The Crab Chronicles

Tree Friday

We had a pretty quiet Black Friday, and I didn't venture anywhere near a mall or Walmart. I feared for my life. It absolutely shocks and horrifies me to see people hitting and fighting and pushing and shoving and being violent just to SHOP.

Shopping is not a bloodsport.

I am appalled to see people acting like that. I cannot fathom why anyone would place such a high value on THINGS.

If I am being honest, though, I have to admit the fever is everywhere and it's contagious.

Michael and I went to Walgreens yesterday to pick up several items, including Tylenol and Motrin. We chose a Walgreens nowhere near the mall or Walmart, not our regular one.

When we walked in I didn't pay any attention to the sale circulars near the cash register in the front. I just grabbed a cart and started marching through the store.

Michael spotted some Nautica men's cologne, a fragrance he likes. It was on sale. I said "Granny can give you that for Christmas," and bought it. Later, he spotted a small iPod speaker and said he wanted one and I put that in the cart. We also found a couple of small gifts for other folks.

When I got the the cash register, the cashier said "If you go get me one of those sale circulars I can take 25% off. Yay.

So yeah, I did participate, a little. However, there was no pushing or shoving or rudeness.

Our Christmas this year has to be scaled back considerably from what it has been in past years. I just don't have the funds to do much.

Michael was determined to put up the Christmas tree yesterday, as that's been the customary tree day at our house, since my brother is usually here. However, my brother now has a retail job and he couldn't come home for Thanksgiving. So we asked Bart if he could come help, and he did.

Later, my friend Gary came over. The tree still has bare spots, which is maddening to Michael. He wants it to look perfect. I understand that. We just have to get it fixed, and that will take some more time.

Lola has decided she adores Bart

Michael trying to spot the problems

Gary manhandling the tree, trying to help. He sure is strong for an "old" guy... [we are the same age...]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had leftover turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, and pumpkin bread.

I stripped the remaining meat off the turkey and packaged it up and refrigerated it. I put the turkey bones in a plastic bag in the garbage.

Stupid mistake.

Mike had a babysitting job this morning so I got up early to run him over there. While I was gone [20 minutes] Lola got into the garbage and got out the turkey carcass. There were a few bones scattered on the floor, and nothing more. I scolded her.

I kinda understand now why she was abandoned. She definitely is smart and likes to get into the garbage, grab stuff off the kitchen counter, poop in the corner rather than ask to go out, etc. I view that simply as dog, not as a reason to give up on her. She is still in a phase or trying to understand us, and we are trying to get used to her.

Despite the issues, she is so loving and sweet, it's impossible to stay mad at her.

The Day After the Feast

Wow, about all we could do yesterday was bundle up and try to stay out of the brrrr.... COLD. No shorts in Hot-Lanta yesterday, although the afternoon temps weren't too bad.

We had a very quiet day, did very little except cook and eat and watch the Macy's parade on TV. Michael was up early to tend to our neighbor's dogs while they are out of town, so then we watched the parade. He had never seen it.

I enjoyed watched all the excerpts from Broadway shows, the singing and the dancing.

We didn't eat our "big meal" until last night. I poached a turkey breast, made crockpot dressing, and we had a green bean casserole and cranberry sauce.

Dessert was either pumpkin bread or homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Lola was a hoot yesterday. None of us wanted to venture outside too much. She went out, did her business, and came right back in. She likes chew toys, though, and decided to run around the downstairs 90 mph, and bark and yip and play, a LOT. It was hysterical.

She also is able to jump up and put her fat paws on the kitchen counter and snatch things off. She got some rolls and ate them. She got a loaf of bread and we saw her, so she didn't get into those. Michael saw her pull some cornbread off the counter and run behind the sofa, but he got it away from her before any damage was done.

She likes her carbs.

She reminds us so much of a toddler.

We are not shopping today. Nonononono.... I avoid malls like the plague anyway and today I will not venture anywhere near the mall or Walmart if I can help it.

I thought this video was really cute:

 

Gathered Round the Fire

Every time we lose power I remember my dad telling me that when he was a boy he couldn't imagine living in a house that was cool in the summer and warm in the winter. He couldn't imagine having enough light to be able to read at night.

Rural Georgia in the 1930's and 40's [during his childhood] was not a really comfortable place. However, it made him work hard to create a good life for us, and he never forgot his roots, or failed to appreciate what he was able to do in his life. He also never spoke disparagingly about his childhood or anyone he encountered during that time. He loved coming from a large family and being able to spend a lot of time outdoors. He also retained a chillike enthusiasm for all holidays.

Colton came over and spent the night with Michael Tuesday night, which was a blessing. We are all missing my brother, who is having to work this holiday, unfortunately.

