Garden Club Christmas Auction 2023

Well, it’s that time again, the Hope Valley Garden Club Christmas Auction. Another favorite holiday activity. I have been in this garden club for 23 years and the Christmas Auction was the first meeting I attended. I brought fudge as my auction item and I think it might have sold for $15 which I thought was a lot considering how little it was.

We had a wonderful lunch made by the hostess committee. This year we were at Emmy Huckabee’s beautiful house. They made salmon and orzo and salad and apparently some yummy biscuits. I say apparently since I couldn’t eat those, but heard a lot of oohing and aching as they were gobbled down. That part of the Christmas auction has remained the same for at least the last 23 years.

Then there are other things about the event that have changed, especially this year. The items that people bring for the auction are incredible. I can remember in the early years the used pink plastic flask, or the Boy Scout popcorn brought by much older members. Hands down the worst item was a used ugly Christmas sweater that came from a house of a chain smoker.

This year we had needlepointed Christmas ornaments and needlepoint canvas kitted out with the fibers and stitch guide, French chef quality pastries and Christmas worthy cakes, original art, bespoke Christmas planters, soups, and the biggest hit of all was a Holley Broughton original wreath of tiny houses she made. Kathi Eason snagged that up.

The bidding was extraordinary even when I, as the auctioneer, was having trouble keeping straight if the bid was made by Laura, Laurie, or Leslie, or Ann, Anne, Anne or Anna.

In the end the real hero of the day was Missy McLeod our treasurer, who works through the whole event registering the items as they are brought in, checking in the guests, then making down the value of the items sold and who bought them and collecting the money at the end. She reported in that we had made over $8,500 and that was before she collected money from the people who did not bring an item to auction. To put into perspective how good that is, last year we broke our record and raised $6,550. All this from some cakes and wreaths.

It’s not so much about the money, but it is wonderful to raise it so we can give it away. It is the fellowship and the fun. I offered two quarts of soup, the winner got to pick which of my original recipes I would make them. When the bidding got to $200 I said I would let two people each get two quarts for $200 each. Then after the auction another person wanted two quarts for $200. So tomorrow I am making the soup and the garden club got $600 for a very small amount of soup on my part.

Paige asked me at the last minute if I would auction off an hour of private Mah Jongg lesson. Two people paid $200 each to share an hour.

The guests made a big difference as some bring items and many bid up items. We really love having them come. It was a fun day all around. I can only imagine what Pat Joklik, the previous auctioneer, would think about the amount of money we raise today compared to 23 years ago. At least she would recognize what a nice job the hostess do.

Made With Love

The exuberance of the season continues. Tonight was my second smaller needlepoint group’s ornament exchange. It was our fourth year of exchanging ornaments and it is a very special night.

It all started when one friend wanted to learn to needlepoint and invited a few experienced stitching friends to come stitch with her every month. We became a very supportive group. When this friend learned of my other stitching group ornament exchange she decided we should do the same.

I am not saying we are a competitive group, but discerning might be a better description. So we not only make a special ornament for another person, but we also exchange lovely gifts. I look all year for just the right gifts to give this group and love everything I am given and I usually could care less about gifts, (except for homemade ornaments.)

This year I received a very special ornament from my friend Michelle. It is the cutest rendition of Shay. The most amazing thing is Shay is wearing a green coat and Russ and I bought her a green coat this summer in Maine and Michelle says she stitched it last winter. Just seems like these friends know each other so well we can predict what we will like.

So here are the wonderful ornaments, made with love for our little group. Each one is a treasure that only another stitcher can truly appreciate.

We picked our names for next year so now the planning has to begin. How can I top myself?

Cilantro Lime Dressing

Last week I served this dressing at two parties and promised I would write the recipe down. You know I don’t measure as I cook so if I don’t write down what I do right away I will forget and if when I write it down it is just an approximation of what I did. So feel free to adjust everything to your taste.

I used this in a chicken taco salad, but it would be yummy as a sauce on grilled salmon or in a shrimp salad or even just mixed into rice.

1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1 garlic clove

1 tomatillo -quartered

1 fresh jalapeño-stemmed and seeded

2 T. Honey

1 t. Coriander

1 t. Garlic powder

Large bunch of cilantro washed with just a quarter inch of stems cut off. (The whole bunch you get at the grocery which is probably 2 cups if you stuffed it in a measuring cup. Use the stems because they have the most flavor.)

Shake of red pepper flakes

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream

1/4 cup olive oil

Black pepper

Put everything in the blender and pulverize.

Not Going to the Party is the Only Answer

A couple of weeks ago Russ asked me if it was all right if he went to Philly this weekend as it is his father’s birthday. Of course that was fine with me and then I gave him the very good news that he would be missing a big Christmas party. I was perfectly fine to go alone and he was more than perfectly fine not to have to go even though it meant getting up at 3:45 AM.

No one thought to ask Shay if it was going to be OK with her. She has gotten very used to Russ being with her all the time. Since the pandemic he does not travel half as much as he used to and with me traveling for Mah Jongg she gets to go to the office with him, when he goes in.

Today she was a little despondent as it was just us until my Mom came over, but then even we left her to go out to lunch. I knew she was mad because she did not eat anything all day. Finally around six I cooked her some hamburger, something Russ has started doing so she was a little happy with me.

That was until I put on a nice dress at 6:30pm. Nothing good can come of Mom getting dressed at night. Off I went to the party. I stayed barley two hours. It was getting loud and it was getting hard to talk. The only thing I want to do at a party is talk. So I slid on out and came home to a very mad puppy who didn’t even raise her head from the bed.

Russ would have been thrilled to only go to two hours of any party, if that was an option ever offered to him. I am worried we have spoiled Shay so much she is always going to mad if we both leave the house at the same time.

I am not certain I can make everyone happy unless I say we are doing nothing but staying home. I guess I can only go to daytime parties alone so Shay can be with Russ and they both can be happy they are not at a party.

Little Brown Dog Goes to the Cleaners

My Daddy is well known at the dry cleaners thanks to his tiny Smart Car and the fact he has been getting his shirts done there for the last 29 years.

I like when he takes me to go drop off or pick up his shirts because the nice ladies there give me treats. I always sit on Daddy’s lap so they can get a good look at me and let them pet me if they want. I act very happy as I gently take the milk bones they offer me. Sometimes they like me so much they give me more than one.

I don’t want to hurt their feelings, but I don’t like to eat the treats they give me. When their backs are turned I drop the bones in my seat. When we get home Daddy will pick up the treats and try and give them to me once in the house. He must think I am some kind of dolt, but if I didn’t like the milk bones at the dry cleaners I don’t like them anymore at home.

I don’t like going to the dry cleaners for the treats, or even for the fawning from the nice dry cleaner ladies, I like going to the dry cleaners to get to spend more alone time with my Daddy. I love the wind blowing through my locks as Daddy tools down the road with the top down. So if Daddy ever says, “Do you want to go to the cleaners?” The answer is always Yes. It’s not about the treats it is what the treats represent.

Party Number Two

Seven days into December and I just completed my second Christmas Party of the season. Since it is December 7, Carter’s birthday, I am used to always throwing a party on this day. Since she is not here Lynn and I threw our Chinese Auction today instead.

I think the is my 20th year of giving this party. Lynn joined me probably 16 years ago. We had a stellar turn out this year. Since everyone knows that this party is about bringing a gift that everyone would want the competition was high for the most stolen item. For the record gifts with red bows do well and Kai lotion or a Kai diffuser are the most popular item.

Shelayne had quizzed me about what good strategy would be to have the most stolen gift. I told her the wrapping is key because you want your gift opened early so it would have a chance to be stolen. With each gift opened that was not Shelayne’s she became more and more despondent. Finally someone opened her gift and it was a good one. I stole it, but it was stolen from me.

Thankfully I ended up with the gift I really wanted. A beautiful glass Christmas tree that Kathi Eason brought that was all the colors of my living room. Kathi said she had hoped I would get it.

