Friday, December 28, 2012

It's Good Riddance Day, 2012!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I've been waiting for this day for a while. December 28 is known as Good Riddance Day, when you get to say "so long" to anything and everything that has brought you down in the past 12 months.

Where do I begin?

OK, before I get started, you need to know that I'm not making this up. I've posted about Good Riddance Day a couple of years ago...and you can find a form to submit for the "official shred" in Times Square here:
http://www.timessquarenyc.org/forms/Marketing/Good_Riddance_Day.aspx.

Me? I'm making my own list, checking it twice...and firing up my own shredder. Sort of a Do It Yourself Celebration. Here goes...my Good Riddance List for 2012.

I bid a not-so-fond farewell to the following:

1. Bell's Palsy - My year would have been quite different, if I'd never heard those two words put together to make a person so miserable. I was diagnosed on Sunday, June 24th, and I am still dealing with the last, lingering effects of facial paralysis. If putting the words "Bell's Palsy" on a piece of paper and shredding it would make it go away, I would have done that 6 months ago, for sure. Still, I desperately wish to say good riddance to BP, so it takes the number one position on my list.
2. Other health issues - I'm going to lump my back problems, eye problems and vertigo...along with Missy M's broken foot problems...into one big category. Oh, and this most-recent malady, the flu...and all attendant fevers, coughing, wheezing, etc. A friend asked me if I thought my health problems were a result of my immune system being compromised due to the Bell's (and the meds I took to deal with it...many of which can suppress the immune system). Possibly. Regardless...it's good riddance to poor health.
3. Fear - When you live through one episode after another, you start thinking: what is going to happen next? And then, you become afraid to do something you wanted to do. So, fear wins. Hopefully, if I put it on my good riddance list, it will not linger any longer.

Three. That's plenty. Time to shred!

Join me, won't you?

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Taking a Time Out

My timing is impeccable. Just when I don't want to...or need to, I find some poor, lost virus and give it a place to live for a few days.

Thought it was bronchitis. A nemesis from long ago. I actually haven't played host to a good bout in several years, so why not finish out 2012 in style? I must be at Platinum Level on my frequent-illness rewards program by now, don't you think?

Imagine my surprise to hear the results of my flu test from the doctor's office: Positive for Type A flu virus. What? Are you sure?! What about that flu shot I took last September? You know, the one y'all gave me?

I believe the last three days of fever have burned up the worst of the infection, so now I'm left coughing, sneezing, feeling weak and listless. Dr. offered me Tamiflu, but since I'm beyond the 48-hour window, she didn't have high hopes...plus, it sometimes makes people nauseated. Don't need that, thank you very much. I declined, and then opted for the prescription cough medicine...the kind with hydrocodone. Wake me up when all this is over, will ya?

She said to expect 7-10 days of this misery ("unless it turns into pneumonia," which was said with more than a little concern...I guess even my doctor knows how my year has been trending, eh?), so I guess I won't make it back to "almost normal" by the weekend. Too bad, 'cause we were planning our Lunn Family Christmas on Sunday. A meet-up in Boone was on the docket. While we will be two shy of a whole family (as small as it is...:-), it will be good to meet-and-greet-and-eat with Bro and SIL J & J. Bro T won't be able to join us as SIL LaD is just now out of the hospital herself., and can't make the long drive from KY to NC. Missy M and the grand-dogs are scheduled to make their journey down the turnpike on Saturday...good Lord willin' and the crick don't rise. Now, I suppose we will have to aim for a New Years Lunn-feast.

Speaking of Missy M...she'll be headed home to a potential flu ward, as Mr. T just got his flu shot today. (What are our chances?) Her main concern? That she'll end up having to go to the grocery...and have to cook Christmas Dinner all by herself. Well, we're covered on one of those.

I am ever so thankful for online ordering and Express Lane service at Harris Teeter. I've waxed poetical about both the convenience and personal shopping experience our NC grocery offers. Well, folks, it's times like these that the $4.95 service charge seems like a drop in the proverbial ocean. Plus, they sent me a $5.00 Christmas coupon that will make any tiny bit of guilt vanish...poof!

Meanwhile, nothing else is getting done on my list. No cookies are being baked. No stockings are getting stuffed. No presents are getting wrapped. If it weren't for the beauty of the internet and UPS, FedEx, and USPS on-time delivery, I would really be in a pickle. Fortunately, I had placed all of my orders by last week, so things are arriving on the front porch with increasing regularity. I do have one handmade gift to finish...and one more to make, so I am feeling the push to get outta my sick bed...sooner rather than later. Surely I'll feel better by tomorrow...

