So, what's with this new interface? Let's try an edit.

 If you'd care to watch penguins milling about, try the Penguin Cam. The webcam will operate through April.

Yikes!

I hope my brother and sister and their families are safe.

UPDATE: Affirmed.

I fell off the wagon there for a while, but I'm back to at least three days a week with yoga tapes. While I like yoga classes, my, ah, personal schedule doesn't really accommodate the offered times. It's embarassing to break wind in a gently flowing ladies' class with delicate and soothing music in the background.

And I find that it quiets Charles Gore down of a morning. He likes the music and finds my contortions amusing. I practice on the living room floor.

I do not have a tape of the sun salutation, which is basic practice. I have real problems bringing my feet back and forward in those movements into and out of the lunge pose, and I need to develop the rhythm for the various poses.

Lucy had a bath an hour ago:

Sunday, on an afternoon:

At the back of the lot the other Michael is running over the dirt track for the remote-controlled cars with his daughter's four-wheeler. Libby, our next-door-neighbor's Labrador has decided to follow.

Our son is practicing his electric guitar with his friend in the cabana.

Lyman and I are laying down weed-guard between rows of sturdy Roma tomato plants.

Mostly Cajun has put up a Spelling Test.

I ran across the Fashion-Incubator blog earlier today through Marginal Revolution and can't stop reading. Kathleen Fasanella is in the fashion industry.

Here's a sample.

Here's Kathleen on "monobutt" jeans.

The satsuma trees are blooming and the bees are buzzing busily.

It just crossed my mind.

My stepson has asked me about how to blog. So this is what we're doing.

I'm horrified. The freezer in the storage room went out, and behind it is a skeletonized cat corpse.

Poor baby must have found a warm place to die. It happened during the past eight years. The only mewling I've heard is from these pampered boys.

So, Lyman looked up the recipes and I baked a Devil's food cake with fudge icing, I went to the raised bed and picked six perfect coral tulips, and celebrated my mother-in-law's 92nd birthday. 

I shall have to delete the photo of the nutria in the last post. Nenad Druzic (Neno) sold the photo.

Pierre C. Shadeaux did not see his shadow this morning. South Louisiana will have a long spring.

Had he seen it, summer would come early and hot.

I met Chet the dog yesterday. He's the narrator of Spencer Quinn's The Dog Who Knew Too Much.

Chet's a K-9 reject with an excellent nose and perfect loyalty to Bernie Little. Together they are the Little Detective Agency. Here they find themselves searching for a lost boy, which leads them into all sorts of trouble with crooked lawmen and meth camps.

Chet's a charmer with keen storytelling ability, with the occasional lapse of attention when, say, there's bacon nearby, or a swimming hole.

The book was fun. Probably even better for dog lovers.

And here is Peter Abrahams' website, creator of Spencer Quinn and Chet.

Ahem. Lyman began cleaning out our storage room and found a new set of hinges for the oven. Apparently, a repairman talked us into them in the past.

So he replaced them, but didn't pull the oven out "about six inches" to do the receptacles. So the hinges work, but the oven still didn't close properly.

He bought a ceramic magnet to pull the door closed. It's usable.

I haven't had a period this month. I'm full on menopausal. Temper, temper. No wonder the nutria hides his eyes. That's his forecast for this year.

Probably best to leave the critters out of this. Hard to do when Charles Gore is screeching while I drink my coffee.

Poor Pierre C. Shadeaux is under terrible pressure this year. First the LSU Tigers lost the BCS Championship, then the New Orleans Saints fell out of the playoffs.

Neno has another couple of nice shots of an iguana:

Portrait
Full-length

He looks content.

Great nutria pic.

UPDATE: The photographer, Nenad Druzic of Zagreb, Croatia, has generously given permission for me to use this photo for this year's card.

Nice nutria pic. It's time for Cajun Groundhog Day shortly.

Good thing I'm not superstitious. Today, Friday the 13th, is our 18th wedding anniversary.

