Campaign Kickoff and Critters

This is the table for my Grassroots Campaign Kickoff party for gubernatorial candidate Bill White tonight. I was actually rather proud of the table arrangement, though it doesn't look as good in the picture as it did in reality. But I liked the idea of scattering bumper sticks as table decorations--Jordan arrived a bit late with a sign that said, "Please take the table decorations home," and people did. I gave out lots of stickers and bumper stickers, as well as yard signs, and I got a list of about twenty guests--of course one works for the White campaign and another, longtime friend Lon Burnam, is a Democratic state rep who told people he was here as a surrogate candidate. Nobody watched the video; nobody looked at the editorial from the Nacogdoches paper that I had up on my computer, in which the reporter, usually a conservative, declared that Bill White was the genuine article, not just a politician talking the talk. I've heard that a lot, and I'm impressed by the energy of the campaign. I keep telling people if they're on Facebook to friend Bill White--he posts daily, sometimes several times, and his local office tells me he writes the posts himself rather than letting a staff member do it. His main focus is on education, and I think he'd be a good governor. I hope he has the momentum to oust the current governor, and I'm willing to do what I can.

Of course I made too much food--chili/Velveeta queso, cheese queso (Jordan's recipe calls for Velveeta, cream cheese, and Rotel), a corn dip (more cream cheese--this was an artery-clogging menu), hummus and pita rounds, Megan's Texas caviar recipe (really good--I used Paul Newman's lime vinaigrette--very tasty), and the bourbon hot dogs which are almost a tradition at my parties. Now what to do with the leftovers? I think I can freeze the bourbon hot dogs, and I'll eat the hummus, but the dips---hmmmmm.

Jacob is spending the night again, full of good spirits after being a bit shy at the party. But for him, the highlight came when his mother was leaving to go to another party. She stepped out on the porch and screamed--a garter or garden snake was right there by the door. New neighbor Brian leapt to the rescue and threw the critter into the bushes, but then of course Jacob wanted to see it, so he and Brian spent long times leaning over the railing looking. Much later in the evening Jacob wanted to go back to see the snake, but it was gone.

Now I've had possums, raccoons, and a snake. I also have geckos all over the front porch and on the windows in the playroom in the back. When the outdoor light is on at night, their little bodies are almost translucent. Jordan just doesn't like creepy crawly things, and I remember once when she was living in this house years ago and found a gecko in the shower with her. She freaked, as she did tonight. Sometimes a gecko makes its way into the house, but the cat often goes after it with glee. Jacob and I had a long talk about some snakes, like this one, are our friends.

Most of my day was consumed with the party--and my evening was certainly consumed with cleaning up. But I did read a lot of Frank X Tolbert's 1953 book, A Bowl of Red, a history of chili, and found it most interesting. Chili really is a Texas dish--it did not, contrary to many beliefs, originate in Mexico. We can rightly claim it.

Now it's late, I'm tired, and I'm waiting for Jacob to go to sleep, so I too can sleep. Last night, he was asleep by 10:15, but that mean he was a cheerful earful by 7:15 this morning. I'm hoping he'll sleep later tomorrow.

Dogs, raccoons, and grandchildren--in that order?

When it rains, my dog shows his displeasure with me by dumping his food bowl off the step where I feed him. He did that last night, and when I went to let him in for the night, I saw a small gray animal--at first I wondered how my cat got out. But then an unmistakable face looked at me--a raccoon who skittered off into the night as I opened the door. I scolded Scooby saying someone would eat his food before morning. Tonight repeat of the same scene--it's been raining, and the food was dumped.
Spent much of today, in odd moments, making dips for tomorrow night. It amazes me how long it's taken me to learn some things. But lately I've scorched so many dips and things that this time I did everything in the double boiler--easy! I could let things simmer while I went about my business, then let them cool, rinse out the top of the double boiler and move on to the next dish. So my cooking for tomorrow night is all done. I didn't want  to have to cook all morning tomorrow and wear my back out so that I'd be a grouch in the evening.
Jacob arrived in a cheeerful mood tonight, and we had fun. Since last week, at brunch at a restaurant, he had literally snatched the bacon off my plate, I decided to make him a BLT. His mother assured me he would like the lettuce and tomato, but he didn't, ate the bread with mayonnaise and the bacon and a bunch of blueberries. He's gotten over telling me his mom says he can only have three blueberries--which she never said. Then a couple of hours later, he wanted pbj. Tonight I was determined he wouldn't stay up till midnight, as he had last week, so I was quite firm, which led him to tell me he was going to tell his mom that I am mean. Told me he didn't like to sleep here anyway. But when we cuddled, and I scratched his back, he said, "I want to stay here forever." The contradictions of a four-year-old continue to amaze me. But what fun!

