Sunday Guacamole (& Books!)

Well, to start with I have a bruise that has developed over my right eyebrow. It's not bad, but it's there. It's actually not as big as I thought it might be. I just don't like it! It's not nearly as sore, and only when I bump it. I've been putting peroxide on the cut places and they are a lot better as well.

Today is February 28. The last day of the month. 17 years since our move from TEXAS to Oklahoma. I've addressed this in previous posts, so I'm not going to repeat all the changes that have happened in the last 17 years but there have been quite a few of them. Mostly, losing both Mom and Dad. Those are the biggest changes. But not all the changes have been bad. There have been a lot of good ones along the way. And there are still more coming, life is about change. And a big one is going to happen on the 31st of March.

This is from 2/28/08:

"I've posted before about the trip, how hard it was and a lot of memories. so I'm not going to get into that much, but I can never, ever see a UHaul truck without remembering ours and how it had trouble in Dallas. I also can't pass a truck stop without remembering how fortunate we were that the trouble was discovered when we stopped for gas at a truck stop, and how nice everyone there was to us. The other big thing that we remember from the trip itself was Otter's reaction. She hadn't seen her daddy in about 2 months, as he'd already come to OK to look for a job. She was so excited and so happy to see him again, she spent most of the trip reaching over the side of her car seat to pat his arm and smile at him. When we got to OK, we went straight to Bill's dad's house since it was about 3:00 a.m. or thereabouts and we wouldn't be able to get the key to our apartment. We parked the truck in the driveway, then we went straight to the guest room and collapsed. And here we are 15 years later, in the same house! Only this time we aren't visiting."

And now, 2/28/10, it's 17 years later. And the guest room is now Otter's room.

I'm cleaning house and cleaning out today. I started with the back of the house - our room - and have cleaned it top to bottom. I haven't hit the bathroom yet, other than dusting & cleaning baseboards. But the bedroom itself is done. My cleaning out includes deciding to donate the big lamp with the moonstone glass. It's not Fenton, so I'm not going to miss it! My original plan was to try and find another one like it so I would have a matching pair, on either side of the bed. But I've never seen another one like it and it's really just too big anyway. So I put it in the donate pile, which will probably go to Salvation Army sometime this week - when the pile gets a little bigger. I had another lamp with a milk glass base, hurricane style, and it very well could be Fenton. But, even if it's not Fenton, it's a good size and I like it. I moved it to my side of the bed, if I don't ever find another one, it will still look good by itself because it is so much smaller and won't overwhelm the rest of the room decor.

This is going to be an all day post. I'm taking a break now, to go read the paper and then get back to cleaning. I'm not sure if it would be considered Spring Cleaning or not, since Spring isn't for a few more weeks. I do this type of cleaning every few months, drives Otter & the dogs & Bill nuts but they cope. Bill's smart enough to make himself scarce so I don't put him to work! He's playing with power tools in the garage, so I'm keeping one ear open for him. Just in case.

---------------------------------

OK, breaktime is over! Well, my break included vacuuming the entire house & dusting the living room. Plus motivating Otter to unload & reload the dishwasher (2nd time today, I've already unloaded it from last night and run it again), change her bedding and deal with her (2nd in 3 days) nosebleed. And I also crocheted 2 1/2 rows on my wrap/scarf.

Here's the book list:

1. Popular Mechanics Outdoor & Garden Projects. Rock walls, walks, etc. A few good ideas but probably not anything we really want to do.

2. Texas Public Gardens by Elvin McDonald. Love the author's first name. Interesting pictures. Got a few flower ideas.

3. Batman

4. Batman

5. False Impressions, the Hunt for Big-Time Art Fakes by Thomas Hoving. Interest, but a little dry and not the easiest read. I've read other things this author has written, his style is not that good but I learned a lot.

6. Silent Partner, a Memoir of My Marriage by Dina Matos McGreevey. He was the governer, New Jersy I think, who came out of the closet and basically destroyed his political career - along with his family, which was obviously not important to him (his family I mean). Strong woman, she has had a great deal with handle. And he is pretty dispicable. By his own admission, he only married her and had a baby with her for his image and political career. I would think that about him even if he weren't on the other side of the aisle politically from me.

7. The Zombie Survival Guide, Recorded Attacks by Max Brooks. This is a cartoon type book, a companion to the great book Otter and I read a while back. This one was really fun.

8. Batman

9. Get Hooked, Simple Steps to Crochet Cool Stuff by Kim Werker. Didn't find much of interest.

10. Blizzard by Jim Murphy. This was about a blizzard in New York City, in the late 1800's but I don't remember the exact year. It was very good.

11. It Itches, a Stash of Knitting Cartoons by Franklin Habit. Froggy, you have to read this one! It applies to crochet as well as knitting. Really funny cartoons.

