And the ride just got wilder. Charles has a 20% (hematologist guesstimate) chance of surviving chemotherapy. He needs a bone marrow transplant, which means a different kind of trip to Houston and MD Anderson.

UPDATE: Yes, I know a lawyer.

UPDATEII: Lyman reminds me that local doctors have a finding from Duke confirming sarcoidosis.

This has been a roller coaster of a month, kids. I'm about whipped.

Yes, kids, I've been in Jackson.

Big Charles (the bird, Charlie, won't go by that name anymore. He prefers Charles, always did, so Little Charles. We all Tennessee Williams in my family), continued to decline. We hiked down an ambulance and went to the local emergency room.

Taking Peg Britton's advice, I didn't leave his side, and found myself at the same hospital he was in before.

Barely known to me, the doctors had been working in his absence, and we have a new diagnosis -- Hodgkins lymphoma, from the Mayo Clinic.

Charles has a rare presentation, where it went straight to the bone, thus the confusion. But it isn't that rare, it's exactly the disease that killed that son of a bitch my grandfather (the one who kept my pretty mother in the cotton field).

I gave the doctors a ton of necessary information, and now we have a treatment protocol. They're happy, and so am I.

I'm back in Jackson on Tuesday.

see more crazy cat pics

What can you do at 4:30 in the morning other than look at silly cat pix? But I had to send this one on to my sister.

I made it to Nancy just in time before her ski trip to have my shaggy hair cut.

So, I'm going to Houston with a sleek haircut and a fast car.

Somebody is emailing from Spain telling me I need to insert a clock on my blog.

"We need to be diferents and creatives."

Look, Hon, I'm going to drive for the first time in Houston in ten or so days, God willing. That's plenty diferents and creatives for me, you know?

Charles is doing okay. His fever came down and he's been resting, but damn if I can get him to take much in the way of fluid. How easily he forgets how lousy he felt Saturday night.

Low fevers and fatigue are symptoms of sarcoidosis. And the Prednisone screws up his sleep, as it does for so many others.

When did you last see a pair of bronzed baby shoes?

These were Lyman's first shoes, dating from 1946.

(I threw mine away. They were bonded to an ashtray base. And chipped around the tops where I'd picked at them as a child.)

As part of my current course of at-home nurse's training, we have a patient presenting loss of energy and appetite, and a fever of 101.2. I gave Tylenol. The ICU nurse said her standard for medication is 101.4, but the nurses in emergency couldn't understand why she hadn't suggested it at about 100.6.

We already have a call in to the primary care physician and a bag packed for emergency if necessary.

Lord, please, help me to remember to put a sweater in the car. The hospital is &*%$#&@! cold.

And hey, send up a prayer or a thought for Peg Britton if you have any to spare.

UPDATE: Peg's son, Dane, 56, died last night, March 18.

What's a little night in the emergency room between friends?

Charles was looking and acting peaked (peke-ed) Saturday evening, so I tapped on the door of the ICU nurse across the street. (Do I have resources, or what? I didn't even think of the nursing director next door.) She was kind enough to come take a look and suggested that he at least needed to go to an after hours clinic.

So Charles and I spent Saturday night in the emergency room. As it turned out, all his results were good, except for his hydration level. A couple of liters of IV fluids and a hefty shot of steroids later, he was asking what was on offer to eat. At 3:30 in the morning.

Then he was bright and bushy-tailed at 9 in the morning while I felt like I'd been run over by a tour bus.

Family values, indeed.

Charles and I have been teaching each other about interdental devices.

I like his Oral B Ultrafloss because it's substantial and rough.

He likes our Doctor's Brushpicks for his bridgework.

Sometimes, it's just not about you or me.

A Ms. E. Carroll wrote an email to me about three weeks ago. She was this pretty girl's mother.

Per her advice, we are going to Houston for an appointment on the 31st of this month.

She found me through this blog. When you get past the garbage, that's what blogging can do.

He didn't see the rheumatologist. Her representative took us aside, and said that after reviewing his file, the doctor couldn't figure out why the doc at CMMC had referred Charles to her. She could see nothing that she could do in her specialty. Seeing her would be a waste of resources.

