14 Years and Counting

 I wasn't paying attention, and I failed to realize that this little blog's birthdate came and went last week completely unnoticed. That makes this little corner of the interwebs older than my daughter. Who'd a thunk it?

According to Blogger, this is my 750TH post, something over 700,000 page views since we drove this puppy off the lot, a little over 3000 comments probably half of which are mine since I am in the habit of trying to respond to everyone's comments here, and a very rough estimate of anywhere from 250 to 450 people who come here for their meme fix when I collect enough to make it worth everyone's time. 

I'm on my fifth residence and fifth job (not including temp positions) since starting the blog. There was a brief dalliance with law school in there. Six foster kids, one successful adoption, one failed attempted adoption, two layoffs and a firing. 

We took care of The Queen's parents and went through The Long Goodbye with Alzheimer's in The Queen Mum. I suppose you could say we've covered a lot of ground here in these posts. 

Thinking back on the people who have visited here and left their tracks in the comments of these posts, I have appreciated the opportunity to connect with a variety of people even if only at a distance or, in rare cases, in person. I do wonder sometimes what happened to some of the people who seem to have moved on without a word. Kymber, Mr. Daddy, Jane of Virginia, Mel and others were quite active in the comments early in this blog's life. I hope you all are doing well in wherever part of life you find yourselves. 

Others have come along and taken up the helm of frequent commenters. Cederq, Bear Claw Chris and Big Macus to name a few. Thank you all for taking the time. I know I am terrible at commenting (mainly because I don't have ready access to a technology solution that will allow me to sign in to Blogger to make a comment on a regular basis). 

Anyway, I know I'm not the most frequent poster and there are probably squirrels with more consistency of thought than I. Hopefully, I give you a smile, a chuckle or something to think about once in a while. Nonetheless, thanks for dropping by. 

Take a moment to drop a note in the comments. I look forward to seeing you there. 

Happy Blogiversary To Me

I've been a bit busy, and I let an important milestone slip past without nary a whisper. Behold, back in August, this little corner of the internet turned 10. Imagine my surprise. 

I've been in the process of saving my posts to Word documents for later compilation. Don't ask my why. It seemed like a good idea at this time. In the process, I couldn't help but re-read a lot of what I've written; and, frankly, I'm amazed that some of you have hung on as long as you have. There are the occasional rare gems tucked away here and there, but a lot of what I've written is pretty meh (you may have a differing opinion, and that's fine). 

One of these days, I might just put together a "best of" post to link to some of those gems that some of you late comers might have missed along the way. 

Anyway, thank you to everyone for hanging around. Drop a comment or two once in a while if you are so inclined. No promises, but I'm going to try and kick out more content beyond just funny (to me) memes. There are several posts queued up for this coming week. I hope you enjoy. 

Huh...9 Years of This And Counting

According to my blog archives, I started this little train wreck 9 years ago today. Thank you to all that are still lurking in the shadows and those brave enough to admit they read my infrequent ramblings.

I can't say what the next 9 years holds, but I'll give it my best shot.

Happy Anniversary...

...to me.

Four years ago, I acquiesced to The Queen's suggestions and decided to do something about my itch to write something. This is the result.

I had thought about writing something witty or profound today; but, then, I realized that it's my anniversary and your supposed to receive gifts not give them. So, what do I want for my anniversary? I want you all to fill up my comments with whatever you want. Something witty or profound. A non-sequitur. Poetry. A riddle. Your favorite topics, past posts, etc.

Get busy.

Surprise, Surprise...Semi Fail

Okay, The Queen is finally awake. As mentioned in the comments on the previous posts, The Queen's sleep schedule has been out of whack for a while now due to her mystery illness. It doesn't help that she's a light sleeper, and I went to sleep an hour early last night after getting only three and a half hours sleep the night before due to being rudely awakened in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep. When I'm exhausted, I sleep like the dead with a bad case of chainsaw snoring. The Queen is a light sleeper. So, she usually chooses to sleep elsewhere when I'm Zonked of the Dead.

