Aunt Carrie

That's me! While John was busy "working" at the Arkansas Heritage & Blues Festival, I made my way to Houston to see my friend Corrie and her children. Corrie's husband Chad was working the Festival with John, so Corrie and I had a little girls' weekend.

Corrie and Chad have been blessed with two darling children and I have loved getting to know them and watch them grow up. Unfortunately, we only get to see them once a year or so, but we do our best to make sure they remember their Aunt Carrie and Uncle John. And I love being called Aunt Carrie! Love it. Every time Carson said it, my heart melted just a little more. And I feel like we are carrying on a tradition. Corrie's father grew up with my father and are still the best of friends. I grew up calling Corrie's parents Aunt and Uncle. I think I was ten years old before I realized that we are not actually related.

Corrie and I shopped a little, drank a little, ate very well and had a wonderful time hanging out with Carson and Carly!

Javier!

Javier is back. After 7 long months, he is back in Kansas. Everything has been approved, he's just waiting on the final paperwork. And he's happy to be back at work.

We took a small group and a limo to pick him up from the airport. Brenda, Cheri and Eileen joined us and we started celebrating on the way there. He was surprised to see the limo and I think he got a little teary. We opened the champagne and celebrated all the way home. I was glad I'd made the baked ziti the night before because all that celebrating was getting to me.

Because his house is being rented out, he's bunking with us for awhile. He settled in his room and waited the week before he could start work. He was back in time for Robin & Scott's wedding on Sept. 26th and we all had such a great time at the reception.

On the 2nd, we threw a little party and we had a nice turnout of folks, all thrilled to have him back in Topeka. We stayed up way too late, but the guys made it to the stadium just in time to grab our spot for Washburn football.

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks. We love having him back and truly enjoy living with him. I hope he feels at home!

Seven

John and I celebrated seven years of marriage on Sept. 21st. John proposed to me on a September 21st. It was 2001, just ten days after 9/11. We felt guilty...we were so in love and so happy. That night, we looked at a calendar and saw that in 2002, September 21st fell on a Saturday. So we called our friends & family and shared the news. That year went by so fast. And I remember our wedding day as if it were yesterday.

John sent me a beautiful bouquet and we celebrated with dinner out at Chez Yasu in Topeka. It was delicious and we talked about the last seven years over a bottle of wine.

Reunited

We spent Labor Day weekend in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It was the perfect place to meet up with our Shirron relatives. My father's brother, his two children and their families. I hadn't seen my cousin Clint in about 8 years and had never met his wife or children. And Melissa and her family were at our wedding 7 years ago, but we hadn't seen them since.

John and I drove down there with my folks. Greg wasn't able to take off from work. Our cottages were lovely and all within walking distance of each other. We supped at the cottage Melissa had rented for her family, it was the largest of the three. We grilled out each night...hot dogs, pork steaks, fajitas. And happy hour was in full force.

We walked downtown, there was some fishing and the paddleboat was put to good use. But most importantly, we spent time with one another. Stories were told, pictures were taken. We all really enjoyed spending time with the children...they were all very sweet and funny. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again. It just can't be this long in between visits. And Greg has to be there too!

Eventful

We had a very busy three days last week. Busy but so much fun! Thursday night, we went out to dinner with my parents, Greg & Kerrice to celebrate Greg's birthday. Everyone was in a great mood, we laughed, we ate and we laughed some more.

Friday night was the Works of Heart event. It was the first time we'd attended and it was wonderful. Really moving. This is Kerrice's event and it benefits Family Guidance & Service Center. We did some bidding at the silent auction before dinner. But the highlight of the night was the live auction. Pieces done by children at the Center were put up for auction alongside pieces done by working artists. I got goosebumps watching (and participating) in the bidding wars that took place for the children's artwork. As always, when we are at a live auction, John has to give me the eye and take my bid number away.

Saturday night we attended the Topeka AIDS Project Gala. Kerrice's magazine was a sponsor and she invited us to sit at the SevenEightFive table. We met some new people, saw some friends, enjoyed the open bar and the lively atmosphere. Lots of interesting things to bid on at the silent auction and we left with a few things. John and I both can be a little shy when it comes to doing new things or going to new places, but I'm glad we went to this, it was a fun evening. We'll be back next year!

