Last night's special at Big Daddy's Diner (truckers welcome)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
I'm not having a good day--and it has nothing to do with cataloging 20,001 food facts, chefs secrets & household hints. It doesn't take much to make me feel very, very sad. I made a big mistake yesterday and went to our sawmill. The building is there, but of course it's empty. I must be a glutton for punishment. The site is beautiful and I can still appreciate that but I had an empty, sad and hollow feeling standing there. It was a lifetime ago and an entirely different life. Oh, what I didn't know then.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
strange things
My father liked things British. He (we) listened to a lot of comedy stuff, people no one's heard of now (Stanley Holloway, Bea Lillie, and, it turns out, Gracie Fields). It was funny and we got a lot of family catch phrases out of the recordings.
Here's the complete text from where we got "the biggest aspidistra in the world--" for my sister
For years we had an aspidistra in a flower pot
On the whatnot, near the 'atstand in the 'all
It didn't seem to grow 'til one day our brother Joe
Had a notion that he'd make it strong and tall
So he's crossed it with an acorn from an oak tree
And he's planted it against the garden wall
It shot up like a rocket, 'til it's nearly reached the sky
It's the biggest aspidistra in the world
We couldn't see the top of it, it got so bloomin' high
It's the biggest aspidistra in the world
When father's had a snoot full at his pub, 'The Bunch of Grapes'
He doesn't go all fighting mad and getting into scrapes
No, you'll find him in his bear-skin playing Tarzan of the apes
Off the biggest aspidistra in the world
We have to get it watered by the local fire brigade
So they put the water rates up half a crown
The roots stuff up the drains, grow along the country lanes
And they came up half a mile outside the town
Once we hired an auditorium for a hot house
But a jealous rival went and burnt it down
The tom cats and their sweethearts love to spend their evenings out
Up the biggest aspidistra in the world
They all begin meowing when the buds begin to sprout
From the biggest aspidistra in the world
The dogs all come around for miles, a lovely sight to see
They sniff around for hours and hours and wag their tails with glee
So I've had to put a notice up to say it's not a tree
It's the biggest aspidistra in the world
Here's the complete text from where we got "the biggest aspidistra in the world--" for my sister
For years we had an aspidistra in a flower pot
On the whatnot, near the 'atstand in the 'all
It didn't seem to grow 'til one day our brother Joe
Had a notion that he'd make it strong and tall
So he's crossed it with an acorn from an oak tree
And he's planted it against the garden wall
It shot up like a rocket, 'til it's nearly reached the sky
It's the biggest aspidistra in the world
We couldn't see the top of it, it got so bloomin' high
It's the biggest aspidistra in the world
When father's had a snoot full at his pub, 'The Bunch of Grapes'
He doesn't go all fighting mad and getting into scrapes
No, you'll find him in his bear-skin playing Tarzan of the apes
Off the biggest aspidistra in the world
We have to get it watered by the local fire brigade
So they put the water rates up half a crown
The roots stuff up the drains, grow along the country lanes
And they came up half a mile outside the town
Once we hired an auditorium for a hot house
But a jealous rival went and burnt it down
The tom cats and their sweethearts love to spend their evenings out
Up the biggest aspidistra in the world
They all begin meowing when the buds begin to sprout
From the biggest aspidistra in the world
The dogs all come around for miles, a lovely sight to see
They sniff around for hours and hours and wag their tails with glee
So I've had to put a notice up to say it's not a tree
It's the biggest aspidistra in the world
Sometimes people do things
I've had this big booger goldfish at my desk since last Easter and, as you know, he and I have spent many hours staring at and entertaining each other.
Over the weekend he apparently jumped his fence (tank) and landed on the floor. He was known for jumping high enough to make loud splashes so, although this was an extreme jump, no one was toooooo surprised. I was at a meeting all morning yesterday so the other dept. members discovered him when they came to feed him. His eyes was all blunk in so it was obvious he'd been dead for a long time. One staffer furnished a box and they saved the corpse for me. They were nervous about how upset I'd be when I found out--no, seriously, they thought I'd be upset. Turns out they are concerned about my emotional state after all.
Anyway, Kim went to PetSmart and got me another goldfish, who is now swimming around in a confused state, in need of basic workplace training. When they told me about fishie's death I laughed. They were sooo relieved. When they showed me the smelly body I laughed harder. When I saw my new fish I was deeply, deeply touched. Of course it would be Kim, the sweet one, who would think of getting a new one. Anyway, both were very concerned and nice about it. Just goes to show you, huh. New fish is Flipper. AKA Flip.