To make a long story short, The Queen finally got back into our bed at about 8:30 AM this morning and didn't wake up again until 2:20 PM. I got back from helping the niece with her car woes at about noon meaning I've been bouncing around trying not to wet my pants waiting for her to wake up. I even resorted to asking my mother in law to MAKE noise in the kitchen (right next to the master bedroom) instead of trying to keep quiet.

Anyway, here's the set up. Queen sleeping soundly under layers of blanket in the king sized bed. One vase with a bouquet of pink edged white roses and some other pretty lookin' flowers with white, pink and other colors (I'm a well rounded person, but my knowledge of horticulture pretty much ends at "Hey, that's a rose."). Vase strategically placed on the desk in the corner of the master bedroom (on her side of the bed) so that (hopefully) it would be the first thing The Queen sees when she gets up. We'll get back to that. Framed wedding photos strategically placed in front of the master bath toilet to be admired as The Queen takes care of her morning constitutionals (yes, I know it sounds weird...just go with it). We'll get back to that in a minute too.

So, finally, after an hour and a half of waiting to hear a squeal from the other side of the house, I finally get word from the MIL that The Queen has stirred in her chambers. Not having gotten a call from The Queen expressing her delight at the flowers before exiting the bed, I had to go investigate. I found The Queen in the shower. I nodded at the photos, and she asked, "Did you do that?"

Not exactly the response I was looking for. Slightly underwhelming.

I informed her that, yes, I was responsible for the photos.I then asked if she had seen her other surprise. Her response was a timid, "Um, what other surprise?"

Partial Fail.

At that point, I brought her the flowers which did elicit an awe struck "WoooOOOOWWWWwwww!". It was at this point that I learned that she did not see the flowers in her bleary eyed, semi conscious, just awaken, no glasses/contacts state. I can forgive her for that. I probably should have thought to place them in the bathroom with the other items to give her brain a few more seconds to boot up. I also learned that she had to do a double take upon being seated on her throne as she was not sure she was really seeing the photos. She told me she wasn't sure if they were from me as her mother sometimes does stuff like that for her but then thought better of that as she wasn't sure her mother would remember that today was our anniversary.

The good news is that The Queen confirmed that she was completely clueless about my behind the scenes efforts to produce a surprise for her. The Queen has chastised me several times before for giving away too much about a surprise. The fact that there is a surprise coming is apparently giving away too much about the surprise to The Queen. Given my upbringing, it is very hard for me to keep a lid on a surprise. I have always enjoyed dropping hints and watching the recipient go nuts trying to figure out the surprise. I get that from my mother. The Queen, on the other hand, likes the surprise to be complete and total. No hints. No nothin'.

According to her, I succeeded this time. I almost blew it the other night after discovering, while trying to pay for the photo CDs, that I had lost my debit card. I called The Queen to see if she had it or if it was lying on my side of the bathroom counter of something. She didn't locate it but offered to bring hers to me. I told her that that was not necessary, that she hadn't been feeling well, and that it was no big deal as it would only take me a couple of minutes to swing back by the house to get hers. It took a little convincing, but she finally agreed to stay put and the surprise was saved.

Barely.

Happy Anniversary

Seven years ago today, The Queen (some would say foolishly) said I do when the minister asked her if she would take this goofy guy to be her lawfully wedded husband. We've enjoyed our share of ups and downs, and I fully expect us to share many more for years to come. I still love her with all my heart, and I can not imagine being married to another woman.

I have learned something though. When you work from home, it is REAL hard to plan a surprise anniversary gift for the spouse who also is a stay at home person. There's only so many "Hey honey, I've got to go run an errand for work." opportunities to go around. If something throws a monkey wrench into the works, you are really going to have to get creative. 

