"Say, Becky," I hear you ask, "When should I come to the mall at St. Clair Square to buy delicious Hickory Farms cheese?"

You should come at any time before Christmas Day, I'll tell you, and if you can't get to a mall with a Hickory Farms kiosk, you can always go online to HickoryFarms.com to purchase your yearly supply of tasty Ohio cheese and sausage products.

However, if you want to visit the mall at St. Clair Square in scenic Fairview Heights, Illinois at a time when I will be there selling cheese -- for it is amusing to harass your friend as she sells you cheese, is it not? -- you could come at any one of the following times over the next two weeks:

• Tuesday, December 1, from 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM


• Wednesday, December 2, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM (I'll take an hour for lunch from 12:30 to 1:30, so drop by then if you want to sample the glories of the food court.)


• Thursday, December 3, from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM (One hour lunch break from 12:30 to 1:30.)


• Friday, December 4, from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM


• Saturday, December 5, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM


• Tuesday, December 8, from 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM


• Thursday, December 10, from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM (One hour lunch break from 12:30 to 1:30.)

I don't get a commission, but I do like keeping busy. So if you find yourself in the neighborhood, do drop by. The Hickory Farms kiosk is in the Central Court, lower level, right next to where Santa Claus sits and gets his picture taken with good children.

Seriously, guys, this cheese and sausage is very high-quality, worth the price. The gift boxes make good holiday presents, especially the good selection of boxes under $25 that you can find at the mall kiosks. If you don't like anything, at least you will have seen scenic St. Clair Square. And me. In an apron. Selling cheese. :-)

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I am still getting used to the physicality of working at the mall kiosk. I'm not used to being on my feet and moving around for four or five hours in a row, so my feet ache at the end of the day. The next day, I feel it in the muscles of my legs and hips. If I've moved stock from the store room to the stand, I feel my shoulders and arms too.

This coming week I'll be working a full schedule, so I've planned meals that will not require any fussing with while I'm on the sofa with my feet up at the end of the day:

Sunday: Spicy polish sausages on a bed of hot sauerkraut; squash and potato casserole.
Monday: Magic Night -- order pizzas.
Tuesday: I'll be working very late. Woof will heat up a can of chili for himself.
Wednesday: Chicken pilaf.
Thursday: Roast pork shoulder in the crockpot; rice; mustard greens.
Friday: Pozole in the crockpot. Need to buy accompaniments of shredded cabbage, radishes, taco chips.
Saturday: Out to dinner with Woof at The Journey buffet restaurant in Swansea, not far from the mall where I work.

Note --
The squash and potato casserole was an amazingly successful experiment with leftovers: mash together the flesh of one roasted butternut squash, about three cups of leftover mashed potatoes and turnips, 1/2 cup warm milk, and 1/4 cup melted butter. Season with basil, thyme, garlic, salt and black pepper. Spread in baking dish and top with parmesan cheese (I might mix more parmesan into the mash itself, next time). Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes. Wow! Flavorful, filling, delicious.

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Today is Thanksgiving Day in the US, and I'm thankful for the Thankful Thursday meme. I don't remember who started it, or who I ganked it from. But setting aside some time every week to be grateful has been very good for me. Sometimes it's hard to find ten things to be grateful for. Those are the times when I need the meme the most.

Lately, life has been pretty good. Sure, money is tight, and there are family members that aren't behaving like my ideal of a perfect family, and I'm not as close to friends as I'd like to be, and we could be healthier. But somehow I feel happy and blessed most of the time.

Right now I am thankful to be posting my "Thankful Thursday" post on time, on a Thursday, and not several weeks late. :-)

I am also thankful for:
1. Hulu, which lets me watch my favorite TV shows when I have time to watch them, not when the networks want to show them.

2. Hot water for bathing and washing up, hot water that I did not have to pump or carry or heat myself. Simple technology is sometimes the very best!

3. Our Prius. It's comfortable, nimble, reliable, and gets almost 50 miles per gallon of gas. Sometimes it's advanced technology that's the best. :-)

4. Not one, not two, but three pies in the refrigerator, just waiting to be eaten this weekend.

5. The temporary seasonal job at the mall. I'm not earning a lot, and it tires me out. But it gets me up and moving, which is healthy for my body. It gets me being productive, which is healthy for my spirit. And it involves selling very delicious products that I truly believe are worth the price, so for the first time in a long time I feel like my work is of service to society in general, if only in a small way.

6. My big crazy family. Even the craziest ones. I wouldn't be me without them.

7. Friends who are like family, only without the baggage. I wish there were some way I could adequately thank all the Tribe, and all the other good friends who have not yet been assimilated into it. Thank you guys for being in my life, for assistance rendered, for opportunities to assist, for acceptance and ass-kicking and love.

8. My two daughters, who have become the women I would have wanted them to be, if I could only have envisioned two such compassionate, intelligent, well-grounded people.

9. My amazing grandbaby Eitan. Watching him discover the world gives me so much joy.

10. Woof, the one who is best for me.

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It's been a busy week here at the hobbit hole. But the biggest news is that my adorable genius grandbaby -- not quite 17 months old now, mind you -- has expanded his vocabulary to include "helicopter" and "umbrella" and "purple". Pronounced "ay-cah-coo", "breh-la", and "puh-puh", yes, but used appropriately!

He is also precociously throwing terrible-two style temper tantrums, but we will speak not of that.

I kept up with last week's dinners until Friday night, when all we wanted to do was to eat cheese and sausage, and play Magic. We'll have the delicious squash soup for lunch today, and save the brownies for dinner.

Here's the plan for this coming week:

Sunday: Pot roast with vegetables, potatoes and gravy; cranberry coleslaw; biscuits with butter; black forest brownies with ice cream.

Monday: Magic Night, but I'll miss most of it because I'm working Monday night. So I'll set up the crockpot once again, this time with meatballs in tomato sauce. There will be buns and grated cheese and chopped onion, so people can make their own meatball sandwiches. Also, home-made cranberry oatmeal cookies.

Tuesday: Woof promised he'd bring a chocolate chip cheesecake to work today, so I'll have to have baked one ahead of time. In fact, I'll bake two ahead of time. You know. Just in case we would happen to need a cheesecake.

Dinner? Either take a salad to dinner at Rivendell, or thaw last week's pozole.

Wednesday: Lettuce salad; pasta with sausage and roasted red peppers; rolls.

Thursday: Thanksgiving Day! We'll bring cheese balls and crackers to the Zoole Family Feast. Also tatties and neeps.

Friday: It's Black Friday, and I'm working. This evening we'll eat leftovers cold from the fridge, and like it.

Saturday: TBD Edited to add -- I'll be working Saturday morning too. Afterwords, Woof and I will go out to eat a big lunch at one of our favorite buffet restaurants, The Journey in Swansea. For supper later that night, we'll have something light and easy to fix, like sandwiches or a can of soup.

