Just Another Manic Monday...

Now that I've given you all a classic '80s earworm, yes, it's Monday again.

I had several things to do today, and I got MOST of them done.  In spite of rain that reminded me at times of my mother-in-law's description of "rain like an inverted ocean."  Seriously.  High-speed wind shield wipers almost didn't cut it.  
The ducks love it.  Our resident neighborhood Mallards have been out there most of the day snuffling through the puddles and thoroughly enjoying themselves.
I am not so sure the broom plant or my roses are going to like all that moisture so much.  It's good for the area in general, though.  
Today was grocery shopping day.  Thankfully, I got my walk in early, before the rain started. I am also grateful that the rain let up long enough for me to get the groceries from the commissary to my car.  Once home, I pulled the car close enough to the garage to be able to unload in relative dryness. 
Voice lesson was a challenge.  Been a LONG time since I had a lesson, and a long time since I've practiced enough.  My throat was not happy with me. 
I also managed to get the kitchen cleaned up and the dishwasher dealt with this afternoon. 

There's still a load of towels to be folded in the dryer, but hey, they're not goin' anywhere...

Five more days of antibiotics, tomorrow's the last day of the steroids. 
Oh, yeah, I got stung by what we THINK was a wasp while in Austin almost two weeks ago.  The spot was almost completely gone, not even very red when we left Austin.  Last Tuesday morning, it was itchy, really swollen, and red.  Seems wasp stings do that sometimes - they have a delayed reaction.  So, off to the clinic I went, and the doc said I had a fever, so antibiotics, and a steroid pack for the swelling and irritation.  It is not swollen at all anymore, the mark is almost gone.  Just a little bump where the actual sting was, and it's not even red.   Downside has been that I have to keep food in my stomach, or it gets really painful.  Don't even want to SEE the scale until next week after I've had a chance to normalize the food/exercise ratio.  The clothes mostly still fit, so that's good...

Today was also my Mom's 91st birthday.  Had to call and wish her a happy birthday, and confess that though I had a card, and had indeed gotten it READY to mail, I had neglected to get it into the mailbox until this morning.  She laughed, and said that everybody's card seemed to be late this year.  She sounds good, and was having a great birthday.  Someone from her church brought her a little birthday cake, all decorated.  She says she'll probably take it to the dining room to share with the other residents who sit at her table. 

Days like this I usually prefer to spend curled up in my office with a book.  I only got to do that for a little while today.  I think I'll go do that some more before bedtime. 
Just checking in so that I don't get out of the habit of writing in this blog completely.

Celebrating A Feast In A Time Of Fasting

This Sunday's lunch: Sourdough pancakes, bacon, and mixed berries with orange juice.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

For most of my life, my birthday has fallen during Lent.  Only once in a great while is my birthday before Lent.  This year is no different.  Here we are in the first full week of Lent, and my birthday will fall exactly one week after Ash Wednesday.  When I was a kid, it wasn't really a big deal, my Presbyterian family wasn't overly concerned with Lent.  (We did sometimes have parties on Sunday afternoons because then my Catholic friends could come.) Since becoming an Episcopalian, I have not really changed how I celebrate my birthday, but I have come to appreciate the small pleasures of celebration a bit more.  Sundays are always feast days, even during Lent.  So, having a nice brunch after church is not a problem.  Birthdays are also an exception, I believe, at least for me.  To have a special meal, a cake perhaps, is a nice way to mark the occasion without being too loud about it.  

Lent is after all more about spiritual discipline than physical discipline.  Denying oneself certain foods or certain activities only has value if it does something to sharpen your spiritual awareness.  Does it make me more conscious of the needs of others? Does it help me to be kinder and more tolerant? Can I brighten someone's life with the time/money I save by abstaining from my favorite things?  

For me, being able to share the joy of the company of friends and family, and acknowledging their importance in my life is the important part of any celebration, especially a celebration of another year of life.  

