Okay, before the girlie stuff I'll tell you what I'm thinkin' about a few sports headlines. Sean Taylor: probably knew who shot him. Packers/Cowboys on NFL Network: sorry you don't get it, we do, it was a beautiful HD picture. Cowboys wore legacy jerseys. Indians signing Japanese pitcher: just don't break the bank. Helio: I thought he was a suave and sophisticated Indy car driver, but now I know he's just a goofy hoofer.
Now, down to business: I am asking girls everywhere for advice, because why can't I keep my hair the color I want it?
I mean, we visited friends last night, and a MALE FRIEND says to me, your hair is lighter! And I wanted to crawl under the sofa, because I'm been meaning to recolor for two weeks and haven't taken the time, and since it's fall I don't even have the "I've been out in the sun" excuse. And my hair's worse problem is not the roots ... it's the way the color keeps getting lighter!
So my hair in my youth was a pretty much dark brown with red highlights in the sun. Then middle age set in and gray encroached, and the drabness convinced me that Miss Clairol was the way to go. And I've been best friends with her for five years or so.
But no matter what brand of color I use (and I've tried many besides ole Miss), no matter what expensive hair-color-preserving shampoo and conditioner I buy, no matter I spray special color-preserving UV spray on, no matter what, even when I pick out exactly the right medium-brown color I want and it looks great to start, it ends up after a few weeks looking like a light reddish brown. Really light.
And GUYS -- not girls -- start asking me if my hair is lighter! The friend the other night was not the first!
I think my hair is really porous and soaks up the color but then it also vomits it out, is what I think.
I have been doing it myself, so one of my questions is: do salons really use a better quality color, and it is really worth over $50 versus under $10?
And, is there a shampoo/conditioner/special treatment that really works for you?
Or have you given up and just (oh, God!) gone natural?
Let me know what you're thinkin' about how Miss Clairol treats you.
Showing posts with label NaBloPoMo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NaBloPoMo. Show all posts
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
About a letter to my friend on vacation in Florida
Dear T.,
How are you? I am fine. Well, not that great. It's really cold here. And the wind is really rather brutal. Actually, when I had to stand out in it pumping gas this morning, it was ripping through me, and my bones were shaking. Also my fingers quit working.
Other than that, it's great! Well, except for Monday, when it rained the entire day and I felt damp and frozen. Oh, and Tuesday, when it was windy that day too. Oh, then yesterday, they said the sun would be out, but it wasn't, and it was kind of dark and dank all day.
But other than that, it's great! Oh, except for we had to go to Sue K.'s mother-in-law's viewing last night at the funeral home. She says they're pretty much "over the shock" of her sudden death now--after all, she was 84 or whatever.
But once we got past that, it was a good evening. Well, except then we went to visit the B.'s, and you know M.'s health has been going downhill, and their mom is not getting over that heart attack like she should.
But besides those things, it's been a great week! You've really missed it! That two-hour meeting I had with G. yesterday was fantastic! If only my teeth had not been chattering when we were done, plus I was starving, and I had to go to the bathroom, it might have been the best meeting ever!
When I think of you spending all the money and getting so exhausted running after four kids in the Florida sunshine, my heart cries for you and your wife! The humanity!
Are you needing any help? Because I can be on an Allegiant flight immediately. It's the Christian thing to do, I think.
Anyway, T., get some rest when you get home and break out your wool socks. You'll need them.
Yours in global warming,
Me.
Hey, how 'bout you? Written any snarky letters lately?
How are you? I am fine. Well, not that great. It's really cold here. And the wind is really rather brutal. Actually, when I had to stand out in it pumping gas this morning, it was ripping through me, and my bones were shaking. Also my fingers quit working.
Other than that, it's great! Well, except for Monday, when it rained the entire day and I felt damp and frozen. Oh, and Tuesday, when it was windy that day too. Oh, then yesterday, they said the sun would be out, but it wasn't, and it was kind of dark and dank all day.
But other than that, it's great! Oh, except for we had to go to Sue K.'s mother-in-law's viewing last night at the funeral home. She says they're pretty much "over the shock" of her sudden death now--after all, she was 84 or whatever.
But once we got past that, it was a good evening. Well, except then we went to visit the B.'s, and you know M.'s health has been going downhill, and their mom is not getting over that heart attack like she should.
But besides those things, it's been a great week! You've really missed it! That two-hour meeting I had with G. yesterday was fantastic! If only my teeth had not been chattering when we were done, plus I was starving, and I had to go to the bathroom, it might have been the best meeting ever!
When I think of you spending all the money and getting so exhausted running after four kids in the Florida sunshine, my heart cries for you and your wife! The humanity!
Are you needing any help? Because I can be on an Allegiant flight immediately. It's the Christian thing to do, I think.
Anyway, T., get some rest when you get home and break out your wool socks. You'll need them.
Yours in global warming,
Me.
Hey, how 'bout you? Written any snarky letters lately?
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
About the most wonderful time of the year
Oh yes, the Christmas season, almost everyone's most favorite time of the year. Carolers singing, bells ringing, snow falling, lights glowing. Cookies baked, candies made, drinks consumed.
But the best of all:
That pile of stuff I ordered that I spy out the window by the door. Woo-hoo!
And real mail in the mailbox!
Who doesn't like getting mail--good mail, I mean. Not stupid grown-up mail, like bills and junk. But mail like invitations, letters, and stuff like that? And Christmas brings some of that! You might get an invitation to a Christmas party! And even if Christmas letters are lame, hey, it's a real letter! And sometimes Christmas cards have really nice personal notes and news and pictures.
And that pile of stuff...well, real confessions: Most of it was for me. Hey, I had to use that Sephora coupon for my FREE birthday-gift shea body butter, didn't I? And I had a Kohl's gift certificate for my birthday that HAD to be used online and HAD to be use RIGHT NOW, period!
The result being, a small pile of packages out the window that said, open me!
Now we're waiting for another package, a little more utilitarian but fun nonetheless: new phones. I think they'll be here tomorrow. Maybe I'll call you with my skin softened by body butter and my new earrings on!
Oh I'll get in the spirit--I'll be ordering stuff online for loved ones any day now, and it will be piles of stuff for other people.
Well, gotta go write out some real Christmas cards. How about you? Are you expecting any packages?
But the best of all:
That pile of stuff I ordered that I spy out the window by the door. Woo-hoo!
And real mail in the mailbox!
Who doesn't like getting mail--good mail, I mean. Not stupid grown-up mail, like bills and junk. But mail like invitations, letters, and stuff like that? And Christmas brings some of that! You might get an invitation to a Christmas party! And even if Christmas letters are lame, hey, it's a real letter! And sometimes Christmas cards have really nice personal notes and news and pictures.
And that pile of stuff...well, real confessions: Most of it was for me. Hey, I had to use that Sephora coupon for my FREE birthday-gift shea body butter, didn't I? And I had a Kohl's gift certificate for my birthday that HAD to be used online and HAD to be use RIGHT NOW, period!
The result being, a small pile of packages out the window that said, open me!
Now we're waiting for another package, a little more utilitarian but fun nonetheless: new phones. I think they'll be here tomorrow. Maybe I'll call you with my skin softened by body butter and my new earrings on!
Oh I'll get in the spirit--I'll be ordering stuff online for loved ones any day now, and it will be piles of stuff for other people.
Well, gotta go write out some real Christmas cards. How about you? Are you expecting any packages?
About what date is it, anyway?
Perhaps you remember my previous post about that lost half-hour of my life spent on hold with Kohls.
The worst thing about that experience was the loss of time -- once I got the CSR, she took about one minute to look up my order and answer my questions.
That experience has been topped by my La-Z-Boy experience.
Good news: I ordered new livingroom furniture, which we needed, badly. Our old furniture, although purchased in this century, was not keeping up with the demands of HDTV-watchers. So when the new La-Z-Boy Showcase Shoppe opened just down the highway, I was there to check it out.
I'd been window shopping for a couple of years, so I pretty much knew what I wanted, and by golly, La-Z-Boy had it. So I ordered up.
