Adventure today! Maybe...

If mom is up for it. I am afraid that she is going to be sick to her stomach over the prospect of getting out and about. Que sera, sera! True, I learned this phrase years and years ago when I was learning to play the piano and played the song. But having taken some Spanish, I actually know why it means what it means. Yay learning!

I had a pleasant day yesterday, all things considered. I did get the checks in the mail for the reunion and the special dinner on Thursday night. Its on! Yay! Now, I need to remember to pack my Video Camera and charger and stuff. Only a month away and I am already excited! My brother, Karl, asked about coming to visit Geneva. Sadly, it was during the month of June, which isn't very likely. It does look, though, that I won't be able to take full advantage of my sister Juliet's kind offer to take mom in for a two weeks after the reunion. Maybe a week will work out though. As I told my brother, I don't want to be in the car for 10 hours a day driving across the country, so we will probably leave for the West Coast earlier in June than originally anticipated. Maybe around the 4th? The back end of the trip isn't fleshed out at all - I hope to head to SF for a few days - then to LV for two days - then Tuscon for a couple of days - then Austin for a few days - then home. With driving in between. Well, it will keep percolating in my head and some sort of more concrete plan will eventually drip, drip, drip out.

Well, that is disappointing. I just looked to see what the hours for the place I was planning for my late-birthday dinner were and they aren't open until April 20th! Well, I will just readjust my plans. Haven't figured out how, but I will. Just need to think of someplace to eat. Or maybe just do it again next week. And it looks like we will need reservations in any case. Hmm. Maybe we will just shift the whole thing till next week. April 25 sounds like a good day for an adventure and birthday dinner. And maybe the weather will be a little warmer.

Back to yesterday, I had a nice beer day at Beef and Brew, despite misreading my list and having one beer a second time - Orkney Skullsplitter. Sigh. Life is that way sometimes. I did have Belhaven Scottish Ale (which is better on draft) and Meantime Coffee Porter - which could have had a thicker mouth feel for my tastes. Met two people who were in town for a lacrosse came between Syracuse and Hobart. Both seemed to be beer lovers! Always a good thing.

Having a tough time with persistence with NSKeyedArchiver. Just don't have my head around it yet. And it looks like I really need to register some default preferences in order to have things working well with the preferences stuff. Though I did just get the ability to change themes starting to work. Yippee! And I figured out the default preferences thing! Yay!

Flowers seen while out and about

Clouds!

The turkey was terrible, the broccoli over done and the corn was left over from last night - but the potato was good!

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!

Up in time for Spanish Class and...

Up in time for Spanish Class and...I don't have to go! Yippee! I wonder what time the Spanish exam is a week from Friday? I hope it isn't early in the morning. Or maybe I do - just to get it over with...Anyway, that is a thought for another time and place.

Yesterday was my first full day back in Raleigh. Yippee? It is weird being back. Weird seeing all these people who I have known for 3, 5, 10 years and haven't seen in 8 months. Just like never having left in most cases, which to me is the sign of either good friendship or solid acquaintance-ship. Mom and I got out of the motel in a timely fashion. The Saucer is only five minutes away - except for a light for getting onto Capital that takes 5 minutes all by itself. Found a parking spot right in front, which was good since I wanted to take the books inside and store them - less lugging for me. A nice guy name Ben, a person I met once at one of Tim Phillips' tables, helped me carry boxes. Julie, his girlfriend, actually helped too! I gave them a copy of Bar Dreams - they later bought a copy of Diary of a Plate Addict. I was heartened!

Mom and I had brunch - gee, that hasn't changed. Still ok at best - though mom had seconds. I had a couple of NC beers. And lots of regulars came in. Sadly, most of them didn't buy copies of the book. What is that about? More whinging about that in a bit. It was great seeing people and chatting with them. We stayed until about 2:30 and then we went back to the motel to chill for a couple of hours. I knew I was exhausted and I was pretty sure that my mom was too.

I used some of my newly acquired Spanish to tell the housekeeping people that we were leaving around 5 and that the room could be made up then. I think they understood me...

