Quick Hits

A dogwood tree fell in our yard during Thursday evening's storms. Not a big deal since it didn't hit anything and isn't in the way. It seems almost a shame to have to remove it -- the cats think it is their personal feline jungle gym. They are all over it.

I've decided that planning our vacations is nearly as much fun as actually going on them. It finally got slow at work the past two days so I started working on our August plans. We're going to Washington state to see North Cascades, Olympic, and Mt. Rainier national parks. And since we're flying into Seattle, I think we'll have to make time to see the Science Fiction Museum just because.

Work is still kicking my ass, but in spite of that I am glad that they switched me to the Midtown location. Change is good. Still covering the "gritty downtown location" two days a week. Also still forced to "share" my Midtown office with a physician two of my three days there. And by "share", my employers mean when she is there I don't get to use it. Not fun.

So why haven't I been around here more? Ironically, my near constant access to the internet provided by my smart phone is the reason that I haven't been around very much. Now that I don't need a computer to read my email and get directions and stuff, I have less of a reason to get on the internet. I'm too busy to do it at work any more and don't really want to sit behind a computer at home since I spend so much time staring at a screen at work.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Forty five sure feels like halfway (or -gulp- more than half way) to something. Anyway, I decided to get myself a present: I'm hiring a housekeeper. I suck at cleaning, don't do it often enough and don't like it. I am more than happy to pay someone else to do it. So that's the plan. We've talked about hiring people to do the yard work also, but I am on the fence about that. I don't dislike yard work. I just don't like doing it when it is hot (kind of a problem when you live in Atlanta - it is hot all the dang time). I'd rather mow the lawn than vacuum any day, even if it is 95F and 95% humidity.

Hammock Time

This is the view from our hammock. Rather awesome, no?

Atlanta had such great weekend weather*, I brought the hammock out of storage early and had some well deserved time to rest in it after a whole lot of yard work. It was our annual "chop down the old monkey grass" weekend. Like I always say, if it has "monkey" in the title, it is bound to give you trouble. We also did a bunch of other chores that you don't want to hear about.

Now the smell of charcoal smoke and jerk pork is filling the evening air. I am sipping wine and catching up on internet stuff while my husband cooks. Hope your weekend was equally productive and enjoyable. Smells like it is time to eat - gotta go!


*It isn't all wine and pork aroma. We are paying dearly for the early spring with a very high pollen count - especially considering it is only February. At least we are warm and comfortable while we sneeze and rub our eyes.

Fun in a Leaf Pile

Romeo makes a bed in a pile o' leaves last Saturday. He knows how to have a good time, and take comfort wherever it presents.

The Next Day

Well... the sun came up today, just like usual. The world didn't end.

We didn't get home until after 2am last night, and I was up until 3:30, so I put on eye shades and slept late today. No hangover. Cooked some breakfast for PDM and our guests using the last of the eggs, bacon and cheese. Did a few hours of therapeutic yard chores to work out my frustration and disappointment. Hard labor can soothe a troubled mind. Or at least make you so tired you don't care any more. Sort of. Got in a few winks and then had a big steak dinner. Tomorrow the regular routine kicks in again. Life goes on. But I might not have a pep in my step for a while yet.

Rage Against the Machine

I hate my vacuum cleaner. Yes, it was highly rated by a certain consumer magazine. Yes, the suction is excellent and it is quite good at removing dirt and cat hair. It is "self propelled" if used on carpets. But I don't have carpets. I have hardwood floors and the occasional area rug. The vacuum is big, and bulky, and weighs a metric ton. It gets an "F" for ease of use. The attachments don't stay attached. It is difficult to maneuver. I can barely carry it up and down the stairs. My use of it never fails to elicit a flurry of obscenities that would make the saltiest of sailors blush. I growl and grumble and scowl. I hit stuff in frustration. I grit my teeth and roll my eyes. I dread having to use it, because it always pisses me off and wears me out. Which is why I let the floors get so dirty before I take action. I HATE vacuuming. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

If they ever do invent that self-cleaning house, I am all over it.

Off My Game

Random thoughts from this weekend:

My schedule got all turned around. I wish I knew how to hit the reset. I am feeling pretty restless for 9:45 on a Sunday night.

I got only one of the Final Four teams right. So did President Obama, who knows a thing or two about basketball. I guess I shouldn't feel bad.

It is wonderful to wake up to a thunderstorm and be able to turn over and go back to sleep.

If someone invites you to a Nigerian Engagement Ceremony, you should definitely attend.

At any solemn event, someone's cell phone is sure to ring. Usually this happens multiple times. I can't understand why the first mistake doesn't cause people to check their own phones to make sure it doesn't happen again. Do people not even feel embarrassed about this anymore?

PDM and I still don't like crowds.

