Just What You Need

For this week's Ten on Tuesday, Carole wants us to list My 10 Favorite Comfort Foods.

Granted, a lot of food that is comfort food is not health food for your body - but often it's just what you need for your soul, right?

Here's my list.

1. Mashed potatoes.  Any potato is good, but mashed potatoes make everything better.
2. Tea.  I know it's technically a drink, but there is nothing for me that a cup of tea cannot fix or at least help.
3. Spaghetti.  It doesn't have to have meatballs, either, though in our house, veggie meatballs are a treat.
4. Rice.  When I was a little kid, I had a bowl of rice (Minute Rice at that!) with soy sauce nearly every morning for breakfast.  Though I've moved on from Minute Rice, rice itself still makes me happy.
5. Chocolate.  Any form.  Because it's chocolate.
6. Macaroni and cheese.  I make my own, and though the recipe is a basic one, it does vary based on what we do or don't have.
7. Toast with butter.  Tea and toast is the ultimate comfort breakfast for me.
8. Oatmeal.  Hot oatmeal on a cold winter day takes away the horribleness of having to go to work,and warms you up from the inside.
9. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
10. Applesauce.

Sometimes a certain food is just right for a certain time and place, but these come to mind first when I think of the term "comfort food."

And now I'm hungry ...

Sixty

(apologies if you have to sit through an ad to see/hear this)

The Secret O' Life

The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.

Any fool can do it, there ain't nothin' to it.

Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill.

But since we're on our way down,

We might as well enjoy the ride.

The secret of love is in opening up your heart.

It's OK to feel afraid, 

But don't let that stand in your way.

'Cause everyone knows that love is the only road.

And since we're only here for a while, 

We might as well show some style.

Give us a smile -

Isn't it a lovely ride?

Sliding down, gliding down.

Try not to try too hard,

It's just a lovely ride.

Now the thing about time

Is that time isn't really real.

It's just your point of view, 

How does it feel for you?

Einstein said 

He could never understand it all.

Planets spinning through space,

The smile upon your face, 

Welcome to the human race.

Isn't it a lovely ride?

See me sliding down, 

Gliding down.

Try not to try to hard,

It's just a lovely ride.

Isn't it a lovely ride?

See me sliding down, 

Gliding down.

Try not to try to hard,

It's just a lovely ride.

The secret of life

Is enjoying the passage of time.

Happy Birthday to me.

(photo courtesy of Joan David)

Isn't It Good?

For today's Ten on Tuesday, Carole wanted us to list 10 Favorite Things I Own That Are Made of Wood.  This was a fun thing to figure out, but the challenge for me was to take photos, since my camera is very near death, and though I can edit the images somewhat, I still can't get Photoshop to load correctly on to my new laptop.  So I did the best I could!  :-)

This picture represents our bedroom furniture, which belonged to The Tim's grandparents.  We have a dresser, mirror, chest of drawers, headboard and footboard for the bed, and two nightstands.  It is dark cherry wood, with dovetail joins, and brass drawer pulls.  Really lovely, and a wonderful legacy as well.

Here are six things in one photo!  From left to right:  a wood framed picture of Doughboy, taken while he and his family were camping in the Adirondacks; a kitty box, sent to me by a blog friend  It has all kinds of secret compartments, depending where you move the kitty's tail, ears, etc.; a glass fishie on a wood stand.  I won it in a blog contest a few years ago, and it makes me happy, particularly since Pisces is my astrological sign;  a canary wood darning egg; a yarn bowl (currently holding my tape measures!), that was sent to me anonymously the last time I was recovering from surgery.  If you sent it, Thank You very much!

This is a lap desk made for me by my father-in-law and given to me by The Tim the second Christmas after we were married.  I was always complaining about using the only table we had, a wobbly kitchen table, to write letter or pay bills.  I wanted a lap desk, but couldn't find one that I liked that we could afford.   So The Tim asked his dad to make me one.  When you open the lid, there are compartments for stamps, paper, envelopes, etc.  It's perfect and I still use it regularly.  When I opened it that Christmas, his daughters and other daughters-in-law were all jealous, so he had to make four more!  But mine was the prototype.  :-)

This picture has two faves:  an antique printer's drawer, with type in some of the sections.  I have always wanted one, and saw this years ago at an antique store where it was being sold for $20.00.  Since others I'd seen were $100 and up, you can bet I grabbed it!   The other item is the top of a chair that has an upholstered seat, and Queen Anne style legs.  This chair came from the orphanage where my father's aunt was the director, long ago.  It sat in her office, and years after she died, and the orphanage was closing, they asked my father if he would like any of her things, and he chose this.  Usually there is a cat sleeping on it.

