Shopping trip

I have begun the mental planning for what to do while in NYC Easter weekend. E and T are doing their trip and i am tagging along, so while I know I will likely see them and do some stuff with them perhaps, I also can just do my own thing for the most part.

That will include a trip to Dean & DeLuca, Kate's Paperie, Satya, and flea marketing.

There is a Buddhist art museum I might get to, and also some Buddhist centers,but they are down the list a ways. We have tried repeatedly to get in at the Guggenheiim, and either we get there at closing or they are already closed, so I will maybe plan to go there with E. We shall see.

I think the current plan has us staying in Times Square. Aunt Pat might also join us, and I have told my neice when I will be there so I imagine I will see her at least briefly. My bestest lives in Boston and I have also mentioned the dates to her in case she wants to join us one day or night. She is also scheduled to come here and visit, so maybe, maybe not.

In other news, I have secured Double Coyote for our union party in July. I need to confirm with Hitaji again, and then it will be figuring out food for the event. We are still trying to decide on if we will have a more intimate gathering or if we will do a larger open house style gathering. I think the back yard might get tented for the evening. Or something.

Haunting and compelling

A thousand or so songs on the Dell DJ, listening on random shuffle, and every once in a while, a song comes on which I just have to press repeat. And then listen to it over and over and over again.

The current soundtrack in my head is both haunting and compelling, as my post title so succinctly indicates. I just have to listen to this song, and I wonder where it has been all my life. I first heard it in the car with E and her DJ was playing. Then, without me looking for it on my DJ (which I have had since September and not heard this song on ever), the very next day, yesterday, it played. I am liking all these little synchronicitous moments of late.


J´ai Fait Tout
(Emmylou Harris)

J'ai fait tout, j'ai fait tout
Ce que j'ai pu
J'ai fait tout, j'ai fait tout
Ce que j'ai pu

I have seen some trouble
Been around the way
Rode the streetcar of desire and I paid
And if you want a witness
I will testify
To what I saw through a wandering eye

'Cause nobody loves you like I do
Nobody loves you like I do
Nobody loves you like I do
Nobody loves you like I do

I heard all about it
You don't need an alibi
There was no medicine I did not try
You lost your Mona Lisa
Got burned by Jezebel
You can always draw water from my well

'Cause nobody loves you like I do
Nobody loves you like I do
Nobody loves you like I do
Nobody loves you like I do

J'ai fait tout. j'ai fait tout, j'ai fait tout
I will give everything I am to you
J'ai fait tout, j'ai fait tout.
You know it's true
J'ai fait tout, j'ai fait tout, j'ai fait tout

You can go and leave me
But you'll come back for more
I know where all your old secrets are stored
My history is written
My heart is still pure
You crave redemption and I got the cure

'Cause nobody loves you like I do
Nobody loves you like I do
Nobody laves you like I do
Nobody loves you like I do

J'ai fait tout, j'ai fait tout
Ce que j'ai pu
J'ai fait tout, j'ai fait tout
Ce que j'ai pu

J'ai fait tout. j'ai fait tout, j'ai fait tout

Yogaaaaaah

Last week, I went to class just one time. I had built up to 4-5 classes a week and was feeling great and had a lot of energy, blahx3. There are currently some underlying health issues going on and my energy is just in the toilet. I say underlying because I know something is going on, I am just not quite sure what that is.

The first thing I have done about it is to get health insurance again. I am now waiting to hear of my acceptance and trying to do some Ayurvedic things reccomended by my holistic doc. I think the testing to determine what is ailing me is going to be rather invasive, and in general it is all I can do to not faint for plain old blood work.

My iron is in general low and the doc would love for me to be taking 2-3 iron pills daily, but they really upset my stomach. Someone recommended trying to take one pill at bedtime and see if that works. I am going to stop by Walgreens on the way home tonight and pick some iron pills up and give it another try. The general blah that I feel might be helped that easily.

The other thing I have done was to mention this to E. I have never been one to share my discomfort in this way, so must be I have learned something along the way. She is of course being supportive with just the right amount of fire under my ass thrown in to keep me working toward figuring this all out. She is such a fucking babe. That is never said enough.

I took a moment to discuss this briefly with my yogi this morning, and she agrees with my plan to get in at least two classes a week which will be Tuesday and Thursday. The other three wil remain optional depending on how I feel, and she also suggested that for the two classes I am committing to, that even if I do not feel like it, at least I should still show up and do what I feel I can. I know jow good I usually feel after class, so I *want* to be there. I just don't feel I can manage the same aggressive schedule I was keeping.

The other thing I have accomplished this morning was to mention to Ginger that we want her trio to play at our Union Party.

E and I are having a blessing of our union on July 16th. this marks our seventh anniversary and I think it will be a lovely evening. We have a tentative first draft of the guest list and I think that there are about 50 people on it. I think it might be a nice size crowd of 10-20.

I am still not sure what way to go for food. Ginger's trio was an easy decision because they are good energy and I know her well enough to ask. Food is a different issue. I can and love to cook. And, I am good at it. Do I want to cook for this occasion? Yes, depending on how many people it would be for. No, if it is more than 10. In lieu of not knowing what is going on medically, I have mostly decided to let someone else do the cooking.

Catering is an option and I have considered getting our favorite treats from various places in quantity. Kathryn reminded me recently of Michel.

Michel is the chef who does cooking for some of the retreats out at Margaret Austin Center. His food is exquisite(the man was a personal chef for Picasso), and K says he is quite reasonable. I think my next Union Party to do will be to contact Michel and see what he can do.

For now, I have to go to work. I am at the moment sitting at Panera Bread across the highway from JCP and using their WIFI. Of course, I would prefer the Starbucks atmosphere across the street, but they are a TMobile hotpot and that is not free access. Panera is.
Viva la Panera Bread!!

The Universe Converges

After 6-8 weeks of not hearing from my buddy Paul, I got a call from his partner today asking me if i have heard from him. I was in a stunned sort of silence when Fred asked me if I knew where Paul was. I thought for a second that perhaps there was a tif while they were out last night, as I know that has happened before at least once when one of them or the other spitefully did not come home.

Fred went on to explain to me that they were taken to a temporary apartment for the estate sale which had been planned by Paul's neices to help him liquidate some funds. He has been sorting through his many antiques deciding which he was keeping for months and the time of the sale had arrived.

After the sale, the neices showed up at the apartment with Fred's sister. In a nutshell, the sister whisked away Fred and the neices took Paul to rehab after just having sold everything. Everything. Including the Explorer. Including anything belonging to Fred. The boys were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. And Fred was warned off, threatened with legal action should he ever again attempt to contact Paul.

I say boys. To be more accurate, these boys are in their 50s and 60s.

