Was it really just half a day?

Two down, one to go! Well, for this week anyway, lol.

I've spent two mornings with Little Bit this week and we have one more to go. She's always been really good when just she and I are there but she decided to try me this week. And she's done it in spades. So far, I've held firm but who knows what Friday will bring!

It would be much easier just to give in but it would not be fair to her Mom and Dad if I let her do things I know she isn't supposed to do. They have to contend with her much more than I do and I don't want to make it more difficult for them than it already is.

So far I've tried to pick my battles. I let her get by with locking the dogs in her parents' bedroom (didn't know where the key was) but did insist she wear underwear.

I suppose I will spend tomorrow "girding my loins" for Friday's battle.

"Nice day for a walk in the park...This world is a warm, sunny park."

What a gorgeous day! Cool temps, wind blowing, ideal for walking or just standing outside letting the breeze blow over your face.

For me, it's wonderful not to have to walk before it's barely light to avoid the heat. You get to see a different dynamic: new faces, different pets, others' reactions to the change in the weather.

I find it intriguing that some greet even a slight variation in temperatures with long sleeves, sweatshirts, sweaters, jackets with and without hoods, and other apparel associated with cold weather while others celebrate with shorts, tank tops, some even shirtless.

People really are the greatest show on earth!

Sunny Monday

Another Monday but this one is beautiful. No rain (thank goodness!) and a touch of fall in the air.

I'm back at TS's home, staying with Little Bit. Her other grandmother is in New England for a few days so I will have her all three mornings this week. And I will be back on Sunday for her third birthday. They should be tired of me by then!

She's still tired from going to the fair yesterday and woke up in a less than stellar mood. She's been up for over an hour and hasn't said a word yet. As long as she isn't crying or fussing, I can live with that.

I'm in my procrastinating mode yet again and definitely not motivated to write much here or for the paper. I have one column written ahead so I might just goof off for the rest of the week except for looking at some apartments of course.

I hope everyone has a great week.

Journal installment #12

A beautiful flower bed lends color to one of the public areas in Frinton.










Pricey beach huts line the shore at Frinton-on-the-Sea in northeastern Essex.

Excerpts from an English Journal,
Part 12

Saturday, March 21: It was such a glorious first day of spring that we decided to drive up to Frinton-on-the-Sea (the North Sea). Frinton was made up of a church, several farms and a handful of cottages until its original developer was bought out in the 1890s and the new one changed courses. It was frequented by members of high society in the early part of the twentieth century but became a playground for more average people in the middle to latter part. Today, Frinton beach is a quiet, noncommercial seaside resort with beautiful golden sandy beaches and seemingly never-ending rows of beach huts.

The huts must number in the hundreds there. Rows of them line the upper reaches of the shore as far as you can see in both directions. They’re just small one-room structures owners use during the spring and summer to store their beach paraphernalia or just to get out of the sun a bit. Considering they have no heating, plumbing or normal comforts, the price is astounding. They range from £20,000 upwards of £50,000 or £60,000, depending on their location. And that does not include the land!

No dogs are allowed on the beach from May to September and no ice cream or other food kiosks are permitted around the beach area, therefore no litter. All this helps to make it a clean, safe family-friendly environment for a quiet day at the shore.

It was quite pleasant to walk along a clean beach even though the water is still too cold even for wading. A couple of hardy souls ventured into the edge but didn’t stay long. There’s lots of groundsel blooming and despite its wicked thorns, the deep yellow color makes the area even more attractive. The tide was out and we picked up several seashells for me to bring Katie and Kiersten. (Just hope I can just get them through customs.)

After a lengthy walk along the beach, we strolled into the village and had something to eat at The Chocolate Shop. Richard had hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and a slice of fruitcake while I settled for a cup of tea and a caramel cupcake. I also bought some Marzipan mice and other treats to take back to the girls.

We stopped in at The Old Parish Church of St Mary, the smallest complete church in England. Parts of the nave are of Norman origin and the first rector was appointed in 1199 A.D. It still has active services and is open to the public daily for meditation and prayer. Not only is it an interesting old church and cemetery with a cremation garden, it’s also the oldest surviving building in Frinton. We lingered a while but needed to get back to Chelmsford as we’re expected at Kevan’s for dinner tonight. He’s cooking and I’m looking forward to that.

