If You Can Catch It

Watched Grizzly Man last night. It's a documentary about Timothy Treadwell and his life with Grizzly bears. If you can catch it, it's on Sundance this month. Quirky & Educational at the same time. Not for kids (language).
Other movies I've seen lately -
The Box (starring Cameron Diaz. this movie pleasantly surprised me).
Mammoth - I don't know, I just liked it.

Tools

Today I was thinking about how we train ourselves to do things unconsciously, and then the thought evolved into that old image of the discovery of monkeys using twigs as tools to get ants out of antmounds. It all surfaced because I'd grabbed a fork out of the dishwasher, then used the handle end to stir my coffee. I always do this.
But it started because a while ago, the spoons were all dirty, but the spoon my husband stirred his coffee with was sitting next to the coffee maker, with dried coffee residue. Rather than wash it, I used the handle end, then, the next time I couldn't find a spoon, I used a fork, but the handle end still, and now, the evolution of my usage of tools has me grabbing the fork regardless of whether a clean spoon exists, and still using the handle end. I think part of this came along with the discovery that we have twice the amount of forks as we have spoons. Since it makes no difference which I use, I conserve the spoons.
I wonder why Hubba Bubba quit making grape gum. The 80's were so simple and good :). Now the stores are all filled with 'Minty Melon' or Citrus Burst. Pie flavored novelty gum. (Which happens to be gross, by the way). But gone is the perfect, single flavored because it's all you need, Grape gum. Candy has seen better days. Jolly Rancher Sticks. Oh, and that gum with the zebra? The Striped gum?

Wishing you all your fingers & toes for the new year?

So I've not been here, not because I don't think of stuff, but when I do I'm usually somewhere cosy and tell myself I'll stop in when its morning. Then I just don't.
A couple months ago, I started to write about this guy- one of Steven's customers, and how he sawed his thumb off. "He shoulda retired a couple decades ago," Steven tells me. But he didn't, and recently sawed the end of his thumb off. He put it on ice and had it sewn back on. So Steven's talking to another guy (another customer) and that guy had sawed his finger off too. So apparently, they can 'Dry-Wrap' or 'Wet-Wrap' the thing after they mend it, but with dry wrap, it doesn't heal as well as wet wrap, so this guy had his finger in a wet wrap for a long time. But the finger turned out mostly okay. And it made me think of that guy on Oprah, who got his finger cut off, but then his brother gave him this stuff to sprinkle on, and he grew it back. (I'll see if I can attach a clip of that). But I decided not to write about it, because it just wasn't that interesting.
But then during Christmas break, the neighbor came and brought us some Pumpkin bread (not near as good as my pumpkin bread) but she came, and while she was over, she casually mentioned Nolan. Nolan is the man that worked on our house (the Mennonite guy that I turn the tv off for in a previous post). One day when Nolan was working on our house, the moment Steven pulled out of the drive, he watched the neighbor pull him aside to talk about her house. I'd bragged about him too much, and she'd hijacked him for herself. Then she recommended him to one of her friends.
So she tells me that Nolan just sawed his finger and thumb off with a hand saw. And I thought about how I started to write about the finger thing, and I felt bad for Nolan, because he's like our friend; well, we don't hang out or anything, but he's got this angelic quality about him, and has 6 kids and probably no insurance. Also, I'm going to need him to work on the house in the spring, but I wasn't going to mention that part because it really doesn't seem fitting...but then, when I know that something is not fitting but I think it I have to say it even more? Like I feel guilty for thinking something without saying it aloud? It's like those kids who blurt out swear words; what is that called? My old brain would've remembered the word for that. It's like confession, because maybe the energy of the thought is carrying as much weight as the very words, so I just blurt it out and get it over with. "Motherfuck!" And then I can go about what I was saying to begin with.
If you are just arriving here, I'm totally sorry about that- please visit an earlier dated entry and it'll be more to your liking. maybe.
But Nolan had his fingers sewn back on too.
Steven got a running injury last week, and while over icing his foot with an ice pack tied on, he froze his little toe and ended up with mild frostbite. Burning pain & swelling, along with discoloration and difficulty putting his shoe on. I Googled it. As long as he could feel the toe, we felt like we'd be alright. (He's up and running again).
But then my mom called my dad this week, and he was in the Lexington VA hospital...awaiting the removal of his toes. He's a diabetic, and his toes, ridden with gangrene, have to go. She's telling me to call him, and I'm trying to figure a way to do that sometime soon. Trying to muster it up, I guess. I never lived with my father. I have older siblings that did, and he called my oldest brother this week. My oldest brother- not related to my father- had his toes removed a few years ago due to gengrene from a blocked artery. So they discussed toe removal and had something in common, which seemed odd but nice.
But it's very strange, all of it. It's like in that movie the Secret, where they're talking about when you want a type of car, and you start seeing that car everywhere. But not so much, because I don't want my fingers or toes sawn off. It's just a small world?
I saw a flea on the cat. So I've been itching all week, not from fleas, but the idea of the flea. I like the face that Idea and Flea both end in ea but they do not rhyme. They do, however, look nicely together.
We are snowed in for the second day. And it's not so bad. This week, I introduced the kids to Darth Vader. We spent hours watching all 3 star wars movies. I'd say that that is almost educational- how would they get through without 80's Pop Culture 101? We also watched Shallow Hal, which is far from educational, and completely inappropriate. But Jack Black is such a good dancer :D.
Happy New Years 2011. Happy January. Happy Thoughts hopeful for unexpected good things for you.
'Cause your my friend :)