Case in point, I've been trying to skulk around this year to accomplish something that The Queen and I thought was a great idea seven years ago when we got married but never got around to doing since. Instead of having a guest book at the wedding, we decided to have a couple of photo frame mattes out with various colored markers for people to sign. My nephew who was all of 8 years old at the time scrawled "H. is a dork". Great. The plan was that we'd get some prints from the wedding to frame with the mattes and have our wedding photos/guest book on display for all to see. 

Seven years later, we still hadn't gotten around to it yet. Our wedding photographer was a great guy, but he hadn't made the transition to all digital yet. So, for the last seven years, I've been carrying a binder full of negatives around in addition to the wedding album. No CDs, and print film is quickly going the way of the dinosaur.

Working in the commercial claims, I was leery of leaving my only set of negatives with a store to transfer to CD; but, what's a hubby to do. I reluctantly handed them over; and, a day later, I had me four freshly minted photo CDs with our wedding memories now in easy to use digital format. 

I selected 10 of my favs to be printed as 4 x 6s plus one of The Queen and I dancing at the wedding to be blown up to 8 x 10 and trotted off to a digital friendly photo center on an excuse/errand of the moment (returning DVDs to Blockbuster) only to have Murphy strike. I arrived to the photo center to be greeted by a sign that said "OUT OF ORDER". 

Well, poop. 

I didn't have time to locate another photo center on that errand. So, I had to amend the plan. The updated plan involved me sneaking out of the house this morning before The Queen awoke to get the photos printed, run back home, get them set in the frames and have them set up in the bedroom before The Queen arose from her beauty sleep. Then Murphy called again. 

Oh, monkey fungus. 

The oldest niece's car would not start, and I was the closest person with any mechanical know how in the family. So, I had to trot off to Mansfield (about 30 minutes from Castle Erickson) to figure out the automotive dilemma de jour. It turned out to be a dead battery. Fortunately, there was a photo center suitable for my purposes on my way back to the Castle. I printed the photos I needed proceeded to jet back to the castle with a brief detour by the local store's floral department for a suitable arrangement of roses and other flowers all the while praying that The Queen would not be awake yet (the evil plan called for her to awaken to fresh flowers and freshly framed photos). 

Sliding into home, I returned to find The Queen still slumbering. I madly framed the photos and set them up with the flowers. Now, I just have to wait for her to wake up.

Your 1 Year/100 Post Warranty Has Expired

Good morning all you happy people. Well, it’s official. With this post today, I hit two major milestones. As of today, I have been blogging for exactly one year; and, with this post, I have posted exactly 100 posts. I just seemed appropriate to combine the two milestones into one occasion.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who read my “stuff”. Looking back over the previous 99 posts, I realize that some of it is pure crap. However, I hope you have found some gems amongst the poo, too. I’ve learned a lot about myself and the process of writing in the past year, and I’d like to think that my ability to convey a coherent thought is improving. I’m not anywhere near the level of skill I would like to have; but, then again, I suspect that is true of most anyone.

I would also like to give an extra special thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment on my erratic efforts. I have always had comment moderation enabled on this blog; however, truthfully, I’ve never had to block a comment. I originally chose to use comment moderation because I had no idea what I was in for, and I wanted to make sure nothing unseemly found its way onto the comments page. I have left it enabled for purely selfish reasons…I like getting a sneak preview of what you all have to say. It also helps me respond to your comments quicker because I think this process should be a dialogue; and, if you’re going to take the time to comment, the least I can do is respond.

I envy those of you who have the time, skill, diligence and/or whatever else it takes to post just about every single day. I’ve averaged a post every 3 and a half days even though some of those posts were nothing more than a photo, a link to a news article or a silly joke. I don’t think I’ve gone more than about 10 days without posting which is too long in my opinion; however, as most of you know, life and work have a way of getting in the way. Especially here at Castle Erickson.

