Minor Annoyances

Or, First World Troubles

1) Speedway commercials. They are NOT "convenient stores" - they are GAS STATIONS. GAS STATIONS. PETROL STATIONS. GAS STATIONS. Stop calling them "Stores". They are GAS STATIONS. With a few chips and sodas.

2) Comcast. Ok, yes, I realize that the high winds knocked down power lines, the only entrance/egress from my subdivision was closed. Yes, there was a power failure in my condo. Yes, my microwave was flashing "RESET" when I finally got home at 7 bloody 45 last nite. So how come it takes you like EIGHT FREAKING HOURS to reset your DNS server so that we poor internet junkies can get our before-bedtime-fix?

3) Honking Asshats. Honk. Honk... and they're not Canadian Geese - they are asshats behind the wheel - generally behind the wheel of SUV's (Soccer-Mom-Mobiles). This morning the Asshat Of The Day was driving a grey Chevy SUV - and wearing a wife-beater t-shirt, smoking and honking and being a dick. Where the holy fuck are the cops when we need them?

OTOH - the baby's quilt top is almost finished. I have only 1 row of border to put on the outside and then it will be ready for the frame. Need to get Kal's done now ASAP!

10 items or Less

Item 1 - Goose Update

Went to Costco to get drugs last nite. The gooses were gone. The eggs were gone too. This concerned me somewhat because there are companies out there that do goose removal and egg destructions because we have a Canadian Goose Overpopulation problem. I asked the "check your ID" lady at the front entrance what happened with the goose. She said that the goose sat on the eggs for the LONGEST time, but they hatched, and she paraded them down to the little retention pond over to the east of the parking lot, so that turned out ok. I guess the Costco people were kind of protective of their pet wild geese. This made me smile.

Item 2 - Drugs

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I am so angry at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois. I need to take this drug, and it only comes in 1500 unit packages. My dr. wants me to take 1800 units/month. Pharmacy will not dispense a second package, because BCBS will not allow dispensing of more than a 34 day supply. I am furious. I am going to get action on this. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Item 3 - Cat

My cat is obnoxious. And adorable, of course, but obnoxious at 2 a.m. when trying to make a quick potty dash, splash and run back to bed - she comes in and starts petting my leg until I pet her back. Now I ask you - do I pester her when she's in the litter box? No. No, I do not. I really think that as I am the Provider Of The Sacred Kibble, I deserve a little privacy when "indisposed".

Item 4 - Chocolate

Damn you, Choccy. Damn you, why are you so yummy, yet so sugary and bad for my blood sugars? DAMN you!

Item 5 - Quiltaholic pause

I am at a difficult point in the Nemo quilt. I have blocks and blocks all made, now I have to assemble them into rows, then sew the rows together. This means a lot of "point" (seam) matching, which is a BFPITA (big, fat PITA). So I walk past the sewing room, THINK about assembly - and then don't even open the door. This is NOT getting anything done. It is also not getting Kal's quilt done, which is a priority, seeing as I am down to 24 1/4 straightaways left and then binding and OFF it goes!

Item 6 - Not Enough Zoo

So the outter border of the Nemo quilt is going to have a zoo print on it which will kind of pull all of the other colors together and give Manda something to talk to the baby about "See the blue elephants? Elephants are not really blue, but your Grandma is goofy". But I also wanted to make a pillow cover for a baby pillow which I know you're not supposed to give babies pillows, but Manda had one from when she was about 4 or so and she LUUUUVVVVED her pillie, so I got a small pillow form and will make a cover for it that coordinates with the Nemo quilt, except Nemo the Grandfetus is a girl, so I don't want it to be too blue, so I was gonna make it with the zoo fabric, but I don't think I have enough of it and that suxxorz.

Can I run-on a sentance or WHAT???!!!

Item 7 - Automotive Paint

Ok, here is one that I never had a problem with before. I do, however, see a lot of cars lately with the same problem, so there MUST be a solution.

My car looks like it has leprosy. There are patches of white ... stuff ... but not really stuff, more like the paint is all blotchy/bleachy. It doesn't flake off. But it looks horrible. In one spot (the first place it showed up) it did kind of rub off a bit, but now it is surrounded by more of the white stuff and the place in the center is kind of dull and sad looking.

Someone at work said my paint is "oxidizing" - but I looked at photos on the web of paint oxidation and it doesn't really look like that. It looks more like someone sprayed leprosy on my car.

The car is 12 years old. I don't expect it to look like the day I snagged it off the showroom floor - and it will have to last a while longer too. But the paint thing is annoying and if anyone has any suggestions - speak up, please!

Item 8 - TSA at the airport.

