I am officially a Southerner now

This cold stuff is really getting to me. Me a born and bred Yankee who used to go out her window when the door was snowed in, who used to cross country ski to work, who had no heat in her apartment other than a wood stove is just flipping out with 27 degree weather and no snow.... I think it's the pipes that are doing it. Up North we know better and don't have water pipes outside unprotected. Down here, nope so everytime it gets below freezing, everyone runs around like a chicken without their head bleating about the pipes. I haven't slept well in 3 nights (keep getting up every few hours to make sure all the faucets are still dripping) and we have about 3 more nights to go before it's supposed to warm up around here. At least I got a box of books on Friday to keep me going!

So three books done so far and I still have one new one left to go. And I also haven't broken in my brand new baby crockpot but all I can think of to use it for due to it's size are soups & my kids just won't eat soup (unless it's chicken noodle) so I guess chicken noodle it is.... Always nice to have something burbling away and double points if there's something in the oven as well.... Maybe some cookies for lunches or I could try out that new King Cake recipe.... hmmmm. All I really want to do is huddle in bed with the covers pulled up high, a cold can of Coke and a bag of chips and the new book. Temptations tempations!

Finished two new Marcia Willet's (sort of a Rosamunde Pilchery type of author) and while their settings, timing and basic storylines were right up my alley there was a bit too much adultery and affairs going on to be too pleasant. But it was good to have new to me books -- I've been doing an awful lot of re-reading lately.

Brrrr

New Orleans is not normally cold. Well it's 25 with a 16 degree windchill. As of this morning, I didn't even own gloves. I have remedied that particular lack and have had a shortish argument with the furry members of the family that outside is Not where they want to be. After sticking their noses outside, they agreed rather quickly and hopped back on inside :)

Now reminding Harry of that at 1 AM which is when he remembers that he's normally and outdoor kitty at night is not fun. Howls and meows of outrage, me stomping about turning off alarms, chucking him outside, locking doors again, returning on alarms only to have him think twice about the whole thing about 10 minutes later is not making me fonder of the darling feline... Lucy on the other hand is being very good about it all with the exception of being a bit more restive with the tail. She is still so very grateful for having a home where she's allowed inside it's a bit pathetic.

So I think it's a chilly chili night, maybe even with hot chocolate and wrapped in blankets night. Because I have one more of the Riordan saga to go so I can keep up with my daughter on the ONLY books she's ever enjoyed/read willingly. Thank Goodness for that! Now to find her someone else like him that to keep that ball rolling....

Challenges because well why not?

Like I don't read enough already, right? So I'm going to try and go out of my normal territory. Signed up for a Sci-Fi challenge from Stage And Canvas. I do read a fair amount of fantasy stuff (dragons and other worlds etc) but true sci-fi I think of robots and space ships so I'll see what I can pick. Now the 100+ Reading Challenge is one I don't think I'll have any problems finishing.

For me, staying home and reading/cooking is pretty much like breathing. So I'm going to challenge myself to get the heck OUT and do something good for me or someone else. So I'm going to go to the gym/walk the dog longer than our usual 6 blocks and work on volunteering more. I just got nominated for vestry duty -- guess that's volunteering. I'm going to cook for the Mardi Gras Spirits fundraiser and I'm doing more stuff at C's school -- well that one's enforced since his behavior is requiring a mommy present at field trips :(

Went and saw

Cooking up a storm

Well it's a kidless weekend which usually means minor laundry and major cooking sprees. Three loads of laundry later and one batch of pretty darn awesome gingerbread, huge batch of pantry chili for church, pad thai, and hummus. Can you tell I cleaned out a cupboard :) What on earth I was thinking ending up with 4, count them 4, bottles of blackstrap molasses! And who knew Rotel is pretty darn spicy - bit much for the munchkins and little old ladies at church so I'm tempering it a bit with an infusion of spaghetti sauce and it's burbling away in the crockpot as I type.

Unfortunately my kids don't like gingerbread (although this is that really yummy super dark and spice-laden kind) and since I'm trying yet again to fit back into more than one pair of pants in my closet, I think that may be coming on down to church as well or I will scarf the lot...

Managed to clean a few windows and finally 4 years later take down the Christmas lights from the house. Oops, not sure how I figured I could slip that one by -- but no nasty comments from the neighbors - but then I do live in the South and we're big on keeping trees up for Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras, Easter, and on down!

Hmm. Need to clean a hamster cage. What a happenin' weekend around here :)

A New Year

Just finished A Rumpole Christmas. I picked it up because of the cover -- love the font and pretty much anything of that era in BritLit is a good thing in my book. Well, it was a group of short stories and I just don't like short stories. Long stories, yes, good thumping roach-squashers of books yes but not little piddly ones. And at $23 for 161 pages 5x7 size, Bah Humbug. Other than that Mrs Lincoln, I actually did enjoy them. Nice little vignettes, love the She Who Myst Be Obeyed :) Enough to go check out Half.com to see about full-length versions even if they are mysteries. Oh and break open a bottle of Chateau Thames Embankment ...

Anyhoo, here we are at day two of the new decade and I've got 2.5 books under the belt. Par for the course around here.

Off for another attempt at exercise altough yesterday's stab is still causing me to walk like I;m about 4o years older than I am!