Schrodinger's Kittie

Too precious for words

Well, I decided to put the kibosh on the layette set I was making. Instead, I’m working up a sweater of my own design. It will be a little large so it should fit the tyke come fall/winter time, with room under for a comfy t-shirt or whatever for extra layers. Making it like a little Guernsey. It will be a natural cotton – I’m contemplating using light blue for the cabled areas and then the cuff and neck in the natural like the base of the body. We’ll see. Now to make sure I get the proportions correct on this little sweater so it doesn’t come out all wonky.

We moved last weekend into an RV park in the middle of the Cleveland National Forest. I love it. No, I’m not living in an RV. I’m living in a ‘model’ home. It’s got two rooms, a living room, bathroom, kitchen, patio and fire ring. The view is just excellent, and the park pays for all utilities except propane and TV. It’s a bit more space than what we had before – at nearly a $400/mo savings after everything is considered. Seemed like the smart move. We have satellite television and internet – yes, we are that remote. No phone service. We drive about five miles down the road and call from the lookout…absolutely amazing signal there. **laughs**

Porch view

Friday night, we started up a fire in the fire ring and within five minutes of the smoke hitting the air, one of our neighbors showed up, beer in hand. We visited for several hours, cooked some turkey dogs on the fire and just really enjoyed the evening. The following night, several of the neighbors got together and visited for several hours by a large fire. It was very enjoyable. A little more company than my introverted soul enjoys at one time – but, even so, it was great to discover that we have so many wonderful neighbours. The Grove’s community is just special. Each and everyone we’ve met, so far, has been a pure joy. It has been a very long time since I lived in a place where people not only were curious about their neighbors, but made the effort to get to know them all – and to make it a true community. That is a priceless thing.

Saturday, we went on a major shopping spree to fill the larder. I got three full roasting chickens and popped them in the oven to cook while I put the rest of the groceries away. Then just relaxed on the couch while I came up with the plan and design for Gibson’s sweater. After the chickens finished (3 chickens cooked at 375 for ~2 hours), I pulled them out of the oven and separated the breasts, legs, thighs off of two of the birds and froze them. The third one, I pulled all the meat off, shredded it and put it in a Tupperware container in the fridge – now I’m ready for my recipes that call for chicken in the upcoming week.

The drive

I took the juices from the roasted chickens and dumped it into a stock pot. I added an equal amount of water and then as I was separating and shredding the chickens, I put all the fat, bones, necks, hearts, skins, etc into the stock pot. I added two bay leaves, some oregano and basil, onion (we had a witherd up bi that really needed to get used ASAP), the leaves off the celery and the itty bitty celery hearts, two carrots and a couple mushrooms and left it to boil for two hours. I strained it out and froze the resulting stock – three containers in the freezer prepared for chicken ‘n’ dumplin’s or whatever else I may wish to make that requires chicken stock.

I have planned out a tentative menu for the next few weeks. Nothing for any particular day; but, we went shopping with specific recipes in mind. That being the case, it was really so much more cost effective to purchase several whole chickens and just prepare them at home and make my own stock rather than buying it all in separate bits. We figured it out and we saved approximately $25 doing it this way. A whole chicken cost us $4.11. The breasts (four in the package) were freaking $12. The thighs were $7 for a rather goodly portion. M prefers the dark and I prefer the white, so I tend to cook with a mix of both – it just made buying the whole chicken a lot more cost efficient. And, really, it wasn’t that difficult to do. Sure, it was a touch time consuming to debone and skin them…but, I didn’t have anything pressing to do other than work on Gibson’s sweater. And, an hour to debone and skin three chickens is really not that big a bother – esp when it saves me $25 off my grocery bill!!

