Last night it smelled like snow, and we fired up the wood stove. The cat and dog have been passive-aggressively competing for ownership of the piece of floor just in front of the hearth. That is, the cat (Faith) has been passive-aggressively competing. Miley would be happy to share.
On that note, it seems that as soon as the wood stove is burning, the house slips into its winter skin. The feel of the air changes, things become a little more muffled. We begin making winter food. Right now a venison stock root-vegetable-and-rice stew is simmering in the crock pot. I am looking forward to this.
Today my mom and brother and I (dad is sick) went to Anthropologie to see our cousin at the signing for her latest book*. Though I suppose technically speaking, at least publicly, her name is Mary Randolph Carter, we call her Tippy Berg. Her sister used to be married to my paternal uncle, but we're actually blood related somehow on my mother's side as well. I can never remember how. Anyway, I don't see her often and don't know her well, but she is lovely. I can't afford to buy much of anything at Anthropologie, so after saying hello to Tippy and having a miniature family reunion with all of the other cousins that showed up, I wandered around the store taking pictures of interesting things/things I'd like to try to make myself. (It could happen.) And I did buy some yellow (aka goldish orange) tights to try to use as part of a halloween costume, but I don't look as much like a lightning bug as I had hoped. Maybe I'll have better luck thrift store shopping. Speaking of which, I need to get on that.
*It IS in my blood. See? Not my fault!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
The Arts
Tonight was "The Sound of Music," performed by the kids from my highschool, plus a few from middle and lower school as well to make up the Von Trapp kids. Long movie, yeah? It's a long play too. The intermission came an hour and a half in. They did a pretty decent job though.
Relatedly: am I the only one bothered by the practice of giving a standing ovation for pretty much every performance of anything ever? Am I wrong in thinking that a standing ovation should be reserved for special occasions? I hate to break it to everybody, but the way things are now, a standing ovation pretty much doesn't mean shit. So I didn't stand, and I felt like a curmudgeon. Just like every other time I didn't stand.
In case anyone other than Sara has been reading my formspring, which I doubt, but whatever, I have remembered an answer to the "favorite food" question. It is this: toast (preferably potato bread toast) soaked in the juice left over from cooking meat in a pan. Pot roast will do; roast chicken is miraculous.
It's finally cooling off, at least for a little while. Should get down into the forties tonight, I hear. I haven't checked the weather.
The moon rose sleepily tonight, heavy-lidded and cycloptic, and peered down through the trees. Miley, true to form, was a pill half of the time and angelic the rest. Oh well. I have to be up at eight tomorrow to get to the RBA and help stuff envelopes, and I've been yawning since seven. Better get to bed.
Relatedly: am I the only one bothered by the practice of giving a standing ovation for pretty much every performance of anything ever? Am I wrong in thinking that a standing ovation should be reserved for special occasions? I hate to break it to everybody, but the way things are now, a standing ovation pretty much doesn't mean shit. So I didn't stand, and I felt like a curmudgeon. Just like every other time I didn't stand.
In case anyone other than Sara has been reading my formspring, which I doubt, but whatever, I have remembered an answer to the "favorite food" question. It is this: toast (preferably potato bread toast) soaked in the juice left over from cooking meat in a pan. Pot roast will do; roast chicken is miraculous.
It's finally cooling off, at least for a little while. Should get down into the forties tonight, I hear. I haven't checked the weather.
The moon rose sleepily tonight, heavy-lidded and cycloptic, and peered down through the trees. Miley, true to form, was a pill half of the time and angelic the rest. Oh well. I have to be up at eight tomorrow to get to the RBA and help stuff envelopes, and I've been yawning since seven. Better get to bed.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Navel-gazing, and otherness
I keep intending to post things and...not doing it. How unlike me.
Also unlike me*: I have been really wondering/hoping to figure out what on earth I want to do with myself. I shoot down every option. Sometimes in the middle of this I think, "you know, I'd really just like to be a housewife." This is a completely ridiculous idea. Perhaps someday I could make that work, but the me that I am right now could not. I would be utterly bored, completely aimless, probably depressed, and most importantly, would fail at fulfilling the duties of a housewife, i.e., keeping the house reasonably clean and making edible things to eat. It isn't that I can't clean and cook--it's that I wouldn't. Time drags by remarkably quickly when you're not doing anything.
