The Crab Chronicles

My Not So Joyous Romantic Weekend [LOL]

OK, this weekend is already in the territory of Weirdest Weekend Of 2012.. So Far. Maybe I'm just feeling ornery because there's a disconnect between my expectation of how the weekend should be, and the reality of it. The cold, hard reality.

Odd things keep happening, though..

I was sitting in my car last night, reading a book and waiting for Michael to finish tennis practice while I scarfed down my chicken sandwich, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when Mike's tennis coach, Tom, walked over to the tennis court fence and hollered "DEE!" I dropped my sandwich and hopped out of the car and looked at Tom, tempted to yell "SIR YES SIR!" Tom just hollered "Tell Michael to STOP TALKING!" Without really giving it any thought I glared at Michael and hollered "Shut your mouth and LISTEN TO TOM! Or you'll get a whuppin' later!"

Of course, I was kidding about the whuppin [whipping]. I would never hit my son. He looked embarrassed, which was far more effective.

Colton said afterwards "Is he gonna get a whuppin?! Can I watch?!"

"He will get a lecture, kiddo. You can listen."

But being hollered at like that really startled me.

This was supposed to be an AWESOME weekend. Really.

I read my horoscope every month on the Astrology Zone website. I know about 95% of it is just BS, but I have to read it anyway. So the other day I checked back on my February forecast for Cancerians because I thought I remembered it saying that this weekend would be particularly good. I was correct. Here's part of what it said:

I feel your most joyous romantic weekend will be February 25-26, when Jupiter will be in perfect agreement with the Sun. What a beautiful five-star weekend that will be for you! Your ninth house of travel will be brilliantly lit with four planets in gentle water sign Pisces at the time, and at the same time, elsewhere in the sky, a golden triangle will appear, linking Pluto in your seventh house of partners, to Mars your third house of travel and communication, and to Jupiter conjunct the moon in your eleventh house of friends, fun, and events.

Really? I am sitting here waiting for a guy to call me back who has agreed to come out and crawl under my house and try and fix the downstairs furnace, which has pooped out. The upstairs furnace is working, but the downstairs one quit yesterday, right about the time the temperature started dropping. Two days ago it was 75. Today the high is more like 55. When I woke up this morning, it was 35 outside and about 60 downstairs. We have gas logs in the fireplace in the family room and those are going gangbusters, thanks to Michael. Mom has a space heater in her room.

I am praying it's just that the pilot light needs to be re-lit and we don't need a whole new furnace. We don't have the money for a new furnace. I'm praying HARD.

I need to go to the grocery store.

I need to take my tax stuff to the accountant. I spent the morning pulling all that stuff together. What fun.

I need to go in and do some work [at the office] because there is so much going on next week, I don't know how I will get in all my hours. Thank God I have an understanding boss.

You may be going to a gorgeous wedding or festive party during that weekend, or you and your partner may travel to a highly romantic spot, one that you took much care in choosing. If so, what you do could be one of the most important weekends of 2012 for romance and thrilling love. The universe has not forgotten you, dear Cancer. In fact, it is about to shower you with sparkling silver dust over February 25-26. Accept any invitation you receive!

Romance and thrilling love, huh?! I'm not holding my breath. I might fling my arms around the neck of the furnace fixing guy if he tells me we don't need a new furnace. That will thrill me. Me slobbering all over him will probably horrify him, though... That's about as close as it's gonna get...

My mother and my aunt both sent me emails yesterday entitled "If you can put this puzzle together: say goodbye to Alzheimers!" If I were a few years older I would be working on that puzzle like a maniac, but I am 49 years young, people! I'm not worried about Alzheimers JUST YET. I'm more worried about whether my knees will hold out for another twenty years if I continue to workout by dancing around my room at 6:30 every morning.[And by "dancing" I mean a series of moves half-remembered from my many aerobics workout tapes of the 1980's and some Elaine Bennis-type dancing that looks like I've been electrocuted. That is why I will never be seen dancing in public again, in this lifetime anyway..]

At least I have one thing to look forward to. Sunday night I get to watch the Oscars. I don't throw Oscar Night parties any more because everyone I know goes to bed early. None of my buddies wants to sit around and drink beer and make snotty remarks about the bizarre outfits and idiotic acceptance speeches - good old-fashioned fun I used to enjoy every year when I was younger.

Back then I usually got around to seeing most of the big nominated films, so it was more fun to watch the Oscars. This year, the only films I've seen [after checking the list of nominees] are The Descendants, Moneyball, My Week With Marilyn, and Albert Nobbs. I sort of want to see Hugo on the big screen but there's no time.

Thank God I actually found something to laugh about this morning: Laughter is good and this from Jimmy Fallon made me laugh: "J.K. Rowling, author of the "Harry Potter" series, is set to publish her first novel for adults. You can tell the book is for adults from its title, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Activia.”