So there you go.  There are many other things, particularly our random-width pine flooring in our house, that is nearly impossible to photograph!  But it is the one thing that made us want to buy this house more than any others we saw when we were house-hunting.

The pictures aren't great, but the items are well-loved.  And in the end, that is what counts, right?

To paraphrase The Beatles, "Isn't it good?  Things made of wood" ...

Pensive

Tomorrow is the beginning of the last week I will be in my fifties.  It seems weird to say that, even weirder to realize it.  I've been doing a lot of thinking recently about turning 60, which I guess is not surprising since it is a milestone age.  I'm fortunate to live in a time and place where it doesn't mean that I'm being put out to pasture so to speak, but there are still realizations that come with making it this far.

When I turn 60:

I will have outlived my father by seven years.  That's crazy, since dying at the age of 53 seems so uncommon and young.  I remember that even at the time, he didn't seem *that* old to me, but now I realize just how young he was.

I will still be working with no real end in sight and in a job I truly hate.  This disappoints me, I have to be honest.  Not the still working part, because I didn't have any plans for early retirement.  But the job-hating part is the kicker.  For so many reasons, I'm pretty stuck where I am for the duration, and that is depressing.  And since recent illnesses have pretty much taken care of any financial cushion we may have had, retirement is likely a looooonnnng time away for me.

I will have survived three different cancers.  That's both ridiculous (no one should get three different cancers, one is insulting enough!), and wonderful (I am only too well aware of how lucky I am!).  I am fortunate in this as well, that I live in a time and place where surviving any cancer at all is a strong possibility.  My father, mentioned above, died from liver cancer when it was basically a death sentence from the get go, and that less than 50 years ago!  Now cancer can be detected long before you have any noticeable symptoms.

I will remember things like dial telephones, non-remote TVs with antennas, black-and-white TV, party lines on your telephone, cameras that used film you had to send away to be developed before you knew how the pictures looked, and so many other things that seem like distant relics today!  That's so weird, it's like I've done time-traveling or something!  :-)

I will be closer to dying than not.  I don't dwell on this fact, certainly, but it can be sobering to realize that your chances of dying are stronger than they were when you were 40.  Having said that, I certainly hope my time will not be up for a long time, since I have no desire to leave.

I will be able to appreciate the fact that I know myself pretty well.  I've always been self-aware to some degree, but only as I've gotten older have I realized how important that is.  I think it's one of my strengths and I feel bad for people who never seem to understand the concept.

I will be - to some degree - living the life that I want to live.  If you take away the work thing (and sadly, that is a big chunk, but it's not everything), I am lucky to have the life I do.  I have a house that I love in a place that is somewhere I enjoy living, I have The Tim, who even if we are not madly, passionately embracing every minute, is my true companion and partner in crime.  I am surrounded by animals that I love and that has always been a dream of mine.  I have books, music, yarn, TV, and a few true friends.  I have many friendly and pleasant acquaintances.  I've been able to travel, and hope to do some more.

I will have led a good life so far.  :-)

So even if I can't say "Here's to the next 60!" (because frankly I have no desire to live to be 120 years old), I can say "Let's keep doing this, and see what happens!"

Have a good week, and remember to be glad you are here.

25 Hours

Yesterday was Leap Day, and alas, I did not get to enjoy it as one should when one gets an extra day in their year - an extra day!  I hope I'm around in another four years, so I can plan to enjoy the next one ... but it's March, and that's one of my most favorite months, so it's all good.

Anyhoo, this week for Ten on Tuesday, Carole wants us to list 10 Things You Would Do With An Extra Hour In The Day.  When I first read this, I thought "WHAT - I get an extra hour and I have to do ten things??!!"  Then I decided that I was going to interpret it as meaning, if someone gave you an extra hour in your day, list ten things you could choose from, depending on time of day, time of year, my mood, etc.  So here is my list in no particular order.

1.  Sleep. Though if I sleep during the day, it usually means I'm sick, so this would have to be an extra hour at night.  (Seriously.  I can be dead on my feet, and I decide to take a nap and I AM WIDE AWAKE.)

2.  Take a walk.

3.  Take a bike ride along the river trail.

4.  Read.

5.  Knit.

6.  Nothing.  Hey's it an EXTRA HOUR.  I might want to just sit and enjoy it.  Especially if it's a nice day, and I could sit outside with Dug.

7.  Write a letter.

8.  Make some muffins or scones.

9.  Think.  Remind myself of all the good in my life, so I feel like smiling and giving thanks.

10. Clean up the garden so we can sit out there when the weather permits.

Granted, these are all things I do/can do with a 24-hour day.  But I have to say that the idea of being "given" an extra hour is appealing.  :-)