I served the same lunch I served my needlepoint group on Monday. It was a chicken southwest salad in a jar, with a cilantro lime dressing and a chocolate mousse in a jar.

I could not top last year’s make your own Poké bowls so I had to make this year about the presentation. It was a hit. The homemade tortilla strips helped. They weren’t in the jar, but in a bowl passed around.

I will definitely make another meal in these jars. It makes serving so quick and it’s lots of fun. Everyone, except me, followed instructions and put their plate on top of the jar and then flipped the whole thing over so that the salad would not fly all over the place. Thankfully mine all stayed on my plate even though I didn’t follow my own instructions.

I am especially thankful to the Presbyterian dish washing crew who cleaned all the dishes and put them away.

I will be posting my dressing recipe tomorrow per all the requests I got for it, plus I would like to memorialize how I made it because it was a keeper and I won’t even remember it in two weeks.

Lynn and I did not have time to open all our hostess gifts today so we will continue the fun tomorrow and open all our gifts. It is a way better haul than I ever get on Christmas. Such kind and generous friends we have. I know they all want to be invited back. I did tell them about the person who used to be invited, until the year I got her gift in the exchange, a pedicure kit. That seemed fine, until I went to use it and discovered I was not the first person to use it. Bringing a used gift that is not an antique or something really special got her kicked off the list. Just sayin’.

The Layering of Festivities

There is nothing better than having two fun things in one day. The first was a visit from my Kinston friends, Jane and Kim. They had a big trip to the city and the best part is they spent lunch with me. Jane had some appointments and after being with me they did some errands before her last appointment. They had to be really board because they wrote and ABC list about me. It was very cute, but it was too kind so I’m not sharing it. I did love the idea of writing an ABC list about a friend.

After that fun visit I went to Amanda’s tea party at the WaDu. That was a real holiday treat. First of all, we all love tea, second it was a sweet group of friends, third Amanda even made sure I had some gluten free goodies. Such a good Christmasy time with friends.

Tomorrow is Carter’s 25th birthday. I can’t believe she will be a quarter century old. I so remember exactly how I was feeling 25 years ago tonight as Russ and I could hardly sleep waiting to go to the hospital for my C-section as Carter was two weeks late. The anticipation of meeting her was too exciting. I never imagined that she would be even cooler than I could think up.

Her company gives everyone their birthday off so I hope she has nothing but fun tomorrow. It snowed today in Boston which I know she loved. If you know her wish Carter a happy Birthday.

It’s My Favorite Season

There is nothing more wonderful than having friends who understand my love of all things Christmas. From sharing needlepoint ornaments with not just one group, but two, to friends who come and steal presents.

Today my friend Kathi surprised me with a special Christmas table cloth for my breakfast room table. Not only did she bring it by, she helped me unset the table and reset it with the beautiful cloth on the table. It totally changed the look of my room adding the perfect Christmas look.

Later in the week I will go help my friend Jan make bows for the outdoor decorations at her house.

Russ is going to visit his Dad this weekend to celebrate his birthday and will set his Dad’s Christmas up. I am sorry I will not get to do that decorating, but I am happy Russ will actually get to decorate a tree.

‘‘Tis the season. Let the sparkle fill your heart.

The Best Laid Plans

It is a good thing I used to have a catering business otherwise today could have been a disaster I might not have recovered from.

My plan for my party today was to get up and assemble the lunch I was serving. Since it is the same lunch I am also serving at my party this Thursday I am not going to reveal today what it is, but suffice it to say, it is something that takes lots of work to prepare.

I had set the table four days go, but forgot that I needed to needlepoint two place cards for two new members of our group. So in the midst of checking the table at 9:45 I realized my mistake and ran upstairs to quickly needlepoint the missing place cards.

I finished by 10:15 and went back to the kitchen to finish the lunch prep. The guests were due at 11:00 and I knew I had plenty of time. Well, that was before a three quart container of cilantro lime dressing fell on the floor.

I had spent hours perfecting that dressing and 85% of it was on the floor, the cabinets, the dishwasher, my shoes and my dress. It took 20 minutes of mopping, 10 minutes of recreating more dressing and 15 fast minutes of prepping the food. With one minute to spare I changed my dress and the first guest came in while I was still upstairs, but you could not tell the disaster that had just occurred.

In spite of all that the Needlepoint Christmas party was as fun as ever. Gorgeous ornaments were stitched by all. My friend Jeanne made me a French butter 3-d ornaments that I adore. We had a fun lunch and then a little puzzle activity I had planned.

It was wonderful to be together and share in our love of needlepoint and each other. Some of these women I don’t get to see much as I am off on my Mah Jongg tour so it was nice to catch up and hear what is going on with them.

It made no difference that the dressing spilled all over the kitchen. Thankfully I had plenty of extra ingredients to recreate it. My years of catering gave me the muscle that makes you just push through the disaster and fix it. No crying over spilled cilantro lime.

The Parties Begin

Tomorrow is the first Monday in December. I always know exactly what I am doing on the first Monday in December and have for the last 9 years. IT’S NEEDLEPOINT CHRISTMAS!

I was so honored to be asked to join in the needlepoint exchange group ten years ago by an extraordinary group of stitchers. I was relatively new to them, but they welcomes me into their stitching fold. Ever since then we have picked names and secretly stitched an ornament for one of the members of our group.

Needlepoint is one of those things that only another stitcher appreciates. Non-stitchers cannot fathom the work or cost that goes into it. To stitch for someone who knows and understands is a joy. To do it for anyone else is a heart break.

Needlepoint Christmas is the official start to all my celebrations. 12 friends will come for lunch tomorrow and we will ooh and ahh over each tiny work of art. I have spent the weekend preparing for their arrival, making food and setting the table. I even have a fun game activity for us to do after lunch.

From here the pace of parties picks up fast, other to go to and to throw. It feels like Christmas time pre-covid. For now I love that I always start the same way. Cheers to the season.

Giving Something Away is Easy

Yesterday I wrote about this computer cabinet I wanted to get rid of. It came as no surprise to me that you regular blog readers did not want it. So when I woke up this morning I posted it as Free on Facebook Market place.

The post went out at 6:04AM. Within fifteen minutes someone nearby inquired about how tall it was to see if it would fit in their van. I reported back it was 63” and he said he would take it. We agreed on 9:30 as the pick up time.

Between that communication and the time he and his wife showed up I had six other people wanting it. I didn’t respond to them until the original couple showed up and took it away, just in case they didn’t make it.

They were a tiny little couple at least fifteen years older than me and half the height of Russ, but they came prepared with an indoor dolly and an outdoor hand truck. Russ helped, but it only took about five minutes and they were off with the cabinet.

The wife told me they were going to cut the center out and make it a broom closet. I was just happy that it did not go to a landfill and was being recycled.

It was much easier to offer it for free on Facebook marketplace than it would have been for me to take it to the dump and it was if very good shape. Please consider giving things away rather than throwing them away. There are obviously lots of people out there who could use your old stuff. I was sorry I didn’t have other things to offer the people who wanted the cabinet but were not up early enough on Saturday morning to see the listing. I was pleased that everyone I turned down, telling them it was already gone, responded with a thank you anyway.

Free Cabinet

Recently an antique step back cabinet I bought at auction in Maine arrived. At first I thought I was buying it for Carter, but getting up her fifth floor walk up was too daunting. So I had it shipped here along with a corner cabinet that went in the dining room.

The only place for the step back was in my sweat shop. Thankfully I had exactly the right space for it where a computer cabinet sat. The computer cabinet is something we must have procured when Russ used the swear shop as his office. That was three uses of that room ago.

Carter did not use it when it was her office when she moved her bedroom down to the room next door. It had been storing stuff for years, mostly a printer which has not printed anything for at least a decade.

So now this computer cabinet is sitting in the middle of my sweat shop and I want it gone. So I am willing to give it to anyone who will come and get it. It is under five feet tall. Does not come apart and is very solid.

Let me know if you want it and when you can come and take it.

