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| the smackdown | Little Blenheim | the dernier cri | |||
The unpleasant, acrid smell of burnt poetry.
Young Men in Spats, 1936
June 2008 July 2008 Aug 2008 Sept 2008 Oct 2008 Nov 2008 Dec 2008 Jan 2009 Feb 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009
November 30, 2008
8:48 p.m. - Jennifer makes my lunchtime tuna fish so much better than me. Whereas hers is a perfect balance of tuna fish, mayonnaise, sweet Vidalia onions, and celery, mine was a horrible mixture, with too much emphasis on the onions and celery. A perfect mix is essential for the world's best tuna fish. You can't teach this. It's intuitive.
7:55 p.m. - It's snowing outside. Ugh. Quiet Sunday at Casa de Evans. Jennifer's back is giving her the elbow, so I sent her to bed to relax. I'm watching a bit of King of the Hill, and the dogs are peacefully asleep.
6:37 p.m. - We had a relaxing day. Went to see the movie Bolt this morning, which was entertaining. I hadn't thought I would enjoy it, but it was actually pretty good. Bolt is the hero of an action TV show, who with the aid of his spunky owner Penny, get into various action-packed hi-jinks and adventures. The Truman Show conceit is that Bolt does not know he is not really a super dog, and he is kept "in character" all the time to preserve the realism of the show. But, as happens in these scenarios, he finds himself outside make-believe land and travels across the country to rescue Penny, whom he believes is in trouble. With the aide of Mittens, a world-wise alley cat, and Rhino, a fat hamster in a plastic ball, Bolt sets off to find Penny. They teach him that he's not really a super dog and the joys of being a dog (drinking water from a toilet, fetching a stick, and sticking his head out of a truck window). So long story short, he saves the day, and everyone goes home happy. It really was a fun movie, as much for adults as for kids. We sat in a theater full of children, which normally means I'd want to taze the first brat who started prattling, but on the whole, they were well behaved children.
Afterward, we went to Regency Court, which was traumatic. I hate malls, even the fancy-pants ones in West O. And then we had hamburgers at King Kong, which was a tasty treat. I took a 20 minute nap around 3:30, and we've been puttering around ever since. I made bratwurst and carrots for dinner, and I am back on the ol' horse for low carbing after a nice weekend of gourmet debauchery.
I don't care what the Almanac says. When it snows, it's officially winter.
9:21 a.m. - Meanwhile at the ol' Evans ranch. . . We had quite a bit of excitement last night, or at least what passes for excitement for us. Gryffindor got sick last night and indicated that he needed to go out - fast. Let's just say, Gryffindor didn't make it. Jennifer dutifully took him, Arabella, and Percy outside at some un-Godly hour of the morning. She put Percy and Arabella upstairs behind the baby gate and went back to sleep. Fine for her, but then I was up listening to Arabella whine from about 4:00 a.m. until I got up at 7:30. So why, says you, didn't you put Arabella in bed with me? I would have, and she'd have gone to sleep, but then Percy would have whined and barked. He hates to be alone. Sometimes having dogs suck.
And to add injustice to the whole thing, we had our first honest-to-goodness, stick-to-the-ground snowfall last night. Nothing major, and I won't even bother to shovel it. It's really no more than a good dusting. That means all the idiots will be out driving on slick, snow-covered ground at 85 miles per hour without any regard to safety or common sense.
November 29, 2008
5:30 p.m. - I spent an industrious morning printing, signing, folding, labeling, stamping, and stuffing 140 dues letters to the members of Florence Lodge. 5 hours of mindless labor, but at least it's mostly done except for a few members' letters I may have missed. This is something my Secretary should have done, but there are times when it is more efficient to do it oneself. Next year it becomes someone else's problem, which is not the most noble sentiment, but it is a policy I propose to rigorously pursue. Crookshanks started mewing for attention at 7:00 a.m., and I have been hurting for sleep all day. I took a well-earned nap after all that labor. It is cold, dreary, and wet outside, and I am going to remain inside and be exceptionally lazy for the remainder of the day. Right now I am playing online and listening to the Pietasters on CD. I haven't listened to this disc in years. The dogs are all taking naps and look for all the world like little bearskin rugs.