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I've got a JOB! It's a seasonal sales job at a local mall, minimum wage, but that's better than what I'm earning sitting at home looking for an IT job. And I like the product I'm selling, Hickory Farms gifts, which is great because I get a sweet employee discount, too.

There are two drawbacks. We're using just one car, and so far I've been scheduled on days when Woof needs that car. The public transport situation to this mall is not so good -- I have to change buses twice -- so I'm allowing plenty of extra time to get there. It feels silly to travel for two hours this afternoon just to work for three hours this evening, but I really don't want to be late. I'm bringing a couple of knitting projects and books; if I catch both transfers on time and get to the mall early, I can hang out at the food court with plenty to do.

The other problem is that I'm really not used to being on my feet. I stand constantly at this job, handing out samples to shoppers or working the register. I only worked 11.5 hours last week but my feet and lower back are killing me. I hope I'll grow better muscles for this soon.

But -- job job job job job! Yay, job!

Cooking has been re-arranged a bit. Here's what we've had so far this week, and what I plan to make in the days to come:

Sunday: Spaghetti with chunky meat sauce, green salad, garlic bread. Woof and nocxavier and I finished off the bottle of Bailey's for dessert. Yum. :-)

Monday: Hotdogs simmered in barbecue sauce for Magic Night. I'm working this evening, so I want everything to be all ready without me. I'm putting 6 pounds of hotdogs covered in barbecue sauce in the crockpot before I leave. The tray with chopped onions and two kinds of pickles is already on the serving table, covered with plastic wrap. I've got gallon jugs full of iced tea and home-made lemonade in the fridge, and I'm setting up a tray with mugs, teas, instant cocoa packets, and two insulated carafes of boiling water.

Tuesday: Take seven-layer salad to dinner at Rivendell.

Wednesday: Rogan Josh, an un-traditional kind made with leftover pork from last week's pozole. Served with rice and bindhi bhaji (okra with onions).

Thursday: Bierock Casserole, green beans, baked apples.

Friday: Squash soup, cheese and crackers, Black Forest brownies.

Saturday: Eat up the leftovers. (Supplement with loaded baked potatoes if necessary.)

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I kept thinking of the old joke, "Our financial contributions are equal: I make the money, she spends it".

Yesterday was a full, productive day of spending money. Woof and I got up at 7:00 AM and left the house around 7:30. I dropped him off at work, then started my day:

• Walgreens -- cold medication and razor blades


• Family Dollar -- goodies for my Ravelry swap partner


• Burger King -- a large coffee and a sausage biscuit


• Drive past some of the other shops I'll be going to, to check what time they open


• Try a couple of different gas stations until I find one with free air


• QT -- to top off the air in the right rear tire


• Penzey's -- curry powder and other spices


• Walmart -- a new work shirt, compare some prices on other items


• Nail place near Walmart -- a pedicure (My toenails are so very thick, I can't cut them at home. They get out the power tools for me at the nail place; it's either this or a podiatrist!)


• Fantasy Shop -- card protectors for Magic cards


• Knitorious -- a set of needles for my next project, and yarn for my swap partner


• Schnucks -- groceries


• Home at 1:00PM, take three trips up the front stairs to carry everything in, put away the refrigerated grocery items, go to the bathroom, sit on the sofa with my feet up for ten minutes reviewing receipts and making some mental notes about prices and meal planning, until Woof calls asking me if I'd done anything productive today

Then I unpacked the rest of the groceries, took in the mail, read my email, heated up a bowl of leftover soup and ate lunch at 2:00. Hunkered down on the sofa to knit up more holiday gifts. Worked on a ______ for Elizabeth. Dozed off for half an hour, then drove off to pick up Woof at 4:30.

He and I went straight back to the card shop, fighting rush hour traffic, to buy some Magic cards. We picked up Chinese food for dinner (I got salted fish with chicken and eggplant, yummmmmmm), then tried out our new Magic cards by playing a few rounds. We put our new cards in the binder, read and played on the internet a little, and went to bed early.

I know I was asleep before 10:00PM -- how did a day of nothing but shopping become so tiring?

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We didn't cut up the pumpkin last weekend. In fact, we didn't do much of anything except get caught up on sleep, and it was MARvelous.

So, what are we going to do this week? Here's the plan:

Sunday: Pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, banana bread. Yummy.

Monday: Make-your-own sandwiches for Magic Night

Tuesday: Rivendell? Or book signing? Make a big salad, either way. (Thaw meat for tomorrow's meal.)

Wednesday: Pozole in the crockpot.

Thursday: Fish tacos with shredded cabbage.

Friday: Chicken casserole.

Saturday: Spaghetti with meat sauce.

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Changes in plans. Here's the revised weekly menu:

Sunday: Tater Tot Casserole, broccoli, apple cobbler with ice cream. This was very good

Monday: Sausage snacks This was a good concept, but the filling was too bland

Tuesday: Pasta House salad, take to Rivendell.

Wednesday: Knit Night. Spicy sausages, boiled red potatoes, green salad.

Thursday: Moussaka

Friday: Hearty chicken soup with vegetables and pasta stars, cornbread or fresh-baked rolls, fruit cobbler.

Saturday: Dinner at friends' house. Cut up the pumpkin today, roast seeds, bake the rest.

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I want to keep the recipe I used for buffalo wings last week, because it was excellent.

This is the original recipe from the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY, where they were invented (and where "buffalo wings" get their name). I tripled it, which served 8 guys generously with some tasty tasty leftovers.

( Click here for Buffalo Wings recipe )

The leftovers kept their crunch even after being refrigerated overnight in the sauce. Although you could just use a bottled wing sauce, I think the dash of Worcestershire really makes these special.

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/31193.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Just got back from grocery shopping. What we eat this coming week will be based on what was on sale today:

Sunday: Tater Tot Casserole, broccoli, lettuce salad, apple cobbler with ice cream.

Monday: Sausage snacks (double the recipe, mix one pound of hot sausage with one pound of ground turkey; need to pick up another package of cream cheese for this). Also bake banana bread.

Tuesday: Eggplant salad/dip with crackers, take to Rivendell.

Wednesday: Knit Night -- slow-cook pork butt in crockpot, shred and mix with BBQ sauce, serve in hoagie rolls with Potato Salad on the side.

Thursday: Pork and potato hash, green beans, fruit salad.

Friday: Hearty chicken soup with vegetables and pasta stars, cornbread or fresh-baked rolls, fruit cobbler.

Saturday: Dinner at friends' house

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With the fall weather, hungry hobbits like soup and potatoes. But will we get a chance to eat them next week? Let's see....

Sunday: Get family portraits made in the afternoon. In the evening, why, yes, yes it CAN be a soup and potatoes night! Even better, it can be a POTATO SOUP night!

Monday: Buffalo chicken wings for Magic Night.

Tuesday: Seven layer salad -- it's a keeper.

Wednesday: Bean soup in the crockpot; this will be a good late-night supper after Knit Night.

Thursday: Assist at Elizabeth Donald's book signing at the Glen Carbon Library tonight. Sandwiches and leftover soup for late-night supper.

