RIP Buddy

Oscar

15 March 1995 - 30 Sept 2009

For the Record

In case you don't already know, I have one pair of awesome parents.

New Family Member Contributes to Household

Tennessee -- A new member of Auntie K's household has already made a significant contribution to the family after only one week in residence. Sourpuss, a fresh sourdough starter descended from New England ancestors, arrived via UPS last week. Auntie K says that after an initial feeding, Sourpuss, SP for short, immediately found its place in the family, contentedly nestling in its own refrigerator crock.

Yesterday, a week after its arrival, SP contributed to two loaves of bread and a batch of pancakes. Auntie, a breadbaking tyro, thinks the bread turned out fairly well. The pancakes, she said, were a bit too sour, but Auntie attributes that to the "overnight sponge that really was more of an 18-hour sponge."

In other news, Auntie K sustained a small scare Saturday when she slipped on a wet paving stone in the backyard. Thoughts of wrenched backs and broken wrists flitted through her head as she plummeted to the ground, backside first. Fortunately, a few bruises turned out to be the extent of Auntie's injuries.

Burning Questions

Are there people who never get a tune caught in their head?

How can I possibly be sustaining new mosquito bites every night as I sleep?

Pizza or Chinese?

Where on earth is my MP3 player?

If Hell Freezes Over is in the Bill Harley cd case, where is the Bill Harley cd?

Is it possible for a piece of music to be too achingly beautiful?

Why am I contemplating either pizza or Chinese, when I'm supposed to be on a financial and nutrition diet?

Confession

I sometimes stay up late into the night because if I delay going to bed, I might be able to delay tomorrow.

Showdown

Power Seat v. Cell Phone Charger. Guess which won?

Sack Lunch Advice

Don't put Cheerios and sandwich bread in the same Ziploc bag to save time. By the time you eat your lunch (a day later in my case), the Cheerios will have sucked all the moisture from the bread, doing little to improve either cereal or bread.

What's Cooking?

What does it say about me if eating tortilla chips and guacamole for supper is the highlight of my day? Heck, that will probably be the highlight of my week.

Netflix Advice

Manage your Netflix queue carefully, and double check it from time to time.

Otherwise, you'll jump from Season 5 disc 3 to Season 5 disc 5, completely missing out on the shocking suicide on disc 4.

Produce Advice

If you put a tomato in your purse to take home from work, be sure to remove it when you get home. Otherwise, when you arrive at work the next morning, you may find your purse full of smashed tomato.

Wanting the Impossible

I'm great at wanting what I can't have, and not wanting it when it's right in front of me.
Case in point: Saturday morning I had to drive to a meeting of the Tennessee Library Association board. I stopped in at the office beforehand to print some reports to take with me. It was quiet, relatively cool, and early enough that my office was light but not glaringly bright. I would have been perfectly content to stay there for a few hours and clean up and catch up. Of course, I couldn't because I had to rush off to the meeting.

I needed to go in the last three Saturdays in a row and had nothing else on the schedule besides lawn work, but did I go? Absolutely not. And this coming Saturday? Well, we'll see.

Hot Beverage Success

Several of my workmates are hot tea drinkers, and I'm forever buying and trying different herbal and decaf tea in hopes of finding something I like. I nearly always end up taking the box to work because I don't like my pick (lack of fat, chocolate and sugar plays into all this).

I do like Stash Tea Licorice Spice, and after yet another purchase, have decided I like Stash Tea Chai Spice Decaf with LOTS of sugar. It's tasty as a drink, and would also make a nice potpourri.

Old Man Winter--I'm ready!

All Alone

It's a lonely feeling to see all my Google Talk friends are offline. Of course, I only chat with about 5 people in total, but still, it's a lonely feeling.

Footwear Advice

If you have a mosquito bite on the top of your foot, be careful about wearing mary jane shoes.

Speaking of Grandma

With all the recent mentions of Grandma (Mom to an older generation), I thought it appropriate to provide an illustration. Here she is at Orson Gygi in Salt Lake. Sorry about the unsightly cord hanging from the ceiling.