Driving Sadness Away

It was a very sad day for a family I have known for 24 years. It’s not my story to tell, but I have had them in my prayers all day. I tried to go about my day, but the sadness kept creeping in.

I have heard from a number of people who have been having hard days. There is so much sadness that takes a long time for people to process. On my way home from teaching in Raleigh tonight I started to listening to NPR and it was a sad story. I couldn’t deal with anymore sadness.

So I changed the station to the 70’s on 7 and stumbled upon a replay of Casey Kasem doing the American Top 40 from April of 1977. Not a great period in musical history, but since I was on the cusp of turning 16 it was a group of songs that I had in my memory. All the way home I was singing along, albeit very badly. Before I knew it I was home and it was the only half hour in my day I was not sad.

It is amazing how music from your teens can take you out of your situation and fill you up in a different way. I welcomed the break and the knowledge that if I am feeling low I can change the situation my immersing myself in familiar music. It helped that none of the songs were particularly sad, nor were they particularly good, but it was hard not to get into KC and the sunshine band and forget everything else.

Easier for music to take me out of the sadness because it is not my tragedy. For those who are dealing with a serious heart break I hope that loving memories can hold you tight through these dark days and know that the sun will shine again. May music soothe your soul and your dear ones keep you close.

It’s Christmas in Durham

It never works out this way, but for the first time in years I was available to go to a work event with Russ. As a tenant at the American Tobacco Campus Russ was invited to a party before the lighting of the tower at ATC. It was a fun dinner and a good chance to see the lighting of the tower in person.

There were kids singing and Santa and Mrs. Claus making the rounds with Wool E. Bull. The chamber music quartet played while we enjoyed Angus barn fare. Since it was an actually cold evening it felt very holiday like. Children ran round with flashing light glow sticks and so did I. Not the running, but waving the lit stick.

As we drove home from downtown I got to enjoy all the houses with light displays. I can remember when there were no lights outside downtown homes, but now the lights line the streets. It’s festive and fun. Christmas has come to Durham and I am all for it.

Retractable Leashes Need a License to Use

Shay had her day of beauty today. While I was waiting for her to be presented to me after her grooming I witnessed one of the scariest things ever.

A very frail elderly woman came in the vets with her two well groomed but ill behaved Bichons. Each was on their own retractable leash. Neither paid one bit of attention to what their human was asking of them. Not that she asked forcefully.

As the human was standing there, in a pair of fur lined mules, her full grown dogs circled her in opposite directions wrapping the even expanding leads from their retractable leashes around her thin legs. The dogs had her hostage in less than a blink of an eye.

I was quickly fearful that she was going to go down and break a hip. I asked if I could help and she said, “No,” but I feared the blood was being cut off to her lower extremities.

Thankfully a tech came out and unhooked the dogs from their leashes and another tech unwrapped the retractable leads. The human had to be in her late eighties, my guess based mostly on her recently pumped up hairdo.

It seemed to me that this wrapping was a normal occurrence as she feared not for her ever shortening life and that her dogs were so badly behaved they had to be getting away with this behavior forever. They were equally coiffed as their human so they certainly were pampered.

I feel like humans should have to take a test to see if they could handle a dog on a retractable leash and if they want to have two they need to pass the test with their two dogs at least once a year. This woman could have handled two dogs on two short leashes, but not on retractable. Her demise is eminent.

A Little Bit Christmasy Everyday

My friend Christy knows me well. She gave me the 12 days of Christmas puzzle advent calendar. It has 12 little 80 piece Christmas puzzles. I know technically the 12 days of Christmas are from Christmas on to epiphany, but I feel like any 12 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas count.

So now that the house is all decorated I am allowing myself the joy of doing one little puzzle whenever I feel like it. I am not looking at the picture of the puzzle since half the pieces are edge pieces it is not that hard to do. In fact I did this little one today in under five minutes. It is less decadent that spending hours on a bigger puzzle, but just as satisfying.

I also was able to obtain a Holley Broughton Original Santa Cookie Jar, jazzed up in only the way Holley can do. She texted me this morning and I was able to run over to her glitter filled workshop to see all the other cute decorations she is making.

I am thankful I was able to get one because as soon as she posts one on Facebook they are sold. She gave me a preview of what she is working on for Garden club so fair warning it is going to be fabulous of course. I expect big bidding for any Holley creation. I hope all the other Garden Club members are thinking creative thoughts when it comes to their auction items.

It’s time for me to go turn on all the lights to shine the happy into the dark of winter. I got two pillar candles for my outdoor lanterns and they have a remote control with a feature where I can chose for them to be on for just two or four hours. I wish everything Christmas came with a remote control, oh wait it does.

Right On Time

It’s done. Christmas has taken over our house. All the crates have been emptied and returned to the attic. I moved some decorations around to make things seem new and different, even though 90% are in the same places. I retired a few bows whose curls had gone. Finally I vacuumed which is the sure sign I think I am finished, hoping to get up the stay glitter.

There are still wreaths to be made and the Christmas train to be put up around the tree. Greenery will be cut and placed in the needed spots just a day before the first party. Russ has programmed the smart plugs so when I forget to turn off the Christmas tree I can whisper into my dark bedroom and Alexa will do it for me.

I actually had time to make a repurposed cream of stewed tomato soup. When we got home from church I cooked down some chopped onions and carrots with some chicken stock. Added the leftover stewed tomatoes and some half and half and, voilà, soup. I melted a little Gruyère on gluten free crackers and had lunch, which appeared to Russ as new food.

Tomorrow turkey tetrazzini. I was too tired today to cook two items and finish the decorating. I was also too tired to photograph much so if you want to get your family Christmas photo taken come on over and you can pick a spot and I’ll shoot your picture. Or just come over and have a cup of tea and enjoy my Christmas cottage. There is nothing I like better than a Thanksgiving in its earliest possible date giving me a whole extra week of Christmas. I like it even better when all the decorating is behind me.

Ornament Disasters

Day two of tree decorating was my most butterfingered day in my long and storied history of tree trimming. I purposely decorate alone to prevent breakage and hard feelings. My high opinion of my skills was dashed today as I broke ornament after ornament.

I have to climb the 12 foot ladder to decorate the top of the tree. So I don’t have to go up and down the ladder too much I fill a small basket with about 20 ornaments and carry it to the top of the ladder. Not once, but twice I dropped the basket from the top of the ladder. Thankfully it wasn’t full each time.

Then I dropped glass globes I thought I had hung securely only to have them jump off the tree to a certain death. I dropped a mirrored glass house and a hand painted glass ball. If all that wasn’t bad enough I rammed two balls together breaking both of them at the same time.

Just when I thought I had done all the breaking because I was almost done, I crashed a ball into the leg of the ladder. The total loss today was eight different beauties gone forever all due to my own clumsiness.

I still have house decorating to do. Please god let my breakage spell to be done. I can’t afford this streak.

The Throwing Up Begins

A big thank you to Russ and Carter for getting all of Christmas out so I could begin decorating. If there is ever a fight it occurs in our house it is on this day. Russ stoically goes to the hardware store for whatever missing three prog s are missing. Carter puts the tree together unasked.

My job is chief decorator. I always start with the needlepoint garland as it is my pride a joy. I have stitched 98% of the ornaments and the other 2% have been gifts from my needlepoint exchange group.

Putting the garland up and attaching all the ornaments is a process. I have to cover the center connection of the garland with a big ornament and then strategically place each ornament according to color and shape. I have stitched way too many blue ornaments and I am always looking for more red ones to intersperse.

I have not finished any room today, but I did get the glass village built in the living room, half finished the mantel, totally finished the needlepoint, put out the snowman show in the entry, and been up and down the giant ladder 20 times with baskets of ornaments hanging just about 5% of the total.

It’s going to be a whole weekend affair to get this party started. Sadly Carter returns to Boston tomorrow so I may take a break and run some errands with her before she goes.

At least the family input into the job is almost done. Russ and I can carry the empty bins to the attic on Sunday after I have actually. Everyone will be happy when that happens.