Friday: We have nothing planned for the evening except enjoying each other's company. I think I'll set a romantic table, serve chicken pilaf, then leave the dishes for morning. ;-)

Saturday: A Blessed Samhain and Happy Halloween! Breakfast for dinner: pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage patties. Later tonight, read tarot cards at The Complex, a fabulous dance bar and party spot near St. Louis University.

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transplantmom is in town! Yay! She came in for the Second Wind walk, a fundraiser for lung transplants, and will be staying with us for a few days.

So, what will we be eating while she's here?

Sunday: The chili that keeps getting put off. (Maybe make a not-so-spicy beef stew instead?) Also cornbread to go with it, and cucumber salad, and an apple pie. And bake banana bread while I'm at it. Yeah.

Monday: Magic Night. Pizzas and the banana bread.

Tuesday: Bring seven-layer salad to dinner at Rivendell.

Wednesday: Knit Night. Eat out with the knitters.

Thursday: Pork and beans. Forgot to pre-soak the beans, so this was a pork and potato curry. Strangely good.

Friday: Chicken broccoli casserole. I ended up with a last-minute tarot-reading gig, and Woof went out to play Friday Night Magic. We grazed separately.

Saturday: Fish stick casserole. Leave that for later, I need to cook up the chicken I thawed for last night. Chicken, black beans, and rice will be on the menu, I think.

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The handsome guy in this icon is my Dad. The picture was taken just a year before he died of pancreatic cancer. He was just 66, newly retired, otherwise in perfect health.

Pancreatic cancer is relatively rare -- in the US, only about 43,000 people are diagnosed with it each year. But it is the fourth highest cancer killer in the US. This is because it is a killer, pure and simple. The five year survival rate is less than 5%. Median survival rate from diagnosis is less than six months.

There is only one organization that provides support for people dealing with pancreatic cancer in themselves or their loved ones, only one organization dedicated to funding research to find new ways of detecting and treating this terrible disease.

That organization is the Pancreatic Cancer Action Committee, better known as PanCan.

Because of clinical trials supported by PanCan, the median survival rate is now better than it was when my Dad was diagnosed. There are some exciting developments, some real advances in treatment. There are more survivors than there used to be. Now, there is hope.

This Sunday, I'll be helping out at a fundraiser for PanCan. If you have charity money to donate, please consider PanCan. I'll appreciate it.

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Omigosh omigosh omigosh! Last night I made something so delicious, it has to become a regular recurring food item here at Winnebagend. I adapted a recipe I found online for mushroom pie to create:

Mushroom Pot Pie
serves 4 normal people or one hobbit
( Click for recipe )

It couldn't be simpler. The only tricksy part is stirring the flour into the butter, then blending that into the broth, which is not really tricksy at all once you've done it a few times and get the hang of it.

This pie is rich and surprisingly filling. The broth, wine, rosemary, and mushrooms all combine to make a wonderful meaty/mushroomy flavor. Woof licked the serving spoon as he cleared the table. The next time mushrooms are on sale for $2/pound, I'm buying two pounds of them and making several of these!

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Magic Night was a fun time this evening. No special tricks, no amazing multi-player craziness, but several good solid games and lively conversation. I feel exhausted, but content.

I hardly got anything done today beyond my Absolutely Must Do list. My sinuses are full, and I feel like I'm moving in a fog. So tired. Not sleepy, just... tired, for no good reason. And very spacey.

But the work of everyday life doesn't end, and I still need to work on finding a job. So ( here's what's left to do tomorrow: )

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I just love Fall!

I love the leaves, and the weather, and being able to sleep at night with my nose cold.

I love the Fall holidays, from Rosh HaShana to Thanksgiving -- especially Halloween.

I love fresh apple cider, and bonfires, and roasting pumpkin seeds.

I love being able to walk outside without feeling miserably hot.

I love wearing sweaters and warm socks.

The only time of year that's nearly as wonderful as Fall, is the Spring. But Fall is just a teensy bit better.

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( Today I absolutely MUST do these things within the next 8 hours: )

( Today I really OUGHT to do these things as well: )

What I really WANT to do is knit while I watch House and Glee and Drop Dead Diva on Hulu.

That, and read more of A Prayer for Owen Meany, which I just started yesterday. I've owned the book for years and tried reading it several times before, but just couldn't get into it. Suddenly yesterday it clicked, and it's been hard to put down.

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Woof and I slept most of the weekend away, nursing colds. When we were awake, we played Magic. Oh, and went to Steak'n'Shake for dinner on Saturday night -- we needed a "date"!

Last night, I filled the crockpot with 10 pounds of chicken leg quarters (on sale at 59 cents a pound) and a cut-up head of celery. It stewed all night and is cooling now. I'll pick out the chicken meat and freeze it, then put the skin and bones back into the broth to cook for another few hours. Mmmmm, nice rich broth!

There were a couple chicken legs that wouldn't fit, so I baked them with rice and we nibbled on them for an early supper yesterday afternoon.

This week's menu needs to be tempting to convalescent appetites. How about this:

Monday: Magic night! I'll go to Aldi's this afternoon to pick up snacks for us. Maybe pizza?

Tuesday: Dinner at Rivendell? If Woof is up for it, I'll bring a seven-layer salad. If not, then BLT's at home, with mugs of hot broth.

Wednesday: Mushroom pie, more hot broth.

Thursday: Chicken and broccoli casserole.

Friday: Dal, rice, chicken curried with tomatoes.

Saturday: Chili and cornbread.

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I have been totally earwormed for the entire past week by "Single Ladies". The other day I was singing to myself and strut-walking as I cleared the table after dinner. "If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it, if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it", I sang.

Woof looked up from the mail. "I did!", he said.

It took me a moment to connect it with the lyrics. Then much laughter and shmoopiness ensued.



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I've got the cauliflower cheese cooking, and soon we'll take it to Mom's house for the family Sukkot dinner. But first I'll plan what next week's meals will be. The pantry and fridge are well-stocked, but we're under a Very Tight budget, so I have to limit purchases as much as possible. Hmmmm....

Sunday: Eat up the leftovers, and they're yummy. :-)

Monday: Magic night! Will we have cold-cut sandwiches? Pizza? I'll have to see what's on sale.

Tuesday: Cold green bean salad, or apple tart -- will have to see which I should bring to Rivendell.

Wednesday: Pepperoni spaghetti casserole, broccoli.

Thursday: Hearty breakfast for dinner: Potatoes, onion and eggs with bacon; orange juice.

Friday: Family dinner at Mom's house to meet Mike's new wife. Bring apple cake?

Saturday: Chili, cornbread.

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Last Wednesday, for the very first time, I walked around wearing socks I had knitted myself. It was very cool. :-) However, it was also a learning experience... ah, so that's why socks are generally knit with thin yarn on tiny needles, these worsted-weight socks are not so comfortable to walk on. And that's why the pattern seemed so short, I should have kept it the length it was instead of making it longer, they're meant to stretch, aren't they?