And here's what my saleslady told me on the day I ordered, October 29: "It normally takes eight weeks to be delivered. But they're telling me it should be here by Christmas."
It my excitement at the time, that was enough: I'd have it by Christmas.
However, on further review, I realized that vague "have it by Christmas" was not working for me.
Eight weeks from the day I ordered is December 24: Christmas Eve; technically, before Christmas. But moving new furniture into a room on Christmas Eve: not appealing to me. So just exactly did "before Christmas" mean?
Last week, I called the La-Z-Boy showroom to nail this down. God bless me.
I talked to "Tiffaney," and all that implies. Tiffaney, while answering the phone in a perfectly capable way, seemed rendered incapable of assuming confidence in her answers, or even in any ability to find an answer. Several minutes and murmuring in the background late, the best she could do was, "We'll call you back later."
I am still waiting to hear from Tiffaney.
However, being a seasoned consumer, since I knew as soon as I hung up that Tiffaney would be a no-show, I called the next day, and talked to a gentleman whose name escapes me (mumbled), but I'll call "Fred."
Fred had one quality that Tiffaney lacked--to at least bluff confidence in his ability to help a customer. However, as events ensued, this ability was exposed to be a thin veneer, and his inner Tiffaney was evident.
"Hi, this is Cathy D. and I have a question about some furniture I have on order."
"I can help you."
Yada-yada-yada from me about when I ordered it, what I was told, which you just read, and my main concern:
"So, what I need to know is, exactly what does 'before Christmas' mean? Does that mean next week, or does that mean December 24 at 11:59 p.m.?"
"Who was your salesperson?"
"I'm sorry, I don't remember her name." (I was with her for 20 minutes.)
"Hang on, I'll look it up."
Time passes as I age less than gracefully.
"Okay, that was Sandy. I'll have her call you ... Monday."
"Ah ... okay. Thanks." GGGGggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Why, oh why, in this computer age, doesn't he have some kind of chart or spreadsheet or database to look at? Why are we relying on people who aren't in?
Then, in a stunning development, "Fred" called me back later. Unfortunately, what he told me was such a Dilbert moment I had to just laugh (quietly, in my hand).
"Is this Cathy D.?"
"Yes."
"This is 'Fred' at La-Z-Boy. I've looked up that your furniture will be shipped from the warehouse in (garbled) on December 17, and it will take seven to ten days to arrive at your house."
I do some quick, first-grade math in my head.
"Okay, so it ships on the 17th. So the earliest it will be here is ... the 24th? Christmas Eve?" (Eight weeks!?)
"Shipments normally take from seven to ten days."
"Okay, so she told me the furniture would be here before Christmas and she, indeed, meant the earliest it would be here is Christmas Eve? Or as late as the 27th?"
"Well, I'll have her call you Monday."
Resigned: "Okay."
Now, this was a bit of a customer-service nightmare of a phone call, don't you think? I mean, I did learn one new piece of information: it's shipping from some warehouse on Dec. 17. But add the seven to ten days and you get ... no more information than I had in the beginning.
I know, if the warehouse is in Timbuktu, that furniture might be my 2008 happy new year present. It's if coming from Chicago or Detroit (and, oddly, we did pass a La-Z-Boy warehouse on our trip to Livonia a couple of weeks ago), if it leaves the 17th, it seems to me it might be here even sooner than the 24th, given I live three hours from both places.
Why can't somebody say, it's shipping on the 17th, and it USUALLY takes X number of days to arrive in Ft. Wayne? But they just can't seem to go there. They are just stuck on the seven-to-ten days note, which now whines incessantly in my head.
I'm still in the dark as to any definitive date that furniture will arrive. Sandy never HAS called me. And as excited as I am about getting new furniture, the thought of turning the house upside-down on Christmas Eve is not very appealing.
In still a second stunning development, 'Fred' called, again. Sometime over the Thanksgiving weekend he called my home phone (despite I had asked him to call my cell) and left a message:
"Your furniture will be leaving the warehouse on December 17."
Glad we got that cleared up, Fred.
Well, how about you? What are you waiting for?
The worst thing about that experience was the loss of time -- once I got the CSR, she took about one minute to look up my order and answer my questions.
That experience has been topped by my La-Z-Boy experience.
Good news: I ordered new livingroom furniture, which we needed, badly. Our old furniture, although purchased in this century, was not keeping up with the demands of HDTV-watchers. So when the new La-Z-Boy Showcase Shoppe opened just down the highway, I was there to check it out.
I'd been window shopping for a couple of years, so I pretty much knew what I wanted, and by golly, La-Z-Boy had it. So I ordered up.
And here's what my saleslady told me on the day I ordered, October 29: "It normally takes eight weeks to be delivered. But they're telling me it should be here by Christmas."
It my excitement at the time, that was enough: I'd have it by Christmas.
However, on further review, I realized that vague "have it by Christmas" was not working for me.
Eight weeks from the day I ordered is December 24: Christmas Eve; technically, before Christmas. But moving new furniture into a room on Christmas Eve: not appealing to me. So just exactly did "before Christmas" mean?
Last week, I called the La-Z-Boy showroom to nail this down. God bless me.
I talked to "Tiffaney," and all that implies. Tiffaney, while answering the phone in a perfectly capable way, seemed rendered incapable of assuming confidence in her answers, or even in any ability to find an answer. Several minutes and murmuring in the background late, the best she could do was, "We'll call you back later."
I am still waiting to hear from Tiffaney.
However, being a seasoned consumer, since I knew as soon as I hung up that Tiffaney would be a no-show, I called the next day, and talked to a gentleman whose name escapes me (mumbled), but I'll call "Fred."
Fred had one quality that Tiffaney lacked--to at least bluff confidence in his ability to help a customer. However, as events ensued, this ability was exposed to be a thin veneer, and his inner Tiffaney was evident.
"Hi, this is Cathy D. and I have a question about some furniture I have on order."
"I can help you."
Yada-yada-yada from me about when I ordered it, what I was told, which you just read, and my main concern:
"So, what I need to know is, exactly what does 'before Christmas' mean? Does that mean next week, or does that mean December 24 at 11:59 p.m.?"
"Who was your salesperson?"
"I'm sorry, I don't remember her name." (I was with her for 20 minutes.)
"Hang on, I'll look it up."
Time passes as I age less than gracefully.
"Okay, that was Sandy. I'll have her call you ... Monday."
"Ah ... okay. Thanks." GGGGggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Why, oh why, in this computer age, doesn't he have some kind of chart or spreadsheet or database to look at? Why are we relying on people who aren't in?
Then, in a stunning development, "Fred" called me back later. Unfortunately, what he told me was such a Dilbert moment I had to just laugh (quietly, in my hand).
"Is this Cathy D.?"
"Yes."
"This is 'Fred' at La-Z-Boy. I've looked up that your furniture will be shipped from the warehouse in (garbled) on December 17, and it will take seven to ten days to arrive at your house."
I do some quick, first-grade math in my head.
"Okay, so it ships on the 17th. So the earliest it will be here is ... the 24th? Christmas Eve?" (Eight weeks!?)
"Shipments normally take from seven to ten days."
"Okay, so she told me the furniture would be here before Christmas and she, indeed, meant the earliest it would be here is Christmas Eve? Or as late as the 27th?"
"Well, I'll have her call you Monday."
Resigned: "Okay."
Now, this was a bit of a customer-service nightmare of a phone call, don't you think? I mean, I did learn one new piece of information: it's shipping from some warehouse on Dec. 17. But add the seven to ten days and you get ... no more information than I had in the beginning.
I know, if the warehouse is in Timbuktu, that furniture might be my 2008 happy new year present. It's if coming from Chicago or Detroit (and, oddly, we did pass a La-Z-Boy warehouse on our trip to Livonia a couple of weeks ago), if it leaves the 17th, it seems to me it might be here even sooner than the 24th, given I live three hours from both places.
Why can't somebody say, it's shipping on the 17th, and it USUALLY takes X number of days to arrive in Ft. Wayne? But they just can't seem to go there. They are just stuck on the seven-to-ten days note, which now whines incessantly in my head.
