"Hell-o and Goodbye to November"

Dear Blog,

Busy, busy...busy is all I can say. It's been very cold here but we've only had a dusting of snow. No big storms or such. Today I'll order new slippers...real warm ones and maybe a new sweatshirt or two, also.

We have one of those deceiving nice sunny days today. That big old sun doesn't fool me. I know It's colder then it would be to hang out in a freezer out side. Pretty dammed nippy in here.

Our Thanksgiving celebration was quiet and tasty. It was just the old boy and I with the usual menu. I love the smell of the bird when it’s roasting and I seem to get hungrier by the minute just smelling it cook. I actually like the smell of it roasting and the smell of fresh coffee brewing better then I like eating the bird and drinking the coffee.

So okay, as long as I’m sharing I might just as well tell that I get rather goofy smelling wet dirt and pavement when it’s just rained and I love…I crave the smell of diesel fuel coming from the muffler of a huge semi-truck. One of my Dad’s was a truck driver and often left his truck running for hours in the yard thus, I blame him. Why not, hey? I’ve learned that parents always get the blame.

I would chew ice all day long if I could and not get sick or have a gigantic sinus headache from it. The ice cravings started when I was pregnant with my second baby. I had lots of heartburn and ice seemed to help tame it some. I was 18 years old at that time and here some 40 some years later I am still hooked one ice…still hooked on cigarettes. At least I’m over having that killer salt on every thing.

And then:

I read that huge numbers of women crave ice (all of these oral cravings are called Pica). Anyhow, the reason for the ice cravings is because we (who crave) don’t absorb "Vitamin B". I then read that adding a dose of "Chromium" to make the "B" work and stop craving the ice. I tried it and it did work some but since I haven’t stayed faithful to the "C" I eat ice again. One needs to be very careful with "Chromium"…it can be deadly. At least  I don't eat dangerous amounts of dirt like so many Southern women do and then there are those who crave chalk. I could get high smelling wet dirt and I've had to pull dirt out of Libby's mouth since she was just a little girl. I used to crave sulfur when I was a kid. I'd search ashtrays for burnt matches so I could eat the sulfur ends off them. I only ate buggers when I was very young and one of my kids did that also. I won't say which one. Go figure all these weird cravings.

Now that you know about my cravings...even the disgusting ones...I’ll get back to the holiday news. I get distracted so easily.

We ended up with way too many leftovers, of course. I mean a 16-pound bird and all the fixings for just us two. Way crazy! Thank goodness for freezers. Next year I think I’ll buy a package of turkey tenders or maybe a small turkey breast. Used to be that for Christmas we’d serve a turkey and a ham with tons of hors d’oeuvres, sides, desserts and drinks…that was in the day when we had a houseful coming to eat. Those days are gone and I’m glad. I don’t think I could handle it now. Lots of work…lots of people. Too much of anything makes it a chore. I’m glad we had those times and back then nothing seemed like it was too much. Back then the Holidays meant more to the kids which made them more fun and important to me. It was worth all of the work, the shopping, the baking and the cooking just to see their happy faces and the delight they had when they got at least one gift they had asked Santa for and even for a few things that Mama bought and wrapped too.

Kevin had a four-day weekend so he tore our old shower out (walls and all) and put a new one in. I don't want to worry about mildew or mold and two or three tiles had broken off so water could get to the wall behind the shower. I love the new shower. Now I'll get new shower curtains too. I have this need to change things up every so often. Adds a little sparkle to my life.

Kevin wants to have a leg of lamb for the two of us this year. I could go for a prime rib roast (Angus Beef) of course. I am fussy about my beef. Then again lamb sounds good too. It might be nice to go out to have a holiday meal in some swanky restaurant. I might even have a cocktail. I used to like a “White Russian”. I haven’t had one in years. I wonder if I’d still like them. I’ve liked every rum drink I’ve ever had so maybe a rum drink would be nice.

We always spend Christmas Eve at Libby’s house with the kids that show up and of course the little boys (Jordan and his fighting brother Henry). They can get along great for a while and then it’s squabbling time. It’d be nice if Daniel would show up with his two (Hunter and Willow). We’ve never had a Holiday with the three of them.

Anyhow, on Christmas Day we all do our own thing. Some times it’s a stay in PJ’s day.

I haven’t done any Christmas shopping yet. No Black Friday for me. I stay home and make it a pink day. I’ll probably just get a few little things or family share gifts and then give them each some cash so they can go shopping after Christmas when the prices are slashed and pick out what they want. I think it’s better than spending the day returning things that aren’t what you want.

I’ll decorate some but I have cut way back with that too. Kevin asked what I want for Christmas and I just don’t know. I’ll have to think about that. He gets upset if I say I don’t want anything. Maybe we can take a weekend away…go to Duluth or maybe take the Amtrak for a couple of days in Chicago. Winter really isn’t the time to go to either of those places. Maybe we should take one of those cheap weekend flights to Vegas.

So I’m off for now. The dryer buzzer just went off and I need to go do a few errands in town. Maybe I’ll get a piece of salmon fillet from the butcher to steam for dinner. I can cook my fish, rice and vegetables all at the same time in my stacker steamer and feel good that I am eating a healthy meal.

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and will have some fun getting ready for Christmas.


Bye Blog, JjB…
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