We survived!

Last week was rough, folks. Rough. Husband caught the flu, I had an emergency trip to the dentist, there was an expensive car repair, and Christmas is steadily approaching without regard for our woe or lack of preparation. I had to have a root canal yesterday, which I was dreading. Dreading. Husband has been miserable and feverish, the laundry stack rose higher and higher and our house was devolving into a total pig-pen mess. I was about ready to run away from home!

I am happy to report, that as of today, Tuesday, things seem to be improving. My root canal didn't hurt much at all. I was taking lots of pain pills, and before the dentist started he numbed me up really, really well. The procedure went quickly and smoothly. This morning I only have some mild soreness in my jaw. What a relief! And Husband is feeling a little bit better, not 100% yet but improving slowly. I got some laundry done last night, then had a good night's sleep, and this morning I cleaned and mopped the kitchen and bathroom. Things are looking up!

Time to get a move on with the Christmas decorating and planning. Here's hoping the rest of the month goes more smoothly than the first week!

And now, this.

A toothache yesterday led to a trip to the dentist today. Now I'm scheduled for a root canal first thing Monday morning. I don't mind saying I'm scared. I definitely shouldn't have googled what the procedure involved.

At least I have a bottle of good pain pills in the meantime.

Fa la la la....F*ck!!

With Christmas only 3 weeks away, there's been lots of planning going on around here for meals, small gifts, gathering with friends, and other festive seasonal things. Until today.

Husband's work truck broke down yesterday and we had to have it towed to a shop. We got the call today. Major repairs are apparently necessary that are going to cost us anywhere from $600-$900. F*ck!

I will admit, compared to the bad luck we normally have this time of year (I have a superstitious dread of December) this isn't the end of the world. We may be eating a lot of beans this month, and a functional vehicle might be our only gift to each other this year, but it could be (and has been) much, much worse.

But still. Talk about putting a damper on my holiday spirit! I had planned to dig out the decorations and begin sorting them today. One phone call from the mechanic and all of my plans and Christmas cheer dissolved like a balloon with a pin in it.

Thanksgiving for two

Thanksgiving was quiet and very, very nice this year. Husband and I stayed home and spent a lazy day together. We wore our pjs most of the day, watched movies, and then in the early evening we had a small feast. (I did most of the cooking the night before, so I didn't have to spend all day in the kitchen).

Pretty autumn table for two.
 

 

The star of the show. It was the smallest whole turkey
I could find. We'll be eating leftovers all weekend.

 

Broccoli salad with broccoli, shredded carrots,
red onions, walnuts, and dried cranberries mixed with a
 creamy, slightly sweet coleslaw dressing.

This picture of the baked macaroni and cheese I made doesn't do it justice. This is a sinful recipe. There are literally pounds of cheese, butter, whole milk, eggs, and pasta all baked to a rich, golden, bubbling mass of decadent lusciousness. I call it a heart attack in a pan. We only eat this once or twice a year for that reason.

Husband's favorite: deviled eggs.
 Required at all holiday meals. And homemade
cranberry sauce is mandatory when there's turkey!

Isn't that pretty? Those are two dessert dishes of Watergate salad. It's a light side dish/dessert that consists of pistachio pudding, crushed pineapple, mini marshmallows, Cool Whip, and pecans. It may sound strange, but it's actually delicious and a vintage holiday recipe in the South. I also made a pecan pie and a chocolate pudding pie.

It was a great meal, and a fun and relaxing way to spend Thankgiving. Late in the evening we took Ginger for a cold, starlit walk (which we needed after all that food!) and then I cracked open a bottle of champagne. It was a perfect day.

Friends, near and far

Yesterday was such a great day for me. My dear friend Meg was in the area visiting for the first time in almost 2 years. She moved to Texas at the beginning of 2012 because her husband got a job offer there, and I've missed her so much. Chatting and sharing pictures on Facebook just isn't the same. Her little girl, who was a 1 year old baby when they left is now a spunky 3 year old. This past June, a baby brother joined the family. I was so excited to see both of the kids, and their lovely mama, too!

