30 March 2010

In My Line of Sight...


I totally got contacts y'all.

They're a gift to myself for the big birthday that's looming over my shoulder gonna change my life forever next month.  I have had glasses since...well, sometime after college, so this whole peripheral vision is totally new to me.

Again.

Only I don't remember having to adjust to it the first time around, as I'm pretty sure I was born being able to see and didn't need the assistance of glasses.  As a matter of fact, testing both of my eyes in college I came back with above average vision, so it came as a total shock to me that when my father insisted we go get my eyes checked a couple of years later (he had just been put in bifocals the first time he had his eyes checked...we're overachievers that way)  that I needed glasses at all.

I blame my wrinkles on all that squinting I must have been doing.

The doctor told me that my eyesight was just a little off and that I could wear my glasses whenever I needed to.

Well, that all sounds great in theory, but I'm nearsighted which means I can't see far away, so I could never figure out when I didn't need my glasses after I first put them on...well, after we stood outside in a sunny parking lot (after having my eyes dilated for the first time) for a couple of hours because my dad's car wouldn't start...me with my already light sensitive eyes being barely shaded by those flimsy weird shades they give you after dilation.

I'm lucky I'm not blind.

Actually I am come to think of it, I think everyone in my family wears glasses.

(we really are overachievers)

So, I decided in the interest of my advancing age the fact that I'm probably half over with my life something totally new and different, I would try contacts out.  That and I have a sneaking suspicion that when I finished college and had no real concrete plans for the rest of my life, it was a little easier for me to hide a part of myself behind the barrier of my glasses...taking a bit more of myself out of the world...and I just decided that maybe it was time to dip those particular toes (or eyes as it were) back into the pool.

Saturday I went and got outfitted with touric lenses at CostCo, and my impressions so far:

Contacts are equally as challenging to get in as to get out, depending on which action I'm currently participating in.
(even though I'm some sort of Contact Prodigy because  my eye doctor said sometimes people sit there for an hour trying to do it, and it only took me a couple of tries...but to be fair, I was all nervous and embarrassed because people kept coming in and out and watching me for fun.)

I don't mind touching my eyeball at all.

I do mind doing the swoop and pinch and thinking that I got my contact pinched between my fingers and then realizing I am instead, pinching the inside of my eyelid.

Wounds on the inside of your eyelid hurt.

Badly.

There is a lot more going on when you have better peripheral vision, which is kind of making me feel overstimulated.

Sometimes when I'm overstimulated, I question my interactions with others...and then I cry.

I also feel a little motion sick.

I can't believe it's legal to drive when I feel like this.

I am wanting to look people in the eyes again.

I have a particular shade of blue eyes making everyone wonder if I got colored contacts or if it's the real color of my eyes?  People are amazed by the color of my eyes.  It's like they couldn't see them behind my lenses before.

I have to stop trying to push my glasses up on my face because I'm not wearing them anymore much and I keep poking myself in the eyes.
(my friends on facebook think this is hysterical)

(I may need to get new friends)

I need to readjust putting on makeup...I think my face looks totally different.

Wearing hats is going to be a lot more fun.

I love shopping for sunglasses (and can totally rock the big framed ones)

Designer sunglasses are really expensive!  Are they serious?!

All in all, even though there's a lot more adjusting for me to do (and I realize that you can not see the real color of my eyes in that picture up there, which is why I put this edit in...even though I think my skin looks blotchy and weird...you can thank me in the comments...) I think I'm going to like having no glasses on my face.  That is, as soon as I stop walking by mirrors and glancing for a double take because it looks like a part of my face in missing.  And truthfully?  Bringing some people closer into my life isn't going to be all that scary (but bear with me if I burst into tears for seemingly no reason...there is one, it's just not apparent to you)

Also?

Since my birthday isn't until the middle of next month and I bought this gift early, I totally think I can probably keep buying presents for myself...

Right?

29 March 2010

Blogcation...


Howdy.

Did you miss me?

I had to take a vacation from the blog...

And go to the beach!

OK...

That's not entirely true.

My Blocation was a total accident.  I just didn't post anything, and it quickly became a habit...I almost didn't write anything today, but not writing is not a habit I want to be in.

Otherwise, generally speaking, I'm OK.  There's nothing dire or stressful (other than the norm) or even horrifying in my life going on.  I just didn't have any extra words to use last week...Oh, word conservation.  I like that!

