The new bookmobile
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
| You Were a Zebra |
 |
What Animal Were You In a Past Life?
If you have a lot of time to kill, check out the Bloggies--
http://2006.bloggies.com/
I don't have enough time right now, am way behind in my cataloging, plus have a meeting I'm supposed to be at now. oops. Must write (still) assessments for my clerks, plus write my self-assessment for 2005. Nasty stuff, that. Have to stock new books on the bookmobile, new duty added to my roster with the new bookmobile.
My weekend was perhaps one of the most unproductive I've ever had. I went to a party (what? me? a party?) Friday night. I have a friend who calls me periodically, inviting me to his house or his camp for gatherings. I have gone to a couple of these, but mostly I decline for one reason or another. This time I thought I should really accept, so after grocery shopping and stopping at Ken's I went to Peter and Marta's camp on Union Falls (the next lake over). There were 10 of us. Peter had plowed the long road down to the camp and there was a nice fire going to keep us all warm. There camp is more like a house, though it's still campy. It was a really interesting group of people--all from the neighborhood. I knew a few of them but they all knew me, which I find mystifying and entertaining. "Oh yes, I know you." You do? I guess I have a certain amount of notoriety as the woman who lives alone in the woods. Or something. Anyway, I had a a nice enough time but didn't stay very late, was home by 11. I've gotten so I can go to these things alone without really minding.
Saturday I did pretty much nothing, barely even bringing in wood. It was a sunny warm day, very nice, and I meant to take a walk, but somehow staying on the couch was much more inviting. Although I got up at 6:30, I napped off & on all day. I watched a DVD of The L Word, which is a Showtime series about a group of lesbians in Los Angeles (of course). I really like the series, watched the first season last year and have waited for the second season to be released on DVD. It's pretty goofy, really, not very realistic (of course they all live in amazing places and have plenty of time to spend hanging out drinking coffee together--it's unclear how they find the money for this), but I like eavesdropping and spying on other women's lives, even when they're made up.
Yesterday I was more productive, but had little time at home. I talked to my mother for a while. Her life has finally settled into a post-holiday routine and she will be fine for the month, then I'll visit her for her birthday in March. I went to Sunday dinner, where Ken and Bill gave me a present: a motion-activated digital camera that you mount outside to see what kind of wildlife is hanging around your house. I had mentioned this to them before Christmas, that I had seen it at Gander Mountain (store) so sweet Bill went there and bought one for me. Now I have to figure out how to set it up and where to mount it. Ken was very definite about where he thought I should put it (by my bird feeder) so I'll have to try it there first, to please him. It has a flash and of course you would try it at night. Should be interesting, a really nifty toy.
Had book group last night. Our book was Sweetwater, which was really not that great a book. Her first husband was bipolar (rang a bit too true for me) and killed himself so she married the first man to come along after that, then fell in love with his brother. It was supposed to be about the Adirondacks, and there was some good stuff about the family camp her 2nd husband took her too, and some good stuff about his parents, but this forest fire came along and they paddled out into the lake to escape it, where a mountain lion swam past them. We all agreed the book was weak, very weak. Of course the highlight of the whole meeting was Eva Stahl, who is 2 weeks old and behaved beautifully as she was passed around so we could each hold her. Martha was wonderful to share her with us. She is a beautiful baby.
And today I'm back at work, puzzled by the huge piles of things demanding my attention. I'm lost and don't know where to begin. It's so easy to just catalog stuff all day--a job that needs doing, something I know how to do and is challenging yet routine enough to be comfortable. But the other things need to be done, too, and are really what my professional self tells me I should be doing. I'm putting together a book order, but I've buried the work I've done on that and will have to dig it out. I hate digging things out.
Blogging will not help me decide which task to undertake next.
http://2006.bloggies.com/
I don't have enough time right now, am way behind in my cataloging, plus have a meeting I'm supposed to be at now. oops. Must write (still) assessments for my clerks, plus write my self-assessment for 2005. Nasty stuff, that. Have to stock new books on the bookmobile, new duty added to my roster with the new bookmobile.
My weekend was perhaps one of the most unproductive I've ever had. I went to a party (what? me? a party?) Friday night. I have a friend who calls me periodically, inviting me to his house or his camp for gatherings. I have gone to a couple of these, but mostly I decline for one reason or another. This time I thought I should really accept, so after grocery shopping and stopping at Ken's I went to Peter and Marta's camp on Union Falls (the next lake over). There were 10 of us. Peter had plowed the long road down to the camp and there was a nice fire going to keep us all warm. There camp is more like a house, though it's still campy. It was a really interesting group of people--all from the neighborhood. I knew a few of them but they all knew me, which I find mystifying and entertaining. "Oh yes, I know you." You do? I guess I have a certain amount of notoriety as the woman who lives alone in the woods. Or something. Anyway, I had a a nice enough time but didn't stay very late, was home by 11. I've gotten so I can go to these things alone without really minding.
Saturday I did pretty much nothing, barely even bringing in wood. It was a sunny warm day, very nice, and I meant to take a walk, but somehow staying on the couch was much more inviting. Although I got up at 6:30, I napped off & on all day. I watched a DVD of The L Word, which is a Showtime series about a group of lesbians in Los Angeles (of course). I really like the series, watched the first season last year and have waited for the second season to be released on DVD. It's pretty goofy, really, not very realistic (of course they all live in amazing places and have plenty of time to spend hanging out drinking coffee together--it's unclear how they find the money for this), but I like eavesdropping and spying on other women's lives, even when they're made up.
Yesterday I was more productive, but had little time at home. I talked to my mother for a while. Her life has finally settled into a post-holiday routine and she will be fine for the month, then I'll visit her for her birthday in March. I went to Sunday dinner, where Ken and Bill gave me a present: a motion-activated digital camera that you mount outside to see what kind of wildlife is hanging around your house. I had mentioned this to them before Christmas, that I had seen it at Gander Mountain (store) so sweet Bill went there and bought one for me. Now I have to figure out how to set it up and where to mount it. Ken was very definite about where he thought I should put it (by my bird feeder) so I'll have to try it there first, to please him. It has a flash and of course you would try it at night. Should be interesting, a really nifty toy.
Had book group last night. Our book was Sweetwater, which was really not that great a book. Her first husband was bipolar (rang a bit too true for me) and killed himself so she married the first man to come along after that, then fell in love with his brother. It was supposed to be about the Adirondacks, and there was some good stuff about the family camp her 2nd husband took her too, and some good stuff about his parents, but this forest fire came along and they paddled out into the lake to escape it, where a mountain lion swam past them. We all agreed the book was weak, very weak. Of course the highlight of the whole meeting was Eva Stahl, who is 2 weeks old and behaved beautifully as she was passed around so we could each hold her. Martha was wonderful to share her with us. She is a beautiful baby.