Of course, she didn't review the file until this morning, so that was a wasted trip.

Except -- listen now -- for lunch at Schimmel's. I haven't tasted food that good since Gabrielle's in New Orleans. Simple food cooked really well. Charles had Cajun shrimp over grits. I had a fried Florentine chicken with cheese sauce, accompanied by exquisite mashed potatoes and speckled butterbeans for $12.95.

I make a lot of mashed potatoes and butterbeans, but believe me, they never taste like those.

So for Charles, Houston is the next destination. There's a specialty clinic for sarcoidosis there associated with the University of Texas Health Science Center.

Good morning, earlybirds.

Here we are at the Cabot Lodge in misty Jackson. (Weather.com shows the rain stopping by 9 a.m.) Lyman and his son stayed here when Lyman's father was in hospital up here.

It's a nice place. The Colombian Supremo coffee you can make by the cup in the bathroom is quite good. But then, it's five on a rainy morning. It would all be good.

There were complimentary cocktails and popcorn in the huge lounge area last night for a couple of hours, ending at 7:30 p.m. Wireless Internet access in the rooms free of charge.

Charles finds the facilities comfortable and easy to navigate.

Dinner last night was take-out Mideastern fare from the Aladdin Mediterranean Grill, located nearby, a few blocks up North State Street and just around the corner on Lakeland Drive. Charles had four lamb chops on a plate with salad and baba ganuj that were plenty tasty, and I had a falafel plate with hummous and salad that was just fine. Dolmas and foul (a fava bean dip) were appetizers. All for about $32, which we considered more than fair.

Checkout here is at noon. We need to decide whether to pack up and be ready to leave from the doctor's office, or return here for a rest before we go. I think we'll leave our things here. I can always leave Charles in the car while I run in and grab our things if he wants to move on.

I've found everyone friendly and helpful here so far.

My brother and I are off to, ahem, Jackson for the night so we can keep an 8:15 a.m. appointment tomorrow with a rheumatologist.

He'll be making further treatment decisions regarding the sarcoidosis.

Le frere is doing quite well considering that he was taken to Jackson presenting symptoms of RENAL FAILURE ::blink::, something I only learned from reading the attending physician's report among the papers in the four (4) manilla envelopes of documentation regarding his case.

Must say, I'm glad I didn't see confirmation that we nearly lost him before now.

His system was shutting down because his platelet count was too low to maintain his body's integrity.

Live and learn, hunh?

Time for a pancake countdown!

How many minutes after I eat a short stack of Betty Crocker recipe pancakes do I have to lie down for a nap?

I estimate 20 max.

Kids, yesterday it was 70 degrees outside. This afternoon it's sleeting.

Charlie has picked his Native American nickname -- "Charlie Big Toes."

UPDATE: And snowing.

I missed my mother-in-law's birthday yesterday. She turned 88. So I called her this morning. Part of the conversation went like this:

MIL: I don't feel 88.

J: How do you know? You've only been 88 one day.

MIL: I see those other people who are 88 and they're old. I mean old and feeble. I know I'm old, and I look old, but I don't feel old.

And she sounded like a 27-year-old. (Though she insists on 18.)

The big brother is doing very well.

At 51, I have finally learned how to cook a good scrambled egg.

Talk about good!

Daube is something of a traditional New Orleans dish. The beef is so richly flavored, I'm convinced that it was cooked just so to make a little beef go a long way.

The satisfaction with the food grew into a sense of fat repletion.

My honey cooked this for the first time this week, giving further good reason to keep coming home.

Diane puts up her menu plan for a month from time to time. I thought I'd offer a simple, quick and tasty dish that would be easy to prepare after a work day. We found the recipe in the Baton Rouge Advocate food page.