Over the weekend he apparently jumped his fence (tank) and landed on the floor. He was known for jumping high enough to make loud splashes so, although this was an extreme jump, no one was toooooo surprised. I was at a meeting all morning yesterday so the other dept. members discovered him when they came to feed him. His eyes was all blunk in so it was obvious he'd been dead for a long time. One staffer furnished a box and they saved the corpse for me. They were nervous about how upset I'd be when I found out--no, seriously, they thought I'd be upset. Turns out they are concerned about my emotional state after all.
Anyway, Kim went to PetSmart and got me another goldfish, who is now swimming around in a confused state, in need of basic workplace training. When they told me about fishie's death I laughed. They were sooo relieved. When they showed me the smelly body I laughed harder. When I saw my new fish I was deeply, deeply touched. Of course it would be Kim, the sweet one, who would think of getting a new one. Anyway, both were very concerned and nice about it. Just goes to show you, huh. New fish is Flipper. AKA Flip.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
This is some of the scenery I saw yesterday on my trip to Potsdam. I went to a workshop on cataloging Web resources. Only a cataloger--a TRUE, DEDICATED cataloger would have been able to stand 2 minutes of the workshop. My friend Donna and I spent so much time leaning in toward each other, rolling our eyes and trying not to whisper funny comments. I finally said "This woman is obsessed with fixed fields." OK, all catalogers in the group laugh now. Her mantra was "Content, not format." So remember that, children: Content, not format. Streaming video or DVD, it's all the same. duh.Anyway, there's this stretch of road, some call it 9 mile wood because it's just a bunch of road with nothing but woods, some murky ponds and dirt roads into conservation easements. I used to drive this road with member library directors often, and every time--no, really every time we got to this part they would start talking about their sex lives. Except for the one who told me about the huge polyp she had in her sinuses. Anyway, I figured it must be the pointed firs that made them think of sex. I got tired of collecting these details. Not to mention trying to pretend I was interested. Most of those directors are long gone and have been replaced by more sensible and discreet people.
Tonight I'm having dinner with my friend Barb and her family. I don't even have to take a shower there, I'm just going to enjoy their company. Great to see people I miss being with, to be part of a group. Well, I'm part of a group all day every day, but tonight's group is one I PICKED to be part of.
I'm having a bit of my Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder, spring version. I have it every spring, get depressed and distracted, unable to care about much. I'm trying to get into gardening stuff, but I planted a bunch of nifty cosmos seeds and only half came up and lots of them are dying of damping off. piss on my foot. I'll get more seeds and try again. And buy seedlings when I can. My violas look pretty perky, though. And crocuses are blooming. And daffs are coming along nicely. And primroses are spreading. And I'm parking on top of the horseradish--evil horseradish--so maybe it won't be so ugly this year. Wish I could remember who wanted it.
I'm supposed to be doing a bunch of other tasks, a long list I wrote in my book of tricks, but I can't manage to function that well. I started working on the lib.'s blog, listing sites our lib's could use to sell their books, but they never read the blog anyway, so I stopped when I got bored. Didn't take long.
warm weather a'comin'. Boat house nights this weekend?
um, not
From the Happiness Project, which sometimes has grains of truth to offer. However, not this time--
"Surely every one realizes, at some point along the way, that he is capable of living a far better life than the one he has chosen."
"Surely every one realizes, at some point along the way, that he is capable of living a far better life than the one he has chosen."
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
here she is
The tiny white spot is snow--the last on the mountain. I went to camp on Sunday. Temp was around 50 so it was chilly but the sun was bright and convincing.
I opened the boat house. Silly to do so this early, but I wanted to DO something, and I like having it done. Yeah SR Family, always the first to get the season going.
I may stay there Friday night (either foolish or brave, or maybe just dumb) because it's supposed to be mid-70's on Saturday. Plus my Friday nights aren't turning out very well lately. They're Ken-less.
I opened the boat house. Silly to do so this early, but I wanted to DO something, and I like having it done. Yeah SR Family, always the first to get the season going.
I may stay there Friday night (either foolish or brave, or maybe just dumb) because it's supposed to be mid-70's on Saturday. Plus my Friday nights aren't turning out very well lately. They're Ken-less.
first real swim
Chances wins the prize. Tess ran to water's edge and dipped, but I'm not sure she paddled even one stroke. This is Chances, though--she swam out and back. They do like it when the ice goes out and they get their lake back.
Tess looked into the boat slip. She likes to run around the edge of the slip, where there's a shelf just wide enough for a person to walk or a dog to run really, really fast without falling in.
