I have book club tomorrow.  Everybody brings some food or beverage to share with the group, and I'd been planning to bake something.  But the book we're reading this month is "The Omnivore's Dilemma", so we had the bright idea to all be locavores for the evening.  Yay supporting local farmers, right?    Dude, we're in Pennsylvania.  It's March.  You know what's in season in March in PA?  Mushrooms, mushrooms and.....mushrooms!  Well, I did find some onions and butternut squash as well, so I guess I'll use the squash and mushrooms to make.....uh, mushroom squash stew?  No, I'm actually thinking of making a kind of mushroom rice pilaf kind of thing.  I found some rice that claims it's from New Jersey....I highly doubt it was grown there and suspect it was just packaged there instead, but it's the best I could find.  So...this will work, right?  Now I just have to finish reading the book by tomorrow....

I am ridiculously grouchy for no immediately apparent reason, so I'm blaming it on a combination of the fact that it's Monday and that Supernatural has been on hiatus for waaaaaay too long.  New episodes start next Thursday....hopefully the bad mood won't last that long.  I've passed the point in my Supernatural withdrawal where I wake up from nightmares that I forgot to watch an episode and moved onto the part where my dreams actually consist of made up storylines.  I'm also relating almost everything that crosses my path back to the show.  For example, I read a Neil Gaiman short story called "Murder Mysteries" that I swear was actually written about Castiel.  Yes, the story came before the show so if anything, Castiel was inspired by the story, but the mind does not work logically while going through withdrawal!  Also, I heard the song "Pancho and Lefty" today and realized that it's totally about Sam and Dean.  Totally. 

I had such a nice weekend.  The weather was nice and sunny, I got to catch up with my friend Megan over tapas and a cinnamon thyme margarita yesterday, then I got to hang out with Maggie and her husband, who I haven't seen in way too long, had more margaritas last night and a delicious vegan brunch this morning after sleeping on Maggie's couch after too many of the aforementioned margaritas, got her to watch another episode of Supernatural, came home, did all my laundry and cleaned the kitchen and am now waiting for my matzoh ball soup to finish simmering.  Life is good!

I'm even on schedule for my next book club meeting.  I just joined this group last month - it's mostly made up of people I know through work.  We read "Loving Frank" last month and honestly, it was very well-written and a very engaging story, but it was the most depressing novel I've read in a very long time.  It took me forever to finish it because I had to keep stopping every few chapters when the despondency got to be too much.  It's based on true events; it's the story of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney, who created quite a scandal in the early 1900s by abandoning their respective families and running off to Europe together.  And just when I thought the sad story of broken homes, miserable marriages and generally unhappy people couldn't get much worse, I found out what actually happened to Mamah Cheney and good lord it is awful.  Seriously - not a happy ending. 

( Click to read more - Spoilers! )

February: Thinking of Flowers
by Jane Kenyon

Now wind torments the field,
turning the white surface back
on itself, back and back on itself,
like an animal licking a wound.

Nothing but white--the air, the light;
only one brown milkweed pod
bobbing in the gully, smallest
brown boat on the immense tide.

A single green sprouting thing
would restore me. . . .

Then think of the tall delphinium,
swaying, or the bee when it comes
to the tongue of the burgundy lily.


I'm snowed in again!  The roads didn't look too bad this morning so I was planning to go into work, but when I turned on the news all they were talking about was how much worse the storm was going to get throughout the day and I had visions of getting stranded at work, so I decided to work from home.  It's....kind of boring actually.  I'd rather be in the office.  Hopefully the worst of the storm will be overnight and I can make it in tomorrow...although they are predicting another foot of snow before the storm is over, so maybe I'm being overly optimistic.

Sadly, Comcast has once again taken back all my extra channels, so I can't even watch good TV while I'm working.  So I'm amusing myself by thinking happy thoughts about spring. Which will be here soon.  Really.  It will!!!
 

