Under the Rainbow

Teresa and I are enjoying a lovely weekend at Susan's farm in Valley Falls. When I say "lovely," I mean it's been beautiful in a variety of ways - not the least of which was this stunning rainbow late Saturday - just an added bonus.




We got here Friday night in time to relax a bit before bed. Susan, our hostess with the mostest, made a Paula Deen extravaganza of a French Bread casserole. We did help - Teresa cut the bread, I zested the orange - but basically Susan did the work.








It was baked this morning and turned out perfectly wonderful.




Susan served it on this beautiful china I've fallen in love with. I have a thing lately about orange. This is Czechoslavakian china, which Susan collects.




This afternoon I worked on one of my "bits and pieces" books that hold the ephemera of my life, and Teresa made a collage.

After she was done with the collage, we tried to psycho-analyze her based on it. She's such a good sport.

I also worked on some recipe things. I brought my collage stuff but didn't get any of that done. The days just go too quickly. We took just a few minutes to run to Valley Falls to check the antique stores. I bought an old button jar with some very cool buttons. I have a project in mind for them - look for more details here soon - but that's all I got.

Susan, bless her heart, has just taken such good care of us in so many ways. She always makes you feel so welcome at her home, and dotes on you. It would be so easy to get spoiled.

This afternoon she *really* outdid herself by fixing us a lovely tea. It was just wonderful. When she said we were having tea, I thought she meant we were having tea and cookies, but she did a whole spread.




This is Susan, who after the wonderful breakfast, and an amazing soup for lunch, and then this incredible tea, went on to fix a great vegetarian lasagne for dinner tonight.

Needless to say, we're stuffed!

This afternoon while we were working on projects, Teresa noticed the rainbow.

Oddly enough, just a couple of days ago, Teresa had called to tell me that there was a stunning rainbow visible in Hutchinson. Unfortunately, I didn't get the call until after dark so I missed it. But, I thought at the time that I love having friends who will call me about a great rainbow. Those are the kind of friends I want to have - who know that a gorgeous rainbow is important enough for a phone call.

Tomorrow we go to the tea in Hiawatha. We're going to pick up my friend, Cynthia, in Horton, and then we're all going to lunch at a place near Hiawatha. Then late in the afternoon we'll have tea there.

I'm so blessed to have such great friends who are so generous.

1001 Posts

Well, this is 1001 posts on this blog. Amazing. There are earlier posts at my live journal site. Who knew I had this much to write about? Not me. If there's anything worthy here is another matter. I'll just leave that up to conjecture.

Creative Sisterhood and More

Last night was Creative Sisterhood and it was a really good night. Julie didn't come but did stop by afterwards.

Her daughter and two granddaughters were in a car accident the day before and she was helping out. Fortunately, everyone is OK although her daughter hurt her neck and back. Hopefully it's not a long term problem. The cause of the accident? The other driver was text messaging while driving and ran a stop sign.

We didn't know that when we were having Creative Sisterhood, of course.

It was a really good night. My topic was the cookbook donation, which is a big deal for me. It's odd to be giving away something that has been a huge part of my life for so long. I've always thought about what to do with them when I die, but I'm a long way from dying. But, it's still time to send them to a new home. I need to make room in my life for new things.

In the spirit of such things, I made a new cake last night from a recipe I got out of one of the cookbooks I'm giving away. It's an orange cake. I made seven minute frosting to go on it and it was a big hit. I made five thin cake layers instead of three thick ones - more frosting opportunity that way.



I also got out a variety of cups and saucers. Generally we use mugs, and they do have the virtue of keeping the tea hotter, but it's nice to use china sometimes, too.



Almost everyone knew about the cookbooks because they read it here. Frankly, sometimes I think this blog is part of the reason I sometimes feel distanced from people in my real life - they don't talk to me, they just read the blog. It's flattering and yet troubling at the same time.

I sometimes discover that someone I never would have guessed from my past is reading along, but never emails or phones or mentions it. It's odd. I guess they want to remain incognito, maybe thinking I would be negative toward them. In reality, I have no ill will toward anyone in my past - old friends, lovers, coworkers, bosses, etc. - I would welcome contact from any of them.

