Saturday Summations

Things I discovered today:

1.  Tiny pieces of onion skins are really a sentient life form.  They are tenacious, resourceful, and have the ability to reproduce.  Obviously, because they are ubiquitous, and  they evade every standard cleaning measure except being picked up individually, by hand.
 

2.  When God really needs you to be somewhere, you will be there.  Happened to be in the right place at the right time to help someone today.  Nice to know that we can all be instruments used to make someone's day!

3.  The beer worth drinking is usually expensive. 

4. Few things are as precious as good friends you can have fun with.

5. Apple pies can retain heat for a LONG time.

6. If OU has a week off between football games, they will forget how to play before the next game.

7. Coffee is like beer.  You can't buy it, you can only rent it. (Original quote from Archie Bunker : "Yez can't buy beer, yez can only rent it.")

8. Laundry never sleeps.

9.  Two people can get a house messier than a family with 2 kids and a dog and a cat.  At least the two of us can.  (It's called having too many hobbies...)

10.  I find myself loving music now that I would have been mortified to be caught listening to when I was a teen.  Shows how much influence peer pressure had at one point.  Now, I love the songs that my Mom listened to.  (Well, maybe not Tammy Wynette) The big band tunes, Sinatra, Dean Martin, even early Elvis.  Nothing can get your feet moving quite like "Sing, Sing, Sing."  The music of the Big Band Era just sounds like it was fun to play.  Hard to not have a great time and be in a great mood when that music plays.  My parents' "song" was "Mares Eat Oats"  because the jukebox was broken at Camp (now Fort) Rucker where they met.  That was the only song it would play.
I don't know whose version they heard, because the earliest recording I could find is dated 1944. They met in '43, I think.
Here's a link


Just my little insights gleaned this Saturday. 

Futzing Around On A Friday Night

So, it's been awhile since I felt really moved to write something for this blog.  Ideas will present themselves, but at VERY bad times.  Like when I'm in the middle of work, with two customers waiting for me to go get their books on hold, and check them out for them.

So, while I'm goofing around this Friday night, let me tell you how this week has been.
Kinda crummy, actually.  Found out ALL of my friends got an item we had all ordered already, when mine didn't even have a ship date set.  (Turns out I hadn't ordered what I thought I had when I thought I had.  Have now fixed that, said item will be here next week.)  I felt irrationally left out and childish.  Then I realized it was all my fault.  I hadn't ordered mine from the same place after all!
Work was another source of weirdness, and on Tuesday, crumminess.   The building is technically closed because we are having some minor remodeling done.  We had a small version of our library services available in one of the meeting rooms.  By today, it was working pretty well.  Tuesday it was full of bugs.  TOO MANY PEOPLE showed up too close to closing, with inadequate staff to handle all their requests in a timely and efficient manner.  This was successfully communicated to our supervisor, who made some modifications, and by today, things were going pretty smoothly.  The folks who happened by were very grateful to us for having the services we had available.  Many hadn't paid attention to the publicity about the closing, and didn't realize we wouldn't REALLY be open.  To be able to check their email, pick up their holds, or make a copy of something or fax something was of immense value to them.  We were profusely thanked, even when it appeared that we didn't know if we were coming or going. (Truthfully, on Tuesday we didn't!)

All external factors aside, I've had the worst bout of allergies EVER. I almost lost my voice, I've been living on Muscinex and Chlor-tabs.  It is finally starting to get better, but it has been driving me NUTS!

On to other things:
Fall is finally in the air,though the equinox is ten days away.  I know that because our wedding anniversary is on the day of the autumnal equinox.  September 22.  My husband chose the date, don't look at me.  So, in 10 days we will have been married 30 years.  Does NOT seem possible.  We can't possibly be old enough to have been married that long. We still have a similar sense of humor, and that causes us to start chuckling about something long before others catch on, usually.  (We have many "in" jokes, just between us.)