Dar

This past Wednesday, for the fourth time, John and I saw Dar Williams in concert in Lawrence. And it's been 4 years, much too long. We were in the second row at Liberty Hall and it was like seeing an old friend again. Dar's song, "After All", inspired the name of this blog. I can still remember the first time I heard her sing. It was 1996 and I was driving in San Antonio and listening to KSYM when the song "As Cool As I Am" came on. I called my friend who was the dj that afternoon and asked her about the song. Thankfully, John grew to love her music as much as I did.

Stephen Kellog (minus The Sixers) opened for Dar and we liked his music right away. He was a good storyteller too and amused us between songs. I spoke to him after his set and bought two cds.
Dar came on about 9:30pm and Liberty Hall erupted with applause. After a few songs, there was some mic trouble and awful feedback. While this was taken care of, Dar sat on a stool and sang "What Do You Hear in These Sounds?". It was so still and quiet, we didn't want to miss a note. Time flew and as she played her second encore, I got teary. We'd waited four years to see her again and I didn't want it to end.

We walked back to our car and took the long way. What a wonderful night!

Cake?

We celebrated John's birthday at the end of July and the only thing the poor fellow asked for was cake with frosting. Well, he also asked for the creamy angel food dessert that Heidi gave us the recipe for. The man likes cake.

I can't make an ordinary cake. I have to try something new. So I search and search for something wicked and decadent and chocolate. And I come up with Nigella Lawson's Nutella Cake. Nutella, ground hazelnuts, chocolate ganache...I couldn't wait. Saturday comes and I wake up very excited to bake the cake. Ingredients are bought and waiting for me in the kitchen. This is a little work...grinding hazelnuts, whipping egg whites, folding into the batter, prepping the springform pan. And it goes into the oven and it smells delicious. I take it out on time and the edges look like they may be more done than I'd like. So I flip the clip on the pan to loosen the sides...but for some dumb reason, I think I can take off the side of the pan. The cake is hot. The pan is hot. But I've got my oven mitts. It went smoothly until I burn the side of my arm. I panic and try to balance the cake, but to no avail. It falls, upside down, on the stovetop in one glorious mess. Of course, I flip out and start crying. John runs into the kitchen, thinking I have seriously injured myself. "The cake...sob...and my arm...sob...and it fell...sob...and all I...sob...wanted was to make you a cake for your birthday...sob"

John was so sweet, he started scooping up chunks of cake with a spatula and putting it all on a cookie sheet. After I stopped crying hysterically, I decided to turn the chunks of cake into a trifle, layered with some ganache. It worked, but it wasn't as fabulous as I wanted it to be. There are no pictures of the glorious mess, but there's a picture somewhere of the trifle.

We celebrated his birthday with an incredible steak dinner at home. And "cake" and ice cream and movies. Not to mention, the angel food dessert I made on Sunday and took to his folks' with us. Oh, and Tuesday, my mom made Coke Cake for him. Did I tell you that he loves cake? And everyone loves John.

Abilene

Recently, John planned a day trip for us and it was just what I needed. We left Saturday morning and headed west to Abilene. It was a beautiful morning for a drive. An hour and a half later, we stopped at the Visitor's Center and picked up brochures and ate a sugar cookie made from Mamie Eisenhower's recipe. We'd heard good things about the Seelye Mansion but we missed their first tour of the day and the next one wasn't till 1pm, so we decided we'd tour the mansion another time. We headed to the Heritage Center and the Independent Museum of Telephony. Very interesting little place.




We had lunch at The Kirby House and my chilled strawberry soup was delightful.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Eisenhower Library & Museum. We started off with a fantastic lecture given by William Allen White as portrayed by Professor Frederick Krebs. We weren't sure what we were about to listen to but it was really fascinating and left me wanting to know more Kansas history. We visited Eishenower's childhood home and the Place of Meditation; a small chapel that is his final resting place. We saw an exhibit in the Library and spent a great deal of time in the Museum. Honestly, we could've spent another hour or two there. Leaving this place, we decided we'd like to visit all of the Presidential Libraries.





Dinner was at the famed Brookville Hotel. We feasted on fried chicken, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, biscuits and strawberry preserves. Leaving this place, we decided we needed to eat here more often!

Just a great day. We love exploring Kansas and need to make an effort to do more day trips like this.

