Musings

Wanting to quickly boil water for tea and not owning a tea kettle, I decided to post an ad on Freecycle . For those of you who aren't familiar, Freecycle is a "network" where people list things they Want or have to Offer to others - free of charge. My add went like this: Wanted: Hot pot or electric kettle in working condition Looking for a hot pot or electric kettle in working condition for heating water for tea. Thanks! Shortly after it went up I had two responses, one of which was for a brand new hot pot, still in the box. I was thrilled! I exchanged a few emails with the person making the offer - we'll call her Betty - and in one of them she explained that she could not leave it on the porch (which is often customary wtih Freecyclers) because she lived in a "bad neighborhood." I wasn't concerned. I had lived previously in LA, New York, and Cleveland -working and volunteering as a social worker. I've been to "bad neighborhoo

I like ice cream. A lot! And if it's in the house, it will call to me. "Tracy . . . come here....I'm just hanging out in the freezer. Grab a spoon. Treat yourself to a few bites. You deserve it." A few bites turns into a few more bites and before I know it, the container is empty. Most frequently the ice cream in question is a pint of Ben & Jerry's - either Vanilla Carmel Fudge or Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream . Eating like this, of course, is not healthy to do on a daily - or even weekly - basis. And so I've developed rules for Ice Cream Management. Rule #1: Don't buy ice cream. Rule #2: If you do buy ice cream, eat it all right away so that it's gone and no longer able to tempt you. Yes - there are only two rules but they work. Very well. In fact, I follow these same two rules for Annie's Mac-n-Cheese . And Kozy Shack chocolate pudding . And.... *photo: I Splurged on Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream by Heather W