Christmas Cookies

This is the week when normally I would be baking Christmas cookies.  I've baked Christmas cookies since before we were married.  When I worked at the Physics Department, I would stay up late at night making dozens of types of cookies to take to the office and put out for anybody in the department to come and taste.  I did that for two years.

Then, of course, when we were raising the family, I always made Christmas cookies, for us and for Santa and it was nice to have baskets of cookies to take to friends or neighbors the week before the holiday.  I loved it that the house always smelled of cookies.  

My mother made what she called "Goodness Sake cookies," a recipe she got at a party she attended.  It wasn't until years later that I realized these were Mexican wedding cakes which it seems pretty much everyone makes at this time of year.  It's my favorite cookie and I can probably eat an entire recipe by myself.

I watch a lot of Food Network shows, especially at this time of the year, and have been watching cookie challenges and marveling at the wonderful thing that the cooks are doing with simple cookie dough.

Sadly, with my current eating regimen, there are no cookies to be made.  I could make a batch of cookies and convince myself I was going to give them away, but I'm really the only big cookie eater around here and I know I'd eat most of them and my blood sugar would fly off the roof. I can't remember the last time I had any real sugar.

Without the smell of cookies and boxes to give to neighbors for the holiday (or leave out for Santa), and especially because nobody is going to be here on Christmas day (though Tom et al. will be here a couple of days later), it just doesn't feel like Christmas.

   

50

In January of 2022, I made a new years resolution, something I almost never do.  But I thought it would be interesting to see if I could read 50 books in the year.  Yesterday I finished book #49 and have 20+ days to finish my 50.

When I was in the hospital and the first couple of weeks at home I had no desire to read and so got way behind and was afraid I wouldn't make it to 50.  I started looking for short books to read.  For example, I read "Animal Farm," which it seems everyone but me read as a child...and it's less than 200 pages.  I also read a couple of other short books.  Jeri asked me what my favorite book was and I think "West with Giraffes, about 2 giraffes who were driven across the country in 1923 was perhaps the most memorable.

This past week I've kept the TV off and just read all day...and pretty much most of the evening too.  I finished four books in a week, starting with "Livid," which was not a short book, but the latest by Patricia Cornwell and her books read pretty fast.  I'm glad that she is back to writing books that I like again.  She went through a period where I hated what she was doing with the characters I knew so well, but it's the "old Patricia Cornwell" and I was happy to read her book.

Then I've been seeing ads for the upcoming movie, "Spoiler Alert," which is about a gay guy who dies (actually the full title of the book is "Spoiler Alert: the Hero Dies.")  Another not short book, but riveting.  You'd think a 300 page book about a guy dying of cancer would be boring, but the author paints such a wonderful picture of their relationship, their ups an downs, and the fight to save his husband's life that it was an easy all-day read.

Melissa Gilbert's "Back to the Prairie" was not what I expected--nothing about filming "Little House on the Prairie" but her tale of adjusting to middle age, her latest marriage and the home they renovated was interesting, as was Kelly Ripa's "Live Wire," though that, too, was not what I expected it to be...still enjoyable.

I wanted to read something "special" for my 50th book so I've decided to read Alec Clayton's latest book, "The Back Side of Nowhere." Alec is a friend...I met him and his wife through Steve Schalchlin...and I believe this is his 9th book.  He's a good writer, but the novels he writes aren't the kind that I normally read so I've only read a couple of them, but Alec's book seemed to be appropriate to end my 50 books.  I have almost a whole month to read it at leisure!

Holidailies

 Someone made a comment that she had been looking for me, since Funny t he World is not being published right now and that she had even checked Holidailies. I had completely forgotten about Holidailies.  

The group started in the early 2000s and I think I participated in the 2nd or 3rd year and every year since then. I look forward to it each year.

In Holidailies, bloggers sign up and promise to write a blog entry a day for the entire month.  It's a no brainer for me since I've been writing a daily blog since 2000 but it was fun to be part of the list of people who are trying to get blogs written for December.

Over  the years, I have come  to enjoy several blogs that I don't normally read during the year.  Blogs like Chaos Attraction, which I enjoy very much but which frustrates me every year because I almost always have something to say about what she has written, but her blog does not allow comments.