A blah day rescued by cooking

Woke up with the blahs this morning and a slight headache, both of which I attribute to the extreme humidity--it wasn't hot today but everytime you went out it felt like a sauna. To add insult to injury, I tried to open a new bottle of aspirin and could not for the life of me get the child-proof cap off. So when I went to the grocery I bought aspirin that said "Easy Open." Even lunch with Betty at the Black-Eyed Pea didn't get me totally out of the blahs, though it helped--we had the vegetable plate, which is some of the best comfort food I can think of. But a bit of work in the early afternoon and then a nap made me feel better. When I woke up it was raining and actually felt better outside. Rode my bike and had a dinner of leftover tuna/potato salad from last night.
And then I began cooking for my Sat. night Bill White kickoff party. Made bourbon hot dogs,which are always a hit--so easy. Just mix 2/3 c. bourbon, 2 c. ketchup, and 1/2 c. brown sugar; heat to melt the sugar. Meanwhle cut two or three packages of hot dogs into cubes about 1 inch apiece--I used three packages of bun size dogs and this is one t ime I don't insist on Hebrew National. Last time I made this, I set it to simmer and walked away--when I came back it was scorched. Had to throw away about half the hot dog bites and it took forever to clean the pan. So tonight I did it in the double boiler and stayed right there, making Megan's recipe for Texas caviar. Of course I discovered several essential things I didn't get at the store today, so I have to go back to two grocery stores tomorrow morning! And tomorrow night I plan to do more cooking, but I will have Jacob--we'll see how that works out:-)
I'm reading Avery Ames first mystery, The Long Quiche Goodbye, and liking it a lot. I've followed her excitement about publication on the blog, Mystery Lovers Kitchen, and on posts on the lists for Sisters in Crime and Agent Quest, so I was looking forward to it almost as much as she was. It's a good mystery, solidly in the cozy tradition--my cup of tea or, more appropriately in this case--my glass of wine. I am mightily impressed, as I have been on the blog, with her knowledge of cheeses and wines and pairing them. So guess what I'm going to do the rest of  the evening? You're right.
You'll notice, I hope, that I'm adding symbols to my blog--first the Story Circle Network Star Blogger symbol, which is bigger than I expected, and then a Sisters in Crime logo I got today, which is smaller than  wished. Oh well, variety is good.

A pleasant day--bike repair, lunch and dinner with friends

This morning, both Jim and Lewis Bundock, the contactors who keep my house in repair, showed up to fix my out-of-control exercise recumbent bike. Took them about an hour--all the complicated directions Nautilus had sent checked out fine, but Jim finally called them and figured out how to reset it. I had started yoga for the day so finished it, but tomorrow I'll try the bike. Plumbers bid is in, and work should start next week on replacing the bathroom sink and rebuilding the commode in the main bathroom and in the guest house. And I should hear about the furnace next week--so far it seems to be holding its own. I figure things come in threes and I've had my three--bike, plumbing, and a/c. Of course I haven't paid for any of them yet!
Lunch today with a much younger colleague from the TCU library--thoroughly enjoyed it. We have a lot in common and a lot to laugh about. Tonight I fixed supper for Charles' daughter, Marsha, who is blind. When I went to pick her up, I didn't realize the friend she's staying without is also at least partially blind, so I waited in the car. No more--when I took her back, I walked her to the stair railing.
I've never spent much time around a blind person and not much even around Marsha, but I've learned to give her my left elbow, warn her about steps and obstacles, and generally get her in and out of the house safely. I suggested a meal out but she wanted to see my cat. She's also on a low-fat, no salt diet, so I fixed a salad of canned potatoes (oops, they probably had salt), that good canned tuna I order from Oregon (minimal salt), tomatoes, celery, scallions, and carrots, with a homemade vinaigrette. Delilcious if I do say so. I quickly learned to put Marsha's hand on her wine glass, her bowl of fruit, and the spoon for it. What I kept forgetting is that she can't see me when I talk, so as usual I talked with my hands and lots of gestures. Even worse, when she said something I'd nod and then realize that wasn't the appropriate response. But we had a good visit, and I enjoyed it. I hope to see her again, before she goes back to Alburquerque on the 18th. Being with someone who is not sighted is a good lesson in learning how people get along in the world and what you can do to help them. We talked about Charles, of course, but it was unsentimental happy talk--he would have liked it.
Busy days ahead, but that's good.