Late evening: Kevan lives in an old Victorian style home just a short drive away. Technically, it would be classified as a duplex in the U.S. but it’s larger than many of the average homes here. He’s made a lot of improvements but kept much of its authenticity and retained the beauty of the original structure.

He turned out to be a very good cook, a bit fancier than I expected from a single guy. He served a wonderful Chicken Tagine over couscous with raisins for the main dish, some good wine and a high quality vanilla ice cream for dessert. Neither Kevan nor Justine knew the other was serving chicken with couscous but that was fine. They were two totally different meals and both excellent, just different types and two of the best ones I’ve had so far. I’ve had some wonderful food since I’ve been here but I’d be hard pressed to give any one dish an edge since each was prepared in its own distinct style, making them nearly impossible to compare.

A tajine or tagine is a type of dish found in Moroccan cuisines and is named after the special pot in which it is cooked. Tajine pots consists of two parts: a flat, circular base with low sides, and a large cone or dome-shaped cover that rests inside the base during cooking. The cover is designed to promote the return of all condensation to the bottom. The base can be taken to the table for serving after the dome cover is removed.

The traditional tajine pot is formed entirely of heavy clay, which is sometimes painted or glazed, but European manufacturers have created tajines with heavy cast iron bottoms that can be used on at high heat on a stovetop to allow meat and vegetables to be browned before cooking. While a Dutch oven and Sač (a cast iron pot with a tight cover) braises most efficiently in the oven, the tajine is braises best on the stovetop.

This recipe is similar to the one we had and is well worth the trouble to prepare, especially if it tastes like the one Kev made for us. I’d have asked for the recipe but he didn’t seem to be using one. He was casually tossing in tomatoes, onions, a few carrot strips, almonds, coriander, cumin, black pepper and who knows what else, all while chatting with his father and me. But everything came together extremely well. It was absolutely fantastic and by far the savoriest dish I’ve ever tasted without being hot. It had just enough spice without being overwhelming. I have no idea how he accomplished that but I wish I did.

**********

Chicken Tagine

2 chicken bouillon cubes or 1-3/4 cups chicken broth

1/4 pound moist, plump dried apricots

6 T. olive oil

1-3/4 pounds bite-sized chicken pieces

4 medium onions, peeled, trimmed and coarsely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled, trimmed and finely chopped

One 14-1/2-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained or 4 medium tomatoes peeled and crushed

1 T. coriander seeds, cracked

2 pinches saffron

1/2 t. finely grated fresh ginger

1/2 t. ground cumin

1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2-1 t. chile powder

Appr. 1/4 c. chopped cilantro leaves

1/2 c. almonds, lightly crushed, toasting optional

Salt and freshly ground pepper
Couscous or rice, for serving

Center a rack in the oven and turn oven to 325º F to preheat.
Drop bouillon cubes into a medium-size bowl, pour over 1-3/4 cups of boiling water over them and stir to dissolve. (If using chicken broth, let come to a boil.) Add apricots to hot liquid and let them soak and plump up while you prepare the rest of the tagine.

Put the base of a tagine, a heavy, high-sided skillet or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and pour in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Pat chicken pieces dry between sheets of paper towels and drop them into the hot oil. Work in batches if necessary but do not crowd the pan. (Use more oil if necessary). Brown chicken on all sides and lift out of the pot with a slotted spoon and lay on a plate or platter. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Pour excess oil out the pan, but leave whatever bits may have stuck to the base.

Return the pan to the stove, reduce heat to low and add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil. When oil is warm, stir in onions and garlic and cook and stir about 5 minutes or until they just start to soften. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and continue to cooking for another 10 minutes, stirring often and adding a little more oil if needed. Add bouillon/broth coriander, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of the chopped cilantro leaves and saffron to the pot. (Crush the saffron between your fingers as you sprinkle it into the pot.) Stir to mix and dissolve the spices, season with salt and pepper and spoon chicken over the base of vegetables. Remove plumped apricots from liquid and spread over the top. Seal with aluminum foil and cover with the lid. Slide tagine into the oven and bake for 60 minutes. Carefully lift the lid and foil and scatter almonds over the meat. Replace cover and allow tagine to bake for 15 minutes more.

