New Year's resolutions

I never make resolutions. I think it's foolish. We set these grand goals for ourselves and forget them long before January ends, partly because they're so lofty we can't attain them.. I've always believed in a more moderate approach--like this year I'm going to be a better person, walk in another person's moccasins before I judge them, an so on.
But this year I've made three resolutions, taking a hint from the man who recently said he was going to make one personal, one business, and one health resolution. I've got mine ready:
Health - I'm going to do my yoga routine at least four times a week, no excuses. I used to do that, but this past year the slightest excuse found me saying, "Not today." My back hurts, I didn't have time, the stars weren't aligned right. You name it, and it was an excuse for me. But I know I'm out of shape, and I know it's important as we age (and I certainly am) to stay flexible and active. Besides I bought a cushy new yoga pad.
Business--I'm going to be more disciplined about my writing. Less time on Facebook, etc., and more time devoted to writing new copy. Although I published three books this year, they reflected in large part writing done earlier. This year I'm going to concentrate on writing new material an finishing the projects on which I have a half start.
Personal - this is the one I'll probably break by January 10, but I am going to resist responding to blindly stated, rock-held (but in my mind erroneous) opinions on politics, social justice, the environment, gun control--all those controversial issues. Sometimes when people post comments that I consider blind belief and not rational exploration I can't resist leaping in. But I'm going to try. The guy who says "You can't take my guns from me" the same day a two-year-old shoots his mother by mistake will get no response for me. Neither will the person who claims climate change is a bunch of hooey. Hardest will be resisting those who blindly hate President Obama and claim he's ruining the country. But I cannot change their minds, and I hope to stop beating my head against a wall.
I saw a post today from a woman who said she will continue to condemn rogue cops, even while she continues to praise the majority of police officers. That, to me, is reasoned discourse, and if folks want to engage in that, I'd be grateful. I want to know when my thinking has veered off the chart of rationality--but only if you, too, are rational about it. Facts, folks, not prejudice.
Yes, I'm a progressive, a liberal, a tree hugger, an anti-gun person--but I'm willing to be reasonable about all--well, most of it.
So there you have it. Wish me luck in 2015. Because I wish you all the best that can be, all that your heart desires. Health, wealth, and happiness for everyone...and, most of all, peace in this sorry old world of ours. I, for one, am most grateful for all the blessings of my life. I hope you are too and that they continue for all of us in the year to come. God bless!

an absurdly happy day

Because there was no school and his parents both had to work, Jacob spent Monday and Tuesday with me. He was cheerful about trips to the grocery both day, though he confessed he hates grocery stores. Such trips are hard on me because I make the mistake of holding out a treat. Monday I had to say "No more cereal when we have two boxes," while he countered "Juju, we don't need that much Kleenex." My explanation that I like back-up fell on deaf ears. Central Market was easier--we came away with a container of six oatmeal/raisin cookies, his choice. They may just be my favorite new thing--we each ate three yesterday. So good. And I rationalized to him that they're good for us.
Last night Jacob spent the night. We went to dinner with friends Jacob particularly enjoys (it's mutual), and his parents didn't want to come get him at eight nor did I want to drive him home. This morning, I delivered him to his mom's office at 9:30 so they could be home in time to watch the TCU bowl game with young (well, they are to me) friends.
And then I was home, absurdly happy at the prospect of a day home alone with Sophie. We are holed up in my office with a heater--cozy when I've been cold all day. I admit to fiddling at my desk and only starting on work late in the morning--still have to do yoga but a nap beckons.
One precious moment with Jacob: when I have my nightly love and tummy rub session with Sophie, on her dog bed  next to my bed, Jacob hangs his head upside down over the edge of the bed and looks at me. Last night, he asked, "What do you want to talk about?" I don't remember now what we talked about, but as I drifted off--and he tossed and turned--he said, "You know what I really like? The conversations we have when you're loving Sophie." Be still my heart. Sometimes I wonder what he'll remember twenty years from now, and I guess that's one thing. May all his memories be that pleasant.
Tonight, weather permitting, I'll go to a bring-your-own-steak dinner with Jacob and his family and the football watchers who will no doubt stay to watch the new year in. Christian is a master at cooking my meat the way I like it--seared on the outside and very pink in the middle. I'm anticipating a nice small sirloin. And an early-to-bed, quiet New Year's Eve.
And to all, a blessed New Year with peace, joy and love.

