Halloween 2012

I believe today was the first day I can remember in a long while that I didn't have appointments or commitments so I have frittered the day away making focaccia and doing some trip planning.  A few weeks ago I took a bread baking class from a local lady and it was wonderful.  We made rustic Italian bread, challa, cracked wheat, cinnamon rolls, and focaccia.  She gave us some tips that I never thought of before: use a paper towel to clean the bowls so your sponge doesn't get nasty, use bread machine yeast and don't bother proofing it, don't worry about the temperature of the water (just not too hot), and take the bread's temperature to see if done (~190-200 degrees).

I don't think my roses will be blooming much more this season as it will be close to freezing this week at night. But here's a pic of some today with a nice card from cousin Catharine.

 

I was in DC last weekend to see former colleague, Rob, in two Egyptian plays.  I was surprised to see the set decorated with art from an artist I met almost 30 years ago in Hyattsville.  I had bought a piece for my mother, but now I have it, wish I had more.  Had dinner before the plays with Linda and Susan from NCHS.  Spent Saturday afternoon with Catharine and Deborah and we played two rousing games of "Salad Bowl" with the Chamblees. Saw Mary Laurel for dinner Friday night and we traded chairs.  I gave here Moody's W&L chair, and she gave me a Restoration Hardware floor model that I admired.  It's now in my guestroom.  Doesn't it look nice?  Wouldn't you like to come visit and sit in it?

I was surprised to receive a local magazine in the mail from the lady who did the specifications for my closet office space, based on my design.  She had taken a picture of it and submitted it to this magazine and it became the cover story for home improvements.  I feel like I've won an award.

Talked with John Mac today and arranged to visit the Terry's in early March at the end of my Key West trip with Cathy Dippo.  But first, my Morocco trip is coming up fast, better start looking for my passport. 

Early Autumn

The leaves are beginning to turn and fall on the ground in Chatham Co.  Zoe and Zelda and I have been out walking quite a bit and last week I went kayaking with a tennis friend here.  It's so nice that the kayak fits inside my car so I don't have to heft it up onto the roof of the RX300.  The full moon paddle event from a few weeks ago was rained out so it was good to get out and paddle on the lake last week.  My neighbors returned home from spending the last 6 months in Vermont so it's good to have them next door again. 

Linda McCaig and I had an article published in Annals of Emergency Medicine this month about how researchers should use the NHAMCS data.  My new mattresses are very nice on the twin beds.  The ones that were there were bought by my mother-in-law about 80 years ago.  They had Mattress Stamps on them- one from South Carolina and one from Florida.  Not sure what that was about: like a tax on interstate movement of mattresses or something. 

I went to a speed dating event in Chapel Hill about 3 weeks ago--very interesting if not productive.  The ladies sit at numbered tables and the men move from one table to another in numerical order.  A bell is rung every 5 minutes to signal the shift.  At the end you hand in your paper with the specific ID numbers of the persons you'd like to talk with further.  The organizer then emails you a list of the mutual choices for you.  Not sure I'd go to another but enjoyed it once.

Last week I cleaned my cook top's downdraft vent for the first time.  It was disgusting.  Underneath it was about 8 inches of captured grease that had been accumulating for 4 years.  I did not know it had to be cleaned out every month.  Sooooo, I thought maybe I should become a vegetarian.  For about a week I have tried not to have any meat, eggs, or cheese.   Mostly I find that I am hungry between meals which I am not usually.  Not sure how long it will last but it's interesting to find new foods to prepare.

I hurt my arm playing tennis a few weeks ago so was glad for all the rain that cancelled about a week's worth of tennis so my arm could rest.  It still hurts but I can use it.  I'm off to DC next weekend. Looking forward to hopefully seeing Mary Laurel and Robert.

Fiddle Recital

This afternoon was my very first fiddle recital.  There were about 10 of us ranging in age from about 6  to at least my age.  I played WV Hills and Old Joe Clark with a guitar and banjo backup.  One woman payed classical violin for many years before learning to "fiddle" and her vibrato made her tunes sounds way better than the rest of us.  At the end we played some group tunes including Tennesse Waltz, Sail Away Ladies, and Irene's Waltz.  It was fun and I don't think I messed up.