Round two, Diary of a Plate Addict book release event. I was expecting 9 or so people from the Tri-Beer Meet-up and 20 people had said they were coming on the Facebook event. Sadly, that wasn't the case. It was a decent turnout, but not quite that many. Good group who did come! And many of them actually bought copies. I know a lot of couples, apparently - they of course only bought one copy per pair. I had been hoping to sell 100 copies. I didn't. I sold 20. Still, much better than nothing. What I don't understand is the people who didn't buy copies. I mean, yes, it is expensive, but, it is a great looking and feeling book. And it is about a place that they come all the time (most of them at least). Or work there. Why aren't more of the staff rushing to buy copies? I thought Hope at least would. And Cat. But not one staff member has bought a copy so far. Sigh. Well, we shall persevere.

I had a lovely time talking with people. I hadn't seen Crystal and Garrett for a long time - Maria too! Jeanie come and brought her friend Barbara who I hadn't seen in a year - Dave F sort of monopolized her time, but she didn't seem too upset by that. Paul and Marie came - what a great couple - Marie spent a long time helping my mom feel spoken with. Dara chatted with me for a while about all the positive changes in her life. I spoke a little with Cate and Jonathan. Cindi and George Miller came - and it was great to see them and feel their support and encouragement - both for the book and for my mom situation. Wendy and Gerry came - poor Wendy wounded a wing! But it was great to see them! Eric and Nancy came - and invited us to dinner - which I think we will take advantage of - maybe on Wednesday.  Robin was having a plate party - which is not surprising - at the table next to mine and it was good seeing him and that particular group of Saucer fans. Ted Hurley bought three copies of DPA and one of Bar Dreams. Yay Ted! If I have forgotten any one, please forgive me! It was a hectic day!

We stayed until about 9 and then headed out. Yippee! I was exhausted. Though that didn't stop me from playing some Skyrim after we got back to the hotel... :)

Today - errands. And maybe some actual Spanish Studying. Ok, probably not...

Photos from December 4, 2011:

Mom all ready to eat brunch

Saucer brunch - I wonder how many of these I have eaten...

Cindi and George Miller - thrilled beyond compare with their purchase! :)

Cindi and mom!

A picture of the DPA release Event

Last Spanish Class

Hurrah! Well, at least for the time being...

But that is for tomorrow, for today is yesterday. Or something like that.

Yesterday was another day. Yay for days! It was a Thursday. And, truthfully, even in my life, there wasn't a whole lot of moving and shaking going on. Since I was exhausted, all I really thought about was when I could go back to bed.

Mom and I did go out to Friendly's for dinner. It is not my favorite place, but mom is enamored for some reason. The food isn't all that great, and I rarely get ice cream. And, sadly, the servers there are just not wonderful. Oh well. Since mom likes it, we go. If I had had more energy I might have picked someplace else. As it is, I am glad that I didn't cook and that we have some leftovers for lunch today.

And what else exciting happened yesterday? Studied a little Spanish -oh, met with my presentation partner - he just didn't seem all that into it. Oh well. It will be what it will be!

Gee, how's that for excitement! And to top it off, only one picture from December 1, 2011:

Mom and I both ordered the Friendly's version of a cheese steak...

Maybe, just maybe

I can see why people over medicate others. I am, minorly, tempted to put mom back on the Aricept 23. The Aricept 10 mom is actually now getting up for lunch and initiating outings! Today, she wanted to go to BJs! Eeek! But that is for tomorrow. For today, we have yesterday's news. dit dit dit, dah, dah, dah...

dit dit dit (by the way)

Anyway, what exciting happened yesterday? It was Friday, wasn't it? Oh, yes, we went to our Monthly (or thereabouts) outing to Friendly's. No matter how much mom says she likes my food, or thinks I am a great chef (which isn't true), I think that she secretly would rather eat out at Friendly's every other day. Or maybe once a week. If we were weller off, I wouldn't mind not cooking. Though I do actually enjoy it. And, as I have said aforetimes, hand washing dishes. I ordered and received book seven of the Wheel of Time Series - the beginning of the three books in which a week or two passes. 1800 pages and a week passes. Sigh. Anyway, that helps to make the time more pleasant in the kitchen.

