Missy, Jenny, and Nica Playing Dress Up, circa 1980
Because my family moved so much, I’ve only kept in touch with a tiny, tiny handful of friends from my childhood. I found out Monday that Nica died last weekend, so now my little clutch of childhood friends is even smaller. It’s hard to believe she’s gone. I keep forgetting, and then remembering, and every time I do, I tear up again. I know a whole lot of people are missing her like crazy, so I’m in good company.
This is one of my favorite photos of Nica, from when we were kids.
We did not lose power! Yay for that. Comcast crapped out early yesterday evening and didn’t come back up until this afternoon, so I was without cable, Internet access, and house phone for the night. That’s only a minor annoyance, though. As long as the electricity is on, I’m happy!
I’d say that we got somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 inch of ice at my house, judging by the accumulation on my car. So not so bad. Definitely not as serious as conditions a little west of us. I’m guessing that being on the southern edge of the ice band was to our benefit.
The only casualty was the seal on my rear car doors. I thought I’d better clear off the car and let it run today, because it would only be more difficult if I left it until tomorrow, when the temperature is supposed to be down around 5F. The only problem was getting into the car, as the doors and door handles were completely iced shut. I finally managed to get one of the rear doors open, but in doing so, the seal popped off. Then, when I tried opening the opposite door from the inside, that seal popped off, too. The driver’s side door is fine, though, and I didn’t bother with the front passenger side door. Hopefully the rear door seals aren’t significantly damaged. Hrmf! But at least it’s running, and I’ll be able to get to work tomorrow.
I think I’m officially OVER this winter. As far as I’m concerned, it can go die in a fire. A toasty, warm, blazing fire.
I had some odds and ends of milk products to use up (skim milk, half-and-half, and buttermilk), so I thought I’d try making cheese. It is easy and fast, and the only ingredients are milk, lemon juice (or some other acid to curdle the milk), and salt. No fancy gadgets are required, either–just a piece of cheesecloth or a thin, lint-free towel, a saucepan, a couple of plates, a colander, and some kind of weight to press the liquid out of the curd.
I have a weakness for tacky Catholic stuff, so my mom picked this up for me somewhere. It’s a bracelet, and each of the little rectangular sections has a different saint on it.
I don’t often get interesting stuff to catalog. That’s the nature of government documents. Occasionally, though, one of the old, crumbly books that come across my desk has marginalia or notes that catch my eye. I don’t recall the title of this one, but it was a collection of memoirs of 17th century Dutch traders in Ceylon.
A coworker thought I might be able to use this in something arty. I thought it was a game token at first, but it’s actually a rivet from a pair of jeans. A very cheap rivet from a very expensive pair of jeans.
Taxes are done, done, done! And it only took 27 minutes. I went ahead and filed both state and federal electronically, but my understanding is that federal returns are going to be held up because of the late changes to the tax laws. So I guess we’ll just wait and see how long it takes.
Laundry is almost done, too. I wish I could say as much for the house, because it looks like a bomb hit it. I didn’t get any cleaning done this weekend, unless you count emptying and (re)filling the dish washer, and I’m pretty sure you can’t.
red paper boat 