Here, there, and everywhere

I am currently in Baltimore, Maryland visiting my friend Indigo. Tomorrow I'm taking a bus up to New York to see Patrick. This is a lot of fun. I am really excited and a titch nervous about going to NYC. I've never been before. I'm simply excited about meeting Patrick. I'll come back to Baltimore Monday evening, and on Tuesday begin my trip south, probably stopping in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia at least for a night. In addition to a special blog friend, I also have a cousin who lives there.

Indigo and I have had a great time together. I got here Wednesday late afternoon, and he and I went out for dinner. Later we watched a Mystery Science Theatre 3000 movie on DVD. (Very funny- the best way I know to make a bad movie good.) Thursday he worked all day, and we again had dinner out, including some really rockin' ice cream, then came home and watched a movie. Indigo took a day off work Friday and we went into the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore to the National Aquarium. That was very nice. Today was cloudy and rainy until late in the afternoon. He went to the gym for his weekly super-workout, I stayed here and played catch-up on a few of my favorite blogs. (Still have a lot more catching up to do. Don't expect to do much blogging until Thursday or Friday, after I get back home.) The rest of the day was basically chill-time. We fixed supper here, and later went out for some ice cream, then back to his house for another really goofy MST3K movie. Right now I'm trying to get some of my stuff packed up and decide what I need to have in NYC for an overnighter that will all fit into my bookbag.

It has been nice being here with Indigo because we have developed a good close friendship. It is good to have close friends. The blogs have been great about introducing me to so many wonderful people. Spending time in person, though, is a much more complete experience than just being good buddies on the blogs and in email. At least it has that effect on me and on the friendship with Indigo. Although I miss my family and am eager to get back to my beloved relations, I'm going to miss Indigo when I leave. I've had mixed emotions all day; excitement about a trip to NYC, excitement/anticipation about getting home again, but sadness about leaving Indigo. It' enough to wear a poor girl out!

The time has come for me to say goodnight. The sun has gone to bed and so must I. Good bye.

Why izzit?

Re: socks

I needed some new socks. The old ones are stretched out around the ankle and thinning on the bottom. So I bought myself two packages of three pairs of socks. 2x3=6. Six pairs of socks, two pairs of each trim color. I got them specifically to bring on my trip. I washed them before I packed. I put all the socks, 12 individual socks, into one load in the washing machine. There were other items of my clothing in that load, but I made sure it was all my stuff or Superman's stuff. In that load there were no other random pieces of clothing belonging to any other member of the household.

I myself moved the load from the washer to the dryer. It's a short transfer: 26 inches at the most. And I checked the washer for any remaining items before I started the dryer. I removed the load from the dryer, placed it in a basket, and carried the basket to my room. All by myself.

Even with all that personal attention, one of the socks got lost. When I folded the laundry, only 11 individual socks were there. Why? What happened? I tried so hard!

My Dear Darling Diva brought me the 12th sock later in the afternoon. I don't know where she found it, but it was somewhere in the laundry room. I had 6 full pairs of socks when I left home. As far as I know I still have 6 full pairs of socks, only 4 of them are dirty now. I'm almost afraid to surrender them to the washer and dryer now.

Updates as the situation warrants.

Light moves out of the dorm

I mentioned of course that Light has returned from her first year at college. I didn't, however, post any pictures from her move. I am working on a post about camping, but I figured I'd post this in the meantime.

This is Light as she is packing the van. She glared at me for taking this picture of her hindquarters. I am posting it anyway. That's the kind of mean mother I am. :) Here she is in her bug eye sunglasses and butch haircut. I took this shot mainly for the t-shirt, even though it isn't very clear in this photo.

Here's a close up of her chest... I mean her t-shirt. To get the meaning of this shirt, you must know that the college she attends is a womens college. She says there is a fairly large percentage of lesbians in attendance. Of course. :)

A quickie

There is lots of stuff to do. I'm getting ready for my trip. I'm also getting excited about my trip. With lots of design help from me, Superman has built a contraption with which I can camp in the bed of my truck. We call it a Conestoga. I had it set up today, but have now taken it down. I plan to take pictures when I set it up again at the campground.

