Bucket List and Resolutions...

With the New Year right around the corner, there seems to be a preoccupation with people's Bucket Lists, life goals and things they are going to resolve to do in the New Year. Well hurrah.

Let's start with the bucket list. This is a list of things that we would like to do before we "kick the bucket." There was that movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman showing the two of them getting out and about and doing wild and wacky things that they had always wanted to do but had never gotten around to. Helped that one of them had a bunch of disposable income - since they flew around to places and did expensive seeming activities. Though there was also the whole family reconciliation stuff as well... Daily Challenge has asked this a few times in the past 7 months that I have been a member. Is it weird that I don't have a bucket list? It isn't that there aren't things that I wouldn't mind doing, but there is nothing that I can think of that I "need" to do before I die. I have, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, led a pretty amazing life and done a lot of amazing things. Known a lot of great people. Etc. Am I content? Sure! I like the moment I am in.

The same goes for life goals. The only one that hasn't been fulfilled, and it isn't really something that I can do on my own, and thus don't really have control over, is to find a lifemate. Money, though it would be pleasant to have more of it, isn't a goal, in my eyes. Money is a tool, nothing more. Oooh, there is the goal of selling 1000 copies of Diary of a Plate Addict by April 30, 2011. If all of my friends, followers, Daily Challenge Connections (etc.) bought copies, that sure would help me towards my goal! I know that many of you have already and I thank those that have shown me that support! You know who you are, and you are awesome!

And lastly, New Year's resolutions. A while ago, I determined that I would continue work, in earnest, starting in January. I guess that is a New Year's resolution. Luckily, I don't have some of the issues that others seem to resolve to fix in the new year. It seems like one of the more popular resolutions has to do with weight loss. I am not particularly overweight. Yippee!

I watched The Warrior's Way last night on Netflix - fun, not great. A little choppy and disjointed, but if you like martial arts films, and Geoffrey Rush and Kate Bosworth, there are worse ways to spend an hour and forty-five minutes...

No lobster for us tonight. I just can't see myself plopping the critters into the boiling water. Too much of a softie. Sigh. We will have chicken wings instead. Last night's bbq sauce and pork ribs turned out pretty well. Mom even had seconds!

Pictures from December 30, 2011:

BBQ Sauce and boiling ribs!

The meal

Mystery Solved!

Hurrah! The mystery book was a Christmas present from my brother Ernst! Very thoughtful! Yippee! I like mysteries as much as the next person, and enjoy them even more when they are eventually solved!

I was thinking the other day that I am pretty lucky. I have had the good fortune to always have a roof over my head, always have been loved and accepted, to have enough to eat, water to drink. Who needs more, really? Well, I may not need it, but I have had it anyway - excellent educational opportunities and experiences, lots of travel, living lots of places, lots of friends and lovers (though I don't really know if the number of lovers I have had counts as lots in a relative way). Fun and frolicking. Sure, there have been and will be depressing bits and moments here and there. But overall, wheeee! Sending the universe lots of Gratitude! :)

On the other hand, there is mom. Although she is not at an advanced stage of Alzheimer's, it still pains me sometimes to know she is getting less able. And I don't know how best to help. She now has "old person" handwriting. You know the stuff - writing in awkwardly formed letters that drift around the page changing in size and proportion without any seeming pattern. I used to love my mom's signature. Now it just makes me cringe a little inside. Also, seeing her actually being frail and incapable is incredibly saddening. True, she has complained of being incapable ever since I can remember her speaking. But now she truly is getting to that point. She is scared of the stairs in the house in Geneva. Glarg. (My new favorite word/sound thing.)

Yippee, though. The year is almost over. Well, looking at it in a different perspective - every second ticks off another anniversary of a similar second one year ago. But in terms of the Calendar year, another one is going by the wayside.

I did my New Year's eve partying last night I think. Well, I went for a couple of beers at Red Dove Tavern. Had a nice chat with Roger who works for Red Jacket - he compared and contrasted Geneva and Canandaigua for me. And chatted with the new bartender - Joe - 25 and growing! Nice people.

Dinner was Chinese food - home made, Chinese food - well, two of the three dishes were Chinese inspired. Shrimp Eggroll, fried rice and then I added some mushrooms and spinach which is just plain yummy. No plan for dinner tonight yet. Oh, and I treated myself to some chocolate cake with pistachio nut ice cream, whip cream and chocolate sauce. Yay!

Photos from December 29, 2011:

Chinese-ish dinner!

I broke down and put a heater in the study cause it was cold in there

O Christmas Tree...

When is the "right" time to take the Christmas tree down? I am aiming for sometime in the New Year, (2012) though when exactly I am not sure.

I think my book tour plans are firming up - I was thinking that much more than a week in a hotel at a time would be difficult on mom and probably too expensive especially with the lackluster sales that Diary of a Plate Addict seems to be having. I think I will make the first two legs about a week each. So, maybe three days at each Saucer, instead of a week at each. I will write to Jeff (manager of the Raleigh Saucer) and see if he thinks this is a good plan - and if he is still willing to help me contact the other Saucers. Though, the first two I am fairly familiar with - Charlotte and Columbia. My current thought is to leave on Friday, January 20 and to return to Geneva around the 29th or 30th depending on whether we stop overnight on the way back or not. Then a similar trip to Tennessee in March. Then maybe a trip to Texas in April. NY in May for mom's birthday. June - a trip west - Maybe across the top to hit Kansas City going - and other points on the way back - like Las Vegas, San Francisco and any other place where there is somebody who is interested in getting together.