And today I'm back at work, puzzled by the huge piles of things demanding my attention. I'm lost and don't know where to begin. It's so easy to just catalog stuff all day--a job that needs doing, something I know how to do and is challenging yet routine enough to be comfortable. But the other things need to be done, too, and are really what my professional self tells me I should be doing. I'm putting together a book order, but I've buried the work I've done on that and will have to dig it out. I hate digging things out.
Blogging will not help me decide which task to undertake next.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Connected to
Today is Jenica's 30th birthday. I never had a child of my own, but the first time I saw her I had the most amazing feeling of connected-ness. You could tell by looking at her that she was Henry's daughter, she had his distinctive look. I could tell she was related to me, she looked like me. I loved it. I was 23 and had no interest in having children at that time, so I thought "This is it, this is as close as I need to come to the magic, but I get it! I understand the magic of it now, how you can love someone so incredibly much, without knowing them, because there's only the briefest part of a person starting to develop there." And so now I've known her for 30 years, and I still love the feeling of being connected to her. The aunt connection is an interesting one, and I love the three people I am connected to this way very, very much. They are all really fascinating, funny, charming and wonderful people. Lucky, lucky me!
Today is Jenica's 30th birthday. I never had a child of my own, but the first time I saw her I had the most amazing feeling of connected-ness. You could tell by looking at her that she was Henry's daughter, she had his distinctive look. I could tell she was related to me, she looked like me. I loved it. I was 23 and had no interest in having children at that time, so I thought "This is it, this is as close as I need to come to the magic, but I get it! I understand the magic of it now, how you can love someone so incredibly much, without knowing them, because there's only the briefest part of a person starting to develop there." And so now I've known her for 30 years, and I still love the feeling of being connected to her. The aunt connection is an interesting one, and I love the three people I am connected to this way very, very much. They are all really fascinating, funny, charming and wonderful people. Lucky, lucky me!
Friday, January 20, 2006
Interruptions
I interrupted 4 does having a conversation in the middle of the road this morning on my way to work. They looked hysterical, all four noses together smack in the middle of the road in the middle of the wilderness. When I reported this to my clerks they said the girls were saying "Which way should we go? I want to go this way." "No, I want to go that way!" "Boy that buck sure looks funny with only one antler, doesn't he!" When they saw me (the deer, not the clerks) they gave me such a collective nasty look before they turned, two in one direction and two in the other and bounded into the woods. It was a really nice interplay first thing in the morning.
Then I passed a house I drive by twice a day and noticed that it's barn red with pale yellow trim, the same exact colors of a skirt my sister crocheted for me when I was a freshman in college. It was a short skirt (we wore REALLY short skirts then) and I wore it with a pale yellow turtleneck and pale yellow tights. I looked really pretty in it (I was waaaay skinny then). I wore it to a New Year's Eve party with my then-fiance. I was really nervous about going to the party, it was his parents' friends and his parents did not approve of our relationship--in fact his father refused to speak to him because of me--but I found comfort being enveloped in something that my sister had made for me. Family can be so supportive, no?
And now I must have a department meeting, as requested by the clerks. Since they were barely speaking to each other earlier this week, I'm apprehensive about what they want to bring up at this meeting, but they do seem to be pretty jovial today. Let's hope for the best. I'm feeling good: tomorrow I'm having my stove pipes cleaned. YES YES YES! This morning when I put wood in the stove smoke poured out of the elbow connecting the indoor stove pipe to the outdoor stove pipe--enough to set off the smoke detector. Although I'm relieved to know the smoke detector is effective (an Efffective Detector), this is not acceptable behavior for a stove pipe. So I can have a fire to warm me tonight but tomorrow morning I will be chilly until 11:30, when Jerry comes to ream out my pipes. that sounds gross. What will come out of the pipes will BE gross. Last year he came when I wasn't home so I didn't get to talk to him about my set up, so I'm looking forward to talking with him. You know, like when you take your pet to the vet, or your baby to the doctor. How's it really doing?
I interrupted 4 does having a conversation in the middle of the road this morning on my way to work. They looked hysterical, all four noses together smack in the middle of the road in the middle of the wilderness. When I reported this to my clerks they said the girls were saying "Which way should we go? I want to go this way." "No, I want to go that way!" "Boy that buck sure looks funny with only one antler, doesn't he!" When they saw me (the deer, not the clerks) they gave me such a collective nasty look before they turned, two in one direction and two in the other and bounded into the woods. It was a really nice interplay first thing in the morning.
Then I passed a house I drive by twice a day and noticed that it's barn red with pale yellow trim, the same exact colors of a skirt my sister crocheted for me when I was a freshman in college. It was a short skirt (we wore REALLY short skirts then) and I wore it with a pale yellow turtleneck and pale yellow tights. I looked really pretty in it (I was waaaay skinny then). I wore it to a New Year's Eve party with my then-fiance. I was really nervous about going to the party, it was his parents' friends and his parents did not approve of our relationship--in fact his father refused to speak to him because of me--but I found comfort being enveloped in something that my sister had made for me. Family can be so supportive, no?
And now I must have a department meeting, as requested by the clerks. Since they were barely speaking to each other earlier this week, I'm apprehensive about what they want to bring up at this meeting, but they do seem to be pretty jovial today. Let's hope for the best. I'm feeling good: tomorrow I'm having my stove pipes cleaned. YES YES YES! This morning when I put wood in the stove smoke poured out of the elbow connecting the indoor stove pipe to the outdoor stove pipe--enough to set off the smoke detector. Although I'm relieved to know the smoke detector is effective (an Efffective Detector), this is not acceptable behavior for a stove pipe. So I can have a fire to warm me tonight but tomorrow morning I will be chilly until 11:30, when Jerry comes to ream out my pipes. that sounds gross. What will come out of the pipes will BE gross. Last year he came when I wasn't home so I didn't get to talk to him about my set up, so I'm looking forward to talking with him. You know, like when you take your pet to the vet, or your baby to the doctor. How's it really doing?
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Power-less
All set for a nice relaxing evening after dinner with Ken (venison stew--ugh. I ended up bringing a huge wad of venison home for the dogs to eat, and they opened the container in the car and spilled it all over my boots and the seat--disgusto) but the power went out as soon as I hit my road. I saw the lights on my outdoor tree go out. We've had incredibly powerful winds blowing for 2 days so I guess I wasn't really surprised. Bummed, yes, but not surprised. I called the power company. They always want to know if my neighbors have power. Since I have no neighbors I always answer this in the affirmative. This was at 8:00. I know exactly what to do for an evening in the dark: get the flashlight (everyone teases me about my flashlight farm, but I never run out of batteries or flashlights), get the Coleman lantern (which is always in the same place), get some candles. A few weeks ago I found the stash of candles that Jenica and I bought at IKEA a million years ago when I was in Ill. so I had plenty.