But they'll make lovely warm bed socks this winter, and I'm still proud of them.

I am frantically knitting away on holiday presents. Several pairs of knitted slippers made, many more to go. I've finished a lacy scarf for my Mom, too. I've also found a pattern for Cork Gnomes that's adorably cute, uses very little yarn, and knits up quickly. Mom has a bag of corks that she's been saving; I'll ask her this evening if I may have some to dress up for gifts.

I need to rip out part of the brim of the hat I made for Eitan and redo it with a really stretchy bind-off. If this bind-off is really as good as it says it is, I'll redo the ends of the legwarmers I made, too.

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I shouldn't think about food when I'm fasting, uh oh. But I've gone and done it already, I've wondered what I'm going to cook tomorrow and, before I knew it, I had a menu planned out:

Monday: Yom Kippur. Family coming over to break the fast together here. I'm providing the drinks (tea, coffee, lemonade, iced tea, wine and schnapps), cucumber sandwiches, banana bread, and bagels with fixings. My sister Liz is bringing lox for the bagels. My Mom is bringing her home-made raisin challah with butter and honey, deviled eggs, and some pickled herring. My brother is bringing brownies, my daughters are bringing tuna salad, hummus, pita, and crackers. Our friend Maureen will bring fresh fruit.

Zooles don't go hungry.

Tuesday: If we go to Rivendell for dinner, I'll bring a salad. If Woof isn't up to going out, we'll eat up the leftovers.

Wednesday: Knit night! I've missed Knit Night. Afterwards, we'll have the much-put-off fish tacos, This Time For Sure.

Thursday: Chicken a la king, Cabbage Kugel, baked apples.

Friday: Moroccan Chicken, rice.

Saturday: Sukkot dinner at Mom's house. I'll bring a couple of cauliflower cheeses.

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Today I am grateful for:

1. Woof is on the mend. :-)
2. Itog is back online - I missed it!
3. Finally got the duplicate title for the van. (This has been no end of trouble.)
4. Zendikar preview this weekend.
5. My berks are finally broken-in and comfortable to wear without socks.
6. I've got two more days to clean up and get ready for the family coming over on Monday.
7. josiosings and her husband have gotten back into acting.
8. maiabee8 just got her graduate degree, and she's weighing job prospects.
9. Eitan is incredibly smart, cute, and gorgeous. Kinehara
10. Food in the fridge, a full tank of gas, enough money to pay our bills this month, good friends. What more could I ask for?

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The menu got shifted around quite a bit this week. Here's what it's been so far, and what I plan:

Sunday: Leftover roast; mashed leftover turnips and potatoes; cucumber and tomato salad; leftover apple cake.

Monday: Magic Night was just Woof, nocxavier, and me. We ate a lot of toasted raviolis, though, and chocolate raspberry bars

Tuesday: Tuna Casserole, tomato salad

Wednesday: Three sisters chili (squash, corn, and beans), saltines

Thursday: Go to Wei Hong for Chinese comfort food (congeeeeee!)

Friday: Pozole, simmering on the stove right now

Saturday: Fish tacos, cole slaw

Sunday: Erev Yom Kippur. Chicken soup with matza balls, big salad, banana bread. This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/26040.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

I am really more of an Auntie to Gunny than a Godmother, seeing as how he hasn't been baptized or even briss'd. But I can't really call him my nephew. Therefore, I think I'll characterize our relationship as that of God-mother and God-dog.

So my goddog is now on a lead in the back, until we can fix the fence. So far he has managed to get the lead tangled around a stake holding up a raised bed; a bunch of weeds; and now.... he's wrapped his lead around the railing for the back stairs.

I go out to untangle him. Five minutes later, he's tangled again.

Anybody got experience with dogs on leads? Is it possible to train them to not DO this?

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tithenai has a great post on Philistines. You should read it. And you should reconsider using the word "Philistine" to mean barbaric or boorish or uncultured. Because in Arabic, the word "Philistine" (pronounced with an Arabic accent so it sounds like "phalasteeni") is what the Palestinians call themselves, and it sounds damned insulting to any Arabic speaker to hear that.

My first thought on reading her post was -- but, but, we're not speaking Arabic, this is English, and "Philistine" does not mean "Palestinian" in English, so, bwuh, it's stupid to feel insulted by it.

My second thought was -- yes, English speakers aren't trying to be insulting. But hurt feelings are never stupid, and good intentions cannot take away the sting of insult. So, just don't do it.

Besides, "Palestinian" does mean "Philistine" in Latin, and that's where the name originated.

Interestingly, the two words are different in Hebrew.

The Biblical Philistines, invading sea people, possibly from Crete, who left the area after the Judeans chased them off, are called "P'leeshtim". They don't exist anymore.

Modern-day Palestinians are called "Palasteeni'im". (In modern Hebrew, words cannot start with the "f" sound, so essentially Israelis call Palestinians the same thing they call themselves, only with an Israeli accent.)

The territory of Palestine got its name in 135 CE, after Rome put down the third in a series of increasingly bloody rebellions in Judea. Rome was fed up with Judea by this time. The conquerors sought to destroy Judea and Judean culture entirely. Most of the inhabitants were killed, exiled, or sold into slavery. The land of Judea was settled with Roman colonists.

The Roman governor chose what he thought would be the most insulting name possible for the territory: Palestinia, which to Roman ears sounded like the Judean's ancient enemies, the P'leeshtim. The Judeans were not, actually, particularly insulted, since the P'leeshtim had been enemies for only a short while, and that had been hundreds of years before, but, whatever. They had worse things to think about.

Modern Judaism grew out of the attempts of exiled Judean leaders to keep the culture and religion alive. Much of it centered on a longing to return to Zion (Jerusalem), along with extreme fatalism and fear of provoking more Roman wrath. So for 1700 years, longing for Zion was enforced and reinforced, but actually going to Zion was almost discouraged. That would be when G-d willed it, not before.

Then in the 19th century, Zionism started as a movement to not be so fatalistic, to stop with the Insha'Allah mentality and act. The descendants of the ancient Judeans started returning to Judea. They saw themselves as the native people, taking their land back from European colonizers.

Alas, over 1700 years the descendants of the Roman colonists had heavily intermarried with other people in the area, as well as "breeding" the Judean slaves they kept. The modern Palestinians saw themselves as the native people, and these Jews coming in from Europe were colonizers.

Massive failures of communication, missed opportunities for cooperation, and the emotional after-effects of WWII all led to a horrendous failure and the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ironically, modern DNA surveys show that the Palestinians are descended more from those Judean slaves than from anyone else. There are distinctive genetic markers that are very common among both Palestinians and Jews, but not among other Arabs or Europeans.

Islam and Judaism are so similar, in both theology and practice. The Israelis and the Arabs have so many shared goals. It is one of my greatest hopes that Palestine and Israel will co-exist, cooperate, and one day become a haven of peace and prosperity.