Remove from oven and serve while still hot. If you've cooked it in a tagine, sprinkle remaining cilantro over the meat, bring tagine to the table and serve directly from the pan. If you used a skillet or Dutch oven, transfer dish to large warm serving platter and dust with cilantro. You can serve the tagine but either couscous cooked without spices in chicken broth or water or plain rice allows you to enjoy the tasty savory sauce along with the chicken.

Like most braised dishes, this one keeps well. It can be made a day or two ahead. Cool, cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. If you make the dish ahead omit almonds until time to reheat it for serving. Also wait until then to add the final dusting of cilantro. Yields 4 servings.
NOTE: You can use boneless lamb pieces, cut into one-inch cubes in this dish too.

Country Vanilla Ice Cream

3 pasteurized eggs
1-3/4 c. sugar
3 c. whole milk
3 c. heavy whipping cream
1—2 T. vanilla extract
1/4 t. salt

Beat eggs in large bowl until foamy. Gradually beat in sugar, beating until thickened. Add milk, cream, vanilla, and salt. Mix thoroughly, chill, and churn freeze. Scald churn before pouring ice cream mixture into it. This ice cream freezes soft and tastes a lot like Breyers vanilla ice cream.

"And the rain descended, and the floods came..."

If this keeps up, the floods will definitely start up again. So many have lost so much and I hope they don't lose any more.

Looking around at what has happened weather-wise over the past several days has left most of us shaking our heads in disbelief and if like me, they have not been greatly affected, they probably find that quite humbling.

Not to make light of any part of this by no means, but if the weather doesn't level out enough for me to at least look at some apartments, poor TS and her DH may be evicted from their basement to make room for me! Can't apartment search in a boat!

In the country...

I've decided that it really doesn't matter if you leave in late afternoon or early evening, there's always going to be traffic jams on I-20 east. Or it seems to be that way every time I come out here to Thirtysomething's home in midweek. I thought it might be easier than leaving the ATL at 6 a.m. in the morning but maybe not.

Having Little Bit running excitedly towards me with her arms open wide and hugging me tightly for a long time is definitely worth it though. She and big sister are always excited to see me and that definitely boosts my ego.

I will stay with her in the morning while Mom works and head back home after lunch. Hopefully, going against traffic on the way in will make it a little easier on the return drive. I shouldn't complain though. It really wasn't that bad and looking at what so many people here have gone through these past several days and what they are facing, it seems pretty small overall.

I'm probably going to bed soon. That Jack and Diet Coke that I had at lunch is making me a little tired. Maybe it will help me sleep!

What was that big yellow thing?!?

When the sun came out this afternoon, I barely recognized it. It was wonderful to see it shine after such a long time and so much water. As a matter of fact, I was so happy that I sat outside to eat my lunch.

We have so much to be grateful for though. So many have lost so much, some even their lives, others all they have worked for much of their lives. We're are all well and unscathed and it humbles me to know it has had no real effect on my life so far. I don't even have to get around with all those roads clogged from Interstate closings unless I choose to.

Even the South and Middle Georgia floods of 1994 created no problems in my life other than having to drive a hearse the long way around to get a dead body to Macon for cremation. In retrospect, that was pretty darn small. Yep, life is good.

Thank goodness for small (?) favors

I feel sorry for Thirtysomething being cooped up with the girls so long but I'm really, really glad it isn't me. My hairdresser has enough gray hairs to hide as it is!

It's more than soggy here though. That area had more than 9 inches of rain overnight and while I don't think we got that much in Midtown, the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning had me awake way before 5 a.m. this morning. Television has been talking about road conditions all morning with mudslides and trees blocking one major highway, two feet of water over the I-85/285 (Spaghetti) Junction and rain across other sections of the Interstate. Gridlock everywhere!

Thank heavens for not having to get out in all this and for not being closed in with small children for several days!

Soggy-Woggy

Well, another day, another rainstorm! No complaints, but really, does it have to be feast or famine with the rain? It seems like Atlanta's either completely soggy or completely bone-dry. I could rent my backyard out as a mud-wrestling site if there were any contenders!

Not much to say here, just life as usual, which as I have grown older have come to appreciate. Monotony can be greatly underrated!