I set myself up in the living room and did crossword puzzles for as long as I could stand to. I've decided crossword puzzles need to re-enter my life, as medicos are now pronouncing that doing crosswords will ward off dementia. When I couldn't stand to write "eft" one more time as the answer to "immature newt" I turned to the Bode Miller article in Newsweek. I think I'm in love. Man is he cute, and I am oddly drawn to his philosophy about his sport, life, competitiveness, etc.
It finally got to be late enough to go to sleep, but the bedroom was way too cold so I decided to sleep on the couch. The dogs had a love/hate response to this. Chances paced in front of the couch, staring at it while apparently trying to figure out where she would fit. Tess put herself where she always does: on top of my chest. I can stand having 45 lbs. on top of me for a little while, but she's not a cat, and after a while it does get hard to breathe. They just thought this was too queer anyway. I woke at 1:00 when the lights all came on. Poor fish, their light came on too and they expected to be fed. I threw some more wood in the stove, turned the heat on in the bedroom and went to bed. Adventure over.
This morning I realized that I have to move to the next rank of firewood and it's not quite the end of January. I have enough wood, but I'm moving through it a little faster than I anticipated. This next rank is a little damp on the ends right now. Rats!
This afternoon I head back to AuSable Forks to finish weeding their non-fiction. Crafts to history. Then I'll be finished! And we'll have to delete all these things from the data base. As Ken says, "If it ain't one thing, it's two."
All set for a nice relaxing evening after dinner with Ken (venison stew--ugh. I ended up bringing a huge wad of venison home for the dogs to eat, and they opened the container in the car and spilled it all over my boots and the seat--disgusto) but the power went out as soon as I hit my road. I saw the lights on my outdoor tree go out. We've had incredibly powerful winds blowing for 2 days so I guess I wasn't really surprised. Bummed, yes, but not surprised. I called the power company. They always want to know if my neighbors have power. Since I have no neighbors I always answer this in the affirmative. This was at 8:00. I know exactly what to do for an evening in the dark: get the flashlight (everyone teases me about my flashlight farm, but I never run out of batteries or flashlights), get the Coleman lantern (which is always in the same place), get some candles. A few weeks ago I found the stash of candles that Jenica and I bought at IKEA a million years ago when I was in Ill. so I had plenty.
I set myself up in the living room and did crossword puzzles for as long as I could stand to. I've decided crossword puzzles need to re-enter my life, as medicos are now pronouncing that doing crosswords will ward off dementia. When I couldn't stand to write "eft" one more time as the answer to "immature newt" I turned to the Bode Miller article in Newsweek. I think I'm in love. Man is he cute, and I am oddly drawn to his philosophy about his sport, life, competitiveness, etc.
It finally got to be late enough to go to sleep, but the bedroom was way too cold so I decided to sleep on the couch. The dogs had a love/hate response to this. Chances paced in front of the couch, staring at it while apparently trying to figure out where she would fit. Tess put herself where she always does: on top of my chest. I can stand having 45 lbs. on top of me for a little while, but she's not a cat, and after a while it does get hard to breathe. They just thought this was too queer anyway. I woke at 1:00 when the lights all came on. Poor fish, their light came on too and they expected to be fed. I threw some more wood in the stove, turned the heat on in the bedroom and went to bed. Adventure over.
This morning I realized that I have to move to the next rank of firewood and it's not quite the end of January. I have enough wood, but I'm moving through it a little faster than I anticipated. This next rank is a little damp on the ends right now. Rats!
This afternoon I head back to AuSable Forks to finish weeding their non-fiction. Crafts to history. Then I'll be finished! And we'll have to delete all these things from the data base. As Ken says, "If it ain't one thing, it's two."
#################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### |
Your personality type is SLUAI %20 | %20
| %20 The%20largest%20representation%20of%20your%20personality%20type%20can%20be%20found%20in%20the%20these%20U.S.%20cities:%20New%20Orleans,%20Albuquerque/Santa%20Fe,%20Greensboro,%20Memphis, %20Providence,%20Washington%20DC,%20Pittsburgh,%20Orlando,%20Salt%20Lake%20City,%20Portland/Salem,%20St.%20Louis%20and%20these%20international%20countries/regions%20Puerto%20Rico,%20Iceland,%20Kazakhstan,%20Luxembourg,%20Turkey,%20Ireland,%20Ukraine,%20England,%20South%20Africa,%20Greece,%20Wales, %20Brazil,%20Switzerland,%20South%20Korea %20 | %20
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Relatively simple
is how my life really is, made up of semi-complex mini-things. This morning I couldn't sleep past 5, even though I didn't have to be at work until 8:30 so had set the alarm for 7 and didn't go to sleep until after midnight. Last night I allowed myself the luxury of watching both Jon Steward AND Steven Colbert. The dogs stirred and fussed from 5 until 6. Apparently I breathe differently when I'm awake than I do when I'm asleep because they knew I was lying awake in the darkness and stood up, walked around, flopped down and did a lot of nudging. I got up at 6 and was showered, fire-set, dogs-set, dressed and ready to go by 6:30. I went down to the hole/pit in the ground that is my cellar and unplugged the electric heater, since the sump pump is running pretty regularly. I cleverly put a piece of foamboard insulation between the offensively spraying hose and the heater and climbed back up the ladder safely and cheerily. I love solving problems. And I love even more getting out of my basement.
I left the house with plenty of time to drive the treacherous roads, have my blood taken and get to work in time to leave for the barcoding trip to Westport. Slid right across the road at the end of my driveway into a snowbank; managed to dislodge car from that. Clever girl. My road is glare ice, about 3" thick, solid, sheer ice. Cannot walk on it but amazingly I could get to the hardtop by driving with 2 left tires on the edge where there was slush. Well goddamn didn't I just forget the paperwork to go with my blood drawing so I had to walk back the 1/2 mile to my house in the rain to retrieve it. Slipping and sliding, but I was determined. So I made it there and the 1/2 mile uphill back to my car, soaking wet but pleased with myself. I love solving problems.
