I can just see you in it.  Sounds perfect for you once more.  Did you get these heavy rains this past week?

 

BTW, the new Newsweek has John Edwards as the Sleeper.  That's who I have kinda been rooting for all along, with Obama as VP to give him some more experience.  Well, let's see how it all plays out in Iowa.

 

Love you Sunshine

I am of the exact same mind. Edwards and Obama. and rain  all winter is typical for portland. good thing i love it.

There have been two really good articles about Obama as a president lately.  One is the Fareed Zakariah one in Newsweek, and the other is an editorial today by David Brooks.  Our paper is owned by NY Times, so is excellent and we have lots of good editorialists.  I don't always agree with Brooks as he is more middle than I am, but he's really good with analysis.  Here is the link:  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/opinion/18brooks.html?hp

 

I think Obama would be an absolutely excellent president, after he has a little experience as a VP.

Love you.  PS:  I'm much better today.  I got a nap yesterday and slept well overnight.  Made lots of pureed food for Michael yesterday and generally got a little caught up after we came back from the surgeon.  That was hard.  Now I have to figure out how to simplify Christmas and the day before, as Bill's brother and wife are also coming up.  I'll still make a turkey, but I'm buying gravy and mashed potatoes (they have great frozen mashed potatoes at Trader Joe's - I just can't peel 15 potatoes right now).  The day before, I'm just making tortilla soup and for lunch, I'll buy everything like salads and lunch meats, etc.  Any ideas on simplifying?  And I am being really really clear that I need help!  Hopefully, Bill will be able to come back here sometime this weekend.

as on simplfying:

do not clean the house. just pick up clutter. no one noticies the dirt on chrsitmas.

ask your B-I-L and wife to bring things. Let her cook, she does it at home, she can do it at your house.

do not wrap presents !! just put them in pillow cases. nothing to tape or throw away.

bring bill home, he needs you, you need him   and tell him to avoid all contact with michael.

have the guests pick up take out whenever possible and dont insist on paying half. let them treat you. duh !

and remember the meaning od christmas is appreciation of the world and peace and dont make your self nuts trying to observe it.

just sing some songs off key and call it an early night.

I love your message about singing off-key ;~)  I'm going beyond your message.  They were coming up for 2 whole days.  I can't handle that.  I am asking them to be here only for Christmas day, making things even easier.  They can spend Christmas Eve over at Bill's aunt and uncle's in the assisted living place (very posh) and have dinner there.  They have white tablecloth dinners, with wine at the tables, etc.  So, if I only have one day, it won't be bad.  No presents this year.  I might just buy them a whole basket of local goodies, like jams, pre-wrapped.  Michael & Muir are getting checks.  No presents for Bill - I gave him a charitable donation.  (and will give him some chocolate and something for his daily walks - wrist thingies that glow in the dark).  I'll make a turkey, but honest-to-goodness, I am buying (!!!!) gravy and mashed potatoes at Trader Joe's.  If I can get over there. 

 

I think Bill has TypeA influenza.  My s-i-l is a nurse at Berkeley's student clinic and just sent me the list of symptoms that she received, as they had their first diagnosed cases of this.  He's still really sick - but the good news is that he's cleaning Michael's apartment when he has any energy, so I don't need to do that.  We were going to hire a cleaning person as per Michael's instructions (with his money), but now don't need to do that.  I would have had to stay there all day for that.  So this is good.

 

I love you dear, and I'll sing lots of Handel's Messiah completely off key and very loud ;~)

Thank the gods, Bill's brother and wife cancelled Christmas.  I feel like the Grinch.  But turns out that Cathy (s-i-l) is becoming paranoid about Bill's yuk.  They leave 3 days after Christmas for San Diego and then a New Year's cruise to Mexico, so she doesn't want to be exposed to the flu.  I'm really glad.  Love them, but this year is not the time to have company.  I knew it was going to be iffy just with Michael's surgery, but Bill's illness put it over the top.  So yahoo...a quiet Christmas with just Michael and Muir and (hopefully) Bill.  I won't even have to run into Santa Rosa now to go shopping.  Only here in good old Sebastopol.  

How's the other patient?  He should be just about ready to rock and roll now, I would suppose.  Snuffling his nose?  Michael just had a horrible burp that closed his mouth up, just at the time I was spilling freshly made jello all over the new fridge and onto the new floor.  Ah well, I'll just keep laughing.  Send me more elves!  Love you dear

HURRAH for grinches......... this was a good year not to impose. jim thought he would be the bionic man and be ready for anything by now and while he isn't in pain he is very tired and doesn't sleep well yet.  I told him that he wont really feel chipper till the ten day mark and absolutely normal until 3-4 weeks. poor guy, his expectations were so high.