This is the first time in (I think) two days that I've even logged on the 'net. And it is kinda late now. I'm gonna check out a couple of other blogs, but I know I won't get to all the ones I usually visit. Blogging may be slow for the next little while, since I will be leaving on Tuesday for my adventure. Much of tomorrow I will be preparing for my travels. Then Tuesday I'll be driving, and camping. I doubt I'll have internet access in the campground. It is a state park, not a fancy schmancy resort campground that might have wi-fi. Thursday is probably the soonest I'll have a good chance to blog.

Twitch drew this today. He was reading/looking at a book of drawings my M. C. Escher, and was inspired to draw this. I think it is a copy of one of the prints in the book.

He showed me his work, then wanted me to take a picture of it so I could put it here on my blog. I found that amusing. The young'un knows I blog about my life, and that he is often the subject of my posts. So here is his sketch that he wanted to show you.

Once more into the breach

Yep, it's late again. I'm doing well, though, because I have internet! My wireless connection went kaflooie mid-afternoon Tuesday. Superman spent many hours on the phone with tech support Wednesday to no avail. Alas, I am hooked to the router with a wire, and NOT in my nest!

This is my nest

I'm in the living room, where all sorts of people pass by. Only C and S and one of their friends is awake now, and they are talking in their bedroom. I'm alone at last with my computer and the internet!! I think I sha'n't show you a picture of my living room. It looks much worse than the bedroom right now. Oh, dear.

We seem to have acquired another one. Now our strays are taking in strays. C and S have a friend who is having a tough time with his mother right now. So this friend, Gary, is staying over sometimes. He spent almost every night here last week. He was here last night, I know. They told me he would be at his mother's tonight, but the boys are in there talking with someone, and I don't know if it's Gary or not. He's a nice guy, Gary. He has long black hair and a goatee. They told me his Grandma kicked him out of her house because he wouldn't cut his hair. Oy. I suspect there is more to the story than that. Nevertheless, trouble is a brewin' in his life. I haven't had a chance to have a good sit-down-tell-me-all-about-it talk with him yet.

Superman stayed home from work Wednesday. His legs hurt a lot when he woke up, and he had practically no energy. The dear man has a systemic herpes zoster infection and frequently has outbreaks of shingles. There is a herald spot that comes up on his lower back/hip area, and usually within a day he'll start getting very sore. Usually the pain goes up his back and around his torso, usually on one side. This time it has gone down his legs. He was in bed for a while this morning, but he discovered that if he got up and moved around the pain was less intense. So he puttered around the house until he was exhausted, then lay on the bed until the pain was too bad to lie still anymore. He was very tired by the end of the day. He's asleep now.

I'm planning to take another trip next week. Heading north this time. Details are still sketchy. I am looking forward to the drive! The first night out I think I'll be camping. In the mountains! Appalachia here I come! But I am ultimately destined for a large metropolitan area yet to be revealed.

C and S are in the kitchen now. Their friend has left. (It wasn't Gary) This is what they do. They stay up very late (often all night, in S's case). Sometime in the middle of the night they get hungry, go into the kitchen, and cook something. More often than not they leave a mess. So when the rest of the family, by which I mean Superman, get up in the morning the kitchen is a mess. This has been an ongoing source of stress in the household. I just reminded S to clean up after himself. We shall see.

I'm learning a lot by sitting here quietly, listening to the discussion in the kitchen. S just said that Gary was suspended from school today. (He attends the same [prison] school as Twitch) It seems the young man did not have his student ID hanging around his neck like a noose. He apparently has lost it. So they suspended him. S doesn't know the whole scoop. He thinks it's just for Thursday. But still. School is out for the summer in just 2 weeks. How big a deal is it that someone isn't wearing his ID? How big a deal should it be that someone isn't wearing his ID? I hate that school. I wish Twitch didn't have to go there.

Enough of this rambling. I'm going to bed. Soon. Really. I promise.

Alas

Where has the day gone? What have I done with myself all day? Is it enough?

I don't know why I do this. I have a perfectly good excuse to go to sleep. It is 2:30 in the morning. I have been awake for 19 hours now. The beloved husband is asleep beside me. My eyes are tired. My brain? Not so much. I am trying to solve the world's problems.

