TeamViewer

Gotomypc has been my 'go to' for accessing my computers (home and clients).  With the Java issues, I soon found that my paid GTMPC was not working properly.  Not being able to access my PC was a real problem.  The folks were helpful and after about 1/2 hour on each side of the screen, I still was not able to get in.

Enter....TeamViewer.  All I can say is wow!  It is free, and the screen resolution is outstanding.  My access falls into non-commercial use--and it makes my job so much easier.  And...I can see far better than the other access.

Looking for a free and most excellent way to keep your work life and home life sane?  Take a look.  You can find it here.

Wakeful Thinking

I awoke in the wee hours of the morning with heavy thoughts of the Illinois man and his two young sons (and 4 month old Lab puppy) who ventured out for a hike, but never made it back.  The puppy survived. The story is tragic, but that needle moved further to gaspingly tragic when a motorist said that he spied them in the afternoon, walking in the rain by the road.  He offered a ride, but it was declined.

A reminder that at junctures of time and space our choices have consequences that cannot be known.  As I lay in bed, wakeful, that juncture floated in my brain like a dark specter. I thought of the motorist and had the motorist not stopped and read the news, what dark specter would he be living with.  I thought of the wife informed of the motorist's intercession in the collective plight of her husband and sons, and the greater despair she must feel that a different outcome was in reach for her loved ones.

I'm not in the 'everything happens for a reason crowd'.  I just don't believe that life is that pat, or that there is an other worldly being that hovers over these junctures and waves a wand to dictate outcomes.  Rather, I believe that our choices have consequences, intended or otherwise. And that a large measure of life for many on this earth is a toil of everyday survival with endings that are not at all fairy tale--well perhaps for the victims before our beloved heroes and heroines step into the picture.

The Lance Armstrong scandal will likely hit a new level after the Oprah show, tomorrow.  I don't have any celebrity following genes in my body, so for the most part I don't get worked up about scandals for celebrities or for ordinary people.  We all share the same genes, and accordingly, our proclivities fueled by our human-ness are shared by all of us.  As social beings, we are as susceptible to the pressures that surround us whether we be gang members or elite cyclists or just suburbanites.  We run in packs, and pack rules get assimilated as our rules.  Best to be part of an enlightened pack.

It takes real courage and clear sightedness to cut through that social goo.  Slavery, women's rights, worker's rights, pollution, child labor are but a few social goo issues that have been assiduously scrubbed from the patina of our society--though many linger.  I don't get caught up in Lance Armstrong's fight with testicular cancer, because I have a colleague who shows up every day with liver cancer.  She fights her battle with courage and grace and is not in the spotlight of the world, but rather lives in the spotlight of her family and friends.  How is her battle less courageous. 

No, I don't excuse Armstrong's doping because he is a hero to many.  Heroes walk amongst us everyday:  parents caring for young children and aging/ill parents, workers cobbling together part time jobs to provide for their family and stave off homelessness, individuals of every color, age and gender trying to make the right choices in the face of those terrible junctures of time and space where 'shit happens'.

Armstrong could have made a different choice.  Winning at all costs is not winning--it is a phantom achievement where we have traded our integrity for an award.  That is not courage. That is not grace.  That is a choice that has a consequence if one is caught--or at the very least surrounded and implicated to the point of being caught.

The measure of a wo/man is how they comport themselves through that rabbit hole of perdition and the person s/he becomes when they emerge other side.

The measure of a society is how we allow an individual to be successful in their personal, redemptive transformation and allowing them the freedom to conduct themselves to repair the damages for their actions.




Cookbooks

I was weary from my cabinet work on Sunday.  Nevertheless, I stopped by the CHKD Thrift Store to scan the aisles for cool stuff.  I have bought several things there:  books, jeans, blazers and skirts and a dining set (cherry, queen anne for my property staging).

I love to cook...a passion that I somehow idled most of 2012.  And, I love to READ cookbooks.  I've picked up several cookbooks in odd nooks along the way:  antique stores, consignment shops, thrift stores.  My "Great Cooks Cookbook" is one of many that I've bought, read cover to cover, and found recipes to keep in my cooking repertoire.