We are also missing my daughter, who first told me yesterday she would come home, then texted Michael and no, she would see us in December. I spent most of the afternoon worrying about her traveling on the busiest travel day of the year. So it was with a mixture of sadness and relief that I learned she wouldn't be with us.

Anyway, if I think too much about the empty chairs at our table today I will get weepy, and for Michael's sake I cannot do that.

Lola took to Colton immediately, lost in tail wagging ecstasy and licking his face at every opportunity.

Colton and Mike went to the mall yesterday, then came home and took Lola for a long walk. When they got back we had lost power, around 3:30.

I called the power company and was told we'd have power restored by 4:45. It wasn't. I called again around 5 and the power company said they should have it restored by 11:15 p.m.

Michael got the gas fireplace lit and then settled down in front of it. Lola, of course, had to check it out.

Colton's folks picked him up and we settled in for an evening around the fire, which is not a bad thing.

We decided to order dinner from Bambinelli's, a little family-owned Italian restaurant near our house. The entire street was dark so Michael went outside and put on his flashing miner's LED beam, so the poor delivery guy would be able to find us in the dark.

This is sort of what our lights look like

Best investment ever, those headlights. Mike and I ran around with ours on, grabbing our candles and oil lamps.

We ate dinner by candlelight, all bundled up. It went down in the 20's here, very cold.

After dinner we settled down in front of the fire and I read aloud from Karen Karbo's delightful book about Julia Child, Julia Child Rules: Lessons on Savoring Life. Really interesting and fun book. I love to read aloud. Mom likes to hear me read. I should do it more often.

At one point before dinner Michael had said "Now what do we do?!"

I said "We TALK to each other!" Like in olden times. Before iPhones. The DARK ages.

He fell sound asleep while I was reading aloud. I didn't take it personally. LOL

We got our power restored around 8:30.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Lola has 2 speeds: 90 mph or sound asleep - much like a toddler... LOL

Rainy Day in Georgia

We are watching the weather system that's moving across the country and fixing to sock in much of the east with terrible winter storms. It's in the 30's and rainy here, but we can deal with that. I feel bad for people traveling in an icy or snowy mess.

Reason #1 why I love living in Atlanta: no snow shoveling. No snow, actually - maybe a dusting once a year. We oftentimes wear shorts on Thanksgiving, and are quite comfortable.

Yesterday was my shopping day, so store up provisions for the coming week. I thought Monday morning would be a good time to hit Kroger.

Wrong.

There were a LOT of toddlers running around creating chaos. I also was nearly knocked down twince by old ladies with buggies in the produce area. I'm not kidding.

Between the toddlers running around like tiny escaped lunatics and the old people barreling through the store with murder in their eyes, it's no wonder Michael stuck close to me the entire time.

We came home, and Lola had NOT been a happy camper while we were gone.

Mother said she howled. She barked. She ran from room to room, frantic. This hurts me. She has been abandoned, and so she fears it again. Poor baby.

After Michael got in from running errands for me in the early afternoon, Lola was a much happier camper. She just adores him.

Finally, I settled down to do some writing a bit later, and she decided she could relax.

this is our slipcovered loveseat - a perfect place for furbabies as it can be washed!

Plans for the rest of the day are very low key. I want to start my baking, and I have a project to work on for an attorney. We are hoping Colton will come over, too.

Y'all stay warm and be safe!

Settling In

Well, Lola has been a great source of amusement this weekend, her first weekend with us. We have learned a lot about her, too.

She likes to relax. I mean.... REALLY relax.

She doesn't like it when her people leave the house.

Michael and I had to run some errands this afternoon and Mother said after we left she just ran around the downstairs looking out the window and barking. Bless her heart.

She has abandonment issues, clearly.

When we got back, I discovered she had pulled a bag of bread off the counter and eaten it. There were only a few slices left, fortunately. She didn't want any supper. We had to just chuckle. She is so looooong that she can take a look around all the counters in the kitchen, and she sniffs the garbage with great interest.

I went to a play last night with a friend and Mother and Mike said when I left Lola was very unhappy and she was barking up a storm, and it took Mike a while to get her calmed down.

When I was upstairs late this afternoon I heard Mike saying in his deepest bass voice, "Lola, NO. No no no..." I told Mom later, he's getting a tiny taste of what it's like to be the dad to a toddler.

We are having unseasonably cold weather here. Highs in the 40's. Great walking weather actually.

I took Lola for a long walk [nearly a mile] yesterday, and again today. She jerks on the leash. She walks me, too. She is a strong little thing.

I needed some motivation for walking and she provided it.