I'm a word conservationist.

You can use that if you want.

I haven't trademarked it.

(yet)

So, now that I've dipped my toes back into the blogging pool, I will be sure to think up something interesting again...because I know I have a lot of extra words floating around I can use now...

You know?  Cause of all the conserving and whatnot.

23 March 2010

Just a Handful of Beans...


During The Big Spring Clean 2010 The Kitchen Edition, there was a lot of going through drawers and cupboards.

There was also a lot of muttering under one's breath.
(as you can imagine)

(There was some swearing too...)

(after the mop fell on my head)

(and I broke the vintage juice glass)

(and dropped one half of a vintage Salt and Pepper set down the heating vent)

But, as cleaning and purging and organizing generally goes around my neck of the woods, I am left questioning the amount of collections I have.  I also scratch my head a lot about some of the things I find.  Papers and other items stuffed in various places that take me about 2 minutes to clean or put away or throw away and I wonder why I left it so long to begin with instead of just dealing with it when it first came into my life?

One of those head scratchers happened to be a rather large container of Jelly Bellies.

Or it would have been if there were any more than a small pitiful handful of Jelly Bellies left on the bottom of a mostly empty container of what once was Jelly Bellies.

I inherited them from Rich.

I can remember the why's (They have beeswax in them.  He's allergic to bees, but loves them...he gave me the left over beans...so he wouldn't make himself sick)   but not the when's...  (honestly, I have no idea how long they've been in the cupboard)  It took me less than 5 minutes to eat the paltry amount of rather hard beans that had been left in the container, so I could recycle the container and free up some space in the cupboard.

Seriously.

Who does stuff like this?

22 March 2010

Crazy Towel Lady Get's Her Groove Back...


I hope everyone had a lovely foray into Spring this weekend...and were able to welcome it somehow.  I've read that some of you welcomed it with snow and rain...I personally celebrated by working an extra day at Snap Snap and then began the first of what shall probably be many hours of Spring cleaning.

This begs the question, why do so many of us feel the need to clean and purge at the beginning of Spring?

Is it mass consciousness or some other primal urge to clean out the cave we've been hibernating in all winter?

Whatever it is...deep cleaning began Sunday and lasted for several hours:

  • Removing any and all furniture that could be moved:  Check
  • Dusting and washing and removing of dusty (ahem) spider webs up high:  Check
  • Doing the same sorts of things down low:  Check
  • Washing the tops of shelves, appliances, cupboards, window molding, sills, and door sashes:  Check
  • Cleaning inside window glass and other glass surfaces:  Check
  • Scrubbing various things that sit out in the kitchen (electronics and other decorations):  Check
  • Washing down of walls (oh yes) cupboard doors (inside and out) and the stove:  Check
  • Sweeping and pre-mopping the kitchen floor (sometimes crawling around with a sponge):  Check
  • Polishing the linoleum with special floor wash:  Check

There was a whole lot of the above things before everything got moved back in to the kitchen and put in its own place.  Also:

  • I accidentally dropped on half of a vintage salt and pepper set down the heating vent as the vent cover was soaking in the sink due to some unfortunate chai-tea over boil situations in the past...I can't figure out how to get to it.  I tried the vacuum hose....sob.
  • There is one less vintage floral juice cup in the world as it fell to its untimely death after being washed and shattered all over my newly polished floor...tiny shards of glass are really hard to find and clean up...double sob.
  • I hit myself in the head with the mop handle at one point (at least I'm my own comic relief) ...grumble grumble

There was also a lot of reorganizing going on...putting things in new spaces (and why didn't I think of putting that there before now?!) and then a whole lot of purging as the question:

How many vintage kitchen towels does one girl need?  Especially if that girl just uses mostly the same ones over and over and none of those happen to include the embroidered ones...cause they just sit in a drawer?

And also...how many vintage aprons does one girl need...for all the same reasons?

And what the heck is all this other stuff for anyway?

After going through the two baskets and one large drawer that house all these vintage linens (which is not including the napkins and tablecloths I have seemed to amass, but those are downstairs so they totally don't count) I came up with a radical obvious new and different organizational system for myself.  I folded each towel and apron up and then rolled each one up (kind of like I pack when I go on vacation, don't ask my why I didn't think of it sooner...)  Not only did they all magically fit where they were stuffed to the gills and falling all over before, I was actually able to get more in the baskets and out of the drawer...ensuring I would actually use them (which is mostly why I buy them in the first place, that and they look darned cute hanging in the kitchen)

Only not the embroidered ones.

