Lights

( Edit - Sorry, this doesn't work and I have NO idea why.... except that it's 5 mb )
Let's see if this works


Click here to watch 'lights4447'

It's a big file but it's fun.

Sorry Amelia

I really WAS going to blog about what we discussed earlier this evening, but I can't find the website we were looking at. Names, you see, go in my brain and fall right out.

And how was that ice cream bar, anyway?

Eee awwww

So, at the ripe old age of 39.99999 I have seen and heard quite a bit.

Somehow, I missed a Christmas "classic". A delightful little tune, called Dominick the Donkey. (lyrics like when Santa visits his Paisans he uses donkeys because the reindeer can't climb the hills of I-tal-eee)

I heard it for the first time the other day. It's a monstrosity. A "get stuck in your kids' brains and they will sing it over and over", horrible, awful thing.

And they keep singing it.

For LOST fans

go here and when you see a square representing a seat turn green, click on it...

I've found Charlie(29c), Claire, Boone(9e), Shannon(9f), and Locke. (It's a slow day here)

Also, where it says 42F, click on the blinking f... then go to the seat for Anna Lucia, highlighted way in the back of the plane, and click on that.

Suzy 1, Tom 0

My sister (who blogged for only about 3 days, but whatever...) had to work Thursday night, so she had us over for a late Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday.

Monday we used Kraft's website to determine that if she bought a 20 lb turkey she could put it in her fridge (since there was NO room in the freezer) and it should be defrosted by Saturday morning.

Should.

Wasn't.

She called me about 9:15 Saturday morning and told me that she'd taken the turkey out from the fridge when she got home from work, and the little bugger was still all frozen inside. She spent at least 30 - 45 minutes running cold water down into his rib cage to get out that nasty bag of giblets. She'd had a crappy night at work, (she's been sick and not sleeping well so it was capped by a full-scale asthma attack at the front desk just before leaving -- they almost called a code and took her to the ER), so as a bonus she cried the entire time.

When she had his giblets out, she flipped the little bastard over and discovered that his liver was shoved up into his other cavity. She screamed "Nooooooo!" and debated drop-kicking the little guy off the balcony of her apartment but decided against that. Cried, ran cold water, pried guts out of him.

When she called me, my only advice was "put him in the oven and go to bed, you need sleep." She bastes with a combo of melted butter mixed with brown sugar; some of that spilled on the oven floor, so she got a nice facefull of smoke at one point. Lovely.

When all was said and done, the meat was falling off the bones, and it was very juicy and delicious. We had sweet potatoes and my brother made the green bean goo (it was good), and I also made stuffing from scratch (with apple, celery, spices, and so on) which apparently drove my mother up the wall because it takes "too long" but it was great.

We had a moment of silence for Ruth Siems and then ate a great dinner (first my son had this very cute speech about how we should be grateful for the Pilgrims and their friend Squanto- - - bear in mind, he looks like he has a purple goatee, because he sucked a cup onto his face and walked around with "no hands" for at least 5 minutes on Thursday... it's a giant bruise. Dork!)

Next year, Suzy is making HAM.

Even if you're busy, busy busy

... there are always holiday specials to catch on tv. Right? Well, I don't know about you but I just can NOT bring myself to watch It's a Wonderful Life. It's so drippy schmaltzy, the words "Every time a bell rings" just are like nails on a chalkboard for me. However, for those of you who DO want to watch, it's on December 10th on NBC.

Trust me, a better movie is Holiday Inn, airing December 4th on AMC. Bing sings! Fred dances! There are some damn funny lines in the movie, too.

Or your tastes may run to Bill Murray, Scrooged (11/28 on TBS). We can still be friends.

You have to catch the classics.... Rudolph, November 30 on CBS... Santa Claus is Comin to Town (Dec 3, Family channel)... Charlie Brown (December 6th on ABC)... Grinch (the 12th on Cartoon Network), and Frosty, December 17th on CBS.