In the beginning, it was all about Supernatural.  It always comes back to Supernatural.  (Thursdays, 9pm on the CW!)

I went without cable for a very long time.  Partly because I'm cheap, partly because I watch too much TV anyway and didn't want to encourage myself by having more channels, and partly because I'm too lazy to go through the hassle.  I got the CW just fine without cable, and I got ABC well enough to see most of what was going on on LOST, so I was happy.  But then, a few weeks before the Season 2 premier of Supernatural ("In My Time of Dying" in which we would find out the heartbreaking conclusion of Season One's TOTALLY  AWESOME CLIFFHANGER - seriously, you should go Netflix it), I suddenly lost reception of the CW!  This was, of course, intolerable, so I immediately ordered Limited Basic Cable - the cheapest option available at $12 per month.  I would get good reception on all the major networks, plus a few additional channels that I had no interest in; maybe 16 channels all together.  So Comcast sent out some nice guys who hooked up my TV and suddenly I had approximately 99 new channels.  I had Disney and Spike and TNT and Lifetime and Discovery and History and all that good stuff.  And I was only paying $12 a month.  

So I did a bit of research and discovered that although I had ordered Limited Basic Cable and was paying for Limited Basic Cable, I was actually receiving Standard Cable, which should have cost around $50 per month.  I tried to call Comcast to tell them, but their automated system doesn't have an option for "You guys are giving me way too many channels please stop" and I got tired of waiting on hold for a live person to explain everything to, so I decided to just let it go, assuming they'd realize their mistake eventually.

The next three and a half years passed uneventfully.  My cable bill increased by a few dollars, but I continued to get way more than I was paying for.  Then, one day, Comcast contacted me.

Comcast:  Hi, you need to upgrade to digital cable, we'll send you a box. 
Me: Uh, I don't want to upgrade.
Comcast:  You must.  It's free.  You'll get more channels.  We'll send you a box.
Me:  But, I didn't order...
Comcast: YOU WILL UPGRADE BOX IS EN ROUTE GOODBYE.
Me: Well, OK I guess....

The Box arrived, I installed it and suddenly had even more channels that I would never watch, still for only $15 a month.  Also, it totally messed up my VCR, but I learned to deal.  Then one day, Comcast contacted me again.

Comcast: Hi, you shouldn't have a box.  You're a lowly Limited Basic customer, The Box is too good for you.  Give it back please.
Me:  OK
Comcast: *Immediately de-activates box and gives me a month to return it or they''ll charge me.*
Me: *Manages to find the well-hidden super-secret Comcast office conveniently located 25 miles away*
Me: Hi, I was told to return this.
Comcast:  Oh yes, thanks.  Hang on, we'll get you your new box.
Me: Wait - I thought I didn't get a box.  My TV is working fine with no box.
Comcast: You had the wrong box, we'll get you The New Box.  You're not getting all your channels now; once you install The New Box you'll get all your channels.
Comcast: *hands me a plastic bag containing The New Box, a gigantic remote and some cables*
Me: Um, can I get some installation instructions?
Comcast: *after much grumbling, finds an instruction sheet*

I got home to discover that, naturally, the instructions they gave me bear no resemblance to The New Box or anything else I own.  So I did my best and seem to have gotten it hooked up, but now I'm waiting for The New Box to be activated, which apparently takes 45 minutes.  Then I have to figure out how to use this ridiculous remote, and how to make it all work with my VCR.  I am really curious to see what channels I'll get now.  This seems like an awful lot of work when all I really want is the basic network channels.


UPDATE:  I'm back to having a zillion extra channels, and I can't get the VCR to work right.  I think this is all a conspiracy by Comcast to get me to sign up for a DVR.  NEVER!!!!!

Just a few, because I'm sure you all know what snow looks like.  But good lord this is a lot of snow for us!

Took this one around noon:




It sure is pretty, but I'm beginning to worry that I'll still be snowed in tomorrow!


This is at about 4:30, taken from inside this time because dude - it is cold out there!


