him more heroic, each time he pours his pals a drink of brandy or scotch from his private collection, while he stoically sips his white grape juice or Squunk Water.

Okay, yeah—he’s a tall, good-looking guy with an impressive mustache (I’ve always pictured him as Tom Selleck), and not only does he write a column for the local newspaper, but he also happens to be the richest man in the northeast central United States. So I understand he’s a local celebrity, and well-liked, but in these last several books, the adulation is starting to get out of control. When people see him coming, they cheer, and old ladies practically swoon when he takes their hand and talks to them in his “mellifluous voice.” The author was in her 80’s writing this part of the series, so I’m sure she saw herself as one of those swooning old ladies.

And all that’s okay, except that it does kind of reek of Fan Fiction. But here’s the part that really bothered me: in the latest book, Qwill thinks he knows who the murderer is, so he invites his pal the Police Chief over for a scotch, and explains that he’s planning to meet with the suspect and see how he reacts to some very pointed questions. Qwill asks Chief Brody if he might have a few officers hiding in the wings, just in case things get out of control. And the Chief says…Sure!

Now, I don’t know if this is so more a comment on small town life or fictional story lines, but it seems to me that Chief Brody’s appropriate response should have been, “Now wait just a minute there, Qwill! You shouldn’t be taking such risks! You leave the police work to US!” Right?

In what universe is it okay for a private citizen to question a murder suspect while the police wait in the wings? Well, the police might need to use a civilian in a sting operation, but it would be THEIR idea, not the private citizen’s!! Basically, what we have here is an open acknowledgement by everyone involved that the police are completely incompetent and can’t do their job without the assistance of the intelligent, resourceful, unstoppable main character.

But you know what? I’m taking it all in stride. I still enjoy the books, they’re just making me chuckle a little more than they used to.

I recently got this idea to start documenting some of life’s most outstanding moments that really stand out above all the rest. Every once in a while something happens that makes you say, “Now that makes my day!” Well, those are the kinds of moments I’m talking about.

And here’s the first:

As any regular visitor to this blog will know, I’m a big fan of college football. Of course I mostly follow Alabama, but I also like to take a passing glance at a University of Central Florida game now and then. UCF has a special place in my heart because I’m from Florida, and because I feel that this is an “up and coming” team that’s going to see a lot more success in the coming years, and it’s fun to go along for the ride.

Last night UCF played the East Carolina Pirates and was way ahead at first, but the Pirates closed tha gap, and then late in the fourth quarter, scored a touchdown and went ahead! It was looking dim for UCF.

But then what happened? Due to some horrendous clock management by East Carolina, UCF got the ball back, with only ten seconds left in the game. With the first five seconds, they managed a first down. With the final five seconds, the quarterback put his entire arm into one final terrific 50 or 60 yard throw down to the end zone, and this is what happened:

Oh man! You hear about things like this, but it’s not often you get to see it. How outrageously fantastic is that? Ten seconds, three defenders, and only one receiver, and yet, against all odds, the game game is turned on its head and you win! Those poor Pirates looked like some sea serpents had just swept in and stole all their buried treasure!

Russ and I both let out a holler that had poor little Squee zipping out of the room fast as a streak, thinking, “What’d I do? What’d I do?!” Squee, not generally a big fan of college football. He takes everything so personally. But how else are you supposed to react to something like this?

In sports, sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. But sometimes, when you think you’re about to lose, and then instead you win—well, that’s a “Make my day” kind of moment. Now, of course, I personally didn’t win anything, but it renewed my spirit to see this fantastic, miraculous comeback. It made me remember that no matter what happens, there’s always still the wonder of possibilities.

So, yesterday was Thanksgiving, with all the traditional Thanksgiving activities, including a huge holiday dinner with all of Russ’ family, and then afterwards coming home and having another huge meal of leftovers. We didn’t do any exercise, we just watched TV, and at one point I took a nap. It’s a holiday! That’s what holidays are for!

But today was a “Bonus Day!” A day when we didn’t have to go to work, and we didn’t have to prepare food, or travel, or even go out of the house. Today was a day to stay home and not have to do anything except whatever we wanted to do. And in my case, that mostly means puttering around the house.

I love our house. I’m just sad that I don’t always get to spend a whole lot of time here, because I’m always off at work. Squee and the Whimsies spend more time here than Russ and I do. It’s their world, we just live in it. Sometimes. But today, we got to live here all day long, and it was glorious!