Those are special.

Only, I'm really kind of unclear as why or when one would use their special kitchen towels, as I have a wonderful appliqued dancing anthropomorphic plate and tea-pot and I almost beheaded my exhusband for using it as something to which you dry your dishes with.

I also cringe if someone comes over and washes their hands and uses it...I have it up for display purposes only, and it hangs in a place that you would normally not even see, much less use it.  I mean honestly, the one that hangs on the stove handle is so much more accessa...

I may need help.

I have a rather large bag of goodies to go elsewhere and I may be holding a blog-giveaway this week...so stay tuned for that.

Until then I'll just sit and gaze into the reflection on my newly almost sort of waxed linoleum (which is I dearly love) and all the new open spaces in between (From the vantage point of the floor, because that's where I landed after I put everything back.  My body is sore!)  ...heck, I might even eat at my kitchen table!

I know.  That's a lot to ask for.

And a special shout out to the Bathroom:  You're next!

19 March 2010

Welcoming the Spring Equinox...

It seems as if Spring is right around the corner and perhaps through that alley doorway in our little Northern Arizona town.

This isn't to say that it will not be cold off and on, and it may snow again before Spring really comes in and sets her dainty self down at the Season's Tea Party  to stay (I think she probably drinks a mixture of hot and iced tea with her crumpets and always props her sweet silk clad feet up on a stool...) until Summer sits her hot self down (cooling herself off with iced tea only, using a fan on her often red face...and so her sunscreen doesn't completely melt and cover the table linens in oily ruins...eating her scones and lemon curd with gusto, flinging her crumbs...she's an excited talker that Summer...).  And seeing as the Equinox is officially tomorrow...we can be pretty certain that Spring is somewhere right at this moment jumping up and down in delight, clapping her little hands and letting her daffodil and tulip petticoats run wild, her bonnet strings blowing in her gentle breezes...

I have been thinking seriously about how I want to welcome Spring into my life and send Winter off with a shove a wave and a kiss...and pull up a chair to enjoy a cuppa with Spring herself...outside, on the patio at Foolsewoode.

I have begun preliminary yard work, as it looks as if we've been buried under feet of pine needles and leaves.  I usually let these fall where they will as I know that they will help hold in moisture for the plants that sorely need the water...and my vinca has all about but died back to its roots leaving whats left of it as a brown and black eyesore scattered throughout the yard, so the other morning found me out early with rakes in hand...I had an extra hour to kill after all, and it's just been so beautiful outside.

I filled up my garbage can, and I'm nowhere near done with the yard endeavor.  I also swept off the porch and walkway and removed dust from places it likes to sit and wait...and cleaned the big picture window, the inside and outside surfaces of the doors and sills and mailbox.

this dust.

I am working one day longer than I usually do this week, so that leaves precious time in which to fill and play catch up...and I have set my sights high for that one day off I'm receiving.  I am aiming to remove every stitch and pile that has collected in the kitchen and do a deep cleaning in that space.  Replace the Christmas tablecloth (ahem) with something a little more fitting for this time of year, polish and buff the floors (with my special floor cleaner) Switch the bedding and bathroom accessories to my Spring/Summer linens, change the air filter in the car, and redo the mantle in the living room for Easter (and get the Valentine's Day decor off...ahem again.  It's like a veritable Holiday of crazy at Foolsewoode)  I am feeling the pull to really go through things and organize and clean deeply, my nest.

We shall see.

And preparing myself for the ending of Winter and beginning of Spring started last week during a conference call with a good friend.  Working on clearing out the shadows and welcoming in the light...and I think tomorrow I shall wake up early to clear out toxins on a more physical level in the form of a Bikram yoga class.  Twenty-Five postures in elevated heat.  Something I've been wanting to try for some time now, and as we usually don't have the opportunity to participate in this style of yoga up here...I'm looking forward to trying it out.  (my sister has actually done a lot of Bikram and said that people often pass out from the combo I mentioned above, and if I need to...lie down.)  I'll let you know how it goes...and then home for a healing bath and off to enjoy the day at Snap Snap...

How are you preparing for the upcoming Spring?

17 March 2010

When Irish Knees are Dancing...


Happy St. Patrick's Day to yer...

In honor of being Irish on such an auspicious day I shall now dance a jig...