I have been thinking about my girls' birthdays coming up: I can't believe they're going to be 3 and 6 in the next couple of months. As the old saying goes, the years seem like days and the days seem like years. Yesterday was one of those day/years. With the constant rain, they both were a little stir crazy and going at each other all afternoon. We had actually planned an indoor campout, but I cancelled it because of their bad behavior. It was one of those "If I have to get onto you one more time..." things. I'm glad we did, though. Everyone had a pretty good night's sleep so I'm crossing my fingers for a more peaceful atmosphere today!!

Are we there yet?

It hasn't been 40 days and 40 nights of rain yet but it sure seems like it! And no end in sight!

I'm sure the reservoirs and other sources of water are grateful for this but it would be nice to see a little break for a day or so. Son #1 and I met at Gilbert's across the street for brunch and even though I'm feeling a little cooped up, I've decided not to go out again until the weather gets better. Unless of course it is absolutely necessary. Problem is that I have to define "necessary."

Here's hoping that's really soon. The football games so far today have been so one-sided that they aren't worth watching but I'm hoping this evening's choices will be better. I'd take a nap but probably be up all night. Not much choice but days like these make me really grateful that my paper is left at my door every day. At least I can work the crossword!

Think Jesus heard me?

Despite what sometimes feels like constant testing, not to mention exhorbitant financial costs, Little Bit definitely has her entertainment value. She was heading down the stairs yesterday and almost at the last step when Ruby the basset/beagle wonder accidentally tripped her and she stumbled and fell on the last one. After some mild boo-hooing for a few seconds, she looked at me and said "I want to tell Jesus about this! Can he come to my house?" I told her that Jesus couldn't come to our house, but she could talk to him and he would hear her. Apparently, the kitchen is closer to heaven, because she went in there and, looking up at the ceiling, announced quite loudly, "Jesus! My dog Ruby tripped me and it hurt! But I awright now!" Then she looked at me and queried, "Think Jesus heard me?"

Rain, Rain, and More Rain!

Whoever has been praying for rain must really be doing a bang-up job. I got half drowned going from the chiropractor's office to my car and about the time I dried out, I had to go back to my car at Midtown Tires. In my defense, it wasn't raining when I went into either place. The sun was even shining at the doctor's office when I went in but that changed in a hurry.

It was after 6:30 p.m. before I could get away from having new tires put on my car. It seems the heavy rain was playing havoc with their computer and it took a while to get the paperwork finished. A lot of aggravation just to spend that much money!

Tenth Street was so flooded I could have sworn I saw an ark coming down the street. Of course, having to watch my side of the street while plowing through a wall of rushing water might have impaired my vision just a bit. That and having my car going under a huge waterfall every time I met another vehicle.

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get to my apartment but knew if I sat still, the water would come up into the car so I literally plunged ahead, albeit slowly, and made it safely. It was a big relief when I finally did pull into the parking deck.

Oh well, no fire ~ not with all that water ~ but spending that much money today and house and car insurance coming up soon, famine might not be too far behind!

Ugh!!

This week has reminded me in spades of why I hate to handle rental property!

I've had to hear sob stories from both places as to why their rent is late. Then it was clogged plumbing for one and learning the other one has not paid the yard care bill since early summer. I had to mail a check for $270 today. I hope she knows this is coming out of her deposit and if it continues, she is going out of the house!

This is the kind of thing I remember from handling some properties for my late father-in-law many, many years ago. I hated it then and still hate it. Having to do it from a distance makes it even worse!

The economy is in the crapper and we are all hurting but we all have to have a place to live. If it's too expensive, find somewhere cheaper and leave. No hard feelings for sure but probably will be if I have to ask them to move.

Journal installment #11

A stone bridge at Paper Mill Lock is more than 200 years old. It's one of several old bridges along the Chelmer-Blackwater Navigation.



A public footpath marker on the way to Paper Mill Lock points the way to World's End Cottage and Smugglers Barn.
(I'm sure there is a story to this but I haven't researched it yet.)

Excerpts from an English Journal,
Part 11

Thursday, March 19: Yesterday didn’t improve much after my last entry. As a matter of fact, it got much worse before it got better. Lying down didn’t help and I continued to feel sicker and sicker. I was too queasy to eat any dinner. First time I’ve refused food since I got here!

