RIP Ed Koch

I had a feeling Mayor Koch was headed toward the end, and sure enough, today he died. Just saw this on Twitter, and it made me go Hmmmm.... interesting notion.

Kevin Madden ‏@KevinMaddenDC

reminded of one of Ed Koch's best comeback lines: "I can explain it to you, but I cannot comprehend it for you."

Still Battling the Paper Tiger

I may have mastered, or semi-mastered, most of the clutter in my life, but the whole paper thing still bogs me down. I have a really bad habit of not knowing what to do with certain pieces of paper, so they accumulate into a pile which I conveniently shove into a drawer, a cabinet, a shelf, etc.

Today Marilyn was here... well, I'm getting ahead of myself... last time, we started cleaning out this piece of furniture in my bedroom where I had stashed loads of paper. I have an on-going goal of being able to open any drawer, any cabinet, any closet and having the contents be organized. As of right this second, I am about 80% successful.

Today we finished the job in this piece of furniture. I had a bag for paper recycling, a bag for shredding and a bag for non-paper garbage. My most ridiculous and embarrassing find was a big packet of blue cheese salad dressing. That was in a computer bag I also cleaned out. God only knows how long it's been in there. Luckily I'm not a food hoarder even though I'm sure this salad dressing has a shelf life of 20 years, out it went.  Now I have one fewer junk areas in my apartment. I'm getting there.

I have also been thinking of the notion of what I have named "false abundance." Last time Marilyn was here, we cleaned out my bra drawer. I hadn't really seen it until after she left and I was a little taken back when I opened the drawer. It looked so empty! I had to remind myself that this drawer only holds bras I currently wear. Any bra. Any time. That big jumble of bras that I'd have to dig through to find one I wanted is gone, but more importantly, I think that big jumble gave me reassurance (and falsely so) that I got plenty of bras. Well unless I start wearing more than one at a time, I have plenty of bras now.

One last thought: Watching Hoarders has really helped me throw things. I don't believe I have ever been in danger of living like a hoarder, but I remember one show where the shrink/organizer pointed out that hoarders have a little backstory about every item they don't want to part with. Typically I can make a quick decision, even with something like what I am sure was perfectly good salad dressing today, but I know when I hold something in my hand and start to tell Marilyn or myself a story about it, the object has got to go.

Yesterday a friend told me that she told her elderly mother "you left this mess for me to clean up." Meaning the clutter and mess and hoardery-ness of her life. That has been a big motivation to me. When I imagine Mary or whoever cleaning out my apartment when I keel over, I want it to be as easy as possible for whoever gets stuck with that task.

Feeling like an Idiot

Somehow, a number of weeks ago, I turned on a function on my computer which activated the camera/microphone. This was a tool bar about 4 inches long and an inch high and it constantly got in theway on the screen. I could move it around, but I couldnt for the life of me figure out how to get rid of it. I moved that bar around 100 times a day. No exaggeration. Just now, it was annoying me and, on the spur of the moment, I tried the right click on the mouse. Oh yeah, there is was -- a little window that said "close" and I clicked that it was gone. I couldn't believe my eyes, but more importantly, I can't believe I hadn't figured that out before.

Meantime, on another plane of petty annoyances, I had opened this package of cheese spread and inside was a folded up consumer questionnaire about where you bought the cheese, had you bought it before -- maybe about 20 questions. I was just looking at it and thinking why would I take the time to fill that out, use my own envelope, postage, etc. In other words, what's in it for me?

I wasn't wearing my glasses so I couldn't read the fine print, and I started thinking maybe the company would send me a coupon for a free package of cheese which would be good since it's close to $6.00. No such luck. The offer was one dollar by return mail. I'd heard yesterday that a first class stamp is now 46 cents, so I'd do all that work for 54 cents? I don't think so. It seems like penny-wise/pound-foolish so in the trash it went.

