Kleine Bär

Soaking it in

2009-03-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

I am loving:

1- the days that are long enough that there is both a) light when I go to work, and b) light when I leave work. Even on the long days.

2- the days with temperatures above freezing. (Not all of them yet, but several in a row at a time, now!)

3- watching little kitty enjoy the sunshine on more days each week.

4- hearing birds when I'm having morning coffee on the porch.

5- having finished my taxes in record time, earlier than ever!!!! woohoo! (Hint, if you are missing important tax docs still, most places are set up so that you can pick them up online, now. Let's hear it for the internets!) (Also hint: online tax prep is the bestest. Big thanks to pietro for suggesting Taxact to me a couple of years ago! It gets even easier the second year in. And, no, I'm not getting any consideration for that blurb. Not on my 4-people-actually-read-it-well-sometimes blog! I wish.)

6- the technology that allows me to work on a weekend day from home, rather than having to go back into the office, one. more. day. (Since there's just no getting around the extra hours at this point, anyway. Would I prefer a 35 hour work week? You bet. But this is the best I can do right now. My supervisor is calling my work group 'lean' and 'efficient' these days. uh huh. Nice way to say it, I guess.)

7- our shiny new president who is taking on really big issues and not flinching. About time, that.

Hope you all are hanging in there, and finding things to love.

What she was wearing

2009-02-27T16:03:00.000-08:00

I heard this poem earlier this week on The Writer's Almanac, and really liked it. I also thought Keillor read it very nicely.

What She Was Wearing

by Denver Butson

this is my suicide dress
she told him
I only wear it on days
when I'm afraid
I might kill myself
if I don't wear it

you've been wearing it
every day since we met
he said

and these are my arson gloves

so you don't set fire to something?
he asked

exactly

and this is my terrorism lipstick
my assault and battery eyeliner
my armed robbery boots

I'd like to undress you he said
but would that make me an accomplice?

and today she said I'm wearing
my infidelity underwear
so don't get any ideas

and she put on her nervous breakdown hat
and walked out the door

"What She Was Wearing" by Denver Butson from Illegible Address. © Luquer Street Press, 2004. (buy it from Amazon)

I've never had a suicide dress. Closest I've ever come is a PMS dress, some interview underwear, and a pair of lucky socks. How about you?

I'm definitely checking out more works by this poet.

Let's Hear it for Fair Pay!

2009-01-11T07:05:00.000-08:00

Woohoo!

"The Paycheck Fairness Act, passed by a vote of 256-163, requires employers to provide a legitimate reason for paying different salaries to men and women performing the same job."

Makes sense to me.

Oh my!

2008-12-13T06:17:00.001-08:00

Has it really been that long?
Well, not much happening here that is bloggable. Although I will add my own joy to the internets on a good overall election result. And also my regrets for the propensity of my fellow citizens to vote to limit other citizens' access to equal marriage and adoption rights.

Most of what's going on in the Minor household here is unbloggable. We are doing okay, but there is some stress, mostly work related, and not much sense of when the light at the end of the tunnel might be seen to actually be there. We are healthy, and well, otherwise, though, and I am thankful for these blessings. Tiny cat is doing well, too. Much less stressed than earlier in the fall, so: healthy and fine and furry.

My mother's kitty passed on recently, at 17. He was a real sweetie, and she misses him dearly. I know we do, though it's been a long time since he has been part of my daily life, other than via phone calls. I think her lap must feel very empty in the evening. And although she often complained about his being a bed hog at night, I think that must be a strange transition as well. He was a very good boy, and one of the first kitties we ever met with such a fine, gentle and open personality. He loved us all very well, and took good care of his humans for many years.
In other news, I have been tasked with coming up with 'fun' packaging for a paper gift to some of the family children at Christmas. (Think gift card in an envelope.) We want to make it more interesting to open than just an envelope. I have been looking at various papercraft objects online, and of course thinking of creating some bigger box to open, and perhaps smaller related items which might be packaged with said paper gift, and which might make a sound when shaken. Do any of you have good ideas for this? The kids opening the present (together?) will range in age from about 6-teen.

Pretty

2008-11-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

Not up to much. Trying to get into the fall/winter swing of things. We've turned on the heat. Looking into better winter driving tires and hesitating between snow tires and just better all-seasons. Hate this kind of shopping. (Hate most kinds.) We have had our first snow already, so the tire places have already had lines around the block.