Later, Richard was vacuuming and I, trying to be a good guest, offered to dust the tables in the lounge (living room/den) and bedrooms. Big mistake. The smell of the cleaner did me in. After inhaling a little of it, I barely had time to say, “I feel sick,” and get to the bathroom before everything I’d eaten came back in spades. I hate paying homage to the porcelain god but it turned out to be a mixed blessing.

As awful as that was, I started feeling better almost immediately and was even able to drink a few sips of ginger ale. With a little help from a lot of Dramamine, I got to sleep about 9:30 and slept straight through. By this morning, I felt perfectly normal but not particularly hungry. (Wonder why!)

I still have no idea what did it but I suspect it may have been quantity and/or variety as much as quality. We’ve had a lot of rich food the past two weeks and did act like kids in a candy shop in London but unfortunately my body reminded me that I am not a kid. It hasn’t bothered Richard but he is accustomed to drinking whole milk and eating butter and sugar on a regular basis. These are things I use sparingly when I do indulge so I definitely am going to be watching my diet a little more carefully for the rest of my visit. Maybe.

I think we’re going to have a quiet day today and that’s probably best. It’s chilly but another “bright sunshiny day.” It’s so hard to believe I’ve been here two weeks already. I don’t know where the time has gone. It seems to have flown. I haven’t touched a computer since I’ve been here and much to my surprise, I haven’t suffered any withdrawal symptoms. Yet. I can’t use my mobile phone here but I’d be afraid to plug it into the adapter anyway after it let my curling iron fry so badly.

Late Evening: We picked up Jo and went over to Justine and Simon’s this afternoon. We went early so everyone could walk to the school and escort Maia,5, and Ilana, 8, home. It turned cloudy and the wind was pretty bitter so I wimped out and stayed at the house while they were gone. I did break down and take the opportunity to use Justine’s computer to get rid of a bunch of junk email and be sure I don’t have any bills that need attention before I return to the States.
We had been invited for dinner earlier and I was happy to be feeling well enough to be there.

Justine is a good cook and gracious hostess and she prepared a lovely meal for us. The entrée was Roast Chicken with Couscous, a very good recipe she got from Sainsbury’s, and the Lemon Tart with Cream caused me stray a little bit from my resolve to stay away from sweets for a while. I did have just had a little slice though and no cream.

I learned a new expression tonight too. When I asked the whereabouts of five-year-old Ilana, Simon said she was in her room, “having a strop.” Upon seeing what must have been a blank expression on my face, he explained she was being naughty. I guess that either meant pouting,

throwing a tantrum or, as we say in the south, “having a fit.”

I didn’t ask if she went to her room voluntarily or if he had put her there. (Best to leave well enough alone.) In any event, she soon came down all bright and cheerful and behaved well the rest of the evening. The girls were typical of their age and better mannered than many I know. They put on a little show for us and Maia read to Richard and me. She’s a good reader for her age.

I spoke to Doy after we returned home and left a message for Julie. Everything seems to be going well there but Doy said Katie has had a stomach virus or something. I will check on her later but am calling it a day for now.

Friday, March 20: We’ve had a slow, unhurried morning (my favorite kind of day) but we did take advantage of the nice weather to let Richard take care of some business and do a little shopping at Marks & Spencer this morning. After lunch, we drove to Boreham and used public footpaths to walk down to Paper Mill Lock, the halfway point along Chelmer-Blackwater Navigation from Chelmsford to the coast. This is a beautiful part of the 12 locks and 6 bridges dating from the 1790s.

The lock’s long, unbroken history began in June 1793 when Parliament passed an act authorizing the making and maintaining of a navigable waterway between Chelmsford, Essex, and a place called Colliers Reach (now Heybridge Basin). During its heyday in the mid 19th century, up to 60,000 tons of freight were carried along the 14 miles of navigation locks between Heybridge Basin on the Blackwater Estuary and Springfield Basin near the heart of Chelmsford. Coal, wood, timber and iron as well as local freight were transported via this route.

Not-so-wild ducks and swans swim casually along the canal and near the weir (dam) and lots and lots of boats of all shapes, sizes and colors are anchored there. This beautiful, largely unspoiled area offers barge and canoe trips or you can hire your own fully equipped narrow boat or rowboat. It’s also home to The Old Stables Tearoom, a tearoom that sells homemade cakes, ice cream and various drinks and other treats. (Of course, we had to sample a few of their wares before we left.)