Yesterday was beer day at the lovely Beef and Brew. Yippee for beer day! I had three beers - all Ambers - Ithaca's Cascazilla, Sacket Harbor's War of 1812 and Widmer Brothers - Drop Top. It is always nice to see Lorraine and Tiffany. Ran into Melissa, a woman who is moving back to Geneva after being out in the world for a while. And generally just had a pleasant time. My thoughts on my beer blog progress - but I haven't actually asked anyone to participate yet. Maybe I will wait until I finish all of the beers at Beef and Brew before asking...

I also cooked mexican food for dinner last night - chicken quesadillas, rice and refried beans. I cooked the rice from memory last night and added a smidge too little water - so it was too dry - but ok. It might make good fried rice tonight for Chinese dinner (egg rolls). I think I could stand to buy some more spinach, since my Daily Challenge today was to eat something with omega three in it - like spinach...

You do know that comments are encouraged, right?

Photos from December 28, 2011:

Book Eight of WOT! Woo hoo!

Anew Daily Challenge friend is going to Costa Del Sol, so I thought of her...

Big Fluffy White Stuff

Wishing won't make it so, but I do wish for a blizzard - or better yet, the big fluffy white snow fall that I know can and does, occasionally, occur. Am I weird for wanting that? Not according to one of my (myriad) nephews! Erich has been harping (well, cello-ing) about snow for months and months! And so far, not a lot of it. We have another dusting here today - and the temperature is relatively frigid. ANd getting frigider as the day progresses. Yay for wacky weather!

Well, I feel the tingling sensation of wanting to get things accomplished today. Anything is possible. But, not likely. Here in Geneva it is already almost 11 in the morning and I haven't even finished my blog! Eeeek! Gotta get cranking. Speaking of blogs, my blogger statistics are messed up, and that is frustrating. Oh well. Life is that way sometimes and we will persevere and survive. I guess I am not reaching my hoped for 50 followers this year. And I haven't figured out how to put Sitemeter on my other sites. Not that I really expect many people are visiting Renotto Press... Are they? Looking and not buying copies of my wonderful (cough, cough) books? For shame! :)

Did someone send me a book called Move the Sock Hole Over by a man named John Funchion? It appeared in the mail and I have no idea how it got to me... Thank you, though!

I tried cooking chocolate lave cakes last night but they didn't turn out very lava like. Probably over cooked them. Well, if at first - yada-yada - so maybe tomorrow or the next day I will try again. I still have the apple cobbler that I made - need to finish that so that I can make another batch that is more, um, moderate. No idea what I am doing for dinner tonight, but I am leaning towards omelets. And maybe some garlic toast. My cheese sauce turned out ok - so I need more vegetables that I can cover in it - cauliflower, broccoli and asparagus come to mind. Carrots and cheese sauce? Not so much...

Jessica Frech (pronounced Jessica) (just joking - pronounced Freck)- the Hyundai ad singer - has her own Kickstarter website page thing. I wish my projects lent themselves to that sort of thing. Maybe after I get the beer blog up and going. I still have a long way to go before I am ready to start posting those. I need more people who are brave enough to be interviewed. I think at least 100 people. Sigh. Eeek. And all that jazz.

Ok, time for pictures. Yay! From December 27, 2011:

This is the mystery book.

Dinner of Wegman's Chicken, brussels sprouts with cheese sauce and spinach!

Mom hard at work writing Thank You notes!

Chocolate not-so-lava cake

The Week that wasn't

Does anyone else feel that this is a weird week? The week between Christmas and New Year's here in America, that is...I, for one, don't really want to do anything - and at the same time - I would like to accomplish piles of stuff. Which will win out? Keep reading to find out!

Well, you don't need to keep reading today. Doing nothing won out yesterday. Lots of nothing. I didn't even cook! That's right, talk about laziness! We did go see Tintin in the theatre yesterday - in 3D - which is not mom's favorite. She doesn't like that glasses. And the movie was a bit too rollerocoaster-y for her - I enjoyed it quite a bit.

And that was the highlight of the day. We went to Friendly's for dinner. And the food was surprisingly good! We go about once every two weeks, if I had to quantify it - and sad to say, the french fries are often less than awesome. Yesterday, everything was great. And delivered by my new favorite server there. She wasn't, unfortunately, our server - but she did help us out. I wonder if the servers there share tips. I am thinking not...Anyway, it was fun and I do look forward to going back in a few weeks! Maybe she will let me take a picture of her!

Photo from December 26, 2011: Taken by Julie! (Thank you!)

Mom, me, our food and Nick, our server in the background

Welcome follower 37!

Yippee! Hello follower 37! I am doing a little happy dance - but of course, you can't see me. And, truthfully, I am doing it on the inside in any case...The more the merrier!  I don't know if you have been reading for a while, or just stumbled in here - but to be fair - I ought to say for the record, that this is a fairly boring blog. Many days it is just an online journal - sometimes, though, it can be funny, it can have interesting thoughts, sometimes it can have observations on life and Alzheimer's and all sorts of things. Sometimes it is full of beer thoughts. This year, at least one picture on every post. And often it contains a bit about what we ate for dinner. Who knows from day to day what it will contain? I certainly don't! I hope to hear from you occasionally! Well, that goes for anyone who reads anything here - I love to get comments!

So, where were we - oh yes, Christmas Day. Our family doesn't do much for Christmas Day. Most of the time we do have Christmas stockings to open - but as I mentioned yesterday, I neglected this part of the celebration - but will do better next year. I also hope that by next year I will be in a better financial position and will actually send a few gifts to my loved ones. That would be awesome. I don't really see how I will be in a better situation financially, but a year ago, I certainly didn't see myself living here in Geneva as my mom's primary caregiver! Things can (and do) change and in the most unexpected ways! Yippee!

