Slice 'n' Dice

Remember my post from last week about needing to plan for soft foods?

Well, dinner last night was ice cream.

Lunch today was yogurt and mashed potatoes.

Dinner tonight was mac and cheese, because I was told that "soft" foods are "anything you can cut with the side of a fork."

Of course, that was followed by some sinus meds and some pain meds.

Here are some things that you kind of take for granted which I'm not supposed to do for at least the next two weeks, but probably the next month:

 - No using straws

 - No blowing my nose

 - No sneezing - and if I do, I should do it with my mouth open.

I'm also dealing with a "no seeds, nuts, grains" issue for the next week, as well as no alcohol due to the antibiotics and pain meds.

Do I know how to live, or what?

Friday Food - Softly

I know that I talked, recently, about dealing with a few days when I had to avoid alcohol. I've since learned that the antibiotic I was on has actually been used in some studies to help people break their dependency on alcohol - by making them sick as a dog whenever they drink. So... yeah... glad I abstained for those days.

This weekend, while I'm able to have alcohol, I'm gearing up for a few days next week when I'll be required to eat only soft foods.

You see, as follow-up to the situation which had me on antibiotics, now I'm going in to have a very minor bit of surgery to see what might have caused the infection which needed the antibiotic. (I know... too much info. sorry.)

At any rate, I've been forewarned that for a few days I'll want to avoid any sharp foods or crunchy foods. So no peanuts or popcorn (or Cracker Jack), and nothing that would put stress on my upper jaw. Which means also nothing through a straw.

I was thinking of going to a movie on Tuesday, but since I can't imagine a movie without popcorn and pop, I think I might have to skip that. I'm planning a few days of ice cream, mashed potatoes, and possibly guacamole - if I can figure out what to eat it with.

Oh. And Shamrock Shakes. Because - as luck would have it - they're in season. Come to think of it, they were also in season when I got my braces back in 5th grade (or was it 6th?). I'm not sure if that's just really weird timing, or incredibly good luck.

How Much is Too Much?

As I left work, yesterday, I got into my car and - as has been happening on the extremely cold days - my brakes decided to only halfway engage. But I've gotten kind of used to that this winter, so I just adjusted and headed out.

On street level, I waited my turn until the traffic inched far enough along for me to pull into the lane I needed, and then watched a few people slip and slide down the ice-covered street ricocheting in and out of potholes the size of washtubs.

I think it was at that point that I loudly swore some random combination of Anglo-Saxon words declaring - to no one in particular - that I'm ready for this winter to be over.

I suspect that a lot of people are feeling that way this year, whether they live in the Twin Cities or somewhere else in the northern sections of the country. It has just been such a brutal winter. So freakin' cold.

Last year, we had snow from October until May. I don't mean that it was on the ground until May. I mean that it actually snowed in May of last year.

And we all kind of joked about it as we complained and shrugged our shoulders and kept going.

This year, we started out mainly dealing with cold, then the snow came in. When I walk the pup on windy days only I need to worry about the windchill - the snow on either side of the sidewalks is so deep that she's completely sheltered. (I think we've got something like 2 or 3 feet of snow across our entire yard right now.)

I'm beginning to think that I might pack up my car and do like Neil Diamond suggests and "go where the weather suits my clothes." I suspect that I'll see a lot of Minnesotans there.


**Note: If you don't follow that musical reference, here's the song: 

Movie Monday - The Sequel

I made the mistake of watching a sequel over the weekend. A sequel of a kids movie which I really kind of liked. The sequel... well... it wasn't as good.

The series (of two) movies was the "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" set of two movies. The first one was really fun. The second one... it tried way too hard. It was the leftovers that probably should have remained leftover, instead of being a new dinner.

Yes, the animation was fun. Yes, the puns were many. But... ya know... beyond that I probably should have stuck with just the first one.

Overall rating: C. It just wasn't really all that interesting. Which is sad, because it did have potential.

Childhood Flashback

For a day when we haven't left the house, this has been a really busy day. In no particular order: We cleaned the house. We got a new stove delivered (but not hooked up - long story). We watched part of an Indiana Jones movie. We had lunch. We started doing laundry. We cleared some of the snow/ice off the sidewalks ("some" is as good as we could do at this point).

After we had the new stove in the house, and we were both inside and doing more cleaning/tidying/laundering, Christopher turned on the stereo and so we've been doing our work with a musical accompaniment. We've been chatting and scratching the pup and looking outside at the brilliant sun on the snow, and, somewhere along the way, I realized how much this feels like a weekend day when I was growing up.

Okay, so my parents had a drug store, and my dad was out of the house on Saturdays when most of the housecleaning was getting done. And most of the hanging out at home with the whole family was done on Sundays. But the combined effect is the same.

I think this is possibly enhanced by the fact that we're awaiting the arrival of a family friend (making her way carefully up the apparently-unfriendly roads), and tomorrow my folks will be making their way up here, as well (hopefully on less-unfriendly roads once the road chemicals have had some extra time to work).

At any rate, the feeling is there. The rare "this feels right" kind of feeling that is so hard to grasp. You'll forgive me if I wrap this up and enjoy it before it flits away.

Fading Daisies

I know that we've discussed how much I enjoy fresh flowers. I actually bought some just yesterday as a "welcome home" for Christopher, in fact.

And, at the same time, I went through the house and threw out most of the remaining flowers from Christopher's birthday a couple of weeks ago. Well... The roses had long since faded and been binned, but the daisies were holding on strong.

Sort of.

For whatever reason, different vases of daisies gave up the fight at different times. By yesterday, I was down to just one vase. So I moved it to a better location in the house, and put the new roses into "pride of place" and went about my day.

Today, however, the last of the daisies are looking a bit sad. The yellow centers are turning dark. The petals are starting to get a bit limp. The water... well... it went from pure and clear to *not* in the course of the past day.

I know I need to throw them out before they start to smell unpleasant and drop petals everywhere. But... I keep hoping that they'll have just one more day in them. I think that this time it's because outside we're getting hit with 6-12 inches of snow, and a gradual drop in temps that will take us from 30s today to a high of around 2 during the middle of next week.

In mid-summer when there are flowers in bloom everywhere it's much easier to move on.

Bachelor Week

I'm not going to lie. Having the occasional night at home alone is kind of nice.

I lived alone for a lot of years - with a few years in the middle when I had roommates, but still had my own room and my own bed.

And there are just times when it's nice to let your thoughts spread out, not to mention letting yourself sprawl across a bed.

But Christopher has been gone since Friday. This isn't a long trip (he's back tomorrow), so there's no real idea of adjusting totally to a different routine, and yet - with the dog - it's meant getting her to adjust to only having one person in the house with her.

He's been gone just long enough that the pup isn't exactly waiting for him to come home after work, but she's still running to the back door whenever there's a noise - expecting him to be there. (In fact, when I answered a phonecall from Christopher tonight, I apparently said "hello" in just the right tone of voice. She doesn't usually care when we're on the phone, but she gave a half "woof" and ran into the kitchen to see if he was there.)

And I'm kind of at the same point. I've had a couple of nights of getting used to him not being here. And then a couple of nights of "nice, I have the place to myself." And now I'm ready for him to be back.

Yeah. Bachelorhood is nice - to a point - but I think I kind of prefer the couplehood stuff.