Poltergeists and other creatures of the night

Do you believe in ghosts? I've always said I do and I don't, but I sort of alarmed two of my grandchildren Saturday on the drive from Tomball when I said I thought there were ghosts in my house. Are they scary, they asked. No. They're friendly ghosts or as I like to call them, using an old country term, "haints." My very first novel had a scene about haints and a dark cemetery, and I guess that's stayed with me. But in at least two houses I've lived in I've felt the presence of other spirits, and sometimes, just for a fleeting moment, I think I see a figure lurking around a corner or peeking through a doorway. I never feel threatened, and often at night I wake with the sense that someone's in the house watching over me. Sometimes it's my mom, gone almost thirty years now.
When I lived in the big house I refer to as my doctor's wife house, two good friends told me they saw people. Winston, the shirt-tail uncle who helped raise my children, once sat in the dining room, looked across the large entryway into the sunken living room, and asked, "Judy, who are all those men in  your living room?" Alarmed, I asked if they were threatening, and he said no, they were friendly. Then a friend who stayed in our upstairs guest bedroom for a while reported that figures walked in and out of her room at night but all were friendly. So, don't count me as a disbeliever. Jacob keeps wanting me to show him a haint, but it isn't as easy as that. They don't stand still for a viewing.
A week ago yesterday, my hot water heater just flat quit. Nada. Not a drop of hot water, once I'd used what was in the tank. The plumber came first thing the next morning and declared he could find nothing wrong. Just to be sure, he blew it out, cleaned it, and said "Call me if it goes out again." It hasn't, so far.
Yesterday my furnace quit, and I woke to a cold house, as I wrote last night. First thing this morning, the furnace guys were here. When I got up this morning, it was 61 in the house; by the time they got here, about 9:30, it was 72. Go figure, because they couldn't. They spent well over an hour (with dollar signs going round in my head) checking out everything they could possibly check out. No problems at all, so they left saying, "Call us if it does it again."
Coincidence? I don't think so. I think there's a poltergeist in the house. A poltergeist (noisy ghost in German) is a ghost responsible for loud noises (okay, I did hear some things go bump in the night last night) and for moving objects around. I think of poltergeists as mischievous, sort of like the Christmas Elf (do you think he hung around?).
I think a poltergeist is responsible for my water heater and furnace troubles. I just hope he doesn't get into a battle with my friendly haints.
What? Me read a paranormal novel? No thanks. I'm not interested. But I suspect in reality the paranormal is all around us.

Poor Pitiful Pearl

When I got out of bed this morning and had my morning conversation with Sophie, I thought I was unusually cold. Temperature in the house was mid-sixties and falling. Now, 64 makes a lovely fall day outdoors; indoors it makes for a darn cold house. Being a natural-born mechanic (not!) I fiddled with the thermostat. The furnace kicked on--for about two minutes and quit. It did that periodically during the morning. Lit the gas logs in the fireplace--they add a cheery sense of warmth but not much heat unless you stand right before the fire. Called my neighbor, Jay, and he brought over a small heater for the office, which was soon a comfortably warm space. When I had to venture out, I felt like a pioneer having to go to the barn to feed the animals in a blizzard. I was debating where to sleep and decided on the apartment. Jay advised me to go turn the heat on right away, and that triggered a belated thought--the apartment is heated with portable electric heaters that look sort of like old-fashioned radiators. Both are now inside, one in the bedroom and one  in the kitchen. Not perfect, but they do take the chill off. This afternoon I crawled into bed under three blankets and had a cozy nap--didn't want to get up. The furnace company called about noon, and I assure them I'd live, so they said they'd be over first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, the temperature inside and out is falling.
Spent most of the day holed up in the office, re-formatting a manuscript. At one point, the screen suddenly went blank, and I tried to remember when I'd last saved my work. Rebooted and discovered a good thing about Windows 8--it saves work even when you don't. So I didn't lose anything.
The final blow came about five when I was at my desk--leaned over to pick up a paper that had fallen on the floor and had a sharp pain in my left hip. Discovered it hurt to walk but gets a little better with movement. I'm still limping but it needs to go away by tomorrow--too much to do.
I limped around the kitchen, watching the news while I made comfort food: tuna/noodle casserole. I'm sure I've shared this before, but here's my secret method of making that dish that so many scorn with bad memories from childhood:

