Let Them Eat...Fish?

I've decided to learn to like fish before our trip to Norway. Attempt #1:

I trust Trader Joe's. This picture was appealing, so I plunked down the eight dollars for this package even though the thought of eating salmon makes me uneasy.

I realized when the timer sounded, that I have never in my life cooked myself a piece of fish and I wasn't sure if it was done, so I gave it extra oven time.

The sauce and vegetables were really good, but didn't last as long as the fish. They ran out about two thirds of the way through the meal, leaving just a slab of undisguised salmon.

I hit a wall before the last few bites, and resorted to cheese and cracker supplements to hide (uh, enhance?) the flavor.

For distraction:

Mission accomplished. I ate it all. It'll be that much easier next time.

I hear the train a'comin'
It's rolling 'round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine
Since I don't know when.
I'm stuck at Camp Maranatha,
And time keeps draggin' on....

I didn't take any before pictures because it was just a little too sad. There are a few things, like the pine needle that was shellacked into the tile, that I can't do much about, but the rest of the bathroom is shaping up.

More Desert Magic

The Tates came over for dinner on Sunday. Highlights? Lucy ate two and a half servings of berry applesauce after dinner, and Bowden found a nook in which to stand.

It Takes Me Too Long To Pick Out Paper Towels!

It just does. It's ridiculous. I don't want just plain white, but I don't want hot pink hibiscus or cartoon penguins wearing scarves either. What's so hard about, like, ivy?

Oh, This Mountain...

This is a picture of Angelica disposing of mouse carcass #2. I went into work very late on Friday because I found mouse droppings on my kitchen counter. I moved everything in the area and sanitized like mad. I rewashed dishes as I wistfully longed for the less disgusting moldy windowsills and flat hair of beach living. That night around 10:00, I went to the kitchen, reached for a canister on the counter and jumped when a mouse ran right beneath my hands and under the rack full of clean dishes. I pounded on the sink's rim and it ran back out and behind the washer and dryer- filthy beast. I hit the button on the dryer in the hope of scaring it far, far away and let it run for a few minutes while I stood hating wildlife. I opened the cupboards under the sink to check the traps that Keith had set before I moved in, and jumped again when I saw carcass #1 bloated and still. I shut the doors, unwilling to think about it anymore, took a long shower, then went to bed. The next day, still feeling a little traumatized by this proximity to filth and betrayed by cracks and crevices of my home, I asked Josh to do me a solid and get rid of #1. He did my dirty work and loaned me camp's electro-shock-I-pity-da-mouse-who-gets-near-this!!! trap.
After hanging out at the Tates' a few hours after work, the Barrs and I headed over to my place to check the trap and, sure enough, there was #2. Angelica wanted to look at it, which bought her the honor of chucking it outside. After that unpleasantness, we spent about twenty minutes eating mentos and taking goofy pictures, then went to bed.

Our town's Christmas tree is no longer lit, but Christmas lights stay up and burn year round.
It makes evening walks into town very enjoyable.

Friday

Bobby D. and I sorted through this mountain of old bread and made croutons.

Happy Birthday Josh!!!!!

Try enjoying it, huh?

Really, Winnie Cooper? This Is Your Life Now?

So you're smart, you like math, and you want young girls to realize that they don't have to wear pocket protectors and taped glasses in order to do well in school. You've taken some time off from posing in your underwear to dust off your protractor. But a book including horoscopes and featuring a section called "do you still have a crush on him?" This is frighteningly convoluted.

I Ran Down To The Desert Last Night,

and found great joy in ditching my boots.

Can I get Some Oohs And Ahhs?

Okay, so this slightly-too-small Roman shade doesn't fix the peeling paint, the rusted, misaligned hinges or the partially cinder block wall, but I had to use a power drill to install it, and it is much better than this:

The Castaic Richards sent party favors home for Bowden and Lucy, but the Cars tattoos were enjoyed by all. Perhaps more than is normal or socially acceptable. You can ask Sarah about that one.

The snow suddenly started to pile up on Sunday morning, so I frantically packed and bolted. What kind of aunt would I be if I allowed the snow to stop me from attending my nephew's fifth birthday party? Mom, don't freak out, I was going under 25 when I took these (yikes- I can feel her glare). I got out just before the roads got sketchy.

The house was packed to the gills, as Jen's friends keep having more and more children, the party grows a little every year. I couldn't get close enough to the piñata to take any pictures, but we sure did enjoy the noise makers after everyone cleared out.

There was pizza galore, so Jen Made a post-party delivery to the neighbors.

I spent Sunday night and was around long enough on Monday for coffee and Polyphonic Spree chat with Jim and to teach Ethan the secret of the finger trap. I had been online all morning checking road conditions and worrying about not having chains the right size for my car. I left at about 1:30 trying to find them at a few stores in Upland on the way. When my first few stops were unsuccessful, I started to think that I'd chance it... until I noticed the sky toward Idyllwild.

I couldn't picture any automotive stores along the rest of my route because I don't usually notice those places. I was counting on Banning to be the kind of town in which a car parts store would be proudly and prominently freeway-visible.

Pay dirt!

I didn't need the chains after all, but I'm glad to have them for when I do. And all of that running around wasting time allowed for these views along the 243 (I pulled over and parked Ma!).