November's End...

I woke up (reluctantly) to the alarm on Monday morning. I shaved, showered and drank the last of the coffee watching the news. Then I headed out to work, bearing all this year's Christmas cards (I think I forgot to mention that I filled them all out this weekend - I always do over the Thanksgiving holiday).

Speaking of the Christmas cards, I must mention that I was talking with a friend and remarked on how impersonal it's gotten with the computer. Everything's a sticker; outside of writing "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" and signing it either "Love, Dad," "Brother John," "Uncle John," "John," or in the singular case of my old neighbor, Sue, "John in the front," (Its an old joke), the rest seems so impersonal.

He suggested I write a personal note to each recipient (I have friends who do that - my old friend Connie, Chrisse Campbell up in Alaska, Kim and Leon). So, I tried that for the first two or three cards. But with the after-effects of my shoulder operation (I think I mentioned I cannot hold a two-pound dumbbell at shoulder height without violently shaking) that didn't work so good...

My handwriting seems like its getting even worse. So, those of you who get my cards and wonder what the hell "Hopqy Halidoys" means, I apologize in advance. It's just not working for me this year... I tried...

At lunch I did my two-week grocery shopping at Kroger ($41.82) but bear in mind I have a full freezer of beef, a couple turkey breasts, homemade frozen pasta sauce, frozen soups, pork, chicken and a full four shelves of canned goods. I am in "siege mode" here! They may take my house and car, but I will not starve!

I refilled the suet cages and the bird feeder. Then I went back to work.

Back at home at 5:30 PM, I checked the mail ("stupid," "stupid," "interesting," "stupid," etc... and treated the cats. I briefly ran the last load of laundry through the dryer again, so I could more easily fold it.

I got a call from my friend B___ who was making tonight's dinner, split pea with ham soup. He lamented that he didn't think there was enough ham. So, I related to him the last time I made that soup for my Mother. I, too, had used a sparse ham bone and the little bit of scraps of ham left didn't seem near enough, so I bought a "ham steak." I cut that into 1/4-inch cubes and added that to the soup.

My Mom's reaction? She said, "This tasted fantastic, but I have to tell you, there's WAY too much ham in this soup." Our parents really made soup with just the damn leftovers and loved it!

Speaking of leftovers, I ate them for dinner and then cleaned out the fridge for garbage day tomorrow. Again, I must relate, cooking for "one" is damn near impossible and then throwing away leftovers embarrasses me, when there are so many people who could have used the food...

I watched some TV, but turned in early.