acoustic_jasper

Jan. 31st, 2010

08:35 pm - enchilatas

I made Alain and Annalisa's famous bean and cheese enchilatas for a potluck today. They turned out fine, but I did have a learning experience.

I had bought some hand made tortillas from Trader Joes. So instead of them being uniformly flat, they were thicker and thinner in places, and actually were mostly fat, and were rather brittle, so that rolling them caused them to break. The cooking process seemed to smooth things out just fine.
I think it would be hard to really ruin them, because it is such a delicious recipe, but for "company" I might stick to the store bought ones.

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Nov. 2nd, 2009

08:07 pm - Arizona trip

After visiting the huge meteor crater near Flagstaff, and the Lowell Observatory, it really has me excited about learning more about the universe. I had an interest years ago but have forgotten most of what I used to know. I hope everyone in the family who has an interest in space can visit those places. But even if not, there is a ton of info available on the internet, of course.

If you have a chance to talk to Took, you can pose any number of questions about the nature of black holes, sun spots and the discoverer of Pluto, among other things.

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Mar. 23rd, 2008

09:22 pm

Oh, right, Nachos! Of course! As in not-yo-cheese.

I have to learn how to see the old posts so I can remember what was said.

Feast went well, although only 4 people came. There is a lot of food left over.

The Mediterranean eggs sound really good. I'll have to try adding olives next time I make an omelet.

Well, retirement is in 43 working days, in actual days. My last day is June 17.
I could work just one day a week, but that would really tie me down. I might be better off just taking short term jobs or substituting now and then.

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Mar. 22nd, 2008

10:25 pm - This and that

I feel happy that I got a lot done today, but am a bit tired out now. My day started with the cat meowing me awake about 1 hour before I was really ready to wake up, but then, being awake I had to go to the bathroom which was a signal for said cat to start leaping about and rushing down the stairs to the front door. She has this habit of suddenly stopping on a step, stretching out to take up as much space as possible while I stand, waiting. I fear that one day I won't see her and it will be the death of both of us.

One of today's accomplishment was vacuuming out my car. It was the annual vacuuming, whether or not it needed it. It needed it. Now it feels so lovely in there. After all, I spend a good part of my life in there, commuting to and from work. So I should be motivated to keep it cleaner. One would think.

I heard a new jazz singer/group I really like on NPR today. Her name is Judy Wexler. She has a great voice and I love the type and quality of the instrumental back up. Dynamite piano riffs. This is a great discovery for me, like when I discovered Dave Brubeck.

Another reason I feel happy is because I have spoken with all of my offspring including today and yesterday. That always gives me a huge mental boost, like sun pouring down. Like watching birds splashing in their bath water, or watching babies or kittens. Like only 43 more work days until retirement. Yay.

Tomorrow is Feast here, and there's a lot to do still. I decided to make two pies, one pumpkin and one apple, because of milk allergies. People don't want all sweets so I had the brainstorm idea of including deviled eggs (strangely appropriate and inappropriate for Easter) and another idea of making (I forget the name but you melt cheese over chips). I haven't eaten that in years, so it sounds great to me. I had forgotten about it.
Wish I knew how many people are coming. Oh well.

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Mar. 13th, 2008

10:37 pm - new to journaling

I see that learning to journal is one of those things that involves a learning curve. I need to figure out just when I have time to do it. It was the same when I started doing exercises, and takes a little time to become routine. But I can see where this will be a lot of fun.

I stayed home from work again today. Three days! I think that is a record for me. But maybe this IS the flu and it does seem to knock the starch out of you. I expect that by Monday I'll be back and work and fasting again.

I have done little jobs around the house punctuated by long rests. I finished another entertaining,if fluffy, Sue Grafton book. I'm hooked on the Kinsey Millhone series she writes.

Being home has given me a taste of what life will be like when I retire. Like any major change, it represents a kind of upheaval of schedules and goals. I have to decide what I'm going to be in this next chapter of life.

First off, I want to be available to friends and family. If somebody is sick or needs help weeding their garden, I could come and help.

Then, I want to get caught up on so many things, like ordering photos from Shutterfly, organizing paperwork, sorting through and eliminating a bunch of things and similar projects. Dad is even talking about us traveling!

But the big question will be what to "produce" or really sink my teeth into. What do I want to feel I accomplished before I leave this world?
Right now, just puttering around the house and yard, walking,looking forward to family visits, journaling, and doing Baha'i things sounds awfully appealing.

Current Mood:

sleepy