The house

Last night, I made a homemade pizza – prepackaged pizza crust (I was feeling lazy), marinara sauce, chicken (from the chickens I roasted on Saturday), chopped asparagus, mushrooms, diced broccoli, diced zucchini, feta and mozzarella. Considering the grumbling from M about some of the ingredients, I was happily surprised when he devoured it. Yay for another successful meal. So, in my moment of happiness, I decided to bake up some brownies. I availed myself of our neighbour Kurt and borrowed some vanilla (yes, people actually do still borrow ingredients from each other – amazing!). I gave him one of the brownies this morning as he headed off to work. **chuckles** These were brownies from scratch, not prepackaged. I had everything except vanilla. I used cacao nibs and cacao powder, sugar, butter (yes, the real deal), flour, vanilla and baking powder. I was informed that the only thing missing was pecans. Since I can’t stand nuts in my food, I disagreed…however, next time I’ll put pecans on his side…and, I think I will try adding cherries to my side. Sounds pretty tasty to me.

Mi novio tells a story about his father and how he was a tailor and would make these outfits that had so many pieces they’d boggle the mind.  He says he’d sit there and watch his father sew these things together and just wonder how in the world the man kept it all straight.  When he asked his father, the man responded, “All I have to think about is the part that’s under the needle.”

When I was talking to my son on the way back from LA, on Saturday, a similar conversation came up.  I asked him what he’d like for dinner and you could just see his mind go blank.  He said he’d always had problems about that question.  Apparently, at one point when he was visiting his father, he’d been asked to write up a menu – and, he just flat out couldn’t do it.

I told him, “Well, kiddo, that’s because you are thinking of the entire meal at one go.  Don’t worry about the whole meal.  First things first…When you think of eating tonight, what makes your mouth water?  If you think of chicken?  Fish?  Roast beef?  Something else?”  He responded with what sounded good.

I then came back and asked what kind of things he generally thinks of going with that particular item – and, the next thing you know, we had a full menu for dinner.  I told him, “When you get the first step done, then you take the second step.  But, if you look at it all at once and try to come up with the perfect meal in one go, it is this chaotic and overwhelming thing.  Just one item at a time gets the job done.”

As I was saying this, I couldn’t help but laugh at how very similar the life lesson was between what mi novio’s father had imparted to him and the one I’d just given my son.  I wonder if it will stick?  Regardless, it hit me – particularly given some of the personal issues I’ve been having to face and overcome recently.

Needless to say, when my sister posted on her Facebook status, “Thinking….if you could give one piece of advice to this year’s graduating class….what would you say?”  Well, I had to respond with this bit of wisdom that has been playing such a central theme in my life, right now.

My response was not like most others.  Theirs have been mostly two veins.  Vein one, “Get your secondary education.” Vein two, “Make Christ the center of your life.”  Both very respectable answers.

But…

Here’s the thing – think back (for some of you it’s a bit of a stretch, I know **grins**).  When you stepped out into the world on your own for the first time…wasn’t it a bit overwhelming?  Wondering how your parents ever managed to do it all?  Peers pushing you to not be responsible; but, needing to make sure the bills get paid, the schoolwork gets done, the car gets filled, the cat gets fed, etc…All the things you were able to ignore as a kid is no longer someone else’s problem.  It’s yours.

And, yes, having faith to hold on to is a great and wonderful thing…but, reality is that Christ isn’t going to sit down at your dinner table and make sure the bills get paid on time, that your homework gets done or that your laundry was sorted right so you don’t have grey-ish pink t-shirts to wear until you can afford to buy new ones.

It can be horribly overwhelming – even for those who have been on their own for decades.  How much more so for someone just entering the real world?  Especially a world in such fiscal, emotional and political upheaval?

The key to making it through times like that – times that it just seems like no matter what there is always so much more that needs to be done…times where it looks completely and totally insurmountable – the absolute key is to realize that the only part that matters is what is right here, right now.  The one item right in front of you. The next one will be dealt with when you get to it.  And, the next one and the next one…But, it all winds up being the one that is right in front of you.

This moment in time.  This one moment.  It’s all you can immediately influence. Handle it well.  Influence it to the best of your ability. Let the next moment be what it is when it comes – and, let go of the previous moment when it’s done.  This one moment deserves the very best you can give it.

