Cats and diets and writing

For those who were kind enough to express concern about my cat, I'm glad to announce that he's doing much better. A visit to the vet this morning showed that he's gained 6 oz. in the last two weeks, and everything about him is better, except that he still has just a bit of his bladder infection. In general, the vet said he's doing well and I may get to keep hydrating him for two years. My second attempt, done without moral support from anyone, was relatively easy--I arranged everything (like an OR or something) before I went to get him. Occasionally while the IV flowed, I'd feel him tense to jump, but I just held firm and talked softly to him. We made it through 2 cc. I did that yesterday, feeling it wasn't fair to inflict on him the traumas of an infusion and a vet trip in one day. Is he grateful? Who can tell? He's a cat.
I promised some time ago not to keep blogging about dieting, but I can't resist saying this: I have gone off Weight Watchers. I told my doctor I was worried about my weight (even though I'd lost weight the day I saw him) and his advice was essentially to quit obsessing about Weight Watchers. So I quit. I joined a free site called LiveStrong (sponsored by the Lance Armstrong Foundation) that counts calories, exercise, and how much water you drink. I haven't learned to enter my exercise or water consumption, but the calorie lesson is a whole new thing. Raspberries and bananas were point-free, but they're sure not calorie-free. Eggplant is close to being calorie-free. But I'm not going to obsess about it. Tonight I had an antipasto plate with a side of asparagus risotto--and I have't checked the calories. Who can figure out an antipasto platter, and I'm sure I don't want to know about the risotto--but it sure was good. And wine and chocolate? They're really high in calories--there is no justice in this world! Honestly feeling a weight off my shoulders. I'll report from time to time.
I'm in a writing quandry. My desk is clear of projects--oh, yes, there's that second novel to revise. But in the next few weeks several family things will take me away from desk time, so should I start revising now, knowing I won't finish? I've been waffling, reading novels, doing busy stuff, but I think I'm going to get serious about starting the revisions. Of course then there's my memoir class tomorrow night, and Jacob the night after, and Mother's Day. But I'm tired of being without purpose--it makes me antsy. (Yes, it's a compulsive nature.) And besides, I would really like the second novel to come out on the heels of the first.

Chili Cookoff and Social Media

Jay, Susan, Weldon, Elizabeth and I had a chili cookoff at my house tonight--note, if you can see them, the cookoff judges badges that Jay provided from his years in Terlingua. He and Susan have apparently both been judges in the past. It all started because I posted on Facebook that with cold weather coming, I was going to make a pot of chili. Elizabeth responded that sounded good and she was going to follow my lead, so I suggested she bring hers over since Jay and Susan were already joining me. At first I thought we could co-mingle the chilis but Elizabeth and Weldon are gluten free, and I put beer in mine--they do too (she uses my basic recipe) but they use gluten free. Jay then said I had awakened the inner cook in him, and he made a pot. Jay clearly wins the prize for best and most authentic chili--made with short ribs, not ground meat, no beans but lots of beer, a bit of chocolate and some chipotles in adobo sauce. It wasn't as hot as I feared, and I could taste the chocolate--really good. My chili, as he implied, was more like stew--a much thicker mix of chili-ground beef, beans and beer, but Susan declared it good and said it did have a bit of a kick to it. In my cookbook, Cooking My Way through Life with Kids And Books, I call my my version Judy's Mild and Tentative Chili--and I like it. I didn't try Elizabeth's, figuring except for black beans it was like mine, but Jay pronounced it delicious. Susan brought a big salad and some French bread, and we ate in front of the fireplace. Talk ranged from cats, dogs and possums to yoga, Christmas cookies (and the value of lard). Fun evening.
Jordan and Christian came for lunch and to pick up Jacob. He practically put himself to sleep last night, and this morning announced with great good cheer, "I waked up!" He was cheerful and happy and silly all morning, and at one point said, "I am so happy." Irresistible! Christian said at lunch he felt like he was eating at a local tea room--chicken salad with the ladies. But it was pretty good, and Jordan said the potato salad was perfect.
I am not ever going to mention Weight Watchers again. This morning I announced I was dropping out, but Jordan pushed me to stay in. So I am, but I'm not letting it limit me. What I've learned is that I must eat small portions. I could have eaten four helpings of potato salad at lunch but I contented myself with one small portion, and today I've had exactly one oz. of toffee--that's probabl too much. Anyway, that's the last word you'll hear from me about Weight Watchers--I decided at the party last night that people who talk about their weight all the time are dull, dull, dull.
Spent several enjoyable hours playing hookey and reading--Whiskey on the Rocks by Nina Wright. I am enjoying it thoroughly and love the Afghan hound at the center of the story, a free spirit if there ever was one. But I also studied a blog on using Twitter and made some small progress toward feeling more comfortable with that social media site. After all, if it weren't for social media, we wouldn't have had a cookoff tonight!

Falling off the wagon

I fell off both the diet and wine wagons yesterday, and I've been analyzing the reasons. One is that I bought some homemade toffee that is so delicious--but so high in Weight Watchers points. Still, it calls to me every time I go through the kitchen. And I keep thinking a half ounce doesn't matter. But those half ounces add up. Then I made some potato salad that I absolutely love. I use the County Line barbecue restaurant (Austin and San Antonio) recipe, with lots of pickle relish. I made this because Jordan requested potato salad and chicken salad for lunch Sunday. I made both yesterday, and if the toffee calls to me, the potato salad literally shouts. It is, I warned Jordan tonight, robust to say the least--I think I overdid the pepper a bit. But those two things, toffee and potato salad, have not helped at all, plus Weight Watchers has changed their point system. You get more points a day, but foods cost you more--I haven't adjusted, and last night I ws ten points over my daily quota. Yep, this morning I was a pound heavier.
My horoscope today said something to the effect that I shouldn't take a initial encounter too seriously and rush into passion. Friendship before love. I think it meant the potato salad.
The wine wagon is a different thing. I've discovered that my wine consumption goes up with the disruption of my schedule. Terrible to be a person who lives by a schedule of meals, but I like something small shortly after I get up, lunch around noon, and dinner around six. Last night, with the autograph extravaganza, I knew it would be after eight before I had supper. So I ate a banana before I went, then snacked on cheese (oh, so many points) and had two glasses of wine--adding up all those points because I really wanted a meal.
So today I resolved to stick to my points in food and my personal wine limit. So far so good, and it's nearly ten o'clock.
Jordan and I went to a party tonight with wonderful, lavish food. I bypassed the sliders and brie sandwiches and ate salmon, chicken, and veggies--delicious and almost no points. This was a party that I always enjoy but rarely go to--because of a staircase. I've known the hostess all her life--she's the daughter of a longtime friend. She and her husband live in an older, lovely home, but the only access is up a fairly long set of steps between the sides of the driveway. Nothing to hold on to. In a couple of other years,  my friend and her husband parked in the driveway next door and we crept across the lawn, but tonight Jordan said we were doing the stairs. And we did--piece of cake. Saw several people I know and was glad to see, ate that good food, had a glass of wine. When we left I had a full escort  down the stairs--Jordan walked in front of me, the husband of another young woman I've known all her life walked beside me and held my hand, and our hostess walked on the other side. I felt a little silly. I would have been fine with just holding on to Chad's hand. And I could have walked on the slanted driveway pavement too. It was fun to go to a bright holiday party.
I came home to wait for Jacob who arrived at nine to spend the night. He stayed up extra late but was giggly and happy and is now talking himself to sleep.

