Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Pause Button

If you are a faithful reader, you are probably wondering where the heck I've been. I wanted to post a little note to say "not to worry," because I'm taking a timeout.

A week ago, I took a tumble on the stairs and bruised the most useless bone in the human body (coccyx). Bruised, not broken. But the fall also jarred my already-problematic lower back, so FOR ONE TIME IN MY LIFE, I'm trying to follow doctors orders: "press the 'pause button' now or prolong the pain...your choice."

"Pausing" also involves taking pain meds, along with muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatories...all of which amount to a wicked brew that keeps me in a fog, day and night. Soooo, there will be no new adventures on The Adsit Adventure until I can see and think straight again. Lord knows North Carolina doesn't need another loopy driver on the roads! (As my EMGV friend LB might say: insert the Vonage jingle here...woo hoo, woo hoo hoo!)

While the last few days have been difficult, I can tell I'm on the road to recovery. This morning, as Mr. T was preparing to head to work in Raleigh for a few hours, he asked me what I wanted him to bring to the bedroom so that I could minimize the up-and-down, in-and-out of bed motion. In addition to a cold Diet Pepsi in my thermal tumbler for the bedside table, I asked for my iPad (so I could check my email, post to my blog, and finish a book I've checked out of the North Carolina Digital Library...Love.It.), and for the first time since the fall, my knitting. Oh yeah, if I can knit again, I'm gonna be OK!

But for now, I think I'll take a nap.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Before We Go Too Far...

Well, 2012 appears to be starting off in hyper-drive already. Before he left on the current week's itinerary (which will have him in 4 states in 4 days...:), Mr. T filled the birdfeeders...again...and he checked to see what the Bird Cam had captured since he changed the batteries and the memory card last week.




Ahem.  As you can see in the photo on the top (above), we have a squirrel eating at will from the SQUIRREL PROOF FEEDER.  Folks, that's a real, unPhotoShopped photo.  The squirrels have figured out how to brace their hind legs against the 4x4, taking their weight off the feeder-bar...which is what is supposed to snap the food tray closed when something heavier than a couple of birds land there.  If you watch one at this task, it appears he is doing his calisthenics. Oh, I know what you are thinking:  why don't you give the squirrels their own feeder so they will leave the others alone.  WE HAVE...we have 2 corn-cob feeders, as well as one ground feeder...and they eat from them, too.  I guess they just love a challenge.  Fortunately, Mr. Squirrel left enough food for Mrs. Cardinal (photo, bottom/above) to have a taste.

Ah well...moving on...

I've been trying to get my calendars marked (special dates, scheduled meetings, etc.) and coordinated...and I'm apparently behind already. I had planned to get the house de-Christmased by Epiphany (last Friday, January 6th), but an unexpected visit from one of my nemeses (BPPV...benign paroxysmal positional vertigo...what a mouthful; now you understand why it's almost always abbreviated...:) knocked me off my feet and off my game plan this past weekend.

Fortunately, it was a mild episode as these things go, so I only lost 3 days...and that was probably a good thing: enforced voice rest ("no talking, please") is exactly what the Dr.'s ordered for this persistent sore throat I've had. "If it ain't one thing, it's 10 others," to quote Nana/Momma/Edith.

An aside...

N/M/E always wondered if we would quote her sayings after she was gone...like we still do Big Daddy/Sidney's...who has been gone for nearly 22 years now. I assured her there was no doubt in my mind that we would. She smiled then...and she's smiling now...:)

Anyway...

Before we get too far into January, I wanted to post some photos from our Christmas trip to Louisville as I promised in a December post. We had such a good time with Missy M, and with the Bros. & SILs for our family Christmas.

Lunn Family Christmas
in Louisville

The first few pix are from the Lunn Family Christmas. I didn't do a great job of getting photos of everyone, as you can tell: the one on the left is of the back of Bro J's head (he's wearing a Santa stocking cap...we're all actually wearing Santa caps at that point, since he had just handed out caps and Christmas socks in memory of Momma...:); you can barely see Mr. T in the chair under the big clock...but it's a bit clearer of Bro T (in front of the window) and SIL LaD.





