I have chosen to live with nothing but positive feelings toward everyone I've crossed paths with. Admittedly, that takes some effort sometimes if you feel someone has really harmed you physically or emotionally. And it always takes a while to move past the hurt when it has been a serious love relationship, but it happens with time. Blissfully, I'm at that place now - a peaceful place - where there's no more hurt to move past with anyone.

I'm often criticized that people can't just "choose" such feelings and I expect too much of people - I heard that just today as a matter of fact. In reality, I'm just talking about my own life, not anyone else's. I have made a choice - and it is a choice - to be positive toward everyone I've had any connection with in this life, even if it was a seemingly negative experience or ending. I'm a pragmatist. There is no benefit to harboring ill feelings toward anyone. The only person who will suffer will be me. So, I choose not to do that. Others can do as they wish, but that is my choice.

One of my life lessons has been the realization that we all do what we gotta do to get by out in the big, bad, world. People are hurt, wounded, insecure, worried, troubled, fill in the negative adjective of your choice. We all make decisions we think weren't the wisest in retrospect, but are the only options we see at the time. We all do things we wouldn't want our best friend to know about. We all make mistakes - sometimes very big mistakes - most of us are just lucky enough to not suffer horrendously for them. We all stumble around, doing the best we can with what's before us, and I've learned that you often don't know what is before other people.

As I am fond of saying, "if you weren't there, you don't know what really happened." You don't know the pressures, the implications or the demands that are made behind closed office doors or bedroom doors or even front doors. Whenever you hear someone's recounting of a situation, it's edited - if only by omission of some facts - sometimes a lot of facts. I've been the victim of such things and I've been the perpetrator of such things - so there you go. No one is perfect. Everyone is doing the best they can do at the time.

One of my life lessons has been to let it go, let it be and let it lie.

How to Decaffeniate Tea Yourself - Easily

I cannot have caffeine, so have learned to decaf tea on my own. Whenever I mention this, people are curious about how to do it. So, I thought I'd share. It's quite easy.

Just brew your tea as normal, but leave it in only 30 seconds. Pour off that water, then pour hot water over your tea and brew as normal. Almost all the caffeine is now down the drain with the first brew that you've thrown out. It's as decaf as the commercially available "decaf" tea.

Bear in mind that you are getting minute amounts of caffeine even in what is labeled "decaf" in the store, and the same is true for what you decaf at home.

In a restaurant you can always ask for another cup and just brew the caffeine away in one cup then but the tea into a fresh cup to brew what you're going to drink. Of course, in tea places they will know, and in some places - like the tea house at the Portland Chinese Garden - they will do it for you. But, if you want to be sure you can always do it yourself.

Tea this weekend

This weekend I get to go to tea again, and I'm looking so forward to it. If you've read here for awhile you may remember my post from this time last year with the photos from the tea I went to. It's that tea that I'm going to this weekend.

Teresa is going this year, too. Susan has invited us to stay with her at her farm and Cynthia will be joining us for tea. It will be so good to see her again.

I am a huge fan of having tea. It's one of the few times people actually sit, have conversation, and just relax. Rarely a day goes by that I don't have some tea, even if it's just me. I love to use a real teapot and a nice china cup, although I do have some favorite mugs, too. (Scroll down a few entries to see my latest teacup find.)

There is a silent auction and table viewing an hour before tea started. Last year the tables were extraordinary. They're done by different people locally, each with its own theme. Businesses sponsored them and there was a wide variety of designs. I'm sure this year is going to be really neat once again. Here are some pix from last year.

I've had one of those "in constant motion" days but have accomplished a long list of things. I even have everything ready for my board meeting tomorrow. I had to work into the evening to make that happen, but it was worth it. I am going to give myself the luxury of not getting up in the morning until I just wake up. Of course, I will probably wake up early, as I usually do, but I love the idea of it nonetheless.

I was reading the other day that in the near future experts say that we will all work in a way that allows us to seamlessly blend our home and work lives together. I've always wanted to do that and in the last five years I've been able to. I get so much more done for both places than when I have this time for work and this time for personal, etc. My brain just doesn't work effectively that way.

Apparently, neither does anyone else's brain. For those who do jobs they don't have to think about away from work, it's fine to set aside a certain eight hour period for work. But for those of us who need to spend a lot of time creating our jobs, we need the flexibility to blend home and work together.

