The Ice Storm

I am not a patient person. Detailed oriented, yes, if I'm interested in the subject. It's usually the destination, not the journey for me. This does not always work out so well for me or for German girl who often fixes my mistakes. If , for instance, I want to download some pictures,I do, regardless of what else is happening on the computer at the time. As a result, my little camera had very little room for images 'cause it was full of music I had inadvertently loaded. Yesterday i was reading one of my favorite blogs ( and you know who you are) and i jumped up, took some pics , went to download them and somehow got the entire September 2007 blog postings downloaded to my pics. Good God, it took German girl about an hour to clean up that one. So now I am to close all sites, take a deep breath and turn on the camera. Okay, okay. There's a resolution for you, or rather for me. Slow down and try to capitalize . Oh, and never say no to a merengue! Happy New Year!

Made For Walking

have i no life if i'm not working? or am i so busy living it i don't take pictures? our sunday spring day has flown and we're left with sunshine and bitter cold winds. sunday i felt like gardening, monday and tuesday, i felt like cuddling up on the couch with the lab and reading book after book. but out we've gone, twice to the gym, and my muscles are screaming ( with joy? ), shopping, actually clothes shopping, new boots for both of us. born for her and uggs for me. we've gone out to lunch, which sure beats sitting around a cluttered design table in the back of the shop eating leftovers. we've gone out for breakfast and out for coffee. now we're going out to dinner at a neighbor's. swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, green beans and ligonberries prepared by his new swedish/american girlfriend. all we're bringing is fresh baked bread and 3 chairs. hurray for after the holidays!

The Sun Is Up, The Sky Is Blue...

sunny sunday morning. the snow has melted and the cat is outside. little pokie, happy at last. i have the sunday Times and the new Vogue to read. the espresso is dripping, birds are singing, all is right in our world. my kitchen is bursting with food: pumpkin bread baked by a neighbor, gingerbread brought by a friend, bags of sugared almonds, candied pecans, gingersnaps, a butterstollen ( well, maybe half a loaf of the stollen cause i love it) assorted jars of jams and preserves from another friend but not a slice of plain bread to spread it on. our neighbor, the Major, gave us a kitchen aid for christmas. perhaps i should unpack it and bake some bread? never mind , just got a text from said neighbor, he's cooked breakfast! this day is getting better by the minute. gonna wash my face, wake up german girl and the lab, and we're outta here!

AHHHHH

peace and quiet and rain surround me. the centerpieces, buffet pieces, tree decorating, routing drivers, gulping down starbucks, finished till next year. i'm off till january 5th. it's boxing day and my house is reasonably clean, dishes washed, elaborate dinner eaten and digested. today there is nothing i HAVE to do. visions of the gym and the library, even a little shopping dance in my head. i do want to make a roast beef hash with the left over rib roast and a rich beef stock from the bones. at some point this afternoon, i will take a nap. breathe, release, repeat.

All I Want For Christmas....

i want the snow to melt so the damn cat can go outside. she's taken up residence under the christmas tree, only leaving to eat and to try to make her daily escape. i want arlington county to clear the streets, so the delivery vans and jeeps stop getting stuck in the snow. i want more sleep, my christmas shopping done, ( that will happen after christmas, i'm sure) and most importantly i want a flash of inspiration on what to cook for christmas dinner. this is vital. if anyone is reading and has a delicious suggestion, please post it! a manicure would also be appreciated ,oh and did i mention more sleep? 2 days and counting.



p.s. of course in the midst of floral madness we did come home to a clean house and a delicious dinner of chicken soup prepared by our own elf , Tini. the sun is up and i'm off to shower and gird my loins for another day in the trenches. Merry Christmas!

cats and cupcakes

uber quiet sunday morning. the cat is no longer talking to me. when i opened the back door , at her bequest, she was greeted with 18" of snow. apparently, i am responsible for this, and she has stalked off to the attic to plan her revenge. everyone else is sleeping off a snow day of shoveling, movie watching, cupcake baking and gorging. followed by another movie, dinner and more cupcakes. i hear creatures stirring, off to make another latte and see what high calorie treats today brings!

Oh No, Snow!

alas, alack, forced to take a day off in the midst of the holiday madness! luckily, yesterday, we worked like elves on crack getting all the holiday party work done. we delivered, customers picked up, people rushed in after hours for one last amaryllis or wreath. too bad we don't sell bread and milk, we could have been a one stop shop. a customer brought in his elf for us to fill, it turned out to be a gnome, but we filled it just the same. i've just caught up on my" blogs i follow " reading, and now i better go participate in this life i'm leading.