Ahem.

I seem to have been absent from here for some time. Not that I was ever very diligent, but four months is rather a long time.

But.

Oh, the but.

But I found a job! And then a stray cat found us! And, most importantly, we've found a house!!!

It isn't everything that I hoped for. I know that. And when I show you the picture in just a minute (or should I say "show you in just a few inches"? Is a blog measured in Time or Space?), you'll think "Oh." Like when a friend has an ugly sweater that she's just knitted herself and you say "Oh! Look at THAT!" very brightly. That kind of "oh".

But it's ours! And it's wooded and private and feels like you're in the country but the New York Times is only a five minute drive away! And we can do whatever we want/can afford to do to it.

We close on Monday morning at 10 am. The final walkthrough is at 8:30, and I'll get to go inside, leave my purse on the counter, and know that I'll be back for it soon.

You Never Really Get to Stop Dating

I have decided two Very Important Things:

1. I hate grad school
2. I hate being only minimally employed

So I have spent the past few weeks job hunting. Like, hardcore job hunting. I am on the prowl.

Today I received an email from one of the places that I applied. I read it several times and was very pleased by what I was reading. But I didn't want to get too excited for no reason, so I called my friend Jess (at work. Jess has a real job),

Me: Jess, you're HR, right?
Jess: Yeah....
Me: Awesome. Listen to this email I got and tell me what you think it means.
[I read email to Jess over the phone. Twice. Jess asks a few questions, like when do you email them, how did they close the letter, have you called, etc.]
Me: So? What does it mean?
Jess: I think it means they like you and want to go out with you.

Even though I am happily settled wit my McNASA, it seems that job interviews are my new dates.

I Heart Beer

Not true, actually. But you wouldn't know it by tonight's menu:

Beer & cheddar bread
Beer mustard marinated chicken
Brussel sprouts

and, of course

beer


Mmmm. We'll be tipsy by seven. Hooray!

You Win This Round, Dolly Parton

Just heard back from Guest Services at



Thank you for your interest in Dollywood. We're sorry but Dollywood is no longer available for guests’ weddings; however, there are several chapels in the area that would be happy to send you information. For chapels in the Pigeon Forge area, you can contact the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism at 1(800)251-9100 and for chapels in the Gatlinburg area, you can contact the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce at 1(800)822-1998. They will gladly assist you.


Blah, blah, blah.

There go all of my childhood wedding dreams. Damn it. I was so excited, too, because getting married at Dollywood would certainly limit the number of guests we'd have to worry about.

Now what?

Blueprint's Swan Song

I went on a magazine-ordering rampage last September, subscribing to Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appetite, Architectural Digest, Everyday Food, and Blueprint, which was a new creation of the Martha Stewart Empire.

As I read over that list it's very easy to track my passions: gorgeous food and gorgeous homes. Anyway...

I love most of these magazines. It is a wonderful feeling to finish your work for the day and be able to curl up on the sofa, mug of tea beside you, and slowly leaf through these glossy catalogues of wish fulfillment. Because that is what they are, at least to me. Do I really believe that I am going to wake up one morning and think, "today is the day that I am going to make Fennel and Carrot Slaw with Olive Dressing"?

Do I?

Actually, part of me does think that. A piece of me believes that there will come a time when the universe aligns just so, when all the elements of my life dance a harmonious rhumba, when my beautiful kitchen is replete with every possible convenience, and I will be a gourmet chef.

To some extent, every magazine I read fills this purpose. Architectural Digest lets me believe that one day I will live in a showcase, Everyday Food lets me believe that someday I can be organized enough to plan a month's-worth of menus at a go.

The only magazine that fell short was Blueprint. Even the pictures were ugly: cluttered and tacky, and nothing like what I expect from Martha (TM). And just as I was preparing to cancel my subscription, Martha & Co. realized the same thing. And so they absorbed the good parts into other magazines, and let Blueprint fade away.

Instead, as I found out yesterday, the are sending me Martha Stewart Living for the remainder of my subscription.

I haven't had time to really sit down and enjoy them (yes, them. I received February and March ON THE SAME DAY!), but they look oh so promising.

Thanks, Martha.

Everybody Needs a Hobby

For several months I have been kicking around the idea of finding a hobby. I love to bake, but that always results in something that needs to be eaten. My mother cross-stitched when I was little, and now she hooks rugs. I like the methodical motions involved in cross-stich, but not the finished products. I like all of the wools that my mother can collect for her rugs, but, again, I am not a fan of the finished products.