An excellent Thanksgiving feast!
Gryffindor made out quite well during dinner, begging for treats.
8:53 a.m. - Another Thanksgiving come and gone. We were up by 6:30 and cooking by 7:30 on Thanksgiving morning. Jennifer had everything professionally mapped out, when to begin cooking the turkey, when the ham went in the oven, when to make the corn casserole or start baking the rolls. I tried to stay out from underfoot as best as I can, and concentrated on cleaning and setting the table. She'd use a bowl or a cutting board, I'd silently flit in behind her and clean it, she'd use it again, I'd clean it again. The process seemed to work. As much a pain as it is to hand wash all the best plates and silverware, it's nice to break out the best china and glasses.
At 2:00, relatives began arriving and everything went off without a hitch. We served turkey, ham, green bean casserole, Jennifer's famous corn casserole, cornbread casserole, home made biscuits, cranberries (the icky from-the-can- kind), rice, gravy, and Mom brought pecan and pumpkin pies for dessert. The day was a success. Everyone left by 5:00, and we had the house clean and done by 7:30. . . Mom reported that it was the best Thanksgiving she'd ever had, mostly because she didn't have to do anything. After a long day of cleaning, cooking, and cleaning, I'm looking forward to Thanskgiving next year. . . at someone else's house.
On Friday, Jennifer had to work and I pottered around the house, doing a few projects - arranging the cupboards, laundry, hauling up the humidifiers for the winter. In the evening, we went to Julie's and had a Second Thanskgiving feast with Julie, Spencer, her parents, and Joe & Jan. What a feast. I thought I'd die after all that. I can't wait until Monday when dieting again becomes fashionable and easy. I called it an evening at about 9:45 and went home to let the dogs outside and get comfortable. Jennifer went for a walk and stayed over there until about 11:00.
November 26, 2008
One of the trees from the Gardens.
9:11 p.m. - The day before Thanksgiving. I took the day off to clean the house - again - in preparation for tomorrow. I did a bit of mopping and vacuuming. Ugh. I also finished the Savannah webpage. Check out the last two pages of pictures here and here. I took over 1,000 pictures during the week, so hopefully the few dozen I've put up are the good ones. I went to the Gardens this afternoon to see the trees for the Holiday Poinsettia show. They had model trains running among the trees and sleighs and presents. It was beautiful. Jennifer reports that some nob picked up an expensive reindeer, dropped it, and walked away. I would have the crime lab fingerprint the reindeer, identify the culprint, and have him beaten with his own left leg. But that's just me. Jennifer got home around 8, and we rattled around the kitchen getting ready for tomorrow. Right now, Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday.
November 25, 2008
9:12 p.m. - Nothing of interest to report other than I added additional pictures to my Savannah, GA pages. Relive the magic of Savannah through boatloads of pictures here.
November 24, 2008
Jennifer's Christmas tree at the Gardens.
9:39 p.m. - Quite an eventful day today! Thankfully time is running down on my year as Master of my Lodge. We spent some time practicing opening and closing this evening, and spent the last 30 minutes of the evening squabbling over the coming year. The ancients want to spend their time practicing letter perfect degrees. I, as the only modern present, suggested that the reason that not a single one of our new guys was among those present was because we weren't doing anything fun. Perhaps, said I, we might dedicate one day a month to practice (not that we do much degrees, anyway) and dedicate another day per month to having a few drinks or playing cards in the Crescent room at Tangier. Crazy! I went so far as to suggest that the incoming Master retain my innovations of having an agenda at the business meeting to keep it running smoothly, plan his year starting right now, and inform the new junior officers exactly what is expected of them during the coming year. And then we ended the meeting squabbling over the newsletter, with the Oldest Member repeatedly saying we need to issue a newsletter monthly and that I need to get a postal permit. Over and over and over again. Gotcha. Check. Will do, Hoss. I hear ya. You bet, Chief. Uh-huh. . . . Oh for the love of Pete, I heard you the first time, and I'm working on it! Grrrrrr. . .