The next two are clear as day of Bro J...but you might question the content.  Remember?  Missy M once brought her Uncle J a silly hat from Manchester, England...a wild & woolly knitted cap for the Arsenal soccer team.  And, every year since, we have tried to find an even sillier version of the Silly Hat.  This year's version is an Elmer-Fudd affair, but with reindeer antlers that move and Christmas lights that really light up when this little hidden button is pressed.  The battery also supports the playing of "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer."  I took a video of it with my iPad (a first!...and you'll recognize that by all the background noise that probably shouldn't have been there...:) before I wrapped it up for him, and if all went well, it loaded (below) and you can hear it play (if you click the play button...and turn your sound up...:).  I also found reindeer antler headbands for the rest of us to wear as he opened his gift; you can see one of those on SIL J's head in the pic on the left.  Too funny for words.



And, last but not least are the photos we took on Thursday, December 22, when we went to the Performing Arts Center in Louisville to enjoy The Nutcracker ballet.  I have described it as "a magical evening," and I meant every word of it.  Missy M treated us to a private box, which had three...and only three...very comfortable chairs.  It was like our own private performance of our favorite Holiday event!  Obviously, Missy M took the first photo, then she and Mr. T switched places...and told me to "hold that smile!"  Since the box was a cozy affair, we got "close-ups!"




OK, back to business.  I have gotten most of the Christmas stuff (and remember, I didn't really decorate very much this past year...:) corralled into the dining room.  The tree is still decorated, but I did unplug it, along with the window candles.  I'm not chancing a trip to the attic to bring the storage totes down (what I do NOT need is a visit from my other nemesis, Bad Back); that can wait until the weekend when the cavalry arrives home from...where will he be on Friday?  Maryland?  Virginia??

Tomorrow is dedicated to Master Gardening activities, which move into high gear with the Mentor Intern Breakfast...followed by two (or is it three?) committee meetings...followed by a Board meeting.  And, I'm supposed to refrain from talking?  You must be kidding!

And, I still have one more calendar to sync...and then I'll be ready to start the New Year. Or, rather...to catch up with it...:)

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Starting 2012 Off Right

Happy New Year!  I'm so glad to advance all the calendars, aren't you?

Mimosas at Midnight -
Welcome 2012!


We stayed up to welcome in the new month with Mimosas (champagne and orange juice, served in our "Cheers to the New Year" glasses - photo, left)...although I will admit to taking a little nap in the early evening.  After a midnight kiss and a toast to a better year ahead, we went out on the deck to check out the beautiful moon on the crisp, clear night.  The neighborhood behind ours seemed to be Fireworks Central, with plenty of noise to frighten away any lingering evil spirits (well, that's the superstition, don't you know?).  Surprisingly enough, Duche$$ didn't go through her usual fear-act about the fireworks; we decided that it was because she's so deaf now that she can't hear them.  And that's OK...



Speaking of superstitions...

Gibbs:  Don't tell me you're superstitious, Leon?
Director Vance:  Well, I'm a little 'stitious.
 --From dialogue on NCIS


Anyway...about those New Year's Day superstitions...

I've always heard that you have to eat black-eyed peas, cooked with a ham-hock, on New Year's Day for good luck (peas) and good fortune (pork)...and we will hold to that tradition, serving Braised Brown Sugar Pork Chops* (recipe, below) slow-cooked with apples and carrots, and topping our peas with some of the green-tomato relish I made last Fall.  To ensure wealth, you're supposed to eat greens (always turnip greens and collards in the Lunn house).  Over the years, we've added a couple of good luck foods to the menu:  rice and grapes.  And, because Mr. T won't touch greens with a ten-foot pole, I prepare cole slaw (because cabbage is the "green" of choice for many cultures)...he will eat that.  We also make sure to serve pork for all meals (bacon or ham for breakfast; pork chops or roast/BBQ for lunch or dinner), and never, ever chicken or turkey.  [Poultry scratches around for everything; pigs move forward and make progress...or, so it is said.]  I'm not really superstitious.  I'm just saying...:)

To show you that I can laugh in the face of superstition, I made sure to leave our Christmas tree up past New Year's this year.  Momma always said it was bad luck to have the tree up on New Year's Day...but, I think she made that up just to get a dry tree outta the house (she was justifiably terrified of house fires).  Since we have an artificial tree this year, I don't have that worry...and, I am just not ready to say goodbye to all the pretty lights and decorations yet.  I think I'll hold off until Twelfth Night (Epiphany)...it's still part of the Christmas Season, and I certainly don't want to miss the visit of the Three Wise Men!

