The Briefcase Stalemate: Fly on the Wall

Welcome to our monthly Fly on the Wall, a blog post written in snippets. Marcia, Diane, and I invite you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes, at our writing desks, and in our worlds. Come on in, buzz around, see what we've been up to. Bet you laugh! 

I'm sure I don't have to tell you that Halloween was just a few weeks after my last Fly on the Wall post. I've mentioned a few times that I'd had a couple of surgical procedures to my face and was feeling self-conscious. 

So for giving out candy to the kids on Halloween, I'd put on more makeup than I do most days. And I got the kindest compliment. Almost.

A young teenager made a comment when I was handing her candy:

Trick or Treater: Wow, your make up looks great.

Me (smiling, feeling pretty for the first time in a long time): That's so nice of you to say. Thank you.

Trick or Treater: I don't know how you did it, but those scars on your face look so real.

We had a ton of trick or treaters this year, over 150. All adorable, most really polite.

I like how many of the parents of the really young kids, like 4 years old and under, came up close to the door, reminding their children of their manners, teaching them to say "thank you."

But I did admonish one father for falling down on his teaching responsibilities.

His child, probably right around 4 years old, didn't have a bag, but held out his hand for the treat, which I gave to him.

Little Boy (loudly and with glee): I got a candy!

Me (looking disapprovingly at the dad): Well, that is the whole point . . .

A boy came by, a young teenager, wearing a baseball uniform, the Texas Rangers. Poor kid, not one we knew, so he'd have no way of knowing whose lived here.

And, obviously wasn't quite used to my sense of humor either.

Me (handing him a candy): If that were a Red Sox uniform, I would have given you two.

Boy: {{blink, blink}}

Me: But then if it had been a Yankees uniform, I would have given you none.

He never did say anything. But I'm guessing he's gonna skip my house next year.

Speaking of the Yankees . . .

College Boy buys and sells limited release and rare albums. He appreciates most genres of music, but his favorites are hop hop and rap. Enmeshed in the genre, he follows many mostly unknown but extremely talented underground artists.

One of his absolute favorites, KA, produces his own albums and pretty much only sells them in a one day pop up store in NYC. In the end of September, KA released his newest work, and College Boy actually flew to NYC for the weekend to go to the pop up. He met up with a number of other fans from all over the country he knew from online communities, and a few who live in NY.

One of the NY residents rented bicycles for the group and showed them around the city. As they were going by, he pointed out Yankee stadium.

Friend: That's Yankee Stadium, it's almost the end of the season, but we could catch a game if you guys want.

College Boy: Not me, my mom would kill me.

And I would!

PS: I have a lot to say about KA, about College Boy and his trip to NYC, and the connections he made. Maybe one day I'll write about it, but that time isn't now. 

To KA's wife Mimi, his mother, sister, and all the fans who love him:

"May you live a nice long life, hope it's beautiful."

I had tried out a new recipe, Fudgy Peppermint Rounds. When Hubs walked through the kitchen, I had them on the counter and on the table, setting up different options for picture taking. Not at all unusual. When I was done, of course, I cleaned up and put everything away.

Later that day, Hubs walks in the kitchen:

Hubs: Where are your balls?

Me: Is this a game? I'll show you mine . . .

Fudgy Peppermint Rounds

Hubs came home from work, changed his clothes, and went back out to the garage. He was there a while. When he came in, I asked what he had been doing. 

Hubs: I put my briefcase on the floor behind the driver's seat and the briefcase zipper got stuck on the netting on the cargo pocket behind the seat.

Me: Did you get it off?
Hubs: No, and I don't want to cut the netting, I'll work on it after dinner.

After dinner I asked him if he wanted me to take a look at it. Once I realized that the netting was caught, not in the teeth of the zipper, but the top of the zipper. I got it unhooked pretty easily.

Hubs: Thanks, I probably would have been out there for hours.

Me: You're welcome.