It's still coming down pretty hard, and the wind has really picked up.  I can't even tell which car is mine in the parking lot - there's just a bunch of lumps under all the snow.  I had assumed I'd be able to dig out tomorrow morning and go into the office, but now I'm wondering...

I poked my head outside briefly this morning to throw some birdseed at the poor, confused sparrows milling about on my patio.  It's snowing.  Like, a lot!  We got about 2 feet over the weekend, and this one is predicted to give us another 2 feet or so.  It's really coming down right now, with lots of wind.  Fortunately the thundersnow has passed by...that totally freaked me out.  I was looking out the window and saw a really bright flash of light and couldn't figure out what it was until I heard the huge clap of thunder.  Very disconcerting.  The lights have flickered a few times but so far the power is still on.  And they just announced that they're closing down the major roads around here - 76, 476 and 676.  Fortunately we had plenty of warning about this and I (and most of my co-workers) can dial in from home, so I didn't even try to go into work.  I'm logged in right now, but as expected there doesn't seem to be much going on; I've just had to answer a few emails so far.  Now I just have to worry about digging out my car tomorrow morning!

This is a bit late (Imbolg is usually celebrated on February 2nd), but I just got around to having my own personal Imbolg ritual tonight.  Originally I was going to celebrate with my friends, but the snow put a halt to that.  Yes, Imbolg is a celebration of the beginning of spring.  It's always a bummer when your "Welcome Spring!" ritual gets snowed out. 

Why do we celebrate the beginning of spring in February?  Because spring begins long before we actually get to see it.  Later, when "real" spring is here we'll see the flowers and the new plants, but they don't just appear one day from out of nowhere.  Now, while we're still freezing our toes off, the seeds are getting ready to grow, the trees are waking up and the days are getting just a bit longer.  So now is the time to plan for the spring to come, to think about what's stirring in our hearts and minds and to plan out how we will nurture those seedlings in the coming year.  So, while safely peering out at the nearly two feet of snow from inside my nice, warm apartment, I lit candles and meditated on my plans for the coming months and drummed and sang a bit and gave thanks for the many blessings in my life. 

I am less than gifted when it comes to actually growing things, so I tend to keep my Imbolg ritual symbolic.  But lots of people do take this time to actually plan out their real-world gardens, so here's a poem for those of you wishing for the snow to melt so you can get outside and start digging:

He Knows No Winter  
He knows no winter, he who loves the soil,
For, stormy days, when he is free from toil,
He plans his summer crops, selects his seeds
From bright-paged catalogues for garden needs.
When looking out upon frost-silvered fields,
He visualizes autumn's golden yields;
He sees in snow and sleet and icy rain
Precious moisture for his early grain;
He hears spring-heralds in the storm's ' turmoil­
He knows no winter, he who loves the soil.
-   Sudie Stuart Hager

This is shaping up to be a decent snowstorm after all!





I'd estimate we've gotten over a foot so far, and it's still coming down.  As predicted, all my weekend plans have been canceled, so I'm all ready to spend a few days just relaxing at home.  I even stopped at the grocery store last night, mostly because I needed just a few things, but also because I was kind of hoping for a good story to post here about the crazed mob, and maybe a few pictures of the empty shelves.  Sadly, I have neither.  The store was mobbed, but everyone was polite and reasonable, and the store was doing a good job of restocking everything as it sold out.  Sorry!

Usually the storms I scoff at end up being the really bad ones.  I still remember the two times I was actually snowed in - as in, I could not even get out of my apartment building - and both times I was laughing at everyone the day before telling them they were over-reacting.  They're predicting 12 - 18 inches for my area starting tomorrow evening.....we'll see.  Unfortunately I did have to stop at the grocery store after work today for a few things.  I went to Trader Joe's hoping it would be less insane than the other stores, but no such luck.  I almost got run over by crazed families stockpiling bread and milk just the same.  And they just mentioned on the news that Home Depot is sold out of snow shovels.  They make the same announcement every time snow is predicted.  Why do they keep selling out?  Are people buying new shovels for every storm?  They know they're reusable, right? 