I'm not sure why it is such a big deal for some companies. Of course, some of the most successful companies have been doing this for years. In the future, those who don't will probably be gone, so it won't be an issue. Naturally, some jobs will never lend themselves to that. Someone has to be on the air at radio stations all the time. Stores have to be open so people know when they can go. We want emergency rooms to be staffed 'round the clock. But for many jobs, it doesn't matter when the tasks get accomplished, as long as they happen on time.



I am starting to feel as though my house is really coming together. Last night I cleaned off the shelf in the kitchen, adding this bottle I found in a box of things from my mom's house. I have no idea what it once held. It's an Anchor Hocking jar and it had a dried cork in the top. I thought it would be perfect for holding a daffodil.

I've started collecting these little vases with the delicate flowers in the last couple of years. I really must find another one because I like odd numbers of things.  I love to put a tiny flower in each one. I don't have much blooming yet, but some grape hyacinths, regular hyacinths, pinks and daffodils, along with some greenery, were enough to give a bright spot in the kitchen.

I love having fresh flowers in the house - even if it's just one stem. I keep trying to grow enough flowers that I can have continual big bunches inside but I'm not sure how many that takes. I don't have anywhere near enough for it yet, though.

Last fall I planted a ton of lily of the valley. It's too early for them yet but I'm so hoping they come up this year. Lily of the Valley is one of my most favorite flowers. One year we were in Paris on May 1 where it's customary to give Lily of the Valley to friends for May Day. Everywhere we went there would be vases of them - on hotel counters, in restaurants, on people's lapels. I fell in love with the custom.

I relayed this story over tea to my friends Pat and Sondra when I got back. The next year, on May 1, Sondra showed up at my door with a bunch of Lily of the Valley from her yard. I was so touched. I've wanted to plant some ever since. Finally last year I got around to it. I hope they "took" and that they pop their little heads up this year.

On another topic - sorry, my brain is in high gear and I need to wear it out a bit so I can sleep soon - as I was going through cookbooks the other night I ran across one that features recipes of Puerto Rico. I flipped through it and spotted a recipe for tostones, which I loved when I was there in the summer of 2005. Tostones are made with plantains, something I developed a real taste for in Honduras.

I remember being in Santiago, Guatemala, and there were these huge piles of plantains, fresh picked, at a stand. They were being bought and cooked in a restaurant a few doors down the hill. Needless to say, the ones I buy at Wal-Mart are not nearly as good as those were, but I do like to buy them occasionally.

I cook them, just sliced, in some butter with a little cinnamon sugar sprinkled on. In fact, I cooked some earlier this week. I was thinking about doing a "food porn" post when I took the pic, but that hasn't happened yet and probably won't. I held on to that cookbook so maybe I'll make some tostones soon. We'll see how complex they are to make.

In the US we have gotten so far removed from food. Ironic considering how much is grown here, but we buy it at the grocery store, after it has been through many hands, instead of just getting it more directly from the source. One of the things I love about travelling in the developing world is how incredibly good the fruit and vegetables are.

When I was coming back from Egypt I had two oranges in my backpack. I had met this man in the Cairo airport who I'd just hit it off with and we ended up sitting together on the plane, talking for much of the 11 hour flight. At one point I peeled an orange and offered him some. He said, "Oh, gosh, I can't take that - they're so good - you should eat it." I laughed and said, "I've got two - I'll share." He got the joke - that I might not have shared if I'd only had one. These oranges, picked off the trees right there, were amazing - big, sweet, juicy. We were both lamenting the fact that we couldn't share them with loved ones here but, of course, any fruit is confiscated when you come back into the US in case it has some sort of bug on it. In fact, they even burn the trash from international flights to avoid such things.

I'm not sure why we can't have "real" food in the US. I'm thankful I can buy fruit year 'round and such, but I would like to have food fresh from the ground on occasion. I was thinking about this tonight when I was buying bagged spinach, boxed pine nuts, and a portabello mushroom in a styrofoam tray so I can make more of my favorite salad. It has been my standard dinner lately. I'm thankful I can have that in March, when spinach isn't growing in Kansas. But it would be nice if I could just buy it fresh when it is in season here. But, I doubt I'll be able to. That seems screwed up.