I also had a meeting with my language partner from Spanish Class. Sebastiano is a very nice gentleman who is here teaching Italian. Apparently they only have one semester of Italian, mainly to prep kids who are heading to Italy on a semester abroad program. Maybe I will take Italian from him next year. Anything is possible. Anyway, I needed a partner for the oral presentation and rather than put myself and any of the kinder through that, I grabbed him. Yippee! I haven't done anything on it, but plan to do some tomorrow. It isn't for another two weeks...

And that is about it. Toasty towels, did I mention those? That is one of the things that I love about the winter here in Geneva, is radiators and therefore, toasty towels! Yippee! Getting out of the shower and drying off with a toasty towel - there isn't much better!

Ok, time to post this sucker! Have a good one, blogophiles!

Photos from November 18, 2011:

Toasty towel!

Eeek, snow on my car! Whatever will I do?! :)

Pizza!

My search continued last night for my favorite pizza in Geneva. And so far, the winner is Cam's Pizza in downtown. Cam's has been around for years and years. I don't know if it is the same owner, or if it has changed owners 1000 times. Anyway, I think it might be the last contender - though I haven't tried the local Dominoes. Hmm. I went down there, to Cam's, in the rain and ordered a pizza in the shop. They said 20 minutes, though it was closer to half an hour. The 14" pizza was larger than the box and although I ordered pepperoni and artichoke hearts, I didn't really see much evidence of the artichoke hearts. I know, they are expensive, but still, one actual heart chunk wouldn't have been too much to ask, would it? Still, it was pretty tasty and might just be the winner for the time being.

One of my DC (Daily Challenge) friends thought that the woman I met in the grocery store would actually contact me. I applaud her positivity - but I doubt her grasp on this particular reality. I think the chances are slight that I will hear from her. I will give it a week before I write the supermarket woman off completely, but me, I would have already contacted me. Yes, I am that wonderful. No, seriously. I mean if someone gives me their contact information, I am at least polite enough to send them a note.

What else exciting happened yesterday. Spanish class and Spanish lab - I think I went back to my failing ways on the quiz last night - it was stuff we studied almost two weeks ago and I wasn't really prepared - the info wasn't fresh in my little noggin'. I now know one thing I will have to study up on for Friday's exam. I have the "repaso" to do today. And that is about it for commitments, I believe. But back to yesterday. Nope, nothing exciting to report.

Ok, time to do my repaso. Sigh.

Pictures from November 14, 2011:

A sign!

Do you see an artichoke heart? I don't!

Pies aren't just for eating...

Daily Challenge had an interesting one today, in the Finding Fulfillment Track. We were to create a pie chart to see how we spent our time and to help us to evaluate what we are currently prioritizing in our lives. Below is the result. I don't know, it looks pretty balanced to me, all things considered. I think some of the time I spend on the computer is actually also work study time, but who really knows. I have never taken a stop watch to my day. And I doubt I will anytime soon. I don't think I really need to adjust anything at this point. Hurrah!

26 for Sleeping - 19 for both Work/Study and for Computer - 11 for my mom (though it is probably more)

Had a pleasant day, Friday. Not scintillating unfortunately. But that is ok. I spent most of the day, sadly, waiting for the evening to roll around. Well, after Spanish class that is. Sigh. Karl, my brother, arrived at 6ish. Then we went to dinner at Torrey Park, which was fun. I do like my brother one on one. I haven't really seen him or spent that much time with him since he left for college, but that happens. We are very similar in many respects, quite dissimilar in others. He has a strong work ethic and is apparently quite religious. I do not and am not. The food was good! We got Frenched Artichokes to share, mom had crab stuffed Haddock, Karl Meaty Lasagna and I had their house chicken special. Yum! The rest of the night was passed quietly.

Photos from November 11, 2011 - another day upon which the Earth did not come to a cataclysmic end! Hurrah for the little things!:

A lovely fall photo

Karl and mom (looking bemused)

Frenched Artichokes! Gotta love Frenching...

Karl, mom and me at dinner at Torrey Park

It feels like the year is winding down

Does it feel that way to you? The cycle is coming 'round. I know the shortest day isn't for more than a month, but it just feels like things are coming to a close. And not in a momentous way, but in a quiet way.

