The Frenzied Wren

2009-09-18T14:51:00.001-04:00

Facebook. That's all I'm sayin.

Busy Month

2009-04-26T09:07:00.006-04:00

Hello my darlings, (esp. Grampa Carl!)

It has been a little wacky; lots of perfectly bloggable things occurring and me not recording them. April is wacky, two birthday's and end of term...yeah...not a lot of spare time. Frankly the minutes I have open I would rather spend reading.(or playing scrabble on Facebook) In an effort to keep my steady readers placated (no Mom, I'm not dead) I shall commence the new and improved categorized lists of Belly Acres Trivia Update:

KIDS: Zoli cut all his hair off and donated the resulting one pound! to Locks of Love. Matt is excited about a job with a Russian lady scientist and diabetic rats. Isabel is reading Book 4 of The Twilight Series.
HOUSE: Blown insulation. Good!! realizing we should have done this BEFORE painting..enh...now, we have a Purple house w/polka dots (at least till our Painterdude can get here.)
BARN: In a fit of spring enthusiasm Pete tore out the 100 year old dead rose canes that had been strangled by the ever present grapevine. This mass of detritus looked like pubic hair sprouting out the east side of the barn--dry crunchy pubic hair-- with thorns. It took him about two hours. In the process we discovered a beautiful wrought iron trellis that will be holding black beans in the garden.
GARDEN: Petey built me a third box. 4X12 rectangle for parnsips & carrots--other seedlings are all sprouting right along though I did have two beefsteak tomato babies damp off...sad... start over. One more flowerbed to go (the raised stone bed out front) and all the beds will be tidy. OH! Isabel has claimed the mound by the flagpole as her "Fairy Village" we have added some creeping thyme & creeping phlox to the lily of the valley GrammaTerry gave her for her b-day. Sarah got her a gollum and some fairy art--we will start building houses soon.
CHICKEN: still needs a roommate. She does not care for her tractor so much, but-- it is necessary as I spotted this predator drooling on her for about a half hour Friday morning. I was throwing tennis balls for the dogs and out of the corner of my eye I saw movement in the big tree by the driveway. I looked closer--that's not a cat..holy crap that is a big ole raccoon. It was about 10:30 aren't coons sposed to be sleeping by then?? Anyway..it was staring at my chicken like she was a KFC bucket and a hockey game was on! Chicken must be supervised or in her pen....sheesh...
DOGS: All is well, adopt-adog Uly seems to have a fondness for licking my shoes, no real damage yet tho she did eat Hannon's atheletic cup! Actually they eat a lot-- 50lb bags of dog food every other week. We like the 'gentle leader' --I can walk both girls on one leash. Jarvis got a hair cut too. he was getting dreadlocks.
JOB: Well Winter term is done and my grades are turned in so I thought I was going to have a chance to finish my "Umbridge Paper" (It is actually Feminine Power in Harry Potter) which is due the first weekend in October (Sirens Conference) and maybe even continue editing "daBook" BUT NOT JUST YET!! Oh no dear ones-- Annette has me writing a proposal for a Special Topics class for next Winter. WOOT!! Cross yer fingers!! The Wayne Public LIbrary guy has frozen at the interview stage.
FREE TIME:
BOOKS: Just finished reading "A Year of Living Biblically" by A. J. Jacobs. I had fun the day I checked it out of the AADL because at the same time I requested "God is Not Great" by Chris Hitchens. Sadly, there was noone to witness the juxtaposition and comment on my eclectic reading habits! I just boogied through the self check out. I devoured the new Harry Dresden and am slogging through "The Nature of Monsters", Mieville's "King Rat" is picking up steam and "Drood" is quietly staring me in the face--It may wait till winter. It seems kinda depressing for spring. It is the last of the initial shopping spree w/my b-day card from Ray.
MOVIES: Finally got to see "Let the Right One in"--CRAP! CRAP! CRAP! DO NOT waste your netflix $ or queue space--Gods-- the hype around here was spectacular. I can't believe I was genuinely sad we couldn't see it in the theatre...feh..it had some nice cinematography but poorly dubbed Swedish Vampire films about prepubescent lovers??? CRAP!
HOWEVER!! We did drag the kids to see "The Soloist" last night. Of course the book was MUCH better, I don't care for way the film treated his Lopez' relationship with his wife and combined some secondary characters--it was a little choppy, but the spirit was there and I teared up. (note I wept like a baby at the book). This would be a good netflix moment.

peace.

Isabel's 11th b-day party

2009-04-19T10:27:00.000-04:00

We played putt putt, opened presents, ate cake&ice cream--and got SILLY!

Let them eat cake--

2009-04-07T07:38:00.003-04:00

Festifools2009.mov

Step One: Park for free
Step Two: get coffee & cake from SweetWaters with $20 bill I find in parking lot.
Step Three: Send Pete back to truck for umbrella!!

March 31st 2009

2009-03-31T17:05:00.003-04:00

I have decided that the zombie jester birthday cake is achievable--

Tomorrow (April Fool's Day) Z. turns 14. HOLY CRAP.

It kinda snuck up on me, Pete is in charge of paintball this Saturday and we ordered his fencing kit back a couple weeks ago so today's Recon mission was mostly for inspiration,*insert despondent sigh* I wish we had Duff & Ace of Cakes here in Michigan. I stopped in at The Rocket and got some silliness (fake poop, prank vomit)--still wasn't motivated... so I went to Fantasy Attic (now in Depot Town) did find some toe tags and an awesome new jester hat--but what was startling was that Depot Town was HOPPIN! Whoops!

There was no place to park cuz I forgot Hilary Swank was taking over Sidetrack for a movie. Yes my freaky darlings--Ypsiwood is upon us. The parking lot was filled with big tractor trailers including one that had big black star shapes painted on people sized doors--I was going to take a picture with my cell phone-- but, well-- Frankly the creepy bald security guy with his bluetooth headset kinda freaked me out. I came home and googled zombiejester cakes...I am on my own...

My orchid bloomed!!!

2009-03-24T14:11:00.002-04:00

One of the plants from Margie's funeral (almost a year ago...) was a beautiful white orchid from Pete's partners. I promised to try and not kill it. And lo and behold it is having a second bloom season. I am pleased.

Pinnocchio (yeah more fairy tales..I'm in a rut--but it is my rut)

2009-03-22T08:13:00.005-04:00

I like animation. Some people would say "cartoons"--but I have to disagree, because my freaky darlings you know of that which I speak...

Last month Grampy Ray in his consistent wonderfulness-- again gifted me with the seemingly bottomless Borders card for my b-day. And tho I didn't get as much anime as last year...I had to pick up the 70th anniversary edition of Pinnocchio. I am sure you remember the narrative. A mysteriously single Italian woodcarver creates a wooden puppet which is brought to life by the blue fairy, who grants Geppeto's wish that the puppet becomes a real boy; if only he proves himself "brave, truthful, and unselfish" (that would be Gryffindor). So instead of going to the TapRoom with Neek & Frank last night I watched classic animation with my kids. (Petey fell asleep so it is agood thing we didn't go out).

Now before I toddle down memory lane I need to answer one thing for myself...1.) What exactly is the diff between the terms "anime" and "animation"--off we go to Wikipedia that highly trustworthy source of knowledge...

"Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways. The most common method of presenting animation is as a motion picture or video program, although several other forms of presenting animation also exist."

In contrast

"Anime began at the start of the 20th century, when Japanese filmmakers experimented with the animation techniques that were being explored in France, Germany, the United States, and Russia.[3] The oldest known anime in existence was screened in 1917 - a two minute clip of a samurai trying to test a new sword on his target, only to suffer defeat.[4]
By the 1930s, animation became an alternative format of storytelling compared to the underdeveloped live-action industry in Japan. Unlike in the United States, the live-action industry in Japan remained a small market and suffered from budgeting, location, and casting restrictions. The lack of Western-looking actors, for example, made it next to impossible to shoot films set in Europe, America, or fantasy worlds that do not naturally involve Japan. Animation allowed artists to create any characters and settings.[5]
The success of Disney's 1937 feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs influenced Japanese animators.[6]"

I left all the footnotes in from Wiki cuz that is where I stole it from and I am still on my first cup o' coffee--plus the mention of Snow White is nice transition back to Pinocchio, now that we know there is only a language difference--except--there isn't... because modern anime has an edge..a sexy edge...a violent edge... a twisted maturity (individual artistic soul?) that does not lend itself to innocent (read superficial) viewing that Disney(tm) has stuffed down our throats. The mechanical procedures maybe the same but, there is a difference in philosophy (or culture?) that USED to be present in Disney films that is a strong part of "anime"--an acknowledgement that the modern manipulation of mass market does NOT equal ART. Snow White was art--Cinderella was art--but when Pete and I were kids something fell from Wonderland and in '66 Walt died (didn't they freezedry his decapitated head? Sounds like a Futurama episode)--here is another quote from Wiki-- "Traditional hand-drawn animation, with which Walt Disney started his company, no longer continues at the Walt Disney Feature Animation studio. "

sad--and then they made Hercules...gag

Izzy and I were chatting as Z skipped through the numerous ads promoting the pastel puke that Disney(tm) is currently hawking.

Iz: "I thought you hated Disney."
Me: "I do. This doesn't count."
Iz: "why not?"
Me: "same theory as Sleeping Beauty"
Iz: "I thought you liked the dragon..."
Me: "I love the dragon--wait till you see this whale....

Next Friday their education continues...Don Hertzfeld will be in town....

babies are magic, wizard wrockers & fairy tales

2009-03-18T13:15:00.009-04:00

I think dear ones, that at this exact point in time I am centered and in control. I realize how remiss I have been in properly posting--my free time sort of evaporated the last few weeks but as I just said--I think I am good--for the moment. First and foremost (1.) my Xanni (aka Alexander Robert--the big boy at ChezMcClane) is proud to announce that he is officially a big brother. After a lovely St Paddy's dinner of bangers & mash; they checked into the hospital. Carol had the baby this morning!!! I am yet again...an adopted Jewish Auntie!! WOOOT! Elinor Beatrice was born before class this morning and when Rollo called to tell me I was still teaching...whoops broke my own class rule of "turn your phone off". Many of the students knew I was waiting for news and they all chanted "answer it"--so when I repeated her name they all cheered. Her pics are on Matt's facebook. I can't wait to hold her!!

(2.) The ball was massive success. By the end of the night my hat was more than a little askew. As you can see!

Getting into the VW was a trick. I had not accounted for the low head room vs the height of my chapeau nor had I considered driving a stick with the size of my petticoats-- the bug is still quite sparkly. The fabric of my overcoat seemed beautiful at the store--but at home it's gaudy goodness leapt from the weave like rats abandoning ship. I now understand the bumper sticker comment that sez "Glitter is the STD of the Craft World." My over coat bled glitter everywhere I went. Pete called it Fairyrhea. Nice.

Regardless of the excess of sparkle, we sold at least twice as many tickets as we needed to break even. Sarah ran around w/my camera (till her cold meds wore off) I was bouncing around with Kate & Vickie and hugging all my old students and occasionally would wander back to where Stacy , Pete and Andre & Stephanie and Geo who all said they had a good time people watching. My archery pal Wendy & her posse added to that aspect! I especially want to thank Warren for donating his time and equipment--one plain cheescake coming up!! Like this week!

(3.) Finally, before I split today-- I have to mention this amazing book--The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. OMG!! dark fairy tale extraordinaire...LOVE IT!! I am finishing up the endnotes. I highly recommend it. Beautiful prose--great story...seriously good read. If I ever get the 300 level HP class this book will be required reading.

2009-03-12T14:33:00.002-04:00

There will be pictures Saturday. I feel like the love child of Glenda the good witch and Barney. Big purple and glittery! Still haven't settled on shoes/legs yet. Purple & silver stripes? Black? solid purple? boots? witchy spike heels? glitter kitten heels??? ARRRGH I wish I had girlfriends in this room.

costume concept

2009-03-01T16:31:00.004-05:00

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED--I know what I am wearing to the ball.

Pearl tiara that is just TOOO much for my SCA persona (perhaps w/Turkish hat&veil)
Smart little jacket w/Elizabethan inspired collar. 3/4 length sleeves (cuz you know at some point I'll be working). It's color is labeled 'sterling' but it is in fact a pale dove gray. Tasteful neckline.
Floor length Dark Plum underskirt with sheer gray sparkle overskirt--(simple pattern Two days max) got the fabric at Joanne's for 50% grand total of $52. The price included two orange fabric roses (not sure what I am gonna do with them) and thread.

now shoes......

2.28.09 thrifty & old

2009-02-28T21:23:00.004-05:00

I turned 42 today.
I managed to renew my license on Thursday. The sec. of state opened at 9--I was outta there at 9:05!! woot!
That should be enough birthday right there.

Oi, not so much-- The cards started last week with the traditional cards w/cash from Daddy/Mom and my grand parents. Apparently my adopted Jewish status allows for a week long celebration. Um...no. I'd rather not, but despite my slight embarrassment it has been a steady stream of cards and love from friends--I am pretty sure R&T planned the 50 year old dog cards--that was very funny.

I am thrilled with the annual Border's gift card from my darling Father-in-law.
The ice cream sundae supply kit from Carol & Rollo was awesome as was the scrabble & LOST fest after dinner last night.

This morning the birthday fairy left awesome gifties scattered around the house; a vintage Chinese cookbook, Muck (tm) Boots, the perfect SpartyMom hoodie, a six pack of Pear cider, a new battery for the key fob for the bug (which actually included sitting at the VW dealer while that issue was dealt with). Matty & Roxy came in late last night and hung out all day. After seeing that the mail brought a package w/two anonymous books--STIFF & BONK--I was pretty sure it was Lisa and Paul and I was correct!!-- We started my day of tyranny with breakfast at Northside Grill where my apple cinnamon oatbran pancakes (real maple syrup! Thanks Tish!) and fresh squeezed OJ and a side of bacon was FREE. (There were a couple good prom dresses at St. Vincent de Paul, but nuthin worth buying). Then we went to Zingermans to get my free six bagels, THEN we wandered around Treasure Mart and Izzy found me three Fiestaware cup & saucer sets!!! We came home and laid around playing whip it w/Luna--scrabble, Wii fit (see b-day cash earlier) and watching cartoons (Cowboy Bebop and Ren&Stimpy) till dinner time, when we went to Yotsuba and pigged out on sushi, went to Toys R Us in search of Katamari and/or the new LOST figurines (nada) came home and guess what??? PLAYED more scrabble!!

The b-day is done now.

what am I doing that is worthy of attention??

2009-02-24T08:01:00.005-05:00

very little.

I am getting the itch to start seeds. But I now have a lovely settee in the bay window and am loathe to put moist earth in my dry cozy library. I want one of those awesome shelf trays w/grow lights. Carol assures me that the tomatoes will self sow. I agree. As much fruit that fell to the ground because of bad spacing...man I miss that ketchup. It was so good. Lori has started her onions and leeks--I have one leftover leek from last year that is trying to draw spring all by its lonesome. A limp little lightening rod of warmth.