Home again--and some lessons from Thanksgiving

No matter how much I enjoy being someplace else--and I did love our Austin Thanksgiving--I am always glad to be home again. We drove on Saturday to beat the Sunday traffic, but we didn't get away from Austin until 3 p.m, which I thought was a bad plan--and it turned out to be. Traffic slowed just past Temple and bunched up off and on until Hillsboro, slowing us sometimse to 10 mph, averaging maybe 40-50. Nerve-wracking. We were tired and hungry, and Jacob got weepy--though a few Cheerios, Goldfish and raisins restored his blood sugar. Actually got to my house a bit after 6:30, which isn't bad--it just seemed that way. My cat could have cared less about seeing me but wanted food; my dog didn't care about food, but he was delighted to see me.
Leftovers are always the best part of a holiday meal, but here are a couple of things I learned:
--Mashed potatoes and gravy make a wonderful breakfast. We never get enough gravy from the turkey, so I made traditional gravy out of the drippings, scraping up all those good brown pieces, and then we added two quarts of prepared gravy Megan had bought from a home delivery service in Austin called The Soup Kitchen. Their gravy was quite pale, so I added a good couple of dashes of Kitchen Bouquet which turned it a lovely rich brown and spiced it up just a bit. It was the best we've made in a long time. Weight Watchers doesn't count too heavily for mashed potatoes, but they just don't know how much sour cream and butter Jordan puts in hers!
--I learned to love chess pie. I'd heard about it, probably never eaten it. Mel made it according to her great-grandmother's recipe which calls for corn meal and vinegar in the filling. Jordan called it baked sugar. I ate finger-sized slivers of it and was heartbroken this morning to discover it was all gone. Weight Watchers has never heard of chess pie (or vinegar pie) so I figured it was fair just not to mention it. The foods that I eat that Weight Watchers knows nothing about are numerous--I think they need a more sophisticated dietitian. Meantime I plan to ask Mel to share the recipe.
Elizabeth was right--going on Weight Watchers before the holidays made me a more conscious eater--I managed to come in almost on target with my points by taking a tablespoon of this and that. With so many offerings, that's a great way to taste everything and yet not feel stuffed. There again, Weight Watchers doesn't realize Lisa makes green bean casserole with sour cream, jack cheese (or monterrey, I'm not sure) and corn flakes soaked in a whole stick of butter. I cannot begin to tell you how much butter we used on Thursday!
--A non-cooking lesson for everyone who might find themselves in cold country. A norther hit Austin Thursday afternoon, like a snap of the fingers, dropping the temperature dramatically within minutes. That night it was really cold. I sleep in the office, the only upstairs room, that is always much colder than the rest of the house (and I don't think the heat was on at all that night). I could not sleep and realized it was because I was cold--my feet were like blocks of ice, and I was curling around myself to keep warm. Finally got up and got my sweats--put on the shirt and made a pocket out of the pants for my feet. It took a while for them to thaw, but then they were warm and toasty. Another problem is when the air gets cold, so does the air in a blow-up mattress. The next night the girls put a duvet on it for me, and I again slept with my special foot warmer and my sweatshirt and was as toasty and warm as I could be. Slept very well. I may sleep with my feet in sweat pants all winter--their soft lining makes them just wonderful, better than a cat on my feet.
We were supposed to come home on Sunday but came today for a variety of reasons. Still, I cannot get over the idea that it is Sunday. Jordan said something about Christian having a day off tomorrow and I asked why he wasn't working. I looked at businesses we drove by and wondered why they were open on Sunday. And tonight, of the newspapers left by Moksha, the pet-sitter, I threw the thickest on my desk to read. I swear I searched that thing three times looking for Parade, until it dawned on me it was Thursday's paper and was thick because it had all the ads for the Friday super sales.Okay, I'm beginning to get it: tomorrow is Sunday.
Back to routine, but overwhelmed by things to do. Some of my porch plants froze and I have to uproot them, especially the sweet potatoes. And my driveway is solid leaves, though I don't plan to tackle that.
How about you? Did you learn any life lessons over Thanksgiving? Are you charging into December feeling that you have a ton of things to do? A freind sent me a Biblical verse about living in the day and knowing God will help you face whatever tomorrow brings. I do wish I could learn to live in the moment and not worry a week or so ahead. I'm working on it.

The crisis in the US and a weird weekend

A friend, an Austin attorney, sent an e-mail to about 70 people, as he put it, of all political persuasions and faiths, about what he sees as the looming crisis in the U.S. economic situation. Of course, he's not alone, but he made a cogent case because he is, in his own words, not one to be concerned about terrorists, tornadoes, and all the other threats around us--he generally feels it will work out. But the national debt has jarred him out of his complacency: the debt is now at something like $13.75 billion, with a ceiling of $14 billion. If Congress raises the ceiling, the U.S. (if I understand this correctly) doesn't have the assets to back that up and things could come to a screeching halt. Besides, the prospect of unanimity in the incoming legislature seems nil to me. Monte's question: what can we, as citizens, do about it?
I haven't read many answers but almost uniformly the few I've read said compromise and bipartisan politics are the answers,with which I agree wholeheartedly. But John Boehner has been quoted as saying he's ready for a fight, and Mitch McConnell sounds the same way, although the president has made compromise noises, even about the tax cuts for the rich. I totally disagree with that (if anybody's interested). I keep hearing the mantra, "You don't raise taxes in a time of recession." Of course, you don't raise taxs on lower income and middle class people--they'll stop buying and putting money into the economy. But those with incomes of $500,000 or more annually? They'll still buy what they want and invest as they please. I think it's a no-brainer, but I'm not an economist.
In the course of this I've corresponded with a woman who is--I won't get this right, Linnea, and I apologize--a professor of business law in a law school (I lost the email and don't know where but somewhere in California). In her answer she referred to a book titled The Fourth Turning, which proposes that there are four crises in American history: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War (fought because things had gotten beyond compromise), the Great Depression/WWII and, now, the economic crisis. Linnea suggests we are well into the fourth crisis.
What can we as citizens do? I have no idea. I don't think letter writing is effective. In fact I think nothing short of a movement like MLK started will do the trick to get the Washington heads to listen up and work for the good of the country and not the party. I am not optimistic, and the whole thing depressed me all weekend--but I made a new friend, and that's nice.
Other than that, it's been a bad 24 hours. Last night about ten I started to feel queasy but I thought it would go away. Wrong. As I started to brush my teeth I got violently ill--twice. Decided with some apprehension I'd go to bed--I was afraid of throwing up during the night. So I turned off the light on my desk--and the chain came off in my hand! This morning, I felt fine so it was something I ate--I have my suspicions that but's too much information for a blog. But I realized that I've gotten a stubborn stain on my favorite gray sweatshirt/jacket, I can't log into E-vite, I haven't lost weight on Weight Watchers even though I've been oh-so-careful, well the last few days anyway. There was more for my litany of complaints and I was ready with them when Jordan and Jacob arrived for lunch--when I asked for sympathy, she said, "I'm thinking." Well, she was stuck on what made me sick which to me was now in the past and I wanted to deal with the other problems.
In spite of all my complaints, it's been a quiet but nice weekend. I did a lot of cooking--all the baking for the holidays. Today I made Jordan's favorite--chocolate chip bars. The recipe makes a ton, but it is messy to deal with, even messier getting the bars out of the pans and into bags to freeze, let alone washing the pans. I realize that I've gone through several T-shirts this weekend and maybe permanently stained a couple--they're soaking now. I must learn to wear an apron. I made bison meatloaf (Weight Watchers shows no such item but it should be low in ponts) for supper, along with roasted Brussel sprouts and a bit of squash casserole.
Tonight, the world looks a little brighter. I've resigned myself to looking like my mom with spotted clothes. At least they're clothes I only wear around the house--there's a good reason I don't cook in good clothes! My neighbors have put twinkly lights on the new trellis, and I can see it from my desk--gets me in the holiday mood. I'll do battle with e-vite later on and will take the lamp to the hardware tomorrow. Now what were my other complaints?

