The Crab Chronicles

Open House Day

I have felt so pushed and pressured all day. It has not been a pleasant day at all. So often Saturdays are just hellaciously busy. Michael said to me this morning “Why do you always get so mad on Saturdays?!” which of course made me feel massively guilty…

 

I had to go to the condo this morning and set up signs about the Open House today from 2-5. Then I spent half an hour trying to get balloons from Party City. I next had to take our vacuum cleaner to get fixed. I needed to go to the post office, too, but that didn’t happen.

 

I spent the afternoon sitting at the condo, reading a book. Now, I enjoy reading, but it wasn’t really how I wanted to spend a big chunk of my day. However, the real estate company urged all homeowners to hold open houses, and despite the fact it’s sort of a do-it-yourself real estate company, I felt like I should go along with the program, so I did it. I had one potential buyer show up. One. He spent one minute walking through the unit, took a flyer, and left.

 

The kids spent the afternoon with Lesleigh, who took them to the movies as a favor to me. They saw “Mall Cop.” I am so not sorry I missed that one. Les said it was cute, though. She was glad to take a break from studying for the GRE.

 

Dinner was fish sticks and salad for the kids, and leftovers for me and Mom. I was not really up for cooking a big meal.

 

Tomorrow we have a number of things to do, and Mike has another Kate’s Club event, which I hope will be fun for him.

 

Alesia has gotten much better about saying snotty things, or mean things. She is really trying to change her behavior. I told her she couldn't have Elena over tomorrow and she accepted it without argument. She has two tests to study for. She didn't scream or run to her room and slam the door when I canceled Elena's visit. That's progress. She also wanted a hug while I was cooking dinner. She initiated the hug. That's great progress. Affection is difficult for her. I am so encouraged. I credit our therapist with encouraging her to make positive changes. 

 

Adventures in Driving and Sleeping In the Jungle

I went over Alesia’s grades with her early this morning, and she had a 77 in English. My new rule is that if she doesn’t have at least an 80 in all her classes, she cannot use the kids’ computer for the next week. She was disappointed that she didn’t make it this week, but I pointed out that low quiz grades were pulling her grades down. “Alesia, you need to study every day, even if you don’t have written homework. Science and Spanish really need to be studied every day, because they are cumulative. You have to build on the knowledge you get each day.”

Alesia said tonight she has two tests on Monday. I need to build in time this weekend for her to study. I am glad she is thinking about the tests on Monday. That is definite progress. They are in Science and Geometry, two subjects about which I know next to nothing. Well, I used to know them, but that was a looooooong time ago.

I let Alesia drive again last weekend. I don’t think I mentioned it here. We went to the middle school parking lot and she drove around a bit. At one point I showed her reverse, and said something to the effect of, back up and do it again. She just kept going in reverse, while I was trying to get words to come out of my mouth and my brain was absent. Finally, I just hollered STOP! And she jammed on the brake. That was the only snafu, though. Otherwise, she did great.

She has better coordination in the car than I ever did as a teen. I was terrible at driving, for the first, oh, ten years or so. I hit mailboxes, shrubbery, bumped into other cars. That’s why my father was a regular at the bank’s repo lot, picking up huge junkers for me to drive. Alesia is going to get my car and I am going to get another car, as soon as the condo is sold.

Michael was in the back seat of Alesia’s driving lesson and he kept whining “But I want to drive, Mom! Puh-leeeeeeeze???” I had to remind him that he cannot drive for 3 more years. I do not know how his lack of a hand is going to affect his chances of getting a driver’s license.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I told Michael after school today he needed to wash the sheets on his bed. He stripped off the sheets and washed them. When we went to put the sheets back on the bed tonight, he begged me to let him sleep under a nylon, camouflaged army blanket given to him by Uncle Bruce. I said OK, just for tonight. He is also not wearing a shirt. He is pretending he is asleep in the jungle, with danger all around. Shhhhhh…. What’s that noise?! Oh, never mind. It’s Bonnie Raitt. Our intrepid soldier is clutching his beloved bear Misha, sound asleep, with Bonnie crooning to him. He’s such a tough guy.

