Thursday, November 30, 2006

Comet Is Ailing...

 She is 15, which is old for any animal. We took her to the vet today. I dreaded the trip. Our vet said she is dehydrated, anemic and has some other blood stuff going on. Right now she's sleeping in the little teepee/pyramid in which she was photographed. She did drink a lot of water when she got home and she's still eating, but her weight is 5.8 pounds. She's never been any heavier than about 12 pounds. Most of my cats have had bellies dragging on the ground, but not Comet. We get the blood work results tomorrow. She was a Petco pet when I adopted her. My last cat had died of natural causes at 19. Comet is the most affectionate cat I've ever had. She looks very peaceful. I am always an optimist about these things. I would like her to pull through but only time will tell. This is one of those times when you are powerless to make things happen. I'm not good with powerlessness. Send Comet energy. And maybe a bit for me too. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, November 26, 2006

The Slim Christmas Tree

 Well here it is. It's nice and tall but not so wide which is great for our room. It has 850 lights. I can hardly wait to decorate it. Posted by Picasa

We Bought An Artificial Christmas Tree

  I've wanted a fake tree for a couple of years just because it's so much easier, especially now that they come with the lights. This way I can concentrate on being creative with the tree and not spending hours stringing lights and then vacuuming up needles when I forget to water it. We got a 9-1/2 foot Carolina Pine. Instead of the really wide tree, this one is called a "slim tree." It's great for little spaces when you don't want the tree to take over your room. Bought it at Home Depot for $149. It very easy to put together. Also got a food dehydrator today. I'm really tired of making tomato puree. I have enough to last me a long time and my friends are getting tired of receiving it. Now I'm going to dry them. I don't think they will ever stop ripening. I even have little yellow flowers.

I planted 120 bulbs yesterday; mostly rannunculus, daffodil, and Iris. Today it's raining so my timing was perfect. I also did one last feed for the trees and a few other plants. I don't have to feed again until March.

The photo is my son Mark. It was taken by my brother in Evergreen, Colorado where Mark visited them for Thanksgiving. He looks so grown up (he's 31 so I guess he is). He is a wonderful son. I'm so proud of him. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving

We've been busy around here getting read for today. The bird is stuffed, oiled and seasoned. I remembered to get the giblets out and they are cooking in broth with carrots and onions. One year I cooked the turkey with the little paper bag still in the turkey. I didn't know where to find the heart, etc. The neck is hard to miss. Our dressing has mild Italian sausage, cornbread, whole wheat bread, toasted pine nuts, onions, celery, parsley lots of butter and fresh sage. The turkey goes in the oven in a couple of minutes. I made extra dressing because that's the dish that always seems in short supply right after gravy. The sweet potatoes are mashed with lots of butter and brown sugar and the white potatoes are cut into quarters and in water on the stove. Even the table is set. This year we've decided to put all the main dishes on an adjacent table so people can help themselves and then sit down. Things like gravy and cranberry sauce will be on the table along with salt and pepper. This way we can talk and eat. When someone wants more they can get up and help themselves. My friend Jan is bringing lots of pies from our favorite pie place, Machados.

But the important thing for me today is to think about what I am thankful for.

Family, friends and good health. That about sums it up.

More specifically I'm thankful for:

1. My son who has always brought immense joy to my life;
2. My brother's cochlear implant which has given him the ability to hear things we all take for granted;
3. My brother-in-law Neil who recently had blog clots in his lungs and leg, but thankfully is doing well and is back at work;
4. For the joy that grandbaby Max brings to his parents, grandparents and just about everyone else around him;
5. For his parents being able to buy a house this year;
6. For Kerry's continuing love (I'm not always easy to live with);
7. For my sister and her husband getting their house back (sorta);
8. For all my nephews who are doing well whether it's at work or in school;
9. And for our beautiful place in the country.

