putting it gently

Pic and I both had cereal for lunch today. Pic poured herself some Cheerios and I asked her where she found the box (that was not located in the cupboard). She responded, "I found it on top of the used-to-be-working microwave."

Perhaps it's time to get rid of that.

musical monday: a tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents

"Data Raps (Dan Bull Star Trek remix)"

overheard

At a program at the (fabulous!) library today, one of the kids in the audience was introducing himself: "My name's Drake! D-r-a-k-e," he spelled out.

"Oh, Drake. I don't know many Drakes," said one of the librarians.

"No! There's only one. There aren't Drakes!"

yes, it's spring

It might not feel like spring. It might be windy and cloudy, rainy, maybe snowy, but it's spring. And, I vowed to start spring cleaning two weeks ago. Okay, so I never refer to any of my cleaning as spring cleaning as I'm constantly freaking out about and trying to clear out the piles and piles of stuff that constantly threaten to overtake us.

So, my bathroom is somewhat, almost clean. Should it take what feels like all day to clean one small bathroom? (It didn't take nearly that long, but I still have some to do tomorrow.) We tackled some of the compost issues we've got going on. I also have to shine up the teapot, which, yes, I do. Then, there're always dishes and the catpan and ecc and ecc and ecc.

Tomorrow, though, is also date night for Cardo and me. We're occasionally dating, which we always say we'll get around to. Not quite sure what the plan is for tomorrow, yet. I'm thinking dinner and a walk, but it might be yet another blustery day.

There also might be a program at the library we'll be wanting to take in. I have to look that up in just a moment here. O, how I missed my beloved library time. Pic missed it, too.

And, there are friends to catch up with.

And, there's daydreaming to be done. Ah, yes, there's always that.

it's all crayon scribbles and sparklies round here

Yes, our child is going to be that child who's pierced and tattooed with rainbow streaks in her hair and kohl lining her eyes. We're already the kind of parents that make others worried because these things don't concern us. We're not out to squelch her natural style and I hope she doesn't let anyone else do that either. Here's hoping that we continue to surround ourselves with wonderfully accepting support network.

the stuff not bought

Oh, such a day of thrifting. Actually, it was a day of being up until six-thirty in the morning (reading, taking a bath, watching Clueless...not sleeping) and then sleeping for six-and-a-half hours. Thanks be that Cardo didn't work today.

So, we flitted from thrift shop to thrift shop looking for several items, some of which we found. Two of those table lamps with metal shades and flexible necks? Check. Metal measuring spoons (minus the 1/2 tablespoon)? Check. More rubber stamps? Check. (Hadn't really been looking for those.) Some of those silicone baking cups/molds? Check. (Okay, so those weren't really on the list either.)

I also picked up World's Best Card Tricks. Let the good times roll!

We did, however, leave some things for everyone else. I left the Angela Lansbury exercise video. The book All My Friends Are Dead (you can read the first several pages at that link.) I also left the following pictures, although I really didn't want to:


(What? What's that? Whose very white leg is that there? Um, no comment.)

Sorry about the low photo quality. I feel really weird taking pictures in stores, so I just got a quick shot and walked away.

what's cookin'?

Hey, look at that: I do still use my rangetop! I know that I've been somewhat entirely silent round these parts about cooking. It's not because I haven't done any, rather it's because I haven't done any that's been noteworthy (as opposed to all of my eight-course marvels of the past, no?).

So, what was I cooking up in my makeshift double-boiler last night? In the bowl I use to make laundry detergent no less?



Mmm...deodorant! (Just a note: don't ever eat anything I make in the duck bowl. It's for non-consumables only.)

I have been at the very bottom of the two sticks of deodorant I have knocking about here, but I have refused to buy new deodorant because I told myself I'd make it. This summer, I'll be trying to move toward making a lot more of what I can and use a lot less packaged stuff and produce a lot less waste. (Here's hoping the deodorant turns out okay and I don't have to throw it all away.)

I cannot tell you how long I've had this recipe bookmarked, because I can't remember. It's been a good couple of years, or at least a year and a half. Something like that. However, I've always thought I was too busy to make this. Apparently, I didn't note the whole it-takes-30-seconds-in-the-microwave part. I finally bought the ingredients I didn't have on hand, and, even without a microwave, this came together in a matter of minutes. I did manage to break my measuring spoon in the shea butter (I've been looking for metal measuring spoons at the thrift shops for forever, and I'll have to step up the search now) and I dropped the lid of the tangerine oil in the nice hot liquid, but it went well otherwise.

So, we'll see how this goes. And, yes, I know. Sono pazza.

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P. S. I love, love, love Angry Chicken (whence the recipe came).

