More than Enough

Since I have no posts for December, I thought I'd better chime in with something . . .

Hm. . . . no pics, but I did give some Christmas ornaments (inherited from my grandmother) to my cousin.  As soon as we opened the box (actually, a large tin, which also did not come home with me!), one of the child-types of small cousins immediately pulled out some angel ornaments and started playing with them, essentially "playing dolls," making up little stories, having fun.  I'm calling it a win.

Of course, I promptly lost points by driving to an outlet center to buy a Le Crueset frying pan.  But, see, I need this pan because I have finally figured out how to cook salmon that is cooked all the way, but not overcooked.  My cast iron pan is too big to mess with for 4 oz of fish, and my non stick pans are disintegrating and also of course probably killing me. 

The shopping trip added just enough time for me to hit chain controls on the way home, so what should have been a three hour trip took nearly seven.  Fortunately, I was carrying chains.  I haven't put on chains in over a decade, so I was very lucky to pull off the road near one of the few installers who was taking credit cards.  I was able to get them off myself, at Truckee.  I mention this because when I moved here, I had exactly three months' driving experience when I found myself in a similar situation, but was mistaken in my belief that I could get the chains off myself, and furthermore, locked myself out of my car - with the engine running - in the process of finding this out.  So this trip was a lot more bearable.  It also helped that I was carrying a sleeping bag and driving a car with fold-down seats, meaning I could have slept in the car had I wanted to. 

Another improvement was that instead of nothing but a Philco AM radio (the only entertainment option in my 1976 Pinto), this time I had the luxury of a smartphone and loaded iPod, which I wound up not listening to at all, because I was tuned in to the unfolding radio coverage of the Sandy Hook school shooting.

So I figured I had the "stuff" I needed to keep me safe and healthy, and that in the scheme of things losing $40 and four hours of my time was really, really, a perfectly good way to spend my day.