Non-productive

And that is totally ok by me! I had a totally non-productive day yesterday, aside from two things. And both of those are not "productive" in the sense in which I think it is understood here. Well, the first is. I wrote and published a blog post! Yay me! And yay you for reading it! Yay us! I do get a sense of accomplishment from finishing a post. The other is, well, I bought a house. Yup! And it only cost 5000 gold! Goodness, it took me a while to save up that much. Oh, and I started a course of study at the college. In Windhall. I think that's where it is. Oh, did I forget to mention this was in Skyrim?! Yup, I played basically all day. And my eyes did not rot out of my head! That is an accomplishment.

Juliet made a yummy dinner, lunch was delicious left over chowder. And Mom took a shower! I don't know why she doesn't like to shower, but she doesn't. Maybe it is genetic, cause I have pushme-pullyou (one of the coolest animals ever imagined) feelings about them as well. So, three things, though one of them was vicariously productive.

And today, more of the same! I hope you all have happy Wednesdays!

Photos from November 22, 2011:

I might just have to kidnap Velvet...

Remember this picture when you look at tomorrow's pictures

Juliet cooking, mom folding laundry, Augustus playing Skyrim...

Yum!

Travel Day

And when I say travel day, I mean, all day travel! Goodness. From 11 am to 9 pm. I might actually be getting to the point in my life when I am not willing to do these drives straight through. We shall see, but this one was nip and tuck, especially during the first 6 hours or so.

Getting ahead of myself. The day started, gray and dismal and cold. Joy. But my 82 on my Spanish exam brightened my day. Yippee! I could have gotten an 88 but I messed up the conjugation of beber (to drink) in the subjunctive three times. Or maybe four. Anyway, only two more grades to go - the oral presentation, which I am sure we will do fine on, and the final - which worries me a little, but not too much. I will have a whole week to practice verb conjugations after I get back from selling 300 copies of Diary of a Plate Addict (my internal goal) in Raleigh. Ok, I doubt I will really sell 300, though it would be awesome. Book sales are not going as quickly as I would like. I am at 996 and holding. Sigh. Anyway, moving on...

Got home and got packed. Mom was all packed and mostly ready to go, which was great. Of course, she did go to the bathroom just as we were ready to leave. But better then, than needing to stop five minutes after getting on the road. It didn't take me too long to pack, though I packed a lot - including the xbox. I know, a sad testament to my obsessions. Sigh.

The drive was long and uneventful. I was tired for much of it, but judicious use of a) mom's nattering, b) sunflower seeds, c) various other food substances, d) the occasional stop and e) sheer will power, I managed to not fall asleep while driving! Hurrah! That is always a win in my book. Traffic was negligible (yay) and there was no inclement weather to drive through. Really, although a long day, it really wasn't a bad drive at all.

And we arrived to yummy fresh chowder that my sister had made. She is such a good cook! One day I will be as good a cook as she is. Ok, probably not. But still, it is something to aim for!

We all went our separate nighty ways and I stayed up and played Skyrim for a long while. And then was a bit cold in bed. I think I need to go out and purchase a nice warm, light quilt today. We shall see if I can face getting in the car to do so. At least here in Maine there are very few year rounders to take up the roads!

Pictures from November 21, 2011:

See! Gray day!

What needed to go in the car

And how it fit!

The first pit stop - there used to be a footbridge that spanned the thruway - long gone

Note that my bowl did not yet have yummy chowder in it

Time to play!

Packing Problems

The problem with packing is that it always falls off...ok, that isn't really the problem with packing. It will take me about ten minutes, once I actually start to do it. I love traveling in the car. That way I can toss in anything that won't fit in my suitcase. I need sweaters or at least warm middle garments as Maine is going to be a few degrees colder than it is here. Instead of packing, or getting ready to go to class, I am typing a bit - I would like to post this before heading off into the Sunrise. Well, the sun will already be well up in the sky, but we will be heading East.

Yesterday we had breakfast for dinner. Yay! Scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and French Toast. Yippee! And I played a lot. Sigh. Oh, then it was game night! And we played bridge! I think that Charles and James are getting the hang of it.

And I put the garbage out! I know, big news! That's what you all read this blog for, to know when I put the garbage out...

Ok, back from class and time to get cranking!

Photos from Sunday, November 20, 2011:

Skyrim is going with me to Maine...

So, not so appetizing looking - it was a yummy dinner, though!

Yay trash!