Tess looked into the boat slip. She likes to run around the edge of the slip, where there's a shelf just wide enough for a person to walk or a dog to run really, really fast without falling in.
have a seat
Got it set up, pretty much. Jenica and I often open it together, putting chairs and tables in places we think they usually go. No one in the family really cares how the furniture is arranged (as opposed to the people in main camp) so it sort of floats around during the summer. Oh--and the water looks much warmer than it is.
ready and waiting
All set now. It's too cold, really, but I like the idea of having a place to go when I want to be somewhere other than my house.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
good/bad happy/sad who wins?
Back from RI, where daffodils and forsythia were blooming. I brought back pansies and violas as souvenirs. funny, but the violas I got are the same as the ones that are really expensive from Burpee. Not so expensive in Wakefld, RI. I bought sunshine yellow pansies for Pat, who's been wonderful to me the past few weeks. I show up at her house in tears half the time, bawling that I'm lonely and I miss Ken.
The trip was good. Nice to be with Liza and Mark, who really liked having me there. I got to sleep on the front porch, not insulated so it was grand to keep warm with 2 dogs and an electric blanket and be almost outdoors. Library director Jenica and librarian Drew were there too, another treat. We celebrated Easter in good pagan style. Mark and I went for early morning walks with my dogs, something we started doing last summer. I ate too much and now my pants are tighter. Time to pedal harder, faster. And sit up straighter on my big purple core-strengthening ball. And walk, yes, walk.
Last night I watched Slumdog Mill$$ It was good; very clever film. I'm enjoying it more today than I did last night. I also watched episodes of HBO's In Treatment, a series about (fictional) patients in therapy. Each half hour is a session with Gabriel Byrne, the hair-dying, too-smooth skinned for his age therapist. Naturally, anyone who's been in therapy would find this entertaining. And he actually says "and how did that make you feel?" I sometimes say this to people, too. as a joke. but also because I want to know.
I came home Monday night, got to 58OHR in good time, before 5 I guess. I'd left the cat inside but she wasn't there. I searched everywhere for a body when she didn't come to my cootchie-coos. Worse than missing cat was a pump that wouldn't come up to pressure, wouldn't shut off, and wouldn't pump water when I turned it back on. And worst of all was no Ken to check in with or visit once I got unpacked. Of course I sobbed. and sobbed. Then I solved my problem: I went to Pat's. Cried to her. She didn't say "And how did that make you feel?" she said "Want some whiskey?" perfect. I stayed there a while and felt better. Got home, cat came in from OUTSIDE. How do they do that? Sort of common, people tell me, for cats to find a way out of houses when people go away. Anyway, that was good but there was still no water and no Ken.
Water problem was solved by the time I got home from work the next day--Magic Steve found a loose clamp and fixed it. I think everyone should try going without running water for a while, just to experience the joy and relief the moment you turn on your faucet and water comes out.
Now if only someone could figure out how to raise the dead. I miss Ken as much as ever. I didn't get to stop to say goodbye when I left for RI, I couldn't stop to check in when I got back. I can't tell him my daffodils are coming up and my crocuses are in bloom. I can't tell him my rain barrels are half full. Or that I've planted some flower seeds and they're germinating. or that my guppies need vasectomies. He always wanted to know what kind of trip the dogs had when we went to RI. And "How was your ma?" Yes, there's a void. I spent every evening with him for the last 3 1/2 months of his life. every evening. Dinner with Steve and Ken. So now, not only do I not get to eat Steve's cooking, or watch Jeopardy with Steve and (sometimes) Bill, or read the pet ads to Ken ("For sale: Cockatoo. Doesn't get along with people and is mean"), but I don't get to play "guess how hot it is in here" at Ken's. The record, of course, belongs to Steve, for the day he arrived and it was 102 degrees. I usually only sat through 88-90 degrees, with an occasional dip to 84 or so.
I'm lucky, though--very lucky. I live where I've always wanted to. I get to have 2 dogs. My sister and I recently discussed the possibility that an owner and a dog share similar personality traits (this, preferable to the dumb idea that they look alike--so, I look like the tubby one? do my eyelids droop? or do I look like the small one who's obsessed with Kleenex and will beg for it when I blow my nose?). Of course a dog would absorb some of the owner's karma. So I suggested that maybe I was doing all right because, although both dogs are neurotic, one is calm and mellow, the other is hyper, busy and has trouble controlling herself. I figure they balance each other out. My sister's response? "I'd better get another dog." She only has one and it's sort of a jumpy dog. Yes, I think she should get another dog, but I think everyone should give their dog a dog of its own.
The 40-volume set of Harvard classics (registered edition) awaits. after Mummy Math. And Onenhakenra (the video)(in Mohawk) by White Seed. but after that Silver Lake awaits. The juncos are back. Poplars starting to bloom. achoo.