Anyway, wish me luck.  I actually have plans this weekend, but I'm resigned to the fact that they will probably be canceled.  On the bright side - I'll get to find out how my new car does in snow!

I've been home for a few days now, and I'd hoped that some of my sister's good habits would stick with me but that hasn't been the case so far.  She and her husband do weird things like get up early, clean the house every weekend, eat well-balanced meals and exercise regularly.  I know - crazy, right?  But I figured I'd give it a try since it seems to work well for them.  So far none of it has taken, but I remain optimistic.  It's been freakin FREEZING here, so I haven't been going for walks, but it will warm up eventually.  And I haven't found time to go grocery shopping since I got back, so my meals have been scavenged from whatever happens to be in the cupboards, but I'm going shopping this afternoon.  And I actually made a list!  (Although, I'm quite proud of the dish I came up with last night - it's beans and a diced up sweet potato, along with whatever frozen veggies I happened to have - corn, onion, spinach & broccoli in this case - all mixed up with brown rice and a splash of coconut milk.  Yummy!)  I haven't done any real cleaning since I got home, but I'm planning to get to that this afternoon.  So hopefully some of my sister's grown-up habits have rubbed off on me...we'll see how it goes.

I have a few pictures from my visit!

( Click to see pictures! )

All in all, I had a great time on this trip!  It was wonderful to see my sister and her husband, and of course the baby, and it was fun to play grown-up for a few days.  I hope I can get back to see them all soon.  It should be a bit easier now that I have a car that can make the trip.  By the way - the new car did an awesome job on this trip.  It is so easy to drive!  I didn't even realize half of the problems my old car gave me until I started driving this one.  It's so easy to shift, the brakes are much more responsive, the doors don't stick, I don't have to scrape ice off the inside of the windows when it's cold, and the locks always work!  And so far my car hasn't been recalled, but I'm watching it closely for signs that it might suddenly try to kill me - you can't be too careful.

Today is my last day with my sister and nephew.  I'll be driving back to PA this afternoon.  I'm trying to time it so I miss the rush-hour traffic near DC - hopefully this will work.  I still have one more day off of work, so even if I don't get back until late tonight it's not a problem.  I'm going to miss everyone here!  I feel like I've been playing grown-up for the past week - I even made pot roast for dinner one night.  I didn't even know I knew how to make pot roast, but there I was browning the meat and deglazing the pan, and it turned out pretty good!  Who knew I had it in me to actually prepare a traditional meal for a family?  (I usually just cook for myself using the tried and true "rummage through cupboard and see what I can throw together" method.)

I was getting a little worried for a while here - my sister's good-natured jokes about not letting me leave were getting less good-natured and more, um, serious-sounding.  But I still have my car keys and it looks like she didn't let the air out of my tires (yet), so I should be on my way later today.  I think she's nervous about doing the whole mom thing by herself all day while her husband is at work, but I know she'll do a great job.  They are both awesome parents!

The weather is beautiful today and hopefully will remain so for my drive.  I'm a bit disconcerted that a flock of vultures is currently staring at me from the back yard - there's about ten of them just sitting in the trees glaring at everyone that passes.  That's.......a good sign, right?

 Good lord, being an aunt is exhausting!  I could never handle motherhood - this is quite enough for me!  Everything is going very well here - right now baby and mom are napping, lunch is in the oven, I have a load of laundry washing and the dishes are done.  Also, I put together a stroller this morning, and a Pack 'n Play yesterday.  and I went grocery shopping (and only got a little lost on the way there!).  How awesome am I???  I'm actually enjoying all of this, which seems odd when you consider that I'm not usually the domestic type.  I guess doing other peoples' chores is more exciting than doing my own.