So meandering through the CHKD store I picked up 4 cookbooks that I'm just thrilled about--one of which was "The Best of Gourmet--65 years and 65 Favorite Recipes".  I subscribed years ago for exactly one year to Gourmet.  In general, I found the recipes fussy, so I abandoned my subscription.  I went with Bon Appetit, the sister magazine, and I've been a subscriber for 25 or so years.  As part of my decluttering, I threw out old issues that I had been harboring like fugitives in every nook and cranny of bookcases and closets.  It was like throwing out children---difficult and emotional.  Now that they are gone, I don't give them a second thought.

Recipes are abundant, to be sure.  Excellent recipes are not.  The joy of reading a cookbook is recognizing immediately that a recipe is going to work for your style of eating/entertaining.  The hallmark of a good cook book, to me at least, is that I walk away inspired and eager to make a recipe.  Visiting a cookbook is much like going to a restaurant, there are only going to be one or two dishes that truly captivate you (well, at least it is that way for me!).  Rare is the time that I go to a restaurant and find more than two things that I'm just dying to try.  But it happens.

I know that when I threw out my BA issues, that there were recipes forever lost.  No, they don't all make it to the website.  The maple pecan chocolate tart is not there.  It is one of the most divine desserts that I've ever made--and it is a staple at Thanksgiving.  There is another great recipe:  Harricorts with goat cheese and cranberries....lost it and can find no trace of it anywhere.  Best to read the magazine, rip out the recipes and put them in plastic sheet covers and commit them to a 3 ring binder.  Of course you have to MAKE the recipe...and that ought to be a resolution for any home chef to try new things:  new techniques, combinations, ingredients, cooking methods.  That way when you leave this plane of existence, your progeny will have in hand the wonderful recipes that left a gastronomical imprint on them.  Those are always the most lasting memories.

And throw out the recipes that just don't work for you....along with any other detritus in your life.

My sister is coming this weekend from Bedford.  She  recently received a well deserved promotion. I want to have a special dinner for her.  Though I'm not shy to try new things, she loves crabcakes, and I have JUST dish for her:  Crabcakes with spicy Avocado sauce (you can find it on Epicurious.com) .  It is basically a baked crabcake because there is no filler.  You shape it, press panko crumbs that have been browned in garlic and butter and press the into the crabcake.  The avocado sauce is as spicy as you care to make it with serrano/jalapeno chiles.  It is silky with a hidden bite. I think some roasted asparagus will go well with it.

I'll save the 4 cheese macaroni in the Gourmet cookbook for another time....but there are at least 6 recipes from that cookbook that I'm eager to tackle.  I also picked up Food and Wine cookbook (Best of the Best from 25 cookbooks),  and  Lidia's Italian American Kitchen.  I bought two other, non cooking books during my CHKD visit.  The total:  $13.64...I rounded up to $15.  ON another jaunt I picked up hardback Joy of Cooking--two.

Yes, that is the way to shop for cookbooks.




Week's End

The end of the year (and the beginning of the next) has always been my busiest time of year.  I worked quite a bit over the holidays to get some things nailed down, so I feel as if I'm in pretty good shape.  I also have a new client.  People I know from my past (former colleagues) that needed some help.  I was able to meet with them and quickly give them some solutions--not the least of which is hooking them up with another former colleague.  She is now on their payroll on a limited part time basis.  She is exactly what they need, and they are exactly what she needs.  I guess I'm a maven at heart.

Today was a great milestone!  I put the first coat of Waterlox on the cherry base cabinets at my SR project. Here's what I started with. 



I had planned to leave the cabinets except for cleaning them.  Unfortunately, cleaning them could not undo 'this' which was unacceptable.


So all doors removed, hardware removed and all wood stripped and assiduously sanded from 150-320 grit.

I found the following updated hardware, which I think will look cool:

This is Schaub's 'Stonehenge' in Ancient Bronze.  I am using 4" "H" Hinges in black...I"m hoping that this ancient bronze  is going to be pretty close to black with just enough accent to accentuate the cabinet color.  I'm having some reservations that these pulls my be too 'taste specific'; however, there are four key points to these:
  1. The shape will cover the existing holes
  2. The length will cover any carryover darkness from the spade ends of the original hardware.  
  3. The color will look terrific with the cherry cabinets.
  4. The design will 'echo' the backsplash.
The simple fact of the matter is that the 3.25" hole spacing in these cabinets limits my choices.  If these don't work out, I can send them back within 20 days.