Here's a pretty piece of ceramic art I came across online recently:

Lisa Larsson: Katt
found at Modcats.

Keeping fingers crossed for Tuesday. Please vote!

My Little .....Cthulhu?

2008-10-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hat tip to Cute Overload.
\
@

My Little Cthulhu by ~Spippo on deviant ART

Ahahahaaah!

I always knew those Little Ponies were really very scary!

Pleasant Valley Sunday

2008-10-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

I need a change of sceeee-ner-reeee--eeeee--eee.

So I've been watching some movies, reading a bit more. Some of it is good.

I've recently re-re-read some Jane Austen. Good for getting away from the real world. One of the few authors I voluntarily reread. Then I checked out the film from the library. Plugged it into the DVD player, and realized I had only checked out Volume 2. Drat.

Back to the library today, and some other poor sucker had checked out Volume 1. hah.

Found a VHS BBC version, and checked out part of that series. At least it's the first part! And, I've been trying to get the next episode I need for BSG season 1 for the past 2 weeks. Damn geeks keep checking it out. hmph.

Recently saw Brokeback Mountain, Pan's Labyrinth, a neat little Sundance prize-winner called The Station Agent (recommend it), and an old Cary Grant film (swoon).

Have also been cooking more (yay for comfort food), and finishing reading Kurlansky's Salt. It's an ok read. I had to order Chinese food a couple of nights ago after reading one of the passages on salt in China and the theories of what tastes make a real meal (particularly descriptions of the combos of ma-la and xian-la) I wish he would write more fiction again though.

Have you ever moved to a new region in the states and discovered a dish new to you that all the locals think is a world-known comfort food? I was talking with somebody the other day about having discovered shepherd's pie like that, years ago. I still don't really 'get' it, but I guess I have stuff like that I crave too, that they think well, not gross, but totally not distinctive or worth their while.

Fall is here. Cold has snapped, and I'm sitting around the house this weekend wearing LONG UNDERWEAR!!!! And we pulled out the winter duvet two nights ago. And there is no more summer fruit at the store, just apples and pears, now, so I guess that's official, even though I haven't turned on the heat yet.

Catching up

2008-09-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

Some updates:

Been to the beach and back. It was _great_. Beautiful sand and water, and super weather, and no crowds. I'm going to go again next year, I think/hope. Wish I could've stayed a month.

Also visited with some of our favorite people on the way home.

Got back and the cat had behaved badly again. This time? A cat-diarrhea covered bed and bedroom. augh! So I did what anyone would do, took everything washable outside, hosed it off, and then washed, several times, with lots of soap and some bleach too. Well, the wool blanket (originally a full/queen size) is now a throw, rather than a blanket. I guess I should be grateful we didn't have the winter duvet on yet...

She has been super snuggly since return: Probably some guilt and the cooler weather.

Had a really bad acupuncture session earlier in the week, and then a better one yesterday. I think it's helping my energy level, but that's not what I went in for. So sad.

Talked like a pirate on Friday, paid bills yesterday, did laundry and kitchen clean-up today. Am currently snuggling w/kitty, and cooking some kidney beans for chili later. We have again had a bounty of farm fare bestowed upon us, and I have tried to redistribute as much as I can't use for us, but we are sorely behind on the stack of potatoes. We never made it entirely through the last batch, and had another huge box show up this weekend. Still, we are making headway on the beans and beets.

Best easy way to cook beets that I've found? Wash and remove tips, leaving skin. Leave whole or cut so that the various beets are roughly same size and spread on aluminum foil on a cookie sheet. Cover with foil and fold the edges together. Put in oven at 350-400, and let them cook. For smaller pieces 45 minutes is fine, but I left them in for 2 hours yesterday because I fell asleep (kitty hypnotized me- wasn't my fault) and they were fine. Peel (the skin should slip off easily), cut smaller, and throw still warm into a large storage container and toss with red vinegar, salt, pepper. Yum.

Here we go again

2008-08-31T17:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't been very productive today. I've gotten some laundry done, and a couple of boxes flattened (and we did get rid of the sofa yesterday). But mostly, I've just been glued to the computer watching the train wreck in slow motion that is Gustav. We still haven't heard from friends, but I am assuming that none of the folks we're close to are stubborn enough to stay. Folks, remember to post somewhere online that you made it out okay! And remind your friends. I can't even begin to wonder what the world will look like down in LA tomorrow and this next week. I see some colleges are currently stating they'll be open for business next week. I don't think so.