She likes to lie on my bed while I write, if Mike isn't here, so I hope I don't get fleas. We tried the bathing and flea treatment stuff already...

Anyway, we've had a very quiet, laid back weekend, which is great. Hopefully the rest of the week will be as quiet.

Cattitude Rant

OK, I just need to vent here for a minute. I have hijacked Dee's mind and her hands in order to spread my message to the world and my message is this:

I am NOT Little Red Freakin' Riding HOOD!

I am a feline member of the household and I deserve RESPECT.

Am I to be dressed up like a doll? Am I to be forced to play a role in a small child's Theatre of the Absurd?

NO.

Do I appear to be HAPPY about this red thing I am wearing?!? Do you read "contented" in my expression?! No?

Well here's a suggestion. Next time your child tries to dress up her cat, STOP HER. In the name of all that is holy, yank the little doll dress or tiny drag queen wig-from-hell or the Santa hat or the cunning nightmare halloween costume OUT of her grubby little hand and talk to her about how wrong it is to assume a cat is anything other than a

Feline Deity

Because really, that's what we are. In ancient Egypt cats were given great respect.

"Cats were held in such high esteem that at one point, the penalty for killing a cat-even accidentally-was death."

Did you hear that?

DEATH.

I SO want to go to Egypt on my next vacation.

 

I hear you can get really top quality catnip there at a good price.

 

Problem?! No, I don't have a problem. I can quit anytime I want. Anytime.

OK, yeah, whatever. Cape...again.

The kid bribed me. It only took one hit of catnip, and I went all boneless and spaced out and let her put the red cape on me.

Before you judge, put down the iPhone 5 and your $4 cup of coffee and get over yourself. I know about the tat on your left butt cheek. I know what's in your purse, Miss Thang.

Yeah, maybe I do have a problem. But I don't post drunk photos of myself on Facebook and put "In a Relationship" when really my only "relationship" is with my collection of Downton Abbey DVDs and a carton of New York Super Fudge Chunk.

Yeah, who really has the problem, hmmm...?!

No matter how much catnip I do, I am still.in.control!

 

ONE DAY CATS WILL RULE THE WORLD!!

Our New Family Member

Lola has been with us now less than 24 hours but she is such a lovey girl, and so cute. We just adore her.

I sent this email to Bruce and Lesleigh last night:

Bruce, we got our new puppy tonight.

Mother was a bit afraid that Lola sleeping with her would cause asthma, so she came upstairs with me and Michael. While he got ready for bed, and I was brushing my teeth, Lola was free to roam. I heard a noise and came into my room brushing my teeth, and guess who was in my bed?! photo attached. Michael and I decided she should sleep in his room with the door closed, because once he gets to sleep he rarely gets up in the night, whereas I get up once or twice to pee. He fixed her a little "bed" on his rug, with a big towel, and then when he was ready to go to bed I took her in there and showed her the bed. She looked at it, and jumped up on Mike's bed and put her head on his pillow! Michael said "I guess I know where she is sleeping tonight!"

this is Lola on my bed

I got up this morning at about 7:15 and took her outside. It had rained last night and the backyard was really soggy. She tinkled immediately and looked at me like HEY IT"S COLD AND WET OUT HERE LET'S GO BACK! Then she came back in and had some water and food.

We like to leave a pan of dry food down all the time. The dogs will eat what they want, when they want. We've never had a fat dog.

I was sitting at the kitchen table, checking messages, and I heard Lola go up the stairs. It's a little disconcerting, getting used to a dog going up and down stairs again. Coco had gotten so arthritic she wouldn't use the stairs.

I wanted Mike to get some more sleep, so I came up after her, and Lola had gotten back in the middle of my bed. I went back to sleep a little bit until it was time to help Mother get ready for the day.

Lola watched every move I made while I was fixing breakfast.

We are not going to feed her table scraps. We don't want to start that. She is fascinated by what we eat, though. Her foster mama said she was left alone in their house recently and pulled a loaf of bread off the counter and ate it. She saw that as a negative. We thought it was funny.

Lola is so long, that she can put her paws up on the counter and check it out. She can also tip over the garbage if she wants to we will have to watch that.

I will close with a gorgeous shot from my friend Lisa Amos, who lives up in North Georgia, which is a lovely area. Lisa is such a talented photographer. This was taken with her phone!

Miss Lola

Well, it's been an interesting day at our house. One week to the day after losing our sweet Coco, we have a new dogbaby, and what a sweet girl!

Introducing:

Miss Lola Thompson

YAY!!

I urge you to check out all the sweet doggies at Basset Hound Rescue Group of Georgia - wonderful organization that does amazing work.

An Amazing Time

Really super busy day here, but very good, too, on many levels.

