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Something We Don't Appreciate

      We were having wonderful time on New Year's Eve. C made the best steak bites he'd ever made. The new cheeseball recipe I'd made was really good. The chip dip mix I made was also tasty. We watched the movie 'Conclave' and had just finished the movie 'Grease'. (The original one with Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.) I decided it was time to clean the litterbox before we broke out the sparkling juice for a toast.     I turned on the light and walked into the laundry room where the litterboxes are. I noticed a large puddle of water around the hot water heater, furnace pedestal and a corner of the room. I walked out again and told C. The good time we were having came to a grinding halt. The water heater had leaked before, but not this bad. We we planning to purchase another one, but were holding off until after the first of the year. C checked around the hot water heater carefully. When he didn't see anything coming from the bottom of the heater he...
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The New Year

      My alarm went off at 5 AM as it always does. After going to bed at close to 1AM, my first thought was to turn it off and go back to sleep. I couldn't do it. The cats needed to be fed and I didn't want to interrupt my usual morning routine.     I gave each cat half a can of wet food which is their treat twice a week and on holidays. While they ate I took down all our old calendars. We usually have three. Two of them are traditional hanging calendars in the kitchen and in our computer room. The other is a page a day calendar in the kitchen. I buy different page a day calendars every year. This year's calendar is inspiring quotes from women.     I gathered the old calendars up and put them in the recycling bin. Then I put up the new ones and threw any any nonrecyclable packaging.     As most of you who read this know, New Years is my favourite holiday. Last night we celebrated with an assortment of dips, chips, a cheese ball, some vegetabl...
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The Christmas Column

      Last week I helped my friend/sister, Dana, bake Christmas cookies. During the course of our baking she asked me a question. I had been talking about how it has been hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit the past few years. She asked me, "what do you need so you can feel the Christmas spirit?"     That question stopped me for a minute. I had never considered that. As someone who is a community pharmacist, I always assumed it was because December is the time when most people tend to be worst. Retail workers are not often on the receiving end of the season of love and joy. This hasn't been the case for the past five years that I've been at my current job.     What do I need in order to feel the Christmas spirit?      I thought about this question on and off for the rest of the day and the next several days. I knew a few things I didn't need. I didn't need presents. I rejected the commercial aspect of Christmas a few years back....
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Presents

      I have a confession to make. I don't like buying presents. I especially don't like buying presents at Christmas time.      I wasn't always like this. C and I used to enjoy a day of shopping and lunch in downtown Minneapolis. We'd buy presents for people we know and for each other. We'd wander around Macy's, go to the auditorium to see the Christmas display and have lunch at the Oak Grill. It was a lot of fun. Now it's all gone.     As I've grown older I've become a bit resentful of the present buying culture around Christmas. So much so that Thanksgiving has been nearly erased to make more time to shop. I've also lost my ability to find good presents for people. I have almost no idea what to give anyone anymore. I'm even having trouble finding little presents for St. Nicholas day. Most of my friends fall into two categories. Some of them have a lot of stuff and talk of clutter control. I don't wish to contribute to the clutter. Some...
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Build a Bear

           On my last birthday, C gave me a bear he made at Build a Bear. This is a store that has a selection on unstuffed toy animals and other creature which people can purchase and stuff. There are various items that allow the animal to make sounds or play specially recorded messages. When the paw/ hand of the item in pressed, the recording plays. There are also clothes and accessories to dress the toy.          C bought me an interactive bear. When it is turned on, the bear wiggles his ears and makes sounds according to what I say. It also says a few phrases. When he is turned off, the bear closes his eyes and starts to snore for a few minutes. He is named Sparkle and I like him very much.           I brought Sparkle over for my Mom to see. For those who don't read this often, my Mom has Alzheimer's. I had heard that sometimes dolls or stuffed animals provide comfort and companionship to those suff...
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A Phone Call

     Now that I have the ability to text, I don't talk to people on the phone much, except at work. Maybe it's because I don't want to bother anyone or reach them at a bad time. Another reason could be the ability to edit before hitting send. Once you say it it's out and there's nothing you can do about it except deal with the reaction. It could also have to do with my love of sending pictures and using Bitmoji.      When I do talk on the phone it tends to be a marathon session. I can talk on the phone for an hour or more with a someone I haven't heard from in awhile. Having bionic ear in this case is very helpful. The other person's voice goes right into my ear and I don't have to worry about getting "phone ear". I can also do other things while talking such as washing dishes or folding laundry. My favourite way to talk on the phone is sitting comfortably with a cup of tea and maybe a cat on my lap.    I had just such a conversation today. I s...
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Thanksgiving

      It's 11 AM. The turkey is in the crockpot. The dishes are washed. C is in the kitchen preparing cornbread dressing with the cornbread I baked yesterday. This is something from his southern culture that we have incorporated into our meal. I wasn't sure I would like it as I was used to eating  traditional stuffing. This is baked in a dish in the oven and not put into the bird. Good for us, since we do not get a whole turkey, just a breast. It's become my favourite part of the meal next to the mashed potatoes.      The last week I noted that my Facebook memories show posts where I show pictures or write about things for which I am grateful. Some of them are pretty obvious like C, my job, the cats, our home and my coworkers. Some of them are a bit more interesting our like our furnace, cellphones and refrigerator.     Today I'm going to write about a few less obvious things that I'm grateful for.      Monday we went to Cannon...
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