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/25521.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Gunny got out twice more this afternoon. nocxavier put him on a strong lead fastened to the dog house. When I fed him at dinner time, Gunny was his usual exuberant self, safely confined.

We heard Gunny whining and whimpering later this evening, but we weren't concerned. It was his "pay attention to me" whimper that he goes into whenever he sees or hears someone he knows. Probably the neighbors were sitting out back.

But the whining and whimpering went on and on, sounding more and more urgent. When we looked, Gunny was nowhere to be seen, although we could still hear loud whines.

He had squeezed through a gap in the fence into the neighbor's garden, getting his lead firmly entwined in tomatoes and squash vines and the strings used to tie up the vegetables.

I took the long way around to get into the neighbor's yard. Gunny was so excited to see me! He jumped! He pulled hard on the lead! He made it almost impossible to get enough slack to unfasten him!

Then when I did get him unhooked, I realized that I'd left the gate open behind me. So I held onto Gunny's collar with one hand, while I untangled the lead with the other.

After about five minutes of holding a Very Excited Very Big Dog with my left hand, the plants were free of the lead. And my left arm felt half-wrenched out of the socket. Woof helped me get Gunny back into our yard. We poked at the hole in the fence, hoped that the dog was tired out now, and went back inside to get ready for bed.

Ten minutes later, whining again.

This time, Chris met me out back. Gunny had gotten the lead about two feet from his head snagged on the edge of the very same gap in the fence.

We tied the lead to a different part of the yard, where he can't reach the gap. And I've got to get that fence fixed, NOW, with non-existent money and non-existent energy. Do what has to be done, even though I can't figure out how to do it.

This is a job for.... SuperMom! And here I thought she was retired. Now, where did I put that cape?

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/25171.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

So, Woof saw the doc again this morning, and got another chest x-ray. He still has shadowing in his lung, about a third of what it was last week, but the pneumonia is not gone yet. We've got another prescription for more azythromycin, and an order to Rest. HA HA HA HA HA.

At least he takes the azythromycin.

In other news, I watched Eitan this afternoon! I stayed away from him all last week, just in case I had whatever Woof had, and I missed him terribly. Eitan has a new cute trick: he eats apples! Little diced-up pieces of apple, which he noms and noms and noms until he's sucked all the flavor out of them, then stores them in his cheeks like a hamster. Little mushed bits of apple dribble out the side of his mouth as he wanders around the living room. I know, in 80 years this won't be so cute.

Eitan demanded a lot of attention today. If I left him alone a moment to try to pick up toys or wipe up smushed apple, he cried hard. But whenever I played with him, he was happy and babbling and giggling. So we just played a lot, and left the house a mess.

So, today I went with Woof to the doctor, then the chest x-ray, then back to the doctor, then to the podiatrist's office in the same building to make an appointment, then home to drop off Woof. As we drove up in front of the house, nocxavier's dog Gunny ran up to the car and the other car on the street squealed its brakes. I think it actually brushed the dog. Very scary. I left our car at an angle, jumped out, and ran after Gunny, who dodged in front of another car before letting me grab his collar and lead him back to the yard.

Woof went inside to lie down; I started out to get Woof's prescription filled. I'd gone about a mile when my phone rang: "Come back, come back", Woof said, "I still have the prescription."

So, back home again. Woof met me at the door with the prescription and a big glass of lemonade, which I really needed. I took a few minutes to wash the dog spit off my hands and brush the mud off my pants. Then back out again, to the pharmacy to pick up the last refill of the old scrip and drop off the new. On the way home, stop at the bank to deposit a check. Home to check on Woof and take half an hour to check email. Then off again to my daughter's house to babysit.

After a couple hours playing with the baby, get my creaky knees off the floor and drive half an hour home again to make dinner. (Tuna noodle casserole with peas, and a simple tomato/onion salad.) Eat dinner with my Woof, who is exhausted because he has spent the afternoon NOT napping but paying bills, running the budget numbers, and inspecting the dog's fence with nocxavier. After dinner, clear the table, put away leftovers, do the dishes, make up a new gallon jug full of lemonade, start a load of laundry, sort and rinse a pound of beans and put them on to soak.

Sit to look at email, which includes a bizarre response to one of my Craigslist ads, a comment from an LJ troll trying to pick a fight, and an insane rant from an elderly aunt about how Obama is just like Hitler.

Some days are just like that. I got to start making my gratitude lists again!

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I have two general life-goals right now: to get a job, and to get in shape. Getting in shape is particularly hard because it OUGHT to be easy. But my knees hurt and my ankles hurt and some days walking more than a block is a challenge. I need to find some activity so interesting that I do it anyway, and not so demanding that I dread it.

I used to enjoy caving. Maybe a nice easy cave walk would be a fun thing to do; Fisher Cave is not too far from here, and I've never been there. Only $6 for the naturalist-led tour. It closes for the season in mid-October.

St. Louis area people, anyone want to go to the state park and Fisher Cave with me, in a week or two?

Caves are particularly on my mind because I had the strangest dream last night that finocchio -- who I know through Mensa and not nearly well enough -- was trapped in a cave. She had waded in while the stream was low and made camp on a nice, wide, dry ledge. But now it was raining and the stream was too high and fast for her to wade out again. Her husband bob_st_cul was worried and determined to go in after her. He was carrying two plastic pitchers to sweep the water out of his way. I and some other Mensa friends held him back. We were waiting for the scuba divers to arrive. In the meantime, finocchio was not worried at all. We could hear her, over the walkie-talkie, playing Chopin on a little battery-powered keyboard.

I woke up to hear rain falling outside, glissandoing on the gutters.

This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/24727.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

I completely rethought and re-did the Rosh HaShana meals. On Friday night we had a nice, rich chicken soup with onions and carrots and little noodles, accompanied by chewy crusty knot rolls. And that was enough, the rich golden soup for a rich, golden new year.

On Saturday I made a pot roast with onions and lumpy gravy (by request), boiled turnips, and an apple cake. I would have made broccoli and a salad, but we got side-tracked in the nicest way by an invitation to watch movies on the Wall O' Projection upstairs. nocxavier and tsita had rented two satisfying shoot-em-ups, Wolverine and Taken. We brought popcorn.

Then we brought the dinner upstairs, too. The turnips were cold, which was not so good. But they still made a good Rosh HaShana food: may all we do this year Turn Up well.

So, here's the line-up for the coming week. May we all merit a healthy, happy New Year, full of peace and prosperity!

Sunday: Leftover roast; mashed leftover turnips and potatoes; cucumber and tomato salad; leftover apple cake.
Monday: Magic Night returns with toasted raviolis, tomato dipping sauce, and home-made cookies.
Tuesday: Bring a salad to Rivendell?
Wednesday: Knit Night, graze or eat out.
Thursday: Pozole
Friday: Fish tacos, spanish rice.
Saturday: TBD -- leftovers, or clear out the fridge
Sunday: Erev Yom Kippur. Chicken soup with matza balls, big salad, pound cake.