I should sit Izzy down and make all the newspaper pots--those worked great last year. Pete is gonna lay two more big boxes so we can avoid the spacing dilemmas of last year. We also need to make Gertrude (and her incoming coop-mates) a hawk protection device. It would be lovely if the snow would go away....

Head of the 5th House Robes

2009-02-20T15:46:00.000-05:00

This is too boring huh?

Chris Moore--a freakin' genius

2009-02-18T10:56:00.005-05:00

Absolutely brilliant,I can see where "Fool" could be quite a daunting reading experience depending on whether or not you have read Shakespeare's "King Lear." I am fond of the Shakespearean tragedies and Lear is right up at the top of my list of favorites. (Oh yes, esp Kurosawa's RAN)

Moore names Lear's fool, Pocket. He is much more than the observer from Shakespeare; in Moore's version our truthteller is the instigator--hmm kinda like my Padgett! Who else to manipulate silly royals? In fact I am kinda having a moment of frustration because Cornwell has a new book out titled Agincourt and now this jester as protagonist (okay my Padgett isn't the main character..but still...I really should be editing Fealty instead of blogging and playing scrabble on Facebook!

Anyway, I found this to be a lovely, smutty, funny and enagaging read. I read it in less than 24 hours--most of which I should have been sleeping--but the end game is fantastic. I reveled in the hodgepodge of the tragic and comic--the footnotes were charming (as opposed to D.F. Wallace's all encompassing footnotes--or the post modern footnotes Dumbledore/Rowling has in Tales) I enjoyed watching the plotline of Shakespeare's play unfold with this new interpretation. Poor Edgar for god's sake! And Gloucester eyeball...EWWWW

... once I got to the wrap up when we see who Pocket's parents are I really couldn't stop-- the book as a comic novel is wonderfully done, but the empathy for this character (who totally wins in the end!) is what kept me up till 3 am.

I loved it.

a quickie list

2009-02-13T11:27:00.003-05:00

1. I am quite pleased I didn't get smooshed by a bread truck yesterday.
2. My seeds came from Wildseed Farms, normally this would be cause for great joy--but as I am sick I can only muster so much enthusiasm. Yay.
3. Have had a headcold and/or sinus infection for about five days now. I can't tell if I ache from that or from the gym; either way I am stuffy and whiny.
4. The plans for the Cosplay Ball are rolling along-slowly and full of red tape/lack of $ issues--but rolling.
5. The Book club has it's second mtg tonight. That really is awesome right there.
6. Tomorrow is Val Day. Countess Giulia is coming but no Thomas. What is Val Day w/out Thomas??
7. It is gray and frozen and dead here. I want to go to Hawaii.
8. Zoli is a freshman next year--thus much prepping and meetings...this week!!
9. I hate potholes--they are mean to my car.
10. I got two sections next Winter. sweet.

tired...going to nap now.

Just in case you didn't see it on Facebook

2009-02-06T12:19:00.004-05:00

Check it out!! We are also a group on the EMU Student orgs page.

wardrobe malfunction

2009-02-05T17:42:00.005-05:00

This costume idea is eating my brain. Okay It does not have to meet SCA sumptuary codes so now is def. my opportunity for the turkish hat (gold) and pearl tiara--with peacock feathers. If I make a new garment it would be nice if it were multipurpose and could function in the SCA. This is a formal event otherwise I could throw together a purple and orange pirate ensemble no worries. I have an awesome Jessica McLintlock but it is red and blue an I feel like I should be in character; as Head of the 5th House and thus purple & orange. I seem to have orange tulle on the brain...or a purple tutu-- a tea length...

BUT I LOVES THE STEAMPUNK!!!

Orange and Purple Head of House Robes

2009-02-05T17:17:00.007-05:00

WHAT WAS I THINKING?? Okay aside from T.'s fantasy of McGonagall's plaid--WHAT AM I GONNA WEAR?? Have you ever tried to find purple and orange striped fabric? Or better yet have you ever been shaped like Molly Weasley but wanna dress like Bellatrix? Oi.

I used to watch General Hospital---

2009-01-29T12:48:00.009-05:00

Well, well, well now--last night's episode JUGHEAD was quite the trip.

A. NO JACK!! Wooot!
B. SURPRISE!! Des & Penny had a baby and they named it Charlie--after Widmore or the rockhobbit?? (BTW I suddenly have a severe distrust of Penny).
C. My biggest question is still WHAT is the smoke monster? But I am beginning to really wonder who are the GOOD guys?

I really like Richard Alpert (and not just cuz he rocks the kohl) and I like his character even more now that it is 1954 and he is gonna turn down John Locke in about ten years--that is a chewy bite isn't it? See--look; John (who recently got the compass FROM Alpert) gave the compass to Alpert so that John could NOT choose it --thus failing the test to become leader of the Others (see episode titled Cabin Fever)...well-- he is "not quite ready."

OR

Widmore?? Is he good or evil? When do we get to read the Black Rock's logbook? How about Ben? His alignment will be the opposite of Widmore. Who according to last night is an original Other. He lived in "Old Otherton" afterall. I think I trust Frank. I definitely ride with Team Faraday, especially if he keeps Charlotte from imploding (which despite her preview line of "This place is DEATH!"--I predict Red is not gonna make it to the end of the series--that is why Daniel was crying when he watched the news footage of the "found" crash site. He should have kept her at a time prior to her rapid fire jumping to the island. The writers are implying that we lost Eloise/rat because of too much successive jumping. It doesn't seem to affect Dan or Miles though....

I am curious what is gonna happen if Miles ever gets to Jacob's cabin--BTW Miles is a good guy. Neutral Chaotic does not equal Evil.

Actually, let's think about Miles here for a minute. He can talk to ghosts--he can convince them to change their behaviour...can he calm Jacob's ass down? I was just discussing w/my fellow Lostie (actually it was Carol who started this whole obsession) and we were trying to pin down who was actually dead. (I know...define dead) Claire is a conundrum, but she is w/Christian whom we know is dead, Charlie is dead-- but he talks to Hurley...Claire talks to Kate? Does that make HER dead? (I wish Kate would die--she might be interesting then)--who else is dead? Mr. Eko--but he plays chess w/Hurley...(Why do all these dead folk talk to poor Hurley? ANSWER: I think HE is s'posed to lead the Others) Is Patchy dead? Does Time travel count as Dead? Then are Milkowski and Theresa (the new coma babe) DEAD?? Her sister sure doesn't think so. Ana-Lucia is dead...BUT SHE TALKED TO HURLEY!!! (Ethan and Godwin don't count--neither do Danny & Mr. Friendly) Alex is dead, so is HotCarl and Danielle (sniff). Nikki & Paulo don't count unless we have a zombie episode...been kinda waiting for that. Is Michael dead (fingers crossed) Walt's not dead--but he talked to Hugo. Don't ya love weak logic? How about Jin...if dead peeps talk to Hurley then Jin should have said something to comfort Sun. Based on nothing but Sun's gravesite visit --I predict Jin's death is ONLY part of Jack's lie. Sun will get her boy back. (Damn I LOVE HER!)

PS--I am still chuckling over "Libby sez Hi."

EMU Harry Potter Book Club & Reading Group

2009-01-28T16:37:00.003-05:00

I am the advisor!! we are on Facebook, we are an official student organization--FRAK from Pottercast is doing our crest--the Remus Lupins will be joining Tonks & The Aurors at our Winter Ball in March.
We ROCK!!!

In other Potter related conversational tidbits...I am reading a very interesting collection called Harry Potter & the Order of the Court. It was written by Robert S. Want and covers the RDR/Lexicon scandal. The presentation of objective facts and transcripts is welcome as is the clarifications of Fair Use and the implications for fandom. This book will become required reading Fall Term.

next weekend we don't leave the house--

2009-01-26T11:07:00.005-05:00

The last week (month?) went by so damn fast.I taught class,we got a new president and LOST came back-- I blinked and it was Friday again--except this week instead of getting Gretchen & Chris married-- Ray turned 81. We went to Paesano's for dinner and he got Spumoni for dessert. He cracks me up. We spent most of the meal debating which comic strip was the best ever.

On Saturday Zoli had fencing (he is getting his own gear for his b-day) and Pete zipped in to Sparrow Meats & picked up the Haggis for Burns Night (see Facebook for pictures). The Haggis was definitely edible and surprisingly tasty! Next year I will make it from scratch and it will be a bit spicier. Maybe garlic. We shared a bottle of scotchy scotch (Ardbeg) w/our crazy friends and *I* was warm enough to not notice the below zero windchill when we went outside--tho Petey claims his kilt is quite warm; I noticed he was walking fast!

Moniack Mead, Highland Wineries, Moniack Castle, Inverness, Alc 14.6%, 75cl, £6.99

On Sunday the caterpiller ate through three bowls of soup and one delicious glass of Heather meade (from Scotland no less). It is called Moniak after the Inverness castle where it is brewed. click here Andy.
Carol and Rollo were so funny--eagerly waiting for us to taste this necter--but what was even funnier were all the stories Lori/Brian (aka Philippe & Simone) told us about how they became part of the Moniak Army. Apparently we now need to get to Windsor (Briar-- help???) and stock pile this precious beverage as they no longer import it to the states. It was smooth and delicious. Faintly whiskey, faintly honey, warm and brandy-ish. It very well maybe my new fave liquor. If I had to choose between a glass of Goose or a glass of Moniak---well it would be the heather meade. It is perfect.
Kinda wish I had a glass right now.

Yummy sandwich

2009-01-22T16:38:00.003-05:00

Petey and I got lunch together today. We went to Beezy's. All my Ypsichicks are lovin' it so off we went. It's a new place in downtown Ypsi--right across the block from the DEJA VU. I skipped breakfast (shut up Matt) so I had no problem scarfing down an avocado BLT on grilled sourdough. The place was PACKED even as close to one pm as it was. I was thrilled to see Faygo in glass bottles so I also splurged on an Orange soda. It was cold and sweeeet, real cane sugar thank you very much--prices weren't bad. Pete loved his soup. My favorite thing was the BIKEYPSI flyer. They had an egg salad that sounded tasty--I'll go back.

Gertrude isn't a mutant!!!

2009-01-21T16:00:00.003-05:00

We were beginning to worry. We expected her to start laying in Sept (she hatched in April), but nothing---UNTIL today when I went out to give her fresh water THERE IT WAS!!! OUR FIRST EGG!!! It wasn't there this morning. And she sure as hell was more interested in playing with Luna then sitting on it--so there we have it! An egg--YAY!!!

Jan '09

2009-01-19T07:47:00.009-05:00

It is still the first month of the year and if the excitement of the last few days is any indicator of the rest of the year '09 is gonna be a HOOT! Two weeks ago I got home from teaching class; I released the beasties, hung up my coat and checked the answering machine. Gretchen had called; twice. I called her back and fully expected her question of "What are you doing next Friday?" to be an invitation to meet her for lunch. I replied that I taught in the morning but would be done about 10:30. This was met with a huge mock dramatic sigh and she said she would ask a sister...I was puzzled--why couldn't we get together?? WITH her sisters? either one?--then she explained. She needed somebody to witness HER MARRIAGE TO CHRIS!!! AHHHHH AHHHHH!!! Then she swore me to secrecy. So I couldn't tell anyone. GREAT!! I finally get to be a "Best Woman" and I don't get to do any of the goofy girlfriend shit. Had to switch on the filters on and control my enthusiasm. I had to quell my natural instincts as a Mrs. Dalloway wannabe and just stand there holding Chris' ring. Did it.

Drove up to Vassar Thursday (so as to avoid any bad traveling delays) and they were married Friday morning in a very quiet ceremony attended by their doggies and Sam & I. Got a little festive at her sister's place with a champagne toast and cake, went to Tiffany's Pub for lunch and headed home to check on the frozen pipes. yep they were still frozen.

Mostly because Hell had Frozen over (well Gretchen did get married). Our cold water feed pipes had two of our three toilets out of commission and the winter conditions continued to demand our attention...

Saturday was date night--a real date. With my "boyfriend"--you know that guy I used to date before I married the overworked doctor?? We had gotten tickets for the productions at Hilberry Theatre on Wayne State's campus back several months ago, Tom Stoppard's brilliant play Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead was being performed with HAMLET. We got the tickets on the only day they staged both plays so we could see both performances back to back. What a treat!! R&G were adorable; we arrived in the 20 questions bit--about 15 minutes later than the start of the play because the driving conditions I had anticipated screwing up the wedding actually had Matty getting to us a little later than he expected. I was not about to leave the kids with a fire in the fireplace, frozen pipes and no official adult.

Considering that we left later than we wanted and the roads were so horrendous I am actually quite pleased with the results. I thoroughly enjoyed the first play (despite the chilly auditorium) and at it's conclusion we slid around the corner to The Inn on Ferry Street HUBBA HUBBA!! what a beautiful place seriously. Petey surprised me with the whole overnight stay thing which in itself seemed over the top, I mean-- we only live 40 minutes from the theatre--but he was adamant that we needed a break so I was amenable--Matt was home with the chilldwens. I really need to get a grip on this anxiety thing. I explored the Arts & Crafts antiques that adorned our spacious room and started to relax for real--Then there was a knock on the door, "Front Desk"--and there was a lovely man with THE TRAY. You know the tray they put in all romance movies? The silver ice bucket with champagne nestled into it, a dozen red long stemmed roses arranged above a box of chocolates? My boy is sooooo smooth...giggle.

LONG slow Dinner at Traffic Jam and Snug--great fun and delish food. That is such a great space. Pete's iphone finally impressed me as we sat there sipping after dinner mugs of coffee and scrolling through the text of Shakespeare's play trying to trip each other up in a silly game of "identify the speaker". Eventually we toddled back across the tundra to see Hamlet. Seriously the perfect date. except for the hazardous driving--which we mostly avoided by not driving home after Hamlet. My boy is truly clever.

The performances were strong--not spectacular, not crappy. The Ren Fair costumes were distracting, but maybe if I didn't spend so much time with costuming laurels from the SCA I would have had better suspension of disbelief. The fun at seeing both plays back to back was totally worth it. I love both plays but my obsession with deconstruction and meaning --all Waiting for Godot and signifiers..yeah..I was happiest w/ R&G.

...and when we got home...Matt had the pipes thawed!!!

Countess Cordelia Lisney

2009-01-13T17:13:00.002-05:00

Click on the following link to get your steampunk name!!!OH! What great fun!!

Houston--we have icicles

2009-01-12T16:35:00.006-05:00

BIG SCARY ICICLES!! Meaty manly icebergs. Icy stalagtites of dooooom. My poor gutters. Some of the worst are right outside the bathroom window. So I can scowl at them until I get so cranky that I open the previously winter proofed & gummy goo sealed window, remove the screen and whack at the chunks with an ax. The first time I had help. Pete and Matt were home and we took turns and cleared the entire area. The window bit and the bit that was causing the problem. That would be the section of roof where the skylights allow tons of heat to escape. Stupid skylights. I really dislike those skylights. When there is a full moon you can read by the reflecting glare. And they are cold. Plus, one of the motors has died so even IF it were 80F (ha ha ha --ROFLMAO--can't breathe...pant pant) sorry, lemme catch my breath--okay--so, even if it WERE warm out--we can only open one. At least not till we swap out the dead motor. Stoopid skylights-- I am sure they are heat sinks--because there is no attic in that area to be "poorly ventilated" (as all the ice dam web pages note). If they break my house I am gonna be CRABBY.

