kelliem: Criminal Minds - Garcia (nom)
( Feb. 24th, 2011 08:20 am)
Hey, do any of you know the title of and original performer of the song that was used in last night's Criminal Minds episode "Coda"? The one the autistic boy kept playing? I can send you a download link to an audio file stripped off the show's soundtrack if you're curious.

I haven't posted in forever, mostly because I feel pretty overwhelmed by Real Life. Work continues to be difficult, they still haven't let us have our front-desk person back so office support for 35 faculty, plus about 90 grad students and 600 undergrads continues to be done by just two people- myself and my co-worker. I discovered that we're the lowest-staffed department in the college, despite the fact that we teach more Core student credit hours than any other department. I feel like we're being punished for being good at our jobs. Plus, state employees haven't had a raise in 3 years and on top of that, they're taking more out for our retirement, so essentially we've gotten pay CUTS.

The kidunit got laid off in mid-November, the same week that Bluster passed away, and shortly after we found out about his autoimmune issues. His being laid off was not a result of his health issues, but they make him difficult to insure, and I am dreading his fast-approaching birthday when he will no longer be eligible for my plan. In the mean time, I can barely pay my own bills let alone his, so we're seriously considering bankruptcy. I wonder if a bankruptcy attorney will give us a two for one deal?

My mother had another stroke about a month ago, and despite her showing all the classic signs of having had a stroke, it took the hospital 24 hours to actually diagnose one, by which time it was too late to give her the tPA like they did last time, so her recovery has been much, much slower this time. While the stroke fortunately did not affect her ability to communicate, she has left-side weakness/unresponsiveness which is responding only slowly to rehabilitation. They're letting her out of the hospital this weekend but sending her to a skilled nursing facility to continue rehabbing, in hopes that she will eventually be able to be independent, but it could be the best we can hope for is assisted. No matter what, she's going to have to sell her townhouse which is on 3 levels and completely unmanageable for her now, so that she can get an apartment in a senior living facility somewhere which can accommodate her needs.

I have been spending much of my free time at the hospital with her trying to help keep her spirits up, and running errands and suchlike for her since she can't do it herself. Once I get home from that, I'm pretty much braindead and only good for staring at the TV. Fortunately a lot of my shows continue to please me- Chuck, Castle, the NCISes, Hawaii 5-0, Criminal Minds (though I am leery of this Prentiss arc, I fear the worst since I know she was on the chopping block at one point this year and may still be for all I know), Top Chef, and The Mentalist. I know everyone else is hating on Supernatural this season, but I'm sort of enjoying it, though I am willing to admit that may be because my critical thinking faculties have gone on hiatus due to stress. I was bummed that Fabio went home on Top Chef. He was my favorite, though I kind of knew all along he probably wouldn't win. Sucks that he went home because of a hamburger, though.
kelliem: misc spices (spice1)
( Jul. 23rd, 2009 11:44 am)
Wow, I don't post as much when I don't have bird news to share. Hm, what's new? My mom had a scare last weekend, she fainted in church and they called an ambulance and took her to the emergency room. Fortunately she's fine, they don't really know what caused the syncopy (that term always sounds so darned festive for just meaning 'fainting'!) but suspect a combination of factors including heat, low sodium, and hyperventilation.

I guess all the fun birds are off nesting, I'm mostly seeing finches, sparrows, starlings and grackles (#!@!!) at the feeder at the moment. Occasionally a jay or a flicker, but that's about it. The very fat suet-feeder-raiding squirrel hasn't been seen in some time, I suspect our fox may have gotten him, either that, or he had heart-failure from all the suet he'd snarfed. ;D Despite our having planted a bunch of flowers purported to attract hummingbirds to feeders, we've only seen two hummingbirds so far. They seem confused by the 'flying saucer' style feeder I have, so I think I may need to replace it with a more traditional one. We also are having to fight slugs and snails in our tiny flower garden for the first time I can remember. It's been weirdly humid here this summer. Beer didn't seem to be working, so I ended up getting a product that's basically granulated iron phosphate which apparently keels the snails and slugs ded, but does not harm other animals or plants. So far it seems to be working.

I've been trying some new recipes. Last night I made some hummus, combining 3 different recipes and it came out amazingly well, very lemony-garlicky-spicy, so I'm pimping the recipe behind the cut.Read more... )

Monday I made a (new to me) curry- a red "Madras" style one which includes potatoes and chickpeas. I used chicken for the protein and it was tasty, but think it would be better with beef or lamb. If anyone wants that recipe, I can post it after I get home, just let me know. It includes a recipe for the Madras curry paste used to make it, which makes enough for a small jar to use on other occasions.
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