The Throwing Up Begins

A big thank you to Russ and Carter for getting all of Christmas out so I could begin decorating. If there is ever a fight it occurs in our house it is on this day. Russ stoically goes to the hardware store for whatever missing three prog s are missing. Carter puts the tree together unasked.

My job is chief decorator. I always start with the needlepoint garland as it is my pride a joy. I have stitched 98% of the ornaments and the other 2% have been gifts from my needlepoint exchange group.

Putting the garland up and attaching all the ornaments is a process. I have to cover the center connection of the garland with a big ornament and then strategically place each ornament according to color and shape. I have stitched way too many blue ornaments and I am always looking for more red ones to intersperse.

I have not finished any room today, but I did get the glass village built in the living room, half finished the mantel, totally finished the needlepoint, put out the snowman show in the entry, and been up and down the giant ladder 20 times with baskets of ornaments hanging just about 5% of the total.

It’s going to be a whole weekend affair to get this party started. Sadly Carter returns to Boston tomorrow so I may take a break and run some errands with her before she goes.

At least the family input into the job is almost done. Russ and I can carry the empty bins to the attic on Sunday after I have actually. Everyone will be happy when that happens.

We Can Do Better By Next Thanksgiving

I know all of you are thankful today, after all it is Thanksgiving. This purely American holiday is something we do not share with anyone else. In our very shrinking world that is so unusual. We have adopted other counties holidays like cinco de Mayo or St. Patrick’s day, but somehow other places have not taken up our Thanksgiving day, (except Canadians who celebrate on a different day and Germans who have a harvest festival and a few other which are mostly about the end of the growing season.)

I remember when we lived in London our English friends would ask us what Thanksgiving was about. They did not like my answer of America being thankful to have gotten out of England and survived. They easily could have thrown back that the indigenous people who helped us survive were none to happy when we took everything from them and drove them off their land. I wonder how much giving thanks is being done in indigenous communities.

In that so American way we have papered over the pilgrim/Indian situation and have turned Thanksgiving inward to be about what we personally are thankful for…our families, or at least the one we like and still talk to who agree with our politics, our health if it is good or the fact you are still alive if it is not good, the fact we have places to live and clean water and food, if you have all those things.

Although Thanksgiving is a beloved holiday we need to be thankful daily and work to make the world one in which everyone has something to be thankful for.

Today I was thankful that we had fun playing 3 generation Mah Jongg. That dinner all came out on time and we enjoyed by everyone. That Russ and Carter went to the attic and got most of the Christmas out without a request from me. That my mother is living in Durham and enjoying it. That we all have interesting and fulfilling work that has sustained us well this year.

There is much I hope for, world peace, to be beauty pageant contestant about it. A cleaner and more thoughtful environment as well as more cooperation between all peoples, stop shooting each other and a return to decency, kindness and honesty as just a baseline for being human would also be nice. I think we need to not settle for just being thankful for the status quo, (because the status quo looks nothing like my childhood), but to push a little harder for things to actually be better.

I kind of feel like it is no wonder other countries don’t take up American Thanksgiving. We have not set the best example lately. Let’s hope that we can do better next year. You have a whole year, start now.

Mother Daughter Day

I have to adjust my expectations and not in the down direction. I made a list of the chores and cooking that had to be done today and tomorrow. I showed it to Carter as a way of telling her what I was going to be doing. Without asking she jumped right in. Out of the whole list I only brined the turkey.

Carter made the apple crisp and while she was doing it she asked me just to sit at the counter and talk to her. So all morning she made the stuffing and the corn pudding. Then we took a break and watched Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret and another movie whose name I have already forgotten.

Carter then went back to work and made the mashed potatoes and then set the table. She pulled out my wedding china and some napkins I got for my wedding but never use since I only have four of them. Thanks to Jane Brothers I have a beautiful center piece.

Yesterday I predicted Carter would tire of cooking, but I was totally wrong. The only things left to make are the roasted Brussels sprouts, Turkey and gravy. I have hardly had a thing to do for this Thanksgiving and I had a very fun day with Carter.

After dinner we played Siamese Mah Jongg. This is when I wish Russ played games because he was left out of the after dinner fun. Tomorrow we will find something to do with him he likes and it can be Mother Father Daughter Day.

Carter’s Here

Carter’s Here

Carter came home last night. It’s great that she has a flexible job so she could come home before the rush. She did have a full day of work so she went into Russ’ office with Shay. She reported Shay’s job performance as Chairman of the Board was good. Shay liked having Carter there because she got to go inside a restaurant to pick up lunch. Carter says that if you don’t ask and just bring a dog in they usually let you. It helps that Shay acts like the chairman of the Board wherever she goes.

One of the best parts about Carter being home more days is she gets to spend more time with her grandmother. Carter just left to go pick her up so they could go out to dinner alone. Carter picked a nice restaurant to take her to. We will see who is going to pay.

I am sorry my mother only has one grandchild because she likes being spoiled by the one she has. At least Carter is an attentive granddaughter.

I think I will get my monies worth out of Carter tomorrow when she helps me with the cooking. She is capable of cooking the whole Thanksgiving herself, but I am not going to ask her to do that. Although she is a great cook she usually tires after completing two dishes. Thankfully I know this already and am prepared to do all the rest.

We are not expecting my mother to cook anything. Why start now. But the good news is that now both Carter and my mother play Mah Jongg so we can do that while we wait to have thanksgiving. This means I will get plenty of needlepointing done while we play. Win-win.

Ghosts of Thanksgiving

I got to thinking about Thanksgiving of my childhood in Wilton. My mom’s sister Susan and her husband Hank used to come so it was a small party. In the early years living in Wilton our dining room was right off the upstairs kitchen. That was when our house just had the upstairs kitchen and the maid quarters kitchen, not that we had a maid. It was just the four of us before Janet was born. And when Janet was born the maid quarter’s kitchen became her bedroom, still with the refrigerator in it.

I came across this photo of Margaret and me eating breakfast with my Dad sitting with us. I was probably about eight and Margaret was five then. We had an antique hutch table that my mother still has in her breakfast room, and a tall antique side board, which is still in my mother’s dining room.

The room was all windows with a window bench along one wall. Inside those hidden benches were lots of serving trays and other items my parents used for the many parties they threw.

We ate all our meals at that hutch table until we built our third kitchen and had a bigger table adjoining that kitchen. So Thanksgiving was just like any other meal at our one and only table. The only difference was my mother would put out these little pilgrim and Indian candles we never were allowed to light. Over the years the candles got dustier and dustier because they lived in one of those window benches in the off season.

The one thing about looking at this picture is the room was smaller than I remember it.

I think our childhood homes are always bigger in our memories. It has to be that we were smaller so our perspective was different.

We are having a small Thanksgiving this year. Just my Mom and Carter. My Aunt Susan passed away a few years ago and Uncle Hank has lost his memory. So I will remember for all of us. The foods we eat are similar to the ones my father made for those Thanksgivings back in the late 60’s. I started cooking the stewed tomatoes today, the same way my grandmother taught my father to do them. They take so long we only have them on Thanksgiving, but since I have been having them for the last sixty years once a year they became an institution.

It is not quite the same without my father. He always was the cook until he taught me to cook. His thanksgiving menu never varied. He loved creamed onions and giblet gravy. Now that he is gone I never have to have giblets in my gravy again, but I would if only he could be at the table one more time.

The Weekend Before the Weekend

I made my list Thursday night of all the chores I wanted to get done this weekend in preparation for the Holiday season. Carter comes home Monday afternoon. We have a small family thanksgiving and then the real work begins decorating for Christmas

In anticipation of that, this weekend was dedicated to cleaning and fixing anything and everything. I deep cleaned the kitchen and Russ emptied the refrigerator so we have space for not just Thanksgiving food, but all the party food for the month of December. Every counter was cleared and piles of note pads and jars of spices all got put away.