PEPPER STEAK

1-1/4 lb. round or sirloin steak, 1 inch thick
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 medium onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (we use fresh garlic + salt)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (we use fresh minced ginger)
2 medium bell peppers, cut into 3/4 inch strips
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 medium tomatoes
salt and pepper

1) Trim fat from beef; cut into 2 x 1 x 1/4 inch strips. Heat oil in large skillet. Add beef and cook, turning frequently, until brown, about 5 minutes.

2) Stir in water, onion, garlic salt and ginger. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 12 to 15 minutes for round steak, or 5 to 8 minutes for sirloin. Add green pepper strips during last 5 minutes of simmering.

3) Cook rice.(Out of order when using standard rice. Recipe calls for instant. Ha!)

4) Blend cornstarch and soy sauce; stir into beef mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.

5) Cut each tomato into eighths and place on beef mixture. Cover; cook over low heat just until tomatoes are heated through, about 3 minutes. Serve with rice.

Makes four servings.

Notes: When we cooked the beef, much water cooked out. Better to use higher heat and brown small batches, but if it should happen to you, drain the beef when cooked, reserve the liquid, then add enough water to make one cup to complete the recipe. Lyman thinks half of onion should be reserved and added at same time as green pepper for crunchiness. Also add more tomatoes, perhaps double, fresh ones especially, if available. If you use canned tomatoes, drain the tomatoes well, reserving the liquid, and use this liquid as you would your water.

Which Beatles song are you? Your Result: Here Comes the Sun   You're an optimistic to the core, and you usually ride out tough times with the future in mind. Winter is your least favorite time of year. Your positive attitude is not overbearing, and others welcome your encouragement.
The Space Between
Hey Jude
Eleanor Rigby
All You Need is Love
Twist and Shout
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite
Yellow Submarine
Which Beatles song are you? Quizzes for MySpace

(Thanks, Tony.)

This page needs some art. So here's a brand new picture of Lucy and Charlie.

He's still trying to convince her to preen his head. Lucy still will have none of it. Dominance, you know.

Something that I'd like to tape is the sound of Charlie surfing the Internet. He has that "blip" down pat.

Every comment I try to leave today is being disallowed for some reason or other.

So, Jordana, I've been reading one of Jonathon Gash's "Lovejoy" novels, and he writes reverentially about the Dulwich Picture Gallery's collection of old masters.

If other readers don't know, Jordana is in London for a goodly stay with her favorite gentleman and four and half children.

Dr. Fooms, Kim's brother, is reading Nero Wolfe novels. Great fun and best done while munching Peanut Butter M&Ms. No milk, though. It puts me right to sleep. (Talk about staid.)

I certainly hope we haven't left anything in Jackson we can't do without, because I don't think I could stand that boring drive a third time this week.

Geez, I've become staid in my second half-century.

UPDATE: Ohhhh. So THAT'S where you adjust the lumbar support for that car seat. That addresses a sore point.

Charles is doing so well that he's coming home.

I'll be taking the G35 tomorrow. My brother says I'll love driving the car. My sister says to remember to stop in Jackson.

I am putting this reference to the National Institutes of Health site for sarcoidosis here for my easy reference. It's comprehensive and succinct.

I'm spending a lot of time here to get a handle on what other people are experiencing.

One sufferer who keeps a blog says "Imagine having the flu every day for a year."

If the doctors can't find a way to arrest Charles' sarcoidosis, it will kill him outright.

I spoke to his doctor tonight. Charles is being pumped with an intravenous steroid. He said he's never seen such an aggressive case. The doc is considering methotrexate, which depresses bone marrow production, where Charles is having problems anyway.

It's a quandary.

Charles needs his service number from the Army to finish his application for VA benefits. His current insurance does not pay for outpatient care and this upcoming therapy will be very expensive. How can I find his service number zippy-like, pronto, chop-chop and quickly?

He has done everything else, but became too sick to continue.

He was in the early waves of draftees in the 60's.

If I fill out and send in an SF180 it might take weeks.

UPDATE: Never mind. I did an evetsrec request after I got enough information out of him.

The doctors in Jackson think the bro's wonky liver numbers are a result of the sarcoidosis, and have concluded the prednisone is not working. They are considering intravenous cyclophosphamide as the next therapy.