(ok.  Here we go!)

(get ready)

Would someone please start the music?!

(Alrighty then...)

(oh now wait.  Not that song!)

(why are Irish songs so darned sad?)

(The potato blight?)

(The constant oppression from the British?)

(The fact that we all had to shorten the spellings of our last names and my family had to drop the O that preceded it when we immigrated to America?

(or that most Irish were not well liked in the America's?)

(don't get me started...)

(ahem...)

Now for my real traditional Irish jig!

(dah dah de dum...)

(oof...this jigging thing is not that easy...)

(working up a sweat here...)

(oh dang.  My knee really hurts.)

(that's what you get for being sick with something or other close to a month and a half...the inability to just dance an impromptu jig because you haven't been able to attend the gym...)

Drat.

Perhaps I will just have some traditional Irish food...like, um...potatoes!

You know?
I'm not to sure about being this Irish thing.  I mean, I have the last name and the red hair (although, if you must know, I'm actually a blond) and the lineage...but honestly?  I've never actually been to The Mother Land, and the only real Irish tradition I remember my family taking part in is my grandfather baking and eating black-eyed-peas on New Years Eve for good luck.  There may be more, but I don't remember ever spending a St. Patrick's Day doing anything traditional like eating Lucky Charms.

(my mother didn't like us to have sugary cereal for breakfast...which may explain why mostly I don't like pastries in the morning)

I guess I'll have to stick to washing with Irish Spring and singing Oh Danny Boy in the shower...and since I already bathed, you totally missed out on that.

Sorry.

Happy St. Patrick's Day anyway.

16 March 2010

Being Tied Up At A National Landmark...

It may come to no surprise to you that in the many and various collections that Foolsewoode houses...men's vintage ties happens to be one of them.

But, then again.
It might.

(but I know I've mentioned it somewhere in this space in passing...so, there's really no excuse for that face)




It came as a surprise to my friend Kim who exclaimed when I showed her my latest acquisition, "But what do you do with them?!"

I imagine that I may acquire vintage things and whatnot like some people acquire stocks for their portfolio.  Although, I have no idea if this collection will bring as much wealth to me as the right stock would, but who the heck can predict that anymore?  Ties happen to bring a whole lot of joy to my life in the meantime.  And if you can find vintage ties, they can usually be pretty reasonably priced...especially at the thrift or estate sales.

Sometimes I think they're one of those overlooked vintage things.

I have no idea where my love for ties originated.  In the 80's when we were all wearing them around?  The idea of power they convey?  The pure handsomeness when you see a man dressed up, a tie around his neck and the perfect cologne, causing one to swoon?

It could be a combination of all of those or none at all.

Maybe it will come to me in a dream.

I have been having vivid dreams lately.



Until I dream up something, I can be happy with this sweet vintage Mt. Rushmore tie that I was able to ferret out of a pile of other crazy ties at the thrift the other day.  I also happen to get a secret kick out of pictures that are "real" and then printed on to fabric (I have a few choice 1970's shirts I'm also coveting) so this tie was a two-fer for me.  Which always makes me clap my hands in a happy sort of way.

Then again, I've been hanging out with a lot of babies lately, so I have been over gesticulating and getting very excited about things and proving it by clapping.

(Somehow it doesn't evoke the same response at the thrift that it does in babies)

That being said, this tie was made by JC Penny's Towncraft.  I have no idea of the origin and was wondering if it was mass produced as a kind of, "HEY!  We're proud of our national landmarks here in the USA!  Let's prove it by wearing them on a tie! or  if the ties were maybe made to be sold at the actual Mt. Rushmore so you could prove that you'd endured done something horrifying in a car great with your family during your vacation, eliciting the obvious remarks at the water cooler at the office upon wearing of said tie, "HEY!  Did you see that tie Bob was wearing today?!  He must have taken the wife and kids to Mt. Rushmore this summer!" To which they would have a lengthy discussion about car trips and children and wives...and all the trappings therein.

We all know that conversation.

I can totally picture this tie going smashingly with a wool fedora...which may or may not be accurate as I have no clue how old it is.  However, men's hat fashions haven't changed that much over the years so we may be safe here.

Let the happy clapping begin...

15 March 2010

Right Now...This Weekend...


People often and quite randomly ask me what I'm doing.

What are you doing this weekend?

What's going on?

