Wisdom of Gaga

Gaga used to say, since she wrote in her journal every day and also wrote to Lolah Mary daily -"When you write every day, there is lots to tell. If you write once a month, you can't think of anything worthwhile to relate."

I always think I will have something interesting to say, but usually don't.

For instance, today I had the freezer people come out. Obviously I don't use the freezer much, and when I opened it last night, it was hot inside. I threw all the meat and spoiled stuff out, which fortunately wasn't much. The vodka, pecans, cookies from the Christmas party and freezer pops were just fine for the temporary heat wave. The freezer guy said that $395 for a new timer was lots better than a new SubZero, which runs $6-7,000 (!), or even a new condenser motor which runs about $2000.

After that I met Elizabeth, Megan and Emma at the Library for Storytime, where Jim Carvell (Wade's father) plays the guitar (and made Emma his biggest fan "Play it again!"). Then we went to Bubba's for fried chicken, hot rolls with honey and delicious green beans. Did I mention that it was raining? And we only had one umbrella? Every child should have her own umbrella.

Back to the Library for a meeting in our new space. Our kind landlord (who has given us the space for 8 years for $1.25 per year, but has recently decided the Library won't be in his new building as promised) has given us about 4,500 new square feet across the hall with room for Book Sale set up, Storytime space, a breakroom with an actual table for the staff. We met to try to decide what will go where, and who should do what to set it up. First on the agenda is stretching the carpet which lies in waves on the floor - then we can begin moving in the dozens of books in beer flats which can then be sorted as to their Dewey number for the Book Sale.

Back home to work on tomorrow agenda for the Junior League Garden Club. I recommend any president or presiding person should do a printed agenda and hand it out to everyone. That way you are organized in your mind about how things should proceed, and you won't forget anything. (If you do, someone will remind you "Your forgot the Treasurer's report!). The Program Chairman of the Garden Club is one of those really detail people who are great on a committee, since they insist on keeping everything just right. They are also terrible on a committee since they drive you crazy "Have you checked the number of reservations?" "Have you ordered enough chairs"? "Let's do a walk-through of Debbie's house to see where the speaker should set up." This also makes for a very smooth meeting.

We're going (assuming Byron gets home in the next 45 minutes, otherwise I'm going) to Book Club where our favorite reviewer Marjorie Currey will talk about Warren Buffet's biography (by a HP woman) "Snowball".

I'm sure tomorrow will be equally fascinating.

Bam's and Ranny's Chili and Beans

Classic recipe:
2 - 3 round steaks - cubed 1/2" by 1/2", brown in oil. Ideally these should have the bone in, but hard to find these days.
Add salt and pepper
Add 2 whole cloves of garlic
2 cans of Mountain Pass Red Chili Sauce
2 cans water.

Simmer, covered, at least 3 hours - the longer the better. stir occasionally. Add flour and water paste to thicken.

Beans: In another pot, put 1 pound of pinto beans, add water to cover. Boil for 5 minutes. Pour off water. Add fresh cold water and chunk of salt pork. Cover at simmer at least 3 hours - the longer the better. Add water when needed and stir occasionally. When ready to serve, mash some beans to thicken.

Homemade rolls:

Scald 2 C milk (or 1 C milk and 1 C water), 1/2 C Crisco, 1/2 C sugar (scant), 1 t. salt. Allow to cool. Soak package of dry yeast in 1/2 C warm water. Add to cooled liquid (130 degrees). Add 5 - 6 C flour. Let rise, then knead. Shape into rolls (cut in circle, fold over once). Let rise in oiled pan. Bake 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.

I usually make this up in advance and freeze. The meat should be in shreds. Do not use ground meat or the West Texas Goddesses will haunt you. If you don't want to cut up the steak, just get Wolf Brand with no beans and don't aspire to true chili greatness. (New Mexicans spell it chile for no good reason I can find.)

Note - it is hard to find true red chili sauce (not salsa, picante or enchilada sauce - these do not smell right.) Sometimes I can find red chili sauce at a Dollar Store.

You can substitute chili powder or Wick Fowler's 2-Alarm chili mix. Taste right before serving to achieve desired chili kick.

I now use Sister Shubert's frozen rolls rather than homemade.

Serve with iceberg lettuce which has been torn and put into a bowl with a tiny bit of oil and two cut garlic cloves. Remove garlic and add lime juice and salad oil (not olive oil) to taste.

Enjoy!

Christmas is over! As I get older, Christmases seem to come and go with more rapidity, but this year's celebration was great. Elizabeth and her girls spent the night so Santa could be here at the crack of dawn (well, more like 8:30 - all of the adults were chomping at the bit to get to the stockings!); Mary was here from Austin, and Great Uncle Bobby ("What's so great about Uncle Bobby?") was here from Pecos.