Fiesta '09

It was Fiesta time in Topeka last week. A great big fundraiser for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church with food, beer, music, dancing, rides, and lots and lots of people. And it's usually the hottest week of the year. But not this year! We went on Thursday night and it was absolutely gorgeous out. Our friend Griff met us downtown and we took the bus to North Topeka. I've never seen the line for food so long, I think it was the nice weather. But we were getting tortas, and our line was much shorter. My friend and coworker, Laura, told me about the tortas booth last year and John couldn't wait to get one again. Marinated, slow cooked, pulled pork piled on a bun with guacamole, salsa and cheese. It was just as good as we remembered and went so well with the cold beer that Griff & John kept buying.

We went for a walk past all the booths and ended up at the Washburn booth talking to Becky. Friends we haven't seen in a long while found us and we couldn't believe it...it had been a long time since we'd seen Kim & Brian, Jewel & Farhan, and we got to meet Farhan's mother.

We ended up spending the rest of the evening hanging out with Kim & Brian...missing Javier, Brenda, Genell and Cheri.


Last week we also found out that Javier has been approved for permanent residency, I guess this is just the first step, but it was very good news!

Hello Jerry

So, I've been recording old movies on TCM and the like. Rope with Jimmy Stewart, My Sister Eileen with Jack Lemmon, Woman's World with June Allyson, Bells are Ringing with Judy Holliday & Dean Martin...
It was while I was watching Bells are Ringing that I had to stop it, rewind and watch this particular scene a couple of times...Judy Holliday is convincing Dean that people are truly friendly. She proves her point by saying hello to a very grumpy looking man who is thrilled that someone said hello to him. He in turn says hello to another fellow who says, enthusiastically, "Hello!" and introduces himself as Charlie Bessemer. Charlie Bessemer looks awfully familiar and I'm sure he is, yes, he is, IMDB confirms it...it's Uncle Leo! Len Lesser who played Uncle Leo on Seinfeld. It's just a tiny part, apparently uncredited, but it was fun to spot.
I was especially tickled because one of Uncle Leo's things was saying hello. "Jerry!! Hello!!"
I immediately had to tell John & Greg about it, as we love all things Seinfeld.

I'm still tickled. I just had to tell you about it too!

Fourth

I love long weekends! John barbecued some chicken Friday night and I tried to create a healthy version of potato salad. It turned out pretty well. The chicken was delish. We headed over to Julie & Jeremy's to hang out in their driveway with a dozen other folks. We did a few fireworks, but mainly we just drank some beer and caught up. John found a new cigar buddy in Jeremy.

Saturday was relaxing. We saw a matinee of The Proposal. It was entertaining, cute but not great. Certainly not laugh out loud funny as my coworker led me to believe. We were some of the youngest people in the theater, I think the median age was 60.

That night, we went to our friends' house for a small bbq. Robin and Scott had the backyard all set up for us and Scott was the grillmaster. We hung out, ate, played a little ladder golf and had a time out for the doofus who set off a firework in his freaking hand. I've never seen anything like it, what an idiot. He did end up going to the hospital, but luckily it turned out to be a very minor injury.

I made frozen margarita pie for dessert and everyone seemed to like it. It's the third time I've made it and it's usually a hit. I'll post the recipe sometime. We had a nice little fireworks show in the front yard. Scott and I had fun setting them off.

We made it out to the lake on Sunday with our friend Brenda. We took the boat out---hadn't done that in a while. Turned out to be a beautiful day. Took a few pics with John's Blackberry...

Summer

It's days like today
picking raspberries at dusk
we work quietly
murmurs and giggles and where's the basket

we are family

Too early for cicadas, you say
and we stop to listen
it's summer
it's summer
they buzz
reminding us of other days
of other summers

how quickly they passed

Today is almost gone
do you know how much I loved it?
that these hours together
have been near perfection?

we are family

Student

I really enjoyed having a big goal this past couple of months. Working with John to make some improvements on a guest bedroom and bath. I loved making lists and feeling creative. There are lots of little goals and things that should probably be big goals... But in the back of my mind I've been wanting to take some art classes at Washburn for a while now, so that's what's next.

So this past week, I checked Washburn's course catalog to see what kind of evening courses they offer. There were a couple I was interested, so I applied as a non-degree seeking student!
Now, I need to wait and hope to be approved. John says there are still spots open in Drawing 1, the course I'd like to take. I told my friend Brenda and she said, "I didn't know you were a drawer." Well, I guess I'm not, but I think I would really enjoy the class. And why couldn't she just say, "that sounds like fun, good luck"? Besides, if I want to take other art classes, Drawing 1 is a pre-requisite for a lot of them.