So there I was today, leaning out the bathroom window and wailing--wait is the term I want "whaling"? anyway I am sure the suburbanites were laughing as I smacked about 40lbs of ice from my poor old gutters. That's me entertaining the masses. I did not attempt the danger zone up around the peak--but lemme tell ya, we are soooo getting those wire heaty things. sigh.

Sat. morning baby Yoga

2009-01-10T18:05:00.005-05:00

well. After having done yoga for almost ten years-- today I had a little moment of braggadocio. I attended a class at the new place and was so far ahead of the class it wasn't even funny. I guess I have to admit I am no longer a beginner. It was soooo easy. so..watered down. so...lame. And I am sorry substitute yogateacher--that series was NOT Sun Salutation. Admittedly I did have an epic failure when she got to Shoulder Stand. NOT my favorite asana and not one I do regularly. Okay--not one I have done in about three years. I sorta went all the way over into Plow and then kinda flopped over rather unceremoniously. not pretty. But the other 99% of class I was beyond confident.

My confidence matched the loveliness of the studio. Hardwood floors and floor to ceiling windows. One thing that was odd was the OM plaques every five feet. I am positive it was designed for ease of "spotting" (focusing on a spot to help you keep ones balance) but it struck me that if this were a temple or chapel of some other sort-- that those spaces would not have been decorated with crucifixes or Stars of David every five feet. It seemed disrepectful.

On Thursday I had a similar epiphany to today's class--the awesome girl (Laura? yes her name was Laura) showing me the circuit training machines said I was strong. I don't feel strong. I feel gimpy and fat. I know what it is to be strong and this ain't it. But we mustn't argue with the staff. I was very happy to find my gloves in the lost and found. They came up missing Thursday evening and I forgot to ask on Friday but there they were today..My toasty purple leather driving gloves. YAY!

HPBCARG--or The 5th House

2009-01-09T16:07:00.003-05:00

Now we are cooking!! The Wizenmagot (the organizing members) for the Harry Potter Book Club and Reading Group met today at the Tower Inn. We (they--I ate my sandwich and smiled a lot) accomplished much. We settled on a name less cumbersome then HPBCARG...The 5th House. It was a close race with similar versions, The Lost House and The Forgotten House (as in the house that got left behind). In fact it was so close I might be wrong...it might have ended up being the The Forgotten House, but the meeting minutes will be emailed soon enough.

We have a date and room reservation for Jan 30 for the actual Book CLub meeting. We have fun stuff planned for those who appear in the Student Center that evening!! They also got officers settled and started getting our upcoming Cosplay Ball/Wizard Rock Concert organized. It was also decided to *hold* on the filmfest until closer to the release date of Film 6. But the term marathon got bandied around quite a bit. That will be a hoot.

I am proud of my darling cuttlefish...or hippogriffs or whatever Purple and orange beastie they decided on. This is going to be pure fun!

BTW-- today is Snape's b-day. Happy B-day Sevvie. I reread the epilogue of my favorite fanfic Tea With Black Dragon at lunch.

Aqua aerobics

2009-01-08T16:03:00.004-05:00

I ordered some shoes. That is prly a good thing because today the music ROCKED. I had fun. I was again laughing, a bit more to myself, as I bobbed around in the tidal currents. Less visualization of hunky vamps and a lot more channeling of a volleyball jock today. I also kinda felt like a dolphin. That water--seriously, it is different. A.) The pool doesn't reek of chemicals. When we walked into the water park at GWL recently the chlorine hit us like a wall. The pool at TH&FC@WCC is this pleasant warm oasis. ESPECIALLY the big ole therapy pool. I named it "the mermaid pool" today. Remember the scene in Peter Pan when the merbabes beat the crap out of Wendy?? I felt langourous and sinuous as slithered through the water. This relaxation was necessary after sliding all over on icy roads in the bug. (On days like this I miss my 4WD Jeep Cherokee.) I walked in feeling pretty tense and hyped up. In about five minutes I was totally relaxed and drifting...veddy nice . Total jello brain, until I used the stairs to leave the happy place and gravity and cool air sucked the joy outta that moment. It was so weird. I prefer floating.

B.) The warm bouyant water of the therapy pool peeled off like a robe and left my poor shivery self questioning the lifeguard; his answers?-- the deck was about 80F, the big lap pool was about 83F and the therapy pool was a balmy 95F. sigh could float there forever.

I'll have my shoes next week let's see how that goes.

surreal

2009-01-06T12:02:00.006-05:00

I joined a gym. Actually I joined a thing...The Health and Fitness Center at WCC. The place on the whole is pretty impressive, heated towels, the lockers work, the showers have doors and the membership is on sale till Feb 15. (I saved $100!) Sunday in a fit of motivation I stopped in and got a contract. I really just wanted a yoga class. I haven't taken one since Crystal moved to New York. This place is NICE, almost posh--wood grain lockers, and peeps! So far I have seen my Literacy Buddy Ele; Sam (actually Julie tipped me off to this place about two years ago). I have also caught sight of 'Nette & Krause and my "fearless leader" Russ--who isn't the Dept. Head anymore but will still crack Rocky & Bullwinkle jokes with me.

This morning I participated in an Aqua aerobics class. OMG!!! I was laughing so hard. I kept getting these bizarre visions that were spawned I am sure by the CORNY music. Now don't get me wrong I am totally going back Thursday but the music the teacher chose was GOO oooh OOFY! All patriotic marches and shit which granted is great for jumping up and down to but combined with the surprisingly buoyant salt water in the pool and the tidal current generated by my mushy and sizable classmates and the fact that I was barefoot (apparently we now wear shoes in the pool --didn't do that the last time *i* took Aqua aerobics--but that was ten years ago when I was preggers w/Izzy. C'est la vie.

Okay so imagine me treading water in this rather warm salt water womb. I am surrounded by a small herd of decidedly UNfit ladies bobbing up & down. All of whom look like they just walked out of the kitchen of a Hungarian Reform Church. They have hairsprayed coiffures (many of whom did not get WET at all--the whole time!) and those swimmy suits with the skirts attached. Honestly, what designer was doing what drug when they decided that a "swim skirt" was gonna hide 40 years of cellulite?? God Bless America starts playing and the bobbing becomes more frenzied. I of course imagine Stephen Colbert leading the class. She isn't Stephen Colbert, she isn't even Tek Jansen, BUT the nice teacher did remind me to move up to the shallow side of the pool so I didn't drown. Hmmm--that helped but the waves were still crashing around my face as the Church Ladies began their workout in earnest--often the teacher would get us all moving in a conga line (can walruses conga? YES.YES they CAN!), the water would form a whirlpool and then the NiceTeacher would direct us to all reverse direction and do the fun dance step AGAINST the current--the music changed to what I can only think of as a "cotillion song" It was some Early American down south kinda ballroom song and I immediately envision Bill (yes from Trueblood) in his Confederate soldier uniform and seems how we are doing a waltz I decide to pretend he is my dance partner and my addled brain wanders off into a daydream that has me wearing the drapery dress from Gone With the Wind and sexxyVampireBill whispering "Sookie"--then the music changed. Damn that was working for me!

Actually the whole executing various dance steps in the incredibly bouyant water was the closest I have felt like the 89 pound me I remember. The muscle memory surprised me. I felt light and graceful. I felt like ME--The rock hard abs me who was a letter winning gymnast and ballet/tap/jazz freak on weekends.

So the music changes to what can only be described as hoedown music. And yes..we are doing the frog like jump side kicky move you can imagine if you think of Stinky Pete and his XXX jug celebrating a new gold mine. Sheesh-- I couldn't help it--I kept laughing and making the lady next to me laugh and we cracked jokes about getting cowboy boots instead of pool shoes. It was good as long I kept imagining various dance partners. Then it was some kind of Coyote Ugly music and we were line dancing.

Oh holy crap. I really hope Thursday's music is different!!

Monday Moanin'

2009-01-05T16:14:00.002-05:00

naw it wasn't that bad.

Despite the vivid awareness that at 7:40am I would much rather have been waking up to Landra cooing in the living room of the GWL & have coffee w/Fina & Tarrach-- then gulping down one cup so I could drive Z. to school. Everybody got where they needed to be and of course I got a crappy parking spot, but class started at 9 and was a rousing success. And I paid for a new term of coffee (to drink in front of 40 people who want me to teach them something).

This term should be fun. Only 40 students instead of 97. The EMU Student Organization titled The HP Book Club and Reading Group gets under way this month, with yours truly as the advisor or "Housemother" --and I have some new canon to discuss what with Tales of BB now common knowledge.

It is often odd for me to reflect upon the fact that I have been hanging around Pray-Harrold since 1985. Granted there were years when I wasn't there, but on the whole..it is kinda creepy. I wish they would build us a new building-- if the state of my 41 year old body is the same as the state of that 41 year old building...well let's just say I bought a gym pass.

Shelfari.com

2009-01-01T09:41:00.006-05:00

I have been meaning to do this for several days. I have been distracted by a.) travel b.) loss of power c.)holidays d.) a particular Xbox game called Fable2, e.) new anime additions to my collection and f.) figuring grades from last term (praise Excel) and g.) pure decadent laziness-- but I have finally generated a list of books that I read in 2008 that particularly wrapped themselves around my spine. Pete helped with this conquest as he would nod and say "Yeah that one got under your skin." I suppose that means I babbled about it in addition to blogging about it.
SOooo w/out further padding--the '08 recommended reading list.

The most striking book I read last year was definitely All Shall Be Well; And All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well: A painfully true novel by Tod Wodicka. If you even know WHAT the SCA is--you need to read this book. It, like Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, is a fable of obsession. A warning...

In second place was the Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman. Mysterious and lush. The perfect mix (for me) of subject matter and craftwomanship.

Showing up third I have decided David Liss's The Coffee Trader was pretty damn good. Granted he does get brownie points for complimenting me (via a surprising email) on a glowing review I wrote.

In fourth place on the list but prly the most life changing was Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. She is my hero and as soon as I am done typing I am gonna fill up my mug and starting pawing through seed catalogs. 75% of the motivation for this new "hobby" is her doing. This book definitely altered my existence.

Speaking of the SCA, craftsmanship and food, number five on my 2008 list is an out of print book titled The History and Culture of Japanese Food by ISHIGE and Naomichi Ishige. This book was assigned to me by His Majesty Raito of Northshield as I prepared his coronation feast. The research and learning demanded for this project began with a simple joke two years ago when I announced to him (I think we may have been painting toenails or floating in an innertube) "When you crown Aesa, I am cooking your feast." Months later, after his victory-- I saw him quietly perusing the merchants at Crown Tourney and I approached him. I bowed--he grinned as if to say "I'm not wearing my hat" and I then leaned against him (cuz that is what dogs do to tell you they love you). THEN he said, "Will you still consider our feast?" HELL YEAH! but then tricky sensai that he is--he announced..."You do know sushi isn't period." At that point I was cocky and confident. I can do anything. That attitude changed quite drastically as I discovered the first of many obstacles in this quest. Not the least of which was the fact that I had to interlibrary loan the book from CMU. I haven't smashed so much learning into my thick little skull since grad school. I learned. That project was accomplished. It was not perfect. It did not look like Hauviette was in charge, but...thanks to my minions: esp, my girls Clan In gen Aeda, MyThomas and the Chiv he wrangled into serving, my darling lord husband who grilled 75 portions of salmon in the freezing rain, poor seasick preggers Carol being my moral support and DukeHardbutt washing sticky rice dishes all afternoon. That mission was accomplished.

This post is about books right???--

Books about Food apparently becasue the next one on the list is Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell. Hilarious!!! and enlightening and filled with butter and garlic! (BTW-- if any of you freaky darlings wants to set up a paypal account so I can buy awesome ingredients you go right ahead!)

Number 7 is also working my prevalent theme of medieval matter is The Voyage of the Short Serpent eeep!!! Cannibal Catholics attack Vikings. EEEP! This delicious little volume by Bernard du Boucheron and Hester Velmans just fucked with me. CRAZY!

Number Eight (Eight, Eight. Eight is great...Eight is the number we do not hate!) A series. I enjoy reading series. I wish that books never ended. If I can't get a series in toto-- I will devour all that an author has written. Case in Point? Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials. More carefully written than HP and twice as mature. The little Lyra's Oxford etc are delish little bites that extend the narrative. I am sure you are well aware that the movie SUCKED! However, in sharp contrast to the cinematic dreck-- I heartily recommend these, especially if you like sharp knives, parallel universes, hot air balloons and gorgeous evil chicks.

Number Nine (can you hear John Lennon? Number 9...Number 9?) It is true that Generally speaking-- the closer Oprah is to a book the further away I stand; but The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski is a keeper. This story is beautifully written and heart achingly honest. Despite it's designation in Oprah's Book Club as #62, these characters authentically materialize and you worry about them when you can't be in their universe.

There is a tie for my number ten spot. Two ugly, mean and petty books. The characters are selfish and vicious. They are vile and reprehensible, I love to hate them more than the baby eating catholic (#7), more than Mrs. Coulter cutting away children's daemons (#8),more than High Fructose Cornsyrup(#4). They are titled Finn and Mister B. Gone.

Let's start w/Finn because he is quite possible the sickest character I have ever encoutered. Yes dear one, this version of Huck's daddy is right up there with Thomas Harris' famous Hannibal Lecter and his far far less sympathetic nastycreep in Red Dragon. I mentioned to my friend Joe C. at work that I was reading Finn by Jon Clinch. Joe was immediately on a soapbox pontificating and pronouncing. It was fun for me to pick a renowned Twain scholar's brain I went through this juicy tome. We still haven't fully discussed the haunting white room completely--I'll get to him at Burn's Day I suppose. THAT should be a lovely drunken conversation!!
If you enjoyed Huck Finn as a naive child, the bitter adult in you may get quite a kick out of Pap Finn's gruesome truths.

'K--so I said Finn was tied for last spot on the "Books Daye thinks You should read List." If you see a little book called Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker. PICK IT UP!! that is a little joke--for you see dear reader like Inkheart and it's sequals--there is a little space time continuum thing working. Things get misplaced including your sense of reality. Characters going into and out of texts--for example fForde's The Eyre Affair, like Will & Lyra in Pullman's books. I really want to design a class around this meta-fiction concept. Barker does a stupendous job of finally creating a character that isn't one dimensionally evil. That isn't a caricature of Hell, this poor narrator is ensconced in an upside down world where "bad" behaviour is the social more and yet... you like him...

So there they are, in contrast to Andre's MILF of the year..my first annual Books I'd Like to Fuck.

End of the Year Tidy-Up

2008-12-23T09:01:00.002-05:00

no...I am not ready to tackle that just yet. I do like the idea of cleaning the hell out of the house--to get rid of dusty bad luck. But
it has been so bloody cold lately (Gertie's water dish keeps freezing solid) my knees aren't hip to much but playing video games. Maybe reading...baby I am on vacation.