LMAO

UPDATE!! The guy came out and fixed the furnace downstairs, thank God! Didn't need a whole new furnace. It was some stupid piece of tubing that had broken and he replaced it. Of course, it wasn't cheap, but I didn't faint when he told me the price, either. We can muddle through this. At least I don't have to worry about Mother getting sick, in an unheated house! Thanks be to God!

Cauliflower, Roasted

I feel called upon to preach for a moment. The subject is vegetables. Sometimes I just crave them. This is a great thing - used to be, all I craved were Ruffles potato chips or Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Yikes.

I had a discussion with a friend at work yesterday about how her kids won't eat vegetables. I wanted to say [but good manners prevented it] do you SEASON your food?! I've eaten at the homes of people whose only seasonings in the house consisted of salt, pepper, and maybe some garlic salt. That's just wrong people.

You don't have to go crazy with all sorts of herbal knowledge. Just use some seasonings.

I ate an entire Stouffer's spinach souffle for lunch yesterday.

I was making burritos for dinner last night, but for a veggie I wanted cauliflower. I wanted to NOT have to smell it cooking in a yucky way, which is always a danger there. My usual practice is to boil it until soft, then mash up some cheese and spices in it, like mashed potatoes.

Last night, I roasted it. MAJOR YUM. So so easy, too.

I took a head of cauliflower, washed it, and chopped it into florets.

I took a large ziploc plastic bag and put all the florets in there. To that, I added the following, in generous amounts:

olive oil

sea salt

pepper

onion powder

garlic powder

I shook the bag up a bit. (This is the easy way to coat something you're going to cook. I used to watch my mother and grandmother do this with chicken pieces, coating them in flour prior to frying, except they used a paper bag.)

I dumped the florets in a 9x13 pan and roasted them, uncovered, on 400 degrees for about an hour. They were still a bit chewy. I pulled them out and admired the light brown color. I dumped on some cheddar cheese, and put them back in the oven on 200, until I had finished the burritos, about 15 minutes.

Olive oil is key. It's so good for you. Even if you have to watch your cholesterol, you can have some olive oil every day. It is good cholesterol. Even if you find it intimidating to read about it, buy some. I buy the cheapest kind, usually a store brand, and keep it on the counter near the stove. It never spoils. I buy a little better olive oil to keep to make Elva's Fabulous Salad.You can use it for other stuff, but don't get carried away.. LOL

Michael at a big helping of cauliflower, which did my heart good.

Other than that, yesterday was a pretty quiet day.

Bon Appetit!

Catching Up

This will have to be a quick post because I overslept this morning and I'm way behind already.

We have not had winter this year. Today is supposed to be 75 degrees! Even for Atlanta, that's ridiculous. It's February. I like a good solid 2-3 weeks of freezing temps overnight, to kill the bugs. My friend Patty from Indiana sent me an email complaining about not seeing snow this year. I'd be happy with coat weather!

I will say this, I was glad of a heavy sweater last night while watching Michael's tennis match.

FWIW, I am reading two books at the moment. I carry around The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White, and read it when I have time. I like the fact her books are often set in the Low Country, specifically Charleston, where I've spent some time. When I'm at home lounging around [cough cough] I am reading The Prophecy. I like his books because I always learn a lot, there's a mystery to solve, and he writes his main characters very vividly. The story moves along well.

What am I listening to? I am liking Allison Krauss more and more. I found this song on YouTube, a duet with Vince Gill, and I love it: OK, I hope that worked. If not, click here. I also love Jubilee, which sounds more folksy than country. Her voice is just amazing. She's better than Adele in my opinion. [shhh, don't tell my son]

I love to sing along with her version of "I'll Fly Away" because I can sing melody or harmony. This video is particularly nice:

 

Last night, Michael and I watched an old movie I like a lot, High Spirits. It stars Peter O'Toole and Steve Gutenberg, and it was filmed in Ireland. It's silly, yes, but on long weekdays when I'm tired and trying to relax I want silly, not heavy drama.

Hope the videos worked. If not, go on YouTube and do a search for Allison Krauss.

Controlling Your Reactions

I am happy Michael made the tennis team, but the carpooling is wearing me out. Last night I picked up Michael and Colton and found out they'd had a really bad practice. They were both unhappy campers.

I took them to Waffle House for dinner, in honor of Shrove Tuesday, and I learned a little more. They had been separated in practice, then a friend of Mike's had told him to go play on another court. Hurt feelings resulted.

I told the guys, you cannot control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it. [Words I strive to live by, not always successfully.]

The beautiful part is that if anyone is mean to Michael, Colton is upset too. They are like brothers that way. They have each other's backs. We should all be so lucky to have such a friend.