Ewww!

2008-08-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, that's one job just got a lot easier and more expensive.
Here's what is apparently in most of the sofa cushions, and therefore unscrubbable/ unwashable even if I could get the smell out out the cushion fabric:
So the stuffing can't be kept, and the cushion fabric isn't really worth keeping, and likely won't wash well. So now I guess my choices are: keep the couch frame, find or make new cushions/ pillows; ditch the sofa, do not replace; ditch the sofa, replace with new sofa. Anyone want to make an argument for any of these options or another I have not yet considered?

You need to know that:
1) I got this sofa for free about 8 years ago and moved it once.
2) I am exceedingly cheap and like to use things until they are all used up.
3) We might change living quarters sometime in the next 2 or 3 years.
4) I have not yet ascertained if the cat stank is isolated to the pillows/cushions.
5) Despite being cheap, I like to window shop for furniture.
6) Every piece of furniture in our house is hand-me-downs, except for our bed and the futon in the guest room, which has seen better days, too, frankly.
7) Having learned more about the wonderful world of bed bugs since we acquired said furniture (all second hand knowledge, knock on wood!), I am now not too into the idea of second-hand upholstered furniture.

That is all.

Long Weekend- yay!

2008-08-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

Woohoo. A long weekend. And I've started an ambitious to-do list. Mostly involving cleaning and de-cluttering. Which have been on my mind for months. So that will be really good. Today, I have an outing with a friend I have neglected too much (that could be just about anyone, but oh well, I can only get to one of you at a time, sorry, if you know me, you know I suck like that, and it's really nothing personal.) I am going to bike over to a nearby museum, then we will tour whatever part we feel like seeing, and then we will have lunch. Very civilized. Then I will hopefully be full of energy and get started chipping away at said list.

Mostly, I am determined to redeem myself in the eyes of relatives coming to visit next weekend, who have seen the Mess of Summer. And also, deal with the cat smell coming from strange places the cat decided to mark/pee on post-visit from another cat earlier in the summer, in hopes that the next cat visit will not see an escalation of the turf wars. Not that this will dispel our reputation as the family slobs, but it will make the place nicer for us all, in any case. Here's to beating back the squalor, and happy, cozy, somewhat clean living!

Projects include basic cleaning, clearing and wiping of hard surfaces, laundry, vacuuming, detoxing of the fridge, and also dismantling of an old sofa, with an attempt to wash any removable parts, and figuring out what to do with the rest, then reassembling of the washed parts, if they haven't shrunk past that point. It will take a while. And then I may need to figure out what to do with the sofa if it isn't salvageable. So it will certainly be a big project, one way or the other. Wish me luck!

I've also started acupuncture, to deal with a number of things, mainly neck and back pain, and migraines, and will continue with that this weekend. And I can say to any of you contemplating it: really NOT scary! Which surprised me. People aren't joshing when they say you really can't feel much at all when those needles go in. But also? Damn. Pretty expensive. And no help from the insurance. So part of today's list is to figure out if at least I can put this on the FSA card, and thus pay in pre-tax dollars. Because the treatment for chronic type things apparently takes a while, and quite a few sessions.

In other fascinating news, I will also be tackling our budget to get us back on track with new savings goals, clearing out some boxes left from materials we received months ago, which are sitting stacked in the LR corner, right where we opened them, and finding a couple of piddly little bills that are certainly lying around somewhere close by, under a stack of Very Important Papers Which Must Not Be Thrown Out. And pay them.

I've been reading folks lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I really like lists. But I don't think this kind of set-up would work for me. And I wonder how the publication of such a list might skew people's choice of items for it. And I wonder how the hell people who have put "learn X language, learn Y language, learn to knit, etc. times 4" think they are going to do that in a couple of years, if they have to also check off all the little chore-like repetitive stuff that is on some of those lists, and also go to the gym 5 times a week for 5 months.

It cracks me up that things as small as "eat a vegetarian meal" take up as much space as "learn X language" on a list like this. I have seen people break up their fitness goals into somewhat smaller chunks, but nobody seems to break up some of the other HUGE learning projects into smaller, spread over time, do-able chunks. It's not going to happen by osmosis, folks.

