Chicken and other animals

The weather here has turned markedly cooler the last couple days. Using the oven and stove add welcome heat to the home and the body.

Tonight that meant "drunk" chicken, roasted vegetables, and homemade applesauce.

Some fall-like mums helped to round out the table.

Oh, BTW, the reconstruction project is now complete. The animals have all been discharged from the infirmary. We will, of course, continue to monitor closely for any relapses and address accordingly.

Sharing and fairness

I'm getting a cold. Amy's cold. Headache, sore throat, and a cough. When the girls were little, we taught them to share. Who knew then that would sometimes be undesirable. Oh well...At least we taught them well. But, I will likely not be staying home from work tomorrow. It's rather confusing, but with my benefits, I only earn sick time at 2/3 the rate that I need to use it. The same for my vacation time. For example, I earn 60 hours of vacation a year. That's three weeks for someone who works part-time 20 hours a week. But...since I work part-time 30 hours a week, that's only two weeks for me. We earn at the same rate, but have to use at different rates. Anyway, bottom line, I have to ration all my time off. Vacation and sick time. I'm not sick very much, but I currently only have two days' worth. Sick days are usually saved for GI issues or fevers. I hear and read a lot lately that we should listen to our bodies and take care of them, but we're not really allowed to do that. Not fair....

Awhile back I watched the movie, "Sicko." According to that, if you work in France and you get sick, you stay home. Period. No sick days. No allotted number of days. You don't take your illness to work and share it with everyone there. You're sick, you stay home. That's it. Not fair....

So, I remind myself of the same thing I often remind others....Life is not fair.

To thine own self be true

This is something that has come up before around here, and now that Amy and her friends are preparing for college, it has come up again. I always thought/believed/was raised to think that you should do something with your life that you like. Hopefully that's also something you're good at. Apparently this isn't true for everyone. I know we all have different priorities, but... I just can't understand choosing your life's path based on potential salary. Or popularity of the profession. Or because it's what everyone else thinks you should do. Sure, money is important, but should it have that much control over our life? I know there are people who think we are crazy to "let" Mary be an artist. But...that's who she IS. There is no "let" about it. She seems very confident and happy with her choice. And I am very proud of her. Amy is now trying to decide on a college major/career. I hope that she, too, will follow her heart and do what she likes...whatever that is. I just don't understand sticking kids in a career because it's what's the parents have decided is acceptable...

Done deal

The acceptance letter was received today. The enrollment confirmation and deposit check are in the mail. Amy is headed to Lenoir-Rhyne next fall in the pre-nursing program! She was excited, as were the rest of us. It is so nice to have this decided and taken care of. One thing off her stress list.

But that means the last one is almost out the door.... ::::sigh::::

We had another celebration today also. It's Sienna's second anniversary with us! She was entertained by our serenade and then treated to peanut butter Frosty Paws. It can't get better than that! Hard to believe she's been here two years already. She's such a dog!!

We finally had the tilapia and sweet potatoes tonight courtesy of the new oven heating element.

All seems good with the world right now.

Weather report

We don't need no stinkin' high technology to get the weather report...















Warm: Baring belly to catch a breeze.















Cool: Curling up to conserve body heat.















Cooler still: Tail over nose for added warmth.

Not Monday any more

Yesterday was Monday. It was a Monday through and through. Simple as that. In the midst of this, that, and the other, I decided to start fixing dinner. Baked tilapia and roasted sweet potatoes was the plan. Turn on the oven. Go to the sink to wash the sweet potatoes. Hear the water sizzling off the oven rack. Wait...I didn't have anything wet in the oven. Turn around and find white sparks and flames showing through the little oven window. Yikes!! I start yelling for Wayne. Eek, eek!! The element went. Burned cleaned through. No oven. So much for tilapia and sweet potatoes. Mary starts dancing around, "Pizza, pizza, pizza!! I just saw a commercial and now I have a craving for pizza...this is great!" Well....OK...how does everyone feel about pizza tonight? Dominos it was. At least I could take fixing dinner off my list.

When I got home from work today, the oven is all fixed. It's even cleaned (not sure if I'll know how to function with that). Hubby is such a magic man...but then, maybe that's a story for another day.

A day at the fair

Today we went to the North Carolina State Fair for "family day." All four of us. Not something we have a lot of opportunity to do these days. First time we had been to that fair, and first fair we'd been to in a few years.


You know you're at a real fair when they're judging the pound cakes, canned tomatoes, and blueberry muffins.


Ferris wheel!


Apparently this is a new roller coaster to the state fair. They chose the name yesterday...Toxic Shock. Hmm....seems to me a rather odd name for an amusement ride.


Fairs have a reputation for putting everything on a stick. I guess that's true.


We finally found the giant produce. Man...those are some big melons!!


The weather was a little cool, but it didn't rain. We walked and walked but no one complained. We ate our share of typical fair food. A good time was had by all. My favorite part - spending the day together.

Calm

This evening is quiet. Things feel calm here. Mary has come home, safe and sound. Amy and I and Sienna are just hanging out with her. Wayne is due home any time. Things are quiet and peaceful. Not too often that I don't have much to say. :::::sigh:::::

Rant, toned down

Okay, I was really in the mood to rant today. I went to Zumba tonight and now the rant feels more like a whimper. I would just like to know why, why, why can't people do the things they said they'd do, they signed up to do, they get paid to do, they're supposed to do? Seems to me that a person's word doesn't carry the weight it used to. A gentleman's word used to actually mean something. That's it. Toned-down rant. I wasn't this toned down earlier today. Endorphins are a wonderful thing.