I had thought about trying to do some sort of giveaway to celebrate these two milestones, and then promptly decided against. Well, “decided” is probably a strong word to describe being too busy to give it serious thought and thus having the time to act on any decision. Besides, giving away 1 item or even a couple of items would leave some people leaving empty handed.

But wait…that doesn’t mean I’m sending everyone away empty handed. In fact, quite the opposite. I got to thinking that blogging is really about sharing a piece (or several pieces as the case may be) of ourselves, and everyone loves food (okay, okay…everyone except the anorexics and bulemics). Food makes us happy. Right? So, why not share a couple of my favorite recipes with everyone? That way, I can give everyone something special (well, special to me at least…hopefully you will think so, too) to make them happy.

First, I’d like to share my all-time favorite cookie recipe. I love me some cookies. I have a reputation to uphold of being able to sniff out a bakery in under 15 minutes in just about any city in which I happen to find myself. Seriously. The Queen can run into people she knows just about anywhere in the world…I find the bakeries. Some of you might be expecting another (roll your eyes here) chocolate chip cookie recipe. No. Don’t get me wrong, I am not in the habit of passing up chocolate chip cookies. They’re just not my all-time fav. The cookie that has that honor is the humble cinnamon cookie.

Cinnamon cookies baking in the oven smell simply divine. They fill up the whole house with the aroma of cinnamon. Mom used to bake these for us occasionally when I was a kid, and they never lasted long. Sometimes, they had trouble making it from the baking sheet to the plate (cooling racks are for rich folks and professionals…this was strictly an amateur lower middle class affair). This particular cookie comes from my grandmother’s World War II era Victory Cookbook. I had hoped to have photos of this extremely well worn cookbook to share with you; however, my sister…the devil has been holding it hostage for several years and keeps “forgetting” that it’s my turn to care for it for a while. It’s neat because a lot of the recipes have patriotic themed names, and I think there are tips for menu planning to help the war effort. At least, that’s what I remember since I can’t fact check myself thanks to my sister…the devil.

Victory Cookbook Cinnamon Cookies

2 Cups Sifted Flour

¼ Teaspoon Salt

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

½ Cup Butter (melted)

1 Cup Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs (beaten)

Sift the dry ingredients together. I like to use a quart size plastic yogurt container, throw everything in, put the lid on and shake vigorously for a few seconds. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl (don’t ask me what the eggs did to deserve a beating…but I would imagine it had something to do with throwing the “good” eggs at someone’s house). Add the melted butter, sugar and vanilla to the eggs. Mix thoroughly until smooth. The original recipe doesn’t mention melting the butter first, but I have found that the butter mixes much easier when melted and it makes for a much smoother dough. Fold and mix dry ingredients into the mixing bowl (about a 1/3 at a time). Mix until dough is smooth (Hint: don’t try to use a hand mixer…use a spoon or a counter top mixer). An optional step I take is to divide the dough into thirds, wrap the thirds in wax paper and put them in the fridge for a little while to firm up the dough. Bake on a cookie sheet in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.

The next recipe is my chili recipe. I know, I know. Everyone has an opinion about chili. My sister…the devil thinks that any chili that has beans in it is a stew. I, of course, have a differing opinion. Then there was the time I was invited over to someone’s house for a chili dinner. They were from Wisconsin, and the “chili” tasted just like my mother’s stew. They thought it was hot and spicy. Go figure. My recipe was something I cobbled together for a chili cook off at work a few years ago. It won second place out of six or seven entries. I think it beat the first place winner taste wise, but the voting was based on popularity and the winner came from a team with more supporters. Philistines.