I have no illusions about the cool weather lasting very long.  This IS Oklahoma, after all, but it was nice to be able to wear a sweater today.
This will have to be completed in the morning.  It has become rather late.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So much for good intentions. Saturday was a day of good food, good friends, and football. 
So many things in this life we mean to do and never get around to.  In this case, I think I chose wisely.  Is it not better to choose to spend time with people you love than to spend time staring at a screen?  (Especially one with an annoyingly blank  page on it. )

Today was first filled with church, as Sunday usually is.  Bishop was there, preached a VERY good sermon.  Anthem went well, as did the descants on the hymns.
Next, we came home and I did laundry.  Yes, every weekend I must do laundry.  We do need clothes to wear all week, ya know. 
Next weekend I will no doubt be whiny and self-pitying.  I have to work both Saturday and Sunday.  Very rare that this should happen, but alas, it has.  Here's hoping my customer service skills hold up.  My job is very important, though it is but a small one.  I have had the rare privilege of being able to make someone's day better, and I take that very seriously.  Always want to live up to my faith and my ideals by being kind to all people, and being as much help as I can.  I fail at this more often than I would like to think about, but sometimes it is just because I don't know what to say or do.  Sometimes, my brain just shuts off.  I blame my age, but it's always happened to me.  My mind will wander off without me at the oddest times.  That's one reason I can't memorize piano pieces.  My mind wanders, and I have no idea what to play.  (For some reason, sung pieces are easier. )

Back to the Bishop's sermon.  Very interesting, and very challenging.  He spoke of a recent visit to the Holy Land.  He went to Jordan first.  Seems in Jordan, all faiths live in harmony with each other.  They all honor each other's faith, and celebrate many holidays together.  He said wherever he went in Jordan, he was greeted by friendly and helpful people, people of all faiths.  How different from our society, where anyone different is immediately suspect for some reason.  Our challenge is to obey those two commandments we hear every Sunday.  Really hear them, and really obey them. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your  mind, and your neighbor as yourself.  Every Sunday in our church's liturgy we hear these two commandments .  "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" ends the quote.  Perhaps we hear them so often because though they sound so simple, they are so very hard to keep.  We need the reminder.  Constantly and consistently.  I don't know about you, but many things get in the way of my "God time."  Constantly yammering at me from cell phone and computers and tablets, distractions abound.  If I can't make time for my love of God, how do I expect to be able to love myself OR my neighbor?  It's all connected, you see.   Anyway, this is what the Bishop's sermon has had my brain chewing on off and on all day.
The over-arching message of God to His people, in my experience anyway, is LOVE.  Love is what is most important, love is what lasts.  We are made to love and be loved.  We need each other, and we often forget this.  We isolate ourselves more and more in this world.  There abide in this world loving and openhearted people,and I have been very fortunate to meet many of them.  Both in "real" life, and online.  You can show others your love without being pushy, or mushy, or creepy.  It happens every day.  In small gestures, in shared smiles, in asking how it's going, opening a door for someone.  All small things, but think about how those small things make you feel, whether you're doing them for someone else, or someone does one of those small kindnesses for you.  It makes you feel good.  It lifts your heart.  Makes the day seem a little brighter, the prospect less bleak.  That's love.
Those little online hellos from far-flung friends, the gentle banter we share, the shared interests, all of those are little messages of love floating out into the world to multiply and make it better.
So, I guess that's one way of saying that even my distractions can be used for good.  Hmmm. 

Stumbling Around on a Saturday Night

Some random, rambling observations:
1) It is odd that you can be jealous of a friend's good fortune, and yet genuinely happy for them,too.  It DOES happen.  I am jealous that two of my friends got to chat in person with Ron Perlman in Austin last night, but I am very happy for them too!  He was very sweet to them, and it is nice to know that he does remember us. 

Here Mary delivers a smooch from Fiona (and the rest of us #Perlgirls, of course.)

And here he sends one back.

He really does care about us.  Astounding as it seems sometimes. 

2)  Laundry you are waiting for will never get dry, no matter what the autodry setting on your oh-so-smart dryer says. 

3) A properly made Tequila Sunrise will give you a buzz without you realizing it has done so.  They taste SO good, and they sneak right up on ya! 

4) You can instantly identify a movie as being made in the 1980s just by hearing the music, if it is a contemporary setting. 

5) Some silly, cheesy 1980s action/comedies are still fun to watch all these years later. 

6)  Music really does bring back memories.  Listening to a Greatest 80s Hits album today, and remembering college and my first year teaching, and dates Matt and I went on both before and after we got married...

