Add a pretty red cardinal to the fencepost in the scene. The one I wrote yesterday for Peace on Earth. When you think about it, I guess most birds aren't very peaceful. They are rather mean, ruthless creatures. But, for the sake of a painting or a picture, we will add one red bird sitting quiet on the fence. A bright contrast against the white background of the snowy field and dull gray/brown tree line.
Ha! Did anyone get the name of that tornado that hit my living room last night, Christmas eve? Anyone? No? Alright. I guess I'll just start the clean up. After I head north for an hour and visit with wonderful, beautiful family.
I am exhausted, but extremely happy. I butchered my poor ham trying to slice it for sandwiches with one of my knives from here. I kept saying, "I wish I had an electric knife". I got one for Christmas. It even has its own case! Fancy! I finished the rest of the ham with my new "toy". Not really a good idea after 4 Michelob's. But hey, that is about half of what I used to be able to down in an evening. Regardless, the knife works beautifully. We can have slices for our sandwiches now, and not chunks. But, chunks are good, too.
I have lemon bars, cookies, pickles, olives, mild peppers, deviled eggs, cheese ball/tray with trail bologna sitting ready to go north. We need to shower and then head out the door. Maybe we should let our hair dry first. It is like 10 degree Fahrenheit out there. Brrrr.
Stay warm and I hope you all have a wonderful, merry Christmas! Think soft, velvety snowflakes falling on a snow covered field. There is a tree line in the distance with deer peeking out now and again. There is an old wooden fence in the foreground. Maybe a wagon wheel leaning up against it. On the left are some tall, snow covered pine trees. A red fox darts out of the woods, his hopping makes a few dents in the white fluff before he heads back into the woods - into safety. Slowly dusk falls over the field giving it a blue, glazed tint. That is a scene I would like to look at while sitting by my fire drinking hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream. My cat curled up in my lap. My dog curled up at my feet. Beautiful Christmas music playing softly in the background. Ahh, Peace on Earth.
I like my steak, medium well. I was a short order cook in a restaurant in 1975. I cooked the steaks on a charbroiler. I still recall the customer who came in every Friday night and ordered his Delmonico steak rare.
In 1976 I worked at Ponderosa Steak House. For 30 years I have known what rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, and well done mean. I am taking the above picture with me each time I go out to dinner, now.
Cutting into my steak and having the juices run red all over my baked potato is NOT medium well. Damons! Each time I eat there, I swear I am not going back. Aside from them not knowing how to cook a steak, I get an apology from the manager each time I visit. This time it was because our appetizer (The sampler platter) came after the meal. They said it was because they were behind on the potato skins. (Which ended up being hard as a rock). And, they were out of the first steak I ordered.
My daughter loves to play the trivia game. (I think she likes to see how close to a screen name she can get without actually putting a curse word up there). My niece likes the fried onions. I must remember to stick to the ribs, there.
Yesterday, we went to the mall just for fun. Like I said, I go just to watch the people. They were getting so antsy. I try to spread kindness and cheer around me. I did get some people to chuckle last night.
Fresh out of the oven and kissed. I like to make them as small as possible. More kiss to the cookie dough. Well, I guess more cookies, too. That is probably why I get tired. If I rolled the balls bigger, I would be done quicker. Timer is calling, again. Off I go!
Here we are in the rolled in sugar/ball stage before baking. A bit lumpy, but they will taste the same. I was getting tired of rolling. The glasses are there - can't read the recipes like I used to. I think it's a conspiracy.
Here we are in the batch phase of Peanut Butter Blossoms. I had to start somewheres, so I chose them. I double the batch (of course) and away we go. At least I didn't dust my kitchen and myself with flour this time. That is a minor miracle in itself.
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...not much yellow, red and orange gets posted here. So, I decided to take one of my more colorful pics from a party on Saturday night and frame it in a goldenrod for a splashy effect.
At the party we had sloppy jo's (I had made them earlier for my crew on Saturday so I had them twice that day), but we also had shrimp cocktail. Mmmm! One of my favorites. As long as it is ice cold and served with a decent cocktail sauce.
I make a simple sauce with catsup and horse radish. That is how I made it when I was a cook in 1975 and that is how I still make it. I was supposed to add chili sauce, but that stuff just looked gross. It was all the way in the back of the cooler and looked to be about 50 years old. It was in this huge 2 gallon container and was all crusty on the edges. Nobody ever complained and the shrimp sold pretty quick. I always added a couple so I could have them, too.
My friends make wonderful cookies. There were all kinds of tasty treats. I tend to stick to the basics. Chocolate chip, m&m, sugar cookies, rice krispy treats, peanut butter kisses, and buckeyes. Have you tried the new Nestle Swirled chips? Semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate swirled together into a chip? I haven't tried them in cookies, yet. They have not made it that far.
My daughter had an appointment with a new dermatologist today. She said that she is going to remove some of a mole on her back, because it looks as if it is growing back. Then, we can be doubly sure. She said it is not unusual for them to grow back. They are rather persistent.
