And so it goes...

  Nothing really ever gets too fancy around here. lol  It's nothing short of a miracle that this is still on the table, given the cats penchant for all things kickable to the floor, and 2 dogs with table sized constantly wagging tails.  I've actually moved it to the little coffee table/chest in front of one of the love seats...even more kickable now, but for the moment it looks pretty good.  lol

lol...I must have been listing to the left... Anyway, you get the idea. Sometimes it looks like my house was decorated by the Marx brothers... (BTW--the little black lump on the loveseat is Miss Roxie.)  lol


  Oh my goodness. I looked at the Calendar and see that I am down to 10 days til the party.  I couldn't really get motivated to get much done yesterday...and it's looking like the same today. Oh well.  I did cross 6 things off my list of 10 that I had hoped to get done or at least start.  This morning the only thing I've done is a half hour of yoga for my joints and the first part of Mama Pea's Qi Gong tape.  And took a long hot shower afterwards. So I'm feeling pretty good right about now. Good enough to head into town??  Maybe...
maybe not. We'll see. It's nothing life or death, so I don't really have to go. But sometimes it's good to go out in public for a minute.  :)  I have a station playing right now that is all piano and guitar...the music is so soothing and the house is warm and some pups are outside and some are in here snoozing in the sun. Makes it hard to leave my little sanctuary here on Honeysuckle Hill. Oh...and it's wicked cold outside today again...finally up to 38 at almost 1 o'clock.  Supposedly getting up to 43, but I'm not holding my breath.  lol Yesterday couldn't crest 31 to save it's life. 

   And so it's winter finally on the prairie. Guess it had to happen. I was talking to my neighbor yesterday or the day before, and we agreed that cold , even snow, was okay...as long as the sun was shining. Because we had 2 days in a row of grey bleak rainy yuck.  That soul sucking greyness that is so different here....when I lived in the Pacific Northwest, I loved the weather...the soft rain, the fog...at some point you get a little tired of the lack of sun, and then it will get brilliant for a few days to give you a solar fix before it retreats again. But that damp was different than here, for some reason.  Oh well.. it is what it is. I've always wanted to live in Washington...I've lived in far northern California and in Oregon...if I ever move again, it's  Washington, I've decided.  

    I made a lovely stuffed butternut squash last night for supper....and a salad made with our garden greens. They are hanging in there (the ones in the fridge--not the outside guys : they're done.)  I have some wild rice from Canada that my cousin gave me, and I cooked it mixed about 70/30 with brown rice before adding it to a skillet of sauteed onions, celery, garlic, ginger, pecans and portabella mushrooms.  Then I took the butternut squash I had baked and stuffed it with the mixture. I drizzled a scant teaspoon of honey across the top of each one and put it back in the oven for about 20 minutes. Man was it good...not sure what I'm fixing tonight,. but it won't be a show stopper like that one, I'm betting.  lol  Might do something simple like turkey or tuna noodle casserole.  


  My oven magically started working again. I decided (after looking at new ranges and comparing prices YIKES !) that I needed to have someone come look at this one and see if it can be repaired. So, I got in the phone book and looked up a couple of local repairmen and wrote down their numbers. Then I wrote a short description of the problem. (The flame bar won't ignite). Wrote down the brand and model of the range and was looking for a serial number or model number. Then I thought...I better try to turn this thing on and make sure it's not working still. Lo and behold. After a false start, the damn thing lit right up. I did bang ion it with a hammer (gently) because my theory is that there's a piece of rust or gunk from the tank or something clogging up the jet. The igniter got hot and that should have started the whole process, but it wasn't working. So...now my oven is working again, and I'm debating calling someone just because it maybe should be looked at to insure that I don't have an explosion in the kitchen. LOL  But I baked those squash yesterday with no incident.  Who knows. I hate to spend any unnecessary money right now...

 
  Well...it's getting later by the minute and I have done nothing and don't care. lol Thinking about hitting the dollar store for a few more scented candles...if I can find spruce or vanilla.  I figure there's no point in doing too much too soon, as I'll just have to do it all over again before the party.  (Like the way I have justified my sloth??)  I'll get the Irishman to help me with a few things on the weekend, and the rest I'll accomplish as the week progresses. I'm sitting with my neighbor's husband on Wednesday and Friday this week, so that will pretty much fill up this slot. lol  Then starting the weekend, I can get serious about the party preparations.


   Have a grand week, everyone...and spread as much loving kindness as you can muster.


Namaste.