don't fool with a gemini . . .

there comes a time in the life of all appliances when they deserve their finally resting spot.  some appliances just give up the ghost in one big sigh of relief, leaving you stranded with wet soapy clothes or no hot water mid-shower or a freezer drawer full of no longer frozen ice cream, meat or packaged shrimp.  sometimes however, the trek to the junk pile is much slower and more convoluted.  enter the saga of my Maytag Gemini.

for years, its right front burner had been temperamental.  either the outside ring worked or maybe the inside one worked.  sometimes they both came on, sometimes neither.  he was big on whimsy.  another burner worked on everything except high . . . that of course would be the burner i use to bring pasta to a boil and you know how big on pasta we are around here.

so earlier in december, i went stove shopping and found a lovely little KitchenAid dual oven.  so shiny and black.  but after my now decrepit gemini had been loaded onto the truck for its last ride to appliance heaven, and the new oven installed, i realized we had a problem.  the new stove looked nothing like the black beauty on-line, in fact, it looked suspiciously like a stainless steel steamroller.  mislabeled at the factory, it was hauled back onto the truck while my now not so complacent gemini, having looked forward to greener pastures and a possible future with an equally rusted but still pretty  vacuum, was roughly jerked out of his dreams and forced back into servitude.  it was not pretty.

he was not happy.  oh he let me make soup for dinner and scrambled eggs for breakfast but it was all a ruse to lure me deeper into his trap before truly venting his anger.  i should have noticed the fastidious grin as i shoved chicken lickin' . . . basking in an array of taters, onions and carrots . . . into the bottom oven last night.  i should have listened to the wanton song of his people as the heat rose, but i had been lulled deeply into the assumption that he was content to serve a few more days.

that he was not was extremely evident when i opened his door to check on the bird.  chicken lickin' was in total disarray.  one leg was burnt to a crisp and her skin was charred black yet her bottom, still wrinkled in lily white chicken bumps, was stone cold.  disaster said i.  revenge yelled gemini.

i covered chicken lickin' in tin foil, lowered the temperature and nursed her up to 185º degrees.

tonight, the crockpot is happily simmering a corned beef brisket and i am fervently hoping to receive a call that my new stove is on its way. hopefully it will not be as fickle.

the best Christmas present ever . . . .

two christmases ago, while the 9TS was so sick and chilly most of the time, kidlet decided to crochet him a lap blanket for christmas.  she inadvertently underestimated the time it would take to finish the project and as a result, it wasn't quite done when she presented it to her dad on christmas morning. he told her it was the best present ever.  Unfortunately, he ran out of time and the blanket sat in my bottom bureau draw for almost two years as kidlet had lost heart and was having such a rough time coping.

i did notice about a week before christmas, when i went to grab a throw, that the blanket was missing but since my brain is also missing, i just figured i has stashed it in kidlet's old bedroom to have more space.

enter christmas morning, and my present turned out to be the finished blanket.  she decided since she had made it for her father and she knew how much that meant to me, that it should be a family affair.  it is a beautiful blue and white lap blanket and she says she will continue to work on it until it is full size.  i don't care what size it is, i just love that it is one more thing that binds our little family.

p.s.  if i close my eyes, snuggle it tight and inhale, i swear i can still smell his scent on it.  LOVE!

meow . . .

joanie's birthday is december 8th and i actually had her present made on time but unfortunately somewhere between the design process, the fabric and the stuffing, that frankenstein-ish creature with the erogenous tail is now residing out at the curb awaiting the garbage man tomorrow and no, i am not sharing a photo.  it was all too sad.

but yesterday, i finished its replacement(s) and gave them to her after our morning walk through the hood.  

(and yes, joanie, i stole your photo off FB because your kitchen counter is prettier than my workshop space.) 

just so you understand, j has three cats.  a very grumpy black and white cat named Athena.  a beautiful solid gray named Sheba and a small totally lovable, lithe tabby named Annie.

what else for a cat lover who has everything.  

random kelli . . .

jeanne:   I want a dinosaur suit.

kelli:      {snort}  I want a supermodel suit.

jeanne:   How cool would we be!!!!!!

kelli:      About as cool as we are now, silly!!!

jeanne:   Then we rock and don't need the suits.  ST.

kelli:      Ha!  They would come in handy at times.

jeanne:   Think of the awesome powers they would give us.  I could even deal with the tiny front arms.

kelli:     Haha!!!   Instead of Benny and the Jets we could be Kelli and T-Rex.