Air conditioning

Most of us know, unfortunately, that blessed sense of relief that comes when your house is once again cool after being without a/c. Mine went out, as I've said, Sunday afternoon, and it was today, Tuesday, in the late afternoon before it was fixed. I am wrung out from being hot for almost three days and two nights. The technician's prognosis for how long the "fix" would last is not good, and I'm watching it like a hawk. He also put a bucket under a place where it might drip and told me to watch that carefully. I'm having a houseful for happy hour Saturday, so I'm apprehensive about all this.
I decided to put my money where my mouth is, so I'm having a kickoff party for Bill White grassroots campaign for governor. Maybe I'm like my dad who always said he voted for the best man, but, what he didn't admit aloud, was the best man was always a Democrat. I was raised in an FDR-Democratic home, with even praise for the first Mayor Daley of Chicago. But in this case I really do beileve Bill White is the best man for the job--he did a good job in Houston. Granted,  he's attacking Perry on a lot of fronts (and Perry is remaining almost frighteningly silent) but I believe Perry's departure from the governor's role is long overdue. I sense a lot of energy in the White campaign--especially because he's all over Facebook, which is how President Obama started. When one friend said to me, "It's good of you to give the party, but it's like tilting at windmills," I said I didn't think so. I think White really has a good chance.
So tonight, as is my uusal compulsive habit, the serving dishes are all laid out, with little notes in them indicating what goes in which one. Today is Tuesday--the party isn't until Saturday. I know, I know. Jordan does this too, and Christian once looked at her and said, "You and your mother have a screw loose." Hey, it works for us.
Tomorrow night I am fixing supper for Charles' daughter, Marsha, which means I must go get her and take her back to the friends she's staying with because she can't drive because of blindness, Thursday night I'll cook, and Friday I'll have Jacob. Tonight was definitely the night to set the table. Hmmmm--how to keep Jacob from fiddling with all the campaign material I've spread all over the table as decoration?
But right now, I'm glorying in my cool home. Being hot, for one thing, makes you feel like you want to wash your hands every ten minutes.

Hot day

Whoa! No a/c in Texas in July is NOT fun. Last night I noticed the house was hot, but when I went to turn the thermostat down, there was no cool air coming from a vent. So I did what my a/c guru recommended--turned the fan to on and the unit to off. He said it was probaby freezing up. One of his repairmen came out, added freon, and said if it happened again we'd have to look into it further. The bill I got said a new unit may be needed--oh, joy! Well, it's happened again. I turned it on about 6 a.m. and it lasted until about 9, when I could hear it begin to labor--the sound I'd heard yesterday. Turned it off until 2:00, turned it on again, and it cooled things--not cold but an improvement. I had to turn it off again about 5:00. Now I'm waiting to turn it on until I go to sleep. In the evenings I have to close off my office to keep Scooby in with me--which makes it hotter. I did just open the vent windows in the kitchen. For security purposes most of my windows won't open--a hardship at a time like this. I've put in an emergency call but of course nobody will be in the a/c company office until tomorrow morning.
A dinner guest tonight--a woman who's a good friend and has had a hard time recently with the sudden loss of her husband. Fortunately, we could eat on the porch, with the fan on. The fan in combination with a natural breeze made it quite pleasant. We chatted animatedly all evening until just before dark, when she said it was time for her to go home. I understand that feeling completely.
I fixed another good dinner, if I do say so--egg salad sandwiches with capers and tarragon from my front porch, plus watercress and smoked salmon--wonderful combination. Sliced tomatoes and avocado with more tarragon and a dash of vinaigrette, and a bowl of sliced fruit.
Finished reading a mystery I really enjoyed today--one of those I hated to see end. It is Judy Hyzy's new series, and the first book is Grace Under Pressure. I was reading along on my Kindle without realizing I was getting close to the end until I came to that climactic scene where the heroine is in real peril for her life. Also did some work on my Texas foods book. So it was a good, if hot, day.

