taking out the garbage on Saturday night

This was one of those long empty Saturdays. The fact that I was taking out the garbage at 7:30 on a Saturday night tells you something about my social life. On the other hand, it was a kind of pleasant day.
My old dog, with his permanent head tilt to the left, seems occasionally to hold his head straight. Coincidentally, the terrible crick in the left side of my neck is almost gone. Sympathy? Maybe that's the best answer. I wonder, though, since it lasted a week, if it wasn't a virus. Anyway, I think both of us are better. And eating better--but then, I never stopped eating!
If you have a rambunctious dog and haven't heard of bully sticks, run, don't walk, to Google and find them. They keep the dog occupied for hours. Thanks to Patty and Ralph for bringing them to me--they've been a godsend, and I've ordered a pack. Rationing them one a day, because they aren't cheap.
Some years ago I seemed to fall a lot. Colin, my oldest, asked, "Mom, have you ever considered that it's not your balance? It's just you don't watch where you're going." I have, knock on wood, gotten over the falling--maybe I watch better. But at the time he, with all good intentions, put double-faced tape at the corners of all the rugs on my hardwood floors--most of the rugs are kilim or dhurrie and I should have thought about consequences to the rugs, but there were none. Still, don't do it! The rugs and the tape soon part company, but the tape adheres tightly to the floor. I tried Glue Gone and I don't know what else. Finally someone told me WD40. I thought I'd gotten most of it, but when the dining room rug went out for cleaning and repair this week, I found lots of tape under it. The advice I got was a light coating of WD40--hah! I soaked those tapes, then let them sit for hours. Yesterday I spent painful hands-and-knees time scrubbing up tape. One piece left and I couldn't face it, so today about noon I sprayed it; when I finally went back to it about seven-thirty tonight it came right up. Now I'm afraid to have the living room rug cleaned for fear of more tape.
Yesterday was a celebration--I am out of the post-surgical shoe and into regular shoes. The doctor said to try but it's comfortable to me, and I'm careful not to bend the questionable toe--makes getting down on your hands and knees to scrape tape a real trick, but I did it. My gait, my balance, and my self-confidence are all improved--to say nothing of my stylish look(?). But it is the season for capri pants and leggings and they'd look awful with that huge shoe sticking out. I am also doing some  yoga--seated and standing--that doesn't endanger the foot. Slightly less than two weeks,which I thinks is great.
Grocery this morning and then the day was devoted to writing a new talk to deliver at Baylor, since I found the old one on what I've learned about writing mysteries was inappropriate--especially to the title of my talk. Bless Google Alerts--one came up today publicizing the Baylor Literary Festival in April and saying I would talk about "Exploring Women in the American West." Cozy, contemporary mysteries hardly fit that, so I shelved the ten pages I'd written and started over again. It's okay, because I wasn't thrilled with them, but I'll save them and steal bits and pieces here and there--who knows, some of it may turn up in a blog. Now I actually have a new ten pages roughed out plus a couple of ideas. But I quit for the night. Going to read Avery Aames' Clobbered by Camembert. Also did some odds and ends and a bit of cooking--made a Mexican cheese ball to take to supper at neighbors' tomorrow night. Cream cheee, cheddar, pepperjack, red pepper (I hate bell pepper but used pimientos--don't tell me, I know they're cured bell peppers), cilantro, chili powder, etc. Then made tuna cakes for supper--made four, have three left over. But they were pretty good. Want either recipe? Add the name Kraft and Google them, though I substituted ingredients--like panko for Stove-Top. I'm really trying to avoid processed foods.
And, that, folks is my trivia day. Not very exciting but satisfying.