OMG OMG I have 3 hours left to get ready for Rosh HaShana.

Woof is still sick but feeling well enough to want to go to the DMV now. He says he might as well sit waiting there for hours as sit at home. I grudgingly concede the point. I figure he'll be so worn out by the time he gets home, he may stay in bed and not try anything else this weekend, which would be a good thing.

I'm going with him, though.

I'm rethinking Rosh HaShana cooking and activities on the fly. We won't join my family for dinner tonight, or go to services with my Mom tonight. I'll swing by the supermarket and pick up some chicken, I think. I still really want to hear the shofar, and do tashlich sometime this weekend.

Happy New Year!

Last night I scared a cricket out of my bed when I got in it.

I don't mind crickets at all when they're outdoors. But I hate bugs in the house. And I freak out when they're in my bed.

All night, I kept startling awake, feeling phantom cricket feet on my skin.

When I did sleep, I had recurring nightmares of three-foot tall bugs dressed in human clothes. I remember that in one dream, the bugs were singing the Japanese national anthem. Only they weren't actually singing it, they were signing. Using their antennae instead of hands.

These words cannot adequately explain how creepy it was.

bbwoof is feeling somewhat better today. His color is better, and he felt like eating again.

The doctor told him to take it easy and basically to stay in bed for two weeks. This is almost impossible for a Woof to do.

He didn't want to get a plumber to fix a problem with the sink in the upstairs apartment -- he went and took the sink trap apart himself. This was amazing, because yesterday (pre-antibiotics) he was completely worn out just walking up a flight of stairs. It's not like he bounded up them this afternoon, and he needed to stop and rest for an hour before he put the sink trap back. But compared to what he felt like just 24 hours earlier, it was amazing. I heart azythromycin!

Anybody want to place bets on whether he'll stay home from work until the end of the month like he's supposed to? I've got a five that says no.

When I'm sick, I don't want my care limited by a faceless, uncaring insurance company. If it's going to be limited by anyone but me and my doctor, then, dammit, I want it to be done by a government panel. You know why? Because at least government officials are answerable to the electorate. Because I could vote those bastards out if need be. Because I cannot vote my insurance company executives out.

After a long sick weekend spent coughing and wheezing in bed, bbwoof went to the doctor today. He has pneumonia, and needs antibiotics.

But his insurance, the top quality, most expensive, most comprehensive plan offered by his employer, would not cover the entire 10-day course of azithromycin. After some phone calls back and forth between pharmacist and physician, we figured out a way to fake out the insurance co: he's getting just a 4-day course. With two refills.

Yes, the insurance company is willing to pay for 12 days' worth of pills for someone with pneumonia, as long as he's willing to leave the house two more times to come get more of them. Alternatively, they'd pay the full cost of hospitalization so he could get them via IV drip. Idiots.

Woof's medical treatment today has been as follows:

* chest sounds listened to (using the stethoscope, invented by a French physician).
* blood pressure measured (using principles and instruments developed by a Russian physician).
* blood oxygen levels monitored using a pulse oxymeter, invented by a Japanese researcher.
* a chest x-ray, using principles discovered by German, French, and Polish scientists.
* Ibuprofen, developed by the British pharmaceutical company Boots.
* Albuterol, developed by the British pharmaceutical company Allen & Hanburys.
* Azythromicin, developed by the Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva.

I am stuck in the bogs of The Second Sock right now, with one Monkey sock completed and one to go, also with one leg warmer completed and one to go, and one blue slipper completed and one to go.

And I need to pick up stitches along the side of the cap I knit for Eitan, to add the earflaps. Blergh. Don't wanna.

I've also cast on for a Baby Surprise Jacket for him, and for the shhhhh surprise sweater for a surprise recipient. I can't work up any enthusiasm for those, either, although I think the sweater bug will bite soon.

What I'm working on today is a lace scarf, using the pattern and cornsilk yarn I got in a Ravelry swap. I keep getting my lines mixed up, ripping back to where I'm sure I'm OK and repeating. But somehow it's holding my attention when nothing else will.

What I really REALLY want to knit on is the mystery gift for my daughter maiabee8. Not only will I learn two new techniques for it (turkish cast-on and applied I-cord), but it should be a fun finished product, too.

I have promised myself to finish at least one of the works-in-progress before I start anything new, though, so I'm pushing away at them all. I'm about halfway done with the second legwarmer, and have just 12 more inches to go on the scarf, I think!

OK, this is the LAST food post for a while. I promise. Conditionally. (Hey, something cute or newsworthy might happen with food in it, you never know.)

Woof isn't feeling well, so I'm going to revise this weekend's meals to be simpler and more tempting to an ill Woof's appetite:

Saturday: Reheated leftover palak dal on rice

Sunday: Fried cabbage with bacon and onions; baked potatoes with bacon and salsa for toppings.

Monday: Magic Night! Toasted raviolis with tomato dipping sauce; banana bread.

Tuesday: Salad

Wednesday: Graze on leftovers

Thursday: Mock Hamburger-Helper Skillet Dinner (using the leftover meatloaf from the freezer)

Friday: Rosh HaShana dinner at my sister Debbie's house. Bring dried fruit.

Saturday: Rosh HaShana dinner at home: Tongue with raisin sauce, if I can get a nice pickled tongue. Otherwise, pot roast. Also: potato kugel, carrot coins, broccoli, honey cake.

I was looking for something new to make with sweet potatoes, and came upon many variations of soup/enchiladas/burritos made with sweet potatoes and black beans. By combining features of several other recipes, I came up with this one. It's delicious, cheap, and very filling.

The black beans and orange sweet potatoes make these look perfect for Halloween!

Halloween Burritos
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 pinch cayenne (or to taste)
2 teaspoons ground mustard-seed (or you could use 4 teaspoons of prepared mustard)
4 cups (2 cans) black beans, cooked and drained
1 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
4 cups cooked sweet potato, peeled and cut in 1" chunks (I baked 3 pounds)
One dozen 10" flour tortillas
8 oz shredded Cheddar cheese
salsa and sour cream for accompaniments

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Saute the onion in the oil over medium heat until soft. Add the garlic, saute for a couple more minutes. Add the spices, saute for just one minute to get them to release their flavor. Now add the beans, and mash them all together with the onion and spices. Don't puree, just mash by hand with a potato masher or a wooden spoon -- you want some of them to still be whole. Add the sweet potato. Slowly stir in the water and the soy sauce, letting the sweet potato and beans meld into a slightly mashed, chunky whole. (If you're using prepared mustard instead of powdered, add that at this time, too.)

Divide the bean mixture between the tortillas, topping with shredded cheese, and fold up burrito-style. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Serve accompanied by salsa and sour cream. Careful, the filling will be Very Hot.

Yesterday I thought I'd make dal, to use up some lentils. That led to finding an Indian recipe to use the beautiful eggplants I'd picked up, too. And then we ended up with leftover corn after Labor Day, so I went looking for an Indian dish that would use that, too.