Anyway, I just took an hour.5 break from writing this and went and applied for stuff on Craigslist, which is, inexplicably**, my job-hunting method of choice. Want to know which one I'm most excited about? Installing bleachers and stuff in gyms. Choice number two: working in a print shop. PS, I am sick of people and having to act all professional and crap. (Irony intended.) It's not that I don't have people skills, it's just that I don't want to use the make-fake-nice ones.
I really need to find a niche.
On having meant to write: I keep meaning to write things about the moon (a frequently intended topic) and about wild storm winds blowing through the trees at night, and about owls winging overhead and fall leaves swirling and racing across the road in the rain, but it just doesn't get done. However! I did actually stop at the UPS store today and return the pair of boots that didn't fit! This was a huge feat because it involved the post, despite the fact that the return shipping was free and that I pass the UPS store every day on my way to work or almost anywhere else. Also I bought a stamp! I am that much closer to mailing the letter I mostly wrote to Larry two < three weeks ago.
Is anyone here a fan of Sherlock Holmes? I am, in that my mom loves the series and I grew up on "Basil of Baker Street" and "Slylock Fox" and watched the new movie with the guy from Iron Man and then just now watched the first episode of the new, modernized Masterpiece Mystery series, "Sherlock," on PBS. It was awesome. You should watch it. It comes on Sundays at 9 EST and then is re-aired the following Wednesday at the same time. Benedict Cumberpatch stars and delivers the peach of a line, "I'm not a psychopath, Anderson, I'm a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research." Also starring (as Watson) is that one guy (okay, Martin Freeman) from Love Actually and the criminally mediocre HHG film adaptation. I love him wherever he goes, and this miniseries is no exception.
*Please, please do note the sarcasm here, and in many places in which I write. I have an uncle who consistently fails to do so, and when this happens I begin to wonder about the sort of impression I give.
**That's not exactly true. When you apply on CL you do run the risk of getting spammed/identity thefted/otherwise scammed, but you don't have to fill out stupid long applications or, like, actually use a telephone or visit a business. I've got priorities, ok?
***Did that make sense? More than two, less than three.
Also unlike me*: I have been really wondering/hoping to figure out what on earth I want to do with myself. I shoot down every option. Sometimes in the middle of this I think, "you know, I'd really just like to be a housewife." This is a completely ridiculous idea. Perhaps someday I could make that work, but the me that I am right now could not. I would be utterly bored, completely aimless, probably depressed, and most importantly, would fail at fulfilling the duties of a housewife, i.e., keeping the house reasonably clean and making edible things to eat. It isn't that I can't clean and cook--it's that I wouldn't. Time drags by remarkably quickly when you're not doing anything.
Anyway, I just took an hour.5 break from writing this and went and applied for stuff on Craigslist, which is, inexplicably**, my job-hunting method of choice. Want to know which one I'm most excited about? Installing bleachers and stuff in gyms. Choice number two: working in a print shop. PS, I am sick of people and having to act all professional and crap. (Irony intended.) It's not that I don't have people skills, it's just that I don't want to use the make-fake-nice ones.
I really need to find a niche.
On having meant to write: I keep meaning to write things about the moon (a frequently intended topic) and about wild storm winds blowing through the trees at night, and about owls winging overhead and fall leaves swirling and racing across the road in the rain, but it just doesn't get done. However! I did actually stop at the UPS store today and return the pair of boots that didn't fit! This was a huge feat because it involved the post, despite the fact that the return shipping was free and that I pass the UPS store every day on my way to work or almost anywhere else. Also I bought a stamp! I am that much closer to mailing the letter I mostly wrote to Larry two < three weeks ago.
Is anyone here a fan of Sherlock Holmes? I am, in that my mom loves the series and I grew up on "Basil of Baker Street" and "Slylock Fox" and watched the new movie with the guy from Iron Man and then just now watched the first episode of the new, modernized Masterpiece Mystery series, "Sherlock," on PBS. It was awesome. You should watch it. It comes on Sundays at 9 EST and then is re-aired the following Wednesday at the same time. Benedict Cumberpatch stars and delivers the peach of a line, "I'm not a psychopath, Anderson, I'm a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research." Also starring (as Watson) is that one guy (okay, Martin Freeman) from Love Actually and the criminally mediocre HHG film adaptation. I love him wherever he goes, and this miniseries is no exception.