Everyone on the road was driving verrrry slowly. Even when we got to the good parts, where it was just raining and there was no ice. But I got my bloodwork done, got some coffee at last (bloodwork was done fasting, as always--I hate that!), pre-registered for my Feb. colonoscopy and got to work at 8:27. We cancelled the trip to Westport, since all reports are that the storm is much worse in the southern area. I love my clerks: they lobbied hard and fast to cancel. They're like 2 children tugging at my sleeves, jumping up and down, each giving me another reason why we shouldn't go "And besides..... And besides.... And besides..." So I caved and we didn't go. Instead I scheduled the consultants' meeting I'm convening this month. Whiny professionals instead of whiny clerks. Cannot get away from whiners today. I will solve the problems presented to me at this meeting.
Then I will catalog books. Yesterday I cataloged 25 school yearbooks, high school and college. Made them all serials. Minimal information offered so I was not pleased with the records but the woman who gave me the information is really lazy so what could I do. Records include The Paysonian from SUNY Canton. Why is it called The Paysonian?
is how my life really is, made up of semi-complex mini-things. This morning I couldn't sleep past 5, even though I didn't have to be at work until 8:30 so had set the alarm for 7 and didn't go to sleep until after midnight. Last night I allowed myself the luxury of watching both Jon Steward AND Steven Colbert. The dogs stirred and fussed from 5 until 6. Apparently I breathe differently when I'm awake than I do when I'm asleep because they knew I was lying awake in the darkness and stood up, walked around, flopped down and did a lot of nudging. I got up at 6 and was showered, fire-set, dogs-set, dressed and ready to go by 6:30. I went down to the hole/pit in the ground that is my cellar and unplugged the electric heater, since the sump pump is running pretty regularly. I cleverly put a piece of foamboard insulation between the offensively spraying hose and the heater and climbed back up the ladder safely and cheerily. I love solving problems. And I love even more getting out of my basement.
I left the house with plenty of time to drive the treacherous roads, have my blood taken and get to work in time to leave for the barcoding trip to Westport. Slid right across the road at the end of my driveway into a snowbank; managed to dislodge car from that. Clever girl. My road is glare ice, about 3" thick, solid, sheer ice. Cannot walk on it but amazingly I could get to the hardtop by driving with 2 left tires on the edge where there was slush. Well goddamn didn't I just forget the paperwork to go with my blood drawing so I had to walk back the 1/2 mile to my house in the rain to retrieve it. Slipping and sliding, but I was determined. So I made it there and the 1/2 mile uphill back to my car, soaking wet but pleased with myself. I love solving problems.
Everyone on the road was driving verrrry slowly. Even when we got to the good parts, where it was just raining and there was no ice. But I got my bloodwork done, got some coffee at last (bloodwork was done fasting, as always--I hate that!), pre-registered for my Feb. colonoscopy and got to work at 8:27. We cancelled the trip to Westport, since all reports are that the storm is much worse in the southern area. I love my clerks: they lobbied hard and fast to cancel. They're like 2 children tugging at my sleeves, jumping up and down, each giving me another reason why we shouldn't go "And besides..... And besides.... And besides..." So I caved and we didn't go. Instead I scheduled the consultants' meeting I'm convening this month. Whiny professionals instead of whiny clerks. Cannot get away from whiners today. I will solve the problems presented to me at this meeting.
Then I will catalog books. Yesterday I cataloged 25 school yearbooks, high school and college. Made them all serials. Minimal information offered so I was not pleased with the records but the woman who gave me the information is really lazy so what could I do. Records include The Paysonian from SUNY Canton. Why is it called The Paysonian?
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
On to Easter
Christmas is officially over at my house. Yesterday I took down the tree, and this time I actually carried it out to the woods, instead of just tossing it out onto the deck. Yea me! A sign of Homeowner Maturity. I took all the ornaments off, one by one (like, there would be another way to do it?) and patted them gently, putting them in their paper towel nests. I made 2 shoeboxes full of "These are the Good Ones," and put them on top in the tub labeled CHRISTMAS--FRAGILE. Who do I label this for? I live alone, for god's sake. The tree was easy to take down, for a real change. I moved the loveseat back to its appointed position in the corner, where it gets sun from 2 floor-to-ceiling windows. Both dogs immediately jumped up on it, curled into little donut balls and went to sleep. How cute are they? Because I really liked the effect of glowing colors in the corner I lined the windows with the tiny colored lights from the tree and plug them in at night. Effect not the same as the cluster of lights a tree gives, but it's nice nonetheless.
Yesterday was MLK Day and I made the most of it. Had spent the two previous days sleeping (what's up with my weekends these days? I spend hours and hours sleeping), with the exception of a few hours spent making lentil soup and watching part of Million Dollar Baby. I cut out all the dead fronds of the huge fern that hangs over the railing down to the living room. Since these fronds are about 7' long, this is no small task and took about an hour, resulting in little brown pieces of dead fern spread all over the living room below. Also resulting in thorns stuck in many of my fingers. Does everyone know that a mature asparagus fern has thorns? This plant is about 12 years old. It may be time for the whole thing to die; I think I'm doing my best to kill it, frond by frond. It looks much better now, all green.
I cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed living room and kitchen, attached the bookcase where I keep my clothes to the wall, washed my down jacket, brought in the 12-pack of frozen but not exploded Diet Coke from the car (when will I learn?) and spent a lot of time playing with the dogs. I love staying home with the dogs. I went to Ken's last night for a pretty long visit--2 hours of discussing the state of the world. I told him I'm tired of being angry about American politics and bad diplomacy (see Jon Stewart's coverage of Bush's diplomacy last night for something really funny). I'm just tired of being fed up, disgusted and angry. Don't have it in me any more. I give up. I reach this point from time to time in my life, when America disappoints me completely.
I did something I really love doing Saturday night: watched a dog show for 3 solid hours. I love watching dog shows. I even watched the Toy Group, which I never do. I got to see 4 Groups: Toy, Sporting (MY group), Hounds and Non-Working. Sunday night was Terriers, Working and Herding. I only saw Working on Sunday because I had to watch Grey's Anatomy (oh the torture of television) and I never saw who won Best in Show. I just love watching dogs, that's all. But it turns out I like watching Patrick Dempsey more. Thank goodness! I'm normal! I still really like the American Field Spaniel:
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/fieldspaniel.htm
Christmas is officially over at my house. Yesterday I took down the tree, and this time I actually carried it out to the woods, instead of just tossing it out onto the deck. Yea me! A sign of Homeowner Maturity. I took all the ornaments off, one by one (like, there would be another way to do it?) and patted them gently, putting them in their paper towel nests. I made 2 shoeboxes full of "These are the Good Ones," and put them on top in the tub labeled CHRISTMAS--FRAGILE. Who do I label this for? I live alone, for god's sake. The tree was easy to take down, for a real change. I moved the loveseat back to its appointed position in the corner, where it gets sun from 2 floor-to-ceiling windows. Both dogs immediately jumped up on it, curled into little donut balls and went to sleep. How cute are they? Because I really liked the effect of glowing colors in the corner I lined the windows with the tiny colored lights from the tree and plug them in at night. Effect not the same as the cluster of lights a tree gives, but it's nice nonetheless.