There is one that Mr. C never misses- it's called A Christmas Story and it's this weird little film about a boy who wants a Red Ryder BB gun. I just don't get it, but if you watch it maybe you can tell me the appeal (TBS, beginning at 8 pm Christmas eve, and running on a loop for TWENTY FOUR HOURS, I kid you not. )

Christmas in Washington? Um, with Rascal Flatts, the "Loverboy" of country music? I think not. I also think I'll be skipping The Happy Elf (what was Harry Connick thinking??) and the Jimmy Neutron special.

Festivus, the holiday for the rest of us? 12/22 on TBS. See you there.

Bored?

check these out if you, like me, turn to celebrity fodder in times of insomnia:

Pop Candy

A Socialite's Life (there is a holiday tie in here...go look closely at the turkey picture...wtf?)

Discuss

The only (mildly) amusing thing that happened to me today is that I was speaking via phone to a woman at a jewelry store and asking about baby bracelets for my niece. Ms. Saleslady said that she had one that was yellow gold with puff tarts.

Hello?

Ohhh... puffed hearts.

THAT being all I have to offer the internet today, I'll leave you all with these questions. Jump right in and give me your answers.

(questions stolen from Tay, who stole them from someone else... viva la internet! )

It's Thanksgiving. Would you rather host the party or be a guest?
I have never made a Thanksgiving dinner, and don't plan to any time soon. Too many side dishes, all needing to be hot upon delivery. The pressure! I bring a pumpkin pie or cheesecake and wine. I do Christmas dinner often. Take a roast beef, pour guinness over it, throw some veggies around it later. Voila.

What's your signature side dish?
Hmmm. Not a signature dish but I do make this green bean thing with almonds and lemon that my mother loves. (No mushroom soup allowed in the dish.)

Do you watch the Macy's parade? Why or Why not?
The Mr. and the kids love it so it will be on. I pay only a little bit of attention to it because I don't care about most of it, but I love Kermit the Frog (:::::hangs head in shame:::::). I would like to bring my kids down there in a year or two .

Will you be doing Christmas/Holiday shopping the day after Thanksgiving?
No, used to, but lately we go to a benefit that is always held on Black Friday, for the hospital where I had me ticker fixed. We used to like to start our shopping that day. We'd head out around lunch time when the nutjobs (sorry) were getting tired from being up at 3 am. We'd shop for a while, then have dinner.

What is the next movie you plan to see in the theater?
It's not my turn to pick the movie. I don't pick well. Refer to my post about Sin City. Bad choice for me!

What do you want for Christmas?
One of these because it gives true color and I would work on my art stuff more in the evening. Could someone please tell the Mr. ?? Never mind, I will. I need to find one that doesn't cost quite this much.

It's not Christmas until __________ is on TV.
Holiday Inn, which is NOT White Christmas. It contains people singing White Christmas, but is NOT White Christmas. It is one of my favorite movies of all time. Note: I cheat, I play this one myself because I own it.

(Amazon.com essential video: This perennial, Christmas-season favorite from 1942 teamed Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire as entertainers (and rival suitors of Marjorie Reynolds) running an inn that is only open on holidays. It's a great excuse for lots of singing and dancing, seamlessly wrapped in a catchy story, and Astaire's frequent director Mark Sandrich (Top Hat, Shall We Dance?) doesn't let us down. The Irving Berlin numbers (each one connected to a different holiday) are winners. Crosby's warm performance of "White Christmas" is a movie touchstone. --Tom Keogh )

I hearby tag you all. Especially you, in the office alone because everybody else has the day off.

Happy Thanksgiving.

How much Cider Would a Woodchuck Drink?

Wandering aimlessly around my local supermarket the other day, I came across Woodchuck Amber Draft Cider -- it's "hard" cider (fermented).

So since the wine classes are over (:::sniffle:::) I figured why not branch out and try it?