I'm still in the dark as to any definitive date that furniture will arrive. Sandy never HAS called me. And as excited as I am about getting new furniture, the thought of turning the house upside-down on Christmas Eve is not very appealing.
In still a second stunning development, 'Fred' called, again. Sometime over the Thanksgiving weekend he called my home phone (despite I had asked him to call my cell) and left a message:
"Your furniture will be leaving the warehouse on December 17."
Glad we got that cleared up, Fred.
Well, how about you? What are you waiting for?
Monday, November 26, 2007
About being worse than a baby
Traveling with babies is tricky, whether you're going by plane or car. Their sleeping schedules get all screwed up, their eating gets all discombobulated, and once you get back home, it takes a couple days to get back to normal.
I'm just like a baby.
So, four days spent visiting family, away from home responsibilities and habits. That's good.
Sleeping in four days straight--that has proved to be a very bad mistake. Being lazy, reading the paper and watching morning news and sipping tea for an hour or so after getting up--very bad idea. Eating too much Thanksgiving dinner, dining out at interesting places, wine-tasting--good idea, but very bad to one's fitness regime.
A baby gets back to normal easier than me!
When we left Indiana on Wednesday evening, it was just absolutely pouring rain. The holiday turned out good, through, if chilly, at least dry. (Good shopping weather! Good winery visiting weather!)
This morning, back to a cold, biting, windy rain. And I had to haul my behind out of bed, get ready, contemplate the day, and actually go out into it.
Eeeuuuwwww.
Well, I made it, and now I'm wondering how I'm going to get my healthy diet intentions back on track (but that fresh lake perch sandwich with sweet potato fries was so good, even if it did break my "no fried foods" rule!) while at the same time getting some exercise in (Hey, we walked all around the mall! And today I had to get up so early I'm exhausted!) and actually contemplate cooking half-way healthy food after all the eating out (goodness, I love Mexican food).
This just seems like too much for a Monday.
Here's the plan: I'll play some mind games, convince myself it's, like, a Thursday, pretend I slept in, sleep-walk (hey! it's walking!) through the day, and fix something not fried for dinner--not frying being healthy enough for today. I think.
After all, Scarlett, tomorrow is another day.
Well, how about you? Are you a big baby about your schedule?
I'm just like a baby.
So, four days spent visiting family, away from home responsibilities and habits. That's good.
Sleeping in four days straight--that has proved to be a very bad mistake. Being lazy, reading the paper and watching morning news and sipping tea for an hour or so after getting up--very bad idea. Eating too much Thanksgiving dinner, dining out at interesting places, wine-tasting--good idea, but very bad to one's fitness regime.
A baby gets back to normal easier than me!
When we left Indiana on Wednesday evening, it was just absolutely pouring rain. The holiday turned out good, through, if chilly, at least dry. (Good shopping weather! Good winery visiting weather!)
This morning, back to a cold, biting, windy rain. And I had to haul my behind out of bed, get ready, contemplate the day, and actually go out into it.
Eeeuuuwwww.
Well, I made it, and now I'm wondering how I'm going to get my healthy diet intentions back on track (but that fresh lake perch sandwich with sweet potato fries was so good, even if it did break my "no fried foods" rule!) while at the same time getting some exercise in (Hey, we walked all around the mall! And today I had to get up so early I'm exhausted!) and actually contemplate cooking half-way healthy food after all the eating out (goodness, I love Mexican food).
This just seems like too much for a Monday.
Here's the plan: I'll play some mind games, convince myself it's, like, a Thursday, pretend I slept in, sleep-walk (hey! it's walking!) through the day, and fix something not fried for dinner--not frying being healthy enough for today. I think.
After all, Scarlett, tomorrow is another day.
Well, how about you? Are you a big baby about your schedule?
Sunday, November 25, 2007
About bein' wine-y
I woke up this morning without a hangover, so I must not have drunk all that much wine yesterday during our little "Sideways" adventure.
We took off around lunch for Berlin Heights, Ohio, a teeny little town with lots of history. More importantly, there's a little bar named Oliver's that has the best bar food in northern Ohio, including a perch sandwich I would drive a lot longer for than from Norwalk to Berlin Heights.
But before we hit Oliver's, we checked out Samuel Patterson baskets, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and having a little open house to celebrate. It's part of the Berlin Basket Company, which mostly makes fruit and vegetable baskets. The Samuel Patterson baskets are more artesian baskets, beautifully made, lovely to look at, and their anniversary baskets are especially nice. Plus, they had some snacks, and the Miss Basket Queen of Berlin Heights was there (we had previously seen her in the Milan Melon Festival Parade in all her royal basketry).
Two cookies and some admiration later, we were off to Oliver's, and a wonderful by-product of Ohio's no-smoking ban was, it is now smoke-free! I could enjoy my fresh lake perch sandwich with sweet potato fries in fresh air.
It was now safe to proceed to the main event of the day: wine-tasting. Quarry Hill Winery was our first stop, and they did not disappoint.
Regional wine being our favorites, my dad frequents Quarry Hill for their blueberry wine. I love their honey crisp (an apple wine) and Jayme is a fan of their Buckeye Red, a soft red wine. Just a dollar and we tasted a couple new one, their riesling being the best. They are also a working orchard, so their rustic gift shop/wine bar is in a big ole barn that smells great and is full of fresh apples, produce, and gift items. Unfortunately, we had forgotten Quarry Hill is cash or checks only, so we were limited in our purchases.
Not to be stopped, we continued to Firelands winery near Sandusky, a slightly more sophisticated establishment that's been around since the 19th century.
The older gentleman helping us must have been an owner, for his knowledge was extensive and he was happy to answer our questions.
We weren't the only ones tasting--by the time we finished up,the long wooden bar was full of testers and there was a line to check out. People weren't just buying one bottle, either!
I don't know which one I liked better--the locally made riesling, or the cabernet sauvignon, or the imported chianti.
When we mentioned the fruit wines we'd tasted at Quarry Hill, even though we'd tasted all six samples Firelands was offering that day, our bartender hauled out the red raspberry and the blueberry by Firelands. Both excellent!
I came away with a box of good stuff, four of which are Christmas gifts, and a new appreciation for the careful vintners of northern Ohio.
Well, how 'bout you? Done any taste-testing lately?
We took off around lunch for Berlin Heights, Ohio, a teeny little town with lots of history. More importantly, there's a little bar named Oliver's that has the best bar food in northern Ohio, including a perch sandwich I would drive a lot longer for than from Norwalk to Berlin Heights.
But before we hit Oliver's, we checked out Samuel Patterson baskets, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and having a little open house to celebrate. It's part of the Berlin Basket Company, which mostly makes fruit and vegetable baskets. The Samuel Patterson baskets are more artesian baskets, beautifully made, lovely to look at, and their anniversary baskets are especially nice. Plus, they had some snacks, and the Miss Basket Queen of Berlin Heights was there (we had previously seen her in the Milan Melon Festival Parade in all her royal basketry).
Two cookies and some admiration later, we were off to Oliver's, and a wonderful by-product of Ohio's no-smoking ban was, it is now smoke-free! I could enjoy my fresh lake perch sandwich with sweet potato fries in fresh air.
It was now safe to proceed to the main event of the day: wine-tasting. Quarry Hill Winery was our first stop, and they did not disappoint.
Regional wine being our favorites, my dad frequents Quarry Hill for their blueberry wine. I love their honey crisp (an apple wine) and Jayme is a fan of their Buckeye Red, a soft red wine. Just a dollar and we tasted a couple new one, their riesling being the best. They are also a working orchard, so their rustic gift shop/wine bar is in a big ole barn that smells great and is full of fresh apples, produce, and gift items. Unfortunately, we had forgotten Quarry Hill is cash or checks only, so we were limited in our purchases.
Not to be stopped, we continued to Firelands winery near Sandusky, a slightly more sophisticated establishment that's been around since the 19th century.
The older gentleman helping us must have been an owner, for his knowledge was extensive and he was happy to answer our questions.
We weren't the only ones tasting--by the time we finished up,the long wooden bar was full of testers and there was a line to check out. People weren't just buying one bottle, either!