Lessons and Laughs

Well, after the drama of the last two days, I was ready for a rest. I didn’t get it. What a surprise. Things were hopping at work, and at home.

 

Alesia had therapy today, and I don’t want to reveal what was discussed, but it was a good session. Alesia has a good attitude about not making the soccer team, and said she was angry initially but now she has decided she will just try out for something else.

 

Michael gave Mother a hard time about his homework today, but we have devised a scheme to stop his attitude problems. Every day, he has to exhibit a good attitude, get a good snack, and complete his homework, before I get home. If he does so, he will get 30 minutes of Nintendo or TV once I get home. Granny has to check things off the list, which is written on the kitchen calendar every day as a visual reminder. If he fails to get 3 check marks, he doesn’t get that Nintendo/TV time. If he fails to exhibit a good attitude, he also gets 5 points marked off.

 

He also has to make more of an effort with his homework. If he pulls a stunt like he did today, and just says “I can’t do that math. It’s too hard!” then he has two choices. He first has to spend 5 minutes diligently trying to do it. Then, if he still cannot get it, he can ask for help, but he has to do some extra work to show he really understands. If he decides not to do it, or tries by himself and it’s wrong, he risks getting a zero, and possibly failing a grade. That’s the natural consequence. This puts the responsibility on him. Mother and I both think he needs to do his own homework from now on. He must give it a good try before asking us to help.

 

THE LIGHTER SIDE

Some years ago a friend of mine went to see KC and the Sunshine Band, and got a CD of their greatest hits autographed for me. [Maybe one day I’ll list that on E-bay, and retire.] I play it sometimes for Michael, because he listens to a CD every night as he’s falling asleep. So he knows a lot of songs from my CD’s. He particularly likes Annie Lennox and Bonnie Raitt.. Of course, he’d never admit to his friends that he’s knows a lot of his mom’s fuddy duddy old music…

This morning we get in the car for me to take him to school and he has monkeyed around and switched my radio over to some nasty hard rock station. I listened to about 2 seconds of that nonsense and popped it on the oldies station. The car was filled with the sounds of KC singing That’s The Way I Like It [Uh huh uh huh] and Michael started singing along and wriggling around in his seat, his little gyrating dance moves really funny to see, well except for the pelvic thrusts. I just shook my head. “You better not bust a move like that in front of Granny, Dude.”

He rolled his eyes.

I know all the words to this song! Can I have 5 points?” he said, still wriggling.

“Uh, let me think… NO,” I replied.

I have been trying to bribe him into learning the entire Lord’s Prayer by heart, with promises of points, but he hasn’t been able to do it yet.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

A cousin of mine sent us some wonderful pears from Harry & David.

The other night Alesia asked when dinner would be ready and I said, not soon, eat a snack. I suggested she eat a pear. She looked at me like I had suggested she bite off her own foot. “Why would I do that, when there are Cheetos in the house?!” she replied.

Gosh, I dunno. I mentally cursed myself for giving in and buying the stupid Cheetos.

 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

We’ve been watching Rob Roy, which is an excellent movie. It’s a little tough for the kids to understand the Scottish accents, but I can pause it and explain what’s happening when necessary. The first little section of the movie has several love scenes with Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange – all tastefully done, IMHO. Even wearing a kilt and a two day beard growth, Liam Neeson is still incredibly attractive. I didn’t mind watching those scenes.

Now, Alesia usually likes love stories. However, after the second amorous scene, Alesia turned and looked at me and said, completely incredulous, “Is that all they’re going to do through the whole movie?!”

I thought for a moment. “You know, they didn’t have TV in 1718,” I replied. “Not much to do for fun.” I thought I was being funny.

She nodded. “OK. I see,” she said, dead serious.