Merry Christmas :D

i took this picture last Christmas, aboard the back of the Calabaza sailboat, on a trip to a shipwreck off the Bridgetown Bay, Barbados. The boat was making me a wee bit sick, so our little family migrated to the front and laid down near the speakers. Hot and windy, the boat swayed up and down. Bob Marley & Jack Johnson. All the free Rum punch you could drink. (I went Water- something about the swaying of the boat and Rum punch- they must know nobodies gonna drink it. Also, they put pepper in the punch, which seemed odd to me.) We were aboard with another family, and a couple who referred to each other as My Darling with every sentence. They looked in their late forties/early fifties, and it was, My darling, can you get me my lighter, and Yes, my darling, let me get that for you, which seemed funny and odd but then got sorta nice and endearing. It was the sort of thing that Saturday Night Live skits are made of, but it just doesn't sound very funny when I write it down. Over the course of the next several hours, I heard My Darling & variables of it (My Sweet, My Love, My Dearest, etc.) probably over a thousand times. None of them directed at me (though afterward I'm sure we jokingly referred to each other that way).
The other family was on a cruise, and had only a half day in Barbados with their two sons. We found it odd that on the half day stop in Barbados, they got right on a sailboat, then got off just in time to get back to the ship. Barbados has Monkeys, for Christs sake! Real, cat sized tree monkeys with long tails and cute lil monkey faces. And much more. And in conversations, these folks will tell people they've been to Barbados, when they actually never set foot on the actual land space for more than twenty minutes. Our seven days weren't even enough. But apparently they were snorkel hounds, you know how those snorkel folk are. :P
This Christmas I woke up with a dried green mustache from a nasty sinus infection, remnants of what had bubbled out my nose while I slept. Not pleasant. Food has been a bit of an after thought, and everything tastes funny. On a positive note, I lost three pounds. I am only nine pounds from my goal weight. woo hoo. I was typing and let my coffee get cold again.
I think we may be going to an Asian buffet later, i heard something about sushi and all you can eat crab legs, and it really makes no difference to me where we end up. I wonder what those My darling people will be doing, and if they're still going on. If they are, bravo for them. Bravo for love. And bravo for the differences in all people and how what makes us laugh about some people can be smirked at in a good way. You can only laugh so hard at kindness. Then it just tends to rub off on those whose ears are in reach.
I was thinking about how I secretly like when people wear patchouli deodorant, and often I hear people make fun of it. I've been lighting incense this week, trying to regain a sense of smell, but it hasn't really worked.
It's supposed to snow this weekend. Everyone run and buy your milk and bread? When it snows where I live, no one leaves their house. This is because of the rural area and the lack of road equipment. The roads freeze, then people are stuck all along the sides if they attempt to drive. So the stores sell out of milk and bread with any word of snow. Everyone on their own little Christmas Island.
I hope it does snow. And next week is New Years- we usually go to an Imax for New Years. I think the Imax movie this month is on Tahiti. I've been to Tahiti, did i ever tell you about that? Spent a couple weeks riding on mopeds in the south pacific, ages ago. Steven got giardia, lol- we had to phone in antibiotics from the airport.. But it was awesome. I hope one day we'll get back there.
I'm thinking how stove top stuffing would make a great Christmas dinner. Just a giant bowl of Stove Top. And maybe a slice of pumpkin pie. With more Reddiwhip atop it than the actual slice of pie itself. Chemically laden or processed goodness. Mmmm. (I'm serious. It really sounds good).

Merry Christmas, My Darlings. Wherever you are. :)

Crabby

I'm typing this with one hand on my phone, and with the other I'm stirring rice pudding.