I can finally see the finish line.




Procurements

Well, over the past 72 hours, we have made two procurement.

The first is an Englander Wood stove to replace the one in our garage.  (Our garage is huge, is finished spaced with heating and air conditioning), so it serves as space where much time is spent.  The existing wood stove was a castaway from a neighbor.  It was not efficient nor was it easy to use.  It would not hold a fire overnight.

"Cool Stuff Cheap" in our local paper had an Englander Stove--we've had these stoves for a number of years.  They are well made, and they are efficient.  It is small stove with top vent.  It is likely the smallest stove they make which is perfect for the spot that it is in (as it is a major thoroughfare).  Mark and Reade went to get it.  I wouldn't say that we got a bargain, but we did get the perfect stove (with no catalytic stuff) for the space. 

Story digression....

Many years ago, when we were first married we were living at 'the river place'.  Lest that connote some luxury living, it was not.  The woodstove was the major source of heat. We kept water in an aluminum dutch oven.  Mark and I were watching TV and I could here something boiling in the pot.  I knew that the water had boiled out and that I had forgotten to replace it, so I wondered, what was boiling.

As it turns out, it was cat urine. Houston, our cat, presumably thought that he was indeed fortunate to have a pot to pee in and he claimed the stove pot as his. I can tell you that the smell of boiling cat urine is quite pungent. Though it was very cold we opened up all the sliding glass doors.

He was cured of his stove climbing when he jumped on the stove for about 5 seconds. We were incredulous--shouting his name. He quickly felt the heat. His paws were blistered--just badly enough to disabuse him of the notion to ever get on the stove again.



I have procured another house--in the sense that anything can happen until it is ratified and closed. But my offer has been accepted, and I have returned their counterproposal.  Their counterproposal is simply their contract on their form with their provisions.  It is through an asset manager on behalf of the bank, Wells Fargo. 

 This house is in a golf club community in the same county that I reside.  The current listing noted that the house had 2500 finished square feet. In looking previous listings, I could see that it had 5000 sqf as it had a finished walk out basement (with 9 foot ceilings), and another 1,400 unfinished square footage on the second floor. So with the finishing off of the upstairs that is already roughed in with plumbing and electrical, the home will have 6400 square feet. 

Unlike many houses of this scale (large in size and small on quality), it has many quality features, not the least of which is that it is brick on all 4 sides rather than the pretend brick houses that one often sees.  I have a 3/4 pretend brick house!  I have brick on 3 sides and cedar on the back.  

It is a stunning house in every respect.  High quality, great layout.  Most importantly, mis-priced.  I bought it for less than $60/sqf. Of course, until all the paper work is back and the title work is done, and closing wrapped up, anything can happen (or NOT happen).  I remain circumspect. I had a contract that had all of the proper things done except that the seller could not deliver clear title in a timely manner.  I exited to contract.

Last night I fixed stuffed peppers.  I used basmati, rice, italian sausage (mild), sauteed onions/garlic, tomato sauce and Parmesan-reggiano cheese in the stuffing. I also had a bag of baby carrots that needed something to be done with them.  I made a carrot casserole to accompany.  (Crisp tender cooked carrots, can of cream of celery, 1 cup of cheese, sauteed onions mixed together and baked).  I also made some sour cream biscuits, and I made a pumpkin marscapone pie.  I had to use some leftover pumpkin from NY's day dessert prep.

We'll need to temper our eating for the balance of the year.

Tick tock...time to set the 13 minute timer and do something detestable.

Have a safe and productive day.


Week's End

Here it is the week's end.  A short week, but one that had lots going on.

As part of my time management resolution, I have been using a free countdown timer.  I'm finding it terrific for many things, not the least of which is to set timers for my cooking dishes.  As my computer is just off from the kitchen in my office, I can hear the alarm easily.  Because the alarm is labeled, I know exactly which dish it is for.

