Sew's Spot

This is what Conservative Republicans look like:

2012-01-24T09:25:00.003-06:00

This is what listening to Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter has done to the formerly marginally intelligent Republican Party. Yes, you read that right - someone killed the cat of a Democratic candidate's election worker - and then wrote "LIBERAL" on it, and left it on the front porch for the man's FIVE YEAR OLD SON to find.

Something tells me the culprit was a Good Christian. They usually are. Because Jesus was all about killing family pets and defacing the corpses, then leaving them for children to find. Jesus must be SO proud.

Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) was struck down by a massive stroke yesterday. He's in the hospital, receiving the very BEST of care, from the very BEST of doctors, who will be paid with the very BEST health insurance - because Senator Mark Kirk couldn't WAIT to vote against the health-care bill. Karma is a bitch, isn't she, Senator Mark Kirk?

Godwin's Law notwithstanding, Rick (I want to be President so I can control what YOU do in your own home when you are naked) Santorum has aligned himself with a "Conservative Christian" who has declared that all Democrats are like Nazi's. This on top of his assertion earlier that he doesn't want to make black people's lives better if it means giving them money...

Ricky asks "Please don't GOOGLE my last name... PLEASE"

Mitt No-Silver-spoon (we only do diamond-crusted PLATINUM in my house) Romney ... need we say more?

Achoo

2012-01-10T11:04:00.001-06:00

The worst part about having a cold, IMNSHO, isn't the coughing sniffling sneezing aching stuffy head fever part, altho NyQuil did that right.

No, the worst part about having a cold is even if you do NOT medicate yourself to the gills, you still get that weird, floaty, not-really-here-but-here head thing going. Kind of like what it sounds like during the lyric part of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (not the chorus). "Follow her down.... to a bridge... by a fountain... where rocking-horse people... eat marshmallow pies...." part.

All kind of strange and muted and wobbly. The part that makes you want to curl up in bed with a huge pot of tea and assorted medications on the night-stand and just pull the pillow over your head until the world stops spinning quite so wobbbly-y.

Yes, the Mouse has a cold. And like most people who don't get sick often, I am being a total baby-wuss about it. Oh, I'm going to work, but I'm doing great at the "clutch the kleenex box" and "look at people thru the corners of your eyes" bit. Self-pity module has been engaged and copious cups of really pathetic tea are being drunk, all the while wishing that the hotness would not wear off so that I could keep inhaling the steam, which makes my nose run so I have to clutch my kleenex box again.

But it's only a cold - it's not like it's congestive heart failure or tuberculosis or cancer or anything, so if you complain about it you pretty much get looks like "Man the fuck up, Mouse" - which I can't do because I'm a woman, but you know the looks, those .... looks.

And since everyone at work and his 2nd cousin twice removed with a harelip and a limp has kids, they all get colds on a really regular basis, so there is no sympathy.

When what I really want is for someone in management to take pity and say "Oh, poor little mousie, you look all sicko and sad - go home, with pay, and curl up under a nice warm quilt with a teapot of really hot and tasty chamomile tea on the night-stand and take copious amounts of drugs so you will feel better", and pat me on the head and send me off.

Like that's gonna happen. *sigh*

Because it is, after all, only a freaking COLD.

But I'm sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, I have a stuffy head - and sometimes I get the chills like it was a fever...

Waaaah

Happy Solstice!

2011-12-21T10:52:00.002-06:00

So. Right. I have some interesting news, but you only get to know it if you read the ENTIRE post.
Tonight will be the "longest night of the year". Granted, it will have the same number of hours, but it will be dark for more of those hours than it was last night, or will tomorrow night.

This is the holiday that Constantine co-opted when he was working out how to make Xtianity palatable for the masses, in order to convert said masses to Xtianity which he (a pagan, btw) had decided was the best religion going for mind-controlling the aforementioned masses.

Saturnalia.

The world outside is grey and gloomy and rainy. It's not all that cold (relatively speaking), but it is dreary. Still and all, it could be worse. We've had relatively little sn*w this year, thus far (knock formica desk-top) - and because of this, the balloon guy at the car dealership looks really stupid. He's supposed to be a snow man. From the waist-up.

Unfortunately, the black belt on the bottom of the balloon, combined with the only-one-snowball-before-the-head bit, makes it look like a seasonally correct LIGHTBULB standing in the green grass.
(PHOTO UNAVAILABLE)

Saw Dr. Nick last nite. He confirmed my diagnosis of food poisoning from last weekend. He even guessed what food it was that caused it!

Burned my pointer-finger on my left hand taking pizza out of the oven. Was trying to slide it onto a serving-tray and put my finger on the super-hot rack by mistake. I now have a rack-sized smooth spot on my pointy finger which does not hurt or itch, but is somehow annoying.
(PHOTO ALSO UNAVAILABLE)

I got my Dad a backscratcher for Xmas. He claims the folks at the assisted living stole his.

The man has a nice big-screen TV. He has a nice stereo setup. He has a nice computer setup. He has a coin collection, and a few other things that are quite nice.

They stole his backscratcher. right. *sigh*

The really sad bit for me is that he didn't get the joke when I asked him if he had looked on the roof for it. *sigh*

I found some purpley twinkle fairy lights. I am using them as decorations. I have twined them all through the baby lime-tree. It looks quite festive. I am NOT putting up that ratty old fake tree anymore!

Ok. enough with the suspense....
(scroll down)

My daughter is pregnant! I'm gonna be a Grandma next Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Progress on Quilting and stuff

2011-12-03T20:08:00.002-06:00

So, I took the week off after Thanksgiving (we got Thurs and Fri both off, so it was 11 days in a row with no work!)

Part of my plan was to rest up and give my back and ankles a rest, but also to do a lot of little things around the house (and maybe a big one or two) and catch up on my quilting which has been disgustingly ignored for lo these many months.

My only excuse has been - well - depression, mostly. I get all going on something, I set goals, I make lists, I do well for a day or two - and then something gets me down and I crawl back into my shell, and my computer and my bed and leave the world to its own devices, which is ok except that then the chores and the goals get all backed up, which depresses me more, which... well... endless cycle, eh?

The current quilt on the frame is about 75 inches square, and has 625 smaller items, each of which needs to be quilted separately. (I guess maybe "needs" is relative, but I WANT to have them each quilted separately, so in my mind, it "needs".)

As of about an hour ago, I managed to finally (FINALLY!!) finish square number 325 and roll the quilt back to the center, as I started in the middle and worked my way to one side. It's just a scooch over 1/2 way done. It embarasses me how long this is taking, because this is a quilt I promised to someone else, and the only other one that's taken even near as long is the one for my daughter - but that one is gone (lost, long story, don't ask) , and now I have to re-work another one and I'm having mental reservations about the pattern/fabrics I've chosen for hers and ... *sigh*.

But tonite I'm not going to be thinking about all that. I'm really, really happy because I wanted to do this during my 11-day weekend "stay-cation", and I did. I have a few more things on my list that should be finish-able tomorrow. No, I didn't finish everything I'd like to have gotten done, but that was unreasonable, and what I DID get done feels good.

Tonite, I am a person who got things done, and that feels good!

I'm gonna "Occupy"

2011-11-01T15:26:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately, I can't afford to take time off work or get arrested - so I'm going to Occupy my livingroom. Yes, that is cynical, and no, I really do not mean it, but despite my wholehearted support of these protestors, I can't join them. For a lot of reasons, financial, health and other.

But I do understand their message, even though it isn't being stated flat out and easily understood. I know their hearts are in the right place, in spite of all the negative publicity they're getting. They're not just "dirty fucking hippies" - and they're not looking for a free handout, which the 1% and their media lapdogs claim.

I wish I could explain this, explain it better and get the right words. I can't. But I do GET it. And I know that at least 1 person will come here and try to make out that he knows better and that the Baggers know better. And all I can say is - I know you aren't part of the 1% yourself, and that really is a shame that you can't see it. Hopefully this will work and benefit you and your family - but I know you won't get it.

I suspect you probably worry because they rail against "corporate" America, and your Dad owns a business and is probably incorporated - even though I doubt that he makes (after tax deductions) more than a million dollars a year - and probably would only see a modest increase in his federal taxes. It isn't corporations themselves. It's the inordinate amount of influence that a very few very large corporations have over the members of Congress and the President - and all of the candidates of BOTH parties.

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Did the trick-or-treat thing last nite. Gave away a bag of tootsie pops and a bag of miniature boxes of Dots. I fell in love with a little baby dressed up like a ladybug in a polar-fleece costume with little black dots on her face. There was one little moslem princess (Mom had on hijab) who didnt want the lollypop, she wanted the Dots - and was ever-so polite in asking for them.

It was fun. I even threw a few lollypops to Dads who were waiting at the end of the sidewalk.

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I need some vacation time, though. I really do.
I need a recharge.

Big Balloons and other interesting things

2011-10-04T12:35:00.004-05:00

I see some pretty interesting (to me, who is easily amused) things on my commute to/from work. Now that the Hideously Mis-Named Elgin O'Hare Expressway (Which goes to neither Elgin, nor O'Hare) is my route du jour, since Lake Street is all fardleschnockered up, I get to see things like this:

You see that? Are they only just NOW cleaning up from the mess they made making the Blues Brothers movie???? This is the 3rd time I've seen this. Either this trucker is hauling the same 3 Chitown Police Cars around in circles thru the suburban expressways, or .... maybe it DID take them this long to clean up after the movie. I guess they might could have been ones left inside that abandoned mall they used...

Around the area where I work there are a lot of big advertising balloon creatures lately. There is a big (naked) orange gorilla by the used-car lot, there is a gigantic hamster in tennies and a black t-shirt that says "Hamstar" on it, and then there is this:

Is he not adorable???
What I like best is the sandals and white-painted toenails. The t-shirt and shades are cute, but those feet just crack me up!

Dear Teabaggers - FUCK OFF AND DIE

2011-09-13T08:36:00.002-05:00

So they CHEERED - CHEERED the thought that a poor man who needed healthcare should be turned away and left to die.

Sick. Demented. I hope every last fucking one of them has their job outsourced, their homes repo'ed, their insurance cancelled and their children fall deathly ill.

YES I MEAN IT.

FUCK YOU, Republicans!!!!!

2011-09-12T10:51:00.003-05:00

09/11/01

Never Forget

NEVER FORGIVE.

Advertising Overkills

2011-09-09T10:12:00.002-05:00

The first one I remember was the dancing silhouette people. They danced in ads for everything. They were cute at first, but then when everyone started doing it, I got annoyed quite quickly and decided to never click-thru on any of them, much less purchase anything they were touting.

Then the repeating (looping) GIFS - some of people dancing, others just of idiots acting like.. idiots - something mobile to draw the eye. Drew my eye, indeed. Drew it right to the spot - where I did NOT click-thru, nor did I do business with any of the companies using it.

The next one I recall was "Obama Wants You To....". Yeah. Right. Like Democrats are stupid enough to fall for such a blatantly STUPID marketing scam. Dear Repukelicans - we're smarter than that. We see through your silly attempt to scam us. Die in a fire. KTHKSBYE

Now it seems they've moved on to "ONE WEIRD TRICK". In many cases it appears that the "ONE WEIRD TRICK" is to have a really well-endowed chest and to stand provocatively in scanty undergarments in front of a camera. There's ONE WEIRD TRICK to lose weight, ONE WEIRD TRICK to get rid of belly fat, ONE WEIRD TRICK to get rid of wrinkles, ONE WEIRD TRICK to lower your car insurance rate, ONE WEIRD TRICK to enlarge your.... thingy.

What I want is ONE WEIRD TRICK to get rid of all the WEIRD TRICKS.

On the car radio, there is one professional voice-over guy who does ads for small companies for WCPT. Most of his rap isn't bad, but at the end of EVERY. SINGLE. AD. he repeats the telephone number 3 times, the first one as if it were a question, the second as if it were the answer to the question, and the third time as if it were the answer again. One time he upped the ante and went for FOUR boring repetitions. Good thing I don't have any sharp objects in my car.

Dear Voiceover Dude: STFU. KTHKSDIEINAFIRE

Gnats???

2011-09-07T10:16:00.002-05:00

Gnats or fruit-flys. I don't care which, I want them OUT of my kitchen, pronto. I got a "FRUIT FLY TRAP" thingy (pardon my caps-lock) - and it has helped some, but not enough and I really just want to bomb the kitchen with DDT and malathion (sp?) and kill them all TO DEATH in one swell foop.

Problem with that is that a) you can't buy that kind of anti-insect spray anymore, and b) I'd have to take Kili for a long (4 to 6 hour) car ride and she HATES car rides.

This is particularly annoying, as I really want to make stuffed peppers for dinner, but I don't want to have to fight the miniature vermin for my peppers. Grrrr.

Oh, woe is me....

Garden... Um... Down-date?

2011-08-25T11:39:00.002-05:00

Aubergines:
Houston, we have Eggplant. In fact, we have Aubergine multiplicity! They are, however, about the size of golf balls at the moment. I lie. One is the size of a golf ball, the rest are like... marbles. HOWEVER - there is still another month or 2 or so of growing-ish weather, so maybe I will actually get one or two of them. A success, and a learning experience in one.

Peas:
The pea plants were toast by the time I got back from Florida in July, but they are really really cool-weather plants, and I did get a meal and a bunch of snackables off of it, so it is a qualified success. I will grow the same kind again next year, but I will plant them even EARLIER, and I will plant them a bit differently - a rectangular "window box" pot instead of a big round one.

Tomato:
I will never. Ever. Ever. Buy this variety of tomato again. I have one teeny tiny tomato on the plant. That is all it has made after all the watering and care - and then it had the AUDACITY to tip over in the windstorm a few weeks ago and the weight of the plant and the solidity of the tomato cage severed the main stem on my summer squash plant, thus killing any chance for summer squashes. BAD tomato! Bad, BAD tomato! I will get Sweet100 and Patio for next year.

Summer Squash:
See above with regard to squashicidal tomato plants.

Cucmber:
Forget it. Too much work for too little payback. I can get them cheap enough at the grocery market.

Lettuce:

Will try this again next year with some slight adjustments. Learning experience, and fair-to-middlin' results.

Spinach:

Not planted yet. Will probably try the lettuce-box method for the over-wintering.

Basil:
Not only not dead, but rather impressively growing strong. I will bring it inside for the winter and see if I can winter it over.

Banananana Peppers:
They're not as big as the ones in the market, but they are yum, and did well. I will do again next year.

Sweet Bell Peppers:
Meh. I finally got a few, but they are too small to stuff and I just think I'm better off spending my time/energy on something that gives a better return.

Beans:
I never grew beans here at this house before. I am going to either give up on "organic" gardening for them, or forget beans. Mexican Bean Beetles. The "organic" pesticide solution fried the leaves and blossoms and left me with nothing but sad-looking, naked tendrils wrapped around the trellis. Not Good. 'nuff said.

Blatantly Stolen Comments:

2011-08-24T13:46:00.002-05:00

WRT the current scare tactics from NRA auto-dialers looking for contributions and saying that President Obama, the "Lib'ruls", Secretary Clinton, and possibly little green men from Mars are trying to overturn the 2nd ammendment:

The U.S. government as currently constituted probably couldn't agree on the wording of a National Be Nice to Kittens and Puppies Resolution, and they're all going to get together to repeal one-tenth of the Bill of Rights!

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I just like this one. I soooooo want it to be true. I wish it were true. Wishes and wants and $5 will get you a triple venti vanilla latte at Starbucks, however:

I should have figured it out sooner.
It's the shampoo I use in the shower.
When I wash my hair, the shampoo runs down my whole body.
Printed very clearly on the shampoo label it reads, "FOR EXTRA VOLUME AND BODY."
I have gotten rid of the shampoo and I am going to start using Dawn dish detergent.
...Its label reads, "DISSOLVES FAT THAT IS OTHERWISE DIFFICULT TO REMOVE." Problem solved!
Geez! It sure pays to read the label!

