Cool Cucumber

It’s done; I’ve put up my tree; the Christmas season can begin now. Briana, a friend’s daughter whom I watch on Tuesday nights, was at my house and was very eager to help me put up my tree. She was also intrigued by the crawlspace where the tree is kept year round. (I did not tell her that mice live there year round as well!) We put up the tree and in the process had to move the entire living room around!

I have listened to about 3 hours’ worth of Christmas music, put up the angel chimes, and I got out the Christmas placemat. To give you a taste of the Christmas joy that has filled my home, you are invited on a virtual tour. Go at your own pace, and most of all, enjoy.

First, my lovely tree. I set it up in a corner this year to discourage the dog from knocking it over!

I love this ornament because I made it for my very first Christmas in C/S. A friend and I literally went crazy that year and made all our own ornaments from “scratch,” which really means spending lots and lots of money at Hobby Lobby. Though we are no longer friends now, I wonder every year if she thinks of me when she hangs her ornaments.

This is an example of the kind of ornaments 4th grade teachers get every year. Please don’t do this to your kids’ teachers- think massage gift certificates instead. Picture this one, multiplied by 30 at least, and that’s the Christmas loot I get to haul home every December. The curious thing about teacher ornaments is that whoever creates them usually mixes several themes at once. This one is a snowman, angel, AND a student!

Another example of a classic teacher ornament. I might have loved it, had it not said “A+ Teacher” on it. Do you really think that most teachers want to be reminded of their career on their Christmas trees?

This bear angel was given to me by a friend when I moved out to Colorado. It came from a hip little boutique downtown. I remember the wrapping paper and box so vividly because of the important time in my life. I think it’s my very favorite ornament.

Last but not least, the lovely angel found at the top of my tree. It reminds me of a Cabbage Patch doll for some reason. A sweet kid gave this to me my first year of teaching, and while I’m not really into stuffed animals or even stuffed angels, I find this gal’s smile irresistible.

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Pictured is brother Mark, lovely stepmom Erica, me, dog Sally, and of course, my dog Royal. This was taken on a boat dock near their house where we took the dogs to chase bunnies. They had the time of their lives! Mark and I also had a great time visiting Dad and Erica in Dolores (small, cute town in SW Colorado).

I wish we could have all been in this fantastic photo. I’ll post some more photos later from our trip.

And- I just have to brag that I got my dad to create a blog, upload some photos to flickr, enroll in Blogrolling, and switch to Firefox, all in 2 days. Amazing, eh?

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Ah, I love soup weather. Except for the fact that it doesn’t stay soup weathery very long in Colorado. It’s 57 degrees right now, and I’m NOT teaching this week. Instead I’m making butternut squash soup and listening to music and seeing friends. Oh, the joy!

I think I’m going to take Royal to the dog park now. I can’t miss a perfect day like this!

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Yeah, I know, I hate the gourd family. No one needs to remind me. And I should not be cooking with gourds or admitting that I cook with gourds, or, God forbid, admitting on the Internet that I cook with gourds. But I have an amazing recipe for this butternut squash soup, and just had to cave to create this culinary masterpiece. To document this portion of the soup process, I used my handy Kodak EasyShare C340, a la AliThinks. I just adore her food photos and want to take pictures just like her.

I started with this recipe from the Cooking Bible (best birthday gift ever; thanks, Mom):

Then I sliced the butternut squash. As you can see, they really are quite beautiful, even though they smell like a cross between a gourd and a melon, two hated food families of mine.

After the hour of baking the squash, my house smelled magnificent and cozy. I thought I did such a great job on the baking of the gourds that I might want to wait until tomorrow to actually make the soup portion.

To be continued…

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Three posts in one day- what is going on here? I suppose I just have had a very eventful day.

This morning I came downstairs to find Cleo the cat growling as I came toward her. My first thought was that she was guarding one of her fake mouse toys; not really normal behavior from her.

Yep, you guessed it: she had a real mouse in her mouth. I sort of, uh, panicked. Thought she would drop it if I commanded her to, like a dog might. She didn’t. When my screaming started, she took her prey and ran with it upstairs.

By the time I reached her, she was going crazy, pawing at the small chest of drawers behind my door. I assume that the mouse ran under it and was trapped because Cleo stayed there for quite a while, persisting with vocal agitation. Now, at this point, my parents had just arrived for the day- and according to my mom, “If Cleo wants to take care of this mouse for you, you should just let her.” So while we were at church, the cat stayed intently glued to this dresser….

This evening I got brave and put a mouse trap in the spot where the mouse was supposed to be, just between the wall and the back of the dresser. Several hours later, after checking the mouse trap obsessively, I got up the courage to push the dresser back and find the mouse (presumably dead). No mouse to be found. I don’t know how the little guy escaped me, the cat, AND the mouse trap! I’m assuming he was mortally wounded, the way Cleo had him in her mouth… but he still managed to get away!

There were mouse droppings under the dresser… and I’ve never seen them before in my house, so I’m going to tell myself that this was the lone ranger who ventured out and was made an example so that the others won’t follow. (Shudder… I really don’t like mice… or killing them. Or thinking about mice in my house.)

On the bright side, I kind of had an “I’m an adult moment” when I chose to pull the dresser back. My impulse this morning was to ask Bill (my stepdad) to find and exterminate the mouse for me… ewww, I don’t do these things. But I didn’t ask. Yes, I whined and worried my way through church and lunch out with them, though. Mom gave advice and even laughed about Cleo, the mouse killer, but ultimately when the left this afternoon, I still had to deal with it. There are certain things I’d rather not do (involving dead animals lately), and I am realizing slowly that NO ONE loves to do these tasks. It’s just that the truly mature, strong individuals grit their teeth and do it anyway, then move on. Sometimes these mature, composed individuals have even done the despicable tasks for me (thank you Melissa, Melinda, and Mom!). I’m ready now to be the adult here.

I’ll keep you posted on the mouse hunt.

——————-UPDATE 11/22:——————-

Hooray!
Cleo killed the mouse last night! I shut her out of my bedroom for the night so she could do her work in private, and when I came downstairs this morning there was a little, um, present for me left on the carpet. Cleo slept peacefully above her defeated prey in the armchair, and I told her what a wonderful mouser she’s become. I’m so relieved that the mouse is gone!

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My parents left town this afternoon to return to the farm, and I decided that I really needed to… rest………my…………………eyes. I slept for 2 hours solid on the couch.

I woke up with an odd dizzy feeling and sluggish limbs. My thoughts aren’t very clear, and I feel a little like I’m still dreaming. I feel incredibly indecisive about what to do for the next 2 hours before I head off to church movie night.

I wondered long ago if I was not cut out for naps; I’m still not good at them because I don’t fall asleep easily. My mind doesn’t want to quiet down in the middle of a sunny day. Then it takes me too long to recover from a nap once I’ve taken it.

Any suggestions from napping experts out there?

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted a picture of Cleo, so I thought I’d give you a photo of her acting a little off…

Note: there were no flying insects above this cat as I had initially thought; however, she held this pose for a good half hour while fixated on the ceiling above. This is all the proof I need to show the world that Cleo is a little bit crazy.

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You Are Likely a First Born

At your darkest moments, you feel guilty. At work and school, you do best when you’re researching. When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often. In friendship, you are considerate and compromising. Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking. You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.

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Wasabi peas, of course.

… just had to clear that up. Peace.

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This quiz should help some of you pass the time between now and December 9th!

“As Prince Caspian you are a noble, goodhearted but mischievous scallywag! Fun loving, you are admired for your easy going nature.”

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