12. Twist & Twine, 18 Ideas for Rag Rugs and Home Decor. I had been thinking of making a rag rug, but I realized that I have absolutely no place to put one. But the book was very interesting.

13. Knitting Loves Crochet by Candi Jenson. This was was about how to embellish knitted garments with crochet. OK.

14. Batman

15. Batman

16. Lion Brand Yarn Just Hats. Didn't find anything I liked. Both crochet and knitting patterns.

17. Lion Brand Yarn Just Bags. See comments on # 16.

18. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picout. I read this one because Froggy & KN#3 really wanted me to give this author another try. OK, I tried. And I still am not impressed! This one was probably the best of her work I've read, but it was extremely predictible and she's just not that good of an author. I might still read more by her, but she's not at the top of my list. But I did try!

19. Star Trek - the most recent movie in novel form. It was ok, but that's about all it was.

20. Have You Seen My country Lately? America's Wake Up Call by Jerry Doyle. This one was very good. I strongly recommend it. Jerry Doyle was an actor, he was on the series Babylon 5 which was very good. He made a serious mistake which cost him his career - he ran for office. In California. As a Republican. Which was a death sentence for any more work for him. So he became a talk-show host for a conservative network and I wish we could get his show in our area. I think I'm going to buy this one.

21. How to Slice an Onion - Cooking Basics and Beyond by Bunny Crumpacker. Love the pen name! This one was a decent cook book, but I"m not sure if I'll actually use anything I learned in it. Although I do like one thing - she doesn't always measure when she cooks and it still turns out great! Bill wasn't amused when I told him that. I don't think he believed me.

22. Star Trek Encyclopedia, a Reference Guide to the Future by Michael Okuda. This was a looooooong book, and most of it I already knew. Otter checked it out actually.

23. The Art of Avatar, James Cameron's Epic Adventure by Lisa Fitzpatrick. I really have zero desire to see the movie, but the artwork is good.

24. Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, You Have to Do it. Life Lessons from a Wise Old Dog to a Young Boy by John O'Hurley. A few months back, I mentioned how sometimes the large number of words in a title is a way to disguise a badly written book. This is a prime example of that fact.

25. A Walk Down the Aisle, Notes on a Modern Wedding by Kate Cohen. This one sounded good, it's a semi-biographical work about a couple's experience when they got married. It's a waste of time.

26. Creative Homeowners Texas Home Landscaping (Includes Oklahoma) by Greg Grant and Roger Holmes. Didn't learn much that I could use. But it was interesting. (Seems like I keep using the word interesting).

27. Crochet Gifts, Irrestible Projects to Make and Give by Kim Werker. I think I will resist this one, it was ok but really nothing new.

28. Felted Crochet Bags - Pillows - Bowls - Hats - Throws by Jane Davis. Felting is something that works with wool yarn, which I can't use. But the patterns were good and I enjoyed this book.

29. 1-2-3 Skein Crochet edited by Judy Crow. Some good patterns.

30. 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About WWII by Frank E Vandiver. I actually got this book at the library for Bill and he enjoyed it. I read it but quite a bit of it was information we already knew. But it is still one I'd recommend.

31. Batman

32. How to Eat Like a Republican by Susanne Grayson Townsend. This is the 2nd cookbook I read that didn't always require measuring. Good recipes, too.

33. Knit 2 by Kate Jacobs. I know I said I wasn't going to read anymore of the Friday Night Knitting Club. But Froggy really likes this series, so I decided to at least give it another try. It was a struggle, but I did manage to finish it. I do mean struggle, by the way. I don't know if there is another book in this series yet or not, but I think I'll skip it if there is. Froggy, I tried!

34. Batman

35. Batman

36. Batman (Remember, Otter and I are trying very hard to read all the Batman books out there. We are getting there. Slowly, there are a LOT of them).

------------------

Later again. I have now cleaned out the dining room windows, which were very dusty and filled with cobwebs. I also replaced all my table decor, dusted the china cabinet (outside) and the corner plant stand in the dining room. And we've finished laundry. I also vacuumed everywhere except for Otter's room (she did that one) and the living room because Bill's still got pachinko pieces everywhere in there.

Frasier is grooming Maggie at the moment. She's purring. Beagle is strange, and so is BigDog! They were very funny earlier, when we were making lunch. There is a reason that Maggie's middle name is Intheway. The got lettuce and cheese bites, but they would have preferred the buffalo burger patties and the hamburger buns I'm sure.

I also found a bunch of stuff to file, I nearly forgot about that. And while I was at it, I found several floppy discs which had pictures of the rent house after we evicted our first tenant (for non-payment) and the mess she left. It was filthy, to say the least. I saved the pictures on my hard drive, I'll keep them for a while but I don't think we'll need them again. It's been over 5 years now.

OK, this is long enough. I'm going to surf the 'net for a while and then probably go crochet some more.

One more month until Otter's 18!