Also, who puts "buy X number of fancy panties" on a public list? Really? I don't need to know that. And what kind of goal is that, anyway? Do you really need to plan ahead to work that into your schedule? Are you worried that you might actually forget to buy panties sometime in the next two years? Or that you might forget, once you are in the store, and buy plain white granny panties by mistake, when you really wanted something sexier? Oh well, list away, if it makes you feel good. I know I like my lists, too, so whatever works for ya. Cheers.

Hey!

2008-08-15T19:33:00.001-07:00

What happened to my Google Analytics? I really like to see the one or two of you who stop by. Now I feel like I'm out here all alone!

Hopefully I will have more to post soon. Right now I thought I'd test to see if I made it go away by not posting enough.

Work is getting progressively smoother, and I will even have some time off next month. I'm going to a beach! I've been really hankering after some ocean air, so I'm looking forward to it. I hope the weather will be ok, but if it's cold, I'll bring some good books and enjoy the air anyway.

Stuff I'm looking at online

2008-07-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

Not so much news. Work is still super crazy, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. At least for now.

I've been looking at some things online that please me. No real reason, and I'm not a big spender, so no purchases in sight, but I thought you might like to surf vicariously.

Tiles. I love certain tiles. Isn't this beautiful?And how about this?

And then, pedicabs and peditrucks with (and some without) electrical assist have me wishing for one, too!
Here is my current favorite design. I would totally drive this to work and the store.
And New Balance is putting out some less sporty looking shoes that promise to be comfy, too, This is good, and more companies need to pursue this 'niche'.

And really randomly and not at all commercial: here's a blog that is neat for its reflection on spirituality and ritual, within the framework of Judaism.

What are you finding that's good online?

Awesome

2008-07-26T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hat tip to LuckyBuzz, and to The Lazy Bloggers Post Generator.

"OMG! I just climbed out from under my rock and realised I have not updated this since people stopped clapping and Tinkerbell died... You would not believe how heavy that rock really is. Apologies to my regular readers! Even the little blue ones!

I am totally and utterly flat out with an awfully big adventure, waiting for the onshore winds, just generally being a pain to anyone unfortunate to cross my path. My day is a magical flight from crawling out of bed at 6.30 to way past dusk. I am wondering if I paid my electricity bill, but who cares?

I will try to remember I promised you I will write something that makes sense soon. No, really! What do you mean you don't believe me?"

Mmmm, summer

2008-07-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

I love this point of summer, when friends' gardens get out of hand and the zucchini start to take over the world. Then, sometimes, I get a call: " Would you like to come help pick X?" Um, yeah! So after work today, I got to pick fresh peas, and also got some zukes and salad, too. I had such a yummy dinner! Plus it got me outside a bit after a pretty hectic day. Life is alright.

Going nuts

2008-07-17T05:51:00.000-07:00

So, work has been pretty killer of late: distressed customers, things going wrong (or sometimes just not perfectly), days 'off' that turn into days 'on.' Yesterday I got to leave work early (one of those days 'off'), and got to go to the mall for emergency supplies... one of my least favorite places.

I get home at 8, and try to unwind a bit. At 2am this morning, as I am (still) lying awake, I flash on an email I had sent. (Backstory: one of the upset customers this week had gotten hold of a colleague's personal cell number, and we had met earlier in the day and were wondering where hu had gotten it from. And, I had exclaimed: certainly NOT this office! We would NEVER do that!) So, anyway, this email flashes into my mind, and I realize that *I* was the leak. I feel horrible, as I realize that I can clearly remember typing a 7 digit contact number for this customer to reach the colleague (instead of just an extension).

So, I spend the night tossing and turning and trying to figure out the best way to mitigate the damage, and make it up to the colleague. And I wake up this morning with it still on my mind. (Two nights ago, I had actually dreamt about the situation, and we were all stuck in an endless meeting where we tried six ways to Sunday to explain to the client why things could just not happen the way *hu* wanted....) So this is two nights' sleep lost to this client. Not that I am counting. Because I am not like that. So... I _just_ now logged on to email to look at the offending email and compose an apology to the colleague.....

Folks, here's the punchline: I did *not* leak the phone number.

By this morning, I was absolutely sure that I had. I am going nuts. I really wish I had gotten up at 2am to check, but I was so. sure. that I figured booting up the computer wasn't worth it, since I knew I wouldn't be able to try to 'fix' the error until today. Gack!

