Frozen Stiff!

I've always maintained the February is the LONGEST month of the year.  Maybe not by days, but by the emotional toll it takes.

It's COLD.  And it's been COLD.  For days and days and weeks and weeks.  We had a brief thaw right after Christmas before we were slammed again with snow. Like the rest of the country, we've already had more snow than usual.  We're talking almost as much snow as we usually get ALL WINTER by mid-January--although not as bad as places like New York, Boston, and Washington,

This is what my backyard looked like this morning.  Doesn't that just send shivers down your spine?

There are little trails through the snow.  Cats and squirrels and bunnies.  All those poor animals are out there in bare feet.  I look out the window and my old-fashioned rose looks dead--like sticks.  They sky is gray behind the arborvitae. 

Spring is STILL 31 days away.

It can't come soon enough for me.

Sticker Fun

If there were stickers around when I was a kid, I never knew about them.  In my early 20s, I was into rubber stamps.  Not like people are today, with embossing powders and doing gorgeous cards and scrapbooking.  I just liked to stamp my letters (and envelopes) to friends.  (And I used to write a LOT of letters.  Now I do e-mails.)

Back in the summer, I came across some little cat stickers that Mr. Ivy had put in my Christmas stocking some years before.  I'd never used them, but decided -- why not put a cat sticker on the envelopes for the bills or on a thank you note, or when I order something in the mail?

Of course, the stickers Mr. Ivy gave me all those years ago are running low.  The next thing I know, I'm in Michaels and pawing through the nine gazillion stickers looking for cats.  I had hoped to find something similiar to what I'd been using.  No such luck, but I did find some nice cat stickers.

It was difficult to stop at just one package of stickers--so I stopped at two.  The second set?  Wonderful vintage china teacups, saucers and teapots.  Whoa!  They are so majorly cute it makes you want to puke!  Luckily, I had a coupon for 40% off, so I could get the EXPENSIVE one ($1.99) for almost half price.

So where am I going to use them?

I have no idea.  But even if I don't, I can look at them.  And if they bring me a smile, they were well worth the investment.

That's my story and I'm sticking with it.  (But if you have any ideas on where I should use them--speak up!)

Are you a sucker for such things?

Careless drivers

Why don't drivers brush the snow from their car windows?

How long have we been in the midst of winter here in upstate New York?  Why don't people drive to accommodate the conditions on the road?  There's no excuse for not clearing the windows on your car.  Why on Earth would anyone be so stttttooooopppidd???

They clear one small hole on the driver's side of the windshield.  They can't see what's behind them, and usually their side mirrors are covered, too. Not only that, but they get on the expressway (freeway to you west coast readers) and the snow comes off in sheets--usually hitting other drivers' windshields.  I'm sure these jerks cause tons of accidents -- inconveniencing people and ruining lives -- all because of their laziness.

Grrrrrrrr!

Rant over.  What's bugging you today?

From me to you!

I gotta have a list . . .

No doubt about it.  If I make a list, I'm a lot more productive.  Saturday night, I made a list of 28 things I want to get done this week.  By Sunday evening, I'd accomplished 8 of them.  I've got at least four things I want to accomplish by lunchtime.  I'm hoping to get even more done by the time I turn in tonight.

Are you like me?  Do you get distracted and therefore don't seem to get much done?  I'll be in my office, decide I need something in the kitchen and walk all the way across the house only to discover I've forgotten what it was I wanted to do or get.  Yes, I definitely need to make lists.

lists really do keep you on top of things.  For instance, I have a ton of Tupperware and other assorted containers, but can I ever find the corresponding lids?  No.  And the kitchen cupboards are so full when I open a door, some plastic storage contained is bound to fall on my head.  I'm tired of this.  Marrying up the containers with the lids is another item on my list.  (Of course, finding one place to store it all is another problem that needs solving, but let's take things one at a time.)

And when I finish up all the items on this list, I'm going to make another one.  It seems to be the only way I can get stuff done.

How about you?

A job well done?

Think about the occupation of meteorologists.

Now there's a career where you can be wrong 90% of the time, never apologize, and still keep your job.

Not only are they usually wrong, they seem to delight in terrorizing us.  "There's a 70% chance of SNOW!  TAKE COVER--empty the grocery stores of milk and bread.  It'll last for two days."


Then you see a few flakes for half an hour, that immediately melt.  Ho-hum.
It was supposed to snow for five days straight.  Did it?

NO!

We were supposed to have up to three inches of snow overnight!

What did we get?  Nary a flake.

So what's annoying you today?

Hungry cats with no worries

Okay, we've got four cats.  That's not really all that much.  I like to think of it as two pairs.  (Two girls; two boys.)