Garden Update

2011-07-13T19:06:00.002-05:00

Lettuce:

The lettuces are not actually making the "heads" as advertised. It is ok, I am getting a lot of nice leaves, I pick a few and put them on sandwiches - but I think I'm going to have to cut the stuff down and just make one salad from what is there, because I don't think it will survive my absence. That is ok. This is one of those "things I did wrong" things, but I'm learning and hopefully next year I'll have more success.

Peas:

Sugar Snap. That is all you need. Sugar snap peas. They make peas. They make edible pods. You can pick the damn things right off the vine and give them a little wash and just eat them like a carrot -but they taste NOTHING like carrots, they are sweet and crunchy and totally YUM. I will plant at least twice as many seeds next time.

Beans:

Some of the beans runners have reached the top of the trellis. There are lots and lots of tiny purpley/lavender flower buds on them. I also have 2 actual beans. One is about 4" long, the other is about 1-1/2" long. However, if the flower buds are any indication, I will have more than plenty of beans in a few weeks. This I count as a huge success.

Peppers:

The standard sweet green peppers are not doing all that well. I have a few very small ones, and I'm thinking maybe I should pick them now and use them in an omelet or a pepper & egg sandwich, and see if that eggs on the plant to doing some more growing and blossoming.

The "banana pepper" is growing like gangbusters. The stems are about 2-1/2 feet tall, and they're making baby peppers. They are SO cute! Squeeeeeeee cute. I picked one that was about 5" long and had stopped growing any bigger, I will cut it up and put it in that salad that I'll make from the lettuces. I would certainly grow these again if they turn out to be tasty and all.

Basil Plant:

Still not dead.

Squash:

This is a straight-neck yellow summer squash plant. The plant is doing quite well, it is making a lot of "male" blossoms, I am hoping for "female" ones in the next couple of weeks. Not quite as thirsty as the tomato, and growing in the same pot with the cucumber - but looking quite dapper and healthy.

Cucumber:

Ok, this is SUPPOSED to be a "bush" cucumber that you can grow in a pot, but the darn thing is sending runners out all over the place. I keep having to nudge them around so that they don't take off and invade the neighbor's yard. Lots of blossoms, no baby pickles yet. Still, seems to be doing well.

Eggplant:

Since I moved this into the sunniest part of the deck, it has just done wonderful. The plants grow slowly, but each and every one of them (there are 4 in the bucket) has a small lavender colored flower bud on it. Crossing my fingers that this is good.

Tomato plant:

The World's Thirstiest Tomato Plant is thriving - but although there are a lot of flower buds, none of them are opening up. And I can't do that paintbrush thing that TFWY said to do, because I can't see any flowers to play "bee" with.

Other than that, and the fact that it seems to suck up water like a wet-vac, it's the most vigorous-looking tomato plant I've ever grown. I think next year I'll plant a different variety, however.

Photos will follow sometime when I can rememember to take some.

Books

2011-07-02T10:13:00.002-05:00

So I had to get a new power cord for my lappy because I LOST the old one (don't ask) - and it was only a few $ at Amazon, so I also got a few books.

2 books on container gardening.

Good news: I have done a number of things "right" without knowing any better.

Bad news: I have done a lot of things "wrong" without knowing better. I know better now, next year should be interestinger. <-(is SO a word!)

Also got Keith Richards' "Life". Will bring that along on the drive to Florida for "put your brain to sleep so you can sleep" and entertainment. Since I'm driving, I can bring a number of books. This is good.

The final count

2011-06-20T09:33:00.002-05:00

Ok, I'm done buying plants for the garden. If the stuff makes it, great. If not... learning experience.

Over the weekend I went out and got 4 more plants.

1) Straight-neck yellow squash. I like these sliced thin and saute'd with a little butter and a spritz of lemon juice.

2) Bush cucumber. Supposed to do well in containers. We shall see.

3) "Black Beauty" eggplant (aubergine). The one I got earlier was not the typical (pardon my french) uterus-shaped ones, but round. While the idea of great purple softballs is amusing, I am not certain I will like them, so these new ones will be more "normal" - presuming I can grow them. Again, we shall see.

4) A square pot with a square trellisy thing with a large-scale sweet green pepper plant. I really do hope this does well. Even if it does not, the pot is cute.

So that's it. Make it or break it. The container garden has:

1 pot of peas - doing exceptionally well. Making pea-flowers. Good.

1 pot of pole beans - the leaves look a little wrinkly, but they are climbing up the trellis nicely, and although they are a few weeks behind the peas, I think they will do ok as well.

1 box of lettuce - doing good. The leaves are getting bigger, and I've actually nipped off a few and put them on sandwiches. Not enough for a decent salad yet, but I will certainly do this again!

1 pot of 3 tomato plants. They seem to be doing ok. A few flower buds are coming on, although I'm not sure they will make baby tomatoes just yet. This planter needs a LOT of water.

2 pots of peppers. Banana peppers in one, big sweet green peppers in the other. They look awesomely healthy, but I've been fooled by peppers before. We'll see.

1 pathetic little pot of basil. And yet... it isn't dead.

1 pot with 2 kinds of eggplants (aubergines). Fingers crossed.

1 pot with a "bush" cucumber. Again with the finger crossing.

1 pot with a straight-neck squash plant. Crossing toes, as I've run out of fingers.

Garden Update

2011-06-08T12:33:00.003-05:00

Just 2 photos, but taken this morning.

First off, the lettuces, which are doing pretty well, considering the trauma from the monsoons and lack of sufficient drainage (and resulting mudslide when I tried to pour out some of the overflowing excess water).

And the peas and beans. The peas have gone past the top of their teepee - I think I may have to put more green wire/tape from the teepee up to the top of the fence to give them room to stretchhhhhhh.

My Weekend with Mr. T

2011-06-01T12:27:00.028-05:00

I spent the memorial day weekend hosting a little fuzzy visitor from the UK - he wasn't really big, but he has a big job. He is travelling around the world, raising money for worthy charities. Right now his charity is the helicopter ambulance guys - the ones who go to really bad emergencies and take folks to the hospital fast so that they (hopefully) don't die.

His name is Mr. Tonsilpus, and he has his own website and Facebook and everything.

I volunteered to show him around my part of the world (Chicago and suburbs), and he showed up at my office on Friday night, ready and raring to go. Unfortunately I still had some paperwork to work through, so he gave me a hand with that before we got to go home for the evening. Here he is, checking out my baby Lime Tree in the livingroom.

Equally unfortunate, the Monsoon Monster was still pouring torrential rain on my area, so we really didn't get to do much but sit around the house and play with Kili the cat. Kili gave him the once-over, then ignored him.

Saturday dawned rainy and wet and nasty. Again we were thwarted from any outdoor activity, which was a bummer. I decided to give Mr. T a guided tour of my sewing/crafting area (formerly my daughter's bedroom).

He seemed really interested in my quilting, and it occurred to me that he might enjoy having a little quilt of his own to travel with, since it can get kind of cold overnight in those post offices all around the world.

We picked out some nice fabrics and I put together a "T-sized" quilt for him. (I really, really screwed up with the binding. I'm not used to working with such small pieces, and the corners just would NOT lay flat for me. It's embarassing, but time was at a premium and after the 4th rip&redo I gave up on perfection.) He supervised.

Sunday was again cold and rainy and impossible. In fact, at one point I heard a noise outside that sounded like a train in my front yard. There wasn't a visible tornado, and the sirens never did go off, but it scared me some for sure! Later in the day I thought Mr. T should have at least the opportunity to go outside for a LITTLE, so we grabbed an umbrella and went out for pizza for lunch. (How much more "Chicago" than that can ya get?)

Deep Dish Stuffed Pizza from Giordanos. Mr. T perused the specials menu, but we ended up with a spinach & mushroom stuffed pizza.

Our nice waitperson let me take his picture with her (and the pizza!)

Sunday night we watched a couple of movies - one of them was the Blues Brothers (original), a Chicago classic.

Monday morning dawned bright and sunny. After a nice breakfast and a stroll through my little container garden, where Mr. T inspected my pea plants, we drove into the city of Chicago proper to see the sights.

From where I live, the easiest way to the downtown area is via the Eisenhower Expressway, which turns into the Congress Expressway when you get into the downtown area (right before it stops being an espressway and turns into Congress Parkway) The expressway, all 8 lanes of it at this point, goes underneath the old Post Office building. The building appears to be deserted - many windows are smashed out. Sad. I was always so impressed by this building as a child.

Mr. T said he'd like to see some of the places where they shot the movie we'd watched, so we went down to Wells St., under the "L" tracks.

Then we went over to Daley Center Plaza. Yes, that is the building where the Bluesmobile ran through the plate glass window. There were some kids playing in the fountains and we stayed a bit to watch them.

Mr. T also got his photo taken in front of the Picasso statue-sculpture-thingy.

Directly across the street was a place we remembered well from the night before - the place where the "Bluesmobile" met it's end - directly in front of the County building. Of course, we HAD to get a photo there!

We tried to find Wrigley Field, but the traffic was just wretched. So instead we took a short drive past Buckingham Fountain, which was on and working (but blocked by traffic!).

and then North up Michigan Avenue

And then a cruise through Lincoln Park and past the zoo - couldn't stop, no place to park! On a bright shiney warm day like this, when everyone who isn't a retail worker has the day off, it's hard to navigate through the fun places to go/see!

So as night began to crowd in, we headed back home for a nice little barbecue in the back yard (Mr. T stayed indoors where smoke and FIRE couldn't get at him!) and then the next day back into his Tyvek travelling sack and off to his next destination!

Bye bye, little fuzzball - it was fun!

Sew-servations

2011-05-11T13:10:00.002-05:00

A lot of places have been pushing the "You're Fired" meme wrt Donnie's pretend presidency candidacy. Face it people - nobody in his/her right mind would ever HIRE a temperamental, thin-skinned, foolish, poorly attired, hairline deficient bozo like Donnie. "You're Not Hired" would be far more apropos.

The Shrub family is quietly trying to sneak Jeb past the general population's Early Bush Warning System. Be aware, Shrubs, I will fight tooth, nail and knee-to-the-scrotum to keep Jebbie out of the Oval office. Or the round, square, octagonal or parallelogram offices.

A little extra warmth certainly does do some amazing things to lettuces and peas. Squash and beans, not so much. Although I am kind of wondering if the Evil Grey Cat from Hell might not have done some digging in the beans and squash. Either that or Mr. Nibbles, the squirrel. If it is Mr. Nibbles, I won't mind as much. EGCfH, however is fat enough and does not need to eat my beans and squaches.

I am going to take a few days off work this weekend to do more gardening and spring cleaning. I am also going to take a couple photos of grandma's chair and see if I can get a quote from an upholstry place on how much to make it "like new, except pink".

Clutching my pearls

2011-05-04T13:54:00.007-05:00

Actually, replacing my clutch. *sigh* There is a reason why the Little Blue Neon was being bad. Finally the clutch has gone. As, apparently, so shall my tax refund. Expensive car repair. However, 11 year old car, the clutch was original equipment, so I can't say it went too soon.

Not too happy about it, but it COULD have been worse, so I'll deal. The car will run again come tomorrow nite - but I'm having to impose on Co-Worker "D" again, which I hate.

Just for Croila - photos from the gardening project:

This first one is a very "before" photo, showing the ravages of winter on the former perennial flowers-only garden part. On the right side you can just manage to see the "Octopus" tentacles growing up and to the right out of the frame. All the pots are now out and the last-year foliage trash has been ripped out.

Now, of pure interest value - here is the blue Pot O'Dirt - in which there ARE pea seeds unsprouted as yet:

Here is my make-shift "cold frame" for my lettuces. It is actually just a clear plastic box with a white lid on top of my air conditioner compressor - but it seems to be working:

And to prove it is working - here is a photo of my baby lettuces:

Obviously, this is only "exciting" to me - but it is progress, and all progress is good, even if some of it is slow. I can't wait to see how the lettuces do. I hope they do well. I need a shot of "good" after the word on the Little Blue Neon. *sigh*

Oh - btw - Dear White Castle Advertising Agency Guys:

The term "Sliders"? The one you are bragging about selling in your recent advertisements? Umm, guys? That's NOT a compliment. The original usage for "Sliders" was that they slid right through your digestive system - coming out as fast or faster than they went in.

It's a "bad thing". Just FYI and all.

I have seen the Enemy

2011-05-03T11:02:00.003-05:00

Damn grey cat. And me without a bb gun...

It was prowling around the back yards this morning as I drove off for work. No longer a small grey cat - it has grown huge and fat. I suspect that it WAS the thing that was crapping in my plant pots. Grrrrrrrrrr.

It is supposed to get down around 32 F tonite, so I will have to find something to cover up the pots for the peas and the beans. The squash seeds are deep enough and in the mud, so even if it does frost, they should be OK. I can just put the lid back onto the lettuces box.

I am thinking of making a stick teepee for the peas pot if they look to be too leggy and vine-y once they get going strong. I have a few old sticks, and if I put them into the pot and tie them together at the top with baling twine, it should work.

So I did some more work on the Quilt that Shall Not Be Named (Yet) although it actually does have a name, just can't put it here in case a certain happy scottish medical type decides to read a bit. I don't know what is slowing me down so much. I've gotten energy back in other venues - just not this yet. Things that make me go hmmmmm.

hmmmmm

Sunflower seeds are yummy, but for some reason sunflowers themselves kind of gross me out. Something about the seeds in the flower in the circles and bees and guts and gore and yes, I know that is rambling and makes no sense, but neither does my gross-out from sunflowers, so there, neener neener neener. I get grossed out in a similar way by some automotive grille-work. Dunno why.

Nope. Not gonna plant sunflowers.

Very Interesting

2011-05-02T11:01:00.002-05:00

The Chinese are said to have a saying - "May you live in interesting times".

It is not a blessing, it is said. This last week has been interesting in, I think, the spirit of that saying.

Someone killed my baby wind-chimes. I had them hanging on a hook in the back - a hook that lives in the dirt, and doesn't attach to ANYthing. The sound they made was so small, so tiny, you really couldn't hear it unless you were RIGHT on top of it. But someone took a scissors and slashed them off their base. I found them laying in the dirt below the hook. Asshats.

Did you know that Osama Bin Dead-as-a-doorknob was 1 year younger than me? How very interesting.

I find this especially interesting because I do know a lot of people my age who are fairly religious - and I don't know that there is any one of them who would perpetrate the kind of stuff that the Dead Beard and his buddies did.

I do somewhat wonder what the Saudi royal family is thinking right around now. It is my understanding that Bin Dead-for-a-day-now-starting-to-stink is related to all those dish-rag heads. (Yes, Kal, I know it's a bit racist - but I haven't any sympathy for the Saudis, nor the Talibans, nor, for that matter, anyone anywhere who would kill others for being gay or female or non-arab.)

I wonder if GWB didn't bother to do a lot of trying to track Dead Osama down because it would have caused repercussions at family dinners with the Royal Saudis. Them being all butt-buddies with the Bushies and all.

Pictures on Yahoo of New Yawkers dancing with flags in the streets like a bunch of ... Palestinians. Seriously, folks, aren't we supposed to be BETTER than them? Let's get back to our British roots and do the minimalist bit, eh? Stiff upper lip, dry humor, minimize the maximum, maximize the minimum and all?

9/12/01 - 1/20/09: 7 1/2 years, noting.
1/20/09 - 5/1/11: 2 1/2 years - Mission Accomplished.

No aircraft carrier. No flight suit prancing. Just quietly, calmly, "Justice has been done".

I planted beans and squashes seeds this weekend. The beans are in the pot with the trellis, they are supposed to climb. The squashes are in the dirt near the hook where the dearly departed windchimes were. I hope I get some squashes this year!