So, it seems TSA is getting in trouble for stealing things from passengers and for not groping enough passengers at Oh-Dark-Thirty when there are only a handfull of elderly passengers to grope.

So I wondered - what would they do if you got picked to be one of the "lucky" ones who get the full "pat-down" groping inspection, and instead of being a sheep, you started to moan and groan and have an "orgasm" while being groped.

I'm sure the other folks in line would laugh their asses off - but could they like ARREST you for it? Is there a LAW about getting "turned on" by a TSA grope-down? I mean, how would THEY know you aren't just really, REALLY sensitive to genital or mammary manipulation.... *evil grin*

Ok, that's less than 10 items - please walk thru, swipe your card and take the items from the counter. Have a nice day.

May already 1/2 gone...

Where did it run off to?

I haven't planted ANYTHING at all this year yet. I may not. The quilting bug seems well-entrenched, along with some knitting that I started because I wanted to make something "girly" for Nemo, and there was this cute white and purple and pink yarn at the store. Usually by this time of year I have put out a bunch of "will die soon" annuals and a tomato plant and a pepper or something at least.

I think the mexican bean beetles did me in last year. The bean plants were doing SO well, and then almost overnight they were totally denuded of vegetation. I was teh sad. Not that I am overfond of fresh beans - I actually prefer the ones in a can, sick puppy that I am - but I hate to have my garden produce destroyed by BUGS. Icky nasty disgusting BUGS.

So anyhow, here is a photopiccy of part of little Nemo's quilt that is pieced, laying on my ironing board.
I am having a bit of an issue with getting the pinwheels to line up the way I want them to do - but in the end, it is for a baby, and babies barf and poo and do all kinds of icky messy things on their blankets and such, so I will probably just end up sewing it all together and hoping for the best.

Romeo and Juliet at Costco...

Two Canadian geese.
At the Costco.
One standing, one sitting down.
The sitting down one squats and ruffles feathers and wiggles back and forth.
OMG, she's laying an egg.
In a nest.
In the wood-chip mulch.
In the raised concrete "divider" island
In the parking lot
At the Costco.


I smiled.

The muse has me by the left arm...

So here I am, not playing video games, not surfing the net, not doing the 10001 "honey-do" type things around the house - no, I am stuck in Quiltaholic mode thanks to my-soon-to-be-grandaughter-but-for-now-still-grandfetus "Nemo". And in order to get Nemo's quilt ON the frame, I need to get Kalshassan's quilt OFF the frame, since I only have the 1 frame, and quilting in a hoop is a serious ANFW.

I did that hoop thing once, it was the most miserable 45" x 45" that I ever quilted. NEVER AGAIN!!

Anyhow, Kalshassan's quilt has been languishing on the frame for years a very, very long time, and I am now at having only 27 (out of 625) squares and 28 (out of 50) straightaways left to go. I can see the end of the tunnel, and there is a baby quilt hanging there!

Meanwhile, Nemo's quilt is being assembled, parts of it are draped all over Kal's quilt so I can look at them and keep focused. The baby quilt is based on a quilt that I fell in love with in a quilt magazine that I bought because I fell in love with an entirely OTHER quilt that is in the same magazine and on its cover.

And of course, as soon as I started getting fabrics for that one, I stumbled on some fabric with butterflies on it that sang to me, and wanted some cotton-candy-pink fabric to go with them, so I got those, and cut some out....

But then, I found all the greens in my stash boxes and even though they are just EXACTLY the wrong greens for it, I made a quilt top to replace the one for Manda that got trashed a while back - and that goes on the frame as soon as Nemo's is off while I work on piecing Susan's and the butterflies and the blue/brown thingy and the 2 chirstmas ones, and repairing Veggie II, and adjusting the Monstrosity so it can be finished and ....

And yes, Bill, I am still working on it - sheesh, you're SO IMPATIENT!!!

And I don't want to do housework other than what NEEDS doing to keep the Dept. of Health away, and I don't want to play games, and I don't want to do anything, really, except quilt and cut and sew and read books about quilting and cutting and sewing.

I get like this every few eons or so.

ATM it shows no signs of letting up. Randy sent me another of Tone Arm Cobra's recordings, and when he did, it occurred to me that he hears music in his head and NEEDS to get it out of his head and thru his guitar and onto a CD. And I actually can relate now, because I see these quilts in my head and I NEED to get them cut out and pieced and SOMEDAY quilted and bound and signed/dated and put into use by me, or by someone who needs/wants/is-being-forced-to-accept one.

I think that muse thingy may have my right arm too...

I got my hoodie...

Been following this Treyvon Martin story rather closely.