Our cats like to eat.  Oy--do they like to eat!  And two or three times a year we head out to the pet store and fill up the back of the car.  Can you guess what we did the other day?

This last load of 336 cans ought to last us until June.  And wouldn't you know, a day later we got a $10 coupon in the mail.  That's okay, we're getting low on Special Care (urinary tract dry cat food) that they also eat.

Can you believe, if there's some kind of national emergency, the cats don't have to worry about food.  Meanwhile, we don't have that much stored up for us.

Well, several kinds of the cat food are pate.  We can always spread it on crackers if we get desperate.

How well do your pets eat?

My kingdom for some pockets!

Why would clothing manufacturers make sweatpants without pockets?  I mean, what gives?

I live in sweatpants.  I need to have stuff readily available.  Like a tissue.  Or Chapstick.  These are vital things, especially in winter.

Suddenly, I only seem to have sweatpants without pockets.  Where'd my pants with pockets go?  I don't remember tossing any (although I probably should--you know, the ones with bleach stains (from when I cleaned the deck of mold/moss) and paint stains, when I backed against the table that was still wet).

It's time to take a trip to K-Mart and see if I can find some sweats with pockets--you know, before all we can buy are shorts and swimsuits.  (You wouldn't want me to wander around the house with chapped lips, would you?)

Any clothing gripes from your end?

A fat-busting cooking tip

I love to bake, but I don't like the calories.  So when I bake, I often substitute the oil in a recipe with unsweetened applesauce.  (And just WHY would anyone WANT to sweeten applesauce?  It's already sweet!!!)

For Christmas, I baked a very rich carrot cake.  Because it was the first time I used that recipe, I decided to make it as directed--with a full cup of oil.  It was pretty darn good.  For Valentine's Day, I made the same cake, only this time I substituted the oil with applesauce.

How did it turn out?

Pretty good.  A bit moister, but other than that it was still a very good cake.

I noticed that my local grocery store is now selling a prune mixture, which can be used as a substitute for oil, and I'm going to buy some and try that in a recipe some time soon.  (While I contemplate going on a diet and putting all baking on hold for some time.)

What ingredient have you substituted in a recipe?

And The One Thing On My Mind This Morning . . .

Okay, let's all sing together (to the tune of White Christmas):

I'm Dreaming of some NICE waffles,
Just like the kind Mom used to make . . .

(Wanna bet I don't get any for breakfast this morning?)

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Is Anybody Out There?

Helloooooooooo!

I've been blogging steadily (at least five days a week) for months now and am a bit discouraged that I have so few readers--despite the fact I'm on Facebook and tweet my post. Oh, one person comments every now and then (Hi, Gert!), and I know there's more of you reading ... although, not a lot.  My question ...does anybody enjoy the blog?

I'm not the only one wondering if I'm whistling in the wind. A while back, on one of my favorite blogs, Wil Wheaton said: "The Internet is quiet as hell lately. I feel like I'm talking into an empty tube, so thanks for reading and commenting; it makes me feel a little less like a crazy old man with no pants standing on the corner ranting about the weather."

He's still got more than a loyal few commenting.

I think it's a lot harder to come up with blog entries in the winter than other seasons of the year.  In the winter, I don't go out and check the progress on my beans, potatoes and tomatoes. I don't leap out of my chair to weed. I don't do a LOT in the winter. Sometimes I don't leave the house for days at a time, which doesn't give me much to write about.

Okay, there is always weather, but snowstorms are only interesting when you're watching them happen to somebody else via the Weather Channel. We've experienced them a LOT lately. We've had inches of snow, tons of icicles, and gloomy skies for days on end.  It's cold and REALLY BORING.

So what is it about winter and blogging that makes it so tough?

Oh, lovely Tea Time Magazine

I recently came across an old issue of Tea Time magazine.  It's published by the same people who revived Victoria Magazine (for Tea Time is also published by Hoffman Media, based in Birmingham, Alabama).

The first thing I noticed was that the editorial content outweighed the ads.  It was wonderful that each story led to another without a lot of advertising.  That's a huge plus in my book.

The cover was lovely.  How can you go wrong with a delightful dessert sitting on the saucer of delicate bone china—with the cup acting as a beautiful pedestal?  The inside cover had me fooled for a moment—the Make Mine Pink ad is heavily featured in Romantic Homes Magazine, but no, Tea Time is from the same publisher as Victoria Magazine.

“The Art of Tea” article was a delight.  I don’t have children of my own, but I do hope that mothers (and more likely grandmothers) will do as the article suggests and introduce new generations to the joys of having tea.  “A Fine Legacy” article, featuring teacups, was a photographic joy to behold.  I have an extensive teacup collection, but this generational retrospective had my tongue hanging out.  I’m a sucker for poppies, so the 1970s Poppy cup and saucer left me longing to add this specimen to my collection.
As with Victoria Magazine, the pictures featured throughout are a pure delight.  And I can’t wait to try out the recipe for the savory walnut biscuits or the raspberry chocolate turnovers.   You can’t expect diet foods in a magazine called Tea Time.

