Thursday 13

This is my first Thursday 13 post. I began blogging last year, but have been going strong with the New Year. Here goes...
1. Just learned of Divine Strake on NPR news, the name for a government project to remotely detonate a 700 ton nuclear bomb 30 feet under the ground above a tunnel. Why? They hope to find the "smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage." Divine Strake was originally scheduled for last June, now the date is indefinite. Just wondering, but doesn't a 700 ton nuclear bomb count as a WMD? Sorry to start my 13 list with a bomb, no pun intended.

2. I learned 13 new things about blogging this week, but most went over my head since I'm not technically 'with it'.

3. The recent cold weather means we've had the woodstove going for 48 hours, it's the first time in a while and it feels good.

4. Oh! Here's some good news. My husband, a blues musician, was given a contract this week for the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF Fest) for a week of workshops and performances in early May. I'm so proud of him. Whoo-hoo!

5. I was going to introduce myself then recalled that you can read the 'About Me' sidebar and that will do it.

6. I feel like comfort food for dinner. After making a couple of weird (but delicious) homemade soups in the last week, I settled on homemade macaroni and cheese. I use William Wyatt's Grandmother Violet's recipe. We met Mr. Wyatt when we lived next door in Charleston SC several years ago, he was 75 years young and dealing with cancer. He used to make sweet potato pie often and always shared with us. He also made lima bean soup that had as much pepper in it as it did lima beans.

7. I'm more than half-way there on my first 13 list. (I know this is a cheat).

8. Emerson (younger son) got a 97.5% on his math test today. He was bummed because he thought he was going to get a 100, but it was an improvement over the last test.

9. We avoid reality TV shows, preferring a steady diet of football and PBS (except in July when I become a Tour de France fanatic). The one 'junk' show we watch with relish is American Idol. The last two nights were full of oddball people who could not sing. Why they think they can, is beyond me. It's awful to be judgemental so I try not to be, but I thought some of those people were going to show up in a dream and scare me.

10. Speaking of dreams, last night I had a beautiful one about my Grandma. She's 88, has Alzheimer's, and has lived in a nursing home since May 2005 when she fell and broke her hip. The dream took place perhaps 15-20 years ago and was just a slice of life. It was a warm memory upon waking of days gone by.

11. Last Saturday we took Spencer (older son) on his first college tour. Yesterday at school he attended an ACT/SAT Junior class meeting. He was to answer a short survey of what is important to you in a school. I saw his crumpled form on top of a stack of pamphlets, his second answer was "Good food." I guess that's important. We have a long way to go before he's ready.

12. Today has been my day off. I'm a foster care provider and my client goes to work every Thursday until late afternoon. The weather is drizzly and slippery today, so my husband called to say he'd take care of our client when he gets back (client is dropped off in town and I go to pick him up). They're now on the way home.

13. I made it, whew! Scott and Spencer celebrate birthdays on the 13th (August and March).