Working on my Spanish Oral Presentation

That is my day's task, to work on the Spanish Oral Presentation that will be performed on December 2! And to pack for tomorrow's trip to Maine to visit my sister and brother-in-law for Thanksgiving! I just looked and it is, indeed, a ten hour drive. Without inclement weather and lots of traffic. We shall see how we feel while on the road. We might not make it all the way to Maine tomorrow. Anything is possible. And if we do stop, guess who is looking for a brew pub for dinner! That's right, this guy!

So, yesterday, mom wanted to go to BJs. She got her annual offer to join for two months for free. She has fond memories of getting lots of stuff there. I don't know when she did this, certainly not any time I was around. I don't know why, but I am not a fan of Warehouse/Club stores. Many of the things that I looked at were not particularly less expensive. Maybe some things were - I need to do some price comparisons with Wegman's and Walmart. I want to do apples to apples and that is a challenge, because sometimes the other stores don't do the same count - like English Muffins - mom wanted more English muffins, but they only came in a nine-pack as opposed to the six pack available at the other stores. And pistaciaos, they were $5.40 a pound at BJs, which seems like a good price...So, we went and shopped - bought barely anything and spent $35! Eeek!

Saturday is the day to shop in grocery stores, by the way. You all probably know this, but for those few who don't - they are hawking everything! You can easily eat a three course meal by walking around the grocery store! And the liquor store had wine and liquor tastings! How awesome is that! I didn't partake at the liquor store because mom was sitting in the car, but it is good to know. Maybe that will be something I do another Saturday.

We also did laundry - not a lot of it - but I figured if we were leaving for a week, we might as well do some laundry! Well, most of week.

Last night I made a picnic basket containing the makings of two disparate beverages so I could be ready for any eventuality. Hot chocolate makings and Chocolate Martini makings. We ended up going with the chocolate martinis, which turned out pretty tastily. I would like to try making the hot chocolate. Maybe I will take the stuff with me to Maine and try it there.

Oh, we also went to Rite-Aid. Mom saw an ad (she seems to be more susceptible to commercials nowadays) about a depilatory for one's face. Turns out that it was an Olay product. But we couldn't find it. The pharmacist had heard of it and led us to it. $39.99 for a 12 month supply. Mom didn't go for it. But the reason I bring this up is because my crushed-upon floating Pharmacist is now a permanent pharmacist at that Rite-Aid! Will I ever ask her out? Doubtful, but she is still nice to talk with! I am thinking of transferring my mom's other prescription up there - since it is closer than the hospital and all of mom's other prescriptions are there. I will go to Rite Aid and see how difficult that would be.

Finished the game I was playing and stayed up a little too late starting Skyrim. Not sure still if I am going to take it to Maine with me. Hmm.

Pictures from November 19, 2011:

Lovely BJ's

Mom sorting - I almost wish she wouldn't...

Goodies!

Yummy!

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?! :)

To Skyrim or not to Skyrim

I broke down and ordered a copy of Skyrim - the next Elder Scrolls RPG. Sigh. I probably shouldn't have done it for three reasons - 1) it may well be a huge time suck - 2) I can't really afford it and 3) I already have games I haven't played. Sigh. Double sigh even. Well, I have resisted the temptation so far. I must admit that I am toying with the idea of taking the game, box and monitor with me to Maine when we go on Monday. We shall see.

Maybe I oughtn't to write my blog after I have eaten lunch. More leftovers and some freshly made coleslaw have put me right to sleep. Well, I did get up a little early today to be wide awake for my Spanish exam - which I am pretty sure I passed, but that is about it. I got confused on one verb and misconjugated it all over the place. Poop! Maybe I will just take a fifteen minute power nap and get right back to it. Ok - naptime.

Well, that's a bit better.

Two more great people have purchased copies of Diary of a Plate Addict - Tim, a friend from High School, and Matt, a Saucer friend who I haven't seen in at least a year, maybe two. I got both packages in the mail yesterday! Yippee! Only 996 more to go to reach my goal of 1000 copies sold by April 30, 2011. All help is appreciated! :)

Mom and I went out yesterday, at mom's instigation. We went to a closing/going out of business jewelery store and I convinced her not to buy a watch for anyone. Nor any jewelry. It was tough, but I stuck to my guns. We did end up going to the Linden Exchange across the street. Years ago, mom took some clothes in there that she thought were decent and worth some money. The Linden Exchange would sell things for whatever they thought they could get and would give a percentage of that to the donor. Well, mom is sure that they put low prices on her stuff so that the workers could buy the things for themselves, instead of putting higher prices on the things and her getting more money. She hadn't been in, to her recollection, since then. Must be 10 or so years at least. Anyway, we ended up getting a sweater, that she thinks is too small now, a kid's piece of clothing that we are going to give to Karl and Candace for one of their kids, a towel, because mom liked it, and three stuffed animals - a kiwi, an ostrich and a fish. Mom likes her stuffed animals, here in her second childhood! $11 dollars and mom was a happy camper (instead of a watch for $150)!