No. Not really. Really I'm having a Crabby day. I'm very crabby, so crabby I fear I'd best not leave the house today. I have the flu. :(
On the bright side, Dr. Mary Margaret will have to wait while I recoup.
On the not so bright side, I can't think straight, nor eat, and have spent days watching movies under a quilt shivering- not comfortably, either...and my TiVo is not working. If we pause a movie, when we unpause, it scrambles. Which means yesterday the girls and I had to watch Serendipity twice, because we paused it an hour in, and then had to catch it again and just let it play til we saw the end with the second one.
And the idea of food has left my mind for the most part, but last night, I decided to try to make rice pudding, because the bland warm goodness might go down. Not even homemade rice pudding, but the stir in milk Jello brand rice pudding. And it didn't go well.
My pudding was filthy with brown slimey ghosts, and I attempted to pick them out one by one, but it was useless. My too hot stove eye tainted my pudding and I was just left with a dirty pan.
And the flu.
But while attempting to clean it up, I did have this moment where I imagined someone having to bring a dish to a holiday work dinner, not liking the coworkers very much, and perhaps sliding in with a straight face and a brown ghost laden rice pudding. I'm bad that way. But it would free you of any further holiday cooking obligation. They'll tell you, "Oh,you just bring the 7up."
I've been wearing the same fleece pants for three days but it may be five. I haven't begun my Christmas shopping. I did have to drag my sick self out to run errands, one of which was taking Naomi to her guitar class. The Music store has a new line of child sized drumsets for the holidays.
"I will be very disappointed if I don't get a drumset for Christmas," the tiny one says. She stares hard and I can't think. There's no money for a mini drumset, so I just shrug. Maybe one of those Sing-a-ma-Jigs.
I'm tired & crabby beyond measure. I'm easing into the idea of a hot shower and how it could steam the sinuses a bit. Clean underwear. Though my other fleece pants are in the dirty clothes, and that reminds me that laundry is piling up, and to take these off I'll have to put on jeans. Ack. It's funny, when I bought a new pair of fleece pants last, I was at Old Navy with my mother. "Those aren't good!" she tells me," You can't sleep in them, too much static!" But they're snuggly and the only time I notice the static is when I have to get up in the night and I see little flashes of light on my legs getting out of bed in the dark. Freaky but so cosy. Practical if you get them without snowmen or reindeer.
I'm off. I hope you're week is Merry and Bright. And definitely not Crabby. >:(

Retrospect- 12/8/2005

So I haven't done Retrospect in a few months, or maybe a year, I don't remember.
I don't feel normal today. This inexplicable thing? I'm a tortoise in winter.
I wish I were more. For everyone.
So I plan to tackle some reading & maybe clean up the Tivo a bit. :P

& It's suppose to be ten degree's tonite so let's say a little prayer for Marechal Niel, who is not exactly cold hardy; I have her all the same...if I can grow this one, maybe lemons are in my future.

Today I give you Five years ago this week- 12/8/05.