This conversation lasted all of 5 minutes, and then my cell phone went dead. Dead as a doornail. I plugged it in ti recharge hoping Fred would soon call back, and then went to sit with E in the library to relate the sage to her. We were sitting there pondering our collective disbelief, when the dogs all three are barking at someone in the driveway.

E, facing out, says "Omigod, it's Paul!"

This is not even five minutes after my cell phone had cut off.

Synchronicity.

The saga continues to unfold...

new home theater experience

I did my initial test run on the dvd drive in my laptop. Woo. Hoo.

I was sitting here on my new chaise in the bedroom in the dark. All comfy and cozy, burried in my down comforter. Nola was liking it too as she was quite burried with me. I got out the trusty earbuds and plugged them in. I then proceeded with my guiltiest of guilty pleasures. Star Wars. Movie 4 and 5, or 1 and 2 for purists. Next in line, of course, is Return of the Jedi.

I picked up the DVD set at Costco last week. Loving it. Who needs a TV in the bedroom.

Divine Dinner @ DiVino

This week marks the UCT conference which E's company puts on each year. It is held in downtown Houston at the George R Brown Convention Center, and ideally, everyone from her job stays at the Hyatt for the duration. This involves ordering room service or eating at the hotel dining rooms, or otherwise eating out and being reimbursed for expenses. There is a cocktail party on Wednesday night which we usually go to at least to make an appearance, but this year, she decided to pass on all the above.

However, she does allow for us to have a lovely dinner out on her expense account. Since everyone with a spouse has them down for dinner, it seems an ok thing to do, and the bossman has always reimbursed her in the past, even though she does not eat with everyone else. This year we decided to go to DiVino.

I. Am. So. Full.

We started with the shrimp on rosemary skewers served over grilled polenta with a spicy marinara sauce. Yumm. The challenge on such a dish is to remove the shrimp from the skewer (4 shrimp, 1 stalk of rosemary) without wearing the spicy marinara. We appreciated some success.

E followed with a caesar salad. I passed on salad, because the description of my entree included mixed field greens.

E chose the veal scallopini which was crusted with Parmesan and had a side of grilled rosemary potatoes. Very delish.

I chose the beef tenderloin. The waiter was confused and I ended up with the filet mignon. Same basic cut of meat, so I kept it. They also cook to order, so I did not want to have to wait another 30 minutes for the correction to be made. It did not hurt that the Parmesan mashed potatoes as my side item were fabulous.

The waiter corrected the order by fixing the bolll to reflect the lower price of what had ordered, and he then brought us out a slice of heaven. They have a desert that is a layer of the best chocolate mousse I have ever had sandwiched between two layers of extremely moist chocolate cake with aq dark chocolate layer of icing on top. I think it all melted in my mouth. We eill likely add them to our dessert list of places to go with desserts that are primo which also serve wine.

We do the wine and dessert excursions as often as we do dinner out.

It's a good thing.

My Aunt just messaged me and was telling me my mom was moved to from the hospital to the rehab facility. The doc told my mom 20 days there, but my aunt thinks it will be more like a few months. But don't repeat that to mom. She also gave me her cell phone number and told me it is best to call between 8-12 pm. Like, I should be on the phone to her right now.

I love my mom dearly. She's my mom. But calling her requires preparation. At the very least, the mindset that I will be talking to my mother. Same with my father, but my mother a little more acutely.

Tomorrow, I will call her tomorrow.

I am listening to a new cd I got last week at Sloan/Hall. It is called Music For Cocktails part 2 and is a 2 disc set. Very urban loungy and I really like it. It is great for writing or working otherwise on my laptop because am not distracted by the familiarity of lyrics. Also, it is a little uptempo, so there is a groove going on with my typing which is nice. Easy.

The song I am most ennamored (I amreally missing the spell check feature in blogger wehich I am sure is a mac thing that it is gone) is 'Wait Til You See Him' by Ella Fitzgerald. It is unlike anything I have ever heard from her, and it sort of reminds me of 'History Repeating" (lovelovelove itt) which Shirley Bassey did with the Propeller Heads. Not that it sounds similar, but the way it is a departure stylewise for the artist.

It is the first time I am using iTunes. I am pretty sure there is no compatability with my Dell DJ, which is sucky, but I am still going to try it. I read on the Dell site that there are drivers to download and workaround solutions, so I will attempt it sooner or later, but I am not pressed to do it immediately. I have no problem ripping what i want onto my laptop and using my Dell DJ with the desk top. What I do find curious, though, is that thesound is excellent with a pair of ear buds, but the cd driver is very loud and there is crappy soundwithout the ear buds. Again, no big deal.

yawn

Tired today, yesterday, too. I worked this morning from 8-1 and had a nap just a bit ago. When E gets home from her walk we are going to dinner. On her expense account. Sweet. Somewhere foofy is in order. Somewhere that serves iron.

Sitting on the chaise

Not soaking up the sun, but enjoying the comfort of the new chair in the new bedroom. The old room with the new bed is more accurate. Nola can't decide if she wants tobe perched on the pillow behind me or on the end of the chaise at my feet. Currently, her choice is on the pillow behind me while draping herself like a stole across my shoulders and letting her head hang down to watch what I am doing.

I have to take T in to school this morningand it would be the perfect day to ditch yoga and go sit at the cafe with my laptop, but I amnot going to do that as I did not make it to class last night. Monday night is easy to ditch as the group is rather toxic to me, always giving me a headache.

Time to scoot.

Furniture!!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhh...that is the sigh of the old couch leaving the building.

Well, it has not exactly left yet, but it should be exiting by noon today.

Yesterday, after a hmmmm......loungy morning in bed, we got up around noon thirty and went for breakfast. Empire Cafe was packed, Cafe Artiste had parking but no table, so we just went to La Madeleine.

Once we were out, the plan for E to go into work to finish up some signs was bagged and we decided to go to the container store. There are some cd storage boxes I wanted her approval on and it was really going to be just a look and see type trip.

We decided to get different ones than I had initially thought (which were not quite what I wanted anyway, I was sort of settling from being tired of looking). They are a silk fabric covered box in a jewel tone sort of cover. We picked up three and will see from there if we need more and how many we think we might want. I am thinking we should get three more at least to account for expansion so that in the future if they are discontinued and we need more we are not SOL.

We also got a small step can trash can for the bathroom since the dogs, two of them anyway, have had a recent affinity for the bathroom trash. E said "Today, I want one now!"

Of course, it is impossible to go to The Container Store and not go to Storehouse Furniture which is right next door. We have been salivating over the furniture at Storehouse for a couple of years now. I dub it 'adult furniture' as opposed to transitional furniture from Ikea, which in some situations *can* be adult furniture.