I suppose my only real criticism would be that the magazine—originating in Alabama—has far too much emphasis on a southern U.S. interpretation of taking tea.  Hey, I’m a first generation American of English extraction.  Tea Time did not originate in the southern United States.  It would behoove the editors to remember that tea originated in England.  I hope that in future issues they’ll give greater play to the true home of tea and crumpets and feature taking tea in other parts of the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Thanks to a Google search, I found the magazine is still going strong. Therefore, I’m going to treat myself to a subscription of Tea Time.  I’m already looking forward to my first issue.

How about you?  What magazines do you subscribe to?

And me without a sewing machine . . .

According to my Susan Branch Calendar, today is VISIT YOUR LOCAL FABRIC STORE day.

Wouldn't you know, I don't sew.

Not that my mother didn't try to teach me.  In fact, when I was in Girl Scouts, she volunteered to teach the whole troup to sew.  Sadly, it didn't take -- at least for me.

My Mom is a quilter, she knits, she is extremely creative.  I didn't inherit that gene.  I used to do counted cross stitch, but then I got carpal tunnel syndrome.  I could do simple knitting, too--like scarves and slippers. (I was really good at slippers.)  But I can't do that any more, either.

Still I will admit that I do love to go to the fabric store and just look at all the pretty fabrics--the different textures and wish I could make something beautiful.  Especially since I'm a sucker for pretty pillows.  Must be because some of that urge to sew rubbed off--ya think?

What about you, do you sew?

From trash to compost . . .

Last year mother gave me some money for Christmas. Not a fortune, but it was $$$ to treat myself to things I'd really like.  So I bought some DVDs and had a bit more leftover. At first I couldn't decide what to do with it and then it came to me.  I'll use it to buy a composter!

The problem is, most composters are big deal things.  We're just two people and four cats, and the cats don't eat a lot (any) veggies, so we don't create much to make compost with.  Still, I want to go greener (and according to a recent article in USA Today most people my age are getting the urge to do the same).  So last week I decided the time was right and I whipped off an order to Amazon, which was selling the thing for cheaper than anyone else.  And best of all, I had to spend only 5 cents more and I'd get free shipping!  (And let me tell you, this sucker is HEAVY.  Of course, I bought a $7 book, but I wanted to buy it anyway.)

New York State has decided that Amazon is making too much money off its citizens because Amazon now collects sales tax from New York residents.  (They've told every major business the same thing.)  Mind you, Amazon has no physical presence in New York, which has been the precedent for tax collection.  So I have a feeling my Amazon orders will fall off as of now.  I can order a book from Barnes & Noble and pick it up at my local store, and though I have to pay state tax (and the gas to get there), I can get at least 10% off the cost of the book (because I have a B&N saver card).  I'll miss ordering on impulse from Amazon and I resent that New York is yet again sucking me for more tax income.

There's a reason there's a mass exodus of people and businesses from this state.  We pay too much and receive too little in return.  Too bad I can't dump my compost on my local elected representative.

But I digress.

Getting back on topic ... do you compost?

Does A Picture Say 1000 Words?

Once upon a time, I used to take a LOT of pictures.  I had my little beauty of a Minolta (both a 101 and 201) and my lenses and I would shoot "Americana" (and mostly in black and white).  My job as a copy editor had a big plus:  a dark room.  The "guys"  (my pals Erv and Mr. Bill) would develop my film for me, and then after hours I'd go in and crop and print to my heart's delight.

Then everything went digital.

Mr. Ivy gave me a digital camera for my birthday one year, but I never liked it.  For some reason, I couldn't seem to take a decent shot with it.  Me, who messed with f-stops couldn't take a picture of people without chopping their heads off like an amateur.

Then on my (cough, cough) anniversary with a well-known photographic company, I received another digital camera.  This one was much friendler (and actually more sophisticated) and I was once again taking good pictures.  (Whew!)  But still I missed the bulk of a single lens reflex camera.  So two years ago, I bought a Rebel EOS camera. Suddenly I was back to taking professional type photographs.  The fact that I could manipulate the contrast and brightness via Photoshop meant I could turn marginal shots to pretty darn good ones.


Right now there's not a lot I want to take pictures of.  Snow, snow, and more snow is pretty boring.  I'm pining for spring when the flowers come back in bloom and I can show them off here on the blog and email them to friends to compare notes on their gardens.

Once the weather turns I plan on taking the camera with me on my jaunts.  I can't wait to see what develops.

How about you.  Are you into photography?