Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Keep and Toss

On my Toss list:

the commute to my class; drivers who believe that the safety space that you leave between your car and the next on the expressway was reserved especially for them to jockey into; a friend who only calls when her husband or her family are not available; my own homemade guacamole (it helps to understand what a ripe avocado looks like); my contradictory, unstable, wannabe philosopher professor, who just keeps getting worse; carbonated beverages which sabotage my waistline; long fingernails (there is something so clean and polished about trimmed ones); eating out (speaking of long fingernails, we ate out on Saturday night and our server--an otherwise lovely man--had nails about as long and thick as a parrot's, except his pointer nail had a split across the top edge, in which there was wedged a long, crinkly hair).

On my Keep list:

a recent conversation with a friend who is refreshingly real and honest in her outlook on life (and her mother-in-law); writing stories in my head as I drive to class; the new swimming pool (2 feet of chlorinated fun, I'm tellin' ya); a fourth of July with very little planned, other than time in a lawn chair in the backyard and navigation through a huge pile of recreational reading; blogging anonymously (I have a renewed enthusiasm for showing up--it's like starting all over again, and that is very exciting to me!); sea salt; dictionary.com; Rachel Ray (so fun and refreshing).

Items for the Toss List were much easier to come by than stuff to Keep (too bad that doesn't apply when I'm decluttering). It must be my current outlook (this class I'm taking just makes me feel weighted and edgy and mean).

I'm a work in progress. I'll try again tomorrow.

4 comments:

Mags said...

Hey~
Glad I found you. Your posts are so original and refreshing...I'll be back!!!
Happy 4th.

Deb R said...

OMG, the hair caught in the long, icky nail of the food server made me gag. Seriously!

But I love your Keep List. :-)

PS re: avocados...don't go by how they look, go by how they feel. Press gently on the stem end, right by that little nubbin that's leftover from where they pick it. It should have some noticeable give, but not be way-squishy. If all you can find is hard-as-a-rock ones, take it home and put it in a paper bag with an apple or a banana for a couple of days and it'll get perfectly ripe. If all you can find is way-squishy ones, just think of something else that sounds good to eat because those'll never be anything but gross.

Cate said...

Hi Mags--thanks for the comment! xo

Deb, you cracked me up with the last sentence of your P.S. Thank you so much for the advice. The avocado that I tried to use was rock hard, so when I put it in the food processor, I ended up with 5 million tiny flakes and chunks (nothing creamy like I expected). I ate it, anyway. It tasted like NOTHING. Your description helps a lot--I'm going to try again! Have a happy Fourth. xo

P.S. When I say the hair in the guy's nail, I wanted to get up and leave, but Lou was DESPERATELY hungry, so we stayed. When the guy brought our drinks, the hair scraped against the rims of the cups. It was the most disgusting eating out moment I have ever endured. Two beers later and I didn't care quite as much (but we haven't been out to eat since, and it will be a LONG time before I go back to that place).

claireylove said...

So i'm not the only one haunted by your description of the waiter's parrot nails and inappropriate hair? *stomach churns*

and way to go Cate on gaining new enthusiasm for this blogging lark ~ good luck to you and your newly emptied jar:)