Weekends

Well, here it is Sunday, and MSW & I are doing what we often do on Sunday – he is playing his computer game (taking over various universes – it is some space thing, not an on-line thing) and I am surfing, answering e-mail, sending e-mail, IMing w/G2, radio surfing (yes, children, plain old-over-the-public-airwaves-analog radio) and when I tire of regular radio, hotting up the iTunes and surfing the dance mix channels, reading my friends blogs, posting comments occasionally to same, and doing laundry. I have a jones to hear the new Pink tune (U & Ur Hand) but is anyone playing it – noooooooooooo! I have to make do with Infernal and Keen on Disco – cool tune, but I like Paris to Berlin better!!!

The laundry thing may need a bit of explaining. We got up early today cause MSW was out of shirts and britches. No prob, you say. A couple of loads & voila – clean clothes. Yes, Virginia, if you have a dryer – which we at present, do not. The washing part is easy – we do have our own washer back, after it was shamefully abandoned for 6 years in the storage unit – but no dryer yet. See, MSW bought the washer when he moved in with me (Bill’s house on Academy in B) and we didn’t need a dryer, because he fixed me up the dearest, cutest, neato-frito-ist clothesline you have ever seen on the deck. Then we moved, to an apartment with doors so small it is amazing some of the RESIDENTS could go through them, not to mention our washer, so we had to use the on-site laundry room, which was a drag, but we had the balcony of the folks above us for my beloved clothesline. At this point, you, dear reader, are wondering “Why this thing with clotheslines???” To which I answer, THE SMELL. I love the way clothes that have been air dried SMELL. Like spring, like summer, like fall, like winter (with the occasional hints of pollen, mown grass, mouldering leaves, and wood smoke associated with said seasons as added spice) and always fresh – without that nasty fake fresh smell that I associate with fabric softeners and dryer sheets. I just can’t stand most of those smells, and when MSW told me he loathes them, well that was music to my ears.

In addition, there is the fact that I dress like a large person – by this, I mean the caftans. Yes, the caftans. Now, as you all know, I am not exactly baby Huey, but I am not exactly sylph-like either – sort of in between most of the time – zaftig, cushy- call it what you will. So, I like to be comfy, and since it is almost always summer here, and hot, I like caftans because they don’t bind, and they let air circulate!!! I am ALL about air circulation in the summertime!!! Plus, for those of us who are somewhat plus size, we can at least PRETEND to be willowy and graceful!!! We can even manage it betimes, if the wind is not sirocco style! This is but one reason why I prefer air-drying my clothes – the caftans come out much nicer than if tumble-dried. The wrinkles drop out, they look almost pressed, and they smell wonderful! Better, the same applies to MSW’s shirts – since he wears mostly Hawaiian flowery shirts, which are 100% cotton, they dry very nicely outside! Works pretty good on dress shirts too – if you are among those who do not have either the funds or the patience to do the commercial laundry thing. (MSW was cured of THAT by the military – he developed a marked dislike of starch, and while he learned how to do his own ironing to those strict specifications [again, lack of the vital l’argent] it is not an experience he is eager to repeat on a weekly basis – EVER again!! He only irons if he is going to a formal function, where wrinkles would be remarked upon!! Moreover, that only if the remarkee will be his Mother!)

