Taste Like Chicken Chilly Tuesday 3/5

Linda, was your critique session a potluck? If so, what did you take? Amazing that those photos of Micki just disappeared. They'll turn up at some point. Of course you won't need them then. I was never a fan of Safari but Chrome usually works well for me. Of course I have a PC and not a Mac, so that may be totally different.

Hey, Liz, they said on the a.m. news that they are getting flurries in OBX. There is something just so wrong about that. It's also in the lower 30s there, so not a good time to be at the beach. How much snow did you end up with over the weekend?

Kathy, I know those extra hours of sleep felt so good yesterday. I hope your body will adjust quickly to its new schedule. I found out Sunday that a former coworker, who is only 52, also retired last week. She said she wanted to try something different and is going into real estate. She has the personality and organizational skills to be successful in that field. I think she has maxed out on her current career path, so maybe not a huge surprise. I also found out last night that a couple of my former staff members have impending retirements and another friend. A former coworker and close friend retired at the end of January. Must be something in the air. There are still a few trails closed in the Smokies due to fire damage and still lots of places coming back with new vegetation. Cool that you got to see the llamas. That's on my list. You're right that, with both feet healing, fewer steps last week was a good thing. I'm getting back into routines slowly. I fet Arya dinner last night and breakfast this morning, will change the bed a little later, and tomorrow will be a cooking day. Got any plans for today?

I don't know that I've had a chocolate pound cake, Becky, but I would like to try it. One of my GFs makes the most decadent, buttery ones but so rich you can't eat more than one small slice. I brought home a few slices the last time we had a GF get together and it almost dried out before we could eat it all. Dale has an Auto Zone rewards card but, since he can't get the truck started to take it there, he'll have to install the battery by himself. He's tried 2 chargers and it still won't turn over. He probably needs to drive the truck more than he does.

Chele, I hope the drugs have kicked in and you're feeling better. It's good that you were able to get in to be seen quickly so you can get the recovery process started. Good luck to Iggy today. Did he get a new tie? I hope the interviewer shows up.

Not much planned except changing and washing bedding. Arya's eggs for the week have been cooked, so a little cleaning up in the kitchen is all that's planned.

Linda, the painting is beautiful. It's a shame the colors didn't come out brighter in the photo you posted. The red and blue in the original photo is such a striking contrast. The active ingredient in Ted's Pain Gel is the same as in Aspercreme, so it's basically an OTC. It also has a few herbs like Arnica, Boswellia (Frankencense), and willow bark, so that may up the effects on pain sensors. I hope it works for you. Let us know. I've had pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, but not this year. You're right about a quiet day at the museum being a day to get a lot of stuff done.

They said on the a.m. news that only the tip of FL was having normal temperatures today, Kathy, so I figured you would be unseasonably cool. Enjoy what little cool weather you get because you know it won't last long. We may get into the low 20s tonight. Haven't been that cold in a while and I hope it will be the last of our winter weather. I think I read something about llamas not being imported until the 1980s, so the llama caravans may not have occurred when your DF was younger. I agree with retirementitis setting in, especially considering several of my former coworkers and staff have worked in the same job at the same place for going on 20 years, if not longer. And, as I've said before, state employees in NC may not have great salaries, but the retirement benefits are nice. I think the right foot is about 90% healed and the left foot may be a little ahead of where the right one was at 2 weeks. Still can't wear a shoe without pain, however. Tomorrow will tell the tale because I have to cook about a month's worth of pilaf and veggies for Arya, which means a good bit of time on my feet.

Becky, that Scooter has really gotten used to your being home with her. I'll bet she was happy when you came home from HEB/WM. We have the same wind you do. We just had a 13 mph gust and we've had them up to 20 mph today. I hope your weather starts to warm up a bit so Scooter can spend more time outdoors.

Dale got a truck battery so now he just has to install it. The one that was in there was the original (2012) and it was a 5-year battery. He got another 5 year and it's full replacement for 3 and then prorated. He just has to get it put in now and didn't do it today because of the cold and wind but also because the guy came to service the generator this afternoon. So we should be good to go for another year on that. Good thing with the wet ground and all the wind creating the possibility of trees coming down on powerlines. Can't believe the time changes this weekend. I hate losing an hour of sleep. Arya doesn't know how to tell time, so we'll be up at the usual time on Sunday morning. But she has let us sleep til 7 or 7:30 some weekends. Fingers crossed this will be one of them. But we still have 3 more days to go in this week.