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Monday, December 14, 2015

Monday Musings.

I do wish there was more truth in labeling.  Squash.  I was lulled into a false sense of ease when approaching my buttercup squash.  After wrestling like a crazed sumo with the thing, a more apt name would have been "Alligator Squash" or "Rhino Squash".   Somehow (hahahahaha, snort) I ended up with a bushel of winter squash.  After giving away another half bushel.  I just. can't. help. myself.  It was all I could do to keep my hand from picking up the phone, reading that my favorite winter vegetable stand was closing for the season and had BUSHELS of pie pumpkins for FREE.  But I did sit on my hands until the hysteria passed.  I mean, really.  I had thought about climbing Mount Big Bertha this weekend, but the closest I'll be getting is to continue giving her the google-eyes as I pass by in the cold storage room (aka guest room).  I have mustard to make.  (Colonel Mustard in the Dining Room with a Rope!)

People who think dogs are two dimensional are so limited.  If you spend more than ten minutes with a dog, his/her personality is bound to shine through.  My boy, Scrappy, has an amazing amount of personality - when he wants me to give him something, or come over and hug his noggin, he gives me the big Moo-Moo eyes.  I can feel them on me, even with my back towards him.  And of course, I do whatever he wants.  Lovey is guileless - what you see is what you get.  She wears her emotions on her face, her backside and those ears!  Of course, the Pepperoni is a whole nuther thing.  He is 4 pounds drama and 4 pounds manipulation.

I was roused out of a sound sleep (and a very nice dream, thanks a lot) by the pre-attack cry of an owl.  If you've never heard one, count yourself lucky.  I lay there, in the dark, with my heart pounding.  What must it feel like to be some unlucky small creature, not hearing the danger gliding above you, then, WHAM!  I bet that scream will freeze any prey to the spot.  Guess that's the idea.  All that was left of whatever became dinner was a bit of coarse fur on the deck.

I am having a heck of a time this year, getting into the holiday spirit.  It might be the combination of unseasonably warm weather during the day, followed by tree-cracking cold at night (perfect combination for sap gathering if it were spring.  Which it ain't.)  Or it could be a severe case of the grumps brought on by too much Christmas noise too soon - pre-Halloween, for natssake.  It is probably all of these things, plus something I can't quite put my finger on.  As I get older, I get a longing for a simple celebration of it all.  It's almost, dare I say, a longing for a Hallmark holiday.  This is odd, because I haven't ever had one and I am not the type of person to like sappy stuff.

(Sensitive Souls Alert - proceed with caution if you have good hygiene sensitivities - coughcoughmamapeacoughcough) As I was happily munching away on my from-home lunch recently, my coworker stuck his head around the corner of my office door (I am inconveniently close to the office kitchen and everyone seems to need to tarry around my door - sometimes bringing germs - while their coffee brews) and asked me about my salad.  I had just picked it that morning - December! - and I carefully identified all the greens:  tatsoi, arugula, mustard, kale - and the homemade pomegranate molasses vinaigrette.  I also noticed:  cat hair, dog hair, which I left out of the narrative.  That made me wonder about just how much foreign, non-food matter I ingest in a week.  I shiver to think.  Then, again, I could consider it a free source of fiber...

17 comments:

Mama Pea said...

Okay, just to show I'm not as "good hygiene sensitive" as you think (coughcough), I shall relate this little "eeeuuww" tidbit. This past week daughter walked in just after I had placed four newly baked loaves of bread on the counter. She's a bread-lover from way back and sneakily (ha!) broke a little corner off one of the crusts. And there poking out from the morsel was a hair, short and white. (Probably from her very own "child" . . . our granddog who is here most days for doggie day care.) So I guess until we all start coughing up hair balls, the occasional non-food bit of fiber we ingest will have to be tolerated. Sigh, and EEEUUWWWW!

thecrazysheeplady said...

Meh, that ain't gonna hurt ya. The co-workers are a different story :-D.

jaz@octoberfarm said...

it takes a lot more than a little dog hair to gross me out. as i type, all my windows and doors are open and fruit flies are hovering. i am SO not feeling xmas this year!

hoosier girl said...

I would rather take my chances with the pet hair than the coworkers!

Michelle said...

Amen to the other comments!

Susan said...

Mama Pea - Fiber!

Susan said...

CSL - You've got that right. I'd rather ingest a bale o' fur than face the germ factories at work.

Susan said...

Jaz - It is hard to feel the holiday spirit when one is still dealing with fruit flies. It is downright balmy here.

Susan said...

HG - You and me both...

Susan said...

:)

Sandy Livesay said...

Susan,

A little fur ball won't hurt the soul :-)
Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas for us here. Eventually we will get into the spirit.

Sue said...

We have the warmth (and rain, oh that ceaseless rain!!) and we're finding it feeling more April-ish rather than mid December. The house almost looks foolish decked out for the holidays. I think I now know what folks in Arizona or Florida go through. It's just not the same without that snow!
Loved your "fuzzy" salad story. Unfortunately in these parts, I have no dog to blame..................
Have a great week

Unknown said...

My mother used to refer to the dog hair in our food as "binders".

Susan said...

Sandy - That's my sentiment exactly! I am hoping that the Christmas spirit tiptoes in on little cat feet, but I'm not holding my breath.

Susan said...

Sue - I do believe that fuzz can generate itself without anything furry to help! Pull out the paddles and have a wonderful holiday!

Susan said...

Peter - Oh, I like that much more than fiber! If you don't mind, I'm going to steal it...

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Oh my gosh, this made me laugh. The dog/cat hair fiber part cracked me up. Sounds about like my salads, ha ha!