I also look forward to Bozoette, whose blog I used to read all the time, but who now does not blog daily, so I don't think to look for her. This is a blogger I have met.  After years of commenting on each other's blog, when I was going to be in Washington, DC we made arrangements to meet for lunch, the two of us and our husbands.  It was like meeting someone I'd known for years and we had a wonderful time.  So it's nice to see her blogs on Holidailies.

Nebulopathy is a blog I enjoy in December and she is one of the few who occasionally leaves messages on my entries.  Somehow I never think to check her out once December has passed.

Margaret DeAngeles is an excellent writer who doesn't necessarily post every day in December, but I always enjoy her posts.

There used to be a lot more participants in Holidailies and it was always fun to see familiar names and to see new ones.  I posted my first three entries yesterday to keep up with what had already been posted, and I will continue to post daily now  through December.  It's sad that I can't post as Funny the World.  I hope that by next year I will have figured out a way to get the program for creating FTW posts again and will be back to posting on my own page.

Sunday Stealing

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Stolen from Queen of Memes

1. What do men really want in a woman?

Good lord, I don't know.  I think it depends on the man.

2. Should marijuana be legalized?

Very definitely.  More people are killed in drunk driving accidents and shootings than marijuana and marijuana is often the only thing that will help pain in someone undergoing chemo or some other medical treatment.  It's silly that it's not legalized (though now I guess it is)

3. Why did the cow jump over the moon?

to get away from the cheese makers.

4. What do women really want in a man?

See answer to #1

5. When you are having a really good day, what usually makes it good?

These days it's something good on TV

6. What can make your good day turn into a bad day?

Aa phone call letting me know that someone else I love has died.

7. If you could "start from scratch" and turn back the clock for a re-do, what would you re-do?

I would revisit the night Paul died.  He came here to borrow some tool from Walt and since I had spoken to him on the phone in the afternoon, I didn't go outside to see him.  A few hours later he was dead.  I"m sorry that I didn't see him to get a feeling for his state.

8. Do you make a list when you go grocery shopping?

No.  I haven't gone grocery shopping in a very long time, but I almost never made a list unless I was cooking something special that I'd never made before and needed to have the recipe with me.

9. Do you buy more groceries when you're hungry?

Very definitely.  More junk food.

10. Coupons. Use 'em?

Almost never.

11. Have you ever complained to the manager of your grocery store?

I have both complained and complimented.  I figure if you're going to be vocal about something that upsets you, you should also be vocal about things that make you feel good.

12. Do you like to buy groceries at huge chain stores like WalMart? Or do you shop exclusively at food stores?

Occasionally I'll buy food at Target (never go to WalMart) but mostly it's at chain stores.

13. What do you typically have for lunch?

A sandwich and some fruit.

14. If you work outside your home, do you pack your lunch?

Don't work at a job, but when I did I almost never packed my lunch.

15. Tell us about your last lunch date and what made it special.

It was several months ago, meeting my friend Char at our favorite restaurant, where we can share crab salad sandwiches.  She lives about 100 miles away, so these lunches are always very special.  The only time I have a chance to have "girl talk."

Saturday 9

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9
questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions!

Saturday 9: Broken-Hearted Girl (2009)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Beyonce admits her feelings for a man she doesn't want to love. Do you believe we can choose who we love? Or does the heart go its own way?

Probably depends.  I could mention people who love both ways.

2) In the video for this song, Beyonce plays with a red rose. Florists report that the most popular colors of roses are: red, white or ivory, yellow, pink, peach or orange, and lavender or purple. Do you have a favorite?

I love red and yellow roses, but I don't like them if they come from a florist and have no rose odor.  My boss grew lavender roses that smelled wonderful.

3) The video was filmed in Malibu. Southern California is a popular vacation destination. Have you ever visited there? Have you ever lived there?

I have never lived in Southern California, but I was born and raised in San Francisco and have been to many places in S. California.  My son lives in Santa Barbara.

4) When Beyonce was just 12, she appeared on the show Star Search as part of a vocal group called Girls Tyme. The girls lost, but Beyonce said the experience taught her that she wanted to be a performer for the rest of her life. Share a memory from your own junior high years.