The octopus is out of the garden, yet still in the yard, as I don't have a special bag and sticker for yard waste to throw it out in. *sigh*. I may just have to buy one this year.

I also bought about a flat-worth of small plants - 2 kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of sweet peppers, 4 eggplants (aubergines), some dill, some marigolds, some cucumbers that allegedly do ok in pots, and some Gerber daisies. Oh and a big plant of basil. Gonna try and make my own spaghetti sauce one of these days.

Off to the Garden Center

2011-04-30T11:36:00.002-05:00

Without question, I am def. going to try and grow an eggplant (aubergine?) this year. I think I'll also try another tomato plant, but this time I WILL interplant dill and marigolds in the pot to try and keep the hornworms at bay.

Today the Octopus in the garden dies. It is a wild rosebush that I think got in there from the root stock of a pretty rosebush that I had back there years ago but it died. Every few years the root stock tries to grow again, and last year I let it go out of A) curiosity and B) pure laziness. I already hacked off one "arm" of it, today the rest goes.

My lettuces are up, albeit just as little 2-leaf sprouts - but I'm going to assume that bodes well for more leaves eventually. The peas are ... I think a cat is using the pot they are in for a litterbox, which if I find out it is the little grey cat who shredded my screens, I am going to be ... very angry.

I'm going to plant the beans today. Probably put the squash seeds into the garden as well.

It is bright and sunny, and I can see all the trees in the neighborhood really leafing out, so I'm going to take a 6-day bet and figure that the danger of frost damage is mostly gone. The tender plants - tomato and eggplant and whatever else I am moved to purchase will stay indoors for another week or so - I'm not quite THAT ready to bet that Mother Nature won't go postal on me!

I wonder how many of those red-states that have had the severe weather and wildfires are going to apply for federal aid? *wonders*

Eating the yard

2011-04-13T08:20:00.003-05:00

I'm just not succeeding with perennial flowers. Some of them do ok, but most of them are just annoying me, so I'm going to back off of that concept and do something else. Something else being veggies again.

Last nite I emptied a bag of potting soil into a clear plasticy box and sprinkled lettuce seeds on it. Then I added some water and put the cover on to protect it from frost. It is sitting on top of the air conditioner compressor. Hopefully it will make lettuces, since the variety I chose is called "Pixie" and makes small heads of lettuce, which amuses me.

I've started clearing some of the pots and stuff out of the "ground garden" where the perennials "live". The daffodils are doing great and the red lilies are coming up strong, as are the iris. Not sure about the astilbe or those little pruple/blue flowers and I think the bleeding hearts are dead.

I can't decide whether to try and grow a tomato plant again or not. I've had such ROTTEN luck with them the last few times that I'm tempted to just go try and grow peppers and forget the tomatoes. Interestingly, I did better with tomatoes at my Mom and Dad's old house where the black walnut trees were my only nemesis than I've done here with no trees to speak of.

Yes, Croila, I will put in photos - just not yet. A picture of a blue pot full of dirt is not really very interesting, IMNSHO.

Dr. Stupid

2011-03-30T11:00:00.003-05:00

Went to the new Dr. He is an idiot. Ok, maybe not an idiot - but never going to earn the "Miss Congeniality" award anywhere. The lack of common courtesy and mutual respect for a fellow professional (albeit in a different field) indicates a bad case of "Dr. God" syndrome. Ya know? I have enough stress and crap in my life without that. I have put in a call to my GP for an alternative referral, as I cannot/will not return to that guy.

New Dr.

2011-03-23T12:55:00.002-05:00

So I'm going to go see another doctor next Tuesday. An endocrinologist. As I told his nurse/receptionist, I am seriously suspicious that I am an endocrinological mess. Have been my whole life, I suspect. This particular visit has to do with the fact that I can NOT tolerate metformin, and I'm not going to take it if it continues with the same bad side-effect, and yet I am still apparently Type II Diabetic. There are other things, though. Things that I think may have bearing. I think I've needed to see one of these kinds of Dr. for many years.

Tuesday I'll find out, I suspect.

This should be interesting. If nothing else, I can try out my "My mother was never pregnant" line on the Dr. and see what kind of reaction I get.

Thoughts

2011-03-17T12:38:00.002-05:00

During my lifetime I've worked for 3 Japanese owned companies. One directly Japanese operated (I will NEVER do that again) and 2 that were owned by Japanese companies but run by Americans. I've met a lot of Japanese guys through these jobs (not so many women, but then, the Japanese have this thing about women....)

When I heard about the earthquake/tsunami, my thoughts went to all the people I'd worked with over the years. I never kept in touch - in many ways it would have been impossible to do so even if I'd thought of it. There's no way for me to go looking online or send an email to find out if everyone is ok.

But I find my thoughts going out to Mr. Matsumura, Kiyoshi, Sudo-san, Mr. Kinoshita, and so many others whom I worked for and with over those years. I hope they are all OK. I hope their families are ok. And I hope that the country (Japan) can get their shit together with regard to the nuclear reactors so that the population isn't all poisoned.

Because even if I had problems working with some of those guys, (that Japanese male thing about women...) I would never, ever, in my wildest nightmares want to see them or their families hurt by this triple-tragedy.

I cannot translate this to Japanese, because all the translators online use konji and my computer just makes that into boxes - but I wish for all of you - only good things forever. Be well, Japan.

Ich Bin Ein French Fry.

2011-03-03T07:01:00.002-06:00

So I go into the store to buy a few things and I see these totally awesome dark beet-red/burgundy sheets with 600 thread count and all, and I'm like YES!!! So I bought them.

Just put them on the bed a few nights ago.

They are not lovely and deep burgundy and matching my curtains AT ALL. They are red. Ketchup Red. Seriously, the exact same color as tomato ketchup.

So all night long, I am laying there, thinking I must be a french fry.

I am going to guess that the lighting in the store is maybe just a TAD different than sunlight/house lamp light.

Pass the salt, please.

Well, tickle me with a cheddar...

2011-02-17T18:06:00.002-06:00

I'll be damned if our Cheezehead neighbors to the north (Wisconsin) haven't done gone and did what I said in my previous post. They're all out there peacefully telling their Republican Governor (in office for less than a month...) to stuff it where it don't shine and not give tax bonuses to his rich cronies and then try to balance his budget on the backs of the working folks.

I don't often agree with the Cheddarheads. Especially about Football. But - guys, this here Flatlander is 250% behind ya on this one. Say it loud. Say it proud. Say it so loud I can here it down here in Illinois. And change your damn State Constitution so you can tell someone like "Walker" to take a hike, without waiting for him to screw things up for a whole year first.

GO CHEESEHEADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Btw - Piston - if you're going to just post silly teabagger talking points, don't bother. The state had a 140 million dollar surplus in the budget before Walker took office. He gave tax breaks and credits to his cronies, and added 3.8 billion in pork for his corporate masters, which is why there's a problem NOW. Oh - btw, he also wants to get rid of the minimum wage and child labor laws. Sounds like Dickensian London instead of Madison Wisconsin in the 2000's.

Protest Like An Egyptian

2011-02-12T09:35:00.003-06:00

I've been watching the whole Egyptian Revolution thing in the news and one thing really and truly impressed me. If this succeeds, if the military doesn't fuck things up (as military are prone to do), this has been a relatively bloodless revolution. The people have set their demands, and then (for the most part) peacefully gone about insisting that they be met.

Yes, there have been scattered bits of violence, but unless I've missed it, that was the exception, not the norm.

If only others in that part of the world would get the message "You CAN win without killing". "You CAN get what you want without murdering innocents"

Nobody in the square in Cairo strapped on a bomb and exploded themselves to get their way. Nobody packed a car full of exploding things and set it off in a crowded marketplace. Nobody flew any airplanes into anything.

(I like the shoe bit. I really do. I find it ever so wonderful. Waving shoes in protest, instead of signs. I really really love the shoe bit.)

Dear Muslims. Dear Dear Xtian Anti-Choice people. Please learn from this. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO KILL PEOPLE - OFTEN PEOPLE UNRELATED TO YOUR GOALS - TO EFFECT CHANGE!!!

Oh Good Greif.

2011-02-02T17:28:00.002-06:00

Carol Mosley-Braun is all up in arms about when the decision was made to shut down Lake Shore Drive. She's critical of the city's response.

Carol? You're not the Mayor yet. In fact, you probably won't be if Rahm gets on the ballot.

More importantly - no matter what you yammer on about - this blizzard is a blessing for all of you candidates. The blessing is that it did NOT happen on your watch. Dick Daley is on his way out. This cannot hurt him, because... well... he's not going to run for Mayor again. Unlike Mike Bilandic, the blizzard is not going to cost him an election. Smart cookie, that Dick Daley.

On the other hand - you just sound whiney. Dorothy-Tillman-Whiney. Seriously - it's a blizzard. We got 2 ft. of sn*w at least. LSD was no doubt shut down as soon as the city folks knew it would be impossible to keep clear and passable. Give it a rest.

If you really want to be a help - go grab a shovel. I bet you have some neighbors who could use a bit of help.

A Sn*w day

2011-02-02T16:19:00.002-06:00

Wow. I haven't had a sn*w day since.... jeeezz.... 1979, I think. This was a hella good blizzard, as far as blizzards go.

I half-shoveled, half-waded through the sn*w in the front (the back is impassible) - and took a look at the white lump that used to be my car.

I have a feeling I will be having another sn*w day tomorrow.

*sigh*

Atta President, President Obama!

2011-01-13T12:05:00.002-06:00

Way to go, Mr. Commander in Chief - I was moved and impressed by your speech last night at the memorial in Arizona.

Very nice of you to remember that the day was for remembering the fallen - not a day to glorify yourself.

*applause*

Faces of Murderers

2011-01-10T08:30:00.008-06:00

This weekend, the beautiful little girl shown above was brutally murdered while trying to learn about the American system of government and meet with her congressional representative. A lone gunman has been arrested and charged with murdering other people who were around her at the time, and attempting to murder the Congresswoman who was meeting with her constituents.

Although that gunman may have pulled the trigger, I submit the following for your consideration.

In 1971 Charles Manson was sentenced to death (later changed to life in prison) for a crime he did not personally commit - the crime of murder.

Charles Manson was convicted of murdering people he never touched - except by his words, which inspired his followers to murder the LaBiancas and the people at Sharon Tate's house. Charlie didn't kill them, his minions did, but Charlie, as seen above, is still in jail, convicted of murder.

Using this as a guideline, I present the following photographs of other murderers, these who are NOT behind bars, but who have used words that inspired their followers to murder:

Darling of the "Tea Party", Sarah Palin managed to get herself a reprimand from John McCain's campaign for her inflamatory rhetoric which caused her followers to scream out things like "KILL HIM" (with reference to then-Candidate Obama) at her ~~pep rallys~~ campaign stops. Just a few months ago, her website featured a gun-sight cross-hairs of Gabrielle Giffords district, as well as her famous "Don't retreat, reload!" comment.

Sarah - in the court of Sewmouse Justice - you stand convicted of the premeditated murder of 9 year old Christina Green, U.S. District Judge John Roll, Gabe Zimmerman, Dorothy Morris, Dorwin Stoddard, and Phyllis Schneck and the attempted murder of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Sharron Angle of Nevada. Not only guilty of misspelling the name Sharon, but of promoting "Second Amendment Remedies" for imagined first-amendment iniquities. One of Sarah Palin's heralded "Momma Grizzlys" - obviously a terrorist term if I've ever heard one - Sharron Angle, in the court of Sewmouse Justice you are found GUILTY of the premeditated murder of 9 year old Christina Green, U.S. District Judge John Roll, Gabe Zimmerman, Dorothy Morris, Dorwin Stoddard, and Phyllis Schneck and the attempted murder of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Now, not to beat a dead horse (although I don't know if it would do Trigger any harm if I were to beat on him) - I shall just post photos of some of the other people who murdered Christina Taylor Green and the others by their wanton use of violent rhetoric:

Rupert Murdoch - Murderer

Bill O'Reilly - Murderer
Sean Hannity - Murderer

Rush Limbaugh - Murderer

Glenn Beck - Murderer

Michelle Bachmann - Murderer

Ann Coulter - Murderer

Ok, Vincent Bugliosi - get in there, get active and get these murderers brought to justice.

The Truth - it BURNS

2011-01-06T08:28:00.002-06:00

So in my continuing attempt to understand the "Tea Party" mentality, I read some comments on a few articles about how things are "going to change" now that the Party of NO is in the majority in the federal House of Representatives.

One commenter gloated on how "Boehner will repeal Obamacare". Um..... how? Is this poor, deluded fool thinking that the Great Orange Man, Speaker Boehner, will wave his magic gavel and say "I REPEAL THEE" and it is undone?

Sorry, Snookiedimples - in order to repeal "Obamacare", the House will have to pass ANOTHER law repealing the previous law, and then it will also have to pass the Senate (unlikely), and then.. get this... President Obama would have to SIGN it - because there are no way, no how, enough votes for a veto override. And just exactly what chances do you think there are that President Obama would sign a bill that overrides the very legislation he has hitched his entire Presidential Legacy® upon?

Slim?

None?

*smirk*

The Sad Truth

2011-01-05T11:24:00.002-06:00

I just got off the phone with one of my company's vendors - she was looking for money, as are everyone of us during the bleak days of winter, it seems.

Since I couldn't give her what she wanted, and I told her it up front, we had a little discussion about economic realities and chia-pets. (don't ask.)

After a bit, it became apparent from her comments that she followed the "Teabagger" philosophies of governance - she was blaming her high real-estate taxes on President Obama.

Although I pointed out several times that the FEDERAL government does not control our real estate taxation here in Illinois, she kept repeating how President Obama was supposed to be lowering our taxes but her tax rate had gone up.

She was also upset about the high sales-tax rate - another thing that is controlled by the local and state governments, not the Federal.

Which gets me to thinking, just how many of the folks who are disappointed in President Obama are just as clueless and uninformed as this woman? How many of them are expecting the Republican and Teabagger candidates to solve all of their taxation woes, and won't understand that there are taxes that are NOT controlled by the federal government?

We are not subject to just ONE level of government here. We have the Federal government, then we have the State government, the County government, and then our municipality (city, town, village, etc.) government. Each has rules. Each issues laws. Each taxes us.

Is it possible that THAT MANY PEOPLE do not understand this? Could it be that their concept of what the "Government" is taking from them is a combined taxation that is not under the control of the House of Reps or the Senate of the US - but instead taxes from their State or County government?

Do they not realize that a lot of these "entitlement programs" that they hate are not Federal? Do they know that their workplaces fund unemployment through FUTA and SUTA taxes, which are NOT taken from wages, but are levied on their employers?

Seriously, Lady-on-the-phone, President Obama has NOTHING - NOTHING AT ALL - to do with the price of our vehicle registration (license plates) fees!

Things.

2010-12-16T09:46:00.002-06:00

Nope. Not dead yet. Just had nothin' to say.

Was looking at some magazine photos at the checkout at the grocery the other day and noticed how many of the celebs/models smiles show both up and down teeth. Perhaps this is a "beauty" feature that isn't mentioned often? Dunno.

I do know that I can't smile with both up and down teeth showing unless I wrinkle up my nose, which then makes it look like I've got rabies and am about to bite your throat out. So being fat and round-faced isn't enough, I don't have a suitable smile either. This works. I hope the guy in the parking lot who saw me grimacing at my rear-view mirror didn't think I was going to bite him.

Got a cup of coffee from Burger King this morning. It has a graphic on it that says "Happily Serving Seattle's Best Coffee". Not wearing my glasses. It looked like it said "Happily Starving".

Seriously.

My letter to the airlines:

2010-11-16T14:24:00.002-06:00

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter to thank you all for the many flights I have enjoyed with your Airline company over the last 40 years. It has been for the most part a pleasure to fly with you all, and the service has been exceptional.

