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Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
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10:19 am - FAMILY FUN
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This is the week that UD goes to Ann Arbor to play in a golf tournament run by his niece's husband's brother. Last year we payed for the whole thing and gave the entry fee to Jason and Bill (and some person we don't know) for Christmas present. UD's sister is coming down to see her grandson (who just left her house on Sunday) and then they are coming down here for a visit.
The last time they were here we had just moved in. We had about 1/2 of our furniture and nothing decorative had been put out. The place has changed. On Saturday we plan to go to PWP to hear the Oak Ridge Boys (though the forecast is for rain and I can't find anyone else who wants to go.) Should be nice to have them here.
However, UD's mother decided yesterday to play drama queen. He got a call from her in the middle of the afternoon about medical problems she was having (despite the fact that she had gone to doctor the day before and he said things were going well.) She was very worried about his sister not being able to look in on her because she was going to be on vacation. UD suggested that there was a cousin who could look in, and called his sister to come up with some other ideas. Sister called her sister-in-law who is a nurse and she suggest home-care-nursing.
Everyone agreed that a nurse visiting would be a good thing in general, but turns out that it was too late to get someone to start coming today (or even this weekend). The agency suggested that mother might be checked into a nursing home for a few days. Sister said "don't even go there" because mother is petrified that people are trying to get her into a nursing home.
For a long time I have been telling her that her "acting dumb" when she knows what is going on is a good way to convince people that she belongs in a nursing home. She doesn't listen because it is me. I guess she thought about what she was doing in the afternoon, because that evening she called her daughter and said she though she would be all right and named another female cousin who could look in on her.
Hopefully we will have a good weekend visit.
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| Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
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9:56 am - JULY 4th PLANS
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For the past few years we have been going North for July 4th. This was partly because it is a lot easier to drive to Upper Michigan in the summer than at Christmas. (Why did it take us over 30 years to discover this?) UD went and played softball with his high school friends, we watched a small town parade, got to see his family, etc. This year we are not going. UD chose to go in May to bake pasties with the church ladies and will see his family again in August. Believe me, it is not worth it to travel to UP three times in one season.
Thus all the people who used to invite us to Doo Dah parties, fireworks parties, etc. have dropped us from the list. We've been replaced by other (surely less fun) people. Spent the week wondering just what we would do.
Then yesterday, UD was given a PWP table (complete with food) for Saturday night. We'd been thinking about going to this concert and sitting on the lawn. This comes with a catch. We have to find four other couples to come with us (couples who are potential donors.) We have two for sure, one yes unless wife has other plans, and one still to fill. I'm leaving it up to UD.
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| Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
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9:02 am - SLEPT TOO LATE
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Maid is due here any second and UD is scurrying around tidying up the kitchen (putting away clean dishes). I keep telling him that there is no need to scurry as she does all the rest of the house before she hits the kitchen, but . . .
We got a late start because we slept until after 8. Had a very strange dream where I was very angry with UD and even stabbed him with a hot-dog roasting fork (strange because we have no such fork and don't eat hot dogs.) Seems he had gone golfing and managed have all my hats blowing around the front yard. Also very strange because we've never had a front yard that was big enough for things to blow around. (Remarkable history of living in places that were very close to the street, in fact, this may be the biggest yard we've ever had.) Anyway, after much prolonged interrogation as to "how" or "why" he had put the hats outside in the first place, I still never knew.
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| Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
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12:05 pm - TRANSFORMERS
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Yesterday I was quietly sitting at my computer when I heard a bang. It was a deep low bang that almost hurt my heart. In less than a second my computer screen went blank and the power was gone. This was somewhat of a surprise as my computer is on a battery back-up which is supposed to give me 10-15 minutes to shut it down correctly. Seems that a transformer had blown.
This seems to happen all too frequently in this neighborhood. Since it blew at about 5 PM, everyone came home and left their cars in the driveway. You can open the garage door manually, but no one seemed to want to do that. UD was golfing. When he got home the traffic light was out on the corner, so he suspected something was amiss.
Since we had gone out a lot recently, I suggested we wait until 7 PM to see if it came on. It didn't. So went to the same restaurant we went to last fall when the lights were out for 30 hours. Hunan Lion. The place is owned by the same people as Hunan House (which we used to drive 15 miles from GV to eat). Had two of our old favorites, SPICY POT OF GOLD (me) and HUNAN COMBINATION (UD). By foregoing beverages and appetizers it wasn't that expensive.