I dusted, vacuumed and mopped everything to a sparkle and shine level not seen since last Christmas. Mail that had accumulated on the front hall chest was dealt with. Four loads of laundry was done with an eye on every kitchen towel.

I ordered things I knew I would need in December. I finished making projects that I had been working on all year. Russ chiseled out the old grout and together we replaced the towel bar holder and Russ took to heart that it should be held tightly in place for 48 hours so he fashioned a pole that pushed against it.

Shay did not like all this activity. I on the other hand took great glee as I checked off one by one the things on my list, including things like purchasing plane tickets for far off trips and making sure Santa was ready, sending emails that had gone un-composed for weeks.

I now recognized that the weekend before Thanksgiving is my “get ready to get ready for Christmas” weekend. I realize that this weekend has been used similarly in the past, but not to the degree it was this weekend.

I pray that I am setting myself up for a month of fun. I know I can’t cook for parties that are still two weeks away, but at least I can have the house ready. Thanksgiving is just the warm up for the main act. I can hardly wait.

The Crown Real Life

My BFF Suzanne couple not believe yesterday’s blog was not about The Crown. I had to admit to her that I had not watched it as of the writing of the blog. So last night I started. I was three of the four episodes in when I finally had to go to bed, but was dying to watch the fourth episode. I did not stay up and push on because I wanted to give it my full attention and 11PM was not the right time to start.

I love how The Crown has written this part of history. Of course it is historical fiction as we will never know exactly what went on, but I do feel like they had portrayed the royal family in a fairly good light considering the facts we have in evidence.

The part of the show that I am most happy with is the portrayal of Diana’s relationship with Dodi Fayed as not some great love and how Charles appeared to grieve the loss. I do feel like Prince Phillip was a big factor in the royal family’s initial public reaction. I never liked him much, and felt like he had trouble changing with the times.

Russ and I were living in London the day Diana died. My sister Margaret was visiting from the states. I will never forget her coming into our room and waking us up telling us that Princess Diana had died. It was a surreal day. It was a Sunday and the city went completely silent.

Russ and I went into the office because we didn’t know what else to do. Our offices were next to Euston Station and I walked into the station to buy a news paper. Although the place had people in it, no one was speaking. The newsstand was stripped of most papers. You have to understand at that time Britain had something like 137 national newspapers and the newsstand at Euston carried at least 75 different ones,

We lived on the north side of Hyde park, not far from Kensington Palace and about a half hour walk through the park to Buckingham. By three days on from her death the smell of fresh flowers was so strong at our house due to the millions of flowers people were leaving at both palaces. Eventually those flowers didn’t smell so good, which was reflective of how people were feeling about the royal family’s handling of Diana and her tragic passing.

I was born the same year as Diana, and often have wondered what she would be doing as she aged. She will always live on in our memories as the most beautiful young woman who left us too early at 36.

Now we have to wait until December to get the final 6 episodes of The Crown. It will be interesting to see how far into the Queen’s life they go.

For now, if you haven’t watched the four episode of Season 6 I think you should. I feel like they handled that era well considering how much we all knew from living through it.

Both Too Strong for Our Own Good

I was trying to get all the towels off the towel rack in the shower so I could wash them. I pulled too many towels too hard and I bent the plastic towel rack to the degree that it came out of the ceramic holders. The holders that are set in the tile wall with motar and grout remained intact.

I put the now freed towels in the laundry basket and tried to replace the rod by putting it in one holder and bending the thick stiff plastic towards the wall. Russ seeing me struggle to do it stepped in to save the day.

He placed the rod in one holder and while holding the ceramic holder at the other end while pushing the rod into the indentation he pulled the ceramic right off the wall. Now instead of not having a rod, we also did not have two holders for the rod.

It never fails that helping makes the problem twice as bad. Now I have to find the right mortar mix it up and get Russ to help me hold the rod in the currently stationary ceramic end while replacing the one he pulled out of the wall.

Life feels like maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.

The Santos/Botox Defense

A congressional committee has found George Santos guilty of using his campaign funds for personal use. That’s a big No-No. I am unsure why it took a congressional committee so long to get around to figuring this out, but I suspect the razor thin majority that republicans hold in the house has everything to do with it.

Meanwhile Santos has been collecting his congressional paycheck, while not being allowed to serve on any committees. I am hoping the DOJ takes the report and charges Santos with the crimes he has committed.

One of the things the congressional committee found Santos illegally spent campaign funds on was many Botox injections. This has got to be the worst endorsement for Botox ever. Santos may have a smooth forehead, but did all that Botox perhaps paralyze his brain. Could his alleged constant lying be due to too much Botox.

I can think of some other big liars who look like they use a lot of Botox. Maybe Santos can say his illegal purchase of Botox was what caused him to lose his mind and spend money wildly that was not his and lie about his ancestry, his schooling and his previous employment.

Poor Botox. They are now linked to Santos in the congressional record. A fate I don’t wish upon my worst enemy.

Planning for Christmas

Those who know me know that Christmas throws up at my house on the day after Thanksgiving. My family hates Black Friday more than any other day because it means they have to go to the attic and bring down the 75+ crates of ornaments, decorations and Christmas crap that is stored there.

It’s time for the tree, the Christmas village under glass, the many wreaths and mini trees, the needlepoint garland, and every other unique Christmas thing I have made over the years. Every year I make one new Christmas thing for the house. This year I have not had the time, nor the inspiration to sew, or saw, or paint or assemble my way into something never seen before on Pinterest. So I have decided to expand to create something outside instead.

For years we were known as the house with the giant snowman, way before inflatables took over and people littered their yards with Santa’s in a Bass boat. Once other people got in on the giant yard thing I got out of it.

So I am making a plan to do just one tasteful new thing. I ordered the supplies and am planning my attack. Since this will be new territory for me I am unsure exactly how it will go, but I am hopeful since the outdoors is virgin space, save the terra-cotta soldiers and big glass candle holders that are on my front porch.

I am not quite ready for Thanksgiving, but that is just a meal. The main course is the Christmas decorating and for that, I am gearing up.

Save America, Play Mah Jongg

People often ask me why I think Mah Jongg has had such a huge surge in popularity. I have come to realize that there is a yearning to be together with people and not talk about anything controversial. People need community and community without strife. That is what Mah Jongg is giving to people.

When you get together to play you may have time to chat a little, but mostly you want to play and be in a room with real people. We learn as children that when we play with people they become friends. That is true for older people too.

If you are friends you are more forgiving of differences. You are more likely to try and understand different points of view from a friend than a foe. We spend too much time in this country being divisive and a game of Mah Jongg can be a starting place for remembering that we are more alike than we are different.

I think if all of America could play Mah Jongg together we would be a happier country. So Mah Jongg could potential save America from itself.

Next time someone asks me why I spend all my time, literally all day and night today, teaching people Mah Jongg I am am going to say, “It is my little way of trying to bring people together as friends to heal America.” I know if I say that out loud people will look cockeyed at me, but how else can I explain the pure hunger people have to learn this game. Everyone knows they need to do something to be with people, they just don’t know what that something is and Mah Jongg is filling the void.

Save America, Play Mah Jongg.

The Kindness of Old and New Friends

The highlight of my day was a small celebration for Needlepoint Nancy’s birthday. We needlepointed, had a yummy ricotta cheese cake made by Karen, Nancy opened gifts and it was general merriment.

This small group I belong too is kind and generous and is a joy. The friendship and fellowship is something I cherish and hold dear.

Then I went to work. I shouldn’t call it work because it is pure pleasure. This was my third class with a group of young mothers who mostly live in the same neighborhood. They have been so fun to teach. Tonight was sadly our last class and Faith, whose house we were at tonight gave me two sweet gifts, she said we’re from the group – A darling Mah Jongg Pad and tea towel.

I certainly don’t expect gifts, but it seems like I am getting them more and more often. I am so touched by people’s generosity. It does make me a little sad when I finish a class with people I like, but it will be time to move on to the next two new classes tomorrow.

Is Oyster Stew Stew?