We got the 2 carpets in the downstairs cleaned this morning by a company called ZeroRez. Coco had been so sick and I just couldn't keep up with spot cleaning, so we decided to go ahead and get the carpets cleaned. Hopefully they will stay that way for a while now, since Lola is housebroken.

Then we had to get the bug guy out here, late morning. It was terrible telling him about Coco. She absolutely adored him and would bark insanely whenever he came. He's a very gentle guy who has been coming several times a year for years now. He's very good with dogs.

We've had a horrible time this year with box elder bugs. Joe said it was the result of all the rain we've had over the summer.

I think sometimes I would love to be able to time travel, and then I ponder the notion that there were no pest control companies 100 years ago, I don't think.

The highlight of the day, however, was that Michael was able to go down to Georgia Tech late this afternoon and spend some time with the women's tennis coach Rodney Harmon, who I met through a friend of a friend. Rodney is one of the nicest guys around, and he took the time to give Michael a lot of valuable pointers about his tennis game, and some pointers about life. I was listening and everything he said was very true, and Mike listened. 

Probably the most valuable thing he said to Mike was that you have to not lose your temper when you play. You win by not out-playing the opponent, but by out-thinking them.

I told Mom that and she just nodded. She's the daughter of a professional baseball player.

He also said there are going to be ups and downs, and you have to remember that when things look bleak. It evens out. You have to be philosophical.

Great life lessons.

He encouraged Mike to do his schoolwork, and work on his serve, and come to see the Tech tennis matches in January and February, which would be fun for Michael.

When we were in the car going home Michael said "I thought I was going to just get a tennis lesson, and I got a life lesson..." He wasn't mad. He was incredulous, especially after I told him Rodney's background, which is amazing. For instance Rodney coached tennis in the 2008 Olympics.

The tennis lesson was done as a favor, and may or may not ever happen again, but the nice thing is that Michael feels encouraged about tennis, and knows someone outside our normal circle cares about him. What a huge blessing.

A Rant Against Racism

OK, gotta get up on my soapbox here for a minute. I've never particularly like Oprah or disliked Oprah, but now I flatly despise her.

In an interview in Great Britain the other day she said racism will die out when old white southern people die. You can read it here.

I also like this view of it in the Chicago Tribune, here.

She also said that anyone who criticizes the president is a racist. That's a lot easier than defending him substantively, at a time when 61% of Americans disapprove of him. I have a lot of friends and family who don't like Obama's policies and actions, and none of them are racist.

“There are still generations of people, older people, who were born and bred and marinated in it, in that prejudice and racism, and they just have to die,” she said.

She implies that the only racists around are old southern white people. Umm.... I don't think so. I actually think racism is everywhere. It's against every race in the world, in every culture, in some form or another.

However silly and untrue her statement, the fact that Oprah's remarks upset my mother, who is 79 years old, and is very southern and is NOT a racist - that's unconscionable.

It actually proves Oprah is a racist. She is lumping all old southern white people into one category, saying they are all alike.

When my mom was young, the Republican party was the party of progress, and change. The Democrats were the ones [like George Wallace] who were racist, and who were haters. Mom joined the side she felt like was the right side. She faced criticism from family and friends. She got into arguments. She and Dad stood by their principles.

They also taught their kids not to be racists.

We had black maids, at times, when we lived in Augusta. I was taught to be respectful of them, always. I was never allowed to be mean or rude to any black person.

My dad was instrumental in his bank hiring its first black branch manager in the 70's.

My mom is proud to have a Cherokee great grandmother. Not ashamed.

I am southern. My people have been here for generations. I recently learned [through 23andMe testing] that I am 99.3% of European ancestry, but I am .5% African. So as far as I am concerned, I am "mixed."

You know what? I bet 99.99% of all the folks in America are mixed.

I bet some of them are racist. I bet some of them live in New York, Arizona, Alaska, Idaho - racists are everywhere.

So if an old white racist dies who is also part black, is that a victory or a defeat for racism?

Not really so simple, is it? [sorry, I digressed a bit]

Oprah's statement reveals a lot about her, and her character. It reveals an inability to acknowledge the complexity of the problem of racism. It was an attempt to get publicity for a movie.

Is every southern white person over age 70 a racist? No. Some are, yes. They are dying off.Their deaths are not solving the problem, though. They leave behind children, grandchildren, etc.

The idea of racism controlling America took a hit when we elected Barack Obama. It's still crumbling. It may take a while, but I believe we are becoming a less racist society.

I don't think Oprah is helping the cause though. She is just sounding alarmingly desperate and out of step.

I think we will make great strides in this country against racism when we elect a black president who is a true leader, and who builds America up. Too bad we have to wait a while for that.