Letting go

There are a few ways in which Alan and I differ. Being able to throw things away is one of those areas. Alan has a stuffed leather wallet whose seams are worn, ripped, and whose capacity to stretch and bulge has been exceeded. It's not that he doesn't want to buy a replacement, au contraire. He has a brand new, soft leather wallet sitting in its original box in his closet as we speak. It's been there for two years maybe? He won't throw the old wallet out until it can no longer serve its purpose.

This holds true for other things: 1) Jeans. Holes in the butt are perfectly acceptable. In public even. 2) T-shirts. Same as jeans, except t-shirts can become so ragged that the collar and armpits are disappearing. 3) Yogurt. Everyone knows the expiration date is only a suggestion, right? 4) The Paper Trail. Nevermind that we're technology advanced enough that we should be mostly paperless. Surely those bank statements and Jack-in-the-Box employment stubs from 1990 will come in handy during an IRS audit someday.

I can almost understand some of that. But carrying this around for nearly a year is beyond my comprehension:

It began with the card having a couple knicks and cracks in it. Eventually it finally split down the middle; hence, the scotch tape that's been there for several months. My theory is that Alan likes the attention it brings when EVERY SINGLE CASHIER makes a comment about it. He claims that isn't true. But those of you who know Alan, know that he can have a conversation with everyone he encounters and actually enjoy it.

The inevitable is about to happen, however. The card expires in 10 days. :-)

Red

Just 'cause he's pretty...


Addison gave Duke a bath today, so I've got to show off his shiny red locks. If you look closely, you'll find evil in the background.




Whuh? I might have asked him something about a walk that I knew we weren't taking. I think it's okay to tease occasionally, especially since he embarrassed me by humping every 4-legged creature at the dog park last night.



Pure sweetness.

Junior the Ripper

Some days I just don't know what to do with him.



Not because he's big, fat, lazy, and won't get out of my computer chair, but because he's so flippin' mean. The slice on the back of my leg from a week or so ago is close to healing, and then last night I'm attacked leaving a 3-inch cut complete with a couple puncture wounds. I was standing out at recess today (in a skirt) when a student from last year walked up behind me and said, "Mrs. Schaeffer - did your cat do that?" She remembers how often I'd come to school with my battle scars. And then there's the bites on my arm from a couple weeks ago.

Sometimes I wish I could know what he is thinking.



I get some satisfaction with the addition of Betsey to our household. She pesters Junior as much as Duke does, which somehow helps even things out. And then there are those moments I relish when I can make a fool of him, like the humiliation seen here post-bath:



I know he's with us until he dies, but there are days I fantasize about how that will happen.

Brainless Activity

I've spent most of the day sitting on the couch watching "Band of Brothers." There are some shows that Alan and I agree are worth watching anytime they're on, whether there are 90 minutes left or 10. "Band of Brothers" is one of those, and usually it's shown as a marathon. Thus, the long afternoon of couch-potatoing. Not to mention the fact I have a slight cold and don't feel like doing anything else.

A couple others we agree on:

The Bourne (Anything)
Zoolander
South Park

I've become such a South Park junkie. It's my #1 guilty pleasure. I've even found that when I'm having trouble falling asleep at night, I'll watch one of the thirty or so recorded episodes to doze off to. I love that they make fun of every demographic, every religion, you name it. No one gets left out. But it's so wrong on so many levels.

There are plenty we don't agree on. Alan's not interested in anything paranormal or ghost-related, and I can easily pass up college football or "Dumb and Dumber." To add to this random post, I'm going to share some of my favorite movies:

Seems Like Old Times (a Neil Simon)
The Four Seasons (another Neil Simon)
Broadcast News

You'd never want to watch these movies WITH me, however. I know all the dialogue and can't help myself. But it's the dialogue that makes those movies rock. I wish there were a network solely dedicated to showing 70s and 80s movies. And with that I'm going to stop, because I'm really showing my age. I shouldn't be doing that, with another birthday approaching.

The Chair

While we were in the no carpet/bare concrete floor stage, Junior decided that a hard cold floor was not suitable for His Highness. He decided the leather computer chair was his new domain. Now that carpet is back and oh-so much cozier than what we had before, I've been waiting for him to find his spot back on the floor where he belongs. Because fun as it is to remove a biting, growling, pissed-off cat every time I need the computer chair, this is getting old:

The gluteus maximus

I shall whine now. Here is a common recurrence that happens over and over, because that's what recurrences do. I take up some form of exercise, usually jogging. (At this point I'm going to refer to what I do as jogging, not running. Jogging seems more honest.) Anyway, I do my darnedest to take it semi-seriously and stick with it, but something always happens. Tendonitis, shin splints, sciatica, groin pull, you name it. And I'm really disciplined about stretching beforehand. A couple of years ago (or more) I was playing tennis and hurt my arm/shoulder. It still hasn't healed. Back in December I ran a 5K that perhaps I hadn't trained enough for and have had problems with my sciatic nerve ever since. I have a throbbing sort of pain in my right butt cheek, the right side of my right knee, and ditto on my right ankle. I feel quite ladylike saying my butt hurts.

I suppose it really is age. Man, that sucks to know the truth. But I want to fight this aging thing for as long as I can, butt pain and all.

My vintage kitchen

When the girls were little and their dad and I were still married, I went to a lot of garage and estate sales. A LOT of sales. It wasn't necessarily because we didn't have the money to buy things new, but I just liked the idea of finding bargains. I might have gotten a little carried away at times. I remember sitting in my living room in the house on Neely and looking around at all the items that came from these sales. I was proud of this. Why, I'm not sure. The girls wore clothes I bought second-hand, too, and wow do I regret that when I look back at home movies. Anyway, here are some kitchen finds that I love and use to this day:

I got this odd-shaped pan for $4.00, and it still has the price written on the bottom in permanent marker. I use it as a landing spot for hot wings, fried potatoes, and whatever we're pulling off the grill. Buying something at an estate sale means it usually belonged to someone elderly. I like to make the assumption that because of this, these are quality pieces. I tell myself that that generation thought carefully about what they bought and therefore made quality purchases. I could write a whole post on the things I tell myself about the elderly. But I digress...

This is my favorite find. I've made countless batches of salsa in this food processor. It was used when I bought it, and I've had it for probably 12 years. I rarely use it for anything else, and if you look closely you'll probably see residual salsa. I don't clean it that well. And what is that brand, Moulinex? It must be special because it's not just "La Machine," it's "La Machine II!"

I bought this double boiler at an estate sale. I use the bottom pot frequently, but I use the double boiler for only two things: homemade banana pudding and melting chocolate for buckeyes. I happen to be making buckeyes right now for a friend who just had her wisdom teeth removed. Despite how beat up it is, I love that it has a copper bottom and that it's the easiest pot to clean that I own. (Check out my vintage stovetop knobs in the background - awesome!)

Alan and I used to go to garage and estate sales pretty frequently. I think it started out as cheap entertainment when that was the only kind of entertainment we could afford, and then we just continued because we always had a good time together. We haven't been going for quite a while now. Kind of hard to do when Alan runs most Saturday mornings and pretty much every other morning of his life. I miss it.