And he was welcome until a few hours later when we were arguing over . . . pretty much nothing.

Me: I have to win this argument, you owe me. 

Hubs: What do you mean I owe you?

Me: If it weren't for me, you'd still be in the back seat of the car, bent up like a pretzel, trying to release your briefcase.

Hubs: Yeah, but there's another way to look at it.

Me: Oh?

Hubs: If you hadn't gotten my briefcase unstuck, I'd still be out there and we never would have had this argument. So it's your fault we're even arguing at all.

I thought I'd had an easy win, but turns out I got caught up in a briefcase stalemate.

 

My generation, well, me anyway, have a hard time keeping up with technology. Getting the hang of something that's new can take time.

My mom recently finally gave up her landline and although she's had a cell phone forever. she never texted. Now she does. Well, she's trying anyway.

She hadn't been feeling well, so I texted her the next morning.

Me: How was last night? Did you sleep?

Mom: Feeling much better. Should be discharged soon.

Me: Discharged?

Mom: Meaning I will not need her any more.

Me: I think you have my sister and I confused. I missed the whole "discharged" conversation.

Mom: It's under your name. Anyway, I said she thinks I'm almost done.

Me: I don't know who she is and what you're almost done with. If nothing else, this conversation would make a very funny Abbot and Costello routine.

Me: The nurse was here. Has been taking care of the cut on my leg.

Me: Oh, that explains a lot.

As I said, she's trying.

Speaking of texts . . . 

Since College Boy buys so many albums, he gets a ton of packages, pretty much daily. 

Early one Tuesday morning before work, he sent me a text:

College Boy: Got this text this morning. Supposed to be from the post office. I'm not clicking on anything, pretty sure it's a scam, I'll look at it when I get to work.

Me: Ha, ha, ha, "Hope your day is filled with peace and productivity," sounds just like the USPS.

College Boy: Oh, lol, I hadn't even read through the whole thing yet.

I love teasing Hubs. He takes everything so literally, which makes it even more fun. 

He had gone in to work, but hadn’t planned on working the whole day. I thought he might be home around noon, but whatever, didn’t matter to me, he’d be home by dinner time. At around 2:00 he called me from his cell.

Hubs: Just letting you know, I’m getting gas.

Me: Thanks for the warning, stop and get some Beano or Gas-X on the way home.

Hubs: No, I meant . . .

All humor aside, as we all know, there was an election a few weeks ago.

I sat up all night long in horror, getting little if no sleep. The next morning, I really didn't know what to say, so I posted this to FB:

I'm exhausted and, honestly, I thought I'd have no words this morning, but I do have one. Ashamed.

Now, of course, time has passed and I've been able to internalize some of the ramifications, and consequences of 4 more years of chaos, bigotry, and hatred and I have more words. Many more words, but we'll leave it at that. Ashamed.

 

Now click on the links below and see what my friends have to share:

Menopausal Mother 

On the Border

Fudgy Peppermint Rounds

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 large box (24 oz) Little Debbie Fudge Rounds

35 starlight mints hard candies

about 20 oz candy melts, chocolate, red, or pink

Directions:
*Unwrap the fudge rounds and crush in a bowl.

*Crush 5 of the mints and set aside for topping. Crush the remaining 30 mints and add to the bowl with the fudge rounds. Mix.

*Using your hands, squeezing tightly so they stay together, form the crushed cookie/candy mixure into 36 balls. Place individually onto parchment paper and refrigerate for at least an hour. 

*Melt the candy melts in a bowl or mug according to package directions. Working quickly, place each ball onto a fork, dip into the candy melts to cover completely. Allow the excess to drip off, then using a knife, ease off of the fork onto parchment paper. Immediately, sprinkle with a little of the remaining crushed mints and allow to set.

*Note: wipe off the fork and the knife after dipping each ball. If the candy melts in the bowl start to harden, microwave for 15 - 20 seconds until it liquifies again.