I regret to inform you that I will never be using your services again. Due to the intrusive, and to my mind illegal, searches being performed by the “TSA” on passengers, I will never board another airplane.

It saddens me to know that I will never again be able to whisk from O’Hare or Midway to destinations in the US or abroad, but I will not subject myself to the indignity of an unwarranted, intrusive, and constitutionally illegal search which demands that I either allow an unknown person to view my naked body, or submit to fondling in intimate places by an unknown individual.

(Amendment 4: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.)

I don't think walking into an airport, or wanting to fly down to see my Dad constitutes "probable cause" that I am a "Terrahist".

It also appears from recent news stories, that even showing up at the airport and then attempting to leave without boarding the flight when refusing to submit to these indignities is being met with outrageous threats of tens of thousands of dollars in “fines” and threats of legal actions. This is patently unacceptable.

I will endure the discomfort and tedium of driving to my destinations here forward as a result. No “safety” can be assured by these authoritarian, police-state methods, and as an American Citizen, I refuse to submit to this.

Unfortunately, I cannot wish you well. I hope with all my heart that these TSA atrocities cause you to lose sufficient revenues that you and your fellow airlines team together to address the issue with airports and the government to remove the scanners and cease the intrusive “pat-down” methods.

Until then – fly safely – and please, please lose a lot of money.

Vote vote vote vote

2010-11-02T06:14:00.001-05:00

vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote
stop reading. go vote.

Vote early

Vote often.

Go. now. vote.

vote vote vote vote

CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE

2010-10-13T12:54:00.002-05:00

oh my.

I don't usually stay up too late - and I don't have a functional TV, so it is really rather unusual that I stayed up late last night to watch as the first 2 of the Chilean miners were rescued. The joy on their families faces was so heartwrenching.

Congratulations to all who helped, all who waited, and all who survive. I know there are still about 1/3 of the guys to bring up-and then the brave souls who went DOWN to help them also, but truly, this is a happy, happy thing.

A LIFE - I haz one!

2010-10-12T07:01:00.003-05:00

sorta.

This weekend I had what other people might call a "normal day", but it was chock-full of happening things for me.

First off, I was awakened at 7 am by the phone - SPTLM calling to tell me that Dad collapsed at church and was being taken by the paramedics to the hospital. Ok. I'm awake.

Picked up a little, ran a few small errands, then came back and got ready for my treat of the fiscal quarter - Lunch at the Dysfunctional Dennys with my kids - yes, Manda and Brad were in town and we had lunch at the DD. We laughed at their menu, we talked and talked, and Manda told me about "Origami Boulder" - which you really should check out on the web because it is funny.

Then I got back home - not enough time to vacuum - and Co-Worker "R" and his lovely wife came over and helped get my window back into the track! I will not have snowballs in the livingroom this winter!!!!

Then I made a small steak and some lovely veggies and yorkshire puddings for dinner. Yes, I know yorkies are supposed to be for going with a roast, but I didn't have a roast, and besides of which a roast is too much for just big fat old me, so phlllhhhbbhhhttt - I like yorkshire puddings.

It's like.... a life! I must do this again.

PS: Dad didn't have a heart attack or a stroke, according to the tests. They're keeping him for a few days to see if they can figure out what happened. SPTLM has a good physician, and he's having that guy look at Dad. For now, I'm going with "no news is good news", although I don't entirely discount that SPTLM could call at any minute with dire news presented dramatically.

I'm Not Christine O'Donnell

2010-10-10T10:03:00.002-05:00

I'm not Christine O'Donnell

I'm a bitch.

But that's really the only thing we have in common.

I don't want to go to Washington and do what she would do.

I'd rather stay home and masturbate.

I'm sure we can all see all around us all the things that have been broken by Washington over the last 10 years - and if you elect me, I'll fall down on my ass laughing because I know just exactly how unelectable I am!

I'm not Christine O'Donnell

I'm Sewmouse And I approve of this message.

The Teabaggers Dream

2010-10-01T05:21:00.004-05:00

So the "tea party patriots" want no government, just a military - and no regulations, and no taxes.

Ok.

This means no FCC. Anyone and everyone can transmit anything they want on the airwaves on any frequency they desire. Kiss your radio programs goodbye - every frequency will be like bad CB radio - breaker breaker, any takers, good buddy? Forget about free TV - either you pony up for cable or you will get just a mish-mash of bleuch.

No FDA - no such thing as a "prescription" drug, because they will all be available over-the-counter, with dosages and potency all dubious, because there will be no labelling laws, and no warnings, no oversight into business practices. That insulin you just injected may well be tainted with digitalis - but no worries!

No FAA. Anyone can drive any airplane anywhere anytime. No air-traffic-controllers, no NTSB to oversee safety - why bother with maintenance, it is only costly! If ya lose a plane full of folks because the wings fell off - oh well.

None of these things are mentioned in the Constitution (never mind that radio, tv and the airplane had not been invented yet when the constitution was written...), so according to the Baggers, we should not be spending Your Tax Dollars® on such "entitlement" fripperies!

Idiots.

Kili gets a physical

2010-09-20T10:30:00.002-05:00

Nothing quite like having a lumpy cat.

They were small lumps, and at first it was just one or two on her neck. Now it appears to have spread all over her body. Small hard lumps that don't move if I scratch (gently) at them. I was concerned.

Then a bout of 4 day fecal unpleasantness.

Vet appointment made and kept.

Cash outlaid for "senior panel" blood and urine tests.

Results today.

Apparently the Illegal Alien Kitteh brought a few not-so-nice friends with it. Flea medicine prescribed. Will pick up tonite. 18 years as an indoor cat and never a hint of fleas on either one of them. Damn outside intruder destroys my screens and then infests my cat. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Serious housecleaning and disinfecting and vacuuming and steam-cleaning and maybe even a bug bomb or 2.

Everything else - WAY normal, especially for an old lady like Kili. WOOT.
Except. Thyroid is in the "grey" area. Hyperthyroidism is apparently an old-cat possibility. Can be treated - hopefully cheaply. We will keep an eye on her so she doesn't lose any more weight and hopefully she'll be ok.

Since some kind of feline skin-cancer (untreatable, fast-killing) was a possibility, I am greatly relieved.

Tea Parties and Mad Hatters

2010-09-13T10:16:00.004-05:00

Sleeping in a teapot sounds patently uncomfortable.

For the last couple of years, I've been thinking about "Socialism" and the fear and loathing the term brings out in people around my age or older.

I belong to the tail-end of the "Baby Boom" - those of us born in the decade following the termination of hostilities in WWII. We grew up with the spectre of BIG RED hovering over us, sending spies to kill our Kennedys, driving submarines loaded with dreaded nuclear weapons right up the Delaware Bay. FLASH! BANG! DUCK AND COVER!

Yes, I actually was shown that movie in grade school. As ludicrous as it seems now, we were taught to look for fallout shelter signs, taught to duck under our desks and cover our heads with our hands. (As opposed to the more useful sticking your head between your legs and kissing your ass goodbye...)

We were taught to FEAR the great Red Menace - the evil Bear of the Soviet Union - the Union of Soviet SOCIALIST Republics. The USSR.

We were shown photos of sad-eyed, cold looking children, standing in long lines to get food. We were innundated by the Reader's Digest stories of Russian women who would "wait in any line, not knowing what it was for, just to get something to eat, or maybe to trade". Forced to work in slave-like sweatshop conditions, not given the opportunity to learn or choose their own career paths. Large families living in 2 room apartments, starving in the cold and turning to vodka as the only way to dim the pain of their miserable lives. Living daily in mortal fear of being swept up as a "Dissident" for even looking sideways at a government official or building and carried away mysteriously in the night to frozen hell in Siberia for eternity.

Reading Russian novels didn't make it any less frightening. Believe me. I've read a few. I cannot believe the grim, angst-ridden, hopelessness portrayed.

I've been thinking about this - especially when I see older folks on the news following after the Baggers with signs saying "Keep your Government Hands Off My Social Security/Medicare"

Socialism - Communism - Red Threat - Godless Commies

It all kind of makes sense, if your world-view is stagnated in the Cold War Era and all. Thank you, Tom Clancy.

And I'll be honest here. I don't think there is any way that we can fix that. And Karl Rove knows it. He knows the word "Socialism" hearkens back to those fear-filled news reports with the hidden missle silos and the mushroom clouds and Tom Brokaw and Walter Kronkite intoning gloom and doom and fear.

And now that we don't have the godless Russkies to pick on anymore, the Corporate Powers have decided to pick a new Boogie-man - Muslims. Unfortunately, the folks in the middle east don't play the game the way the Russkies did. It isn't all about fear and assured mutual destruction. The government in Iran is not Moscow - Ahmedinajfuckicantspellit is no Gorbachev. These guys don't just pound the podium with their shoes - they throw them!

And the hell of it all is - I have no answers. I don't know that there ARE any answers. I suppose I should read the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Maybe I can start writing the Rise and Fall of the American Dream....

*sigh*

CLOSE CALL!

2010-09-03T06:28:00.002-05:00

So there I am, driving down the street, minding my own business. It is very dark, as it is after 9 pm. I usually don't go out late on a work night, but there it is, I needed a burrito. No, not wanted. Needed. So I schlepped out to Taco ~~Hell~~ Bell.

Driving up Barrington Road, suddenly 2 shiney eyes in the road in front of me! Low to the ground, I see a black mass in the road. I yank the wheel to the right, then hold my breath...

I did not hit the skunk.

Thank the Goddess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Window is Stuck

2010-08-25T06:55:00.003-05:00

BAH

I hate the windows in this house. If someone wants to contribute the 3k or so it will take to replace them all, I'll send you my paypal info. *grin*

I took out all the windows (inner and storm) to replace the screen that IAK (Illegal Alien Kitteh) had shredded. It wasn't easy. These windows are very large, quite heavy, and it is awkward to get them out of the slides. (Windows in my house go sideways < > instead of updown ^ v). I got 2 of the 3 windows back in but one of them is being ornery. I am not sure how the heck I got it OUT!

I am probably going to have to have a co-worker come help me put it back in. *sigh*

I prefer being independent, you damn window!

Attempted Break-in

2010-08-16T10:39:00.002-05:00

Last night I actually SAW the culprit. Squatting down on the roof of the neighbor's house, just outside my upstairs hall window, looking for all the world as if she were expecting me to hand goodies out to her.

Fortunately, her choice of wearing apparel gave her away. Had she been all in black, I probably would have missed her, especially if she'd closed her eyes - but the whispy grey was ghostly, shining in the darkness.

Yes - it was the Illegal Alien Kitteh. Finally spotted. This time not at the window in the livingroom where it had torn the crap out of screens (the new anti-pet screening seems to be working) - but on top of the neighbor's roof. I hissed at it. She scooted back a few steps, but kept looking at the window. I hissed again, louder and raised my hand... she scampered off. I closed the window down over the screen.

This morning there are 2 small holes in the screen. I have put a spray bottle of CleanUp on the windowsill. Fucking cat comes back, it will get a face full of Chlorox.

I am NOT happy with this little housebreaker.

Songs to which I do not understand the Lyrics of.

2010-08-11T12:47:00.002-05:00

Listening to the "Oldies" station. Because I am.

Song lyrics have always fascinated me. Some of them more so than others. Some of them are supposed to - like "Lookin' out my back door" by CCR and the ghastly "American Pie". I realize this and just enjoy the former and switch stations on the latter.

Today, however, a couple have played that I am confused about, and I realize I've always been confused about them, and I don't think they are SUPPOSED to be confusing.

"Big Old Jet Airliner, Don't carry me too far away. Big old Jet Airliner, 'cause it's here that I've got to stay"

Ok. Why exactly is this singer at the damn AIRPORT if he has to stay where he is?
Moron.

Then there's:

"Heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend who heard it from another you've been messing around. I'm telling you, Babe, that I don't think it's true, Babe, and even if it is, keep this in mind... {snip} I don't believe it, not for a minute"

Ok. So he doesn't believe it. Not for a MINUTE! He doesn't think it's true! Yet, he feels the need to harangue and threaten her over FOURTH HAND GOSSIP????? Yeah, we can tell how much you love her, you scumbag. No wonder she's cheating.

Emotional

2010-08-02T11:24:00.003-05:00

I am angry. I am horribly angry - and I have no outlet. Carolyn, my soul-sister is gone, and with her my outlet for things like this - guilt and anger that have no place to go, but swirl around in my brain making me feel powerless, inadequate, small and frightened and even more angry.

Oy - Wench - I miss you so much right now. I know the words you would begin with, but my mind keeps swirling in this miasma of emotion and I can't hear your voice and feel the absolution wash over me, the permission to feel, and the forgiveness I can't bring myself to give myself just yet.

I can only catch portions of phrases, and it's not enough.

Logic only goes so far - emotion is overriding it and oh, how I wish you were here to help me screw my head back on correctly again.

I have to go it alone now. I know eventually (as UncleHBK used to say) "This too shall pass". I suppose it's time to grow up a little more and find an outlet that doesn't require another human being to get involved. I know housework does it for some - exercise for others - meditation...

Meditation is out. I'd brood and sulk. Exercise?..... dunno. I'll try some housework tonite. I doubt it, but I'll try.

Hey Mick - Emotional Rescue, please?

It was so much easier when they were on strike...

2010-07-28T06:36:00.003-05:00

Construction on the Eisenhower Expressway extention (near which I live) had halted for a while this month while the workers went on strike. This was lovely for me, as the on-ramps were still closed so the usual morning backup was still missing - plus nobody rubbernecking at the workers causing accidents or just slow-downs.

Yesterday they were back at work. *sigh*. *sigh again*

They for some ungodly reason decided to screw up the traffic signals so they were blinking red instead of doing their correct red/green/yellow rotation. This meant that I creepy crawled to work thru a 5 mile backup. Even worse, I creepy crawled back HOME through a 2 mile backup in 90 degree heat with heavy humidity, bright sunshine and a dark blue car with no A/C.

I am dreading the commute this morning.
*sigh yet again*

Illegal Alien Kitteh tries to break into my house!!!*

2010-07-23T12:06:00.003-05:00

*please note - I have never seen this kitty, nor have I any clue to whom it belongs. It might be the cat belonging to a member of the DAR. The Kitteh, however, is not a legal resident of MY house!

Ok, for a few days, I've been worried about Kili. She ate, but she would hide. Constantly. I couldn't figure it out, and she was acting as if she didn't know me. Everything seemed to frighten her, and that's not normal.

I even called the vet office to see if there might be something that I'd need to watch out for.

Yesterday morning my neighbor clued me in. Apparently there has been some free-ranging kitteh who has been clawing at my window screen and trying to get in. I heard Kili snarling at it one night, but had heard nothing since so I figured it was ok. It wasn't.

There is a HUGE rip in the screen just at a spot where I can't easily see it from inside the house because of the vertical blinds. Apparently the Illegal kitteh was trying to enter. No wonder Kili's been spooked.

So yesterday AM I closed the window so that even if Illegal Kitteh does get thru the screen, it can't get inside the house.

Yesterday after work Kili came out when I came home and "talked" to me. Then she got on the back of the sofa and peeked thru the blinds for a long time before running off to get some kibble noms. This morning she was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs and gave me the usual nagging until I gave her the canned food.

Spending Money

2010-07-13T09:48:00.002-05:00

This last weekend I went shopping. I bought a new chair for my computer desk because the old one broke and I am sick and tired of getting backache from sitting on a metal folding chair. I went to Office Max and sat in EVERY single chair they had. I ended up buying the 2nd best one there - because the very best one cost twice as much and was only a TINY bit comfier.

Then I went to the mall. It was really rather sad. More than 1/2 of the stores were out of business. I broke down and went into Macy's - which I swore I'd never do when they bought out Marshall Field's and changed the name (and I won't go back - the only things I ever bought at Field's were good leather gloves, cooking equipment and Frango mints). They did NOT have the cooking pan I wanted, but there WAS a sale on bedding, so I purchased my first set of 450 thread-count pima cotton bed linens.

