Love and eBay

When Ron and I first set up housekeeping together (back in 1987!!) we had to buy some necessary basics for the kitchen. One of the best things I bought was a set of 3 Pyrex bowls.


The blue one is perfect for mixing up cakes and frostings; the yellow and red ones are perfect for smaller tasks. The red one is also excellent for a "generous" portion of soup, chili, etc. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that I use at least one of them (sometimes two or all three) almost every day.

A few months ago, I was in bed and almost asleep when I heard a crash in the kitchen. I ran out, not even pausing to put on my glasses. The small red bowl was on the floor, broken into many, many pieces. With my blurred vision, I thought some of the small pieces of broken glass were drops of blood. Ron had been standing holding the bowl, eating something out of it when Brutus jumped up on him, startling him, and he dropped the bowl. I put on my glasses and we cleaned up the broken glass. Ron felt bad about breaking the bowl, but I wasn't upset; we'd had the bowl for more than 20 years and had gotten more than our money's worth.

I didn't think anything more about it, but a few weeks later, a package arrived via UPS. Ron said, "This package has to do with Brutus," but I had no idea what could be in the package, so I opened it. And found a red Pyrex bowl, an exact replacement for the bowl that broke (exact down to a few minor scratches on the inside). I couldn't believe it! He'd gone on eBay and searched for that red Pyrex bowl and found several! The one he got came from Canada.

I thought that was so sweet of him and kept telling him that, but he didn't think it was anything unusual. His point of view was that he broke something and he replaced it. "But that bowl was more than 20 years old!" I said. "It's not something you can just go get at WalMart." He still didn't (and doesn't) think he did anything special. But I disagree.

Birthday Recap

I had a great birthday. Of course it helped that the Saints won the Super Bowl, but even better was that I got to talk on the phone with my mom and several siblings -- even Oldest Brother, a.k.a. No Handle.

After the Super Bowl revelry, I got to set up and play with my present from Ron -- an All-in-One Printer/Copier/Scanner/Fax. It's so cool! We've had a fax machine for years, but it was a cheapie model, prone to frequent paper jams, so we used it infrequently. (In case you're wondering, our fax number is the same as our phone number, so if you want to send a fax, call first.)

It's a Lexmark 6675, pictured below.



We like Lexmark printers; they don't seem to be the ink hogs that other ink jet printers are.

It's even wireless and connected into our home network, so visitors with laptop computers will be able to print things more easily than they could before.

Wishing warm weather for all of you who are snowbound.

That Extra Syllable

OK, it's my birthday. I'm 47, but I'm having a hard time dealing with that number. For some reason, 47 seems much older than 46. I think maybe it's that extra syllable. Does that mean 48 will be easier?

Yeah, I know -- "age is just a number" and "you're as old as you want to be" and "you're as old as you feel." Most of the time I feel like I'm 27; of course sometimes I feel like I'm 97!

Regardless of the number, this is a very special birthday for me. Not only is it Super Bowl Sunday, but the New Orleans Saints will be playing in their very first Super Bowl. I've been a Saints fan for years because of Ron, but they've struggled for years. And the city of New Orleans has struggled in the years since Hurricane Katrina. When the Saints reached 8 and 0 this season, it was the first time they'd ever been 8 and 0. Then they kept winning. And winning. It really seemed possible they could make it to the Super Bowl. Now it just seems like Destiny that they win.

Here is a picture of the birthday cake Ron ordered from me from one of the local grocery stores.



He picked it up yesterday. Last night he kept asking me if I wanted to start celebrating my birthday early -- have the cake, open my present, etc. I declined, saying I wanted to wait for my birthday. He admitted he wanted to start eating the cake, but I knew that. It's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Carrot cake means it's healthy, right? The decoration in the middle -- the helmets against the Miami skyline -- is something called an edible decal. The cake looks even better in real life and I wish you could smell it; that cream cheese frosting smells so good!

Where's Global Warming When You Need It?