The trip was good. Nice to be with Liza and Mark, who really liked having me there. I got to sleep on the front porch, not insulated so it was grand to keep warm with 2 dogs and an electric blanket and be almost outdoors. Library director Jenica and librarian Drew were there too, another treat. We celebrated Easter in good pagan style. Mark and I went for early morning walks with my dogs, something we started doing last summer. I ate too much and now my pants are tighter. Time to pedal harder, faster. And sit up straighter on my big purple core-strengthening ball. And walk, yes, walk.
Last night I watched Slumdog Mill$$ It was good; very clever film. I'm enjoying it more today than I did last night. I also watched episodes of HBO's In Treatment, a series about (fictional) patients in therapy. Each half hour is a session with Gabriel Byrne, the hair-dying, too-smooth skinned for his age therapist. Naturally, anyone who's been in therapy would find this entertaining. And he actually says "and how did that make you feel?" I sometimes say this to people, too. as a joke. but also because I want to know.
I came home Monday night, got to 58OHR in good time, before 5 I guess. I'd left the cat inside but she wasn't there. I searched everywhere for a body when she didn't come to my cootchie-coos. Worse than missing cat was a pump that wouldn't come up to pressure, wouldn't shut off, and wouldn't pump water when I turned it back on. And worst of all was no Ken to check in with or visit once I got unpacked. Of course I sobbed. and sobbed. Then I solved my problem: I went to Pat's. Cried to her. She didn't say "And how did that make you feel?" she said "Want some whiskey?" perfect. I stayed there a while and felt better. Got home, cat came in from OUTSIDE. How do they do that? Sort of common, people tell me, for cats to find a way out of houses when people go away. Anyway, that was good but there was still no water and no Ken.
Water problem was solved by the time I got home from work the next day--Magic Steve found a loose clamp and fixed it. I think everyone should try going without running water for a while, just to experience the joy and relief the moment you turn on your faucet and water comes out.
Now if only someone could figure out how to raise the dead. I miss Ken as much as ever. I didn't get to stop to say goodbye when I left for RI, I couldn't stop to check in when I got back. I can't tell him my daffodils are coming up and my crocuses are in bloom. I can't tell him my rain barrels are half full. Or that I've planted some flower seeds and they're germinating. or that my guppies need vasectomies. He always wanted to know what kind of trip the dogs had when we went to RI. And "How was your ma?" Yes, there's a void. I spent every evening with him for the last 3 1/2 months of his life. every evening. Dinner with Steve and Ken. So now, not only do I not get to eat Steve's cooking, or watch Jeopardy with Steve and (sometimes) Bill, or read the pet ads to Ken ("For sale: Cockatoo. Doesn't get along with people and is mean"), but I don't get to play "guess how hot it is in here" at Ken's. The record, of course, belongs to Steve, for the day he arrived and it was 102 degrees. I usually only sat through 88-90 degrees, with an occasional dip to 84 or so.
I'm lucky, though--very lucky. I live where I've always wanted to. I get to have 2 dogs. My sister and I recently discussed the possibility that an owner and a dog share similar personality traits (this, preferable to the dumb idea that they look alike--so, I look like the tubby one? do my eyelids droop? or do I look like the small one who's obsessed with Kleenex and will beg for it when I blow my nose?). Of course a dog would absorb some of the owner's karma. So I suggested that maybe I was doing all right because, although both dogs are neurotic, one is calm and mellow, the other is hyper, busy and has trouble controlling herself. I figure they balance each other out. My sister's response? "I'd better get another dog." She only has one and it's sort of a jumpy dog. Yes, I think she should get another dog, but I think everyone should give their dog a dog of its own.
The 40-volume set of Harvard classics (registered edition) awaits. after Mummy Math. And Onenhakenra (the video)(in Mohawk) by White Seed. but after that Silver Lake awaits. The juncos are back. Poplars starting to bloom. achoo.
pretty enough to eat
It's important to have pictures of the flowers. by Mark. Here's our Easter table. Yes, the meal was as good as the table was pretty.
pre-easter
Here's the view from the B.House on Fri., 4/10. What I thought was one last look at that white stuff.
um ... duh
from today's Washington Post:
THE INTERIOR Department has until Monday to decide whether to defend or discard a federal rule passed late in the Bush administration to allow visitors to national parks and refuges to carry loaded and concealed weapons. A federal judge found last month that the Bush administration had acted rashly in its zeal to enact the gun provision and temporarily put the rule on hold. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar should permanently reject the initiative.
from today's Washington Post:
THE INTERIOR Department has until Monday to decide whether to defend or discard a federal rule passed late in the Bush administration to allow visitors to national parks and refuges to carry loaded and concealed weapons. A federal judge found last month that the Bush administration had acted rashly in its zeal to enact the gun provision and temporarily put the rule on hold. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar should permanently reject the initiative.
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