First I started the day with some basic housework, like running a few loads of laundry, doing some leftover dishes. Meant to vacuum as well, but never got around to it. Oh well…but I did bake a cake! It was a “maple” cake, with cream cheese icing. The icing was delicious, but the cake actually seemed a little dry. That was sort of a disappointment.

But here’s something that was not a disappointment: my new curtains! Wednesday on my lunchbreak I treated myself to a visit to the Thrift Store. I got three pairs of Whimsie pants, which they’ll soon be modeling on their website, and also two panels of a very pretty curtain. They’re sheers, but with delicate large roses. Is this shabby chic, or simply “Grandma Curtains”? A sign that I’m extremely stylish…or that I’m getting to be an old lady? Doesn’t matter. I gave them a good bath in Woolite, then hung them up on the backyard clothesline to dry. It was such a cool, clear day, they dried up in no time at all, and I took them in the house and hung them up in the front room.

I love the way my new curtains look in the front room. They’re so sheer, I’m hoping I can keep them closed all the time, and there will still be enough light getting through to the Jade plant. The Christmas Cactus had previously been here in the front room, hanging out with Jade, but I moved him recently, back to the kitchen table, and oh! by the way, this morning I saw the first signs that he’s thinking about putting out some blooms!

At one point during the day I also had a chance to “Play Spices,” which is one of my favorite relaxing activities. I like to play with spices much the way children love to play in a sandbox. I’m always trying to make the collection more manageable. Today I took everything out and discovered that I have 32 different spices, in all kinds of bottles, and some of them are quite old. So I went online to google “Best way to store spices” and learned some things I should have known before, but didn’t. For instance, did you know spices should be stored in a dark, dry place, away from light, air, heat and moisture? The traditional spice rack, with glass bottles exposed to light is not a good way to store spices. Tins are better. But…good luck finding spice tins that are anywhere near what could be considered “affordable”! I saw these round, flowered tins online, and they’re beautiful, but they are WAY more than I’m willing to pay!

We have a deep drawer in the kitchen that will accommodate all the spices, and as my wise husband pointed out, as long as the spices are kept in the drawer, in closed containers, they won’t be exposed to light, air, heat or moisture, so it doesn’t really matter if they containers are see-through or not. So, we now have a plan to find a certain kind of container that will affordable and convenient. I won’t say more here. If this works out, I’ll do an entire post about the subject, because I’ll be so delighted to have solved the problem in an intelligent and economical way.

Going on, we also spent a good portion of this day watching the Arkansas/Missouri college football game, which determined which team will be going to the SEC Championship game next week: Missouri. I would say “which team WE will be playing in the SEC Championship game next week,” but I won’t jinx anything until tomorrow night at this time, when we’ll know whether or not Alabama has won the Iron Bowl. Alabama is favored, and it’s looking pretty good, but as I say…not to jinx…

I froze some fresh cranberries, and some kale, to add to my Nutribullet morning shakes. Russ recorded some of the Aerial America’s off our DVR, and our collection is now more complete than it has been, though still lacking several states. Hopefully we will get those over the next year or so. We’ve come up with a plan: starting in the new year, we’re going to watch one Aerial America episode a week. There are 52 weeks in a year, and 50 states in the United States. In about a year, we can say we’ve traveled the entire county. By air. Pretty cool, huh? Not as cool as actually traveling the entire country, but at least this should give us an idea of what destinations we might like to choose for a vacation. And not only that, but I’m sure we’ll learn lots and lots about the USA by watching these episodes.

I ordered a new “scratchy post” from Wal Mart for Squee, and also some new headphones for myself from Amazon. They were originally $99, but now on sale for $23.50. What a deal! Russ and I don’t do “Black Friday”—in fact, we have studiously avoided going to any stores today, preferring to avoid the maddening crowds. But I still got a good Black Friday deal.

Well, wait. That’s not exactly true about avoiding the stores. We went out to dinner (as we always do on Friday evening) and afterwards I asked Russ if we could stop at the Dollar Store, to search for those spice bottles. Didn’t find any bottles, but did find this pack of calendars. Two calendars for $1.00! The big one, with beautiful garden pictures will hang on the wall in my office. The little one, with colorful birds, will hang on the bulletin board by the garage door.

Oh! And one more thing! Also had a chance to pull out the Christmas “stuff,” and hang the stockings by the chimney with care. I have a tiny aluminum tree that I’ll set up where the lava lamp usually sits. Some cool Christmas cups too. And a string of garland that appears to be 50 feet long! Not really sure how to use that! Put a huge red ribbon on the mailbox post, the wreath on the front door, and tomorrow night we’ll throw the “web” of Christmas lights over the bushes in the front of the house.