My Roadshow

We are having some strange weather here. The high today was in the mid 60’s. This morning the entire city was shrouded in thick fog. Driving to work was surreal. I felt like I was in a Stephen King novel. The traffic was very light and there were several cars whizzing by me at 70 mph, which added to the sense of imminent danger…

Menopause is a wacky beast. I felt all morning like I was fixing to get my period again – bloating, cramps, headachy. Of course, all that mess stopped months ago. This is like a faux period, or a phony war, or the cubic zirconia of monthly misery – take your choice.

I had such a hard day yesterday that I was in a very foul mood last night. Maybe it was faux PMS. I got really ticked with Alesia because she had a Geometry project due today which should’ve been done over the weekend, and wasn’t, because she didn’t even look at her agenda all weekend. So I was not inclined to help her with it, and told her so. After I picked her up from school, she announced just as we got home that she had forgotten her Geometry notebook and she had the project due. So I turned the car around and took her all the way back to school to get it out of the locker. Fortunately the school was still open, due to band practice. So then It was time to pick up Michael from tennis practice. I spent from 5:10 p.m. until 6:50 p.m. in the car.

Last night, as I was waiting for Michael, I saw him totally goofing off after his match was done. The tennis courts are outside and I can park right next to them and watch. He was supposed to be helping clean up the courts. The last thing, all kids are supposed to put the hundreds of tennis balls back in the coach’s carrier thingy. Michael spent a fair amount of time hitting Clay with his tennis racket. Well, not really hitting him, OK, but shadow hitting – no impact, just major annoyance. Poor Clay finally started running away from Michael. Michael gave chase, wildly swinging his racket. I told him at dinner last night I better never see that nonsense again. It took all my self-control not to jump out of the car and holler at him.

My father would’ve been furious to see that behavior. He was a fanatic that his children behave correctly in public.

We didn’t watch a movie last night. Alesia had to do her Geometry project. Michael and I watched the last half of Antiques Roadshow. I hadn’t watched it in ages. I love that show. After a crazy day, it was soothing to watch experts evaluate the junk people unearthed from their attics. One lady had a painting worth $300-500,00!! Lord have mercy.

At the end they showed funny little clips of people holding their stuff and saying what it was worth, or not. One guy held up a pretty coffee table and said how as a child he’d never been allowed to even touch it, and he had just found out it was only worth $100 – and he was going to go home and give it to his kids to play with! LOL Another guy, a big beefy cowboy/redneck looking fellow [this was Dallas] held up a teeny little decorated plate and said his sister had made him take it down there “And it ain’t worth pee-doodly squat!” – Michael just chortled at that.

After the first few times I watched Antiques Roadshow, I remember running around my Mother’s house in Augusta, pointing at or holding up all the antiques and asking her where they had come from and how old they were. She was highly annoyed, until she watched the program with me. We have several antiques in the house, most of them passed down through the family. I don’t have any intention of selling them, however. I told Michael that the bed he sleeps on, the frame anyway, was bought by my grandfather in 1923 for $11, and it was secondhand then. The rails are made of decorative iron and they’ve lasted this long, so I didn’t figure he could hurt it.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I heard from the soccer coach today that Alesia didn’t make either one of the soccer teams. I emailed him and he basically said she didn't have enough skills. Well she's never had the chance to be on a team, so duh. He could give her some extra help and she'd be fine. She is 17 years old. I can’t find a local team that will take her, due to her age. By 17 most girls are either really good and play at a high level, or they’ve quit.

I just feel so bad for her. I hate that she was with all those girls for 5 days, making friends, getting lots of great exercise, and then they tell her she’s not good enough. She was so upset this morning. Thanks a lot. I will send you the therapist’ bill.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

We worked on Michael’s Memory Box tonight. It was like pulling teeth to get him to do it. I even bought him a nice little box at Michael’s crafts store, and gave him the tempera paints we use for crafts things. He loves to paint. He hated figuring out what to put in it. I finally just copied out a photo of all 5 of us, and coaxed him into talking through a paragraph about it, which I typed. We also put in a photo of me and him at the orphanage with me reading jack’s New Family to him, a keychain souvenir from Myrtle Beach, and a recipe for Bud’s Chicken, one of our favorite family recipes. Mother is going to coach him on his oral presentation tomorrow.

