Weekend Update

It's a cold, rainy Saturday which suits my mood just fine. Not that I'm in a bad mood. It's just that if it were sunny and clear I'd convince myself I should be out clearing the yard, or planting flowers, or taking a walk. Instead, the dreary weather is the perfect excuse to huddle inside and read books and watch TV all day long.

I'm thinking of driving into GSO to see a movie. Blair isn't feeling well (possible reaction to medication for his cat bite) and again, my mood is one of those where it sounds quite fun to sit in a darkened theatre by myself and enjoy a movie. I've yet to see Juno and it's playing at 1:20--I'm contemplating it.

Updates:

• The Camry lost a hubcap but luckily Blair saw it fall off so we could retrieve it. We can't get it back on though, and for the moment I'm too embarrassed to drive to a repair shop and ask for help.
• The killer squirrels are for the moment respecting the cease and desist order I sent them. This is good, as Critter Control never called me back.
• I cleaned out my closet and filled a bag and a half with clothes. I ran across a straw hat I bought 8 years ago in Williamsburg. All the ladies were wearing them and Blair and I spent an hour shopping for the perfect hat for me. I wore it one day and it hasn't been on my head since. Blair saw it in the "to go" pile and said, "Oh, you're getting rid of the hat?" I put it on and he declared it cute. It kind of is, but I can't imagine anyplace I would wear it, and told him so. He started chanting, "One more year. One more year," so I laughingly gave in and the hat is now back in place on the back of my closet door.

Tomorrow is a 14-mile run. Apparently the weather gods dislike us as we've had sunny 65 degree days during the week and it drops to 41 on weekends. That's okay. I just think "coffee and a bagel" during my last three miles and that pulls me through.

So Long, Saturn

Today I say goodbye to my 1996 white Saturn station-wagon. The car I was loathe to drive at first but which has become my loyal friend. I'm driving it to Fayetteville today to hand it over to Blair's sister. The poor thing (meaning the car) has no idea what's in store for it...

I went with the 2002 Toyota Camry for my "new" car. Here's my reasoning: it was the easiest choice. I am not a car person and the thought of spending even just a week test driving cars, comparing cars online, and dealing with car dealers was enough to drive me underground. My friend Kim hit on it when we had lunch together last week. "You should just buy the Camry," he said. "I can tell by your tone you want nothing more to do with this car buying process."

Bingo.  The Camry was there, the price was right, I know the person who owned it before me and so know it was serviced and taken care of... let's just end this. And so now a beige Camry sits out front.

I called my friend Trisha to break the news. She was disappointed, but nice about it. As she said, "The only reason I complain about your cars is that you are such a fun person and your choice of vehicle never reflects that." Fair enough, and I appreciate the back-handed compliment.

But for now, maybe I'll just get a personalized license plate that reads "StillFUN".

Happy Easter

Today's post will be a mish-mash of events. We had a lovely Easter meal, having become quite the...well, chefs is too strong a word. Quite the novice chefs, then. We pull out the cookbooks on Friday nights, along with our schedules, and plan meals for the week. I'd say we're  cooking 3-4 full dinners a week. Vegetarian Paella, Salmon & Asparagus Quinoa, Vegetarian Chicken Fajitas, and even ramping up simple dishes like spaghetti with marinara sauce by adding white beans and broccoli (recipe from Runner's World magazine.) It's fun, as most of the recipes are turning out to be not only edible, but tasty. Quite the new experience for me. We have two folders now in our kitchen. Green folder = recipes to try, Red folder = Tried & liked.

We just got back from hiking around our "mountain" property. I haven't been there all winter and I'm glad we went. It reminded me of why I want the cabin. Everything on the 38 acres is raw, natural, unvarnished. We climbed over huge pine trees uprooted by recent windstorms. We jumped on rocks to cross the creek as the wooden bridge we used to use now resembles an ancient Mayan ruin near collapse. We watched monarch butterflies trace the path of the creek and we got ambitious and scaled the hills covered in rotting logs and leaves to reach the far end of our property. It was beautiful and exhausting and nurturing, all at once.

Now we'll collapse on the couch, pull the leftovers out of the fridge, and eat more food than we need to while we watch the Carolina game.  The sun is shining, it's a cloudless 55 degrees, we have the windows open, and I'm going to go make hot tea and beg Blair to tell me where he's hid the dark chocolate.

Happy Easter, everyone.

Talking To A Mom

I love talking to my sister, the mother of a 4 and 1 year old, on the phone. We'll be in the middle of a conversation, as we were yesterday, when suddenly she'll break off and say, "Take your hands off him," and then continue our conversation as if nothing had happened.  Ten minutes later she again interrupts herself to calmly say to someone behind her, "Stop choking him." A few moments later, "I mean it."

I finally started laughing and she admitted that as a mom, sentences now come out of her that she never thought she'd utter. My favorite is from several years ago when her four-year-old was just one or two. We were on the phone and I could hear this low, semi-moaning, echo-y sound in the background.

"What is that noise?" I asked.

"Oh, that's just J----" she said. "He has his head in a bucket. He likes the echo."

Okay--maybe I'm missing a little something not having kids. But that's what nieces and nephews are for.