A proper snowfall

2008-12-17T09:43:00.008-05:00

seems to have caused much mayhem in the animal residents of BellyAcres. Luna is completely addicted to wrestling in the snow. Despite Jarvis' best attempts to ignore her she insists upon hourly romps. She absolutely luxuriates in the stuff. Meanwhile Jarvis much prefers to sit on the back of the loveseat and stare out the window watching the birds at the feeder. Of course I understand, if snow clung to the fur on my legs forming little balls of ice I would stay inside too! He needs a new tummy protection device (LGD sweater).

Speaking of birds--Gertrude seems immune to the temperature drop...well not completely immune, she is definitely in LO-Power. I clearly remember a day in late fall that the temp got down into the 30s and she sort of flew into the side of the house. That was my first real indicator that her cognitive abilities are directly linked to the outside temps. We got her a lizard heating rock which she avoids; at least when we are looking and she has yet to poop on it. But she is totally "chill" (get it?) she just fluffs up her feathers and eats her mealworms. No worries. And when you clean the coop she kinda purrs... instead of Ba-Racking. But she is bright eyed and cheerful. She still hasn't laid an egg, supposedly "production" drops off in the winter. She seems to like Kale.

Frank is clueless. It is a happy damp 70F in his world and he likes it that way.

thoroughly depressing

2008-12-12T12:42:00.002-05:00

I am s'posed to be addressing holiday cards and "updating" the over flowing old address book to a new shiny one. I need a break because in the last two pages I have had to cross off three entries because that person DIED. bleh.

Harry Dresdan meets Buffy the vampire slayer and

2008-12-11T11:52:00.002-05:00

they go to American Gods on vacation.... Fina tipped me off to a new Vash novel. The author is Lori Handeland and the title is Any Given Doomsday. So far so good, kinda Stephanie Plum-ish w/supes.

Mrs. Dalloway does Ypsi

2008-12-10T18:52:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite Virginia Woolf pieces is Mrs. Dalloway. I think I have mentioned this before...anywho--Tuesday morning in the rain that should have been snow I did some Hollydaze shopping and frankly, somebody should have taken my picture (with all my colorful shopping bags) and used it for a PR poster promoting buying local. After parking for free in the city lot; I stopped into VGkids and placed an order for Isabel (heads up fans!! Monday Monkey is on his way!!) and then once the precious orginal art was safely to it's place of reproduction HERE, I toddled down to see Paul at The Rocket my favorite place to drop $50 holiday dollars--seriously, if we are having a party-- I get stuff from Paul. He has the best stuff: from theme candies to pinatas to smutty beer coasters, so the stocking stuffers were acquired and I moved back into the dreary gray rain. Now with my bright green Shakespeare umbrella and my little black VGkids bag (proudly sporting their logo!) I added bright red bag of treats from The Rocket, then I peered in the window of Look in The Attic and decided other people should shop there (FOR ME!!!) --then for the first time since they opened I perused the wares of Simply DeVine. It was no Henrietta Fahrenheit that was for sure, same space but VERY different goods to purchase. And purchase I did!! The girl working the counter was really sweet and we giggled and talked and I joined their email list. I saw some great gifty ideas and purchased some awesome reusable gift boxes. The customer service was Excellent and I ended up with another bag of consumer goods-- this one white and sprouting beautiful green tissue protecting my purchases. As I walked back to the car I caught a glimpse, in the reflective window of an interesting new art studio, of me with my umbrella & festive cheerful bags--seriously... I looked picturesque.

Happy fan girl

2008-12-05T11:13:00.007-05:00

Well yesterday was a pretty special day for Potterheads in the 'hood. Not only did The Tales of Beedle the Bard finally arrive at Belly Acres (via UPS) about 4:15. I got all my work done in the morning and waited for it to come all day, obviously UPS had no idea how crack like Rowling's words are to me--I waited by the window like a little kid waiting to see Santa's sleigh. Once it arrived I reverently opened the special packaging and DEVOURED IT!! The new stories (and Dumbledore's notes!!!) were just long enough to keep me busy while Pete & Izzy were at their music lessons. They got home about 5:30 and we scarfed down our shrimp and udon (yes, I can finally face cooking Japanese again) we headed back into campus to enjoy a fantastic live musical performance by Tonks and the Aurors. click!! her myspace is here

After a rowdy set (is it unprofessional to wrock w/ one's students?) she screened a viewing of Megan and Mallory Schuyler's newly released WROCKumentary. (wizard + rock=WROCK) The auditorium in the EMU student center was about half full so I am guessing close to 100 people* showed up for the great tunes (Tonks/Stephanie has a lovely voice) but not everybody hung out till the end of the movie. We did!-- despite Isabel getting a little antsy near the end. Zoli and I were rocking!! I especially enjoyed the footage of Alex Carpenter aka Remus and the Lupins as he is my fave wizard rocker, though I tell ya, Miss Stephanie Anderson (aka Tonks) is right behind him in the awesome zone!

Now if we only had the Scottish book....sigh...

In other HP news I am advising a new student group on campus, a HP Reading Group and we had our first organizational meeting Weds. afternoon. We have big plans, they want a Quidditch team to join the existing league, we are going to hold both a filmfest & a cosplay ball next term and ultimately we want EMU to host a Pottercon. Trust me my freaky darlings..you are gonna hear more about this!!

I had no idea that Susan Booth (whom I know through the SCA) was involved with AMP (the campus group sponsoring Tonk's gig)---she chatted me up (pointed out who she was w/out garb!!) and we shall combine forces and save the universe!! Oh Ypsi!! WE are gonna WROCK!!!

*Geo brought her chilldwens too!

RIDDIKULOUS!

2008-12-02T14:38:00.002-05:00

I JUST found this--

Tonks and the Aurors

12-04-2008 18:00 at E. Mich Univ.’s AMP festival w/ THE WIZARD ROCKUMENTARY
900 Oakwood Street, Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197
Cost: FREE

Come see Tonks & the Aurors AND THE WIZARD ROCKUMENTARY during EMU’s AMP Festival! We’re playing in the Student Center Auditorium from 6-7 and then the film will start around 7. The event is FREE and open to the public!

2008-11-30T10:17:00.002-05:00

That's my girl!!

2008-11-26T15:11:00.004-05:00

After picking Luna up from her experience getting spayed at the Clinic instead of our VERY expensive Vet; Izzy and I met a nice young man who was adopting a kitten. Not only was he charming and handsome but his new kitty was adorable. It was the same dark gray color as his fleece jacket and Izzy told him he should name it "Fleece", which he immediately agreed was a great name. In that brief moment Isabel had a little epiphany and decided that her pets were so awesome and lucky that she felt the need to do something helpful for pets who were not so happy. She was inspired by one other little girl who had made blankets for the cats (pink on one side, blue on the other) that the cats could sleep on and take with them to their new home when they got adopted. Izzy immediately got to work not only donating her allowance but collecting change from her teachers and classmates and her visiting aunts & uncles who had gathered at our house last weekend. (Funky Chris & Auntie Gretch even shared their football winnings!) So today, the first day of Thanksgiving break, we drove out to Cherry Hill Rd and donated blankies, and old towels, kitty litter and $46.04 cash.

Twilight to Trueblood--keeping Fantasy "real"

2008-11-25T08:59:00.007-05:00

I have always been very interested in the process of adapting books to screenplays. But I confess, I am a fangirl first. I am quoting Pam Pastor of the Phillipine Daily Inquirer when she points out that Meyer herself felt that Melissa Rosenberg had better be very careful...
..."The original script changed the passage, “And so the lion fell in love with the lamb,” but according to Producer Greg Mooradian, Stephanie (Meyer) suggested that they stick to the original because many girls have tattooed that line on their ankles."

yeah..that is my kind of obsession. I need every director, every producer to be as involved with the script as I am infatuated with the charatcers. The bar has been set quite high--Peter Jackson & Fran Walsh with thier work adapting Tolkien's volumes so vastly supercedes my first real experiences with this concept; that would be Peter Benchley for his work on Jaws and of course Lucas w/Star Wars in '77. Those early boys didn't do a bad job mind you, I'm just saying the BOOKS were light years (get it?) of vividness away from the dull mundanity of special effects. Trust me dear ones, the scene may not be "pretty" in my head but imagination is alive and potent in a way that no mechanical shark or "planet basketball" can begin to touch. Now despite my pride in my own imagination and my preference for the appearance of the characters, One of my favorite 36 hours ever was when Petey and I with R&T (of course!!) sat through a marathon of Jackson's series that ended at midnight when Return of the King was released. I was in heaven.

Not so much with the adaptations of the Harry Potter series. My opinion of those films can be easily summed up.

They suck.

These WB generated atrocities do however provide a nice transitional concept from St. Peter & his lovely Fran to Mr. Alan Ball. Who is confusing me no end. It seems that Ball has created another spawn monster--this one nearly as disappointing as the Harry Potty films. HBO's webpage describes the series thusly,

"A sexy, scary new drama from 'Six Feet Under' creator Alan Ball, 'True Blood' delves into the meticulously-crafted world of novelist Charlaine Harris."

Please excuse me while I laugh hysterically!!! *can't breathe* --- I like Harris' novel's very much. They are witty mysteries frosted with black humor. They are about as deep as a mud puddle-- they are primarily a formulaic vehicle for a quickie mystery (or maybe another kind of quickie if you are into Weretigers named Quinn. grrrrowl). A "beach book", fluff and nonsense. delicious! (You should maybe check out her Shakespeare series---it's not what ya think)

What Ball is doing to these books is like comparing eating a handful of fresh grapes to drinking a full bodied red wine. (or dare I say it? for a vamp...hunting vs a bottle of Trueblood (tm?) Not even the same thing!!! I am sure the producers at HBO have a hand in the soap opera like changes but I wonder if Harris is even in the library let alone on the same page!! The numerous and prolific differences between the text of the books would surely bore you; I could fill three pages. (WHERE is Ball gonna put Bubba* I ask?) And yet...I have to admit...

As with it's previous eyecandy-- Rome and The Sopranos, HBO has some tasty cinematography and Jace Evertt's theme song has wrapped around my spine. I'll be back in the summer for Season Two. Even if Jason isn't a werewolf, Tara is the wrong race and there are no interVamp politics.

*
Elvis' brain dead corpse?

planning the T-day menu

2008-11-20T07:18:00.007-05:00

Certain decisions need to go before the executive board--deep fried turkey or roasted?--rolls or loaf o'carbs? What flavors of pie...but one decision we have managed to keep for three years running is all ME!

Thanksgiving is whole--Local and in Season. No strawberries from California...no chemical whip cream. Right now my turkey is still alive. The bird accessories are all local. I even found Michigan cranberries (which have taken THREE DAYS to dehydrate. Getting local yumminess isn't really hard for me.

I got a great email from the Co-op this morning...I'll just let Corrine's words speak for her--

In fact, Ypsilanti Food Co-op’s inventory exceeds 100 local product lines including pastas from Al Dente Pasta, canned vegetables... from Eden Organic (Clinton), Amish eggs, dairy from Calder Dairy (Lincoln Park) and Guernsey Dairy in Northville, breads, pies, and other baked treats from our own River Street Bakery (Ypsilanti), beer from Arbor Brewing (Ypsilanti), and wine from Sandhill Crane Winery (Jackson). --Corinne Sikorski

Some decisions do not need debate.

culture clash

2008-11-18T10:40:00.006-05:00

Isabel is currently enjoying a cartoon called Phineas & Ferb, one of the characters has a distinct British accent. While she was watching the show she commented to noone in particular that she "thought British accents are "sooo coool". Pete and I smiled knowingly to one another and let her enjoy her newfound Anglophile-y ness (Not a big surprise actually considering her 'rents.) The show itself is less nauseating than most Disney pablum... --dear ones, NOTE: we are NOT going to discuss the Wizards of Waverly Place. No. We are not. Of all the crap Disney has produced I find that even more offensive than their gendered stereotypes of female victimization. We are however going to make a big loop from Harry Potter to cooking--you ready??

Ok, so Carol got us a treat. She brought Zander & Ule-dawg over last Friday and we played and bummed around--watching the dogs romp and trying to convince them to act like old cats instead of rambunctious GSD puppies. They of course wanted to nothing to do with knitting or watching movies--well Luna did (post her recent surgery) but Ule was ready for some tag--thankfully it was soon lunch and we warmed up leftover Chinese fud and started talking cooking. (big surprise) And Carol produced the treat-- a packaged British import from Hillers!! YUM! previously I had asked her (knowing full well she too is an Anglophile of the highest caliber) if she was familiar with "treacle tart" which is supposedly Harry Potter's favorite pudding. She-- in an effort to remove some of my provincial attitudes-- was helping me broaden my horizons--we nuked the dessert. As we tasted it she immediately proclaimed it CRAP! and was not interested in further tasting. I personally wasn't offended and ate mine right up!-- unlike she and Pete I have never BEEN to England so I kinda liked the honey undertones of smoky sticky syrup, happily I didn't have a true experience with which to compare this little cake. She however, was disgusted and we launched into a full scale online search where she told me all about Delia the Brit version of Martha Stewart and we giggled about the hilarious blog we stumbled across here.
Our search led us to the various KINDS of treacle and of course the various brands. Including the famous rotting lion mentioned in the blog we found.
We read about Spotted Dick (Andre...hush) and Golden Syrup vs. Black Treacle, sponge cake vs angel food and generally had a lovely afternoon. While we briefly wandered off to Savory puddings such as Yorkshire et al, we didn't really reach any conclusions but we did enjoy pointing out to one another the whole "pudding" thing as being decidedly separate from American ideas of dessert.

So, upon my most recent restocking of the family pantry I purchased (from Hiller's they do have a great import section) a can of Lyle's Black Treacle. I am not sure why..or what I am going to do with it exactly --but the lion is definitely rotting and has flies buzzing above it and the motto on the tin sez..and this is a direct quote,

"Out of the strong came forth great sweetness."

What the....??? EWWWW!!! If I understand the "adVERTisment" correctly--I am supposed to believe that the sticky goo IN the can is rotted lion slime?? That is supposed to be appealing??? I'm s'posed to eat it??? As dessert??? What about the "treacle mines they taunt their children with???"--Decomposing lion??? ummmm No. I don't care if Harry Potter likes it...I'll stick to my familiar American sweetness--like Disney princesses and dessert w/out flies.

JEALOUS

2008-11-15T08:48:00.000-05:00

from Amazon.uk.com

The Children's High Level Group has permitted Amazon.co.uk to offer 5 children and a parent or guardian the opportunity to attend the tea party at which J.K. Rowling will read an extract from The Tales of Beedle the Bard. To win an invitation to this special event, the parent or guardian of the child aged 8 to 13 can enter The Tales of Beedle the Bard Special Invitation Opportunity Prize Draw. There are 5 prizes to be won. Each prize comprises an invitation for a parent or guardian and their child, aged between 8 and 13, to attend the tea party in Edinburgh, Scotland, at which J.K. Rowling will read an extract from The Tales of Beedle the Bard PLUS an exclusive signed copy of J.K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard Collector's Edition.

Ewww Ewwww Ewwww

2008-11-13T14:56:00.003-05:00

Best thing about Winter in Ypsi

2008-11-10T13:48:00.002-05:00

gotta support my girls!!!