7)  Cold, dreary weather makes me want to hole up in my office and read.  No serious reading, but light mysteries, fan fiction, anything light and fun.  Guess I'm trying to counter the gloom.
This weather, only wetter, is plaguing SXSW in Austin.  South By Soaking Wet is it's new nickname.

8)  Voice practice may go very well.  Then the snot will fall in. And you will sound like a bullfrog, even if you ARE a lyric soprano.

10) Husbands who cook and then do dishes are the sexiest men on the planet.  I mean it.  Wow. 

11) Wearing mostly black tomorrow.  First Sunday in Lent.  Guess black is appropriate. 

12)  I keep finding fellow Episcopalians in odd places.  Found another one on Twitter.  Robert Patrick.  Always fun to find another person who answers "And also with you." when someone in the Star Wars movie says "May the Force be with you." 

13) Watching my husband watch me, and sometimes I can almost hear him thinking "God, I love it when she stretches."  Nice to know I still get to him after all these MANY years! (We met in '83.)

14)  Just because some idiot decided we have to lose an hour tonight, it does not mean my internal clock will willingly reset.  Hence, I am sitting here at what will feel like 00:20 later on, but feels like 23:20 to me! 

Time to shut this down.  I do have to finish a few things and then get ready for bed.  Gotta sleep so I can look at least mostly human  tomorrow. 
Thanks for reading.  Sometimes feel like I'm talking to myself here, but the stats say the pages get hits.  One never knows. 

Random Saturday Stuff

Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Not doing as bad with the weight as I thought.  Only up to 138.6 from 136.6 a couple weeks ago.  Now, if I can drop again between now and Christmas, I might just make my goal weight before my birthday.  (I can dream, can't I?)

 

Above are my teapots and some serving pieces.

Some of my crystal and china in the dining room hutch.

I have more sets of dishes in this house than you would believe.  There's service for 16 in the Noritake china that we picked out when we were married.  No way will I ever be able to fit 16 people in this house for a sit-down dinner.  I have service for four in several sets of stoneware, including TWO Blue Willow sets, a Pfaltzgraf pattern that is discontinued (Grandma's Kitchen), some random stuff from Pier One, and a set of Corelle that's seen better days. When a heavy train goes by, this house sounds like a crystal chandelier in a breeze.  There is also a large set of Longchamps pattern lead crystal in the hutch.  I guess I have a weakness for dishes and stemware.  Flatware, too, evidently, as I have four sets of that.  (One silver plate, the rest stainless.)

Sorting laundry, commencing to wash it.  Thankful to have clothes to wear, astounded at how MANY pieces of clothing two people go through in one week. Five loads of laundry, not counting two loads of towels I will have to do also.  Good thing we have energy and water saving appliances.

This Saturday I feel much better than I did last Saturday.  Last week, I was just feeling down and blue for no good reason that I can identify. I had to work, but I love my job, and my coworkers, and some of our customers.  It wasn't just being at work.  Maybe it was the shifting weather and the cold.  My fingers do ache sometimes when the cold moves in.  However, my online friends and my coworkers did a lot to cheer me up as the day went on.  Funny things and messages of support and caring pulled me out of the dumps.  The one great boon of social media is that it does allow one to take one's friends along on life's oh, so daily journey. You run the risk of boring people, but your real friends won't mind, and will rally when you need them.  Blessed to have so many good friends. 

On to making birthday cards for fellow library staffers.  This is often fun, especially if I know the person fairly well and can tailor-make a card just for them.  The fact that so many of us are Whovians, Star Trek fans, and Potter heads makes it easier. There are a few interesting possibilities among the December birthdays...

Still have some Nerdy Dozen blog posts to write so I can finish this round on time.  Astonishing fact is, I finished the first ever round early, and have had to roll this term over to the new one.  Guess my Nerdy Life got in the way!  (Convention in Dallas, trip to my Mom's, I was way too busy organizing myself to get any Nerdy Dozening done.)  I should be forgiven for the convention trip.  After all, that is a VERY Nerdy activity.  AND I got to meet Ron Perlman and two of my fellow fans.  If that ain't nerd cred, I don't know what is. 

