The ABC Life Blog

Thanks to a snowed-in start to my E month, I’m a bit tardy on getting started. However, I’ve managed to amuse myself with a few E ENDEAVORS.

EARRING ELIMINATION (1 point)
Part of my campaign to be more organized this year, I went through all my earrings and eliminated six pairs and threw out two lone orphans. Now the majority are all neatly organized in two plastic tackle box things, while the favorites still float free in one of my top drawers for easy access.

ECHO Burning by Lee Child (1 point)
Snowed in and unable to get to the library, I eagerly reached for an unread E book from my book stash. And who can resist Jack Reacher, freelance lawman? He’s tough, carefree and so afraid of commitment that he literally only owns the clothes he’s wearing that day. But if you’re in trouble, you want Jack on your side. These books are very atypical for me but they’re enjoyable, emotional and the child, Ellie, is enchanting. Not my favorite in the series, Echo Burning was still a good escape.

Computer has been down all week, adding insult to injury regarding my lapsed blogging. Using spare one to input a few last D reflections.

Let’s hear it for the Dan’s. 2 points for a DAN Spigel presentation at my woman’s club earlier in the month. He talked about his mother’s family during the Russian revolution through the Nazi invasion. It was interesting but he was too concerned with selling his self-produced DVD, House of the Generals, to concentrate on giving us a truly focused message. Another 1 point for DAN Buettner for his book, Blue Zones: Lessons in Living Longer from the People Who Have Lived the Longest. (Special mention for one of the longest living titles in history.) Really enjoyed that book and will incorporate some of the lessons into my life. Not alphabetically, I may add.

2 points for studying the new additions to the world’s top English DICTIONARIES last year. “Matchy-matchy” is now official, along with frenemy, unfriend and friend as a verb. Thank you FaceBook for expanding our vocabulary. Other new words: flash mob, zombie bank, sheeple and bromance. Gotta love ’em.

1 point for DECLUTTERING DRAWERS. Part of my quest to become more organized. Discovering unused and now expired gift/promotional cards was one downfall to that project. Never again – I’m using all the others right away!

Well, unless I “DRAW” tomorrow, that’s it for my D month. Looking forward to E.

Barbara and I decided to double the stakes in one trip. We went to DUBLIN, Texas  (196 miles from Paris, TX and 87 miles from Italy, TX) to explore the town (2 points) and visit the Dr Pepper Museum (2 points for topic of study). Barbara will talk about Dr Pepper, which was a real sweet experience.

Recently the site of various UFO sightings, the town of Dublin was the topic of the History Channel’s UFO Hunters Episode 110. We didn’t see anything odd, but we did meet a suicidal dog (Barbara will report). As two sisters, we couldn’t resist entering The Three Sisters of Dublin shop (1 point), where we chatted with two of the three sisters and chuckled over some of their sister-oriented gift items. We told them a little about our “D” month activities and they were delighted with the concept and immediately suggested we visit the neighboring town of De Leon. The sisters were kindred spirits and we loved their shop. If you’re ever in Dublin, stop by and say hi to Lisa, Brenda and Mary.

No New Year’s Resolutions for me. From now on, it’s my DO IT list. (Doesn’t that even sound more motivating?)

Laura’s 2011 DO IT’s:
1. Lose 20 pounds and embrace a nutritious and fit lifestyle. (Boring and predictible but this year I will DO IT.)
2. Spend more time on things important to me and my family than on needless distractions or unwarranted obligations. Huh? Expressed more clearly: Make better choices where I spend my time.
3. Get better organized. (I’m way too random.)

What are your DO IT’s? Please share.

Finished 2010 with the flu – but that’s so last year. To all my blog friends: a very Happy New Year. May you have wonderful new experiences this year and lots of fun discovering new things to do, cook, read and study.

Made my first CHOWDER (2 points)!  I’ve tasted my share of chowders but never attempted to make my own. Took the plunge – it was delicious and easy to do. For vegetarians, just substitute mushrooms for the sausage.