Gluttony Day

2008-11-09T11:13:00.004-05:00

A small holiday in which those who do not have daily access to Zingerman's come to my house and we cook. My Faillen brought pears and kale from the Kzoo Farmer's market (of which I have fond memories and trust me the few fond memories I have of Kzoo are precious!), then she, Garth & Kassia, Me & Petey shopped in Kerrytown, we mostly followed each other around and juggled bags of deliciousness giggling and fantasizing about food porn.

We hit the spice store first and only spent about $40 in there. (Smoked salt, sweet Spanish Paprika and two new colors of pepper... oh hey by the way??--don't snort freshly ground white pepper--NOT a smart move!)

I am sure our comedy troupe was amusing to the general public as we were trying to translate Rollo's instructions (via phone while he laid new flooring at their crib) and not get distracted from THE LIST. Last year we didn't make a list and while everything was incredible--it was...haphazard. This year we had a plan! An actual menu! The chicken, slab bacon & roast beast (grass fed of course) from Sparrow. I love it when Bob Sparrow smiles at me like I am his best friend. Gorgeous Shrimps from Monahan's, salmon from Tracklments.

When I found the red peppers I yelled back to Kassia & Vicky --I FOUND THE PEPPERS!--I know I startled a poor mortal when she jumped about three feet straight up from the fruit stand! But, she had a great sense of humor and yelled right back-- "I found the mushrooms!" Petey & Garth thought they were going to go to the deli w/out us but we womenfolk redirected their cute little asses right back over there and Faillen affirmed the truffle tradition.

Everybody has a dish--Kassia inspired the pesto shrimp & chicken skewers & Rollo finally achieved the chocolate covered bacon we have all been lusting after, and Faillen made a butternut squash risotto with purple Kale. Zoli made Minestrone soup. Izzy was in charge of the fondue into which we dipped challah, banannas, dehydrated raspberries and Zingerman's marshmallows into luscious dark chocolate. She also made her first pastry crust for the pear and cranberry tart. (we forgot the sugar--but it was very light and flaky and married well with the pears) Garth & Pete roasted a slab of bacon over an open fire and then smeared the unctuous dripping onto crusty bread. I was actually alarmed by that and kind of avoided the whole flammable fat on a stick game.

So we snuck in a game of Scrabble (Kassia won) while the beast roasted--OMG! I didn't tell you what we did to the roast!!
A coffee spice rub! Which was a new thing for all of us! For a four lb roast we mixed four tablespoons of freshly ground dark roast coffee, and then one tablespoon each white & red peppercorns, garlic powder, onion powder, & dried sage. That mix just smelled like BEEF--succulent gorgeous meaty YUM. Cooked that puppy til it was fork tender.

We had cheese and bread and wine and beers. It was awesome.

Damn pleasant

2008-11-04T16:39:00.008-05:00

Petey drove by our new polling place at 7 this morning and the traffic was lined up 1/4 of a mile outside of the parking lot. I waited till ten--a slow time at the polls and in an effort to not add to the potential car congestion I rode my bike.

It is such a lovely fall day here in Washtenaw County. Unusually warm and bright, colorful leaves and blue skies. A great day for bike ride. I was filled with HOPE as I peddled past the three McCain signs on my route. I knew there were more Obama mama's a mere 2.9 miles away. I would flaunt my rainbow handle bar streamers and my crazy green ways, maybe set an outrageous example of independent thought for the folks who vote in the way of their grandparents. I took perverse pleasure in the sheer number of Green Party candidates listed on the ballot. I smiled as I filled in my bubbles.

Still... It was beyond weird to not go to Estabrook--I have been voting at Estabrook since 1994. I have even judged and observed voters there. But today at Roberto Clemente Elementary--I simply stood in line between one 20 something goober (I shall call him Bubba) and his mom (they completely epitomized the uneducated rural stereotype) and an 18 year old who was voting for her first time. The pride in her mom's face was evident and tho Matt and I didn't have the added drama of helping someone from our race to make history, I do remember the first time HE voted. It is right of passage. I felt all warm and fuzzy when the new voter slipped her ballot into the machine and the workers applauded. Quickly the whole room joined their applause and we welcomed her into adulthood.

I didn't recognize any of the worker's faces (in contrast I knew everybody by name at Estabrook; and in fact could predict how they voted from their yard signs!) but I was pleased to see that there was huge range of voters, soccer Moms w/toddlers in tow, elderfolk, quite a few ladies wearing hijab. Several leathery farmer types--it was comforting that they weren't all "Bubba" types who thought voting for medical marijuana was gonna let them get high legally. Nope, my new neighbors seem pretty damn diverse, and pleasant. The last time I got to experience a huge group of suburbanites was at the TWP meeting for the park last winter. THEY seemed rather...mmm... homogenous.

within 25 minutes I was sporting a new "I VOTED" sticker and was unlocking my bike for the quick trip home.

I can't wait to watch the results roll in. I have a little worm of worry. We have a lot of McCain signs around here. I KNOW that A2 is gonna be solid--but it will be exciting nonetheless.

balance

2008-11-02T08:59:00.003-05:00

HOLY CRAP what a cluster F@#!

1-75 by 16 mile is NUTS!!! I hate traffic. By the time we got home from a "quick run" to Macy's to get a rug it was three hours later than we expected. We were both like NO MORE CAR!!! So we vetoed going to Kate & Vickie's party in Kzoo. We suck. I was especially sad when I got Tinn's phone message. He made it sound like he was going to go. So no Jay & Silent Bob this year.This sadness was pushing toward cranky despite Harold's being the most awesome rug salesman in the world. We got a great deal on a rug (75% off!!) No lunch (on purpose cuz I was saving calories for party treats that night) But...Then we got lost by Gorman's furniture store and went up and down the same road three times-- but we did finally start designing from this base to create our very own unique special one of a kind settee for the library. It should be here in 3-10 weeks. So good karma for the library bad karma for the social life.

some shots from Punkin Day

2008-10-30T16:58:00.003-04:00

I'm back!

2008-10-30T08:18:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the delay. NO my darlings I am not dead!! Just Had a little password issue there. Things are better! whew! I must get pictures of the party up and get thru THAT de-briefing. I should also process my "too many hats moment" last week. But first I have 97 midterms to grade!

sock monkey trench coat

2008-10-21T12:11:00.004-04:00

"Words my lord words..."--Hamlet

I like to collect words.
I think it is a kind of poetry.
and put them together--
not randomly--but intentionally askew.

de-text-collage

Consider the sounds--pretend it is the name of a new band.

like "recycled eclipse" or "polymer frost"

said words must be written
--with intriguing fonts... my new font of inspiration is called "Bleeding Cowboys"

at some point I shall have words tattooed upon my bod and they will be good words in a beatific font.

My feet are in Cynnabar...

2008-10-19T15:54:00.010-04:00

Petey, Isabel and I went to Cynnabar's anniversary picky nicky back last month and it was fun. Mundane clothing, lots of food and good friends. I kinda figured that was gonna be it for our attendance at Middle Kingdom events (unless Andlecrag does something at Bertha Brock Park when it isn't a blizzard) but Eua/Adrianne talked us into attending the Middle Kingdom Crown Tourney in Dayton, Ohio yesterday, she didn't have to try too hard to convince us once we saw the list of fighters competing for the Princely position.

HOLY CRAP!! Okay maybe we have some friends here in the Middle!! *insert ironic blush* We heart Logan who was fighting for my darling Kate--I mean Mistress Zaynab (In the photo--the Turkish beauty to the left of the corner post). Then the secretive Hisself (Duke Eli) was fighting for the most beautiful red head in the Knowne Worlde and damn it-- if he is gonna pontificate about McCain in my living room I am damn well gonna be there to cheer for him! Even if he doesn't say a word about it. sneaky...like a fox...or a dead possum... Then my drinking buddy Rocky (he is the dude in the helm further left of Kate) shows up to fight for my sewing buddy Ingrid and it was like OMG the whole afternoon was CRAZY! So fun!

There are several things that are still rolling around in my head.

The most obvious thing I have to process is the whole Masonic Lodge thing. Okay ever since my ex & his buddy L. snuck my teenage ass into a nearby (but closed) Masonic Lodge to see what was so "secret", well dear ones-- I was duly freaked out by the bizarre Egyptian embroidery, the straight jacket (!?) and the freaky alter (I still have no idea why they needed such a kick ass sound system) I have been a little wiggy about Masons. Might been the herbal supplements involved that long ago day (damn ginseng keeps ya up all night!) but it wasn't till I read Diana Gabaldon that I had a more mature view of this wonderful group of guys. Flash to the near past...(I know flashing is usually reserved for FWDs but ya'll know I am a Lost (tm) fan and thus enamoured of flash backs--to the future or not) and to our recent trip to Bemidji, wherein the Masonic Lodge was the site of the Japanese Feast for My King--but that site was not nearly so..ahem... regal as this Dayton, OH chapter. In Bemidji things were not as glamourous, polished or just damn impressive as the site at this past weekend's event. It was beautiful. Large heavy antiques, massive fireplaces and gleaming marble floors and columns invoked a medieval setting. The only thing I can even begin to critique is the carpet remnants they used for the list field. But I would leave that to an actual fighter to debate as my opinion that "it looks dangerous" is not based on any useful experience.

It was a fun event and I have to admit it was nice to not have to drive for 6-15 hours. But my heart is in Northshield.

smart chicken

2008-10-16T10:15:00.001-04:00

She knows where we are. She comes to the door.

Isabel's costume

2008-10-16T10:11:00.003-04:00

My girl wants to be "a guest at a Masquerade". Who am I to say "No."??
Isn't she gorgeous?

eff Joe the Plumber

2008-10-16T07:56:00.003-04:00

Not all Plumbers, especially not my crew from HutzelPlumbing (without whom I would be a blubbering pile of protoplasm in the corner of the room)--just the fictional character made up by *the other guy*
last night during the debate. I shall not be manipulated!!!

It is too damn chilly to be stupid right now. The weather is of course rapidly segueing into wet cold Michigan. That would be because Punkin Day is coming up. It seems to have to snow on Punkin Day. Petey claims he is gonna make the barn warm somehow...we'll see.

Did you know what I learned during my summer of Medieval Japanese Food Research? Actually-- the first thing I learned was don't volunteer for an event 800 miles from your fave grocery store. But one other cool thing I learned was that unlike Western Brides who crave a matched set of china and silver...Japanese Brides tend to desire dishes not only for each person (esp the tea cup & chopsticks) but adapt their dishes to the season. Isn't that cool? I LOVE that idea.

Well this morning would certainly be the day to switch from summer dishes to plateware colored for Fall. Both of the big Maples have dropped about half of their leaves and socks finally seem necessary. brrrr.

R&J

2008-10-14T13:09:00.005-04:00

Took the kids to see Romeo & Juliet on Sunday.click here

There are three more shows:
October 16 : 7 p.m.
October 17 : 7 p.m.
October 18 : 7 p.m.
Tickets are Priced at $15 or $12 for students.

Zoli loved all the "bawdy humor" and the fencing. After the clapping Isabel turned & looked at me and said, "THAT was AWESOME!" It was a very solid performance. The director edited the text quite a bit--it seemed "condensed"--but it was hilarious in the funny bits and made me cry in the sad bits. The Nurse stole the show!

Jenn McKee from the A2 News quoted the director, Chicago based David Blixt, in her recent mlive piece; where she noted that-he has been listening to Italy's current pop music hits. -"Including some really awesome, horrendous, wonderful Italian rap,".

Why? Because his cast is playing "Romeo" as if the story's taking place now.--That is what sold the show for Z. The rave props, the club clothes (Yay Melisant!!)--very hip ..in a geeky euro trash way. It was fun. You should go.

meade idea

2008-10-13T12:47:00.003-04:00

Carol & I went to Makielsi's Berry Farm last Friday. It is about a mile from the house. We had beautiful weather and Zander was just the most charming little 3.5 year old pooper. He was busy for a good hour just stuffing his face full of berries. It was fun to watch him. It reminded me of all the times I took my kids (who are now faaaaar too cool to go pick berries with mom) and when they got bored (or stuffed) told them to find rocks for me. Zander dutifully found four rocks and moved them around the patch with us. I remember one time I tried this distraction trick w/ Zoli and he ended up lobbing an egg sized rock at an old guy who was picking strawberries several rows over. WHOOPS!! Happily Zanny did NOT throw the stones he just toted them around. It was so sunny and pleasant, the morning had that sparkling blue sky with crisp sunshine that just makes every leaf glow and every cloud a fluffy white contrast of eye candy.

So in about two hours I got a little over six quarts. The Makielski's also sell honey...guess what I'm a gonna make???

...please...read carefully

2008-10-03T07:57:00.007-04:00

In the last few days I have experienced a lot of "knee jerk reactions". (Can you hear my dad's voice? I can.)

I have, of course-- been interacting with my fellow humans. I am watching their responses to stimuli. It scares me. For example...my students. SOME of them are in such a rush to get out the door that they hurry through everything--they read quickly--thus skipping vital plot points. They scan the quiz questions and hurriedly fill in any answer, but are surprised that they don't score well.

Or the cable guy who came out to finish a job that someone didn't do correctly the first time...(Again I hear my daddy's mantra.."Do it right the first time and you won't have to do it twice.") The cable guy was Grumpy and Pissy and stompin' around because I don't want a tangled spaghetti mess of wires hanging off the side of my pretty purple house. And it isn't just the co-axial cable aspect of COMCAST (tm) that is being convoluted and dumb. Their phone menu is knitted in a Fair-isle pattern and they don't deal well with problem outside of their FAQ's.

Back a while ago the broccoli tree fell on Jim's garage. The cable running from the pole to the Wallace house became disconnected. So in response to Pete's request for repair the company came out to the Crane rd house and put little flags in the yard!! Somebody read the work order--but didn't actually THINK before they responded...

...sorta like the MichCon (tm) crew who came out to install THE METER for the gasline--with the giant tractor of trenchline-y ness; when in fact that had been done last Fall. Again some dispatcher decided to be "efficient" (w/out actually reading the whole file) and sent out unnecessary crew, equipment and created MORE paperwork. Really we just need the meter! The propane is almost gone! I just want my stove connected to my gasline! Pretty simple actually..if you read carefully.

October the first

2008-10-01T14:10:00.002-04:00

WHAT HAPPENED?? Wasn't it just August?

I am not even sure where to start, the garden? yeah--let's start there. I have made a connection between not only my need to do some yoga but also my need to futz in the garden. The season is shifting and the less I garden the grumpier I am. Don't get me wrong I love teaching--but the garden doesn't seem like "work". It makes me happy to be outside. Example of happy? It cracks me up no end that Luna will bring me a tennis ball and drop it beside me (where I am unlikely to notice it--what with my head buried in tomato plants or basil) and she will wait till I realize she has deposited the drippy green sphere--which I then absent-mindly lob off into the woods and i get to watch her run. She is a beautiful dog. That is far more pleasurable then defending the wording of an item on a quiz (which 85% of the class understood but these particular students decided to read carelessly so it is MY fault they filled in the wrong bubble. (Ummm. NO.) Or stuck in my little concrete cell of an office--maybe not cell--how about oven? Gack--too stuffy. No window... I may be developing claustrophobia in there!

