And then I set the kitchen on fire…
So, today has been full of ups and downs. Really quite the roller coaster if you ask me. Let’s see if I can set it all down in order.
Right then. This morning I woke up about every fifteen minutes from about seven am on and looked at the clock. The new Doctor was supposed to be announced at 9:35am my time, you see. (You know that I have two Doctor Who-related blogs, right? Darn good thing, too, as Watchingdrwho.com was down this morning. Shadowproclamation.net was there to sail nobly into the breach…or something like that.) I was awakened by my friend The Vig (who is the other person doing SP.net with me. We’re even planning a podcast at some point soon.) calling with the news that the new Doctor was…Matt Smith. We chatted for a while, then went about our various pursuits. In my case writing a blog post about the new Doctor-to-be. (I’m quite keen to see how he does.)
And then my Mother called to say that my 93 year-old Grandmother was in the hospital. She had fallen and broken her hip. She didn’t fall on the side that had already been replaced. Nope. All I can say is that if she makes it through this okay, she’s going to be bionic. I can’t bear to think about any alternatives. So, if you could please pray for/send good thoughts/etc. to Eleanor, it would be much appreciated. She’s the only grandparent I have left. She’s the matriarch of a huge family, and I haven’t managed to give her any great-grandchildren yet.
A couple of hours later, round about lunchtime, I thought that I should probably eat something. So I delved into the freezer and came up with my frozen Honey Roasted Parsnips. Why do you care what I had for lunch? Apart from the fact that said parsnips are quite tasty? Did I mention that I set the kitchen on fire? Yeah. It turns out that If you try to bake parsnips on a cookie sheet in your gas oven, the resulting grease might sizzle its way off of said cookie sheet and drip down into a convenient roasting pan that lives at the bottom of the oven. Add enough grease and what do you have? A grease fire! …And smoke. Lots of smoke.
Koshvader: “What’s burning?”
Me: “What?”
*cue smoke billowing out of the oven*
Let it be known that I saved the parsnips. (And ate the ones that were already done. Yum!) Koshvader finally managed to transport the roasting pan out back to the concrete patio, where I smothered it with baking soda. The fire was mostly out by then, but I thought it best to be thorough. Also? I needed to change the baking soda in the fridge. This way I got two uses out of it.
As you might imagine, I went out for lunch.
I followed that up with attempting to spend my Macy’s gift card. I walked all around all four floors, and what did I find? I wasn’t really interested in the clothing available. (I obviously need to win the lottery and hire my own seamstress.) Everything was either too expensive, ugly, or both. So, of course, i lingered in the jewelry section. I saw many things that would have loved to get for my friend Deb. (Honestly, Deb. You’d love them.) And finally, one beautiful necklace for me. I bought it. I even got money back from my gift card. (A terribly out of focus photo of the necklace can be found here.)
When we arrived home I was exhausted (as per usual) and the house was still standing. As for the thing you (and I) are awaiting the answer to. I should know by Wednesday.
What a day!!
I am sending good wishes for your grandmother! I hope she recovers quickly.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Ooh, sparklies! I like the one you got yourself.
Am praying for your Grandmother.
Hang in there.
January 4th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Thanks for the Grandmother well wishes. Apparently her surgery went well.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Did Mom tell you the bit about cousin Diane trying to tempt Nana on the gurney as two men (paramedics) were waiting for her? She didn’t fall for the ploy but, apparently hesitated for a moment. Wish we were in Atlanta to assist the family with Nana’s rehab.
Oh, and I liked the necklace.
January 5th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Glad to hear your house is still standing. Wishing your grandmother a speedy recovery.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Nope, Sister Mine. I did hear about her insisting that she needed to use the potty, though.
Thanks, Ann! Luckily I didn’t set anything on fire today.
January 6th, 2009 at 1:24 am