Last year he had to do an oral report in front of the whole school, on Harriet Tubman. He had to dress up like her. Man was he irked about that. He told me this memory box thing would be worse! I said “Worse than dressing like a girl?” and he said “Yes! I am not famous like Harriet Tubman!”

He asked me tonight what would happen if I lost my job. I explained that I would still get some money from unemployment and I would just find another job. I know, having been homeless, he worries. I told him, however, that if we just had to, Granny could support us. We’d just have to move, probably. Uncle Bruce would help, too. He kept asking about different scenarios. Finally, I said “Michael, if Granny and I both die, Uncle Bruce will take care of you and Alesia, OK? He would never let us down. You will never not have someone there for you.”

That seemed to satisfy him. “Would we live here or in Columbia?” he asked. “Knowing Bruce, probably yes,” I answered.

If some freaky thing happened and me and Bruce and Granny all died, I guess I need to figure out which cousin would get custody of Michael. Alesia is almost 18, so that’s not an issue, although I’d like her to stay with him until she finishes high school. I obviously need to revise my will. When I was growing up we used to talk about this kind of thing at the dinner table. My father handled wills and estates for a bank. He used to give lectures and presentations about wills.

I wrote my first will when I was 7, and left everything to my dolls, because I was Mad At The World. Mother still has it, I believe.

This was drawn by Michael for Uncle Bruce. He likes to draw cars. [What? You didn’t know it was a car?!]

 

The Number One Song

 

The website looks up the number one song the day you were born. My song was The Stripper, by David Rose. That’s so not me, although I was reportedly born naked…

 

I like to tell people The Twist was the song popular when I was born – and I will actually do the Twist in public! [And fortunately nobody checks behind me...]

If you're so inclined, see what the song was when you were born, and tell me in a comment...

 

Michael has read two books for school that are really excellent children’s books, Hatchet and Brian’s Winter, both by Gary Paulsen  - and I am thinking of looking for more of his books. We finished the book Brian’s Winter last night. Usually we both read. I make him read some, and I read some. He follows along the text while I read, and it helps him to hear the correct pronunciation of the word, and a good cadence. He still has trouble with those two things. I need to read to him more. I used to read to Alesia every night. I don’t mind reading to the kids, but I am usually running 100 mph at night between getting ready for the next day and trying to ensure they get enough sleep at night.

Paulsen’s books are really fascinating because he often puts his characters into situations where they are in unfamiliar territory and they have to survive. The main character of Hatchet is a 13 year old boy who is stranded in the woods after a small plane crash. He has to develop survival skills and his only real tool is his new hatchet. Paulsen spent a lot of time living in primitive conditions and is obviously an outdoorsman. He knows what he’s talking about, and that’s clear on every page. I really admire authors who live their stories, who write authentically.

Although Paulsen’s books are technically written for kids or adolescents, they are great reads for anyone. Mother got so intrigued with hearing the story of Hatchet, she borrowed Michael’s copy and finished all of it in one day. I was so fascinated with Brian’s Winter that I insisted we read three chapters yesterday. Paulsen writes simply but with great richness of detail. The stories are real page-turners.

It was a tense weekend, because I had heard the company was going to announce layoffs today. [Thanks, Jenean, for the cupcakes, they were needed!]   It’s always a sad situation. Home Depot is giving good severance packages and outplacement services, and doing it right, but it’s still tough, even though I still have my job.

I heard on the radio that 39% of all US companies are looking at layoffs in the next six months. Yikes.