1 c. white wine

Assorted dried herbs—thyme, parsley, oregano, summer savory, tarragon, etc. (avoid Mexican spices like cumin); just throw the spices into the wine
1 small onion, chopped
½ c. celery, diced
2 Tbsp. butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 7½-oz. can water-packed tuna, drained
1 c. carb filler of choice, cooked—noodles or rice
½ c. green peas
1 small can French’s fried onion rings
Boil wine with herbs until the herbs turn black (about five minutes). Remove from heat.
Meanwhile sauté onion in butter. Add this to wine, along with soup. Add tuna, drained, or 1 cup diced chicken or turkey, the carb filler, and green peas for color. If there’s not enough liquid for your solid ingredients, add more wine. You can also vary the amount of meat and noodles or rice to suit your taste. Put into casserole dish and top with canned fried onion rings. The size casserole dish you use will depend on how big you make your casserole, but it’s best to have a shallow dish so that more of the casserole gets fried onion topping. Bake at 350° until bubbly and onions are brown.

Home again

No matter how sweet the visit or trip, it's always good to be home again. I've just spent four lovely, restful holiday days at my oldest son's house. We shared a lovely Christmas Eve meal and Christmas day two very excited grandkids got mini iPads and almost anything else they wanted. Christmas dinner, with my daughter-in-law's Norwegian mother at the helm, was nontraditional--Norwegian hamburgers with gravy, mashed potatoes (to go with that gravy), green peas and green beans plus chocolate pie.
I spent much of my time reading, eating, and sleeping-somehow at someone else's house you can put behind you all those chores that rush at you at home. But I did do some work, and I allowed myself time to get lost in books--a luxury of time I don't always take. My thanks to Colin, Lisa, nine-year-old Morgan, seven-year-old Kegan, and John and Torhild Griesbach for making me so welcome.
Today two of my wonderful children played "throw Mom from one car to another." Actually we met in Marlin, Texas, which is about halfway between Tomball and Fort Worth. Only my family could get lost in a town the size of Marlin, but we managed it--separately. We finally all made it to High Cotton, a home cooking restaurant where we had lunch and a good visit. Naturally the three grandchildren wanted to go to one house or the other together, and we had to explain that getting back and forth--a four-hour drive--wasn't that easy.
Now I'm home. I've been welcomed suitably by my sweet dog who probably enjoyed the pet sitter a lot more than me. A teen-age boy, he took her on long walks and played fetch with her. Still she seemed glad to see her family when we came in. I'm unpacked, the mail is sorted, and I'm ready to move on. Think I'll read some more.
I have several days to think about resolutions but I read something from someone today who said he was going to make three resolutions: one personal, one business, and one fitness. Sounds like a plan to me.
Y'all have a nice, lazy evening. I'm going to.

Well, it's Christmas night--is it all over?