The baby is adorable!  He doesn't quite get the whole "sleep at night" thing.  I know new babies don't sleep ALL night, but I thought they might conk out for a few hours here and there.  Not this one.  So poor Meghan is up almost all night with him, and I've been trying to take card of him as much as possible during the day so she can at least get a few naps in.  Obviously he takes after me and is a night owl, but sadly, we nocturnal folk must adapt to the tyranny of the diurnal majority and I guess it's never too soon to learn that.  However, when he's old enough to come visit me we will totally stay up all night watching movies and drumming and eating candy.  

And tonight Supernatural returns from hiatus!  I'm hoping I can sneak the baby in to watch with me, but I suspect his parents might not consider it appropriate viewing for a 1-week-old baby.  Even Sam Winchester avoided the supernatural until he was 6 months old, so I guess I shouldn't rush things.  I'm also taping it at home in case I get interrupted or can't watch it tonight, but my sister is being very understanding about my obsessive need to watch it on schedule.  But no spoilers, just in case!

I am off to North Carolina bright and early tomorrow to help my sister with the new baby!  No, I don't know much about babies, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.  How hard can it be? 

Hahahahaha - I crack myself up!  Yeah - I know nothing about babies and will be very little help with the actual baby, since I obviously can't feed him, and I've never changed a diaper in my life.  However, I can help out with all the other stuff that needs to get done while my sister and her husband figure out this whole baby thing.  So I'm looking forward to a week of cooking and cleaning and dog walking and grocery shopping and all that fun stuff.  And I'm good at holding babies - I can help with that!  And I'll be providing emotional support, which I'm told is something I'm usually pretty good at.

I had to scramble a bit to find someone to take care of my cat while I'm gone.  The place I normally board him when I travel is closed for renovations, and they helpfully referred me to another local kennel which turned out to be a "luxury kitty condo" that cost $35.00 a night!  Look, Josh is a simple cat.  Give him a brown paper bag to shred and a string to play with and he's happy.  He doesn't need  a luxury condo, with soothing music, an aquarium, story time and field trips in the kitty SUV.  So I managed to find a pet-sitting service that will come by every day to feed him, clean the litter box and spend some quality time with him for about half the price.

I'm planning to get an early start tomorrow.  No - for real!  I'm all packed, the iPod is charged, the car is gassed up and I am ready to go!  And I can even stop for coffee now, because I have cup holders!  I'm hoping traffic will be light since it's a holiday for a lot of people.  Wish me luck!

I has a nephew!  

I haven't met him yet, but I just know he's the best baby ever and hopefully his parents won't mind if I declare myself his fairy godmother and lifelong protectress.  His name is Joshua (not, his parents assure me, named after my cat) and he was born very, very early this morning and I am so proud of my sister!  I've never wanted to have kids myself, but I am thrilled to have a nephew to spoil rotten!

I'll be driving down in my awesome new car next week to visit my awesome sister and my awesome brother-in-law and my awesome new nephew.

How awesome is 2010 so far???

By popular demand, I took a few pictures of my new car.

( Click to see them! )

So that's the car!  I'm starting to get used to the fact that it's actually mine.  Now I guess I need to take it on a long drive to celebrate!  Fortunately, my sister is due to give birth literally any day now, so I'll be heading down to North Carolina at some point in the near future to help out with the baby.  I was originally planning to fly (since my old car seemed to have trouble with the 5-hour drive back from my parents), but now I can drive!  Yay - road trip!!!!

I went in to another dealership to test drive a Yaris today, and to make sure the person selling it wasn't a total jerk.  Success on both counts!  I went to Del Toyota in Thorndale and they were so much cooler than the last place (and easily agreed to match that "insane" quote that Les told me no one in the world would meet) that I decided to buy a car from them!  So, um, I have a new car. 