Evening: Back home to a dinner of salad and salmon cooked in sunflower oil with cracked pepper, seal salt and fresh lemon (delicious as always), new potatoes and sticky toffee pudding. Food like this is going to make my frozen dinners and protein bars look pretty unappetizing when I get back home.

We aren’t going to be able to go away as we’d discussed because we had to switch dinner plans with Kevan from Sunday to Saturday so that will split up the weekend. (Seems someone had forgotten Sunday is Mothering Sunday.) No problem though. Both of us are tired (at least I am!) and we’ll just do 1-2 short day trips later if I have enough energy left.

**********

Justine’s Roast Chicken with Couscous

600g (21.164 oz) chicken drumsticks
1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely sliced
Pinch dried mixed herbs*
1 chicken stock cube
350g (12.345 oz) cherry tomatoes
Juice from1 lemon
1 t. lemon zest
1 courgette (zucchini), coarsely chopped
500g (about 2 c.) couscous
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Preheat the oven to 200˚C (392 F), fan 180˚C, gas 6.Place all the chicken drumsticks in a large roasting tray and add stand onion wedges and garlic in between chicken pieces. Season to taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle a pinch of dried mixed herbs over the top. Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss to combine the flavors. Place in the oven and cook for 35 minutes. Add whole cherry tomatoes and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Make a pint of hot chicken stock using chicken stock cube and hot water. Place couscous in a bowl, pour hot stock over it, cover with plastic wrap and let steam for 5 minutes. Meanwhile sauté courgette in a little olive oil for a couple of minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork, season with salt and pepper and grate in a teaspoon of lemon zest. Add the courgette to couscous and drizzle with a little olive oil. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the chicken, tomatoes and onion and serve with couscous on the side.

*The recipe does not define which dried herbs to use but they were in a package. They could be omitted or just select some that would be appropriate with chicken. The original recipe can be seen at http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/food/trysomethingnew/asseenontv?prevUrl=%2fsearch.htm%3fquery%3dRoast%2bChicken%2bwith%2bCous%2bCous%2b%26x%3d11%26y%3d4.

Lemon Tart
500g all-butter shortcrust pastry
5 eggs, plus 4 yolks
200g (1 c.) caster sugar
200ml double cream
200ml lemon juice
zest from 1-1/2 lemons

Heat the oven to 120C/248F /gas 1. Roll pastry to the thickness of a 20p coin or U.S. quarter and line a tart pan 4cm by 23cm (9x2-inch). Prick pastry with a fork and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool. Whisk one egg to make a wash. Brush crust with the egg wash and put back in the oven for one minute.

Use a food processor to blend four remaining eggs, the extra four yolks and sugar together. Add the cream and lemon juice, blend and pass through a fine strainer. Add lemon zest and pour into the crust and bake for about 40 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave in the oven for 10 minutes to allow heat from the oven to set the custard. Cool and serve. This is a lot richer than the one Justine served but is worth indulging in a tiny little sliver occasionally.

Time flies

Wow! Didn't realize nothing has been posted since Tuesday. Monday holidays always throw me off kilter and I just plain forgot but I'll just chalk it up to "senior moments" or whatever sounds better.

I gave Post notice that I intended to move when my lease is up in November because they were raising my rent. I haven't apartment searched in earnest though (too hot) and they called me yesterday to say if I would stay they would keep the rent the same. Decisions, decisions. I told them I would let them know Monday. Not going to be rushed.

I promise to get another installment of the journal up in the next couple of days but I'm a little too tired to work on it right now. Shopping will do that to you.

And the beat goes on

Well, Little Bit is coughing again and back on Albuterol again. I don't know that she's ever gotten rid of all the crud she's been having or if maybe she picked up a "little something" from the peds office last week. She had several days of no cough, so I'm procrastinating and trying to avoid taking her back unless it gets worse or no better in the next couple of days.

Albuteral = no sleep, so we were up quite late last night. She also got mad and bit her sister's leg, so she as punishment she did not get to go and get ice cream with Daddy and sister. Hopefully, that will make an impression. It's been quite awhile since we've had to deal with her biting, and I'm not ready to go that route again, even if the medicine is kicking her into overdrive. She also fibbed to me about it, as well as the accident she had on the floor, so I'm trying to prevent that habit from starting.