Taking charge

The publishing world is, as most people know these days, being swept by changes and nobody knows how it will work out. The popularity of e-readers jumps astronimcally almost every month--still a small percentage but the growth is amazing; many small presses are turning to print-on-demand technology, which gets better daily; and the big six or eight publishers left after conglomeration are increasingly unwilling to consider new authors or to promote their authors. They want the big bucks that only a few big names can supply--George W. Bush comes to mind, because his book will sell mega-thousands, maybe a million.
Most of us don't even have our eye on stardom--we write because we write and, yes, we'd like to be published, and we'd like to make a little money. Agents, however, want to make big bucks, just like the big publishers, whose day may be fading. All of this is turning midlist authors, newbies, and some others to small presses and e-book publishing, which can make big bucks. There's been lots of the Guppies listserv and a new listserv named GuppyPressQuest (both closed lists) about taking charge of your career rather than, as one writer put it, standing outside the stadium waiting for a scalper (read agent) to sell you a ticket. Well, since I've been released by my agent--oh, I so wanted to do the releasing--I've taken this to heart and am working hard on several aspects: reviewing the rejected novel and also giving it to my mentor, Fred, to read, working on establishing my presence (or platform, as they say) on the web, and investigating how to get my backlist scanned into pdfs so I can post it on Kindle and Smashwords. Also reading We Are Not Alone: The Writer's Guide to Social Media, which has good hints for "establishing my platform" but is sometimes heavy reading. Still I've followed through on some--i.e., read my revised profile on this page. Also, expect some content change on this blog--more focus on writing and books, particularly cozy mysteries.
Then I decided I'd better take charge of other aspects of my life, so I rejoined Weight Watchers--I've gained nine lbs. since the low I hit before I quit the program and with the holidays coming up . . . . And I've been trying to plan for Christmas a bit for some time, but now I've made a shopping list so I can bake and stock the freezer this weekend, and Christian got my wrappings out of the attic for me last night, so tonight I wrapped a whole bunch of presents. Now must track down the gifts I bought and can't find, and get the rest of the family to give me some hints. I'm feeling righteous about all I did today--laundry, plant care, rode my stationary bike 5 miles in 25 minutes, went to a Book Ladies breakfast, had lunch with Fred. Whoosh, retirement is not easy.

Weighty matters

Thursday is my usual day to weigh, and this morning started off really badly, because I had gained almost two lbs. It was, to say the least, depressing, and the cloud has hung over me all day. I reviewed the week in my mind to see what bad things I'd eaten--two pirogues, scalloped potatoes, 2  bites of chicken Kiev, 2 good-sized pieces of Black Forest cake (not all at once--in three meals), one egg over easy, one piece of wheat toast with a tiny bit of butter and jam. That's not two lbs.! I would stop paying attention to the whole thing if I could just stop gaining weight and stabilize, but I envision myself becoming a fat old lady--not an attractive picture. People say to me "Why worry about five pounds?" But now the question should be "Why worry about eight pounds?" and I think that's good reason.
But in a way I blame Weight Watchers. In the good old days, before friends (?) led me to the program, I ate carefully but well and didn't seem to gain weight. For breakfast out, with that egg, I'd have had hash browns and bacon; if I wanted chocolate I ate it. No more Every point adds up. I am measuring and weighing my food, and I wonder if I'm not thinking too much about it. Betty suggested tonight that she has a book about hypnotizing yourself into weight loss, and Jordan is to bring me the South Beach Diet book tomorrow night. Maybe I'll just quit weighing so religiously, entering points nightly, and try to eat sensibly and see what happens. I'll give it one more week, but I am reminded of the book, Life is Too Short: Eat Dessert First.
Even though I like to cook, I'm careful about what I cook and the portions I eat--I do think small portions are a big part of it. But today I was delighted to receive from the Dallas Morning News a book to revieew entitled 97 Orchard. It chronicles the food of five families, immigrants from nothern Europe, who lived in the same tenement in New York City over a thirty- or forty-year span covering the turn of the twentieth century. I can't wait to dig into it tonight.
If we have another freeze--perish the thought--I'm done for, but my front porch is full of greenery. With Greg's help, it boasts hanging baskets (ferns, sweet potatoes, and wandering jew--I don't get enough sun for flowers), there are sweet potato plants in pretty pots on either side of the front steps, and newly planted herbs in my wonderful old concrete planter boxes--I bet they've been here since the house was built in the 1920s. Last year during the spring and summer I was wrestling with the retirement questions, and I don't think I ever paid attention much to my porch--just let things that had wintered through come up as they would. This year I'm paying attention. Porch parties in the near future!

