BooksRule

I never was a huge O'Neal fan, but 'What's Up, Doc?' is one of my favorite movies and I have to get out the DVD now and then to give it a watch. I think my favorite scene was the mad chase through the streets of San Francisco. ('I can't see!' 'There's nothing to see actually. We're inside a Chinese dragon.') I also liked his character as Brennan's father on 'Bones'.

I have three work-related holiday parties this coming week. I did have one other potluck on campus last week, but it wasn't technically work-related. I brought deviled eggs to that one. I planned to bring deviled eggs to my Monday event, so I picked up two dozen eggs at the store on Friday (I usually get the 18 egg carton, but the store I went to didn't have those). When I got home I looked in the fridge for more eggs, because I remembered (duh!) that had a sour cream pound cake to bake for a Thursday lunch (which requires 6 eggs) and more deviled eggs for the big campus luncheon on Friday. I didn't see any (although I could have sworn that I picked some up), so I went back to a different store on Saturday to get more eggs (and a few other things). In anticipation of more baking and cooking as we get closer to Christmas, I picked up three (!) 18 egg cartons. I don't think I've ever bought that many eggs at one time in my life (not even for Easter to dye eggs for something). To top it off, when I got home I spotted the 18 egg carton that I knew I had bought sitting in a grocery bag on the top of the microwave. So, now I have enough eggs to feed the neighborhood (LOL!). I should be set for holiday cooking/baking, though. Today's chore is to boil the eggs for tomorrow's brunch and to assemble the deviled eggs before I go to bed (I won't have time tomorrow morning to get them done). And if I can find the energy (I'm also doing some major deep cleaning of my house) I'm going to bake an eggnog pound cake to take (that's easy though, since it starts with a boxed mix).

I posted back in August about losing my Alice and again several weeks ago about losing her sister Maggie May. Here is a photo of them (I hope it posts okay). Maggie is the pale one on the left (her fur was the color of saltine crackers) and Alice was the darker one on the right (she had a chipmunk stripe down her back). (ETA: This photo was taken when they were just a few months old--way back in 2004 or early 2005.)

I see the 'sock exchange' listed as a party activity now and then. This is the first year that I've been involved with this group, and I think they did it last year. The lunch was actually today and I think it went well. We had about 30 people participate. I first picked a gift bag that had the cutest pair of socks with raccoons on them (wearing Santa hats) and another pair with opossums and ornaments. But someone 'stole' them from me and I had to choose another gift. I ended up with a cute pair of red and white striped socks and because we had one extra gift bag left over, the party organizer gave it to me as a 'thank you' for running the game. It had a pair of socks with different colored Christmas trees all over it. I've also seen notices about parties where people are asked to bring a Christmas ornament to exchange. I'm guessing that these are decided on for gift exchanges because you don't have to really think about what to get. It's so easy to find socks or an ornament instead of trying to find a gift that would please everyone. It was fun (and the food was good, too).

We didn't put a cap on it, but most of the attendees are retirees (this is a community group, not work-related) and have been known to comment about the cost of things, so I don't think we're going to go too fancy with the socks (at least I hope not). Personally, I got a cute pair at Target for well under $10. Our work-related lunch where we play Dirty Santa has a limit of $10 for the gifts, since all library employees are invited and some don't make very much money at all (not that us faculty librarians are rolling in the dough! :) ). I picked up one of those cute little mini skillet/noodle cookers for my contribution. I lucked out one year and found a Crockpot -- not one of the little ones, but a full-sized one -- at Walmart for $9.98 to bring. I'm guessing it was a 'loss leader' (I think that's what it's called) priced low to entice people to buy other stuff. That gift was 'stolen' a couple of times before someone got to keep it that day!

I saw that online as well, but these will be just plain empty pairs of socks. No goodies.

I've been asked to organize and run a 'Christmas sock exchange' game at a luncheon. Everyone is asked to bring a wrapped pair of Christmas socks. I'm used to how we run our 'Dirty Santa' exchange at the library's Christmas party, but this one probably has to be a little different. The way we do it in our department is that everyone who is participating brings a gift and puts it under the little tabletop Christmas tree. When we are just about ready to begin, the person organizing it asks for everyone who will be participating to raise their hands (so he/she can get a count). Then slips are numbered from 1 to whatever (depending on how many people are participating) and each person draws a number. Number one goes first and chooses a gift (and has to open it so everyone can see what they got). Then number 2 can either choose a gift from under the tree or take an opened gift from that first person (one rule is that they are not allowed to choose and open a gift and then decide to exchange it). The other rule is that once a gift has been chosen and 'stolen' once (or maybe twice, I can't remember) it is 'retired' and can't be stolen again. It's a lot of fun when you have about 30 people in the group. But, with all gifts being socks, I'm not sure if this would work, since part of the fun each year is looking over the array of gift bags, small boxes, larger boxes and deciding which one might have a great gift. But these packages will likely all be about the same shape and size (whether in a bag or a box). Do you think I can follow the usual way of doing this exchange? (Part of the fun is looking over the array of gift boxes, bags, large and small, and trying to guess which one might have a great gift in them. These will likely all be similar wrapped items in shape and size.) People could still choose to 'steal' a pair of socks from someone if they really like them and that person could then get another gift from the table. Mainly I'm just wondering if 'sock exchange' games are run differently than the usual Dirty Santa game.