Two things that we are spending a lot more money on since UD retired are bread and coffee. Coffee in particular. Thank goodness we have a Trader Joe's down the street where we can get coffee at a lower price for good coffee. Gone are the days of the local coffee roasters at $14.00 a pound. We are still eating expensive bread, because I can't tolerate the cheap stuff. Maybe in the fall I will start baking bread again.
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| Monday, June 29th, 2009
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9:29 am - ANOTHER SUNDAY ON FACEBOOK
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Totally wasted yesterday. Spent most of the day (after sleeping late and watching MOVING UP on television -- do I really care what people do to their new houses?) I spent most of the day playing games on FACEBOOK. On Saturday, just before I left to get dressed for the CSO Gala, I played a game of BEJEWELED that just exploded. I really like the FACEBOOK BEJEWELED because it runs 1 minute. Game on MSN can go a half hour and you find out you have a sucky score. Eats up your time.
My time is eaten anyway.
Found a few more old friends from a semi-adult period of my life. Not sure what they will think of my computer game addiction -- at least I don't play "kill" games.
Gala BTW was quite nice. Dinner was about what you'd expect for a catered dinner (chicken or salmon) but entertainment was great and night was beautiful. Very tired by the time I got home. Spent most of the night worrying about transportation between the two sites. Walk (further than I've ever tried with bad knees) or ride bus (requiring navigation of a horrible flight of stairs). Ended up riding the bus, but took a "long cut" though the garage on the way over, but went down the stairs on the way back (horrible -- going down stairs is bad for me.) Other than that it was a nice night.
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| Thursday, June 25th, 2009
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9:42 am - DINNER OUT
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We had been trying to get together with Peggy for several weeks. Turns out she had been out of town for her parents' 60th wedding anniversary and her nephew's graduation from high school. UD had a coupon for the restaurant where he used to go to eat very often when he was working. The lure of dinner on her side of town was too much for Peggy (plus being in a shopping center resulted in two new blouses.)
The restaurant has a very nice ambiance, but last night it was pretty strange. We didn't have the best booth (first one going in across from the bar) but it was nicer than I thought it would be. Our waiter was horrible. We started out with drinks and a plate of raw oysters. Went well. Then we all order salads or soup (UD). I ordered a second appetizer for my main course (steamed mussels). The waiter came back and told me that they were out of mussels and that I should pick something else. I had had a second choice (fried oysters) but that no longer appealed to me. Finally I settled on the paella that Peggy had also ordered (and UD said one of his friends always had). When our food appeared it seems that this change of entree had caused him to forget about the salads. He offered to bring them out, and although I would have enjoyed a salad, I could see why UD did not want soup with his main course. In exchange, we got a free dessert which was very nice (we ordered a trio of three small desserts (bread pudding, chocolate tart, and custard).
Despite the fact that things turned out OK and we had plenty to eat, this should not have happened at this upscale of a restaurant. We eat out a lot and when something like this happens, my thoughts are never kind. Why shouldn't you expect a waiter to get your orders right? UD, of course, is always too kind and understanding. With a coupon and free dessert (and eating an appetizer for an entree) our bill was close to $100 for the two of us. Not your typical "down the street" dining establishment.
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| Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
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11:47 am - INTERNET ADDICTION
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Having inherited the McPherson tendency for serial addictions -- sometimes I wonder if I am going to become an alcoholic or a vegetarian -- I've moved effortlessly to FACEBOOK. With the largest collection of diverse friends, I can always find something to occupy my time.
I remember back when I got my first computer with a modem and my Prodigy ISP. I went looking for something to do with my time and discovered that I really didn't have a passion. Fortunately, I found another group of people who seem to have ended up in a group where you JUST TALKED about life. (I have three friends on FACEBOOK from that group and seem to be missing some others who I might find.) The problem with FACEBOOK is that you can't write . . . more than a few phrases.
But, on the other hand, I have reconnected with my friend Lesley who seems not to have changed at all in 14 years. We can chat, challenge each other to games, beat eachother's scores, and be close again. I've missed her. I miss a lot of people I've found on FACEBOOK.
Maybe that's the addition.
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| Monday, June 22nd, 2009
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5:47 pm - FACEBOOK IS TAKING OVER MY LIFE
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I can't believe I am this quickly addicted.
First of all I have found a lot of people I haven't been in touch with for years. People from high school, college, old internet chat groups, the symphony, real life (because the symphony isn't real life) and relatives. Crazy.