They were in Greenville, SC visiting Meg's in laws for the Thanksgiving holiday. Another member of our circle of friends, Marla, went with me to see everyone. Round trip it was about a 5 hour drive, but totally worth it. We had so much fun catching up with Meg, playing with her little girl (who of course didn't remember us at all and was very shy at first) and meeting the baby boy. I admit I was a bit of a baby hog all day, but the chubby little fellow was so cheerful and sweet that I hated giving him up! We got to go to lunch with Meg, and then we spent a few hours back at the house just hanging out. It was a wonderful day.

I have tomorrow and the next day (Thanksgiving) off. Gregg and I decided to cook at home for the holiday this year. Tomorrow will be spent straightening the house and shopping for the meal. Tomorrow night, I will be making some dishes ahead of time, and Marla is coming over for drinks and to hang out while I cook. (We got tipsy together last year while I cooked on the night before Thanksgiving, and we decided to make it a tradition, it was so much fun!) Then Thanksgiving Day will be very quiet and private, dinner for two and a cozy day spent at home.

Sometimes I can feel a bit melancholy this time of year. Gregg's and my combined family is small and (sadly) not very close, and during the holidays when everyone is having big family dinners and gatherings it can feel kind of lonely to be just two people. Last week I was feeling down, and the thought of the impending holiday season just made me depressed. Spending time this week with my friends was just what I needed to give my spirits a lift!

So today, as Thanksgiving approaches, I am feeling thankful for the good friends I have to share my life with. Good friends near and far.

An actual conversation at my house

I love my crazy life with my furry and feathered kids. Here is the conversation I had with my parrot, Marco, yesterday morning before I left for work:

Marco: Ginger! Ginger!
Me: Ginger's outside, Marco. She's a good girl.
Marco: Ginger's a bird!
Me: No, you crazy bird. Ginger's a doggie. Marco's a bird!
Marco: He's a little man.

There's never a dull moment in this house!

Tuesday Round Up

Today has been slow and easy, just the thing after a busy weekend at work.

Dear husband's birthday was very nice, even if we were both busy all weekend. There were presents (mostly new clothes) and a nice steak dinner. There was a sinfully delicious Italian Crème birthday cake purchased at the bakery down the road. On the birthday evening, it finally got cold enough to light the fireplace for the first time this year, which is always a treat. And as promised, here are some pictures of the hat I knit for the birthday dude. It's just a plain-Jane, no-pattern hat, made of good wool in a silvery grey color that this photo doesn't capture at all. I apologize for the picture quality here, it really doesn't do the hat justice:

Today has been a lazy day. I'm still sleeping at lot. I suppose it's the shorter days, but all I want to do lately is burrow under the covers of my warm, cosy bed and sleep whenever I have a day off! Once I dragged myself out of bed today, I took Ginger for a walk to our neighborhood park. It was a beautiful afternoon. Here are a couple of photos I snapped while out.



It's hard to get a photo of anything but Ginger's backside when
she's on the leash. This is the road in front of our house.

 



The entrance to our little park.

 

 



Headed home.

 

Shaking it off, and birthday prep

I'm finally beginning to feel normal again after the ER trauma the other day. For some reason I've slept an incredible amount since then (possibly from all the drugs they gave me). I'm just beginning to feel like I'm shaking it all off, and just in time, too.

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday, and I've been too distracted to do anything yet, so this afternoon will be spent shopping for a couple of small gifts and the ingredients for a special birthday dinner. The dinner will take place tonight, since I have to work until late tomorrow. Grilled steaks and rosemary-garlic new potatoes are standard birthday fare around here, but I haven't had the time (or felt well enough) to plan anything more creative this year.  And instead of the homemade cake/pie/dessert I had hoped to make, I will be picking up something from the local bakery. There will be one special gift for my honey: I've almost finished knitting him a new wool hat! It's still on the needles, but should be ready by tomorrow morning. The pattern is nothing fancy, just a super-simple stretchy ribbed band, followed by a plain stockinette body. The wool is a soft silvery grey, and it's going to be subtly pretty. I'm grateful I didn't attempt a complicated pattern when I started it last week. I would never have finished in time if I had, what with getting sick and all. I'll post pictures of it after it's been given to the birthday boy.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!