What I Meant to Post Yesterday

Jacob spent the night last night, and I had a cheerful earful until almost midnight, when finally, amid dire threats, he went to sleep. He had a bunch of new action figures, and we spent a lot of time getting them to stand upright. When I'd get one he couldn't, he'd say, "Good job, Juju!" That child, who had been whiney and complaining the night before, was absolute sunshine, told me he was going to be a good boy and he was--well, there was that issue of going to bed.

When I got the call that Charles had died, I was in my office juggling Jacob and Scooby--Jacob always wants to see the dog, but then Scooby gets excited, tries to lick him and Jacob gets scared. Commotion ensued, and that's when the phone rang. Took a while to sort it all out.

This morning he slept late and woke up cheerful, playing with his figures again and never asking for the TV--yeah!His mom came about 10:30, and we went to brunch. I ate the kind of breakfast I love but rarely allow mysself--an egg, toast, bacon (Jacob actually snatched a piece off my plate!), hash browns with ketchup. Way too much! They were all going to a barbecue tonight and then walking to the country club for fireworks. I was invited but opted out for a quiet night at home.

I spent some time this afternoon trying to write an obituary--the one helpful thing I thought I could do, and the offer was welcomed. But it's harder than you think. You can't ask a dying man where he went to high school, etc., but I wished I had. I'm hoping the family will be able to help. The osteopathic college might have some records but of course they're closed till Tuesday. The difficulty made such an impression on me that I added some more to my own obituary, which I'd started some time ago. If you asked my children who my parents were, I'm afraid they'd say, "Grandmother and Grandfather." But in writing a draft of Charles' obituary I tried to capture his approach to health care, with its emphasis on wellness and prevention, his devotion to cycling and marathoning, his love of the ranch and his determination to provide a sanctuary for wildlife, and finally his energy, wit and joy in life.

Some bad moments from yesterday have paled in comparison, but once again I left my debit card--this time at Central Market--and once again I was fortunate to get it back, though I had to make a trip back to the store. It was worth it. Cancelling a debit card, waiting for a new one, and then changing your information on sites like amazon.

A snafu that is almost funny: my recumbent exercise bicycle has decided to reset itself without my help. It set a goal for me to ride 99 minutes and 84 miles. Then it would shoot the level of difficulty up to the highest--13--while I ride at one and two for 24 minutes doing close to five miles. I could subtract and figure the time, but the mileage kept decreasing instead of, as usual, increasing. That wasn't a problem--I could still do the math. But when the resistance shot up for no reason, I gave up. My brother thinks it probably needs a new mother board, and I have emailed Schwinn. Yes, I did unplug it--didn't work.

