My little corner of the world

Right now, Nathan is laying flat on his back in the living room floor. He just drank a large glass of water and is jiggling his belly with his hands so we can hear the sound of liquid sloshing around his innards. Meanwhile, Matthew is standing over him, waving a small U.S. flag, while Nathan sings a made-up song, “All Hail America.”

Ummm, yeah. Somebody please tell me what normal is, ’cause it sure can’t be found in this house.

Well, we finally did it. We had talked about it for a long time. Michael had been pushing me to do this for ages, but I was always hesitant. Change? CHANGE? I was raised Lutheran, and Lutherans don’t believe in change. :) Why change when what we have is perfectly fine?

Well, OK, so things are not so perfectly fine. Let me explain: I’ve enjoyed a nice long 7-year relationship with my trusty hp pavilion computer. I’ve guided it past the horrors of pre-installed Windows ME (shudder!), one failed hard drive, and the shock of finding out how ridiculously expensive it was to max out the memory (’RDRAM costs HOW much? AND it has to be installed in PAIRS?!’). I think it’s held together well to be a dinosaur of a desktop. Michael has been using it for his photography business for the past couple of years, but it was starting to get really temperamental. The video card had been spazzing for a while and although I’m no hardware expert, it sure was acting like my old Dell when the motherboard started to die.

So, we sucked it up and bought a replacement.

No, not another hp. Not a Dell. Not a Sony. Not even that sweet Alienware ALX machine I’ve been drooling over.

We bought… a Mac.

With the exception of the old Macintosh we used when I was on the high school newspaper staff years ago, Windows is all I’ve ever known. Michael (being a photographer, graphic designer, and general artsy-fartsy type) has worked on Macs for ages. I probably would have agreed to it sooner if I hadn’t picked on my brother-in-law for years for being an ‘applegeek’. You know, ‘turnabout is fair play’ and all that. I grudgingly gave my blessing, to which Michael so graciously replied, ‘Now *I* will get to show *you* how to do stuff on the computer.’ Yeah, you can guess how well that was received.

When I got over the initial non-conforming nerdiness of the whole situation (as if I’m not all dorky enough already), I started to get a wee bit excited about the thing. OK, ok, I admit, I was checking ups.com every hour for tracking updates.

Long story short, the thing is here and I’m having fun playing with all kind of cool stuff. I have officially been bit by the Apple bug. I already am thinking about how long it will take me to save the money to buy a MacBook - as if we really need another computer in this house. But that way we won’t have to share, and Michael can stop complaining about me hogging his new ‘puter. :)

My friend Becky sent me one of those neat emails where you share some (hopefully) little known facts about yourself with your friends, and I thought I’d get a kick out of sharing my stuff here. So without further ado, I present… Four Things About Me.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Hardee’s - cashier
2. Winn-Dixie deli/bakery
3. U-Save Auto Rental - office manager
4. Computer Software Innovations - Professional nerd. :)

Four places I have lived:
1. Michigan
2. South Carolina
3. State of Confusion
4. State of Grace

Four places I have been:
1. Mexico City, Mexico
2. Lake Michigan
3. Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4. Washington, D.C.

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Roasted asparagus with prosciutto
2. Stewed apples
3. Shrimp & grits
4. Stonyfield Farm vanilla yogurt with fresh pineapple

Four Places I’d Rather Be:
1. The mountains
2. The mountains
3. The mountains
4. The mountains

Now, it’s your turn. Leave me a comment and let me know some interesting things about you!

Last week Michael was fussing at Matt for something or another – I can’t remember what – but here’s the funny ending to the conversation:

Michael: Give me your laptop.

Matt: Mom already took it away.

Michael: Well, give me your cell phone then.

Matt: Mom has that, too.

Michael: Well, what do you have left that hasn’t been taken away??!!

Matt: Nothing!

Me (from another room): the iPod.

Matt: Noooooooooooooooo!!!

But the band’s show this year is still awesome. It’s called “United We Stand: A Civil War Chronicle” and is a great musical representation of that period in our country’s history. Check it out:

We’re in the midst of a little heat wave.  Last week, the high temperatures ranged from a cool 96, to three straight days of 102.  And that’s not even factoring in the humidity.  It’s rough when you get blasted by 80 degree temps first thing in the morning when you head to work.  And that’s at 6:45 in the morning, people!

There’s an old saying that in August, the only thing separating South Carolina from Hades is a screen door.

‘Nuff said.

Well, *was* a cripple, actually. I’m feeling much, much better now. If you haven’t heard, I had a little accident a few Sundays ago. I’m completely to blame. I had just made it home from my weekly Publix run on one of the HOTTEST Sunday afternoons EVER. I was worried about getting all the cold stuff out of the trunk and into the fridge/freezer, and yelled at Nathan to come help. Well, he didn’t move quick enough to suit me, so I just started grabbing bags and putting them in the house, right by the back door. And can you guess what happened next? I was in such a hurry, I managed to skip a step (I think - the details are a bit fuzzy) and found myself lying on the concrete floor. Both my ankles felt like they were on fire. Needless to say, “ouch.” Nathan did come to my rescue - eventually - and I hobbled around for a while until I couldn’t take it any more.