Bad things happen. Horrible people with evil in their hearts do wicked and despicable things to helpless innocents. These atrocities go unchecked, leaving in the wake a tide of broken, tortured souls. Is there a grander purpose? Does ultimate justice exist? Whether it does or not, what do we do in the meantime?

Water cannot be un-spilled. Fire cannot be un-started. Some things must run their natural course. Can we act? Are there solutions? Water can be removed, wiped up, dried. Fire can be extinguished. But that won't undo the original event. It won't prevent the damage, and often does not restore the affected elements to their previous condition.

Some things can be redone. But in life the opportunities for do-overs are limited. No, we must attend to the matters at hand with the hand we were dealt. Do what damage control is possible.

Where is the Phoenix who rises from the ashes? Where is healing? Where is justice? Where is peace?

busy being busy

We got Light all moved out of the dorm by 11:00 this morning. I slept there last night, but didn't get there until 2:30 a.m. I had a Pepsi as I left Greenwood, and I was still pretty awake when I got to the college. I fell asleep without too much trouble, though.

Light woke up before I did, but I was awake by 8:30. The dining hall was closed today so we couldn't get breakfast here. Light says we didn't miss anything. She may think that, but I missed my coffee!

We had a lovely lunch at Panera. I've never been there before. They don't have fancy places like that in Greenwood! It was good. Then we went to Michael's, the craft store. We don't have one of those in Greenwood, either. I kinda went a little crazy. Shhhh! Don't tell Superman!

Light and I are hanging around the student center now. We're going to meet up with one of her friends a little later and go to a concert here in town. They told me what/who/where, but I forget. I'll tell you about it tomorrow if it's memorable and notable enough. Anywho, after the conference we'll go to this friend's house. She and her partner live in town and are both students. They're close to my age, which as we all know is getting up toward old. Since it'll be fairly late when the concert is over we've been invited to spend the night with the friends. I'm looking forward to a bit of fun and socializing. I don't get out much.

Superman is fixing up Light's bedroom. He has rather a lot left to do. I think he's glad we're spending an extra night away from home to give him more time to do what needs to be done.

Light and I have had a very pleasant day together. We don't do this often. I haven't been online at all today until now, so aside from a little bit of bloggirium tremens, I'm having a wonderful day.

There will of course be further reports as opportunity presents.

Here and There

I actually did some living today! I didn't just blog. That means I didn't get to visit my daily blogs, and I'm feeling somewhat disconnected from my community of choice. Nevertheless, I did good things today. I slept some, since I was up way too late last night, I transported my kids to school, got some nails and screws for Superman so he can finish the project (I'll tell you all about it next week!) he's been working on. Diva had an appointment with her counselor, so I took her there after school. We needed a few more things from the grocery, of course, so I did that.

I also, and most significantly, worked on a project; a gift I'm making for a friend of mine. And I got it finished!! This has been an issue with me recently. I've always been bad about finishing projects, but recently it's gotten worse. There are some psychological issues involved, but I don't know what. Anyway, I got this one DONE! I need to look up the address, finish addressing the envelope, write a brief note (we all know how well I do "brief"!!) and it'll be ready for the post office.

Then I will drive to the college town where Light matriculates. Today was her final final, and she has to be completely out of the dorm by noon tomorrow. Her roommate left this afternoon, so I'm going up tonight and will sleep in the roommate's bed. I will be there in the morning and we can pack up the rest of her stuff. There are a few other things on the calendar for the afternoon and evening. More of that "living" stuff. I'll tell you about it when I next have a chance. But now I need to finish up here, finish packing a few things, and get on the road.

So I'll be living a real life instead of being hooked up to this computer on Friday. Mayhaps I'll have more interesting things to tell you after that!

Spam

The nature and quality of my spam is changing. I haven't had an offer to enlarge my penis in well over a week. I am, however, being invited to tell naked women what to do while I watch in high quality video streaming. I also have been given a chance to earn a psychology degree, join a class action law suit, and invest money in questionable schemes.

Is this the kind of opportunity we take for granted in this society?

Quote for the day

My greatest skill has been to want but little.
-Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862)

It's a blog thing

Superman just showed me this comic strip. I had to share it here. I wonder how many other bloggers will post it?
Click the link. It shows a better shot of the strip. I can't get the image any larger without too much distortion. Besides, it's a copyrighted strip and should be viewed on the original site anyway.