I was tempted to write about the letdown of Christmas night and the anticipation of the new year to come. For a couple of months I've been focused on the holidays--I don't know if you start that early--so nothing else much got done. But I was always aware of that new leaf I was going to turn over after Christmas. I probably wouldn't even wait until New Year's--in fact, I did my yoga routine today and that's part of my new leaf. The rest of it really has to do with  establishing a writing schedule, getting serious about all the projects on my computer and in my head, doing some of the cooking and entertaining I want to do.
By Christmas night, with dinner behind us and the dishes done, it's too easy to think it's time to move on. A bit of a let-down, yes, but also, at least for me, a time for looking forward with optimism.
But then I read the weekly Advent message from my church, this written by senior minister Larry Thomas. Larry lamented that he would have chosen to write about the first week of Advent, when we're all gearing up for what he called the "Christmas marathon" and our energy is fresh. By Christmas night, our energy is sapped and it's sometimes hard to maintain the spirit of peace and goodwill toward all men.
But he suggested not rushing past Christmas, not hurrying to put it behind us. Leave the decorations up, even until Twelfth Night. Sit, quietly and peacefully, in front of the tree or the fire, enjoy the company of family or the peace o quiet meditation. Christmas of all times brings us together in a spirit of awe and thankfulness and love--treasure that feeling and let it linger.
No, it's not an excuse for procrastination--I still have to do my yoga and once I get thank-you notes written and finish the novel I'm reading, I have to get serious about that novel in progress. (Maybe that in itself is a bit of procrastination.) But I can carry the spirit of Christmas with me--probably all year long is a bit too much to hope for but I can try. I can be kinder and gentler, with loved ones and strangers. I can pray for peace and for solutions to world problems such as climate change. I can still write that great American novel.
Sit back, smell the scents of Christmas, and linger in the holiday.
 

Christmas wishes from the Alters

We're scattered tonight but my family joins in one voice to wish you all a blessed Christmas.

Anyone for brinner?

My little neighborhood group had a really fun get-together for Christmas. Jordan and Jay (the handsome neighbor) concocted the idea of brinner--breakfast for dinner. They did most of they work, but it was potluck--Subie and Phil brought Bloody Marys, Greg and Jaimie brought a delicious fruit dish, Christian made the wonderful potato casserole we both make (so rich--cheese, sour cream,, butter, etc.) but so delicious, and Jay brought pancakes, real Vermont maple syrup (he will hear of no other and scoffs at claims Canada has better syrup) along with an egg casserole. Maybe it was the Bloody Marys but everyone was very jolly, and we decided we had invented a new tradition--Christmas brinner, though Jay suggested we don't have to wait for next Christmas. We could celebrate the summer solstice, though I think we would need lighter food. Hmmm--smorgasbord sounds good, a real traditional Scandinavian smorgasbord!
One hitch tonight--I've had no hot water all day, and the plumber I use doesn't take calls on Sunday. I left a message but will call again early early tomorrow morning. The "experts" among us tonight decided it's the thermacouple, for whatever good that does--except maybe I can give the plumber a heads up. Fortunately I had decided to use disposable plates and plastic flatware, but I always run the flatware through the dishwasher and use it again, which means I have an appalling collection. And some dishes have to be hand-washed, plus I have laundry to do. Most of all I dread washing my hair in ice-cold water in the morning. Shower? Forget it.
This group--eight of us plus Jacob and occasionally a neighbor from across the street--are, I think, one of the reasons I could become a recluse. They gather, always at my house, and we have so much fun, it's so comfortable that I often think why should I go out into the world when I have the wonderful cocoon in which to laugh and enjoy.
But go out into the world I do--several parties last week and today, in spite of a little balkiness on his part, Jacob and I went to church. The sanctuary is so beautiful and the music so familiar and so rich that I didn't want to miss Christmas Sunday.