Dogs, weight, and my hero of the day

I took my dog to the vet today for his annual check-up. This is not as easy as it sounds. Scooby is a ten-year-old Australian shepherd who still thinks he's two and has the energy and enthusiasm to go with the age of his imagination. Getting him into the car is no problem--getting the collar around his neck is more so, and keeping him in the back seat is a major undertaking. Last night on the phone Colin said to me, "Be very careful," worried about Scoob interfering with my driving. This morning the dog was absolutely beside himself because we saw bicyclists and another dog--he knew he had to get out there and herd them! When I got to the vet's office (on a very busy street corner), I simply called and asked if someone would come get him, which they most obligingly did. Then mid-morning the vet called to say he needed his teeth cleaned, which always scares me. I once lost a dog to cardiac arrest after he had his teeth cleaned (he had other health issues, although he was a young dog), but then I also once lost my mom's old dog to systemic infection which came from infected teeth. So I now grit my own teeth and go ahead with it. After lunch, however, I had a moment of panic and called to tell them he'd eaten this morning. He'd already had his teeth cleaned and was waking up, so tonight I have a healthy, shots-up-to-date dog and a much lighter wallet.
I asked about Scooby's weight, because he looks so much heavier to me, but it's just his winter coat which needs to come off. With the weather we've had, I'm afraid to have his summer haircut yet. I had hoped he'd gained a bit so that I could say, "Well, that makes two of us." But he hasn't. I have. I was appalled when I stepped on the scale yesterday--after losing the week before, I had gained almost two pounds. And I thought I was doing so well. I've gone back to watching my points according to the Weight Watchers system and fear it will be a lifelong process. The minute I step off I gain a pound or two. After that strict vow, a friend talked me into Chadra for lunch today, and I had the kids' portion of spaghettini with meat sauce--huge! I ate half, feeling guilty but managed to stay under my points for the day. And, darn, that spaghetti was good.
My hero of the day (really yesterday) is former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk, now a trade ambassador or something for the Federal government. At a news luncheon with reporters, he was asked about Governor Perry's comments about secession, and his answer was spot on about the poor state of Texas, the lack of money allocated to education and health care for kids, and a lot of other concerns for human beings that are lacking in our state. And he concluded by saying he'd grown up under Jim Crow, and he didn't want to go back to that. He was so lucid and clear about what he was saying that I cheered silently at my computer while reading. I really really hope he campaigns for Bill White, though some say he's positioning himself for a run for senator if Kay Bailey Hutchison steps down (which I don't think she'll do). But Kirk is a voice to listen to, and like most Texans I know, I'm ready to get rid of Governor Good-Hair and his macho two-faced talk about how good things are in Texas.

Jacob--and lessons in enjoying the present and the past

Jacob came for dinner last night and tonight. Both nights I had drop-in guests for wine, and he was charming, smitten by them. But after dinner tonight he wanted to watch Tarzan and wanted me to cuddle with him.So I lay next to him on the daybed in the playroom and dozed,with a casual leg thrown over mine or a hand holding one of mine, and cuddling up close to that warm little body. Occasionally he'd rouse, look at me, and demand, "Why are your eyes closed?" And I did think he has the sharpest elbows and knees in the world. But it dawned on me that soon, maybe a year, maybe less, maybe a bit more, and he won't want to cuddle with his grandmother. It's a rare treat, and I intend to take advantage of every minute I can and enjoy it while it lasts.
Yesterday I went shopping with Christmas certificates--got some clothes on sale at Coldwater Creek, a couple of books at Barnes & Noble, and a food scale at Williams Sonoma. I think the latter will really help me on Weight Watchers, because a lot of their measurements are in ounces, so last night I measured out 2 oz. of ham (which is plenty) and tonight, 2 oz. of smoked salmon, which I rolled around low-fat cream cheese. I'm thinking I need to stop eating out, eat at home, measure my food, and get serious about losing those extra five lbs. The doctor's scale was not reassuring today, but then I was fully dressed, even with shoes on, and had eaten breakfast.
Today I met with descendants of Major Cheney, who have compiled a history of the Garden of Eden African American community on Fort Worth's East Side. Major Cheney was a major landholder, and many black famlies in that area are related--the great-great-grandson (maybe one more great) told me he wasn't allowed to date locally because he was related to all those folks. He married a lady from Dallas, but he said, "She may still be kin." It's a fascinating story-the community was once quite large but now is down to a few families, and some of the famiily members still live on Major Cheney's land, on which they grow enough produce to feed themselves ever summer. When I mentioned the former vice president, a lively discussion of the white and black Cheneys ensued. I'm really looking forward to reading this manuscript.

Food thoughts

My mind still seems to be on food, though I've managed to work my way through the delicious leftovers I had--the ham salad is gone (but not the ham), the chocolate chip bars are all gone but scraps, and I ate the last of the hoppin' John tonight--you know how hot things sometimes get hotter as they sit? The hoppin' John did because it burned my mouth tonight. Those Rotel tomatoes.
I made scalloped potatoes tonight for dinner tomorrow night--Jordan, Christian, Jacob and Susan are coming for Twelfth Night. I put ham and cheese and onions in between the layers of potatoes, followed a recipe carefully (from my mom's old, old, old copy of the Good Housekeeping cookbook--so old it has no spine, half the index pages are missing and so is the front cover but it's still a great reliable guide for basics and I consult it often). Well, even with the recipe it didn't work--when supposedly done, my potatoes were soupy. I turned the oven low and let them bake (and evaporate) another half hour. They seemed lots better but tomorrow, when they're the only dish plus salad, will tell the trick. And there's still a good bit of ham left. I could make more ham salad (I really like it) and a good split pea soup, but no one would eat the latter with me. I love it, my kids all hate it. We'll see.
Meanwhile I have discovered that thin-sliced deli turkey wrapped around a bit of cream cheese makes a delicious low-calorie snack, so I fixed that about 8:30 tonight, with a half glass of wine. Tripped over a rug, spilt the wine everywhere, and went to get paper towels to wipe it up. When I came back Scooby was just finishing the last of my turkey snack and was not at all impressed by the fit I threw. He looked at me as if to say, "You left it here. What's a dog supposed to do?" So now I've refilled the spilled wine glass and fixed another snack and am a bit happier.
Through all this holiday food saga I've been registering Weight Watchers points. Last week when I weighed I'd lost quite a bit and was elated, but Jay reminded me you always lose weight at altitude. In the intervening week, I've gone over points but I've earned enough activity points to balance that--I'm never quite sure how that works. I don't weigh again until Thursday morning, so meanwhile suspense.
Along that line, I had a gyro sandwich in Breckenridge--ate it without the bread--and wanted more. So Jean and I went to Chadra, the local Lebanaese/Italian place, and had Greek wraps and tomato basil soup for lunch. The soup was maybe the best I've ever had, and the gyro was much more generous than the one in Breckenridge. Again, I didn't eat the pita, just the meat, tomato and feta out of the middle. But when I looked gyro up in Weight Watchers, I nearly fainted. I guess my taste for that is squelched for a long time.
Food is on my mind also because I'm proofreading Grace & Gumption: The Cookbook--found out belatedly that proofing wasn't my responsibility, just indexing the recipes (I had thought I had to proof, index names,and index recipes). I proofed anyway because I found lots of things of concern, prime among them amounts that came through as ?. By checking I've found most of them were meant to be 1/2. I've decided also to make a list of cookbooks consulted, because there are some wonderful cookbooks mentioned--many those produced by local women's groups and probably only accessible now in the library. Cookbooks provide a wonderful record of a community, and I'm hoping that's what the G&G Cookbook will do.
Happy cooking! Wish I could find an outlet for some regular food writing. I have always said I travel on my stomach, wondering what wonderful restaurants I can eat in (though that was not true in Breckenridge).Now I'm afraid I live, not exactly for my stomach, but for my taste buds, for the delightful invention of foods I enjoy.