I don't know which one I liked better--the locally made riesling, or the cabernet sauvignon, or the imported chianti.
When we mentioned the fruit wines we'd tasted at Quarry Hill, even though we'd tasted all six samples Firelands was offering that day, our bartender hauled out the red raspberry and the blueberry by Firelands. Both excellent!
I came away with a box of good stuff, four of which are Christmas gifts, and a new appreciation for the careful vintners of northern Ohio.
Well, how 'bout you? Done any taste-testing lately?
Saturday, November 24, 2007
About reminising
So after shopping yesterday we ordered some pizza and started talking about people we grew up with.
What's funny is, what different memories each of us has, both of my sisters and my parents. They know stuff about people -- or know people -- don't know or remember, and we know stuff and people they don't.
Plus it was time for a little true confessions, as my youngest sister revealed she'd had a big party at the house my family had just moved out of, in about 1980. That was news to Mom and Dad. They might have been sorry they missed it--sounded like a fun bash.
When we were growing up we rode the bus for about an hour every morning. Our bus route was a big country route, and we picked the same group of kids up for the 12 years we rode. You get to know people really well in 12 years.
The farm boys who bragged about their tractors and their crops and played euchre every morning between the seats. The family who still had an outhouse. The people with the pink house. The little girls who herded their little brother on the buss every morning like so many mother hens. The big family whose house burnt down. The sisters who had bad haircuts and homemade clothes. The family with all boys--actually, we picked up two families with five boys each. The lucky kids who lived on Crescent Road and had only a 5 or 10 minute ride.
The good news to us was, if we were the first ones on the bus in the morning, we were also the first off in the afternoon, so by four we were in the house eating anything my mother set in front of us, and ready to get outside and play.
I read a lot of books on the bus during those years, and sometimes played euchre with the boys, or argued with them or told jokes or just were silly as only kids can be.
The really good part for me: being first on the bus, I always got the sit in the seat by the heater!
Well, how about you? Any long bus rides in your past?
What's funny is, what different memories each of us has, both of my sisters and my parents. They know stuff about people -- or know people -- don't know or remember, and we know stuff and people they don't.
Plus it was time for a little true confessions, as my youngest sister revealed she'd had a big party at the house my family had just moved out of, in about 1980. That was news to Mom and Dad. They might have been sorry they missed it--sounded like a fun bash.
When we were growing up we rode the bus for about an hour every morning. Our bus route was a big country route, and we picked the same group of kids up for the 12 years we rode. You get to know people really well in 12 years.
The farm boys who bragged about their tractors and their crops and played euchre every morning between the seats. The family who still had an outhouse. The people with the pink house. The little girls who herded their little brother on the buss every morning like so many mother hens. The big family whose house burnt down. The sisters who had bad haircuts and homemade clothes. The family with all boys--actually, we picked up two families with five boys each. The lucky kids who lived on Crescent Road and had only a 5 or 10 minute ride.
The good news to us was, if we were the first ones on the bus in the morning, we were also the first off in the afternoon, so by four we were in the house eating anything my mother set in front of us, and ready to get outside and play.
I read a lot of books on the bus during those years, and sometimes played euchre with the boys, or argued with them or told jokes or just were silly as only kids can be.
The really good part for me: being first on the bus, I always got the sit in the seat by the heater!
Well, how about you? Any long bus rides in your past?
Friday, November 23, 2007
About preparing for battle
How to enjoy shopping on Black Friday:
Don't participate in any 4:30 a.m. sales.
Don't expect too much.
If you've looked through the ads and seen something you're interested in, don't expect the store to still have it when you get there. Ask about rainchecks if you can find somebody.
If you can't find a parking space at a store, leave and come back another day.
If you go into a store and there is no end to the check out lines, leave.
Dress comfortably. High heels have no place on Black Friday shopping.
Dress in layers. Some stores are hot.
Take breaks. There are Starbucks on every corner and in Target for a reason. That reason is for you to get a latte, a piece of gingerbread, and sit down a minute.
Go with fun people. Do not shop with anyone who annoys you, pisses you off, drags you down, criticizes you (or your purchases), or is negative.
Do shop with people who crack you up, admire what you buy, have positive energy, and give good fashion advice.
Taking men and/or small children with you is probably not a good idea.
Have fun eating lunch somewhere.
Know what your budget is, and make at least a feeble attempt to adhere to it. If you must break the budget, have a good rationale ready for anyone you might have to account to.
Oh, if you see something you just really, really must have for yourself...well, be your own "secret Santa"! Wrap it up and give to yourself! Let everything think Santa really brought it.
Sometimes it's easier to use Black Friday to get yourself in the mood, start enjoying the decorations, and just reconnoiter for gifts you'll get on a more serious shopping trip.
Go home, put your feet up, order in pizza, and have a glass of wine!
How about you? Where are you shoppin'?
Don't participate in any 4:30 a.m. sales.
Don't expect too much.
If you've looked through the ads and seen something you're interested in, don't expect the store to still have it when you get there. Ask about rainchecks if you can find somebody.
If you can't find a parking space at a store, leave and come back another day.
If you go into a store and there is no end to the check out lines, leave.
Dress comfortably. High heels have no place on Black Friday shopping.
Dress in layers. Some stores are hot.
Take breaks. There are Starbucks on every corner and in Target for a reason. That reason is for you to get a latte, a piece of gingerbread, and sit down a minute.
Go with fun people. Do not shop with anyone who annoys you, pisses you off, drags you down, criticizes you (or your purchases), or is negative.
Do shop with people who crack you up, admire what you buy, have positive energy, and give good fashion advice.
Taking men and/or small children with you is probably not a good idea.
Have fun eating lunch somewhere.
Know what your budget is, and make at least a feeble attempt to adhere to it. If you must break the budget, have a good rationale ready for anyone you might have to account to.
Oh, if you see something you just really, really must have for yourself...well, be your own "secret Santa"! Wrap it up and give to yourself! Let everything think Santa really brought it.
Sometimes it's easier to use Black Friday to get yourself in the mood, start enjoying the decorations, and just reconnoiter for gifts you'll get on a more serious shopping trip.
Go home, put your feet up, order in pizza, and have a glass of wine!
How about you? Where are you shoppin'?
Thursday, November 22, 2007
About Thanksgiving
Because it is: I wake up in my parent's house and am thankful we have another Thanksgiving together.
Soon we will go to my sister's, and I am thankful that she and the rest of our family will be there to eat together another time.
Later, I'll go down to my sister-in-law's, and try to eat some more (and succeed, I'm sure).
We'll call the family who are not with us, and compare menus and traveling stories and the states of our stomachs.
The TV will be on and football will be the focus, and if the Colts win, that's one more thing to be thankful for.
And if the temperature keeps dropping and it starts snowing, we'll be thankful that last night we drive in driving rain and not driving snow.
Tomorrow we'll take it easy but take in some shopping, and be thankful we can pick out presents we know the recipients want or need or will appreciate.
I'll enjoy my trip, and be happy I was here, but it will be good to go home too.
You can argue six ways to Sunday about the first Thanksgiving, but here's something that's written in history: Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation:
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.
Abraham Lincoln
How about you? What's on your menu, and what are you thankful for?
Soon we will go to my sister's, and I am thankful that she and the rest of our family will be there to eat together another time.
Later, I'll go down to my sister-in-law's, and try to eat some more (and succeed, I'm sure).
We'll call the family who are not with us, and compare menus and traveling stories and the states of our stomachs.
The TV will be on and football will be the focus, and if the Colts win, that's one more thing to be thankful for.
And if the temperature keeps dropping and it starts snowing, we'll be thankful that last night we drive in driving rain and not driving snow.
Tomorrow we'll take it easy but take in some shopping, and be thankful we can pick out presents we know the recipients want or need or will appreciate.
I'll enjoy my trip, and be happy I was here, but it will be good to go home too.
You can argue six ways to Sunday about the first Thanksgiving, but here's something that's written in history: Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation:
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.
Abraham Lincoln
How about you? What's on your menu, and what are you thankful for?