But the garden--my pretty green space...it is rapidly becoming my half dead and dried up space. Many leaves are turning black and I am sure that tonight will be the clincher--s'posed to get down to 40F tonight. Now I realize my Northshield peeps will be shaking their heads at my whining about 40--when in fact a month ago they had a hard freeze in Minnesota, but my knees are telling me Fall is upon us.

Depress the clutch and shift into third...straight drive to icy sidewalks!

Gertrude: Mole Killer

2008-09-25T13:18:00.009-04:00

The chicken seems quite insistent that I blog about her. Please, let me indulge my chicken...

Last night about 8ish Isabel went outside to complete the task Matt & Dan have termed "chicken wrangling". Apparently Gertrude is not easy to catch if she doesn't know you. While Izzy & I have little problem and Zoli simply has to appear outside and the chicken is drawn to him like a feathery magnet; It seems that Whilst they were in charge, at various time this summer; Matt and poor Dan (my "good" college age son) had a hell of a time bringing her poultry ass back in at night. She apparently has no fear of raccoons or coyotes, both of which we know full well are in close proximity, and she prefers to "hide" and laugh at the silly humans trying their best to protect her. So, last night was a perfectly ordinary Weds. night and starting to get darker and Iz took it upon herself to "tuck in" her beloved chicken.

About five minutes into the expected routine (it usually takes a second to find her) we hear Isabel's voice has gone up an octave or two and has that tense tone--"Daaaaad" her voice cuts in through the dining room window. "I need somebody tall." The alarm in her voice roused us all from our DVR/Daily Show haze and we quickly emerged onto the back porch. The chicken has been known to chide Izzy (or myself) in our tardy habits by ensconcing herself on the cushioned furniture of the back porch if she feels it is time to bed down for the night. After we wander around the yard clucking and "here chicken-ing" somebody will notice she is sitting there, smugly snuggled on the bench or nestled into a chair cushion. The world's most spoiled chicken. HOWEVER! last night she was not perched on the rail (in order to peek in the windows), nor was she contentedly snoozing on the lawn chair--no dear one, Gertrude had in fact perched herself on the banner of fairy flags, (similar to Tibetan prayer flags) we have strung across the back porch. There she was swinging like grade schooler at recess, perfectly happy--except Iz couldn't reach her and Isabel was pretty sure Gertrude was going to fall. I was laughing so hard, and quite sure that if I took the time to swap out the lens I would miss the moment--but I did get some shots, blurry tho they are-- Zoli was adamant that I blog about it immediately. But I am not about to be told what to do by a 13 year old nor a chicken. I ignored that advice...

Until today...

When- as I was unloading groceries, I noticed Gertrude was quite busy flipping something floppy around the yard. Now generally she is all over largeish bugs, fat bumblebees and grasshoppers etc, and that seems quite normal. You may recall our adventure with the tomato worm that recently attacked me-- and you might if you are a true believer; you will certainly remember the day she got her FIRST Toad. She has since gotten several toads, but this afternoon she has branched out into the mammalian realm and had indeed procured herself a tiny mole! NOW we have something to write about! It was about three inches long and missing most of its entrails. My vicious mole killing chicken. Free range has a whole new meaning!

The Voyage of the Short Serpent

2008-09-23T09:26:00.004-04:00

EWWWWW!!!

For all my freaky darlings who count themselves as Viking--EWWWWWWW!!!!!

I finished the horrible little book I mentioned back in August--The Voyage of the SS by Frenchman Bernard du Boucheron. Okay, it wasn't REALLY about Vikings--persay--But well--yeah.

I mean can a novel that features catholicism, cannibals, gangrene, and "A modest proposal" on a Viking style ship really be taken seriously? I loved the narrative from the First chapters-- it read like an historic document--then a personal log from an omniscient narrator who is so overwhelmed by his situation he just goes on auto pilot--finally the last chapter is written from somebody else's PoV (not quite sure who--) and this chapter really drives home the point that maybe missionaries aren't as awesome as they think they are. It was gruesome to say the least and the grotesque amputations were described with gleeful greed. The tale of a colony of Roman Catholics marooned in medieval Greenland by the encroachment of a new ice age. I was almost sympathetic til I realized he probably only kept his son as a snack for the voyage home.

Yesterday was the first day of Fall

2008-09-23T09:03:00.003-04:00

We have had the most beautiful weather. I adore Fall. The temps are perfect. The leaves are starting to turn and the garden is wrapping up.
Today the chimney sweep guy comes. I look forward to pleasant "recreational" fires in our clean fireplace-- as opposed to heating the whole house like we did last winter.

And I should take down the cucumber trellis. It looks dumb. Those plants have been "done" since before coronation. I am at once sad to realize it is fall but when I look back through my gardening notebook (an actual hard copy binder, with handwritten dates/temps and hauls) and see how many cucumbers we got from three seeds I am pretty damn proud of myself... and look at this 'mater!! Veggies aren't the only thing growing--Isabel and Gertrude are in a race to see who will grow faster. Besides trellis removal I need to tidy up the chicken pen. That is such a misnomer. It was a successful chicken pen for about four weeks. Once Gertrude was big enough to not squeeze thru the slats she figured out she could fly over the top!! Bleh. It did make a nice retirement home for Roxy's bunny. For four weeks--then old age caught up with Ribbett and he now has his favorite resting place forever.

So yeah--I have some work to do. get the garden tidied up before Compost Day!

The sherbert twist

2008-09-21T12:26:00.008-04:00

I finished another project this morning while I watched Man U limp away from a tie game with Chelsea. Sweet Jesus!! Eight yellow cards?? Speaking of yellow. I am sick of yellow. AND! I do not like eyelash yarn. Let that be noted. Bitching aside--I am pleased that this "infinity knot" is cast off (THAT was a nightmare--like juggling numchucks). Izzy has dubbed it the "fluff scarf" and is prancing around the house singing "I have a orange sherbet cloud on my neck!!". It *is* very soft but this project got especially interesting when the puppy grabbed the ball of yarn and was in the kitchen before I could yell STOP!! Two rows of 350 stitches unraveled but at least I didn't look like this dork!"

something smells purple

2008-09-19T07:34:00.002-04:00

The house now has a lovely fresh coat of vibrant purple--and a layer of sunblock. This pic was taken very close to the end of the process; so the old faded purple is still showing on the tool shed. Steve & Rick (my clever painter boys) have moved onto the garage doors. If the dude who makes his living painting wooden things sez maybe you should get aluminium siding-- you start doing research.

A ferry tale

2008-09-16T10:07:00.004-04:00

The Northshield Coronation of Kitadate-denka & Aesa was beautiful.

With it's medieval Japanese feast behind me I now look at the remaining items on the To-Do List.

and I can't...I am just too whipped.

Not from the feast which was an adrenal rush all it own..."ya sure you betcha!"--But really because of the journey. We shortened our time at the post revs ( it does seem impossible to have 'just one drink' w/Thomas) & we entirely skipped the breakfast plans in order to be in time for the Sunday return (6pm) ferry in Milwaukee, but alas--despite failing to dissuade us on the first leg of our round trip tickets--(five foot waves may be nothing on the Ocean but on Lake Michigan they are deceptively tippy.) In fact, at one point no sooner did I snatch my pen as it rolled off the table to the right then I set it down and it immediately rolled off the table to the left. If you glanced out the down side windows you could see the waves splashing against the window if you quickly glance to the other side view there was nuthin but sky. Hurricane Ike decided to wreck his vengeance. Not only did "they" cancel the return Ferry trip BUT the highway by Chicago was washed out. Our trip continued to grow by hours--sadly ironic considering how quickly we abandoned our friends in order to be prompt. Thus our glee when Gwenyth, John, Ian & Siri all agreed to have dinner with us. We could slow down now because our schedule was our own. Where we had planned on being home by midnight--our heads hitting the pillows was actually more like 3:30a.m. Then we got Z to school at 7:55 and I gave my students their quizzes. Oi.

Now some of my dear readers maybe familiar with my newfound penchant for motion sickness, these readers could exclaim--"Oh Daye, you poor thing, weren't you all squiffy--riding in a car watching all those towering pine trees zoom by?" Happily I have embraced Dramamine and once I got over my pill popping that wasn't such a problem--it is a beautiful country, mature forest, rolling farms and some of the biggest cows I have ever seen. Yet this moring I am still slightly "woogy", the scenic beauty of Wisconsin and Minnesota is not antidote to wobbly brain.

My brain doesn't seem to want to keep up with my eyeballs. Lightheaded doesn't sum it up. Very odd and discombobulating.

But back to the routine--I have to grade all those papers my pen was so diligently trying to avoid--the ones about fairy tales and hero's journeys. At least my princess is now a queen!!

P&G's b-day

2008-09-08T14:11:00.004-04:00

Here are a couple of shots from Saturday night--the rest of the pics are at my .mac album HERE. I'll prly put some up on Facebook so this is just a little teaser.
Here we have LG. MED & Short Matt's. (Cracks me up four days later!!)

Barn season has begun and I lucked out big time for this party-- all I had to do was order the keg!! It was a teamwork kinda let's get this gig together night. See, not all committees are bad! The ringleader was definitely BIKEMAN!!-- Not only did he deal with the bat poo, but my fave party instigator made this brilliant cold milk spurting chocolate cake! Twas Delish!

Kids ran wild, dogs frolicked, babies giggled. Grown women on the midnight trampoline run. We cooked wienies and played scrabble, ate too many marshmallows --tho not enough cuz Stacy wanted to be sure EVERYBODY had plenty of processed sugar--whooo--- s'more's EVERYWHERE! Ray tried to break his ankle tripping over the dog but happily he failed, just a sprain.

We drained the beer barrel which always makes me happy--there is little sadder than half barrel of warm beer. There were some awesome salads and the Japanese pickle experiments all got tasted.

But best of all the good doctors got to celebrate their birthdays with fam & friends!

Hot Club@DJF & Obama

2008-09-02T12:43:00.008-04:00

I love Detroit. My opinion may be skewed but I do love it. This past few weeks I have had ample opportunity to evaluate big cities and I know "the big D" is not perfect but don't tell me it is "dead"--because in one weekend we had the Grand Prix, The Jazz Fest, a home Tiger's game the annual Labor Day parade and HELLO!!! BARACK OBAMA!!! EEEEP!!!

Judging from the news reports (NPR) this morning, Detroit wins in my "pleasant place to be contest"-- even with it's defunct and lying "hip hop" mayor in jail, we still had fewer arrests than MSP who is hosting the GOP! And our Koegels (tm) kick Central Park Wienies any day! So speaking of public parks,Here I am in Hart Plaza. We were there for the music. Smoking jazz. mmmmmgood. Petey led and I followed. He was very happy. I was happy he was happy. We sat in the shade by the river and listened to Jazz all afternoon. It was all good. Grabbed a ruben at Foran's an Irish pub Chris & Gretchen favor. (with good reason!)
I especially enjoyed the incredible Hot Club of Detroit. HOLY CRAP!! They were amazing. We had fantastic second row seats (right behind Evan Perri's grandma!) and all they did was assure me that I LOVE THEM! They played a lot of cuts from their new album (which I got signed...swooon. They had a special guest, Kruno-- sit in for several songs and he sang... insert happy girl purr. But I did about melt into my shoes when Julian (accordion guy) was signing my CD-- I very shyly said--"tres bien" and his face lit up!! He went from "sign the CD and pass it down to Paul or Shannon" stock smile; a very polite and public smile --to a genuine grin of recognition and happiness. His face lit up!! I smiled back and tried to remember to breathe--god those boys are pretty-- but then his bandmate grabbed my liner notes and I was hustled along.

Saturday night was lovely and so was breakfast on Sunday. Pepper bacon in a buffet? Yeah, I like the RenCen. After an extra sleep in and delish breakfast we toddled back down to the riverfront full well knowing that it was gonna be NUTS, cuz BAYBEE
Barack was in da HOUSE!!! The above photo shows the screen onto which was projected his visage... and that dear friends was about all we could see. Couldn't hear a damn thing and we were only about...hmmm I'm gonna say 1/2 a block away. He was *IN* Hart Plaza proper, and we were mere feet away-- on the sidewalk by Zig's Mighty Fist--(I mean the Joe Louis memorial). We met some really cool people, but none of them were cool enough to have the "yellow ticket"--the "golden VIP pass". We saw Carl Levin and Blanchard walk by with THEIR yellow tickets--and watched city council people cruise on in--but alas...as important as we think we are--no VIP pass for us--or the 200,000 other General Admission types who waited in line for hours to watch TV.

humph--shoulda stayed at breakfast and watched the proceedings from the cafe TV--could have at least heard him! I had no idea what he even said till I read the Freep this morning! *sad panda*

chutney update

2008-08-31T09:37:00.003-04:00

I know I have a rep for cheesecake and that is all well and good, but I tweaked up the chutney I made for the trout. I may have a new signature dish because peeps were RAVING at Tishies--it ROCKED with the roast piggy. (Oh I finally got to eat a "cheek"--big whoop)

Daye's Chutney of Local Braggadocio

six over ripe michigan peaches (red haven)
six overripe brandywine toms.
1/2 c golden raisin (yes-- I dehydrated them!)
1 tblspoon of curry powder
1 tblspoon of ginger powder
1/2 cup dk. brown sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar

Put all the non produce related ingredients in sauce pan. Dissolve and start to simmer.
Stem, seed, peel & dice the peaches & toms.
Add peaches & toms & raisins to "sauce" simmer for an hour --lo and slow baybee. I toyed with onions here. Maybe next time.

Serve as an accompaniment to something delicious like a hunk of pulled pork.

Party hopping

2008-08-31T09:22:00.003-04:00

Well, considering that we were at two different bonfire parties it is entirely appropriate that Luna's howling in response to firetrucks was what finally woke my bleary butt up this morning. After crossing my fingers and hoping the subdivision was on fire (JOKING!) I stumble down to get some coffee. Oh my poor head--I am too old to stay up that late.

Great Lakes Beer and apple stuffed pig at Tishie and Steve's, where we played scrabble with a beautiful woman named Claudette and left Zoli (who was later attacked in the dark by a vicious rose bush.) behind to continue the tag in the dark game that kids everywhere resort to when their grownups sit around listening to music and drinking while poking a huge fire.

The fire at Steffie & Andre's was smaller but the music was live. And Izzy was only attacked by a misplaced marshmallow. Lo and behold--the kids at Andre's were playing the same running around in the dark like maniacs. It is nice to sit and chill with friends. Very pleasant. A beautiful evening.

Last night's dinner

2008-08-29T08:43:00.004-04:00

It was late, but it was local--

Parsnip fries with ho-made ketchup.
Peach and tomato chutney (forgot to put in the basil!)
pan fried trout fillets.

delish.

Then for dessert Rollo&Carol brought mochi, but the sweetest thing we had was Obama speech!! YEAH BAYBEE!!

Hot damn look what I found!!!