My southern father loved Oyster Stew. We made gallons of it every Christmas Eve for the more than 150 people who used to come to our house for our family Christmas party. The Connecticut Yankees ate it up, exclaiming they had never had such a thing. I used to wonder if it was a purely southern thing. More than that I wondered why it was called stew at all. Our family recipe included only onions, butter, milk, half and half, spices and oysters. Of course it was served with oyster crackers. It was much more a soup than a stew, but who was I, a mere child/indentured cooked to question.

Along with the oyster stew we served Ham biscuits made with real country ham my father would order from Virginia, like the kind his Charlottesville mother would have used. We had to soak that ham in a sink full of water for days to remove enough of the salt so the Yankees could eat it.

Of course we had standard 1970’s party food, such as onion dip and hot artichoke dip, but it was the southern foods which were devoured first.

This week on my way home from Kinston I stop at the fish market and bought a half pint of oysters and made oyster stew. The simplest of dishes and the best. I felt my Dad’s presence even if it wasn’t Christmas Eve. I still don’t get why it’s called a stew.

Demand for the recipe

2 T. Butter

1 sweet onion chopped

1 clove Garlic

Shake of cayenne pepper

1 t. Paprika

1 t. Parsley flakes

Black pepper

Salt to taste

2 cups milk

1 cup half and half

1 pint of shucked oysters in their liquor

Melt butter in sauce pan. Add the onions on medium heat and cook five minutes until translucent. Add garlic and spices and cook one more minute. Add milk and half and half and the liquor from the oysters. Heat gently until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pot.

Add the oysters and continue cooking for a few minutes until the edges of the oysters curl.

Taste for salt and pepper.

Serve with oyster crackers.

Sometimes Amazon Knows Best

Last week I ordered a cordless electric scrubbing wand to clean my shower floor. I was tired of my twenty year old tile not being as white as it originally was. I thought a spinning brush would help the situation and one on a stick meant I did not have to bend over to clean it.

These mechanical brushes are not expensive so I looked at the many different models on Amazon and picked one. I noticed there was another product, that I had never heard of, that was frequently bought with the scrub brush. It was called Pink Stuff.

I read the description. It is a slightly abrasive clearing paste that sounded like it was perfect for my floor tile. At $5 what did I have to lose?

The products came last week and sat in the boxes all week as I was away. Today I opened them up and put the system to work. My shower floor has not been this white in a decade. The Pink Stuff was the trick and the cordless spinning brush made the job easy.

Now I am looking around at what else I can clean with this duo. I went ahead and ordered a caddy to carry all the various brushes, pads and tools with the pink stuff and the wand. I feel like a cowboy with a holster looking for a stain to rub out.

The Pink Stuff says it is good on stainless steel pans. I have a couple I am going to try and make look like new. I promise my blog is not going to become a before and after of things I clean. It just happens to be the most exciting thing that happened around here today.

Everybody Is Where They Should Be

Carter made it back to Boston today after a perfectly fabulous trip to Argentina and Uruguay. That kind of travel is life changing. Everyday she would report on the interesting people and friends she had made, the art she saw, the food she tasted and the sights she saw. It was fun to follow her on instagram, but I am glad she is home safe and sound.

I am home too from my work down East. It is exhausting to have so much fun working. I so appreciate my agent Kristi who organized everything so well. Staying with Debbie and Paul was a real treat. I am always touched by the kindness of my hostesses.

I know I will sleep early and long tonight. Shay and Russ were happy to see me, but I am afraid I was not up to doing much this evening. I did stop at Reynold’s seafood in Kinston and brought back some good seafood, but am too tired to cook tonight.

Tomorrow, I promise I will make dinner.

Lucky to be in Kinston

Day two Mah Jongg in Kinston and last day with my beloved beyond beginner class. The beginners progressed well and they will finish tomorrow. Sadly the beyond beginners class finished today. One of my students Teresa, who I met on a plane and does not live in Kinston has been warmly welcomed by the Kinston crowd. They are such a sweet group and dear friends.

My darling hostess Debbie had some friends back to her house for dinner. It was a rare 70°evening and we sat out in her glorious courtyard and enjoyed drinks and each other. Debbie went deep to serve gluten free things for me that actually were delicious.

We ate dinner under the pergola in the warmth of the shared friendships. Debbie’s husband Paul joined us and we talked on forever.

Jane’s love Warren arrived with their dog Lucky to give me a hug and see me before he was off to yoga. I just can’t spend enough time with these people. It is always a treat to be here.

Thanks Debbie and Paul for having me for this visit .

Kinston Redux

The pleasure of two visits a year to Kinston can’t be underestimated. This one is especially fun. These aren’t students for me, but friends I get to visit. This visit I am hosted by Debbie who always go above and beyond. Debbie is a great baker. She met me at the club this morning before my fist class and delivered fresh hot gluten free apple muffins.

I had a new group of beginners with one repeat student, Teresa. She was retaking beginner and advanced in the same week. She did not need the beginner, but I was happy to have her in class nonetheless.

The big show started at lunch as my friends started to arrive. Usually when I teach a class I have to have everyone introduce themselves so I can make a seating chart so I remember their names. This is the first class where I can honestly say I not only knew everyone, but loved them.

Debbie, brought a bouquet with ballons that said, “welcome back, you are the best, you’re number 1.” It’s no wonder I love to come here.

After class everyone stayed in the bar and visited. A couple of other friends who had to work instead of coming to class, joined us and we had dinner at the club. Debbie had gotten us all silly glasses because she is all about good props for photos.

It was a fun night, but thankfully early. Debbie and I went back to her house to rest. It was a fun day. You know I am never going to be able to sleep after all this extroversion fun, but I have to sleep and get up and do it again tomorrow.

Thanks Kinston, I love you.

Crazy Mixed Up Kind of Day

Well I slept for 16 hours and I hope that is the last I will report on that for ten more years. Now I feel like I m behind on so many things, including the holidays.

My day started with a little gathering of two friends and one brought us our Christmas gifts! It was because she wanted us to have a very cute cup to use through the holidays. I think I will use this cup all year since I love Christmas so much.

After they left I realized that I have two invitations I needed to create for two different groups. It is hard to believe that the Christmas celebrating is less than a month away. I have t even made my thanksgiving menu. (Carter, maybe you can do that. I hope she is reading my blog in Buenos Aries).

Russ reminded me to go vote. We only have the mayoral and city council races, but every vote counts extra in off years when few people vote. I hope my Walkers roommate Nancy wins her race in Southport, CT. If you live there vote von Euler!

I had to iron and pack for my early morning trip to Kinston in the morning before I go to Raleigh to teach some young people tonight.

I am ever thankful that Russ Lange is the best husband and took such good care of me the last few days and runs the house so well while I am gone. I know that Shay is happy to have him all to herself, but I hope she won’t mind when I rejoin them on Friday.

For those of you who wanted to watch my Mah Jongg talk on Expert Connect with Debbie Barnett here is the link to YouTube. https://youtu.be/rWBKXX0_wLY

All Clear

Colonoscopy Prep is not fun no matter how you put it. It was a rough night. Russ took me over to the Endoscopy Center. My Doctor is a friend so he came out to the waiting room and greeted me. Thanks David for the warm welcome. I wasn’t going to spend most of my time with him awake.

While waiting in pre-op I saw another Dr. I know from Church. The nurses wanted to know how I knew all the doctors. It’s just what happens when you live in the same town for 30 years.

The good news is I got an all clear. Ten more years before I do this again. I don’t have much recollection of learning that news. The post-op nurse was trying hard to get me to wake up so I could walk out. I think I slept in the car all the way home. I don’t have much memory of getting back in bed, but that is where I was when Shay woke me up.

Russ brought me dinner in bed. I had cooked a pot roast yesterday in anticipation of getting to eat today. Why a pot roast, don’t ask, but I really wanted those long-cooked carrots and onions.

I’m planning on going back to sleep soon. I’m not very good at doing anything right now. The anesthesia is good.