And usually when I fess up, those same people often say, "wow...you have a busy weekend!"  Almost. Every. Time.  I never thought I stuffed more things into the weekend than anyone else...and I usually treat my weekends as a time to get caught up with friends and activities I enjoy doing.

(which doesn't include housekeeping thankyouverymuch)
(OK.  Sometimes it does...)

This weekend was peppered with a whole lot of baby...which is fine by me.

There was a photo shoot planned during a dinner with Megan and Edythe.


And a one year old celebration with my friend Jen and her daughter...

And you know?

The weekend with all of its hustling and bustling was just busy enough for both of those things and a impromptu run to Target to check out The Liberty of London goodness, spending time with my friend Melissa thrifting and eating, helping my friend Sean decorate his apartment and watch a movie, finish up a lot of laundry, and cooking some fantastic Cincinnati Chili...

Yes.

Just busy enough.

12 March 2010

Cat Lady Couture...


Well, winter is pretty much over.  I'm sure of it...I mean, yesterday when I woke up, I had to shovel my way to the car under 7 inches of snow and when I got home there was no snow anywhere...

Come to think of it though, we haven't had Easter yet, and it usually snows then...

But, it's going to be close to 60 on Monday!

Then again, the weather report said the last bunch of storms was going to blow right by...so I'm not sure we can all together trust those guys.

As it is, I'll be layering my clothes for a while yet, which is great news because look at this sweater I found!

Holy Cow-Cats Batman...

I've decided to put it up for sale at Snap Snap, as it is vintage and I'm not sure I could pull it off, but I think it's quirky enough that someone else might be able to.  It is 100% cotton and literally covered with applique cats...and a butterfly and a mouse.

You know?  All the things cat's really like to play with...although there's no yarn balls (but the sweater is made out of yarn, so I pretty much think that yarn ball can be implied here in this situation) and there's not a picture of a cat getting under someone's feet and tripping them (which is also another favorite activity of cats)  (Although, on the back of the sweater?  There are 3 sets of kitty paw prints...so I think we can also assume kitty tripping is also implied here, as I have known cats to trip you and then walk on your back after you fall on your face...)  And it says CATS in very large letters.

In case you are blind confused, and can't quite figure out what this whole sweater is really all about.



I pretty much bought it because the whole pattern astounded me, well that and people were starting to snicker as they walked by me with my mouth hanging open.

And the garment tag is pretty much priceless.

Cotton Salsa!

(complete with a llama and Chinese writing)
(it was made in Peru by the way)

(although, I think that's pretty obvious...you'd almost have to be dead not to have picked that up)


10 March 2010

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...


I am in need of some flowers...and I figured you might be too...so these?

Are for you.

I am well aware that they're slightly dried, but honestly?
I think they'll keep that way much longer...and they're still so beautiful.
And we all need a little bit of beauty in our corners of the world sometimes...

I am always so enchanted by the beautiful and intricate details that are housed in flowers...their patterns, softness, colors, veins.  Flowers are like everyday miracles that seem to exist just to be noticed, but unlike most narcissists, they bloom even when and where people can't see them.
(you know?  Cause we people think we're the highest form of intelligence and all)

Enjoy.

09 March 2010

Gypsy, The Musical...


Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to Press Night for the Prescott Fine Arts Associations presentation of the musical Gypsy.

Probably because of the popularity of my blog.

*OR*

More realistically?

Because My Pal Amy's family have been very involved in the PFAA for years now, and Mike happened to be playing in the orchestra, so we totally scored free invites.

Whatever the reason (which is certainly more the second than the first) I was delighted as my very good friend Clay (the wonderful gentleman who usually happily participates in my photo shoots here and at The Maestro and The Muse) was performing and I had been wanting to see the musical.  Unbeknown to me, a lot of my customers and other friends were also involved, so that was a thrill to see everyone else as well.

And can I say that this is one mighty talented group?  Because it would be the absolute truth!

Clay kept trying to convince me that there were several rough spots during last night's performance, but I thought it looked smooth and sounded even better.

Clay said that they'd really only been practicing for two weeks.

Seriously?

It was wonderful!

The musical has several dates it is being offered as a performance...click here.
(although opening night includes a reception in the art gallery with a meet and greet the actors and actresses)

There is a large group of all ages, the music is fun, and the script is great as well.  Most of all?  Everyone looks like they're really enjoying themselves...and Clay has a wonderful voice.  Truly.  It's the first time I've heard him sing on stage and it was pure pleasure.  It really matches all the other wonderful voices on stage, but we decided after the performance that may now be required to follow me around and break into song...changing my life into a musical.