Family and Food

The holidays are a time for thinking about family and food, so here's a bit of each from my corner of the world. Both pictures were taken when Jordan, Jacob and I visited the Houston Alters right after Thanksgiving. The top one shows cousins Jacob, Morgan and Kegan. The Houston kids were on their way to a football game (don't ask which team but they had field passes and it was a big day) and Jordan, Jacob, and I were headed  home but Aunt Lisa kindly gave Jacob an extra football shirt so he'd "match." Below, Morgan and I were celebrating completion of the Sponge Bob floor puzzle in front of us, in spite of "help" from Jacob, who also took credit for finishing the puzzle. Note the late wearing of Halloween costumes!
The food part of this post is less about the holidays, except that I stayed up way too late last night thumbing through the cookbook John and Cindy gave me, The Silver Spoon. Probably not much I'll cook over the holidays but lots that I will fix for company during the coming year. Sometimes I have to find the right people who will eat things with me--like anchovies and carpaccio. There are great suggestions for carpaccio in the book. Wonderful lamb recipes and plenty for chicken, chapters on antipasto (one of my favorite ways to entertain), all kinds of fish, met and variety meats--tongue (I love a good smoked tongue sandwich but who else will eat that?), kidneys--I was raised eating sauteed kidneys with bacon and ketchup but last time I inquired you can't buy lamb kidneys in a quantity smaller than a case. I just wanted two to see if I still like them. But kidneys with mustard, kidneys in Bordeux--I'd love to try. Some recipes I probably will try: salmon tartare, smoked salmon terrine, roast leg of lamb in an herb crust. Roman spring lamb which looks like a stew rather than a roast, lots of the sausage recipes, hot veal in tuna sauce and cold veal in tuna sauce, chicken, anchovy and caper roulades--I could go on and on with recipes that caught my eye. There's a whole section on cooking mutton, which I thought you only cooked by mistake when you thought you were getting lamb. I notice that this cookbook always calls for whole salted anchovies--I've never used anything but canned and am wondering if Central Market has the whole ones. For canned tuna, it always specifies in oil (olive oil I presume) but I religiously use albacore in water. Hmmm, some adjusting to do.
Meantime my holiday cooking is much more mundane. Tonight I made a ham terrine for Saturday's no-tree Tree Trimming party. Got it all put together and in the fridge when I realized I'd left the butter in the microwave to soften; had to get it all out, blend in the butter, repack the terrine in the refrigerator container, and rewash the dishes. Sometimes I wish I'd keep my wits about me when I'm cooking. Tomorrow I'll make chili/cheese and bourbon hot dogs, both family favorites for years.
Speaking of food, I actually lost .7 lbs this week--but I worked at it. Until I entered the results in Weight Watchers, I thought I'd gained and said the heck with it, fixed hot dogs and a fried potato for supper. Turned out not to be bad--stayed under points for the day and had a piece of chocolate to boot.

Hunger, and a mystery author

I read somewhere recently that Americans are hungry all the time. We translate hunger for companionship and love into hunger for food and turn to food for comfort. That accounts for the current fondness for comfort food--those things like meatloaf and creamed corn and mashed potatoes that we remember from our chldhood. Makes sense to me and would seem to account for the huge problem of overweight Americans (no pun intended). Valerie Bertinelli's recent book, Finding It, is subtitled Satisfying My Hunger for Life without Opening the Fridge. I think she's got a real point. On the other hand, since I've been on Weight Watchers, I'm hungry a lot, and I think it's real, physical hunger. Or maybe it's my craving for chocolate that makes me think I'm hungry and need something. Anyway, I was very disappointed in Weight Watchers yesterday. It was my weekly day to weigh. Weldon and Elizabeth convinced me to weigh on Thursdays instead of Mondays, because we all tend to overeat on the weekend. But just to check, I've been unofficially weighing on Monday too. For the last two weeks, I've weighed less on Monday than Thursday. This week I weighed 151.2 on Monday and, since I had low point counts all week, was sure I'd finally get down to the magic 150. Not so! I gained 6 oz. Apparently you do hit plateaus where you stay for weeks and weeks, but it's discouraging. It's the point at which many people give up and give in to that hunger. (As I write I'm eating chocolate.) But I'll stick with it.
This was my second day to lie low, but it didn't work out that way. Went to Central Market for a quick trip in the morning, ate an early lunch and went to the office for staff meeting, which lasted way too long. By the time I came home, took care of emails, etc. I got a late nap and had to rush to be ready to go to supper with Elizabeth and Weldon. We went to hear Deborah Crombie talk about her new novel, Necessary as Blood. I think she said this is the 13th in her series. I really like these books, although I'm not usually a British mystery fan--but her research is thorough and these are contemporary stories, so that we can identify with the characters, Brits though they may be. She said tonight she wanted to write a series in which the characters evolve, and these really do--their relationship deepens and becomes more comlex, so that in many way that relationship and not the mystery is at the core of each book. I bought two--one for me and one for a Christmas gift. I was pleased that she said, "I thought I recognized you." Other writers in the room hugged her as she came in and chatted, but I felt that would be presumptuous. Still now I've got an autographed book. Elizabeth and Weldon didn't buy one, but I sent them home tonight with paperback copies of some of her earlier books. Plus Elizabeth took The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'm sort of alarmed that I couldn't find The School of Essential Ingredients, which she wanted to borrow. It's a favorite and I don't want to lose track of it.
Since we were at the TCU Bookstore, I suggested a hamburger place nearby--I'd had a really good blue cheese burger there one day. Mistake. It turned out to be noisy, slow, and my hamburger wasn't all that good--kind of dry. Weldon liked his chicken sandwich, and Elizabeth said her turkey melt was what she needed today but she wouldn't order it again. I won't go back again, I don't think.
Tomorrow I really am going to lay low and stay in all day. There's a neighborhood block party, but I think I'll be off, especially since it's cool tonight--lowest temperature so far since summer. 44 is predicted.

Rainy day, dentist, car repair--not my best day

The gloomy, rainy weather continues. I hear all the lakes and reservoirs except one are full, so as far as I'm concerned it can stop for a while now. By this weekend, it is to be 70 and sunny, which will be welcome. Today was made even gloomier because I had to go to the dentist, something that really does make me anxiious and caused me to wake at 4:30 this morning. Three cavities, small, but the drill is the drill. Then I took my car in once again to be repaired--for the last time I hoped. The VW driver brought me home, and the day was mine! I worked, napped, read emails--good indoor rainy day staff.