*Please, please do note the sarcasm here, and in many places in which I write. I have an uncle who consistently fails to do so, and when this happens I begin to wonder about the sort of impression I give.
**That's not exactly true. When you apply on CL you do run the risk of getting spammed/identity thefted/otherwise scammed, but you don't have to fill out stupid long applications or, like, actually use a telephone or visit a business. I've got priorities, ok?
***Did that make sense? More than two, less than three.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Tonight!
First, an excerpt from my Blogger stats page:
Pretty cool, huh? Now, on to business.
TONIGHT ZOMG I SAW THE COOLEST THING EVER. You are just going to have to suck it up and forgive me for typing in all caps, because it really, really was that cool. I made Miley wait until nearly 9pm for a walk, and I am so glad I did. I also let her lead me down a cul-de-sac that we don't usuall walk, and I am so glad I did. Halfway down the street I happened to glance up into the sky and saw the most enormous, spectacular shooting star that I have ever witnessed. It was incredibly bright and slightly orange, and had this ridiculously long tail streaming out behind it. It had already begun when I looked up, and I saw it fly for a couple of seconds, at which point it broke into two pieces and fell a little farther behind the trees. If a normal shooting star is this big (.), this one was about this big (*). And with the tail, it looked about like this, only far more starlike and linear: *.................
It was really amazing.
As a side note, I highly recommend an extendable leash for single-dog walks. Miley is about 60-70% more obedient and less infuriating when she's on one, though it's probable that her socialization this weekend helped a lot. For instance, after being walked at a few gas stations next to the road, she shows significantly less excitement and thus less noise when a car passes us in the neighborhood. Fantastic.
Next, I want to announce that I actually cooked myself dinner tonight. People who know me well, particularly Chris I'd think, will be properly impressed by this. I turned on the stove. I made a two-egg omelette* in olive oil with green pepper, red onion, garlic, and grated parmesan. Really good, and I wasn't even forced. It's just that there's no one home and no non-frozen leftovers and I didn't want Raisin Bran.
Next, this is super cool:
And lastly, this is super true (as corroborated by virtually everything I've ever read that wasn't written by an employee of one of these companies) and not cool:
*This is code for "scrambled eggs with stuff"
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Pretty cool, huh? Now, on to business.
TONIGHT ZOMG I SAW THE COOLEST THING EVER. You are just going to have to suck it up and forgive me for typing in all caps, because it really, really was that cool. I made Miley wait until nearly 9pm for a walk, and I am so glad I did. I also let her lead me down a cul-de-sac that we don't usuall walk, and I am so glad I did. Halfway down the street I happened to glance up into the sky and saw the most enormous, spectacular shooting star that I have ever witnessed. It was incredibly bright and slightly orange, and had this ridiculously long tail streaming out behind it. It had already begun when I looked up, and I saw it fly for a couple of seconds, at which point it broke into two pieces and fell a little farther behind the trees. If a normal shooting star is this big (.), this one was about this big (*). And with the tail, it looked about like this, only far more starlike and linear: *.................
It was really amazing.
As a side note, I highly recommend an extendable leash for single-dog walks. Miley is about 60-70% more obedient and less infuriating when she's on one, though it's probable that her socialization this weekend helped a lot. For instance, after being walked at a few gas stations next to the road, she shows significantly less excitement and thus less noise when a car passes us in the neighborhood. Fantastic.
Next, I want to announce that I actually cooked myself dinner tonight. People who know me well, particularly Chris I'd think, will be properly impressed by this. I turned on the stove. I made a two-egg omelette* in olive oil with green pepper, red onion, garlic, and grated parmesan. Really good, and I wasn't even forced. It's just that there's no one home and no non-frozen leftovers and I didn't want Raisin Bran.