But that’s for tomorrow, the first day of the regular weekend, which comes after this Bonus Day. I wish every month had a Bonus Day. What a great opportunity to get caught up on a few things, and simply enjoy the house.

Over the last week or two the weather has really been changing, becoming more Fall-like, and some of the trees are beginning to show their Autumn colors. It’s a slow process, and every day I notice some trees looking more and more festive. But on my way into work, I always see this one little tree, standing in a group of other trees who don’t seem at all interested in celebrating the changing of the seasons. It strikes me how wonderfully unique this little tree looks, daring to be different from all his neighbors. I feel a Jonathan Livingston Seagull moment coming on here! The other trees may never change, but this little guy looks so happy, so attractive, and so in tune with what’s going on in the world.

In other news, we’re taking a break from the podcast for a month to get some things done around the house. Right now, my goal is to put like items with like items, and eventually to go through the piles of like items and weed out duplicate and superfluous items. Some people like to to a “Spring Cleaning,” but I’m a big fan of Fall, and to me this seems like the perfect time to enjoy and organize my living space.

In other other news, I’ve been working my way through the Cat Who series, and right now I’m in the middle of The Cat Who Robbed a Bank. I’ve read four or five of these in a row recently, finishing one at night, and picking up the next one the following morning. It’s like one enormously long book. There’s something very comforting about the slow and deliberate pace of Qwill’s life. The fact that he’s solving murders seems almost beside the point! To me, the books are about him, his cats, and the people in his life. The murder mystery is just a convenient hook for this quaint portrayal.

Bought a yogurt maker, but I can’t make it work right. I think my unit is defective. Either that, or, as I think back to my dismal failures with the bread maker, I suppose I am simply not meant to succeed in any cooking or baking activity in which correct temperature is essential. I do everything precisely by the book and yet I can’t seem to get it right. I waver between “I’m going to work on this until I get it right, dammit!” and simply throwing in the proverbial towel. I mean, the way I look at it, it’s okay if I’m not a success in everything I do. As long as I’m a success in many of the most important things. And making a loaf of bread or a container of yogurt is not really on the top of my lifelong priorities list.

I love my camera phone, I’m using it constantly. Been meaning to post here more often, but not exactly sure what to say. So I’ll let a picture be worth a thousand words, and share several thousand words worth from my camera phone.

Above, we see the Squee, relaxing in his room. Well, it’s not really his room, it’s the Whimsies’ room. It’s Squee’s world, and we just live in it, but this little corner of Squee’s room is for the Whims, and they all get along very nicely here.

New in the Whimsies’ room, I’ve recently moved my two plants from the kitchen table to the big window in the front of the house. Here we see the Christmas Cactus, which I bought about a year ago for a couple of dollars, and look how well it’s doing! I read recently that if you want your Christmas Cactus to produce flowers at Christmas, starting in mid-October you lock it up in a room with NO light for up to 12 hours a day, and give it NO water. So. No light and no water = beautiful flowers. Figure it out. Anyway, I’m giving it a try, and each night I move him to the bathroom with no window, and then bring him out again in the morning. It’s not 12 hours, but at least it’s something. If it works, in mid-December I should have beautiful flowers—or at least semi-beautiful flowers. I’ll let you know it works.

I’ve signed up for lots and lots of those birthday clubs, and got lots and lots of free stuff last month, including this soup and sandwich from a fine little restaurant in town called Newks. I don’t usually eat there because it’s just too expensive. If not for my free coupon, this little meal probably would be in the neighborhood of $10. I don’t live in the neighborhood where lunch is $10. In fact, most days, lunch is a sald brought from home, and a cup of tea. But once a year or soI go to Newks, and feast, and really enjoy it…for FREEEE! Why not?

Here are the Whimsies again, and they are “rolling on the floor with laughter,” as a result of reading all the funny rhymes in Dr. Seuss’ Fox in Socks. Hmmm…It’s amazing how those Whimsies love all the same things I do…

The Whimsies are such fascinating creatures, and each has their own distinct personality, which you’ll know if you keep up with their blog, Welcome to Whimsieville. The Whimsies are always running all over the house, getting into all kinds of mischief, and they love to sing and dance, and are filled with so much energy. Having said all that, it’s kind of sad that though they will pose for still pictures, if I ever start using the video camera, somehow they know, and instantly stop in their tracks. Whimsies love to be photographed, but not video-taped. They superstitiously believe that video tape steals their energy, and they like to preserve their energy. It’s uncanny how adept they are at suddenly standing still, the moment a video camera is turned on. And thus, I’m afraid, I will never be able to share with you here, or at the Whimsieville blog, how very energetic they can be. In lieu, you’ll have to settle for this still shot of them rolling around on the floor, laughing.