My brother is feeling better, but he isn't happy in the hospital in Jackson. I'm not there. The attending ER physician here and Charles said it wasn't necessary.

The ambulance was used for comfortable transport for the 2-1/2 hour drive. It didn't take off speeding and blaring to the ICU.

He was transported so he could be evaluated by the folks up there. They have better facilities and labs than we do here.

They aren't any more efficient, though, and he's some frustrated. A lot of hurry-up-and-wait, which he swore he wouldn't submit to after being in the army.

That's what he gets for swearing.

Charles is on his way to a hospital in Jackson in an ambulance.

He woke up terribly weak today and asked to go to the hospital here. They transferred him up to Jackson because his liver indicators are a mess. No wonder, considering the fistful of pills he takes everyday.

He had to give up the dogs. They've come to live with a family in Vidalia with a big fenced back yard. They're in heaven.

This recipe has about a million calories, but Charles needs them. It's good. I'll try to get some down him tomorrow.

BAKED CATFISH

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds catfish fillets, cut in strips
8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 teaspoons Cajun-style blackened seasoning
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup sliced green onions
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 pound small, peeled shrimp
1/2 cup butter
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of shrimp soup
Cajun seasoning (Tony Chachere’s or other brand)

Sprinkle catfish strips with blackened fish seasoning. Spread catfish with mayonnaise. Place in a shallow dish, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons butter until it begins to sizzle.
Sear the fish strips until golden, turning once. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and arrange fish in a single layer.

In the same skillet, heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Cook and stir mushrooms in butter until golden. Stir in parsley, green onions, and shrimp. Reduce heat to low, and cook until shrimp are pink and tender. Add Cajun seasonioning to taste. Stir in cream of shrimp soup, and blend well. Ladle soup mixture over fish in baking dish.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Hope you never come down with sarcoidosis.

It kicked my brother to the curb again this week. He didn't need hospitalization, but he did need someone in attendance, to get his fluids down and some food into his system, and to tidy and clean and generally make life a little less miserable. He was in no shape to help himself, and he wound up in worse shape than he had to be because he didn't call on me to help sooner.

I can't read minds. Now I know better. Maybe he does, too.

I'm off to attend to family values.

I don't think I ever saw The Animals in performance.

So I was taken aback to watch the video here and find a group of boys so young I'd think twice about loaning them the car keys.

Who knew? Maybe you.

you are lightcyan #E0FFFF

Your dominant hues are green and blue. You're smart and you know it, and want to use your power to help people and relate to others. Even though you tend to battle with yourself, you solve other people's conflicts well. Your saturation level is very low - you have better things to do than jump headfirst into every little project. You make sure your actions are going to really accomplish something before you start because you hate wasting energy making everyone else think you're working. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

(Thanks, Tony.)

He made it!

Charlie is three years old today, toes and all.

I've been painting, and I'm tired, so tonight we're trying Taco Soup.

The recipe I have uses a can of black beans in place of one of the pintos, and that's about all the difference.

So we'll see.

UPDATE: Wouldn't be my first choice with time and energy on my side, but tasty enough for something that can be put together in a quarter of an hour. Beats fast food anyday.

Lucy had another egg yesterday morning.

Charlie has a birthday tomorrow. He'll be three years old, if he doesn't die from being kept overnight in the back bedroom away from paint fumes and out of the center of attention.

From commenter austinexpat at The New Republic's blog, The Plank:

By choosing to cast his campaign as a "movement", Obama may be jeopardizing his ability to act as a "mere politician" if that turns out to be necessary. "Forget everything I said about Hillary Clinton being part of the problem, and go vote for her"? How many of those people shouting "YES WE CAN!" on cue are going to be ready to hear that message? When you've promised them a ticket to Paradise, how many people are willing to accept Sheboygan as an alternate destination? (My italics.)

I read Douglas Coupland's The Gum Thief during the past week.

I found his writing fun, full of unexpected turns of phrase and fresh observations.

The epistolary structure of the novel was perfect for a blog reader.