However, to address today’s laundry conundrum: it is winter. While we all know that cold air carries less moisture than warm, and therefore that one can actually dry clothes out-of-doors, even in the winter. My friends up north will pooh-pooh Texas winters and rightly so. Nevertheless, when it is below 70 , well folks, it is cold!!! While I love the privacy provided by our enclosed patio, I realize that this seriously compromises the airflow – thus making it more difficult to dry clothes outside – summer and winter! Summer should be easier, since the heat alone is usually enough to do the trick, but you have to be careful in high humidity – not to leave them out too long or they can start to take up moisture, especially if you leave them out as the sun sets and the temperature drops. Since it is winter, however, and only getting up into the 60’s, the lack of airflow presents serious problems – which have to be overcome by the use of a fan – thus defeating the other advantage of air drying: low cost!! I mean, for those of us in warmer climes, I have never understood why everyone acts as if clotheslines never existed!! Yes, it can be a pain, but outdoor drying saves energy, uses energy otherwise going to waste, and if you’re a fitness minded person, well, my children, fewer exercises are more efficient for toning upper arms than hanging up on a clothesline-and then taking them down! And sheets!! Such a pain to fold, except when dried on a clothesline!! Already matched at the corners, straight and easy to fold while standing in the yard, into the basket ready to go into the linen closet! Now, I will admit that I prefer towels dried in the dryer, all fluffy and soft – but if the towel themselves are all cotton, air drying them means they are only a bit squashed – but they fit in the linen closet better! So, while it was a nice day to wash, I could only do 2 loads, cause that is all the room we have on our clothesline, and plus, I had to have the fan running so that the would actually stand a chance of drying by nightfall, since there was a bit of a breeze, but it has to be WINDY to be felt inside our enclosure!! *Sigh.*

And that has been our day. So far!

I Am A Cataloger!!

Today, I became an official cataloger –évidemment, sans papiers– but I have 5 records in the OCLC (Description from the website: "Founded in 1967, OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world's information and reducing information costs. More than 57,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories around the world use OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend and preserve library materials." http://www.oclc.org/about/default.htm) database! After being on the job for a week, I posted five records – one for every day of the previous week. That is especially good when you consider that for one whole day of last week, I was in the requisite orientation meetings. Then I lost another day to the internal orientation (which was very interesting and informative, actually) and the traditional computer difficulties, although those only amounted to about 3 hours, which is good when you think about it. All in all, it was a good first week – and the 2nd bids fair to be even better! Woohoo!

Now, since I spent 4 years as a part-time student worker in my department, I should have SOME familiarity with the system, how it works, and what cataloging entails. But I must extend my profound thanks to cataloger par excellence, Marti Brickner, for her unfailingly erudite tuition; Lisa Francis, Karen Siegler, and Karen Cowen for answering innumerable questions and displaying endless patience with me at my most scatterbrained; my fellow students, who are too numerous to mention but who are all remembered; and to Misty Hopper, for filling the office in the corner so well!

On Cookery

(I meant to post this on February 1, when it was written - oops!)

My days as a full-time ‘homemaker’ will soon come to an end. (Those of you who know me should understand the tone of sarcastic irony that accompanies that statement!) I will begin my new/old job this coming Monday, and hooray for that! Money!! Cash!! L’argent!! Huzzah!! But, some thing will be missed, and among those will be cooking.

Yes, I know, you are wondering: cooking? Won’t you have to do that anyway? Aren’t you bored having to figure out what to cook everyday? Isn’t that one of the reasons your first marriage, was, at times, such hell – the bloody constancy of the bloody cookery? Yes, Virginia, indeed, and that last bit especially. So why has it become such a pleasure? Possibly because my sweet W (MSW), unlike husband iteration 1 (HI1, or, HI2) is so easily pleased. A) because he doesn’t have to do it himself (although he does like to, is good at it, and does so rather more frequently than one would suppose), B) because he will eat practically anything, which means I have free reign to browse the cookbooks and experiment, C) because I am older, more patient, and more appreciative of his appreciation. Those are just some of the reasons, but mainly, I guess it is because at bottom I really do like to cook! With HI1, it was what I perceived as the ‘forced’ nature of the task that grated, not the task itself. With HI2, it was a growing annoyance with what I perceived as his perversity – I mean, how could anyone eat the same thing for lunch almost every day of his blooming life?? So, I was an unhappy cook, for a good bit of the time. But I like cooking, and within my own circle of expertise, I am, I must say, bloody good at it.

Last night, we had a bit of fried ham, garlic scalloped potatoes, collard greens, tossed green salad with tomatoes, apple and mushrooms, and cornbread. I don’t know about you, but that is some good eatin’, folks. Like I said, MSW is easily pleased, and the ease of being able to offer up a nice big pot of pinto beans and cornbread on a regular basis is not something that can be overstated. Or a big pot of blackeyes and cornbread. Or the quick and dirty version of King Ranch Chicken. Or chili-cheese dogs with tatertots!