K. Erickson’s Chili Cookoff Recipe

2 Pounds ground meat (chuck, sirloin, buffalo and/or [insert favorite game meat here])

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1 15 ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 12 ounce bottle of dark-ish beer (J.W. Dundee’s Honey Brown, Shiner Bock or Ziegenbock)

1 14.5 ounce can beef broth

3 8 ounce cans tomato sauce

1 6 ounce can tomato paste

1 4.5 ounce can chopped or diced green chiles (can substitute fresh jalapenos if desired)

2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 tablespoons (or more) chili powder

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground red pepper

2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

You will want to use a stock pot for this recipe since there is a lot of stuff to go in. Brown the meat over medium to high heat until the meat crumbles. Drain the fat. Add the onions and garlic, and sauté over medium heat until the onions start to change color. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for three hours or until thickened. You can also add ¼ cup of Masa flour or a 1/8 cup of corn starch thoroughly mixed with a ¼ to a ½ cup of water for thicker chili (I normally don’t bother with that step).

Thank you all again. I hope you enjoy the recipes.

Happy Anniversary

I know I’ve been neglecting my blog posting here of late again, but I have an excuse…er, explanation. Several, in fact. Silly things breed like drunken, teenage rabbits on Viagra and meth.

Excuse/explanation number one: Work. Need I say more? Apparently, yes, I must. Being a claims adjuster is not an occupation for the easily stressed, offended or grossed out. One of these days, I will get around to writing an insider’s guide to the claims process for the uninitiated in the hopes that it will dissuade some poor idiot from yelling “I’ll get a lawyer and sue your a**.” The last quarter of the year is always the busiest time of year. Everyone wants to settle their claims or get their invoices paid so that they can have Christmas money or close out their books for the year. And they want it done RIGHT the HE** NOW!!!! There seems to be a universal belief among claimants and vendors that they are the only person/company I am dealing with and calling and emailing repeatedly several times a day will yield faster results. It will. It will completely grind my voicemail and email inboxes to a stop at the speed of light. There is a fine line between sufficient work to maintain job security and too much work to be productive thus leading to job termination due to ineffectiveness. I am so standing on that line right now. With a landmine under my feet.

Explanation/Excuse number two: The bathroom. When not waiting on the Queen hand and foot or earning a living, I am trying to rebuild the master bathroom from scratch which has been sans shower since the “Now You See It, Now You Don’t…” post in November. If I am seen after normal work hours without a hammer or other suitable construction tool in my hand, I get raised eyebrows and cross looks from the Queen who wants to have her bathroom back in one piece so she is not assaulted by all the chemical smells which were once safely trapped by layers of tile and mortar.

Excuse/Explanation number three: Our Anniversary. Monday was the sixth anniversary of the Queen’s and my glorious entrance into wedded bliss. As we enter into the seventh year of our marriage, I find myself wondering what the whole seven year itch thing is supposed to be about. I probably wouldn’t know it if it jumped up an’ bit me on the butt. Which is probably for the best.

Given the Queen’s ongoing health challenges, I’ve tried to make this anniversary as special as possible within the limitations imposed upon us (i.e. can’t go out in public for fear of being exposed to pneumonia or swine flu or something equally enjoyable…again). Nothing quite takes the joy out of fine restaurant dining like being forced to wear a self contained bunny suit made of latex. I know it sounds like it would be fun and kinky, but we’re just not into that sort of thing.

So, what is a loyal and faithful servant/husband to do? Cater to his Queen’s every desire of course. First, there were the two dozen roses. Always a must for any anniversary going experience. Then there was the dinner. We had home cooked filet mignon with garlic mashed taters and gravy with oven roasted veggies followed by her favorite strawberries and cream for dessert.

But, wait, there’s more. We can’t have an anniversary without a truly unique gift or experience. Now, I know there are some truly sensitive men out there who feel that giving his spouse a vacuum cleaner or a new dishwasher for their anniversary is the absolute pinnacle of loving thoughtfulness. Let me tell you, these paragons of marital bliss have nothing on me. If you really want to endear yourself to your spouse, nothin’ says good lovin’ like …. wait for it …. a colon hydrotherapy session. I spared no expense on my lovely copper topped bride. Only the very best in organic coffee colonics would do for her.

As is the defense of every vacuum cleaner giving man on the planet, she really did ask for it.