Hodge Podge

• We appear to have survived Mother's Day. I didn't call my mother, actually, although I did talk to her the day before (if it wasn't the day before that). Perhaps I should call her.
  The kids around here did well. Twitch got me a funny card, Diva found a blank card in some of my stationery and wrote a sweet note on it. Diva also brought me a handful of rose blooms (no stem to speak of- she picked them off of the volunteer rosebush along our fence.) and also baked a chocolate cake for me. She really enjoyed all that, and I did too because she is so honest and sweet about it. Sproing briefly told me "happy Mother's Day" and gave me a hug, then bounced out of the room to do whatever it is he does. I didn't hear from Light at all, but had visited her on Friday anyway, so I'm fine with that. She often tells me how much she appreciates me, so I don't need to hear it from her on the one "special" day. Phooey on "special days." I didn't hear peep one from S and C. Am I pissed? No, not really. Maybe a little sad, but not mad.
• I saw my therapist today. Between her being out of the office for one thing and another, and me being out of town, it has been almost 6 weeks since I last saw her. We really need to not go that far between sessions! It was a good session. I see her again next week. The week after that, though, her daughter is getting married, so she's out of the office again. Eh. We'll get me scheduled in there somewhere.
• My allergies are annoying me. I don't know what is blooming, but whatever it is, I'm allergic to it. Every time I'm outside for any length of time my eyes get itchy. I tried to wear my contact lenses today, but I had to take them out this evening when my left eye got too irritated. After half an hour my eye finally stopped itching. Ugh.
• Sproing had his final visit with the child psychiatrist this afternoon. She is moving away next month. She's been great ever since we started having issues with Twitch about 4 years ago. Twitch, Diva, and Sproing all see her. She's the only child psychiatrist in town. Oy. Diva sees her in 2 weeks. Diva and Sproing will continue to see counselors in the office. Twitch really needs to be under the care of a doctor because of the combination of conditions from which he suffers. At this point, though, he doesn't need regular therapy sessions. My stars but how that boy has improved over the last 2 years!!
  
• I'm feeling blue again. An overwhelming wave of sadness washed over me this afternoon on the way home from Sproing's doctor's office. Maybe the stress of parenting three difficult children is weighing on me. Maybe I'm just tired. Hormones probably play a part somewhere, somehow. I dread the summer heat, we are seeing warmer temperatures now. It's time. Whatever the combination of causes, I'm feeling sad and tired. I'll try not to whine too much.
  
• I fixed supper tonight. Superman cooks more often than I do anymore, but now that I'm not working, I know I should take on more of that responsibility. I told him when he got home that supper was in the oven, and he was thrilled. That made me feel good. We all sat down together at the table to eat (not C and S, but the other three) and it was miserable. Diva was pouting and slouching over her plate. Twitch was in a foul mood. Sproing was whining about not being hungry, though I knew he was and that he needs to eat. And each one of the ungrateful wretches complained about the food. Superman liked it. He is wonderful. The rest of them can go jump in a lake.
  

Suggestive pose

I'm having fun surfing for images this evening. There are lots of interesting pictures on the interweb!

Not today!!

Mother's Day Rant 2008

I get like this nearly every year. Forewarned is forearmed.

Disclaimer #1
For my mother, my mother-in-law, my stepmother (oops, forgot about her until just now) I have no trouble honoring them on Mother's Day. I do so in a simple, non-complicated, not-commercially-motivated way. Same for my grandmothers, but there aren't any left now, unfortunately. This has everything to do with those whom I mother, not those who are mothers to me.

Disclaimer #2
The opinions expressed in this rant are mine and mine alone, and are in no way a reflection of my feelings toward anyone else and his/her opinions on the topic.

We shall now proceed to the rant

[this bit is mostly preamble to the rant]
I am a mother. This means many things. I gave birth to two children and adopted two children, so there are four children who share my last name and for whom I am legally responsible. More than that, though, I have taken two more young people into my home (non-legally)(which is not to say illegally. big difference!) and I am a surrogate mother for them. Many years ago I was a temporary foster mother for newborn babies awaiting adoption. These are a few of the ways in which the term "mother" applies to me.

