1. It takes me 4 months to use a tube of toothpaste
2. Certain coffee shops have better wireless service than others.  St. Louis / Panera Bread habitually kicks me off and makes me log back in at about the 45-minute mark – I think they’ve got somebody in the back that keeps resetting it to get people to give up and leave
3. Lonesome and alone are two different things, and I have had my share of being one or both (and often neither)
4. I know some really nice people in this town that have been way more supportive than I could have ever hoped
5. People tend to open up about their own problems when they see you’re going through some too
6. Two long flights of stairs may not sound like much, but talk to me when you’ve just done the grocery shopping
7. I can build a metal sideboard, as long as there are clear instructions and diagrams from Sweden to help me
8. I can also drive myself to Urgent Care when the paring knife gets away from me
9. Running in an old neighborhood with uneven sidewalks can be dangerous when people don’t sweep up the leaves
10. 2am is about the only time where provel cheese is remotely tolerable.
11. It’s been hard.  But I feel more honest with myself than I have in a long time.

Better Homes and Gardens “So Easy Slow Cooker”  Meredith Books 2008

Wild Rice and Chicken Soup

2 ½ cups cooked chicken

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 medium carrots, coarsely shredded

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 10 ¼ oz. can condensed cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup

1 6-oz package of long grain and wild rice mix

5 cups chicken broth

5 cups water

1. In a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker, combine cooked chicken, mushrooms, carrots, celery, soup, uncooked rice, and contents of rice seasoning packet.  Gradually stir in chicken broth and water.
2. Cover, cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours

Southern Living Slow-Cooker Cookbook Oxmoor House 2006

Beef Burgundy Stew

6 bacon slices, chopped

2 lbs beef stew meat

1 16-oz pkg frozen pearl onions, thawed

1 8-oz pkg fresh mushrooms, quartered

6 small red potatoes, quartered

2 large carrots, cut in ½-inch pieces

1 14-oz can beef broth

1 cup red wine

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

3 minced garlic cloves

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp cold water

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over med-high heat until crisp.  Remove bacon, reserving drippings in pan.  Set bacon aside
2. Brown beef, in batches, in reserved bacon drippings until browned on all sides
3. combine reserved bacon, beef, onions, and next 10 ingredients in a 5 quart slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW 7 hours or until beef and vegetables are tender.
4. Whisk together cornstarch and water, stir into stew.  Cover and cook on HIGH 1 hour or until slightly thickened.  Makes 9 cups.

We did take time out today and get a Christmas tree.  It’s adorably lopsided (we’ve got the flat side against the wall – it’s perfect) and smells like the holidays and is crammed full of goofy ornaments and OSU paraphanalia.  I’ll post pictures soon. )

1) Ran about 6 miles -  a really good run, kinda cold, and my knee feels like it might start acting funny again, so I am now on alert.  Maybe it’s the cold that makes it act like this?

2) Wore my “will knit for tattoos” tshirt, of which I’ll have to post a picture and also possibly buy one for El and Soy

3) Started working on a knitted Christmas present – and more evidence that I don’t really pay attention when I read, because when I should have read that I could either k1, p1 OR k2, p2, I instead did both.   It doesn’t look TOO weird, so I’m just going to say I did it on purpose, you know, for fun.

4) Saw Twilight!  The smartest thing they ever did was take all those pages and pages of dialogue about how they won’t stay away from each other and turn them into brief, meaningful looks and musical interludes.  Genius.  And that Edward fellow is pretty hottt.

Do I get points for trying?  I’m thinking maaaaybe, but only like 1/2 point.  Arg.

Yeep!

I should give it back to the library, right?  I shouldn’t keep it?

The whole book is these questions, like “Why do you wear a mustache?” and “Isn’t your mustache impractical, especially when you travel?”  and the response is a picture of Dali and his mustache, formed in a way to answer the question.  It’s fantastic.

The healing process kind of freaked me out, but it’s fine and cute now.  I was there with the support of my sister, mom, and sister/in/law – Ellie stayed and took the pic, Wen and Mom were waiting across the street eating cheese curds and drinking beers.   All in all a good weekend.