Because really.  Wouldn't it just be fantastic to break into song and dance whenever you felt like it?

I'm going to have to get some tap shoes.


On a totally different note, when I was sorting through the photos I took last night I came across this one which kind of made me pause.

There seems to be a lot of movement and energy in the photo (and not the best of light, so unless you capture just perfect, sometimes you blur out) and yet right there in the lower right hand corner is a little girl standing perfectly still.

Now, you have to know that the PFAA is located in a very old and historical church here in town.

Spooky, eh?

Well.

She was actually in the play, so I don't suppose it's that spooky, but it could be, no?
Forget I told you that last part...

08 March 2010

Flagstaff Calling...

  

This Friday found me jumping in my car and speeding North...

Just honey, my iPod and Myself.
(and a whole lot of other things really...like clothes and pillows, but mostly it was just a whole lot of me)
I was on the road to visit Steven.

We can all search our memories here and realize that this is indeed the very same Steven that I was rushing off to visit during his stint at The Magic Kingdom mere months ago...only he's once again relocated back to Flagstaff.  I remember all the moving and packing and unpacking that went on in my life when I was up at NAU...just a few years ago.



Ahem.

Ok.

It was more than a few.  I'll give you that.  And it is by far long enough to feel like Flagstaff has undergone a whole resurgence.  Gone is the fly-by-night Route 66 town replaced by an almost more cosmopolitan version of itself.
(Seriously folks.  Flagstaff is just getting more cool as the years pass)

(which means there are a lot more interesting shops and resteraunts)

(oh.  And the train doesn't whistle anymore when it blows through town, which is kind of sad really.  I know it was really loud and took a lot to get use to when living there, but I worry about the safety issues...)

I got up to Flagstaff in time for First Friday...which is their art walk.  Only instead of just having the art galleries stay open, almost every shop was open...and people were strolling about, and I swear there were twinkly little lights everywhere.  It was magical.

Also?

I have been so sick for so long this year, I may have forgotten what it was like outside after dark in a town where a lot of people go out and stroll around.  NAU lends itself to the young hip crowd...and I'm telling you, it is very cold in Flagstaff...but it didn't seem to stop anyone from coming out.

I was utterly enchanted as Steven led me around.




The second I got there and in-between unloading Honey and spritzing, he casually mentioned that The Green Room was having Electronic Kingdom night...which means it was going to be dropping some seriously good beats for the duration.  Starting at 9pm with no cover charge?

Yeah.

This may be a place you want to check out if you happen to like electronica music, dancing, and are in Northern Arizona.

It was pretty amazing.

Dancing.

There was a great crowd of all ages
(so I didn't feel too old)

(cause it kind of crossed my mind that I have been dancing in clubs for a mighty long time...and did I ever think I would still be doing such a thing at my age?  Which made me shake my head, because I don't know if I could ever come to terms with the time when I couldn't go dancing...that and I didn't really have too many concrete plans for myself after the age of 23)

(oh and after I hung up my coat, a young handsome gentleman grabbed me and said, "You?!  Are Fabulous!"  Which gave me a big nice smile and had me repeating the same thing to him before he hugged me and air kissed my cheek...and made me feel better about what I was wearing, as I didn't know we were going dancing and I really like to dress up when I dance)

(Also?  Steven and my good friend Arthur kind of dance similarly, so it made me miss Arthur....but he knows, I told him on facebook)

We didn't close the place down by any means
(my knee hurt, and Steven admitted to feeling a bit achy)




The rest of the weekend consisted of laughing hysterically, eating fantastic food, seeing Alice in Wonderland (happily not in 3D) meeting up with good friends, being dropped off downtown for a bit by myself while Steven ran to an interview, laying around watching Weeds, waking up to snow...

It was a wonderful weekend indeed...

A much needed break for both Steven and I...and it was very hard to leave come Sunday afternoon.  But, the snow was flying and I had my car loaded down with goodies for Snap Snap...and I needed to get home for The Academy Awards.

But, thanks to such an amazing host, I had a great soundtrack (mixed by Steven himself and put onto CD) in which to head down the mountain to...

05 March 2010

Sleepover...


Earlier this week I had an impromptu sleepover with Megan and the baby.

Sometimes it helps to have someone else's presence in the house if someone is away on a work trip.  A couple of extra hands to hold the baby in case things need to get done.