Today, I am really 'off.' This is good.

Yay

2008-07-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased that this has been turned around.

And, now,
"New Solar Energy Applications Will Continue to Be Accepted by BLM"

Because that? was just the stupidest thing I had heard in a long, long time.

Anti-Schlock Steering

2008-06-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

So to make up for that last post, I offer you my all-time favorite Robert Frost poem. I do not remember the title.

Where my imaginary line
Bends square in woods an iron spine
And pile of real rocks have been founded.
And off this corner in the wild,
Where these are driven in and piled,
One tree, by being deeply wounded,
Has been impressed as Witness Tree
And made commit to memory
My proof of being not unbounded.
Thus truth's established and borne out,
Though circumstanced with dark and doubt
Though by a world of doubt surrounded.

Subconcious schlock

2008-06-26T05:33:00.000-07:00

So I guess I've been dreaming a lot lately. I don't remember any of the dreams to tell you. But, I've woken up two days this week with something running through my head.

Exhibit A:

Which I (of course) had to sing pedaling to work that day, and hum under my breath for the next 36 hours.

Exhibit B:
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Robert Frost
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.

And this? This is inextricably tied in my head to Ponyboy, and the young Matt Dillon and Emilio Estevez, and all the budding ESL students I ever taught "The Outsiders".... What a crowd to wake up to! Sheesh.

Conclusion?
My word, is my head really that full of schlock?

I want!

2008-06-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

A solar/gas hybrid with pedals!!!

I can name that bird in 0 flaps

2008-06-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

It's a Cedar Waxwing. Here's a picture from wikipedia.I especially love the little sunglasses. And the yellow ruffle on the tail. I'm happy to meet you, Cedar Waxwing!

Ahhhhhh!

2008-06-18T06:02:00.001-07:00

A day off! Here it is! yay.

I've already gotten... well, not ahead on housework, but a bit less behind. Just knowing I had today off gave me a burst of energy yesterday after coming home from work. Toilet: scrubbed! Sink: clean! First load of dishwasher: washed and put away! We still live in what most of you would consider an absolute sty, but I feel good about the progress. And I have energy today, too. So, I am feeling pretty good.

I will have clean clothes to wear to work again on Friday. And it looks like there will be at least some sunshine today. And, the terrible humidity and heat of last week now feel like a distant memory.

OMG

2008-06-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

What freakishly long, effed up day. ugh. I need a day off so badly! One that's really a day off, not a day where I go in to work for half or more of the day because there is just too much damn work to be done. Today, so many little things went wrong for so many people I answer to. I just put out fires all day long. And then, an hour after the work day should have ended, I biked home, had a shower, and got in the car and drove back to work for more of the same.

I just had dinner (at work) at 7:45, and that's pretty darn late for me, and then I did a couple more things, and now I am home, hallelujah. Still, my colleagues and crew are doing really great work and working as hard as I am. So, in that sense, I can't (and won't) complain. But I am really yearning both for time off and for a sense that I am finally a bit more ahead of schedule/less on the spot. And those may be contradictory wishes, at least in some senses.

And yes, you heard right, I biked to work (at least for the first stretch of it!) today, and that's the 3rd time in the last week. So, yay for that. And yay for my sweet LP who saved dinner for me at home, just in case, and for my sweet little kitty who is singing to me and giving me kitty hugs.

Melting...

2008-06-08T06:47:00.000-07:00

In which I am an eco-weenie.

I had hopes of not putting in the AC window unit until, say, late July. But it's ho-ot. We sweltered yesterday, and gave in this morning. We both have too much work on our desks to lose another day to fanning ourselves lethargically on the porch. And fitful sleep.

The cat is hiding under the bed. I think I freaked her out with the cleaning of the air-conditioner, which involved her arch-nemesis, the vacuum cleaner. But, I also think she is pouting about the windows all being closed again, so soon. She was actually sitting in the sunniest window yesterday, in between the curtain we had pulled and the glass. Sorry, little one!

And, I'll probably drive to work again, most of the week. I *have* biked a few times without reporting it here, but not enough to merit any good eco-karma, really.

Do you think I can get some points for not flying anywhere this summer?

Ugh.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

2008-06-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

To my other very dear friend from way, way back. You are our rock, and I love you very much!