2008-08-28T09:34:00.000-04:00

Great storage solution!! American Indians had no refrigerators!
Spaghetti Squash is a tough vegetable -- you can store a spaghetti squash in your home for several months, prior to using it. Because it can be stored for long periods of time, the natives of both North and South America used spaghetti squash as one of their dietary staples for many centuries.

in my best Strong Bad voice--

2008-08-28T08:12:00.003-04:00

">HOLY CRAP!!

The tomatos are in. I think StrongBad's head looks like a tomato. I picked so many tomatoes all I could keep saying was "HOLY CRAP!" It was like the Easter Egg hunt from hell. The Heirloom vines do not behave in a orderly fashion--they sprawl and creep and crash over their support system so I have this jungle of leaves and vines. You move one branch aside and there is another little clutch of testicle shaped plum tomatoes all nestled together. Sometimes one is a gold ivory color and I think I have found Gertrude's first egg--but not so much...just MORE DAMN TOMATOES!!

Made ketchup from the cherry toms, cold pack in recycled Bonne Maman jars--they are soo cute. Four lbs of fruit down to two pints--remove the water and all you have left is flavor. Amazing It was! Really kinda cool watching it thicken down. It was still quite juicy when Carol & Xanni were here but by 6:30 it was almost paste. SCIENCE!! I used a recipe from 1871 that had cinnamon in it!! Zoli approved whole heartedly.

Today is Spaghetti Sauce 2.5. Quart jars in the dish water and peeling and seeding to begin...NOW! (wish me luck)

The first batch of pasta sauce (NOT PESTO that is getting done too) was shallots & oregano (also from the garden). The first batch was more orange than RED so I have let these subsequent harvests hang as long as possible. (It helped going to NY for four days!) and today will be more of the same minus the shallots.

but their teeth!!!!

2008-08-27T08:16:00.006-04:00

Back about a month ago Matthew was all excited about a goofy movie he had enjoyed called "Black Sheep." If nothing else it had New Zealand scenery so we added it to the ol' Netflix queue--well it was in the mailbox when we got home and last night we popped it in. The beginning drags, in fact I very nearly vetoed it as I was looking forward to watching Hillary at the DNC, but Zoli was so into the concept of zombie sheep that we hung on.

Oh dear, what a silly squishy mess!! Isabel, who can generally deal with "ewww" stuff pretty well, was not interested and blew it off completely. Pete was totally into it, of course he and Paul had had so much fun on You Tube "" popping zits that I wasn't surprised at his loud guffaws of disgust as we watched the grotesque blood and guts. This is the goriest movie I have ever seen. Never ending Intestines and clots--long strings of gore that seemed so WRONG!! we were laughing our asses off! Preparing Haggis has never been so beautifully filmed!! (NOT!) A slimy gooshy (startlingly good makeup) montage of blood and guts I have never seen.

But two things still bug me-- 1.) The satire and constant ribbing of crazy Greenie/PETA types kinda got on my nerves. At least I'm not a sheep farmer cuz then I would REALLY be offended! :)

and I couldn't help but be hypercritical (which I know is the wrong tactic to take with such a high caliber film) as I repeatedly noticed 2.) SHEEP DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT KIND OF TEETH!!! They just aren't carnivores!!

Zoli is right

2008-08-26T07:45:00.003-04:00

BREAKFAST TABLE, early morning:

Z. (enters with bagel & juice)
I only have a week left.

MOM
No! it's still August! (defensively grabs at the planner and starts to count days--confidently turns the...one page.
-sighs sadly)
Oh...you're right. My bad.

the end of the summer reading list

2008-08-19T07:57:00.007-04:00

I finally got a NEW book to read; we hit the AADL library last night.(Gotta get outta the Japanese cookbook rut I have been in.) Lately, I have been in kind of a HP review phase--re reading and listening to HBP and DH. My new buddy T. Pierce (whom I met in Chicago) suggested Holly Black's "Tithe" and it's accompanying series so I am looking at that again too but dude...I need a NEW book.

Looking at ten hours in the truck tomorrow...so when my email told me that the new book "Bottlemania" by Elizabeth Royte was ready for *ME* I hustled everybody's sorry asses into town. I also got two more tomes for me, The Voyage of the Short Serpent by Bernard du Boucheron (looks kinda Bernard Cornwell-ish but more...um...serious) and the third book I chose was The Temple of the Wild Geese & Bamboo Dolls of Echizen, looks like two novellas in a slim volume.

God I love books. There is something so visceral and so physical and so sensual, the smell of paper and ink, the heft and gravity of a well bound story. I like to hold books. I like wandering the stacks of a real library. I am home there. At the risk of boring you to tears dear ones, look at this quote from The Love of Books: the Philobiblon written by Richard de Bury (who is just a little older than my house!)

But the contemplation of truth is never more perfect than in books, where the act of imagination perpetuated by books does not suffer the operation of the intellect upon the truths that it has seen to suffer interruption. Wherefore books appear to be the most immediate instruments of speculative delight, and therefore Aristotle, the sun of philosophic truth, in considering the principles of choice, teaches that in itself to philosophize is more desirable than to be rich, although in certain cases, as where for instance one is in need of necessaries, it may be more desirable to be rich than to philosophize.
Moreover, since books are the aptest teachers, as the previous chapter assumes, it is fitting to bestow on them the honour and the affection that we owe to our teachers. In fine, since all men naturally desire to know, and since by means of books we can attain the knowledge of the ancients, which is to be desired beyond all riches, what man living according to nature would not feel the desire of books? And although we know that swine trample pearls under foot, the wise man will not therefore be deterred from gathering the pearls that lie before him. A library of wisdom, then, is more precious than all wealth, and all things that are desirable cannot be compared to it. Whoever therefore claims to be zealous of truth, of happiness, of wisdom or knowledge, aye, even of the faith, must needs become a lover of books.

snarky comment

2008-08-17T08:39:00.002-04:00

Rembrandt depicts Bathsheba...I wonder if she "danced all night to this DJ" in new boots and now has big blisters on her heels?

I don't think DIGG is working right--

2008-08-17T08:36:00.000-04:00

Naked wizard Daniel Radcliffe
Posted by: "dawn secondcost" wingnutdawn@yahoo.ca wingnutdawn
Sat Aug 16, 2008 6:14 pm (PDT)

Read and wonder !!!!

Naked wizard Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe has revealed he will appear naked in the next Harry Potter film, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'.

(BANG) -
Daniel Radcliffe has revealed he will appear naked in the next Harry Potter film.
The actor - who has starred as the teen wizard in five movies in the franchise based on the books by J.K. Rowling - admits he was unsure when he was told he would be appearing without trousers in a scene in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'.

He said: "At first I thought I had pants on. Apparently not!"

However, Daniel - who has stripped off in the stage production of 'Equus' - insists he isn't worried about his fans seeing him nude on screen, adding: "It's all old hat now, really!"
Daniel, 19, also revealed he has never had much luck with women, and has yet to perfect his flirting skills.

He added to Entertainment Weekly magazine: "When it comes to women I just think, 'Look at them until they notice you and hope for the best.

"I never had any idea how to talk to girls until a year or so ago. I still come out with trivial c**p when I'm flirting, but I like to think I'm doing it in a faintly endearing way."

Warner Bros. have also confirmed they are pushing back the release date of the sixth Harry Potter movie, 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' from November 21 this year to July 17, 2009.(C) BANG Media International

aesthetics

2008-08-15T08:23:00.003-04:00

It's all in the presentation baybee. The arrangement, the colors-- the play of light. The empty space.

In an effort to clean up the DVR queue last night we watched Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations"-- the travel foodie show where he occasionally eats the most disgusting things imaginable to the Midwestern palate. Well the Tokyo show wasn't disgusting at all. It did in fact show him happy as a child in a toy shop, which made ME happy. I needed a little psychological inspiration for this Heian feast I am cooking in Sept. Bourdain usually presents himself as a very bitter and sarcastic bad boy of the food world, but watching him admit near incompetence in the prowess/kendo field was "cute" and he was absolutely endearing when he sat down with the Ikebana master and said that his three yellow flowers were "happy".

He opened the show with the following observation--

The ability to look at one thing and only one thing is something totally alien to me, but it is something I most admire and appreciate about the Japanese. A rock, a pond, a single bite of fish, a grain of rice--to know these things and appreciate them.--Anthony Bourdain

I am so sick of cherry tomatoes

2008-08-14T08:21:00.000-04:00

seriously...I have a lot. Too many. and they take forever to dry.

other peeps flicker photos

2008-08-13T21:03:00.002-04:00

more terminus pics

still more Terminus

2008-08-13T10:37:00.003-04:00

I mentioned that I met tons of folks at the HP con.This was particularly cool. Please check it out.

Post Terminus

2008-08-12T08:28:00.006-04:00

I want to begin by pointing out that hanging out with people from Pepperdine and Smith, from Pace and Illinois State, from Haaaaavard and Princeton has done a lot to assuage my worries that JKR's canon was not being taken seriously in the academic world. I feel reassured when names like Showalter, Graff and Fisk are cited. It makes my heart sing to meet secondary teachers who use the books in their classes. I like talking to doctoral candidates who are writing their dissertations on Snape; yes, yes I do.

and now that the coffee is kicking in I need to point out the striking similarities between the SCA and this past weekend. Fighting =Quidditch --both have some amazing athletes. A&S=The room of requirement--I wish I could produce actual art. Original music is represented by lyric poets and skilled musicians; Bardic circle in the park anybody?
The Pelicans of the SCA are "Knight Bus conductors" silly deceptive titles for people who organize the structure of the event and be sure everyone is in the right place at the right time. The events couldn't happen without their quiet dedication.

The combination of scholarly and artistic endeavors coupled with adrenaline and wonderment. The brilliant costumes are literally only the surface. The vibrant intellectual discourse centered on a subject that is so dear to me, the interplay between the personal and community...enjoying beloved author Tamora Pierce say at breakfast that "cute makes me want to smack it." This environment was a happy place.tap here

Respected editors and talented writers, eager students (truly one of my favorite things) nationally known publishers and new friends; all combined into a happy melange that reminded me of nothing more than my first SCA event.
The swirl of energy and unadorned surprise that a whole world, an utopian universe truly exists despite the mundane reality of Monday.

don't travel alone

2008-08-10T18:02:00.002-04:00

it sucks.

don't get me wrong but MAN do I wish I had a travel companion!! The individual sessions are freaking fantastic and I am glad I am here (did I say my presentation was VERY well received? and Annette I am networking like you wouldn't believe!!) and I am thrilled I don't have to go to a session I don't want to go to... but the whole eating by myself thing is getting OLD!! True the UK girls were fun and so were the Quidditch players at breakfast--But tonight is the ball and all my new friends either have "dates" or are the non-dancing type. Pete & Lisa and Fina and Eua..we need to talk...ya'll owe me. ;)

So I guess I am gonna grab some Thai food with this lady who reminds me of my most favorite prof ever (the infamous Judy Kollman) and then change into the steampunk. Tomorrow at 8:30 it is back to reality. boooo hisss.

busy day

2008-08-09T23:25:00.003-04:00

This morning was my Snaper presentation. I kinda feel like a rockstar. People keep coming up and saying shit like "I really liked your essay." etc. It is kinda weird. It is really weird. I had lunch with three girls from the UK. Met a dude from Texas. Went to the live Pottercast.This is HALF of the auditorium they held the HP podcast in.
The people seated up front are the hosts. My new pal Gwen introduced me to John Noe. That was nice he seemed perfectly normal. I said Hi to Sue Upton a couple of times but she is pretty busy and I kinda got the "random person in crowd smile". Still haven't met Alex Carpenter yet. Frak is adorable.

My ass is dragging. I'm hitting the hay.

wow

2008-08-08T21:20:00.002-04:00

Can it get any more amazing?? I am kinda overwhelmed--yeah me! I thought I would be pretty chill-lax, but I am actually really having a lot of very stimulating lit crit type amazing conversations. My brain hurts. It is like grad school but FUN!!

Quick list cuz I got shit to do and I am whipped!

1. Cheryl Klein is a genius. Her talk was very writerly. (and very inspirational)
2. Tamora Pierce can swing some serious postmodern jargon. I know, cuz I talked in the ladies pisser with her. She is so cool.
3. Snape as Lady in the Lake!!! who knew?
4. Trader Joes saved my hungry butt. (the corkscrew must be in the everything bag. BTW wandering around with a wine bottle is quite the conversation starter!)
5. I kinda like it when somebody makes my bed whilst I am gone.
6. the alarm clock plays my ipod outloud!! love it! HP audiobooks when I am not actively talking to HP geeks.
7. I have met sooo many brilliant people today. wow
8. I really wanted to get over to the Lake Shore/beach area but I am too damn busy!
9. Lupin and Sirius! Now there is a ship that only gets better when you realize Tonks is a shape shifter.
10. PWP= porn with plot. I get it!!
11. body glitter is contagious
12. Lori & Michelle...my new peeps.
13. Some really beautiful CosPlay folks--wow this one chick as Lucius?? *fanning self* whaaaaa!!
14. on the other hand Some CosPlay peeps need to keep the wig on..ya know?
15. THERE IS ONLY MORE TO GO!!! It is only Friday night!! I am in fangirl heaven!! EEEEEP

$3.50 AN HOUR!!

2008-08-08T00:14:00.003-04:00

GIVE ME A BREAK!!! INTERNET ACCESS IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF THE ROOM--HOW EFFING CHEAP CAN YOU GET??

okay enough shouting in all caps. The Snape wake was cool. The train was slow, (and full) I have two bathrooms. Drank three Guiness and had a "snake bite" with my new snapeygirls. I am not! I repeat NOT a Slytherpuff. Okay I have 38 emails.

oi. more tomorrow.

ps
I am so NOT the biggest freak here. Lots of cosplay---one good Lucius, one hot young snape and two old snapes. Oh and an "epilogue Harry" that's joke--just an old muggle who had Harry's basic phenotype. (Lots of boots T.!!)

produce production

2008-08-06T17:09:00.006-04:00

The cold pack green beans are Japanese recipes. Pete likes the green beans. I think they taste like green bean sake. I am pretty sure I would prefer the salt pack recipe-- that will be next time. (after the conference) The cukes are just standard dill. (they are tasty!) I do have experimental ginger cukes. On the blue dish. They need MORE ginger! too much vinegar for my taste.

Today's haul was 2.5 lbs of cherry toms and 3 lbs even of plum.

Be Packing

2008-08-06T08:06:00.002-04:00

Henry VI Part 1, 4. 1
That is what I should be doing right now. I just don't want to iron my skirts. bleh. Must not be wrinkly when one is representing one's University.

I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
So does that mean the lap top is coming with me?? Pete does have his iphone to play with. Yes. I think so. Still I should get soemthing to read on the train. Colbert recently interviewed Lucas Conley, the author of Obsessive Branding Disorder: that should be an interesting read as I walk into a conference for the biggest brand to hit the market in 15 years. snicker.

Tomorrow will be a repeat of something I have done much in the past. Taking the train to Chicago. That will be about as unique as going to the grocery store. There was a year when Pete was at North Western and Matty and I were doing grad school--that almost every weekend we took the Wolverine to see him. That got old fast. We fixed it. Pete is a smart boy.