If I combine methodical stitching and multiple fabrics, what do I get?? QUILTING!!

So I am going to attempt to teach myself how to quilt. In my head I see things that I would like to make into quilts, so hopefully this is a hobby that will keep me interested for a long time.

P.S. The Object of My Affection

I shouldn't look for houses until we're ready to actually buy (late Spring! I can't wait!!), because I find beautiful places like this and can't do anything about it.



And from the side




In theory I know that our houses don't create the life we live, but how could someone ever be unhappy in such a beautiful home? I grew up in a 70's era development, and have always dreamed of owning something half this beautiful.

Please, PLEASE still be for sale in May!!!!

Guests

Next weekend, McNASA and I will have our first true weekend guests. I am very excited but nervous. We rarely had guests in our home when I was a child, and NEVER anyone who would stay for the entire weekend, so I get antsy and overzealous when I plan what to do and how to host them.

If I had all of the money I could ever want (and my 7 bedroom Victorian), I would want a guestroom that looked like this



That just looks and feels restful to me. Unfortunately, we don't have the budget or the space to make that happen yet. However, our friends have offered us a futon, and McNASA is more than happy to rearrange the room that he uses as a makeshift studio so that our friends can have their own space while they're here. I am going to post some before and after photos, and see how close I got to making a restful, welcoming room.

Balance

Things That Make Me Happy

-65 degree weather in February
-the cat stalking the birds via the giant window
-the knowledge that there is a 7 bedroom Victorian for sale in our price range
-Zeke's coffee, on its way!

Things That Make Me Sad

-homework
-dirty kitchen
-lapsed cleaning schedule
-not living in aforementioned Victorian

Dietary Guidelines

Kate, at Hillside Cottage, posted these fascinating dietary guidelines from the late 30's-early 40's. As a HUGE fan of real food, these guidelines are something I can follow! Thanks Kate!

MILK: 1 quart daily for each child, 1 pint for each adult
VEGETABLES AND FRUITS: 41/2 to 5 or more servings per person daily, 1 serving daily of potatoes, 1 serving daily of tomatoes or citrus fruits, 1 serving daily of leafy green or yellow vegetables, 3 to 5 servings per week of other vegetables, 1 serving daily of fruit
EGGS: 2 to 3 a week for adults, 4 to 5 for young children, a few for cooking
MEAT, FISH OR POULTRY: About 5 times a week or daily if prepared in combination with cereals or vegetables
CEREALS: Daily, preferably at least half made from whole grains
BREAD AND BUTTER OR ALTERNATIVE: At every meal

CALORIES:
Daily Requirements:
Man, moderately active 3000 cal.
Woman, moderately active 2500 cal.
Child 1-6 years 1200-1600
6 to 12 years 1600-2500
Girl 12-15 years 2800
Girl 15-20 years 2400
Boy 12-15 years 3200
Boy 15-20 years 3800

Tiny Pinecones and Toasty Kitty

The Only Way to Mop

After trial and error, I conclude that the best way to clean my floors appears to be on my hands and knees with a bucket and a bundle of rags.

I know that it sounds miserable. Every time I do this, I am reminded of Father Tim's horror when he sees Puny doing the same thing. I'll admit that it isn't especially easy on the knees, but the method gets the floor clean without streaks, and it's quick: with the proper tools, I can speed through my kitchen/dining room combo in about twenty minutes.

You need lots of rags. I like them because they're hearty and reusable. McNASA and I tend to be pretty gentle on clothes, so instead of making rags I buy washcloths at Target. They're the cheap ones (a bundle of twelve for three dollars) and they come in pretty colors.

You also need a bucket of warm water and an all-purpose cleaner. I'm partial to Caldrea because they smell lovely, work well, and don't leave a residue. Right now I'm on a bottle of Citrus Mint Ylang-Ylang and it smells like minted lemonade.

Dump some of the cleaner into the water (1/4 cup to 1 gallon) and stir it around. Using one cloth at a time, soak it in the mixture, then scrub the floor with it. When you're ready for more water, set the used rag aside and get a fresh one. If you never put a dirty rag back into the bucket, your wash water stays clean!

An Old Fashioned Girl

"'Things worry me sometimes, but I just catch up a broom and sweep, or wash hard, or walk, or go at something with all my might, and I usually find that by the time I get through the worry is gone, or I've got courage enough to bear it without grumbling,' answered Polly, cutting the brown loaf energetically."