Certainly I must have a third boring, senseless story to tell...Let's see... Ah, the weather. After having bitter in the teens and 20s weather this past week, it's now warming up and by Wednesday it's supposed to be 60 degrees which I will welcome. I will enjoy opening the garden door and letting some fresh air in.

Love Me Some Richard Gere

ANetflix recommendation -- it's a Richard Gere movie called "Arbitrage" -- the description reads: As billionaire Robert Miller struggles to divest his entire empire before his fraud is brought to light, fate takes a nasty turnh. Now desperate and running out of options, Miller turns to an unlikely source for help. Rated R.

I'll spill the beans and say the "nasty turn" is the accidental death, caused by him, of his mistress. Susan Sarandon plays Richard Gere's wife -- of course, he's the billionaire. I have always liked him, really for years, and so at first I was sympathetic to him, but he's not a good guy and I finally was laughing and thinking if you are sick of the rich getting richer, this movie shows at least one rich guy getting his come-uppance. I'd give it three stars, with an additional half star if you are a Richard Gere fan.

Technology Marches On

I follow Sandra Bernhart on Twitter -- I'm not sure why since I am not a particular fan, but I enjoy how she expresses herself. She just posted this (well, the beginning of it on Twitter, then continued on her web site) and it's such a lovely nugget of prose. I identify with it, how the world is so much more complex. Here's what she writes:

January 24, 2013 just found out my darling great aunt birdie passed away she was born in 1911 lived to be 102 of sound mind. found out about it via email as my taxi driver made a u turn on 23rd onto 9th ave. remember when it used to be a call at home when you had time to process it all? on a stationary phone from bell electric where you might be able to sit down take a deep breath and have a good cry.

me again: Today a client told me how he can set his voice mail system to take an incoming voice mail and turn it into text and send it to him as an email. When I try to wrap my head around that, it makes me squint my eyes. The only thing I could say is "Whatever happened to those pink phone message slips that said "While You Were Out?" I miss them.

But where's the "before?"

Amy spent a long weekend in Paris visiting her daughter and has just now sent this photo:

 

 

Gee, she left the lemon wedge! This reminds me of the old fashioned cartoons where the cat would stick a whole fish in its mouth and then pull it out again, stripped of all the meat and you'd have a fish skeleton.  Amy writes: Well it was pretty, too, but i was hungry! If money was no object i would eat here most nights. Oh well. Great weekend.

Pie Day

Looking at the lineup of pies today, I am reminded that it is the pit of winter. Having it be 12 degrees when I got up this morning was another good clue. So we will still continue to celebrate National Pie Day with these offerings:

PEACH PIE

GRAHAM CRACKER CREME MERINGUE PIE 

RITZ NUT TORTE with Freshly Whipped Cream

DUTCH APPLE PIE

HOT MINCE PIE with Rum Sauce

WALNUT PIE

PUMPKIN PIE with Whipped Cream

My first definite no (well, my only definite no) is Mince Pie, made worse by rum sauce. Never cared for either of those, much less in combination.

If it were summer, I might do the peach, but not with canned peaches.

I am curious about the Ritz Nut Torte, but wonder if the "ritz" is about crackers which doesn't really appeal to me. It reminds me of some horrid recipe that people make for the Ladies Aid Pot Luck Supper-- like stuff made with Lipton Onion Soup Mix or Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup. Of course, I sound like a food snob when we all know darn well that if you put something in front of me whose key ingredient was either onion soup mix or canned cream of chicken soup, I'd scarf it right up.

Graham Cracker Creme Meringue also sounds interesting, but I'd want to know more about the creme. It must be fancy if they've changed the spelling from cream to creme.

So I think I'll be a traditionalist and go with the Dutch Apple, yes, with ice cream and a big steaming mug of great black coffee.

I found a picture that approximates what I want. I don't know what the drizzly sauce is, but it looks good to me. HAPPY NATIONAL PIE DAY!