Thanks to Debbie Barnett

I am so glad finally responded to Debbie Barnett’s emails. Debbie owns Mahjcon, but her email came from Expert Connect, which I was unfamiliar with. I didn’t respond at first because it thought it was a marketing platform. I had no idea it was about Mah Jongg experts. Anyway, I finally answered her call and she asked me to be her guest on her show.

Debbie is a real Mah Jongg expert and a kindred spirit when it come to spreading the love of the game and the rules. We had a wonderful time talking about the game and easily could have talked for many more hours about the finer points and out pet peeves.

I have no idea how many people were watching this as it was on zoom and YouTube. I am just glad I don’t have to figure out how to run all these shows and deal with all the questions and comments. Thankfully Debbie read me the questions, of which there were many great ones. Thanks to all the people who tuned in and asked such interesting questions. I hope I answered them sufficiently.

I always have an opinion about every aspect of the game and love to answer people’s questions. Right after we logged off I got texts from many friends who had watched the show. That was so sweet of you all. I hope even you learned some new things.

When Debbie sends me the link to the YouTube I will post it. I won’t watch it because that would make me never do one of these shows again. I do like podcasts best, but understand that people like to watch things too.

The Mah Jongg community is full of wonderful people who are happy to share information with you and teach you how to play. We all can learn to be better players and I encourage you to continue expanding your knowledge. Mah Jongg will keep you young.

Bad Timing

I am the guest on a MajhCon zoom presentation tomorrow night. The host had been trying to get me for a while so I finally relented this summer and agreed to be the guest tomorrow. Little did I know when I made those plans that it would be the night before my colonoscopy.

I am in the throes of prep. Right now there is not much I can eat and tomorrow I will eat nothing. So it was also bad timing that we were invited to the first party of the season, or the Pre-season as our hostess called it. So no nibbles for me.

Next time I have a colonoscopy I am going to schedule it for a Friday so I don’t ruin a weekend.

A Little Brown Dog Goes to the Dentist

I knew something was up when my Mommy got dressed right after her alarm went off. First hint, there was an alarm. She taught Mah Jongg last night in Raleigh and did not get home until Daddy and I were almost asleep. That alone should have meant she was sleeping in this morning.

Second hint is Mommy did not eat breakfast and did not give me breakfast. Daddy came in and said it was time to go out. Go out? No one has eaten anything. Mommy put on my harness and that only means one thing…I’m going in the car. So Daddy came down to garage with me and Mommy even though he was just wearing his underpants.

Mommy opened the back door of the car, but I was having none of it. I ran all around the driveway and Daddy came out in the cold and ran around chasing me. Eventually they went inside so I followed them. It was a trick. Mommy picked me up and carried me to the car and snapped me into my car buckle. We drove to the vet.

Haven’t I been there enough. I just got my hair done and had a blood test. What gives? Nobody told me I was getting my teeth cleaned. I shivered all the way into the exam room. Mommy discussed if this was going to cost $650 or $1,050. I looked at her and gave her the sign, “It could be free if we walk out now.”

Mommy hugged me and said, “You have doodle tarter, this is for your own good,” and left me there.

I don’t remember much after they shaved a stripe around one of my front legs and put me under. I was groggy when I woke up, but I still had all my teeth. Mommy came back in the afternoon to pick me up and I heard the Dr. tell her I was a good patient and only had a two out of four on the grossness scale for dog teeth.

I was still a little wobbly but I was happy to jump back in the car because the only place we could be going was home.

I realized when I got home that I had on a new green bandana I must have gotten at the vet for being a good patient. Mommy said when she was little and when Carter was little they always got a prize at the dentist for being good. I wish they had given me a steak instead of a bandanna with avocados on it. It must have been because I was only a two.

Having an Adventurous Child

Carter arrived in Buenos Aires this morning. My globe-trotting solo-travel loving girl has been chomping at the bit to run off to some far off nation. She has had plenty of US travel going to a bunch of weddings and the cape and Maine, but nothing scratches that itch of hers like a foreign destination to discover on her own.

Carter was scheduled to go on a Mongolian horse trek alone in August of 2020. I was not thrilled about that trip through Turkey to Mongolia, but she had earned the money and had the time off between working at Bain Capital and starting a new semester at college. The pandemic had other ideas. So the world shut down and there was no travel for her. So instead she just kept working at Bain full time and going to school full time. It was crazy and it was sad.

Carter’s current employer is fantastic about giving time off so Carter thought November would be the perfect time to do a little jaunt some place new and exciting. South America seemed like a good answer since she had never been there and her airline points could get her there and back fairly comfortably.

Carter has become the master of hostels and one of her favorite brands has locations in Buenos Aires so she booked in there. I remember when she was going to London alone once when she was young I suggested she stay at a hostel and she turned her nose up at me. Then when she had to start paying for her own travel she tried it and has been hooked ever since.

Carter loves to go and experience a location alone, but have a place to also meet other solo travelers. She texted tonight that tomorrow she may go to a museum with a friend she just met in the hostel.

I love her adventurous spirit. Her ability to go alone and discover new things fearlessly is a trait that will serve her well. When she was little she didn’t even like the idea of going to spend the night at someone’s house. I am thankful to Hannah Hannan who said she would break Carter of that fear, and had her for a sleep over with Campbell. Hannah lay on the floor holding Carter’s hand until she fell asleep. That one step at age four of five gave her the knowledge that she could go to sleep away camp, to summer school in Taiwan at the age of 13 and live with a family who she didn’t know, to Berlin for her first semester of college, to London for a summer in college and then all over the world alone.

There is no better education than getting to see the world and meet people from other places. I’m thrilled that is a always a priority for Carter. Have a wonderful trip.

Colonoscopy Prep

Russ and I have different colonoscopy Doctors. His prep has always been different from my prep. Mine requires low fiber diet for the day before the terrible clear fluids only day. So tomorrow I start the low fiber. The idea of not getting fresh vegetables and fruits is a killer for me.

Now that I am gluten free the choices of what I can eat are further limited. So I turn to you my tribe of readers. Give me any good things you ate during the low fiber days. Gluten free. White bread is so horrible that I am trying to think of other things. All I am craving right now is a salad since I can’t have that. Or maybe some beats, they are a no. Or some roasted Brussels sprouts with pecans, no and no.

I am not too worried about my Day of Clear liquids. It is just one day. I can have broth, jello, tea, apple juice. It’s the low fiber days that are god awful to me. I feel like all I have been trained to do is eat more fiber so it goes against my every grain, pun intended, to come up with food without fiber.

I await your creative, non red or purple suggestions.

Our Dark House

Our house is dark tonight. We live far enough off the road to make our house undesirable as far as trick or treating goes. The giant magnolia in our front yard have grown so large that most people coming from the down hill side of our street don’t even know our house is back here.

In years past I have bought loads of candy to give out and then find myself left with it. It’s not a good thing. So last year and this year I decided to give up on handing out candy and just hang out in a dark house.

Carter lives in Beacon Hill in Boston on a street famous for Halloween with one house on one end of the street that gets all decked out and and ritzy square half way down her street that is known for generous Halloween treats. Since Carter does not anticipate living on this street forever she thought she would sit on her stoop and hand out candy this year. I asked her if anyone else in her building was going to do it and she didn’t think so, so she was the sole person from her building of ten units between mansions giving out candy.

I saw her instagram and she said it only took 45 minutes for her giant bowl of candy to be cleared out. Then she posted a photo of hoards of trick or treaters and said “Happy Halloween to the two kids dressed as sushi rolls and only them.” I asked if the kids were well behaved and she said for the most part.

You really have to lower your expectations when giving candy out. I am happy people still do it and I am happy kids have to learn to talk to strangers. The crap shoot is you never know how polite kids are going to be.

I hope that everyone who was out had a good experience, both the givers and the receivers. I hope there are not too many stomachs aches tonight and I mean for the fathers who might be eating their kids candy. And I hope everyone gets home safe and sound. Just a reminder that Santa is watching.