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
About a little bling
I'm not a big jewelry person. Ask me to choose a present for my birthday, and I'll go for the gift certificate to B&N or Amazon every time over earrings or a necklace. Books are my obsession, not diamonds.
But bling has its place, and when I received a Kohl's gift certificate for my birthday, I thought I'd spend it on a little sumpin sumpin.
Kohls stores are filled with stuff, for sure, and their web site is even worse, and I have already written about the half-hour of my life I won't get back waiting for the CSR to help me after my online order seemed screwed up.
Which it was, but that's another post.
In one of those serendipitous coincidences that life loves, I recently was introduced to a line of jewelry that is sold at parties. Lia Sophia or something like that. (For someone not interested in jewelry, suddenly it seemed my life was overrun with it.)
Since it was my birthday, my daughter bought me a pretty necklace, and I bought myself a Christmas bracelet.
And best of all, the jewelry party had snacks! Yea, snacks! Almost as good as books!
But I do have two rings I really like (outside of my wedding ring, of course). I have a sapphire my mom got me for Christmas one year that is fashioned on Princess Diana's engagement ring. I've worn it so much it's no longer a circle, but rather a trapezoid thing that is probably making my finger grow funny. Should probably get that fixed, huh?
And I have a diamond with three stones that was my gramma's--I think it's practically antique. I have no idea how much it's worth--it's very sparkly, so I figure that either 1) it's really quite fake or 2) it's really not. Either way, I like it and don't care.
I wear my rings on my ring and middle fingers. And I marvel at people who wear them on their thumbs and/or first fingers,because I think that would drive me crazy. Can you wear them there?
Well, what do you think about a little bling? Is there something you like better?
But bling has its place, and when I received a Kohl's gift certificate for my birthday, I thought I'd spend it on a little sumpin sumpin.
Kohls stores are filled with stuff, for sure, and their web site is even worse, and I have already written about the half-hour of my life I won't get back waiting for the CSR to help me after my online order seemed screwed up.
Which it was, but that's another post.
In one of those serendipitous coincidences that life loves, I recently was introduced to a line of jewelry that is sold at parties. Lia Sophia or something like that. (For someone not interested in jewelry, suddenly it seemed my life was overrun with it.)
Since it was my birthday, my daughter bought me a pretty necklace, and I bought myself a Christmas bracelet.
And best of all, the jewelry party had snacks! Yea, snacks! Almost as good as books!
But I do have two rings I really like (outside of my wedding ring, of course). I have a sapphire my mom got me for Christmas one year that is fashioned on Princess Diana's engagement ring. I've worn it so much it's no longer a circle, but rather a trapezoid thing that is probably making my finger grow funny. Should probably get that fixed, huh?
And I have a diamond with three stones that was my gramma's--I think it's practically antique. I have no idea how much it's worth--it's very sparkly, so I figure that either 1) it's really quite fake or 2) it's really not. Either way, I like it and don't care.
I wear my rings on my ring and middle fingers. And I marvel at people who wear them on their thumbs and/or first fingers,because I think that would drive me crazy. Can you wear them there?
Well, what do you think about a little bling? Is there something you like better?
About holiday weeks
Holidays always stretch beyond their calendar boundaries--for me, anyway. Holidays usually involve travel for us, so that adds another layer of preparation and planning.
And some holiday weeks sneak up on me sneakier than others.
This Thanksgiving has, for sure. I think because I was sick for the first week and a half of November, and I was so busy feeling sick and tired and "is it time to take my medicine?-ish" that the fact that Thanksgiving was coming didn't enter my stuffy brain. I was busy just trying to croak out words.
And as soon as I got better, we had our trip to IKEA that I'd been looking forward to for months, then the week after that, we had a move to help with.
And suddenly, wow!, it's Thanksgiving week! Where AM I?
If I had to cook, I'd be in a real mess, but thank goodness, even if I have that extra layer of packing and driving for three hours, I lose the meal planning/shopping/cooking/entertaining layer. And God knows I pack and drive (or ride) better than I cook!
With my sister all over the meal planning (most of it being catered), I'm concentrating on planning my fashion (mostly jeans) packing (tonight) and checking out where people want to shop on Friday (Crocker Park? Avon? Sandusky?).
So I'm not complaining. I'm just trying to catch my head up to the fact that Thanksgiving week is really here, whether I'm ready or not. Turkeys stop for no woman, you know.
Well, how about you? Are you ready for Thursday?
And some holiday weeks sneak up on me sneakier than others.
This Thanksgiving has, for sure. I think because I was sick for the first week and a half of November, and I was so busy feeling sick and tired and "is it time to take my medicine?-ish" that the fact that Thanksgiving was coming didn't enter my stuffy brain. I was busy just trying to croak out words.
And as soon as I got better, we had our trip to IKEA that I'd been looking forward to for months, then the week after that, we had a move to help with.
And suddenly, wow!, it's Thanksgiving week! Where AM I?
If I had to cook, I'd be in a real mess, but thank goodness, even if I have that extra layer of packing and driving for three hours, I lose the meal planning/shopping/cooking/entertaining layer. And God knows I pack and drive (or ride) better than I cook!
With my sister all over the meal planning (most of it being catered), I'm concentrating on planning my fashion (mostly jeans) packing (tonight) and checking out where people want to shop on Friday (Crocker Park? Avon? Sandusky?).
So I'm not complaining. I'm just trying to catch my head up to the fact that Thanksgiving week is really here, whether I'm ready or not. Turkeys stop for no woman, you know.
Well, how about you? Are you ready for Thursday?
Monday, November 19, 2007
About surviving Thanksgiving
As someone who dieted through two Thanksgiving (and ended up 60 pounds lighter, eventually) this article caught my eye, as I contemplated making it through another big meal without exploding!
The 942-calorie Thanksgiving dinner - TODAY Holiday Guide - MSNBC.com: "Don't deny yourself during the holidays, just make smart food choices"
This article has some good advice. Let me add a some from my own experience!
Most important! Don't eat anything you don't really love. If you don't really love turkey, but do love sweet potatoes, skip the turkey! Eat the potatoes!
Choose to eat those things you don't get all the time but really enjoy. How often we do get stuffing?
For example, I found I could skip the green bean casserole and never miss it, but I couldn't bear to think of not eating my mom's mashed potatoes and special turkey gravy.
I also skipped any vegetable that had been casseroled or sauced out of recognition (cheesy broccoli, creamed corn), but let myself enjoy a little ranch dip on the fresh veggies.
My best hint for pie: have some...but don't eat the crust! The crust is where more of the calories are (hello, lard!). That way, I could eat both a slice pumpkin and one of apple and not feel too guilty. I don't get pie everyday!
Since I love white meat, it wasn't hard to make that choice. And the hint in this article about using a tablespoon to measure out gravy is a good one.
I do love stuffing, but found it only takes about half as much as it did once upon a time to make me feel satisfied. Which leads to another hint: For your first serving of stuff, take small portions, and enjoy every bit. Try something new, if it's offered.
Then, if you have eaten slowly and still find you're craving something, go ahead with a small second serving. Hey, it's Thanksgiving!
I make it a game with myself--and the best thing is, I don't have that "I'm about to burst" feeling of old Thanksgivings. I really enjoy the meal.
If weather permits, we usually take a walk afterward, too.
And wine is always our beverage of choice!
Happy Thanksgiving!
The 942-calorie Thanksgiving dinner - TODAY Holiday Guide - MSNBC.com: "Don't deny yourself during the holidays, just make smart food choices"
This article has some good advice. Let me add a some from my own experience!
Most important! Don't eat anything you don't really love. If you don't really love turkey, but do love sweet potatoes, skip the turkey! Eat the potatoes!
Choose to eat those things you don't get all the time but really enjoy. How often we do get stuffing?
For example, I found I could skip the green bean casserole and never miss it, but I couldn't bear to think of not eating my mom's mashed potatoes and special turkey gravy.
I also skipped any vegetable that had been casseroled or sauced out of recognition (cheesy broccoli, creamed corn), but let myself enjoy a little ranch dip on the fresh veggies.
