A quick check in this evening

I know I wrote a post already today. Well, I copied a post from last year but that counts doesn't it? :)

However, I've forgotten to tell you that the flu symptoms are better but they still "come and go". It seems that is the way "the flu" often hits me. I'll be really sick one day and then for a few days I can be miserable and just fine and back to miserable all in the same twenty-four hours! That's the way I was today. I had the real stuff once, full blown influenza. It was when Christopher was a baby. I thought I was dying and didn't care if I did. When a new mama feels like that, you know you're sick. So I won't complain about having ordinary "flu".

I checked Elizabethtown out of the library a few days ago and spent the afternoon cuddled in the big Lazy Boy chair watching it. I've been wanting to see it because my Mom's "people" are from E-town and surrounding area. I was curious as to how that beautiful part of the world was portrayed. Well, it isn't a family film (a couple uses of the effe word and some innuendos and one scene of a non married couple waking up together). It's rated PG 13 and is very mild compared to a lot of other similar movies (I've heard just as bad language in the workplace, unfortunately).

At first the movie was confusing and I wasn't certain just where it was going. However, by the end of the movie I really liked it. We decided it is definitely one of those movies you'll like better in subsequent viewings because it can be very confusing until you reach the end (and perhaps for some people, even then). I have read mixed reviews but I think I liked it so much because I can relate to in my own family and having (years ago) come to the conclusion that going after the corporate golden ring is not what life is all about. You'll either love all the music or you will hate it. I want the soundtrack.

My cookies I made yesterday didn't turn out very well. I shouldn't try to bake when I feel like death warmed over as I neglected to add a very important ingredient. The candy (Homemade Mounds... a Beverly Nye recipe on my Recipe Blog and somewhere in this blog) is always a wonderful recipe. I made half of it almond flavored and the other half mint (by removing half of it before adding extract, then mixing the remainder with a different extract when the bowl was empty). The almond flavor was made into small balls and the mint was formed into small but flat discs, then frozen on three plates for about half an hour (timer set so I wouldn't forget) and poured into freezer bags. I'll dip them in chocolate coating on Saturday after defrosting. This is a great candy recipe for kids!

I was going through the notebook where I write the title of all books I've read throughout the year. I can tell I started working part-time in August, the number of books read fell substantially. However, once the colder weather is upon us (as it is now) then I spend most evenings curled up with my books. I still miss my furry best friend and I tear up each time I think of her, for she was there with me each evening for nearly seventeen years. I know anyone who has been blessed to have a dear furry friend understands (as do those whose friends displayed beautiful feathers... or gills... well, it is possible).

Thank you so much for your comments and e-mails. I just wish I could have tea with each of you, discussing great books... kids... gardens... theology (no arguing, of course)... art... history... and all kinds of wonderful ideas.