I go to the farmer's market, but even then some of that isn't being grown by those people - it's being grown elsewhere and brought in to sell. Of course, some of it is local and it's pretty easy to tell which here. I'm looking forward to that.

I will also plant some basic things myself. I noticed a couple of days ago that my parsley and oregano are coming up. I hope the lavendar comes back too. We'll see. I want to make sure I get some basil and tomatoes in. I put in two basil plants last year and that was a lot of basil but I think I'll put in three this year. I discovered it's something very easy to give away, and I do like to make pesto.

It will also be good to have mint tea. I noticed the mint is coming up in the front. It may be "invasive" to some, but it's just "hardy" to me.

Beautiful Day, So I Hear

It was a beautiful day, so I hear. Well, OK, so weatherbug said. I have been inside all day - haven't even peeked my head out the door. I've spent the day boxing cookbooks, doing computer work and working in the kitchen. Why is it that I seem to spend a huge amount of time doing things in my house and yet my house isn't done?

Five years ago during March Madness I was moving into my house and it was even less done then. I remember because my boyfriend at the time was a big sports fan and we were timing trips back to the apartment where the TV was so he could catch the end of games. I was just thankful to sit down for a little bit - and very, very thankful for his help. He did a tremendous amount of work in moving me into this house. Pity he's not around now to haul boxes of cookbooks down the stairs.

I watched the UK/KU game today and my beloved Wildcats did not win. I wasn't really expecting them to - they've not had the best season - but an upset would have been nice. I haven't really kept close track since graduating lo those many years ago, but Mary Ann is a huge fan so since I've been in Kentucky more I'm more up to date these days. Kentucky Wildcat fans are not really used to not having great seasons. As the announcers kept pointing out today they're one of the four most winning teams of all time. Yes, we know. Unfortunately, today was not one of those days to help their averages.

I have another five boxes of cookbooks ready to go. Something I realized today is that I own a lot of Italian cookbooks. I knew I loved Italian food, but apparently it's a love more intense than I realized. I made spaghetti for lunch - not that I'm susceptible to suggestion at all. Of course, I didn't use any of the numerous Italian cookbooks. I think that sums up why I need fewer of them.

The last couple of hours I've been working on an MHA project that I want to complete tomorrow. It is shaping up to be a busy week, with a nice mix of fun and work.

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Thrifting

I spent part of the day hitting antique and thrift stores. At the Et Cetera shop I picked up the sweetest little mugs with orange flowers on them. I have this "thing" about orange lately.

Orange is associated with the chakra that controls creativity and I think I'm not getting enough creative time. Maybe that's why I love it so much lately. All I know is that I'm attracted to pretty much everything orange these days. I'm going to stop myself from painting a wall orange, although I am using some copper in the library.

After picking up these cups downtown I headed out to Goodwill, hoping I could lay my hands on a few more of them so I'd have enough for Creative Sisterhood. Unfortunately, they didn't have any. They're very common, I know I've seen them around before. So, I'm sure I'll be able to lay my hands on some.

My other big purchase of the day was a crochet pattern book at the Et Cetera shop. It was published in 1981 but is full of patterns from older things. I am in love with one of the doilies in there, but I'd say the likelihood of me ever making it is very, very, very slim. But, I love to look at the patterns. And who knows, maybe I'll meet someone who just loves to crochet and wants to make such a thing.

I'm really feeling the need for some serious "newness" in my life these days. It seems my life is turning into a series of days that are more alike than not. Of course, I find joy in the daily bits of life, too, but I am a person who needs some continual "newness."

My usual way to get that is to travel. When you're in a place with which you're not familiar you're instantly getting newness. I think it's also a case of you being more open to new things when you're in that environment.

Unfortunately, I seem to find it difficult to get that feeling of newness in the US anymore. I keep trying, but every town seems to be the same - Starbucks on one corner, Walgreens on the other, Walmart on the edge of town, not too far from Target, Applebees nearby. Pop by the Office Max/Depot and stop by McDonald's. It's as if there's a formula for how towns are supposed to look and everyone is falling into line. I long for something different, something distinct, something unique.