When I was first thinking of adopting Alesia and how I was going to manage that, I got laid off from the company where I worked. I was hired back about a week later, because someone else quit, but it was incredibly nerve-wracking. In hindsight, I should have just gone ahead and found another job then, but I didn’t. I did end up quitting about a year later, mainly due to some friction with my boss. It was a really hard time for me personally. However, it ultimately led me to Home Depot and this has been the right place for me. I get to do employment law, which I enjoy, and I am not incredibly stressed out every time one of the kids has a doctor’s appointment.

One positive thing about living through this recession is that I have to trust the Lord that I am going to be OK, no matter what happens. A friend of mine gave me a copy of Psalm 91, and I read it every day. My favorite part is this:

“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

My adoptions have taught me that they only correct way to respond to problems is to pray, and be calm, and allow God’s peace to do its healing work. I cannot solve my problems all alone. When I try, I fail. When I trust God, I succeed.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Michael was disgusted with himself today because he didn’t do well on a writing exercise for his ESOL teacher. He is acquiring language at a phenomenal rate, but writing is still his hardest thing. I told him it’s really difficult, even for kids who have been speaking English all their lives. Writing was hard for me as a kid, and I was reading years above grade level from the time I was in 4^th grade. So no wonder it’s tough for Michael, who only started learning English a few years ago.

Last summer, Mother worked with him a lot to improve his writing skills. Writing one paragraph was agonizing, for both of them. He couldn’t spell most common words. He still has a hard time with a lot of words, things like “from” and “would” etc. 

Michael read a story in school today called the Memory Box, about grandparents with their grandson visiting for the summer, and they make a Memory Box, because Gramps has gotten Alzheimers. Yikes. It was a sad story. Michael is supposed to make a memory box to bring in Friday, sort of an elaborate show & tell. He nixes every idea I give him. I don’t know why. This is going to be a tough project for us.

This is Michael when he was still in the orphanage. He was about 10 here.

Fuss at Me Day

We bought groceries this morning, just me and the kids, and I had an odd encounter in the Kroger. Michael and I were headed towards the checkout, and I saw a man about my age, sorta attractive in a rugged outdoorsy way. Michael, in front of me, was gliding along on his heeleys, but not bothering anyone or looking particularly like a young daredevil. As the guy passed me he muttered softly and with great menace, “Those damn things oughta be against the LAW!” I was so startled. I immediately went into protective mama mode, hoping Mike hadn’t heard the guy. He hadn’t. He was oblivious. I just thought to myself, look buddy, he’s never bumped into anyone yet, or hurt himself, or caused any problems in here. Why don’t you mind your own business? My innate hatred of confrontation kept me from telling him off, though.

 

Why do people think they have the right to tell me how to raise my kids?

 

That wasn’t my only strange confrontation of the morning.

 

When we were on the way to Kroger, we were going down the road in a residential area where the speed limit is 35, and this woman who was walking her dogs saw my car, halted in her tracks, and screamed and shook her fist at the car. I think she was screaming “You’re going too fast!” but I looked down and I was going 40 mph. She was the only human I saw on the road. It wasn’t like I was anywhere near her. I wasn't going 90 mph.

 

I believe things come in threes. I later pondered when my next scolding would happen. Well, Mother fussed at me for not cooking dinner at 6, but I had just had a snack with the kids and we weren’t hungry. She wasn’t obnoxious like the other two, but it certainly made me uncomfortable.

 

I am fine with people having a difference of opinion with me, but just don’t lecture me, unless I screw up. Jeez. I have enough to deal with.

 

 

Michael went to the Georgia Aquarium this afternoon with the kids from Kate’s Club. We have the best aquarium in the world here, truly an awesome place. You can walk through this tunnel under the biggest tank and see whales and hammerhead sharks and giant turtles swimming all around you. It’s surreal. They have terrific exhibits where the kids can stick their hands in and touch fish. It’s a cool place. He had a good time.