love this girl.

this.that.and.the.other.thing

since i'm sporting a Minions bandaid on one finger and a sliced knuckle on the next guy over, tonight's stroganoff better be good.  remind me to get the butcher to do the dirty work next time.  actually, remind me to take my knives to the sharpener.  or book a room in the ER.  or all of the above.

thanks, Les.  miss you too.

did i tell you i got a new camera.  i finally broke down as soon as the Canon 70D was released in September.  slurp.  i always swore there was something wrong with my old 50D from the time i opened the box but instead of doing something about it, i kept on using it, whining the entire time.  finally i decided i just wasn't that good a photographer and stopped shooting.

guess what?!  it was the camera.  not that i will ever be on the cover of National Geographic or even the back of a milk carton, but it makes me happy to know i can still get a decent shot now and again.  happy.  happy.

kidlet is still cooking up a storm.  the other day i left her totally to her own devices and she yelled a five minute dinner warning up the stairs.  perfectly grilled swordfish, onion roasted taters and corn.  kidlet you rock.  take one giant step forward.  oh heck.  add one banana step too.  you deserve it.

she's also been crocheting up a storm.  we took goodies over to her favorite staff members in winter park . . . her summer vacation spot.  three baby blankets, lots of hats and purses.

after our jaunt to tampa, we made another one to orlando to check out UCF.  enormous campus.  huge campus.  now all we have to do is wait for the mail lady to deliver the results.  USF, UCF or FSU.  is there an acronym for an excited grandmother?

that's it for now, but i promise to be back with more mayhem.  the fog is lifting.

too cool . . .

we had a visitor last night and i'm still trying to figure out how he got here.  we took down the tree his relatives used to gain access to a lower roof and then the pool cage.  maybe he has super powers of flight.  maybe its Rocky Raccoon in our very own back yard!!!!

kidlet got bored.  when i returned home from our camera club meeting, she showed me some shots she'd taken.

and this is what you get when you decide to sail a flotilla of paper boats across the pool at night with the underwater lights on.  too cool!!!!!

changes . . .

i wish i could say i was back but a general malaise seems to have dropped over me and the things i used to get the most enjoyment from are no longer tickling my fancy.  not a big deal, my mojo will come back.  it just took a walk somewhere.

so instead, i'm going to tell tales on my favorite munchkin . . . kidlet.  she'd been doing so much better.  the world is finally looking a little rosy.  finally she understands that some of her feelings are exactly as they should be.  that they are normal feelings and not manifestations of depression.  point in case, we took my granddaughter to Tampa two weekends ago to the USF open house.  After attending presentations, seminars and doing a campus tour but before heading for Five Guys for some mega fries, i drove over to the northwest corner of the campus and said a final goodbye/prayer to Moffitt.

it didn't take long and we were all soon munching happily and popping peanuts in our chubby little cheeks.  suddenly, i noticed that kidlet was being awfully quiet and when she asked for the keys to the car, i let her go.  when the rest of us finished lunch, we headed to the car and there she was with huge gulping sobs racking her tiny frame.  hooray for kidlet!  does that sound odd?  shouldn't.  this was the very first time that she had an appropriate response to a overwhelming emotion.  she didn't try to suppress it.  she didn't shirk from it, she let it flow.  good healthy tears for her dad.  kidlet, you rock!!!!

and she's still doing well in the kitchen.  she made Friday's beef stew from start to finish. before when we've cooked together, she's always handed the chopping to me.  with her familial tremor, she and knives are not always the best combo but this time she forged on while i went on the pool deck to let pip play for a bit.  when i wandered back in, there she was, tears streaming down her face.  rut roh, what now?  but she looked me squarely in the eyes, and asked if THIS was a normal reaction to cutting onions.  i burst into laughter.  yes, kidlet, perfectly normal. you are now a cook!!!!  it's the small victories that taste the sweetest.

tonight, she was supposed to have her regular tuesday swordfish but instead, she had a Relay for Life meeting.  yup, she is back volunteering for them . . . another fine blessing.  tired of swordfish, i had made a big mess of chili.  when she returned home it was too late to grill.  but surprisingly, she asked for some chili.  i guess here is where i explain that kidlet is not fond of beans.  or peas.  or lentils.  actually, i was surprised she asked for the chili at all.  but then i watched her grab a small ramekin from a cabinet and just knew what she was going to use it for.  somethings in life never change.