Meanwhile. . . back on my low carb kick. Yesterday, I fell from the faith. Today, at work, free from temptations, I managed to be good. And now that I am being good, it becomes easier each day to maintain the track record. I had a Cobb salad for lunch and pumpkin seeds, and salad with chicken for dinner. Net result: about 15 carbs for the day. I'll be back in ketosis by the end of the week, if I keep it up. Tuna fish for lunch tomorrow.
In the meantime, Jennifer's car is misbehaving. Something went wrong with the brakes, so we had to get it to the shop ASAP. Net result: $600 in repairs, after the recent $700 that went into my car. Our debt ceiling is starting to look like the national debt. You could put a 20' Christmas tree under that ceiling. Maybe 25 feet. Sigh. . . So her brakes have been fixed, and I guess its all better than making car payments.
Anna and Jennifer with celebrity chef Paula Deen.
2:19 p.m. - We are back from a wonderful week in Savannah, tanned, bronzed, and rested. What a wonderful city! The history, the architecture, the weather, the people - wonderful! We ate too many pralines, spent way too much money, and had incredible fun. I could move to Savannah in a heartbeat. Jennifer & I stayed in a 1790s house that had been converted into 3 large, spacious, modern condos. You couldn't beat the accommodations, and we were barely a block from the Riverfront. During our stay, we enjoyed some of the best shopping and dining you can imagine. Jennifer's mother visited us from Sunday until Tuesday, and we had a wonderful visit, going to Tybee Island, Fort Pulaski, and gorging at Uncle Bubba's Oyster House and Paula Deen's Lady and Sons. Jennifer and I rented a car on Thursday and drove to St. Simon's to visit an antique show. I bought a 1781 Bonne map of North America that I love like a child. I hand-carried it for about 8 hours, barely letting it out of my sight all the way home on Saturday.
Rather than bore you with an incredibly boring itinerary of our adventures by flood and field, jet on over to my Savannah webpage here, and enjoy some of the over 1,000 pictures I took during the week. The webpages are still under construction, so keep checking back for updated pictures and stories!
November 13, 2008
Arabella has stowed herself away in our carry-on bag!
8:16 p.m. - What's with that commercial for the Dodge Ram hemi truck commercial, where the truck's manliness is proven by an obstacle course that pits horrible dangers against the truck after the truck has passed. For example, two giant steel pendulums swing past the truck, after it has already passed. Or the giant plume of fire which threatens to incinerate the truck, except that it already drove past the fire. It doesn't really challenge the truck, does it? Nor does it in any way promote the truck's attributes like mileage, safety record, and comfort.
Meanwhile, I'm bustling around the house trying to get ready to leave tomorrow at 9:00. I'm more or less packed, the house is mostly clean, the laundry is nearly done. Yikes! So much to do and so little time. I reckon I may be ready to go by 1:00 a.m. Fortunately, I'm too wired up to sleep much anyway.
November 11, 2008
9:19 p.m. - I am sore beyond measure right now. My fever is still raging - at least 120° right now - but duty, duty must be done. The rule applies to everyone. So in spite of fever, aches, and pains, I trucked on over to the hardware store to have the keys I bought on Sunday re-cut. I hate when they cut keys and NOT ONE of them works! Frustrating! But fortunately, they now all work, and we have spares for our house sitters.
I am still feeling down among the wines and spirits right now, and I was fairly achy and lightly feverish at work today. No matter, I had to thoroughly clean the bathroom downstairs. It was horrible. I polished every nook and cranny, literally cleaning corners with a toothbrush. My arms and legs are sore from all the cramped kneeling and scrubbing the floor, the bathtub, the sink, the toilet (ewwwww), but the room positively gleams. The coup de grace was a stiff rub of isopropyl alcohol which strips the last of the soap scum and makes the tiles shine. I think I am dizzy from the fumes of rubbing alcohol, ammonia, and bathtub cleaner.
Meanwhile, my dieting continues strong. I had tuna fish and wasa crackers and a small handful of cashews for lunch today. Less than 30 carbs. I wasn't even in the mood for dinner tonight. I expect to be in ketosis soon. The plan is to be a good boy through Savannah, Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Year's, and right into Spring. With a bit of hard work and effort, I might be down 50 by late Springtime. Yay me.