I also am a mother in an active sense. I mother. Verb. I tend to mother many people in many situations. Most of the close friends of my children receive some of my mothering. I acted motherly with the students on my bus. I have also done some mothering with many blog friends. Sometimes I mother because it is my nature. My excuse: I'm a mother. It's what we do.

I'm a mother. It's what we do. As a mother and when I mother I want respect. To me, respect means to be nice to me. You (the subject of my mothering efforts) don't need to agree with me. Unless you are my minor child, living in my home and are my legal responsibility, you don't have to listen to me or do what I suggest. If you ignore my advice that is your decision and I (probably) won't take offense. If you'd rather I didn't voice my opinions in a motherly fashion, kindly tell me. I will attempt to honor your request. The key word in this paragraph is "kindly." That's what respect means to me.

I have been told by many people that I am a good mother, that they wish they had had a mother like me, or even that they wish I had been/would be their mother. I am very honored by this.

[this is where it begins to get rant-ish]
My distress comes from those I most actively mother. Maybe it's the daily drudgery, or the familiarity, or that the better they know me the more they see my faults and the less respect they have for me. Whatever the cause, the children (including the adult-aged children) in my home do not show me respect.

The children in my home are the ones who mean the most to me. Well, them plus the one of my own who usually lives away at college. I'll include her in the "means the most to me" category, but she doesn't fit in the "has no respect for me" category. My Light is the light of my life (one of 'em!) and makes me so proud! But I digress.

[here comes the vitriol]
To continue: The youngsters who live here show virtually no respect. Ever. (virtually. some exceptions, though rare) Maybe I shouldn't, but I take this as a personal affront. Rarely do they care about my needs, they blatantly ignore me and often are directly disrespectful. They are rude to each other, inconsiderate, slovenly, destructive, mindless, dense, lazy, greedy and selfish.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Some of these children will attempt to be nice to me tomorrow. It rings hollow when on one day of the year they act all loving and thankful to me. If you don't exhibit these qualities every day, or at least make an obvious attempt on a regular and frequent basis, do not come to me with pretty cards and flowers and boxes of chocolate and smile disingenuously to tell me how much you appreciate me! Bullshit! If the only time of the year you can force these lies through your teeth is on Mother's Day, then forget it. I don't want to hear it. I am interested in honesty. What you do speaks louder than what you say. What you do on a typical day means more than what you pretend on one "special" day. If you truly want me to know that you appreciate me and what I do for you, then show me in the way you conduct yourself at home and in your daily life every day. Otherwise, shove it up your ass.

Others of them, I suspect, will completely ignore me and the contributions I make to their lives. In a small way I see this as a sign of my success. I'm doing so well they don't notice what they might otherwise lack. In a larger sense I realize they are ungrateful, shallow, and selfish. I don't expect, neither do I desire lavish displays of appreciation. I would like them to voluntarily and without prompt simply thank me for trying to take care of their physical and emotional needs. This specifically applies to the ones for whom I am a surrogate mother. They are old enough to realize and appreciate my efforts at least a little bit. It is very important, necessary for the honesty of it all, that they do this completely without prompt. S sometimes reads my blog, and if he sees this, it will be his prompt. C'est la vie.

To give them credit, the boyz do occasionally express appreciation. S more often than C. S goes through stages where he's concerned about me and does a pretty good job looking out for me, trying to keep me from frustrating myself more. It isn't easy work! But there are also many times when I feel he is taking me for granted. Love may be a many splendored thing, but it's hard, too.

I know they love me, these children/young adults who live with me. And I love all of them. But if I only see expressions of love on Mother's Day it just makes me mad. I feel even less appreciated if they have to be forced by this "holiday" to make the attempt.

New shews

I got the boy some new shoes.

Hmmm. They seem to be out-of-focus shoes. I hadn't noticed that before. No matter.

'Twas Tuesday he came to me complaining about his shoes. Once he decides he needs something like that, he thinks he needs it immediately. He nagged me about it all afternoon.

"Mom, will you take me out to get some new shoes?"

Not right now. Maybe Dad can take you when he gets home from work.

"Mom, I really need new shoes!"