Really, not bad, a pleasant taste and fun to drink with some cheese (smoked gouda) and crackers (try the Baked Ritz, they are excellent). Not really sure if it's as strong as a "real" beer - 5% alcohol by volume according to the package. But it's got a nice beat and I can dance to it.

PS: buy me this shirt

Ho Ho Ho and stuff

Only 35 days until Christmas.

Yes, I actually woke up early, couldn't go back to sleep, and now I'm up stressing. When I stress I make lists.

I have SO much to do:

• Cards - the crafty person trapped in my brain LOVES to make our cards. I'm considering doing it with the kids this week. If they're not made by Thursday, I surrender to the other kind. It's still too much work to sign, address, get photos made, etc.
• Cleaning(haha, ok, you got me there)
• Cookies - I make awesome cookies when I have the time and I love to do this so I squeeze it in
• Decorating - luckily Mr. C does most of this with the kids. Since he insists on two trees (don't get me started) we usually have family over and make a decorating/ baking party out of it, early in December.
• Gifts - ugh. I am chief list maker and "budgeter". Notice the irony of those quotes.
• Keep track of what holiday gatherings we're going to and make sure I have outfits for everybody
• Make dinner Christmas day for my extended family (this will be after singing at midnight mass at Church, which technically is NOT midnight mass anymore, since the past few years it has been starting at 8pm, which makes a good half of the choir nuts, but frankly I don't LIKE being up until 2 am that night...)
  

I'm looking around OrganizedChristmas.com to see if it will help. Funny, I can't find the link to hire someone to come and do all this crap for me.

PS: Dear Roadrunner, why the hell do you keep dropping my signal lately? I'm rather tired of seeing a message pop up that my lan cable is unplugged.

Flash Fiction Friday #17

click on the link above to read JJ's diabolical plot... this is my entry for this week's FFF assignment.

***

So anyway, my boyfriend Pete is totally pissed about the fact that we lost him. What was I supposed to do? The inside wants out.

I huddle in the corner of the lounge. He doesn't really know which building is which on campus. I know he won't come looking for me.

I mull over the events of the last 24 hours. The concert, which we attended with one of my "new friends" and her boyfriend. As in "those new college friends of yours are giving you ideas I don't like." You know, crazy ideas like living on campus for my sophomore year, like a normal student.

The lead guitarist set him off, by making eyes at Suzy, then at me, then arching his back in mock ecstasy after she blew him a kiss. That was when I felt Pete's hand clench on my wrist, tugging me backward, closer to him. For a moment I was afraid we'd have to leave the concert. It's not every day you get up so close to the stage. So, I didn't fight him.

He fought with me, later. Calling me a whore, telling me I only wanted to move on campus so I could "slut around" with the boys from the private college. The fact that I wouldn't even have sex with HIM, that I was still a virgin even after we'd dated for five years, seemed to not deter him from the idea that once I moved on campus I'd be the ultimate party gal.

My mother was listening, of course, just inside the door of our house. I had grown used to my sister listening outside the door when I was on the phone, crying and trying to convince him that I DID love him, and that I didn't mean to make him angry. My sister monitored my phone calls, and my mother hung around doorways when he was dropping me off. When she'd had enough of him yelling at me last night, she'd pulled me in and ordered him: "Go home."

This morning I'd been about to leave to go pick up the city bus to the campus, when my father got home from work and told me Pete was parked about halfway down our block.

I was terrified. I knew he would punch me again. He'd only done it once before, this past summer. We'd had an argument (about college) and he pulled over to the side of the road, and told me "get out." So I did. Then he wanted me to get back in, and I wouldn't. He drove away. I sat on the side of the road, in tears. When he came back, I got in. He said "don't ever do that to me again," and punched me in the face.

My mother picked up her purse, and told me she'd drive me to campus. My father walked down the street, talked with Pete, and then I saw his car go past our house. My father came in and wouldn't say much, other than that he'd told Pete "When a girl wants to leave, sometimes you have to let go."