It's snowing as I write this. I'm copying the 7-day forecast so you can see that just because we're in the Desert Southwest, that doesn't mean it's always warm. We're in the High Mountain Desert Southwest, elevation 7,000 feet. (When I was a kid and made up cake mix and read the High Elevation Directions (just for fun), I never imagined that one day I would have to use them!)

I especially like Thursday's forecast of "Not as cold. Highs in the upper 20s."

Today...Mostly cloudy. Windy. Chance of snow showers in the morning...then snow showers likely in the afternoon. Snow accumulation 1 or 2 inches. Highs in the 20s to mid 30s. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph increasing to 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Gusts up to 40 mph.

Tonight...Windy...snow. Areas of blowing snow after midnight. Snow accumulation 2 to 4 inches. Lows 15 to 25. Southwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts to around 45 mph.

Tuesday...Mostly cloudy. Very windy. Snow in the morning...then chance of snow showers in the afternoon. Areas of blowing snow. Snow accumulation 1 to 3 inches...except 3 to 5 inches above 7500 feet. Total snow accumulation 4 to 8 inches...except as much as 6 to 12 inches above 7500 feet. Highs in the 20s to mid 30s. Southwest winds 25 to 35 mph. Gusts up to 55 mph.

Tuesday Night...Windy. Areas of blowing snow in the evening. Partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers. Much colder. Lows 5 below to 10 above zero. West winds 25 to 35 mph decreasing to 20 to 30 mph after midnight. Gusts up to 50 mph.

Wednesday...Breezy. Partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers. Highs in the lower 20s to mid 30s. West winds 15 to 25 mph decreasing to 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Gusts up to 35 mph.

Wednesday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows 5 below to 15 above zero.

Thursday...Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers. Not as cold. Highs in the upper 20s to lower 40s.

Thursday Night...Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers. Lows zero to 15.

Friday...Partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers. Not as cold. Highs in the lower 30s to mid 40s.

Friday Night...Partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers. Lows zero to 20.

Saturday...Partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers. Highs in the upper 30s to mid 40s.

Saturday Night...Partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers. Lows 5 to 20.

Sunday...Partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers. Highs in the 30s to upper 40s.

Veterans Day

OK, I guess I missed my Tuesday blogging deadline.

Yesterday was Veterans Day, so Ron and I went out to dinner to celebrate. We were celebrating the fact that Applebees was offering free dinner to veterans, so Ron could eat for free.

The parking lot was packed, but we didn't have to wait very long to be seated. We noticed a lot of veterans in the place. Either they had on a cap or sweatshirt that had some kind of military "stuff" on it or they had the telltale Special Menu on the table. For the veterans free meal, there was a limited menu with six choices of entrees, all very good. Ron chose the 3 Cheese Chicken Penne. He said it was very good, and the portion was so huge, he brought some of it home for lunch or dinner today. I'm not a veteran, so I was able to choose from the full menu and it was a very difficult choice; everything looked good. I ended up with the Babyback Ribs with the Sweet & Spicy BBQ sauce. I'm so glad I got them; they were sooooo delicious. They were so tender, the meat was falling off the bone and the sauce was perfect - more spicy than sweet. I let Ron have one rib, but I ate the rest and enjoyed every bite.

Earlier in the day, at lunchtime, Ron went to a Veterans Day ceremony in Taos Plaza. He said there were about 200 people there. Several survivors of the Bataan Death March live in Taos (and many more live in various areas of New Mexico).

If you haven't yet thanked the veterans you know, thank them. If you've already thanked them, thank them again. (Thanks, Jim)

Cat Tales

Natasha's beloved, beautiful cat died a few days ago after a long (but still too short) and happy life. Here is a picture of him in all his furry glory that she sent to me a few years ago.




I started thinking about the cats we have now and the cats that came before them. A new cat never replaces the previous cat, but it fills up part of the hole left when a cat dies.

I've noticed some interesting thing. Winston filled up part of the hole that Panther left in our lives and hearts when she died. Of course the two never met, but we always say that Winston has Pantherisms. He loves to sit or sleep on the back of any of the motorcycles in the garage, just as Panther did. He's very vocal, especially in the morning, when he wants his breakfast, just as Panther was. There is one huge difference; Winston loves the dogs and loves curling up with them. Panther hated the dogs and loved to torment them even when they hadn't done anything to her.