The one thing I can get that sense about in the US is nature. I just got the information about the artist's retreat I went on last year and I desperately want to do that again - spend a week in a cabin in the woods. It was an amazing experience for me - not exactly life-changing - but pretty darned close to it. It's in mid-May this year, which is about the same time it was last year. I loved that experience, even though I didn't have running water, which still amuses my family that I could manage. I have a reputation - I think somewhat undeserved - of being "prissy." (Maybe I shouldn't post this when you can scroll down a few posts and see a photo of my painted toes and a toe ring.)

It's the weekend and part of me just wants to take off tomorrow and do something different, but I'm not even sure that that would be. And another part of me knows I should work on my house. I'm so ready for my house to be DONE. I'm getting close but I just run out of energy to stay focused on it.

I've been boxing up cookbooks and it has been fun to be reminded of some of them. I have three boxes full and another stack pulled ready to be boxed up. Once I go through them this first time I'm going to take those to the university and get them out of the house. I think that will inspire me to work on the books more. Now that they'll all be out on the shelves in the library, I'll be able to get an instant sense of wether or not I'm using them. So, when I go through them again it will be easier to pull things again. It has been so long since I've seen some of these books that they seem new again. I have to live with them a bit to see if they belong with me awhile longer or not.

I'm also feeling the need for some more friends in my life. Teresa and Greg are about the only people I know who will do things spur of the moment. I love that about both of them, but when they're both gone - as they were a few days ago - I can feel that lack in my life.

Numerous friendships in my life seem to be requiring a tremendous amount of effort from me to keep them going lately. I'm tired of it so I'm quitting. I need to put that energy into finding new friends instead of trying to maintain these friendships that are obviously waning, for whatever reason. Nothing has changed on my end, but when people don't return your phone calls, or answer emails, or try to get together for lunch or something else for months, they are telling you that they are no longer interested in a friendship. To not listen is foolish. It's a complete waste of time to continue to put energy into those relationships, so I need to move on. It's always sad, but one must keep a dose of reality, even in emotional matters.

4:14 a.m.

I am up at 4:14 - less than three hours since I went to sleep. Admittedly, I'm often up very early without having much sleep, but this was not intentional. I'm up because someone is irresponsible and their dogs were barking outside my bedroom window. At 4:14 a.m. My second story bedroom window.

I am not a dog hater. Quite the opposite, there are dogs I adore. You may remember seeing pictures of Petie on this very blog. I could quickly become a dog-owner hater, though. I never understand why people think others want to listen to their dogs yap. If I really wanted a big dose of dog barking in my life, I'd get a freaking dog.

Guess how much dog barking I want? Zero. I find absolutely nothing charming about it. Nothing. I can't figure out what others like about it. Of course, they don't really like it, or their dogs would be with them instead of barking outside my bedroom window. At 4:14 a.m. My second story bedroom window.

My next door neighbors have one of those little dogs that barks constantly, but I never hear it. They're responsible dog owners. Maybe twice a year I hear the dog when they're going in or out of the house, and I don't mind. I can't relate to the dog - whenever I see it it's just yapping; at me, at them, at cars going by, at a leaf on the ground, at the open air. I can't imagine what joy anyone gets from such a creature but I suppose they do and more power to them as long as I don't have to share in it.

Unfortunately, my neighbors from somewhere across the street don't keep their dogs so well controlled, because they were barking outside my bedroom window. At 4:14 a.m.

When I went outside to see what was going on they took off across the street, so I'm guessing that's where they belong. Did I mention it was 27 degrees with a windchill of 19 when I was outside, in the dark, dealing with someone else's dogs barking outside my bedroom window? At 4:14 a.m.

It was a gorgeous day today, which I got to see very little of. I have a grant due tomorrow so I have been working on it all day. I did go outside and pick a few daffodils to bring inside. That's my favorite thing about warmer weather is having fresh flowers. I grow them so I can bring them inside and no matter how many I grow it's never enough.

The shelf over the kitchen sink is a favorite spot to put a flower. And daffodils are the perfect color accent.

As of yet I have no tulips coming up. I hope they do show up. I considered it an "investment" year before last when I planted all those. Last night at Altrusa someone told me their tulips weren't up yet either so that made me feel a little better.

Teresa and I went to Roy's for lunch and afterwards I went and delivered some signs for Trish's campaign. April 3 is election day so it's right around the corner. I hope Trish wins in her bid for city council. She will do a great job, I know.