At some point in the past year, we were driving around and saw a Storehouse clearance center. OMG. A lot of the stuff they have is incomplete sets, stuff refused due to damage, special orders that were cancelled or returned, or stuff just discontinued. We have been watching there randomly for stuff we know we want.

We decided to stop by yesterday and see what was there. E was just having an intuitive moment or something, and what a delight that she was.

We got our bed frame, returned because it had a slight nick on one of the back legs, a chaise for the bedroom which I can sink into for reading or writing with my laptop, a couch which was half price because it is part of a group and it was sitting there so lonely. We also picked up a coordinating armless side chair which I adore and E is about 80% on. Her 20% not loving it is because it is armless, but it is an oversized chair, so she conceded. We still have some more pieces we are hoping to get there, and Michelle, our Storehouse clearance girl, will be on the lookout for us. I think two side tables matching our bed and a leather chair or two and some stools for the kitchen island round out our current list.

While we were out shopping we went into DSW which is also in the same parking lot. Actually, we went in there first. E was very disciplined and just got a new pair of running shoes. I got three new pair of shoes but they all validate the one in one out closet rule, so I am purging three pair of shoes today, too.

I got a pair of brown slides with about an inch and a half platform sole and I think they are Minnetonka. The brand means nothing because they felt like butter on my feet as I slid them on. I also got a pair of black slides from Duck Head, slightly less sole, equally comfortable. The final score is a pair of Steve Madden black eather flats. Very flat, very casual loafer like, and slipper feeling. Definitely, I will be going back for the same Steve Madden shoe in brown after the first of the month.

Time to do the furniture dance.

Family communication

My family is such a group of non-communicaters.

Last Sunday going into church, my mom fell and broke her hip. On Wednesday she had hip replacement surgery. She will be in the hospital at least until Monday, and then transferred to a rehab facility where her insurance keeps her for 20 days and possibly longer if needed.

On Thursday I get a call from my aunt.

RRRRRRING
Aunt P: Are you at work?
Me: No
(Small silence)
Me: I'm sitting down now, just tell me.
Aunt P: Oh, it's not that bad, your mom fell and broke her hip and had hip replacement yesterday. Well she fell on Sunday. Your dad did not want you called for you to worry or think you have to rush home.
Me: Nice.
Aunt P: I decided to say fuck what he wants and call and tell you. You need to know.
Me: (smiling cause Aunt P said fuck) Thanks.

We then went on to talk a little more, and I told her I would call my mom tomorrow.
Aunt P: What's wrong with today?
Me: I am on my way pout the door to dinner.
(More silence)

Whatever.

I called my mom last night and talked with her for about 30 minutes. Then I decided to call my neice because I did not want here to learn about this reading here when she has a chance to get caught up. She was ever grateful, and we proceeded to catch up and discuss our endearing family dynamics.

Basically, we vowed to break the non-communicative cycle just to conclude that those behind us, her brother and my sons, are all boys and our work would be futrile because boys, like the rest of our family, just don't communicate.

We still will though. We're both new Mac iBook grrls!!

general malaise

Feeling blah at the moment. Not blah badm just blah. Definitely time to see the doc for a physical as I have not had one in years, but I am not sure the blah is anything more than slugg day blah-ness. Last night I had a chill going to bed, and still this morning was feeling it and throughout the day, though I know it was mid seventies today and felt warm. Factor in, too, that I am just past Aunt Flo, so my iron is likely lower than normal. I am definitely feeling low ironish. Too bad I don't tolerate the iron pills all that well. If I did I would be taking them.
Bleh.
Blah.
Blech, even.

can she even spell?

So that last entry has so many typos, I thought it might be too great an effort to edit it.

Also, I forgot to mention, all the formatting is gone, so everything I have transferred will eventually need to be reformatted.

Yuck.

I will focus on being glad the text is not lost.

And, someone anonymous loves me. Isn't it grand??!??

file transfers

154 emails later, and all my files from my dead laptop are now at lease on my iBook as text in an email. It was sucky that I could not read them off the disc I had them saved on, but at least the text is not lost. The chore now will be to get them converted into files again from the emails and then getting them backed up in the new format.

Oh, and then to get more recent stuff workable, and then to be actually working again. On new stuff.

I have a 3o day free trial of MS Office for Mac which basically gives me Word. I am not sure if i should even be using it, though from what I can understand from the licensing agreement, the files created or altered while using the free trial will still be accessible after the free trial if I elect to decline purchase. I wonder how much it is.

We did a little shopping today...

Breakfast this morning was at Empire Cafe. We both had the Italian toast and chai lattes. Tres. Yumm.

The plan was to then go to the Galleria, but we were out and about earlier that intended and it was too early to go to the mall. The alternative was to go to Borders books as that was the closest place to go kick back and browse.

E got a few reference books for work, and I got a help book for my Mac. I also discovered a new magazine called Cloth Paper Scissors: collage, mixed media, artistic discovery. I would link to it, but there seems to be a tool bar missing and maybe that is just a mac thing i need to get used to.

We then came home for a while and driften into slugg mode, only to go back out again this afternoon. We went to Costco to pick up a few things and then over to the Galleria to see what the Apple store had for cases. They had a lovely small case which is only slightly bigger than my iBook. It has a padded shoulder strap so I can use it solo, but it is small enough to slide into my backpack or purse.

From there we hit Whole foods and picked up some things for dinner. I just made some pork tenderloin and some shrimp, and supplemented that with some soup and carrots.

The dvds I got for xmas are as follows:

Sarah McLachlan Afterglow Live
Go Fish
Saturday Night Live: the best of Eddie Murphy
Tipping The Velvet
Kissing Jessica Stein
The Hunger
High Art

Time to get back to the help book.

Feliz Navidad

For those of you not in the know, today is xmas!

E and I decided to defer gifting until after our budget opened up a lttle. That was last Monday, so this weekend, logically, is xmas. Last night was xmas eve and we opened gifts.

Let me share some of the loot(in no particular order and not a complete list):

Crossroads cd(promo cd from vh1 and a MAJOR SCORE!)
Sarah McLachlan Afterglow live dvd which we promptly watched
Numerous lesbo dvds which I am too lazy to get to list
zafu
Buddhist temple statuary for my altar maybe
Barefoot Contessa Paris cookbook (can you believe E bought me a cookbook??)
beaded stitched journal (a journal!!!)
Rachel Ray $40 a day book
Ginger perfume from Origins
other misc stuff

I will take some pics maybe to post as I remember to do so.

When we go to Slick Willie's to shoot pool, I usually drop a fiver into the jukebox so we can listen to music we like and not the woe is me boy crap often played there. I always do a ritual cleansing of the juke box and start off with the grrly holy trinity, You Oughtta KNow,Edge of Seventeen, and Bring MeSome Water.