Yesterday was MLK Day and I made the most of it. Had spent the two previous days sleeping (what's up with my weekends these days? I spend hours and hours sleeping), with the exception of a few hours spent making lentil soup and watching part of Million Dollar Baby. I cut out all the dead fronds of the huge fern that hangs over the railing down to the living room. Since these fronds are about 7' long, this is no small task and took about an hour, resulting in little brown pieces of dead fern spread all over the living room below. Also resulting in thorns stuck in many of my fingers. Does everyone know that a mature asparagus fern has thorns? This plant is about 12 years old. It may be time for the whole thing to die; I think I'm doing my best to kill it, frond by frond. It looks much better now, all green.
I cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed living room and kitchen, attached the bookcase where I keep my clothes to the wall, washed my down jacket, brought in the 12-pack of frozen but not exploded Diet Coke from the car (when will I learn?) and spent a lot of time playing with the dogs. I love staying home with the dogs. I went to Ken's last night for a pretty long visit--2 hours of discussing the state of the world. I told him I'm tired of being angry about American politics and bad diplomacy (see Jon Stewart's coverage of Bush's diplomacy last night for something really funny). I'm just tired of being fed up, disgusted and angry. Don't have it in me any more. I give up. I reach this point from time to time in my life, when America disappoints me completely.
I did something I really love doing Saturday night: watched a dog show for 3 solid hours. I love watching dog shows. I even watched the Toy Group, which I never do. I got to see 4 Groups: Toy, Sporting (MY group), Hounds and Non-Working. Sunday night was Terriers, Working and Herding. I only saw Working on Sunday because I had to watch Grey's Anatomy (oh the torture of television) and I never saw who won Best in Show. I just love watching dogs, that's all. But it turns out I like watching Patrick Dempsey more. Thank goodness! I'm normal! I still really like the American Field Spaniel:
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/fieldspaniel.htm
Winter Schminter
High temp for the last 2 days: 10
Low temp for the last 2 days: -11
But on Saturday it was 40. This is some strange weather we're having. My sump pump has been running, which is tres strange for January. I can't think of another January in the past 13 years that this has happened. Now I feel stoopid for not getting a new hose for it because it's spraying water on the electric heater I have down there to keep the pump from freezing. I went down there to check on it on Sunday and all was well--the heater is the oil-filled radiator type so it's pretty safe, really. But this is a project I need to work on. It's supposed to be 35-40 and rain later this week. And they call this winter? What does it mean? Will February be awful? More than we can stand? Or more of the same? Yikes, I'm all confused.
High temp for the last 2 days: 10
Low temp for the last 2 days: -11
But on Saturday it was 40. This is some strange weather we're having. My sump pump has been running, which is tres strange for January. I can't think of another January in the past 13 years that this has happened. Now I feel stoopid for not getting a new hose for it because it's spraying water on the electric heater I have down there to keep the pump from freezing. I went down there to check on it on Sunday and all was well--the heater is the oil-filled radiator type so it's pretty safe, really. But this is a project I need to work on. It's supposed to be 35-40 and rain later this week. And they call this winter? What does it mean? Will February be awful? More than we can stand? Or more of the same? Yikes, I'm all confused.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Bad hair?
I got my hair cut last night, very short. Very short. No one has commented on it yet and I've been here for 2.5 hours, everyone in the building has seen it. Must be it doesn't really look that good. Of course, she also waxed and dyed my eyebrows (if they're not dyed they're invisible because they're so blonde) and I don't think they're even, so maybe everyone's just being really polite because the overall effect is just too queer to comment on. But really...wouldn't you comment on SOMETHING?? Like, at least say,"Oh, you got your hair cut!" I think I work with some really odd people.
I got my hair cut last night, very short. Very short. No one has commented on it yet and I've been here for 2.5 hours, everyone in the building has seen it. Must be it doesn't really look that good. Of course, she also waxed and dyed my eyebrows (if they're not dyed they're invisible because they're so blonde) and I don't think they're even, so maybe everyone's just being really polite because the overall effect is just too queer to comment on. But really...wouldn't you comment on SOMETHING?? Like, at least say,"Oh, you got your hair cut!" I think I work with some really odd people.
Week's End
And what a week it's been. The weather has been incredible, 40's and due to be 50 today. Surprisingly, I'm ready for the January thaw to end. It makes it impossible for me to get to my house because the snow gets all granular and gooshey. Last night I got stuck at the end of my driveway and had a hard time getting unstuck. I had let the fire in the stove go out so I had to start a fire. Let it go out overnight so it was 55 in my living room this morning, got up too late to start one today but it's supposed to be sunny and I have good solar exposure so I'm not too worried. Just tired of not having winter: the sooner you get on with winter the sooner it will end. Pretending it's spring is just a waste of time.
Monday I went to Elizabethtown, the county seat of Essex County, to show off our new bookmobile. Glad-handing the county legislators, thanking them for their support. Didn't know who voted in favor of us and who didn't, so I felt sort of foolish thanking each one for his/her support, but did what I had to anyway. They were suitably impressed (or at least pretended to be) and I was charming when others on the staff were silent. What's with that? I'm not part of the bookmobile team, but I introduce strangers to our staff, etc.
After our stint there we went to lunch, then the director and another staff member and I stopped en route to the library to see the director's new home, a house she's renting in a "neighborhood" (you have to use the term loosely here--a neighborhood has at least a 10-mile radius) I used to live in, on a road I really wanted to live on, about .2 of a mile from the breeder I got my 2 dogs from. When we pulled into her driveway the dogs in the kennel exploded and barked for a really long time. I decided I sure wouldn't want to live next door to that.
Tuesday I spent the afternoon at the AuSable Forks library, weeding her adult non-fiction. From astronomy to cookbooks. Next week I go back to weed from craft books to history, then I'll be done. I actually found a book on space travel published before we landed on the moon--that's the example I always use when I do workshops or consulting on weeding criteria. I should have asked to save it for show & tell. After the weeding I spent half an hour talking to the director, who had a malignant melanoma removed in December and goes back in 2 weeks to have her lymph nodes removed. The melanoma was in a awful place--her gynecologist found it, if that's a clue.