Well, I never went to junior high--the catholic schools went from 1-8 and 9-12.  I loved high school and there are so many memories!  I loved working on the yearbook for 4 years and I think it encouraged me to become a writer.

5) As a girl, she helped her hairstylist mom by sweeping hair at the salon. Do you have a hair appointment coming up?

No.  Marta has been cutting my hair for about 2 years now.

6) In 2009, when this song was popular, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg unsuccessfully tried to buy Twitter. Elon Musk acquired Twitter last month. What social media sites do you spend the most time on?

Facebook, definitely.  I used to be on Twitter, but am trying to quit it.  I occasionally check Instagram.

7) Also in 2009, Sony sold floppy disks at most retailers. But things change fast in the world of tech and by 2011, Sony quit producing floppy disks altogether. Floppies were replaced by flash drives, which have been replaced by cloud storage services ... Do you still have any floppy disks?

Lots.  I have some that haven't been used, but dozens that have been used and have my life on them!

8) In 2009, Michael Jackson died. Do you have a favorite Michael Jackson song?

I was never a Jackson fan, but I guess "Thriller" because a guy from Davis was in the chorus.

9) Random question -- We're having a Saturday 9 potluck lunch! What will you bring?

Stuffed eggs and/or cookies.

AIDS Day

 December 1 is world AIDS day.  When AIDS was first identified, you rarely heard of it other than there was some gay cancer that was killing homosexuals.  Then Rock Hudson came out with it in 1985 and President Ronald Reagan finally mentioned it.  We've gone from awareness, to watching hundreds/thousands of wonderful people die of the disease, to being afraid to be near anyone with it, to the possibility of meds, to meds that seem to work and now nobody thinks of it as an automatic death threat any more.

I met my friend Steve Schalchlin in 1999 when his musical, "The Last Session" was finishing its run in Los Angeles.  I'd been on a discussion group with people who loved this musical.  I got on the list by a woman named Gabi Clayton, whose son was gay and who committed suicide after a gay bashing.

"The Last Session" was ending its run in LA the weekend that Paul had been scheduled to give his latest monologue and after his death I didn't want to be in Davis on that weekend, so we decided to drive to LA and see the show.  It changed my life.

Steve was dying in 1996 and started a blog to keep people apprised of his health (he's listed as the 5th person to have a journal on the internet).  As the meds he was taking began to keep him alive, his following grew, he wrote the musical with his partner Jim Brochu.  I met him a few weeks after we saw the show.  We had a lunch that lasted 3 hours and he became one of my best friends.  I traveled with him when he gave speeches about living with AIDS.

He is now on a medication that works.  He and Jim live in New York (so I haven't seen hm in years) and he's working part time as a musician, while continuing to write new music, having learned the guitar (fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a rock star). 

When December 1 rolls around, I think of the people I know who have lost their lives to AIDS, like Arthur Conrad, John Gilkerson and others from the Lamplighters, and friends we have known in Davis, and I am so grateful that Steve is still alive and doing so well.  I love him.

So very sad

 We got word today that my cousin Peach's youngest daughter, Karen, died  this morning. She was somewhat older than our kids.  Peach and her husband have been gone for several years.  I see Karen on Facebook from time to time and was shocked to learn of her death. Apparently she was sick at Thanksgiving and went to the ER, thinking she had COVID but they diagnosed acute leukemia and pneumonia, neither of which responded to medication.

Though her mother was my best friend in the family, I didn't see Karen all that much thru her life.  I know she had lots of problems.  I remember making her wedding cake and she and her first husband took one of our foster dogs and loved that dog to bits.

Later tonight I learned of the worsening of a friend who has Parkinsons and is going to have to be moved from where she lives to somewhere closer to a hospital or facility, as her symptoms are only going to get worse.  A lot of decisions for her family, who are scattered throughout the country.

It seems like this year has been filled with people dying and/or being sick--or both  It makes me even more grateful that I am recovering f rom my surgery.

Karen is on the right in this photo.  She looks so much like her mother.  She also has a sister and a brother.