Potato Sausage CHOWDER
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3/4 small green pepper, chopped
3 cups peeled and diced red potato
1 Earl Campbell hot link, sliced (or another brand)
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon Italian herbs (or thyme)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cup milk, divided
3 tablespoons flour

Melt butter in large Dutch Oven; add onion, celery and green pepper. Cook until tender, stirring frequently. Add potatoes, sausage, chicken broth, herbs, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in 1-1/2 cups milk and stir. Then combine remaining 1/2 cup milk and flour, stirring until smooth and add to chowder. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Simmer longer for more thickness, if preferred. Makes 1-1/2 quarts.

Any chowders or soup recipes to share?

Traveled the back roads to CELINA (2 points), a small town with mainly farm and ranch land. The more obscure routes are the most fun because you never know what you’ll see. In this case, rambling ranches with long-horn cattle and wild turkeys. The downtown is quaint and home to Lucy’s Cafe, where I immediately celebrated life by having chicken fried chicken, mac and cheese, cut green beans and coconut creme pie. A definite salute to all C foods. To walk it off, paced myself the few yards to CHERRY’S ANTIQUIBLES (2 points), where I found an adorable antique green bookcase. Also bought a signed and framed Pauline Elbe CAMPANELLI print (1 point).

What “C” things are happening in your life?

2 points (learning something new)

CAHOOTS. What a great word. Who can dislike it, when the largest part is “hoot.” Laughter, a riot, a lot of ha ha’s. But no, it doesn’t have anything to do with gaity. The dictionary definition is “questionable collaboration; secret partnership.” Most people use the expression “in cahoots” to imply something underhanded but I think that’s a crime for such a fun word. I wanted to know its origin and found that “cahoots” might have come from two possible roots, both French. One from “cohorte,” meaning company and the other “cahute,” meaning cabin (and “in cahoots” implying being as close as two people sharing a cabin.) But there’s a bonus to this search.  I discovered a great online magazine: Cahootsmagazine.com, an alternative Canadian online magazine for women, which in their words is: “a place for diverse, original, strong,  humorous, fearless writing about things – such as work, health, home, life, the world – that really matter to women.” What a great little discovery.  Strange…do you think maybe serendipity and the abc life are in cahoots?

1 point x 2

Read 2 “C” books so far this month, one by a new author: J. California Cooper. The author of 17 plays, she was named Black Playwright of the Year in 1978. Encouraged by author Alice Walker to try her hand at fiction, she has since wrote several collections of short stories and novels. I read Some Love, Some Pain, Some Time: Stories and enjoyed her trademark style of sympathetic yet often troubled characters who offer inspiration and insight into the common themes of love and life. The stories are all very similar so it’s a book that’s best read over time unless you’re in desperate need of the company of women who are discovering life’s lessons the hard way. The other C book was 700 Sundays by Billy Crystal. This is a short memoir by the famous comic about the 700 Sundays he spent with his father, who died when Billy was 15.  Found out a whole lot about his early years and the music and comedy that influenced his life. Didn’t hurt that I can totally relate to his background – even his Long Island routes.

Started another C book for one of my book clubs, but did not finish it: Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin. Everyone I talk to loves this book, but I wasn’t compelled to keep reading. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood…maybe I had no patience to read of hardships because this is often the time of year when I feel just a wee bit down. However, when I told a friend I wasn’t enjoying the book, she told me a few reasons why she loved it, so I went back to it with a more open mind. The funny thing was that I began to enjoy the book more, which made me think of how many times our mood or circumstances close us off to new people or experiences. That person you met yesterday who annoyed you (because you were in a lousy mood) – would you perhaps like her better had you met her another day? The online Friday Morning Bookclub post today was: do you give up on books? My answer was  yes – most of the time I do it without a second thought. But every now and then, that lingering doubt remains.

2 points

Attended an evening performance of CHRISTMAS Belles at the Greater Lewisville Community Theatre. What a hoot! My friend Janye was in the play – and that made it so much fun. Local theatres are little gems and I never would have known about this small theater if it weren’t for spreading my abc wings a little. (How’s that for ringing my own bell?)