Bring Me Some Water is a live duet by Melissa Etheridge and Joan Osborne off the Crossroads cd. Just awesome. Now we can lesten to it anywhere!!

We are heading out to xmas breakfast at Empire Cafe where I am having the Italian toast. Yumm. Then I might ask we go to the Galleria and the Apple store to see if they have a slim case for the iBook that I like. If not, it's over to the Container Store for the one I saw there.

Happy Holidays!!

Mac attack

So, I am liking it...

From offline notes I made yesterday:
"Sucky that you have to be a tmobile wireless customer to use the hot spot available at starbucks...major disappointment, but i can at least still sit here and work...maybe get more work done without being able to be online."

I had asked at Starbucks about wireless connection availability and the dude said they had access. In retrospect, i realize i should have asked if they offered *FREE* wireless. They don't.

As a Tmobile hotspot, they offer a connection...if...you are a Tmobile subscriber. Oh, at the monthly fee of $29.99, or a pay as you go with a $6 minimum for the first hour and then .10 a minute thereafter.

Someone is on crack. I think I will just stay with the other cafes that offer *FREE* wireless access. The places I prefer are not convenient to work, but there is a Panera Bread just down the street which will work fine for me.

Up and running...err...walking...

Many things still to figure out, but I am up and running on my new Apple G4 iBook. E had to hook up the wireless router again and she is such a babe for doing so. Otherwise I might have asked Beth over tomorrow for lunch.Not only am I wireless, but the desktop is still working proerly. My own personal IT babe. I am so blessed.

I have 10 minutes of baTTERY TIME LEFT BEFORE I HAVE TO PLUG IN TO RECHARGE. WOO HOO.

Oh, and I need to get used to a tighter laptop keyboard again, hence the caps above.

One final thing, the data disc I have all my old laptop files backed up on is looking like gibberish, but I already know a work around. I suppose I need to get Word for Mac eventually.

Predictable?

Just as I thought might happen, I left the meditation teaching after the morning session. I really was liking it and I did want to stay for the afternoon. I just know myself too well. I was feeling a little overwhelmed by all the info and the presence. It really was something divine. I had the feeling that if I had stayed for the afternoon that it would be a case of too much information. I spoke to the Rinpoche's translator and told her to convey my thanks and assurance that I intended no disrespect, but that I felt I had a digestible amount to wrap my mind around and that I would not be returning after lunch.

I then met E at home and we went to the Galleria to check out the Apple store. If anything else is predictable, I will have a 12 inch G4 iBook up and running by this time tomorrow.

No expectations = no disappointments. Time to make some real mac-n-cheese.

Inhale the scent of good quality incense...

I am off to a meditation teaching session at a new(to me) place, Lotus Works Center. The teaching is given by Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche and is titled "The key points of the meditation that gives rise to authentic enlightened intention and sublime knowing".

It might be formal. It might be not. My mind is open. The actual teaching is 10-12 then there is a break for lunch until 2 and a meditation session followed by Q&A from 2-5. I am personally committed to the 10-12 portion and will then decide if I am going to return after lunch.

There is always shopping meditation waiting. I want to go preview the iBook I might be getting tomorrow.

Good freakin morning

I was awake 15 minutes ago. Just awake. Actually, I think I was awake nearly an hour ao but did not get out of bed until 15 minutes ago. It is more new job schedule weirdness. I worked 2-9 last night and when E called me at 1ish to tell me she tried calling me at work only to be told I was not there, I realized this was the first Friday night I had been scheduled since going back to work more than a year ago.

At about 7:30 last night I felt cheated, beecause in reality, I should have been at the pool hall having a beer or two. Let's just add insult to injury and go in to work this morning from 8-2. At least I have 2 days off before I have to work 5 days in a row. My body will be in full on revold after that. Right up to xmas eve.

Yes, I said xmas eve. That is next Saturday, the logic being that xmas is Sunday, January 16th. We decided to postpone gifting until the budget opened up a little after vacation recovery. That happens on Monday, and I then get to fall into the rush of trying to xmas shop for she who is dearest and sweetest around my 5 days of working. Before work here. After work there. On my lunch break. I am going to love it.

I also proposed hanging xmas lights on the outside of the house next Friday for the weekend. We'll see.

In addition to this, Spanish class begins on Monday, too. I am ripping the cds right now. Trying to anyway.

So someone at JCP is a dumbshit

Don't you just love it when your company decides to outsource the HR department so that nobody really knows what is going on or how to remedy a pay issue? One would think that 5 years later, someone would understand the system. Is that not a reasonable presumption? To date they owe me about $430 in back pay from the 18th of December when I switched positions. Somehow the coding was not done properly for the switch. The funny thing is, it is not really a strain for me at the moment, and I will like it when I finally get the adjusted check, hopefully next payday, but it is irritating as all hell that noone seems to know the answer to remedy the error. Bob is on it and I have faith that he is really on it, nt just "on it" in a check's-in-the-mail sort of way. Of course, he made the error in the first place.

Should I be asking for interest?

Feliz Año Nuevo

It's 2005! That means my baby ( my oldest, that is) is going to be 20 in 13 days. I really did not have a problem turning 40 last year, but my baby turning 20 really knocks it home. That, and the book I bought on a recent book whoring outing with CJ, Lesbians at Midlife: The Creative Transition. It is an anthology of lesbians 40-60 and it is on the 'to read' shelf at the bottom of the pile. I think I might change my recently read list to a to read list. But just maybe.

Last night we went to Slick Willie's to shoot pool and entertain the young hetero's. It was Friday night and that's what we generally do on Friday night. A little ol' thing like NYE is not going to get in our way. Our regular grrl was working and I will be damned if I am ever going to remember her name. She has been our bargrrl for the better part of 2004. I always want to say Stephanie, but I am pretty sure that just isn't right. Most nights she does have a name tag on, but not last night, so 'Hey' was all she got.

Before SW we ate at Mo Mong, one of my favorites for sure. I really could eat there several times a week. Last night I had the Kyoto noodles with chicken. I decided then and there it was time to go buy some udon noodles and experiment with them at home. Udon noodles are a lot like the noodles in Franco American canned macaroni and cheese. You know you ate it when you were a kid. It is right up there with canned ravioli (or pasta squares as my 3 yr old nephew insists...may you never call them ravioli in his presence and witness him turning blue) and my favorite guilty pleasure, Spaghettios with meat balls.

E had Ga Luc Lac, another favorite, and we split the mango spring rolls of course.

Before MM, I took a nap. I was up and wide awake at 1:37am and then went to work 8-3. Right around 1 in the afternoon I began to notice I was miskeying every transaction I rang into the register. Not a good thing for a commission department. E met me at JCP at 3 and we shopped a little. Jeans and a few shirts made it home and a set of 5 pieces of luggage wgich retails at $250, was on sale at 70% off and with my discount we nabbed for $62 and some change. Deep red. Look for us at an airport near you.