I'm excited for this. I hope it works out.

Tee-Par-Tee

This weekend John played in his first tournament at the club. He invited his older brother Tim to play as his guest. I adore Tim and his wife Jennifer and was very nervous to have them as our houseguests for the weekend. We did a lot of work, a lot of buying of new sheets & towels, framing artwork, cleaning baseboards, etc. And we really needn't have done all that, as we were all much too tipsy to have noticed. (I kid, they were very sweet and appreciated all we'd done) But tipsy we were. Loopy, silly, straight up drunk.

The weather was perfect for golfing and the guys had a blast. We stayed up late Thursday night, drinking wine & listening to music. On Friday night, my folks, Uncle Robert, Greg & his girlfriend Kerri joined us for party food and cocktails. We ended the party on the front porch around 3am...too much fun. I wasn't sure if John would feel up to another round of golf! Jennifer and I slept in and spent the rest of the day reading magazines and napping.

The tournament ended with dinner & dancing on Saturday night. I haven't dressed up in a little while so I had fun with white slacks, a sparkly top, gold heels and fake hair. I love fake hair and I'm taking that thing with me to Vegas in the fall!

We said goodbye to our guests this morning and have spent the day recuperating. I am sooo not ready to go to work tomorrow.

There are some pictures somewhere...if they surface, I'll add them later.

Contented

A little late, but that's how we were Memorial Day weekend.

We drove to Lone Star Lake with our friend Brenda and her new puppy, Patch. We missed Javier, but we all had a wonderful time.

Truly, Lone Star Lake is one of my favorite places. We are fortunate to use John's parents' cabin as our base. A deck, a dock, paddle boats, and a hammock at our disposal.

The weekend was filled with long walks, grilling, cocktailing, playing games, naps and reading in the hammock.

Eats

What a busy weekend! I was happy to go to work on Monday, just to get a break.
I finished painting the large guest room Friday night. Bunny Gray from Benjamin Moore. I tried the Aura paint and was mostly happy with it. The color is more blue than I wanted, but it works. I need to hang the sheers and put on the new bedding to get the full effect.

After a much needed pedicure on Saturday, I hit the grocery store, home, the frame shop and a mattress store. Then headed to Mom's where we dug out the headboard, footboard and rails stored in her garage. We are adding a twin bed to the guest room and Mom is letting us use her childhood bed!
John and I cleaned house and prepped stuff for dinner. Our friends Heidi, Todd and Brenda came over. John grilled and we all talked to Javi via Skype. Heidi and Todd brought dessert and it was delicious!

Here's the recipe, Heidi's notes included...

***Heidi’s Cream Cheese Angel Food Dessert***

2 small pkgs Dream Whip
2 - 8 oz. pkgs cream cheese (we used the 1/3 less fat version), softened
1 C. powdered sugar
2 C. half & half, cream or milk (we used 2% milk; my mom uses cream)
1 9 x 5 angel food cake (we used most of one of the round ones from
Dillon's), cut or torn into bite-sized pieces
Topping - any kind of berry (we used blueberries and strawberries) or
canned blueberry or cherry pie filling
1/2 chopped pecans or other nuts

Mix dream whip, cream cheese, 2 cups cream/milk/half & half and
powdered sugar (we let ours mix until it was about pudding
consistency); fold in cake pieces. Spoon over nuts in a 9x13" pan.
Sprinkle with berries or put fruit pie filling on top. Refrigerate.
To serve, scoop out. Serves 12-15.

Sunday was spent gardening and doing just enough laundry to get by. Exhaustion hit just as I was needing to get stuff ready to take to Mom & Dad's. Aunt Margaret & Uncle Jack are in town! So everyone got together for steaks. I brought Aunt Carrie's Loaded Mashed Potatoes, which were well received. Prepare mashed potatoes as usual (usual for me is butter and evaporated milk, salt & pepper). Add bacon bits, lots of sour cream, grated cheese, more salt & pepper---spoon into 9x13 dish and top with more grated cheese. Bake for about 30 min. at 350 or so. I mince green onion and serve on the side for those who wish to top their dish.

No cooking tonight! Going out for Mexican and just one or two margaritas. I hope to have the energy to do some more work upstairs while I watch Real Housewives of New Jersey. Don't you judge me.