There's an egg for Lucy tonight.

I've long thought there would have been no place for me in Lyman's life had he a daughter.

What birds choose to talk about.

While Charlie was confined to his cage he would often walk upside down from the top. That gave me an opportunity to play with his toes.

Now a new and often heard phrase here is "I got toes."

Another observation is that candidates sound an awful lot like parrots.

I watched most of the debate last night between Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama.

I have to wonder if Obama adopts that arrogant "teacher's pet" pose around Michelle Obama often. My guess is no. It makes me want to thump him.

Hillary looks good in turquoise jewelry. She carried her own smugness, too. She reminded me of Barbara Walters all evening. Did she watch tapes?

At the end of the evening, as Ms. Clinton began to rise, Mr. Obama pulled her chair away as a gentleman should. That will play well in the south. It does with me.

But I read a comment somewhere that the courtesy underscored her status as a woman and was effectively a putdown.

What's the matter with people? I'm all for handsome, elegant men working the chairs for me.

Happy anniversary, chere!

It's a special kind of face that looks like Magic Johnson, Manuel Noriega and Claudia Schiffer (67%). Must be all the right parts in the right places.

I do have an 83% match with Beyonce Knowles, and I'll take that anyday.

(Thanks, Jordana. Click anywhere on the panel to do your own.)

Radley Balko says that the mild growl against the Time headline (see below) is so much PC.

Let's try another major headline: "External auditors review La Raza finances: Spic and span."

UPDATE: Mr. Balko responds this way. Which is none.

Peg Britton emailed me yesterday evening to tell me she'd just seen Parrots in the Land of Oz on PBS.

So I checked the local Louisiana Public Broadcasting schedule. I woke at 2 a.m. this morning to catch the show. It will air again at 2 a.m. on February 3.

There was a segment on the Australian Eclectus, which is Lucy's close cousin. The show focused on one pair they'd been watching for some time. The female has seven of those handsome green boys servicing her, both sexually and bringing food to the nest during confinement. However, 19 of 24 chicks they've observed were offspring of the same mate.

What she might not know is that he attends four other females, too. Which might explain why he roams a territory of 40 square miles searching for food.

It would seem that Lucy's, ah, sexual proclivities are in order.

There were segments on budgerigars, galahs (finally heard that pronunciation), a few cockatoos (destructive to farm crops), cockatiels, some parrots who survive on the southern coast. The Palm cockatoo rated a long segment because it is the oldest parrot in Australia and uses a tool -- the male uses a stick to beat on the nest. Apparently the female can tell by the sound whether a nest might be worth looking into. Then he sometimes shreds the stick into the nest for nesting materials.

The show was worth an hour in the middle of the night. You might prefer to use a recorder. Thanks, Peg.

Likely true. Can't you hear the snickers in the background?

UPDATE: One of the problems with the headline was the ambiguity of "Obama's Rout." That could mean the rout by Obama or the rout of Obama.

I won't accept that the rarely used "rejiggers" was innocent. It cleverly combines the pejoratives "jig" and "nigger" to describe the result of a racially charged contest in which African-Americans played a large role.

As Mr. Van der Leun suggests, one of the editors was probably feeling his or her oats on Saturday evening. Or do the editors of Time not keep up with the news?

How funny!

Tony Woodlief would be proud of that boy.

Some months back, my brother's doctor revised his diagnosis from histoplasmosis to sarcoidosis. Not before he'd spent $1200 on antifungal medication.

My brother landed in the hospital again this weekend suffering from dehydration and anemia, after several days of fevers and sweats.

Another round now of CT scans and bone marrow tests, with the addition of a GI scope for ulcers -- caused, if they exist, by the prednisone used to treat the sarcoidosis.

Poor guy. He has never been ill before. Prior to all this he'd spent an overnight in the hospital with a broken arm when he was 12 years old. And he is a lousy patient. Big baby.

Gary Farber is upset that more people haven't linked to his posts on Andrew Olmsted.

I was told early by a neighbor to stay out of it. Not regarding Mr. Olmsted, but another mother's son and sister's brother who was at risk.