We were home right around 11 last night, and right after midnight we hit the sack to get right to work on last year's resolution number 2. That was E's resolve to have sex daily. I think we finished off last year at about 330some days, but we know we can do better!! We are 1/1 for the new year!

No, not up late...not really...

I went to bed about 11 and was up at 137 this morning.

sigh.

I am awake and raring to go, but not much to do that won't wake E. I know if I go sit and read I might fall back to sleep, just in time for the alarm to go off. I also know that when I am awake like this it is better to just stay up.

I think this afternoon, E is coming to meet me out at work at 3 and we will get a few things ala JCP. Then we are going to Slick Willie's to shoot some New Year's Eve pool. Not sure that we will be there til the witching hour, but we will have some fun for sure.

Ithe decision is pretty firm to get an iBook, and if all goes as anticipated, I might actually have it by this time next week. As soon as I am supposed to have it, I will.

I finished my final holday project at work last night. It is a meditation wrap for my yogi and I just need to add a little fringe, which I will do at work today. Getting that done means I can tackle some of the books on my 'to read' shelf.

Wahoooooooooooooo!

New schedule weirdness

I switched position from stylist to receptionist in the salon, and already there is a pay increase, so it is definitely a good thing. I think the challenge is going to be getting used to a flexible schedule. As a stylist, my schedule was always the same week to week.

Last week I worked 21 hours, this weel 25, next week 36, then 3 weeks of 17 hours. 17 will be my minimum and once the receptionist I am replacing gets married, I will settle in to a solid 25 or so hours a week. I think that will be the end of February. The 17 hour weeks might pick up hours as she needs to do wedding stuff as well.

In general, rather than 9 or 10 hour days, it is 5-7 hour days, with most days being just 5 or 6 hours. My boss has been very considerate in letting me work a schedule around the yoga classes, so that is definitely a plus. This next 6 week session of yoga which starts Jan 3, I will be able to go to 4-5 classes a week. It's gonna kick my ass a little after a three week break, but I am committed to getting to every class I can.

I just went through and extended out my calendar for the next 6 weeks. In ink.

I also hope the next few weeks brings a new laptop so i can get writing appointments on my calendar again too. Outlook good.

iBook G4

My neice got one of these for xmas and is loving it. I am really missing my laptop lately and will soon be able to replace it. Any one wanting to weigh in on the mac/pc debate with advice, please comment.

Last night was the first annual WTXB. There were 7 of us in all and we had a pretty nice time. I am thinking that this should be an annual event. Next year we have been invited to Dallas for xmas, so perhaps it will be come a Solstice or New Year's buffet. Lots to consider in making the decision.

My wings were falling off the bone. I finally realized that the stock produced from the roasting process is liquid gold and should not be poured down the drain. There are 4 cups of it sitting in the fridge and I am not sure if I will make a soup with it, or if I will use it for a chicken and rice pot.

Everything else was damn good, too, and there are plenty of leftovers to nibble on today. The Edward's chocolate sundae pie remains in the freezer forgotten, though I might go get a slice for breakfast. Or maybe that is for a late dessert.

Chicken is in the oven

I am glad I listened to my body and got up early as the chicken was frozen solid. I got it at Costco on Wednesday and did not notice the package was frozen. I got a mega pack of wings and a mega pack of legs. They are all crammed into a turkey roaster with lots-o-seasoning and covered to roast a few hours as stage one of the process.

The cooking meditation continues as soon as I stop procrastinating online this morning.

I need to make:
Onion Dip (not lipton's)
Yams (not canned)
Beanie Weanies
Mac n Cheese
Pigs in Blankets
Pork Tenderloin
Mashed Potatoes

I think that is the tentative order of things yet to be done, and the invasion for the WTXB is set for tonight around 7:30. A houseful of lesbians, oh my.

Oh. Happy Holidays.

productive morning already...

So the choice is to hit the grocery store in the morning before work, or after work around 5. Hmmm....the grocery store at 5 pm on xmas eve. You know my practical ass fought my slugg ass (a little bit of virgo kicked in) and i went to the store this morning at 6:45. I was home by 730 and Alonzo the yard man is here, so the groceries are sitting out in the car. It is certainly cold enough that it's no problem.

As I was walking out the door, I realized I had not crated the dogs. They went out to pee at 5:30 and then went back to bed. None of them budged when I took my shower. Wrecks and Nola usually head to their crates when I am drying my hair or brushing my teeth, and on occasion as early as when I put my deoderant on. No one had moved and I was on my way out the door. I decided to leave them out and see what happens since I knew I would be home pretty quickly.

Then I get home and see Alonzo unloading his truck. Shit. Fuck.

The dogs were good and they earned another time left out when we do a quickie trip away, but only if they are peaceful upon exit. Time will tell.

Nola has been through this process once already and had freedom for a while, but proved herself something less than worthy. She is getting a little older so maybe it is time to give her another shot. Sawyer has earned life as an uncrated dog. He only goes into the crate if he snaps at a guest. The only one he really snaps at is Bobby, our nephew who is three. We crate him now when Bobby is here so there is no drama, and mostly so Bobby is not traumatized or maybe so Sawyer is not traumatized.

Time to put up groceries. Then, off to work 11-4. Then E will be home!! Yea!!!!

where you girlfriend?

I went tonight to the Ambassador for sizzling rice soup and shrimp dumplings. As I walked in, the owner, Wendy asked, "Where you girlfriend? She not sick?"

Then three of the waitresses proceeded to stop by the table and ask, "Why you eat alone?"

E is missed by more than just me.

The brother vibe

Surely the brother vibe is still working. I am not quite sure exactly how to describe it. I no longer flirt with men, but black men in particular, certainly still flirt with me. Perhaps Papu has sent out a general memo that I have been promiscuous with negroes.

When E asks me what it's all about, I can only tell her that in my experience, black men like thick grrls. ANd having great legs is a plus. Oh, and let's not forget the tits. Or the fact that I can be sorta cute. But the key, in my experience, is that I am a thick grrl.

E called me at work on Tuesday to tell me the appraiser was coming on Wednesday and gave me his number to call him to arrange a time. She said that the brother vibe could be an asset. I told her I would be sure to give him good phone.

I set up the time for 8-10 Wednesday morning as that was his first choice, and I would then not have to change any of my other plans for my only day off before xmas. I gave Davis my best sultry phone voice, and even though it was just a phone call, I had a sense of strictly business from him, very matter-of-fact. Either that, or my brother vibe was seriously rusty. I just don't intentionally use it anymore.

