Jabberwocky for 2004 November 22

I'm happy for Condi Rice that she was able to have UFE. It would be nice if it were a procedure available to all women, but alas, most private insurance companies won't cover it, and most people don't have the kind of cash on hand (or connections) Condi does. Insurance companies would rather have us bleed to death, it appears. Or maybe we should have the hysterectomy and get sent home from the hospital too early, with our tummy slit open.

Been there, done that. So has Nancy.

I hope Dr. Rice remembers what kind of privileges she enjoys because of the efforts of the women who have gone before, and when the current administration starts chipping away at those rights, she will do something. This is not an optimistic hope.

I finished checking the L surnames in my genealogy today and it's time to start on M. This is a milestone I guess because M is halfway through the alphabet. I think that I am much more than halfway because the original printout was 863 pages and I am down to 215. That seems almost manageable.

I have a maple rolling pin that my grandmother received for a wedding gift in 1920. She gave it to me when I went to college, and I've used it ever since even though one of the handles is broken off. This is fixable by someone who has the proper woodworking tools, but I don't know anybody like that.

This rolling pin has always driven the kids crazy, and last Christmas during the cookie making they bought me a new rolling pin--a kind of exciting wooden one with ball bearings in the handles. The first time I went to use it, the dough stuck horribly. Then it occurred to me that it is new wood, not "seasoned." Well, I can't give it the patina of a pin that has been in use since 1920, but I sprayed it with nonstick cooking spray.

Nonstick cooking spray is a product I seldom use because I admire the charms of real butter, but it worked wonderfully in this case. Tonight I sprayed it again and rolled out the crescent rolls for Thanksgiving really slickly. The wood appears to be getting a titch darker. It's getting seasoned! So about 2050 it will be an heirloom too.