This week's soup...St. Basil's soup...a mushroom/onion soup (looks suspiciously similar to Carol's soup a couple weeks ago :-) ). Easy, easy and yum yum.

Finally...the end of the alphabet

The main part of my library job is operating the book return system (that's a story for another day). I don't like to have idle hands, so I usually have some sort of side project going to mess with in between books. Two years ago, I decided to tackle the job of making sure all the items in our popular collection - fiction, mystery, western, sci-fi/fantasy, videos, DVDs, books on cassette and CD, young adult, and large print - had accurate and present spine labels. This past Friday, I finished. Finally. It took me two years and a month to complete. When I started this, I had no idea how long it would take to complete. Had I known....maybe I wouldn't have committed to it. Maybe. I guess it was good practice in delayed gratification. Probably only a handful of people realize what I've done, or even care. That's OK though, I still feel like I accomplished something. Now...to think up the next project.

Getting things in place

Amy got domestic this morning and turned the Staymons from yesterday's market into an apple crisp. It made the house smell wonderful!! It tastes pretty darned good, too.

Today was my day to do housework. Yuck! Not my favorite activity and one I usually put off as long as possible. There is, however, a sense of rightness and comfort in having my kitchen (relatively) cleaned up and the dishes done. Something I most times take for granted. I'm betting that my mom is looking forward to doing her dishes in her own sink and setting them out to dry on the counter.

"Umpteen" boxes is my dad's description of their house right now. All in good time. Things will soon be again in their right places.

Meanwhile, Amy's reconstruction project continues....

Wonder if one of these animals is a phoenix in disguise.

Fall produce

Farmer's market 10/11/08-1
Originally uploaded by kwvane

I don't get to the Farmer's Market nearly as often as I should or would like to. The best time to be there is in the morning, and a morning person I am not. Never have been and probably never will be. I did get there today, however. It was a nice morning to be out and around. We perused all the offerings, then he got coffee while I went back and did the purchasing. All yummy stuff.

After that I took the mule driver out for her walk. Nice day for that also. Very pretty Carolina blue sky. Then we both had to take a nap.

Dinner tonight? Sausage, potatoes, cabbage, and corn. At the table with the fall flowers. Nice way to spend a Saturday.

There's no place like home...

My parents are finally, thankfully, back in their house. Lightning struck their house and caused an attic fire in early June. They've lived in a hotel ever since. After much frustration, delay, and a massive test of patience, they are finally back home. It's not the same home they left and still needs some finish work, but it is their home nonetheless. Their own space. Their own bed. Their own bathroom. They've gotten through this ordeal with the help of my brother and his girlfriend, other family members, and wonderful family friends. I am so thankful they've had all these wonderful people. I constantly send my positive thoughts and vibes, but I am too far away to be of any real help at all.

Far-flung families are pretty common these days. My family members are not as spread out as many others. Still, there are times that I wish everyone were just a skip away. With my parents facing all those boxes and boxes of unpacking, it would be nice if I could just pop over and help out awhile. When my brother and his girlfriend have a cookout/party, it would be great to pop over and have a beer with them. When my older daughter has a bad week, it would be great to pop over and give her a real hug. For the most part, I'm used to having some of those I love farther away. But...there are still those times that I miss them. There will be more of this separation to come in the future, so I'll keep working on it.

Driven

The pack mule trudges along the path, driving the team, but who drives the pack mule? The dog does!! At least that's the way it works at our house. When I get home in the afternoons, I have barely time for a potty break before the whining begins in earnest. "Take me out, plllleeeaaase take me for a walk, puleeease!!" So, rather than have the authorities come knocking on my door for animal abuse, we go out.



It's a good thing actually. I need to walk. I need to walk a lot. I can make all the excuses I want to not go walking, but she never listens. She's a great workout partner...always ready to go. I guess this is how she earns her keep around here. Somebody's got to keep me in line. Good thing she's cute.

Cool-weather staples

Cool, rainy day. Soup on the stove, bread in the oven, applesauce cooling on the counter. Simple things that even in a crazy week can bring warmth and comfort. I love this time of year!

I haven't always thought that making bread was simple. I consider myself a functional cook, but a baker I am not. Then I happened upon the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Easy recipes that are hard for even me to mess up. Now, fresh-baked bread (and the wonderful aroma) are common around here.

ZUMBA!!

Man...what a workout! I love to dance. I have done lots of different kinds of dance over the years...tap, ballet, jazz, belly dance, Irish dance, ballroom, contra...this one is high up on the sweat scale. But what a good time! One hour of nonstop movement. Makes exercise so NOT like a chore for me. Great natural high!!

If music moves you, give these moves a try.

Train Derailment

So...Do you ever have those times where it just feels like the train isn't sitting quite right on the track? Things keep moving along, but at the slightest nudge everything could explode. That's the way the last few days have felt. The planets and stars seem just a bit out of whack, and I seem a bit off kilter. This actually seems to happen to me a lot these days.

This morning, it happened. The train literally jumped the tracks. Amy's Precious Moments Birthday Train that sits on the piano got touched just the wrong way, and in the blink of an eye, the entire thing was reduced to fragments trapped between the piano and the wall. ::::sigh:::: I didn't see it happen; I got the report via cell phone. Not a good way to start the day...

But, now that something has actually broken, maybe the off-kilter-ness will be been broken also. All those little things that seem a bit off can get back on track. Some of them have already, so there is hope.

Maiden Voyage

Well...this is the beginning of the trek down my path. Not really sure where it will lead us yet, but we are about to find out....Stay tuned.