November 10, 2008
Arabella is a freshly groomed cutie-patootie.
8:05 p.m. - Yup, down with a full blown fever, just 5 days before vacation. I left work early, feeling cold (downright freezing in spite of a cardigan), and spent the afternoon resting and doping up on ibuprofen. I've got the house heat blasting at a royal 65°. My entire body is achy, and I range from being very hot to freezing cold. The dogs have been a royal pain in the ass during my convalescence, barking at anything they hear.
Meanwhile, Jennifer's care giving is a 7 «'s out of 10. She brought me cooling drinks, rubbed my achy back, and brought me ibuprofen. But then she abandoned me to go play at Julie's for a few hours. After I made a fantastic dinner of Salisbury steaks and broccoli and cheese, too!
Of additional interest, my neighbors disgust me. Whenever their friends - er, amigos - come by, they simply pound on the car horn rather than ring the doorbell. That drives me insane. And last night, they decided to deep fry a turkey, which they set up among dry leaves and their overflowing garbage cans. Unfortunately, their home suffered no damage. Meanwhile, they don't run their garbage out and they haven't raked their leaves, picked up fallen tree branches from the windstorm a few days ago, nor mowed in at least 2 months. Home ownership is definitely not a skill with them.
November 9, 2008
8:11 p.m. - I've been Mr. Cranky Pants this afternoon. I think I've come down with a light fever, and I've had a wicked headache all afternoon. I wound up taking two ibuprofen and a long nap, and I feel better. Of course, I'll probably be up all night, but I was feeling miserable earlier, and I am NOT a good patient.
Quiet Sunday at Casa de Evans. I've spent the day continuing the cleaning. More laundry. More junk to the basement. Cleaning the bedroom. I ran to the hardware store to have keys cut for the dogsitter - and of course not one of those damn things worked. Then I went to the grocery store and wound up getting behind the fraktard who was arguing his receipt with the checker. Turns out he had to buy 10 specially-marked items to get the discount, and he only bought 8. And we had to tell the story to the customer service guy and then the assistant manager before the manager would refund him $8. It took for-freakin'-ever, and I couldn't get out of the line to go elsewhere. And I couldn't leap over the cart and beat him with his own leg. And the real kick in the groin was that I forgot to give them my discount card, and probably overpaid by $8. I could have that man beaten. I think Baker's made me ill today. I blame the grocery store.
November 8, 2008
7:57 p.m. - Jennifer is still out. I've spent the last hour or so sitting downstairs, listening to Mozart on my Palm pilot, with Arabella sitting on my lap, reading my history of Abraham Lincoln and the 1864 election. My idea of a nearly perfect evening!
5:28 p.m. - Busy day. I got the dogs to the groomer at 8:00. I stamped and mailed 130 invitations to the Florence Lodge 50 Year Member dinner. I stopped by the VNA to pick among their cast off office furniture, and brought home a really nice folding table for $10. I have run about 3 loads of laundry, and spent a large part of the day straightening about the house before we leave on vacation. Jennifer finally got up and dressed, and we got some lunch and ran a quick errand. She and Julie left to go shopping, and I cleaned the leaves out of basement steps and put weather stripping up on the closet window. After a brief nap, I did another round of laundry, hauled more junk to the basement, and have been putting away more stuff. . . In our defense, the house wasn't particularly messy (or rather, no more than usual), but I've been doing real cleaning. Instead of piling papers neatly to look at "later," I've been filing or throwing them away. I've been stashing books in some real semblance of order on the shelves rather than simply piling them on the shelf. There is so much stuff to go through, and a half-assed job of creating a giant pile and hiding it somewhere wasn't going to cut it this time. Perhaps doing this right before vacation wasn't the best idea, however.
November 7, 2008
10:27 p.m.