This Sunday was no different. A whole lot of nothing was done. Not much accomplished either. Not that I have a lot on my short list to accomplish. I do have a bill or two to pay, a phone call or two to make - and I still have November's pictures to post on Facebook. I could make some additions to the Renotto Press website - but that is low on the priority list. I am thinking about another post for the writing blog. And I do have a bunch of emails I would like to write. I am planning on writing my annual note to everyone I can think of - not a recap of the year, but a very brief catch up letter and a request for one from them - and a soft plea to buy copies of Bar Dreams and Diary of a Plate Addict. We shall see if that occurs today or not. It definitely did not occur yesterday!

I did cook two new things last night for dinner to go with more Peking Duck - I cooked Chinese Style Green Beans - mom likes the plain ones better - big surprise - and roast Brussel Sprouts - these turned out excellently. I think I am going to make the cheese sauce today to top them for tonight's dinner, though.

Pictures from December 25, 2011:

Tasted yummier than it looks...

I got three pairs of socks and a set of sheets - amongst other things!

Christmas Eve 2011

Where is my Grinch costume? It would have been awesome to go shopping yesterday wearing that. Sigh. It is probably in the house in Clayton. I could have picked it up when I was there earlier this month, but I didn't. Poop! That is one of the problems with having multiple abodes. Just like in Skyrim. Unlike in the game, though, one cannot "fast travel" between locations. Oh well, maybe next year. When I am in the Grinch costume, well, I can't breathe, so I feel a little light headed the whole time. But I am also fairly fearless. Heck, I am anonymous when I am wearing that mask and costume. It would have been good yesterday, as I saw a woman I was too fearful (yup, fearful) to talk to.

I hate it when I succumb to fear. But it happens. Mostly I am fairly fearless, or at least I like to think so. Ok, if not fearless, I tend towards feeling the fear and then choosing how to proceed: No, this is a silly fear, must push forward (like I ought to have done yesterday) or yes, this is a rational fear, don't argue with the nice man with a gun and just give him your money. (Not that I have, thankfully, ever been in the latter situation and hope to never be...) Not jumping out of a plane is not a purely fear based decision, for example. It was a couple of fears yesterday - the same old ones - and why are they so strong? Fear of rejection of course is the primary one. And yes, I know that rejection won't kill me. But a petit-mort is still a mort...

So, despite that little hiccup, I had a lovely Christmas Eve - which is when we tend to celebrate in our family. Both my brother and sister were born on Christmas Eve. I think this kinda sucks for them, as they don't really get a separate celebration of their births. But they have managed to survive all these years. Anyway, the day part was fairly normal. Fixing lunch, puttering around, that sort of thing. I headed out to do some grocery shopping at around 4. Picked up some last minute food items which I will use today instead of last night as I had originally planned. Then picked up a bottle of Cream Sherry so that I could make a sauce for the Brussels Sprouts that we are going to have for dinner tonight. And then a brief trip to Wal-Mart - where I didn't speak with the woman buying a present for a child - and bought a mirror for over the kitchen sink. I have misplaced the one that Ernst put up  years ago. I am sure it will turn up eventually, but mom was jonesing for one. Next stop, Beef and Brew. I wanted to keep Lorraine company for a little bit since it was going to be a slow day for her. I got there to find that she had a table of 7! And while I was there, two more small groups came in! So I didn't really get a chance to chat with her too much. I did get to meet Mike's sister and another of his friends. And my main reason for being there, was to wait until Wing Tai had our Peking Duck ready.

Picked that up, came home and started to think about how to proceed through the evening's festivities. I decided that we would have hors d'oeuvres and open presents and then have dinner and watch Holiday Inn, one of my two favorite holiday movies - the other being It's A Wonderful Life - though the cartoon version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas is right up there on the list...And that is how the evening progressed. Mom and I were lavishly gifted by our relatives! Mom sent someone something, but other than that, we were not as good to them as they deserve. One year, we will do better again. Surely. We can't do much worse...Anyway, we opened presents, ate cheese and mussels and black olives (mom's mom's favorite food apparently). Then, though we were full, we each ate some Peking Duck and watched Holiday Inn. Just as good as I remembered.

While the movie was playing, our family called! Not being much for speaking on the phone at the best of times, I let mom do our talking for us. Juliet, Ernst, Betty and Karl all got to speak with mom.

After the movie, I was exhausted. I didn't make any of the food that I had planned. Oh well. Bed was good enough for me. Sadly, I didn't think of making mom a Christmas stocking until this morning. If we are still here next Christmas, I will do better. I think mom had a good time - she thanked me profusely at least. We shall see what Christmas Day has in store for us!

Happy Christmas to one and all!

Photos from Christmas Eve, December 24, 2011:

See, a dusting of snow!

Our Christmas Snacks

The tree with unopened presents!

Mom in her festive velvets!

Mom's largest present - from Joe and Ginger

Fireplace on the TV

A light white Christmas Eve morning!

Not quite a White Christmas yet - but better than nothing! Picture tomorrow! (Well, maybe, if I get around to taking one today - there are, hopefully, going to be lots of pictures ops (opportunities) today!

First thing out of mom's mouth this morning was "I am never going to that doctor again!" Good thing that the next appointment isn't for two years. Anything can happen in two years. It was pretty silly to sit around waiting for almost two hours to have the doctor spend three minutes with mom. Oh well - at least everything was ok with her eyes! That is good news indeed. And her "floaters" have floated away. Ignore something long enough and it will cease to be a problem - one way or another. :)

I wrapped mom's presents last night - two books that I got at the mall. I still would like to find a book on Tree Farming or something like that. One day.

