Continued from previous post

I had to change the color of the print for the recipe so it would show against my pretty purple. Now I can read it on the post but it's illegible on my draft so I'm starting over.

Marigoldie has links to several interesting recipes on her blog, especially for any of you vegans out there. Too many to link and post but if you click on the title of the previous post it will take you to marigoldie.blogspot.com. (I checked - it works - sometimes they don't).

Life has been uneventful with this 3 day weekend. Kids have been having sleepovers back and forth. Last night one of the kids (Selena?) came over from across the street and spent the night with Rebecca while Rochelle went for a sleepover with the other (Sabrina?) They are stairstep sisters, the two youngest of at least five, and I never can remember which one is which. I call them all ladies, sugarplum, or hey you. Now they're all running amok back and forth and have added a few more.

I slept until 10 this morning - can't imagine how. Managed to miss the parade. I've been making up for it with some housecleaning and the ever present laundry. Last night I cooked a ham, broccoli, and (store bought) potato salad and have plenty of leftovers for tonight. Tomorrow - school. At least the weather has stayed decent, if chilly.

I cleaned a drawer today - sort of. It's my husband's catchall pile of junk. One hammer, one screwdriver, one pair of pliers. The rest consists of every screw, nail, curtain hook, a few unmatched washers, etc. all thrown in the bottom (along with a couple of sheets of sandpaper). I went on junk (tool) drawer strike some time ago. I had little plastic jars (like prescription containers) for the different categories and even had some of the screws and nails roughly sorted as to size. I don't know if it's a guy thing or just the difference in personalities but it took about a week for them all to find their way home to the bottom of the drawer (where they sat minding their own business until today).

I finally opened it this morning and couldn't stand it. I dumped all the unmatched stuff into a larger plastic container (he can dig through it to his heart's content) washed it out, and it looks neat from a distance at least. I moved the sandpaper and tossed the old used birthday candles and drinking straws along with several expired cereal coupons and other trash. He saves used birthday candles - "you never know when you'll need it". Right honey, what you said. I'll see how long it lasts.

I once went through his side of the bedroom and turned up at least 20 screwdrivers, heaven knows how many pliers, a ball peen hammer we'd been hunting for weeks, and Judge Crater. (google if you're confused; you older readers will know). If I had said Jimmy Hoffa would that have helped or still too much ancient history?

I don't suppose anyone else has a drawer like that? Do packrats invariably marry anal retentives?

Brokeback Mountain - I may have jumped the gun with my Letter to the Editor. Tim (my son) and the theater manager are good friends and he tells me there are only 57 copies for the entire 50 states. I guess we're lucky to be in the geographic center of two of the showings. Fresno and Modesto are both larger than Merced. They're awaiting the Golden Globes before they release any more. The theater manager said her phone has been ringing off the hook. She doesn't want me to cancel the letter though; said the more noise the better. Let's see what happens here after the awards. That may help explain why two of the commenters in the USA haven't been able to see it yet. 57 copies??

Sheri is another Canadian living in Japan who I found through Andrea in Japan. Welcome to Sheri. Eventually the blogroll will catch up and we'll put Julian and Elizabeth over here as well. They share a blog.

I still haven't managed to track Callooh. My fault for not bookmarking her blog when I left a comment (unless she found me some other way). Anyone recognize the name (?) (apart from Lewis Carroll which is all I can find on blog search).

Thanks for all the comments about Elcie and the Honor Roll. Cerebral Palsy is a strange thing; its effects can range from slight to severe and some aren't immediately visible. She's not exactly learning disabled and not retarded; it's a processing problem which will remain with her to some extent. She does fine when she's not rushed - the pressure in the mainstreamed classes did her in. When she's allowed to proceed at her own pace, she has an Honor Roll Certificate to show for it.

Of course the No Child Left Behind yo-yos will probably continue to insist on testing her and Rochelle at grade level and I will continue to ignore the results (or opt out once again). Both of their "disabilities" involve speed of reading and processing and on any timed test covering at least one grade higher than the work they're actually accomplishing, they'll test low. It's such a crock.

It's unusual for me to be writing in the middle of the day but the girls are still playing, Ray is watching a CSI marathon, and I had a little clear time. (I like CSI too but this is about the 4th time around for some of the shows).

Leaving now to take laundry from dryer and see if anyone is hungry yet. It's 5:00 here so we may feed them soon and get baths out of the way so they can switch into school mode.