So, as this Sunday runs down, I am getting ready to finish the last of the laundry, and get ready for sleep.  Then, tomorrow, weather permitting, I will get some of my usual Monday things done.  Don't think I'm going to make it out to the commissary, but I can go Tuesday. Maybe.

Monday, February 23, 2015

  Two days before my birthday, and we have snow.  So, instead of being able to do the grocery shopping or to go to my voice lesson, I spent today being lazy, finishing a little laundry, reading, doing 90 minutes on the elliptical, and I will get voice practice and a grocery list completed before I sleep tonight, so I can possibly go to the base to shop tomorrow.  

Today's mail brought more birthday greetings, and my email a nice photo collage of "some of my favorites" from a fellow Perlgirl.  

The only thing that feels like Lent around here today is the weather.  It is cold and snowy,and while it looks pretty, it makes driving anywhere, or even a walk to the mailbox, a dangerous proposition.  Mostly because of the sleet under the snow.  (Not very good traction  for the unwary or those who hurry too much.)
I am thinking that this year, instead of being so focused on my birthday, perhaps it is a good excuse to give to others.  I shall have to come up with sneaky ways to do little things to brighten the day for someone else.  That would be good as a Lenten practice, and it would feel good to help others, too.  Won't be telling you about it in any detail, because that just spoils it. 

Some housework was also done today, so that for once I feel like I'm keeping up with it.  My "Christmas Cactus" is still blooming.  The while one just finished, and the red one is blooming again.  Three whole blooms, but it's better than last year!

Matt is busy making "cauliflower crack" ,  the roasted cauliflower that all of us were eating as an appetizer as soon as it came out of the oven on Saturday.  Ooh!  That stuff is SO good, and it's fairly low-cal, too.  I'll be back after I enjoy some!

It was delicious!  Matthew spoils me something awful.  Now I'm going to make some real, all-butter, honest to gosh Scottish Shortbread for our dessert.  May even dip it in chocolate.  Because:  Birthday Week!  (But yes, it is still Lent, and I should restrain myself from too many indulgences...)

There is also the matter of a grocery list to be planned and written, and the coupons to be found.  Voice practice needs to happen too, so I can see what all I can do when I haven't had allergy meds for almost a week.
Well, the voice practice didn't happen.  It's too late now, and I have to get to bed.  Got the shortbread made, though.  Here's hoping for clear enough roads to drive on tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

The trip to the commissary was not too bad.  Got all my shopping done, roads were not bad at all, talked to my Mom on the phone and got my short elliptical stint in before I ventured out.  (Made sure roads had time to clear, and people who had to work were already there before I left home.)
Matt and I ate dinner at the Saltgrass Steakhouse, and then stopped at our favorite liquor store, Moore Liquor, for some chocolate stout to make my birthday cake with.  Went to the larger Crest store on 27th and Penn for some other stuff.  So, now, at 8:30 pm, I get to make my own birthday cake.
Oh, and my FitBit One is going bonkers on me.  Showing yesterday's numbers PLUS today's for my daily totals.  Hope it calms down by tonight.  I'm leaving it on its charger for now.

Am about halfway through the Chocolate Stout Cake preparation.  Waiting on the stout/butter/cocoa mixture to cool so it won't pre-cook the eggs and curdle the sour cream when I add it to them. 

Here's the recipe for the Chocolate Stout Cake

It's a King Arthur Flour recipe.  Should be good.  I'll let you know tomorrow after choir practice.  The mixture of the stout and melted butter and dark cocoa smells divine. 

This is the stout and melted butter getting ready for the cocoa

Here's my beginning set up for the cake...

The cake is in the oven now.  I'm going to go hit  the elliptical trainer for a little while and then check on it when the timer goes off.  I'm going to be cruel and leave this post here.  I will post more about the cake tomorrow.

We'll see if I succeed in celebrating a feast while still remembering that it is, in fact, Lent, a season of self-denial and spiritual quest.