My mother got about halfway to campus and said "he's behind me." She sped up, made a few turns, and god help us she even went the wrong way down a one way street, but she got rid of him. Didn't matter much, he knew where I was headed.

I went to my first class today, but I sat in the back, unable to concentrate. I slipped over to the commuter's lounge, to pick up my mail, and sit here and chill for half an hour.

So anyway, he's pissed.

I know that he thinks it was my parents, trying to keep us apart, especially the way my mother was driving. (A one way street. Unbelievable that I had to have so much drama just trying to get to Calculus.) I know that he is even more furious then he was that summer day. How am I going to tell him that it is ME who wants us to part?

The answer comes to me as I am walking to my next class. I hear a horn blare. I look, and when I see him, I look into his eyes, and then I run. I don't look back. I just run, without hesitation, without any fear, as fast as I can go in the opposite direction.

I'm going to move on campus next fall.

Elf time

Thirty shopping days left for Christmas? That doesn't seem right but it was on a website (maybe they mean to allow time for delivery). l I have "officially" started my Christmas shopping already (but I only one or 2 gifts to show for it.)

So, here are the two uuuuuuugliest items I saw in the JCP catalog today. I actually recoiled in horror each time. I'm sure someone somewhere will think, "wow, those are nice" but ...eek. It's an Apprentice task gone horribly wrong, or something.

First we have a rather bizzare color scheme on this blender by Jenn Air


Next, we have this mixer... someone decided "apple" is a color everyone would want in their kitchen.



I can't even imagine the color schemes for the kitchens these appliances would sit in.

Nouveau

Well, I just realized that I deleted half of my links off to the right. Soooooorry everybody. I am working on putting that back together. Don't take it personally.

In other news, the 2005 Beaujolais Nouveau is out, so get yourselves out to the local wine store and snap some up. (Be sure to drink it no later than New Year's Eve. ) Sadly, there are no more wine classes I can take. But read Young Dead Grape for some fun information about what BN is all about.

A Rachel Wannabe

Tonight for dinner I got creative. The scary thing is, dinner actually WAS good. After 20 years of cooking for myself I am getting the hang of this...

I simmered a handfull of chopped sundried tomatoes in some white wine and in another pan I sauteed mushrooms in olive oil. In ANOTHER pan (yes, Mr. C is going to love all of these dishes...) I had about a pound and a half of chicken tenders in some olive oil and cooked them up (I cut them up while they were cooking so they were more like chunks or shreds of chicken meat.)

Then I boiled some cheese tortellini (Buitoni, it was a 20 oz package) and after it was cooked I dropped it back in the pot and mixed it with some pesto sauce (Buitoni again). You don't need to heat the pesto sauce though - you could just dump it all into a really big serving bowl and mix it that way.

Mix the mushrooms, meat, and pasta together, add the tomatoes on top, and sprinkle on some (real) parmesan cheese - don't touch that green plastic shaker can. Pestollini Chicken? Whatever.

Garlic might have been nice somewhere here - maybe garlic bread, or a caesar salad even.

It was Yum-O as Ms. Ray would say..... if you don't believe me, well, click on the title link and go check out the web page for her new magazine (which, by the way, is very good) and find something else to make for dinner.

I'm not really sure where my ice cream maker is at this moment, but some lemon sorbet would be REALLY good right now.

When do I get my own show?

Catalogued

Number of catalogs I received in the mail today: 7

Number of catalogs I will read: 1
(Sharper Image, because I need to buy this and put it in Virgil's office)

One catalog I flipped through had this little beauty in it. I'm sooooo buying this. Isn't it amazing?? Egads.

Sugar gliders, not canes

Anyone who worked with me about.... hmm, maybe 7 years ago worked with a guy named PDE, Jr.

Yes, he did use the JR as well as his full name, always. Unlike Dick Harder, who I swear to everything was another guy I worked with a year or two before that, and I never really did understand why he wasn't Richard or Rick or Ricky even. Or, something like FRED for crying out loud. I wanted to punch him every time I had to say his name to someone. That's right up there with my not-so-fond memories of Mike who went on "vacation" and came back as Kim. Yeeeesh.