Oh

My

Goddess.

It's like sleeping in a cloud. They're so SOFT!! I want to get at least 1, maybe 2 more sets. One for the wash, one for the bed, one for the linens closet.

I ended up getting a replacement pan for the one that gave it's life in the Great Kitchen Chicken Fiasco at K-Mart. It's a nice enough pan, and it's actually a double-boiler so I can melt chocolate and stuff like that without doing a stupid balancing act with 2 pots and a rubberband.

By the time I got home, I was toast. I haven't gone power-shopping like that in years. Traipsing all around through the (shudder) Mall and all was quite exhausting. After wrestling my purchases into the house (the chair box was VERY heavy and exceedingly awkward), I made myself a huge glass of iced tea, smashed my toe into the chair box, swore vigorously and then plunked myself down on the sofa and read for several hours.

The toe is bruised, the chair is still unassembled, (although in progress), and the sheets are... heaven.

I need more hands and another body or 3.

2010-07-08T09:44:00.002-05:00

And the energy of an ADHD toddler.

Things are slowly improving at La Casa de Sewmouse. I have had another "burst" of energy, and used it fairly well. The upstairs is in muh better shape, the downstairs still needs a lot of work.

However. My biggest concern right now is my quilt dilemma. I have 3 quilts that I use for my own sleepingness. Veggie I, The Yellow Thing, and Turquoise Stars. The Yellow Thing has issues, as it was the VERY FIRST quilt that I ever made, and I kind of... well... I was stupid then, and I used whatever fabric I had to hand which was, unfortunately, made of all sorts of fibers, and now a lot of the squares from it are just falling apart into clumps of yuk.

It isn't all that hard to fix, since all I need to do is sew another patch of fabric over the one that has disintegrated. Unfortunately, this has to be done by hand in order to not make an utter crap mess of the entire quilt. Also, this is the quilt I assembled and quilted 100% by hand, so I am loath to use any newfangled technological claptrap like a sewing machine on it.

Turquoise Stars also has the disintegration problem. Again due to injudicious fabric selection during my noobie quilter period. I've already patched over one of the stars, but it appears at least 4 more (possibly more) may need attention as well. These stars are BIG, (18") and have to be hand-repaired also to avoid puckering on the reverse. *sigh*

Veggie I has only 1 bad spot - but it is the central square of a rather specific pattern, and AS GODDESS IS MY WITNESS - I do not have even so much as a 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" piece of that fabric left in the old stashola - so I'll have to patch the ENTIRE pattern with a new, similar, fabric.

*sigh*

I would LOVE to use the Ocean quilt in the meanwhile, however that one is off the frame while I work on Kal's Surprise quilt (which after all this time, I suspect he will consider the surprise to be that he actually gets it at all... *slaps self*)

I only thought about the Ocean quilt this morning because co-worker M has a big bag of goldfish crackers on his desk.

New Fire Alarms

2010-06-23T15:34:00.002-05:00

Ok, after the Great Kitchen Chicken Fiasco of a week ago, I purchased new batteries for my (current) smoke alarms. After 3 days it became abundantly apparent that this was not the "fix" that was needed.

The alarms went off if the cat walked past. They went off when I opened the bathroom door after taking my shower (that is STEAM, not smoke!!) they went off if the wind blew through the windows. They went off if I cooked bacon. They went off if you looked at them funny, and they LOVED to go off at 2 am. Obviously with fresh batteries, this was not a "low battery" warning - they were just being snots.

So yesterday I went to Menards to Save Big Money, and looked into some new smoke/fire detectors. I figured that after 20 years they probably had advanced in smoke-detector technology to where one could live with a smoke alarm without hearing from it every 20 minutes or so.

Pedro, the nice guy in a blue vest at Menards showed me where the alarms were and we went through them. I bought a more expensive one, because it has a feature that I simply WILL not live without ever again. You can use ANY television remote control and tell it to STFU if it goes off when there really isn't a valid reason for it to do so. You can also tell it to STFU if it decides it's battery is low at 2 am, and it will wait for a more civilized hour to get it's power supply replaced.

Now, granted, the Great Kitchen Chicken Fiasco was a valid reason. There was certainly smoke, lots of smoke, and it was certainly a BAD THING®. But it's now been over a week, and the house barely has any smoke smell anymore, so there is literally NO reason for the alarms to be having fits anymore. The new alarms are somewhat more "hi-tech" looking as well. No more large white lozenges on the wall. These look more like blobs of marshmallow fluff.

They better work. I'll be putting them up this weekend.

Mr. Nibbles takes a shower?

2010-06-14T11:56:00.003-05:00

Mr. Nibbles is a little grey squirrel who hangs out on the top of the fences around our back yards/gardens. I call him Mr. Nibbles because he LOOKS like a Mr. Nibbles. (Stock Photo - this is NOT the real Mr. Nibbles, but it might could be his cousin Phil.)

Usually he looks very cute and fluffy, and scampers ahead of me along the fence as I go in or out of the gateway. I talk nice to him, and although he remains respectfully far from arms length away, he doesn't scamper frantically, but hops along as if he knows I won't hurt him.

Today, however, part of me was a little afraid. Perhaps there was no reason, but Mr. Nibbles was soaked. Wet thru and thru, his tail looked like a bottle brush, and he looked a little fierce.

It's been raining a lot here lately, sometimes with some really heavy drenchpours that seem to come out of nowhere - and I guess that I would be grumpy too if I got into one of those, but Mr. Nibbles was also a little less "wary" - I got awful close before he scared me enough that I stopped - pointed to where I was headed and suggested he hop on down.

He did hop that way, so I continued on, talking to him the whole way, and got through without incident.

I hope he is ok. I hope he is not sickly or something bad. I hope he is just angry and wet.

We have a bumper crop of skunks in the neighborhood this year. Every night one of them goes off. It is not nice to wake up to the fragrance of Eau de Pepe LePeu.

I hope Mr. Nibbles is all right...

Ginormous Gophers Take Over My Subdivision

2010-05-26T09:53:00.003-05:00

Film whenever I get around to it... (edit: Photos Below Now!!)

There are ENORMOUS holes all over the subdivision. Surrounded by yellow crime-scene tape on sticks and covered (partially) by weatherbeaten plywood slabs. There are small hills next to them. One can only assume there are exceptionally HUGE gophers invading the subdivision!

Well, either that or ComEd is replacing their underground cables.

And while option 2 is probably much closer to the truth (considering that is what the guy in the hi-vis vest who was operating the digger thingy told me this morning), the mental image of ginormous gophers is much, much, much more fun to contemplate.

Photos:

Hmm. I wonder if this thing still works?

2010-05-24T13:07:00.003-05:00

Ok, yes, I am a lazy blogger. Whatever.

There's a lot going on at work, a lot going on at home, and just so many hours in the day.

How about that Rand Paul, huh? What an interesting (Translation: Idiotic) person! Apparently he thinks that there should be NO government regulations at all on any "private business". So there should be no consequences for BP, there should be no oversight on the financial markets, there should be no reason for Woolworths to let dark-skinned people eat at their lunch counters. Take this a step further - and I do honestly believe that Rand Paul is just FINE with child pornographers - it is their private business, and if enough people are disgusted by it, it will magically go away, even without government involvement.

Did you hear that, Glenn Beck? Rand Paul supports Child Pornography!

Speaking of BP - Shame on you, British Petroleum. I for one will never again purchase gas at one of your stations, and I will make sure that the investments for my IRA do not contain any of your stock. If they do, I'll divest the holdings and go greener. Boycott BP. Please.

I remember back when I was a kid - we were taught that there were 5 "Great Lakes" in North America - but only 4 of them were actually "living". Lake Erie was dead. The fine people of Ohio had dumped so much industrial toxins into it that there were no fish, no plankton, nothing, living in what had once been a great lake. The Cuyohoga river used to catch on fire every summer (spontaneous combustion!). It saddens me greatly that although we've managed to rejuvenate Lake Erie, and the Cuyohoga river is ... well... much less polluted and not prone to conflagrations anymore, the British have managed to destroy the Gulf of Mexico. I suspect it will be "dead" for generations. *sigh*

The weather has gone from chilly to "I wish I had air conditioning" rather quickly. I also wish I had a nice outdoor grill. My old one got destroyed by the aluminum siding guys a few years back and I haven't bothered to replace it yet. Perhaps this year. I got some "greek marinade" chicken breasts from Caputos. I have a feeling they would taste awesome if they were grilled, but since I don't yet have a grill, I'll just broil them in the oven.

224 of 625 Yes, I know - I'm a sloth.

My Maserati does 185....

2010-05-07T13:12:00.001-05:00

Wow. Never saw one of those before! An actual Maserati - driving down the street in the lane next to me. Pretty blue with silver shineys on it. I don't think it was Joe Walsh. $125,000 dollar car. Imagine that. You could buy TWO of my house for that much.

WTF it was doing in Bloomingdale is beyond me. While Bloomingdale does have it's share of lawyers and assholes and business owners (was that redundant?) it has never been what I would consider a hot-spot of Maserati ownership. Perhaps this was a STRANGER in a Maserati. Sounds like a great title for a cheap, trashy murder mystery.

I got called a motherfucker this morning. I find this interesting. Most guys don't refer to women as motherfuckers. Bitch, etc, yes - but motherfucker is usually reserved for other males. Of course, this was a wetback* who screeched it at me, so perhaps it is a cultural thing.

He was not the guy driving the Maserati. Just in case there was any confusion about that. He was the passenger in an older-model conversion van with dingleballs hanging from the top of the windshield. Not to be stereotypical or anything... At least he wasn't playing Mexican Oompah Polka.

So Comcast sent me a new modem. Apparently my old modem is antiquated. It certainly is big and clumsy and ugly as sin. So they want me to replace it with this new modem. The letter inside the box says to follow the directions in the enclosed booklet. Right. The enclosed booklet is for someone who does not have Comcast set up yet. My guess is that if I followed their instructions they'd reset my home page to Comcast.com, erase all my bookmarks, and add a bunch of annoying toolbars. So I did the online chat thing with "Jennifer" this morning who says I can just plug-n-play the new modem. Will try it tonite. Better to do it tonite than discover tomorrow that I can't get into the weekend raid group!

*Yes, I know it is un-PC for me to call him a wetback. I have no proof that he's a potential member of the Mexican Olympic Team. It is rude and unkind of me to suggest it. Unfortunately, that is the risk he took by calling me a motherucker. Paybacks are, like me, a bitch.

218 of 625. Would have been more, but I BROKE the needle!

Being Counted

2010-04-29T07:57:00.002-05:00

This whole Census thing has me laughing. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota (R-loonytunes) has complained that it is an "invasion of her privacy" - even though said Congressdoofus seems to have forgotten that the Census is Constitutionally mandated - and that she SWORE AN OATH to uphold and defend said Constitution in order to get her cushy job.

Apparently the criminal trespassers don't want to answer it either. I'm ok with that. See, the Census is used to determine congressional representation in the different states, and I personally don't think that the illegals deserve representation. No Representation Without Taxation!!!

Now, I don't like the idea of splitting up families, and I understand the folks who scream about sending baby Americans back to Mexico - or Poland - or Rumania - or WHEREVER - with their parents who are illegally trespassing on American Soil. I am, however, opposed to the "anchor baby" part of the Constitutional 14th ammendment. I would much prefer that the words "born to a legal resident or citizen", rather than just "born" be part of the wording. We really don't have to worry about the whole "negro slave" issue anymore, as it is no longer relevant. Emancipation Proclamation and all that.

Commuting

2010-04-27T08:27:00.003-05:00

Stuck in the traffic jam that is the entire city of Addison this morning - and has been ever since they began road work on the Eisenhower Expressway - for absolutely no reason I can even vaguely fathom.

I am driving alongside a Porsche ragtop Carrera (sp?), a lovely little silver beastie with shiney, shiney, shiney chrome wheels. We stop, yet again, for the aforementioned unfathomable reason, and I notice that there is something red inside the shiney, shiney, shiney chrome front wheel. It looks vaguely like a McDonalds french-fry box. I am embarassed for the poor Porsche driver, in his sexy, expensive automobile that I could no more afford to insure than purchase - but then I notice that there is another red thing in the shiney, shiney shiney chrome rear wheel as well. On more intense scrutiny, it appears that the red thing has the word "Porsche" on it in white.

Probably something to do with the brakes.

However - Porsche? It looks stupid. It looks like someone stuck McFries in the shiney, shiney, shiney chrome wheels of your hideously expensive sporty automobile. Nothing says "appropriate color for brakes" than black, dears. Think little cocktail dresses and unobtrusive stereo systems and I'm sure you'll get my drift. Verstehen Sie?

Oh the apple trees are beautiful. All covered with little white flowers (that will doubtless all end up stuck to my car windshield when it rains next) - but for now, it's as pretty as the fairy lights that cover the same trees at Xmas time. One can notice these things while sitting in the middle of the road like a dead oppossum

It really is true, here near Chicago we only have 2 seasons - Winter and Road Construction.

Progression

2010-04-20T12:28:00.003-05:00

In WoW, I belong to a "progression" group - we meet once a week and work on progressing through a very large, very difficult dungeon. It's co-operation, strategy, tactics, expertise and fun all rolled up.

IRL (In real life), I've managed a bit of progression as well. I have managed to fill the LARGE tin with cookies and mailed them off to the girl-child. I hope she likes them. The first batch are small and a few of them are kinda "burned-y" on the bottoms. The second batch are larger, totally unburnt, but not made the "traditional" way, because I couldn't find the right kind of chips. I think they'll be ok, though, because I kind of sneaked a little taste off the edge of one.

So... COOKIES AWAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Kal's quilt is progressing again - I managed to get past the mental blockage that was keeping me from finishing the 2 rows I'd been working on. So, 8 of 25 rows done, or 200 of 625 squares - almost 1/3 done, and the Radio is playing "Bad, Bad Leeroy Brown".

There are just not enough hours in the day for me to do all the stuffs I'd LIKE to do along with all the stuffs I GOTTA do. This sucks, and not in the good way. I need longer days. 27 hours, maybe.

One of these days, I gotta get me a passport. I need to travel. I need to go see somewhere that isn't USA, Niagara Falls or Tiajuana. Hell, I can't even go back to Tiajuana or Niagara without a passport anymore, TYVM, George W. Asshole.

Found the charger for Dad's cell phone. Now all I need is to get him to get me the phone numbers of SPTLM and his neighbors/friends so I can program them into the phone so he has one-touch dialing.

Driving In My Car...

2010-04-08T09:36:00.002-05:00

Without question - without the slightest hesitation - I can confidently assert that Male drivers in the State of Illinois are the most impatient, rude and annoying individuals ever to roll around this planet on from 2 to 18 wheels.

In fact, one would be tempted to call them "Fucktards".

As a matter of fact, I think I will. *sweet smile*

Stop light. 4-lane divided road. Fairly narrow lanes. Young lady stopped appropriately at traffic light. Fucktard in car behind her honking and threatening to mash her rear bumper because she won't pull up into the intersection so he can make a right turn.

Stop light. Same 4-lane divided road. Young lady doing approx. 5 mph OVER the posted limit. Fucktard behind her making hand gestures, honking, shouting himself red in the face - because there is more than a car-length between her vehicle and the one in front of her.

Never mind the fact that there is a red light. He's NOT going to get any more than a few feet further along...

All I can say is - it's worse in Indiana.

**********************************************************************************
I have very sore knees. I suspect this is due to overconsumption of caffeine, as it is a known difficulty for me. So I've cut out most of the caffeine in my life for the moment, attempting to calm down the knees so I don't have to creep up and down the stairs.

I have a headache. Caffeine deprivation headache.

I can't win.