This morning I had breakfast at the Old Neighborhood Grill with the Book Ladies--this was once an active group with some ten or twelve ladies at breakfast, all of whom had careers dealing with books, from authors and booksellers to librarians. This morning there were only four of us. Our numbers have dwindled due to age--some have moved to assisted living and are unable to drive, others have moved away, some have decided 8:00 a.m. is too early, and we've lost a few over the years to death. Sometimes we visit about books, but the talk is just as likely to veer toward grandchildren, cooking, and, oh yes, politics. We're a bunch of liberals, and one bookseller actually stopped coming because she's a conservative and our talk made her uncomfortable. We promised to keep our mouths shut--a difficult promise--but she never joined us again. This morning it was a pleasant way to start the day. I always order a simple breakfast--one egg over easy and whole wheat toast, of which I ate only one piece. But I had butter and marmalade with my toast, and my goodness those Weight Watchers points add up quickly. I really wanted pepper pot soup for lunch--good on a cold, rainy day--but instead I made a tuna salad out of chunks of tuna, tomatoes, baby carrots, watercress, a slice of red onion, and whisked together a vinaigrette rather than a mayonnaise dressing. For all my efforts, I went 2.5 points over my daily limit today, but I feel it was all healthy--except maybe for the mayo on my slice of chicken loaf tonight, but it was low-fat mayo!

Editing this friend's manuscript takes me back in time--to Iowa, where he grew up and I went to college for two years; to Kirksville, Missouri, where he and my ex- were in osteopathic school together; and to earlier times in Fort Worth when they first moved here. I've had another deja vu experience through Sisters in Crime recently--one writer mentioned that she had grown up in the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago, so I emailed her to say we had that in common. Turns out she even went to the same school I did--Kenwood Grade School. When you "graduated" from eighth grade, the class processed to "Pomp and Circumstance," to which the school had put new words: "Goodby to you, Kenwood/We will remember your name/For you've led us onward/Toward the halls of fame." Well, I may have gotten a few words wrong, but that's close. Anyway, it ruined the song for me, because now every time I hear "Pomp and Circumstance," all these years later, those words go through my mind.

More storms tomorrow!

A dull day turned good

One of the chores I hate most in the world is taking my car in to be repaired. But today it was time. The convertible top wouldn't go all the way down, and then, wouldn't come up. If I let it sit, off, for an hour or so it would behave, but I couldn't take the top down to go to the office, grocery, etc. I'm afraid someone will steal my handicapped sticker and that funny fake daisy Megan gave me. What's the use of having a convertiblel if you can't take the top down? The dealership has "fixed" this problem three or four times, but the last three times I tried, no deal. So I took it in today and mentioned that the button that puts all four window down at once stopped working a few days ago, and the things that tells the temperature only worked when I was stopped. When I accelerated, it began to flash the way it does when the top isn't securely down.

Then I came home to a dull day. I wandered, not quite sure what I wanted to do. When I came home last night, e-mails cancelled both my lunch and dinner dates for today (my brother suggested I read my horoscope). Called my neighbor to see if she could do lunch, but she had a conference call from 11:00 until 1:00; called another friend but she had plans. I folded the laundry that had sat in the dryer until it was well wrinkled and then decided what I wanted for lunch was salmon croquettes, so I made them and put them in the fridge. Watered the plants on the porch, did some other chores, promising myself I'd settle down after lunch. Well, then, work hit--a proposal for a mss., a reader who said he'd read another manuscript, an e-mail from my boss about Google, and several other small things--a Google permission from an author and stuff like that. So I dealt with all that, ate a salmon croquette with fresh asparagus and grape tomatoes, and settled down to the manuscript I'm reading.

This evening Betty, who didn't seem to mind that I'd cancelled our dinner for tonight and then rescheduled it, picked me up and took me to get my car--which isn't fixed. They can't figure out which switch it is, but the temperature indicator and the window button now work, so we're making progress. I have to take it back next Tuesday. Betty and I had dinner at Mac's on Seventh, a place she's mentioned a lot and one that's close to the VW dealership. We split a Caesar salad--too much red pepper for me, and I had the scallops appetizer with a dab of a wonderful corn/avocado/lemon salsa, and we split bread pudding (soooo good!) and split a second glass of wine. Felt like we'd splurged in calories and money, but I came in under my Weight Watchers points for the day. I will say that a single serving of bread pudding costs a devastating amount of points! This morning I should have weighed, but I was in such a rush to get the car to VW that I forgot--best, since I'd eaten at Joe T.'s the night before. I'll weigh in the morning.

So now more acquisitions work and then back to the manuscript, feeling happy and full. Retirement is good.

Weight Watchers, geriatric medicine, and the president's health care speech

Yesterday I really blew my Weight Watchers points by having one egg, one piece of toast, and a bit of butter for breakfast, then a half tongue sandwich for lunch (tongue is really high in points, but I do love it). In the evening I had a really low point supper--a bit of smoked salmon (low points), and hearts of palm, grape tomatoes and blueberries (no points). But today I ate much more and came in one point under my daily allowance: went to the TCOM retirees luncheon with Charles and had a small piece of really good, moist, tender chicken, roasted veggies, and salad (of course I dropped a piece of lettuce, dripping with dressing on the front of my white shirt and wore a stain the rest of the luncheon). Tonight I had a Hebrew National hot dog (no bun) with kraut, German potato salad, and pea salad. If you just put pea salad in the Weight Watchers search it comes up with a lot of points, assuming it has cheese and egg yolk in it, so I listed it by ingredients--egg white only, no cheese, peas, a pinch of dry mustard, a tiny bit of sweet pickle relish and a fourth tsp. of mayonnaise. It was delicious and no damage to my diet.
At the retirees luncheon today, a geriatric physician spoke about the new grant the osteopathic college had gotten to infuse geriatric training into all four years of medical school, residency programs in all specialties, and continuing education for practicing physicians. She talked abut the tsunami of elderly that will hit with the baby boomer generation. I thought I was too old to be a boomer, but they say it covers people born from 1936 to, I think, about 1960, so I squeaked in. The main speaker, however, was her husband, an administrator who specializes in geriatric studies. He emphasized two things: life style and financial arrangements. Apparently we elderly live longer according to our lifestyle choices--movement, diet and exercise, involvement in activities, etc., and we live better if we have planned ahead and made good financial arrangements. He urged people to test-drive their choices--don't sell your house and move into assisted living; keep the house and try assisted living for two or three months. Made good sense to me. It was a long program, but most interesting. He was good, too, at audience involvement, asking everything from how long people had been retired to did they regularly use email. Charles said he did, and I told him he was a cheat.
It was interesting tonight, after that luncheon, to listen to the president's address on health care. I admit I'm not savvy on all the issues, but he sure made good sense to me. Once again, I'm reduced to saying I don't understand it all, but I know something has to be done, and his plan is the best option I've yet heard. I was amused to see that Michelle Obama wore a bright pink outfit--you could easily spot her in the visitors' gallery. But both Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi had on bright red pant suits, so they too really stood out. But don't they know red is the Republican color? I'm not sure but tonight I didn't see as many Republicans sitting on their hands as usual when the Democrats stood to cheer--oh, sure, there were some. I'll be interested to see the feedback from what is called the make-or-break speech in the next few days.