Wednesday I went to Westport (on Lake Champlain) with 3 others to barcode that library's collection. They have a big (by our standards) collection, but she had lined up a bunch of old lady volunteers to help so we had quite a troupe. We got a whole lot done and they had a really good hit rate, meaning their stuff is in the data base. There's not that much left to do, mostly stuff in their juvenile collection (which is the ugliest part of the whole project) and all the fiction that's shelved in high places but she wants us back next week, so back we will go. I was surprised to see that the lake isn't frozen at all, completely open there. Lots of years by January there are fishing shanties on the ice in Westport. The weatherman on TV said we're below the average temperature for last year's January so far, so who knows.
Yesterday, mercifully I got to do some of my own work. I'm way behind with my cataloging and am supposed to be writing an ILL policy, a weeding policy I can give to member libraries when I weed their collections, buying books with the $3500 I have to spend right away, write staff evaluations due in December, finish my self-assessment due in December (didn't meet my goals for '05!), and of course write my Dept. report for December. But yet I blog. While listening to The Police.
Meanwhile at home I'm a combination of restless and mildly depressed. I saw Ken on Monday and Wednesday and will stop tonight after grocery shopping, liquor store and pet store. He's doing remarkably well this winter, not having the dark time he usually does. Of course, on Wednesday he reminded me that it was 63 years prior to that day that he buried his firstborn, who was burned to death by boiling water in the kitchen at the age of 3.
And my friend Martha had her baby! This was exciting and wonderful. Baby Eva Louise was born yesterday morning at 2 a.m. and Lin and I went to visit her at noon yesterday. She didn't look like a 10-hour old baby but rather like a one-week old, since she was a week late. She was beautiful and peaceful, and Martha looked great. Bill, Eva's father, looked very tired, however, since they had 48 hours of labor. Martha was really perky. Both grandmothers were there. I worked with Martha's mother in Providence and enjoy seeing her.
Three day weekend coming up. I have to take down my Christmas tree. It's time to set it free. It's still in great shape, not losing its needles, but I can get rid of it without missing it. I've looked at it and each of its ornaments enough times to satisfy my holiday needs and am ready to get the living room back to normal. I'd like to be able to look out of the two windows it's blocking, although I suppose it's blocking the cold air from coming in too. Maybe I'll plasticize one of the windows, who knows. What I'll really do this weekend is clean--living room, bathroom. I worked on the kitchen last weekend. Very productive Saturday: dump, got gas, made tons of molasses cookies for Ken, then went to dinner with Lin and Ralph. Saw The Life Aquatic (Bill Murray) and I really liked it. Take-off on Jacques Cousteau. Subtle humor but I thought it was clever.
And now it's back to cataloging John Tesh at Red Rocks. Finished Lake Placid's opera CD's (the first batch). That was a living hell. I'm sure there are plenty more to come but at least I can do books and normal CD's for a while (I hope). I'm listening to hits of the 80's right now. This seems to make my fingers fly over the keyboard. In college we used to listen to The Stones when we had to type term papers because we could type really fast to Mick. Jackson Browne really slowed us down.
My mental state seems to be pretty variable right now. Had some very sad moments the other day, but I was listening to Pink and she took me right back to Two Rivers and the time Molly, Kristen and I spent there without Henry. Then there was the news that Angelina Jolie is pregnant and I identify really strongly with Jennifer Aniston, queer as that may be. Martha's baby doesn't seem to bother me as much, but the idea that your husband leaves you, you want to have a baby and he immediately happily impregnates another woman seems devastating to me. That was my greatest fear with my divorce, that Jamie would have a baby with another woman. I just didn't know how I would handle that. I should have known he would never really want to have children, that would mean that someone else would be the center of attention. Not being mean, just saying what I think is really true. Now he's a mayor and is basking in the glory. He's always in the paper now--had a long letter to the editor thanking everyone for their help with a crisis in Lake Placid. Two huge grammatical errors, which I immediately noticed, thank you to my father. At least I can get along with him now and I know that he wants to be friendly to me. As if I care--the real problem was that I couldn't stand to speak to him. Past that now.
Ah, divorce.
And what a week it's been. The weather has been incredible, 40's and due to be 50 today. Surprisingly, I'm ready for the January thaw to end. It makes it impossible for me to get to my house because the snow gets all granular and gooshey. Last night I got stuck at the end of my driveway and had a hard time getting unstuck. I had let the fire in the stove go out so I had to start a fire. Let it go out overnight so it was 55 in my living room this morning, got up too late to start one today but it's supposed to be sunny and I have good solar exposure so I'm not too worried. Just tired of not having winter: the sooner you get on with winter the sooner it will end. Pretending it's spring is just a waste of time.
Monday I went to Elizabethtown, the county seat of Essex County, to show off our new bookmobile. Glad-handing the county legislators, thanking them for their support. Didn't know who voted in favor of us and who didn't, so I felt sort of foolish thanking each one for his/her support, but did what I had to anyway. They were suitably impressed (or at least pretended to be) and I was charming when others on the staff were silent. What's with that? I'm not part of the bookmobile team, but I introduce strangers to our staff, etc.
After our stint there we went to lunch, then the director and another staff member and I stopped en route to the library to see the director's new home, a house she's renting in a "neighborhood" (you have to use the term loosely here--a neighborhood has at least a 10-mile radius) I used to live in, on a road I really wanted to live on, about .2 of a mile from the breeder I got my 2 dogs from. When we pulled into her driveway the dogs in the kennel exploded and barked for a really long time. I decided I sure wouldn't want to live next door to that.
Tuesday I spent the afternoon at the AuSable Forks library, weeding her adult non-fiction. From astronomy to cookbooks. Next week I go back to weed from craft books to history, then I'll be done. I actually found a book on space travel published before we landed on the moon--that's the example I always use when I do workshops or consulting on weeding criteria. I should have asked to save it for show & tell. After the weeding I spent half an hour talking to the director, who had a malignant melanoma removed in December and goes back in 2 weeks to have her lymph nodes removed. The melanoma was in a awful place--her gynecologist found it, if that's a clue.
Wednesday I went to Westport (on Lake Champlain) with 3 others to barcode that library's collection. They have a big (by our standards) collection, but she had lined up a bunch of old lady volunteers to help so we had quite a troupe. We got a whole lot done and they had a really good hit rate, meaning their stuff is in the data base. There's not that much left to do, mostly stuff in their juvenile collection (which is the ugliest part of the whole project) and all the fiction that's shelved in high places but she wants us back next week, so back we will go. I was surprised to see that the lake isn't frozen at all, completely open there. Lots of years by January there are fishing shanties on the ice in Westport. The weatherman on TV said we're below the average temperature for last year's January so far, so who knows.
Yesterday, mercifully I got to do some of my own work. I'm way behind with my cataloging and am supposed to be writing an ILL policy, a weeding policy I can give to member libraries when I weed their collections, buying books with the $3500 I have to spend right away, write staff evaluations due in December, finish my self-assessment due in December (didn't meet my goals for '05!), and of course write my Dept. report for December. But yet I blog. While listening to The Police.