I made a pot of red beans (to serve over rice) and I think it was one of the best batches I've ever cooked. Maybe it was because I added extra chopped onion and garlic (or maybe I was just really hungry--I skipped lunch). I have enough for several more meals.

Up until last year, I was able to fine whole nutmeg. Then, for some reason I haven't been able to find any in my local stores. I know of at least two chains that would probably have it, but none are in my area.

My jar of nutmeg was ancient. I grated on those little pods for years until I was down to one or two that were basically 'c-shaped' and I couldn't grate from them anymore. I couldn't find any nutmeg in the local stores (and don't do a lot of shopping for that sort of thing online) so sent the word out to family and friends to keep an eye out for some. My sister brought me some that she found in a local Indian market. I didn't think of looking in that type of store. I probably could have found some locally (she lives about 3 hours away from me). I'll post a copy of the recipe when I dig it out.

The holiday baking bug has finally bitten me. I'm going to bake something tomorrow to take to work. I have the ingredients for a pan of gingerbread (thick cake, not cookies), a cranberry orange loaf cake, or an eggnog pound cake. I'm leaning towards the eggnog cake, because my sister brought me some whole nutmeg at Thanksgiving (I was down to grating the last bits of the last piece from the jar I had had around for quite a while) and I'm anxious to taste one made with fresh grated nutmeg. If I get ambitious I might make two of the recipes.

I had a regular appointment with my ophthalmologist this morning. I have glaucoma, so I go three times a year. I was worried that my eye pressure had gone up (last visit it wasn't too bad, but the time before it was near my upper 'baseline'), but I was pleasantly surprised that it had actually gone down a bit. I know that I had skipped a dose of my eyedrops once or twice in the last several months, but I guess it wasn't enough to cause any problems (I'm usually fairly strict with myself about my drops). So that was good news. And it was one of those visits where I didn't get 'the works', so once I got called in from the outer waiting room, it took less than an hour for me to get back out (so I was only about 20 minutes late to meet some people for an early lunch). I don't usually keep track of what is done at each appointment, but once a year I have to get photos taken, read the chart, take the Visual Field Test where you click the button when you see the little lights (I call it the 'asteroid test'), get my eyes dilated, get more photos of a different sort taken, and -- finally -- you get to see the doctor where he does the usual exam plus a check for retina problems. Whew! So good news about that visit.

A couple of weeks ago, I took a short workshop (one hour) to learn the basics of Diamond Painting. We each had time to cover two little crosses with various colors of the little gems (and each has a little cord looped in the top so you can hang them up as ornaments). It was really fun and I hope to do more soon. My goal is to get all of my arts/crafts supplies sorted out during my Christmas break (mainly cross-stitch and cake decorating supplies) and make room for new stuff. I think part of the fun was that there was a group of us working on them and you could work and talk at the same time so we all just chatted away for the hour.

I would love to post a photo of my two kitty girls here but I'm not sure how to do it so that it fits right. Any advice on how to do this? I just have a photo I could choose that has both of them in it that I've saved on my computer in the 'pictures' file.

I picked up my Maggie's ashes at lunchtime today. I still had her sister Alice's ashes (in a pretty walnut box) in a bowl on the kitchen table because I hadn't gotten around to deciding where I wanted to put her. So, for now Miss Maggie will be next to her sister. I felt a bit of closure when I brought her home. I got a plaster cast of a pawprint for each of them, so I'll put those on the Christmas tree (they both loved the Christmas tree--Alice would climb it until she got too chonky and Maggie would bump against the ornaments on the bottom limbs until they fell off (and broke until I started putting unbreakables on the bottom).

Yep, it's a thing in Mississippi, too (although I don't think I've ever done it myself). And I seem to remember relatives in North Carolina who did it. From what I understand, Coke is best but an RC Cola is an acceptable substitute (preferably with a Moon Pie in the other hand).

The cat tree got pretty chewed up and scratched over the years, so I don't think anyone else would want it. I might see if I can clean it up a bit and advertise at my campus to see if anyone wants it for free. I returned the cat litter to Walmart a few minutes ago. It was very strange not to even go down the cat food aisle, since I tended to pick up something for the girls almost every trip. It's interesting to see how my habits are already changing. I usually kept the door between the kitchen and the laundry room closed (main entrance that people use is through the laundry room) so that when I was going in and out or when someone came to the door there was a buffer between the cats and an open door. It feels odd to be able to leave it open now. Also, I was able to leave the grocery bags on the kitchen floor/counter until I could get them unpacked. The cat that passed yesterday had pica, so she would eat the handles off of grocery bags. I always had to keep them stored out of her reach.