I had decorated with help from Andy and Meg who were here for Thanksgiving for our annual Christmas Party, and Mary and Byron helped in taking it all down. I love the sparkly lights and poinsettias, so it seems sort of bare around here now.

We all benefited from an Elizabeth-Dad shopping spree prior to Thanksgiving - new clothes all around (many compliments on my outfits!) and lots of practical gifts like the package opener (once we got one open with a knife, scissors and lots of cursing, it was a cinch to open the seven Barbies and other gifts which were tied/glued down as if made of gold and the mint was making sure of a slow getaway.)

Our menu included the traditional Dean eggnog and traditional chili and beans AND a breakfast egg casserole, cinnamon rolls and other pastries. I tried a beef tenderloin for lunch, but I just don't like rare beef. I'm making beef stroganoff with the leftovers tonight.

While I'm thinking about it, and avoiding looking through the Christmas cards to update addresses, here's how I do our Christmas Party - in case someone should want to continue the tradition.

1. If you are going to need parkers, engage them and the kitchen help early. I once forgot to do this and called the parking company late and we had to beg to get parkers - we got some - probably recruited from the homeless shelter had to cope with a torrential rainstorm.
2. Move all the chairs away. Obviously, if you are having elderly or infirm guests, you'll have to have some chairs, but don't make it easy for guests to sit around. One, you'll never get them to leave and two, they won't mingle around.
3. Decide on a menu that doesn't require forks. The point is to have people wander around. Have food stations everywhere, but not the same food on every station.
4. Have someone act as bartender. You can have glasses of wine poured and set out, but don't let some guest start making mixed drinks.
5. The hosts should stand at the door throughout the party - unless everyone you invited is already present, then you can close the door and go mingle yourself.
6. Invite a variety of people - neighbors, relatives, work friends, your children's teachers. Miss Manners (my idol) says that children need to see how adults behave at parties and adults will behave better if children are watching. This doesn't include your teenager's friends, but at least you'll know where they are.

Measuring Board

Long ago and far away, my father's family had a doorway with a board perfect for measuring the growth of the children. That board was moved from the old house to our house at 523 S. Hackberry. We had a ritual of measuring everyone at Christmas - maybe other occasions.

Once (maybe 1967 or so) the board disappeared. There was a lot of yelling and name calling until the board was found to be sawed in half and employed as bed slats in a new twin bed.

Daddy mounted the old board onto a larger board - giving more room to new measuring. This is a picture of Daddy standing on the kitchen table (green Formica - now at the Brownwood ranch) sawing the board to add to the old measuring board.

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Even later, he added another board since we had used up all the room on the older two boards.

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Here is the board today with Megan and Emma standing near.

The tradition is that Uncle Bobby will hold a Kleenex box over the head of the measuree and mark the increase in height.

Outliers

I've just listened to Outliers by Malcolm Gladewell and I think it is an important book. Hockey and soccer players handicapped by December birthdays - advantage for Bill Gates to have his own computer at age 13 in 1968, culture matters. 10,000 hours of practice to be successful - smartest one or not. Fascinating. Read it.

Shingles shot

Several friends have recommended getting immunized against shingles, which apparently you can get if you had chicken pox as a child. Those who have recommended it have had shingles and shingles is something no one wants. They say it hurts like hell and can leave scars.

So, I asked my GP (now known as Internal Medicine Doctor) and he said to go for it - but said he would go to the pharmacy to get it because he would have to charge twice as much as the pharmacy. After filling out the forms for one pharmacy and running out of time, then later to the Tom Thumb pharmacy, it turns out that you have to have a prescription AND it costs $214 since we didn't sign up for Medicare part D.

Then I dithered - would it be worth it? What if I was too cheap to get it THEN got shingles? I went back and got it.

Becoming blonde

I've always sort of liked my grey/white hair - but now, for some reason, it's turning blonde. Not the pretty kind, either. So far remedies suggested are:
* mix baking soda with your shampoo
* purple shampoo (when I tried this years ago, whole head was purple)
* stop smoking (done about 40 years ago - probably not a factor now)
* stay out of the sun

Nothing has really worked. Maybe the usual Head and Shoulders I've been using for years (and just bought a big bottle from Sam's) has a new formulation, or maybe I need to use more conditioner.

But now I've researched all the local CVSs and Walgreens and Targets - no purple shampoo of any kind! What does that say about their demographics? Are there no women with white hair they need to service?

I did find Sally Beauty Supply (close to Stein Mart) and got some new purple shampoo, but resisted the gel (yuck to have it on your hands) and the spray.

I'm going back today to get both.