I think I'll just have another cuppa tea with lotsa lemon. And stay in my time-out for a little while longer.

[Updated at 6:42p.m.]

P. S. I received this from the University of Memphis. Loved. It. Thought it might bring a smile to your face, too...


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Christmas is Coming!

It's that time of year to get the house all dressed in shades of red and green...the colors of Christmas. I know, I know...that's a traditional, some might say "old-fashioned," color combination. But it's what works for us. You may find an occasional gold ornament on our tree and a very-occasional blue bauble...and OK, a couple of purple ones...but I draw the line on teal (one of my personal fave colors otherwise) or mauve. No way, no how. No surprises here...we are all about "tradition!"

Well, we used to be. Time was that NO artificial tree was allowed in our house. Live...or nothing! Then, we got a three small "fake" trees for our ornament collections: one for my sheep, one for Nana/Momma/Edith's Santas, and one for Missy M's bears. OK, we survived the invasion.

And then, last year, when Mr. T and I were spending the Holidays in Looeyvul, I caved and bought a pre-lit tree for our dining room window (photo, left)...and the corner was turned. I loved having a tree (which took the place of my sheepie tree), especially one that was easy to put up and no worries like a live tree...particularly since we would be away from home for a couple of weeks. Mr. T loved how the lights were already on the tree...he didn't have to wrangle the tangle of strands anymore...hurrah! It was perfect...and it made me smile every time I looked at it from the kitchen doorway. Ahh...

Sheepie Tree in the Dining Room window

Sheepie ornament...one of many




















So, this year, we went 'round the bend and bought a nine-foot, pre-lit, slim-line tree for the den (photo below, right). And I could not be happier! I also got these Scent-cicles, which make one tree smell like pine and the other like spruce. Ah...lovely! Now, I have nothing against live trees...heck, I hope loads of folks buy one of North Carolina's finest products! But, I totally understand the "beauty" of having a lighted tree, up in 10 minutes, give or take. And, even though the tree tops me by almost 4 feet, I assembled it by myself. Of course, I needed some help from the guy with the height in adding the ornaments...:-).

New tree for the den
The trees may be artificial, but the memories that the ornaments represent are very real indeed. There's the oldest ornament on the tree: a silver ball that used to be covered in glitter and silver spangles...it may have lost some glitz, but it remains a reminder of childhood Christmases in Henning. There are the painted globe-ornaments and Santa shells that N/M/E crafted. There are Missy M's baby pics with Santa and all of her school pictures in ornaments...I treasure the moments each year when I look at each one. There are the ornaments we have purchased on trips far and wide...good memories all. And, there are the ornaments we have made, one for each year or so. Some are painted, some are cross-stitched, some are knitted, and some are quilted or sewn. All are special.

Still the tradition continues with our Nutcracker collection, which numbers 55 and counting. We have so many that we are hard-pressed to find places for them all. We lost some space on the TV cabinet earlier this year when the new mondo Vizio came to live with us, so the guys on top of the bookcase are a bit squashed together. The plan for next year is to enlarge the mantle (photo below/left) and expand the sofa table. All for the Nutcrackers...:-)
Nutcrackers on the mantle

Today I spent some time arranging the Nativity Scenes on the coffee table. One is an inexpensive wooden Nativity we have had as long as we've been married...37 Christmases. Another is in the form of a plate and its holder. My favorite is a ceramic Holy Family in simple, elegant glazed white that Mr. T's Mom made for us one year.

But the one with pride-of-place is the complete scene of ceramic characters that Mrs. A made for Missy M over a period of three or four years: Holy Family, Shepherds, Wise Men, and all the animals. I remembered to tuck Baby Jesus away in the drawer until Christmas Eve.

I usually put the Advent Wreath here, too, but I haven't found it yet. I did find the Advent Calendar I made when Missy M was maybe three or four, and it is up and in use.



We got the outdoor lights up about 10 days ago...including Chimney Santa (below, left) as well as The Santa Nutcrackers (we call them The Mens), all of whom are showing their age. We have the yard outlined in lights (as opposed to putting lights up on the gutters, like we did in MO)...and we like the way that works with this front yard. There are lighted snowflakes and stars on the porch, and a lighted "net" over the holly bushes. And the lighted deer are nodding away on the lawn (below, right). We haven't gotten the wreaths up on the windows 'cause that would mean a major trim to the bushes...and we just haven't had the time. Maybe this weekend.


Chimney Santa waving...



Lighted reindeer nodding


















We did get the Henry VIII wreath on the front door. Now, admittedly, this is probably the oddest ornament collection we have...felted, stuffed characters that represent Henry and all six of his wives (two of whom he had beheaded), that I got on one trip to England. And, I added a William Shakespeare character...and a Beefeater/Guard from the Tower of London. If I gave it much thought, I'd probably wonder about its appropriateness. What can I say? Some people put a pickle on their tree...I have history hung on my door.