Blessings for a quiet time

When my neighbor, Susan, came in for happy hour tonight she said, "It's so quiet. Usually there's so much going on here." I told her Jacob would be here shortly and that would change...and sure enough it did. Sophie came in from the yard, Jordan and Jacob arrived, and suddenly everyone was talking at once, haggling over who was doing what for New Year's. Good gracious--we haven't even gotten through Christmas yet and they're planning New Year's. Of course, it all has to be planned around those football games, which neither Susan nor I care one whit about.
But basically, it was a quiet day, and I treasure those as we approach Christmas. So many people are rushed, harried and hurried in these last countdown days that I'm almost afraid to say I have it all done and I've been piddling. Emails, Facebook, updating my iPad's Kindle selections, culling through recipe magazines that piled up on my desk. I found so many recipes I want to try that we'll have to have a feast every weekend for weeks to come. But it's a pleasant feeling, and a part of me says that for those of us who celebrate Christmas this is the way it should be: quiet, contemplative, a time to ponder the wonder of the holiday and of God's great gift of love given to us. I'm enjoying it.
I did start the day off at an small but elegant breakfast party with a really innovative menu--a wonderful egg and Gruyere and prosciutto casserole, a distinctive broccoli and cauliflower salad with a hint of blue in the dressing, and some lightly pickled beets--I adore beets and made a pig of myself. My shoes weren't nearly the hit they were last night, but it was a different crowd, one where I knew some but not a lot of the guests. Still it added to my sense of peace and grace about the season.
Home for a nap, a quiet happy hour with Jay (until Susan finished vacuuming) and then Jordan and Jacob arrived. Jay and I have great political discussions--he a conservative and me a liberal but we both recognize logic so sometimes its sort of fun.
Now Jacob is on his iPad in the back room--he who won't sleep back there and insisted on light when he did is perfectly content to work on his iPad in the pitch dark. He's anxiously waiting for me to get off the computer. It's a bit disconcerting that he knows more than I do--yesterday morning he had to restore the sounds to my TV. Tonight he wants to play games so I asked the all-important question: are these games free? "juju, you pull them up on line. Of course they're free!"
Off to sit by the fire and read. I hope everyone also has a quiet and peaceful night.

My dancing shoes

These are my dancing shoes--well, not really. They're a pair of Inkka hightops that I told Jamie I wanted for Christmas and since we won't all be together this Christmas, he gave them to me early. I asked Jordan today if I could wear them, with black leggings and a really cool black top plus my squash blossom to a spiffy cocktail party tonight, and she said, "Go for it!" So I did.
First thing when I walked in, the hostess (who I have literally known all her life), said, "I love your shoes!" And in a few minutes someone behind me said, "Those shoes really make a statement." After that, my shoes were the talk of the evening, and the ham in me came out--I loved it. I even told people I wore the squash blossom to pick up the turquoise in the shoes. I do have to confess that I'm learning to tie shoes all over again--almost walked out of them in the grocery today. But tonight I felt camp, trendy, whatever. And since it was a party where I knew few people, the shoes were a wonderful conversation starter.
I realized today I have a split personality. It was a wet, sometimes rainy, chilly day, and a part of me kept saying what a nice night it would be for a book by the fire. I felt the same way before I went to a dinner party Wednesday night. A small part of me could easily become reclusive, spending all my time at home. In fact, recently I said to a friend that I spent a lot of time at home, and she replied, "Yes, but you bring people to you."
I can't count on that, however, and I always enjoy events when I get myself in gear and go out--I loved the dinner party a few nights ago, and I had a great time tonight. I recognize that the tendency toward being a recluse is neither healthy nor, in the long run, enjoyable. I need people in my life, and if I sat home and expected them to come to me, there are a whole lot of people that I really like but would never see.
Tonight, I saw a former neighbor, now married to the mother of one of Jordan's school chums, and I met new people. I'm learning to be so bold as to slip into the conversation the fact that I'm an author. The woman who'd first commented on my shoes said her husband was writing, and we had a bit of talk about that--as much as I could hear over the music.
It was a lovely evening with spectacular food, and I'm so glad I went. Thanks to friends who took me under their wing so I didn't have to go alone. Tomorrow is a breakfast party and guess what? I'm going to wear my dancing shoes!