Oops. Didn't need to be said twice.

It's grilled cheese on bread, just not a sandwich -- yesterday I look the last of a baguette I had, split it, and then sliced some white cheddar with pumpkin and put it on the baguette and ran it under the broiler. SO GOOD.

Quick question: I have not gotten to the house in Frederick to turn on the heat yet. Tonight there is a freeze warning. How much trouble will I be in if the heat is not on?

Our California bungalow is not only drafty, it has neither central heat nor air, and it is mostly uninsulated. There's usually only a 5-10% difference between inside and outside the house. I can handle the too hot house in the summer waaaay better than the house that's 40-50 degrees in the evenings.

I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup yesterday, so I shouldn't need to cook anything today, but now I kinda want to.

Maybe after I hit the grocery store and Toys R Us for an Elsa tutu dress. We're having a combined birthday party for Niece 1 & Niece 2 this coming weekend and I'm trying to get the rest of my shopping done this afternoon.

I also get to have my performance review on Friday right before I leave for the weekend. If it's awful, at least I don't have to be at work the rest of the day?

A solid hour+ of typing up notes and updating the database seems like enough.... of course, it's not nearly done, but whatever.

I made a big pot of veggie chili last night to welcome the Fall. Latest innovation was to liberally sprinkle the faux ground meat with Smoked Paprika as I sauteed it with onions and mushrooms in olive oil and butter. That gave it a good kick. Then I used my usual Moroccan seasoning: allspice, cloves, cinnamon and cayenne. Then decided I needed something sweet and acidic to balance it so I put in a couple ounces of Tangerine Juice, which was (surprisingly) just the thing.

All pleasingly alchemical. I'm getting much more conscious of how to balance flavors with acidic elements now - citrus, tomatoes, vinegar. Helps a lot with those richer dishes.

In other news, my downstairs neighbor Pete - who is disabled on two canes - fell and could not get up! Fortunately we share an air shaft and JZ heard him calling while she was in the bathroom. Poor guy had fallen under his computer desk with this chair on top of him, and a painful lump under his back. He had his phone on and had called the paramedics but I was able to get the chair off and roll him on his side for some relief.

He's been getting more back spasms as he gets older and I'm worried he won't be able to stay in this building where he has to climb a flight of steps (arduously) to get to his room.

Quick question: I have not gotten to the house in Frederick to turn on the heat yet. Tonight there is a freeze warning. How much trouble will I be in if the heat is not on?

Maria, it's predicted to hit freezing here for only about an hour or two. The weather's been warm enough that the house should hold onto enough heat to keep the water pipes inside the house from freezing. It should be fine. Outside hoses might burst if they're still connected, though. (I am not an expert.)

I'm glad you and JZ were able to help your neighbor, David.

My delicate flowerness comes into play more with heat than cold. I was fine until things dropped ino the 50s inside. (In the summer I start the AC for anything much over 80.) It's cold, bright, and windy here today. I'm looking forward to getting out and about in it.

Fast healing and ease wished for neighbor Pete.

H made a pot vat of barley beef and veg soup last week. The neighbors got some, and we've been enjoying it for supper almost every other night. In from the chill of the evening, an almost instant supper of soup with pumpernickel slices spread with cream cheese, and cherry pie, with a lick of plain yogurt, for dessert. The pie was boughten, but from a farmstand, made with local cherries, and is awesome--a gratitude gift from a widowed neighbor for small jobs and kindnesses--including containers of soup, beans, or chili when H makes it.

We keep the thermostat at 64F all winter, and if we're up doing things, it's comfy. Sitting, we have throws everywhere for laps. It did get uncomfortably cool last week, and the furnace declined to come on. The thermostat is located near the laundry room and the dryer was in use. H held a Klondike bar over the sensor. The heat came on.

I succumbed to discomfort last Wednesday and turned on the little oil rad in my bathroom. Outside corner of the house, never gets sun, always cool, and though there is a heat vent in the room, it's at the opposite end from the chilly toilet seat. The oil rad on low keeps that corner bearable.