Gone to Carolina

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 12:21:11 GMT

Sometimes you can buy generic foods and other times you can not. Harris Teeter coffee is a NOT!!!! It is so bad that I'm going to actually throw out an entire bag of it and the pot of coffee I made with it this morning and START OVER!

So there is your consumer advice for the day.

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 12:10:55 GMT

It is true that I still have not cut back my rose bushes. There's no excuse for it, really. It's one of those things where you think about doing it and it's raining (been doing a lot of that lately) or it's nice out and you don't think of it at all. I'm not sure at what point I'll be too late. But I'll definitely try to get to it this week.

And I'm really hoping this week to get the rest of my Christmas shopping done. That's right. Christmas shopping. For 2006. Still no Nintendo Wii in this house, which means we are still the people that did not give their kids anything for Christmas.

I see the XBox 360 is now showing up in sales circulars again. But no one is saying anything at all about this Wii. Wii'll see! (sorry...)

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 12:21:09 GMT

Coldwater Creek. Whoda thunk it? I see the catalogs all the time but nothing ever trips my trigger. I've walked into their stores and right back out, uninspired. I don't know why. Their stuff is nice.

Tuesday afternoon I walked into their newest store right by our new Target, hoping that I might just find a basic pair of black pants.

Oh, I found them alright. And a sweater and a blouse. And there is more there I'd go back for. 70% off most of the stuff was.

It was good. And easy. Except the dressing room attendant didn't seem terribly interested in helping me.

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 11:49:44 GMT

It was a very nice New Year's weekend.

Saturday morning I made a triple-chocolate cheesecake, which turned out to be simply stunning. Buddy Cassie came over and helped with the mixing and some tips on the bain-marie(water bath). She's a cheesecake whiz. It was so easy and with such spectacular results, that I'm finding myself hoping we get invited to something or that there will a potluck at church so I can justify making another. I certainly can't whomp up one for just the four of us. Well, I suppose I could, but that would be a waste. Well, I suppose I could just freeze it in sections. The recipe was from a Fine Cooking magazine from a few years back...2001, maybe? I could look, but I'm lazy.

We took it to a party where we had low-country boil. A new experience for us. And one we could so easily have here ourselves. In fact, Mensa Boy asked the next day if we could do that. I'm quite sure that would make a nice Friday night dinner.

So the weather Friday night was great. Clear and cool but not cold. We sat around a bonfire for a bit and just did a lot of visiting. Even the guys had a good time.

Sunday it rained. And rained. And rained some more. Which was why the party on Saturday took place on Saturday instead of Sunday. But that was a good thing, because our neighbors had a drop-in on Sunday night. That was a great time too. I took a bottle of an Alsatian Reisling and it was never opened, so the hostess sent it back home with me. I'll share it with a special friend who loves Reisling. I had a glass of a Yellowtail red that gave me an instant headache. A headache which lasted most of the day Monday. I think I'll be scratching that wine label off my list.

Monday I cleaned my computer hard drive, saving 4 GBs of photos to CD and cleaning up the 2006 financial files. The guys took down the Christmas tree and later in the afternoon I cleaned out my closet. I hauled 4 lawn bags of clothes out of there. 3 sizes. They are all in the guest room now. In about 3 months I'll take them to Goodwill. I just want to be sure there isn't anything in there I might miss.

Needless to say, this week I have to go shopping for clothes. Since I hate that so much, I think I'll bite it off in small chunks. I'll look for one outfit this week and then go back for another next week and so on.

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 13:17:04 GMT

Sometimes you go to bed on a Friday night and you wake up the next morning to find that a famous dictator has been executed for his crimes.

One more wart on humanity's backside eliminated while we slept.

Cool.

I sure do hope we don't end up with a lot more upheaval over there as a result now.

We're doing the New Year's thing tonight with friends instead of tomorrow night. They like to have a bonfire and do low-country boil, which would be hard tomorrow if we get the downpouring rains that are predicted. So hopefully we can head off the weather by doing it tonight. I'm mildly concerned, though. It looks very dark to the west and it was sprinkling a bit ago when I went to let out the neighbor's dog.

Nonetheless, I'm running out now to get ingredients for a triple chocolate cheesecake. I've never made a cheesecake before, so I'm slightly apprehensive. But I figure the worst that could happen is that I could overbake it slightly and it'll crack. Cover that up with something like raspberries and there you go.

And here I go...