Started the hard task of going through all of my cat stuff. I hadn't done any of it in August when Alice passed away, since I still had Maggie. I can't believe how many ceramic cat dishes I have. And, I had just stocked up on wet cat food and litter. I can find a home for the food, but I might see if I can return the box of litter to the store, since I didn't open it. It's a little sad to dismantle the big cat tree, but neither cat had been physically able to use it for quite a while, so that chore won't be too bad (I should have gotten rid of it a long time ago).

Thank you. When her sister Alice passed away in August, we were at the vet's office, but I don't think she really knew what was going on or where she was. I was able to be with her during the process, which I think was good (definitely good for me to have that closure). When my first cat passed away many years ago, she was at the emergency vet hospital and I wasn't there with her. I always felt bad about that.

My Maggie decided not to wait for me to take her to the emergency vet tonight and passed peacefully next to me on the couch this afternoon. The local pet crematorium that handled her sister back in August has 'after hours' by appointment, so I was able to take her there so that they can take care of her early next week (probably Monday). It's going to be very odd to have a house with no cats in it. I had my two kitty girls for 19 1/2 years.

That's what they gave me ('gave' isn't the right word. That's stuff's expensive!). Thanks for the heads-up on the possible side-effect.

I went ahead and took Miss Maggie May to the emergency vet hospital. She got more fluids, something for any pain/discomfort she might be having, an anti-nausea med and they gave me some medicine to apply to the inside of hear ear that should hopefully stimulate her appetite. I'm hoping this will help her until I can meet with the vet on Tuesday and discuss any future plans. (The emergency vet did talk briefly about whether or not I was ready to make that 'hard decision', but I said that if we can get her to Tuesday in comfort that I would talk to her 'regular' vet then).

I posted back in the middle of August about having one of my cats (Alice) put to sleep due to failing health (kidney issues). Well, I think her sister is having the same problems. She's been very skinny for the last year or so and the vet did diagnose her with kidney problems and put her on a prescription wet food diet. However, last Friday she was having problems with weakness in her back legs, so I took her to the emergency vet hospital (why do these things happen at night or on weekends?). They said that she was dehydrated and gave her some fluids. They thought it was due to her kidney problems. Well, she perked up for several days, but she's only had a few bites of her food since yesterday (and I tried several different kinds) and just isn't 'right'. I had made an appointment with a new vet (the one I used for both cats for almost 20 years just retired a couple of weeks ago), but they couldn't see her until Tuesday. Well, I'm going to call tomorrow to see if there's anyway they can work her in tomorrow or Saturday morning. If not and she gets worse, I guess it's off to the emergency hospital again. I have a feeling that we're just about near the end for my Maggie, but I do want to make sure there isn't anything else I can do for her first. I don't think she's in pain, but I don't want to lose her if she could be around with some quality of life for a little longer.

My mom used to make the Mounds candy (the recipe was called Martha Washington candy). I think the only difference was that an option was to put some ground pecans in the mixture. I mainly remember them tasting exactly like Mounds candy bars, but in 'ball' form. I have the recipe somewhere in my stuff. She did make homemade peanut butter cups one time, but decided that it was easier just to buy Reese's cups! I'm not a huge candy person (I prefer something like a piece of pound cake or Snickerdoodles), but I do like Reese's cups, and maybe a Three Musketeers bar. For candy, I usually go for sour, such as Sour Patch Kids.

I moved into my neighborhood about 20 years ago (in mid-October) and had a lot of trick or treaters that first year (I had already been warned to get lots of candy). Every year after that it's been fairly busy, but the numbers have dwindled each year. I'm wondering if people just don't go out on Halloween any more because so many places have 'trunk or treat' events (some even have 'truck or treat'). I know of at least four in my town since Friday. Kids get loaded up on candy long before the actual holiday. I haven't been home for Halloween visitors since pre-Covid. I stayed at work tonight until I knew kids would be home and not roaming the streets. Back in my day (yes, I'm of a 'certain age') we would go out at dark and could go anywhere with a certain range from the house (about three blocks in three directions, the fourth ended after the first block at a waterfront). We could go anywhere a porch light was on as long as we were back home by 9pm. I remember we would fill up shopping bags with candy. Funny, though, I can't remember specific kinds of candy we would get (the usual stuff, I assume), but I remember the elderly woman a few houses up from us who would give out unshelled pecans and satsumas (both from trees in her yard). As far as I know, no kids ever fussed about getting them. I liked the satsumas (I never get enough of them) and still connect seeing them in stores and produce stands with Halloween. As for costumes, I do remember my younger brother and sister wearing 'store bought' costumes (bunny rabbits, batman, clown, etc. with those goofy thin plastic masks) but all I can recall about my own choices were that I seemed to be a hippy, witch, or gypsy almost every year (easy costumes to put together, I guess).