And that was the excitement. Yippee! Woo hoo! Yay excitement. Today, I get to go out and do last minute food shopping - all I am missing from the lava cake recipe is the chocolate. And I want to pick up some Brussels sprouts - there are two great recipes - baked - which is the easiest - and one in a sherry cream sauce...

Ok, gotta get going - sorry for the less than thrilling post! Life is that way, sometimes...

Pictures from December 23, 2011:

Bush by the side of the house

Waiting for the doctor...

GiJoe

Growing up, I played with GiJoe. A lot. I played with them for many years - from when they were military, through their kung fu grip and hairy phase. I never did get to the small GiJoes. It got pretty intense at one point - contemplating constructing a large base for them in the side yard - made out of concrete and everything. Very detailed plans. One of my favorite imaginings as a kid was having a remote controlled GiJoe Jeep (or other vehicle) that would follow us along on our road trips. Weird. I don't know why I thought of them today.

Anyway, today was an eye doctor appointment for mom. A lot of waiting to be told that everything looked good and that we don't need to go back for two years! Yippee!

Yesterday, no appointments for mom. Or for me. I did some food shopping, which was fun. I so enjoy food shopping. And the people watching that can go along with that. I got some Italian sausages for dinner and for freezing. I still need to get the ingredients to make the chocolate lava cakes. Sigh. Why am I putting that off? I think I am a little intimidated by the thought of making them.

After dinner, I went out - which has been something of a rarity lately. I stopped at Red Dove Tavern to see if there was a spot open at the bar. There didn't look to be one, so I went to where I had been planning on going anyway, the lovely Leaf Kitchen. They had a bomber of Southern Tier Pumking for me. Yum! And I also had a bomber of Stone Arrogant Ale. Both were awesome. Even better, Tatiana bought a copy of Diary of a Plate Addict! Go her! I need to get there more than once every two months!

Stayed up too late trying to clear up my Hulu queue a bit. Got a few things watched. Then slept fitfully. Poop. Time for a nap.

Picture from December 22, 2011:

Sausage, spinach and mushrooms, double baked potato

Lobster

Wegman's has extended its lobster sale! Yippee! I guess I know what mom and I will be having for our New Year's Eve dinner! Though, I must admit to a bit of reluctance towards cooking them. I do feel that lobsters are probably endangered and they are our fellow creatures. I don't like having to personally "do in" the food I am eating. I can't imagine the psychic toll that people who work in slaughter houses and such deal with. Eeek! Well, we shall see what happens. Maybe I can have mom do the actual lowering of the lobsters into the water. Probably not, but anything is possible...

Yesterday we had an uncharacteristically warm day here in beautiful Geneva! It got up to 48 degrees. True, the wind was blowing the rain sideways, but it was still nicer than if that precipitation had been sleet. Now, if it had been snow...I am still hoping for a white Christmas. Not the big fluffy, have-to-shovel-the-drive sort of White Christmas. Those don't seem to be all that likely anymore. Even a dusting would be acceptable. The weather report hints that it could happen.

I went shopping at the Outlet mall. I had been worried that I wouldn't think of a reason for me going there that would not make mom suspicious. I hit on the idea of having to find more ramekins. Mom fell for that. I did look for ramekins, but my primary goal was to find a couple of books for mom. What I really wanted was a book on Tree Farming or Tree husbandry or something like that. I will have to look on Amazon and get her something from there for after Christmas. What I did find were two books - one a kids book about a tree in New York City and a book of New Yorker Cartoons/Puzzles. I don't know that either will actually truly appeal, but there you have it.

Meanwhile, I was aghast to find that ramekins were really expensive! I saw one that was $12! For a 4 oz ramekin!! What the heck was it made out of? Gold? Nope. Weird. I ended up getting four for 6 dollars at the Corning Ware store. Yippee! Now, I need to get the ingredients to make the cakes - I think we have most of them already. Just need the chocolate...

Next stop, Beef and Brew! I got there just as Mike, one of the owners, was heading out! He told the bartender to give me whatever beer I wanted for free! As a Christmas present! How awesome was that!?! I didn't get him anything. :( And I didn't take too great advantage of that kindliness. I had a Lindeman's Peche, an Anchor Porter and a Stevens Point Whole Hog Russian Stout. All very tasty! Yippee! While there, I chatted with two new to me people - Bruce and Griffin - about beer - both were aficionados. It is always nice to talk with others who love beer. Bruce especially had some good thoughts about brewpubs in the area! Fodder for the brew-pub book!

And I made pizza for dinner! Turned out pretty well - but I need a better pan for cooking the pizza - right now I use a cookie sheet and the pizza remains a bit soft and flabby - especially towards the center. Sigh.

Mom and I watched the movie Fallen Idol - a netflix dvd. How it got on mom's queue I do not know. She had seen it before. I had not, and will, thankfully, not have to see it again. Not all classic movies are, well, classic. This one was about a four on a ten scale. I think that mom enjoyed it more than I did - at least I hope she did!

Ok, picture time! December 21, 2011:

Bar Dreams proudly displayed at the Beef and Brew!

precooked

All yummy!

Promises, promises

I promised my mom that I wasn't going to get her anything for Christmas. Ooops. I am going shopping for her later today. Hahahahahahaha! Or should I have started that with Bwa? (To make it more maniacal?) Promise might be overstating it, though. We sort of commiserated over the fact that we didn't get anything for anyone this year. Oh well. She needs stuff under the tree.

Speaking of the tree, I brought it inside yesterday and decorated it last night. There will be tree pictures forth coming - I didn't take one of it decorated last night. My tripod is in the car still - my big tripod - which I picked up when I was last in Raleigh. I think it (the tree, not the tripod) needs watering already. I am afraid that it won't even last through Christmas. It is shedding already. Sigh.