Chimney repair: $150
Auto Repair (again): $395
Sundries: $200
Thermal Services bill: $265
Grooming the dogs: $125
Ai carumba!I'm not for Free Trade, and I'm not for Protection
I approve of them both, and to both have objection
In going through life I continually find
It's a terrible business to make up one's mind
So in spite of all comments, reproach and predictions
I firmly adhere to unsettled convictions
some unknown Member of Parliament in response to Arthur Balfour's lack of "settled convictions" (1903)November 6, 2008
9:23 p.m. - We decided to consolidate our DVDs into binders. Jennifer bought a big binder for movies that holds 200+ movies, and it's about 4 pages short of full. We bought another binder for TV shows on DVD that holds about 100, and we still need more spaces. Ugh! We have that many movies? I have 4 cardboard boxes full of the DVD cases to lug to the basement. And still more to go! Why did I decide to tamper with the delicate balance of my bookshelves! I should be cleaning the house before going on vacation, not filing hundreds of books!
7:16 a.m. - At 3:00 a.m. I got up to tinkle, and was surprised to find Arabella prancing about the hallway. Apparently I did not lock her kennel all the way last night. The good little angel wanted to go pee pee, and instead of befouling the hallway, she waited patiently for Daddy to make his nocturnal perambulation. I took her outside, and she ran out on the lawn, took care of business, ran back upstairs straight into her kennel and went back to sleep. She's just the sweetest thing ever! Unfortunately, getting back to sleep didn't come quite so easily for me.
November 4, 2008
Franklin Pierce Winfield Scott 4:11 p.m. - How do I get into these esoteric intellectual debates about political liberalism and conservatism with my brother but debating the finer points of Franklin Pierce's election against Winfield Scott in 1844 with the fellas? I have to say, the latter debates are infinitely more interesting.
November 3, 2008
9:59 p.m. - Huzzah! I got unelected WM of my Lodge! Or rather, someone else was elected WM for 2009. I join the joyous, happy ranks of Past Master, though I suspect I'll get appointed Chaplain next year and Secretary the year after. We'll see about that. . .
12:57 p.m. - I am going to make a concerted and dedicated effort to be good at the ol' feed trough. Jennifer has been very, very committed, and she looks amazing. I look like her elderly neighbor. If I can get through the first 10 to 15 days, I can keep the momentum going, but turning the other cheek for a week or two to all the tastiest snack-y things is the hardest part. So for lunch I had iceberg lettuce with a scoop of tuna fish, and bacon ranch dressing, totaling maybe 10 grams of carbs. And a diet coke, totaling 0. I should cut the diet coke out, too, but that's nearly impossible. Tonight, sausage and eggs. That sounds reasonably low carb.
7:54 a.m. - After having raked the leaves from the drive way three times, they are all back again. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing one's labor's undone. Looks like I'm raking again later this week. Sigh. . .
November 2, 2008
8:06 p.m. - Jennifer said she wants to rents a car in Savannah. I have this vision of us zipping around the South in one of those tiny smart cars or a mini cooper. They don't make a smart car for the portly gentleman.
I love the Mad Men spoof on tonight's Simpsons.
7:41 p.m. - Still working on filing books. I've got a huge box of books to go. I hate to see them go after having served so faithfully served us for so long. But with 4 shelves upstairs and 11 boxes of books in the basement, it's time to whittle them down. Of course, deciding to do this 2 weeks before our vacation may not have been the best idea ever. . .
Meanwhile, I watched The Simpsons Halloween special. Lame. Extremely lame. Though the Simpsons opening that spoofed Mad Men was hilarious! The rest of it was tedious. I'm watching King of the Hill right now, and it is also fairly weak. I read that they are cancelling it after the 2010 season. It's about time. They've taken it about as far as it can go while keeping it fresh. Time to leave before it becomes as dreary as the Simpsons has become. It amazes me that The Simpsons came out in about 1989, so a generation of kids have grown up never knowing a time when it wasn't on TV. It's long since stopped being funny, but every now and then they do something droll.
Our house looks passably good in the Autumn.
3:09 p.m. - Where has this weekend gone? It's already mid-afternoon on Sunday. My vacation is in two weeks. I can't wait! Meanwhile. . . we went to see Zack and Miri Make a Porno this morning, which was a typical Kevin Smith movie. Not his best, not his worst, but with a lot of boobs and butt type jokes for which Kevin is so justly celebrated. It's siller more than shocking, and you could probably get away with taking your mother to it. Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks are high-school buddies who are roommates. Barely earning enough to pay the rent and bills, they decide to make a porno to keep the heat turned on, with hilarious results. As funny as it is, Zack and Miri is a typical romance though the problem is that the romance between Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks is more boring than sweet. Much like pornography itself - not that I'd know - it all becomes the same after the first 3 minutes, and you kind of know what is going to happen.