I combined two recipes for Bhutta Chaat -- "bhutta" is corn on the cob, and "chaat" is a generic term for any spicy snack (the word is related to "chutney"). I didn't have chaat masala or mango powder, but I did have black salt, which appears to be a key ingredient in chaat masala. I used powdered sumac for tartness. I don't know if it's an authentic taste, but it sure is good.

Woof liked it a lot, so I think this tart salad/relish will be made again:

Becky's Bhutta Chaat
5 ears corn on the cob, cooked
1 small onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 large mild chili pepper, diced (I used a pickled banana pepper)
4 sprigs cilantro, chopped (both leaves and stems)
2 sprigs mint, chopped (leaves only)
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon black salt (has a nice smokey flavor)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon powdered sumac
a good grinding of black pepper
a dash of powdered ginger

Note: I used leftover corn that had been steamed in the husk. You could boil or grill your corn instead. Or you could use frozen or canned sweetcorn kernels. Just throw in whatever you have.

In your mixing or serving bowl, whisk the lime juice, spices, and chopped herbs together.

Scrape the corn kernels off the cobs. Add the corn, diced pepper, onion, and tomato to the dressing. Mix thoroughly; chill until serving.

Eitan is not really a baby anymore, but a real, honest to goodness toddler. His personality is coming through loud and clear. He's just 14 months old, and the terrible twos are starting already. I'm sure I'll be tired of it in a few months, but for the moment it's so amusing!

There's a little music box on top of the TV cabinet that he loves, pointing up to it and demanding "La la! La la!" Yesterday his Mom and I sat on the floor beside him and let him hold the music box as it played. It wound down, and Eitan turned it over to try to wind it up again. I was worried he'd break it, so I took it as I said "Let Grandma wind it up for you". He glared at me angrily, then burst into tears, and refused to take the box back. It had been tainted by my touching it.

I closed the music box so it would stop playing, and handed it back to him. Eitan clutched it close to his chest, hunched his shoulders, pouted, and gave me such a dirty look! "Ee gra, graaaa, sh'gah. La la", he said, looking me in the eyes and nodding his head firmly. I'm pretty sure I was told to keep my grubby little hands OFF his music box, he could wind it himself thank-you-very-much.

( His vocabulary is really quite extensive. )
AND, he says "Hi" and "Bye", and waves appropriately. He's learning to blow kisses, too, which is adorable.

The angry glare is not so adorable, but I take comfort in thinking of it as precocious.... right?

Today I am watching Eitan, my 14-month-old grandson. When he remembered that his Mommy wasn't there and started to fuss, I introduced him to the joys of Youtube. We've been watching this video over and over, to his great delight:

We DID have enchiladas last week, and they were very good!

Didn't get to the chili, but that's OK, it will keep for later. Now's the time to use up the summer produce before it gets too cool to enjoy it. Here's what's cooking this week:

Sunday: Sandwiches, fruit, cookies.

Monday: Labor Day and Magic. Bratwurst, corn on the cob, chips and dip.

Tuesday: Bring Seven-layer salad to dinner at Rivendell.

Wednesday: Panzanella, hardboiled eggs.

Thursday: An Indian meal of Aloo Baingan (eggplant and potatoes), Palak dal (lentils and spinach), Bhutta chaat (corn salad), rice.

Friday: Sweet potato and black bean burritos, spanish rice.

Saturday: Fish tacos with shredded cabbage.

Sunday: BLTs, potato salad, cole slaw.

You know what's even more exhausting than responding to a series of potential emergencies?

Being constantly on-guard and observant, trying to prevent the potential emergencies.

We're watching a friend's 10-year-old boy this weekend. He's a fun, charming kid. He's also a walking tornado, and a prolific but very bad liar. It's pitifully easy to tell when he's lying, but he does it anyway. Arrrrgggghhhhhh!

Yesterday, after a series of other small lies and short time-outs, I discovered a broken china teacup, carefully hidden. Which he lied about, quite transparently.

I laid on the guilt about how it had been Woof's grandmother's, and the teacup did have sentimental value, but, damn it, it's just a Thing and not nearly as important as the Boy is. When he's an adult, the consequences of this sort of lying will be so much more severe.

So we imposed a rule that he could not leave my sight until he proves that he can be trusted.

The problem is that means I cannot leave his sight either. So I relented today. He'd been very good this morning. I let him go down to the TV room in the basement with the neighbor boy to watch a movie, while I worked on my resume on the borrowed computer upstairs.

Pretty soon I heard the sounds of rolling wheels on the concrete basement floor. The boy is absolutely not allowed on wheels until he gets the cast off his arm (he broke his wrist roller-skating a few weeks ago). He has been told this repeatedly this weekend, and gotten in trouble for it once before already.

But when I looked down the stairs, there he was, rolling past in his friend's skates.

And when I yelled at the kids to take the skates off and get upstairs this minute, the Boy started to say "We're just watching a movie" -- then looked up to see me watching him lie. Arrrrgggghhhhh!

Now he's sitting on the sofa where I can see him, asking me when he can get up, he's really sorry, what are we going to do today, will I play a game with him, he's really REALLY sorry, can he have a drink of milk, how much longer will I be on the computer, and when can he get up?

I have not answered him yet because I am sorely tempted to say "Never", and I'm not quite prepared to follow through.

I did get him a pile of books to read, though: a couple of collections of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons, a couple of Tintin's, children's versions of The Three Musketeers and Kidnapped and Morte de Arthur. Hurrumph. Where's the boring moral tract when you need one?

I thought I'd used up my day's supply of adrenalin by 8 AM this morning. I woke up to a bleeding child frantically saying, "Becky, Becky, I'm sorry, I'll pay for it out of my own money!"

See, we're watching reannon's Kiddo this weekend, and don't worry, he's OK. (It looked worse than it was.) He'd gotten up with the birds on a Sunday morning, and, rather than wake us, very nicely decided to fix himself his own breakfast.

Unfortunately, he decided that corn chips and salsa would be a good breakfast. More unfortunately, he decided he'd open the new jumbo bag of chips and large unopened jar of salsa that I had just bought and set aside for Labor Day. Even more unfortunately, he took them down to the TV room in the basement, where he promptly dropped the glass jar of salsa on the concrete floor. And then stepped on a salsa-covered shard of glass.

The blood trail was impressive!

Woof and I hastily dressed and attacked the problem. I calmed Kiddo and rinsed his foot until I could tell that there was no glass stuck in what turned out to be just a half-inch-long, shallow cut. I applied antibacterial ointment and a couple of bandaids, then cleaned the bathroom, bedroom, hallway and stairwell floors while Kiddo put his shoes and socks on. In the meantime, Woof got out the shop vac and cleaned up the salsa/glass/chips mess.

I checked the boy's foot one more time. The bleeding had stopped, the bandaid was staying in place. Hurray, no need to spend the weekend in the emergency room! But now it was time to call his Mom. I dreaded waking her up with news that her child was hurt on my watch.

reannon, however, is an experienced mother of a Boy. Her response to me was just a sleepy "Uh oh, what did he do?".