Both boys ate 2 waffles, and bacon. Wow. They cheered up a bit then.

I had one waffle and bacon.

Back on the eating plan today.

I am seriously thinking of giving up sugar for Lent. Sugar substitutes, too, which will really be difficult. I can tell a difference in how I feel, though. Much better. Clothes are fitting looser. Face is slimming down a bit. Need to keep going.

BE CAREFUL

Got an email from a friend that was disturbing, but I want to pass it along as a public service:

"...a long time customer just told Jack that his wife was robbed only one hour ago at a gas station.  She was actually pumping gas and a man opened the passenger door and grabbed her purse.  Which means her wallet, cell,  all kinds of personal info, etc.  I know we hear the stories all the time.  I usually lock all doors at all times but at some time perhaps I have been guilty of forgetting to lock EVERY door.  This happened at a station close to the interstate."

Dance of the Undead

I know it was a national holiday today because the traffic going in this morning was nonexistent. And there was no mail. Big hint there.

Michael has to go back to school tomorrow. He is NOT a happy camper.

I made the best pork tenderloin for dinner tonight. I put Hog Waller dry rub, a little salt and pepper, and stuck it in a pan with some water, in a 250 degree oven for 3 hours, and voila, fork tender pork. That plus BBQ sauce is very tasty. Prep time? 5 minutes.

I also made Elva's Fabulous Salad and re-heated some rice from last night.

Michael had eaten dinner at Colton's house about 6:30. I picked him up a few minutes later.

About 8, he had a big plate of salad and a little bit of pork. Two dinners sound weird to you? When my brother was in high school, for almost an entire year he would go to his friend Steve's house after school every afternoon. They ate dinner at 5:30. At my house, we ate between 7:30 and 8, or thereabouts. Steve came over and ate with us every night. One day my mother saw Steve's mother at the grocery store. [Knoxville wasn't a big place then.] Mother said "We surely do enjoy having Steve over for dinner every night." Steve's Mom said "Well, we enjoy seeing Bruce EVERY NIGHT." Then they both realized what had been going on and started laughing.

Speaking of high school, you remember those cameras where they shot the photo out immediately and you watched it develop? Mother had one of those when I was in high school and college. The problem was, those photos got murky after a while. I unearthed a couple of photos of me, though, from 1980-82, which were years I was so self-conscious there are very few photos of me in existence. I thought I looked hideous. However, I scanned in the two photos I found of myself and they are both sort of cute [from my advanced age of 49].

Me in about January 1983, with Molly Mac, our bassett hound. She was such a cute puppy. We hardly ever put her down. I was 20 and looked about 13?!

This one was made my senior year in high school when I was in the Westside Dinner Theater production of Hello Dolly for 6 weeks. I worked 6 nights a week, and went to school about 3 hours a day, which was all I needed to graduate. I didn't sleep much. They let me bring my costume home once or twice. Dad liked to dance around in his pajamas.

In looking at those two photos it just occurred to me, I am way too white. I should've gotten out in the sun more. I look like the undead. We lived on the lake. I was always too busy...

 

Night Driving

There are very few things that I fear or that make me really anxious, but driving at night, in the rain, is one of those things.

I had Colton and Michael in the car with me last night at 6:30 as we left Phipps Plaza after going to the movies. I generally avoid all malls. I hate shopping. Phipps' parking lot has changed a lot over the years, and I got turned around in the lot, trying to exit onto Wieuca Road and not being able to, Michael laughing at me from the back seat. "Let's use the GPS. You need it to get out of the parking lot Mom!" he'd chortled.

Very funny, son.

The only reason I'd ventured to Phipps was that it allowed the boys to see Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and me to be next door seeing My Week With Marilyn. Worked out perfectly.

I liked the film, and I think Michelle Williams totally deserved her Oscar nomination. She was brilliant. The film wasn't really a powerhouse, though. I love films about characters. I don't care if anything explodes. I have gotten used to seeing British films that have more oomph than My Week With Marilyn. Maybe that's unreasonable. Not every film can be as brilliant as The King's Speech. Maybe it's unfair to even say My Week With Marilyn is a British film, just because it was filmed there. Michelle Williams is American.

Another thing I didn't like about the film was actress Julia Ormond was cast as Vivien Leigh, which was horrible miscasting. She neither looked nor acted like Vivien Leigh. [I used to be be sort of obsessed with all things having to do with Gone With the Wind.]

Anyway, it was fun teasing the boys about watching Nicholas Cage in a big action movie. He's close to my age. I don't think much of his acting skills. I can't see him playing, for instance, a lawyer. He always exudes an air of crazy, that becomes really creepy the older he gets.