In order to give myself a gentle kick to get started on something that is disinteresting but necessary, I created a 13 minute timer.  Why 13 v. 10 v 15?  13 minutes just felt right for my procrastination rhythms. I've been using that to 'start' projects that I otherwise like to put off.  This a.m. I set my 13 minute timer, and I cleaned the kitchen.  While I didn't finish, I got 13 minutes worth of 'stuff' done to make it look presentable--and to be able to bake a pie and invite guests over.

I also need such a timer to remind me to get up from a task when I get absorbed into some bit of problem solving or model creation.  The good news is that I do have a rather infinite capacity to laser focus on a project (once I get started of course).  When I do this, time goes by, and I don't notice it.  Mihály Csíkszentmihályi  wrote about this state and called it Flow.  You can read about it here. (Of course TV has that capacity to suck me in too--that's not Flow, though, it is called vegetation and is generally useless!).   When it is work related, I forget to get take necessary breaks.  My body reminds me when I'm all knotted up from being hunched over for too long. And I've done this for several days straight which lands me in the chiropractor's office after about 10 days.  Hunching, and no-breaks is not kind to the body.

Long ago, one of my colleagues on a VSCPA committee told me his secret (after seeing him having visibly lost quite a bit of weight).  He simply set his digital watch to beep after 50 minutes of work.  He would get up, walk around,drink a glass of water.  He'd sit back down, head down on his task and do it again.  After 8 hours, you have 80 minutes of time that is not at your desk--time that you've hydrated, relieved and refreshed your body and your brain.  That makes for very productive work. For me, I have a 53 minute clock.  Three's are my friends.

House is clean, so I can comfortably invite some folks over for an informal dinner.  My NY day feast was really delicious--in fact, I think that is one of the most successful dinners I've fixed--and I have alot of those under my belt.  I call a dinner successful when all of the dishes are perfectly harmonized in terms of texture, color and taste. This one was just that...plus it all came together beautifully thanks to my efficient countdown timers.

And...my pie crust timer has gone off telling me that it is time to roll it out.


Happy New Year

(Okay, this is a re-tread post, but one that I think worthy of dusting off, and representing)

A New Year!  And conflating the first two words, we get, "anew."

–adverb

1. over again; again; once more: to play the tune anew.

2. in a new form or manner: to write the story anew.

Source: Dictionary.com
The New Year is a natural demarcation line between the past and the future. However, it is worth noting, that the only "time space" in which we can take action is the present. There is not a thing we can do now to change the past, and whatever we imagine for ourselves in the future will not come to pass unless we take steps now to ease that unfolding.  Our being more strong, happy, rich, compassionate, learned, skillful (pick your area) will not happen if we do not make the decision today to take action toward that goal.


In conversation with a colleague some years ago, he was relating to me a conversation he had with his son in making decisions.  He then stated a very simple question he had posed to his son: 
If not now, when?


Over the years, when I am tempted to dawdle, dither and defer--the three "D's" that contribute to the deplorable state of do-nothingness--I invoke this mantra.  It has amazing power to spur action.

Our resolutions, then, are a time for us to begin anew.  The product of our introspective efforts during this contemplative time requires three things.

Thing 1:  Set a goal/objective

Thing 2:  Concretize the needful things that must happen to reach our goal (identify what actions/steps are needed when).

Thing 3:  Measure our progress toward achieving those steps.

I will add Thing 4:  Adopt a reproachful affirmation mantra to chant when you are too tired, sick, bored, busy or stressed:  "If not now, when?"

I promise you that if you invoke that mantra, you will empower yourself.  As the queen of the three dreadful D's,  dawdling, dithering and deferring, I can state that those words have real power. Yes, it is mildly coercive a call to action that question, "If not now, when?"


I believe that there is a range of people in life that fit with in the polarities of people who catapult themselves into action sans thinking and those who cocoon themselves within thinking sans action. I preach to you (and myself!) today as one who is occasionally rooted in the polarity of thinking sans action.

I'm not sure which is worse, action sans thinking or thinking sans action, but I do know this:  Thinking + action = a higher probability of a successful outcome than either of the other two choices. Self discipline is the antidote to most of the ills accompanied by either of those polarities.  Yes, this is a soap box post, but I am preaching mostly to myself.



I wish you a Happy New Year--a year filled with successful transformation of your ideas into actions, and may those actions yield their intended consequences.  And if not....may you have the flexibility and alacrity to adjust accordingly.