Second, they have games. Not only can you play, but you can play with your friends or against your friends. Found out my dear friend Lesley is as addicted to games as I am. We also chatted a bit.
Oddest thing is that they send you names of people they think might have something in common with you -- friends of friends, high school, college, etc. Today I got a message about a man whose name I recognized because we both went to Ohio State. I graduated from Ohio State in 1976, he graduated in I think 2001. However, he just happened to be the former lover of a guy I worked with at the orchestra. We both thought it was odd. Now I have access to lots of pictures of hot gay guys!!!
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| Sunday, June 21st, 2009
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8:10 pm - WOW!!
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It has been the busiest of weekends. I can't believe it is Sunday night already.
Yesterday we went to the market and grocery shopping like we do every week. We planned to go to the first Picnic with the Pops concert last night. UD and I spent a great deal of time discussing how big the crowd would be. There hadn't been much publicity and since they did not have a series last year, it was a toss of the dice. Turned out it was a beautiful night and the crowd was bigger than we thought. Fun sitting there under the stars on the green grass again. Concert was nice though -- except 50+ year old men should not be using their falsetto voices.
This morning we drove down to Northern Kentucky for brunch with our friends the Handahl's. We met them 40 years ago in August when they moved into the apartment across the hall from us when UD was in the army. It was impossible to believe when they left in 1970 that we would still be friends 40 years later. They had an interesting trip through educational institutions in Minnesota, three children, and ended up in Kentucky about 30 years ago. When we had Bengals tickets we saw them a lot, now it has been hit and miss. Went to their 40th anniversary a few weeks ago and reconnected with them. Youngest daughter and UD are good friends.
She taught him how to text today. I suggested he move the cell phone (which normally sits in our bedroom) to his office so he will know when he gets texts. She doesn't have e-mail.
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| Saturday, June 20th, 2009
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10:38 am - I MAY NEVER BE HUNGRY AGAIN!
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Last night we celebrated at a traditional RED EGGS AND GINGER party for a young man named Ariel Abraham Kirshner. (His mother is Chinese.) Just recently someone asked me if I've ever eaten "real Chinese food" (for which I didn't have a reference point). After last night I definitely have. I was actually convinced that most "Chinese" food I've eaten since approximately 1971 has been "real". This is a party to celebrate a baby's first month of life and the mother's return to the world. (Seems in China the mother rested for a month after the birth.)
Lisa was radiant and everywhere greeting her Chinese friends. What a remarkable community. The Chinese community in Columbus as a whole has done very well and many of the people there are parents of the people who will make the relationships with China grow and prosper. They came here to go to school, stayed, but now their children are returning. Lisa, as an attorney, has stepped into a wonderful area of specialty.
They had ordered 10 dishes for this meal. They came out as they were prepared starting with two cold dishes, mock goose (which was tofu sheets wrapped around mushrooms) and roast duck. I am going to try to remember the other eight dishes: spicy beef (never seen so many peppers in one dish but wasn't that "hot"), fine rice noodles, salt and pepper shrimp, fermented tofu with celery, tofu balls (definitely my favorite), fish with bamboo shoots (this is a dish I used to make though wasn't as good as this), egg plant, and greens and mushrooms, For dessert we had watermelon and a cake with whipped cream frosting. Lots of wine (father loves wine).
Then they sang Karaoke. We are not singers, though John (father) did a couple of country songs. I wish UD would have been able to do some hip-hop, but he can't sing at all. Definitely a fun party.
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| Thursday, June 18th, 2009
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9:53 am - LERNING TO MINCE WORDS
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New to FACEBOOK I am tempted to write articles like I do here. I started to write a description of a visit to a restaurant I call CRAZY CHINESE yesterday. It is a place I used to go with my twin Katy for several years, but wasn't quite sure where it was to take UD there. It was also a long way from my GV house, so we never made it. When we moved here we realized it was less than 2 miles from our house. The first Saturday I went there with UD and Becky, they weren't sure they wanted to go in. It's that kind of place. A strip mall with a Mexican take out, a phone store, and two ethnic groceries (Indian and Mediterrarean). Most of the people eating there yesterday were Mexican. But it has decent food and the cost is . . . . next to nothing.
Anyway, that paragraph is more than anyone on Facebook wants to know. So I have to learn to mince words. Maybe when I am done I can mix them with soy sauce and roll them in wrappers. Can they take the heat of the deep frying oil? I am on an (egg)role today.