No major picture posting yesterday - but I did get some other stuff done - primarily, I moved all of the boxes out of the living room into the dining room. One of my tactics for dealing with clutter, is to condense it - make it smaller and more compact  - so that a) it looks like there is less clutter, and b) it seems more manageable when it is all in one place - finite instead of overwhelming. We will see if it works. I also stealth sorted one of the boxes - yippee! Threw away probably a third of the box of paper. Every little bit helps, apparently. And I vacuumed! I know, right? :)

I also mailed two copies of Diary of a Plate Addict off - and one of Bar Dreams. Thank you Lesa and Marti! Two friends from Daily Challenge! So far, the people on Daily Challenge are being wonderfully supportive - four of them have bought copies! How awesome is that?! I am working on a blog post on the writing blog about the costliness of the books. Maybe it will be posted today - or tomorrow - we shall see - in any case - it is helping me to feel better about charging so much for them.

Mom's desire to be out and about continued yesterday - we went to the movies. She wouldn't pick, she doesn't like to pick, or decide generally. Except when she wants to. :) Anyway, I opted for The Muppets. I love Amy Adams - there wasn't enough of her in the movie - Jason Segel is ok - not my favorite - and I still enjoy the muppets (despite no Jim Henson or in this case, Frank Oz). Afterwards we dined on the haute cuisine of Wendy's - a place that mom mentions at least once every three days. Sigh.

Photos from December 20, 2011:

Before

After

Tree sans decorations...

The Muppets!

Accomplished

Got a good bit done yesterday. And something weird, and good, is happening. Mom is actually wanting to get out and do things?! How awesome is that? Yesterday she wanted to go to the Center for Concern to drop off three things. Not big things - didn't make a dent in what needs to be gotten rid of from the house, but the fact that she wanted to go out to do that was great! We accomplished that pretty quickly. On the way back to the house, she asked me what other errands I was planning. I told her again (sigh) that I was planning on doing laundry and getting a Christmas tree. She got all excited about the tree and wanted to do that - so we did. There was only one potted tree left, so we got that one. It is a nice little tree. Hopefully this one will fare better than last year's. This is how lame I am. I am going to put a reminder on my phone to water the tree...Some tree set-up will happen today - and some decoration tonight, most likely. She was not excited about the laundry and opted to be dropped at home while I did that by myself (yippee!). Speaking of initiating outings - mom wants to go to the movies today! I don't know what has come over her, but it is great!

So, we washed sheets yesterday. I love me some clean sheets! :) The laundromat was pretty empty which is fine by me - especially in my anti-social mood. It isn't really anti-social - it is just not really wanting to see anyone that I know. I don't mind meeting and harassing strangers.:) I also went to Wegman's and got some groceries. Including a holiday 12-pack from Saranac - some good sounding beers in there - and the ones I have tried so far have been tasty. I am saving the vanilla porter and the chococlate lager (never heard of a chocolate lager before) for later. And I got some salmon for mom for dinner.

Dinner turned out well - baked salmon with breadcrumbs and stuff on top - I whipped up a dill/sour cream sauce, steamed some beans, made a little rice - and later I made my first attempt at an apple crumble. Besides having waaaay too much caramel sauce on it, it was pretty good. Next time - one third or one quarter the amount of caramel.

Today - maybe a movie and dinner out - Friendly's or Ling Ling is my guess - and house neatening. I am moving the mess from the living room to the dining room. Yippee! I know the neatness won't last long, but all it needs to do is make it to the weekend - Christmas and all, apparently...

Photos from December 19, 2011:

Maybe the wind blew it over...

Mom heading in to - well, read the sign!

My huge purchase - two glasses with my initial! $.22! And Linda, a classmate of Karl's.

Our tree this year!

Yummy in all respects!

As I said, way too much caramel sauce!

Getting Older

I had thought of a great title and subject matter for a blog and poof - it is gone - out of my head. I ought to know better than to not write it down immediately when I think of it. Sigh, sigh, sigh. Oh well, c'est fromage.

Still feeling downright anti-social. Yippee! But I do need to get out and about today. Laundry to do, Christmas tree to buy, and groceries to shop for. I am wanting to make an apple crumble - got a lot of Ida red Apples sitting around that need to be eaten.

Got another month of photos done on Facebook yesterday! Hurrah! I plan to get another done today. That would be awesome. And mom and I had breakfast for dinner - I still haven't learned to get everything done at the same time. Oh well - the food still tasted good! Now I am trying to figure out the menu for the week. One of the great things about cooking for my mother is that she is appreciative of anything I feed her! I still smell like bacon from last night. Shower time! I figure once a month is probably a good thing whether I need it or not. Maybe that is why I am feeling anti-social...because I stink?

Being anti-social could also be affecting my blogging. I am just not feeling very interesting. Glarg.

Today's Daily Challenge was to watch a music video of a favorite song - I chose Scarlet Begonias from the Grateful Dead. Yay! Fun stuff and brought memories and tears. Not actual tears, just a bit of welling - from happiness and remembrance of things past. And I was struck by how awesome the technology is that allows us to do something like that. Speaking of which, I am not getting very far, very fast on my beer video blog. It will happen - just don't know when or how or what it will look like...

I really need to give up on the silly Gardens of Time thing. Just sayin'...

Photo from December 18, 2011:

I generally like my eggs over easy - mom likes hers over hard! This is twice baked potato, french toast, bacon and eggs.

I think I am up...

And not going back to sleep, so I might as well get today's post done. Soon, dear readers, you won't have this guy to kick around anymore. At least that is my thought. I am seriously leaning towards only writing sporadically. We shall see, of course. Truth be told, I am feeling anti-social and curmudgeonly. Not depressed, just not interested in much of anything or anyone. This is a phase and will pass. Truly.