I'm off to finish laundry and birthday cards.  Thanks for reading, be glad I got the off-the-cuff poetry out of my system already today.  You have been spared.  Be thankful! :)

Some Observations

Can't think of a coherent topic today, so little pieces of things I have gleaned over the last few days:



Every inanimate object in this house that gets in my way, acts up, or otherwise thwarts me is of illegitimate parentage.  (At least that's what I tell the world when said objects thwart me.) 
Though, sometimes these objects and the circumstances surrounding the thwarting of my purpose are said to be fornicating. 

I hate rolly-pollys.  Pill bugs, woodlice, whatever you call them.  They came in the house somehow and died in their hundreds along the baseboards on the north wall of our bedroom.  I spent several minutes this morning removing the corpses.  I have also now sprayed the exterior and interior surfaces at the base of that wall.  I better NOT see any more rolly pollys.  (Chemical warfare is on! I have my chem gear, bugs.  Do YOU?!)

While losing weight is very good, and important for my health; when my favorite pants are TOO BIG, it isn't so much fun.  These were nice trouser jeans that I got on sale, and I really liked them.  Now I can't wear them, and I can't find replacements. Also, replacing clothing that no longer fits is getting expensive.  Matt has lost enough to be back in his smaller set of slacks, but if he loses as much as he intends to, we're going to go broke buying clothes.  A lot of my stuff will still fit all right, but his slacks most definitely will not. (I don't even want to think about how much it will cost to get new brassieres.  I will have to custom order because of band size vs cup size.  Been there before.  Not cheap or easy.)

The cords on vacuum cleaners, extension cords, and garden hoses will tie themselves in knots the minute you unwind them, no matter how carefully and correctly they were wound up after the last use.  It's some kind of law that you must stop and unsnarl them from themselves every time you go to use them.  The same is true of ear bud cords.  I am looking forward to the day I can get Blue Tooth headphones.

Now that I'm older, I notice it more when I don't eat.  Used to be able to eat a couple of lettuce leaves for lunch when dieting and not have it really bother me.  Not so anymore.  The stomach rebels, and I get light headed.  So I keep fruit and low fat cheese and crackers in the house.  I also feel the effects of alcohol much more strongly on an almost empty stomach.  (No surprise there!) 

When one of your friends has a great experience, it can make you really happy, too.  Glad to share vicariously in a friend's OzComiCon adventure, mostly because she is so over the moon about it.  It is great to know that someone I really like and care about is having such a great experience.  Great to see other fellow fans being supportive and happy for her, too.  No griping and jealousy.  Renews my faith in human nature.  (And my faith in my own judgement about people. Especially regarding a certain actor.)

Though I have been kind of superstitious in the past, I haven't seriously had "lucky" clothes or items.  Not until now.  I now have a lucky shirt.  (2 actually).  Both have the same artwork on them.  One of Michael Ornstein's paintings called "Blue Sweater."  I really like the art, and every time I wear one of those shirts, good things happen.  So when I need a little boost, or I want to maybe send a friend a little good luck, I wear one of the shirts.  Has worked every time so far! :-)  I am going to have to order a third one soon.  I'm going to need a smaller size! 

Two adults can generate more laundry than you would believe.  There are only two of us here,  yet I end up doing seven or eight loads of laundry every week.  (Well, I do have to separate things that need special care, and we do have towels at least every other week.)

My throat will be perfectly clear all day until I start to do voice practice.  Then every little bit of phlegm in the universe comes to visit.  Very glad I only sing for fun.  Would hate to depend upon this capricious voice for my livelihood.   Singing is done for the love of it.  For the soaring, ringing beauty of great music.  To share with others when appropriate, but not for money.  For money, I do something I also love and believe in passionately.  I help keep our public library open and running smoothly.  Getting people access to the information they need to make decisions, or just finding a good book to read for fun, or a DVD to watch is important.  Freedom for ALL to access ANY information they need is important.  Helps keep a democracy going.  Helps people keep learning and growing their whole lives long.

Things are still shocking me as regards the tornado damage.  Intellectually I know they are tearing down what was left of the hospital.  Still knocks me for a loop every time I drive down there.  My landmarks in that part of town are just GONE.  Still grateful that our large retail areas are intact.  City could not have taken that big of a sales tax hit.
 Extremely grateful to Bill Warren for building his theater so well.  It is a beacon across the darkened parking lot and the highway from the book drop when I have to go empty it some Thursday nights.  Always cheers me up to see the Warren over there with its old school movie palace design.  So glad I am going to get to go see Pacific Rim on Friday evening in the IMAX theater at the Warren. 

