Dexter

On my way home from Thanksgiving in Santa Barbara with Deb, I stopped at BFD's house. I had a second Thanksgiving with her family and then everyone left and it was was like old times with just the two of us and leftover food. When we were growing up in the same city, we started the tradition of spending the day after Thanksgiving together. We'd alternate houses and spend the Friday talking, reading, laughing and noshing on leftover turkey and stuffing. So spending the evening with her was just like old times. And now we have wine.

She has Showtime and so we watched an episode of Dexter. BFD filled me in on the plot. It is a strange show about a serial killer who works for the police department as a forensic expert. He only kills really, really bad people who have escaped justice. I just can't decide if I like him or not. I do like the actor who plays Dexter. Michael C. Hall was also in Six Feet Under. Interestingly enough, in both shows the dead father speaks to his son from beyond. The full episodes of Dexter are available online so I may watch a few more before I decide if I'll be a fan.

Food Coma

The bad news is, it did rain pretty much throughout the day on our Wednesday Thanksgiving. The good news is Deb's friends helped move the grill under the overhang and so we got the grilled fish. With about 15 of Deb's friends, we enjoyed wine, salmon and all the other white trash, carb-filled sides. We had mashed potatoes, spoon corn bread, stuffing, and green bean casserole. We also had steamed broccoli to bring a little balance. To be fair, the stuffing had no butter and we use 1/2 the soup and twice the beans in the green bean casserole. The salmon has a great zin sauce and is grilled so that's probably pretty healthy. The mashed potatoes do have butter but are made with 2% milk.

The company brings dessert and we had pumpkin cheese cake, gingerbread men, orange glazed cinnamon rolls, and pumpkin pie w/ ice cream. And of course, there was a lot of good wine. We ate and drank late into the night. On Thanksgiving day we stayed in and ate leftovers. We were very thankful for good food and good friends.

It Never Rains In California

After twenty seven years in Las Vegas, I'd almost forgotten how it can rain in sunny Southern California. It started yesterday evening and it hasn't stopped yet. I don't think it intends to stop until late tonight. That puts a bit of a damper on our plans to BBQ salmon for our party this afternoon. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the rain lets up just enough to get the fish grilled but may have to bake it instead. But with the delicious Zin sauce we have for it, I'm sure it will still taste great.

The good news is we have plenty of wine and we can stay indoors all day!

Turning Up The Heat

Yesterday, for the first time in the season, I turned on the heater. At my house, typically, the heat goes on on Halloween night but our weather has been unseasonably warm and I haven't been cold in the house. Yesterday, I put the heat on for about 15 minutes in the evening just to take the chill off. Then it was off again until this morning. I set the temperature very low overnight because I don't like the air to be too warm. I like to be all cozy under the covers while breathing the cooler air. Toward this end, I also put the flannel sheets on the bed. From now on, I'll probably jump up about 15 minutes early, dial the temperature up and then hop back into bed until the house warms up a bit. No, I don't have a programmable thermostat and, yes, I know I should get one.

My Advice For The Day

If an email you're sending to me includes the phrase, "I'm not trying to be provocative," then you should rethink what you're writing to me; 1)You probably are being provocative, 2)You probably know it and 3)You come across as a total jerk. If you decide not to take my advice, you'll learn soon enough that I won't be your champion next time you need support from me. Seriously, people, before you trash other people, take a look at yourself.

I'm Free!

This is the first of several Wednesday afternoons I am taking off from work between now and Christmas. I asked for the time to ostensibly get some things done for the holidays. HA HA. So today I should be getting some shopping done to have everything ready for next eek when I go to Deb's for Thanksgiving. But, hey, there's still several days left before I leave. It wouldn't be a vacation if I wasn't running around at the last minute gathering up everything I need. And then forgetting some things and having to shop for them at Deb's.

So I'll probably just go have a nice lunch and then go collect my $10 gift in penny slot play from the Green Valley Station. I do need to get the kitty some food and pick out a space heater for my bathroom. If you have any suggestions for other fun things you can add them here. I may not do them this Wednesday but I have 3 more coming up soon.

Cartoon Commentary and Lazy Post

I don't have much time to post today so thought I'd just share. I got a big group of political cartoons today in email. Here are the four I liked the best.

Contest

verbatim highlighted Prizey today and so I went over there and entered a contest for some free soap. There are lots of giveaways you might find interesting. For the soap, you just have to add a comment stating what bars of Nebraska Sunset Soap you would choose if you win. The contest is sponsored by Chocolate Fingerprints.

My Day

We had Veteran's Day off from work and so I spent my day doing a variety of activities. First I went to play penny slots and won a few dollars. My new favorite game is Star Trek. The game designers are getting pretty fancy. The players have a login and so the game keeps a history. I've accumulated 129 medals which allows me to play different levels of games. It's intriguing. After my penny adventures, I used my points to have the breakfast buffet. I had some eggs, bacon and biscuits. I sat for awhile drinking my coffee and reading a new mystery book.

After breakfast I headed to Kohl's. I don't usually shop at Kohl's but I had a 30% discount coupon and they were having a sale. I wanted to get a supply of socks since it is getting cold and I'll have to start wearing closed toed shoes soon. I got nice assortment of socks and then headed to William Sonoma to use my birthday gift certificate. I found a potato ricer which I've wanted for a long time. This Thanksgiving the mashed potatoes will be extra special.

