Silent night

So, so quiet here. Kids are asleep and Hubs isn't home yet - late night for him. Only sound is the whirring of my beloved box fan (have I mentioned my love of fans on here yet? I LOVE fans, love the white noise to help me sleep, love the feel of wind blowing on me...) and the occasional thunk of a dog pinning another dog to the back deck in some sort of fancy canine wrestling mood.

It has been a mildly productive day. The kids and I mooched lunch at my parents' house, and I spent too much time on the computer, but I did get some laundry done. And a load of dishes. This housework is never done. :(

I have this great bottle of white wine that I picked up a while back, thinking that Hubs and I would enjoy it over the weekend. It's still in the fridge. I am tempted to open it and enjoy it without him, but I don't want to do that when I'm the sole responsible parent type. I suggested it several times last weekend but he was in the mood for Irish coffees instead, and I must say they were quite tasty. We even made decaf ones (I know! Heresy!) for late-day consumption, since we both have trouble sleeping if we have too much caffeine in our systems.

Ah, wine. I enjoy wine so much, although it goes to my head much faster than it used to affect me. I'm picky. I don't like chardonnay at all. Can't stand it. Messes with my reflux, gives me heartburn. Strange, I know. But I love a nice riesling or pinot grigio. I like certain reds with meals, to accompany beef, but not so much on their own. I have to watch them too because some reds also get to my acid reflux. I take meds for it but it sometimes breaks through.

Hubs and I don't drink wine often anymore. We had it more frequently before we moved, as there were more places to get nice, inexpensive bottles of wine, and there were more occasions where we dined with friends and had wine. I think the fabulous places to shop for good food and wine are one of the aspects I miss most about our old home. We've moved hundreds of miles away, and while ye olde hometowne has its advantages, shopping for wine and cheese at a podunk Kroger just isn't the same.

And, well, I don't know that the Food Lion is even a contender. I have a bit of a longstanding bias against Food Lion since the cashier at a Food Lion near my undergrad alma mater was rude to me - and that has been a dozen years, but I still remember. I wish we had better places for shopping here. I think there are enough people who would go there to support a Target or a nicer grocery store, but change comes slowly. After all, we just got the first Starbucks less than a year ago (and now there are three).

Some of my favorite teevee shows are finally coming back after the writers' strike-induced hiatus. Bones will be back soon. Hubs mocks me for watching Bones, but I like it (I could mock a lot of the crap he watches but I refrain). I'm also enjoying New Amsterdam - in particular the lead actor, my new tv boyfriend, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Don't worry, Anderson Cooper. You're still on my list. You too, Alex O'Loughlin.