And Another Thing . . .
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Saturday, March 20, 2004 I met Pam for breakfast this morning at Steve's Place. Yep, the same place I had breakfast last weekend; Saturday with Steve and Sunday with Mom, Dad & Gretchen. It was yet another birthday celebration. Pam gave me a cool glass candle holder that hangs from a stake that gets poked in the ground. I'll refrain from making any bitchy comments about the weather and just which day we expect summer to fall on this year. Then I went to Home Depot and bought furnace filters. I
just changed ours the other day so these are replacements for the
future. I'd read one should change the filter every 3 months, which is
what I've been doing. These filters say right on them to change them
every 30 days. Sounds to me like the manufacturer wants us to buy 3
times as many filters. I'm so I also bought rechargeable AAA batteries for my Palm Pilot. Next I went to Target for a package of knee-hi stockings and tape for my labelmaker. My latest obsession is figuring out how I can carry my Palm Pilot with me all the time. I don't carry a purse, just a wallet on a string. A wallet I love, btw. I looked at purses and such but nothing struck my fancy. My wallet actually has a big enough pocket on the front to hold the PP, but now I have to figure out what to do with the 8 billion frequent buyer cards, membership cards, PTD business cards, etc. that I've been carrying in that pocket. Then I did the grocery shopping at Wegmans, going slightly over budget, but that happens. I've been under budget the last few times so it was expected.
Later in the afternoon, I headed out to Staples and finally bought myself a new office chair. Ain't she a beauty? This is like the Cadillac of chairs compared to what I usually buy. I normally buy secretarial chairs because I don't like arms because about 98% of the time I sit with my legs crossed under me. (It's a family trait, I believe. Right, Mom? Gretchen?) I even sit with one leg folded under me at work - and sometimes even sit with both legs crossed under me at work, just during lunch when I'm reading journals and no one is around to see me anyway. Not that there's anything wrong with it except maybe some people would think it's looks "unprofessional". Screw 'em, they're just jealous that they can't do it. Yep, 48 and still agile, that's me. Anyway, my previous desk chair has been broken and unfixable for, I don't know, a couple of years. The knob that holds the back onto the seat won't thread back onto the chair so the back would slip loose (not out) sometimes. I got used to it, but lately I've been worried that sometime it will eventually slip all the way out and I'll get hurt falling out of the chair. I know, how ridiculous that I've put up with it this long, considering how much time I spend in this chair, computing and crafting. Anyway, $79 later, I'm one happy camper. It was a breeze to assemble too. I like assembling things. I intended to get the BJ's Wholesale Club shopping done this afternoon too but decided I didn't feel like it. I stopped at Radio Shack to buy a battery charger that would hold these new AAA batteries. It turns out the battery charger I use for the AA batteries I use for my camera - will accept AAAs too, with a couple of little plastic adapters. I checked when I got home and yes, I still had the plastic adapters. Yay me - spent no money on a new purse or a new battery charger. There's a Fairport school district art show at Perinton Square Mall where the Radio Shack is, so I spent about an hour looking at all the art. I saw art by kids of people I know, plus a great portrait by DJ and I saw nephew Paul's piece too. I really wish Simon would take more art classes, but he doesn't want to. He's good at it and I have lots of his art in my office and my studio. Ahh well, we can't live vicariously through our kids all the time, can we? Oh, I stopped in the seasonal Andy's Candies at the same mall and bought a couple of things to give Steve and Simon for Easter. I don't know why I buy stuff there - I always think their chocolates have so many air holes in them, they look ridiculous. I guess it's because sometimes they have unusual shapes. I bought Steve a chocolate Palm Pilot so now he'll have one too! I bought Simon a traditional chocolate bunny because I think I usually buy him some non-bunny thing, like a car or a skateboard. So I went traditional this year for him.
If there is one single soul still awake after that boring play-by-play, you're being rewarded with this recipe. It was in the Kraft Food and Family magazine I received in the mail the other day. I have no idea how I got it and I almost threw it out. But there were several good recipes in it. We had this for dinner tonight and to my great surprise, Simon and Steve both ate the asparagus without complaint. (Well, Simon tried to complain about it when he saw me making it, but he ate it. And it meets Steve's criteria for vegetables - that he can eat some if they are covered up in sauces, etc.) It's your basic throw stuff together casserole, but it was declared a keeper in this house.
Swiss Cheese, Ham and Asparagus Bake Kraft Food and Family Magazine, Spring 2004 1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken 3 cups cubed ham 18 fresh asparagus spears (about ½ lb), cut into 2" pieces 1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of celery soup ½ cup milk 1 cup Kraft Shredded Swiss Cheese Add 1-1/2 cups hot water to stuffing mix in a medium bowl; stir just until moistened. Let stand 5 minutes. Mix ham, asparagus, soup and milk in 13" x 9" baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with stuffing. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through and golden brown. Makes 6 servings.
Dinner: Swiss Cheese, Ham and Asparagus Bake. Reading: Girl Clown, by the lovely and talented Mary Wise. I'm really enjoying this - in fact, I can't wait to go to bed 30 minutes early every night to make sure I have time to read. I know I especially like it because I "know" Mary. And I believe every word of this, even though her disclaimer says otherwise. (Hi Mary!) Listening to in the car: Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser. This book gets talked about a lot on the Simple Living Discussion Forums so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm only on the first side of the first tape but I'm amazed at the statistics. If the average American eats 3-4 fast food burgers a week, and I eat none, someone is eating a whole lot more that 3-4 to make that the average. Ewww. I've never really been into fast food - because of the weight issues. Funny, I'm so picky about that but not so much with the chocolate and ice cream, etc. I guess we all pick our own poison, huh? And figures, Friday, the day I started listening to this tape, is the day that I was able to pick up Anne Tyler's The Amateur Marriage. Both are abridged so I should be able to listen to them both by the time they are due.
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