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P. P. S. I went with tangerine oil because it was cheap and I love citrus scents. I almost went with the bergamot, but the tangerine cost less. However, if you want some seriously expensive deodorant, wild chamomile essential oil was $35.99 for .5 ounces (yes, that decimal point is in the right place).

the calm

It's four in the afternoon and I'm still in my pajamas. I was up until four in the morning and I'm still not finished with One Hundred Years of Solitude. I'm surrounded by piles of papers and I have seven months of songs saved up to listen to. I've only washed half of the dishes and I have two mugs, a glass and a bowl on the desk in front of me. Yesterday, I drank something that expired last year.

I think it's time to hit the shower and get out of this condo before I decompose in my chair.

Happy Tuesday, All!

the great purge of mid-2011

Oy with the stuff already. We have so much of it.

Now that I can breathe a bit easier (as far as my time goes), it's time to get serious about the stuff that is constantly threatening to suffocate us. So, stacks of paperwork from five months ago? Into the shredder with you. Power bills from two years ago? Please get in line.

I finally went through Pic's clothes and cleared out anything with a 3t or 4t on it. (Why 4t? I always thought the t stood for toddler. Are four-year-olds still toddlers? I stopped considering Pic a toddler when she turned three.)

We took four kitchen bags full of stuff to Goodwill on Saturday. The Game of Life? Gone. Four pairs of shoes I no longer wear (including two pairs I barely, barely ever wore)? Gone. A good chunk of Cardo's wardrobe? Off to Goodwill with you.

Yet, no matter how much we've gone through, we still have tons and tons more. So much more that this is really part of a life-long project. If only we'd stop bringing stuff into this home. We're working on it. If only my paycheck-earning enterprises didn't entail so many pieces of paper.

The compost is going to be overwhelmed with shredded paper. We'll have backup for years to come.

musical monday: ladies love cool james

"Knock Out Eileen (LL Cool J vs Dexy's Midnight Runners)"

via dooce

Ah, slowly catching up on blogs and all their goodness = happy me.

'can your name be mutton-chop or crooked knees?'

Tonight, Pic and I eased back into a couple of books we haven't delved into in a while. Actually, our entire leisurely reading time routine has been somewhat nonexistent for enough months that I don't want to think about it. Mainly, we've been doing late, late night, very tired reading. (I might always and forever be questing for balance.)

We read some poetry, 'City Mouse and Country Mouse,' 'Rumpelstiltskin' and 'The Little Match Girl.'

I have never understood how 'Rumpelstiltskin' ends up well for the miller's-daughter-turned-queen. I always imagine that, sooner rather than later, the king will want more gold thread from straw. How long until he demands his wife stay up for three days straight to quell his greediness? And, now that Rumpelstiltskin has been swallowed by the earth (or whatnot)...well, there's going to be no more queen.

As far as 'The Little Match Girl,' I remember being about eight or ten reading this story, tucked into a spot on the floor between the end of the couch and the bookcase in the family room. I read and reread it mainly because it freaked me out. I suppose the story ends on a high note, which is totally what Pic got out of it, but I could only ever focus on that fact that the girl froze to death and was finally noticed only when she was a frozen corpse. There's the hunger and cold leading to her delusions, and then death. Geez.

As for my other reading, I'm very slowly making my way through One Hundred Years of Solitude. Very slowly. I should probably already have finished it yesterday, but I still have a hundred and four pages left. I'll get there. I was reading it aloud in the car today and Cardo cracked up every single time I read 'Jose Arcadio Segundo' after the first time. So, that made a war sequence much more amusing than it should have been.

'pour myself a cup of ambition'

For the last three months, this has been my (somewhat sardonic) morning anthem. (Wasn't keen on the hours, wasn't sure about my own choices, but loved, loved what I was doing.)


"Dolly Parton - 9 to 5"

The version I have is part of my 9 to 5 soundtrack. I have to agree with the YouTube commenter who pointed out the weirdness of this video. What is going on here?

And, we really do listen to a lot of Dolly around these parts. Pic was singing Dolly songs the other day when all else was quiet around here. Yesterday, when Pic and I were singing along to "Coat of Many Colors," Cardo was just shaking his head, trying not to laugh and discourage any further sing-along fun.

milestones

So, Friday was kind of a big deal around these parts. Pic can apparently diagnose her own ailments. Okay, so while that was true in this case, that wasn't the big deal, but it plays a part.

Friday, Pic was miserably exhausted and told me, in a whimper, "I have allergies. I didn't sleep very well last night. I had a hard time breathing." We took her to the doctor just in case, as she's had difficulty breathing before (nothing major, mind you...and I just knocked wood). Dr T affirmed that, yes, allergies were the problem. While we were in for the visit, our nurse weighed Pic and she's finally, finally at forty pounds.

We have been waiting for this threshold so we could get her a booster seat for the car. On her sixth birthday, she freaked a bit about still using the carseat, but I was being a stickler about the forty pounds thing. So, last night, after spending time with our dearly beloved friends and their wee one, we stopped at Target and got a booster.