Tall Skinny Guys and School Busses

2010-03-18T12:22:00.002-05:00

Was a little late to work yesterday. Traffic was incredible. Considering I live out in the 'burbs and have no appreciable traffic woes usually if the weather is nice, this was somewhat unusual. However, once I got up to the stoplight in front of the children's rehab center, I found out why.

Traffic in the opposite direction was being funnelled from 3 lanes into 1 lane to bypass a collision. A Nissan Sentra had hit a school bus.

Yes. Rear-ended a school bus.

Now - how the bloody hell do you hit a schoolbus from behind? I mean, REALLY???? They are HUGE. They are BLINDINGLY YELLOW, they have flashy red lights on top.... HOW in the blazes could you possibly run into one?

The Jiffy Lube and one of the Shell (petrol) stations have these balloon skinny floppy guys in front. Some sort of blowing hot-air thing, a long, tall tube with arms and eyes and ribbon hair on top. I am not 100% certain WHY they annoy me so much, but... They really annoy me.

I suspect I am probably the only person who finds them so annoying, however. Everyone else on the planet probably thinks they are cute.

*sigh*

Odd things - #2 - office Supplies Edition

2010-03-16T13:17:00.003-05:00

Somewhere along the line, it became somewhat akin to pulling teeth to get a real, honest to Goddess "Rubber Stamp" made. I love rubber stamps - the old fashioned kind. SLAM into the ink pad. SLAM onto the paper. VOILA - a lovely image perfectly stamped exactly where you want it. Simple, easy and essentially effortless. Not to mention an excellent means of burning off excess "pissed off" when necessary.

Instead we are now sent "self inking" stampers, where you push down on the box thingy and it rotates as it descends, and allegedly makes a stamp with only ONE motion.

Right.

Which would be fine - if in fact the damn thing worked for more than 2 or 3 images, after which point you need to let it "rest" a while so the ink can shoogle back to the spots where the lines/letters are. And far too fragile - I've broken one already. AND, since you have to farking disassemble the whole bloody thing in order to re-ink the pad, (as opposed to just rolling more ink onto it from a roller-ball inking bottle, not unlike liquid deodorant), it is actually considerably LESS efficient than the SLAM SLAM VOILA type.

Now the one I have will not completely return to it's upright and locked position in preparation for takeoff. I am not happy about this.

I am tempted to lock it in the "down" position somehow and get the office supply person to order me an old-fashioned stamp pad and roller-ball inker.

*grouchy grumble*

Edit In:

OMGWTFBBQ!!!!!!!ELEVENTYONE!!!!!!11111111111111
No sooner do I blog about this stamp from hell, than the bastard breaks in a most spectacular way! I have taken a photo and will upload it tonite when I get home. Damn Stamp!!!

What exactly is "saving" about losing an hour's sleep?

2010-03-15T06:56:00.001-05:00

Dear Benjamin Franklin:

Die in a fire.

Sincerely sleepy,
Sewmouse

Angry

2010-03-10T11:13:00.003-06:00

Ok, it's no question I come from a dysfunctional family. I'm not 100% sure where it all went wonky, but... Dysfunctional R Us. It isn't just SPTLM. It isn't just me. There is just this undercurrent of dysfunctionality, it seems to have reared it's ugly head yet again, and to be honest, I'm sick and tired of it all.

I'm tired of having my words twisted around to mean/say something I had no intention, desire or thought of saying. I'm sick to death of having to watch every word that comes out of my mouth for fear it will be misinterpreted and misunderstood and considered an insult or worse. I KNOW that in some ways I am "socially retarded" and make mistakes of saying too much, or the entirely wrong thing to entirely the wrong person. Thing is, much as I try to keep from doing it, it still happens - and as I'm 53 years old, it is seriously unlikely that I'm going to change any time soon.

To address this issue, I've made the decision that from here forward, ALL communications with my family will be done to ALL of them. Every telephone communication will be documented and distributed via e-mail. All e-mails will be cc'd to ALL of the "interested" parties.

I'm angry.

This is not the moment to address the issue that caused my anger. When I am able to manage it without seething, I will begin my e-mailing.

191 of 625.

I'm mostly angry because of that - because I had managed to find the quiet and calm place where I am comfortable and not seething with rage under a deliberately, deceptively barely-controlled neutral exterior.

And now I have to find the balance point again.

Odd things

2010-03-03T06:48:00.002-06:00

Odd Thing #1

I can't throw away clothes.

Other people can throw out clothes when they get too ripped or stained, or whatever. It takes an ENORMOUS act of willpower for me to throw out something, even something as hideous as the pair of black slacks that are so threadbare you can see my legs thru them if I put them on. "They're still good for gardening", I rationalize.

Stained t-shirts are great for around-the-house chores. Nevermind that I have to spend more time getting ready if I want to go out because I have to change clothes.

My closet is packed with stuff I don't wear. It's embarassing. Some of it I give away to Goodwill or whoever has the bins out by the car wash now - but a lot of it is VERY dated (nobody would want to wear it any more than I do..)

Let's face it - I'm NEVER getting back into those size 8 jeans in the bottom drawer...

I need to adjust my mind-set on this one, but it is difficult.

190 of 625.

Back to Work

2010-03-01T05:09:00.002-06:00

Ah, home sweet home.

How nice to lay in my own bed, eat my own food, have my cat back from the kennel, and best of all - my computer and net connection back!

(Doing the ninja thing on my dad's neighbor's conn just felt rather naughty - not to mention the signal strength was poop.)

Back to work today. And month-end closing to boot. Yahoo. Yippee. I think I will need a triple espresso to face the stack of mail...

Dreamed about work last nite. How sad is THAT???

Ok - off to the grindstone. I'm glad I had time off.

Why I can't live in Florida

2010-02-24T08:25:00.002-06:00

So we went to this Bok Singing Tower yesterday. 60 miles drive to hear some yahoo play a carillon - for about 20 minutes. Then a swan tried to eat my shoe.

Damn swan.

Anyhow. I watched the entire way down there - there were like 40 grocery stores, endless tire outlets - and not one single book store.

This morning I went online to check. There isn't a Barnes and Noble within a 45 mile radius of here. That is just unacceptable. I can't concieve of living in a place where all they do is eat and never read.

The swans near my house never tried to eat my shoes, either.

Granted, right now the weather is damn near perfect. Not too humid, not dry, sunny most days and cool at nite and warm in the day - just like Springtime. There are flowers blooming, and grapefruits on the tree are big and round and yellow. There are tons of oranges, tangerines, &etc all over the place. It's lovely - but no bookstores, and in a few months it will be hot and humid and miserable and all the grapefruits will be gone.

And they still wont' have any bookstores.

I'm flying home tomorrow. Out of Springtime and into Winter again.

I am homesick

2010-02-23T08:44:00.002-06:00

I want to go home.

Not that I don't love my Dad and all - I want to pack him up in my luggage and take him along. But I want MY bed, MY stuff, MY car, etc. Vacation is ok and all but I really do like my comfortable little hermit cave.

I'm making crock-pot beef stew with beer and caraway seeds for dinner. I put in extra caraway seeds in honor of Zac. *snicker*

It is raining here today - but it is supposed to go away and be mostly sunny in the afternoon and about 76 F. It is sn*wing at home. hehehehe

I suppose I'd want to take the weather along with me as well.

Today we are going to the Bok Singing Tower. Some tower in a bunch of gardens, with a guy at the top in the tower playing carrilon bells. *shrug* Dad wanted to go right when I got here, but my legs and feet were so sore from the airport hiking I asked for a few days respite before the uphill hike to the tower.

I've been helping him clear out some of his mail as well. He gets a HUGE pile of mail every day - almost all of it one form or another of solicitation for his money. They play on his patriotism, religiosity, and sympathy - a few even try the "fear" tack. I had to LMFAO at one - "This letter double sealed for security" - So inside is another sealed envelope "To be opened ONLY BY (dad's name)"

So of course, I opened it up - and inside was this frantic plea for money to "defeat the godless lib'ruls" - and one sentance cracked me up so bad "This letter must NOT EVER fall into the hands of the liberals"....

Oops.

*giggle*

It not only fell into my hands, it also fell straight into the trash can.

Another one boldly advertised "American Currency Enclosed". There were THREE PENNIES taped to the letter. I almost wet myself laughing.

I finally got fed up with Dad's nightly dose of Beck, O'Reilly and Hannity - so last nite I watched "Julie and Julia" on the laptop with the headphones on while he got his dose of Faux Noise. I must say that I really did enjoy the movie. I know it got mixed reviews, and there were a few things that I wasn't all that hot on, but in total it was a movie I would watch again, even if it doesn't have any car chases in it.

Thanks to 4-Dinners, I am probably going to have to make Yorkshire Puddings today to go with the beef stew, which is not traditional, I realize, but will have to do as I don't have a roast just to hand and I have a taste for them.

Maybe I can go swimming while Dad plays bocce tomorrow.

Survival

2010-02-22T07:06:00.002-06:00

Sooooo

Dinner with SPTLM and family was not all that bad. Mostly I kept my big mouth shut, complimented the food, talked with my pretty little niece and avoided any of the uncomfortable topics.

My brother and I have diametrically opposing views on most everything - primarily Politics and Religion. I was determined not to start a fight, but it was tense for me because I wasnt sure what would be said at me.

Fortunately, the two topics were avoided and thus although I was still tense, it went OK.

My dad brought his bottle of "Pisco" (sp?) - some Peruvian liquor - that required a degree in rocket science to assemble into a beverage - or experience as a bartender. Since SPTLM was a bartender, we brought all the "fixings" and had him make the drink. Disappointingly, it tasted almost exactly like a whisky sour, which does not require all the various and sundry ingredients, and doesn't also require sending off to Peru for the booze.

Which means that if I ever crave one of those drinks again, I can just make a whisky sour and be happy.

Yesterday we went to Church. I knew it was inevitable, so I brought a nice sweater and skirt along with me. Will probably get stuck going again on Wednesday nite (Mental note - Florida is nice in February, but do try to avoid LENT next time...)

The wind chimes are gently clanging as I sit out here on the screened patio. There is a cool breeze, lots of birdsong and a baby squirrel wandering around in the grass under the grapefruit tree, and a cardinal in the leafless deciduous bush next to it. Very nice morning.

I still feel a bit lazy for not having any handwork to do. I want to quilt every morning. This is probably a good sign for when I get home.

Dad wants us to "do something" while I am down here, so as soon as I finish this little post I am going to google some "central Florida activities" and find something to do so he feels hospitable.

I haven't put my jacket on ONCE since I've been down here.

*grin*

Vacations are good

2010-02-20T06:19:00.002-06:00

Went to the grocery market yesterday and got the stuff to make Shepherd's Pie for me and Dad. It came out very yummy. Easy peasy too.

This morning I am going to make a cheese and chiles pie for breakfast, which will be something Dad's never had.

This evening we are going to SPTLM's for dinner. *sigh*.

I miss my quilting rather a lot. I brought NOTHING to do for hand-work this time, and it is nagging at me a bit that I should be DOING something. Well, I will have 3 days to do somethings in after I get home before I have to go back to work so that will all be good.

MY FEET HURT

2010-02-19T06:56:00.002-06:00

And I am going to blame it on Zac - just because - and because he's not here to thwap me.

Kili is at the boarding kennel. She was NOT A HAPPY KITTY yesterday morning, as I had to once again put her into the dreaded cat-carry-box and then we went out in the COLD.. MOM IT"S COLD.. PUT ME BACK IN THE WARM HOUSE IT IS COLD OUT HERE. HELP!! ANYBODY? IT IS COLD AND SHE IS RIPPING MY FUR OFF!!!!!!

(No fur was ripped off. The neighbors, however, may not realize this.)

I believe it may have been around this time that my cell phone made a break for it and fell out of my purse. Back in the back foot-well of the car, I presume. That is where it usually hides.

The limo came right on time to get me to the airport. Yes, I said Limo. Surprisingly it was cheaper than a taxi. Embarassingly, they sent a white stretch limo like they use for weddings. Very plush, but... a bit over the top. I'd have settled for a nice town car.

Then the adventure began. First I couldn't figure out how to work the check-in screen at the airport. So I stood like a doofus until a lady helped me. Got boarding pass. Lovely. The gate is a mile and a half down the damn concourse. Security was a cakewalk, which was nice as I am always terrified of the TSA. Then more walking, walking, walking. Luckily I managed to snag a seat in the boarding area and parked my fat white ass in it until the plane arrived.

NOT so fortunately, this family of 7 with 3 sneezy, snotty, coughy kids (gorgeous, beautiful kids, but germy too). "No liquids, gels or creams allowed through the security checkpoint" - which means no Purell - which means I will probably get the sneezy, snotty, coughy thing. I hope Mickey Mouse spits in their cokes.

Landed in Nashville, the pilot SANG. Southwest Airlines is so weird.

Had to walk thru Nsshville airport from gate B208 to gate C789. Ok, maybe it was just Gate B15 to C22 - but it FELT like a 10 mile hike. I stopped 1/2 way and got a bottle of water.

The flight to Orlando was uneventful. The waiting for Dad was fraught. He got lost on the way to the airport, and I got a bit nervous waiting 2 hours on the pavement looking at EVERY SINGLE Toyota that came down the ramp, because I didn't remember if his car was red or beige.

Once I got picked up, Dad dropped the bombshell.

Dinner on Saturday with SPTLM and family.

*sigh*

No cell phone to vent to S or Pirate.

I am a big girl. In more ways than one. I can do this. I am an adult. I can manage a few hours with SPTLM.

*sigh*

A City Adventure!

2010-02-15T09:04:00.008-06:00

So, my friend Zac - who is really just this kid I met in WoW - and his lovely ladyfriend came to Chicago this last weekend for Valentine's day.

What could be more romantic than Valentine's day in Chicago in Fucking February? Ummm....

Gosh.... I really am at a loss to think of anything LESS romantic. But then, Zac is different.

I mean, here he is, in the Big City with his lovely lady - and he wants to spend the day with a crabby old curmudgeon like me????

Obviously nuttier than a fruitcake.

Anyhow - seeing as they are from Pencil-Vane-Ya, we did the obligatory visit to the top of the SEARS Tower.

Way up there in the 103rd floor there is a "Skydeck", which lets you look out over the city. The view was awesome Saturday afternoon - you could see Indiana easily, and you could almost see all the way past O'Hare. They have these plexiglass things built into the western side of the Tower now, that hang out over the edge of the building and you can see all the way down to the street.

I did step onto it. Just barely. For once in my life I was glad of not being able to see my feet standing on "thin air" - I stayed close enough to the inside of the building so I could jump back in if it even WIGGLED.

Zac wouldn't go within 10 feet of it. *chuckle*

Anyhow, after that we went and browsed the many shops of Chicago Kitsch Souviniers (there was a mug I seriously coveted, but not $15.00 worth of coveting and besides of which it was heavy and I didn't want to lug it around) - then we made our way down the street SORTA with the help of their GPS except not exactly... I saw the sign for where we were going before the GPS could tell us where to go. Oh how we laughed.

Well, I did. So did his g/friend. Zac just gave us dirty look.

We went to Giordano's Pizza - a nice little pizzaria, very crowded.

They make a to-die-for spinach & mushroom deep dish pizza.

By the time we got done talking and all, it was time for me to turn into a pumpkin, so we caught a cab back to Navy Pier.

We were all surprised that the Ferris Wheel was operating - even with the extreme cold. We did not attempt to ride it. I'm not that insane. Besides, I had to hike back to my car, which was several blocks away, in the cold.

In all, a fun time, and I only wish we'd had more time, and less transportation issues. Cabs are farking EXPENSIVE - and so is parking. Maybe next time I see them, we can take the "Sewmouse Tour of Chicago" - which includes some memorable Blues Brothers sites. *giggle*

Oh - and 186 of 625!