A study session with a friend helped me know what I don't know for the board exam. And showed me how inelegantly I answer physics questions out loud. We've got a long way to go to be able to answer smoothly, but it is good to have friends to practice with. It will get better.

We're short-staffed at work for the next week and a half. I hope it's not awful.

Our house isn't going to clean itself. We've given it plenty of chances.

Invasion!

Silvio's about a have a bad week.

We're hosting the big T-Day family gathering this year, and the most of the gang arrives tomorrow... with kids. Thirteen people for dinner, and eleven people sleeping here (including us). Silv was bashful with just PDM's older brother here last night. He'll probably spend the next few days quivering under the bed. Or maybe he'll finally grow a set and get over it. The girl cats do just fine, thankyouverymuch.

I took this week off, so preparations have gone on at a leisurely pace. Having company over forces you to clean things up. Having overnight company means you have to clean up stuff that rarely sees the light of day, such as the bottom shelf of the 'fridge. It's amazing how much expired stuff can accumulate -- and we had already kinda sorta cleaned out the old food last week (or so we thought).

I've done my best to ferret out all the hidden cat hair and other dirt. The linens are clean, and the cobwebs have been removed. The case+ of "two buck chuck" (only the best wine for my family!) has been lovingly selected from Trader Joe's, along with some crackers, cookies, nuts, and cheeses. I've got all the stuff we need to make hot bourbon-laced cider. All we need is a few last minute groceries and a beer run. Let the invasion begin!

Happy T-Day to all, and remember: TO HELL WITH GEORGIA!!!

Tuesday is the new Saturday

I took today off as a comp day, since I spent all day at work Saturday not getting things done around the house. After allowing myself twenty minutes with some hot tea and the newspaper, I hit the ground running and didn't stop all day. I got surprisingly little checked off my list, although it should be vastly easier to clean the house for our Thanksgiving guests next week. I spent most of the day deep cleaning. I hate how it takes all that work just to get back to status quo (clean house, no cobwebs or cat hair). I only got a tiny bit of work done on the new bathroom. It is functional now, but I will save the picture show until we have painted and installed all the new hardware.

My reward was going to see Zack and Miri Make a Porno at the local movie tavern with a friend. (Getting out of the house was the only way I was gonna stop working -- I was obsessed.) The movie was fun. Raunchy of course, but the underlying story is actually kind of sweet. It was a good choice. We both needed to laugh and this movie delivered. Plus, I had wine and a quesadilla. And came home to a very clean house. Life is good.

Some chores are better than others.

Every spring and summer, my gardening work in the yard requires dozens of bags of mulch. PDM never minds going to get mulch for me. In fact, a lot of the time he will drop everything and go get it right after I tell him I need more. I'd like to think it is because (a) he really loves me, and (b) he is proud of my landscaping efforts. But I know the answer is mostly (c) Home Depot is across the street from the pub.

Improvisation

I made dinner tonight. Yes, I know this is hardly earth shattering news: "wife cooks dinner". But it isn't the norm at our house. My husband is an excellent cook. He has quite a reputation among our family and friends for his culinary masterpieces. He reads a lot about "cooking science", which makes him very good at cooking without any recipe to guide him, and it almost always turns out fantastic. Lucky me! So I usually let him do the lion's share of meal prep around here. I figure it all works out in the end -- for example, I am the only one who has ever cleaned the cat boxes. PDM is always after me to cook more, but cannot seem to resist what I will call "back seat cooking" when I do. Tonight was no exception. He claims that it is a learning experience and he is just trying to help. I say he sucks the fun out of cooking, except that I don't find cooking all that fun. I guess it comes across as too much criticism and makes me not want to cook because apparently I am not all that great at it.

A funny thing happened with tonight's meal. We had some chicken thighs and the plan was that we'd use those somehow. PDM got home around 7pm and didn't feel like cooking, so I volunteered. I figured we could make "southwestern chicken stew" which is good with thigh meat, except we didn't exactly have all the necessary ingredients. We did a quick inventory. Since PDM is such a good improvisational chef, I decided to run my potential substitutions by him. The big one was fine by him - needed a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes; had a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes and a jar of chipotle salsa. Sure, that'll work. But the recipe also called for some corn, and we didn't have any. PDM throws out a suggestion - "hey, we have lima beans in the freezer". I take this to mean "we should use those lima beans in place of the corn." But what he really meant was the equivalent of "hey, we have some dog turds we could use." PDM does not like lima beans. Not even a tiny little bit. But since I like them and didn't get the joke, into the stew they went. And it all worked out very well. The stew was delicious, and PDM finally found a way he can eat lima beans without gagging. According to him "they really work in this", and it was a sincere statement. At least I think so. He might have just been trying to increase the odds that I will cook more in the future. You never can tell.