 

Just got back from whole foods because a xmas eve tradition here is tenderloin of beef in a pepper crust and gorgonzola potatoes. plus I had to get good ingredients for stollen and kugekhupf. good thing I dont shop there regularly  it is high priced !!! yikes. $26 a pound for tenderloin? otherwise we are resting and staying dry and I am weaving and abi is chewing and biting the edges of the paper roll I use to keep my warp threads from getting tangled. and today the third season of house of cards arrived. great fun. and then we are getting the 1970's War and Peace  with  a young Anthony Hopkins as pierre. did you know hopkins is also a concert pianist?

 

AND did you get flu shots? you and bill should ALWAYS do that from now on. I read a history of the 1918 flu epedemic and it could happen again at any time. seriously.

Tenderloin at $26!!!!  Ack!  We call Whole Foods "Food for Millionaires"!   No, since no one will be here but Bill & I,  I will just make something like Tortilla soup for Christmas Eve and a turkey for Christmas for the 4 of us.  I might even be able to puree the tortilla soup (with tortillas) for Michael.  Since it will just be us for Christmas, I now only have to make one kind of stuffing (wheatless) and buy wheatless gravy already made up, and roasted root vegetables, instead of mashed potatoes.  I'll make the instant mashed with garlic from Trader Joseph's for Michael. 

 

And YES, I got the flu shot.  Damned Bill got his too late.  I was after him to get it, but he put it off til right before the operation.  It's not good for 2 weeks.  My great grandparents both died in the flu epidemic of 1918.  Plus a couple of years ago, I got the flu so bad I thought I was on my way out.  Got viral meningitis.  I'll never do that again, if I can help it.  

 

No, I didn't know Sir Anthony (I think he's a Sir) was a concert pianist.  Let me know how that particular War and Peace is, cause I love period pieces.  My favorite kinds of movies, but unfortunately, not Bill's. 

 

I'm feeling great about being a Grinch.  Taking care of myself feels good, though other folks aren't understanding it, particularly Bill.  The night before Michael's surgery, Muir came over to wish Michael well.  It was getting pretty late, and I knew I was going to be up at 4 and it was going to be a long day, so I said to the guys that I was going out to take a hot tub and then going to bed, but they could stay up as long as they wanted to visit.  Bill completely misunderstood me and thought I was angry - but that's what i get for rolling over for all those years.  He'll get it sometime soon, I hope. 

 

Poor Jim.  I don't think Michael really understood that his energy was not going to bounce back either.  Taking a little walk yesterday did him in.  He might be a couple of months before he's back to "normal", but I'm hoping that normal will have changed for him.  And Jim is only at the 5 day mark.  Geez, I just had a phonecall, and I forgot I was still on here.  Better run.  Love you

another great gluten free stufffing is apples celery leeks and wild rice. I forgot,,,can you eat quinoa? I know you  dont like rice but it makes a great stuffing if you use other things.

 

last week I roasted a chicken for jim and stuffed it with lemon, fennel, carrots and bayleaves. it was delicious. and yes you are right. I only did whole foods as a holiday special thing,  2.86 for eggnog vs .99 at winco. amazing huh?

 I like rice sometimes - just not all the time.  As a stuffing, it sounds great.  Recipe?  Yes, I eat quinoa. 

 

Yeah, Whole Millionaires is incredible.  I go to my local equivalent of Winco.  It's called G&G and is owned by a Chinese family.  They have the most fabulous deli.  You can almost imagine that you are somewhere in New York (ok, not quite), but they have a huge huge counter of meats like Dietz & Watson, and all really cheap.  Their homemade turkey, sliced, is $4.99 pound and is fabulous.  Nothing in it.  And they make alll their own salads and things.  Their chicken salad has walnuts and is $3.89 per pound.  Their fruit salad (huge, huge) is $2.89 and includes honeydew, cantaloupe and watermelon.  I love that place.  Enjoy your special tenderloin.  At that price, you would want to mount it on the wall ;~)

I've come to the conclusion that I give away clothes much too soon. I gave away all my wool sweaters and now that I'm back in the cold I'm having to buy new, tho I've only bought one so far. My mother was an expert knitter but I think it skips a generation.

oh yes. never give away quality classical stuff. I have shoes from the 70's that look as perfect today as ever. and who can ever fault a basic pair of wool trousers or a basic sheath. I dont buy funky. I sew funky, but when I spend hundreds on something it has to be classic and last  for ages and ages.  or have enough raw material to vecome something else if you MUST. and with those two small skirts ut was a MUST. I am quite pleased with the swirly girly effect.