And, well, my child is racing through this childhood, feet barely grazing the ground. I'm not sure I'm ready for this, but I'm trying to play it cool. It might not seem like much, but I assure you, it is. At least for us.

announcing the la casa b book club

I have this fantasy that, when Pic's a bit older, she'll be interested in doing a multi-generational book club. (Parent-child, older person-younger person, whatever.) I've read about these clubs and I really hope that she's interested in these in the future. In our home, really intense reading is my thing. I think the general idea might be spreading because Cardo is wanting to read something with me. But what?

I have been fantasizing about the hundreds of books on my various to-read lists. (Yes, I live in my head a lot.) But what would Cardo also enjoy? What might keep him awake long enough to get through?

I'm not sure how discussions will go, but I'm feeling it's time to read Harry Potter again and Cardo has not yet made it through the series.

So, here's to some Harry! And maybe we'll finish in time to top off our reading with a super-long movie marathon that can include the final instalment. I have no idea when the final movie comes out. (And, I'll try to not to complain too much about how much the movies diverge from the books. I'll try to understand that the movies aren't the books.)

Here's to much more reading in our home!

seen and heard

The other day, as I was leaving the bank with a wad of ones for the bus, I noticed a sign that says "Thank you." It's in pretty big print on an a standard sheet of paper. Along the bottom of the sign, in much smaller print, was the following: "Please see a teller or a brochure for details." I'm not sure what details are necessary in that case. Perhaps they wanted to clarify just what they were thanking me for?

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Last night, we went to dinner for possibly our last Thursday night dinner out for a while. As we were eating, someone across the dining room was imbibing in some tequila, which, she declared, changed her person-al-ity. For a full five minutes that felt like much longer, she felt it necessary to loudly repeat "Balls to the wall!" When she tired of this, she shortened it to just "Balls!" At one point, a couple of diners felt it more comfortable, perhaps, to move to our side of the dining room, away from the balls-to-the-wall woman.

Dinner and entertainment.

musical monday: i look at the world and i see it is turning

"Santana - While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

Maybe I'm just being stodgy, but I still prefer Harrison.

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I just went over to a George Harrison video to give the song a quick listen and I learned, thanks to one of the commenters, that George is (was) not a plagiator*. Good deal. (Oh, also he sings "notice" where I have quoted "see" above. Just to clear up any confusion.)

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* The Blogger spellcheck seems to think that I might have meant to type "alligator" there. I don't think George was that either.

(un)inspired

I was surfing around here in the interweb, looking for some post inspiration when I saw that NaBlo's post topic for tomorrow is "How do you feel about endings?" Um, I'm pretty sure I've about covered that topic.

It's beginnings right now that I'm worrying about. Or, false starts. Or, pipe dreams. (Or something.) An ending usually implies a beginning following. And, yes, there is a "beginning" door I'll choose to go through in just a few short days. However, I've let myself build up my hopes for something that I'm not sure is going to come through. I'm working on thinking that either, yes, our plans will be realized, or, no, it's not the end of the world. (I've always had a flair for the very quiet, internal dramatic.)

In the meantime, I'll try to psych myself up with upbeat music and peppy thoughts. That oughta do it, no?


"Johnny Nash-I Can See Clearly Now"

bits and bobs

* Walking to work yesterday netted me a shoe full of blood. Very nice, very nice. I took a series of buses today, instead.

* I once again have a phone that works. It's much like my old phone. Except there's a camera on this phone and it makes the loudest noise ever when capturing images.

* Alice Walker has a children's book called To Hell with Dying. Have only read the synopsis, but the title's great.

* Am wanting some silver glitter nail polish but haven't found any at Whole Foods. Am really hoping that the Coop will start selling nail polish once they move to the larger spot.

* Am always and forever completely exhausted but must read some Ursula K Le Guin before sleep.

* Hyperbole! It's, like, the absolute most greatest thing ev-ah! And, sentence subjects? Only occasionally necessary!

maybe an early morning walk?

If I leave now, I can stop for a tea. I can also drop off the book that was (oops) due domenica.

However, if I leave now, I have about an hour's walk ahead of me. And, while I do so love to walk, I don't so love to do it when laden like a pack-mule.

Okay, time's a'wastin'.

A good morning to all.

(And, no, I didn't sleep much last night -- a bit from eight to ten, but not continuously -- so that explains my current inability to form thoughts.)

musical monday: maybe i'll learn to sew

"Dolly Parton - Hard Candy Christmas 1982"

Watching this video, Pic remarked, "Whoa, they have a large family! A really large family!"

maybe...

Maybe I'll participate in NaBlo this month? We shall see. I like to start off the month all idealistic and whatnot.


"Wonderwall"