Kiddo is not allowed to fix his own breakfast at my house anymore until he's 26. And I think I'll just have one more shot of Bailey's before I go to bed....

Well, we had Cowboy Beans last night instead, so the enchiladas are once more rescheduled.... but someday, yes, deep in my heart I do believe, they will be cooked someday.

Cowboy Beans, by the way, is simply a dish of very gently spiced canned pork and beans, or canned baked beans, with browned ground beef, corn, tomatoes, and whatever other beans or rice you happen to have on hand. One of the best things about Cowboy Beans is that you get to play with your food by crumbling up saltine crackers into it. Kids generally like this dish -- all except those tricksy green beans I sneak in, under the pretext of "it's just a bean!"

Anyway, here's the plan for the week:

Sunday: I'm in the play this afternoon. This evening, enchiladas or bust!

Monday: Chicken nuggets for Magic Night.

Tuesday: Tossed salad for Rivendell dinner.

Wednesday: Knit night, Woof works late. Graze at home on leftovers, sandwiches, whatever.

Thursday: Chickpea and Sweet Potato Soup (use dried chickpeas, so start soaking them the night before)

Friday: Chicken on a bed of rice; broccoli; cake.

Saturday: Chili made with stew meat; spicy crackers.

My neighbor Chris has loaned me his laptop for most of this week, which I am using to apply like mad for jobs. He also passed on a lead for a programmer position with US Bank that would be entirely perfect -- Visual Basic work, my old favorite!

It turns out Kiddo isn't spending the night with us tonight after all, so I think I'll save the Cowboy Beans for Sunday and fix us a nice tuna mac casserole tonight. I ought to get started on that, really, since I'm leaving the house shortly and will be out for most of the day. (I'm meeting my daughter maiabee8 for lunch, then babysitting Eitan in the afternoon.)

OK, after the brief pause to strain the chicken broth that cooked overnight in the crockpot, and put a pot of water on to boil...

I'm very excited about participating in my first Ravelry Swap, the Swap-On-A-Budget. Each box was supposed to contain no more than $20 worth of yarn and other goodies. I ended up going way over budget on what I sent, but I couldn't pass up sending my swappee the Malabrigo sock yarn she wanted, and that alone was close to $20. Fortunately I had a great gift certificate to my LYS to buy it with; and then I spent the $20 on cute cow buttons for the hand-knit slippers I made for her, and a bunch of luxurious treats.

And then I received my swap box in the mail yesterday -- so much fun! Great yarn and patterns and little knitting aids, and a gorgeous hand-knitted bag; but the best things of all were the lucky penny that my swapper found face-up in the parking lot of her LYS while she was thinking of me, as well as the personalized notebook she made for me to keep track of my weekly menus!

I love knitting. The topology and math of pattern design appeals to my geeky side, the colors and textures of the yarn appeal to my creative side. The knitting community is full of good people. And it gives me something that is both useful and socially acceptable to do with my fidgety hands.

Well, back to applying for work. I need this job!

Just a reminder to St Louis people -- the play I'm in, Birth, is this coming Sunday!

Read the details of when and where at the website or ( read more about it here: )

Sunday: We've been eating out so much with Holly here, I'm stuffed and unable to consider the thought of food. We might graze later on some of the leftover restaurant food in the fridge. Or just drink weak tea, more likely.

Monday: Magic night! It's been a long time since I last made meatball sandwiches. There will be meatballs for Magic tonight!

Tuesday: Dinner at Rivendell. Bring a 7-Layer Salad.

Wednesday: Rehearsal for BIRTH. Late supper of soup and sandwiches.

Thursday: Chicken couscous (which we were going to have last week but did not, since we went out with Holly instead)

Friday: reannon's Kiddo spends the night. This means we'll have Cowboy Beans, and lots of them.

Saturday: Enchiladas. This time for sure.

Our friend Holly is in town visiting us this weekend. She's a lot of fun and a great guest. Also gave me a kicking reiki massage last night. We found ourselves stopping at cute little houses for sale in the area, gently hinting that she could move here....

Holly also has a MacBook, which I am using now. Next computer I buy just may be one of these. It has the best mouse-substitute I've ever used on a notebook; the keyboard is backlit so it's easy to use in the dark; and it's a nice sturdy platform.

Woof is teaching Holly how to play Magic. The new M10 rules really do make it easier for beginners, I can see that with how Holly is learning. I wish I were a better player, and more motivated to become a better player. It would be lovely to make $10k or so every once in a while at a tournament in an exotic location.

It would be lovely to make $10k or so every once in a while doing anything. The latest interview went well, I thought, but they are making an offer to someone else. (I secretly hope, here in my public blog post, that this other guy will turn them down so they will turn to me instead. I'm not too proud to be second pick.) Very frustrating.

I am happily knitting, though. I'm making about two dozen pairs of slippers for holiday gifts this year. I was worried that the legwarmers I knit for my daughter were too small, so after completing the first one I let the project hibernate until she could try it on. Fortunately she has thin calves -- it fits, so I'll get the second one done for her this week. I'm also loving the Monkey Socks I'm knitting, and there are two sweaters to work on too. I just can't get into the sweaters. I keep getting distracted by cute small projects. I can hardly wait to try out a great sock idea, but I'm trying hard to wait until I finish at least something before starting yet another project.

My birthday this year was very pleasant. Woof and I were taken out to dinner twice and to a movie once. (His birthday is just two weeks after mine.) I was taken out to lunch, given a bottle of sake, a handknit scarf, a book, two pounds of Merb's gourmet chocolates, a pedicure and a certificate for another future pedicure, a DVD, a sushi-making kit, a very generous gift certificate to my local yarn store, a promise of three hours work around the house, a skein of great sock yarn, and a very cute presentation of a skein of chunky red yarn and bamboo knitting needles in a large takeout cup with the label "Capp-ucino" (there was a cap pattern on the other side of the lable, too).

And I was also given, as a birthday present, three bags of sugarfree Russell Stover candies. Which are not to my taste. In fact, I find them kind of nasty. But. Everyone's tastes are different. I normally don't like re-gifting presents; I'll make an exception for these. So if anyone here likes sugarfree Russell Stover candies, let me know -- I have three bags with your name on them!

While at a friend's house, I get fifteen minutes to read email and post whatever I want. Yay.

And so, what do I post? My menus, of course. I am so pathetic....

Sunday: Roast chicken stuffed with lemons; giblet dressing; corn on the cob; green beans; fruit cocktail.

Monday: Magic Night! Serve pizzas.

Tuesday: Family dinner at my Mom's house. Bring potato salad.

Wednesday: Rehearsal night, eat light supper late. Sandwiches, green salad.

Thursday: Cajun pork and rice.

Friday: Holly in town! Couscous with chicken and vegetables.

Saturday: Holly still in town! Enchiladas (the ones I didn't make last Saturday); chocolate cake.