Readership is way down here, not that I blame people for not reading my blog. It is pretty dull, all things considered.

My Spanish class is winding down. We have an exam next Friday but we aren't really learning anything new or more before then.

It is 11/11/11 no matter how you look at it. And Veteran's Day! Yay veterans! Wish we took better care of you - and even better, didn't need to have Warriors who became veteran's. Sigh. Visualize Whirled Peas!

Karl, my brother, is coming to visit for the weekend. That will be interesting if nothing else. He is not bringing his whole family with him, which is probably for the best for all concerned. If NC weren't so far away, I would have gone there this weekend while he was here. But it is far away. And I will be going for a whole week, with mom, December 4 through 10 or so. Yippee!

Yesterday, all my troubles...no wait, that is not what I was thinking - yesterday - what the heck did I do yesterday? Oh, right. Laundry. And mom came and helped. She kept asking if her coming and helping sped things up. How do I respond to that? Sigh. Laundry has been one of those things, recently, that I enjoy doing by myself. It gets me out of the house alone and I have some down time. But it is also good that she wanted to get out and about. I really do think that the Aricept 23 knocked her on her butt and that she is still coming back from that.

It was also Ginger day. I don't know what the two of them did, but it was nice for me to not have to participate. Yay!

Ok, I made a determination yesterday. I am going to start writing again, now that my last book has been published. I want to work on three projects - the self-help book (for want of a better description), my book about brew pubs and a fantasy work. I am not much of a fiction author - too much dialogue and description - but we shall see. My goal, as is often the case, is something small, like 200 words a day. That will not include my blog posts - though I don't know if I am going to continue the once a day posting that I have done this year. We shall see. I will start that in January at the latest - after school is over, after the holidays, etc.

It is Friday. And there is a night involved. Yay!

Rick Perry - oh my god! Really? On a televised debate? I bet debate coaches around the world are now coming up with ways to get around a brain fart. I liked John Stewart's idea of faking a stroke...I don't think it really matters who the Republicans put up - they will all look lame next to Obama - even though Obama is not as awesome as I, for one, had hoped. We need a true progressive in the White House. Me in 2024? :)


There you are. How exciting is that?

Pictures from November 10, 2011:

Mmmm, Pocky...

Art photo

Why do ladybugs not seem as bug-like and icky as other bugs?

Phew!

Hi there blogophiles! Thank you for stopping by today. Sorry that this post is later than usual. I have been, gasp, working! I know, weird, right?

Yesterday, Tuesday, zipped past pretty quickly. Days seem to do that when part of them are taken up with mom activities. We got out to the dentist in a timely fashion. Cleaning, by their new hygienist, Christina and an exam. $117! Sigh. Lots of overhead in a dentistry practice. Mom doesn't like the people there as much as she liked the people she knew better (who have all retired) but I don't see us going anywhere else in the near future. We all decided to just leave the tooth whose crown came off again in for the time being - just to watch to make sure it doesn't start to bother her. Next stop, food. I opted for Nick L's hot dogs. Never had been, so figured, heck, why not. The food was fine, but going once was plenty. Mom kept looking longingly at Wendy's right next door. Oh, and I noticed that the pizza place we tried a while back has come under new ownership and changed names, from Nikki's to Fat Boys. Hmm. Interesting. Maybe it refers to extra large subs?

Next stop, voting. There was not a huge line waiting to vote. We zipped in, managed to avoid buying any baked goods, mom voted with a little help from me, and zipped off again! Last stop, the post office to mail a package that mom had prepared! Yay!

Although everything went quickly and smoothly, after I got home, I looked at the clock and saw it was almost 4 pm! Eeek! Off to the grocery store - which was insanely busy for some reason - for taco seasoning - hard to make tacos without taco seasoning. Then home, cooked dinner, ate dinner and did some Spanish homework. Huzzah! I stayed up to watch Unforgettable (which still isn't great).

Pictures from November 8, 2011:

The dentist's office

Don't have to do again

Not a good picture of the voting place - oh well.

Ten pack of tissues as someone in the house keeps using them up quickly!