Meanwhile at home I'm a combination of restless and mildly depressed. I saw Ken on Monday and Wednesday and will stop tonight after grocery shopping, liquor store and pet store. He's doing remarkably well this winter, not having the dark time he usually does. Of course, on Wednesday he reminded me that it was 63 years prior to that day that he buried his firstborn, who was burned to death by boiling water in the kitchen at the age of 3.
And my friend Martha had her baby! This was exciting and wonderful. Baby Eva Louise was born yesterday morning at 2 a.m. and Lin and I went to visit her at noon yesterday. She didn't look like a 10-hour old baby but rather like a one-week old, since she was a week late. She was beautiful and peaceful, and Martha looked great. Bill, Eva's father, looked very tired, however, since they had 48 hours of labor. Martha was really perky. Both grandmothers were there. I worked with Martha's mother in Providence and enjoy seeing her.
Three day weekend coming up. I have to take down my Christmas tree. It's time to set it free. It's still in great shape, not losing its needles, but I can get rid of it without missing it. I've looked at it and each of its ornaments enough times to satisfy my holiday needs and am ready to get the living room back to normal. I'd like to be able to look out of the two windows it's blocking, although I suppose it's blocking the cold air from coming in too. Maybe I'll plasticize one of the windows, who knows. What I'll really do this weekend is clean--living room, bathroom. I worked on the kitchen last weekend. Very productive Saturday: dump, got gas, made tons of molasses cookies for Ken, then went to dinner with Lin and Ralph. Saw The Life Aquatic (Bill Murray) and I really liked it. Take-off on Jacques Cousteau. Subtle humor but I thought it was clever.
And now it's back to cataloging John Tesh at Red Rocks. Finished Lake Placid's opera CD's (the first batch). That was a living hell. I'm sure there are plenty more to come but at least I can do books and normal CD's for a while (I hope). I'm listening to hits of the 80's right now. This seems to make my fingers fly over the keyboard. In college we used to listen to The Stones when we had to type term papers because we could type really fast to Mick. Jackson Browne really slowed us down.
My mental state seems to be pretty variable right now. Had some very sad moments the other day, but I was listening to Pink and she took me right back to Two Rivers and the time Molly, Kristen and I spent there without Henry. Then there was the news that Angelina Jolie is pregnant and I identify really strongly with Jennifer Aniston, queer as that may be. Martha's baby doesn't seem to bother me as much, but the idea that your husband leaves you, you want to have a baby and he immediately happily impregnates another woman seems devastating to me. That was my greatest fear with my divorce, that Jamie would have a baby with another woman. I just didn't know how I would handle that. I should have known he would never really want to have children, that would mean that someone else would be the center of attention. Not being mean, just saying what I think is really true. Now he's a mayor and is basking in the glory. He's always in the paper now--had a long letter to the editor thanking everyone for their help with a crisis in Lake Placid. Two huge grammatical errors, which I immediately noticed, thank you to my father. At least I can get along with him now and I know that he wants to be friendly to me. As if I care--the real problem was that I couldn't stand to speak to him. Past that now.
Ah, divorce.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Wonderland
It was really beautiful last night. On the way home from work I saw an incredible meteor streak across the sky, right in front of me, over Whiteface Mountain. It was a huge ball of fire with a long, long tail. I smile and said out loud, "How cool is that!" I like exclamations I make when I'm alone or just with my dogs.
While I was sitting in the living room the dogs were outside, on the deck and they were barking and barking their alarm barks (as in "Someone's there, threatening our safety, coming to get us, we must do something hurry hurry hurry maybe we can scare them away but please get out here and help us do something"). This went on for a long time so I finally went outside to see what noises they were barking at. It was dead silent for a few moments, then there was a soft, gentle moaning: the ice, very quietly was moaning. Too quiet to record (sorry, Molly), just the slightest hint of sound. Not another sound in the world. How lucky am I?
This morning the sunrise was spectacular. Deep orange-red rising along the horizon over trees covered in rime ice along the river. Truly spectacular. No, really--just amazing, stretching for miles. Enough to make you ache for all its beauty.
It was really beautiful last night. On the way home from work I saw an incredible meteor streak across the sky, right in front of me, over Whiteface Mountain. It was a huge ball of fire with a long, long tail. I smile and said out loud, "How cool is that!" I like exclamations I make when I'm alone or just with my dogs.
While I was sitting in the living room the dogs were outside, on the deck and they were barking and barking their alarm barks (as in "Someone's there, threatening our safety, coming to get us, we must do something hurry hurry hurry maybe we can scare them away but please get out here and help us do something"). This went on for a long time so I finally went outside to see what noises they were barking at. It was dead silent for a few moments, then there was a soft, gentle moaning: the ice, very quietly was moaning. Too quiet to record (sorry, Molly), just the slightest hint of sound. Not another sound in the world. How lucky am I?
This morning the sunrise was spectacular. Deep orange-red rising along the horizon over trees covered in rime ice along the river. Truly spectacular. No, really--just amazing, stretching for miles. Enough to make you ache for all its beauty.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Undifference
I rung in the New Year by watching a rerun of The Shield, a cop show on FX that I often watch. The star is a chunky bald man with incredibly blue eyes. I don't know why I like the show, it's violent and has lots of swearing and police corruption in it, but for some reason I like it. Anyway, midnight came and went and there I was, in the world of Glenn Close's police station in Los Angeles. So I figure I feel ok about another year's beginning. 2005 was ok. Ken and I had a discussion about it on Sunday and we agreed that nothing particularly good or bad happened to either of us in 2005. I dealt with life, got better at some things, felt hopeful about some things, solid about some things.
I spent New Year's Eve making pea soup for Ken. He had a ham bone and wanted pea soup for his New Year's Day Sunday dinner. On Saturday I picked up my fish from his house. Of course this was complicated, but it was good because I ended up emptying the tank and putting the fish in a one-gallon glass jar while I transported the tank, pump and heater, then cleaned the gravel and tank at home, and rearranged their furniture (plants). When I put them back in the tank they were all a-twitter about the new arrangement but now they are incredibly happy and swim around like Jet Stream trailers on Route 80 in the summer time.
And my pea soup was absolutely delicious. I was mighty proud. Ken pronounced it a culinary delight (OK, so he doesn't use those words: I've never heard him say "delight," and needless to say he never says culinary). Excellent flavor, excellent texture. I also made shrimp Dejongh, a favorite of my mother's and something she made for company when we were kids. That was not a hit with Ken. Turns out the only way he likes shrimp is boiled, chilled and with cocktail sauce. No point trying to do anything else with them. I liked it, though, and was pleased with my efforts. He just kept focusing on the soup. We had a nice time together (Bill was in Boston, where he always spends New Years with camp friends).