Got to see Pacific Rim.  Not JUST because Ron Perlman is in it,  and I happen to love his acting,(Okay, I love HIM, too) but because it is about giant robots.  I LOVED Gigantor as a young child.  Always wanted my own giant robot.  In this movie, humans control giant robots to fight giant monsters.  All that excitement AND Ron Perlman!  You can't ask for better than that for a great summer movie. 

That is about all the random observations that I can come up with for now.  I happen to know there is a load of laundry waiting to be folded and put away, so I'll be on my way.
Thanks for reading. 
As Ever,
Katie

Another Miscellaneous Saturday

Yes, this Saturday has also been a bit miscellaneous.  I am very grateful to have had this Saturday.  I will like it better when Matt is more rested and acclimated to the medications he has to take, so he can be busy, too.  He has spent the day downloading and setting up LoseIt! to help him monitor his food and exercise, and he has a diabetes helper app to help him track the blood sugar.  So far, everything seems to be  going all right.

I went for my walk, and came home and did a few miscellaneous things that needed doing, and then mowed the lawns.  When I was out front, I noticed how covered in blooms the one Simplicity pink rose by the front walk is.  Thought you should see it. 

Even before I went out to mow the lawn, I went looking for something in the side compartment of my desk.  Big mistake.  It made this lovely crapalanche for me to clean up.  Fortunately, I eventually did have a chance to sort it all out (and throw out a bunch of crap).  Below is the result of my efforts.

There is still the small matter of the phone cables that I need to get rid of.  I don't think we'll ever need them again now that we have not only cell phones, but wireless handsets for the landline.
The cables over by the wall are always a mess.  Too many extension cords because I have two printers in this room, and this computer will only talk to one of them.  Fortunately, the laptop speaks to both.

I have also gotten all the laundry done.  This happened before 10 pm.  For some reason, this is a rare occurrence lately.  Something usually happens to delay the laundry.  Not today.  All done and put away except the stuff that has to hang dry.

A little superstitious about what to wear tomorrow.  I could wear what I was going to wear last Sunday, but maybe it's not a good idea.  So much went wrong after that.  Hm.  I have to quit being so superstitious.  Real problem with wearing it this week is that it is probably too cold to wear it.  Last Sunday was lovely and sunny.  It's cloudy and COLD out there tonight.  Supposed to get up to 64 tomorrow, but that's the high, and usually shows up in the afternoon.  Sunday morning is going to be chilly.  Calls for something more substantial than the dress I had in mind.  Oh well.  This is Oklahoma in the spring.

I should also say a few words of thanks to all the friends who have reminded us of their care and concern this week.  It feels good to know we are so well loved by friends both near and far.  The words of support mean a lot.  We know you will be on this journey with us, and knowing Matt, it may well lead to some really good tasting food that is actually good for you.  Just this evening, I made an even healthier version of my chili.  It tasted really good, was only 245 calories  and 7 grams of fat per 1 cup serving.  Sodium was 464mg, carbs 27g, and protein 20.2g.  The sodium is acceptable for limited sodium diets when you consider processed foods and my usual recipe contain much more.

I hope we can modify other things to make them healthier, and we will be sharing our successful recipes, have no fear.

Time to call an end to this.  My brain is still not completely back to normal after this wild and crazy week.

A Very Miscellaneous Saturday

 I got up this morning and changed the linens on the bed, and took my walk, and came back and started the rest of the laundry.  Then I embarked on an all day adventure.  I cleaned out the closet in my office.  The sticker pictured above is on the top drawer of my filing cabinet.  It is the only one I know for sure survives from the days before Matt left our home in Germany for the Gulf War.  He put them all over the place, in hidden places, and in plain sight.  What a mushy guy he was back then.

 The picture to the left shows some of the excess I had to remove from the office closet in order to begin the reorganization.  This is a pretty small closet.  It is truly amazing how much stuff I have crammed in there. 
The next picture shows yet more of the stuff that came out of the closet.  The chair is ordinarily at the desk, of course, it is just full of stuff from the closet.  The cleaning caddy on the desk does not live in the closet, either.  It lives in the laundry room.  Its presence was necessary in the office today, however. 