We don't have any plans for the day so far. Maybe we should let it slide until next week. Son2 has a birthday on the 18th. We could all celebrate together.

I did talk to the director of the senior swimming program in Natchez. What I didn't know is that the program is available for citizens 50 and up. I've been missing out. She is quite direct and expects me there Monday morning at 8. I'm game.

And this is my email response from Jenn-Air:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Gore:

Thank you for taking the time to contact Jenn-Air. We appreciate hearing from you.

We sincerely apologize for the trouble you have encountered with your Jenn-Air wall oven. As consumers ourselves we can certainly understand your frustration regarding this concern. Unfortunately, due to the age of the unit we are unable to offer any assistance with the impending repair. We will document your comments in our files which are available for review should the need arise.

You are a valued Jenn-Air customer and we apologize for any inconvenience this concern may have caused.

We invite you to contact Jenn-Air again either by calling (800) 536-6247 between 8:00am to 8:00pm (EST) Monday-Friday, or by emailing whenever the need arises. When calling please press the available option or stay on the line to reach a representative.

Sincerely,

Amanda C.
Jenn-Air Senior Specialist
Jenn-Air Customer eXperience Center

I'm still thinking about how to reply. We asked for a set of hinges. Not installation, just the hinges. Maybe I'll just rip it out of the wall and send it back to them. The Viking stovetop bought at the same time works fine. My mother could make a mean pan cornbread on the stove.

I gave them a chance. Repairs to this oven have cost $983.81 to date. Lyman propped the drain stopper for the garbage disposal in the gap between the door and the light punch button so the light doesn't break, too.

The drain is clear.

After our mechanical failures we went the chemical route. Not knowing whether we would need to call a plumber, I started with Roto-Rooter's Build-Up Remover, which is a non-toxic enzyme-based formula. That went a good distance toward speeding things up. Then we went with Liquid Plumber Gel, which knocked the rest of the clog out.

Better, better. Lyman can shave in our bathroom now.

And it was warm enough yesterday to clean a couple more windows.

The season is way too short around here to condense it all into "Spring Cleaning."

That's it. I'm hospitalitied out. My brother came for a plate of ham, corn, black-eye peas, cabbage and hot-water cornbread -- traditional good-luck southern fare.

The holiday season is over, our delightful snowbirds are comfortably ensconced in their winter home at Orange Beach, and I am FREE!

Let's all have a happy new year!

But Lucy likes it out there. It's 72 degrees today:

Ahem. I have already cleaned Charles Gore's cage. He does not want to go outside. Can you tell?:

Now, the next project is the sluggish sink drain in the master bath.

Since lawyers are a lot cheaper than plumbers around here, Lyman has taken that job on. He has disassembled the drain pipes under the sink and found that the clog is somewhere between drains.

Today we are going to try the Clog Buster to clear the drain. I'm sure this will be fun.

We've used one effectively before in the kitchen. That's after a mishap that left us mopping water for half the night.

UPDATE: Nah. That didn't work. Somewhat improved, but....

Time for Roto-Rooter. Unless you have a suggestion.

We tried an auger, but couldn't get it past an elbow not far past the wall.

I have assembled my three receipts and the address to write a letter to Jenn-Air about this disaster of an oven we bought in 2000.

Those receipts are for repair of two control boards and one set of broken hinges. This double oven cost about 2 grand new.

The right hinge on the upper oven has broken again. It was last repaired in July 2009.

What a disappointing (pos) appliance.

UPDATE: The good news is that the hinge broke the day AFTER Christmas. And there is another usable oven.

Better. These are a quick-dry cotton. I like the non-banded look, even if I don't particularly like the hemmed edges. $4 each on sale:

I bought one towel of this kind ($5) that I'm not crazy about. It's large and dries the body well enough but feels flimsy. I'll use it for swimming.

Reviewers with hair do like the towels for wrapping after a wash. And if I had a house full of kids, it might be nice to have affordable towels that dry quickly in the laundry. 