Davis arrived by 9, and immediately, I saw that there was nothing wrong with the brother vibe. Davis was in his 50s. That in itself would not be a factor. He had his daughter with him. Either she is teen years and on school holiday, or maybe early 20s andlearning the business from dad. In short, he is a respectable family man. Just not the type of negro one can be promiscuous with I guess.

The rest of my day yesterday was totally on goddess time. three days before xmas and I was expecting my day to be shadowed by chaos.

I went to lunch with Beth at Pappasito's and Megan came along. I haven't seen her in a while, so that was nice. After lunch I had foour stops in mind. Sloan/Hall, Whole Foods, Body, Bath & More, and Costco.

SLoan/Hall carries a lot of designer jewelry, and I can always find something I like there. They also have a lot of high end luxury candles, fragrances and bath products. Their selection of books is quirky at best, and they have some eclectic cds available that I definitely want, but they are mostly imports, so pricey. It's safe to say it is in general, a pricey foofy store. But, I love it.

Sloan/Hall also has an interesting assortment of greeting cards. One line in particular is clitter accented, and I usually choose one of them for E's xmas card. Any time I need a special occasion card, I get it at Sloan'Hall.
Three days before xmas, their selection sucks. I did get one. I don't like it.

On the way to S/H, I realized I passed Whole Foods. Cross that right off the list. I am going there tonight. I just need to pick up some pork tenderloin for our cozy little intimate xmas eve dinner. I am going to preset the table tomorrow morning so that even if E makes it home before I get home from work, she is surprised. I might even pick her up a bottle of wine. Good plan. I guess the surprise is compromised if she reads the blog while in Dallas, but too bad.

My next stop was Body, Bath & More. They are a small candle boutique in Rice Village shops. Another foofy store that I adore. I needed to pick up some Circle E candles. I knew thay have a website, but I just googled them for the first time. I am surprised to see they are a little cheaper where I shop. Support local merchants!! I got a few new fragrances and a few I know we like. I really could do some damage in that store.

My final stop was at Costco. I really wanted a tin of their chocolate dipped cookies for the holiday. I was going to get one when I was there over the weekend, but I did not want them to be dogged before xmas. Sold out. Oh well. I guess I just need to bake some more cookies tonight.

Maybe I will go bake now before work. Perfect.

Tink...

For those not in the know, that was the sound of a pin dropping. It is very quiet in the house tonight. So far. E and the boy went to Big D for a few nights to visit some family pre-holiday. They are returning on Friday, but it seems very far away at the moment.

I went tonight to see Beth and Irina for haircuts. Beth got a nice outdoor fire pit for her 15 year anniversary at work, so the inaugural fire was tonight and we sat out on the porch to enjoy that. It was rather comical to see Beth stacking sawed off 2x4 remnants from the recent closet remodel they did. All the while, she was crumbling up torn off yellow pages from an old phone book. I had to take my chuckles back because Beth actually managed to produce a nice little blazing fire.

After leaving there, I went be Barnes and Noble for some little gifties I had coupons for there, and then I came on back home.

I thought tomorrow was going to be a productive yet sluggish day at home cleaning and what not, but that is not the case. There is an appraiser coming by between 8 and 10 in the morning. I am meeting Beth for lunch at Pappasito's at 11:30. I then have to go to Rice Village for some candles. And finally, I have a visiting client in town who is coming for a haircut at 530ish. Of the entire day, Rice Village will be the challenge.zoo does not begin to describe how it will be driving and parking down there. If it goes at all close to smoothly, I might hit the grocery store on the way home in prepration for the WTXB.

So much for slugging.

Frank ROCKS!!

We have heat! We still have to make a $300 repair in January, but Frank wired the fan direct so that it runs all the time. That way as we need heat, it can be given. The caveat is that we cannot run the a/c until the repair is made. 70 degree days forecast next week, but we can be naked if necessary, or rather I can be as E will be out of town a few days up in Dallas. Where it is cold.

Franks did not need to help us out as he did. I told him yes, we reeeeeeeally appreciate it. Then I asked him if he was a cookie man or a cake man. Lucky for him there is a baked goods surplus in the freezer. He is a cookie man. As his van is still parked out front, I'd wager he is a snacking at this moment cookie man.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

It's 60 fucking degrees. Inside.

I can be such a whiner. Last night, we discovered there is something wrong with the heat and a/c. There is a tech on the way, and the entire system is just 2 years old, but the $72 service call is all that can be paid for before January. Layers. And more layers. Hopefully it will be something under warrannnty, but I think there is stil a labor charge involved.

happyfuckingholidays...

Can you use me more hours at work? I really just want to be somewhere warm. Of course, that is not at work because it is always fucking cold in there.

I called my mom to feel out her charge card situation. If her card was anything less than maxxed, she would have volunteered it. She didn't. If it is something minor, I might call and ask my aunt. If it is really minor, I should have a xmas check from my folks in the next day or so which is for $100.

Sigh.

Po-ou-ound-cake...(Listen to the song a la Van Halen in the first Sammy Hagar incarnation, really loundly, after a few beers)

When my ex-mother-in-law makes this, she is very particular about how the ingredients are mixed. Being a next generation chef, I don't really give a shit, and E says the cake kicks ass.

2 sticks butter, softened
3 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
6 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla

Rules
Add flour and baking soda after all wet ingredients to avoid over mixing the batter. This produces a batter that does not get tough when baked.

Fold in the vanilla last. Just because I said so.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Grease and flour tube pan.

Batter is very thick and will need to be spread evenish on top. Do not bang the cake pan on the counter to level it.

Bake 1 hour 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake rest in pan about 10 mins before removing.

Glaze with confectioner's suger glaze after cooling completely.

Mmmm, mmmm good...

Experimenting in the kitchen

I made some cinnamon cookies. If you have ever traveled by air, it is likely you have had my inspiration cookie, the Biscoff. They are crunchy and loaded with cinnamon.

My chocolate chip cookies are pretty crunchy. I use the basic Toll House recipe with a few minor tweaks to make it my own. They are decadent and one is usually enough to satisfy anyone's sweet tooth.

For the first cinnamon experiment, I used the dough part of the Toll House recipe without adding any chips or nuts. I then added two tablespoons of cinnamon. Drop by teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 til seemingly done. I rarely time anything.

They were very good. I also took a few and sandwiched some fat free Cool Whip in between them and stuck them on the freezer shelf. Woo.

I think tomorrow will be another baking day. I will decide before yoga what to bake so I can pick up any needed ingredients on the way home.

In other news, tonight I spoke to the wasband. I managed to be very matter of fact without raising my voice once. I was interested in telling him about Aunt Patty's plan and nothing more. He seemed rather receptive and then had the nerve to ask me if I sent xmas gifts for our son yet. Even though that really pissed me off, I remained quite calm.