Otherwise, it's been a fairly quiet weekend. Rain is either falling from the sky or threatening, today. Good day to work on taxes...

The Winner

The winner of the Honeywine Cd by Rajdulari is: shoshanna1776@gmail.com

Congratulations!!

Y'all support Rajdulari. She's awesome! Thanks for playing!

Dee

Adam Sandler Sighting

My friend Judy has a blog I read pretty faithfully, in part because Judy is so funny. I don't remember how I first came across her blog, but she has a daughter adopted from Kazakhstan, so that's probably it. Anyway, I wanted to share the anecdote below [published by Judy on Wednesday] because I think it's hysterical, and it involves Adam Sandler, who is like a god at my house:

"Speaking of doctors, on Monday I took the girls to the pediatrician. No, they weren't sick. We had forms that needed to be filled out. I was trying to get the parking meter to take my credit card (does that work for the rest of you?) and sent the girls in ahead. Here's what happened. Apparently Alina walked into the inner office where she came face to face with Adam Sandler. Alina is our resident TV watcher and she recognizes everyone. We're hardly out when she doesn't point out someone she knows from somewhere. I usually can't verify her sightings because I don't recognize anyone. Anyway, she saw Adam Sandler and was introducing herself and shaking his hand when Celly walked out of the bathroom holding...........a cup of her own urine. No, they didn't shake hands. Her looked at her and said, "So, whas up?' Nice guy."

Michael asked me suspiciously, "Why was Adam Sandler at the PEDIATRICIAN?! Isn't he a little OLD to be going there?"

"He has two children, Michael," I explained calmly. That thought had never occurred to him. 

It's nice to know Adam goes to the pediatrician, just like a regular dad. And he is apparently nice to kids who randomly introduce themselves, even if they are holding cups of pee. I always suspected he was a mensch in real life...

 

Update from the Eye of the Hurricane

There's not much happening in my world but there are folks all around me dealing with issues. I sort of feel like the calm in the storm's center, and the chaos is swirling all around, but not messing with me much, knock wood.

One of my cousins had to have surgery for a detached retina, and is partially blind. I am praying for his recovery. He's a lovely man.

Another good friend is dealing with kidney issues and has to get a CT scan. I think that's the test where they make you drink something gross and put you in a long tube, right?? I'm a bit fuzzy on that. Regardless, it won't be fun.

Another friend just broke up with a longtime boyfriend and she's pretty down about that. I don't blame her. I think when relationships don't nourish you, though, or in fact cause you pain, the healthy thing is to end them. Easier said than done, of course.

Michael finally has an appointment with a dermatologist. I have very mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I want him to get help with the acne. OTOH, I don't really trust dermatologists. I was hauled to them many times as a child and they never really helped me. They prescribed a series of wacky things, including wrapping my arms in saran wrap all night! I took Alesia to one who prescribed medication that cost $300 a month. I took Mother to one a couple of years ago, and the idiot told her she had no pulse in her foot!

So you can understand my reluctance. I want Michael to have the peace of mind of knowing I TRIED everything though. That's important.

He went to the prosthetist yesterday and was measured for a new prosthetic hand. They will try to make it as close to identical to his left hand as possible. Of course, his left hand is quite large, probably because it gets used so much.

I need to work on taxes this weekend. Oh joy. I don't do them myself, but just getting everything to the accountant is a pain. The IRS still owes me money for the adoption tax credit, and Melvin [the accountant] and I have been wrestling with them over that for more than a year. I hate dealing with government agencies..

Michael is off school today and Monday. I wish I could take off work and hang out with him, but I just can't.

So that's a quick update on me.

DON'T FORGET to leave me a comment if you are interested in winning Raj's Honeywine CD! Drawing tomorrow.

Tony and Me

I had a lovely and unexpected call Tuesday night from my cousin Tony, who was at his mother's house in Rome [GA] and wanted to come take us to dinner.

I hadn't seen him or his wife in a couple of years, since his mom's funeral. Tony is one of my favorite people. He is 7 years older than me, and always been like a sweet big brother to me. He taught me how to tell time and tie my shoes when I was a little girl. He has always been my rock.

Tony was Dad's favorite nephew. He was named for my dad, and when my dad was dying of cancer Tony made the long trip from his home in Kentucky to Augusta several times. He's good people.

My camera was acting ugly last night, so I didn't get as many photos as I would've liked. Before we went to dinner, though, I was able to get one decent shot.

Contrast that to their last photo together 3 1/2 years ago, in 2008:

Above, Dad and Bobby and Lewis. Tony's dad is Lewis. Great resemblance there.

We had a lovely dinner last night at the Blue Ribbon Grill. It's a locally owned place we like.

Other than that, there's not much to report.

Michael is going this morning to get fitted for a new prosthetic. YAY!