What else is new around here. Not much of anything really. Both Danny and myself still have our same old jobs, although in his business things seem to be suffering a bit. Not so many folks are leaving home and vacationing at Lake Tahoe these days. Not even the filthy rich who can afford it are staying as long when they do come. Hopefully things will improve in the coming months.

Around the house I have a multitude of things that I should be doing, like picking some of the peaches that our trees have produced this year. Last time that I went out to get some not many were ripe enough to bring in. I suppose the whole lot will be ready all at once and then I’ll be overloaded with them. I’ll have to give a ton of them away just to keep up with it all. One can only make so much peach jam and peach cobblers without not wanting to ever see another peach.

I’ve tried the Facebook thingy, found Kitty there and also a neighbor of mine too. Overall, I really don’t think it’s the thing for me. I don’t check it much at all. My time is better spent elsewhere it seems. I also tried out Twitter but couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Such a waste of space and time trying to keep up with that whole act.

I still have my websites to keep me busy, although I haven’t added much of anything to this one in a very long time. Besides cooking (the peaches are not included yet in that endeavour), I somehow manage to get out of the house fairly often to go shopping, see a movie (only about once a year since it’s rare that a movie is good enough), and have dinner out about once a month. We don’t really have much excitement around here and that’s fine with me.

Yes, as I’m writing this I’m listening to two owls having quite a conversation outside. I just wish that I could see them if I were to go outside but I’ve never been able to get a good look in the dark. The best I’ve ever done is to tell exactly where they’re perched but I’ve never been able to see as much as the color of their feathers. The best I can tell is that they’re somewhat light in color but definitely not white.

I love hearing their soothing hoots, I guess I sense that is a sign that all is good in the world of the local owls. I know there is lots of small prey out there for them to feast on if they feel the need to go after it.

Enough of them. They’ve moved on and I no longer hear them hooting.

Danny got a cute little Olympus digital camera today. I got the honor of figuring it out for him and the battery should be nearly charged by now. He still needs to get a 2 gig memory card for it but it does have onboard storage for a few photos. I need to install the software that came with it soon, at least before I get a barrage of photos.

I had to do a bit of Christmas shopping this afternoon. I had to get something for each of 10 co-workers and I think I did pretty good. I didn’t want to get candy or cookies and most everything else was too expensive. Besides that, I got cookies for them last year. Well, this year I found bags of dried mixes for corn chowder and split pea soups. They sounded like a healthier choice and each package is supposed to make 3/4 of a gallon of soup. I added a real glittery snowflake ornament to each package to dress them up. Shopping is done, at least for work.

While I was shopping I finally found something that I wanted — almond syrup that if added to club soda and ice makes a wonderful Italian soda. The syrup can also be added to coffee, and that’s probably what it is most used for. This last summer I discovered Italian sodas and I’ve been hooked on them ever since. I also found but have yet to try a coconut flavored syrup. The syrups are made with Splenda so there are no calories. Beats soft drinks!

I’ve seriously got to cut out the snacks I’ve been having and find some new ones that won’t pile on the pounds. I weighed myself for the first time in several months and needless to say, I was not pleased with what the scale told me. I’ve gained at least 10 pounds, maybe as many as 15 and I want them gone. It’s no wonder that many of my clothes just hang in the closet — they don’t hang well on me. Oh, they still fit but not like I’d like them to.

Guess I’m going to have to cut out my chips and switch to vegies that I like such as cucumbers. Fruit is a problem for me. The only way I’ll eat an apple is if it has been cooked, can’t stand them raw. Oranges are too messy and bananas won’t help other than getting me some much needed potassium. Tomatoes give me heartburn, as do a lot of foods that I love. So much for other goodies like a pizza or ice cream. They’re out for now.