This Year It's "Double Nickles"

Yes, another birthday is bearing down on me.  Next week.  Halfway through my fifties.  They say "Fifty is the new 30!"  but most mornings, my body agrees with my friend Mr. Perlman: "Fifty may be the new 30, but sixty is still fuckin' 60!" 
In other words, nothing is quite as easy as it once was.  The body doesn't respond as well or as quickly to physical challenges, your mind may not be quite as quick as it once was.  (In my case, anyway, this is directly attributable to the fact that I wake several times a night certain that I am being roasted alive.  Aging, especially if you are a woman, is not for sissies, my dears.)

On the other hand, there is something liberating about being "older".  You may find that what other people think isn't quite as important as it once was.  You may well be more comfortable in your own skin now, even if it is rather wrinkly in places.  True, I no longer cause young men to walk into the backs of parked cars, (as my father alleged I once did when washing my car in our driveway while wearing my bathing suit) but I still look good.  Most of the time, I feel young.  I don't have anyone constantly reminding me that I'm actually old.  (Sorry Mom, but you wanted to have a baby when you were 36.  Lucky you, you had a teenaged girl in the house when you were struggling with menopause.  You were far braver than I ever was.)

There are reminders of my actual age everywhere, though.  Songs I listened to on Top 40 radio (which no longer even exists, I don't believe) in high school and college now populate the "oldies" stations.  Classic jazz artists and big band music that my parents loved (and I reviled as a teen for that very reason) are now very appealing to me.  I have grown up enough to appreciate them, to hear the artistry present in them.  There are events I remember watching play out on the Nightly News that the younger folks I work with learn about in History class. 

One thing that will keep you young, though, is a passion for learning new things.  Staying engaged with life, learning how to use new technology, reading new authors, listening to music you might have passed on before, and having an interest or two to pursue can keep you going.  My singing is an interest that challenges me and keeps me working toward  improving my skills and learning more about music, my job is endlessly fascinating in the myriad of new challenges, new skills to learn and share with others. 

You see, that's what my job is really all about.  Keeping people connected to the resources they need to live a full and well informed life.  Libraries do that.  We provide entertainment, education, opportunities to enjoy programs on various subjects, access to materials that you may need for work or school, even physical fitness programs.  Libraries also provide to you a group of professionals who are dedicated to maintaining your right to access those materials, and helping you access them.  Most of them are also dedicated to being a vital part of your community, too.

That's what keeps me young.  Getting to go hang out with some of the smartest, coolest, funniest people in town every day.  My fellow staffers are great at their jobs, and they are interesting people, too.  Many of our customers are pretty cool, too.  Having to use technology in my job keeps me up to speed on it for the most part, and social media may be one of my guilty pleasures, but it helps me stay current with the culture, and keep up with many of the people I really care about.

So, all I have to do is survive this coming week, doctor visit tomorrow and all, and then I have a week off, during which I will celebrate that birthday that's breathing down my neck.  I have no idea what we'll do.  We may see a movie, we may eat out, maybe have friends over, I don't know.  I do know that on my actual birthday, I'll be at choir practice, so I suppose I could make a cake to take and share. Whatever we do, I will be grateful for another year of this life.  Sometimes, it seems difficult to slog through, and I feel like I'm messing everything up, other times, it feels pretty damn wonderful.  My family, my husband, and my friends both here and far away, are the best birthday presents ever.  The love I have surrounding me is the greatest gift I can imagine.  I hope I succeed in sharing it with you, because that's the only thing to do with love: share it. 

Birthday Week Part III: The Rest Of The Story

This is what I did for the rest of my birthday week, as near as I can remember.  This being Sunday afternoon, it may take a bit of thinking to figure out what happened when.

