Hobbit-ish Potpurri: Winter Strikes Back

Hey Humble Readers...

I hope you are all warm and cozy, tucked into your own little hobbit-holes.  Here on the flatland winter has again reared its ugly head.  It's not particularly cold, but it's been snowing all day.  It's not our normal type of February snow (icy and dry), it's really more like the snow we get in the spring, in April or May (wet and heavy).  I had plans for us to spend some time outside tomorrow, but I think we might skip that as I'm sure that it's going to be a sloppy wet mess everywhere. 

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I don't know what was wrong with me tonight as I cooked dinner.  All sorts of crazy things went wrong.  My timing was all off on everything, and somehow I managed to let the potatoes boil dry... ugh, what a mess.  I was making yorkshire puddings and I tried a new recipe that called for butter in the pan rather than oil, and I should have known better.  At the high temp in the oven, of course the butter burned.  The house is still full of smoke. 

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To add insult to injury, we had a minor catastrophe during dinner.  We were eating at tv trays in the living room (a common thing, I'm ashamed to admit) and while I was cutting a piece of meat, my tray decided to give way entirely.  Of course, I had a full glass of iced tea (sugar free, naturally) that went everywhere.  *sigh*  Well, I had been planning on having the carpets steam cleaned before Easter...

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In other news, I finally got around to doing my 24 hour urine collection (how's that for a subject change?).  I started it on Friday morning, not thinking that my Beloved and I had planned to go to a movie that evening (my Beloved had arranged a sitter as a bit of a Valentine's surprise for me).  Being out for dinner and a movie, and having far too much to drink at both, made it very difficult to not mess up that stupid urine collection.  It also made for some fast talking at the sitter's house when we picked up Ginny.  I mean, how do you explain to someone that you have to pee like a racehorse, but that you have to pee at home? 

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The movie we saw, "This Means War", was fantastic!  I haven't laughed so much in ages!  It hasn't had a lot of promotion from what I can see, but it is totally worth seeing.  And the eye candy in it (Chris Pine and Tom Hardy) was certainly an added bonus!

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Good news for our congregation... the pastor who we voted to call (offer the position to) has accepted.  He and his family will be here sometime in May. 

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I'm on pins and needles.  The season finale for Downton Abbey is due to start in just a few minutes.  I'm so anxious to see where they leave things with Mr. Bates and with Lady Mary & Matthew.  I have to say, I absolutely adore the clothes ant the romance of the era.  I know it wasn't all beautiful like it is in shows like this, and at best I would have been a cook in a manor house like that (if not a simple scullery maid), but it's just so lovely.