 

While Mike was there, I picked up Alesia’s friend Elena and we took Mother and went to the mall. Now, I hate malls. I just thought it would be a good time to do something girly, with Mike gone all afternoon. Mother was in her wheelchair, because she cannot walk very far due to her arthritis. The elevator in the main area didn’t work. We had to go into JCPenneys and take their elevator, which was tiring. We spent a long time in a card shop so Mom could buy her Valentine’s Day cards, and then met the girls back at our entrance. Alesia has a bunch of babysitting money saved up but she didn’t buy anything.

 

Before we went to the mall, Elena told me something quite disturbing. She has a friend I’ll just call G, one of several kids adopted from Ukraine by a single mom, and G has run away. She met a man on the internet, had a fight with her mom, and went to live with the guy in Ohio. She is 18 now so the mother can’t go haul her back and the police won’t help. I think she’s a good girl, just screwed up. The man she met said he was her same age, but it turns out he’s 29 and unemployed. So G is in a bad position. Alesia knows G, too.

 

I told both girls, you must be SO careful about the internet, and never, ever, trust someone you meet online. It is so dangerous and scary. Poor Elena was just distraught over her friend. I don’t blame her. That girl is in a bad situation. I told Elena if anyone at school is able to get in contact with G, they must tell her to get away from the guy and just come home, and get some counseling with her mother, and salvage the relationship. G has not finished high school yet. She cannot even get a decent job.

 

Alesia knows two girls at school who are pregnant. We live in a nice middle to upper middle class area. I was shocked to hear about these pregnancies. I told Alesia to tell one of the girls, I’ll call her B, who’s a casual friend, to please think about putting her baby up for adoption, so she can finish school. B is only 16. I suspect B, who is hispanic, will simply drop out of school and go on welfare, and thus will continue the cycle of poverty. It’s so sad.

 

Please pray for both these girls, G and B, to do the right thing, and be strong enough to change their lives in a positive way. It’s so distressing to hear about kids who have a chance at a decent life making such terrible choices.

I posted a new photo in my photos - an old photo, but recently unearthed.

Day of Leisure

Well my horoscope said this was going to be a lucky day. I have had a pleasant day, but not notable for any lightening strike of luck. Good thing I don’t put much stock in that stuff. [cough cough]

 

We hung around the house most of the day, except for two trips. The first was to GameStop, Michael’s favorite place on earth. After much browsing he finally picked out a new Nintendo game.

 

Later in the day, after doing Michael’s reading and discussing Alesia’s grades with her, I fell asleep trying to read a book. I never nap. I guess I needed the nap.

 

The second trip was to take Mother for a drive, over to a rich area of town with some huge homes. This is one of the smaller homes. We like driving around, looking at big houses. It’s sort of a hobby. I don’t ever want the burden of a large home, unless I win the lottery, but it’s fun to daydream.

 

After dinner tonight we finished watching an excellent movie called Flyboys. Flyboys is about “The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.” Excellent movie. Family friendly. Great way to teach kids about World War I.

 

I keep trying to get Michael to go to bed and stay there, and he pops up. It takes all my patience to not get mad. He is somewhat afraid of the dark, is one issue. Tonight he got up for a glass of water and announced:  “I brushed my teeth and my face is thirsty!”

I uploaded the photos from the MAPREC Russian Christmas dinner to the MAPREC album. Check 'em out!

 

Soccer Girl and Jello Boy

For the past 4 nights including this one, Alesia has been staying after school until 6, trying out for the soccer team. I have picked her up before going home at night. The two soccer coaches have put about 15 girls through a rigorous battery of drills, and literally run them ragged. The first night, they made them run 3 miles. I don’t if Alesia had ever run that much in her life. Likely not. She did fine, though. She said some of the girls dropped out right then, stating it was too hard. I would’ve dropped out, even at 17. Yikes.