New Year's Day 2012
Harvest
Following the directive that "what you do on New Year's, you will do all year long," I have spent a wonderful, stress-free day.  Mr. T and I took advantage of the beautiful Spring-like weather this morning and worked in the garden a little bit.  He trimmed up the asparagus plants, snipping the frost-nipped fronds to the ground. I picked turnip greens and collards (which you might expect to still be producing) for our "good luck" meal tonight (see photo, right), along with leaf-lettuces, spinach, and even a tiny sweet bell pepper (which amazed even me!).  I noticed that we had cabbage leaves on plants I put out last Spring, and the garlic which did not get harvested in July seems to be taking on a new life.  Remarkable!  We'll have to see how that plays out.
Newest bird feeder...
Tree Face!

Then, he helped me plant a row of Wando sweet peas ("English" peas) along the back of the pea-fence...which still is supporting a good stand of pea plants from a late-season planting I did along the front side.  These plants are even flowering at the moment!  Of course, since we have bitter weather on the way tonight, we "wrapped" the pea-fence front-&-back with row covers (anchored to the top with clothes pins, to the bottom with rocks and stakes)...and tried to give the greens a little more protection (they already have row covers in place).

Mr. T then spent some time filling the bird feeders with the goodies we got yesterday on the Tractor Supply run.  He also got the three newest feeders up and in play:  a window-mounted feeder, a new squirrel corn-cob feeder, and a Tree Face (photo, left).  We had one similar to this at the house in MO, and I was thrilled to locate one while shopping at Mast General Store in Boone.

I did NOT do laundry, pay bills, or do any housework.  Each of those activities carry negative cautions in the superstition department...and none of them is particularly fun for me, so I don't want to be tasked with too much of any of them this coming year.  I did read some of my newest book (I finished Sue Grafton's V is for Vengeance and Three Day Town by Margaret Maron; I'm now reading Laurie R. King's O Jerusalem, which I downloaded from the High Point Library's Digital site to my iPad...a first for me!).  I played Words With Friends...with friends.  I fixed a nice Brunch this morning, and then cooked the "good luck" meal.  I downloaded pictures from my camera, iPod, and iPad...and did a little organizing of the picture files on my computer.  And, now...I've written a post on my blog, always a treat for me, even though it appears that Google has done some strange things with Blogger while I was away (and posting on my iPad).  Mr. T just suggested a walk around the block since the rain we had this evening was brief and light.  Yes, dear...just as soon as I finish this row on my new knitting project...:)

All-in-all, a good way to start off the year...

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*Braised Brown Sugar Pork Chops

Ingredients:
  • 2 pork chops, boned and butterflied
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt (I use Paula Deen's House Seasoning)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 large onion, sliced into rings
  • 1 large apple, halved, seeded, and sliced (I used Fuji)
  • 10-12 baby carrots (more or less)
  • 1 cup apple juice
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons dry white wine (or use water or chicken broth)
Preparation:

1. Rinse chops and pat dry. 2. Combine flour, seasoned salt, and pepper in a plate. Coat chops with the flour mixture.
3. In a large skillet (which has a tight-fitting lid) over medium heat, melt the butter with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Brown the onions then remove to a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and brown the seasoned and floured pork chops, turning to brown both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Add the onions back to the skillet. Add the apple slices and the baby carrots to the skillet.
4. Combine the juice, vinegar, and brown sugar; pour over the chops. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.  Or, transfer the covered skillet to a 325 degree preheated oven for 1 hour.
5. Remove pork chops, apples, carrots, and onion rings to a plate or serving dish and keep warm.
6. Bring sauce mixture to a boil and boil for 3 to 4 minutes, until reduced and thickened. Pour over the pork chops. Add wine (or use water or chicken broth) to the skillet and bring to a boil, stirring to get the browned bits. Pour the wine mixture over the chops.
Serves 2.

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