I've lost a friend

I got the news tonight that my friend Charles died about 6:45 in the nursing home floor of Trinity Terrace. He was 92. I hardly know where to begin to say how important Charles was to me. In the late '60s, he came to teach radiology at the osteopathic college where my then-husband was faculty. We became friends, and he and his wife invited us to their ranch for a weekend--they had then one guest cabin, though they later built more. We all went, and I remember stopping at Zaby's in Kaufman, a barbecue place that had pictures and sayings about Christ all over the walls, including that picture that looks like a blur of black and white until  you learn the secret and then you can never again look at it without seeing Christ's face in the snow. The barbecue wasn't particularly good, but the kids loved the fried pies. Afterward, they led us down country roads until Charles remarked to his wife, Reva, that we must think they were taking us to the ends of the earth. After that, we spent many happy weekends and a couple of longer vacations at the ranch--the boys fished, even though there were alligators in the waters of the lake. Once I saw an alligator about to get a baby duck, and I screamed for Charles to do something: "It's the law of nature, Judy," he said.
Another time he had a steer named Houdini (because he was so adept at escaping) in a pen between the main house and our cabin. The kids petted and loved on Houdini every time we went by. Sometime later, we were all eating dinner on the porch overlooking the lake, and Charles asked the kids  how they liked the meat. They chorused that it was great, and Charles said, "You're eating Houdini." Nobody ate much after that.
After Joel left us, Charles and Reva remained my firm friends, and as soon as the kids could drive, we went back there often for weekends. Reva was a country girl from Missouri, and she brought with her great cooking skills. We had marvelous times together in the kitchen, and I think some of the happiest moments of my life were spent on that porch at the dinner table. Sometimes we took family friends, who always enjoyed the experience. Reva and Charles welcomed a wide variety of people to their guest ranch, becoming friends with almost every guest. They hosted campouts for bikers' groups, outings for the osteopathic college, and all kinds of groups that fit Charles' interests. Alzheimer's took Reva from us, first as a person and then finally a few years ago. I miss her today, but I was delighted when Charles got her prune bread recipe (always a secret) for my cookbook.
Charles moved back to Fort Worth, and I saw him frequently. We ate at a restaurant that served mussels because he loved them. They came in a variety of sauces, named by colors, and when he was asked which one he wanted, he muttered, "They didn't come in colors when I was a kid."
Charles was one of the brightest intellectuals I've known in my life, a student up until the last few months, reading voraciously but never fiction, always enlarging his knowledge. A marathoner (he used to always win his age group) and a veteran biker, he went annually to a bike camp in West Texas until a couple of years go. Until a year ago, or maybe less, he was still riding his bike and running in the neghborhood. He had the wisdom to do what few elderly do--one day he told me he hung up his car keys. He'd had a near accident and he said it wasn't his skill that averted a disaster.
In recent months I visited him in the nursing home--hard for me, because he was in the same place only rooms away from where my mom died. But his sense of humor and his clear thinking remained intact until maybe the last month. When I visited last Sunday, two other friends were there and we talked. I had the sense that Charles was happy to let us talk around him and participate occasionally. When I said he looked content, he repied, "I am. I don't hurt, and I don't want for anything." I think that's how he died, and that brings me a sense of peace.
I think I was always a little bit in love with Charles Ogilvie.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Jacob is still fascinated by this video, and the first thing when he came in this evening was that he wanted to look at "Who Let the Dogs Out?" This is a picture of him singing along with it, belting out "Who, Who, Who?" The Burtons came for the Japanese chickenburgers they missed earlier in the week, and it was a pleasant evening, even though Jacob got kind of whiney.
Other than that it was an ordinary but pleasant day--I had lunch with my friend Fred, who said he's just read Jonathan Alter's (no relation) The Promise, an assessment of Obama's campaign and first year in office. Fred says although Alter is clearly biased toward Obama, he is also clear about the mistakes he's made and the problems he's run into--mostly Congress, both sides of the aisle. The subtext, especially throughout the last half of the book, is that Obama is clearly smarter than most members of Congress and they resent that. It got us off on a discussion of the general resentment of intellectuals in this country--while not counting myself as an intellectual, I clearly see that as a problem in our society. Then again, think of Socrrates--civilizations have always resented the intellectuals among them. Fred better watch out, because he is one. We ate at Nonna Tata, a country Italian place where I had my favorite dish: brasola.
I did a bit on my mystery tonight--slightly under 400 words but enough to keep me in touch with it--and decided what would be my next exploration in the Texas foods book, so I'm moving ahead. I looked forward to a long, fairly lazy weekend, so maybe I'll get some work done. As always, I'm distracted by reading--this time its Julie Hyzy's Grace Under Pressure.

Writing group

These are the women of my writing group, who met on my porch tonight for, oh maybe the fifth time. They are a wonderful group of women, who openly share the joys and sorrows of their lives, the things they worry about, the things that make them happy. They

also share a bit of wine and snacks--tonight it was wonderful phyllo cups filled with brie, red currant jam, and sliced almonds, in honor of two birthdays. Plus a cake with raspberry sauce. We find that instead of spending most of our time critiquing each other's contributions--pieces of memoir--we spend a lot of time talking about issues. Tonight I asked them to each share something good that had happened to them since we met two weeks ago--and that discussion went on for a long time. Beth is surprised that we spend so much time on issues and less on critiquing, but I figure anything that gets the ladies to open up and examine their lives is good. We laugh a lot, and we sympathize when needed. Now I have a folder full of new pieces to read before next time. Tonight I thought we would be rained inside, but the predicted rain did not come as it did last night, and we were comfortable on the porch all evening. In the middle of our meeting, an ambulance and fire truck roared up to a house three doors down from mine and eventually carted away one of my neighbors that I do not know--but he was sitting up on the gurney, so I figured (hoped) it wasn't serious. But it riveted all our attention for a while.

This class is one of the most rewarding things I've done in a long time--I am so amazed at the way the women have become a close knit group. I began to worry yesterday about what to do when the group is over in early September; tonight someone asked if I would continue it and said she was in. I'll have to ponder that, because I have a waiting list of women who would like to be in the next group. We have lost one member because she came from Granbury and it was too far to drive at night, and another, just because. This isn't unusual in a group such as this, and I don't feel bad about it. Beth (Elizabeth to me) is an enormous help, and I am grateful for her presence.