I've been thinking a lot today about house things. I packed another box of cookbooks last night before I went to bed. Suddenly I find myself sentimental for things I haven't looked at in a decade. I think I will have to photocopy some of the inscriptions people have written to me before I pass the books on.

I ran across one from Dave Case, this guy I interviewed a bunch of times when I worked in radio. He was a fish and wildlife person and I really liked him. He was always friendly and pleasant. He wrote a cookbook with a coauthor about cooking with game and gave me a copy. I hadn't thought about it in years but there it was, just for the picking up. A nice little memory. But I can preserve the memory without holding onto the book. So, that's what I'm going to do.

Spring has Arrived

Spring has arrived, if not on the calendar, by temperature at least. It was in the mid 70s here today, which means it was the first day I could wear sandals, and sport one of my recent toe ring purchases. I picked this up in Seattle - at least I think so - maybe it was Florida - maybe it was somewhere else. I don't know - but I bought it somewhere in the last year and fortunately I still like it.

After work today I decided to get started on packing cookbooks. I went through just one shelf in the living room and have a full box ready to go to K-State. Most of the books in the living room are not cookbooks, but other things. However, there are plenty of cookbooks there I want to donate as well. I haven't even gone upstairs and looked at those since I've known that they want the collection.

It will be a big relief to send the books on, as well as a little sad. Cookbooks have been a big part of my life for more than 20 years. And they still will be, but I just have too many to take care of well. And I'm not really using them and neither is anyone else right now.

On this first go 'round I'm going to donate the ones I'm absolutely certain I want to give away. Then, when I don't miss any of those after a while, I'll be ready to let go of a bunch more. I just know that's how I work.

That was one of the things I learned when working with my life coach, Sheri Gaynor. I was talking with her about an issue and said, "I just have to have time to live with it for awhile, to get used to the idea." Although I say that all the time about various things, it wasn't until Sheri pointed it out that I realized that's how I process things and it's important that I have the chance to do it the way I'm comfortable. I have to have time to get used to it, to live with it, to shrug into it - whatever "it" is.

My cookbooks have a new home.

Kansas State University will be the repository for my collection. KSU has an extraordinary collection already, so this will be only a small addition to it, but it feels "right" that it go to them.

Many of the books I have are Kansas-specific ones from all the years I've reviewed books for Kansas Country Living. It makes sense that they remain in Kansas. Cookbooks, particularly community and church ones, not only offer recipes but they put people in a certain place at a certain time. One of the things I've always loved about cookbooks is that they capture the essence of an era and a place. Food is so central to our lives.

Putting the library together upstairs has really pointed out to me that my collection is simply too large for me to care for properly. I no longer use the books for recipes often and I'm just keeping them in storage, and not doing that well. It will be best for them to be somewhere where they will be taken care of and used.

I emailed four different universities/libraries and K-State got back with me right away. The guy I contacted wrote and said he would have the person who handles their cookbook collection email, who did right away. I called him today and we had a nice chat - he's a UK alum, too. K-State is interested and will pass on whatever they cannot use to another library. I like that idea so, ding ding ding, we have a winner.

I just took the books out of boxes to put them on shelves. Now I'm going to go through and repack some of them back into the same boxes and give them to the library. I'm glad I didn't throw the boxes out, or even bring them downstairs.

Needless to say, I have much work to do.

Saturday night Sondra had me over for dinner. She fixed burgers and potato salad. It was very yummy - apparently it's the Hellman's mayo recipe. I recommend it.

Before I went over I worked on the library. I decided since I was home unexpectedly this weekend that I'd get a head start on it. Good thing because I've worked on it all day today too and it's still not done. Perhaps my assertion to do it in one weekend was a bit hasty. Fortunately, I set the deadline for next weekend so I still have some time to work on it. But, I have something every night this week so I won't have much time to be in there.

I had planned to go to Andrea's again tonight for a "meet and greet" for Trish in her run for city council. But, I was so occupied in the library that when I came down to wash the paint off and get ready it was already underway. I guess I hadn't really adjusted to the time change yet.

Today was a bit of a personal archeaological dig. In unpacking boxes, there were not only boxes of books but also personal papers. I ran across a journal from 1988 - hard to believe that's almost 20 years ago. Some of the players in my life are the same and some are long gone. Some I don't even recognize anymore. Of course, when I was writing, I couldn't imagine those people not being regular players in in my life. But 19 years later their names don't even ring a bell - not even a faint one.