I know. You will get new shoes. But not now, and maybe not today.

Then I asked him to wash the outside of the windows along the front of the house.

"If I do, will you take me to get some shoes?"

Not necessarily. Go wash the windows. Argh!

I went out with him to help with the rinse, and to take pictures of the old shoes. Diva joined us and had a lovely time scrubbing the shutters.

There are no pictures of Diva enjoying herself with the soap because I'd put the camera inside so it wouldn't get wet. Twitch did the windows, Diva did the shutters, and I rinsed.

I really hoped that Superman would take Twitch out to get shoes. I do not like shoe shopping! I'd rather take him than Diva, though. That girl loves to shop for shoes. She'll try on every pair she can get her feet into just for the fun of it. I do not see the allure. Drives me nuts.

But when Superman got home he felt icky, like he was coming down with a cold. We did something for dinner, I can't remember what. Diva and Sproing were getting ready for bed, and Superman was sprawled out on the bed looking tired and sick.
There was nothing left but to do it myself. Dear me. So Twitch and I headed out to the shoe store. By the time we left the house it was after 8:30. Of course the shoe store closes at 9:00. We entered the store at 9:50. *

We tried to be quick. The boy has a large wide foot with practically no arch, so it isn't so easy to find a shoe that fits. He wanted a shoe in a dark color, not white. As you can tell by the picture he had to settle for white. I told him we could come back after school Wednesday and look some more, or go to another store Wednesday afternoon. But no. He had decided he needed shoes that day. So he settled for white. Whatever. No skin off my nose.

Here he is Captain Morgan-ing it up for the camera in his nice new shoes. I had the clerk at the shoe store throw the other ones away. Good riddance

And here's a picture Twitch took of himself. Doesn't he have gorgeous soft brown eyes? And a big nose? (bad camera angle there)

*I know those clerks weren't happy. Sorry. I don't like to do that.

Computer headaches :::Update:::

I am having trouble with the internet connection on my laptop. Right now I'm on our old desktop. There seems to be something wrong with the wireless router, I think. I'm not good at these things. On the laptop I have a connection to the main box computer, but no outside access. The diagnostic keeps telling me there is a cable unplugged, but I've checked all the cables and everything is plugged in the way (I think) it is supposed to be. I'm very frustrated! And obviously we've got internet coming into the house, or else I wouldn't be able to access my blog to type this. Argh!!!

We're connected again!! C adjusted some settings on something, a network manager I think, and got me back online. C is my hero for the morning. :)

Tell me what you think

Twitch wants a new pair of shoes. He needs a new pair of shoes. The stitching has come out of one of the side seams, so there is a large gap. He was complaining to me about this hole. It is getting bigger. He said the hole used to be the size of a vagina, but now it's big enough to put a baseball through.

Based on this information, can you determine Twitch's sexual orientation?