My best hint for pie: have some...but don't eat the crust! The crust is where more of the calories are (hello, lard!). That way, I could eat both a slice pumpkin and one of apple and not feel too guilty. I don't get pie everyday!
Since I love white meat, it wasn't hard to make that choice. And the hint in this article about using a tablespoon to measure out gravy is a good one.
I do love stuffing, but found it only takes about half as much as it did once upon a time to make me feel satisfied. Which leads to another hint: For your first serving of stuff, take small portions, and enjoy every bit. Try something new, if it's offered.
Then, if you have eaten slowly and still find you're craving something, go ahead with a small second serving. Hey, it's Thanksgiving!
I make it a game with myself--and the best thing is, I don't have that "I'm about to burst" feeling of old Thanksgivings. I really enjoy the meal.
If weather permits, we usually take a walk afterward, too.
And wine is always our beverage of choice!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
About Beowulf
The other day we were sitting around watching football, and a trailer for the new movie about Beowulf came on.
"Beowulf!" I cried. "WHY would they make a movie nowadays about BEOWULF? Who besides me (and other English majors) have had to read Beowulf!?"
"I did," said Tony.
"Me too," said Angela. "Mrs. Bloom made us. Some people had to read that Dante thing instead, though."
Mrs. Bloom was their high school English teacher, and a long-time friend of mine in book club. I should have known a careful English teacher would have assigned this (especially with the high standards of academics in their high school).
Okay, I stood corrected about my own children having read Beowulf. And I let Mrs. Bloom know her teaching had not been forgotten at our last book meeting. It was her opinion that having an excellent monster such as Grendel was the impetus for a Hollywood production of such an epic poem.
After reading about Angelina Jolie's part in the movie, I kind of think this was the reason, but I'm jaded.
Just in case you've never read Beowulf, hop over to Beowulf the Hypertext where you can view both the Old English version:
LO, praise of the prowess of people-kings
of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,
we have heard, and what honor the athelings won!
Oft Scyld the Scefing from squadroned foes,
from many a tribe, the mead-bench tore,
awing the earls. Since erst he lay
friendless, a foundling, fate repaid him:
for he waxed under welkin, in wealth he throve,
till before him the folk, both far and near,
who house by the whale-path, heard his mandate,
gave him gifts: a good king he!
Beowulf might be a little heavy for Sunday!
Well, how about you? Will you be heading out to see a virtually nude Angelina Jolie?
"Beowulf!" I cried. "WHY would they make a movie nowadays about BEOWULF? Who besides me (and other English majors) have had to read Beowulf!?"
"I did," said Tony.
"Me too," said Angela. "Mrs. Bloom made us. Some people had to read that Dante thing instead, though."
Mrs. Bloom was their high school English teacher, and a long-time friend of mine in book club. I should have known a careful English teacher would have assigned this (especially with the high standards of academics in their high school).
Okay, I stood corrected about my own children having read Beowulf. And I let Mrs. Bloom know her teaching had not been forgotten at our last book meeting. It was her opinion that having an excellent monster such as Grendel was the impetus for a Hollywood production of such an epic poem.
After reading about Angelina Jolie's part in the movie, I kind of think this was the reason, but I'm jaded.
Just in case you've never read Beowulf, hop over to Beowulf the Hypertext where you can view both the Old English version:
- Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum, - 5
- monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð
feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad,
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra
LO, praise of the prowess of people-kings
of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,
we have heard, and what honor the athelings won!
Oft Scyld the Scefing from squadroned foes,
from many a tribe, the mead-bench tore,
awing the earls. Since erst he lay
friendless, a foundling, fate repaid him:
for he waxed under welkin, in wealth he throve,
till before him the folk, both far and near,
who house by the whale-path, heard his mandate,
gave him gifts: a good king he!
Beowulf might be a little heavy for Sunday!
Well, how about you? Will you be heading out to see a virtually nude Angelina Jolie?
Saturday, November 17, 2007
About moving
Not us, thank goodness. We're moving furniture around and cleaning stuff out, but this time, it's our daughter's family that's on the move.
Just last January, we helped move our son and his family, so the routine is plenty familiar. I was having a deja vu kind of feeling last night as we got started.
I specialize in unpacking boxes. I take great satisfaction in throwing empty boxes into the garage. I try to put stuff where people want it, but shoot! Even when you unpack your own boxes you end up moving stuff around, especially in the kitchen. You just decided you want the glasses there instead of here, and the casserole dishes on that shelf instead of on that one.
Because we mostly move people around town, it's all rental-truck-and-the-guys-move-the-heavy stuff. (Risking pulled muscles, heart attack and missing the big game.)
It's no wonder that people who hire movers ... LOVE it. (At least when they hire good ones, check www.angieslist.com for recommendations. Worked great for a young friend who just moved to Chicago.)
I still think you need to unpack your own kitchen.
I also think it pays to move every few years just to weed out one's stuff! Since it's been 10 years since we moved, I'm having to do it anyway--through stuff out, I mean, without the benefit of moving.
Well, how about you? Are you movin' and shakin'?
Just last January, we helped move our son and his family, so the routine is plenty familiar. I was having a deja vu kind of feeling last night as we got started.
I specialize in unpacking boxes. I take great satisfaction in throwing empty boxes into the garage. I try to put stuff where people want it, but shoot! Even when you unpack your own boxes you end up moving stuff around, especially in the kitchen. You just decided you want the glasses there instead of here, and the casserole dishes on that shelf instead of on that one.
Because we mostly move people around town, it's all rental-truck-and-the-guys-move-the-heavy stuff. (Risking pulled muscles, heart attack and missing the big game.)
It's no wonder that people who hire movers ... LOVE it. (At least when they hire good ones, check www.angieslist.com for recommendations. Worked great for a young friend who just moved to Chicago.)
I still think you need to unpack your own kitchen.
I also think it pays to move every few years just to weed out one's stuff! Since it's been 10 years since we moved, I'm having to do it anyway--through stuff out, I mean, without the benefit of moving.
Well, how about you? Are you movin' and shakin'?
Friday, November 16, 2007
About late yesterday afternoon
Walked out of work in to a wind sharp and cold and it took my breath away and blew me awake. Above me the pin oaks rustled and chattered as they will until next spring. The sky spit snow.
My car was stiff and reluctant to head home, unlike its driver.
To the west and north the cumulonimbus showed great blue rips and the wefts of light promised little but a hard freeze tonight.
In November, winter comes
Route 24 from Huntington to Fort Wayne ribbons through the small, farmland-flat valley of the Little River, with tree-filled ridges to the north and south--once, the Wabash-Erie Canal flowed there, too. Long gone, though a plaque for old Lock No. 4 can be read when you sit at the right place at the stop light in Roanoke.
The leaves linger long, even on the maples this year, and the ones around the houses on the north ridge still flame red and orange, though the brilliant puddles around them grow larger. Soon, all will be reduced to thin silhouettes.
The soybean fields are long since harvested, and the corn mostly so, the stalks bent and the fields stretching yellow-gray from the road to the wind-row down by the river.
But like a checkerboard oasis, acres of green intersperse the fallow. With the harvest, and empty fields, comes planting. Even now, already, winter wheat grows, and these fields will grow all season long, even as ice and snow cover them. The green remains.
I love winter wheat.
How about you? What gets you through the winter?
My car was stiff and reluctant to head home, unlike its driver.
To the west and north the cumulonimbus showed great blue rips and the wefts of light promised little but a hard freeze tonight.
In November, winter comes
Route 24 from Huntington to Fort Wayne ribbons through the small, farmland-flat valley of the Little River, with tree-filled ridges to the north and south--once, the Wabash-Erie Canal flowed there, too. Long gone, though a plaque for old Lock No. 4 can be read when you sit at the right place at the stop light in Roanoke.
The leaves linger long, even on the maples this year, and the ones around the houses on the north ridge still flame red and orange, though the brilliant puddles around them grow larger. Soon, all will be reduced to thin silhouettes.
The soybean fields are long since harvested, and the corn mostly so, the stalks bent and the fields stretching yellow-gray from the road to the wind-row down by the river.
