The poll is up. I limited it to fifteen, and tried to vary the genres and not let a single genre dominate the list.

For me, this is a much harder list and choice. No on here stands out for me the way Paul Robeson does on the male list. :)

Erin has pictures of Lana up!

Come on, you know you need a dose of cute!

How frustrating.

I’ve reached the point I do every so often where I can’t find anything to read.

The problem is that I’ve just read a string of really good books, and want to read more of the same, but most everything I have I’m saving to read (the last paperback book out by Donna Leon, the last paperback book out by F. Paul Wilson) or don’t want to read because it’s hardback or I look at the book and wonder what on earth I was thinking when I picked that up, because it looks dreadful and what on earth was I thinking?

Mind you, most of those will turn out to be okay, they’re just not what I’m in the mood for.

I’m trying to read David Hewson’s Lucifer’s Shadow, and it’s interesting, but it’s not holding my attention (in fact I’ve fallen asleep twice in the past 24 hours trying to read it).

This means I’m at the point where nothing is appealing to me, but I feel somewhat guilty about going back to read old favorites, because I have all these books I haven’t read yet.

Of course I also think I’m fighting off a case of the blues, which means I really should go pick up an old comforting favorite

The house smells like Christmas tree! What a wonderful thing to wake up to!

Filled the bird feeders.

Brought the tree inside. (It won’t be decorated until Christmas Eve day, but smells wonderful.)

Went looking for a wreath. Changed our minds.

Bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and whiskey sauce.

Today was full of doing stuff. Not anything particularly fun, but the grocery shopping and laundry and all that other stuff that ends up on the back burner until the weekend.

However, on the bright side, since I was already on my feet the whole day, I made pizza for dinner, and there is bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and whiskey sauce for dessert.

Mmmmm!

No, I didn’t take any pictures, as I was making dinner and dessert at the same time while washing up as I went. So you’ll just have to imagine.

Or perhaps I’ll just take a picture of the end product–a couple spoonfuls of piping hot bread pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whiskey sauce poured over the entire thing.

I love baking.

Congratulations to Erin and Sean and welcome to baby Lana!

I’m tired and don’t feel like chasing the cats all over the house, so here’s an old post for you:

Stuff on Kit

Last night, Michael (who may be the most wonderful man in the entire world) spent more than two hours on the phone helping Grandmom get a new Medicare Part D prescription plan.

Over the course of the evening he spoke to at least four people (if not more), and had to give them all the information on my grandmother’s medication including drug names (spelling them of course), dosages, and the number of pills taken a day.

Every single person he talked to last night was nice, patient, and unfailingly polite.

This is despite the fact that he was trying to spell drug names over the phone (names that in some cases were written down for him in correctly), trying to get information from my grandmother as he spoke to them, and in general sharing a lot of information over the phone, when we could he how loud it was on their end. (They are definitely in cubicles and not offices!)

I was delighted with how easy they tried to make the process, even when it was complicated and they had to repeat things multiple times.

Kudos to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Thank you for making a long and complex process as painless as possible.

I got nothing, so here’s a look some of at yesterday’s search terms:

fashion victims
Bet they were soundly disappointed when they didn’t get pictures.

things that can make you mad at the work
What kind of person is this that they can’t come up with their own list?

please leave a message and we
We will what? Cry at the thought of missing your call? Celebrate because we didn’t have to talk to you? Erase your message without listening because we don’t really care?

lenny ********
That’s strange. Someone was searching for a friend I haven’t been in contact with in years. I’d like to find him myself.

what did real pirates wear
Lavender taffeta party dresses. With tiaras.

random latin phrases
Inter arma silent leges

tofu, gas
Yes, tofu does cause gas. Get thee behind me vegetarian!

If Erin didn’t have her baby last night, they were supposed to induce her today.

Here’s hoping she didn’t need to be induced, and that it’s an easy labor!

ADDENDUM the First:
No baby today most likely.

ADDENDUM the Second:
She’s in the hospital–probably for quite awhile, but has wi-fi!

Quick! Go entertain her!

Same as best male voice, only female. I’m again soliciting names for the list.

Etta James
Julie Andrews
Enya
Dolly Parton
Ella Fitzgerald
Tina Turner
Barbra Streisand
Judy Garland
Amy Winehouse
SARAH VAUGHAN
ROSEMARY CLOONEY
NINA SIMONE

First person to put a screechy pop singer like Mariah Carey on the list will be disinherited.

The holiday season is officially upon us when we make bourbon balls. Of course, we should have made them immediately after Thanksgiving, because they’re better the longer they sit, but this is still plenty of tie.

These are one of Michael’s favorite Christmas cookies, and we make a double (or even triple) back every year.

This recipe calls for Nilla wafers, but other recipes have called for stale cake. But I never have stale cake lying around, so this works perfectly well. The recipe calls for corn syrup to hold everything together. I suppose honey might work, but I think it might change the flavor, so I’ve never fussed with the recipe.

Bourbon Balls

1 box vanilla wafers, crushed
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
3 tbsp corn syrup
1/4 to 1/2 cup bourbon
3 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp espresso powder or instant coffee *

(more…)

Michael was reading through the news off his phone this morning and asked a question I didn’t quite parse.

Michelle: Would I like a battle turtle named after me?
Michael: Would you like a BAT or a TURTLE named after you?
Michelle: I’d rather have a battle turtle.