More Ideas Formulated While Commuting:

2010-02-01T09:42:00.001-06:00

So I'm driving to work this morning and there's this car in front of me with a license-plate holder advertising someone's website - except that the fastener to hold the plate to the car was positioned in just such a way that it blocked out the top of the letter "O" in the (dot)com part of the URL.

Which got me to thinking. Since EVERYONE knows that "The Internet is for Porn" - and 100's of 1000's of dollars go into Pr0n advertising, and there are like 2 Pr0n websites for every "normal" one - not to mention Rule 34 - and considering the amount of time and energy wasted on things like "net-Nanny" and such - why not just give all the Pr0n providers their very own extention? "(dot)CUM". They could have all the addys - and parents would only have to block the one extention - well, maybe two, if they got "(dot)ORGY" as well... They could even have their very own search engine "OOGLE".

Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got till it's gone...

2010-01-28T12:55:00.002-06:00

This is not an environmental activism post.

This post is about hot water.

Specifically hot water from a heater of hot water that delivers said hot water directly into one's bathtub. Or shower. As JRR Tolkien tells us:

Sing hey! for the bath at close of day
That washes the weary mud away!
A loon is he that will not sing:
O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain.
and the brook that leaps from hill to plain;
but better than rain or rippling streams
is Water Hot that smokes and steams.

O! Water cold we may pour at need
down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed;
but better is Beer, if drink we lack,
and Water Hot poured down the back.

O! Water is fair that leaps on high
in a fountain white beneath the sky;
but never did fountain sound so sweet
as splashing Hot Water with my feet!

So Friday I discover that my water heater has stopped heating water. There is nothing for it, I will have to call a plumber - but! The hell if I'm going to call a plumber on Friday night - because there's no way I want to spend "emergency call" type money on what is probably a simple repair.

So I would have called on Monday, but the CPA was in, so I called on Tuesday and the guy came out yesterday. No. I did not go from Friday to Wednesday without washing, you gits. I hotted up water on my stove, poured it into a bucket and took it up to the bathtub. It was soooooo very 18th century...

No wonder they had servants back then.

Anyhow - the hot water heater is again working (something about a clogged filter and some other plumbery-talk stuff I didn't understand) - and I had a lovely, lovely long hot shower last night - and another this morning - and will probably do again tonite just because I CAN!!!

O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

OMG!! WTF??? BBQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111ELEVENTYONE!!!!

2010-01-19T12:40:00.003-06:00

What is that STRANGE - UNEARTHLY GLOW IN THE SKY?????????????????

Oh. Yeah. Sunshine. Forgot about that. Heh.

So, I took Kili to the vet on Thursday to get her vacinations caught up so she can be boarded at their facility while I am in Florida. ($$$!!) Someone was decidedly NOT HAPPY at travelling yet again to the V-E-T in the cat-carry-box-of-DOOM. She peed on the towel I have on the bottom to keep it warmer. *grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

Anyhow, vet tells me that for a 17 yr old, almost 18 yr old cat, she's pretty healthy, the only bad thing is that her kidneys are starting to lose mass, which means they are starting to "go". *sigh*. I have a feeling I won't have a cat in the house anymore much longer. Still and all, the vet says I take good care of her, and that most cats don't make it this far, so I'm glad we've had as much time together as we have had.

All this advance planning for the trip is making me stress out some (I haven't flown in YEARS) - and so work on things like the quilt for Kal and my diningroom makeover are kind of falling by the wayside. I need to finish all the arrangements for Florida so I can get back to being happily busy on house stuff.

Channelling my Inner Martha Stewart, as it were.

I'm feeling good, though - a bit on the sleepy side still, but otherwise fine and happy. Makes for boring blog posts, though.

Sorry.

Crawling out of my hole for a bit..

2010-01-12T13:20:00.002-06:00

So I've been cranky and unable to post or do much of anything for a couple 3 weeks here. I had a Dr. appointment coming up, and I was not doing so well and I was all kinds of stressing over it.

Well, it turns out things were not as bad as all that, and the Dr. changed my medicine (again!) and it seems to be easier for me to tolerate, so maybe I can get back onto track again.

The downstairs bathroom is acting up again, but I think I know what is the problem, so I should be able to fix it maybe. I started in by turning off the water to the faucet, so now I just have to get up the courage to get in there with a wrench and see if I can fiddle with the guts.

I am not fond of plumbing.

Gonna go visit Dad next month. Should be nice, going to Florida in February. I get to miss out on a bunch of cold days, I hope.

Rush LimpBalls taken to hospital with "chest pains"

2009-12-31T08:41:00.002-06:00

Everyone over at Huffpo is falling all over themselves trying to out "classy" the WrongWing nuts by "wishing him well".

I'm not that classy.

My personal take is that this couldn't have happened to a more deserving individual, and my supreme hope is that he is incapacitated for the rest of his life and unable to spew his hate-filled venom at his fellow Americans in any way, shape, form or fashion. I wish him all the worst.

"But Sewmouse" I hear you say "Wasn't that last post rather vitriolic and hate-filled? How can you criticize El Rushbo for something you have done too?"

True.

However. I challenge you all to find me one. ONE. O-N-E American Liberal Female Progressive person who has ever tried to detonate a bomb on an airliner for "Allah". You do that, and I'll STFU about religous extremeism. Hell, I will shut up about Rush limpballs too - maybe.

Because really, when it comes right down to it, political "conservatism" is really a religion. They BELIEVE in their Corporate Deity, and worship the almighty Dollar.

So - Here's to an extended, hideously painful & expensive hospitalization, Rush. Don't get well soon.

To All the Al-Queda wannabes and friends

2009-12-28T13:24:00.002-06:00

It is my understanding - and I may in fact be wrong - that your major complaint is that we aren't like you. We don't follow Islam, or Islamic law. We don't make our women hide themselves in unsightly tents because you can't keep your peckers in line. For the most part, we don't go around wasting our time worrying about other people's religious beliefs or "morals". We leave those kind of things between each individual and his/her deity.

We don't cower in fear and give in to fucktards like you. We don't go the appeasement route. We will hunt you down. We will bomb your countries back to the stone age you seem to prefer to live in. Your once-proud civilizations will never again rise, because you refuse to fix your OWN problems, but choose to try and inflict them on US. DIE IN A FIRE - and if that fire has to be the fire from nuclear missiles - then so be it, you will have chosen your own fate, Swine.

It seems you've tried again to blow up an airplane. Tried. You're not going to succeed, fuckers, because we are aware now. We are alert. We aren't going to let your fucktard murderers get away with it. We won't sit like sheep in the plane and not fight back. You fucked up on 9/11/01 - and we don't forget easily - and we forgive grudgingly - if ever. For my part - I will never forget, and I will NEVER forgive.

You fucked up again with this Nigerian boy. You seem to not get it - the more you try to force your despicable "Allah" on us - the less inclined we will be to acquiese to your desire. Allahu ain't akbar enough to cut through MY stubbornness. I would rather spend eternity in hell than even a fleeting moment in "paradise" with the likes of you misogynist pigs. I will purchase a gun and learn to shoot it if that is what it takes to keep you from forcing me into one of your shapeless "Abaya" or "Hijab" or "Burka". And if you think I'm going to take off my bra, lift my shirt and shake my tits at you - you've got several MILLION "thinks" coming, Asswipes.

I spit on your Quran.

Relativity

2009-12-28T06:36:00.002-06:00

The extent to which you NEED your car is directly dis-proportional to the availability of said vehicle.

When deprived of your transport, 10,000 reasons why you simply MUST get your ass to Walgreens come to mind. Sweats, chills, shaking et al may accompany the feelings of entrapment.

Once said vehicle has been returned.... it will doubtless sit for the better part of the 4-day weekend in the driveway gathering copious amounts of sn*w.

Silly, really.

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-24T16:35:00.002-06:00

Chappy Channukah!
Happy Kwanzaa!
Blessed Yule!!
FESTIVE FESTIVUS!!!

I got my car back - can you tell??? *grin*

May your winter holiday of light be warm and cozy, may you enjoy the comfort of family, friends and awesome food. Be well, Internet Friends.

Day 3 - No Wheels

2009-12-23T06:54:00.002-06:00

My hands become sweaty. My heart races. Tremors of fear wrack my frame. Paranoia begins to rear it's ugly head in the most dire imaginings.

If I don't get the car back today, I will be 4 days more without wheels, as the shop is closed for the 4-day holiday weekend. If I don't get the car back today, I will run out of cat food and Kili will start to gnaw on ME, like those pug dogs did to their dead owner, except I will be alive. EATEN ALIVE BY OWN CATS - film at 11.

(actually, I am hopeful that the mini-mart at the Shell station has cat food and I might could walk up there for some.)

I hate being car-less. I hate having to impose on co-worker D for a ride to and from the office. It's out of his way, and I feel like a terrible, terrible leech.

And there is a blizzard due.

Good thing I don't have a dog, I'm probably broadcasting fear pheremones like crazy.

Questions I ask and expect no answer

2009-12-17T18:22:00.002-06:00

Driving home from work - or driving to work - questions fill my head.

What exactly is the attraction of a "Low-Rider" vehicle? The Chevy S-10 that had been spraypainted dull blue looked like a bar of soap with clown-car wheels going down the road in front of me.

I can understand the attraction of the jacked-up cars - it is NICE to drive a high vehicle, because you can see over everyone else and be sure you're not going to get surprised by someone braking up ahead.

But the whole concept of "low-rider" entirely escapes me. Just looks STUPID.

Had a "honey-do" 4-day weekend last weekend. I took 2 days off work so I could get things done around the house that just NEVER seem to get done. I'm a big one for making lists and then berating myself for not ever finishing all the stuff on them.

So - on the way to work I was wondering if anyone was SO busy, and SO organized that they'd put "masturbate" on their to-do list.

Ok - it IS a stupid question - but I've got a 30 minute commute, and my brain functions in bizarre ways before it has had enough coffee.

145 of 625

The horrors of unprovoked war

2009-12-07T13:06:00.004-06:00

Written by another:

The man was a teenage apprentice seaman, when he spotted planes coming in over the harbor.

He thought they were military aircraft conducting drills until explosions and flames erupted from stricken ships in the harbor.

Then came screams of sailors; the stench of burning oil and flesh.

Then, he and two other sailors were waiting to ferry passengers on a small boat to and from the a hospital ship that was moored in the harbor.

His motor launcher boat rushed to a large ship, which was hit by several bombs, one of which struck her forward and set off a massive explosion. Already fueled and manned when the attack began, their 30-foot boat was the first rescue vessel to arrive at the scene.

They found the water littered with people — some wounded, some dead, some unharmed. Many were covered in the leaking oil from the ships.

They loaded as many as they could and delivered them to the hospital ship before returning to the another ship for more.

"As we're pulling them out of the water, a lot of times the skin would come right off the arm," The man said. "They would just be black with oil, except maybe you could see the white of their eyes."

The planes kept coming. Dive-bombers plunged out of the sky, dropping bombs and strafing the water and ships with machine gun fire before roaring back up for another round. Torpedo bombers flew in level to drop their submersible weapons for underwater assaults.

The burning, sinking vessels at first lowered men into the makeshift rescue boat. But some sailors started to panic and jump into their small ship, forcing it to pull away so it wouldn't sink too.

"Some of the sailors would be like in shock and some of 'em would be like going out of control, screaming and hollering," He said.

The next morning — after nervously worrying the attacking planes would return — his boat unloaded men from their craft who failed to make it through the night and delivered them to land.

"We had them stacked like cordwood in our boat. The open end where the feet was sticking out was these big brown tags that said 'unknown, unknown,'" He said. Many couldn't be identified.

More than 2,200 were killed.

"We didn't survive by any skill," He said of his boat. "It was just luck, pure luck. Because all we were concentrating on was trying to save people, and not save ourselves."

Horrible. Senseless. Unneeded, and un-warned. The military predators struck again and again.

December 7, 1942. A day that will live in infamy.

Don't tell me we 'Merkans don't know about having our country attacked. Don't tell me we've always just sat back in our Laz-E-Boy recliners and watched in safety from a distance.

Stop your internecine squabbling and foolish tribal posturing and nonsense. Come together as a group, a people, a nation - and set your house in order. Accept that there are people who view "God" differently than you do - and that only GOD can say which way is correct - and He ain't talkin' just now. Quit blaming America for your own failure to organize, build, plant and educate your own countries.

Two generations of Americans have watched planes being used to murder 1000's of our citizens in a mere breath of time - UNPROVOKED. This may seem trivial to those who have lived through terror in places like Ireland and Israel and what WOULD be Palestine if the people who would like to be Palestinians would stop behaving like spoiled children and join the rest of the world in living (moderately) peacefully.

Things like 12/7/42 and 9/11/01 are only going to make things worse in the long run. Had the Japanese not perpetrated the atrocity above, there would have been no Hiroshima, no Nagasaki. Had Al Queda - or whoever it was - not committed the atrocities on 9/11/01, there would have been no Afghan war - and no EXCUSE for Shrub-boy to start the Iraq debacle.

War. What is it good for?

Absolutely. NOTHING.

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Good Morning.. No Sunshine

2009-12-03T06:37:00.002-06:00

I don't understand how people who live wayyyyy up north can live in darkness for months at a time. Just the inconvenience of not having the sunshine pouring in my window to help wake me up in the morning for a few months is annoying - the thought of NEVER having the sun get up for months at a time is ghastly.

Mental Note: Do Not Move To Norway.

Not that I have anything against Norwegians - just... I think I'd go berk without sunlight. (Shaddup, Manda, I am NOT already berk)

I am angry at the grocery stores. None of them seem to think it is a good idea to stock mint chocolate chips. However, I have fooled them! One of the stores had mint flavor chips. So I bought a package of those, will add a package of REGULAR chips - and voila! I will have mint-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies to send to favorite daughter.

Take THAT, grocery markets!!!

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Checking into Vegie

2009-12-02T12:37:00.002-06:00

My natural inclination is to be an omnivore. I LIKE the taste of meat, I ADORE cheese, and I'm fond of things like yogurt, eggs, etc.

Unfortunately of late I've been feeling less and less well after indulging, sometimes even after only mild indulgences - and I'm beginning to think maybe I need to consider meat/dairy to be a "treat" and to change my intake to primarily vegetarian. As a start, I've begun to cruise the Vege/Vegan areas of the supermarkets.

Today I found a couple things that tweaked my interest. One of them is a soy-based cheese substitue. I bought a package of the "cheddar" flavor, and have tried one slice - it's not bad. It really DOES taste just like cheese. I suspect I could easily substitute this and not miss the "real thing" too terribly. I think this will be my first change. (Oh, yes, I checked the label - no GMO ingredients.)

I know this will be more expensive - but I'm going to work at learning what I can and cannot tolerate, and what I can/cannot afford in replacement foods.

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Monday Blues

2009-11-23T06:31:00.002-06:00

I woke up this morning thinking about "riches".

It really struck me that for almost as long as there have been people, there have been people willing to KILL one another - to get shiney stones. Rocks. Pieces of compressed carbon.

And chunks of metal to hold them in so they can be worn and shown off to others.

I know where the thought line came from - I'm reading a book on Amelia Earhart, and it talks a lot about the social status of her family, and that of her husband. Social status, to me, is much like "riches" - people seeking desperately for something that in the end really has no lasting value.

I am not a poor person. I am not wealthy, but I am not poor. I own (with the bank) my own house, I own a car, I have food and clothing enough, and sufficient fabric to fuel my quilting hobby. I am warm in the winter, and hot in the summer, although I have enough fans to make the hot bearable. I have more books than some libraries.

Sure, there are things I'd like, goals I want to meet, places I'd like to visit... but none of these include the purchase and hoarding of shineys. I guess maybe I'm strange, but shineys don't have the allure for me. I like to look at them, but I do not yearn to own them.

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Is Our Country Ready...