Next, this is super cool:
And lastly, this is super true (as corroborated by virtually everything I've ever read that wasn't written by an employee of one of these companies) and not cool:
*This is code for "scrambled eggs with stuff"
Home
I'm back from the weekend at Camp. It was a good time. A general movie night, a dinner invitation, a dogs-invited cookout, and a couple of specific movie-marathons (one involving pork chops) are in the works. Two posters, one sweater, and one Spud Trooper were distributed by me. (By myself? A persistent grammatical question.) I took Miley along, as there wasn't really a plan for her care here with all of us out of town, and she did remarkably well. I was impressed and heartened. She made friends with Laura's dog, Harley, as well. I played volleyball, if you accept a loose definition of the word "played." I was pretty awful, but it was fun. Ten or fifteen of us (it was an extremely large group for a staff retreat--probably around thirty) sat around the campfire last night telling "worst date" stories and listening to David play the ukelele that he'd tuned like a banjo. I did have a little trouble not hitting on David this weekend, but I never did crumple inward, and we got along, and I am considering the weekend a success. I also heard that I still may hear back from the massage receptionist job which I had come to consider as water under the bridge. They said they'd call either way by Monday, but here it is Sunday evening and I still haven't gotten a call. Evidently they've been busy. My parents are on their way back from visiting Chloe in Conneticut, and should get in around midnight. I need to find something to eat for dinner, and I need to walk Miley. That seems like so much more of a chore somehow when I'm not walking around outside all the time anyway. At Camp I had to go outside to get from my bed to breakfast, from breakfast to the shower, from the shower back to the dining hall, to the field, to my room, to the bathroom, to anywhere. She got to go outside a lot. Here, obviously, everything is close together and I don't need to go outside--but she needs to run around and use the facilities, as it were.
And hey--people have stopped asking questions on formspring. This was predictable I suppose, particularly considering that I have not (thus far) been using the post-to-facebook nonsense, but still rather disappointing. Ah well. Perhaps it'll bounce back. Perhaps I'll sell out and beg for questions on everyone's favorite social network. Perhaps it'll go to the cyber graveyard of old blogs, pages and profiles I've created over the years, and never be heard from again.
Lastly--this is the second edit I've made in as many minutes--I have to say that I love DSW. Seriously. I ordered those boots from them on Friday (Thursday?), and forgot to put in two codes--one for free shipping and another for 10% off--which would have decreased my total by nearly $15. I emailed DSW customer service explaining what had happened and asking whether anything could be done, and they applied both codes to my order and emailed me back saying so. I am extremely grateful and impressed.
Actually, I've encountered quite a bit of good customer service lately. I emailed Chick-fil-a to ask, politely, why the crap they use styrofoam cups when they seem to care so much about everything except the environment, and I quickly received a personal email explaining that their cups are polystyrene and are recyclable "in some municipalities," and that C-f-a is looking into more recycling options for their cups. I also emailed Badger Balm last week (I've been on the prowl, I guess) asking why a lot of their beeswax comes from India, for heaven's sake, when we have plenty of bees in the states. It seemed incongruous when B.B. is so environmentally conscious that they use both sides of a sheet of paper in their office, and make sure their coffeepots are turned off when no one is using them. The response, which came from the CEO of the company the next day, made sense--B.B.'s products are all USDA certified organic, and that means that their beeswax has to be certified as well. Easy enough (I would guess) for a beekeeper to use organic methods, but bees travel. As I was informed, "The apiary has to be surrounded by enough chemical free forage area to qualify for organic certification. I believe they require, depending upon the certifying agency, a 2-3 mile radius." So that makes sense, though it's unfortunate that none such a situation seems to exist in the United States. And then there was the time I emailed Terry Pratchett's agent about a question I had regarding Making Money, and I received, again, a response the next day. I am floored by these instances, especially the last one--I feel like I almost spoke to a famous person!
The font here is, Blogger swears, the same font that's been used in the rest of the entry: Times, size "normal." However, it is showing up on my blog and on the preview as something which is clearly not Times size normal. I feel like this happens a lot. What the heck, Blogger?
And hey--people have stopped asking questions on formspring. This was predictable I suppose, particularly considering that I have not (thus far) been using the post-to-facebook nonsense, but still rather disappointing. Ah well. Perhaps it'll bounce back. Perhaps I'll sell out and beg for questions on everyone's favorite social network. Perhaps it'll go to the cyber graveyard of old blogs, pages and profiles I've created over the years, and never be heard from again.
Lastly--this is the second edit I've made in as many minutes--I have to say that I love DSW. Seriously. I ordered those boots from them on Friday (Thursday?), and forgot to put in two codes--one for free shipping and another for 10% off--which would have decreased my total by nearly $15. I emailed DSW customer service explaining what had happened and asking whether anything could be done, and they applied both codes to my order and emailed me back saying so. I am extremely grateful and impressed.