Being crabby and staying home

Sometimes I find myself being crabby and then I'm ashamed, but tonight a strange red SUV drove into my driveway as if it had every right to be there--and the driver trotted off to the house next door. When she came back and began to maneuver like she was going to jump the curb, I became alarmed. If she manuevered back and forth, she could easily decimate my decades-old crape myrtle trees. I went out on the porch and said, as politely as I could, "Pardon me, but this is a private driveway." If Jordan had been bringing Jacob over and found another car in the driveway, she'd have been incensed to say the least. The woman looked up in amazement and explained she was just jumping the battery of the car in the next driveway. It belongs to the owner, who is trying to sell the house and with whom I've tangled about upkeep before. (Now that she's trying to sell, she keeps it the lawn and outside in great shape, and we have begun to speak to each other again.) Still, I think the woman in the red car should have knocked on my door and asked if it was okay!
Today was a stay-at-home day--the sprinkler repair people came and fixed my stubborn sprinkler so fast they said there would be no bill; Lewis Bundock, for whom I had a list of small things, came by--the biggie is replacing the bathroom sink, and he promised to be back tomorrow, with a plumber in tow. I've about decided to put a picket fence around the front yard--a grandchild barrier, and we talked about that, my difficult commodes, the piece that does indeed belong on the round oak table (thank you, Colin, for finding that)--and he took away the computer keyboard I'd ruined, smelling it for Chardonnay as he went.
I actually wrote almost 1400 words today and may yet write more tonight. I had the heroine experience a flat tire on the highway because someone stuck a lot of small nails in her tire. Jay suggested that I have the brake line cut, and I rewrote the whole section--which led to an unexpected new scene. When I sent it to Jay for technical approval, he wrote, "Unfair teaser. I want to read the whole book!" Neighbors are great.
In the last week or so I've wanted tuna cakes for dinner--I make them like my mom's salmon croquettes but using that good tuna ordered from Oregon. But each time dinner rolls around I'm too lazy to fix them, so this morning I made tuna cakes and summer squash casserole. Had myself a great dinner, with cooked fresh spinach added.
Since our heat spell continues and it was 100 today, it was good to stay home. I watered my porch plants once and will give them a drink again tonight. I do hope this won't last all summer!

Miscellany on a cold evening

TCU is playing Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix tonight, and I actually have it on the TV, though I don't know enough about football to follow it except when they flash the score and quarter along the bottom. Jean tells me it's a good game, so I'll believe her. I share the antipathy of many humanities scholars toward athletics--they get all the money and we get our programs cut. But I realize this triumphant football season has brought much national attention to TCU and, as our mayor says, to Fort Worth. So today I wore a lilac sweater--closest I could come to purple. And of course I really really want them to win. But every time some loyal football supporter raves about how much money we make from a bowl game, I want to ask about the trickle-down effect to academics. Really, why do we send kids to college: to cheer for a football team or to learn?  I do keep watching the crowd shots to see if I recognize anyone, but so far none.
It's a cold night in North Texas, and I am happy to be inside. Windy and cold even in mid-day today and predicted to get colder as the week goes on. Jordan was right. There is a difference between everyday cold and vacation cold--in Colorado, vacation cold is drier and doesn't seem to bite your bones like this does.
One of my dilemmas is that I have too much good food in my fridge. Tonight my dinner choice was between hoppin' John, which was so good as a leftover last night, and a tuna cake. I chose the tuna cake because it won't keep as long as the ham/pea dish. When I was a child my mom made salmon croquettes, and I adore them to this day. She used ground up saltines to thicken them--never the mashed potatoes recommended by some. All you do is put the canned fish, egg (1 for a 7 oz. can, 2 for a 14 oz. can)  in a bowl; season with salt, pepper, dry mustard, onion, and Worcestershire. Add enough ground crackers to give it substance, shape into patties and saute. Now I do it with that expensive and good tuna I ordered from a small fishery--I think I mentioned it before, but it's a family operation and the dolphins swim alongside their boats, are never caught in their nets. They pack the tuna and it is only cooked once when it goes through the canning process (most tuna is cooked, canned, and cooked again). Pisces tuna (that's the brand) is albacore in water, though the small mom-and-pop operation also offers salmon and other goodies. Tonight I accompanied my tuna cake, liberally doused with lemon, with a huge batch of stir-fried asparagus, mushrooms, and sugar snap peas. Of course then I broke down and ate two chocolate chip squares left in the freezer--I will soon have them finished and out of the way! Though I'm constantly watching my diet, it will be easier with those chocolate bars gone!