Widgets and Such

Oh my goodness. I decided today I was going to branch out into discovering the world of blogging. Surely, the fact that I have somewhat blogged for four days now qualifies me to branch out into the nether-blogging world even deeper. My "followers," for the most part have posted pictures, and I haven't even completed my profile yet. That is partly due to the fact that the pictures are stored on the computer upstairs as opposed to this one, and I don't want it to look as though I am settling with a picture of me and the snow dog, which is one of the few pictures Randy has stored in this computer. (That would be the dog made out of snow that the lady next door created. We were so impressed, Randy had to take a picture with me standing beside it.)

I didn't get very far, because they (the blogger people) don't make it very simple using vocabulary like "widgets" to help explain how to format the thing. So, I'll start earlier tomorrow and just tell you how my day went today.

For the most part, it has been Pain Free Friday, I'm happy to say. I've gotten quite a few phone calls; had a couple of visitors; received some balloons and cards, M & Ms and nuts, with some beautiful creeping fig thrown in. I truly am very touched by everyone's kindness, and have renewed my goal to pepper all of my concerns for another with food in the future. No pun intended. My hairdresser sent over a pile of Nicholas Sparks books and I've already finished the first one. I'm usually sobbing halfway through his books, but not so this time. I even saw "The Notebook," which seems to be coming on all month throughout the day, and what is stranger still, is the fact that when I tune in, it's always the same place where James Garner and his movie wife are sitting outside the hospital, where she is a dementia patient, and she hadn't known their children who had visited that day. I usually cry at the part where she starts to understand SHE is the main female love interest in the book he has been reading to her whenever she experiences a lucid moment. (She wrote it for her family knowing she would reach the point of no return with her memory.) I didn't cry this time. I didn't even have to choke back tears. I haven't even felt the first hint of a sniffle with "The Choice," the book I just finished. I won't tell you about it, but I think Nicholas needs to expand his horizons a little more before the next book. He's becoming a little too predictable.

Which brings to mind the Julia/Julie movie that is out. I recommend you go see it if you haven't already. I know Randy regrets taking me the first time, because it ended up costing him a small fortune as I just had to have a Le Creuset 5.5 stockpot from France, if I was ever to make boeuf bourguinone the way Julia Child did. (And it had to be cherry red just like Julia's, which, when I think about it, may be orange.) I had Leah browsing all over the internet to find a store where I could get the very best price. All the way to Baton Rouge last month, I had Randy programming in Le Creuset outlet stores into our guidance system, as I have found out that the only thing that makes a 1st a 2nd is a scratch. Of course, I preferred the firsts, but I also found out that the company will replace either for free. How ironic that the closest store with FIRSTS for the very best prices is in Burlington, NC, about an hour from here. Randy told me he'd take me on the upcoming Saturday if I could wait, and wait I did. We got up that Saturday morning and headed toward Burlington, with Leah in tow, who was visiting from Florida. We stopped at Replacements, Ltd., and found my Lenox Christmas cups and her Kate Spade china on sale. What an added bonus that was; then headed on over to Burlington, where I was not disappointed. The saleslady had already helped me over the phone and everything I wanted was pre-purchased and ready to go. It was hard to walk out knowing there was so much more on sale than what I had bought, but Randy got a cherry red Le Creuset tea kettle, and we did add a braising pan to our list. I truly could not justify another thing, because one really doesn't need cast iron to boil water, which is pretty much all I use pots for.

Next on my list was to find Julia's boeuf bourguinone recipe and lo and behold, I found one that had been simplified by a Julia fan. I copied it and it is sitting in my butler's pantry waiting to be made when my foot is "heeled" as Bo said. My first "follower," Mary Kevin, even went so far as to order Julia's cookbook from Amazon. Lest I forget, she found herself over in the Burlington area shortly thereafter, and ended up getting her own cast iron dutch oven, along with orders from other neighbors, so there is a rainbow of representation of Le Creuset here in the neighborhood. (Green, blue, orange for Clemson, and red.) I can't wait to see which color produces the best flavors. Will keep you posted. Bon appetit!