The Television Chronicles Part 2.....Plus

I solved the television dilemma. I took the second new TV back and bought an old TV off Craig's List. Wooohooo! $125 for a Sony Trinitron HDTV (with stand and Sony receiver and VHS [what's that?] and a DVD player) that isn't quite so blurry as the other two new expensive TVs. Now, you should know that my son wept upon hearing this decision. "You mean we're going to have a FAT TV?" the young man said and I laughed wickedly and shouted YES, YES A FAT TV. HAHAHA! and he got teary and said, "How big is it?" and I replied, ONLY 30 INCHES!!!! HAHAHA! and he punched his frustration into the couch and shed a tear realizing that he was NOT going to have a thin, large TV with a sharp picture and TIVO. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not the mom who wants to be playing board games and twenty questions instead of watching American Idol. I am just trying to get through my Direct TV contract as unscathed as possible and that means until September 11, 2011 I cannot do anything that extends my contract.....such as getting an HD box or even TALKING with a Direct TV representative. Every 15 minutes on the phone with a rep from that place adds two years onto your contract. Not really but almost.

Halloween was a little bittersweet this year (yes, I'm writing about Halloween). Every year for 5 or 6 years, the moms walked the kids around the neighborhood. The moms would sip warm Tom and Jerry's (recipe follows) and the kids would run around collecting candy. We have a big neighborhood so it was a couple hour ordeal. But it was fun and there was lots of laughing and waving and hellos. We saw neighbors we hadn't seen in a while and saw scary werewolves and dainty princesses. And our kids were young and carefree and excited. And innocent. This year some of the kids were over Halloween - teenagers! - and some were out of town and it wasn't the same. BUT, mostly it made me aware of life moving on and that the parties and holidays and night times for Jay were changing. It just made me really miss those other times and it made me realize they're over. Not coming back. No more little kid, but soon to be teenager. And moms don't follow their 14 year olds around in a pack like that. Hahaha.

Of course my one consolation is that some people never grow up. Here's B and I, Hairy Potter and Tippy Hedren. Classic movie night. I guess Halloween never dies, the parties just change. I kept running my sewn-on birds into everyone.

Tom and Jerry Recipe.....
Ingredients
3 egg whites
3 egg yolks
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 jigger lukewarm brandy
1 jigger lukewarm rum
hot water, milk or coffee
grated nutmeg
Beat egg whites til stiff froth. Separately beat egg yolks until light in color and then gradually beat in sugar, allspice, cinnamon and cloves. Fold yolk mixture into whites and pour 2 tablespoons of this mixture into each of four 8-ounce mugs. Add 1/2 jigger brandy and 1 jigger dark rum to each mug. Fill mugs with very hot water, milk, or coffee. Stir well and sprinkle the top with grated nutmeg.

After making fun of my son earlier for his TV love, I'll have to brag about him now for his thank you notes. Okay, ONE thank you note.
This is not status quo for him, but I intend to use this as a prototype for Christmas this year. Normally, he writes a simple (sparse) thanks for the gift kind of note, as in Thanks For The Gift is all he writes. This time he elaborated and was surprisingly articulate. It made me proud. If you click on the picture you can read it.

And then, a weird thing....back when I was playing Scrabble, a friend and I were about to finish our game. There were no tiles left and it was my turn. I looked at the tiles and it dawned on me...they were a mixed up spelling of POET! Freak my shit out. It was so cool I had to take a picture of it. And then I had to tell most people I spoke to that entire week. Obviously the weird thing here is not that those four letters could spell poet....the weird thing was my reaction to it. Hahahaha.

This has been a wonderful weekend. We all went to see Unstoppable, which was an okay movie. I bought the 2011 Harkins movie cup so I can get dollar cokes (although I usually have them fill it with water which mostly defeats the purpose) and I'm looking forward to movies galore. I had a great Thanksgiving with a couple days in Phoenix (Coyote game and zoo) and then back to Flagstaff for Thanksgiving dinner and pie. Then pie for breakfast, pie for lunch, and even pie for dinner since. I have a great family, great friends and a great life. I miss my folks but I also know they raised me well and happy. I am surrounded by little wonders every day. And I see them. My son, my B, my running water and my food in my fridge (and by food I mean pie). And then 647 other things and people and memories that keep me going. And I am just so thankful for all of it.

"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man
has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men
have some. "
--Charles Dickens (1812-1870) English novelist

"To be alive, to be able to see, to walk...it's all a miracle. I have
adopted the technique of living life from miracle to miracle."
--Arthur Rubinstein