Anyway, if you have ever met PDE, you will just love this story. Anyone else, move along. Nothing to see in this post. Sorry! Refunds available at the door.

How

Can you not laugh hysterically at this?

It's been a long day.

My next trick

We might redecorate rooms after the holidays (no time or money now)

thinking of painting this on my son's wall and doing something like this (generally, beach, or underwater scene) for my daughter

FFF- #16 - Lost in the suburban jungle

It's time for Flash Fiction Friday again, kiddies; click the title link to go read JJ's post to find out more.



"Jack!"

I heard a slight whizzing sound come close to my face and jerked my head sharply backwards, just before a brightly painted arrow flew past my nose.

"Jack!" I whispered hoarsely. "Jack! Where are you? It's me, Kate."

Silence.

I wheezed, trying to catch my breath, and listened, trying to keep my adrenaline-charged limbs motionless for a moment, listening intently. Nothing but a slight rustle of leaves.

I looked into the trees, hoping to see where the arrow had come from, but saw only darkness. I glanced down at the ground, in time to see a snake slithering along - away from me, but I let out a startled "eeep!" despite myself and my arms flailed, unconsciously trying to find a weapon.

I covered my eyes with my palms for a moment, and tried to take a deep breath. Unbelievable. What the hell was I going to do now?

I took another step into the woods, my heart lurching inside my chest as though some hideous troll was inside my ribcage, trying to sledgehammer his way out.

"Jack?" This time, my voice came out a bit louder. I was getting angry.

"John Gilbert Winston the third, you come out right this minute or when your mother gets home from her massage I'm going to tell her you were hiding on me again, you little brat. "

I gritted my teeth. Still nothing.

"She'll take away your X box for two weeks this time, you know it! She said so. You have until the count of three. ONE, TWO... "

The brave warrior emerged from behind a clump of bushes, holding his bow and one more arrow. His jeans were ripped at one knee, the sweatshirt was muddy, and he had some sort of leaf stuck in his hair. I hoped it wasn't poison ivy (again).

"Oh come on Kate, please don't tell!" His eight-year-old bravado had been replaced with the bug-eyed panic of a child who realizes they've taken a game just a step too far.

"It'll cost you half of the candy in your secret Halloween stash, you little creep. Now get inside!"

His shoulders dropped, and he began walking up the trail, back to the yard.

A little news

I read the paper, and the local news had several eyebrow-raising stories today.

there was this (one leg?)

this (bet someone's looking for those damn screws today)

and this (well, yikes...footnote, this paper is just my LEAST favorite so they were a little bit unneccessarily cruel to this man, but holy crap... )

So Yesterday

I dropped out of my normal routine today for a few hours. I bought a book yesterday(hah) at Borders, while I was helping my kid spend her gift card on one of the Harry Potters.

The book is So Yesterday, by Scott Westerfeld. I picked it up about 3 hours ago and just came up for air after the last page. It was excellent.

The funny thing is, one of the two main characters reminds me so much of a person I know that it freaked me out the entire book. (Poly, for some of you who know her.)

Buy it for a teenager near you. Hey, it's only eight bucks in paperback. You can't even see a movie for that.

For a taste of the book go here:

http://scottwesterfeld.com/soyesterday/viewer.swf

Kiss a Veteran Today

Happy Veteran's Day

PS: Yes, I am going shopping... I've got GIFT CARDS and they're leaking away value every millisecond!

Yoga

Did he play baseball or was he in Star Wars?

My sister gave me a yoga mat for my birthday. (Silly me for actually asking for one...)

Guess now I have to actually START doing yoga, huh? Yikes.

How sad

...is it, that, after being carded at Red Robin (a burger place where I was trying to order a beer), my first thought was "I am SO going to blog this...haha!!"

