A little more than one year ago, I was enjoying my first day here in Naples. After a long drive from Texas, I was busy, getting my driver's license, car registration and then finding the Walmart for a huge trip to buy cleaning supplies and food. I was marveling at our huge condo on the beach, the beautiful sunny weather, and glad to be home. I was looking forward to my first visit to the church, to meeting the pastor. I was excited about my first day at a new job, an meeting everyone there as well. I also still had to really finish my dissertation, and unpack and find a place for all the things I had brought with me from Texas. ( Read more... )

Last night, Greg and I went with the Prime-Timers group from church to the First Baptist Church's Living Christmas Trees.  I thought it was pretty good, especially for a church production.  A couple of the child actors were actually very good.  They did a version of "The Christmas Shoes," and managed to work in several other Christmas songs, even some secular.  I thought their rendition of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,"  was especially nice. 

So this morning, I felt much more in the holiday spirit.  I finished up my Christmas shopping, and because the mall is VERY close to the main post office, you could have seen me wrapping presents in the trunk of my car.  I have to say that I love the automated self service center at the post office.  The lines inside were not as bad as I had seen in the past, but I didn't have to wait in them!  (I did have a moment where I thought one of my boxes was too big for the drop, but it just barely fit.  Note to self:  No boxes bigger than that one!)  I found the all Christmas music station on the radio and bought many, many ingredients to make Christmas goodies at Publix.  I am planning to make:  Crazy Mamie Fudge, Black Forest Cherry Cookies, and Gingerbread Cookies (from a recipe in a Richard Scarry Activity Book that we have been making for something like 25 years or more.  2 Christmases ago I made something like 350 gingerbread cookies and decorated them with icing and sprinkles and took them everywhere.  They are light and crisp like eating potato chips.)   I don't know who is going to EAT all of these things, although I think I will send some to work with Greg and I know people at school will eat anything.  Next week is a special week where one department brings a different set of goodies every day.  I figure I'll do my part.  

Next Sunday is the university holiday party, and it is very formal/dressy.  I am kind of excited because I love to spend time with people outside of work, and this will be the first time we have done that since I've been there.  (I have been to two of Greg's staff functions, one of which we hosted here.)  I have a formal dress from a fancy dinner I attended in library school, which being dark green, is very holiday appropriate.  I even have matching shoes and hose, because that was back when I spent money on things like that. 

Maybe I'll get the Christmas decorations out tomorrow, if I'm not too busy making cookies and ironing.  I was very sad to sell the full sized tree and give many of the ornaments to Jane, so maybe that's part of the reason I am not as eager to put everything up?  I still have plenty left, which might be part of it, it is fun to put it up and not so much to take it down.  

I haven't been reading much, although I did enjoy Graceling by Kristen Cashore and The Broken Window by Jeffrey Deaver recently.  When I read The Joys of Love by L'Engle, I realized how diminished the young adult literary will be without her.  I REALLY need to post to ReadSpace, but I seem to have nothing articulate to say at this time.  When I blogged for Arlington, I would force myself to write something, anything, and maybe I need to do that.

Thanksgiving was nice, I helped out  with the lunch at church and then had dinner at my boss' house.  I made my mother's dressing recipe to take, and it turned out EXCELLENT, considering I had only made it one time before, and my mother couldn't find her recipe, so we recreated it.

Mom's Dressing

16 oz package Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Stuffing
16 oz package Pepperidge Farm Herbed Bread Stuffing (the crumbles, not the cubes)
1tsp sage
1 large onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 stick of butter
3 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter, add celery and onions and cook until wilted and almost clear.  Put everything except about 1/2 broth in large bowl and mix well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Spread evenly in a greased 9 X 13 pan.  Pour rest of broth over top.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 to 60 minutes.  You want it to be firm, but not dry.  If you like it drier/crispier, then you can remove the foil for part of the cooking. 

