And This Is Your Brain On Facebook.

My name is Anne and I'm addicted to Facebook.

"Hi, Anne."

In the last month or so since I joined, I've found friends that have been lost for years. Friends I'd wondered about. A few, I'm ashamed to admit, I'd forgotten about. Not because they were bad friends, but because my brain just couldn't hold it all in.

It's not that I want to relive the past - I don't. It's that I want to bring those dear friends from the past into my present. Somehow. Though it's not physically possible, (in most cases, the exception being one of my best friends from high school that I found on Facebook and lives UP THE STREET), I'm glad to be able to "poke" them and say hi. And to share the present of the present with them.

Which leaves me to ponder: How will social networking media affect our brains? In terms of things like senile dementia and alzheimers? I remember my father, who had senile dementia for probably the last two years of his life (although he managed to hide it pretty well by using notes, etc.) having a hard time remember the near past, but no problem at all remembering the far past. He would get on the phone with a friend from his childhood and it would bring him into the present in ways that calendars and visits with his grown children couldn't.

I wonder if all these new ways to keep track of our lives and the way we have spent our time here on earth will help us stay focused on the present while remembering old times with long lost pals? Or will it just make us more sedentary and prone to the plaque build-up that leads to brain wasting?

In any case, I've really enjoyed getting back in touch with old friends and catching up. And now I really need to stretch my legs and get some exercise!

Tough Old Broad

It's true what they say about our pets: that we learn more from them than they do from us. It's certainly the case with our old cat Lulu. She has not been beautiful for a long time, she wheezes, she sneezes, she has pooped on the carpet for about eight years (I need to write a really glowing review of my Spotbot on Amazon - it's the hardest working machine out there), and she has the most unpleasant "meow" you've ever heard.

But she has taught me so much. About asking for what you need, about telling people what you need and about TAKING what you need if people aren't listening to you. She started the pooping business when Joe-Henry was about four months old. Right in front of his changing table. I stepped in it. We've taken her to the vet at least once a year for the last eight, with the vet saying, "well, I don't know what to tell you. there's nothing physically wrong with her". And you'd think that we'd maybe give up on her, or try to give her away, or find her a home where she could just sit on someone's lap and be petted non-stop until she got tired of it and moved. I'd be lying if I said we'd never even think of such a thing. Truth is, we did try once to find her a new home. It was right before we moved. We thought she wouldn't be able to handle the changes of a long trek. I put up an ad on Craigslist, but got nothing but grief, so after an hour I took it down. She was, for better and worse, our cat. I couldn't let those nasty people have her. Yes, she was a crabby mess, but she was our crabby mess. She drove in the car with my husband who headed up a month before Joe-Henry and I. She crapped in the car twenty minutes into a two-day drive. The car still smells nasty. Not like poop, but not like anything good, either.

Joe-Henry has been her savior on more than one occasion. We've all been driven to moments of madness by her messes. Especially dear Charley, who shares a bathroom with her. He has had the lion's share of cleaning to do. But even he loves her. He has given her his heart, and she has given hers to all of us, as well. If it doesn't come wrapped in a satiny bow, well so be it. It is what it is, and she is who she is, and that's just been our life with her. She still gets on our bed every night, she still snuggles up at story time with Joe-Henry, we all stroke her mangy head and love her and tell her she's beautiful. Then she usually wheezes and sneezes and yells at us to pet her better and more. And we comply.

But the last few weeks, there has been something different about her. She seems confused. She's gotten much skinnier. Even though she has missed the litter box for eight years, she has always managed to keep things in the vicinity of it. But not lately. She's bringing her business upstairs, and this morning I found a big mess in Joe-Henry's room. And the bathroom. And the hallway.

I didn't feel angry at her, I just felt like she was telling me it was time. She's unhappy and in pain and done.

So this afternoon we are taking her in to the vet. We're saying goodbye as I type this. Joe-Henry is petting her, and I will have a good amount of time with her too. As frustrating as our relationship has been, I love her so much. And I will miss her wheezy old self.

Lulu, I have learned so much from you. Thank you for that.