I did accomplish what I wanted to yesterday. I finished the picture album for July. Today's goal - August! I also uploaded some pictures to the Diary of a Plate Addict Facebook page. Yippee for accomplishments. And that was about it. It was a cold day, here in Geneva, yesterday. And I woke up to snow! Eeeeek! I don't know how long it will last, but probably not till Christmas. The weather report says we are having four 40 degree days in a row starting Monday - so bye-bye snow. :(

Mom seems to be doing really well, once she gets up and gets out of bed. She is finally back to getting up for lunch and coming downstairs. And is actively taking part in its preparation. Go her! Besides that she is going through her mail and actually filling stuff out and such again. Yay!

We were supposed to go to the Colleges (HWS) holiday reception last night. Sadly, mom has a bit of a cold - I probably gave it to her - so she decided not to go. I was all set to go by myself, but at the last moment opted not to. I just didn't have a desire to go make small talk. I know, I ought to have gone, perhaps I would have met someone interesting. I just didn't feel like making the effort. Instead, I stayed home and made dinner - left over eggrolls and some sort of fried rice and vegetable glop. For tonight, I have two options - one - go shopping and get something - or two - make breakfast for dinner. I am leaning towards the latter...

I posted another entry in the writing blog. Starting to get those creative juices flowing - gosh it is an uphill battle...

Pictures from December 17, 2011:

First snow of the season! Not much, but I'll take it!

Dinner - the fried rice was a little under-fried. :(

Ding Dong, the...

Spanish Class is dead! Which old Spanish Class? The Wicked Spanish Class! Ding dong the wicked Spanish Class is dead!

Ok, so that doesn't scan so well, but you get the idea and the point.  Don't get me wrong - those of you who follow this blog and my life (and such) know that overall I enjoyed the class - I love to learn, I love to learn languages, I love meeting new people. All good things. I didn't enjoy getting up at an early hour 3 days a week. I didn't like the text book. And I didn't like having a commitment. Yup, I am a commitment-a-phobe. You read it here first. I took the exam yesterday - and I will be surprised if I got more than 20 points on it. Maybe 30. 10 points I just gave up on - apparently we were taught a new form during the week I was gone. Yippee! 10 free points for the rest of the class. Though how much they could have drilled it - anyway, moving on. I am happy that the exam is done! Woo hoo!! No more classes! Wheeeeee! Though I am thinking of taking a programming class if I can find one...

Other than that, not a lot went on yesterday. I got food for dinner and made steak, veggies, artichokes and twice baked potatoes - boy those turned out yummily! Watched an episode of Chuck - how have I missed so many of them? Well, I will just have to look on Hulu and see if they are there - I haven't been watching much television lately - either on the actual television or on the computer - I have been spending most of my entertainment hours with Skyrim. Yippee!

Now that the class is over, I can focus on the holidays a bit. And start to get caught up on some of the stuff I would like to get caught up on. Like putting pictures up on Facebook. And writing emails about the book. And figuring out Google Ad words. I am very excited!

Oh, my Spanish professor bought a copy of Diary of a Plate Addict. I mean, if he can, why can't my so called "friends" by copies? (For those of you who already own copies - I don't mean to belittle your thoughtfulness and support!)

Photos from December 16, 2011:

Mom's stuff plunked right down where I was studying - thanks mom! :)

Beautiful day for a Spanish Exam!

Dinner!

Finally Friday!

And I have just simply, plainly given up on getting a passing grade on the final exam for Spanish 102. Yesterday I took the practice test, the repaso, and I think I got a 20. That is out of 100. Sigh. I don't imagine doing much better today on the actual final. Not too upset by it, really. I like to excel. Really I do. And I think I have learned a lot. Enough in fact, that I can now make myself understood at a very basic level in Spanish - without too much guessing! Woo hoo! And that was one of the reasons that I took Spanish - so that I could finally have a grasp of fundamental grammar. Yippee! Not to stress over the grade I got in the course. I don't know how the grading works - what the weight of the quizes is (on which I did mostly poorly) or the other tests - one bad, the others ok - and the oral presentation - and then the final. I hope the final isn't like 50% of the grade. That would suck big time. Whatever. I will survive. And I still have many hours before it is finished. Sigh. I might do a little more studying for the thing. We shall see. The long and the short of it is, though, that I just don't want to study anymore...

What else did I do yesterday? Right. Nothing. At all. Well, played a bit. And made a couple of meals - lunch I whipped up a little chicken salad sandwich for mom - a bowl of chicken noodle soup for me - and then dinner was one of my comfort food meals - hot dogs and baked beans. Yum! Added a little left over broccoli and a little home made coleslaw. Yay!

Oh, and felt sorry for myself - only for a minute or two - but still, it was there - for feeling a bit under the weather. This too shall pass!

Ok, short post because, well, nothing really to write about today. Nothing pithy is passing through my pate...

Pictures from December 15, 2011:

Later, mom deposited a pile of her papers smack dab in the middle of where I was doing my studying - I took that as a sign to stop studying for good! :)

Mmm, hot dogs and baked beans - and sides!

Still ill

After all these years...no, wait, that is something else. Anyway, I am. Still ill, that is. Not horribly, not horrendously - just enough to be slightly annoying. I am using the illness to find my inner peace with not being perfect. Or finding perfection in being imperfect. Or...

Yesterday was beer day! Yippee! I also mailed Cate 14 copies of Diary of a Plate Addict. I wonder if she will actually be able to sell any. I am not holding my breath. They are signed, which is something. My good friend, Jeff, wrote a review of DPA and posted it on Amazon. How cool is that? I am going to steal it and put it on a couple of pages - the DPA Facebook page and on one of the Renottopress pages! If anyone else wants to write a review, that would be awesome!

