Rooted in Mississippi

This is the second time I have picked our fig tree this year and, as usual, there are more figs than any ten people could eat! Figs have no shelf life, they rot at lightening speed.  I am not one for making preserves, but I suppose I should, even if I end up giving them all away!

My husband calls these Delta Figs. All I know for sure is that they are a small variety that grows well locally.  This year has produced the largest, most tasty figs in recent memory, despite the lack of rain.  The trees seem to respond well when you harvest the fruit regularly.  In addition, this past year, the neighbor trimmed the trees, because the branches were hanging over his driveway.  I need to remember to trim them again next year, a couple of the branches go over our roof, where you can not reach the fruit.

Princess sat out back on her ragged throne, surveying the landscape.   Please note the mud on her snout, she has been enjoying the ground that was softened by the recent rain.  Now that it is drying up, she is losing a little of her enthusiasm for digging.

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OK, my posting here is erratic. I am a little more reliable on Face Book, mostly because I go there to play Scramble. Sorry about that.

I started taking an eight week cake decorating class, so I have spent more time on that than anything fiber related lately. I sent a Devil’s Food cake off to work with my husband today. Then I was able to find someone else to take the miniature heart cakes this afternoon. It was a good thing, because I probably would have gotten into them if they had still been here tonight. I realize it is really stupid to do this while I am still trying to lose weight. Oh, well. Maybe I will get sick of it and lose my new found sweet tooth along the way.

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Well, since I last posted, I have finally performed two drum solos at two local restaurants.  I was able to do them for student night at Aladdin on Lakeland, then go with the girls to Petra Cafe in Ridgeland and do them all over again.  It was terrifying, but I can hardly wait until I have the opportunity to do it again.  I am a little chicken to post photos of me in costume here, but I did wear a beaded bra and belt…showing my belly was probably the scariest part of all!

I worked at ARTichoke on Friday and Saturday to help out Anne and Carmen.  Later that afternoon, I went by Old Navy for the big $12 Denim Sale and bought a couple of pairs of size 10 jeans.  Afterward, we went over to Mellow Mushroom and ate a Magical Mystery Tour pizza and Capri salad.  Well, my husband ate most of it, but I did have some.  Despite the pizza, I still lost weight for the week, because I was well within my allowed points.

Speaking of my weight, I did break the forty pound mark, I am officially down forty-three (43) pounds since July.  More exciting than that, or even the launch of the new Weight Watcher’s Momentum plan, was that Lisa came to the meeting!  I was in such a good mood, until I got home and logged my new weight into eTools.  I got a little pissy when they posted the following message on my progress page:

“Please note: You’re probably excited to be losing weight, but you’re losing faster than is recommended. Although it’s normal to lose over 2 lbs in 1 week, if you lose more than an average of 2 lbs per week over a 4-week period, this could pose health risks, such as heart irregularities, anemia or loss of muscle mass. Please slow your weight loss; your doctor can help you do this if you’re not sure how, or ask your Leader for ideas.”

GRRRRRR! I know it is just CYA stuff, but actually my weight loss since joining Weight Watchers averages out to 1.79 pounds per week, so it sort of made me mad.  Oh, well, I am still excited about my progress.

I used this afternoon to cook a big pot of pseudo gumbo and clean out our cabinets.  I am donating some canned/dry goods to Stewpot, but I am ashamed that so much had to be thrown away.  I also separated the stuff that is exclusively my husband’s…like the packaged Indian food, canned menudo, and anchovies.  My side has all of the weight watchers friendly stuff and ingredients for family meals.  It is a much better way for us to organize our stuff.  The limited space is probably a good thing, it should lead to less wastefulness.

So there you have it, all the news that is fit to print.

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After all that cooking, we did some eating and my husband was thrilled with the meal. This morning, I popped the pasta I prepared yesterday into the oven and we had it for lunch. It was another big hit. So was the organic pumpkin pie, which I had with a cup of decaffeinated coffee. I got a new single serving coffee maker (a Melitta One:One) at a deep discount store a few days ago and have been testing different coffee pods.