We are down to the last couple of weeks of classes, and I think I have done okay with my classes.  I already know some things to do differently/better bext time, so that's good.  I am looking forward to the break, as although I have taken time off since I started, it was almost all for my dissertation/graduation.  The school is closed from December 24 to January 5.  I was hoping someone might come and visit but maybe I will just use the time to knit and read and things like that.  Unless someone wants to come--you're still welcome!

So another thing you probably don't know about Florida until you live here--they have a "rainy season" which seems to correspond to the hurricane season, for what its worth. At first, it seemed a lot like when we lived in Houston.  Sometime in the middle to late afternoon, big dark clouds would roll in and then it would pour for a few minutes and then it would go  away.  But recently there have been hours and hours of rain.  It will start and stop and then start again.  It will barely drizzle and then pour, stop raining, but still thunder.   I am going to have to adjust my thinking in order to get time at the pool.  (Note to self:  You can clean the house in the rain and the house will be happy to wait while you go and sit by the pool.)

One of the reasons I love summer is because there are quite a few television series that I enjoy that are only on then.  So You Think You Can Dance is probably my favorite show of all time.  I have seen every episode from the first season, and loved them all.  I really enjoy the fact that they get people who have worked so hard to learn and train in their craft and then give them a chance.  My library associate also loves the show, so I get to talk with her about it every Thursday, and we often e-mail on Fridays (her day off.)  Two former co-workers also are fans, so we keep in touch and get to gab about the how as well. Still kicking myself for not going to see the tour last year.  This year the tour is coming to Tampa and Miami, not too far.  I guess it is a matter of cost though.

I am also a fan of Burn Notice, which started last week on USA, and The Closer, which starts TONIGHT on TNT.  Both shows are funny in a rather dry witty way.  I watched a few episodes of Burn Notice from Season 1 and was reminded of how much I loved their almost poking fun at the whole "spy thriller" genre.  It feels very much like some of the irreverent mysteries that I enjoy--Robert Parker, Harlan Coben, Chris Knopf. As for the closer, while Kyra Sedgwick is underrated , in my opinion (see Something to Talk About) what makes this show is the great acting and characters of all the other people on her team and in the police department.  A few more guilty pleasures: Design Star on HGTV, which I love because unlike a lot of other shows, the judges are honest and admit that they are looking for a combination of good design and personality that plays well on television.  Plus Clive Davis is fun.  And Kyle XY on abcfamily, another show I have watched from the beginning.  This show seems pretty sophisticated with lots of conspiracy and suspense, leaving viewers unsure of who exactly is the good guy at times.  (You can watch full episodes online--so go and do it now!)

I had felt like baking for some time, and finally baked a cake last night.  It was a cross between Neverending Chocolate Cake and Darn Good Chocolate Cake (from The Cake Mix Doctor). I basically follow the 2nd recipe, but use buttermilk in place of the water as in the first.  This time I also used a melted stick of butter instead of the oil, and I ALWAYS use a whole bag of chocolate chips.  This cake is so good, it needs no frosting or glaze.  It is also good if you use white chocolate chips or the swirled ones from Nestle. 

I am back into reading full swing, sometimes getting a back a day on the weekends, in addition to the ongoing audio book in my car and the downloadable one on my mp3 player.  For more on what I am reading, check out ReadSpace and Shelfari. Looking for a good summer read?  Check out these articles from Library Journal: Summer Getaways for Chicks: Eleven Hot Staycation Reads and Testosterone-Fueled Fiction: Ten Action-Packed Summer Reads for Guys
So far I have read Summer Blow Out by Claire Cook, a rather chick lit take on a family that owns a series of beauty salons in Boston.  Love the main character's obsession with lipstick and a dog she acquires somewhat by accident but then spends time trying to disguise by dying and cutting its fur.  And because I enjoy action packed reads as much as the next guy, Final Theory by Alpert.  What if Einstein has discovered the theory of everything and realizing how dangerous it was, only told a little part to each of his lab assistants?  What if the bad guys found out and are racing the good guys to see who can get to them first?  Love, love, love the science in this. 
I have added many of the other titles to my reading list as well, although you know me, many are second or third in the series, so I am having to back up and start at the beginning.