The only problem for me is, my insurance doesn't cover this doctor. They cover no female dermatologist. My daughter doesn't feel right with a male doctor. I plan to call my insurance company tomorrow to ask about this. I have to foot the bill, 100%. They will remove the mole in February - in the office. No la la drug, like before on September 3rd, when they removed 7 moles from her back. Not looking forward to this. But, it will only be as bad as the IV was for her with the la la drug. Some stinging will occur.
Had lunch with my sister and her husband. She always has a funny story to tell about herself. This one was so bad, I don't think I would have told anyone. The things she can get herself into! I wish there had been a video camera.
After lunch, my daughter did all her Christmas shopping in one afternoon. Wow! I wish I could do that. We had a wonderful time. I flung a vanilla coffee all over the shoe saleslady. I hadn't meant to. I was jabbing the straw into the lid trying to get the good part and all of a sudden it flipped out and ice cold vanilla slush sprayed all over her hair and sweater. She was attempting to lace up my daughter's new shoes at the time. I was horrified. I told my daughter, I bet the next time we go there they have a sign that says NO DRINKS!
I just cannot believe I am this far behind. I only decorated the tree yesterday. That is the absolute latest I have ever put up my tree. Yikes. It doesn't have ornaments on it. I told the girls they could put the ornaments on it. They decided they didn't want to. So, there the poor thing sits. All lit up and no place to go.
So, I am so far behind I just now got the other half of my cards out tonight. Double yikes. Some members of my family work for the US Postal service, I like to keep them hopping.
Friday was a busy day, Saturday was too. Sunday I slept until noon because of a late night party on Saturday night. I have plenty of pictures of lights from that party, too.
My daughter has another doctor appointment tomorrow - this time with a new dermatologist for her moles. I want them checked again, she wants a female doctor. That is expected for a 13-year old girl. I work Wednesday, then it is the Holiday bake-off. Thursday and Friday I will be running around baking, wrapping and cleaning.
Maybe I will make my first stop on Wednesday evening the liquor store. Big grin. I haven't drank the hard stuff in years. In fact, I have about 6 bottles of the stuff in my closet from the first year at my house. I tried to make Long Island Iced teas. I have a bottle of gin, vodka, tequila, rum, triple sec, and kaluha. All of them either half or 3/4 full.
What a light weight I have become. No beer, though. No wine. Maybe I should pick some up. I am lacking in refrigerator space. I need another unit in my basement or garage. I thought the garage would be nice, that way I can throw my groceries in there instead of carrying them into the house.
My, I am running on about nothing. Blustery cold and snowy. We were hoping for a snow day. Not to be. My niece's and daughter's school never runs on a one hour or two hour delay. They either stay open or close - never delay. Doesn't matter. Tomorrow my daughter and I go to a dr. appointment so we are taking the day off. Then, she is off for the holidays. I have one more day, and then am free.
If I don't get a chance to post before the blessed day, have a Merry.
I have been singing and listening to Christmas carols all week long. I am separating them into lively and melancholy. I especially like the ones from the Charlie Brown special.
Most of my daughter's friends have braces or a retainer. Why not have perfect teeth? My daughter only needs to wear a retainer at this time, I think we escaped the braces. Her friends above have braces, my daughter is not wearing her retainer.The girls spent Friday night here and carried on. When they karaoke, I sneak my recorder outside my bedroom door and record them. They yell at me, but when they get over it, they play the recording back in fast motion so that they sound like the chipmunks.I am listening to Burl Ives "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" plus many more holiday songs. I have separated them into jolly and melancholy. Hah! I am still a poet, don't ya know it! Oh, that is my Mom in me.My bird may not live until Christmas. She is healthy as ever, it is just that no one is giving her any attention (busy, busy) and she is so annoying right now. Chirp, chirp loudly. "Shut up!" Then, I feel bad, take her out of the cage and feed her all my Christmas shopping receipts. She is very particular about her receipts. She shakes her head if she takes a bit of one of the shiny store receipts. She likes the dull paper ones, similar to newspaper.I have tried to get her to eat all kinds of foods and treats. She will have nothing to do with them. Give her plain cockatiel seed and cereal. Oh, and mullet spray. When I give her a sprig, the little seed shells just go flying as she eats away.
My Precious did not appear to be amused by her new neighbor. My daughter's Emily the Strange rag doll. Precious didn't tolerate too many more pics, she left in a huff.
My daughter forgot her key today and stood outside in the cold for two hours waiting for me to get home. She argued that this is why she needs a cell phone. I argued that she shouldn't forget her key and if she would quit losing them, we may have half a chance of keeping the "hidden" key in it's place. As it is, she keeps having to use the "hidden" key and promptly loses that one, too.
And, why didn't she go to a neighbor's house and call my cell phone? I was at work for one hour and at the drug store picking up prescriptions for the other hour. That is how long it takes if you don't call them in ahead of time.
