A Chilly Surprise

Sunday here was cold, blustery, and rainy. Still, Monday’s early snowfall surprised me. Watching snowflakes and tree leaves mingling on their way toward the ground struck me as magical.

I would have a less appreciative attitude if I needed to go out in it, wouldn’t I? Do you know that packed snow actually benefits plants, insulating their roots from the cold?

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Warped

I try to eat healthy but sometimes a frozen pizza is just too tempting. With innumerable options available, my husband and I discovered the Schwan’s Red Baron brand launched in 1976 to be superior. They aren’t overly expensive as well as being tasty. Still, my guy often asks that I put on extra toppings.

For the first time I found adding grated mozzarella warped the crust during baking. The taste did not suffer any harm. I suppose the cheese adding moisture caused this.

Do you think my theory is correct? And are you a pizza fan? If so, what are your preferences?

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What a Waste…

The other day, Andrew commented how he wonders what clothing retailers do with last season’s garments. Our dear friend at Eastside Cats had a clever notion that such items could be shipped to the opposite hemisphere.

I like to think that they could be donated to homeless shelters, orphanages, and the like. However, I’m sure it’s a naïve wish.

This reminded me of a brief encounter at our local Walmart. It happened a few years ago and my memory is a bit fuzzy. The gist of it is that I saw a garden center associate preparing to throw out struggling plants. Hoping I might be able to revive the flowers, I asked if I could take one.

She flat out denied me. Apparently it’s some sort of corporate policy. Why? I have no idea.

Isn’t flagrant waste annoying? Do you think it would have been considered shoplifting if I grabbed it out of the trash?

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Imperfect Perfectionism

I carry a lot of traits passed on from my mother, and her mother before her. All three of us have had body insecurities. I know for a fact that my maternal grandmother only wore dresses/skirts because she was bowlegged and she hid her crooked teeth behind a closed-lipped smile.

A Beautiful Smile Nonetheless

By the way, Mom and I considered her minor imperfect leg shape to be adorable. And I’m glad to report that Grandma never seemed to suffer the condition.

On a side note, I now remember my brother wearing corrective leg braces. Wow! I forgot that ancient history.

Anyway, Mom was forever attempting to slim down while I despise my own weight gain. Most relevant to this post, my mother spent way more time crafting bake-at-home pizzas at her grocery store job than was required. She enjoyed the process, though, and I think her employers appreciated the dedication.

As for the relevancy, my editing for prose, blogging, and even commenting(!) on others’ social media posts go on ad nauseum. Now you know why I so seldom put out content here.

Do you think her grin hid a mischievous nature from us kids?

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Squished

I am forever grateful to the Gem City Catfé for letting us adopt sisters Terra and Polly. While they are not inseparable, it’s impossible to know what they’ll get up to when they are together.

How can this be comfortable?

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Prosthetic Pumpkin Stem

After Halloween, our local grocery store put their remaining pumpkins on a steep discount. Many were broken in various ways. For a mere $2 (USD) I picked up one with, as is obvious, a missing stem.

It’s also rather banged up and far less pretty than the blue pumpkins I cultivated from seed last summer. I still like it.

Angel Jezebel’s favorite stuffed mouse proved a cute topper. I think she would approve of my bringing this toy out of retirement.

Jezzy would pull her toy down from a cat tree late at night.
I still miss searching for it the next morning...

Have you noticed that post holiday clearance sales aren’t as good as they were years ago? What do you think happens with unsold candy?

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Bordeaux & Phoenix – Another Overdue Post

Back in the late 1980’s my brother worked near San Francisco as a chef. My boyfriend and I flew cross country to visit him and explore area vineyards. That’s where I discovered my dragon statuette and named ‘him’ after the tasty wine.

As for my adventure with our one-legged friend Phoenix, he can neither carry laundry baskets nor traverse his cellar stairs. A kindly neighbor has done his laundry every Saturday since his amputation but she had another obligation a few weeks ago. Upon being asked, I never considered saying no but honestly dreaded the task for various reasons.

As it happened, the power went out in his neighborhood that very morning. Mulling over options, my husband and I concocted an amicable solution. I drove over, got the dirty laundry, and we both came back in separate cars.

It was far preferable using familiar appliances in a space other than his creepy cellar. And I was able to get started earlier because his workplace is only minutes from his house, this same outage shortening his work day.

Who knew a power outage could benefit me? Is it selfish of me to think of it that way?

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Terra, the Dragon Tamer

I had decorated this basket years ago and put my dragon statuette inside a few weeks ago. It was placed by the front door but I moved it before our friend Phoenix visited. With a prosthetic right leg, the last thing he needs is trip hazards.

Anyway, Terra snuggled into the basket with Bordeaux the dragon. I’ll share more about Phoenix’s visit, a bit of a funny tale.

How can this be comfortable?

Can you see Bordeaux? Do you want to know how he got the name?

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