I still have lots of things I ought to be doing that I am just not. I realized the other day, that I was behind in posting my monthly "One picture a day" on Facebook. I would like to get that done at some point. I also want to put pictures from the first sales trip to Raleigh on the DPA page. Those are the two biggies at this point. Oh, and studying for Spanish. I didn't really do much yesterday. And the exam is tomorrow. Eeeek.

I would rather not go outside today - but I want to get a Christmas tree. I am thinking I will just wait until Friday after the exam to get one. Maybe it will cheer me up after failing the final. Ok, I probably won't fail it, but I sure won't ace it. I have forgotten so much that we "learned" this semester. Sigh. It is early yet - though I could do with a nap...

Oh, back to beer day. I went to Beef and Brew and they hadn't changed the beers. But they did institute a new Augustus policy - that any beer I wanted would be discounted! Wow, I feel special! I don't know how well the place is doing. I hope they last long enough for me to get through all of their beers. Is that a selfish thought? Probably. I had fun there, as usual, despite being a smidge under the weather. Lorraine and Tiffany didn't have anything new and exciting going on in their lives. I met Evan, a server there - who also works at Eddie Bauer out at the outlet mall. If I weren't feeling sick, I would go out there and buy a piar of pants or a shirt or something. I could use either one of those. Not a huge priority...Oh, I also ordered the peking duck from Wing Tai for Christmas Eve! Yippee! The woman was surprised when I spoke Mandarin with her. Sadly, my vocab is so rusty, that I didn't recognize the word for doctor when she said it. Glarg. So, the beers I had were good ones! The first - Naked Dove's Naught and Nice Christmas Ale tasted sort of like a gingerbread man. Very easy to drink. Next was Wild Blue - which is made here in NY. I didn't realize that. Pretty good too, for a blueberry beer. And lastly, Oskar Blue's Old Chub - Scottish Ale. Yum!

For dinner, we had Mexican style food - I made chicken quesadillas, refried beans and rice. Yum city! Are you all envious of my cooking skills yet? :)

Photos from December 14, 2011:

A decoration at the lovely Beef and Brew!

Yay Mexican dinner!

Sniffle, sniffle...

Those are sniffs of stuffiness, not sadness. Thank you for your concern, though!

I thought that perhaps my brush will illness had passed away uncharacteristically. Sadly, it was just lying in wait, waiting to pounce when I least suspected it. Grrr. The way the progression usually works - a three day affair - is sore throat, stuffy nose, sore throat, all better. And none of them too heinous. This time, sore throat - nothing - stuffy nose this morning - and we shall see what happens next. The excitement is almost too much for me!

I dreamt that I published a blog post without proofing it and certainly without labels! Eeeek! That was a nightmare and made me sit right up in bed!

Cindi posted a link to a blog post by Dan - Single Dad Laughing - about loving without judging. What a wonderful world it would be if we all embraced that thought at least part of the time. Sigh.  By the way, until I had seen that link, I had never heard of Single Dad Laughing. I don't know that I will ever read his blog again, but the one post was enjoyable.

Moving on - yesterday I stayed in all day. And I managed to actually study some Spanish. Not a lot, but a little - enough to make me feel like I did some studying. I am sooooo ready for this class to be over. Not because it was horrible, just because I am ready to be a vegetable for a while. Till the Second of January. Then, by golly, I am going to get down to brass tacks and tackle some writing for the future! Posterity, here I come!

Sorry, drifted off topic again. Dinner was left overs with a little pork thrown in. Tonight, different left overs, presented differently. What else about yesterday - oh, made a new connection on Daily Challenge - to another women from Romania! I wonder if that site is popular in that country. Weird if it were...now I am even more excited to learn some Romanian! :)

Ramble, ramble, ramble. Nothing really to say today - just waiting for something exciting. Today, at least, is beer at the Beef and Brew (or somewhere else) day! Yippee! Oh, and I need to mail Cate some copies of Diary of a Plate Addict. And put in an order for our Christmas dinner of Peking Duck!

Speaking of the book - buy copies! Doing so is a good Christmas present for me - and who knows, you might actually enjoy it. I'm just sayin'...

Picture from December 13, 2011:

Chuck is often the wacky one! :)

Absolutely Zero Interest

Yup, you read that correctly, I have absolutely zero interest in studying for my Spanish final exam on Friday at 1:30 pm. Zero, zip, nada, rien, nichevo, niente etc. I did two verbs yesterday and that was all the energy I could must for that task. I did print out lots of verb conjugation sheets, though. Yay me! Sigh. I guess I will do more today. Maybe. We shall see, of course.

Not a lot happening on the home front yesterday. I did that little teeny bit of studying and then did nothing the rest of the day.

Oh, I did run a couple of errands. One was to the grocery store to get dinner - a store bought chicken, some spinach and some mushrooms.

The other was to the pharmacy, where I had a lovely chat with my favorite pharmacist (whose name is sadly no Farah or Felicia). Actually I am happy her name isn't either of those - even though it would be alliterative. Anyway, as some of you know, I have been curious about the link between intense dreams and Zoloft. She confirmed what Anonymous and Summerhill have mentioned - that there is a link. She suggested to reduce the dosage - with mom's doctor's approval. I like her - she thinks people are generally over medicated too! I also found out that all Aricept does is stimulate cognition. Sigh. I was hoping that it was a wonder drug, reversing Alzheimer's entirely. Ok, I didn't really think that was the case - I just didn't know. The last drug we spoke about was mom's high blood pressure medicine. Again, I really don't know anything about drugs - hey, maybe I should go to pharmacy school! Or maybe not. I just have a feeling that mom's blood pressure is not as high as it was - since she seems to be under a lot less stress than when she was living alone. Fewer worries, one hopes. Now I just need to think of other excuses to have chats with my fabulous pharmacist... :)

Lastly, I got our pistachio ice cream. Mom gets this on the off chance that Karl will come to visit - and because she can eat it while waiting for him to come. Our local Friendly's actually gave me a call when the ice cream came in. 12 cartons. They don't think it will sell. We will see.