And it's also nice to have a bit of a change of scenery...even if it's just a trip across town.

I hope everyone has a good weekend and gets lots of changes of scenery...

04 March 2010

Shoefiti...


...otherwise known as the act of throwing shoes.

When entering or exiting my neighborhood, you may glance up and notice a fantastically fabulous pair of green shoes dangling from the power line.  Of course, you may want to know exactly what you're doing and where you're going before you look up.

Especially if you're driving a car.

Or taking medication.

Or...well, whatever, I'm just going to have to trust that you're trusting your own judgment here.

In fact, since I and other people have been known to take walks in this neighborhood, and these dangle on a particularly hairy corner, I am making a request that you be careful.
For me?

Seeing shoes hanging from power lines always brings a little smile to my face because I immediately associate it with Big Fish.  In the movie, they took young Ed's shoes and threw them up over the power line so that he would be unable to leave the town Spectre.  Which is kind of almost a little significant here, because Prescott is small and cute with a lot of characters and old homes and I know a lot of people who feel they're unable to leave the town (although, I think if asked they would tell you it's more of a curse than a good thing...oh.  And we don't have any giants here, that I know of...)  Which is kind of the same, only we also don't walk around barefoot because we have pavement instead of grass streets...and I've never been to a lovely dance in the town square here.

We have dances in the town square, but I don't happen to think they're that lovely.
(it's the country music mostly...)

But, until I decided on a total whim to look up the significance of shoe tossing (oh thank you Internets...whatever did we do before you?) I didn't realize what else may be going on here.

Apparently having a pair of shoes hanging from a power line can also mean there is a crack den near by...or a heroin dealer.  Also?  If you've recently lost your virginity or gotten married you can walk out and hurl a pair of shoes into space and hope they land on a power line.

They can also represent a local gang.

However, seeing as it looks to me like someone spray painted these shoes a very jaunty color of green before they flung them over the power line, I think that this may not be the case.

Unless it's a gang of clowns.

Which, in my opinion, may be scarier than an actual gang.

Where is my neighborhood heading to?

03 March 2010

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...


Furious Precious Cakes in the outfit I made her...

I don't think I need to say too much about her...I think this picture pretty much says it all.

S'UP...?

Camo hoodie and in my opinion, Pure Inspiration and the perfect accessory to this ensemble was added by her fashionista mother Megan.

02 March 2010

Flashback...


Look where the Way-Back Machine has taken us today...all the way back to 1985 (I think) where a few of the girls I hung out with and I were getting ready to go to a concert.

Sweet Shawna (the cutie in the blue and black houndstooth sweater) just dug out this photo when she was home and I am thrilled.  I remember this like it was yesterday (well, I remember snatches of it like it was yesterday, I don't hardly remember yesterday so really...who are we kidding here?) and I swear we didn't take too many pictures of us back in the day.  I am wondering if it's because we had real live film cameras and it was expensive...not like these youngsters today that have all this digital whatnot...

So.

There we were...totally amassed for The Tompson Twins concert, with OMD opening for them, which made Heidi (the cutie up there in the red pants and who still apparently retains this t-shirt and uses it when dying her hair nowadays) very excited because she really liked OMD just as much as The Thompson Twins so it was like a two-for concert for her...

I have to admit that I hadn't heard too much of OMD at this point...but it was a great concert nonetheless.  One of The Thompson Twins was celebrating a birthday if I remember correctly...although, Jayne (the gal in the black and white standing next to Heidi) and I both had horrible colds an I for one, was loosing my voice.

We were traveling down to the big city to be dropped off for the concert and then picked back up...and then were staying at someone's mother's friends condo?  Or apartment?  We had such cool parents for letting us do things like this...my mother was a big believer in seeing the music of your generation in concert and always encouraged me to do so, including driving a few of us down to The Valley to do so.

I remember at this particular concert that the group of boys behind us were smoking pot.
(gasp)

I can remember being slightly scandalized by this realization.

(it became slightly less scandalous when I realized most groups of people sitting behind, in front, and to the side of me were doing the same things at other concerts in the future...)
(such innocence is kind of sweet though and it is one of the snatches from this concert I remember so I had to note it here...in case I forget.)



The other gal up there with the short blond hair is me.

( I know.)
(Don't I look young?!)
(And thin?!)
(I think I topped out at 103 lbs in high school)
(it's a damned shame that baggy clothes were all the rage in the 80's...seriously.)

