The Very Recent Past

Last Wednesday I thought someone had left their Meals on Wheels route sheet there in the church, but the guy was using the phone. Then I left MY route sheet. I didn't have anyone new, but not having my route sheet made my brain freeze and I drove by my first stop 3 times. I felt pretty stupid.

On Thursday (our snow day) I made lasagne for the first time in years. I remembered why, work-wise and mess-wise, but it was REALLY GOOD. I froze two more dinners worth and we've already had one. Also, this time I bought one of those foil disposable baking things so I had the exact shape and size I wanted and then just tossed it. I just may make lasagne again next year!

On Saturday, our anniversary, I had a WONDERFUL day. I made a lot of progress stripping wallpaper - I did two hours. (Yes the same wallpaper I started stripping in June. I quit for the summer because it was too hot.) I tried on a pair of jeans I had previously tried on when jeans season started. They were too tight then but on Saturday they slipped right on. That was very satisfying. We had a great dinner at our little Italian place. Just into the main course, the pianist played the song we were married to - ON HER OWN. We just looked at each other kinda shocked. After the song I went over to give her a nice tip and told her it was our anniversary and thanked her. The song is "Christmastime is here." We're both suckers for Vince Guaraldi. On the way home we stopped by a new bar near our house and our very first song, "I only want to be with you" by Hootie and the Blowfish came on. That was REALLY weird. It was a great day.

On Sunday I turned the TV to the music channel that plays traditional Christmas music. My Sweetie was in here on the computer and I needed a nap. I thought that would be great nap music. Not only was it an excellent choice for nap music, but I discovered an artist that I am now a HUGE fan of. Oddly enough she was singing "Christmastime is here." I opened my eyes to read the name of the artist and it was Dianne Reeves. I feel like an absolute idiot for not knowing about her. Now I want all of her CD's. Her voice is like silk or butter or silk butter or something. I ran in here and told MS to google her. We found that site and sat there and sampled song after song. If I ever get that question again about being stranded on a deserted island and you can take only one CD, it will be one of hers. I hope My Sweetie ordered one for me for Christmas.

On Monday afternoon, I was cleaning the kitchen when the doorbell rang. I was in gray sweats, a giant gray Duke T-shirt, hadn't brushed my hair, my teeth, or even looked in a mirror when the doorbell rang. I thought, "Who is this clown?" I figured I would say something quick to get rid of him until he introduced himself and I realized he was the guy from Empire Today THAT I HAD MADE AN APPOINTMENT WITH AND TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT. Man was I embarrassed! And my living room was a mess! He was very gracious and said it was quite common for people to forget the Monday appointments. A bit later he asked what I did for a living. I squeaked out "I'm a housewife," as my eyes darted nervously around the room. I finally relaxed and had fun picking out a tile for my bathroom. As part of the deal (to save some money) I told him I would pull out the carpet. Yeah the bathroom was half tile and half carpet, don't ask. So around midnight I was in there getting all those nail strips out and trying not to lose an eye. Also I had to get EVERYTHING out of the room because of the dust from the old tile removal. That was a fun night. Oh another thing happened on Monday. Around 7:30 pm or so I went out to the garage to smoke. Since it's been so chilly and I got tired of leaves sticking to my socks, I've been smoking by the side door in the garage instead of on the patio. The door faces east. I was watching the almost full moon rise and it was that pretty effect of seeing a full(ish) moon rise through oak branches with that wispy haze of clouds on top. Suddenly my brain went into alert mode and I realized a face was looking right at me. There on a tree branch, about 12 or 14 feet away was a young possum looking right at me. He was only about a foot above my eye level. I wish I had grabbed the camera. Instead I grabbed My Sweetie to come and see it. He wasn't our regular possum that we call Bob. Bob is a lot fatter and uglier. I named this one Fred. He was almost cute for a possum. So now every night when I go out there to smoke I look for Fred.

On Tuesday I had to get up at 7:30. I usually get up around noon or later. The flooring guys got here at 8:20. It was 3 guys that I'm guessing were Vietnamese but I was pretending they were from Myanmar because it's a funny word (although My Sweetie said it was a terrible country). I did 3 hours of wallpaper stripping that morning. They were working in the one bathroom and I was working in the other. Around 2:00 I was SO sleepy. The last thing I wanted to do was go to sleep with three strange men in my house, so I couldn't even sit down. I just kept pacing around and going into the garage to smoke. Finally around 3:00 they were completely finished. My new floor is GORGEOUS!! I had them lay the tile on the diagonal and it really makes a difference. Also they finshed it off with bullnose tile around the wall, so now I don't have crack nasty baseboards anymore. Woo and Hoo! Now I need new faucets, knobs and pulls. I can replace faucets myself. I did the one in the bar sink already. Maybe that's what I can get My Sweetie for Christmas: New faucets. And knobs. And pulls. Oh my!!

Meals on Wheels was pretty uneventful today, but I am really starting to fall in love with one of my new ladies. The day before Thanksgiving I had to also give out the "Holiday Meals," because MOW doesn't deliver on Thanksgiving. When I gave it to her she said, "Tomorrow's Thanksgiving? I didn't even know that." Last week when I delivered the "Inclement Weather Meal," I said, "This is in case of bad weather and we can't deliver. It is a shelf stable meal and can be kept in your pantry." She said, "So I need to put it in the deep freeze?" She's very friendly and always smiling. She has a staircase leading up from her entryway and she has a funky hat on the left side of each step. I think that's cute. I stopped by Garden Ridge to pick up a few Christmas things. I bought a very inexpensive tablecloth that I'm going to convert into a tree skirt. When? Great question. Well, tomorrow is another day.