Old Ones, it's a woman after my own heart. A reading challenge. A challenge to read books. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
It's a family joke: go to auntie Kim's house and just TRY to find a horizontal surface without reading material. My dearest nephew once said "between the mattresses!" and I had to show him where I kept the magazines...
A list?
The Ethnobotany of the Kiowa-Apache by Julia Anne Jordan
Shamanic Spirit by Kenneth Meadows
Spirits of the Earth by Bobby Lake-Thom
White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Dracula in Love by Karen Essex (Thanks for the book, Magaly, it arrived today!)
Celtic Magic by D.J. Conway
Book of Witchery by Ellen Dugan
and others to be added--Judika Illes, Blackwell, Thurlows, Alts, etc.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
The Saga of the Holiday Dinner
My 90 year old mother rarely cooks anymore. I usually have her over for dinner--especially holiday dinners. This year, we decided to have a crown rib pork roast with a cherry-apricot-apple dressing, green bean casserole, agave glazed carrots, pumpkin pie and Royal Chef Darren McGrady's Chocolate Tea Biscuit Cake.
Monday I went to the butcher counter in the market I've patronized for over 30 years and ordered the roast, French cut, to be picked up Tuesday at 5 p.m. The man at the counter had me write it down in the order book, myself, and sign it.
Tuesday, I went in to pick up the roast.
"I'm sorry, but no one ordered a crown rib pork roast for today".
"Yes, I did. I wrote it in the special order book myself. And signed it."
"I'm sorry, but no one ordered a crown rib pork roast for today."
"Go look in the special order book."
"Oh. Here it is. No one posted this on today's work board. I'm sorry, it isn't ready."
"Will you have it ready tomorrow?"
"Oh, yes, definitely!"
"At the sale price?"
"Oh, yes, definitely."
Wednesday, I went in to pick up the roast.
"I'm here to pick up my special order crown rib pork roast. The name is Roberts."
"Oh, yes. I worked over an hour on your order today. It was just beautiful."
It was beautiful. It. Was. Beautiful. WAS??
"There's a problem with your order."
"Really?"
"Someone set it in the display case and sold it."
"You sold my special order French cut crown rib pork roast. To Someone Else."
"I'm sorry. I have a four pound--"
"You've sold the 10 pound French cut crown rib roast that I ordered on Monday, to be picked up Tuesday that wasn't done on time, that you spent over an hour on today, to someone else???"
"I'm really very sorry. If you come back in 30 minutes, I'll have a 10 pound crown rib for you."
"I'm not leaving without my order."
I stood there for 30 minutes.
I got my order at the sale price.
It wasn't the French cut.
The French cut would have made a prettier presentation.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Update and Under a Spell
Update on Amanda: sad news; at the last appt., no heartbeats. She had a D and C. And her snarky monster-in-law wouldn't even spot them $10 for gas to get to the doctor's office.
Under a Spell
External clutter = internal clutter, therefore external clutter must go for the sake of clarity of thought and clarity of emotion.
Clutter must go.
So, a simple declutter spell isn't going to hurt, right?
Day 1: One candle and a cuppa later:
"If you haven't worn it in a year, get rid of it".
I wore it last year; it no longer fits. Pack it in the box. Get another box, and pack it. And another. All the sweater-look sweat shirts. All the corduroys. All the Irish wool sweaters. And the jackets and wool coats. Ditto the wool skirts (no heartache there--I can't wear heels anymore, so, so long skirts!). Cashmere sweaters (hyperventilate) packed in a box. Ran out of boxes, so 3 large black trash sacks came to the rescue. All loaded into the bed of the pickup and taken to the thrift store operated by (and for) a group of developmentally handicapped adults. And it only took 6 hours to clear the walk-in storage closet.