I was sporting a black dress with a Vintage Men's PJ top over it (I happen to LOVE Vintage Men's PJs even now)  and we had all gotten together to get ready for the concert, because it happened to be down at The Coliseum in Phoenix, which was a much larger and hence cooler city than Prescott...so we really had to work at looking like we totally fit in.

Out with the overalls and corn cob pipes and in with the crazy hair and cool clothes.  OK.  Actually, I thought we all had cool clothes all the time...the group I hung out with.  I can remember someone calling us MOD at a school dance once...which totally made me giggle.
(You'll be happy to know that we didn't usually wear our hair like this to school)

Which meant that we had to slick back my hair and do the part in a whole bunch of triangle lines and I had to wear eye-liner.

Which makes me look dead.
Which was also probably made me look cool.

Cause' mostly?  When I think back to that time, I think I felt a lot like I look in the second picture up there...excited and happy, but a stepping behind people a little bit and looking for a shoulder to lean on.  I want to be silly and crazy and join in while doing silly and dramatic posing, but I was too scared to look silly and dramatic.

Oh teenaged me.

I wish we knew then what we know now.

01 March 2010

A Petition to Rename the Month of February...

See you later February...

Honestly, each time I flip over a page on any of the various calendars I own to expose the month of March I do a little happy dance and thank the universe that that's over.

February.

What is wrong with you?

You are the shortest month, but inevitably you cause the most damage.  Is is something to do with your height?  Because I'd be more than happy to add a couple of days on, but only if you promise to play nice.  Otherwise, I'm sending you back to your house so you can think it over...we don't like to play that way around here, and the other months obey the rules.

Mostly.

I don't want to have this relationship with you...and I know this is the truth because I find myself believing that 2010 will still be an amazing year, even though I've been gritting my teeth through it so far.  I find that I am worried that I have great optimism and that I may be slightly deluded.

(I also live through the fear that there is someone out there slowly shaking their head because they're disappointed by my outcome...I'm equally parts worried it's me and equally parts worried that it's someone I don't care the least for, but am still trying to please with the way my life is shaping up.)

I also have had a sinus infection turned bronchitis turned ear infection that sat down and put it's muddy little feet up and stayed all of February...I've tried homeopathic medication, Chinese herbs, tea, tinctures, over the counter medication, oils, food, naps...I even cut up and heated an onion in the oven and put one half over each ear and layed there while its juice dripped into my ear canal and down my neck causing me to smell like an everything bagel for a week (the onion did work along with garlic/mullen oil...) then covered the pillows in my bed with a towel to catch all the oil (much to Mena's absolute delight as she apparently finds a towel more to her liking than flannel sheets and curled up and smiled and purred all night...so I guess technically I also slept with a cat on my head...but I'm sure the heat was good for my ears)  I even threw my hands up and took three weeks off from the gym (except for an occasional yoga class)

I'm tired.  No.  Tired doesn't quite explain it.  I am utterly exhausted.

I also realize that in my not to distant past that February has traditionally been an awkward and difficult month for me.  I think it may be that way for a lot of people...but I hate to carry that from year to year.  I want to put that suitcase down and walk away...and yet every year, I fight it and then sometime all of a sudden somewhere in the midst of February I realize it's not just me, it's February and then everything that is February rushes in swirling its cape all around and yelling, "HA!  Remember me?"

Yes February.  But please, use your inside voice...for the love of the smile that I've misplaced.

And yet, at my advanced age and all the wisdom that goes along with it (ahem) I am absolutely stymied by the fact that I go from year to year all the while having my Pollyanna visions and then seem to ultimately have the rug pulled out from under me, making me slide into a rather large and unyielding brick wall named February...all the while I'm trying to smile and sing-song it away.   I'm even worried that I've already written about it in this space, but I'm too scared to go back and look.  Ultimately I sit down and just give in and hope that there are enough pieces left over at the end to salvage...

I'm thinking of making a request to calendar companies that they put a water mark over their picture for February that says, "Remember:  Be gentle with yourself"  And I know that in the best of worlds this is a saying to try to live by, but in February?

It's a mantra.

It's not like I don't have wonderful and joyous things happening in the midst of the pallor of February, I do...but it's more like I get slapped over and over again making me feel like I'm in a Three Stooges episode.

Maybe we should rename February Moe instead.

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