I haven't heard from a lot of people I asked to be my friends, but have had three people ask me. Two were a couple that were from the first web experience I ever had (America on the Go from Prodigy.) I would like to connect with more people from there (even though a lot of people from my group have died -- it had a lot of senior citizens.) We did all sorts of fun things including exchanging paper back books and playing odd games. The internet was so young then. The other person is an executive at a foundation where we have a charitable account. She belongs to a Michigan State group which UD will surely find exciting.
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| Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
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9:59 am - GUESS THAT MEANS WE ARE NOW OLD
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UD and I just applied for social security. You can do it on-line by filling out a fairly simple form. Hope that we didn't do anything wrong. Didn't ask for money until August. Should cover our credit card bills each month (except August when we are going on a long trip.)
Also applied for passports. Those you have to mail in, but forms can be completed on-line. Save $25 each by not going to passport office. Since we are not planning to go anywhere soon, this seems like a good idea. Can mail later in the week.
FACEBOOK has produced several pleasant surprises. One of my sorority sisters is coming to Columbus, so maybe we can go to dinner. I also found one of my best friends from High School who I last saw in 1973 (she hasn't confirmed yet). UD has a few friends to which he has enjoyed chatting.
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| Monday, June 15th, 2009
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12:34 pm - TOO CUTE
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10:39 am - GREAT SUCCESS
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Of course, my dinner turned out great.
I made my now signature dish of beets with cheese, nuts and honey. I used a new cheese called Quark which is made by a local farm. It is a very dry cream cheese and comes in flavors. I used lemon which made the topping taste a bit like cheese cake. I used canned beets and learned that, much like bamboo shoots, the size of the beets in the can can vary greatly. I am used to larger slices. This can had few slices which were more than one-inch wide. This meant a lot of dabs of Quark.
I cooked a turkey tenderloin which had a teriyaki marinade and seasoned it with a spice mix from Penzey's. I made two salad side dishes -- oriental cucumbers and a spinach salad. We definitely got our share of dark vegetables. UD and I are going to be eating spinach a lot because I got a bag at the market and then found a huge box of organic baby spinach on sale at Kroger's. Lots of salads this week.
For dessert we had blueberry and strawberry shortcake. Because both UD and Terry are diabetics, I cut back on the sugar. This means that the berries were dryer than I like (I like the juice).
Wish I could say that Karen and I won at cards. The guys won the first two games and then we played two more which Karen and I won big. But they won the final "saw-off".
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| Sunday, June 14th, 2009
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3:12 pm - READY TO DROP
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But I can't. I am having company for dinner in about an hour and a half. I spent the last hour, like I usually do before a party, making all sorts of tedious little things for dinner. I cut strawberries and made shortcake. I cut up three cucumbers, salted them, and pressed them under a full gallon jug of water (I used to use a two litre wine bottle which worked even better because the glass was heavy, but for some reason didn't move it) and then made cucumber salad. (I make wonderful cucumber salad if I have to say so myself). Then I put tiny beet slices on a plate and topped each of them with a lemon flavored goat cheese. When ready to serve I will drizzle with honey, add nuts and hope my guests like beets.
I still have to make a salad and roast a turkey tenderloin. UD is home, however, so he can help.
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9:31 am - FACEBOOK
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After a bit of prodding, I decided to try FACEBOOK. Not going to abandon my LJ, just decided it might give me another on-line activity not related to blowing up little crawling creatures or cards. I was amazed at how many people from my address book were already members and have begun gathering friends.
Looking through the pictures from my high school, I discovered several people I haven't heard from for over 45 years. One was a guy who hung with our group for three years and then disappeared (maybe we weren't that good friends? maybe it was life?) I told UD that I was looking for one specific person and at least found his wife (ex-wife? don't know yet). I didn't list my maiden name on my page, so will have to wait 24 hours until it is added. Not sure exactly why I want to connect with people from high school.
UD BTW found a woman everyone in his class has been asking about for years.
I am sure the novelty will wear off, but fun now.
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| Friday, June 12th, 2009
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5:23 pm - IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME
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I was early to the internet, early to blogs, but have been slow to personal interactive sites. I thought my blog was a personal interaction site. (I used to have a community many years ago, so many years that I can't remember the where it was located. I remember people telling me that they were too busy to check a site where people posted things (even though many of them were close friends.) ) Two personal interactive sites that have been "bugging" me are PLAXO and MYLIFE. I have several diverse people that have contacted me through PLAXO. I can almost guarantee that they wouldn't get along with each other, let alone probably me -- if they really knew me.
