Tuesday

Today was my department’s Christmas potluck. But, I had two problems with that. I thought it was on Wednesday (my enforced day off) and I hadn’t really gone grocery shopping yet. So, I didn’t sign up. The other problem was that my hip was throbbing like hell. So, despite the pleas from my co-workers (they like my food) I didn’t go.

Instead, I went home, ate some homemade potato soup I’d thawed and then took an hour nap to rest my hip.

The high temperature was a little warmer (20 degrees F. with less wind) so the salt they’d put on the road was working better. It was slushy on the way home after work, rather than ice. But, when I tried to wash off my windshield, the passenger side was frozen (and I use the good stuff).

Back home, Caley was at her usual station, crouched under the kitchen windowsill, watching the birds eat the suet just outside. She is determined to someday get one of those birds. Scruffy never does that (I think he knows there’s a window and a birdy dinner is out of the question).

Since the salt on the road seemed to be working, I went back outside and used the last of my rock salt on the packed down tracks of my tires (Note to self: buy more salt!)

Inside, I rearranged my few Christmas decorations and they looked better. Then I called my friend B___ to see how he weathered the storm. He’s okay; he just had to do his driveway three times during the snowfall.

When I thawed out the potato soup, I also thawed out a packet of the leftover Honey-Baked Ham. I tried Jake’s suggestion and cut about 1/2 inch of the crust off and fried it. I also made a small pot of mashed Yukon gold potatoes on the stove and some frozen peas in the microwave.

I ate dinner watching the evening news. The ham was better, but still a little too sweet for my taste. The potatoes were excellent, but the peas tasted like crap (little hard rocks – I checked the bag and I should have added some water).

I watched TV and dozed through the night. I finally shut everything down and went to sleep around 2:30 AM.