I’m sure you’re wondering, where was Michael during all this? In the dugout of the Greenville Drive stadium taking pictures, of course. I tried to brave it out, but I had to break down and call him during the 2nd inning. Can you believe the man was home in less than 30 minues?? Dude needs to learn to drive slower, but I digress. We took a nice little trip to the Urgent Care, where it took three hours and four x-rays to proclaim that no, it was not broken but merely sprained. They wrapped it up, gave me a splint and a pair of crutches, and sent me on my way.

Note the lovely wrappings. I am so glad I had a pedicure the week before. At least my toes didn’t look nasty.

Anyway, I have absolute, complete sympathy for anybody on a pair of crutches. I walked like a drunken sailor for the first couple of days. My arms ACHED. It seemed my arms hurt worse with the crutches than my ankles without. Taking a shower was a serious chore. But at least I had my cute little ceramic bell, which I used to summon Nathan anytime I needed something like a glass of water, a sandwich, or anything else that struck my fancy. I’ll bet the poor kid was wishing school was back in session after the first few hours of nursing me.

One day, after I got up for something, Pemberton decided to take over the pillows used for ankle elevation:

He was SO not happy when I told him to move. He glared at me, and I wasn’t even in the mood to argue with him… so we compromised, and shared the pillow for a little while.

Thank heavens for my parents who came and cooked supper all that week for us, and Nathan who waited on me hand and foot, despite hating on the little ceramic bell.

Now, a few weeks removed from “The Incident”, I’ve healed up quite nicely. The splint and wraps are gone. For the first time since the accident, I even wore (small-ish) heels to church today. My ankles still can feel a little twingey at times, especially if they get turned a certain way. On stairs I am still a little tentative - but all in all, it’s been an interesting (and humbling) experience.

Now… where is that bell of mine? “Oh Nathan….”

First it was the stove. Now, the cold shadow of death has moved outside: our poor pitiful mower - Snapper, early 60’s (we think) flavor - has gone to the great meadow in the sky. Michael so hated cutting the yard (about a 1 1/2 hour job on that old thing) that he paid the kids good money to do it for him. And if you thought our old-school stove was retro-looking, just wait until you see this beauty:

Note the lovely steering wheel! “Oh.. but it’s not a wheel,” you say. Right you are! It looks more like a twisted coat hanger on steroids.

Speaking of coat hangers, do you see in the picture above how the gas tank is lovingly hand-wired to the frame? Don’t laugh - that took some mad skilz. The ol’ Snapper didn’t even have a brake. You had to pop it out of gear to get it to stop. The seat was uncomfortable. And the 26-ish inch cutting deck did not lend itself to a ‘quick mow around the yard.’ Backfires were common. And if it ever cut off in the middle of a job, well don’t think you could crank it right back up. No sirree, you need to let that thing sit to cool down before you crank it. Crank it, that is, by yanking on a cord until you pull your arm out of your socket. And I’m not even going to talk about the smell. :)

And now, without further ado, I give you: A Lawnmower That Cost The Same As A Semi-Decent Used Car:

Amazingly similar to a used car, our lovely new Cub Cadet sports:

• An automatic transmission
• Cruise control (!!)
• Lug nuts on the rear wheels
• Headlights
• 6-way adjustable seat
• And last but not least… a cupholder.

See the mower. See the new owner. See the new owner on the mower. See the new owner HAPPILY cutting the grass. :)

And yes… the boys no longer will be in charge of landscaping.

Well, Pemberton has been at it again. Muffin is being persecuted. Pembie just stands there right beside her with his head all cocked to one side while she’s sprawled out on her back. I don’t know about you, but to me that sure doesn’t sound like a very good defensive position. She tries to swipe at Pembie, but ’cause she’s on her back, all she can manage is a little ineffective wriggle (hehee).

Dear sarcastic husband remarked, “That’s right, Muffin. You’d be a great military mascot. Way to be so fearsome by laying down to fight.”

On our way home from our vacation, we stopped at a little peach stand just north of Aiken. I was really surprised to see they had peaches available, since we had heard that the state’s peach crop was lost because of the late frost back in the spring. Betcha didn’t know that, on average, South Carolina produces more peaches than Georgia.

Anyway, I digress. I decided to make me a good old-fashioned peach pie. YUM!! Michael helped me peel and slice all the peaches - you go, honey! - and how is he rewarded? By not even getting one lil’ ol’ bite of that awesome pie. Yup, chicka here took it to work and ate a slice for breakfast(!) the next morning, before sharing with my co-workers. Not one slice was left over. Poor Michael. I’ll have to make him another pie.

Beth’s Peach Pie

• Double pie crust (either make your own or use a refrigerated one)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 6 cups sliced peeled peaches
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place one of the crusts in the bottom of a 9″ pie plate. Brush with some of the beaten egg - this will keep it from getting soggy. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add the peaches and fold gently until well combined. Pour into the pie pan and dot with butter. Add the top crust (I did a lattice-top), crimp the sides, and brush with more of the beaten egg. Cut some slits in the top crust to let steam escape (this is not necessary if making a lattice-top crust). Bake for 10 minutes at 450, then reduce heat to 350 and cook for another 30-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let it sit for at least one hour (two if you can stand it) before serving so the filling will set. Be patient and you will be rewarded with a beautifully set, yummy pie. :)