But like a checkerboard oasis, acres of green intersperse the fallow. With the harvest, and empty fields, comes planting. Even now, already, winter wheat grows, and these fields will grow all season long, even as ice and snow cover them. The green remains.
I love winter wheat.
How about you? What gets you through the winter?
Thursday, November 15, 2007
About my life spent on hold with Kohl's
Like last night. I had a birthday gift certificate, good for online shopping only, at Kohl's. Plus, I had a 15% off coupon I could use in tandem. These shopping discounts were burnin' a hole in my cyber-pocket, so I spent some time surfing the aisles at Kohls.com. (Editor's site review: Their site is terrible. At first glance, it's okay. But try to find something.... They have too much stuff, and it's not well organized. Products appear in several, seemingly unrelated, places. I had to dig and dig to find a pair of earrings that had been featured on the jewelry page just last week.)
I finally found the object of my desire, and added a little sumpin', and proceeded to checkout.
Filled out all the name address blah blah, Kohl's credit card, then added the gift certificate info and the coupon in what seemed to be a very nicely organized fashion.
Except when I hit "order," and was able to review my order, while the 15% off coupon was clearly applied, I would see no where that the $20 gift certificate had been deducted. Bummer!
Stymied, I called the toll-free number, only to be told right off by my new electronic friend that "waits are longer than you may be used to at Kohls.com and you might want to call back later."
Well no I didn't want to call back later, so I pressed all the right buttons (as my new friend instructed me) and finally got to the Musak place.
Where I stayed for fifteen or twenty minutes. Thank God for Firefox and tabbed browsing! I could keep my Kohl's checkout screen up and amuse myself at the same time.
FINALLY, a real human announced herself. After selling her my firstborn child to prove my identity (sorry, Ang, we'll miss you, but I know you love Kohl's) she was able to look at my order and discern that, indeed, yes, that gift certificate had been applied, my Kohl's card had been charged the correct amount, and it was all good.
Okay, bye then. Can I have Angela back?
I run a web site, so I know we're still figuring out this internet thing. But, knowing a little about how ecommerce works, I'm stumped as to why the screen I was looking at was not jiving with what she was looking at.
Well, I won't get that 15 or 20 minutes back, but I did learn that Kevin Federline is taking Brit back to court for something or other. And, I am gonna get those earrings. And that other sumpin'.
How about you? Had any lengthly online shopping experiences lately?
I finally found the object of my desire, and added a little sumpin', and proceeded to checkout.
Filled out all the name address blah blah, Kohl's credit card, then added the gift certificate info and the coupon in what seemed to be a very nicely organized fashion.
Except when I hit "order," and was able to review my order, while the 15% off coupon was clearly applied, I would see no where that the $20 gift certificate had been deducted. Bummer!
Stymied, I called the toll-free number, only to be told right off by my new electronic friend that "waits are longer than you may be used to at Kohls.com and you might want to call back later."
Well no I didn't want to call back later, so I pressed all the right buttons (as my new friend instructed me) and finally got to the Musak place.
Where I stayed for fifteen or twenty minutes. Thank God for Firefox and tabbed browsing! I could keep my Kohl's checkout screen up and amuse myself at the same time.
FINALLY, a real human announced herself. After selling her my firstborn child to prove my identity (sorry, Ang, we'll miss you, but I know you love Kohl's) she was able to look at my order and discern that, indeed, yes, that gift certificate had been applied, my Kohl's card had been charged the correct amount, and it was all good.
Okay, bye then. Can I have Angela back?
I run a web site, so I know we're still figuring out this internet thing. But, knowing a little about how ecommerce works, I'm stumped as to why the screen I was looking at was not jiving with what she was looking at.
Well, I won't get that 15 or 20 minutes back, but I did learn that Kevin Federline is taking Brit back to court for something or other. And, I am gonna get those earrings. And that other sumpin'.
How about you? Had any lengthly online shopping experiences lately?
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
About cleaning out my dresser
Well, my new dresser from IKEA got put together last night (one to go for the roomie), and that means only, well, two things:
1) my bedroom is going to look much better with new dressers, yea! and
2) now I have to clean out my old one.
I've used the old dresser since about 1982 or '83, and indeed, it HAS been cleaned out since then. I just can't remember when that cleaning occurred. I think it was when I ran out of sock space back in 1998.
It's not a real big dresser--well, it's long, and has nine drawers--but the drawers are all really small. So I kind of had to get rid of some stuff to survive with it.
Still, theoretically, I might have 10-year-old socks and worse in this dresser. You know--10-year-old unmentionables of the underpants kind.
And, I know the lower-left drawer has a strange miscellany of stuff in it--shoulder pads I removed to keep from looking like a linebacker (or too '80s obsessed), scarves (I know I have kept one that was a Christmas present in the '70s from an aunt), all the extra buttons that come with stuff (quite the collection, in a shoebox) (and of course the one I need is never one of the ones I kept), receipts (do I really need that long-gone Hudson's receipt from 1988?), extra bra straps (for those multi-function bras), and God knows what else. Probably everything except money.
Not to mention what's on top the dresser, the jewelry case with the stuff I wear all the time, and the two with "legacy" jewelry in it, stuff I wore in the, oh God, '80s and '90s that for some reason is hard to part with. Oh and my pantyhose box, totally useless since I hate pantyhose and quit wearing them some time ago.
And my perfume, but all that's new.
I'm going to suck it up and get rid of the legacy stuff--if I want to remember it, I'll take a picture of it. My new dresser deserves only contemporary stuff.
The next project will be my husband-roomie's dresser, an even more challenging project--he has '70s stuff in his. I told him he's getting a couple plastic storage bins and his memorabilia is going in the basement!
Well, how about you? What legacy items are you going to get rid of?
1) my bedroom is going to look much better with new dressers, yea! and
2) now I have to clean out my old one.
I've used the old dresser since about 1982 or '83, and indeed, it HAS been cleaned out since then. I just can't remember when that cleaning occurred. I think it was when I ran out of sock space back in 1998.
It's not a real big dresser--well, it's long, and has nine drawers--but the drawers are all really small. So I kind of had to get rid of some stuff to survive with it.
Still, theoretically, I might have 10-year-old socks and worse in this dresser. You know--10-year-old unmentionables of the underpants kind.
And, I know the lower-left drawer has a strange miscellany of stuff in it--shoulder pads I removed to keep from looking like a linebacker (or too '80s obsessed), scarves (I know I have kept one that was a Christmas present in the '70s from an aunt), all the extra buttons that come with stuff (quite the collection, in a shoebox) (and of course the one I need is never one of the ones I kept), receipts (do I really need that long-gone Hudson's receipt from 1988?), extra bra straps (for those multi-function bras), and God knows what else. Probably everything except money.
Not to mention what's on top the dresser, the jewelry case with the stuff I wear all the time, and the two with "legacy" jewelry in it, stuff I wore in the, oh God, '80s and '90s that for some reason is hard to part with. Oh and my pantyhose box, totally useless since I hate pantyhose and quit wearing them some time ago.
And my perfume, but all that's new.
I'm going to suck it up and get rid of the legacy stuff--if I want to remember it, I'll take a picture of it. My new dresser deserves only contemporary stuff.
The next project will be my husband-roomie's dresser, an even more challenging project--he has '70s stuff in his. I told him he's getting a couple plastic storage bins and his memorabilia is going in the basement!
Well, how about you? What legacy items are you going to get rid of?
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
About books about dysfunctional people
I finished a book last night called The Glass Castle: A Memoir, by Jeannette Walls. (Read an interview with her here»)
The best part about this book was, I ended it feeling as if I were the best parent ever. Because, for all the eccentrically wonderful nuttiness of Walls' parents--her father giving her a star for Christmas, her mother waiting to name the newest baby until exactly the right name became evident--the gross neglect and passive physical abuse of these children made me want to cry through most of it. I just don't think allowing a three year old to make his or her own dinner on the stove, resulting in terrible burns, is anything except child abuse.