Here is the closet, still packed full, but no longer jumbled. You cannot see the overhead shelves full of Christmas decorations, or the file cabinet side of the closet that is also home to a very large carpet cleaning machine.  At least now I have some hope of finding what I go in search of in the closet. 

I also did a thorough cleaning of the office today.  My keyboard and the computer screen are both nice and clean now.  Even waxed the desk.  All of this whilst running to the laundry room to shift loads of clothes around and fold and hang and put away as needed.  How can two people produce five loads of laundry every week?  It is astounding.  At least we have water saving washer that is also Energy Star compliant.  Dryer is as energy efficient as we can make it.  Wouldn't like to try drying my clothes outdoors here in Oklahoma.  Awful lot of dust and dirt in the air around here on a regular basis.

Finally got the husband to buy new clothes.  Like pulling teeth.  Worse than shopping with a teenager, I am willing to bet.  He now looks like my husband again instead of some old bum.  (God, sometimes I miss the Air Force.  They made him exercise, they made him dress neatly, and they were the ones grumbled about, not me.)  I bought some more things yesterday, now that I know what size to buy for certain.  Got myself a few new things, too.  Also culled out the clothes closet and bureau, and have a large donation waiting for a local veterans group.  Thing that made me feel good, besides donating the clothes, is that I got the things I bought yesterday at a really good sale price.  I got a pair of really nice skinny jeans for $4.  Ya can't beat that!  They will mainly be worn around here because I consider myself a trifle long in the tooth for skinny jeans, but these do look pretty good, if I do say so... (Sorry , no photo.  I can't make pictures of myself that look anything like decent.  Husband doesn't like making my picture unless it is his idea, so I won't even ask.)

The recital I was supposed to sing in on Sunday has been cancelled.  Karen, my teacher is ill.  It is always scary when she gets sick, she has diabetes, and complications are always a possibility.  She has taught me so much, but I still have so much to learn!  She has to get better!  I hope Adria and I get to sing our duet together sometime.  It is SO pretty, and our voices blend so well.  Karen knew they would.  The aria I was going to sing solo is a really complicated business.  I am kind of relieved not to have to sing it just now.  It's fun, but I still trip over some of the words. 

My husband did not go to judge at the barbecue competition today.  They had a sign up problem so he wasn't needed after all.  He wasn't feeling well anyway, so I have had him underfoot all day, but he has just been parked on the couch most of the day.  If he doesn't feel a lot better soon, I will haul him to the clinic whether he wants to go or not.

Well, this disjointed and admittedly miscellaneous post is about to end.  I have one last load of laundry to deal with, chicken to get into the oven, and then I think I am going to crash for awhile with my Nook and some good music.  (Been listening to Rod Stewart's Great American Songbook albums lately.  Beautiful music, and he does rather well with it, surprisingly so when you consider how he has mistreated his voice over the years.  Most rock singers do mistreat their voices.  Some can learn better habits, some can't.  Sounds like Mr. Stewart learned  some better habits.)

So, off I go to relax, I hope. 

Of Parades, Homemade Pizza, and Yet More Laundry

Today was the Red Ribbon Parade in Moore. This is an annual event to show support for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. The kids make floats and so do many community agencies and businesses. It is a large, community wide event that snakes through "Old Town" Moore to the high school.
Bear and I walked again this year, once again helping Julie and her Corgi, Molly, carry the banner.
Molly got too tired partway through and rode the last bit in the van, but Bear was rarin' to go the whole time, and making friends all along the route. He seems to enjoy seeing all the kids and getting petted and talked to.
The commentators as usual made fun of poor Molly. She's a Corgi, so she's short. They also made fun of our purple banner, t-shirts, and van. They said something like "Your Pioneer Library System, connecting you to the joy of reading and lifelong learning.... and they REALLY like purple!"
I guess it is kind of corny, but the parade is one of our town's oldest and happiest traditions. It is how we know for sure when the first really cold morning will be. They usually happen on or near Red Ribbon Saturday. It is a chance for all the kids in the area to be in a parade or see a parade. They don't do one at holiday time because so many other towns do, and this one is all about the kids. The participants hand out candy, so many kids go to the parade instead of trick or treating on Halloween. (They probably get more candy, if they are in the right part of the parade route.) It is always heartwarming to hear how many of the people cheer for the library. They are so happy to see us coming up the street, they like the dogs, of course, they all giggle at "Jessica" our mascot riding in the convertible, and of course the big purple van that brings the delivery of books and other materials to each library daily. (So, if you ordered a book from another branch, that van brings it, and the kids know that.) It helps that our Friends of the Library group is so generous with the candy every year. The Friends ladies are very popular with crowds along the way. We are also one place in town that almost everybody has been, and they really enjoy seeing us in the parade.