When I was not cooking or eating, I managed to get all of the Icelandic fleece carded. It is a lovely soft gray and I look forward to spinning up a sample. Like the cheviot, this was also “free” fleece and was littered with debris. It is so tedious picking out all of that chaff, but it needed to be done. Despite some people making fun of using tweezers on one of the spinning lists, I had mine out while I was carding this wool.

Actually, I have gotten a lot done today. I washed several loads of clothes, did dishes and cleaned the filter on the vacuum. I have been throwing out trash, shredding old documents and getting rid of some junk. I also started filling up a few boxes with household goods to be donated to charity, including my old coffee maker!

On the canine front, Princess has been digging like mad in the backyard. She lets Rudy or Roscoe start the hole, then she takes over and goes nuts. I do not mind the digging and I understand that it is part of the nature of the dachshund. Plus, let’s be honest, the girl needs some exercise and since I can not get her to walk on a leash, I will take what I can get.

There is also a long video on YouTube, but I am sure Annmarie will be the only one who watches it the whole way through. It is fascinating to watch her use her teeth, as well as all four paws. She is one really determined dog.  My husband filled in this hole last night, but she dug it back out today.

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I went to the grocery store to get some last minute ingredients for dinner, but I was sucked in by all the displays for holiday feasts. The northeast Jackson Kroger is in the middle of a huge remodel and has opened the new side, where they moved produce, deli, bakery, and an expanded organic section.  There are so many new things, that it is a little overwhelming.

I came home with a wagon load of stuff and am making a feast for tonight, which will provide ample leftovers for the coming week. I have the last five mintues to go on a squash casserole and a green bean casserole, and I am cooking a spiral sliced ham as I type. The melted chocolate for my ice cream cake, turned into fudge, but it will be all right. I also have bread ready to toss into the oven with the casseroles just before dinner.

I also have the chicken cooking, because that was what I set out to make today. I will go ahead and start a giant pot of Matzo Ball soup and put together the baked pasta, so that we can cook it when we need it. That is the nice thing about having the deep freezer, it gives me options.

I have been chatting with Lisanne at P is for Primitive and I will be demonstrating spindle and wheel spinning at her shop in the new year. I am also talking to her about the possibility of doing a trunk show, which would be a lot of fun, even if no one buys a thing! Nothing is firm yet, but it is exciting to start a dialog.

Now for a tiny bit of doggy cuteness, I posted a video of the dogs playing with their new Booda Hotdog and Hamburger squeaky toys. A little bonding time for Roscoe and Rudy.

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My friend Cyn did the Desktop Meme, but did not want to tag people. I decided to do it, but not bother to post the actual meme, since I also hate tagging people. So here is the screen shot of my desktop. I am guessing you can recognize the background photo!

I decided to show a photo of some of the threads I was using to pick the right color blue to go with the settee and ottoman…just because I liked the picture. I also wanted to share a photo of the purse I picked up in Atlanta while I was visiting with my mom and sisters. I like the purse, but not like I loved my old one. It may take me a while to find the right replacement.

I did make it out for errands again today. I am worn out from basic shopping, but not quite as bad as yesterday. I suppose that means that I am making progress. Now, to make dinner…

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I am still working on CQMagOnline, but I took a break to stitch a little and cook a little. My matzo balls did not ball, so it looked awful, but it tasted good. I promise to write more about my adventures in Chicago soon, but I wanted to get past the cold and my incipient whining. Please, no well wishes, it is just a summer cold. I get sick every time I am around other people, which was one of the deciding factors in why I quit working. I had non-stop viral infections for the last five years I worked at the Medical Center.

Anyway, I have some things I really want to share, but I am going to wait until the next issue of CQMagOnline is published before I post photos here. So in lieu of that, here is a photo of insane doggy cuteness. Everyone together, nestled right next to mommy at the computer.

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The day started out kind of crappy, because I had a sinus headache, but it turned around. I met Lisa for lunch at the Ag Museum Cafe, where I got the vegetable plate and some unsweetened tea. It was delicious and the little bit of caffeine gave me a nice boost.