Day 2: same candle, same spell, 1 cuppa
5 hours later, everything in the bathroom has been taken out of every cabinet. Cabinets wiped down (inside and out), reorganized, fixtures cleaned, old items trashed, old meds set aside for disposal at the pharmacy, floor steam mopped, light fixtures washed, and how the hell did I manage to get 2 large black trash bags of stuff to throw away?
Day 3: ditto
6 hours later: all the old videos of recorded TV shows in the trash (Man from U.N.C.L.E., Murphy Brown, Babylon 5, Northern Exposure, all the Star Trek, etc. = 2 big bags). Ceiling fan and beams dusted. Paneling wiped and oiled. Fireplace cleaned, built-in storage emptied, sorted, and 3 bags of useless stuff. Steam mopped the Spanish tile. The spell was meant for me. It kinda bled over on my roommate, who tackled the dining room and her room.
The trash collectors are gonna hate me.
Day 4: ditto.
Everything out from under the bed. All those books. I boxed them up for the Senior Citizens library. The leftover tile from the bathroom remodel. Dust dinosaurs. Bookshelves cleared, cleaned, reshelved. And more useless stuff. (I think wire coat hangers metamorph into cluttery stuff). And laundry. Closet floor cleared, shoes unworn for years--trashed. Purses to resale shop.
Day 5: Didn't use the candle, just the empowered tea (Peet's "Winter Solstice Tea")
Swept, steam mopped and vacuumed the house.
Baked a turkey.
Made pumpkin chili.
Made The Queen's Chocolate Tea Biscuit Cake (Royal chef's recipe--Prince William's groom's cake).
Baked Old German Rosewater Sugar Cookies.
Made white chocolate peppermint bark.
Made dark chocolate peppermint bark.
Wrapped the presents. Every. Last. One.
Took a bath and went out to dinner.
Haven't weighed, haven't measured, haven't walked.
But, by golly, my house is decluttered and clean.
Wahe guru!
Under a Spell
External clutter = internal clutter, therefore external clutter must go for the sake of clarity of thought and clarity of emotion.
Clutter must go.
So, a simple declutter spell isn't going to hurt, right?
Day 1: One candle and a cuppa later:
"If you haven't worn it in a year, get rid of it".
I wore it last year; it no longer fits. Pack it in the box. Get another box, and pack it. And another. All the sweater-look sweat shirts. All the corduroys. All the Irish wool sweaters. And the jackets and wool coats. Ditto the wool skirts (no heartache there--I can't wear heels anymore, so, so long skirts!). Cashmere sweaters (hyperventilate) packed in a box. Ran out of boxes, so 3 large black trash sacks came to the rescue. All loaded into the bed of the pickup and taken to the thrift store operated by (and for) a group of developmentally handicapped adults. And it only took 6 hours to clear the walk-in storage closet.
Day 2: same candle, same spell, 1 cuppa
5 hours later, everything in the bathroom has been taken out of every cabinet. Cabinets wiped down (inside and out), reorganized, fixtures cleaned, old items trashed, old meds set aside for disposal at the pharmacy, floor steam mopped, light fixtures washed, and how the hell did I manage to get 2 large black trash bags of stuff to throw away?
Day 3: ditto
6 hours later: all the old videos of recorded TV shows in the trash (Man from U.N.C.L.E., Murphy Brown, Babylon 5, Northern Exposure, all the Star Trek, etc. = 2 big bags). Ceiling fan and beams dusted. Paneling wiped and oiled. Fireplace cleaned, built-in storage emptied, sorted, and 3 bags of useless stuff. Steam mopped the Spanish tile. The spell was meant for me. It kinda bled over on my roommate, who tackled the dining room and her room.
The trash collectors are gonna hate me.
Day 4: ditto.
Everything out from under the bed. All those books. I boxed them up for the Senior Citizens library. The leftover tile from the bathroom remodel. Dust dinosaurs. Bookshelves cleared, cleaned, reshelved. And more useless stuff. (I think wire coat hangers metamorph into cluttery stuff). And laundry. Closet floor cleared, shoes unworn for years--trashed. Purses to resale shop.