I need to tame this aloe -- to break it up into separate plants in separate pots. I don't know how to do that properly.

Today, I think I'll try this soup.

UPDATE: Ummm, that's good. Thanks, Chris.

I made a few changes. Since I don't have a slow cooker, I browned the sausage, onions and celery together, added everything else up to the beans, carrots and pasta, then simmered the soup for an hour or so.

Then I added a couple of cups of frozen baby limas beans rather than canned kidneys. After 10 minutes or so, I added the carrots and simmered until done. Then added the precooked pasta.

Lyman wants more carrots, as do I. But it's a keeper, too.

The ongoing search for a good fish taco recipe led to a trial of the recipes here.

Though they were nothing like the catfish tacos at Mainstream Fish House in Dallas, they were crunchy and tasty.

The coleslaw would be interesting as a side with other foods, too. We'll use the tartar sauce for salmon croquettes tomorrow.

Into the "keeper" file with these.

Let's go visit Mike the Tiger.

Hunh. Look at that.

But where is Mike? There he is, silly cat.

Good on Mr. Kucinich.

There are threads of suspicion about the New Hampshire results cropping up on even the most staid of blogs based on contrasts between hand-counted and machine-counted ballots.

If Mr. Kucinich is willing to pay the expense to put those results to test and suspicions to rest, he'll have done a great service during this election cycle.

Of note in the story, however, is Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlon's statement:

Scanlon said his office had received several phone calls since Tuesday, mostly from outside the state, questioning the results. New Hampshire's voting machines are not linked in any way, which Scanlon says reduce the likelihood of tampering with results on a statewide level. Also, the results can be checked against paper ballots.

"I think people from out of state don't completely understand how our process works and they compare it to the system that might exist in Florida or Ohio, where they have had serious problems," he said. "Perhaps the best thing that could happen for us is to have a recount to show the people that ... the votes that were cast on election day were accurately reflected in the results. And I have every confidence that will be the case."

At this hour last Wednesday it was about 31 degrees. Today it is 71.

I'm amused that so-called "progressives" insist that a rich Southern white boy is the only way to go.

Let's pit Michelle Obama against Chrissy at Kevin Drum's site:

Hillary did a lot in changing the perception of First Lady from pottted plant to one who reached out and traveled and promoted the rights of women and children especially. She worked hard on healthcare. (hardwork being a foreign concept to Obama) Her extreme grace under unceasing pressure and criticism from rabid haters on the right and in the press (like Matthews) was remarkable. Now she faces it from rabid unthinking mobs on the left. Ungrateful sob's.

Posted by: Chrissy on January 5, 2008 at 5:20 PM | PERMALINK

All the hoopla about the Iowa caucus, and I don't see one blogger mentioning Michelle Obama.

What a terrific asset to any campaign: south-side Chicago Princeton grad, Harvard law grad, mother of two girls, elegant dresser, and career woman in her own right.

Here she is in an article from Vanity Fair.

If John Edwards insists that he's closer to women, and Hillary insists that she's closer to blacks, Ms. Obama might go ballistic.

Ahem.

I've never had a single thing against Dick Clark. Far as I know, he put together a bunch of teeny-boppers I couldn't understand or follow as a little girl, then went on to another kind of fame.

Tonight, as I watched the ball drop in New York, the old gentleman appeared as though he'd been drug out of the box.

For that, the boomers have to account. It is a new millenium, after all.

We have a problem at home.

Charlie has remembered "Merry Christmas," but no amount of repetition can convince him to try "Happy New Year."

One reason is that the phrase has none of his favorite "k" or "hard c" sounds.

Here is an article about how to say "Happy New Year" in other languages.

Greek looks like a good one for him.

I like the Czech: "Stastny novy rok!"

::sigh::

How odd.

Lucy has another egg this morning.

I think I'll use the fried turkey left over from Monday night to make a variation of white bean chili.

We had a version at Ruby Tuesday's last week that was surprisingly tasty. They use navy beans. It had a good dab of cumin in it, but also something else that created an Indian underflavor. Coriander, maybe?