Some years ago we had a discussion here about face cloths, wash cloths, flannels and wash rags. These are obviously "wash rags":

Yes, that ugly beige does match the fixtures in our 1962 bathrooms. Lyman's mother let those pass when she and Lyman's Dad built the house. She doesn't know why she didn't choose white, either.

And no, the cloths in the guest bathroom do not look as though they've been chewed by the birds.

Penney's has a 30-70% off sale in bed and bath until the 31st. Here I come!

My gosh, I'm glad there wasn't a bike under the tree for a youngun at my house. It's been raining nonstop for two days now.

Merry Christmas!

See also The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, and thank you Andrew Sullivan.

We have foul weather today -- chilly and rainy across the state. Stay safe, you travelers.

I finished my running yesterday, thank goodness.

Today is a shopping day for stocking stuffers. I'll go all over town. Pretty fun work.

One of my new swimsuits is this one in the "storm" color.

That crossback makes it easy to get into and out of, and provides support in the pool.

I've never owned a suit this good.

The other is this one in brick red. It's a good-looking suit but not as supportive.

We are home.

I'm glad to be here, but I said "Goodbye" to that pool sadly.

And so ends this day at beautiful Orange Beach:

I left the condo for shopping at 7:15 am. I didn't finish until 3 pm. It wasn't a long list, but I had specs. One place to another until I bought my list.

The swimsuits were a snap. I bought those at Beach Bazaar in Gulf Shores. The nicest and most helpful 19-year-old woman waited on me.

I don't know what I got hold of yesterday, but my eyes were streaming. I rarely have allergic reactions to anything, but something set me off.

Two new things yesterday: microfiber towels and oatmeal soap. I don't have time for that today.

I am taking time today to shop for a new swimsuit here in swimsuit market city. A nice one-piece. The one I have is at least fifteen years old.

UPDATE: Ahem. Maybe two nice one-pieces.

UPDATE II: Has to be the oatmeal soap. Everything else is the same today.

And I am spoiled rotten by this bath-warm salt-water indoor pool.

Today the furniture and carpet cleaners come.

Here's to a new day:

A peaceful vacation, it's not:

He says it's even less peaceful on the scaffold.

That swim was just dandy. The pool house was empty. I could have shriveled all day in a dead man's float in that blessedly warm water.

Ahem. Now on to getting the HVAC fixed. It was chilly last night.

UPDATE: That wasn't so bad. One of the heater sequencers was sticking. That's been replaced.

Now the new front door is being painted. They've had lousy weather here the past couple of weeks.

It's time for a trip to the coast again to prepare for the snowbirds.

That indoor pool sounds really good this week. I hurt all over. This coming February I turn 55, and so can use the pool at the Natchez Senior Center. Never thought I'd look so forward to becoming a senior citizen.

And I let the yoga slide, which was foolish, foolish, foolish. The tape is cued up in the player. All I have to do is turn it on.

I'm taking my brand new Kindle with me. It's an early Christmas present. Isn't that Lyman a sweet boy?

We leave tomorrow morning. I'll be in touch.

The garlic soup went over well. Here is the recipe.

I'm so glad this is over.

What's the menu for next year?

Done. Went off like clockwork: pretty poinsettias, candles on the table, a fire in the grate. A bag of freshly-picked satsumas for the guests, and gingersnaps if desired, then they were gone.

And Lyman says, "You better taste this, you better check that..."

I better move to a single-wide trailer in the woods.

Tonight's recipes: croutons, Bobby Flay's Chipotle Caesar salad dressing (we're doing only the dressing, not the hominy croutons or cheese crisps), and green-chili grit cakes

Today's recipes: gingersnaps and pumpkin chiffon

Ahem. I'm a little behind. (I need a maid the week of this event.) Back to you soon on the cookies.

UPDATE: These gingersnaps are pretty yummy. The orange adds a slight edge of bitterness that might not go over with some folks. Easily left out.

The recipe made just on 4 dozen approx. 2-1/2 inch cookies. Seven minutes didn't get them anywhere in my oven. I settled on 15 minutes.