Wednesday was the day after my birthday, and I had to go in to work for a short meeting.  I didn't mind, after all, it was a short, productive meeting, and I got to see my fabulous coworkers! 
I also bragged to a select few about my birthday tweet from Ron Perlman! 
Before my meeting, I stopped at Lowe's to get a new doorbell.  Seems the reason we didn't know when my flowers arrived on Tuesday was that the doorbell was broken.  Our friend Mike discovered that when he arrived.  I did all the things I could think of, and it didn't resurrect the doorbell, so I bought a new one.  It was an easy replacement job, as both this one and the old one are wireless doorbells.  No electricity involved!

This is the inside portion of the new doorbell.  The new button is also dark, which will make it easier to see on the white woodwork next to the front door!  I will not be posting a picture of the bell because it is freakin' COLD our there right now, and I didn't make a picture the other day. 
Took me just a few minutes, and the doorbell was back in working order.  Doesn't sound like real bells like the old one did, but it's a doorbell.  Plays Westminster Chimes.

After the meeting, I went to Kohl's to check out the sales.  I found a black pencil skirt in a size that I can wear now, as opposed to the ones I have that I pray stay up when I wear them.   I also found a very nice pair of black Levis in the cut and size that I really like.  Nice to have enough pairs of decent jeans to wear.  I also found some really nice fleece thermal tops.  They are thin enough to layer under a sweater, and they are WARM.  I may exchange the shirt I'm wearing now for one of them. 
For dinner that night, we had leftover corned beef and toast.  Just the good things.  Of course, there was cake for dessert...

 That was excellent corned beef, and a very good cake, if I do say so myself! 





We also actually managed to make it to choir practice Wednesday night!  It was a relief to be there again!

On to THURSDAY:

On Thursday morning, I had an appointment with my hairdresser.  Time for a trim and to re do the color.  (The older I get, the more often this must be done.  Not ready to let the gray out yet.  I wanna wait until it's a little better distributed than it is right now...)  After my haircut, I came home and took another shower (itchy cut bits of hair all over the place) but of course, didn't wash my hair.  (Can't wash until after the color's had 24 hours to settle in.)  I got dressed, and though I had wanted to go out shopping again, I just didn't feel like it.  I lazed around and read a lot.  (Hey, what else is a vacation for?)

On Friday, I got up, did my walk, and got myself out to the stores.  I got a frame for the one autographed picture of Ron that was not already hanging in my office, and I got cartridges for the ink jet printer, and I stopped at Penney's, where I found a lovely silver grey top on sale, and a little black dress on clearance for $9.99!!  I could totally not believe that the dress was only $10, but it was.  Fits beautifully, and will be very versatile, as any little black dress should be. 

The rest of Friday was a lazy lovely day.

Saturday I did laundry and read and played on Twitter.  Watched Quest For Fire last night, and when we were done, picked up Twitter to find the #Perlgirls all upset that Ron had apparently injured his hand.  He tweeted us eventually that he was OK, just had a little accident.  He knows we worry.  Well, I feel kinda like I have an extra brother these days.  I do worry about him, like I worry about my brothers and my sister.  God knows, I even used the family admonition on him when we said goodbye in Dallas.  Yup.  I told him to behave himself.  (Like THAT'S going to happen!) ;)

So, after all the excitement last night, I went back to my reading and finished folding my last load of clothes.  Then I took my Nook to bed and read there for awhile until Matt was ready to go to sleep. Still working on too many books at once and not finishing any.  (At least I didn't finish one this week.  I have to update my Goodreads, because I have finished a couple since the last update.)

This morning, I got up, got myself organized and got showered and dressed, and then looked at the road conditions.  No way were we going to make it safely to church.  Well, we might have gotten there, but we would not have made it home, given what the weather has been doing since about noon.  It was already icy and snowing a little, but since noon we have had thunder sleet and snow.  Roads are REALLY awful now.  So, even though I have a great haircut and had a great outfit, I had to stay home.  But I made pictures. 