(yeah, I know)

Red Robin for my birthday dinner?? Well, yes, I just wanted an appetizer for dinner because my team at work took me out for lunch at the Macaroni Grill which was excellent. The kids love it at RR.

Yesterday a friend of mine took me out to Carmine's. We had some great food (scallops, chicken carbonara) and Di Lenardo wine (I'm pretty sure it was a pinot grigio, it was delicious) and I had a dessert that was a sort of blend of bananas foster and cheesecake wrapped in a pastry shell covered with cinnamon sugar. Yum.

Given all of that plus what I ate at my party, I figure I don't need to eat again now until Thanksgiving.



PS: have a Happy Birthday tomorrow, John

It's my birthday

It's my birthday! I'm 39... ha, ha, ha...uh - wait... some of you KNOW that I'm 40? Damn.

I'm actually so GOOD at being 39 that I'm going to do it all over again. (So no, I won't be changing the name of this blog. Although I loved your ideas, you guys.)

Here's a quote from the birthday card my best friend gave me(I may be old now, but this is the only wisdom I have to pass on):

Understanding the reality of life will not make us richer, but is able to let us know how to face life, and make life to become more colorful. ~Buddha

Nom de Blog

Hmm. I certainly HAVE painted myself into a corner, haven't I?

Can't call the blog "Going On 40" if I AM 40. What a pickle. Or, I could pretend I am remaining 39....

I do like Steve's idea, "Going on 80".... any other suggestions?

I love the bald guy

Friday I bought Mr. Clean Magic Eraser® cleaning pads, to try them out. My sister did the fabulous product demo you see at left.



I am apparently the only person alive who didn't know these things exist, and just LOOK AT HOW DISGUSTING MY DISHWASHER REALLY WAS. UGH!

Unfinished lists

Someone asked if I had any "before I'm 40" goals to wrap up.

I once had a boyfriend who, as we were getting to know one another, proclaimed me a "late bloomer". It may sound offensive, but it wasn't. He was reacting to the fact that I've done things I wanted to do, but perhaps not as soon in life as everyone in my circle of acquaintances.

For instance, I didn't drive until I was 21. Also, I didn't live on campus my first year of college. Frankly, I had zero money, and it just wasn't an option(dorm life). For my sophomore year, we worked it out that I could get more student aid, and so I did get to have some of those campus resident experiences I'd hoped for. I consider myself extremely lucky to have had the chance to go to college at all. It was the first step toward the life I have today.

I feel lucky to have the home and family that I have, and that for the past 10 years I have been able to work part time(thank you Diane, and Chip, wherever you are). Working part time has made such a difference in quality of life for myself and my family, that I can't imagine doing it any other way. I'll probably never have the new Jeep Liberty I have my eye on, and the 4 bedroom center hall colonial isn't looking very likely right now, but overall I'm feeling like I should not be greedy.

I'm the queen of to-do-lists. I love 'em. Well, I like making them, not necessarily finishing them. The simple answer to the original question is: No, for some reason, I never did make a list of "things to do before I'm 40." But I have a list now...

It is a general list in the back of my mind, of things I'd like to do someday. It includes visiting all 50 states, ( and doing something unique in each one, like kneeling under the desk in the oval office... KIDDING....), cooking with a tv chef, hiking up one of the Adirondack moutains(gotta get myself in better shape first), visiting Italy, owning a canoe, taking my kids to a Yankee game, parasailing, singing onstage in a large arena (backup will be just fine), putting a piece of jewelry that I've made onto a celebrity(and not seeing it on Go Fug Yourself), taking up watercolor painting again, learning to play piano.

Those are all more or less mini-adventures, or enhancing hobbies I've already dabbled in. In my next 40 years my main "to-do" is to do the best I can to help my children, while they hopefully grow up to be useful adults with a semi-normal job and a family and home of their own and friends that they adore. That's it. I just want them to be "successful" in terms of their relationships, and their day to day life. Not wildly, phenomenally successful, necessarily, but just happy.

