Powerless for Two Days

We received a record amount of snow on Thursday in Dallas. We lost electricity for the most of two days. Lucky for us we have a gas fireplace in our living room, and we pulled the chase and a couch in front of the fireplace and we played card games (gin rummy and speed) and my husband read aloud by candle light Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol in front of the fire. Since we live in Dallas (in Lakewood) we kept thinking that the power would come back on- any moment. It was a reasonable thought since we don't live in the country- we live in Dallas. We actually enjoyed our two days without electricity. There wasn't anything to distract us- no TV, no Internet, no hot water, no light- it was just us together in front of the fireplace and it was lovely. The power was restored at midnight on the second day, and as we decamped from the living room we both discussed why we don't do this more often.

Executive Platinum Husband

My husband got home from the airport after I went to to bed last night, and he left the house to go back to the airport before I woke up this morning. He has 3 day trips this week. He's a busy businessman. The recession must be over because this is the busiest Q1 he's ever had.

Antique Roadshow Love

My husband's parents are mesmerized by PBS' Antiques Roadshow. We think they are about 25 years too young to care so much about that show, and sometimes we make fun of them for watching the Antiques Roadshow, nightly! For Valentine's Day (in retaliation) my husband's parents baked and decorated a delicious cake, gave us the Antiques Road Show game, and wrote us a poem inside our Valentine's Day card! We're so lucky! I am going to bring the game with us to play nonstop while we're in Colorado together. The cake was great- my husband's mother makes a killer cake and icing. But the favorite gift of the night is the poem they wrote to us...

Antique Roadshow
we love you so!
It's educational
don't you know!

Be careful what you
think is trash,
it could be exchanged
for major cash!

KERA is the channel
for us,
PBS is the one
you can trust!

So, don't poke fun
at your family now,
we're watching & hoping
we'll find a cash cow!

Giddy Up!

Last week's visit to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo has had me thinking about an agriculture life. I like to think, perhaps, in a parallel universe I am a horse owner; I am sure I have horses and pigs and happy hens laying eggs. It would be fun to visit that place for a weekend, because my current life isn't on track to accommodate my inner cowboy, which is okay, because I live a glorious life without the farm.

Pizza Dough

In case anyone was curious...(Ahem, Dooley)...My husband's secret to really spectacular pizza dough is that he uses Williams-Sonoma's Cuisinart Convection Breadmaker. One of the wedding presents my in-laws gave us was this machine and it's worth owning. (Our kitchen is the smallest room in our house, which means when I think a kitchen appliance is worth owning that's a huge compliment to the appliance.) Live with a Breadmaker and you'll wonder how you ever got along without one in your house.

Idol's Hope Johnson

Did you watch this week's American Idol? I was so touched by Hope Johnson's story. You can watch it on YouTube, here. Hope's words are so touching: "I didn't know we were poor when I was little. I thought a lot of kids didn't eat dinner. My parents would say: you're going to eat at school. I use to take food from my lunch tray home...I would give my brother my food. I felt like- there's always tomorrow and things are always going to be better. Just make it through the night. There's a lot worse things than just going without. There's a lot worse."

It makes me sad to know there are children hungry in the U.S.A. We shouldn't have hungry children in our great nation, and I am sorry that Hope and her six sisters and one brother had to go hungry at times. We can do better. I hope Hope does well in Idol's Hollywood week. I will be cheering for her!

Adios Antique White

This is why we're painting all the surfaces in the house: look at the above photo. As soon as they painted the walls a true white all the doors in the house obviously appear to not be white. Our house was bathed in the yellowy, buttery, antique white that was awesome in 1980 when our house was built, but it is not awesome today. I like bright whites. I like whites to be white because it makes me feel clean and crisp.

I can't wait for the work to be completed. When the painters started they were going to be here until the end of January. Today is the first day of February, and the painting of the house is not completed. The painters arrived today with an action plan so they can finish by the week's end. (Fingers crossed.)