I rarely read old journals - pretty much only occasions like this, where I run across one. For some reason it makes me sad. I'm not sure why, but it does. It's not that I'm reading about sad things, but nonetheless it makes me sad. So, I don't do it. Today was no exception. Looking back with the perspective of time, of course,  we can see all kinds of options we didn't see at the time. But, things just are as they are. Oddly enough, I could distinctly remember writing some of those entries. I could put myself back at that place, which is pretty amazing after all this time.

I promised more pix from Andrea's birthday party Friday night and haven't gotten around to it until now. This will also be good for readers who want more photos of more people I talk about. So... without further ado... here we go...

Starting with the birthday girl herself...

Kris and John came over from Wichita with their friend, Carol. I'd not met her before, so that was fun. I like her. And, hey, she loves Christmas so you know she's my kind of people.

Speaking of Christmas... Kris and I have decided whenever we're together we need another photo of us in what is becoming our pose. We took a similar one at the Christmas party.p>

We had to educate the guys about being at a "girl party" as Andrea put it - that you pass things around and sniff, stroke or whatever is appropriate. Fortunately, I had given Andrea some Bath and Body stuff, perfect for the sniffing. John and Brad were both good sports about it. Dan had already made his escape before the sniffing started. Martha demonstrated...

Debbie and Diana were there with their hubbies, Dan and Brad.

That's Dan here with Martha and Carol. Dan is married to Debbie, on the left in the photo above.

Debbie owns the yarn shop where Andrea works parttime and where she gets her regular fix of yarn. Andrea showed us her latest project, a sweater for her almost one year old nephew, Sam, who's celebrating a birthday very soon. I think it's OK to show the photo because I don't think Sam is a regular reader of this blog so it's not a spoiler.

That's Teresa and Brad in the photo below...

Happy Birthday, Andrea!

I was suspicious...

I have suspected for some time, and today have confirmed, that I own too many cookbooks. Some of them must go to live somewhere else. Many of them. Hundreds of them.

I have been collecting cookbooks for many years. I bought them when I travelled and I have the ones I've reviewed over the past dozen plus years. Some of them I love and some of them I have barely looked at since they've been in my possession. None of them are really used for recipes anymore. When I want a recipe I go online.

So, it is time for many of these cookbooks to find a new home. I think I'd like to just give about 75% of the collection to a library that could use them, with the remaining ones going there after I die. The trick now is to see if there's a library that would be interested in them.

I wasn't looking for another project right now, but I guess I need to devote some energy to this. I want to move them on to their new home soon.

Sudoku Brain Power

Have you started working sudoku? I was resisting. And I was doing a good job of it. Until I was in Kentucky in October and Mary Ann had a little book - just lying there on the counter - all innocent looking.

Well, I started working them and discovered I'm not very good at it. For most people, this would make them stop. I, instead, came home and found a place online to work them for free. Now I've purchased a book - damn the Target $1 section.

The online place gives you an option of seeing how you're doing compared to others. I suck even more than I knew. Once it told me that 98% of people do them better. Hopefully I've gotten a little better.

Obviously, this uses some part of my brain that isn't fully functioning. I'm trying to stimulate it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. And, yes, I'm only working the "easy" ones. Don't laugh.

I started my day at 4 a.m. in Topeka. It's now midnight and I'm back in Hutchinson.
This morning was our annual legislative breakfast for Compeer. The various programs in the state convene at the capitol and provide donuts and cinnamon rolls for anyone in the capitol who wants to stop by. We talk about Compeer, which is a mentoring program for adults and children recovering from a mental illness.


It gives us a chance to visit with everyone and tell them a bit about the program.


This morning was especially fun - I ran into Jeff King from dialogue, and visited with him briefly. I also saw Mark Treaster for a few minutes. I was hoping I'd run into Jan Pauls, but I didn't see her.

I was flattered that Tom Hawk remembered my "This I Believe" piece from Kansas Dialogue last year. He asked if it was available anywhere, which prompted me to locate it online tonight and send it to him.

All in all it was a successful morning. I rather enjoy the process. I liked doing it for the MHA last year in DC, too, although I was pretty much just listening and learning. I found out this past week that I'll probably get to go to that conference again this year, so that will be a cool.