Yammer

Nothing much to report, so I'm gonna ramble aimlessly for a while

• We survived the weekend. Superman is putting down flooring (laminate, sturdy stuff) in Light's bedroom. She comes home from her first year at college next Friday. We need to finish fixing up the room before she gets here and moves all that other junque into it. We'll probably not be able to SEE the floor until she moves back to the dorm in late August.
• Friday evening was the elementary school's Spring Carnival. I sent baked goods to sell in the bake sale. I DID NOT attend! The wonderful Superman took the kids and a good time was had by all. Including me. Who stayed home. Happily.
• Thursday was the day I needed to do all the baking for the school carnival. I delayed and ignored and averted until 'twas well after midnight when I actually baked those damn cookies. They were good, of course. By the time I was finished baking, then had to wait for the cookies (I also made a pan full of cake-like bar cookie things) to cool enough to put them in individual wrappings, it was too late to go to bed. Does that make sense? I had to make sure the stuff got to the school, so I just stayed up. Superman was able to take the box of goodies to the school when he took the kidlets, so that worked. Then I went to bed.
• And also on Thursday I bought myself a new sewing machine. The old one, very old, needed some repairs and maintenance. I took it to "the place" and the fella said a cleaning and tune up would cost at least $65, and it may need some parts, too. However, there were a couple of new machines, discontinued, on clearance. I got a fairly nice machine for $150. It does more than the old one did. I haven't gotten it out of the box yet, because on Thursday I was supposed to bake, not sew. Superman only last night brought the machine in from the truck. The table I use for sewing has been in Light's room since she left for college all these months ago. Since her floor is being installed, the table is now in the middle of the living room with stuff piled on it. There isn't a comfortable place to set up my new machine. So it is still in the box. Now that we've survived the weekend and I'm not required to bake more cookies, I might just get to play with my machine.
• But not today. At least not while the kids are at school. Because today I did something worthwhile, one of those chores that has been waiting on me for a while. I finished painting the trim in Light's room. She painted her room last summer, but never got quite done with the trim. I have of course intended to finish the trim since she left for school in August. Now that Superman has most of the stuff out of that room, I figured the time wasn't going to get better. I'd already masked the trim, it was ready to paint. Has been for MONTHS. So today I did it. Good for me.
• And because Superman has so many projects he needs to work on around the house, the house decided it wanted even more of his attention. S was in the backyard this morning when I was washing out the paintbrush in the kitchen sink. He knocked on the kitchen window to tell me he heard water leaking under the house. Leaking a lot, evidently. And it stinks. I called Superman. First I asked him how his day is going. He said busy, but fine. OK, it's safe to tell him. If he'd been having one of those days from hell, I'd have waited to tell him about the leak. I told him. He sighed that deep depressive sigh of a homeowner whose house is falling apart on him. Do you know that one?
• This is one of those things about me. When I think I don't have anything to talk about, I can nevertheless ramble on THIS long!! People who know me well are not surprised. Yet I'm always amazed. Is it denial? Or inattention?

We were this desperate in 1977

I just got this in an email from Mama. Evidently it has been making the email rounds for a few months. I Googled it and found the original blog post. You MUST go read it if you have yet to see it. I present you with a tantalizing tidbit...

OMG what were we thinking?

One of my favorite games

with a different twist

2XMeme

Ed, who should have a blog of his own, but uses Dirk's comments as his oration station, has tagged me with this meme. Being an independent and stubborn bitch, I've decided to do it but make up my own rules about it. Part of the deal, though, is for Ed to seriously consider, and I mean SERIOUSLY consider that it is time for him to have his own blog.

The first rule I've changed is the one about posting the rules.

Two names you go by:
1. Mom
2. Java

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. Contact lenses
2. Old comfortable unstylish pants

Two longest car rides:
1. Macon, GA to Boston, MA Spring 1982, to visit my boyfriend who attended MIT. 2 weeks before I met Superman. The thing with the other boy? It didn't work out.
2. Gainesville, FL to Silverton, CO Summer of 197something. Through Texas. Have you ever driven east to west through Texas in summer? It takes a l-o-n-g time. At least three years.

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. Blog
2. Spend time with Superman

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. For my two youngest children to want to do what's right, rather than look for ways to irritate others and break the rules.
2. Can't think of anything else I want Very Badly

Two animals you have or have had:
1. Ruby – dog, current. She is old and in poor health and will not be with us much longer, I'm afraid
2. Clyde – a single male Lovebird. Who masturbated. A lot.

Two people who will fill this out:
1. [insert your name here]
2. [you, too]

Two things you ate today:
1. The most delicious scrambled eggs that Superman made for my breakfast
2. Really good meatballs over jasmine rice that Superman made for dinner (if it weren't for Superman, I might starve, or possibly become malnourished from eating nothing but Little Debbie Nutty Bars all day)

Two people you last talked to:
1. Sproing
2. Superman

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. Sleeping, since I'll be up late tonight baking cookies for the kids' school carnival bake sale tomorrow. (good mommy points for baking cookies)
2. Thinking up excuses to not go to the kids' school carnival tomorrow. (lose good mommy points for avoiding the carnival)

Two favorite holidays:
1. Christmas: Advent, and the Christmas season for the week after Christmas. You know, after everyone has taken down the Christmas decorations and they stop playing Christmas music on the radio.
2. The first day of school. Technically not a holiday, but mothers of young children everywhere will understand that it bloody well SHOULD be a holiday.

Two favorite beverages:
1. Water
2. White grape with peach juice That is my current favorite. Ask again in a few weeks and I'll probably have a different second choice.