Long day with lots of snow shoveling.  We never lost power, although the bamboo threatened the line and did cause our phone line to be detached from the house.  Phone is still working, so we are not suffering.  Bet it will be weeks before it is fixed; Verizon will have many more problems to deal with.  We are blessed!

There are pictures up on my Picasa site http://picasaweb.google.com/colleen.cahill/20100206# and they include a few from the last hours of the daylight.  We went for a walk, to see if there was a way to drive out if we needed to: the end of our street was blocked by a large tree (see photos).  There was a Washington Gas van stuck in the snow and we joined several others in helping to dig it out.  We succeed, but I am glad he did not try to drive away, as there was brake fluid all over the ground.  A tow truck was called in and the Gas guy said he would wait for it. 

Around 4:30 I went out front and hear chain saws; there were a group of men taking down the fallen tree.  By 5:30, our street was open again.  Now we can get out if we need to; hopefully the plows can come through later.

Dennis sore from all the snow removal and I must admit my wrists are aching, but unlike some, we have power and heat.  I put together a good comfort meal of spaghetti and salad.    And maybe I will have a butternut squash muffin for dessert; these being an experiment that turned out quite tasty.  Found the recipe on line and substituted spelt flour, so they are almost free of anything Dennis is allergic to; also did not put in raisins or cranberries, which was a good move for us.  simpledailyrecipes.com/simple-butternut-squash-breakfast-muffins/

Dennis really likes a beat up old plastic shovel we have, so during one rest period, I got online at Ace Hardware and ordered a new one. It willl be delivered to our local Ace, not that we will see it for a week or so. Turned out this was a good move; the old shovel broke just as Dennis was finishing up. 

Tomorrow I will have to tackle the rest of the driveway; I am hoping to convince Dennis to rest, as his wrist is really in pain.

Why, you say, is a cat eating news? Because this is the first time she has done so in days.  Starting on Saturday she was ill and by Sunday was getting sick regularly.  Monday she stopped eating, which made me worry.  Two days later and two trips to the vet, Pye is more herself again and I am giving her little meals.  So far she has not revisited any of them on me.  Hooray!  Tests at the vet showed nothing, so we will never know why she was sick, but since it  is (hopefully over), I am happy,

Dorian, the gut, has done well at this time, snarfing up any bits Pye has turned down, including tuna.  The boy is going to be on a diet for a while.

In other news, I got a new netbook computer, a Gateway.  Wait, you say, what about the Touch Book?  Well, I got that too, although it first showed up with no SD Card, so basically had no brains.  When I got the card, I started to play and discovered my plans for organizing my life with it would not work, as all the software I wanted to use on it would have to be recompiled for that hardware set.  Okay, my bad, but I found a home for the Touch Book and am now happy with my new netbook.  Installed Google Gears so I can see my Google Calendar offline and read/respond/sort/compose Gmail offline, and have the results activated when I next get online.  Now I am off to find a good address book program.

Used the Detect Location button in LJ (which uses Google Gears) and it thinks I am in Berwyn, MD; no, not really, but not too far away.

Got the H1N1 flu shot yesterday and not surprisingly was not tip-top last night.  Much better this morning, although lazing with the computer for now. Very cold here, so I am going to do some baking, just have not decided what yet.

Yesterday's snow was just enough to be pretty without being a pain.  I even got to walk in it on my way to the metro that morning.  Delightful!

Just got some great news: my new Touch Book is actually in Maryland!  My hope is it will be delivered today, but if not, on Monday!  I have been waiting for this since I pre-ordered in June, 2009, so you can understand my excitement.  I suppose this will not change my life, but I am not ruling it out, either. :-)

Off for a shower, then housework and such. 

It came, it came!  Am charging so I can hopefully begin "playing" tonight; but for sure tomorrow!

Why I am old:
  -I don't get this modern music (rap, hip hop, etc.)
  -My knees make noises like Rice Krispies sometimes
  -I would prefer to be in bed early than go out to a bar

(Okay, the last one was true when I was younger)

Why I am young:
 -I stamped on the thin ice on the side of the road on my way home today
 -There is still magic in books like the Oz series and The Mysterious Benedict Society for me
 -When my knees allow, I can still skip a mean strip

:-)

Just finished up a New Years party with friends; big dinner, gift giving and lots of fun.  Now at 9:19 I will be crawling into bed for a long winter's nap.  Life is good!

So, just2draw , is this what really goes on down under? 

We are having a nice quiet morning before going to friends for dinner. Last night was with D.'s kids and the grandkids were both amazing entertainment and very exhausting, but what do you expect from a 2 and 5 year old?