Thankfully, my mil is coming over and staying with her tomorrow while I work, so she won't have to get out and maybe will have a little more time to recup. Otherwise, hi ho, hi ho, back to the doctor's we go!

Back to Normal?

I haven't been outside yet but things seem to be back to normal (whatever that is) outside my window. It was pretty loud here all weekend. Sunday evening in Midtown Atlanta was like a mini Freaknik. Streets jammed and rap music vibrating my apartment until way after midnight! I didn't hear any sirens so I guess everyone behaved. More or less, anyway.

Trip to the airport yesterday to pick up Son #1 wasn't bad and his flight from Cape Cod was even on time. He brought me such a beautiful dichroic pendant from Provincetown that I suppose I have to forgive him for having such a great weekend while I stayed here.

Overslept and missed my morning walk but it's time to stop procrastinating and get a move on now. More posting later.

Labor Day etc.

Chilling out, not laboring is the only way to celebrate Labor Day! I do that lots of days but I think Thirtysomething and Son #2 haven't quite realized that yet. They are spending a lot of their time off cleaning out their garage, etc. I know it has to be done but it's not my idea of a holiday for sure.

We had a good visit Saturday. The girls really enjoyed the Noguchi Playscape at Piedmont Park. They enjoyed it so much last time that the oldest one asked to go there instead of the regular playground. So much for critics. Children are the best judges. Everyone enjoyed the Green Market too but we had to talk the girls out of buying an organic pumpkin. A bit too pricey just for decoration!

The AJC Decatur Book Festival was lovely. Anyone who missed it should really try to get there next time. It's worth a trip. Wonderful weather this year and despite the economy, lots and lots of people. Also met some great people, including Jeff from Bound to Read Books in East Village. They are online at http://boundtobereadbooks.com/ but I definitely want to check it out in person.

This and That

Well, just had a nice visit with my mom. We went to the park and the girls played, visited the Green Market (thanks for the loan, Mom!), and just relaxed a bit. We didn't get started until late, but the weather cooperated and stayed nicely overcast until we were almost ready to leave. The girls were up late thanks to the football going on at the high school that was just finished a few months ago. We're so close to the school that when it's Friday Night Lights, our house practically vibrates when the band plays and the PA system sounds like it's in our backyard. Oh, well, I suppose it could be worse, at least we don't have to cope with sirens at all hours like Mom does.

Alas, Little Bit has been pulled out of preschool. Actually, I'm making it sound sad, but I'm not sad at all. It's quite a relief, to tell the truth. It was getting very frustrating that she was getting sick every time she went. There's going to be lots more juggling going on instead of just taking her with me, but over the course of two weeks we spent close to 250 dollars, not including the unpaid day I had to take last Monday when she had to go to the doctor. She was literally up from midnight until 7:00 with an unrelenting cough. The new inhaler we're using definitely helped her cough tremendously, but the side effect of such effective medicine is that it put her in hyperdrive. She had a little case of the shakes, but most noticeable was the crazy way she was acting. I was feeding the fish and heard behind me "Look out belowwwww!," and turned in time to see her swan diving from the ledge in between the kitchen and living room over our loveseat onto the hardwood floor. By the grace of God, there was already a couch cushion that had fallen onto the floor and she somehow landed on it. She's a daredevil anyway, but it's like the medicine intensified it tenfold. As I told the director, financially, physically, and emotionally, we can't keep having her getting sick so often. With swine flu and all the uncertainty about the upcoming flu season, I'm happy to have her out for another year. I'm very grateful that the grandmothers are willing to help me with this; if not for them, I don't know what I would do.

This & that

I finally finished my series about England and will try to get the rest of them posted as soon as I can. They lose formatting when I paste them in so it takes a little while to get it lined up to be read properly.

I volunteered to work two slots at Decatur Book Festival this weekend so that should be interesting. At least it will get me out of the apartment.

Little Bit's Mom and Dad have decided it is in her best interest to stay home another year. Can't say I don't agree with them. She's not even three yet and maybe by next fall her immunity will be built up a little more. Her other grandmother and I are going to alternate keeping her those three mornings a week that Mom is working. That means we will be working too!

In the meantime, I need to come up with new ideas for writing some articles. Suggestions, anyone?