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looong post
March 19, 2012
I took Friday off as a vacation-burner, and it was pretty enjoyable--even if I did
spend a pretty good chunk of it cleaning, washing dishes, doing all the laundry,
and knocking out the weekly shopping. At least I was able to work without
Spouse underfoot, at a pace of my choosing. With nice breaks in between
chores, for watching a couple of old movies, reading for a while, and ordering
myself a new pair of sneakers identical to my old ones. And although I would
have preferred not to do the weekly shopping that evening, it was nice to get it
out of the way. It was kind of a crappy food day...the gustatory highlight was
the grilled cheese I made myself for breakfast.
Mental Note: NEVER order the ground sirloin OR the rice pilaf at Tommy's
EVER AGAIN. The rice tasted like somebody put out a cigarette in it, and the
ground sirloin tasted like dog food. Which is what it ended up as--I took it home
for the B. Bleah!
Saturday was the big killer day of the weekend--Nephew came over to work for
me, because he needed to make some money. So Spouse and I put together a
list of heavy work for him--he stayed all day, and the list of things he helped
with was a pretty long one:
Took down the living room drapes for washing
Washed living room windows, inside and out
Cleaned the ceilings, walls, and ceiling fans in the LR, DR, & Kitchen
vaccuumed, cleaned baseboards & cold air returns in the LR, DR
Cleaned the oven
Mowed the front lawn (can you believe it needs mowing in friggin' MARCH?!)
cleaned out the laundry area of the basement
Took B to the dogwash and gave him a good bath
Put the living room drapes back up after I washed and ironed them. (They
shrunk, BTW. They are now too short for the picture window, and I AM
PISSED. Cheap Chinese WalMart Crap!)
He also managed to scarf down a huge plate of rib tips, fries and coleslaw from
Mr. Rib, and to pocket a crisp new benjie-green at the end of the day.
Items he didn't get to include:
Cleaning the gutters
Helping his uncle repair the siding on the gable
The rest of the basement.
I guess Nephew will need get that stuff done the next time he's in town.
Dinner on Saturday night was on the sketchy side. We were both exhausted,
and since the big meal of the day was lunch, Spouse & I just scrounged for
dinner. I had a sandwich and a bowl of ice cream, and I think he just had some
graham crackers and milk.
Intersting occurence While Nephew and I were cleaning out the basement. I
found a stray cigarette. It was probably older than ancient, but it was still
plump and round and not beaten up at all�it looked like a normal cigarette
one would pull out of a pack.
What amazed me was my reaction. I picked it up, and it didn�t feel familiar. It
just felt strange and weird to be holding such an object in my hand.
I felt...NOTHING! No smoky thinking, no nostalgia or romancing the cig, no
weasely "quick, hide it and smoke it later!" sneakiness�nothing. I just handed
it to Nephew, said "here, put this in the trash for me", and kept on cleaning.
What a pleasant moment that was.
By Sunday, I was more than ready to take it easy. we did run out to have
breakfast and make a quick jaunt to buy a new liner for the bottom of the oven,
but then came home and settled in for the day. I tried to relax, read for a while,
futzed around on YouTube.
Had a Facebook argument with W about the way I was "getting my Irish on".
Apparently, it wasn't enough that I was listening to Irish people singing--the
music itself had to be Irish, as well. I was listening to Maria Doyle Kennedy,
Andrew Strong, and Robert Arkins-all actual Irish people!--on the
soundtrack from "The Commitments". But since they were singing soul and
R&B, instead of "Danny Boy" or "Whisky in the Jar", so they just weren't Irish
enough.
And I guess, by the same token, the clips of Dara O'Briain and Dylan Moran I
was watching weren't Irish enough, either--since they were playing the Apollo
Theater and making fun of Americans. Cripes. I can't even begin to guess how
she'd classify the Thin Lizzy and My Bloody Valentine tracks I was playing.
There's a frack of a lot more to Irish music than The Chieftans droning through
"O'Sullivan's March". Even she listens to U2, The Cranberries, and The Pogues!