Like me.

I'm here for the party

We had fantastic weather for the party. Absolutely unbelievable, I had every window in the house open and half my neighborhood was on the deck. My neighbor even loaned us his fire pit so we could have a mini bonfire. Who would have thought we'd be so lucky for a November party?

Almost everyone that I invited came, which was wonderful - I really wanted a houseful of my family and friends and a very informal, casual feeling, and I got exactly that. I felt like there just wasn't enough time to talk to everyone though.

My daughter made a scrapbook with pictures from when I was growing up - it was sweet. My son designed a necklace for me, which my sister in law helped him make after he picked out the beads.

We might have had a little bit of food & wine. Well, ok, TOO MUCH... We bought some Pino Bianco, Gravina Bianco, and Pinot Grigio to go with the appetizers (a variety of cheeses, some shrimp(wrapped in bacon and smothered in teriyaki sauce, then baked until the bacon is crisp), some bread/ veggies/ dip, a sundried tomato cream cheese spread, and some white bean dip(mixed with garlic, onions, pimento, & mexican cheeses & baked)

For the actual dinner we bought a Shiraz '04 (to go with the beef stew, salad, and rolls) and Blackstone Merlot '02. Everything was set out in the kitchen so people could help themselves.
I will be having leftover stew tonight (and some of the merlot) so that is awesome.

Dessert was cheesecakes, (a J & S Watkins sampler of french vanilla, peach, fudge marble, and pumpkin cheesecakes). We also had carrot cake (for the actual 'Happy Birthday Char' cake) and a chocolate cake for Mr C, who is actually 45 today. Yes, overboard on the desserts but less than one whole cake was left when we combined what remained of all 3.

My adorable little baby niece came in a t-shirt that said "40 really bytes, Aunt Char" and it cracked me up - she gave me a matching t-shirt. My other gag gift was this shirt:

Almost the big day

I was born in NYC on November 9, 1965.

If you google that date you'll find there was a huge blackout, (which, luckily for my mother, started about an hour after I was born. )

We will be having a party at Chez Carly tomorrow night so I'm busy cleaning (ha, ha, see how busy I am this very second??)

In the meantime this vintage blogger leaves you with these vintage photos of her favorite city.




(blackout of 1977)






(I climbed this statue when I was a little girl, and to this day I can remember looking out of the holes in the crown.)

Exposiciones

wandering around the internet tonight(way to houseclean, huh?) I found this:

http://www.zonezero.com/exposiciones/images.html

this one in particular is unusual reading:

http://www.zonezero.com/exposiciones/fotografos/larson/int.htm

Get the ball rolling...

...and sooner or later it's a landslide.

So Mr. Wonderful put in the linoleum as planned. It is beautiful, but presented me with just one tiny problem. It did not match the blue on the lower half of my bathroom walls at ALL. I thought it would. (Clearly, interior decorating is not my specialty.)

I confessed to the Mr about 30 minutes after the linoleum was done, figuring it was best to do so immediately so that we could paint before the new sink and toilet were put in. (Yes, I know that it's better to paint BEFORE you put in new linoleum. I really do.)

Off to the paint store. Helpful Cute Clerk mixed the wrong color the first time. (As in, mixed a different one on the paint chip sample, not the color I wanted.) The second try looked pretty close, but when we put it on the walls it was obviously not dark enough.

I went back and got what I thought was a slightly darker shade, but in daylight appears that HCC finally mixed the color I wanted in the first place!! Still a little too light, but by this point we'd had enough of messing with it, because really, it's just a bathroom.

A bathroom that now needed a new shower curtain, since the old one doesn't go with the new floor, or the new wall color.

You know where I'm heading, don't you?

If you buy a shower curtain, you need a new soap pump, garbage can, and kleenex holder to go along with it.

I need to stop now!!

Moral: don't fix anything up in your house, because it makes everything else look bad.