Monday Quick Stuff

Froggy sent me some information about January, I thought I'd share it.

To start with, January is National Oatmeal Month. This is one I could not be less excited about. I dislike oatmeal. Extremely! I eat it nearly every morning for breakfast because it's good for me. But I don't like it. Usually, I put assorted dried fruit and cinnamon in it. Sometimes I stir peanut butter into it and sometimes I add honey. This morning was a peanut butter & honey day. But it's still wallpaper paste! Tomorrow will be more oatmeal, I'll decide on my mix-ins when it's on the table staring me in the face.

January 18: On this day in 1882, A. A. Milne was born. He created Winnie the Pooh, the bear who loves honey. Which means that he's a very smart bear, although Winnie the Pooh is described as being not-so-smart. Who cares, he's Pooh Bear and he's special! One of Otter's favorite stuffed toys from her childhood is a Winnie the Pooh, which she got with a gift card from her Uncle Toadly. It's going to be one of the special ones that get passed down to her kids.

January 19: National Popcorn Day. This one is a good one! I love popcorn. I have to be careful because of the fat content, but it's still good. When I do make it, which isn't often, I use canola oil and make it on the stove. Otter got some flavored microwave popcorn from her grandparents for Christmas and we've had some of it. It's very good. One was carmel flavored - Otter sprinkled garlic powder on it and it was surprisingly good.

Otter had the day off from school today, so she went to work with me. We splurged and had Mexican food for lunch. Then we went to visit Miss Dorothy after work and she looked better than I've seen her in nearly a year. She's a little on the frail side, but she is 92 after all. But she looks wonderful and Otter especially enjoyed getting to see her today. Otter considers Miss Dorothy and her husband (my 93 year old boss) to be her great-grandparents and they return the affection. After the visit, we went to Border's Book Store. Otter didn't quite buy her weight in books, but she did try. She combined a sale special, a $5.00 reward card and a 30% off coupon today. She's a smart shopper, that's for sure.

Bill was off today, too. He spent the day at home working on a pachinko machine. He's nearly through with this particular machine. He's still got several waiting in the garage.

The dogsters spent today outside, where they probaby slept most of the day. Bill didn't want them inside today since he was dealing with a lot of very small parts and Maggie will catch things that fall before they hit the ground. Then she eats them. So they went outside. But since it was in the low 60's and sunny today, I don't feel a bit sorry for them.