Today I am behind on my original plans to clean. A friend going through a bad patch in her life needed some time with me on the phone. It is not a new rough spot for her, actually having been in place for several years due to a situation or several situations at home. In my estimation, not being a psychiatrist, though sometimes I feel as if people think I have hung out my shingle, she is stuck. By this I do not mean her feet are cemented to the living room carpet, rather stuck figuratively or emotionally. This has happened to me a time or two in my life, usually after something traumatic having occurred. Sometimes it’s difficult to get pointed in the right direction again when you’re thrown completely off course. I always suggest baby steps. If you put a long list of to-do’s in front of someone already overwhelmed with their lives the effect most likely will be self-defeating. As I said, I do not presume to know what is or what is good for someone else, but I do know what works for me.
People often ask me how I maintain a relatively “sunny” outlook on the world. Truthfully, I have no idea. I feel sunny most of the time, and wake up generally looking forward to the 24 hours stretched out before me with unbridled enthusiasm. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not one of those perpetually chirpy humans who only sees rainbows in torrential downpours, but I do try to concentrate of what is going well in my life if possible rather than what is not.
Sometimes when my mind wanders, an event happening about every three seconds, I wonder if we evolve as we move along on our journeys. Trials and tribulations, tests of our mettle and stamina, seem to fill in the gaps between happy and blissful times we live through. As the years pass I ponder more often if this is our only visit on earth, or if we do, in fact, evolve through a series of life experiences coming back in a new and better version of ourselves each time until we are complete. This is a lot to chew on on this lovely day, so I shall move on to lighter subjects but the unanswered questions will linger with me for a while as I haven’t had my second cup of coffee which usually makes moving rather than thinking a more likely choice for the day.
I spent most of yesterday doing spring cleaning. Basically, I lugged all the heavier clothes and jackets to the closets downstairs, replacing them with more springlike attire in the upstairs master bedroom closet. At least I was able to combine my cardio for the day with moving my closet. Second on my list was installing the new box from our satellite provider. My other half, a lovely man by all accounts, hasn’t got a technical bone in his entire body. There’s someone out there running around with extra hardware savvy programmed into his brain having used up the savvy originally targeted for Rick. In other areas he’s genius but give him an unfamiliar computer screen or some software to load and his mind goes to pudding before your very eyes. I’ve often reminded him should anything ever happen to me he’d better rush out and find a computer motivated female who likes to cook or he’s doomed to sit alone staring at a blue screen while the microwave runs through the minutes until his chicken pot pie is ready. I consider it sort of a tenure clause, keeping me around til the end of the run.
Unpacking the new unit to be installed, I set up a stool at the back of the mammoth TV in our family room. Setting the new unit atop the old, I began unplugging the old cords from the back of the malfunctioning unit and transferring them to the back of the new. Once done, I followed the instructions on the card provided and worked my way to the final screen where it indicated I was to call the service provider to activate the receiver. Yea for me. I got a lovely woman on the phone who began at the beginning. Stopping her, I explained I’d already gotten to the last screen and all I needed was for her to activate it. She asked who was here with me. I said, “the cat” . For some reason this amazed her and she asked if I had technical background. She went on to say most people call her as soon as they exchange the plugs. Really? Maybe this stems from my single mom days when I could fix everything from the garbage disposal to the Hubble Telescope with a kitchen knife and electrical tape. We went on to hook up the wireless setup and she said she was going to send me a gold star for excellent “techie” performance. Even I was impressed with me at that point.
It does suck, however, even as far as they’ve come technically all the programs you’ve taped up until the receiver starts to fail are all lost when it is replaced. I don’t have time to watch that much TV but when I do sit down to watch a program it’s nice to find a movie in the DVR I’ve saved for just such an occasion. Having hooked up the wireless connection allows for a lot more choices available so perhaps this will be a great change! Ahhh, the rainbow in the torrential downpour.
My mother called as I was typing with one of many daily “culinary questions”. I never mind the interruption. Some day I will not be able to pick up a phone and hear her voice on the other end, so consider a pleasure (most days anyway) to speak to her when I’m available. Aside from how long her tortellini soup would last once prepared, she shared with me her cat, Susie, had left the remainder of her lunch on Mother’s pillow. This was something I could easily have finished my day without knowing. I’m just sayin. Once the descriptive phase of the conversation was over Mother concluded by saying, “I don’t like it when she does that.” I pointed out most likely the cat didn’t wake up from her nap and come up with a devious plan to ruin Mother’s afternoon. More likely all the treats my mom insists on giving her when she begs upset the animal’s stomach. Ah well, those treats are not a problem any more.
This garlic cheese bread is the best. Someone gave me a similar recipe a while back at a get together and I took it and ran with it. It’s easy, impressive, and absolutely addictive!
1 loaf sliced sourdough cheese bread
1 cup Italian blend cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1/2 cup chives, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place bread on piece of tin foil large enough to fold up around the sides leaving the top of the loaf exposed.
Mix cheeses together in small mixing bowl. Sprinkle cheese over top of bread, opening each slice and sprinkling cheese in between each piece.
Melt butter together with garlic and chives in microwave for 1 min. or until completely melted. Pour over the top of the bread. Cover top with tin foil. Bake for 15 mins. Remove cover and continue baking 20 mins.
Sounds like you have a good handle on your Spring chores, in spite of interruptions. Good for you! Yes, I can see where this bread would be addictive! Thanks for the recipe!
Cindy, this time of year I seem to be inspired to organize my life. I’m sure by next month it will be back to it’s usual state of chaos. Love this bread. Don’t make it often as I could eat the whole loaf.
I love cheesy garlic bread, but not the way it (and seemingly everything else) wants to stay with me forever. 😉 I wish I had a tenth of your energy when it comes to cleaning—I’d much rather spend the extra time doing something like exercising!
JM, I can’t make this too often. As a rule I don’t eat white bread but I make an exception once and a while for this yummy treat. I too have garlic issues. Lately I wake up and remember the garlic about 2 a.m. Ah well, can’t resist it.
I exercise a lot, or at least walk a lot. The cleaning is cathartic for me. Often my life feels crazy busy and out of control so if I keep everything organized I function better.
Aunt Susan, As you can see I am trying to make a dent in the many blogs that are in my much neglected E-mail. Even though I am not always commenting on my ‘catch-up’ reading. However, I think your cheese bread sounds really yummy. 🙂 Aunt Pea
Aunt Pea, this is Heather’s bread and it is most decidedly yummy.