I did putter a bit--I caught up (one load) the laundry from the weekend and did
a little bit more cleaning in the basement, including clearing out the old freezer. I decided that if we aren't going to ever use it, it was pretty stupid to keep
shelling out for the electricity to run the damned thing. So I unplugged it,
propped open the lid, and pulled out the two ancient tv dinners and the plastic
bucket containing one scoop of antique ice cream that we've been paying to
keep frozen. The freezer was so frosted up, though, that it still wasn't
thawed out by tonight--I had to throw huge chunks of ice into the deep sink to melt, and mop out at least a gallon of icy water in order to finish "decomissioning" it.
Sunday dinner was our slightly belated nod to St. Patrick's Day. Even though it
was nearly eighty degrees again (This is officially the warmest March EVER in
our area), Spouse made corned beef in the crockpot. I was responsible for the
potatoes & carrots (cabbage just sounded gross to me, so I skipped it), and
managed to wreck the carrots by letting the steamer pot boil dry. Scorched the
hell out of the pot & the steamer rack, and thoroughly smoked up the house.
But it evened out, because Spouse NEVER can get it through his skull that you
need hours and hours to cook something in the crockpot, so it only got
about four hours cooking time. (Seriously-the only thing he ever makes in
there that comes out okay is his country-style ribs. Everything else is
disgusting.)
So: Corned beef was tough as a rubberband, we ended up eating some of the
frozen carrots I buy for the dog instead of the fresh ones I'd peeled, the house
was all smoky, and I spent half an hour scrubbing my blackened pot, even
after I soaked it for an hour in hot water and ammonia. And it's still
kinda black.
The new potatoes with butter and fresh chopped parsely were delicious,
though.
Today was no breeze--back to work, and back to beating my head against a
wall. News from the work front--my AVP bid out for another position and got
it--it's a promotion for her, and a chance to work directly for the CEO, so she's
leaving the team. Unclear if we will get a replacement; or get folded in with the
team at our sister company. What I would like to see is a replacement, and one
that really goes to bat for our side of the business, but that probably won't
happen. Whatever happens will probably suck.
Then I got an email from my cousin telling all the side-effects my cousin D.E. is having from his radiation and chemo, which got me feeling weepy and angry and anxious.
And then, my mom called me on my way home from work, to let me know that lifelong family friend just died of a massive stroke at the age of 60. This is a lady who was big sister to my best friend, big sister to my little brother's best friend, wife of my mom's best work friend, and mother of my nephew's best friend. I mean she was pretty much FAMILY. I don't happen to believe in an afterlife, but when my mom said that she hoped my little brother and her little sister were there to meet her at the gate, I started bawling. It would be so nice to be able to believe that kind of thing was true, sometimes.
Well, this has been a downright epic post, so I will just stop now.
Reading: Hobby: Continuing with the absolutely delightful Cape Cod
stories of Joseph Crosby Lincoln: Thankful's Inheritance (1915), Cy Whittaker's
Place (1908), and Fair Harbor (1922). Seriously--I am just eating these up! Full
of lovable old crusty sea captains with hearts of gold, spinsters and widows who
find love, Yankee storekeepers and boarding-houses, and here and there a
lovable orphan to get adopted by one or more of the above!
Listening: New Faces of 1952 (OCR). 60 years on, this is still some
massively funy shit. As brilliant as one would expect from lyricist Sheldon
Harnick, and writers like Ronny Graham and Mel Brooks (the team later
responsible for"To Be or Not to Be" and "Spaceballs"). And when the "new faces"
were attached to the bodies and voices of Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley, Eartha
Kitt, Robert Clary, and Carol Lawrence, among others...wow. I've loved this
show since I was introduced to it by Mum, back when I was still in high school.
Recently got re-acquainted with it through some YouTube clips. Found out the
album download is available at Amazon for seven bucks!
Surfing: This is as important as it is true. And it is completely
true.10 Reasons the Rest of the World Thinks
the U.S. Is Nuts
.
At Random:
click here
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