When I talk about enjoying visiting legislators the looks people give me are very similar to the ones I get when I mention that I like public speaking. Sometimes I think this may not be the "norm."
But I think of it as just an information exchange - there's no way people, even legislators, can know all the details about everything. And Compeer is a fabulous program so it's good to be able to tell its story and demonstrate that taxpayers are getting something significant for the money devoted to this program. Although it's not a huge amount of money for the state, it's huge for these programs. We couldn't provide the service without that funding.

The friendship that people develop in a Compeer match has a dramatic impact on the lives of the people involved. That friendship is often cited as a reason people are able to develop more social skills, or go back to work or school. People with a Compeer friend are much less likely to be hospitalized, which is a huge money saver. It's a good program, so it's easy for me to speak positively about it.

I guess that's the deal for me. If it's something I can be completely positive about while being totally honest it's very easy to promote it. I just can't be in a position where I have to fudge the truth or make things look better than they are. Fortunately, it's easy to be positive about Compeer.

I got back to Hutchinson tonight in time to go to Andrea's loft for a birthday gathering. I had thought I wouldn't be back, but really wanted to go. I'll have more photos to share, but - of course - we need a photo of the birthday girl - opening presents, naturally!

Decision

I have made an important decision. It's not one of the typical, potentially life-altering decisions you might think, but it's an important one in my little corner of the world. And I'm stating it publicly right now. Next weekend - March 17/18 - I am going to finish the library. I have been talking about it and putzing around with it for so long I'm boring myself whenever I think about it, much less talk about it. So, next weekend I'm just going to finish it and be done with it.

I'm not sure what the deal is but I've developed some sort of weird mental block about this room. I thought it was getting the shelves put together so I hired Austin to do that, but I still didn't get in there and finish the room. I have some "issue" with it - maybe that I'm not sure I really want to keep all the cookbooks I'm creating a room to hold. Whatever it is, next weekend I'm putting it to the side and getting my ass in gear and getting the room done. I have eight more days to nurture my weirdness about it and then it will be time for action and I'm going to accomplish it.

I've decided it's going to be a lovely way to spend a weekend. And by Sunday night I will be feeling very proud of myself and enjoying my lovely room, with shelves full of books lining the walls, my rocking chair in place, and all will be right with the world. Or at least in that one room.

This bedroom-soon-to-be-library appears to be little more than a junk room at the moment. That is a terrible, terrible thing to let happen. It takes a long time to undo it and that's where I find myself. So, I'm going to dig in and do it and be done with it. I want to move on to other projects and this is my only free weekend for the next couple of months.

I'll do some before, during and after photos. Goodness knows I should be embarrassed to even show what the room looks like. But, as we all know, you'll be able to find the photos here on the world wide web. It will be like one of those organizing shows "before" photos.

When I was in Kentucky at Christmas I discovered that my nephew, Bobby, shares my distaste of those organizing shows. Throwing away my things is not organizing them. If you are an "organizer" you're supposed to come in and ORGANIZE my things - not just throw them away. If I only had 5% of the things I own I wouldn't need your help to organize them - I could do it myself.

And if you think I'm going to be arguing with someone over whether or not I get to keep something I value, you've lost your freaking mind. If I went to the trouble to make the money to buy it, went and purchased it, carried it home and hauled it upstairs, I want it. And if you're my organizer you're supposed to show me the efficient way to have/house/store/display/enjoy said item - not toss it out.

On another home front, I've also been thinking about trying my hand at reupholstering. I have a chair upstairs that I bought specifically with the idea of experiementing on it. I think the time has come to give it a whirl. If I screw it up I'll just toss it all out and consider it a lesson learned. I've got some fabric, a staple gun and a sewing machine - what else could I need? OK, so some knowledge and experience would be good, but both of those have to be gained. Nothing like just jumping into a project to get some of both.

My mother reupholstered furniture, and although she never had a lesson and only did it for family, hers looked as good as what I've seen the "professionals" do. I understand the hardest part is the cushions so I just decided maybe I'd hire those done if I ran into problems. It looks to me like it involves a lot of stretching and stapling.We'll see how confident I feel once I have something in pieces. I could be singing a completely different tune then.