And we're back

And where have I been? Just procrastinating and stalling as usual. I kept telling myself to go blog, but time slipped away. Eventually, so much time passed that I just gave up on the whole idea of blogging. But that's crazy talk!

I'm happiest when I'm decorating or changing something. It's been a while since I've done anything, so I'm thrilled to be working on the guest bedroom and bath. I wish I could go whole hog on the bathroom, but I can't. We can only do what needs to be done---changing the shower fixture, the bathroom faucet, fixing the trim and then cosmetic changes like painting and wall decor.

Back in 2005 or 2006, I fell in love with a shower curtain in the Gump's catalog. It cost more than any shower curtain should ever cost, so I threw the catalog away. I still dreamt of it though, so 6 months later, I went to the Gump's site and found the curtain on clearance! Which of course it would be, because how many people want a crazy Indian themed shower curtain...

So it's been hanging in the guest bath, waiting for walls to be painted and everything to come together. I think I've decided on Polar Sky from Benjamin Moore for the walls. I found an antique map of India that I need to frame. I ordered an elephant print yesterday from Etsy.
We bought new hardware and the handyman is working on replacing some tile and fixing the trim.
I need something else for the walls and am obsessing over it. I've looked at everything on Etsy with India in the description, then I looked at it again. I can't make up my mind...I don't want whatever I choose to compete with the beautiful shower curtain. So now, I am thinking of making something myself. I doodled all day yesterday and now Hobby Lobby is calling my name.

Fail

I spoke too soon. Spring is on hold for now. Maybe I'll get some good snow pictures this weekend.

***WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7PM SATURDAY EVENING***

Sprung

Spring is here! We have a couple of sweet crocuses that popped up last week. I planted lots of bulbs last October. The daffodils barely popped up but I heard they may not make a full appearance till next year, and the tulips are on their way.

We've been threatened with a thunderstorm and I don't think we will get the full brunt of it. But we've got lots of wind and rain and big, beautiful clouds. This picture was taken from the parking lot at Home Depot where we had to special order a freaking toilet seat. Seriously. It started raining soon after. And we need rain...for the tulips.

I need to make a Houston post but that will be a nice, long one with lots of pictures, so no time now. And John wants the laptop to set up our new webcam so we can talk to Javier.

oh dear...

We came home from a wonderful, short trip to Houston and received some sad news. Our friend Javier is waiting for his green card application to be approved and apparently there is a long delay. The company he works for put in a request for a tourist visa--this would allow him to stay a little longer and wrap things up---but this was denied. So he is leaving for Costa Rica this weekend. We knew he'd have to leave soon to wait for news of his green card, but we thought we had a little more time.

I know everything will work out in the end...I know it will. Javier will be back soon. We will take him to the airport on Saturday, but I know we'll be picking him up soon. In a limo, with lots of music and laughter and champagne. John and Javier will drink Johnnie Walker Blue Label and all will be right with the world.

Now is the time for pictures of Javier...

Little of this, little of that

I am having that feeling again. The one where the idea of cooking makes me sick and I can't even imagine going to the grocery store. Seriously, the idea of buying food, cooking it and eating it makes me nauseous. But I'm still eating...it's just take-out. I have an idea where this feeling originates, so I need to deal with it...

The sun is shining and it is beautiful out. I'm not sure how long it will stay this way. I am getting the urge to spring clean and think I'll start this weekend. We are going to Houston next weekend and it's nice to come home to a clean house.
And part of me needs a fresh start, a new way to approach something...I think coming home after Houston will give me a starting point. I'm not sure if this even makes sense...

I'm looking forward to this spring and this summer. There are no big plans and I am trying not to build up high expectations. I want it to flow, I want a natural rhythm, I want lazy days at the lake and Saturday mornings at the farmer's market and there I go with the expectations...

My birthday is in the spring and I've always liked that, it's a wonderful time to have a birthday. I like it when it's near Easter, this year it's the day before. If I live to be 104, my birthday would have been on Easter Sunday a total of 5 times.
I've never beenreally fond of making a big to-do over my birthday. I like it to be a little secret, a quiet feeling inside. And I don't need a lot of people with me, a very small gathering will do...

