More catching up

I love weekends. Isn't that strange, since I don't work (outside the home) and, with the exception of my two babysitting days, I'm pretty free to do whatever I please during the week. But still - there's just something about weekends... I'm sitting here at my desk with the TV a few feet in front of me, the DVR playing Friday night's DOC MARTIN. Anyone else watch this PBS show? It's my new favorite English (BBC) comedy/drama. Martin Clune is the main character, Doc Martin - a highly-rated surgeon who suddenly had panic attacks at the sight of blood. He moves to a tiny English town to become the town doctor. The man is as cut-and-dried, unemotional as they come, and "bed side manner" is not in his vocabulary. Very subtle English humor that I love so well. I've been baking bread like crazy these days -- my continued low/no sodium low/no cholesterol diet. Lots of wheat breads with added flax seed and unprocessed bran, flavored with fruit juices and spices, which makes bizarrely wonderful toast. My bread machine rarely leaves the kitchen counter these days. Homemade bread has so many things going for it, not the least is the aroma in the house. But the one thing which can be troublesome with homemade bread is cutting it. So, in case there are other homemade bread makers reading this, I have a helpful hint for you! Use your trusty electric knife to cut your bread. Let the knife do the work -- don't put put pressure on it as you slice - and you'll come out with beautifully cut, even slices of bread. MMMMMmmmm - doesn't this look good? See how even the slices are?

Mr. B and I had a very extravagant day on Friday. First, I took him to the local Yankee Candle store. Mr. B is a big fan of candles, but even more so, he is a big fan of the Yankee Candle catalog that comes in the mail with it's "scratch n' sniff" candle scents. That boy loves that catalog. So I thought taking him to the store might be fun -- just let him and his little cute nose have at it. I'd forgotten how easy it is to drop a load of money at the Yankee Candle store. Mr. B had to pick out a candle for his Mom (a "fancy" one in a jar) and two candles for his Umpa (yes, Umpa loves candles too), and one candle for his other babysitter, Kelly, and two candles for himself. Give the child a plastic bag and he's going to fill it up. I bought myself three candles (besides the one "fancy" jar candles the rest were all votives), and a pack of 3 car fresheners. Forty-one dollars and 45 minutes later, we were out the door.

Next we stopped at a toy store in the same mall. Mr. B became quite enamored with a stuffed kitty he saw when we first walked in the door. The cat was curled up as if it were sleeping. "Umma! Is that kitty REAL?" At first I didn't understand why he was asking... but then I saw... the cat's belly was very slightly pumping up and down as if it were breathing! Mr. B's little eyes were like saucers and all he wanted to do was stand and stare at this stuffed cat. He said, "Umma - how many dollars does this cost?" (as in Umma, will you buy this for me?). I mean, he REALLY wanted this cat. I picked up the cat and showed it to him -- it wasn't soft or flexible but, quite honestly, felt like a cat that had gotten run over the day before and rigor mortis had set in -- but he didn't care. He was totally in love with this cat! I said, "B, what you DO with a cat like this?" and he said, "Oh, Umma - I would just put it on my bed and pet it." Mr. B loves cats and Joey the Killer Cat hates anything to do with petting or cuddling or generally being loved up on by a 3 year old. So this little stuffed kitty was apparently the answer to Mr. B's prayers -- it layed still and it didn't bite or scratch! No, I didn't buy it for him. But who knows - Christmas is coming.