- An Old Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott

Scenes from Southwesternburgh

Since It Seems I Will Never Work Again...

I am never going to have a real job again.

I have been out of work since the school year ended in June and it is now January. I have fretted, sighed, applied, and suffered. Now I accept the painful truth that my new job is going to be housekeeper.

So on this cloudy, open-window-warm Monday, I have a To-Do list.

- mop the downstairs
- laundry
- change sheets
- clean bathroom
- vacuum bedroom
- bake something

In my head I am formulating a rant about how my mother NEVER taught me how to do any of those things and now McNASA and I are suffering the consequences. It's coming. I swear.

And Now I Breathe

And I exhale.

Three months of 14 credits worth of grad classes, weekly 500 mile commutes, and extensive travelling by McNASA have come to a close. I finally feel as though I can breathe. Nothing hanging over my head, no legal-pad sized to-do lists, no more dinner from a can!

So what now? So much was left undone while we were gallivanting across the Eastern Seaboard. Laundry has piled up, dust has built colonies under the radiators, and I don't remember the las time I cleaned the bathroom. Thanks be that Christmas is not at our house this year!

I have tried the FlyLady program, but I am afraid that I couldn't stomach the tchotcky aspect of it all. Cutesy names for dusting and videos of shined sinks set to music do not inspire me to tidy my "Hot Zones". What follows is a list of steps from my pick for bastion of homemaking, Anna at Pleasant View Schoolhouse:


Simple Guidelines for Deep Cleaning One Room at a Time:

•Deep breath.
•Put away everything that's out of place, throw away trash.
•Do anything that's going to make a mess, like trimming plants.
•Collect loose items and set them outside the door so they're not in the way.
•Can anything go in the laundry (curtains, rugs), or dishwasher? Do it.
•Dust walls and ceiling with a long duster. Dust everything else within reach with a microfiber cloth. Wipe baseboards and quarter-rounds.
•Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.
•Vacuum upholstered furniture.
•Get a bucket of hot, soapy, fragrant water. Wipe everything that needs it--edges of floors where the mop doesn't get, light switches, any painted walls with fingerprints or smears. Then use bucket to:
•Mop the floor.
•Polish furniture with lemon oil.
•Clean mirrors and glass.
•Put everything back.

Number one room for me? The living room, where McNASA and I camp out whenever we're here together. Then the bathroom, then the kitchen.

After a quick lunch of clementines with walnuts, stilton cheese, and balsamic vinegar (seriously, trust me it's great), I am going to try and put this place back together.

Oy.

Homesickness

Things that I Miss About Baltimore

1. The Red Canoe
2. Zeke's Coffee
3. Belvedere Market
4. The Farmer's Market
5. Golden West's breakfast creation the Bismark (essentially fried dough folded over and filled with blueberries. Oh. Man.)
6. The beautiful houses in Roland Park
7. The Charles Theatre
8. The Urbanite

Right now, I miss the Urbanite the most. If I had any technical saavy, or friends with technical skills, I would start my own similar magazine about Pittsburgh. Because Pittsburgh seems like it might be a cool little city. NOT as cool as Baltimore, mind you, because nothing could be, but nice in its own right.

Oh, imaginary readers...do YOU know how to start a magazine?

Is there such a thing as a rubber glove fairy?

This morning I went outside to smoke my cigarette and there, behind the "butt bucket", were two sets of rubber gloves and a Ziploc baggie of...um...frankly, I have no idea what it was. Cuttle? Dog treats? Small bricks of hash? Does hash even exist any more?

I sent McNASA a photo of it, asking if he'd stashed something quickly. The answer is no. So now I am left to wonder what in the hell is being hidden on my side porch. And to wonder who thought it was smart to hide something next to an ashtray.

NPR rules, even with lower standards

Heard during an NPR story about flu vaccines: "perhaps there are just more really old people". This makes me laugh. "Really old people" seems so out of place on Morning Edition. Bob Edwards would have NEVER let that happen.

Truly Awesome

While making my weekly pilgrimage from Southwesternburgh to Baltimore, I passed the greatest thing ever: a nun driving an RV. It looked like a mobile STD testing station (and, since it appeared to be on its way to Baltimore, that makes sense). I texted McNASA and he suggested that it was a mobile convent-- "Get thee to a nunnery...in comfort and style!"

Awesome.