Went to a reading last night with no expectations. I like to live with no expectations. Anyway, Wyatt Mason was the presenter - critic, author and now journalist. The piece he read was about his visit to Beijing and meeting Ai Wei Wei. I had heard of Ai but didn't know much about him. The piece was great and reminded me of my time in Beijing and in China - though I was there years and years ago now.

On the way home, I noticed that it had indeed snowed a smidge! Yay!

Photos from November 17, 2011:

The store that mom almost bought a watch in - apparently it has been open since 1905 or so.

Two more kind and brave souls bought copies of Diary of a Plate Addict - 996 to go!

Mom's Linden Exchange haul!

A poster for the reading I attended

First snow in Geneva. Probably not the last. :)

Oh, woe is me...

Ok, not really. Just joshing. Really, nothing too much to be woeful about. I wanted to write woe-y. There, I just did.

Actually, things are, mostly, just dandy. Besides of course, not really having an income stream to speak of. And mom's alzheimer's, which thankfully doesn't seem to be progressing too quickly. Or is this a leaps and bounds sort of disease? Anyone? And I am, minorly, falling apart. My left ear is not happy now. Whatever.

Small things, just small things. Like only two people have bought copies of Diary of a Plate Addict from my cool website. (Not really cool, but functional). How am I to achieve my goal of 1000 copies sold by April 30, 2012, if no one buys any copies? Hmm? Riddle me that, Batman! I did put up events all over the place. So far, a few people (Thank you) have RSVPd that they will come. As many have said they aren't coming for one reason or another. Three of them don't live in Raleigh, so that is understood. The others are going to get the FB axe after my visit down there. Well, the ones who said no without posting something on the wall at least. I also was granted the power to create meet-ups by my friend Steve of the Tri-Beer (what a great name) meet-up. So I created a meet-up for the book release event. Yippee! Busy day yesterday. For one, I ordered 300 copies of DPA. It looks like I might sell a tenth of that when I am in Raleigh. Sigh again. If I only sell 30 copies in the Raleigh store, where I am, or at least was, fairly well known...but that is just fear and silliness talking. If I can't sell at least 100 in the week I am there, I will just have to cry. :)

Yesterday was a pleasant day! I ate a lot for lunch, trying to finish up some leftovers and empty out the fridge for our week of travel. (Then we are back for a week, then gone for another week). Still lots more to eat. Yay? I played a bit, went to Spanish Class (where I think I did pretty well on my review/sample test), had beer Wednesday (more on that later) and went shopping. I did not run into anyone to throw my card uselessly at this time. :) I did buy a box of Charleston Chews minis which I mostly devoured for some reason. And a few wastebaskets - the pretty, woven reed baskets that mom had in the house are all dying from old age and usage. And I cooked a frozen dinner from PF Changs which was pretty good. Not my favorite - I will have to try another one. Today is going to be coleslaw day again. Yippee!

Ok, back to beer Wednesday. As you may or may not know, I am working on a video blog project, drinking through all of the beers available in bars in Geneva. I chose to start with the bar called Beef and Brew because they have 140 different beers to choose from. Best selection in town. Steve, the bar manager, places three bottles on special each week. Awesome for me! He is sometimes good about changing them, sometimes not so good. He didn't change them last week, so this week, when I came in, he gave me one for free! Yippee! And it was Samuel Smith's day - Nut Brown Ale, Imperial Stout and Oatmeal Stout. I think these are some of Eric M's favorites. I liked the Imperial Best. And they were all on sale for $3.50 a piece. The Saucer ought to do something like that as well - have some specials on their bottled beer. It was nice to chat with Lorraine (server/bartender) and Tiffany (bartender) and some patrons. Yippee!

Photos from Wednesday, November 16, 2011:

Yup. Scissors. Art.

Lots of food!

Lorraine Art

For Anthony, a cook at Beef and Brew in Geneva

I think there are four pieces left...