I feel like I should be jumping up and down, but it doesn't seem real yet - I feel like I just have a rental car or something, and I'll be going back for my real car in a few days.  Also, I almost cried when I left my old car behind.  I though I was ready to let it go but.....it's such a good car!  I've had it forever!  The new car is different - it shifts easily and it doesn't screech at me when I start it up, and I don't even have to wrestle with the door to get it to open!  It might take me a while to get used to this new way of life.

corkdorkdan  asked for pictures and I'll try to take some tomorrow so you can all see how cute the new car is - it's a black two-door hatchback and it has CUP HOLDERS!!!!!  Starbucks drive-through, here I come!

OK - this whole car buying process is actually really funny.  Like I said before, I did as much as I could online and now have appointments scheduled with a few dealerships to meet in person.  Tonight was the first meeting.  I will not be buying from these guys.  See if you can guess when exactly they lost the sale!

( Click for all the details! )

I've decided to buy a new car.  My car is 16 years old and has almost 208,000 miles on it, but until recently I was prepared to drive it forever.  The decision process went roughly like this:

Random people over the past 5 years: Dude, you need a new car.
Car:  *cough*, *sputter* *massive exhaust leak*
Mechanic (about 50,000 miles ago):  We can get a few more miles out of it!
Car:  *rattle* *thunk* "check engine" *seatbelt breaks*
Mechanic (about a month ago): just to give you a heads up, you won't pass inspection without a new whoosawhatsit which will cost at least $800.  There's probably other stuff as well....when is your inspection due?
Me: End of January
Car: *groan* *clank* *SCREECH* "check engine...please?!?!"
Family (over Christmas):  THIS IS AN INTERVENTION.  WE INSIST THAT YOU GET A NEW CAR. (note: heavily edited for space)
Me: Well this is unexpected.  I'll think about it.
Every person I talk to: Yes - for the love of god get a new car!  You're spending more on maintenance than a car payment would be!
Me: Well, I don't want to rush into anything....
Car dealers:  We will give you money to buy a new car
Me: Hmm....let me think about it some more..
Car: "CHECKENGINECHECKENGINECHECKENGINE" *probable fuel leak*
Me:  Maybe I should do a ritual to seek divine guidance.  Hmm...who's the god of cars....Hermes maybe?  Doesn't he cover transportation?  I'll see if I can find an incantation and maybe get some new incense and-
Booming voice from the heavens:  FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WOMAN, JUST GET A NEW CAR ALREADY!!!!!  And if you refuse, don't go praying for me to save you when you're stranded on the side of the road in freezing rain because that ancient relic finally gave out!
Me: Uh, can I still pray to you for a good finance rate?
Booming voice from the heavens: I'll see what I can do.

And so I decided to buy a new car.  I have to tell you - it is seriously stressing me out.  I've never bought a new car before!  I've pretty much decided on a Toyota Yaris; I know a few people who have it and they all like it, it has good reviews, good gas mileage, it's affordable and comes with standard ABS, AC and traction control, which several of the other compact cars don't.  I was able to find all this out online and via email correspondence with a couple of dealers. 

But I can't actually test drive the car online, so I'm going to have to go meet with people in person now.  This is causing me much anxiety.  I've heard too many horror stories about pushy car dealers who try to take advantage of buyers, especially female buyers who they assume are stupid.  I am crossing my fingers that I don't run into any salespeople like that.  So I'm going to one dealership this Thursday (they also have Hondas, so I'll also be test-driving a Honda Fit for comparison purposes, even though I'm pretty sure I want the Yaris) and another one on Saturday morning.  The place I'm going to on Saturday has been very nice to correspond with; they've given me several quotes for cars with different options and have been very upfront about additional fees, etc.  I have a good feeling about them, but I figure I need to check out more than one place - right?  I'm looking at Thursday as my practice run at a dealership, since I don't really want to buy from them.  I might throw in another dealership on Friday - they just emailed me a quote that looks too good to be true, but I guess it's worth checking out.

Anyway, wish me luck.  Hopefully by next week I'll be at least on my way to getting a new car, and totally NOT STRESSED OUT AL ALL!!!!!!