They're so flavorful I can't eat more than two at a time. And I wish I were serving just these with vanilla ice cream for dessert tomorrow. That would be plenty fine.

If I've heard "What you doing, Sweet Baby?" once in the past few days, I've heard it a thousand times.

Do parents of young children ever have the impulse to say, "It's none of your d**m business, and you can't help anyway"?

I'll be baking gingersnaps this evening:

GINGERSNAPS

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon powdered cardamom
1/2 teaspoon powdered cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup coarsely chopped candied orange peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses, and incorporate well. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture. Mix well, then gently fold in the candied orange peel.

Place dough in the refrigerator until chilled. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, dip the top half of the cookie in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, coating them well. Place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 7 minutes, or until golden brown. Use a spatula to remove the cookies from the sheet and let cool.

Makes 12 to 24 cookies. (Beats me. It's what the recipe says.)

Diane says it's time for cookie exchanges. This is a good cookie that Lyman likes to bake:

OATMEAL PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 12 ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated

In a food processor pulse 1 cup oats until ground fine. In a large bowl stir together ground oats, remaining 1/2 cup whole oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy and beat in vanilla and peanut butter. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and gradually beat in flour mixture. Add chocolate chips and grated chocolate, beating just until combined. Chill cookie dough, covered, at least 2 hours and up to 1 week.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Form rounded tablespoons of dough into balls and arrange about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten balls slightly.

Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven 15 minutes, or until just pale golden.

Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes and transfer to racks to cool completely.

Makes about 60 cookies.

Dr José A Bowen: Hook, Hants, England

Tonight's recipe: bread machine kneaded French bread

UPDATE: When baking these two loaves I used the same trick the authors use in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I put a shallow baking pan on the rack underneath the loaves where I poured a cup of hot water just before closing the oven door.

The crust was much crisper.

Tonight's recipe: Simple Candied Orange Peel

UPDATE: Very good alone with hot tea, would make a nice gift

Why, yes, I did wash windows the day before a downpour. That or play in the water outdoors in 50 degree weather.

Cleaning this house is thankless and hopeless.

"Charles Gore! Quit chucking bird pellets!"

UPDATE: Ahem. I toddled into the 21st century with a $3 purchase of microfiber towels from Family Dollar. These are better than Magic Sponges.

Busy week of the Christmas luncheon.

MENU
Traditional shrimp cocktail
Susan Spicer's garlic soup
Mixed greens with Bobby Flay's chipotle Caesar dressing
Susan Spicer's shrimp with tasso cream over green-chili grit cakes
Pumpkin chiffon with gingersnaps

Off to the store. Not to forget the vitamins.

At least we have decor:

A picture of Lucy always makes the place look better. This was taken today after cleaning her cage:

UPDATE: Lucy says, "Hey, muscle boys, there's more than one kind of champ from LSU."

I took ten dozen freshly cut satsumas to Magnolia House today. We're finally making a dent in the produce from the loaded satsuma tree. That brings the picked count on that tree to 320.

Little guy is no better a sharer than the birds, but cuter about it.

Teddy Bear is a North American porcupine at Zooniversity.

(Thanks, Viral Footage.)

And so the Byzantine Empire comes to a violent end.

Brought to a close largely because of differences between the western and eastern Christian churches. Not to mention the ongoing trade war between Genoa and Venice.

So where to take the reading next?

The Papacy?

Venice?

More Byzantium?

Medieval theological disputes?

Beats me. Time to return these books and see what else my brother has on his shelves.

UPDATE: For kicks, Tony, I found Justinian by Turteltaub for $4 used.

Blogger James Joyner lost his wife early this morning to an unknown cause. She was 41.

Last trip to the library, I picked up Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, written by Egyptologist Dr. Joann Fletcher.

Apparently, there's a resurgence of interest in Cleo. There's a touring exhibit in the US now, focusing on underwater excavations in coastal Egypt.

There's another biography by Stacy Schiff.