Breakfast today was polenta and sausage. I did not think we had any cheese D. could eat and the dish really needs cheese (and maybe some spices). So will try again on a later date.

Finished the Old Bay hazelnuts and am going to start the key lime dessert.

Can't eat chocolate now because of side effects, so no contest for me.

But not because the government closed. Yesterday I was working because Monday is my scheduled telework day; hey, it's the price I pay for not having to commute into work most Mondays. Anyway, last night I told my husband I did not want to go to work tomorrow. About 1 hour later, we hear water running. The source is tracked to the basement and there is water coming out of the hot water heater. Thankfully, Dennis had already taken his shower. We shut the unit down and now I am home waiting for a plumber. This is not what I had in mind, but I am off work for today.

Between this latest event, Dennis' daughter getting ill and shoveling out our almost 100 ft. driveway, I am a bit stressed. But since I like snow, a plumber is on the way and Dennis' daughter is recovering, I cannot complain too much.

Now to catch up on some wrapping and maybe even dive into the Christmas cards.

First and foremost is Dennis' daughter is out of the hospital, able to eat and doing much better. This is wonderful as she was in great danger only a few days ago. I am going to make a batch of granola for her as part of her Christmas present; that girl needs to get some weight back on her.

Another blessing, at least to me, is it is snowing and quite the winter wonderland here. Long range forecasts say up to 22 inches, but that is an outside change; we have 9 right now. It looks like we will have a white Christmas for the first time in years.

I am inspired to try and get a few things done today, including a batch of cookies. Might try some key lime cookies if I find a recipe I like. If not, there is cream cheese in the house which makes a nice sugar cookie.

Did find that my milk had soured last night, but I am not going out in the storm just to replace that. The streets have been plowed once, but it is just not worth the risk. This is a better day to enjoy a pot of tea and some cat lap time.

We visited Dennis' daughter last night in the hospital and she is doing better. This is some sort of an auto-immune disease, but not one they can give a name to right now. She is eating a little and we hope it will stay down nicely. After a bit of a walk to help the pressure on her knees, we left, but in very hopeful spirits. Your prayers and good wishes are making a difference; many thanks and keep it up!

She went into the hospital on Wed. night and will be there for a while. She has lost so much weight she is skin and bones; shortly the doctors will be starting auto-immune disease drugs. The source of the problem is not known; right now they are treating symptoms to get her strength back.

Any prayers are welcome: this is a tense time for our family.

I am watching from a comfy chair with a cup of tea as big fat flakes come down. Delightful! This is a bit slick out, but the roads are mostly good. My only fear is for D., who went out and won't be back until after dark; the temperature is due to drop and I am concerned about the roads getting icy.

Today our church had a Christmas brunch for the Women's group and I contributed a breakfast casserole. Since I don't normally cook that way, I had to do a bit of thinking. Decided to put together something with polenta and sausage. Got the ready-made polenta from Quinoa Corp., heated to soften it like mashed potatoes, then put in serving dish. Browned off some loose sausage (we like Bob Evan's original) and put that on top. Grate on some cheese, bake in oven for 30-40 minutes. Was tasty enough that I did not bring any home.

Am enjoying Christmas music on our Bose system and the biggest miracle is I figured out how to select that genre and play it in shuffled order. Just not an intuitive set up. But for the next 6+ hours I won't hear the same song again. This, of course, is prefect snow music. :-)

I have so much to do that I will have to get off my derrière and get things done. But for now, I am a happy snow voyeur.

Before you ask, no, I did not put Dorian and Pyewacket in a pot.

Dennis was not feeling well this morning, so I put up a batch of Turkey soup, using the leftovers his mom gave us. The recipe is something like this:

1 tbls olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2-2 cups cooked turkey (mostly dark meat), cut in spoon sized pieces
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
3-4 ribs of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 medium potatoes, cleaned and cut in spoon sized pieces

Put a large pot on the stove and heat up the olive oil. Add the onions and saute until tender. While this is happening, cut up the turkey: your fuzzy assistants will appear, getting under your feet, making various demands to test taste the meat and generally being nuisances. Feed turkey skin (not good in the soup) to cats to get them out of your way for a short time (very short). Put turkey in pot and then add chicken broth. As you will be using a can opener, your feline help will return with more demands: ignore them as metal cans have sharp edges. Add bay leaf and poultry seasoning, bring soup to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Clean up all evidence of turkey meat from cutting board, counter and floor. If any of this is put in the trash, lock up the trash or Dorian will get in it. If you leave the kitchen, he WILL get up on the counter. Get out vegetables, clean and chop them. The cats will still be under foot, as the house now smells of turkey cooking. Offer Pye and Dorian a carrot for fun and enjoy the disdain on their faces. When 30 minutes passes, take the lid off the pot and add the veggies; expect many complaining meows that certainly there is more turkey somewhere for cats. Put lid back on pot and cook 30-40 minutes or until veggies are tender. Serve soup and fight off cats every spoonful.

