My Commonplace Book

After going through four veterinarians in as many years, I'm pretty confident that I've finally found the right one.

( Val's new doctor )

( Val's checkup -- arthritis and thyroid )

Happy (belated) Birthday
mactavish

Sorry I missed it yesterday -- hope it was happy!

Most years this would be me. This year, for the first time in mumblety years, I got my tax return out a week early! In fact, I just received the delivery receipt from the US Treasury and I put it away properly in the envelope with the other tax stuff!





see more crazy cat pics

The Seder last night went very well, although it was very sparsely attended. In the past couple of years the prime mover of the event has managed to increase the turnout to over 40 people, largely by making lots and lots of phone calls in addition to the standard listings in the various announcement venues of the congregation (newsletter, Sunday bulletin, weekly email blast). This year we only had 21 people, which was very disappointing.

But those who did come greatly enjoyed it. We had lots of compliments, as always, and a lot of people pitched in at the end to help clean up the room, though the kitchen chores were done by the three dedicated people who have done cleanup for several years in the past. Rather than use disposables, the congregation uses regular dishes, glasses and silverware for potlucks, so there's a lot of washing to do at the end of an event. We do have an industrial dishwasher that does an entire cycle in 2 minutes (without drying, though, which has to be done by hand if you want to do sequential loads immediately). But everything still has to be  thoroughly rinsed, loaded, unloaded, and dried, over and over, so there's lots of work to do.

The other committee person and I worked on the room cleanup. I started attending to the distribution of leftovers years ago, because I was the one who thought to do it while there were still people around to take them because I hate to see perfectly good food thrown out, so that's become my job. There's always plenty of wine, grape juice and matzo (since they have to be spread out among the tables, all the bottles and boxes end up open and then only partially used), plus a variety of potluck dishes in disposable containers that people leave there, usually because they don't want to take fattening food home with them and they figure someone else will take it!

But you'd be surprised at how hard it is to give the leftovers away! I want the people who pitch in until the place is cleaned up to get them, but they don't necessarily want anything I have to give away. (Matzo is the hardest, but I did manage to find a home for most of it this year.) The one bottle of grape juice that I couldn't get anyone to take I labeled for the staff and put in the refrigerator -- hopefully they'll find it and drink it!

After finishing leftovers detail I did some running back and forth bringing things from the room into the kitchen (we were in the smaller room, which also happens to be farther from the kitchen, so it's a long traipse), but I don't mind the walking nearly as much as I do standing in one place. Eventually I ended up in the kitchen drying dishes, but at least I could do that sitting down.

I was exhausted by the time I left, but it was worth it!

Although technically Passover hasn't started yet (it begins this year at sundown on April 19), my UU congregation's Seder is today. (We've found over many years of trial and error that Sunday late afternoon is the best time for an event, and that it's unwise to compete with the real Jewish Seders because our mixed couples go to their families' Seders on the first and second night.)

I'm one of the main people involved with the Seder, so I have a bunch of stuff to do. In the past several years I've led the Seder, but I told the other member of the committee (yeah, there are only two of us) that I thought it would be better to have different people do it. (A traditional Seder is led by the head of the family, and in the past the minister has always done it, since they are the "head" of the church "family". But when I approached our current minister in her first year about starting to plan the Seder, she said she is "not interested." In fact, she has only bothered to even attend one Seder in the four years she's been our minister.

But my other committee member found someone else to do it this year, and I met with him yesterday to go over the Haggadah we use. He grew up in a Jewish family, but I was surprised to find that he remembers even less about his childhood Seders than I do. (He remembers that they had some, but nothing about them.)

At any rate, I'm delighted that I don't have to do it this year. But I do have to go shopping for the items for the Seder plate, and be there by 4:00 to help set up, so I'm off to the supermarket. (I already have my contribution to the potluck Seder meal.) Unfortunately my new med doesn't seem to be working as well as it had been, or maybe the higher dose is just causing more dopeyness. But it's not any worse than I've been, so I'll do okay, especially since I only have a small part (the "mother" who lights the candles) and can then relax and just enjoy the Seder like anyone else.

Happy Birthday
sleepingwolf
and
Belated Happy Birthday
oniricwolf

After not having posted or read for a long time due to depression-induced inertia, I had a hard time coming back even when I felt better.

But thanks to momomom, who's been calling me and getting me outdoors, to lesliepear who sent me a nudge, goingdriftless who sent me a nudge, and to ms_interpret who sent me an email, I'm posting this message, and I'm going to make a concerted effort to go back to regular reading and posting and reconnecting with my LJ friends. It's not that I haven't thought of you all -- I have been, regularly. And it's not that I didn't care -- I miss you all! But I was becoming a hermit in RL also. And I'm ready for that to be over.

Another thing that finally pushed me into posting today is that I had a dream about ms_interpret last night. It was a very encouraging dream, too, and I wanted to tell her about it, so I planned to call her today. I thought about her a number of times, trying to figure out what would be a good time, considering the 3-hour time difference.

So I wasn't really surprised to get an email from her, even though I hadn't heard from her in months. Apparently my thinking about her so much got through to her. (I firmly believe this happens, and that it's not paranormal but some sort of completely natural process we just haven't discovered yet.)  When I called her she thought I was calling because I'd received her email -- but I told her no, she'd thought of sending me an email because I was thinking about her so much today!