I love traveling by train. It is my preferred method of transport. In fact I detest flying and who wants to drive when you can sit in the lounge car? mmmm lounge car....

From lounge car to lounge bar! The first thing on the agenda for TERMINUS this weekend is Snape's Wake. EEEPP!! fangirl mode!! (well grown up barfly fangirl mode!) The keynote speakers for the conference are Tamora Pierce (famous sci-fi grande dame) and Cheryl Klein. Klein is Arthur Levine's right hand. WHAT? You don't know who Art Levine is?? The publisher for the American Editions of the books. C'mon people!! I can't wait to meet both of them. Saturday is my panel discussion. My topic is Snape's patronus (white stag) and chivalric love. Sunday is the Farewall Ball for which I made the steampunk outfit, Monday there is a brunch then back on the train and I am back home by 2pm.

Fun for me!!

Izzycentric

2008-08-04T16:48:00.005-04:00

This photo is from Friday night; which was the closing gig for Izzy's two week mathlab. She was invited by The Dept. of Ed at U of M to participate as a guinea pig for student teachers. The program was co-sponsered by UC-Berkeley.

At first she was all-- "No. I hate math." THEN after much support and enthusiasm from all of her significant adults (from Tom to Roxy) she acquiesced with the caveat that if she survived the two weeks without tears ...she could get her ears pierced. WELL!! Not only did she survive, but after the first day she was like..."Does it go on the weekend? I like it!!" So on Friday she did get her ears pierced. Little April birthstone cubic zirconium studs.

Man! Has THAT procedure changed! I clearly remember when I was 13 the gun looked like an industrial stapler. It resembled nothing so much as a huge pneumatic nail gun. A silver plated hypodermic of doom. I was so scared I permanently creased the patent leather handle of my little purse. I had clutched it so tightly in my nervous anticipation. My mom had psyched me out by saying she had to "get daddy one more present" and on Christmas eve afternoon we went to the tiny pharmacy in my home town, where my great aunt was waiting to do the deed. She worked at the drugstore and snuck us in the back after hours.
I was already to buy myself some candy with MY money, or better yet get free treats from my beloved auntie, whilst Mom bought Daddy some old spice or some other boring crap, and it turns out that I was getting my ears pierced!! WOW WOW WOW!!

Izzy was just as excited and quite possibly more nervous then I had been that long ago day. She certainly had longer to prep for it! To fret and second guess, but no she did not hesitate. The second I picked her up from MathLab she was ready to roll.

We went to Claire's (all parents of little girls heads up-- it is pink plastic accessory HELL!!) at Briarwood Mall and made a beeline straight through Macy's to the boutique. She was very brave and got her ears pierced with a harmless looking little white box that didn't even make scary noises. I was jealous.

THIS is our first carrot from the garden. She chose carrots and she planted the Danver's Half Long seeds. The remarkable thing about these carrots, you may remember me gushing about how sweet and clean the broccoli tasted?--well the big diff twixt this carrot and any other grocery store carrot was the remarkable turgidity of the greens. They were like...erect. You could fence with them! But fencing...that would be a blog about Z!!

One year anniversary of "Belly Acres"

2008-08-01T07:20:00.006-04:00

It has been one year since we moved in. We met the neighbors and they seem pretty cool! That spring day will go down in history as the craziest five minutes of the year. No fictional embellishments here dear one; Just the facts of what occurred in five minutes:
Zoli barfed. A tree broke and the storm window sucked off the front of the house while the new neighbors knocked on the door!! Our neighbors are a bit of alright. They have a great pool! Our kids are the same age! Meredith & Izzy get along great & the two 13 year old boys are friendly but prefer very different activities.

We have not yet sold the Wallace house. BUT we have accomplished some amazing things. (including admitting defeat with Bree.) Most of which were recounted in previous entries of this blog. Check the archive if you want. A quickie list (I again want to thank Garth for the time he spent with us. He is a grand friend and a good man.)

Roof--wow. That was a thing wasn't it!
Removed the “Nantucket Effect” from the master bath & painted
Geothermal Furnace & Air
-new electricity (including change every damn light bulb in the house over the space of first three weeks)
Removed wierd Sink from d. room
Bathroom X2
-ant wall
-frozen pipe--which ultimately led to
+ New upstairs toilet
- Insulated tool shed
Decorative garden fence repairs X4
Bookcases (time for more of those already!)
Painted library
New well pump
Garbage outta the woods
Id-ed most plants/trees
Removed one dead tree (several more to go!)
Appliances (master bath ceiling fan)
Switched the colors in d. room
Front window=Andersen renewal (patio door in progress)
Chimney check/cleaned (gotta do that again pronto)
made a game room in basement (The ZoliCave)

Barnstairs & people door
(but we have since broken the big door opener-uh oh!)

Plans before snowfly:
Paint house & garage (eep!)
New carpet upstairs
Rug in library
(& if we win the lottery=belle époque sofa & scrabble table in library??)

Like This but purple, or cobalt or red.

It feels like we have lived here forever. The list of things to do seems too long. But I wouldn't go back at all. We can breathe here. The kitchen is definitely a tall left handed guy kitchen and I am a short right handed chick--but, the double Viking ovens count for a lot and I can be patient. I just wish somebody would love the Wallace house. It makes me sad that it just sits there.

But let's not quibble about who killed who--I love my big purple farmhouse, and my chicken and my doggies and I love my boy for working so hard that we can do this. He rocks.

oh dear, oh my--a new mission

2008-07-30T08:13:00.003-04:00

Isabel & I have decided we need this. We may have to move one piece at a time and/or make bits...but the cottage is gonna happen. We will just have a little fundraiser.

Three more pounds of green beans

2008-07-29T12:27:00.003-04:00

okay it was really only 2 lbs 11 oz
Got three more cucumbers too. May be able to pick the first sphaghetti squish this weekend.
The tomatoes are starting to kick in. several delish handfuls of cherry/grapes --SO far so good. One nice size beefstake. It may be time to buy the freezer.

The Snaper & The Dark Knight

2008-07-28T09:58:00.012-04:00

get it? Snape + Paper*=Snaper. Well *I* think it is amusing.

James' (& Harry's) patronus =white stag
Lily's patronus=white doe
Snape's patronus )=A WHITE DOE

La cerf blanc The origins of this creature are from the early Indo-European cultures, particularly the northern Celts and pre-Indo-European cultures. In old school Christian iconography, the unicorn is usually interpreted as a symbol for the Christ figure ie, the SAVIOUR! There is an easy identification between the white stag and the unicorn, and it can be reasonably argued that the white stag is the equivalent of the unicorn in these northern cultures, (beastie, four legs, white and horny--sounds valid to me!) Said peoples who do not record any unicorns. (snert--like anybody ever actually...yeah...okay)

*ahem*
The white stag of these Celtic myths is an indicator that the Otherworld is near. (oooh scary!) It also appears when a hero starts a quest; the white stag often appears in the forests around King Arthur's court, launching those boys off to adventure.
C. S. Lewis uses this device at both the beginning and end of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And this dear one is where my argument (Snape= a good guy) begins, for you see along with every other questing hero; Snape is so bloody noble that his entire being his reason for living is CHIVALRIC LOVE!! He loves the Lily soooooo much that he ran a defensive subterfuge that ultimately saves the universe!! (Eat that Luke Skywalker!) Yay team chivalry!! How ironic that he is head of Slytherin when he is in fact the biggest Gryiffindor of all!

All of this came to a nice interconnection at the Showcase Cinema 20 Friday night. Finally saw THE DARK KNIGHT.

*SPOILER*
1.Lots of stuff blows up!!

2. Gary Oldman is so effing hot.
3.Heath Ledger (rip) is sooo much better then Jack as the Joker.
Ledger scared the CRAP outta me. Nicholson was too cute. He should have channeled more of the writer from THE SHINING and less Witches of Eastwick. But I digress--let's wrap this tangent back around to why Bruce Wayne is the biggest Gryffindor of all time and Snape and Batman have the same designer?? All that flowing black material. *sigh*, oh hush dear ones..you know my inner goth refuses to grow up. If a guy has teflon armor or just cloth covered buttons, it just doesn't matter, it is all a cover for a heart of gold. The anti-hero that's who grabs my attention. mmhmm--The social misfit. The lone samurai. The angsty poet.

The one who is really gonna have the power to defeat evil is the one sipping coffee in the corner, not the golden child running the meeting. The one who isn't afraid to get dirty doing the job. Snape, Strider, Saayid, Sawyer, Batman (Frank Miller NOT Bob Cane thank you veddy mush) those are some tempting morsels who when all is lost pull the hope from their back pocket and save the day.

And Snape and Bruce Wayne?

Self sacrificing chivalry at it's highest form. Fuck Lancelot and Guinevere. They were WEAK. They gave in. But not my Snape. He did what needed to be done. He snuck behind enemy lines and just like Batman--er Bruce Wayne--let the girl do what she thought best. When Rachel left that note with Alfred I was fairly screaming NOOOOOOOO!! HE LOVES you!!! (not really I hate audience members who yell at the screen). but seriously?! Couldn't she see the higher mission?? Man what a dipshit. Arwen waited!!
Lily shoulda waited...well ...true...she didn't have to really wait...but I believe she chose poorly. I would love to see a fanfic that was an early meeting of the OoP. One where Snape & James are trying to be Dumbledore's Army. Hmmmm.....
______
*(Brian quite reading THIS drivel and pick up Order of the Phoenix. Ya should have just took it last night!)

The Coffee Trader--David Liss

2008-07-24T07:39:00.005-04:00

As I stare into the murky depths of my second mug o'java I realize this is the fourth Jewish centered book this summer. Hmmm, Clan Ullman is permeating my brain. However this is the first one about coffee and coffee should always be first. (Esp before typing)

This novel is set in 17th C Amsterdam. So I am all over it, even more because it is an "elegantly composed historical suspense thriller". I HAVE A GENRE!!! Or should I say my novel Fealty has a genre.

I am enjoying this book quite a bit more than the Michael Chabon's I just finished. I also like the way Liss does a chapter per character to introduce everybody. During the production his film "The Hidden Fortress," my beloved Japanese director Akira Kurosawa has been fabled to have gone through the following composition: a seemingly hopeless situation would be shown, and only after a concerted deliberation by the production team would the protagonist be given a way out, and the film would then proceed to the next scene. (Hmmm sound like the LOST writers?... YES!)

My darling readers need only be reminded of this anecdote (which I am sure I have rambled on about in some other Post Modern post---oooh that's not too wordy! *insert sarcasm*) to grasp the nature of both this novel, the author G.R.R. Martin AND my own book which is, of course, rolling around in my head.

"Where no friends remain friends or enemies remain enemies,"
Poor Miguel hurdles through the ever-changing schemes & machinations to finally obtain his monopoly on coffee, he lost his guilders after a sugar market crash and is now trying to resurrect himself by searching for investors who would consider a new product called "coffee", he lives in his brother's house and has the hots for his brother's wife --then he hooks up with a sexy Dutch widow, WHO in my opinion is the strongest character. I don't why; but, I really like female characters written by men. What would Dr. Freud say?

Right now in the narrative Miguel is gambling on the speculative coffee market, gauging the "right moment". EEEP!! Drama!

Happily I have a big mouth...

2008-07-23T14:29:00.002-04:00

thus I can take really big bites of stuff, my beloved gran would perhaps say, "you have bitten off more than you can chew". Why dear readers may ask, do I think I have too much to chew?

ACTIVE PROJECTS REQUIRING ATTENTION:
the garden-the tomatoes are planning a sneak attack I am sure and I have accepted that this place will never looked "manicured"
Luna (puppy training)
editing/reworking the book
polishing the chivalric anti-hero Snaper
Aesa & Raito's feast: several foodie experiments in progress from pickles to mochi
a 14th c couched beadwork project
a scarfy knitted snood thing (done soon-- only 40 rows to go)
Projects being Plotted:
Winter accommodations for Gertrude
Japanese garb

Real Estate Oriented Projects
~at least 15 projects *IN* THIS house--including paint the downstairs pisser-- AGAIN!
~roughly five big projects OUTSIDE this house
~selling the other house (or if not by Aug 1st turning it into a rental=paperwork)

So did I spend the afternoon doing any of these things??

nope. I started gutting the workshop. I am as Paulie described "carving out a space". Right now we are at the sorting garbage from clutter and organizing other people's crap. This space is basically a finished third of the garage. But we have sort of been chucking random unwanted stuff from the house to this space. Matt is storing a lot of stuff. Amongst the "mayhem and foolishness" there are four bikes, a chicken, a couch, several mismatched book shelves. It is the home of Cynnabar's Golden Key, A lovely desk, a lot of stereo equipment and amplifiers. I need the Clean House Crew. They could make a mint at the garage sale just with the left over bella flooring! How much does that stuff run? too much STUFF!!!

Wish me luck.

unsatisfactory: 7 hours later

2008-07-22T17:15:00.003-04:00

Took Peanut to math camp.
Ate an egg.
Cleaned up the kitchen.
Walked beasts. Counted a flock of 17 Canadian geese in my yard.
Batted tennis ball for dog.
Vacuumed the kitchen, the library, the dining room and the living room.
I organized. Spiffy new planner all ready to roll. Checked dates, collated calendars. Getting some "work" done here peeps!
I weeded (papers-- not the garden) pitched and recycled. Good work here.
I listened to the lament of the oldest offspring who didn't get the grade he wanted. Tried to sound soothing.
Texted hubby about oldest offspring's brakes. All is well.
Ate a slice of turkey wrapped around a cheese stick with a leaf of lettuce wrapped around that.
Read own writing... moved a few letters around.
Let dogs out.
Read more of own writing. (different piece)
Checked a spelling, got sidetracked at the WMU Medieval Congress Webpage. Ended up at Luminarium.
checked Scrabbulous games. losing.
Read more of own writing--changed a few words. At least this is stronger than Harry as Hamlet!
Checked email. Laughed at A. & M. & M. being silly in public.
Read more of own drivel decided I might better buy a lottery ticket.
Picked up Peanut from mathcamp--bought m&m's and a lottery ticket. Watched STYLE network.
Realized I should have gone to Water Park w/ Rollo & Xander....sigh.

ARRRRRGH. After not writing ANYTHING for almost five weeks I had high hopes for today.

shhhh... or a Room of One's Own

2008-07-22T09:36:00.002-04:00

I have the house to myself. Zoli & Pete are off to Stratford to see a play or two. Izzy is at math camp till 3:30. Guess who is gonna get some work done? ME!!! I plan to spend the day editing. After I pay for Matt's brakes the phone is going OFF. Did you know Louise Erdrich AND Diana Gabaldon both have separate buildings where they write?? bitches.

Steampunk accessories

2008-07-21T10:01:00.004-04:00

Kate & Victoria got me my first official Steampunk paraphernalia! When they came in for art fair (I have fun pics on the cell phone but I can't get them off Verizon's stoopid page) they gifted me with this awesome little fellow. Isn't he swell??

Then Saturday at Matt's b-day dinner; Roxy and I got to talking (mostly about PR Season 5!!) she remembered that she had some old welding goggles!!! They look GREAT on the bowler!!