Then, this evening I went to a meeting for financial aid for my niece. Thats gonna be a lot of paperwork.
Not one thing done for Christmas tonight.
I've had a busy Sunday morning. I have arranged the holiday this year so that all my shopping is done and now all I have to do is make crafts and decorate and bake. No crowds. But, sometimes I am feeling really evil and I go shopping just to watch people get cranky. I stand in line and sing the 12 days of Christmas. Sometimes people are so cranky they let me go ahead of them.
Shades of Pink
Shades of blue and green
Grapes on a bench
I can't stop.
I have fallen in love with the color mauve this season. I had to do five wreaths for friends. I try to create as much of an ornament gift as I can for them. I did not make the snowmen, I bought them. I did not make the grapevine wreaths. I just put everything together. The idea is to use it for Christmas and when the season is over, pull the snowman ornament off and they can use the wreath all year if they wish or pack it away also.
My daughter and her boyfriend are back together. I figured as much. I threw this quick poem together for her in about five minutes. It is not all about her. It is a collection of my feelings when I was a teenager plus her experience plus life's experiences. It just comes flowing out and I have to write it down.
I wonder if it is cheating if I use a website for rhyming words.
http://www.rhymezone.com/
Dead Inside
I thought I was pretty
But I was just an object
I thought I was lovable
But I was just a reject
I thought I knew it all
But I was mistaken
I thought someone loved me
But they were just fakin'
I thought I was honest
But I was lying to myself
I thought I could love freely
But my heart remained on the shelf
I thought I was earnest
But I really didn't care
I thought I was giving
But I never really shared
I thought I was good
But evil burned inside
I thought I was happy
But every day I cried
I thought I was responsible
But I was careless
I thought I had good ideas
But they were just airless
I thought I was unbreakable
But I was quickly shattered
I thought my heart was healing
But it was seriously tattered
I thought I was popular
But I was forgotten
I thought my life was good
But it was just rotten
I thought I was allowed
But I was denied
I thought I was full of life
But I was dead inside.
Legal Notice
© 2004 Peruby mgwine@adelphia.net
All rights reserved.
Silly me. I forgot to mention. My daughter's boyfriend has already been dumped by his new girlfriend and my daughter came home from the dance tonight liking someone else. All is mended? We'll see.
I hate my Internet Service Provider. A while ago we had problems constantly. I was turning the cable/modem off and on about 5 to 10 times a day just to get re-connected. And, when you call them for service they were so lame. I run into a wireless router, so that I can connect more than one PC to the Internet.
Just like the cable companies tried to do years ago - charge you for each TV you wanted connected to cable, they didn't like people having more than one PC on the Internet. Well, screw you.
So, every time I call them, I have to disconnect my router and attach one PC to the cable/modem for troubleshooting purposes. I always tell them I have a router.
I talk to a lot of people in the Education field. There were about a dozen of us having the same problems with this IP. Finally, they got their act together.
Ever since the wind storm last week, I have been having connection problems again. I awoke early this morning, hoping to get caught up on email and other things before starting my busy day. I start my usual ritual. Anti-virus update definition files. It stops cold. My wireless connection icon states that I am connected to the router, but my Internet connection goes nowhere.
So, it is down to the basement I go to reset the cable/modem. Now, one nice thing about having the cable/router in the basement is - signal stops dead the second I walk out the door of my house. Not so good when I wanted to work on my patio with my laptop over the summer, but in reality it is good - as no driveby's can connect through me.
I did get nasty with my IP about 18 months ago. They told me to bundle my cable/modem up and bring it to the closest office. They had been having problems with that model. I do as they say and they hand me another box at the office. I take it home and there is no stinking power cord. Smoke starts coming out of my ears. The office closes in 7 minutes. I make it back there just in time and they treat me like a leper.
I get everything home and the unit itself will not boot up. Smoke long gone, I am turning bright red. So, I wait until the next business day and return the defective unit. They pull another one out of the cabinet. Mind you, I am taking time off from work to do this running. I get it home, and mercifully this unit works and I can connect. So, this resolved my problem for about a year.
Now, here I am. For one week it has been hit and miss. I have been pretty busy getting prepared for the holidays, so if the Internet was down I just moved onto something else. So much to do, so little time. Now, I am getting tired of it.
I have two brothers who are on a different cable network and they are never down. Or, so rarely they never realize it. I am fuming. My IP worked really well for about a year. It was sweet. Now, we are back to down time after down time.
It just sits there blinking at me. Maybe they are updating it. I don't know. I just wish they would hurry up. I mean, come on. People get up and start their day between 5 A.M. and 7 A.M. Why would you do the updates then?
Even the state updates their systems at 3 in the morning. Get with it.
I hate shopping. I went marathon shopping today. Craft/flower stuff. I love to make flower arrangements. My head felt like it would explode until I took my migraine medicine. Well, about an hour after I took the medicine. My eyes hurt, but I was able to continue shopping.
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