Another food day

My day today was pretty much the Julie and Julia movie, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I went with neighbors Sue and Cathy to an 11 a.m. showing--perfect. Theater mostly empty. I even wore my hearing aids so I wouldn't miss the dialogue and I got it all, though the previews of violent movies threatened to overhwhelm my augmented hearing. But the movie itself was an absolute delight--fun, funny, and interesting. I had wondered how they would weave the two stories together, but the transitions were seamless. There are basically two stories: Julia learning French cooking and then writing a book, and Julie cooking all of the recipes in one year. The transformation in both women's lives is spectacular. I'm not much of a moviegoer--the previews today convinced me I'm right about that--but I truly enjoyed this one a lot and recommend it to anyone.
So I had a lazy day--spent the morning reading the paper and doing a few chores before the movie, ate lunch and napped after, and have been piddling at my desk ever since. Tomorrow, back to the cookbook. My thought are all still on food, though I wasn't too creative with my meals today--for lunch, braseola dressed with lemon and olive oil, hearts of palm, and tomato; for supper, half of a chopped sirloin patty, cold, with steamed spinach. Even so I went over my point for the week (I snuck in a bit of chocolate), but only by half a point. Tomorrow I weigh. With my new budget, I may have to drop Weight Watchers--I had heard if you reach your goal you're a lifetime member for free, but when I investigated that's only for people who go to meetings, not those like me who do it online. Drat!

Thoughts on Retirement

I know one week is a little soon to comment on retirement, but so far I am so enjoying it. I had lunch with an old friend today (like 50 years) and she said I seemed so much more relaxed than I did the last time we had lunch. And I feel that way--sort of like I'm floating through my days, and yet my calendar for the next week and a half or so is full. Today was pretty much what retirement should be, except with one unusual incident. A photographer sent by the Star-Telegram came to take pictures of me (do I dare call this a photo shoot) for a piece they'll do on my cookbook, probably for Panache, the once-a-month insert for middle income families (I found out recently there's a high class insert called I think Insight for people whose homes value at over a certain price--talk about distrimination!). Anyway the photographer was a nice guy who, it turns out, knows my neighbor Sue. Then I had lunch with my friend Georgia and spent the rest of the day at the computer and editing recipes for Grace & Gumption: The Cookbook. Some sound delicious and some are really weird like a "Japanese Bean Pie" made with mashed pinto beans but sweetened with sugar and meant for dessert. Or mock chicken croquettes made with ground veal and oyster--wouldn't it be easier to use chicken?
I did do laundry loads five and six today--only have the kids beds in the playroom to strip and wash, have put the linen back on the guest room, and have the linens all clean for the guest house--a chore I dread. Maybe I can talk Jordan into helping me. I also mopped the kitchen floor and feel quite righteous about having reclaimed my house.
Tomorrow I actually have to go to work--bummer. They moved staff meeting from 10 a.m. to 8:30, which means I'll have to get up--plus I need to do a grocery run first. But tomorrow is my birthday, though I feel I've already had the celebration this weekend. Jordan and Christian will come for leftover flank steak, and one of the items on my grocery list is a potato to bake for Christian and Jacob to share. I'm back big-time on Weight Watchers--plain meat or fish and a vegetable, with no butter, etc. But after staff meeting we're all going to lunch for my birthday--I feel very feted since I thought lunch last week was a combined birthday/retirement lunch.

Family fun, pandemonium, and the long road home

Pandemonium reigned at the Hudgeons' household in Austin when about 55 adults and children gathered to celebrate Sawyer's fifth birthday. They were in and out of the pool, traipsing through the house to the potty (I was impressed that so many used the potty and didn't pee in the pool), and grabbing pizza and drinks. I confess I spent much of the time inside--Austin ws miserably hot like most of Texas--visiting some with Sawyer's other grandmother, some with friends who wandered by, and some with people I'd never met. At pizza time, most of the Alter clan--15 of us, missing only Christian--seemed to end up inside, which was fun. And then after everyone left, Sawyer shed his swimsuit and in the buff began to open presents. Then again it was pandemoniuim, and I commented to Jamie that our family sure was noisy when they get together. "Are you just now noticing?" he asked. By 9:45 I thought it was midnight and went upstairs to my lair in the trees (about which all the kids are curious), read e-mails, finished a mystery, and had another glass of wine. But the other grownups stayed up by the pool until almost 2 a.m.--and some showed it this morning.

There were quiet moments. Austin's mornings are cool and blessedly bug-free (mosquitoes soon come out in full force), and I sat on the porch by the pool with a book and coffee, watching my younger grandchildren play--they were exiled outside so they wouldn't wake sleeping adults. Sure, they squabbled, but for the most part they shared, laughed, and played well together. Eventually everyone but a couple of adults, including me, ended back in the pool, eating pizza for lunch while they swam. Melanie, bless her, had made a run to Starbucks and stopped for ham and bread, so I had a sandwich--pizza is not on my diet. I sat on the porch and thought how blessed I am with children and grandchildren. I seem to have a pretty good relationship with all of them, though some of the younger grandchildren that I see less often are a bit uncertain. Kegan, 2, from Houston, will come up and talk to me and give me things to hold but he won't sit on my lap, and his three-year-old sister turns shy when I ask for a kiss, though she gave me a nice going-away hug. I can't imagine how one woman can get so lucky to have four wonderful children, all of whom married wonderful people, and produced beautiful and sweet children. Me, prejudiced? Naw, it's all true.

Jordan, Jaob and I left about 1:15 for what proved to be the long road home. We had to pull off a couple of times, once in Temple because Jordan and Jacob needed hamburgers. When we pulled back on, traffic was suddenly bumper to bumper and stayed that way until we turned west at Hillsboro. And Jordan had to stop at West for sausage. The traffic would be bumper to bumper, 20 mph, and then for no reason pick up to 60 mph and move along nicely, then back to creeping. I told Jordan I felt like I was on Amtrak--slow down, start up, slow down, stop. It took us over 5 hours to get to my house--should be 3 hours on a good day. Fortunately Jordan and I travel well together (Jacob did well until the last hour of the trip when he was pretty much replaced by this whiny child I didn't recognize--though sometimes the Jacob I knew came back briefly). Jordan put my bags on the porch and headed home--no time for even bringing them inside. We were all exhausted, but it was a wonderful weekend.