I've been a pretty good girl this year, so maybe you'll help me out.

What is the name of the song playing in this video found at Tim Blair's?

I haven't heard it in years and I like it.

Charlie is not cooperating this year, so here's a continuation from last year.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

I had a basket in my hand and was standing alone in the long, wide aisle between the frozen food cases when this song came over the speaker.

To be a dancer! It was the perfect time to hoof it up Gene Kelly-style.

Lucy has an egg this morning.

The drive home was pretty good, threatened only by a rain-front that we drove into on the edge of town. It was raining so hard that Lyman pulled off the road. There was no seeing ahead. Of course, plenty of cars bullied on, based on faith I suppose.

When we finally took the curve at Natchez Regional Hospital, we saw two ambulances taking off in that direction.

None of which is as bad as the snowy pile-up in Kansas. That was a nightmare.

I still have nothing for the boys' stockings. We weren't casually shopping at the coast. Unless they wanted a pack or two of #10 flathead bolts, we weren't in a place to buy.

Who is riding his crotch rocket up and down Perdido Beach Boulevard?

Ah, no one. That's the new refrigerator. That can't be right. We'll call GE when we get home.

Now that things are replaced and repaired (more or less) and tidy and clean, it's time for us to leave.

Our condo association is recommending that all owners replace their icemaker lines with braided steel ones to prevent water damage.

So we bought one. When the boy who delivered and installed the fridge turned on the water, the end popped off and the faucet sprayed him, the enclosure and the ceiling. Another trip to Home Depot.

We finally met our next door neighbor down here. We've talked and done business, but have never seen flesh.

This guy is so tall that he can reach up and bounce his fingers on an 8 foot ceiling.

He's from Michigan and married a Mobile girl. And he has dimples.

Into every life a little rain must fall ...

I decided to go with strap chair replacements on the balcony. These are from Dr. Strap in Florida. They look much better-built than the old chairs from Finkel Furniture, but we'll see how they do.

The old ones were placed here in 1984, but only saw hard use since 2001. Seven years isn't bad for the cost.

And they're comfortable.

Humpf. The refrigerator will come tomorrow morning.

We know they like this part.

Will they like the new stuff?

If everything tocks along as it's going, I'll consider this more than a successful trip. More like an early Christmas present.

The new refrigerator will be delivered tomorrow. It is about the same adequate model we have now, with no bells or whistles other than an icemaker. Maybe hurricanes will stay at bay (say Guantanamo), and this one will last a bit longer.

The new bedspread is in the house. I spent more on it than I like (not $3000), but it's in the right colors and fabric and it's HERE, which counts a lot for a non-shopper like me.

Overall inventory is good. Missing a soup spoon, which I'd guess had a ride in the garbage disposal as so many do. But even so, there are enough. As there are enough plates and bowls and such. Maybe another wine glass or three. The pots lack lids. I'll look for another set of those. And a new notebook for our collection of menus and attractions for guests.

Lyman has fixed the dripping kitchen faucet with the part we ordered from American Standard. He replaced the faulty dimmer switch. We'll fix the odd moisture droop in the popcorn ceiling in the living room today. Did you know that stuff comes in spray cans? Installed two light bulbs in closed ceiling fixtures. Sorry, no can do CFLs in those. There's a discoloration above the showerhead in one bathroom which a can of flat white spray paint will handle. New kick-down door stop.

Chem-Dry will come next Wednesday to clean the traffic areas of the bedrooms and take care of a few small spots on the blue sofa.

So all is well. We'll leave Friday or Saturday for home.

Our snowbirds will arrive from Michigan the weekend after Christmas. They've been with us since 2001. And they're cold.

I've been busy today, preparing for a short inventory trip to the coast which will entail buying a new refrigerator to replace the one we bought about eight years ago. The door has rusted along the gasket at the bottom. I see no way to repair it. We're talking flaking rust here, not the odd orange color. I knew this in May, but staggered through the summer.