I have long wanted Alesia to get back into some sort of sports. I signed her up for the local soccer league but they didn’t have enough girls in her age group. She is very strong and athletic, and sports are a great way to reduce stress. [unless you’re me…]

I thought she would find out tonight if she made the team, but no, she said they will post a list on Tuesday. It’s nerve-wracking – for me, not her. LOL

For reasons I cannot quite recall, we started talking last night about Jello. My son had never eaten Jello. I grew up eating Jello salad. My family always made Jello and put in canned orange sections, pears, grapefruit, marshmallows, etc. My favorite is lime jello with orange sections. It’s a good dessert – kids usually like it and it’s not just pure sugar. Sometimes Mother would blend in nuts and cream cheese and really go crazy.  It’s always good in summer, too, when it’s 95 humid degrees outside. 

After school today Michael and Granny made Jello salad, with strawberry Jello, marshmallows, and orange sections. Mother said she took a break to run to the bathroom and a few minute later Michael came in her room hollering “Granny! Come see this!”

He was so excited to show her that the Jello was getting jelled! And there were no marshmallows! They were added swiftly. We had a small bowl for dessert tonight and it was excellent.

We finished watching a movie called Burn After Reading, which was a disappointment. It’s a Coen Brothers movie and I think they are great but this one was a miss. There was no story arc. George Clooney and Brad Pitt played morons. John Malkovich played a neurotic, mean spy. Typecasting?! Boring…

Looking Back

So last night I wanted to try a new recipe. I saw this recipe for Ranch Style Chicken on PW’s website and I said mmmmmm…. And my rational brain said IDIOT! You don’t have time to do that tonight! So I got Mother to make the marinade for me, which was excellent, and let the chicken marinate for over an hour. Then I got home and finished it.

Now, I couldn’t ask Mother, with her arthritis, to pound the chicken flat. Mike was at tennis, so he couldn’t help. And we didn’t have thick cut peppered bacon. And we didn’t use grated cheddar cheese. But otherwise, it was just the same as PW’s, um, really... [except not]

The kids ate the Ranch Chicken with great reluctance. I think they would have preferred Boiled Roadkill on a bed of arugula. The chicken was tough. They ignored the bacon. They ate a lot of the cabbage, which made me happy, but it was for the wrong reasons.

Now, if I had taken the chicken and boiled it for several hours, then shredded it and thrown on the bacon and cheese, they probably would’ve liked it. They like soft meat, meat that in no way resembles American grilled meat.

Michael had been in a foul humor since coming home from tennis. He refused to read in his reading book. He refused to drink water. He expressed dismay about having a tennis lesson this afternoon. He was so grumpy I finally said “Do you want to just go to bed?” and he said “Yes!” and went upstairs to bed. That was 30 minutes before dinner. I had to make him get up and come downstairs for dinner. He then returned to bed. He got about 10 ½ hours of sleep last night. I am hoping he was just sleep deprived. I hope he’s not getting sick.

On the same page with the Ranch Chicken is a recipe for potatoes that sounds yummy. It’s basically what we call Twice Baked Potatoes. Mother used to make those sometimes. Years ago, when my brother was a toddler, she made those. It’s basically mashed potatoes and cheese and butter mixed up, then baked in a baked potato shell. Well, Dad’s boss was coming for a fancy dinner. Mom put the mashed potato mixture in the electric mixer to get a fluffy potato filling. My brother threw a wad of bubble gum in the mixing bowl while it was mixing. Mother and the maid spent an hour trying to pick out all the little pink bits from the potatoes. There was no time to make something else.

My daily check of Reuters shows that Microsoft is cutting 5,000 jobs. MICROSOFT! Good lord. Scary news. I have heard of two ladies who used to work here getting laid off recently and that’s more scary news.

I was so happy to see the movie Benjamin Button got a lot of Oscar nominations. It deserves every Oscar it can get. I loved that movie.