If you do that, you find that the crazy quilt of your life comes together – one stitch at a time.  One piece at a time.  One block at a time.

Here is a delightful chat I just had with Verizon customer ’support’.  I wanted to drop down to the bare minimum in voice since I rarely talk on the phone, keep my unlimited texting and drop the data package they had originally forced on me when I got my phone (I wanted the QWERTY keyboard).  Seems like a simple enough request, right?  Oh, how wrong we are:

Please wait for a Verizon Wireless sales representative to assist you with your order. Thank you for your patience!

A Verizon Wireless online pre-sales specialist has joined the chat. You are now chatting with Cassandra

Cassandra: Hello. Thank you for visiting our chat service.  May I help you with your order today?

Cassandra: I haven’t heard from you in a while.  Would you like to continue chatting?

You: yes

You: I’m not at all happy with having a $9.99 forced onto my account. Please explain why something I do not want is being forced on me?

Cassandra: It is not being forced it is required for all 3G phones.

You: thus forced

You: I do no want to use this feature

You: I want only to txt

Cassandra: Did you just opt to change the plan?

You: yes

You: and it forced the $9.99 fee

Cassandra: No, you could have kept the plan as it was where you were not ” forced” but you opted to continue, correct?

You: no

You: it popped up

You: with only an “ok” – no option to decline was offered

You: and it won’t let me “deselect” the data package

You: hold on – the screen just refreshed with a remove option

You: Add Features Data Package Unlimited with Mobile Email $29.99/month This is a minimum required feature for your device. Remove Features Data Package 25MB with Mobile Email $9.99/month Total change in monthly recurring charges: $20.00/month

You: and then I try to remove it and get forced to either keep the $9.99 or be shoved into a $29.99 feature

You: this is very not cool

You: I have no desire to check email on this phone – ever. I wanted it for the keypad for my amount of txting. Period.

Cassandra: But with the plan you already had you do not have to have the data plan, correct?

You: ….

You: yes I was forced into it with the plan I had

You: and I went ahead and used it. But I’m trying to get down to the minimum possible with unlimited texting ONLY

You: it’s all I care about

You: I hardly use my phone for anything but texting

Cassandra: I am sorry about that.

You: how do I get this removed

You: I do not want this “feature”

Cassandra: You can not it is required. You will have to select a basic phone that does not require it.

You: I see. So because I bought a phone that does what I need it to do

You: you force me into a service i do not want

Cassandra: Not forced.

You: yes dear

You: it is forced

You: you just told me I have to have this service

You: period

You: because I need a phone with a keyboar

You: keyboard

You: you are forcing me to take a service I do not want

Cassandra: We have the Motorola Rival and Samsung intensity that do not require a data plan.

You: please point me to where on the phone features it points out that the data package is required

You: yes

You: for which you will force me to pay $200+ to change

Cassandra: On the phones page when you select the phone it is listed under that. [this was not on the page when I purchased the phone a while back]

You: to drop a feature I do not want

Cassandra: You can not. Sorry.

You: which

You: really

You: means

You: I’d be just as well served

You: to pay the termination fee

Cassandra: Okay.

You: since it’s actually less than the phone you require me to get

You: so

You: y’all really would rather lose a customer than drop a feature that customer does not want to utilize. This is blindingly spectacular business sense

You: how does this make sense?

Cassandra: We have not really lost business since the change has place. [notice this nice little insertion?]

You: thank you for this enlightening conversation. Please be advised that the entire conversation will be posted to my blog for public ellucidation.

You: Thank you

Well, I can unequivocally say they lost a customer today.  It’s either keep paying the $10/mo fee that I don’t want to pay – or pay the FULL price (even though they are forcing me to change phones) for a new phone that I do not want.  The default on the contract is less than the cost of one of those phones and only a couple bucks more than the cost of the other.  That makes a ton of sense.

Instead, it appears I will be switching to MetroPCS or Cricket or something.  Those who were texting me on my cell phone, be aware that the number will soon no longer be valid as I transition.