Sort of fun to hide in the odd corners of the internet. Discovered that there is a McJude on twitter -- not me. Wonder if she knows what she is in for? Hope she likes people thinking she writes porn - LOL? (At this point I expect people who have found me through PLAXO to go -- duh?)
Only once have I had people from one spot on the internet recognize me in another place. Many years ago I was addicted to a group game called "STRIKE A MATCH". Not only was I addicted, I was very good. I ran into one of my SAM people at the bridge site -- really not that big of a stretch. People who I think I know well enough to send to my fiction site often change their name so I can't find them again . . . . .
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10:08 am - GROWING M(OLD)
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Today is one of those moldy Ohio days. It's not that warm, but it makes up for it by being sticky. We've had off and on rain the past three days (never got wet when we went out but the grass looks a lot better.) The air is very heavy and there is no sun. Makes you want to go back to bed and sleep again.
UD and I have to go to lunch today because we ran out of bread. Went to David's on Wednesday but all he had was a very phallic baguette which we ate for dinner on Wednesday. Not the UD minds going out to lunch. Has to be somewhat of a withdrawal from his daily favorites.
Been fighting the ants for several weeks. First we had the large black ants which haunted us last June. They seem to have been taken care of by ant traps only to be replaced by ants so small that you can barely see them. Had been noticing them on the light colored tile in bathroom and kitchen. Been squashing them en masse with the head of my swiffer. Yesterday they were much worse and we finally decided to apply spray. Now the kitchen smells terrible. Coffee helped a bit, but what we really need is fresh air that flows and lacks humidity.
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| Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
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2:15 pm - HAND HELD SHOWERS
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In 1984 when we bought the house on Sixth Street, we discovered it had a hand held shower (Water Pic none the less). Wondered how I had ever lived without it. (I had a Water Pic regular head in my previous house, but the hand held shower gave me new freedom and new clean.) Since my body is far from flat and has areas where the sun would never shine, the hand held shower could reach many of those areas and get them really, really clean. I loved it. When we remodeled we put in a hand held shower that wasn't as nice as the water pic, but did the job. (Water pic went to live my friend Lisa who was delighted it have it to reach some hidden piercings.
The one problem has been that you get addicted to it. When it is not there, how do you get clean. Fortunately most of the long vacations we have taken have been to places where hand held showers are not rare (Europe for 12 days, Australia for 20). We are about to go on a 15-16 day vacation to places in USA where . . . .
I tried to solve the problem once before by purchasing a hand held spray which fits over the faucet. They advertise them as being good for babies, dogs and rincing long hair. I have none of the afore mentioned, but . . . The problem is that the company that makes them still thinks that bathtubs have the old narrow faucet. The cup that connects fits over nothing. Unless you dismantle the shower (remove the head) which I am not wont to do in a motel or hotel, they don't fit.
I hoped that I could find something on the internet. So far I can only find two models, one that has lots of reviews that says "it doesn't fit" and one for babies which not only (according the the reviews) doesn't fit but smells terrible. I have two months -- any ideas.
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| Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
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9:24 am - ADVENTURES AT THE CHINESE MARKET
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Since we were out of town last weekend, we did not make it to the North Market. I have a very stocked freezer and lots of stuff in the pantry, but I was completely out of fresh vegetables. I decided that rather than going to the grocery store, we would attempt to go to the Chinese Market that we were introduced to by our friend Lisa a few months back.
It is a very large store, but nicely organized. I knew it had wonderful prices on fresh vegetables. I got Napa cabbage, green onions, bok choy, and egg plants -- that should keep us in vegetables for a while. Strangely enough I learned that the store never has cucumbers. Make a mean Chinese cucumber salad.
I walked most of the aisles and got a few more things. I found the Indonesian spice mixes Becky had purchased for me for the last few years and a new one to try from the same company.
Then we hit the "freshly prepared" section. Good thing we had had lunch, as we might have bought everything in sight. UD decided he had to have "chinese pasties" which were filled with a turnip mixture. Going to try them for lunch today. Also bought pudding -- at least Chinese have flavors other than vanilla and chocolate.
Last night we had pork chops with bok choy and tonight we are having moo shoo tofu.
Also learned that we are going to a traditional Chinese party next week, at which we will be the only non-Chinese people present.
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