(I have always said if I could meet anyone living or dead, It would be John Lennon, so it seems I ought to talk about him on the anniversary of his death, but the person who actually dragged me to you this morning was someone else...)
Sometimes I wish I could just drive, unencumbered by where I had to be
or what I had to do. This morning is cold, but not too cold, probably low forties. It isn't a bad cold, it's the kind of cold where you don't have to scrape your windshield, but when you breathe the air in, it fills your lungs well; it's the 'steak dinner' cold. I was digging through the console for cds, trying to get away from the Christmas music for a minute, and found a taped copy of my old Lyle Lovett cd. It had been a couple years since I'd played it so I stuck it in. Driving music.
I remember when my love affair with Lyle Lovett started, back when the Joshua Judges Ruth cd came out, the very one I was playing this morning. I remember getting ready to go see him and Bonnie Raitt in concert, putting my suede shoes on. I remember the shoes, because it poured the entire time, and the concert was at an outdoor arena. Walking through the parking lot on the way back, the water was over my ankles. I never wore those shoes again.
I remember Jessie coming by my house. Not my brother Jesse, but the wild boy who once stole a horse and rode it down the Highway 41 to the parking lot of our income based apartment, because I said I loved horses. "What are you doing here so late?" I said.
"I wanted to show you something." And there it was. I never went out with Jessie, he was too wild for me. I'd had a crush on him in ninth grade and back then he made fun of my gigantic glasses. He dropped out that year and had a few run ins with the law- you can imagine why. But he had beautiful dimples, and we stayed friends for years. Anyway..
He showed up at my mom's apartment when I was running late for the concert. Steven pulled up and I put my suede shoes on and ran out the door, leaving him sitting with my mother. He had just gotten married, he said. I hadn't seen Jessie for years before that and I haven't seen him since. I hope he's happy and not in jail somewhere. I can really get off course, huh?
I was sucked in by Lyle Lovett. I adored him. Baltimore made me cry. She's Already Made Up Her Mind made me want to be her. Who was she? As an aspiring writer, sure, I'd love to sell books one day, but moreso, make someone feel something. A something that carries over, not just candied words that you can put down and never think about again. More. This is what Lyle Lovett did for me. I remember Steven and I going on a camping trip (again- rain!) and the day we got back, seeing Don Henley in concert. In between songs, Henley made an announcement. "I'd like to congratulate Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts on their recent nuptials..."
While I'd been out in the middle of nowhere, in the rain, having to pee in the woods, pretending to enjoy exile from all forms of human civilisation, my 'other man' had married a Hollywood princess. I remember everyone saying Julia had to be crazy- Why would she marry Lyle Lovett? I knew why. And then, today, playing that cd, I remembered again. The funeral song came on at the same time I looked down and passed that flattened squirrel on our road. Yesterday it still looked something like a squirrel. Today, more of a spot.
Enough already. What else is new? I wrote eight query letters yesterday and one 'Thank you for your kind rejection' letter. I'm not so well versed in the art of the query letter, but I was really on a roll with the latter. You all would have loved it.
I lost my keys a couple weeks ago, and have come to the realization that they are gone for good. No more frantic searching, I'm letting go. It's weird, I bought this red leather monkey keychain a few months ago, and looked at my keys. What could I remove to make room for the monkey? There was the pewter Tahiti tiki that I got on my honeymoon ten years ago...and the graceland one from that great roadtrip we had. Various other ones, many keys, grocery store discount cards, and my sainted clicker. I came to the conclusion that nothing could go, and I would hang the monkey on my rearview mirror. That monkey came down and looked at me. "I want to be with you!" the monkey said.
"I want my clicker," I said.
"But I want to be with you more! And the power of monkey juju is stronger than the power of the clicker! OOO OOOO Ah Ahh! Screech!"
"Stronger than the power of Elvis?" I thought to myself. Apparently so. Damn that monkey juju. So I am unlocking my jeep doors the old fashioned way. There are some people who don't even have doors, who have never seen keys, I tell myself. But it doesn't help much.
And I haven't even covered the live raccoon I bought for ten dollars on Thanksgiving, or Hannukah at church, and the fact that I am the Latke Master. (That's the good thing about being Unitarian, we celebrate ALL the holidays). But I don't have time this morning. I hope everyone is happy, healthy & well. My love to you all :)

Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town-I'm So Glad (I've Got Skin)

I love this little Noggin video. It's simple & happy. "I'm so glad I got a nose, even though it looks like one of my toes!"

It's cool to be thankful for small things. Like peanut butter.
I am thankful for peanut butter. I eat peanut butter & jelly everyday for lunch, and it's pretty cool.
It might be cooler on those rare days when my husband comes home and whisks me away to the Thai or Indian place for lunch, but even on those days, often I'll eat peanut butter & jelly for dinner.

I'm also thankful for Jimmy Carter, because he grew peanuts...& any occasion that Georgia can turn out a Democrat, AND get him in the White House is a miracle. (Though I believe Ted Kennedy would've made a better President at that time in terms of the status of health reform-it is all about stategy/water under the bridge, etc.) Sometimes, the wrong strategy can make or break a situation; McCain's choosing of Sarah Palin rather than a more moderate candidate like Leiberman gave us the White House this time around, IMO. & I'm thankful for that dumb move. :)

Now, I also believe it was a dumb move for the Kennedys to not jump in and run for office in Mass. when Teddy died, as we could have kept that state blue had they chose that option. Argh.

My head's a wee dopey lately.

I'm seeing another new doctor Friday; for sure I'll be shaving my legs, regardless of it being an Ear Nose & Throat appointment. Any occasion they have to put me in a gown, they may. I guess I'm just too sexy for my own good. Regardless of the doctor's name being Mary Margaret; I'm just too sexy.


Last night we went to an indoor blacklight mini-golf place. We brought a carload of kids, so we didn't keep score, but I do like keeping score in mini-golf. I have an ambitious dream of taking work meetings at the mini-golf, keeping score, all that. Serious mini-golf business meetings.
I may even buy myself a stunning pair of plaid knickers. If someone ever hires me, it'll manifest.

Steven's rented a water cooler, and it's pretty awesome. Instant cold water? Cool! Instant Hot Water? :D! ...We can't drink our tap water-even boiled/filtered, there's some sort of white floaty haze. I don't know.

This week I discovered the difference between chrome & polished nickel. I bought a chrome towel bar but our bathroom lights are polished nickel, so it was a mismatch. I had always previously thought that there was only the one- what I'd called 'the Shiny Silver' I guess. Turns out chrome reflects blue & p.n. reflects amber. Interesting. Or not.

& a big welcome to whoever you are- the Kat Lee Reader has a follower!
That rocks that you'd bookmark my blog, and I did notice. thanks so much :)