My husband brought home some very cool white eggplant from the office. One of the ladies who works there has a victory garden and he commented on them, so she sent him home with some. I learned that white eggplant has a tougher skin and has to be peeled, but that it is less bitter, even though it has more seeds. You cook it just like regular eggplant, so I figure on making up a batch of Eggplant Parmesan sometime this week.

I had thought about getting up early and cooking it up for Lisa, but I felt crappy and was glad we had already decided on going out for lunch. Lisa came by the house before she went back to work, to meet Rudy and pick some figs. We have a bumper crop of Delta Figs this year; they are smaller than grocery store figs, but very tasty. Lisa took about a half of a gallon ziploc bag home with her and the trees are still full of ripe figs.I’ll leave you with some more pictures of unbridled doggy cuteness. Last night, Rudy cuddled up with me like a baby. When I had to go to the bathroom, I slipped out so as not to disturb him. He was sound asleep in that awkward position and did not move. He even slept through my giggling while I snapped a few photos.

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This morning, I finished up with the final touches on CQMagOnline! There were not enough sponsors for this issue, so Nora gave me some space and I decided to put in a tiny link to this blog. CQMagOnline is a completely volunteer operation and the fees paid by sponsors just barely cover the cost of the web-hosting service. In the past, the staff has donated money for the operating costs to keep Nora from having to shoulder it all on her own. If you want to help, submit your photos to the Reader’s Showcase, consider donating an article, or buy ad space in a future issue. Go ahead, it is inexpensive and should be good for your karma!

I actually got a lot of other stuff done today too. I packed up Rudy and took off to run errands. He was a perfect gentleman in the post office, even though the person at the counter took forever to take my money, affix the postage and tracking information, then scan the package. At the very end, he was getting a little antsy and moving around in his travel bag, but he never barked or whined. Afterwards, I took him to PetSmart where he had a ton of fun, but I also had a strange encounter with a woman who cut us both off and then kept apologizing. When I was checking out, she was right behind me, and it dawned on me that she heard me calling Rudy “Rude” while I was reassuring him and must have thought I meant her! Oh, well, misunderstandings happen.

Finally, we visited the drive through teller at the credit union before going home. After taking all three of the dogs for a walk, I took a break and watched last night’s episodes of The Closer and Saving Grace (which I thought was compelling), then headed into the yard for limb duty. After filling one garbage can, I loaded the chimenea and made a big pile next to it. Unfortunately, I could not really get the fire going, probably because of all the rain we have gotten lately. So I gave up and picked some tiny tomatoes before getting to the business of cooking. I grilled some burgers that I put into a marinade yesterday and a couple of ears of fresh corn. All in all, it was a really productive day and quite enjoyable, except for the mosquito bites.

And of course, there are more photos of intense doggy cuteness. Rudy has really found the soft spot in my heart.

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The doctor thinks that my joint pain is arthritis and gave me medication, but my insurance would only pay for half the prescription.  I figure I will try what the insurance would pay for and if it makes me feel better, I’ll pay for the rest of the prescription out of pocket.  I am not sure if it really is arthritis, but the joint pain is pretty intense.  I had trouble this morning in yoga, it was like all of my pain receptors were in high gear. 

I went swimming after yoga, but after about ten minutes, I became convinced that I had left the locker open and I was compelled to go check on my purse.  It was something my mom would do. After seeing it was closed and locked, I felt so nutso, that I decided to forget the laps and went into the whirlpool for ten minutes before going home.   

After a long shower, I repotted some plants and snipped a bunch of herbs to go into the pasta sauce for our dinner.  I sort of winged it with what I had on hand and ended up with creamy tomato florentine with mushrooms and garlic.  My husband adores garlic, so I chopped up a couple of fresh cloves, and put it in there.  The sweet basil and pineapple sage worked well in the dish too. 

After dinner, I got one of the living room rugs outside and washed it using oxiclean and the hose.  It was very hard to do, but it really needed to be done.  All of the stains did not come out, but it was better, so I guess it was worth the trouble.  I had to get my husband’s help to drape it across a couple of chairs, so that it could dry.  When this one is dry, I will give it a good spraying with febreeze and start over with the other one on another day.

Anyway, I plan to take my new medicine earlier tomorrow, so that I can survive yoga and bellydance class! 

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