Afterward, we had brunch down at the Upstream Brewery, which was really good. Expensive, but good. There was a couple sitting next to us. A 20-something was discussing her business wheelings and dealings in the kind of stage whisper the entire restaurant could here. Thankfully they left. . . eventually.
Jennifer is taking a nap and I'm not working on filing books. The weather is absolutely perfect, and I should be outside.
9:20 a.m. - I am feeling industrious. Before 8:30 a.m., I had raked another bag of leaves from the driveway, raked and bagged the leaves on the back steps, ran another round of laundry, put away the clean dishes from yesterday, and hopped in the shower.
So we went to Mark's Halloween party last night, and it was a stunning success. The man knows how to throw a party with a lavish array of eats and drinks and interesting people. We had a grand evening. This party was a doggie Halloween, and there must have been about 10 dogs in costumes roaming the house. Arabella was there, of course, wearing her angel costume. She did very well, after the initial discomfort of getting sniffed by bigger dogs. I slipped her a bit of cheese or a piece of pasta from time to time, and she was quite happy sitting in my lap the entire evening.
Arabella was, of course, an angel. She made herself quite at home at Mark's house. There was stiff competition in the cute department. Mini-Me, the teacup poodle, was adorable Chanel wearing what else? Chanel. But who are we kidding? Arabella was the cutest dog there. Mark knows how to throw a lavish spread
In the evening, we sat outside by the fire and enjoyed perfect weather. Who'd've thunk the weather would be so nice on November 1st? November 1, 2008
Jennifer's Ooobama pumpkin
5:32 p.m. - Still working upstairs, and making progress. So many books to go through, so many files, folders, and binders. Getting rid of books is like deciding between children - I can't bear to part with any. And getting everything in these two shelves involves major decisions. I've thrown away a huge box of papers, articles, and news clippings, and there are still reams of material to go through. I may cop out and simply re-locate a bookshelf to the basement (and by the way, there are about 10+ boxes of books downstairs, too) and simply re-shelve books on Boston architecture or WWI history down there.
Meanwhile, after hours of cleaning extreme amounts of dust and breathing in rat turds and other filth, I have a notoriously upset stomach and need a break. Jennifer says its the after effect of the cheeseburger I had at lunch. I don't believe it; I've never met a disagreeable cheeseburger.
2:31 p.m. - Where has my weekend gone! We've been reasonably busy today. I dropped my dry cleaning off, raked leaves in the yard (not that there was much), did some laundry, picked up the second set of bookshelves from Tom's and hauled them upstairs, and went out to lunch.
Jennifer is pouting in the bedroom and watching television. I'm busy cleaning the house. Tonight is the doggie Halloween party at Mark's. We have a choice of a devil costume for Arabella, or an angel. Her personality is more of an angel.
8:57 a.m. - I am glad Halloween is over. It has outlived its usefulness, as someone recently said. The little rug rats were out trick or treating by 5:30 yesterday, and I unplugged the doorbell and secured the dogs upstairs so they would not entirely wig out. We've stopped handing out candy in the neighborhood. After years of buying too little or too much, dealing with kids who no longer say thank you, teenagers way too old to be mooching, or the inevitable second bag for the "sick brother who can't come tonight," we've decided we're done. So Jennifer and I didn't participate; instead, we went out for Chinese (which came back to haunt me at 1:00 am) and then Jennifer bought a few seasonal decorations at JoAnn's fabrics and World Market. In the evening, she went over to Julie's and I watched Life on Mars on DVR.
On Thursday evening, we went over to Mom and Mike's house for dinner and pumpkin carving. Jennifer carved a pumpkin that said Oooobama. Mine was the usual big pumpkin devouring the little pumpkin. Mom's looked like comedian Jeff Dunham's ventriloquist dummy "Walter." We spent about an hour chasing the dogs around Elmwood park, during their inevitable escape sequence.
