Hershey's Special Dark

I'm just posting this here so I can show the difference between regular Hershey's cocoa and Hershey's Special Dark

Velcome Back!

It's kind of overwhelming to think about catching up on everything, so I'll just start with today.

The bookclub is coming this Friday to discuss Dracula by Bram Stoker. Until a few days ago I had no idea what I was going to put in my fireplace, and then I hit on the idea of setting up my Dracula toy with my Halloween blocks. But it looked kind of empty, so I added a tree and some bats and then some lights. Then Rob said "You need to put in Dracula's brides."  So yesterday I went to the thrift store where I was lucky enough to find two Barbie-type dolls. I painted them white, added ghoulish faces, and gave them dresses of creepy-cloth tied on with dental-floss. Fast and cheap, but I think it turned out pretty good:

Stuff-swap follow up

So, what did I bring home from the swap yesterday? How about two brand-new wine glasses, with the Pier-1 Imports sticker still on them?

We don't drink wine, but I think strawberry smoothies will look extra-special in them.
I also picked up a small bag of Starbucks coffee. The swapping/stealing went on for six rounds, but I stopped after two because everything I wanted was gone already.

Just as important is all the stuff I got rid of! I told everyone the story about the tea kettle, but one person came in 45 minutes late and nabbed it. (She'll discover its flaws the first time she uses it; that'll teach her to be late!)

I was also happy to find a home for this shirt that I embroidered for my dad about 40 years ago, that he saved for special occasions:

One of the ladies tried it on and it fit perfectly, and she liked it even more when I told her the background.

A fashionably late Happy New Year! 2012

Spring cleaning is starting a bit early. I have a friend who has a "stuff swap" a couple times a year, where we all bring a pile of stuff we're tired of looking at that somebody else might love. Here's my pile of stuff:

It includes such treasures as the entire Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, a rainstick, a chinese hat, a jar of refrigerator magnets, and a lovely tea-kettle that has turned out to be my "big pink chair". What do I mean by that?

I recently discovered a website I love called Offbeat Home. On it is an article that particularly captured my attention, called The Big Pink Chair and the White Hot Rage. This is exactly what happened to me and my tea-kettle. It looks lovely, but the whistle stinks (I can barely hear it) and it pours even worse; I usually end up with water all over the counter. Fortunately, I did not dispose of my old, stainless steel tea-kettle. The whistle is loud and pleasant, it pours just fine, and with a bit of elbow grease I managed to make it look presentable again. I now have a fresh appreciation for my old tea-kettle. The swap is tomorrow. Maybe someone else can use the new one as a flower pot, or doesn't mind a kettle that dribbles and wheezes.

Here's something I'm experimenting with. I'm always deploring the waste of space in the fireplace (we never have fires) and I'm always looking for a place to put our games. So how about putting the games in the fireplace? I'm not quite sure if it looks cool and funky, or weird and messy.

Month is whizzing by

I don't have as much to write about as last year, primarily because most of my decorations and activities are the same as last year. A couple of nights ago we went to see the Wicked West again. It was more extensive this year because they added a maze.

Here is my fireplace display for the year:

Moving on up

First, to catch up on what is now old news: I didn't win my division in the Harvest Fair Run this year. Three speedy friends all running together took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in 24 minutes, while I was eating their dust six minutes later. I can no longer claim to be an undefeated running champion!

Now for the exciting news: I got a job upstairs in the fitness center!

I gave my supervisor in the Membership Center almost 3-week's notice, and she's not happy to be losing me.

Right now my schedule is crazy, because I'm training for my new job while I'm still working the old job, plus I'll be subbing for the Arthritis Strength teacher while she's on vacation for a couple of weeks. My poor brain is working overtime.

A new part

Day 128

Have you ever changed your part from one side of your head to the other? I have, but not for the past several years. This seemed like a good time to do it because I just got a hair cut that I'm not thrilled with, and I figured it was a good time to train it to lie down on the other side since it looked awful anyway.

What do you think of my chopstick smile? Haven't you heard? This is how customer service people are trained to smile in China.