It's a Boo-thday alright... meanwhile, some wise eyes in the room

This is a birthday card my dear friend Pen made me.  (She's a real whiz at her Cricut machine.)  "Boo-thday" does seem appropriate this year, and not just because my day falls on Halloween.

1. The mid-term election forecasts are making me pretty antsy.
2. I've been dealing with a pretty serious long covid relapse for a couple weeks now, and it's wiping me out.

I wake up every morning around 5:30am with a lot of inflammation in my cheeks and jaw.  I use the bathroom, then head to the kitchen and hold ice packs over my eyes while I gargle with warm salt water for 15 minutes.  When things calm down, I pop a Lemon Mint Ricolla Lozenge in my mouth, go back to bed and watch Youtube videos on my tablet until I doze off again.

I wake up an hour or so later with an aching face and a jaw that is very sore, stiff as a board.  Things don't ease up until mid-afternoon or so.  Around 5-6pm, oral inflammation sets in.  Ugh--I really am sorry for sharing all this, no one wants to read it.  I'm just burnt out.

This January will mark my third year anniversary of dealing with long covid.  All I can do is try and manage the symptoms one day at a time, and when I get 1-2 days of calm, rejoin society (like a couple weeks ago, when I was able to meet up with friends from the Senior Center at Chili's).   

Other than that, I'm just hoping I see some long-term recovery in 2027.

As long as I'm here... have you ever bought something and wound up doing something different with it then originally intended?  A couple weeks ago I was on an arts & crafts site looking at the different things for sale, and saw this macrame owl crafted by a young woman in Bali.

It immediately reminded me of the 1970s, when macrame seemed to be everywhere.  Hanging planters, ladies fashion... I bought her last macrame owl, intending to hang it beside a piece of artwork above my couch.

When it arrived yesterday (even nicer than I expected), I hung it on a magnetic hook on my (metal) front closet door while I ran to get a hammer.  But when I came back and saw it perched there...

I think this owl had found it's home.  It sure is a nifty looking thing, isn't it?  The eyes and nose are hardwood nuggets.  I love it.

On that note...I don't have much else to say.  I just wanted to get something new blogged.  I'm not very fond of my last post with all those former birthday photos, it felt a little too self indulgent.  Plus it makes me pine for healthier, happier times.

But I did enjoy all the very kind feedback, thank you again.

I hope everyone has a great Halloween, and (sorry my conservative friends) I hope we get that Blue Wave and a Democratic House & Senate again, and a cure for long covid while we're at it.

Thanks again for the lovely cards Kim, Robin, Pen, Bobi & sister Shawn.  Bobi, I loved that wood bookmark, thank you.  And Shawn, thank you for the scratch off tickets.  🧡🧡

And thanks to everyone as always, for being here.

My Halloween birthdays thru the years

I always enjoyed having my birthday on Halloween.  My dad drew funny cards, and Mom made sure I had a Halloween-themed birthday cake.  Our family didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, so we knew better than to pester our parents for all the stuff we saw on tv.  But they went out of their way to make our birthdays special.

I know I've been sharing a lot of selfies lately, but since I'm turning 65 this year I thought I'd look back at some of the birthdays and cakes I've enjoyed over the years.  

So if you're not too tired of seeing my face just yet...

October 31, 1966 - my 5th birthday.

October 31, 1967 - wearing my gift (a Batman costume complete with Bat-boots and utility belt) guarding my 6th birthday cake.  I wore a devil costume to go trick-or-treating though, I was a huge Bat-fan and was afraid someone would steal this batsuit right off me!  

October 31, 1968 - 7th birthday, and that's Patootie, a boy clown doll.  After this photo was taken he only wore his red long johns.  I admit it, I loved this clown.  My younger brother Steve adopted him after I outgrew him.

October 31, 1969 - 8 years old, missing a couple front teeth but look at that cool bike.

October 31, 1971 - 10 years old, excited to get an easel so I could do my artwork like Dad.

October 31, 1973 - 12 years old and Grandma Morris stopped by on her way to work to wish me a Happy Birthday.  That silver bracelet I'm wearing was a POW-MIA bracelet, remember those?

October 31, 1975 - 14 years old and in my Sears Husky Jeans phase, with my handsome Dad.  I can't remember why, but I asked Mom to bake me a German chocolate cake that year.

October 31, 1977 - 16th birthday with my sisters Donda-Lin and Courtney.  Ignore my bowlegged pose, I was being a goof.  

October 31, 1978 - 17 years old and in my suit for Senior Picture Day.

October 31, 1980 - 19th birthday and some pretty wild hair.

October 31, 1981 -  20th birthday and not living at home anymore, this would be my last Halloween cake from Mom for a long time.

October 31, 1991 - My 30th birthday.  My mom & sisters Shawn, Donda-Lin & Courtney drove up to Pittsburgh to take me out to dinner.  Mom baked me a chocolate bundt cake.  She also brought those woven placemats and kitchen curtains for my new apt.

October 31, 1996 - 35th birthday, at my parents place back home.  A surprise cake and surprise visitor, my beloved Grandma.  

And finally, October 31, 2009 - my 48th birthday.  A Star Trek cake from my sister Shawn, and a Halloween one from my niece Sophia.  No selfies here, but at least you can see the cakes!

  

One says golabki, another says halupki and I am one lucky fella

A couple days ago I was on Sparrow Tree Journal, reading blogger Jennifer's latest post.  She'd been busy in her kitchen making a Polish dish called golabki for her husband Gregg, and wanted to know if anyone had ever enjoyed it or even knew what it was.

I realized "Oh, she's talking about stuffed cabbage rolls..."  Growing up we called them pigs in a blanket.  I loved them but couldn't remember the last time I had any.  There's a lot involved in making those suckers.

My friend Kimba visited me on Saturday, bearing gifts

The next day I'm texting my friend Kim and she tells me she's making halupki, and asks if I've ever heard of the dish.

I said I didn't think so, what's in it?  Kim begins describing it--steamed cabbage leaves, stuffed with a meat & rice mixture, cooked low n' slow in tomato sauce... 

Stuffed cabbage rolls again!  The same ingredients, but another name for them.  I told her I enjoyed them many times over the years but never knew them by that name; then I told her about my blogger friend Jennifer's post just the day before.

Saturday morning I get a text from Kim, asking if I'd be home later.  I said yes, asked why.  She said she wanted to bring over some of her halupki aka stuffed cabbage rolls.  

That's her above of course, sweet as can be.  She brought me enough rolls for a couple meals, and after I put them in the fridge we sat and talked for a couple hours about everything under the sun.

Her 33 year old son Sam called, and I had a sudden flashback to when Kim was on maternity leave, and brought him downtown to have lunch with us at Warner Center.  I can even remember holding him while Kim ate her sandwich from Chick-fil-a.  

Anyway, after Kim got on her way (she and her husband Dave were going to the Mountaineer Casino in WVa) I got dinner started.

Kimba, you wanted an honest opinion and here it is, they are fork tender and absolutely delicious.  Thank you so much for the cabbage rolls, your visit and that awesome pop-up birthday card.  You made the day a really special one.  

I wonder if anyone else has a name for this Polish delicacy?