So what's next, you ask? I am eager to begin baking tomorrow...when I get to put on my Holiday apron, pull out our favorite Holiday recipes, and pop in some Christmas DVDs like Christmas in Connecticut, White Christmas, and The Hunt for Red October (don't even ask about that last one...we always seem to watch it whenever we bake chocolate chip cookies...:). I'm hoping we get the cooler weather we've been promised, so I can enjoy some hot apple cider, too. Then, I'm looking forward to the annual trip to The Nutcracker Ballet on Thursday. I wish this could have worked out when Missy M was here, but the schedules didn't match up. My shopping is pretty much done, but I'm still working on a few of my gifts, and I don't want to get behind in wrapping! And this weekend is reserved for writing our Annual Newsletter and the Christmas cards.

Yes, lights are twinkling everywhere...ornaments and collections are out on display...and the little china angel that topped all the trees we had when I was growing up is now topping our new artificial tree. The old and the new.

A very Merry Christmas is in the making, I do believe.

P. S.  Here are two more photos I snapped with my phone...enjoy!




Teddy looks happy about the new tree, all alight!



Duche$$ says "My rug! You put this here for me, right?!"


Monday, December 3, 2012

Maxi Multi-Tasking

What an interesting day I've had! And it isn't over yet!

I had a Gardening article due to our County Horticulture agent today...and, with all of my meandering last week, well...I hadn't written it yet. Truth be told, I hadn't even started writing it yet. Oh, I guess that's not exactly right...I have given the topic (which I was assigned last January) a good bit of thought and consideration on how I was going to write it (theme, style, etc.). I probably "wrote" three or four passable articles in my head as I tried to keep my mind off the remaining number of miles to home on Saturday. But "pen to paper?" Nope...not as of 8:00 this morning.

So, with my deadline looming (hey, 11:59 p.m. Is STILL today, right?), I got my second cuppa coffee, fired up my PC and printer, and...decided to bake bread.

OK, some might call this procrastinating. I prefer to think of it as getting something out of my system. And, while I was writing the article, the bread could be rising. Multi-tasking is my middle name!

So why was baking bread "in my system," you ask? On Saturday while visiting Cousin A in Dickson, she asked me if I still baked sourdough bread? She remarked that I had once brought her a loaf, years ago...and she allowed that it was quite tasty. I guess if a 104-year old remembers something like a loaf of bread, then maybe it was good.

She was right. I used to make sourdough bread every week, using a recipe I got from the old, brown Southern Living Southern Country Cookbook (one of my go-to resources). This recipe calls for making a "starter" that gives the bread that classic sourdough taste. Trouble is, you have to make the starter at least three days prior to baking a loaf of bread. Hmmmm...

So, I began by mixing up the starter. And then, since I already had the yeast, sugar, and flour out on the counter, I pulled out another old recipe for a basic white bread. The yeast smell had put me in the mood for bread...and you know how that goes.

Out came the stand mixer, which has a dough hook, and makes the mixing and kneading process much easier. Then, while the dough was rising, I noticed another old recipe for Lemon Pound Cake...and I was off on another tangent.

And, what goes great with homemade bread? Why, homemade chicken noodle soup, of course. I had the remains of a rotisserie chicken that I popped into the stockpot to boil the meat off the bone as well as make the stock needed for the soup.

By noon, there was a bubbling pot of soup on the stove, and this is what was cooling on my counter.



And, I had yet to write Word One. Ahem...

Right. Need something to keep my strength up. Time for lunch!

By 1:00, I finally got around to starting my article. Nearly 1,350 words later it was done! Before 3:30, I was printing out my copy...and getting the file ready to email off for approval. See? I got all those other distractions out of my system so I could concentrate on the main task at hand.

Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

==============================================
Sourdough Starter inspired by Southern Living Southern Country Cookbook

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup very warm water (105-110 degrees)
1 T dry yeast
1 T salt
2 cups warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour

Sprinkle one teaspoon sugar over warm water. Sprinkle yeast over this and let stand in warm place until doubled in size, about 10 minutes. Stir well.

In a largebowl with a cover, add remaining sugar, yeast mixture, and other ingredients. Stir, using only a wooden spoon or paddle, as metal retards growth. Cover loosely and let stand in a warm place for three days, stirring the mixture down daily.

===============================================

I'll post the link to the article as well as the recipe for the bread...and how to feed the starter later. It's now tomorrow...and time for bed.

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