The Newest Trend in Mah Jongg

Once you have mastered Mah Jongg the next horizon is teaching your dog. Brilliant Mah Jongg breeds include Labs, Chows, Doodles and King Charles Cavaliers. Terriers have trouble picking hands and sticking to them and bulldogs get their card’s too wet with slobber. Beagles just eat their cards and goldens want everyone to win so they pass jokers, even though they know it is against the rules.

Salty Taylor is seen here with her Mah Jongg coach Kate. Salty first had to be taught not to eat the tiles, but once he realized they had no taste whatsoever he settled down to learning his neighborhoods. He demanded a walk around every neighborhood before he would pick one and zero in on his hand.

He liked winds as he has been known to pass it often. Consecutive run is his favorite neighborhood as it contains one of his favorite activities, running. Dragons are a favorite tile as he thinks they should come with a plush toy for chewing.

Kate has had some luck playing the hands that Salty has suggested once he had a full command of the game. Sally’s most difficult task is picking just one tile from the wall since he must do it with his mouth due to his lack of opposable digits. He feels that no one with such a disability should be excluded from the game as it is an inclusive activity.

Salty may have a future as a Mah Jongg support animal. The word is still out on the legality of Mah Jongg support dogs in tournaments. The one handicap they do have is the lack of ability to tell the difference between a red or green dragon in modern Mah Jongg sets. This of course is no different from the many color blind men who play so the Mah Jongg dogs should not be excluded just on that reason alone.

There may be a future Mah Jongg dog trading camp so keep your eye out for news on that front if you think your dog might be a candidate.

Thankful for My Group

I had a zoom call with my book group tonight. I was a passenger in our car coming back from the mountains, which had to be disconcerting to my friends on the zoom. The world flying by behind me as we discussed the loss of a parent by one of our members along with our latest read.

I am so thankful for this small group that started during the pandemic. We zoomed then because we were spread out across four states and we continue because we are a unit now.

The books we read or listen to are fun to explore, but it’s the friendship and emotional support that is really the glue that holds this group together. Thank you to my dear book group. Getting to spend time with you makes everything better. Looking forward to another year of good books.

Little Brown Dog Goes to The Mountains

I like getting invited to my friend Crocket’s house in the mountains. First, his parents, Jan and Rex are really nice to me. Second, my Daddy takes me on big hikes. Now that I am on medicine my walking is so much better. Daddy says I have four wheel drive going up the big mountain. Plus it was a really nice day for hiking. Third, there are nice beds here.

Crocket does not seem to mind when I take over one his beds in the kitchen. See Mommy and Jan spend most of the day in the kitchen working on puzzles, watching college football, cooking and needlepointing. So when I am not asleep on the sofa in the living room where Daddy is reading, I will sleep on Crocket’s bed. It’s OK with crocket because he is asleep on his princess and the pea bed on top of the ottoman.

I am also good at herding Daddy up to to bed early because I want to sleep on the big bed with him. As long as I can keep Mommy out of the bed I get the majority of space since Daddy is watching YouTube’s in his sleep on his side. Mommy ruins the whole thing when she comes to bed because she turns off Daddy’s IPad, and she expects to get into bed.

That’s OK because I have already slept at lest six other hours in various other beds and sofas throughout the day. I hope Mommy sleeps late again tomorrow because that mean’s I get more alone time with Daddy. I love coming to the mountains. It is the best place to sleep.

Last Minute Fun

Sometimes the best time to get me is the last minute. My friend Jan texted and asked if Russ and I could come to the mountains for the weekend. If she had asked me about a weekend months in advance I might not have been free, but thankfully when she got me I turned to Russ and said, “You want to go to the mountains, don’t you?”

I looked at my calendar, but forgot that I had promised my mother I would take her shopping for a TV stand. She was very understanding when I told her we were going to the mountains.

My friend Shelayne and I had a dozen back and forth texts trying to find a day for lunch. The first common free date is over a month away and only because Sophie was able to change something else. But if she had called me this morning and said, “Can you have lunch today?” I would have canceled my chores to have lunch with her.

Sometimes the last minute is the best minute. I know I am not free much with classes scheduled months in advance, but there are always pockets of time I can make free. Thanks to Jan I am not cleaning my house this weekend, or going to church, or working in my garden. Instead I will be spending time laughing with friends, cooking, doing puzzles, taking walks and needlepointing while the Tennessee football game is on. Great last minute plans.

New Mah Jongg City

New Mah Jongg City

Thanks to Barbara Walters, not the dead one, for inviting me to teach in Pinehurst the last two nights. I had taught one of Barbara’s daughters in Raleigh and she recommended me to her mom. So I had the pleasure of teaching Barbara and her other daughter along with 14 other lovely women.

The world is small. The second person who arrived at class yesterday was very familiar to me. I said, “I know you.” And she said the same. It took a few minutes of “where are you from,” and we eventually figured it out. Sandra’s granddaughter Izzy played basketball at DA with Carter and Saundra and her husband won the grandparents award because they came to every game, including tournaments in Charleston.

Also in this class was my friend Ruth E.’s best friend Penny, who was a hoot. So one quarter of the class was already warmed up to me.

They were a lovely class and they all graduated tonight. I hope this is the beginning of going to Pinehurst more often, even though it was a good drive. They were just a wonderfully fun group. As I say with all new players, “Now you have to play!” Then they can take the next level class.

Why Do I Forget?

I don’t have a regular schedule for my days. Some times I have to get up early and drive far away to teach an early morning class. Sometimes I have only an evening class so I do work around home all day and go to my class late in the afternoon. I am using this lack of regular schedule as my excuse why sometimes I forget to do what I need to do everyday.

I have a lot of medicines and supplements that I have to take four times a day. They are complicated enough that I have to use these four compartment pill containers. I have no trouble remembering to take the ones I have to take right when I wake up. They must be taken on an empty stomach and I am not allowed to eat for at least 30 minutes after taking them.

That is the only thing I ever get right in my day. My second round of pills comes after eating breakfast. I usually remember those, but sometimes not until a few hours after breakfast, which technically is still after breakfast.

The third round is after dinner. Well I am no good at remembering those. Today I left home at 1:30 to go teach in Pinehurst. I remembered to put my pill case in my purse. I taught Mah Jongg from 4-8:30. I forgot to take my pills. I drove home. I still did not take my pills. I was home a whole hour and then I remembered, “My Pills…in my purse.” So I took them, but I still have a fourth group of pills to take right before bed.

I really want to go to sleep, but need a little separation between groups of pills. How much time? Who knows. I just wish I could remember to take my pills right after dinner. It’s not like I don’t do this every single damn day.

I can remember to give Shay her heart worm or her arthritis medicine, but I can’t remember my own. The whole reason I have my pills in these little containers is that I can confirm if I actually took my pills. I am not that old and am having this much trouble. What is going to happen when I really get old?

Mah Jongg All Ways All Day

My dear friend Ann from Kinston has been going through cancer treatment at Duke. Today we got together to go to lunch with Reba and Debbie from Kinston. It was the first time Debbie had met Reba, who is the ground zero student who got me going all over the state. If it weren’t for Reba I never would have met Ann at Atlantic Beach and then I would not have gotten to Kinston to meet Debbie and the thread goes on and on.

Thankfully Ann is doing great with her treatment and of course looks fabulous. But more importantly is going to be around to keep playing for years and years.

After lunch out together Debbie had to go, but Ann and Reba were free to come back to my house, where of course we had to play a few hands. Mah Jongg is life restorative after all and what better way to pass the time between daily treatments.

Tonight I was honored to be on a zoom panel put on by Donna and Dara of Modern Mah Jongg. There were experts from around the country who shared their stories about their love of the game. The themes are the same; getting together to play Mah Jongg is healing, fun, escapism. As I always say at Mah Jongg class when people say how much fun they have in class, “It should be fun, it’s a game.”

What I let them discover for themselves is that it is much more than a game. It is a life line, a life saver, a community, a place to let lose and laugh, a place for support, an exercise for your brain, a place for advice, a place you belong.