Angela Law

animal lover, gardener, knitter, and gourmet cook
 
miscellany

stupor bowl

Brian and Jake went to the Steeler game today so I’ve been keeping myself busy doing all those things I never get to do (at my own pace, anyway). I got up early this morning because when Brian and Jake are up, everyone is up. I started off my day by baking two loaves of ciabatta (we’re going to be having some good sandwiches in the coming month). I always want to make ciabatta, but by the time I think about it, it’s always too late to start the sponge (which takes 2-24 hours). Luckily, I had the forethought to do this yesterday.

After doing my usual morning routine, it was time for lunch. I made a white bean and chicken salad that I really like, but the guys would never eat it, so today seemed like a good day for that recipe. After lunch, more housework. Next, it was time for the game. I watched it for a bit and it started off pretty good, but things went downhill fast, so I thought that would be a good time to grab a little nap. I slept for about 45 minutes and when I woke up, the Steelers weren’t any better off. I watched the game for a few more minutes, then had to run to Nanty Glo to let Brian’s parent’s dog out (they’re at the game, too). By the time I got home, there were only a few seconds left in the game and, of course, the Steelers had another turnover and lost the game.

This was one of the most bumbling games I’ve ever had the displeasure of watching. If I counted the stats correctly, there were 8 turnovers (5 interceptions and 3 fumbles) plus a couple more fumbles that were not turnovers. Messy. This was between the two teams, of course. Anyway, I have not lost hope yet. It looks to me like the Steelers offense hasn’t clicked yet and a lot of that has to do with Roethlisburger right now (he was definitely looking like a post-Bradshaw Steeler QB today). I still think they can turn the season around, but I’m not expecting another Super Bowl win this year.

jake

toothless jake

Jake finally lost his first tooth. I say “finally” because every six months for the past year, he’s asked the dentist when he was going to lose a tooth. Each time the answer was, “probably within the next six months.”

His tooth was loose for nearly two weeks before the darned thing came out. If that were me, I would’ve had the bugger out on the second day. The tooth was literally hanging by a thread the night before it finally came out, but he wouldn’t pull it or let us pull it that night. The next day, he was pushing it back and forth and it finally came out.

The good news is that since he waited so long, his new tooth is already poking through.

Teeth are going a buck a piece these days. I wouldn’t want to be the tooth fairy. Damned inflation!

gardening & landscaping

indian summer?

You all can thank me for the nice weather we’ve had the past few days. I had Brian put the cover on the air conditioner this weekend, so some nice weather was practically guaranteed. I did manage to take advantage of the weather by working in the garden a few times over the weekend–I’m on fall cleanup duty now. I really wanted to get out there tonight, but we had a cub scout meeting to attend at 7pm, so I didn’t have time. I have a lot of work to do before October (and brush cleanup week) hits, so hopefully we will have some decent weather in the interim.

We managed to get through the summer without a lot of activities, but they have all culminated into one busy September and October. I’m not sure how that happened.

jake

scout’s honor

I don’t think I mentioned this before, but Jake quit karate a few months ago. It was time to move up to the next class and he just wasn’t interested. It seemed like a waste of time and money to force him to continue.

While I’m not one to push extracurricular activities, I do think it is important for him to be involved in something. If only so he gets to interact with other kids on a regular basis. Being an only child, things can get pretty boring around here for him at times. This issue has been mitigated somewhat this summer because a new family moved into the neighborhood and they have three kids around Jake’s age, so he’s been playing with them a lot. But, still, I think it’s good to have a more structured activity to go to.

Continuing our “character-building” theme for activities, we thought cub scouts would be a good thing for Jake to try next. Brian was involved in boy scouts and really enjoyed it, so he’s looking forward to some of the activities as well. Sign up was this past week, so Jake’s ready to go just as soon as we buy his handbook and uniform. He wasn’t all that interested in joining, but he had a great time at the sign up meeting because a bunch of his friends from school were there. I think this should work out pretty well for him.

movies

derailed

Brian and I watched this last night, sans Margarita (though we did have a lemonade with vodka. mmm. nothing to eat, though). We both really liked the movie. It had more twists and turns than route 56 into Bedford. I can’t really get into the plot because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but suffice it to say, it’s not your average affair flick. It was quite entertaining, though I wouldn’t call it great cinema. But, sometimes being entertained is enough. And, that was certainly the case last night.

I heard mixed reviews about Jennifer Aniston’s performance in the movie, but I thought she did a pretty good job–particularly once the story line unraveled.

Definitely recommended.