May not be a very relaxing recipe, but you do burn calories. :-)

Am back from Thanksgiving with Dennis' mom, which went really well. We enjoyed a great meal, but left today as I was brain-dead and left the bag with my meds, retainers, and (OMG) the computer at home. The hotel had a business office so we could have used the computer, but I think Dennis was worried about the other things AND the weather turned cold and windy, so we headed home. Got some great fruit, veggies, nuts and ham hocks at a local stand; am going to make yellow-eyed peas for dinner tomorrow.

Just before Thanksgiving I got the news that my Mom had fallen and broken her pelvic bone. At first she was insisting she would be getting on a plane and flying to my Aunt's for a few weeks, but one night in bed changed her mind (Thank you God). She will be seeing an orthopedic surgeon next week and meanwhile my sister is there to help out. Prayers are welcome!

Just finishing up a review for Lawrence M. Schoen's Buffalito Destiny, a truly fun book I encourage you all to read; will put a link here when it goes on the web. How can you not like a book with miniature buffaloes that fart oxygen?

A few weeks ago I ordered some DVDs with the Ellery Queen TV show. A fan of these 1970's production, I was very excited when they arrived. And then very disappointed when either the disks would not play OR would only play the program until 3/4's of the way through. Do you know how frustrating it is have the plot set up and not know who did it? I did complain and other set of disks was sent, but had the same flaws. So I tried a different company and now am watching the complete program; hooray! The picture quality could be better, but it is good enough to enjoy the show.

Am in Charlottesville, VA. at a meeting of librarians and others for a discussion geospatial tools and data, and how they can be used in humanities research. A very good conference where I am learning a lot. It started Sunday and ends tomorrow; I will returned with a head stuffed with more knowledge.

Am kind of keeping up with my reading of LJ, although I wish life was a bit slower to give me more time. Once again I feel I am falling way down on many things, such as writing book reviews; I am working on one for Buffalito Destiny by Lawrence M. Schoen, and also one Cat Rambo's collection Eyes like Smoke and Coal and Moonlight (that title alone gets me). Must get more done!

Have not been very active here, so time to change. I pledge to read daily and post weekly; let's see if life agrees with that. :-)

Just got back from the World Fantasy Convention; as ever, it was a great deal of fun. This year I only sat in a few readings (my fault), but enjoyed Jeff Ford, Kij Johnson and Kim Vandervort. Next year in Columbus, Ohio will be different, I vow! Got some good books both in the goodie bag and from the dealer's room. Am especially enjoying Booklife by Jeff VanderMeer, a writers survival guide. While not an author, I am finding there is lots of good advice for the non-writer in this work, such as how to deal with people, the Internet and life in general; I recommend it to all.

Was suppose to go to work today, but am still recovering from California time and being on airplanes for over 7 hours. I had to literally run between flights as I had only 30 minutes between them and OF COURSE had to go from one terminal to another. Otherwise, normal boring, uncomfortable flying.

Lots of things arrived while I was away, including our Wii Fit Plus disk. The $20.00 upgrade is worth it, in my opinion (if you don't have a Wii fit yet, buy the Plus as it has everything the old system does with more). There are a few more yoga and strength exercises, but a lot of new balance and agility games. I like the Segway race and the bike riding game, although I am bad at them so far. Here is another goal; I will use the Wii at least 20 minutes each day to keep myself limber-er.

So now I will try to deal with the mountains of papers on my desk and also get in some house work.

Remember, I am watching you all now. ;-)

Or at least they are on the same bed, which is a big change.


The other day they were "playing" and Pyewacket (the small whiter one) was hissing up a storm. Of course Dorian is twice her weight and about 1/2 her age, so it could be bullying or just that he is going to win no matter what. She certainly starts most of the "romps".

Not an exciting Labor Day weekend for me; I got a cold starting Friday night and am still suffering running nose and such. But it was good to be off work as I could just lay around as I wanted to, not spreading any germs. Dennis gave this to me, as he was sick earlier last week, so we are assuming he is immune. Time will tell on that one. :-)

Time to go make a cup of tea; think I will have gun powder today.