I have two new strap chairs for the snowbirds. We'll replace four more on their rental checks. I have a bedspread ordered to replace the one that went missing in the master bedroom sometime in August.

We will leave tomorrow and hope to return on Saturday. Lyman's older son will look after the birds. The younger one will come in on Sunday. I don't have a thing for their stockings yet.

I feel hateful already.

The Louisiana Supreme Court will not hear Glenn Lipsey's appeal.

We drove around looking at Christmas lights last night. Good cheer!

Well I never.

Those dark bumps look to be seeds sprouting, too.

How much is whole turkey selling for in your locale?

I didn't check local whole birds, but smoked turkey necks, used by fat-conscious cooks for seasoning greens and such, are $1.89 a pound at the local market, ten cents less than hamhocks. Heck, raw turkey necks are 99 cents a pound.

That sounds outrageous to me. Of course, $1.99 for hamhocks sounds outrageous to me, too.

Today I'm cooking chicken and dumplings for the first time since September 2005.

I told Lyman then that it would be a long time before I made them again.

Yay!!!

Under certain conditions, the concrete under our carport would "sweat" and become slick as glass. The last time I went down this spring, I did a half-split, which broke the fall but pulled a groin muscle.

A couple of weeks ago, we applied the UCoat It kit that we ordered this summer.

Today is the right kind of day, and the coating works.

UPDATE: Jordana, here is a picture of part of the UCoated carport. On my monitor, the color looks right.

And there we are.

I'd say Sarah's is far more artistic than mine.

UPDATE: Oh, my. Is that ever good. I served it with fresh whipped cream and a couple of Louisiana strawberries.

Thank you, Sarah. And Happy Hanukkah!

For some reason, I own a 10" springform pan, but not a 9". If the recipe weren't layered I'd make do.

Off to Blankenstein's.

UPDATE: Question: If I bake this cheesecake today, and want to serve it Friday, is it all right to refrigerate it in the pan until that morning? This pan is non-stick.

Lucy visits Dr. Debbie today for a trim -- flight feathers, toenails, beak.

And for the first time since, oh, July, Charlie sang "We wish you a merry Christmas" this morning.

Lawyers for defeated sheriff's candidate Glenn Lipsey have filed a "writ of application" with the Louisiana Supreme Court, according to the Concordia Sentinel. The Democrat has more.

Our household has determined to institute turtle soup as a Christmas dinner dish. Michael asked for it for his birthday this past weekend.

I hope we can find more turtle for Christmas.

This Friday we hold the Christmas luncheon for the adults in the family. The menu is simple this year: boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce, green salad, shrimp sauce piquant(Creole) with rice, garlic bread and chocolate layered cheesecake with whipped cream. Sarah has a picture of the cheesecake at her place today. I found the recipe through her. Happy birthday, Mr. G!

I know that's two shrimp dishes, but Lyman's family loves shrimp, and anyone (including restaurants) would be proud to serve the sauce piquant from this book.

The family would only be happier if we'd fry some shrimp, too.

UPDATE: Hmmm, better change that "adults in the family." How about "parents in the family"?

Oh no! I was hoping LSU would play a nice, comfortable bowl game.

Now the Tigers will play Ohio State for the National Championship.

Sorta makes you homesick, don't it, Scott?

(Thanks, Mr. Reynolds.)

Your Score: Poppy Seeds

You scored 75% intoxication, 25% hotness, 50% complexity, and 75% craziness!

You are Poppy Seeds! You seem innocent enough, but you're dangerous. You sneak up on people with your seductive ways, hiding in plain sight. When you grow to your full potential, those who really get to know you just can't leave you alone - they're hooked for life.

Link: The Which Spice Are You Test written by jodiesattva on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Mmmm, kolaches.

(Thanks, Tony.)

I'm picking out pecans this morning. I plan to make the recipe here.

They've been through a mechanical cracker, but they're small and some were missed.

These lazy, selfish parrots could be a lot of help here. But nooooo...

UPDATE: I think that we can increase the seasonings for household tastes. Otherwise a good holiday addition. Thank you, Diane.