Robert Downey, Jr. was nominated in the Best Supporting actor category for Tropic Thunder, and he deserves to win. That was an awesome movie.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I got this from a cousin of mine, and it is sooooo cool:

If you're old (as some of us are) and love photography, you'll enjoy these old WPA photos.  Kodachrome had a few problems at birth, but within a year or two became the premier color film of all time. Nothing has ever surpassed it for resolution and archival qualities. Sadly, it has essentially died out and only one lab in the world will still process it, and then only 35mm.

The WPA was a good thing for America at the time, and because they paid professional photographers to document the program we have a legacy of photographs, many in color, that realistically documented that period in our history. This site (link below) is well worth a look if you like history and photography.

A Look Back

The View from my Imaginary Barcalounger

Things are pretty slow here in cold Hot-Lanta, so here's something just for fun...

Twenty Things You Didn’t Know About Me

1.      I have to have a cup of Constant Comment tea every morning or the world is upside down.
2.      My daughter spends an hour every morning doing her hair and makeup. I allot 2 minutes.
3.      I was born on the 4^th of July. I have always felt a secret thrill when hearing the words “born on the 4^th of July” in the song Yankee Doodle. I can’t say that about the Tom Cruise movie Born on the 4^th of July, which I hated.

4.      As a child, my mother called me Doodlebug or Miss Priss or Deedle. 

5.      At any given moment, I will have a rash somewhere on my body. I am never rashless. 

6.      My brother and I used to occasionally fight over who would watch the one TV in the house. As a teen, Bruce finally gave up and just quit watching TV. He still almost never watches TV. I watch it more than him, and I only watch morning news and occasionally 10 minutes of HGTV.

7.      I once found a worm in the yard and carried it around all day in my pocket, for a pet. I was horrified to learn it had died sometime during the day, and I cried.

8.      There is no air vent in my walk-in bedroom closet. It looks really nice, with all kinds of shelves and bars to hang stuff, and a rack for shoes - until you realize it’s like walking into a freezer in winter or a sauna in summer.

9.      The first book I ever loved was Green Eggs and Ham. If I recite even one line of it now, it causes my mother to shudder. She hates Dr. Seuss. She used to be a teacher. She had to read Dr. Seuss ad nauseum.

10.     My first ambition was to be a nurse. I got a nurse uniform for my 6^th birthday party. That ended when I found out nurses have to deal with poop and pee. [This may also explain why I was right to adopt non-babies…]

11.      These are my favorite smells: a bag of Constant Comment tea, a gardenia, a city street after a summer rainstorm, cornbread right from the oven, laundry right from the dryer, Michael’s hair after he has showered. [I would say Alesia’s hair, too, but she would freak out if I tried to smell her hair.]

12.      The only oil I use in cooking is olive oil. However, I wouldn’t eat an olive if you paid me. 

13.      My favorite vegetable is yellow crookneck squash. 

14.      My favorite gum is Trident white peppermint. When I am dieting, it counts as “dessert.” 

15.     If I peel and dice tomatoes or potatoes, my hands itch uncontrollably. [see #5, above] 

16.      I drink water right out of the faucet, every day. It’s my version of thrill-seeking. 

17.      My dream is to own a barcalouger that fits my, uh, barca, and is right in front of the TV… 

18.      When I sneeze, it always produces a very loud, musical sound. Scares everyone around me. 

19.      Every night, while watching a movie, I have a little cuddle time with Coco. She likes to take a little nap right on my chest.

20.      I have been so busy lately my back patio has become The Graveyard of Pot Plants.

Words and Terms I do NOT understand

Root Beer - It’s not a root and it’s not beer. So why call it that? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Briefs – Why are they called that? Sometimes they are huge.

Love – Why is there only one word for that? There are 100 words for tallywhacker

Arugula – Sounds nasty, like a skin condition, huh?

Football and Baseball – Who came up with those names? In baseball you run from base to base. In football you don’t run from foot to foot…

Funeral – Why does this start with “fun”?

Diet - It’s obvious why “diet” is the word “die” with a “t”

Knickers – this is the British word for panties. How on earth did they come up with that? [“Panties” is rather obvious.]