That's my list. It doesn't change much from year to year, but it's always good to write it down so the rest of life takes its rightful place. One more thing:

I love my Prius.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Here's Our Thanksgiving Drink

 I stole this photo from Roy's web site. It tastes as good as it looks. Goes down much too easily so I'm only going to make one apiece for our guests. Posted by Picasa

Our Morning Visitor...Mr. or Ms. Oppossum

 There was an oppossum down by Kerry's studio this morning. He was playing "possum" after Kerry scared it. I read that they can stay in their "possum" position for 45 minutes to four hours. They actually fall into a coma when they get scared. We watched him for a while and he seemed to be coming around, but then he was having trouble walking so we called animal control. He's nocturnal so shouldn't be there anyway. Kerry had left his studio door open so the oppossum might have gone in and found the rat poison. Animal control took him away about an hour after we found him. They said he'd be euthanized if he was sick. Otherwise he would be nursed back to health and released in the wild.

Well, I'm starting to feel like my old self again. My spirits were bolstered just by the fact that I didn't get on an airplane this morning. My suitcase is put away for the first time in a month. I did lots of mundane things today like refill a prescription, make an eye exam appointment, make a platelet donation appointment and put together a grocery list for Thanksgiving. I enjoyed every mundane minute. There will only be six of us, which will be nice. I did manage to find homemade cranberry sauce at our local produce market.

We've decided that our before dinner drink will be Hawaiian Martinis. I had one in Palm Desert when we went to Roy's Fusion Restaurant for drinks. You soak pieces of pineaple for two days in Skyy vodka, Stoli vanilla vodka, malibu coconut rum and a 1/8th cup of sugar. It's served straight up with a piece of pineapple that has been soaking. The one I had at Roy's was delicious.

Tomorrow is hair maintenance day. With less time in the sun my color is lasting longer, but I am a bit shaggy.

Yesterday I went to my favorite nursery in Auburn and bought brussel sprout plants and more bulbs plus assorted fertilizers. Got the brussel sprouts in the ground yesterday and will start working on the bulbs tomorrow. I have to fertilize the existing bulbs and then plant the new ones.

So life is great when you get to stay home. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, November 18, 2006

I've Been Among The Missing....

 The last six weeks are a blur. I've been traveling on business every week; sometimes twice a week. I'm just plain worn out. I do have a time out for the next two weeks. Then the travel starts back up Dec. 5th. Traveling this much is not fun. I feel like I live in isolation from the rest of my life. I also watch a lot of TV when I'm on the road. Discovered Rachel Ray this last trip. I like her meal in 30 minutes. Rarely missesd Oprah and tried to see Dr. Phil as much as possible.

But now I'm home for two weeks and I need to do things like refill prescriptions, make an eye doctor appointment, cook Thanksgiving dinner and start my Christmas shopping. I also want to plant some more bulbs. My tomatoes are still producing. Last year they continued until January. I just made another batch of tomato puree. I freeze it in ziploc bags and use it in all kinds of things. It's really yummy.

The flowers pictured here are for all of you who are already dealing with snow. They brighten my day when I go out in the yard. I hope they will brighten yours as well. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Wine Tasting

 Yesterday some good friends took four of us wine tasting in El Dorado and Amador Counties. This is a part of California that grows wonderful grapes to make red wines: zinfandels, cabernet sauvignons, and merlots. The vineyards are all at about 2,000+ feet. We took our first sip at 10 a.m. and our last at 5 p.m., which is where I took this picture. I went outside to sit and enjoy the view and found the full moon was rising. The winery where I took the photo is Bella Piazza in Amador County. In between tastings we had a wonderful picnic at Perry Creek Vineyard. I love cream cheese with jalapeno jelly on top of rice crackers. Yummy. After a day of tasting our host and hostess treated all of us to dinner at the Bee Bennett House in Placerville, CA. Yummy food. No one ordered wine, however. We had had enough by that time. I had a beer which hit the spot. Posted by Picasa