So what am I left with to eat? I’m not giving up the burritos that I take for my lunch at work because they’re cheap and easy. I may just have fewer of them. I have to have my Dr. Pepper for work but I don’t have to have it at any other time. If I want a soda at home I can make an Italian soda with flavored syrup, crushed ice, club soda and lite cool whip. I won’t be having any “diet” varieties either with all the bad reputation that aspartame is now receiving. Best to stick with plain old sugar in smaller amounts.

Got to have my coffee although I now use Splenda in it. Can’t give up my caffeine!

Anyway, in the meanwhile I rediscovered Facebook. Apparently I joined it last June but never did anything with it. Today I figured it out just a little bit more. It’s still a strange site to me and nothing there is straightforward in my opinion. Not sure how much I’ll use it, but it is an option.

Now it is up to me to do something with the lima beans. Danny said he just soaked them but that it was my turn to cook them. Now where’d he get the idea that I would want to do that? Just because I didn’t have to cook anything for him to take to church this morning for a change? Big dufus!

I think I’ll just go eat a cookie and think about it for a while. Actually I know what I want to do with the lima beans, and I know what I really want to do with the lima beans but what I’ll actually do with them depends on what I can find in the cupboard.

By the way, my cold is nearly gone. I’m still a little bit stuffed up but that’s about all. This was one of those rare colds that never dropped into my chest and I’m grateful for that.

Around here all is well. Danny has some lima beans soaking and some hamburger thawing so I think that he’s got something planned for them in the crockpot. Stew? Soup? I’ll find out later after he’s up and about and into the pot of coffee that I just brewed (yes, I remembered to put in the coffee grounds this time).

And still I wait for the wee hour jobs to complete. It just figures that they’re taking nearly twice their average duration to complete this morning. I want them to finish! Now! I’m still looking at over 30 minutes of processing time left after the current job completes. Grrrr!

I’ll check back in later and let you all know how it all turns out.

I made another cup of instant for myself with the hot water and did the coffee making thing all over again, making a point to myself to never try making a pot before I’d been up for a couple of hours. Guess I need coffee already in me in order to be able to make coffee. It’s a vicious circle!

Well, what the heck have I been up to over the past many moons? I’ve rebuilt nearly all of my sites, with a new one, two or three being slowly worked on. (I’ll let you know when they’re in viewing shape).  I’ve been working at my job as an IT Technician and I’m still struggling to sleep when I’m supposed to sleep. It seems that I wake up way too soon every day and then I never can seem to accomplish as much as I’d like. Working the overnight shift certainly has its pros and cons. I’ve been trying to read a book that I started a couple of years ago, finish a sweater that has been in the works for over a year and learn as much as I can about using CSS.

I’ve been cooking on a regular basis rather than eating out as much as I wanted. I do try to still eat out but only about once a month now, and only at places where the food is really good. If you’re ever in Washoe City (just a few miles south of Reno) you have got to eat at Washoe Flats. Their food is simply wonderful. I also have finally found “my beer”… Guinness! Another fantastic place we have gone out to dinner at is B’Sghetti’s here in town. I tried my first Italian soda there and have been hooked on them ever since I learned how to make my own for much less than buying a glass of it in a restuarant.

What else is up? Hmmm… Pumpkin and dealing with it after Halloween. Danny bought a huge pumpkin for Halloween home, then he decorated it and left it on the kitchen counter. I didn’t want to put it outside and run the risk of having it damaged so there it sat until a couple of days ago. I cut it into huge chunks and distributed them into 4 baking pans. After the pumpkin was baked I cleaned out the seeds and processed the pumpkin in my food processor. About half way through I had five containers filled with pureed pumpkin and I had had enough! I put the remaining chunks of pumpkin into a large ziplock bag and took all of the pumpkin and put it in the freezer. I have enough processed pumpkin for about five pies and maybe enough of the frozen chunks for another five. I roasted the seeds last night with a bit of garlic powder and sea salt. They came out really good. But, I have had enough of pumpkin processing to last the rest of my life. I told Danny to never buy another one, not next year or ever. I didn’t want to see any more unless it was already in a can.

Well, I’ll save more for later. I’m zapped for now.