 Here's the new silver grey blouse and the new skirt.  I know this will be comfy even under choir vestments, and I did have a jacket to wear over it for the rest of the time. (Plus I would have worn one of my hooded capes)  The outfit with jacket is shown below: 

 I also was playing around with the camera and came up with this self portrait:

It looks like I've seen something suspicious on my phone, doesn't it? 

That wraps up the birthday week pretty much.  I discovered while eating my cereal this morning that one of my molars has a problem.  Perhaps a broken filling, perhaps time for another crown.  Much as it hurts, I suspect a crown in my future.  Doesn't help that the sinus issues have already got all the nerves in the area unhappy.  Going to be fun trying to get to the dentist tomorrow too, always assuming he can see me.

So Birthday Week ends not with a bang, but with a whimper.  At least it'll be easy to stick to my diet until I get the tooth fixed.  Eating can get painful.  Still at 139 pounds right now, but I'll take it.  Better than 168, which is where I started out last year. 
Here's hoping I'll be down to 130 or 125 by next Birthday Week, 'cause that's my goal weight.

Birthday Week Part II: The Birthday Itself

The morning started off sunny, but cold.  Had a nice stiff north wind all through my walk.  By the time I got done with my walk and my elliptical time, the clouds had moved in, and it was still cold.  I had to go out to Tinker for a follow up appointment at the clinic.  No big deal, took awhile, though, because the doc gave me a longer prescription for the Muscinex to get me through the allergy season without losing my voice (we hope) or going broke buying Muscinex over the counter.  (More ecologically sound, too, as the prescription variety doesn't have all the foil and paper packaging.)

While I was at the base, I stopped at the BX and found a couple of nice tops and a jacket on sale! Jacket is a bit snug for a medium, but then I realized it's a junior's size, not a misses.  It DOES fit, though, just can't wear sweaters under it like I can my other "motorcycle" jacket.

After I got home, I went out to check the mail and found flowers and a balloon on the porch!

They were from my dear friend Fiona, who lives in Australia!  Now, Fi and I have never met face to face, but we "clicked" right away on Twitter.  We are both Ron Perlman fans, and like a lot of the same music, and have a similar sense of humor.  She has an adorable little boy.  She's kind of like the little sister I never had.  Hayden,her little boy, calls me Auntie Katie.

 I had to make sure he had the right t-shirt and some gluten-free cookies.

I love Fi so much, it seems strange that we have never met in person, because it really feels like we've known each other a long time.  She really made my birthday special with her very thoughtful gift.

I also talked to my Mom today.  Had to let her know what I bought with the birthday money.  Also it's good to check in with your Mom from time to time, you know.  Even when you're as old as I am, your Mom still worries about you.

Our dear friends Mike and Nancy Rogers came over to share the home cured corned beef that Matt made for my birthday dinner.  Always a blessing to have the company of our very dear friends.  They are true friends, been through hell and back with us, and we've tried to be there for them, too.  They brought thoughtful gifts, but the best was their company.

I have here all my cards and gifts (except the Pink Martini concert tickets, which are put away safe until next month.)  I also celebrated by downloading Pink Martini's Sympathique album from Amazon.  I really enjoy their music, and I am looking forward to the concert next month.

There have been many greetings from my Facebook and Twitter friends all day.  It means a lot to know that people think of me and take the time to let me know.  It's been a beautiful day!
Most especially nice to hear from the #Perlgirls on Twitter, and from The Man Himself.  He is good to his fans, especially those of us who've followed since the 80's.  My fellow #Perlgirls are some really special people.  They are funny, supportive, and reliable.  Ladies, I love you all!
Michael Ornstein, you are also loved, and I adore your art.
Ron Perlman, it goes without saying that you are loved, my friend.  So glad to have met you! You are a class act, Mister!

Looking forward to the rest of Birthday week, wherein there will be a committee meeting at work, a little more shopping, and a lot more fun!