Yesterday was a great day off. I had a wonderful day and want another one just like it today. Alas and alack I am at work. Yesterday I cleaned my bedroom. Sorted clothes. I have pants in 3 sizes: fat, not-so-fat and thin. The thin ones are on bottom of the pile, fat on top. I hope to work my way down. I have many, many pairs of blue jeans, it turns out. Apparently I am dedicating my life to the search for the perfect pair of jeans and the perfect pair of shoes. Just when I think I've found them, along comes another possibility. Anyway, I swept up a huge pile of dog detritus--2 tennis balls, 2 chew toys and the stuffed animal hedgehog that grunts that Jenica gave Chances 2 Christmases ago, along with pieces of blue flip-flop, some reed, a plastic measuring cup, 2 magazines and big dust bunnies from under the bed. Then I vacuumed the floor. This involves using the hose attachment and holding it perpendicular to each of the nail holes--and there are 4 for each section of board--because Jamie never really finished the room, never filled in the holes so they fill up with particles of things, dog hair and dust. Vacuuming the bedroom is one of my least favorite activities. REALLY least favorite activities. There is also no molding along the wall, so all kinds of stuff gets down between the floor and wall, which must be vacuumed/forced up by hand. Anyway, I filled one garbage bag with clothes for the dump and another with clothes for the Salvation Army and now feel very righteous. I rotated my futon and put a new sham around the bottom of the bed. I might actually let someone look into my bedroom now (maybe).
Today is the day the new bookmobile arrives from North Carolina. It cost $300,000 and has been difficult to get financing from the 3 counties for, difficult to design, order, get built, and get the graphics on the sides for. But it's finished and will arrive today with a police escort from the highway through town. Unfortunately the previous director has been here for 1.5 hours, wasting everyone's time because she was notified that it was coming this morning and she wants to be sure to get credit for arranging to get the 'bile. It creeps me out totally to have her in the building, and we've had to cancel a 10:00 meeting because she's been wasting the new director's time. But then, I suppose it's more important to entertain her than it is to actually accomplish anything here--NOT.
My mother and I had a discussion about the words "It is what it is." This is how Donald Rumsfeld explains away anything he wants to, especially when asked questions about the war. We decided that this is a philosophy that I try to have--accept things the way they are, deal with it, and that maybe this is not a bad way to look at life. But is this really an acceptable way to run the country? I think not, but I think I will try to have 2006 be my What It Is year.
I rung in the New Year by watching a rerun of The Shield, a cop show on FX that I often watch. The star is a chunky bald man with incredibly blue eyes. I don't know why I like the show, it's violent and has lots of swearing and police corruption in it, but for some reason I like it. Anyway, midnight came and went and there I was, in the world of Glenn Close's police station in Los Angeles. So I figure I feel ok about another year's beginning. 2005 was ok. Ken and I had a discussion about it on Sunday and we agreed that nothing particularly good or bad happened to either of us in 2005. I dealt with life, got better at some things, felt hopeful about some things, solid about some things.
I spent New Year's Eve making pea soup for Ken. He had a ham bone and wanted pea soup for his New Year's Day Sunday dinner. On Saturday I picked up my fish from his house. Of course this was complicated, but it was good because I ended up emptying the tank and putting the fish in a one-gallon glass jar while I transported the tank, pump and heater, then cleaned the gravel and tank at home, and rearranged their furniture (plants). When I put them back in the tank they were all a-twitter about the new arrangement but now they are incredibly happy and swim around like Jet Stream trailers on Route 80 in the summer time.
And my pea soup was absolutely delicious. I was mighty proud. Ken pronounced it a culinary delight (OK, so he doesn't use those words: I've never heard him say "delight," and needless to say he never says culinary). Excellent flavor, excellent texture. I also made shrimp Dejongh, a favorite of my mother's and something she made for company when we were kids. That was not a hit with Ken. Turns out the only way he likes shrimp is boiled, chilled and with cocktail sauce. No point trying to do anything else with them. I liked it, though, and was pleased with my efforts. He just kept focusing on the soup. We had a nice time together (Bill was in Boston, where he always spends New Years with camp friends).
Yesterday was a great day off. I had a wonderful day and want another one just like it today. Alas and alack I am at work. Yesterday I cleaned my bedroom. Sorted clothes. I have pants in 3 sizes: fat, not-so-fat and thin. The thin ones are on bottom of the pile, fat on top. I hope to work my way down. I have many, many pairs of blue jeans, it turns out. Apparently I am dedicating my life to the search for the perfect pair of jeans and the perfect pair of shoes. Just when I think I've found them, along comes another possibility. Anyway, I swept up a huge pile of dog detritus--2 tennis balls, 2 chew toys and the stuffed animal hedgehog that grunts that Jenica gave Chances 2 Christmases ago, along with pieces of blue flip-flop, some reed, a plastic measuring cup, 2 magazines and big dust bunnies from under the bed. Then I vacuumed the floor. This involves using the hose attachment and holding it perpendicular to each of the nail holes--and there are 4 for each section of board--because Jamie never really finished the room, never filled in the holes so they fill up with particles of things, dog hair and dust. Vacuuming the bedroom is one of my least favorite activities. REALLY least favorite activities. There is also no molding along the wall, so all kinds of stuff gets down between the floor and wall, which must be vacuumed/forced up by hand. Anyway, I filled one garbage bag with clothes for the dump and another with clothes for the Salvation Army and now feel very righteous. I rotated my futon and put a new sham around the bottom of the bed. I might actually let someone look into my bedroom now (maybe).
Today is the day the new bookmobile arrives from North Carolina. It cost $300,000 and has been difficult to get financing from the 3 counties for, difficult to design, order, get built, and get the graphics on the sides for. But it's finished and will arrive today with a police escort from the highway through town. Unfortunately the previous director has been here for 1.5 hours, wasting everyone's time because she was notified that it was coming this morning and she wants to be sure to get credit for arranging to get the 'bile. It creeps me out totally to have her in the building, and we've had to cancel a 10:00 meeting because she's been wasting the new director's time. But then, I suppose it's more important to entertain her than it is to actually accomplish anything here--NOT.
My mother and I had a discussion about the words "It is what it is." This is how Donald Rumsfeld explains away anything he wants to, especially when asked questions about the war. We decided that this is a philosophy that I try to have--accept things the way they are, deal with it, and that maybe this is not a bad way to look at life. But is this really an acceptable way to run the country? I think not, but I think I will try to have 2006 be my What It Is year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)