Day 5: Didn't use the candle, just the empowered tea (Peet's "Winter Solstice Tea")
Swept, steam mopped and vacuumed the house.
Baked a turkey.
Made pumpkin chili.
Made The Queen's Chocolate Tea Biscuit Cake (Royal chef's recipe--Prince William's groom's cake).
Baked Old German Rosewater Sugar Cookies.
Made white chocolate peppermint bark.
Made dark chocolate peppermint bark.
Wrapped the presents. Every. Last. One.
Took a bath and went out to dinner.
Haven't weighed, haven't measured, haven't walked.
But, by golly, my house is decluttered and clean.
Wahe guru!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Buster
A week ago some people took my grey tiger shorthair, Buster, from the convenience store where he liked to sit by the door and act as "The Greeter".
Right now he is curled up on my fuzzy pink bathrobe at the foot of my bed. He's fine.
I'm happy.
My best friend's daughter called. After 6 miscarriages, she's pregnant. The doctor at the high-risk pregnancy center found 2 heartbeats. If you pray, remember Amanda and Kyle; they want children so.
School term ends Friday. Giving a test tomorrow and final exams on Friday.
Right now he is curled up on my fuzzy pink bathrobe at the foot of my bed. He's fine.
I'm happy.
My best friend's daughter called. After 6 miscarriages, she's pregnant. The doctor at the high-risk pregnancy center found 2 heartbeats. If you pray, remember Amanda and Kyle; they want children so.
School term ends Friday. Giving a test tomorrow and final exams on Friday.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Week in Review
My uncle died.
OSU beat OU 44 to 10. (This is a good thing, but Uncle Don was a major OU fan--probably died that morning so he wouldn't have to watch the game).
Someone stole Buster, my gray tiger shorthair while he was visiting the convenience store behind my house. The manager tried to stop them.
My substitute teacher did not show up the day I took off to take my 90 year old mother to Uncle Don's funeral.
The cafeteria ran out of food at school.
I gave my college final Wednesday night. The interpreter for my deaf student was a little late (she had to interpret a police investigation ; child abuse case). Two of the students failed the class.
I got up at 4:40 this morning and walked until partial eclipse and sunrise--about 2.5 hours. I meant to go shopping, but ended up tossing out a decluttering spell and worked for 6 hours decluttering and cleaning.
I think that's part of my problem--internal and external clutter.
Dealing with the external clutter should help clear away the internal clutter. I have one more week of school before we break for winter holidays. Then I'm going after the reat of the house with a vengence.
As for the Fitness Challenge, I've plateaued. No weight loss, haven't measured, and right now I'm still upset about the cat, and too tired to do much else.
OSU beat OU 44 to 10. (This is a good thing, but Uncle Don was a major OU fan--probably died that morning so he wouldn't have to watch the game).
Someone stole Buster, my gray tiger shorthair while he was visiting the convenience store behind my house. The manager tried to stop them.
My substitute teacher did not show up the day I took off to take my 90 year old mother to Uncle Don's funeral.
The cafeteria ran out of food at school.
I gave my college final Wednesday night. The interpreter for my deaf student was a little late (she had to interpret a police investigation ; child abuse case). Two of the students failed the class.
I got up at 4:40 this morning and walked until partial eclipse and sunrise--about 2.5 hours. I meant to go shopping, but ended up tossing out a decluttering spell and worked for 6 hours decluttering and cleaning.
I think that's part of my problem--internal and external clutter.
Dealing with the external clutter should help clear away the internal clutter. I have one more week of school before we break for winter holidays. Then I'm going after the reat of the house with a vengence.
As for the Fitness Challenge, I've plateaued. No weight loss, haven't measured, and right now I'm still upset about the cat, and too tired to do much else.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Circle of Life
Dad's only surviving sibling, my Uncle Don, died this past Saturday. Don Parr, 1916-2011. R.I.P.
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