The Monkees - Daydream Believer

For my sweet JH, who is a little obsessed with the Monkees right now. Believe me when I say, nothing is better than hearing the boy sing along to these songs.

Have a great Daydream, all.

Swoon

My dear friend D., a.k.a. Suttonhoo shared an amazing true tale over on her blog detritus.

You should really check it out. She's magical, that one.

Big Party On The Cheap

I love having people over to our house, though we don't do it nearly often enough. Last night we had family over and it always, always makes me feel good when people ask for seconds.

Here's what I made, and there isn't much left.

Macaroni and Cheese, Mahogany Drummies, Greens with Lemony dressing.

Mac and Cheese you can figure out yourselves. If I wanted to get fancy, I'd add a blue cheese, but I didn't want to get fancy. I just made a gigantic pan of it, and there's not much left.

The drummies are supposed to actually be wings, and it's supposed to go like this: 1 and a half cups soy sauce, 2/3 packed brown sugar, 2/3 cup white sugar, heat, pour over wings, bake at 325 for an hour and a half, turning every 30 minutes. BUT, I was low on soy sauce, so I used a bit of teriyaki sauce and orange juice in addition to the soy sauce, and I also added a bit of sesame oil. AND I used drumsticks. THey turned out fabulous.

At the last second I decided to make a salad, and I whipped up this dressing. All I had was good greens, and the ingredients for this dressing. But I promise it's the most fabulous salad ever and there wasn't a speck left. Get some good greens, some cheap asiago cheese ( a brick that you can shred yourself) make it cheap because that will assure these two crucial things: it's slightly wet, and it's really salty and grainy.

And here is the dressing that will have them begging for more, and is a fantastic brightener to dreary winter weather:

Lemony Sort of Caesar Dressing

juice of one lemon
about 3/4 teaspoon anchovy paste (I promise it won't taste fishy)
about 3/4 teaspoon prepared garlic (it will be garlicky, oh, yes it will)
slightly more olive oil than lemon juice
ground sea salt & ground pepper to taste

pour over greens and top with grated asiago. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper. Prepare to swoon.

For dessert, brownies with crushed peppermint (from the Ghiradelli's mix - thank you Costco).

Good Thoughts Needed

Please send good thoughts to Eli. He's around Joe-Henry's age and has kt. He is in the hospital with septic shock in LA because his leg is being attacked by a flesh eating bacteria. He's had two surgeries and is on a ventilator.

No kid should ever have to go through this.

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot...

...which could happen because I'm getting older every day, and found the lens cap to my camera in my robe pocket the other day after it went missing for a week,

let me just say:

Happy, Happy New Year to you all. Someone on another blog said that 2008 was a test of endurance, and really isn't every year? Let's all shine our happy lights on 2009 and do what we can to make it the best, most meaningful year ever.

Here's my list of resolutions, that I intend to keep. Of course, I always intend to keep them. I don't always succeed, which is why I'm going to make my first resolution this:

1. Forgive myself. I am really great at forgiving others, but not so great at this one, so I'm going to give it a shot.

2. Have More Fun. I am so good at taking things very seriously, so my top resolution is to have more fun, worry less, and treat this short life as more of an adventure and less of a chore to get done.

3. Something that I am already good at is cherishing those I love. But there is always room for improvement, and if I accomplish nothing else on this list, I hope I manage to do right by number 3.

4. Step out of my comfort zone more often. I don't want to jump out of planes or anything, just be better at meeting new people and putting myself in new situations. I did it a few times in '08 and loved the results.

5. Make more art. Somehow. Whether it's theater or photography or painting or writing. Just put more out there.

6. See more art. This should be easy. I just need to leave the house.

7. Keep my desk clean. Yeah, right.

8. Write more letters. Keep the post office around I love to get letters, and I hope to be a better correspondent this year.

9. Plan menus. I am terrible at this. Thus I have gained weight and my family winds up eating chicken nugget taco salad more often than I care to say.

10. Say yes to my son more often. Instead of "in a minute".

I guess I'll start with this last one right now.

So grateful for you all - Happy, Happy New Year, Dear Ones. Dream Big in '09!

Love, love, love,
AnnieMcQ