We are having homemade pizza today. The dough is in the refrigerator. I still have to make the sauce. I decided it would be a good thing to do since I have pepperoni and cheese that need to be used. I really like pizza from an Italian restaurant better, but I don't feel like going out after walking (quite literally) all over town this morning.
I use a pizza recipe from the Betty Crocker Italian Cookbook. (I know, Betty Crocker isn't exactly an Italian household name, but the cookbook was written by Anthony Cecceoni, so the recipes are actually Italian. ) The pizza usually comes out pretty good, and we always have plenty leftover to freeze for lunches or snacks.


The laundry once again awaits. It is Saturday, so the laundry must be done. The sorting is the hardest part. Once I get that over with, the rest of it comes along in smaller, more easily digested chunks of work. Alas, getting started sorting is the hardest part. I think after the pizza is made and consumed I will get to the laundry.

I just found out there is a new Mitford novel out. Guess I better get to BOMC web site and order it. Those I collect. Most of my other series novels I have started just getting from the library due to space concerns, but I re-read the Mitford books from time to time, so I like to have my own copies. I also have all the Harry Potter books. There shouldn't be any more of those to worry about finding space for.

This has been a pleasant way to spend time while the pizza dough rests and rises again, but I think I am out of things to write and out of time.

Laundry and Other Weekend Chores

Today has been laundry day, as my Saturdays all too often are lately. I don't mind too much because I have a nice washer and dryer right here in my house. Whenever I am tempted to feel grumpy about having to get up and run deal with another load of laundry, I remind myself of what a drag it was (literally and figuratively) to have to go to the laundromat. I only had to do that for a little while, when we were in Germany because the part for the washer we had was being sent from Stuttgart, and it took its sweet time getting to the greater Frankfurt area.
My current washer and dryer were also made in Stuttgart, by the same company, but are sold in this country by Sears. I love my front load washer and the large capacity dryer. They use less water and less energy than my old machines, and yes, they are very conveniently located in my laundry room down the hall from the bedroom.
This was also lawn mowing day. This chore has usually been mine instead of my husband's because for a lot of our marriage, he just plain wasn't home. (Do you speak Air Force? Can you say TDY? ) He'd be home long enough to wash all his clothes and be gone again. (Cargo haulers have such a glamorous life!) So, yours truly became the lawn and yard care crew. I can clip hedges and mulch lawns with the best of them. These days, Matt will help with the edging and etc, but I'd rather keep him away from the dust and pollen. His allergies are so bad that he won't be able to sing on Sunday if he works in the yard too much on Saturday.
Anyway, all that is to get me to this point. I have been incredibly dense where my convertible lawnmower is concerned. All the years we've had it, I haven't liked using the bagging mode (necessary in Fall for leaf control) because you have to dump the bag out through the same place it goes into the mower (Or so I thought) and it takes forever because it clogs up. Well, today by chance I noticed that the back (read large) end of the bag opens for emptying. Gee, that sure is easier to deal with! How come I never noticed this before, and how come I don't remember seeing anything about that in the manual? (I ALWAYS read manuals for machinery and appliances. Life is much easier when you know the directions.)
We also washed both cars today. They really needed it. They are supposed to be white, but they had become that shade I can only describe as "Oklahoma Beige". It is what happens when a fine layer of red Oklahoma dust is deposited on a white surface. I always think of my Focus station wagon as a small car until I have to wash it. It is so much taller than our Escort wagon was. I have to stand on a stool to wash the top.
At least now it and the Taurus are white again, and I don't need to be afraid to get too close to the car when wearing my good clothes.
At any rate, my dryer is imperiously requesting my presence in the laundry room, so I guess that will be all for today.