He said: Did you send his presents?
I said: I have not gotten anything to send yet and will not get paid again until 12/24.
H: Oh, so it will be late.
I: (unimaginably calm and cool) Well, I am still not sure. You know, the last time I spoke to him was 3 days before his birthday (October when he turned 14), and I do not even know if he got that gift. Then my dad said he still has not cashed the check that he sent either. So neither of us is sure if we send something that he gets it or if it is still a good address since it is no longer a good phone number.
H: Why would the address not be good?
I: Well, when he was here visiting this summer, he was on the phone with your "ladyfriend" (yes, I said it with the sarcasm the quotes imply, but only because when my son called her that, he put finger quotes around it in the air, so I suppose I was less than calm for a brief moment) and he asked her if she had his room at her place ready yet.
H: Oh. No the address is still good.
H: He said he called you recently.
I: Well, yes. He called on Thanksgiving but I was out of the service area of my cell phone. So when he said call me back at this number, the number was not captured leaving me with no way to contact my son for the past two months now.
H: No cell service?
I: Yeah, I was on vacation in California. (Silence.) With Elizabeth. (More silence.) It was great, thanks for asking.
H: I'll have him call you.
I: Thanks. Click.

The holiday baking has begun

E has an ambitious list of peeps to send cookies to, so the baking has begun. Tonight I made chocolate chip with pecan. Tomorrow I think I will make chocolate chip sans pecans, and maybe a cinnamon pecan cookie. I am also considering doing some sort of spiced nuts and some fudge, though I might let the fudge wait til next week.

In addition to the cookies, I need to make some pound cakes. I still need to figure out how many of those I need to make. One I need for the work xmas party which is next Friday. I also need one for Alonzo the yard man. Maybe just one more to have some here in the freezer.

I think I might look at the big cookie cookbook tomorrow and try to find a new cookie recipe to try. I know there is a recipe in Sarah McLachlan's cookbook for Writer's Block Cookies, so I might look that up too.

And tonight, the words noodle kugel came up in conversation. That means looking through The Jewish Cookbook again.

Sometimes I just love my family

I just had a chat conversation with my Aunt Patty. The cool aunt. You know the one, you know she must be your real birth mother because she is just so way cooler than you think your mom is, likely just because she is younger. And way cool. Never mind that she might have been really too young to have you herself. But oh, the potential for family scandal.

Aunt Patty is just great. No reaction when I had my first child (at 20) unmarried. No reaction when I married a black man (at 24). No reaction when I divorced (at 32). No reaction when I announced I was a lesbian (at34, though I knew at 29). No reaction when a month later, I moved to TX to be with Dear Sweet Elizabeth who I had only known online a few months. She really is that great.

Tonight in our chat she was asking what my youngest son's plans were for the holiday. I told her as far as I knew, he was staying in VA. She wants to go pick him up and take him to NY to see my folks and his brother. They need to see each other, she said. She also said they could even squeeze in a visit to his other grandmother.

Aunt Patty is the greatest...

Yes I still want to keep him...

Wrecks (official name change going into effect) was extremely restless last night. He just wanted on the bed, but I am determined (at least not ready to give up) to keep him off the bed at night because he is just...too...big. He has a lovely old couch cushion which is acceptable to Sawyer, but for Wrecks it is either too lumpy, or just not big enough.

At about 330 in the morning, I decided E needed to get *some* sleep, so Wrecks and I went out to the living room. I was reasonably settled in and half asleep before Wrecks decided to get on the couch with me. I was mostly on my back, and Wrecks was eyeing a spot between my legs and the back of the couch.

In the process of vaulting his slightly less than coordinated 60 pound puppy self over my legs, he actually stepped on my knee directly with all his weight. Let's just call him Graceless. I sat up straight with my knee still hyper-extended, and for a moment thought something might need medical attention. The knee was not moving.

Slowly but surely, I got some bend back into my knee, only to be met by a killer charlie horse in my calf. I have some shapely rock hard calves going on, and when a charlie horse decides to visit, it is usually staying for a while.

Today, all seems well enough. There is a little bit of sensation in my knee if I move a certain way, but otherwise, business as usual.

Wrecks will be getting a lovely new bed, maybe as early as Wednesday night, definitely by Friday. Costco has a nice big one that is a tapestry fabric on one side and a faux lambswool on the other for around $20.

Now to refine the rest of the Costco list.

New Sunday breakfast run

We have for some time done a breakfat run on Sunday morning which consisted of a stop at Olde Town Kolache Factory for a ranchera kolache and then a stop at Starbucks for chai. Not too long ago we tried Bagel World rather than the kolache place.

Bagel World is close to home, but the energy of the place really sucks. The selection at noonish on Sunday really sucks, too, since they close at 1. There is a place for bagels inside the loop called Hot Bagel Shop and they really do have the best bagels I have had since moving to Houston. It is just a 20 minute ride, but when I think about it, that seems excessive just for a bagel. After Bagel World, I decided that when I am feeling like a bagel on Sunday morning, I just won't think about it and I will go to Hot Bagel Shop.

Yesterday I decided the new regular Sunday morning breakfast run would be to Starbucks and then La Madeleine for a pastry. Both close to the house and very convenient, but more importantly, both very tasty.

I used to take Nola on the breakfast run with me and we would hit a Starbucks with a drive through. They would pass me a lid filled with whipped cream for her and she would happily lap it up. If E goes with me, Nola stays home. E does not get the lid of cream though. How sad.

On Friday night we went to the lesbian social event of the season. There is a woman who sends out a weekly lesbian social calendar and organizes a lesbian happy hour twice a month. She then throws a Xmas party for 300 of her 'close and personal friends', the women on the email list. There is a $20 entry fee and proceeds go to a local charity. The entry fee gets you an open bar and heavy hors d'oeuvres. An open bar tends to make the lesbian community here in Houston something less than appealing. Or maybe they are just like this on a regular basis. Either way, it is rather disappointing. E said, "Is this our audience for EP?"

Unfortunately, the answer is sort of yes.

Back among the living

This morning I am feeling as if I am finally sliding out of vacation mode. Nice time for the transition as tomorrow morning I have to head back to work. Three weeks more as a hair stylist, and then on to the next transition, to the position of receptionist. That's nine whole days of hairdoing. Not really an ugh factor, but I am just ready to put the scissors to bed. Before I left for vacation, I sent out the notice to my clients that 12/17 will be my last day as a stylist, so hopefully, it will be 9 busy days in the salon.