Then there's Princess, who filled up part of the hold that Shadow left when she died. She has Shadowisms. When Ron is reading in bed, Princess loves to get up on the bed and plop down on the magazine or book he's reading, just as Shadow did. None of the other cats have ever done that. Then there's the fried chicken; Shadow loved fried chicken, to the point where she would try to take the piece out of our hands while we were eating it! Princess loves fried chicken, too, although she isn't quite that rude. She just tries to take the piece off of the plate when we put it down. She's more "chirpy" than "yowly" in her meows.

Cats are so great! I'm so glad they share their lives with us; it would be so empty without them.

Crazy-Busy

Why have just one job when you can have three?

Back in late July I decided to get a part time job to bring in some more money. Together Ron and I made a list of places to go and apply for an evening or weekend job. I ended up being hired on the spot at the first place I went! It's a hotel, an "independently owned and operated" but part of a chain (the initials of the chain are BW; I'll just leave it at that). I inquired about a Night Clerk position and the woman said, "Night Auditor? Did you know we have an opening?" So I filled out the application and interviewed with the General Manager and he hired me on the spot.

I only work two nights a week - Friday and Saturday nights, but the hours are 11:00 pm to 7:00 am. That way since it's the weekend, I can go home and sleep for a few hours. The other Night Auditor trained me for a few nights and I only worked 11 to 2 or 3, which is all the time the actual audit takes. It's just filling out several forms, noting how much money we took in for rooms, the restaurant, and the bar and it what forms - cash, check, credit cards (which ones), etc. Once I learned which numbers go where, it's pretty easy, unless someone on the day shift has messed things up. Once I'm done with the audit, I read, write, get on the Internet (I take my netbook computer and there's a wireless signal available), or talk with the Security Guard. He's either in the lobby or out on the grounds doing his rounds. When he's not in the lobby we both have walkie-talkies to communicate and after 11:00 the lobby doors are locked, whether he's there or not, so it's all perfectly safe.

I'm getting great material for my writing from working here. The staff alone are such bizarre characters that no one would believe it. Most of the bizarre ones have been fired and the recent hires are normal. Of course one of the recently-fired guys was re-hired (over the years he's been working there, he's been fired 4 times and re-hired 5 times; fifth time's a charm, right?)

About 2 weeks after I started that job, my hours at my regular job, at the construction company, were cut from 40 to 30, so that put me back at square one as far as extra money goes! It wasn't the economy; business is pretty good, but my boss, the Office Manager, likes to be in control and would rather do everything herself (and complain about all the work she has to do) instead of letting me do more. She also said that I was "too good" at what I do, and "too fast", so I would end up sitting at my desk not "looking busy" and the Big Boss didn't like that.

So in my next therapy session (I go about once a month) I talked about that with Dr. M and she talked about all the work she has to do and I said, "You should hire me" half kidding and half serious. We talked about it and she agreed that I would be the perfect person to help her fill out insurance claim forms and schedule appointments. She said she'd never hired anyone to help her, but she knew I'm detail-oriented and I know to keep everything confidential and all that.

So Monday through Friday I work my "regular" job from 8-2 (straight through, no lunch break), then I go home for a quick bite to eat and work for Dr. M from 3-5. On Fridays I take a nap before I go to my hotel job from 11-7, but on the other evenings I'm home. And I have most of Saturday and all of Sunday at home.

The schedule sounds horrendous, but it really isn't that bad. All three jobs are pretty easy and very low-stress, compared to the vet job. And I'm definitely getting good material for my writing from the hotel job.

I also have a part-time editing gig. One of Ron's sisters is writing her memoirs and I'm helping her with that; I'm editing what she writes and I'm going to arrange for it to be printed. That's also interesting work.

So if you don't hear from me very often, or you hear me say it's crazy-busy here, now you know what I mean.