What I learned from this book: If you wish to wear your snake arm bracelets in the manner of Ptolemaic and Roman ladies, the one on the right curls up the arm and the one on the left curls down.

And, as I haven't read a lot of Roman history of the period, the Fletcher biography does a good job of elucidating the politics surrounding the death of Julius Caesar and the aftermath.

World history has been charted by a murderous bunch, including Cleopatra VII, Living Isis, Female Horus, the Great One, Lady of the Two Lands.

Can't we just skip all this and go straight to the turkey gumbo Lyman plans for tomorrow?

The boys are fans of the classic green bean casserole.

I'm not. As a compromise, today we're trying Cheddar Green Bean Casserole. I'm sure it will go over well. Son1 will eat boot soles with cheese on them.

Now, I like fried turkey as much as the next Louisianan, but look at these costs:

3 gallons cooking oil $25.00
Refill butane gas $25.00
Injection kit $ 4.00
13 lb. turkey $13.00

Total $67.00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am tempted to try Homesick Texan's recipe for Sweet Potato Salad with Cranberries and Pecans this Thanksgiving.

I registered for the free features of the Financial Times a while ago.

A few days ago the magazine offered a few headlines that might be of interest. I followed one and came upon this odd story about an art forger who creates pieces to donate to museums.

The forger, who sometimes passes himself off as a Jesuit priest, claims that his motivation is to honor his deceased parents. He feels that they weren't suitably recognized in life.

Of course he's southern. We do eccentric.

Reid Stott's granddaughter Cecily revels in "princess power."

Isn't she a hoot?

All right, then. Dessert is settled.

I tried Dave Schuler's recipe for Pumpkin Chiffon Pie. It whips up into a light, fluffy, spicy pumpkin treat. I plan to serve the filling only in dessert glasses. Dave recommends gingersnaps as a garnish.

Anyone have a good gingersnap recipe?

Nix the satsuma tarts. Flat-tasting for my purposes.

I do not like this part of planning the luncheon. I don't even like sweets.

A standard Owari satsuma:

And so Charles isn't jealous because "You put Lucy's picture on the Internet but didn't put mine," here's one of him:

Here's Lucy today:

No headline from today. I use papers our friend G. collects for us.

Here's the crazily generous dwarf satsuma tree:

Here is Lucy last month:

And today is a housekeeping day. I ran across this quote from Phyllis Diller:

Children are allowed to write their names in the dust, just not the year.

No tarts today. I've been bird wrangling, bribing, intimidating and watching.

Once a month, I roll the cages onto the back patio to give them a good cleaning and disinfection with a garden hose and Pet Focus.

Charles is not a cage-bound bird but, like the other Gore boys, he resents any disruption of his fun for something as vulgar as cleaning. It took two hours for him to come out of and off his cage and into the lexan cage (which he happily lived in for years) so I could roll the big wire cage out.

Idiot child, I planned to give it back.

It took half an hour to clean the cage.

Because Lucy is so much more tractable, she spent most of the overcast but warm afternoon outside.

A couple of cats turned up at a safe distance. Their brains must have been working overtime: bird, bird, bird, water, water, bird, water. I said loudly, "I like kitties fine but I ain't never met one that deserved an $800 dinner."

A NOTE: The other day Charles said, "I want a bath. ::snicker, snicker, snicker::"

Birds.

I tried Cleo Coyle's Colonial Cranberries a couple of days ago. Lyman said, "I would not order this twice from a menu."

And I agree. Perhaps as an unusual side dish. So that's that.

But in e-mail we have Satsuma Tarts.

The trees are loaded with fruit just about ripe. The Christmas luncheon is Dec 9 this year, so they will be available.

LSU 9. Alabama 6.

The boy makes a difference.

Look at that.

Yikes. The jury was given the case at midday on Tuesday.

The case.

Check out the second comment:

"Thirty-six of the 45-person jury pool answered a questionnaire that "they believe that Mr. Bordelon is guilty, that public officials who have been indicted are probably guilty "

Uhhh, Mike, 45 of the 45 jurors , if asked, would believe the person guilty because they hired you.
A dubious distinction to be sure, but nonetheless factual.
You're that good.