And here’s Mr. Squee again, enjoying the early evening sun. The way our house is set up, we have lots of windows in the west, so that means we get good diffused light all day long, then for about a half hour each evening, very very strong, warm sunshine. This is Squee’s favorite time of day. He stops whatever he’s doing and gravitates to the sunshine, going into his contented kitty routine. Sometimes he’ll just sit by the window, eyes closed, and practically fall asleep sitting up. I love using the heating pad, even when I have no pain, so I guess I understand Squee’s fascination with light and heat. I also tend to stop whatever I’m doing each evening when the sunlight starts streaming in, and enjoy sitting and simply looking at how bright and cheery everything looks. Too quickly, though, it’s all over, and then evening has officially set in. But evening also has its own special charms, so I’m not complaining, and neither is Squee, because evening contains another of his favorite times of the day…dinnertime!!

Going through some papers recently, I found this huge drawing that Joey had done when he was a kid. I think he must have been in middle school, because my best bet is that this is a representation of some sort of rock band. I love the colors. If I could find the right size frame, I would hang this on the wall.

And finally, here is a bottle that is shaped like a bunch of grapes. Several years ago, when Mary was still in college, she spent a term in Ireland, and while there she traveled to several places in Europe, one of them being Rome, and while there she bought this bottle for me as a souvenir. Originally it must have contained wine, or perhaps olive oil, I forget which, but whatever was in it, it’s been gone for many many years now. I’ve held on to the bottle because I love unique containers, and also because this is such a reminder of what an adventurous spirit my daughter has. How she got that adventurous spirit with such a homebody Hobbit Lady like me for a mom, I’ll never know. But that’s the way it is.

Anyway, I’ve kept this bottle for years and years, but I’ve never been able to clean it out properly because…..well, look at it! How do you clean something like that? I’ve filled it with hot soapy water and shook it all around, but you simply can’t scrub the inside. I don’t feel comfortable ever putting anything else in it again, so it’s always got to be empty. And dirty.

So I’ve decided this bottle has seen better days, and it’s time for it to go in the Goodwill box. I checked with Mary, and she said that was fine. I also have from her trip to Europe an Irish teapot, which I still use on occasion, and I don’t see myself ever getting rid of that.

I wanted to post this picture because I think it’s just hysterical. The other day I ordered some new “Cat Candy” for Mr. Squee, and this is how it was delivered. As you can see, it’s just one small bottle, (it’s not really candy, it’s wafers that help with digestion and hairballs—more like medicine, I guess—but don’t tell Squee that!) and it was packed in this HUGE box that was filled up with all these air packets. The bottle took up about 10% of the space, maybe even only 5% of the space, and the rest of it was just the air packets. It’s almost like I ordered a bunch of AIR and oh, by the way, they decided to throw in a bottle of Cat Candy.

Sometimes our Amazon orders are peculiarly packaged, but I’ve never seen anything like this!

As long as I’m on the topic of Cat Candy, I should also report that Squee is very much enjoying being an only cat. He gets heaps and heaps of attention poured on him. I give him “Cat Candy,” and Russ has a little jar with “Treats,” those little Pounce thingys, and every night after dinner he gets one of those too. He also partakes of the occasional catnip! He has a big pink cushion he hangs out on in the living room (Don’t tell him pink is for girls!) and at night he gets to sleep at the foot of our bed. Sometimes he gets a little bit of chicken or salmon from our dinners, and we’re also starting to let him go out in the backyard again.

It’s been a while since we’ve let Squee in the backyard. Last May he got really sick with a high fever, and we had to take him to the emergency pet clinic, and they put him on antibiotics, and it was this big, expensive, worrisome deal. I kind of got the idea he might have picked up a germ in the backyard, so I stopped letting him out. But it’s been a while now, and he’s fine, and I hate to deprive him of something he enjoys so much. Millions of cats hang out outdoors all the time and never get sick, so I think maybe I’m being a bit overcautious. So we are trying the backyard again. I hope he doesn’t get sick again.

The good part of him being sick (if there is a “good part”— silver lining?) is that he lost some weight while he was sick, and now he’s put it back on, but not ALL of it. Before, he was a bit overweight, but right now, I think he’s just fine. Though to look at this picture of him, surely you’re thinking “What a fat cat!”

But he’s not fat. He’s just big-boned. And he’s a pampered pet.