This afternoon, I went to the library to stock up on books on tape. I've decided I'm done listening to the radio while driving since the news is almost always depressing.

This evening I used another coupon to get $10 off my dinner at the Oyster Bar. I had a great Caesar salad and some shrimp scampi. I brought a lot of the scampi home and I'll have a nice dinner tomorrow. I came home and walked a mile and a half on the treadmill. While I walked, I listen to some chapters of Falling Angels, the Tracy Chevalier book I'm currently 'reading'. I rested up and then loaded the dishwasher, fed the cat and then sat down to write this post. Now you're all caught up.

Tomorrow I head to Reno for the day to attend a retirement party. I wish it were mine.

Fix This Barack!

Vote for the changes you want. Or submit your own ideas.
Some of the current favorites:

Repeal the Patriot Act entirely
...And start fresh, without the snap-judgement
1911 points by anonymous 4 days ago 7 comments 2.

Seriously Invest In Alternate Fuels
1831 points by anonymous 4 days ago 15 comments 3.

Get out of Iraq
Please, get us out of there
1726 points by wallywest 4 days ago 5 comments 4.


Restore Habeas Corpus (en.wikipedia.org)
1200 points by anonymous 3 days ago comment 5.


Stop the drug war
1415 points by SurferGurl 4 days ago 9 comments 6.


Stop having the NSA listen to Americans without a warrent
1336 points by anonymous 4 days ago 5 comments 7.

Affirm net neutrality in law
1226 points by anonymous 4 days ago 3 comments 8.

Good Read: Proposition Hate

Jake writes a great post on Proposition Hate

Bittersweet Victory

I'm still elated that Barack Obama is our President Elect but at the same time, as my daughter pointed out, it is bittersweet that in a country that overcame bigotry and hateful campaigning to elect our first African American president, several states continue to discriminate against their citizens by banning gay marriage. Californians voted to allow minors to get abortions without parental consent. They voted to make sure the animals we raise for meals are afforded enough room in their cages to turn around. And then they voted to make sure two people of the same sex not be allowed to proclaim their love and live together in marriage. That is just so sad. The campaign spread fear and lies, telling people schools would teach all children about same sex marriage and churches would be forced to marry same sex couples. Never mind that any parent can refuse to allow their own child to participate in sex education classes and churches all over this country currently refuse to marry couples as they please.

The final insult is the claim that same sex marriage will some how destroy the sanctity of heterosexual marriages. Here's a news flash: the only person responsible for the sanctity of your marriage is YOU. Have you looked at heterosexual marriage statistics lately? Over 50% end in divorce and that happened long before same sex couples started getting married. There are heterosexuals who cheat on their spouses. Is that hurting the sanctity of your marriage? I didn't think so.

I find it so hard to believe that many people are still afraid of people different than themselves.

It's A Great Day For America

I am so proud to be an American. Congratulations President Obama. And, oh yeah, I predicted this! Read it here. I didn't really think it would happen in 2008 but I'm glad it did. I think this is a good thing for America and will be the beginning of a new era in our country and in the world. Yes We Can!

Besides the fact that my candidate won, there were a couple of other cool things about this. First of all, of course, is the fact that I witnessed a transforming, historic event in my lifetime. Secondly, I heard the news from Jon Stewart, one of my favorite people. And thirdly, I heard the news long before my bedtime. I can go to sleep tonight and dream some dreams of changes.

P.S. Look how incredibly accurate 538 was. Next time around I think I'll just take their word for it and skip chewing my fingernails while watching the returns.

Finally!

Tomorrow is the big day and I will be so happy when it is over. I know I'll be glued to election results but I have done a pretty good job of avoiding advertisements, phone calls, radio and TV news about the election and about our lousy economy. I've posted only a few pro Obama entries and I've joined a support group where we all agree on who we will vote for. That has eliminated a lot of stress.

Books on tape have helped a lot. NPR couldn't stop talking about the election or the economy and I had to discontinue listening to them on the way to and from work. Instead I listened to several books, my favorite being Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier who also wrote Girl With a Pearl Earring. I enjoyed GWAPE (the book and the movie) but I think I liked BB better. It is set in the late 1700s and is about a Dorset family that moves to London in an attempt to put a family tragedy behind them. William Blake is a neighbor who moves in and out of their lives as they try to adapt to life in the city. Chevalier does an excellent job at historical fiction and I was captivated.

Of course you would already know this if you were my friend on Goodreads. You'd also be able to discover that I'm currently reading Falling Angels also by Tracy Chevalier. This story is about families in London in the early 1900s and takes place just after the death of Queen Victoria.

Another diversion has been exploring some new TV shows. One that may become a favorite is The Big Bang Theory. Though the characters seem a bit immature to me for being college professors and I worry the premise of nerds living next to an attractive, bright young woman might end up as a one trick pony, so far it's been amusing. Another show I'm watching is Samantha Who about a woman who suffers amnesia as a result of being hit by a car. The premise is she was a mean and hateful person in her past but now is the new improved Samantha. Again, the concept might get old quickly but I have to say I just love Christina Applegate in this role so I'll be watching.

So you see, I've kept myself distracted from the election as much as I can. But I don't know if I can sleep well until we have a new president. And though I promise not to leave the country if Obama loses, if he does lose I'll be so sad to be living in a country where more than 1/2 the people think Sarah Palin is qualified to be the Vice President. So please, country, don't let me down. Because you know Barack Obama is never gonna let you down.