For those of you who aren't conversant:

A young black man (17) was staying at his father's g/friend (fiance?)'s house. He went out to pick up a couple of items from a convenience store, wearing his hoodie sweatshirt. A package of Skittles candy and a can of Arizona iced tea. He began to walk back to the place he was staying, which happened to be in one of Florida's infamous "gated communities".

A self-appointed "Neighborhood Watchman", George Zimmerman - a white guy, allegedly "hispanic", called 911 claiming he was "acting suspiciously". The emergency operator asked if he was following the boy (because, really, 17 is still a boy) - and when Zimmerman responded in the affirmative, the operator told him "We don't need you to do that". I have HEARD this conversation.

Zimmerman then gives such fascinating information as "He's looking around"... "He's looking suspicious"... "These (punks? coons?... whatever, can't hear well) always get away" "He's reaching into his waistband"

The only thing we know for SURE happened next, is that a bunch of neighbors called because of SOMEONE screaming - and a gunshot. When police arrived, Treyvon is dead.
He is still "armed" with nothing more than a can of iced tea and a packet of candy.

George Zimmerman is not arrested. He is not charged. He is taken to the police station in handcuffs, but shortly afterward allowed to leave WITH HIS GUN.

Zimmerman has claimed immunity from prosecution due to Florida's ridiculous "Stand Your Ground" gun law. Apparently the NRA thinks it is JUST FINE that someone can follow unarmed people around, then shoot them dead in COLD BLOOD - just for "looking suspicious".

Zimmerman has since claimed that Treyvon "attacked him", broke his nose and pounded his head into the concrete sidewalk. Bullshit. I've seen the video of the cops bringing him into the station. The stationhouse video camera shows NO BLOOD, no bruises, NOTHING - and lest we forget, head wounds bleed like a motherfucker. Heck, my daughter got hit by a rock when she was small, it cut like a 1/8" wound into her scalp - her waist-length blonde hair was SOAKED with blood. Zimmerman had nothing on his light grey t-shirt.

Zimmerman's appologists have also tried to smear Treyvon. They've posted to the internet about his alleged problems from school. They have posted photos of OTHER young black men, claiming they are of Treyvon - and they have posted one photo of Treyvon which it appears he took of himself - wearing one of those gold-tooth-grill's.

Now, I've seen that photo of Treyvon and the gold teeth. He doesn't look "menacing" - he looks rather like most teenagers look when they are experimenting with makeup and fashion. I remember clearly my own teen years and trying out various different "looks" with makeup. This was back in the heavy-eyeliner, white lipstick years. I'm sure I looked as "menacing".

But the thing remains - doess experimenting with a gold "grill", or having some senior-year issues with school - or wearing a hoodie - or having bought tea and skittles - or walking while black - justify being shot down DEAD by some gun-toting, vigilante, cop-wannabe who had called in almost FIFTY 911 calls during the previous 2 months?

No. It does not.

George Zimmerman's friends say he hasn't been able to stop crying since. Good. I hope he cries forever. They say his life has been ruined. GOOD! Treyvon's life has been not just ruined, but taken from him for NO REASON, other than this Asshole who wanted to be Wyatt Erp. Rot in hell, George Zimmerman. I hear you're in hiding - GOOD. You don't deserve to be walking free.

Good News Week. Not-So-Good News Week

Not so good: Davy Jones died. *sigh*. One of my first adolescent crushes. He had such a beautiful smile. Short, though. Not entirely a game-breaker, but... short. I do feel very sad for his family, friends and all the rest of us fans. You left too soon, Davy. Rest in peace, Sir.

Good, verging on wonderful:

As you may have noticed if you've read any of my side-bar twitter twits, Andrew Breitbart is DEAD. He was 43 years old. Much younger than Davy. However, he didn't leave soon enough. His mother should have swallowed. Failing that, she should have aborted the abomination. <-yes, I went THERE.

Andrew Breitbart created false documents and "documentaries" in order to destroy the lives, livelihood and entire organization of people whom he disagreed with politically. RIH, Andy - ROT IN HELL. I hope Pat Robertson is butt-fucking him while wearing a razor-studded cock ring as you read this. It would be poetic.

I hope Andrew Breitbart's "lovely 4 children" DO read this. I think it is important for them to know what a vile, heinous and evil man they had as a father. I hope his wife realizes now what a horrible mistake she made in marrying him, and the children know that they are only proof he ejaculated 4 times too many. Spawn of the Devil is, in fact, Spawn of the Devil.

Now if only that disgusting little weasel, James O'Keefe, would follow this good example and drop dead too. It MIGHT just make up for 1/1000'th of the unhappy of losing Davy.

This is what Conservative Republicans look like:

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

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!

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