2009-11-19T14:15:00.003-06:00

Someone asked me 2 years ago if I thought the U.S. was ready for a woman as President. Obviously they were referring to Secretary of State Clinton, but although I did not think that SHE was the right woman at the right time, I said I do think the US is ready. The fact that President Obama was elected clinches the deal for me.

Black men were given the right to vote before white women or black women, or red, yellow, purple or green women. It was made constitutionally illegal to discriminate against people because of their race or national origin - but it is still NOT constitutionally guaranteed that people born without penises have equal rights.

I think the US has come far enough to realize (for the most part) that plumbing isn't the defining criteria for judging a person's ability to manage a large organization, whether a corporation, a NFP organization or a government body.

Sure, there are some neanderthal outposts that still believe the "barefoot and pregnant" mythology, but the majority of civilized men have learned that judging someone based only on excretory equipment is counter-productive.

I didn't think Secretary Clinton was the right woman, however. She was a polarizing force - one either hated her or loved her, there was no middle ground. There were enough "conservative" folks who would otherwise have not voted, who would have come out in DROVES to vote - against her. Limbaugh and his fellow liars had already had a decade to assemble as much ammuntion against her as possible, and whether it was truth, semi-truth or downright Swiftboating, they would have suffocated her campaign in rumor, innuendo and lies until she could barely speak.

I still think this country is ready for a woman President. I do not think that it is Sarah Palin, however.

Now, I'm going to stop being nasty for just a moment, and be as honest as I can. Sarah, you aren't strong enough to handle the job. If a cheesecake photo of you on the cover of Newsweek can send you into a froth, then what will you do when the photos get UGLY? And they will, Sarah. Nobody is going to serve you up softball interviews if you try for the #1 spot. The going gets rougher, the accusations and rumors more unpleasant, and if you thought Katie Couric gave you a "gotcha" interview, you are going to be in over your pretty little false eyelashes in a Presidential debate.

And as much as you shout "sexism" - you're just proving you can't handle the heat. What will you do when you encounter a world leader from a country that you NEED to keep friendly, but a culture that considers women somewhat less than human? Will you cause a scene? An international incident? Start a war over them leering at your clevage?

How are you going to legitimately defend yourself against the "Quitter from Wasilla" accusations that WILL come at you if you run for President? Frankly, I don't personally care what your reasoning was, but if you don't have something very, VERY strong to use against that accusation, there are many, many people who will consider you likely to bail on the Presidency if the going gets tough.

There are much better females out there who would make excellent candidates. Women who didn't use their physical attributes to gain political power. Women with quick enough wits and women who are intelligent enough to think CIRCLES around the questions from a pretty little talking-head newsreader. Women who understand our Government, the way it works, the text and INTENT of the Constitution and the separations of powers.

Just for the record - I don't think Rep. Michele Bachmann (Loony-toons R, Minn) is Presidental fodder either.

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Oh it is dark...

2009-11-18T05:47:00.002-06:00

It is "morning". It is dark. This is not morning, this is still "night". Morning has that "sun" thing.

Poor Poor Sarah Palin. Waaaaaaaahhhh - Mean old nasty old pookie old Newsweek put a "cheesecake" photo of her on their cover and WaaaaaahhhhSexistWaaaahhhhh. WHY is the media giving this attention whore any coverage? Seriously - she's not THAT good looking, she's getting saggy and baggy if you don't photo-retouch her pics. Why isn't she home, caring for her "Special Needs" kid?

I made some kind of beef/onion/barley stew thing yesterday. It tasted ok, except it needed salt. Rather a lot of salt. I am so accustomed to not adding salt to anything (cardiologist says "NO!!"), that it didn't occur to me.

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Success... sorta

2009-10-29T16:29:00.002-05:00

I did, in fact, manage to make the clam soup without incident, however I will make it differently next time. It had too much strong onion and bacon flavor, and I want to tone that down quite a lot.

I also want to try cream of mushroom soup. This cool fall weather is making me feel all Betty Crocker.

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Eating Healthy

2009-10-27T13:57:00.001-05:00

Or, Eating Healthily.

Either way, I realize I need to do more of this. As a result, I’m trying very hard to do more fresh cooking instead of prefab meals, and looking to fruits and veg instead of meat and cheese. Oh goddess, how I love cheese, however.

Part of me likes the idea of a raw, vegan diet. Or, at the least, a mostly vegetarian diet with a bit of cheese and eggs. Maybe a lot of cheese. And yogurt. Every time I read about this kind of eating regimen I start craving veg and fruits – especially salad fixin’s, mostly raw, and a good healthy salad will satisfy.

So with this in mind, I saw this bottle of stuff called “Superfood” in the produce section of the market and I thought it worth a try. All organic fruit juices, pureed fruit and selected veg and some pureed grain kind of stuffs. And something called “phytonutrients”. Not overly expensive, so I thought I’d give it a try.

The first sip wasn’t too bad. I’m not a big apple-juice fan, and it was a bit more apple-juicy than I liked, but I was determined to try and get past that to see if I could enjoy the healthy green-ish life.

Um. No.

Maybe it is because this stuff is bottled. Maybe it is because of the oversaturation of stickysweet applejuice. Maybe it was the combination of veg/grains with fruit. Maybe phytonutrients taste yucky. I don’t know – all I can say is that I won’t be purchasing that again. It had a rather high “UCK” factor. I finished it, but….. no. not again. And it causes belches. Bleuch.

Now I wonder if maybe my vegetarian dreams are misguided and not workable. *le sigh*

I am currently simmering a pot of clam chowder in my crockpot at home. I’ve never made home-made chowder, so this is a big learning experience. I suspect it will also be like the Chinese Water Torture for Kili, as she is at home with the simmering clam soup. Maybe I will cool off a bit and give it to her as a treat.

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Been a long time

2009-10-12T13:07:00.003-05:00

Been a very long time - since I spent hours and hours sitting at the quilting frame. Which explains quite adequately why the fish quilt has yet to be finished.

This weekend, however, I made a committment to myself to really stretch out and do a measurable quantity of quilting so I can get the Charming Young Man's quilt off the frame and into a box and off to Scotland so I can put the fish quilt back on, finish it up and then (hopefully) have Amanda's ready to go and Pirate's in the works.

So I did work harder at it, and I have calloused fingertips to prove it - and managed to get a goodly chunk done. I'm fair certain that given a bit of habit-forming, I should be able to complete a goodly chunk every day and have it finished sometime this decade.

Spent part of the time with The Lion King movie running in the background (set up my laptop on the ironing board and used it as a DVD player), a movie I for some reason remember as being longer and cuter than what played. I also started to watch the Blues Brothers twice, but never did manage to get to Aretha's song.

Little Blue Boxes

2009-10-07T10:14:00.002-05:00

Having now finished 1/2 a row of the first-part of the quilting, I can say with some confidence that this is all coming out OK. Took a peek at the back and it will be fine. Nice marching row of little blue boxes. Considering how well the light gets through the unquilted part to show the color of the patchwork above, I'm totally certain the weight will be perfect for a summer quilt.

I've been looking at getting a new vacuum cleaner. I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate the bagless one I have. The little cup gets full of cat hair so fast I am constantly stopping to empty it, and for all it says it is HEPA filtered and all, there is still a mass of icky dust and pet hair all over. There is one at Sears that looked interesting - an actual Hoover - WITH A REPLACEABLE BAG - that has a "dirt sensor" - if the area you are vacuuming is still picking up stuff, a light stays on to tell you to keep going over it until it is actually clean. I like this idea. Kili is much the same color as my carpet for the most part, so it is hard to tell if you've gotten most of the shed cat hair up intil you lay down and it fluffs into your nose.

Got a flu shot yesterday (work provides them free). It didn't burn during the injection, which it normally does for me, so that's all good - but the nurse/technician/whatever who gave the shots not only did not provide lollypops - HE DIDN'T HAVE SMURF BANDAGES!! Only plain yucky tan ones. I was bummed.

The note they gave along with it states a number of possible side-effects, including.... "malaise". Malaise. Yes, I can just see me calling in to work "Hi, Boss? I can't come in today. I got that flu shot yesterday, and I have malaise." Yes, I can see that going over very well, indeed.

*LAUGH* It's funny - now without my "countdown" - I find it harder to end posts. Seems something is always missing.

I suppose I'll have to find something else to look forward to.

Progression

2009-10-05T14:46:00.002-05:00

So. This weekend I wrestled the International Quilt onto the quilting frame. This morning I started quilting it. The quilt seems loose - floopy - and it's ploofier than I thought it should be - but perhaps that is because I only have large squares done and not the cross-lines that will fill in and make it (hopefully) less ploofy.

It feels good to be working on it. The top, thus far, looks quite a great deal like what I pictured, and I do like the colors. I've run it past 3 of my male friends and they all say they like the colors and pattern - so I'm sure it will go over well with the recipient.

Got a squishy package at work this morning. Juan came over with a silly grin and handed it to me. The last of the fabrics for the quilt for Pirate. (Remember Pirate, Amanda?) Now I have to dig out my drawing for the boat quilt.

Yes, Amanda - yours will be first!

Blogging, Quilting, Video Games

2009-09-28T11:19:00.002-05:00

I like to write. I like to read more. I suspect that has some bearing on why I update on infrequent and sporadic occasions, not necessarily due to any specific impetus, but just 'cuz I wanna. I read more blogs - and I comment on some of them (not all, and not always). I am bad that way, because essentially I"m saying "Entertain Me - I don't care if you're entertained" - which is BAD and WRONG.

I like to try and imagine how my posts sound to others - so I try to write them coherently (EPIC FAIL) and with an eye to letting others have a bit of a chuckle along with me wherever possible - such as in the possessed toilet post.

I certainly don't write for personal financial gain (hysterical laughter) or for fame (yeah - avg. 7 readers per day - uh huh... fame. RIGHT). I just write about what I know and what I think and how I feel. This would be why there are only 7 readers and I'm related to at least one of them.

But that's ok! The writing itself is cathartic - helps purge some of the deamons and quiet some of the nagging self-recriminations and anger-management issues in my head. Being as far from "perfect" as I most certainly am - I am just grateful for anyone enjoying what I write - or even reading it, for that matter.

They say that plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery.

Got an e-mail from a teacher in another country, telling me that one of my posts had been purloined by a student and with small variations presented as their own. Just in case said student returns - That was VERY VERY BAD. Please do not do that again.

Scolding aside, I'm rather amazed, amused and a bit flattered to imagine someone thought MY ramblings worth such effort.

So, yes. I do like to write and read - and I've been glued like a plecostumus to the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes volume 1. I can't find Volume 2. I'm sure it is in one of the bookshelves somewhere.

Even more than reading, writing or - for that matter - playing online computer games, I love quilting. I love picking out the colors, the fabrics and the patterns. I love sewing the little pieces together and watching what was a mental-image (occasionally translated into a very horribly childish black & white pencil scrawl) turn into a finished blanket.

I love silently critiquing the work of other quilters who work in the same sort of patchwork "genre" as I do. I love to watch the layers come together and the patterns from the stitching outlining on the back side. (Yes, I've been known to lay on the floor underneath the frame to check for "puckers" and also just to amuse myself with how "blankety" it is becoming)

So, since I know that at least ONE of my dear online gaming friends reads here occasionally - I do feel a tad guilty for ignoring the game for so long, but as of late last night I finally finished piecing the top for the latest of my "creations" to survive my inner editor and become a reality. Tonight I will wrestle it onto the frame and begin the hand-quilting part. This bit is time-consuming, tedious, and utterly wonderful as a meditation-type exercise. As long as my hands don't cramp up, I hope to have this finished in time for Christmas.

Now that we are at the very boring hand-quilting stage, I suspect World of Warcraft will again have some small appeal for me.

FOR THE HORDE!

Thursday, and the Auditor is in....

2009-09-17T08:52:00.002-05:00

So I got up this morning, and the Pumpkin Toy was at the top of the stairs. I kicked it down, went to the bathroom, and when I came out, Kili was at the top of the stairs, staring at me. Angrily.

She proceeded to tell me off, in no uncertain maows. I don't speak Cat, but it was fairly obvious she was unhappy with me because she couldn't find Mindi. They'd been together since before birth. How the hell do you explain to a cat that another cat just isn't gonna come back? This promises to be a difficult little while at la casa de Sewmouse. Spent an extra 15 min. this morning snuggling with Kili, but I still felt sad when I left for work.

Helen, of Margaret and Helen commented on the Glenn Beck 9/12 protesters. One paragraph stood out from the others for me. Click the paragraph to read the entire piece:

Let me just say something about the 9-12 Project. On September 12, 2001 everyone was an American. There were no Blue States and no Red States. There were no Black Americans and no White Americans. There were no Europeans, no Asians, no Hispanics, no Africans… The world was standing with America against the evil that is terrorism. The globe was united like never before. And what did our President do when given that moment? He told us all to go shopping while he and his buddies planned a war. And 8 years later the 9-12 project has been reduced to a movement of no Blacks, no Hispanics, no Asians… just 78,000 white people who can’t spell.

R.I.P. Mindi

2009-09-16T11:22:00.002-05:00

It is never easy to lose a pet.

Mindi was the snugglebunny - the one weaned too soon, who sucked on shirts and blankets. I couldn't sit on the sofa without her crawling up into my lap and trying to spit-wash my shirt.

Today Mindi went to wait for us at the Rainbow Bridge. Her kidneys shut down and she could barely move, unable to eat or even get her head up long enough to drink. There were no options. I could have prolonged her life perhaps a few hours to a few days - but only by putting her into the pet hospital and having her hooked up to IV's and catheter &etc. Hardly a "quality of life". I made the decision to let the vet ease her way.

We are now a 1-cat, 1-human family. It will be lonelier without her throaty MAOW to remind me to fill the food and water dishes. I hope Kili will be OK.

I am disgusted

2009-09-10T09:54:00.003-05:00

Shame on you, Joe Wilson.

You don't deserve the respect of being called "Representative". You are no-class, disgusting, and unfortunately a typical example of how low the Republican Party has fallen. Shame on you.

Shame on the voters in the 2nd Congressional district of South Carolina.

Shame on Nancy Pelosi for not having his ass hauled out of the joint session.

Even at the lowest point of GWB's "approval ratings", the Progressives, Democrats, Independents, etc., never stooped to the level of HECKLING the President during a speech in the chambers of Congress.

You, Joe Wilson - are NOT a gentleman. You are a thug, a reprehensible piece of bought-and-paid-for corrupt political hackery. SHAME ON YOU.

I note that your chutzpah in behaving like an ill-bred, in-bred Professional Wrestling fan, (as opposed to a civilized member of Congress) doesn't extend itself well - you've removed your website (Coward!!!) and are not answering your office phones (COWARD!!!)

Shame on you.

Updating

2009-09-09T11:42:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I went to the Dentist yesterday and came back out with one less tooth. Again, not overly PAINFUL - but that whole bit of chomping down on cotton and waiting for the bleeding to stop was miserable.

It took several hours for the bleeding to stop enough for me to feel comfortable taking out the cotton gauze. Do. Not. Want. Dry. Socket.

Of course, then it took another couple hours for me to settle down and be able to sleep for about 10 to 15 min. before it was time to get up and struggle to work. I ALMOST called in, but since I wasn't throwing up, I dragged ass in.

Been dragging ass all morning like a dog with hemmorhoids. *sigh* Yogurt and protein drink for breakfast, I have another protein drink and some applesauce for lunch. Maybe for dinner I will make myself some scrambled eggs and jello. It's as bad as being in the Hospital. I hate Dentists.

In the mean time, while I was being miserable last night, I updated my linky thingy over on the sidebar there ---->>. I took off people who have taken their blogs "private", and those who don't update anymore or deleted them. If you think you have been disincluded in error, please e-mail me at my profile address and I'll reinstate you.

If you've gone "private" and not sent me an invite - sorry I'm not good enough. I miss you. Bye.

I've also added a couple that I've followed for a while but hadn't added due to terminal laziness. Hi.