Month End Musings ~ February 2009

There was more musing than blogging this month. I entertained little snippets of ideas as I drove to work, ate chocolate, walked across campus, shopped at Safeway, ate chocolate, watched television, made lunch, listened to the radio, ate chocolate, read a magazine article, ate chocolate, opened my mail, played Guess the Sketch on Facebook, waited at Kaiser for a prescription, ate chocolate, and waited on hold for PG&E long enough to have eaten an entire pound of chocolate. Alas, a little snippet that doesn't grow up to be a post is sent to the end of the month!

I didn't watch the Super Bowl, but I couldn't escape hearing about it Monday morning as I drove to work Apparently at the end of his performance, Bruce Springsteen (in what was characterized as an uncharacteristic burst of spontaneity) shouted, "I'm going to Disneyland." One newscaster speculated he said it to get free admission to Disneyland and the other responded that Bruce Springsteen could probably get into Disneyland for free anytime he so desired. No doubt he can. This has always been a source of irritation for me. Why do celebrities get free admissions and other perks when they can well afford anything they want while Joe the custodian or Joe the bus driver or Joe the truck driver with a wife and four children has to scrimp and save to partake of the joys of Disneyland?

Tortilla chips and salsa. Who can resist this salty and spicy lagniappe that is proffered within minutes of being seated at a Mexican restaurant? Did I say spicy? I did. Spicy is one thing, but SPICY is quite another. I've never understood why some restaurants put salsa on the table that is so hot it would make--well, it would make my Cousin Florence gasp. And she can, as we like to say, eat hot.

I don't care for Lou Dobbs.

Items I purchased at the Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale: (1) A watercolor: "Summer Morning" by R. C.Lockhardt, (2) 5 jigsaw puzzles: "Rockefeller Center Holiday," "BoulangerieParisienne," "Napa Valley Wine Country, " USA Farmland," and "The Gallery," (3) 3 wool blankets, (4) 2 pilgrim couples (1 ceramic couple and 1 couple made out of gourds), (5) a rubber Santa Claus, (6) a Christmas candy dish, (7) a gift for my Godchild, Anna, which I cannot describe just in case she reads this, (8) 6 blank scrapbooks, (9) set of 12 gift enclosure cards, (10) 4 miniature vases, (11) 3 boxes of Christmas cards, (12) 9 books: The Geography of Bliss, It Isn't a Bus, Candy Freak, A Diary from Dixie, Christmas with Southern Living 1995, Christmas with Southern Living 1998, Christmas with Southern Living 2002, The Chef's Wife, My Pen Pal Scrapbook, (13) a large olive dish with 4 small plates, (14) set of 6 snowman coasters, and (15) set of 6 french motif coasters.

I lost another Cousin on February 4. Rest in peace, Eddie.