That's too true. I thought the most prejudicial thing in the courtroom was Mr. Small's appearance there.

On the other hand, Lyman says it's best to have a good lawyer before you tell the Feds more than your name. There are too many traps they can lay which can result in conflicting testimony and perjury charges.

Back to the case, that 16-month delay before the report to the Louisiana Board of Ethics looks funny.

Yesterday was another long, boring day. The selection process continued all day long, most of which we spent waiting. The jury was finally announced at about 4:30.

While it's still running 85 degrees in the afternoon, the courtroom was as cold as a hospital. After the day before, when I'd worn a sleeveless pullover under a heavy cardigan and boat shoes, I wore a wool blazer over a long-sleeved top and ankle boots with heavy socks and was still uncomfortably cool.

The court clerk shuffled the seating arrangement after lunch, and I was moved from my padded armchair to a bare bench. Next to me sat another middle-aged woman who was a deputy clerk of court in another arena that I don't remember. She was much concerned that work was piling up back at the office. Of the three women who work together, she was out for jury duty, and another had called in sick, leaving only one to handle the workload.

When the jury was announced, she quietly, desperately said, "They called my name."

We didn't finish voir dire. I have to go back to Alexandria tomorrow. But I can start in daylight. I report at nine. Starting at seven should get me there with time to spare.

One of the best defense lawyers in the state is defending the accused. If it weren't a daily 150-mile round trip, I'd welcome the chance to watch him work.

The prosecuting attorney is African-American. One of the general questions to jurors was "Have you ever been a juror in a trial. What type of trial was it? What was the outcome?"

One potential juror said, "It was a state trial. A black man raped a white woman. He got off." Won't they call that a strike for cause?

LATER: Lyman says the prosecutor might try, but to remember that the juror thought the defendant was guilty, and that's what a prosecutor wants.

My luck ran out. I report at 8:15 tomorrow morning in Alexandria for jury duty.

Rats.

Oh my. Another oversexed parrot:



Does the parrot look owl-like to you? Around the face? And the shape of his body? The markings on his feathers?

(Thanks, Daily Dish.)

I welcome that. Potential jurors are required to call the evening before their reporting dates for instructions.

The recorded voice told me to call again next Sunday. No drive to Alexandria at the crack of dawn this week.

Oh, my. A film crew is in Natchez. My brother has been cast as a Southern planter in a vampire-zombie film.

How about that for your resume?

I don't understand the culture of "papering" trees, never have. You do know what that is? You fling rolls of toilet paper over the high branches of trees and make a mess of a yard.

That happened last night to the empty house next door. Usually, it's a statement of some sort. "We hate you" or "Whoa, so you're a cheerleader?"

This time, it was what? Pretty much petty vandalism, I'd say.

I walked over and picked the stuff off the ground. Funny thing was, it was not Charmin, but good quality toilet paper. They left the plastic bag in the yard. "Maker's Mark."

I hope this isn't a new advertising scheme.

I have been summoned as a potential juror for the US Western District Court in Louisiana. It meets in Alexandria.

Let me tell you, if I have to wake up several mornings in a row and leave home at 6 to drive a two-lane highway to arrive at 8 am, I can guarantee that someone is guilty. Now whether it's that poor defendant in the dock, I'm not ready to say.

Now that was a fun, jubilant wedding ceremony. First of all, the program was a church fan. It was an outdoor wedding on a glorious autumn day.

First procession was a black gospel choir singing Down by the Riverside.

A more solemn hymn was sung while stragglers were seated, and the bride walked to "Love Me Tender."

Ceremony.

The newly-married couple exited to "O, Happy Day."

The bride's maids were dressed in the same teal color, but in styles flattering to their figures. The bride wore a gorgeous beige dress with train. No veil.

That's what happens when you've been seeing the same guy for seven years and you're 36.

I've never had so much fun at a wedding. But I like black gospel music.