Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Happy Hump Day!

Back in the days when I worked full time in an office, Wednesday was the day when we all celebrated making it to the hump. It was all downhill from there, slidin' into Friday and the weekend. It's been awhile since I pulled on a pair of pantyhose, climbed in the car, drove to work to sit at a desk and type and file and answer phones all day, but Wednesday still feels like Hump Day to me.

So I'm taking a coffee break, in yoga pants.

So - new president. Regardless of who anybody voted for, you have to be in awe of the power of the office, and stand up a little bit straighter when you see the swearing in, Abraham Lincoln's Bible, the pomp and circumstance. It made me proud to be an American, and I'm committed to praying for this new President. He's going to need it with all our country is facing.

But here's a photo of my personal hero.

When his mother was barely hanging on to living in the house she'd called home for over 30 years, neighbors would show up to clean the walks or pick up groceries, or whatever she needed, because her two sons lived a distance away. This past weekend DH looked out and saw our almost 80 year old neighbor shoveling her driveway, in spite of two hip replacement surgeries. He was across the street in under five minutes, didn't say a word to her, just went to work. He told me he's still grateful for those who helped his mother.

Here's a tip for any mommas out there who might be pulling their hair out, just a bit, with the cold and snow this time of year. Two days ago Leslie phoned to give me the good news that she'd spent the night on her bathroom floor, and how did I feel about spending the day with a certain two year old. It was too cold to be outdoors. So after an outing to McDonalds, I took him to our church and we spent the afternoon in one of the pre-school age classrooms. We enjoyed indoor playground equipment, puzzles, the fire truck with the extension ladder, the kitchen, the dollhouse, and even borrowed a few snacks from the snack bin, and finally ran back and forth across the gym floor to burn a bit of cooped up steam. I delivered him home ready for his nap, and thought how helpful it would have been, when our kids were little, to run over to our church on those nasty days. It never occurred to me. How about you?

What is it about January and winter and being cooped up? I'm in a crazy mood to cook, soups and gumbos and stews, and cookies and bread. Maybe I've been watching those squirrels too long. Sarah told me awhile back about a cookbook, Martha Stewart Cookies, and I grabbed it from our public library. It's organized by category - airy and light, chewy, etc. I'll be wearing out the chewy section. Today I'm making a cookie that has applesauce in the batter and is drizzled with white frosting. They'll be perfect with afternoon tea, or tucked into DH's lunchbox.

Well, after a very long hiatus, it's back to painting - with a vengeance. We're planning to list the house around April 15, and I've still got three bedrooms and a bathroom to go. I sure did enjoy the two months away from it, but the reality is - there are no elves so I'm back to it. We're headed back to our lakehouse in early March, and I'd L.O.V.E. to be done with all the painting at this house, before we go.

And finally - our TV purchase that began back in July of 2008 is finally complete. We had VCR issues. The combo VCR/DVD we bought did not work. We put back the old DVD but had to watch Elf without red, which was a bit weird. We figured out and fixed that but had no VCR for the 99,000 movies we all have, so I gave up and gave away, to Goodwill, our old VCR player. After replacing a cable, then buying a new DVD player to play the one DVD I'd purchased on Ebay, I learned to sell on Ebay and the DVD is gone, and I got the thought that maybe, just maybe the VCR I'd given away would work.

So I went to Goodwill. They didn't have our VCR anymore.

There's DH figuring out cables and plugs and such stuff. Manly work at our house.

Here's our newly purchased for $6.50 VCR. It works. Perfectly.

As likely did the one I gave them. And we now have this:


Four remotes. Clearly labeled, but I think I understand how to run everything, and can now enjoy the Yoga tape my mom sent me for Christmas. Which I'm going to need to be doing after enjoying the Martha Stewart Cookie cookbook.

Well, that's it for me - better get back to work. There's cooking and cleaning and painting and sorting, you know, all the things a stay at home, yoga pants wearing secretary spends her day doing. BTW, does anyone else remember keeping a bottle of clear nail polish in their desk drawer, to dab on a run in your pantyhose, or is it just me?

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I am also in a mood to bake cookies and simmer soups all day. It's chilly at our house, and I think that is the ticket.

Barb said...

What a nice, newsy post, and what great photos. I love the photo of Don working on the elderly neighbor's walkway. My brother in law has to be one of the nicest guys ever.

I need to find that cookie cookbook. :-)

I vividly remember using clear nail polish to stop runs in panty hose. I remember the yucky looking white spot it left too. I finally discovered that hair spray does the same thing and was easier. Panty hose. Honestly, I can't imagine putting a pair on now. What torture that was!

Gretchen said...

Oh, I do remember that clear nail polish. Which didn't really fix any runs, but sure did leave dried up gluey spots on my legs.

Isn't it great when our husbands continue to be our heroes?

Oh, honey, I don't need to bake. I can have no-bake cookies--all the peanutty chocolatey oatmeal-y goodness from the earth--finished in about 5 minutes flat. And who says they need to harden completely? From stove to mouth in 10 minutes. :) But yes...winter does make me tend to want to hole up, bake, and do soups. Had taco soup last night in fact.

Okay, time for this secretary to stop typing and make breakfast for the teeming masses.

Have fun painting. You'll enjoy those cookies and a spot of tea--well deserved!

Valerie said...

Still a secretary (yuck - would love to stay a home with my 15 y.o. daughter), and still have nail polish in my desk. But now I use it for paper cuts. Burns like crazy at first, but keeps the cut together so that it never gets sore. I learned this tip from my own working Mama. I'll take the little burn over 2-3 days of a sore finger anytime. Love your blog, BTW.

Susanne said...

What a lovely thing for your hubby to do. I know it was very much appreciated. I so appreciate my mom's neighbors who do her driveway and walks as we can't get there right away all the time.

We have a bazillion VCR tapes too and never watch them because compared to the blu-ray discs they seem so unclear. LOL. Spoiled is what we are.

Sam said...

Labeling the remote controls is SUCH a good idea! :-)

Jen said...

How wonderful your husband doing this for your neighbor...my husband too shovels everyones driveways he can...its like some kind of win for him....
i know you are getting excited about the big move to the lake house....it will be here before you know it.