And we'll do it all over again next weekend when they'll all be in Fort Worth, celebrating my retirement and birthday.

I went quite a bit over my Weight Watchers daily points this weekend (didn't use up all my weekly bous points though) needless to say but I noticed that I ate a lot differently than I would have before I started the program--this morning when others were having cereal, etc. I had a small thing of yogurt. Yesterday I had about 2 Tbsp. of eggs instead of a big helping. And surely my ham sandwich was less points that two pizzas. Saturday night I ate one piece of Margarita pizza which I figured I could count as thin-crust cheese and only about 1/4 of a small piece of cake. The proof will come tomorrow when I weigh.

Three days of work this week, and then I'm retired. I think I feel great about it but of course there's lingering doubt. And it may not hit me until next Tuesday when I wake up and the kids are all gone and I really have to plan the rest of my life. But I do have a lot of irons in the fire, and I'm hopeful. Plus closets and files and bookshelves that really are over-run and need sorting. And friends to have lunch with. It may be what they way is true, retirement can be the busiest time of your life.

Weight Loss and Retirement

Wow! There are two big subjects for you!

Today I had lunch with a friend at a new restaurant, Ellerbee's. When the waiter explained that the burger was a special low-fat kind of venison (I thought it all was) I ordered it and ate half--with a bit of mayo, lettuce and tomato and on a sesame seed bun. Venison may be low fat, but Weight Watchers still counts it as 1 pt. per oz. Then I ate six--count them, six!--French fries. They were seasoned, thin, and crispy golden brown, almost like French frites. There went three points, throw in a little wine, my breakfast, and I was down to 5 pts. left for dinner, which wasn't going to do it at all. The chicken loaf I ate is worth 5 pts., but the spinach is free. A glass of wine (or two) is not. I don't even want to talk about my point total. Jeannie tells me that exercise points balance out food points, but I haven't seen that they've made any difference, and I earn 1 exercise point (riding 4.5 miles on a stationary bike at a good resisitance and speed ought to be worth more than that!) at least four and usually five times a week. Yet I know that today I ate differently than I would have before I joined Weight Watchers--I would have eaten the whole burger (it was really good!) and more of the fries. And tonight I would have put butter on my spinach. So I guess it's a good thing. It puzzles me how all the people who eat normal meals but eat the whole thing--fries, etc.--don't weigh 450 lbs. I have this superstitious feeling that every little transgression will add a lb.
I'm deep into the process of retirement and never realized it could be so complicated. I have consolidated all the files on the C drive of my computer and a tech is coming tomorrow to save them for me and show me how to access our common office drive from home, since I will be doing contract work. I began cleaning out my junk drawer in my desk today--amazing how many rubber bands a person can throw in a drawer over the years. I have already taken home pictures, etc., though I have two still to take. And tonight I got in an email a "separation" form--sounds fatalistically final to me, but it includes most things I don't think I have to give up since I'll still be working--phone card, i.d. card, office key, etc. Then, on the heels of that, came a request to fill out a proposal for contract work--something I'll need a little guidance on. Who knew that retiring was so comlicated? Certainly not me.

Neighbors

Sue's nice blog about me on "Replete Life" last night made me think I ought to write about neighbors, because I am so lucky to have good ones. I've lived in this house 15 or 16 years. When I first moved in the house to the west of me was occupied by an eccentric and lonely old man, but the previous owners of my house gave me to undertand that if I reached out to him, he would be mine to raise. So I was never as charitable as my instinct would have me be, but I found it true. Once when he was mugged, I went to the corner to see what happened, saw him standing, talking to the ambulance and police people, and went back home. Next day, he was on my porch, saying he wanted to tell me all about it, it was a long story. "Could you give me the short version?" I stammered. I once asked him to throw my paper on the porch when I was out of town and thereafter he threw it every day, often hitting and demolishing the plants in my pots and planter boxes. When he died, Susan and Jay bought the house--the first time I saw Jay in a stained T-shirt I asked if he was my new neighbor's contractor, and he said, "I am your new neighbor." Oops! They have become such good friends, and both are good about looking after me. Jay does small household chores, like changing lightbulbs I can't reach--once when he came to do that, Jordan said, "Oh, here comes the handyman!"

On the other side, when I moved in, the owners lived there with small children who used to stand in our shared driveways (right by my bedroom) at 6 a.m. on Saturdays and scream, "Daddy, Daddy!" They moved out and rented to a 30-40-ish couple who had two dogs; one, Grant, part wolf, used to howl all the time, and I would rise out of bed saying "Grant, G--dammit!" until my kids laughed and said that was his name. The next tenants were a woman who never ever came out of the house--I suspected she had anxiety problems and wanted to offer to help, but they were so unsociable that I put that thought aside. He had a homemade-looking camper from which he sold golf balls. As one friend said to me, "But, Judy, what's in the golf balls?" And the first time Jamie saw the camper in the driveway, he said, "Oh, Mom, I am so sorry!" The man's worst habit was that he would get a fast-food drink and when he got home just throw the paper cup in the bushes. They also let their recycling bin overflow, so the driveway looked awful. Megan said, "Mom, you don't have to live that way," so I called the landlord and complained. Then came three series of college students--some noisy, some considerate, some very friendly. I did call the police one weeknight when they had a big party in the backyard and started karioke at 11 p.m. I didn't want to get them in trouble--I just wanted them to be quiet. I wasn't the only one who called.

Then my neighbor across the street told me a divorced mother with two young children was moving in. I groaned, thinking of noisy children, but Alex and Hunter are a delight. They were soon in and out of my house, especially when my Frisco granddaughters were here, and were very familiar with my refrigerator. To this day, they call me Juju as my grandchildren do. And Sue, their mother, is a true delight and a good friend--we drink a lot of wine and talk about life, men (she's more interested than I am), books, and food on long summer evenings.

And the four of us--me, Jay, Susan, and Sue--have become like a small social unit, often sharing drinks or dinner, though almost always on my porch. It is so wonderful to have good neighbors and to know that I can count on them in times of trouble. I am blessed.

A problem with Kindle: the last two books I posted abut, The School of Essential Ingredients and Justice at Guantanamo, turned out to be ones I want in m private library. I asked Megan for Kristine's book for my birthday and ordered a used copy of the other "in new condition."

And a problem with Weight Watchers: the last two days, in spite of having done so well last week, I have really cut into my bonus points, though I would tell you I ate lightly. A veggie sandwich at lunch today did me in because it had cheese and avocado, even though I didn't eat the bread; tuna nicoise tonight was also more points than I needed, and when I added a couple of glasses of wine, there I was over my limit. My most low-point meal: smoked salmon, hearts of palm, grape tomatoes, and either raspberries or blueberries. But that can get monotonous. Who would ever thought I'd get tired of smoked salmon?