Actually, I've encountered quite a bit of good customer service lately. I emailed Chick-fil-a to ask, politely, why the crap they use styrofoam cups when they seem to care so much about everything except the environment, and I quickly received a personal email explaining that their cups are polystyrene and are recyclable "in some municipalities," and that C-f-a is looking into more recycling options for their cups. I also emailed Badger Balm last week (I've been on the prowl, I guess) asking why a lot of their beeswax comes from India, for heaven's sake, when we have plenty of bees in the states. It seemed incongruous when B.B. is so environmentally conscious that they use both sides of a sheet of paper in their office, and make sure their coffeepots are turned off when no one is using them. The response, which came from the CEO of the company the next day, made sense--B.B.'s products are all USDA certified organic, and that means that their beeswax has to be certified as well. Easy enough (I would guess) for a beekeeper to use organic methods, but bees travel. As I was informed, "The apiary has to be surrounded by enough chemical free forage area to qualify for organic certification. I believe they require, depending upon the certifying agency, a 2-3 mile radius." So that makes sense, though it's unfortunate that none such a situation seems to exist in the United States. And then there was the time I emailed Terry Pratchett's agent about a question I had regarding Making Money, and I received, again, a response the next day. I am floored by these instances, especially the last one--I feel like I almost spoke to a famous person!
The font here is, Blogger swears, the same font that's been used in the rest of the entry: Times, size "normal." However, it is showing up on my blog and on the preview as something which is clearly not Times size normal. I feel like this happens a lot. What the heck, Blogger?
Friday, October 22, 2010
Consumerism
Did I mention that I want to buy Badger Balm stuff? I want to buy everything they have on sale at their website, plus a few other things for good measure I'm sure. And a large percentage of the Burt's Bees catalog. Also I just finally ordered that one pair of boots, now that I've finally printed out the return shipping label for the ones that didn't fit. Sort of like a reward program for good behavior. Also I paid the balance on the phone bill last night, which felt nice. The only trick here, of course, is making sure that there is money remaining in my account. I am keeping an eye on it and trying to keep my hands off anything by Badger Balm.
Did I mention that a tree limb fell through our roof last night? Luckily it missed the a.c. vent and failed to come through the ceiling of my parents' room. The claims adjuster (adjustor?) was here this morning, and we're hoping to have it fixed before the next rain, courtesy of my mother's roofer friend Ann.
Camp staff retreat is this weekend, and I have been trying to figure out when I am supposed to meet Laura so that we can ride up together. I am bringing Miley with me because there would otherwise be no one around to walk her except Jack, and possibly also because I am soft in the head. So we'll see how that goes.
I am feeling really jittery at the moment. Possibly due to a lack of sleep? We were all up until 2 am or so, for some reason.
Did I mention that a tree limb fell through our roof last night? Luckily it missed the a.c. vent and failed to come through the ceiling of my parents' room. The claims adjuster (adjustor?) was here this morning, and we're hoping to have it fixed before the next rain, courtesy of my mother's roofer friend Ann.
Camp staff retreat is this weekend, and I have been trying to figure out when I am supposed to meet Laura so that we can ride up together. I am bringing Miley with me because there would otherwise be no one around to walk her except Jack, and possibly also because I am soft in the head. So we'll see how that goes.
I am feeling really jittery at the moment. Possibly due to a lack of sleep? We were all up until 2 am or so, for some reason.
A full moon.
I took Miley for our nightly walk under the full fall (harvest?) moon, and it was so bright that at times the tree shadows looked like papercuts laid out on the road. It was bright enough almost to read a book, bright enough for a midnight walk in the woods, enough to see my breath misting and dissipating as I looked up into the night's shining* eye. There were a few late-season crickets still singing, but the owls I had heard calling back and forth during our earlier (7 pm) walk were not in attendance. These lined Crocs worn with socks feel like slippers, and I was so cozy in the cool, clear night air that if the temperature had been ten degrees cooler, it would have felt like really real winter. It was a very nice walk.
*I had planned to use "bright" here, and I am sad that I can't. Repetition for effect can be nice, but redundancy is more difficult to discern in a mental composition. Luckily it usually shows up rather clearly on paper or on a screen.
*I had planned to use "bright" here, and I am sad that I can't. Repetition for effect can be nice, but redundancy is more difficult to discern in a mental composition. Luckily it usually shows up rather clearly on paper or on a screen.
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