I made coleslaw yesterday - one of the best batches to date! Still doing it by feel, no measuring, but it seems to be getting a little more consistent. It tries to ride the crest of three main flavoring ingredients - sugar, apple cider vinegar and mayonnaise. And this time I added just a whisper of cayenne pepper. Yippee!

Today is another day. Perhaps I will get more Spanish done. Perhaps mom and I will go to a movie - there are three that I think would be fun. Perhaps we will do nothing! I like the word "perhaps."

Photo from December 12, 2011:

Yay coleslaw!

Were we ever really gone?

It sure doesn't feel like it. It feels like we have always been here and will always be here. Can't decide if that is good or bad. Or just is.

Back to Spanish! I know you have all been missing my musings on my Spanish class. Yippee! Well, classes are over and all that remains is the exam on Friday (at 1:30 for those of you keeping track). I am planning on doing some studying every day for the next few days. Starting with today. I am going to do verb conjugation on 10-15 verbs - mostly the irregular ones. Then tomorrow or later today, depending on when I get the verb conjugations accomplished, take the "repaso" that Carlos provided and see how I do. Oh, I got a 92 on the oral presentation. Carlos gave us a 100% and then decided that we weren't that good. I am sad that I didn't get to see the other students' presentations. Oh well.

And that is my big plan for the day. Oh, and go and get mail from the post office. And maybe go ask the pharmacist if she knows of something to substitute for the Zoloft. I don't want mom to become depressed, but it really seems like the Zoloft was helping her to have really vivid and unhappy dreams. And that isn't good.

And it is back to making dinner plans night after night. Sigh. Not that I mind cooking - but it is such a chore to try and figure out what the meals are going to be day after day.

Cate had a great idea, vis a vis Diary of a Plate Addict - she wants me to send her some copies so that she can try and sell them! I am game! Heck, why not. She can't do any worse than I did. And she might even do better. Sometime this week, I need to get my at together and get a google ad up and working. I am at 939 to sell and holding with no movement envisioned until late January at the earliest.

Yup, back to boring blogging for the rest of the year. Yippee.

Photos from December 11, 2011:

Oral presentation score!

First dinner back at home - shrimp eggrolls, broccoli and rice!

Train Tracks, Sore Throat and a driving day

Had a couple of weird dreams last night - one of them was that train tracks had been put in right in front of the house here in Geneva - maybe a foot in front of the front door steps! Eeek! Another was working as a server somewhere and being fired because I asked why an entree had taken so long to come out. Another had me thinking that my teeny sore throat was actually strep throat! I am pretty sure it isn't, since it is almost gone this morning. All in all, though, I didn't sleep straight through from 10 last night until 10 this morning. Stuck together, though, I guess I got enough sleep. :)

Yesterday was a travel day. Lots of driving! Mom was up and at it early, which is great. We managed to hit the road by 9 in the morning. Huzzah! Very little in the way of slow downs - a couple here and there - one, of course, near Washington, but we never had to actually stop and start. Another because of a tire in the road. Our first pitstop was in Virginia at my favorite stopping place - exit 104. There was a very sweet cashier/worker sort named Madison who helped me to get my chicken soup act together. I had this thought that some chicken soup would be great for my throat. They had a can of Campbell's condensed chicken noodle - I added some hot water from their coffee maker and heated the mess up in one of the microwaves. Turned out pretty well. I drank it from a coffee sippy cup until I got down to the noodles - and ate those with the thoughtfully provided spork that Madison gave me.

Next pitstop, somewhere in Pennsylvania. I had decided to try to go back the way that we came - which worked out pretty well - it took very little effort in fact to follow Route 15N. Finding 270 was easy too - and those were the big challenges. Anyway, we stopped somewhere between Lewisburg and Mansfield or Williamsport or something. Sadly, the bathroom was basically a modern outhouse and not at all pleasant. :(

Since the timing was going to work out, I chose to actually stop for dinner on the way home - rather than getting home and then finding something to eat. Crooked Rooster in Watkins Glen seemed like a good destination. We got there about 7 and the place was deserted! Not even crickets chirping! Apparently it had been like that all night. So the staff was excited to see us. We had a great server. I'd like to note how much more pleasant a meal is, at least for me, when my server is, as Lindsay was, attentive, attractive, intelligent and fun! She and her husband moved from the Buffalo area a while back. Oddly enough, I had seen her once before, at the Finger Lakes Craft Brewing event last summer. Her picture might even be on the blog (it isn't) - I know it is on my Facebook page somewhere. Anyway, we ordered mussels and a hamburger to share, as well as a flight of beer - 9 tasters. I had forgotten how expensive their tasters were! Oh well - still enjoyable beer. I think Seth, the brewer, does a great job with darker beers especially. We had Cajun mussels and mom enjoyed them - I think I got to eat four! I would say that mom was as happy as a clam... :)

Then a short hop back up to Geneva (not even 45 minutes, Lindsay...) and after unloading the car, straight into bed for me. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!

I am going to post a week in review (mostly about book selling frustrations and success etc.) in my writing blog - I know - aren't you thrilled?

Photos from December 10, 2011:

Where we stopped in Virginia

Me and my flight - the pumpkin was good too!

Mom had already had one mussel!

Lindsay!