My little brother

I love my brother. My one and only brother. After all these years, we are in the same town and are very good friends. Greg lived in New Orleans for quite a while and left the day after the levees broke in 2005. After a couple of starts in new places, I hope he is here to stay in Kansas.
Greg shares my love of movies and certain sitcoms like Andy Griffith and Seinfeld. He'll deny it, but his memory is better than mine and once we get started with quotes and reenactments...we'll laugh so much our mother has to tell us to stop being silly...and we'll laugh even more. I love that he's inherited our father's gift of storytelling and that we share some of the same wonderful memories of our childhood. He is witty and charming, knows more about sports than anyone I know and is an excellent golfer.

We went out to dinner Friday night with Greg and his girlfriend, our mother and our friend Javier. Dad is in Houston with his brother visiting old friends.
After dinner, we came back to our house for drinks and a game of Trivial Pursuit. It was a close game and so much fun!

Weekend

Last week was lousy and no good. And we were sickly. But it ended well. And we were happy.


A trip to Macy's to buy the pot I've wanted for a while now. Then dinner with friends and we didn't mind the wait for a table, we sat outside and caught up and told stories. Off to Javier's to teach Brenda how to play Texas Hold 'Em. John and I stopped at Wal-Mart to buy poker chips and I suggested we get deodorant and razor blades because everything really is cheaper at the evil Wal-Mart. We were full and giddy, laughing at our odd assortment of goods. "Poker makes us sweaty", we told ourselves and boy, we thought we were hilarious.






On Saturday, we were invited to a pancake breakfast at Robin and Scott's. Robin is from Liberal, where they race on Pancake Day against Olney, England.
http://www.pancakeday.net/

She fed us and several more people. They were delicious and we'll be back next year. Robin said we'll wear aprons and race in the backyard.


Sunday came and it was time to use the new pot! I made vegetable beef stew. Brenda and Javier came over and we looked through cds, adding music to our various mp3 players. Then we ate and drank and ate some more. We watched the Oscars and I found the bottle of white port we'd opened in December. John and Javier wrote down our votes and if your picks didn't win, you had to do ten jumping jacks. It was the most fun I've had watching the Oscars, I think, ever.

Just a good end to a lousy week. The kind of weekend where you fall asleep happy, not really minding that tomorrow is Monday.

Morning Walk

We've been fortunate and had a couple weeks of nice weather. Javier had us join him for a long walk one morning up by the governor's mansion.

It was so nice we did it again the next weekend with even more friends and a dog.

It was a little muddy but we soldiered through and came out in a field where we shuffled our feet through the dry grass to somewhat clean our shoes. I sat down and used a twig to clean mine. I thought about the days when muddy shoes didn't bother me. Days after a good rain when my friend Amy and I would walk up to Esplanade Street by the Missouri River and find our favorite swing set. There were big "valleys" under each swing that would fill up with water. We'd take off our shoes and swing, letting our toes dip in the muddy water. I'm pretty sure we'd do that for hours.

It's getting cold and dreary again. I'm trying to walk on the treadmill, but I'd much rather be outside.

Afternoon walk

Ah, Sunday! I do like Sundays.
I woke up this morning, I was so glad


I awoke refreshed and eager to start my day. I haven't felt like that in a while. Coffee, poached egg, english muffin and the paper. I made butternut squash and leek soup for lunches this week before John even woke up! We just had a good morning. Made another soup, chicken and couscous, portioned all the soup out and put in the fridge with little notes to tell us which was which. I had a good bowl of vegetable scraps to add to the compost, so I took that out...watered and aerated the compost while I was out there.



The sun was shining and it was cold and crisp. We decided to drive out to Shawnee Lake and take a walk with friends. A nice long walk with geese and ducks and a hot air balloon in the sky. Cheri suggested stopping at a swingset for a few minutes. A wonderful idea. I felt so invigorated! I hope this keeps up!

Lists

I love making lists. Grocery lists, guest lists, to-do lists, etc. I like using a fresh sheet of paper and a nice pen and if I make a mistake, I'll start again.
I began a list too late this week, a list of movies I've watched while we've stayed at home this week. I say too late, because I think I've missed a few. But here it is,
The Cooler
True Love
Across the Universe
Vantage Point
Fight Club
WALL-E
Hancock
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Manchurian Candidate
Kinsey
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Seraphim Falls
Relative Values
Good News
September
Two for the Road
The Last Shot
The House Bunny
21



And now, I need to go to the library. I think tomorrow, I'll stay upstairs...do laundry and lay across the bed and read.

New Year

It's 2009 and I'm too busy sleeping and watching movies to think of any resolutions or any big plans.
"I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."

We had a swell time ushering in 2009 with our very small group of merrymakers.