They lived most of the time in poverty and squalor, and if they learned self-sufficiency and inspired make-do cover-ups (like inventing her own braces), they also learned as they grew up that their parents did not learn from their mistakes, even as they encouraged their children to make and learn from their own.
And interestingly, three of the four children emerged relatively unscathed from their childhoods--her sister, a artist, her brother, a police officer, herself, a writer and journalist. Their youngest sister, the delayed-named Maureen, seems to be the one most closely resembling their flawed parents.
I always disagree with Dostoevsky--unhappy families nearly always share the same reasons for being unhappy: alcohol, drugs, mental illness. And I'm not sure there are many "happy" families; there are only fully or partially functioning ones, ones that manage illness and upset, loss of jobs and loss of life, and are still talking to each other, having Thanksgiving dinner together, laughing with or at whatever it is that's in their way.
Well, what about you? How dysfunctional are you feelin'?
The best part about this book was, I ended it feeling as if I were the best parent ever. Because, for all the eccentrically wonderful nuttiness of Walls' parents--her father giving her a star for Christmas, her mother waiting to name the newest baby until exactly the right name became evident--the gross neglect and passive physical abuse of these children made me want to cry through most of it. I just don't think allowing a three year old to make his or her own dinner on the stove, resulting in terrible burns, is anything except child abuse.
They lived most of the time in poverty and squalor, and if they learned self-sufficiency and inspired make-do cover-ups (like inventing her own braces), they also learned as they grew up that their parents did not learn from their mistakes, even as they encouraged their children to make and learn from their own.
And interestingly, three of the four children emerged relatively unscathed from their childhoods--her sister, a artist, her brother, a police officer, herself, a writer and journalist. Their youngest sister, the delayed-named Maureen, seems to be the one most closely resembling their flawed parents.
I always disagree with Dostoevsky--unhappy families nearly always share the same reasons for being unhappy: alcohol, drugs, mental illness. And I'm not sure there are many "happy" families; there are only fully or partially functioning ones, ones that manage illness and upset, loss of jobs and loss of life, and are still talking to each other, having Thanksgiving dinner together, laughing with or at whatever it is that's in their way.
Well, what about you? How dysfunctional are you feelin'?
Monday, November 12, 2007
About waitin' for the sun to come out
On our way up to Michigan on Saturday, the sun was kind of in-and-out. We left under cloudy skies...then things lightened and it was partly cloudy awhile...then back to cloudy...party cloudy...but by the time we got to Canton, Michigan, it got cloudy and stayed that way--and worse!--for the rest of the weekend.
When it got home and were unloading, my neighbor across the street was racking leaves. "I hate being cooped up already!" she railed, and I knew just what she meant.
We got spoiled this summer--with the warm weather starting towards the end of April and and not leaving us until October. Too used to shorts and flipflops, windows open (or air conditioner on, I don't miss that!), no jacket needed, a Florida kind of life.
But it was back to the reality of what fall and winter in Indiana is really like, the short grey days (and they have seemed oh so short since the time change), the chill, the jeans-and-sweaters-and-winter-coat wardrobe (although the Michigan folks haven't quite all jumped on that wagon, I saw tons of guys in shorts and sandals), the AIS evenings.
If I ever have one second in the summer when I think longingly of jeans-and-sweaters weather, it takes one week of reality to remind me of why I love Florida.
I do like the seasons, I do like the change, I do I do I do I do, as the cowardly lion said in The Wizard of Oz. I just really don't like being cold.
I'll get through this winter, as I have all the others. Maybe we'll escape to The Sunshine State in March or so for a break. Although I've found that nothing feels worse on slightly sunburned skin than snow.
Well, what about you? Light or dark?
When it got home and were unloading, my neighbor across the street was racking leaves. "I hate being cooped up already!" she railed, and I knew just what she meant.
We got spoiled this summer--with the warm weather starting towards the end of April and and not leaving us until October. Too used to shorts and flipflops, windows open (or air conditioner on, I don't miss that!), no jacket needed, a Florida kind of life.
But it was back to the reality of what fall and winter in Indiana is really like, the short grey days (and they have seemed oh so short since the time change), the chill, the jeans-and-sweaters-and-winter-coat wardrobe (although the Michigan folks haven't quite all jumped on that wagon, I saw tons of guys in shorts and sandals), the AIS evenings.
If I ever have one second in the summer when I think longingly of jeans-and-sweaters weather, it takes one week of reality to remind me of why I love Florida.
I do like the seasons, I do like the change, I do I do I do I do, as the cowardly lion said in The Wizard of Oz. I just really don't like being cold.
I'll get through this winter, as I have all the others. Maybe we'll escape to The Sunshine State in March or so for a break. Although I've found that nothing feels worse on slightly sunburned skin than snow.
Well, what about you? Light or dark?
Sunday, November 11, 2007
About IKEA and 8 Mile Road
What do I think of when I think of Detroit? CKLW, that's what, because when I grew up in northern Ohio in the late '60s and early '70s, that was the radio station we listened to. Detroit/Windsor, 50,000 watts of pop and Motown music wonder. I knew Detroit by the radio--the streets, the suburbs, the businesses, the music. (I'd been there a couple times too--the Henry Ford museum, Belle Isle. Not enough to count.)
I knew Detroit was rocked by the same kind of riots--even worse--than in Cleveland, neighborhoods burning, a city divided.
But when I thought of Detroit, it was the music, the cars, what to me at 14 or so seemed the height of cool.
By the time I was a junior in high school, our radio-listening habits changed--we started listening to FM stations out of Cleveland, and Detroit faded from view.
And now, so often it's portrayed a a city in trouble, automotive industry struggling, just one more rust-belt urban area on the downhill slide.
Or not all?
We went to IKEA in Canton, Michigan, this weekend. And that area seems to be anything but struggling. Plymouth, Canton, Novi--those area seemed alive and kickin' to me. Lots of shopping, upscale stores and dining, busy busy busy--no sign of urban blight anywhere.
I was watching the new last night and they were having quite the gala at the newly refurbished art museum, I believe--the reporter kept referring to the place by its initials and I had to infer just what was going on.
But it was tux and gown, jewels and diamond cuff link kind of grand, and a good time was being had by all--everyone seemed quite pleased with the facility, and predicted it would do great things for Detroit.
Well, between wanting to see the Henry Ford complex again, and desperately needing to go to IKEA again (now, that was FUN shopping!), and check out some other shopping we spotted, and being curious about the art museum, and the guys wanting to check out the baseball stadium for some time, I think another trip might be in order.
We passed 8 Mile Road. My memories of all the businesses I used to hear advertised there--and Eminem's movies--got all mixed up in my head.
Well, how about you? What are you thinkin' about urban renewal?
I knew Detroit was rocked by the same kind of riots--even worse--than in Cleveland, neighborhoods burning, a city divided.
But when I thought of Detroit, it was the music, the cars, what to me at 14 or so seemed the height of cool.
By the time I was a junior in high school, our radio-listening habits changed--we started listening to FM stations out of Cleveland, and Detroit faded from view.
And now, so often it's portrayed a a city in trouble, automotive industry struggling, just one more rust-belt urban area on the downhill slide.
Or not all?
We went to IKEA in Canton, Michigan, this weekend. And that area seems to be anything but struggling. Plymouth, Canton, Novi--those area seemed alive and kickin' to me. Lots of shopping, upscale stores and dining, busy busy busy--no sign of urban blight anywhere.
I was watching the new last night and they were having quite the gala at the newly refurbished art museum, I believe--the reporter kept referring to the place by its initials and I had to infer just what was going on.
But it was tux and gown, jewels and diamond cuff link kind of grand, and a good time was being had by all--everyone seemed quite pleased with the facility, and predicted it would do great things for Detroit.
Well, between wanting to see the Henry Ford complex again, and desperately needing to go to IKEA again (now, that was FUN shopping!), and check out some other shopping we spotted, and being curious about the art museum, and the guys wanting to check out the baseball stadium for some time, I think another trip might be in order.
We passed 8 Mile Road. My memories of all the businesses I used to hear advertised there--and Eminem's movies--got all mixed up in my head.
Well, how about you? What are you thinkin' about urban renewal?
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