After we caught up with each other I told her that it's always hard for me to get back to posting after a long break, because I feel guilty about not having kept up with my friends. "I care about them -- a lot," I said, but how can I possibly catch up with their journals after such a long time? I feel guilty and awkward just jumping into reading and posting comments without having been there for so long.

Shannon urged me to just post that I'm back, that I really want to know how my friends are, and that I should just say that if there's something you want me to know about (which to me is anything important that's been happening in your life, since I genuinely do care and have missed you all very much!) to tell me or point me to an entry. She said, "People understand. I see posts like that all the time."

So here is another post like that. I hope you understand!

~ Happy Birthday ~
lavandersparkle !!

Thank you for the nudges, lesliepear!  It really helps to be reminded to get back to posting ... and even more, to know I'm missed.

And I've been wanting to post about something for a week, so I was grateful to be nudged into writing this. :-)

Last Friday I drove up to a very rural area near the Pennsylvania border hoping to see the two Short-eared Owls that had been reported hunting over a particular field at dusk. The drive was around 60 miles, the last third on a series of increasingly narrow, curving country roads.

( Waiting and watching )

While we waited in the cold and watched the other birds and animals, I turned to the southwest every so often and took a photo of the sun setting over the fields.





( Two more sunset photos )

( Harriers -- and owls! )

( GPS )

For woofiegrrl and friends interested in deaf culture:

13-year-old's invention allows athletes to feel signals from referees

( Full text )

What glorious weather we had today -- and tomorrow is supposed to be even better!

Although we didn't break any records, the temperature hit 69º today, with the sun shining in a bright blue sky and a light, pleasant breeze. I went for a walk at the lake in a Coolmax (very thin) long-sleeved top -- and had to keep pushing the sleeves up because it was so warm!

Above the lake I turned off the paved path and took a shortcut through the woods along the stream -- not because it's a shortcut, but just to be in the woods. Later I crossed the stream so I could go through the woods all the way back to the lake. I felt a sense of accomplishment crossing the stream, because we've had rain and it's full. It's only a very small stream -- even filled with water it's still only about six feet wide and about 8 to 10 inches deep. But I didn't want to end up stepping in cold water up to my ankles, or even worse falling in it! The small rocks people have thrown in to step on are pointy and unsteady, and with my stiff joints and poor balance I can't always do it when the water isn't low.

But I found a stick to use for balance, and made it across! I also found a three very interesting rocks to bring home, and had some especially good bird experiences. The walk was very healing for me.

( Birdy stuff )

I only walked about 2½ miles, but I stopped so often and poked around for so long that I was out from 2:00 until 4:30! After I cooled off with some water and rested awhile I had a bowl of my beautiful ham and bean soup.

I do best with difficult dates by trying to just ignore them. If I don't pay attention to what date it is, I don't feel bad. So I'm lying in bed this morning half-awake listening to Morning Edition, and the announcer vigorously announces, "It's January 7!"

Today would have been my 25th anniversary.

Normally January 7 doesn't bother me that much -- Tom died in 1985, and after all these years I usually just feel a little wistful on birthdays and anniversaries. But the ones that would have been extra special are still painful.

I'm glad I have two friends whose birthdays are today. Picturing their happiness reduces my sadness. But it was still a difficult day. Fortunately the weather is glorious and I went to the lake. That helped more than anything.

I had a nice day today, but I'm worn out!

This morning I went to momomom's annual New Year's brunch. It was great! It was good to see various members of her family I don't see very often (especially what_evaa, who's away at college in California most of the time), and even though I didn't know most of the people there, everyone was friendly and I never sat alone by myself.  The food was wonderful and the drinks were great (especially the mimosas and the Mexican hot chocolate!).

Then I came home and finished my soup. The other day I took the bone and fatty section of the honey-baked spiral-sliced ham I made for Christmas dinner and a package of Toni's Ten Bean Soup from the Women's Bean Project (ingredients: barley, anasazi beans, lentils, red lentils, green split peas, yellow split peas, black eyed peas, black turtle beans, red and white beans). I cut up two big onions, several stalks of celery, several carrots, a couple of potatoes and a couple of cloves of garlic, put them all in my biggest stock pot, and filled it the rest of the way with water. I don't use recipes for soup -- I just throw in whatever's around. About four hours later I put in the contents of Toni's spice packet and some other seasonings, and after another hour or so of simmering I strained out the solid stuff, put that and the broth into big containers and put them in the fridge.

Tonight I scooped the fat off the top of the soup, then picked through the solids to take out the bones and fatty parts. Then I put the rest back together and ladled out a bowl of it to test it. Ahhhh! Beautiful soup! Actually it's practically stew -- some of the veggies and beans disintegrated and made a the broth extremely thick and hearty, which is just the way I like it! It was delicious!

Tomorrow when I have more energy I'll divide it up into sections and freeze it. Then I shall look forward to plenty of beautiful soup evenings! Maybe I'll invite some people over for a big bowl of thick, hearty Bean and Ham Soup, a salad, and some fresh crusty bread ... yum!

My first New Year's resolution: Get back to LJ. I miss all my friends!

More tomorrow, plus reading to catch up with all of you as best I can, but I wanted to break the ice tonight, before I went to bed. I have lots to tell about the holidays. Please say hi and tell me what's going on in your life, especially if there's anything crucial or exciting

I hope 2008 brings you good health, good luck, and much joy!