Last night E and I had occasion to meet Beth and Nerdstar. We went to Book Woman in Austin for a reading by Susan Stinson from her latest novel Venus of Chalk. Five links in one sentence, and three of those links are daily reads for me, so it was a lovely evening. I have been reading Susan's blog for more than a year now, so it was nice to meet her. Her energy is so very gracious and her achievements as a writer, primarily being published, were very inspiring. I bought her first two books, Fat Girl Dances With Rocks and Martha Moody, on a previous trip to Book Woman after I began reading her blog. I wanted to get Venus of Chalk sooner, but at the hint that she might be doing a Texas reading I decided to wait.

I learned about the reading before we went on vacation and I asked E if it would be too much to try to do so soon after vacation because of her crunch at work to get her magazine out and play catch up. She is always so quick to indulge me these whims, "Oh, a 2 and a half hour drive is not at all a problem", she gave me a solid sure when I first suggested it.

Once I confirmed with E that her first day back was going smoothly enough, I called Beth and let her know the plan. Leave Houston by three, hit Austin at 530, meet for dinner, then go to the reading. I had previously mentioned this to her and she said she and Nerdstar should be free to meet and join us.

We actually got there closer to 6, but we had a great meal at Austin Java. I had the avocado and crawfish salad and a cup of the roasted chicken soup. Just the right amount of zip, and pretty cheap. And let's not forget oodles of intelligent conversation!! The reading was right across the street, so it was also a convenient spot to dine.

And the tattoo she gave me! It is a stylized Om symbol. 

Rocio! 

From the mural project on Balmy St (or maybe Ave)

Sunset view from Coit Tower 

The birds are so friendly.  

We did not do Alcatraz this trip, but we could see it from the GGB as well as here from Fisherman's Wharf. 

We even spread our lesbian cheer throughout Muir Woods. 

Muir Woods. Bought the t-shirt. This redwood forest has nicely groomed pathways that are manageable and for anyone and very serene. We walked amidst these giant redwoods for an hour or so. 

At the Golden Gate Bridge. 

I can't believe I am publishing this pic, but it is right before the ocean came to claim my feet. Never turn your back on the ocean! 

While in San Francisco, we drove over to the beach so I could see the Pacific. The beach we walked had loads of sand dollar pieces. This one is the biggest I found. 

She is just so fucking cute in her new reading glasses!

Whirlwind

What a vacation we had. After yesterday's 13 hour journey home, starting at midnight CA time and ending at 3 in the afternoon TX time, I was gaining my second wind. But not enough to blog anything about it. Just enough to jump online and clean out my mail.

I am going to wait to blog the details with some pics gathered along the way, not all 230 of them, just a select 10% maybe. We flew into San Francisco via Oakland airport on Thursday the 18th. Our first three nights was at Ethel's Garden, a lesbian owned b & b in the Castro. From there we drove around all of San Francisco and surrounding areas. We went up to the Muir Woods and walked through an awesome redwood forest. We walked our asses off even though we had a car. Everyone said no car in SF, but we really took advantage of having it and drove a lot.

One of the little jaunts was to a lesbian owned, women operated tattoo parlor. Yep, I got another tattoo on my ankle. Rocio was so very sweet and talented. If you click on the artist link at the tattoo link in the last sentence you can see Rocio and some of her work.

After getting the tattoo, we drove up the coast via HWY 1 to Mendocino. Think of seeing Sheryl Crow's 'Every Day Is A Winding Road' as it unfolds before you. The drive on a more direct route takes three hours. HWY 1 took us about five and a half hours. No cell service to call and say we were running late. But beautiful coastal and woodsy driving.

In Mendocino we stayed at Sallie and Eileen's Place. There is so much to say about this place. Over the past 15+ years, more than 6000 women have stayed. We were totally lost in women's energy and it was fabulous. In a cabin. Fireplace burning. In the woods. Lovely.

We had considered from what everyone advised that it might be a rainy blah vacation, but the sun was shining all day with clear skies every day of our trip. The last full day, Thanksgiving, was misty rainy, but it seemed quite appropriate and in itself, it was equally beautiful.

Glad to be home, new adventures coming soon.

On Vacation

WooHooooooooooo....

Back 11/26

Listening

KPFT is in the second week of their semi annual fund drive. My friend Hitaji's show, Earth 101 is currently on the radio. There are accasionally topics she brings out that I either just don't get, or in some way disagree with, but in her heart and soul, Hitaji is a healer and I have a lot of respect for her.

I was going to call in a pledge last week, but it is really difficult when you want to do so much more than what you know you can afford. For the past couple of years, I have done a basic membership of $35. I was discussing with E what is reasonable now, and I think I am going to do a $10 a month sustainer pledge. I rationalize it as a monthly, and again I feel I could likely do more. E's counsel was to do the 10 and then raise it next fund drive if I see that I can. Sound advice.

I have to go call in my pledge.

I heard the owl call my name...

Last night, E came in and told me she wished she had the camera to take a pic of this baby owl she saw in the tree. As the camera is right here in front of me, I pointed to it, and she said it had flown away.

We went back out and she showed me where it was and where she thought it had flown. I asked if she checked the persimmon tree, to which she answered no, because it had flown, she thought, toward the magnolia.

As we walked around the magnolia, sure enough it was there in the persimmon tree. By the time E was back with the camera, the owl was back in the crepe myrtle, where she saw it to begin with. The pic below is the result of her efforts.

It is impossible for me to tell if the owl is a baby or just a small breed of owl. I have never seen one here in Houston otherwise.

The thing it brought to mind for me was when I first got Nola, our Miniature Pinscher. I was subscribed to a MinPin list and one of the members wrote in a warning for owners living in the country with the risks od predatory birds which can swoop down and pluck the little buggers right up. I was wondering if baby owl has a momma nearby stalking little miss Nola.

My second wonder was if it is someone's pet. I still wonder this. I will have to remember to look tonight to see if the owl is in the yard again.

This morning, I have my semiannual cleaning at the dentist's office. I saw a different hygenist this time and she was brutal enough to make me cry. I was careful last time to reschedule with the same person I saw who did not hurt me, but I had to reschedule my appointment because my shcedule at work changed, and since we always rebook with the same person in the salon if a client has to reschedule, it did not occur to me that I might get moved to someone else. I did not realize until near the end of my cleaning that it was a different tech. Same hair color, older, and only y second time at this office. I will never be sitting in that bitch Melanie's chair again.

whoooo 

Annother quiet morning

I went to the Ayurveda Wellness Workshop yesterday and I was quite interested. I think I want to talk to Dr Rob about it more and see what other aspects of it might be more suitable to advance study in, or how he might recommend proceeding. I will see him in January I think for an initial consultation for my personal practice and might then pick his mind about it further.

We went to Eatzi's last night for dinner and for the first time, I was somewhat disappointed. I might even go drop them an email about it. I am not sure how "bad" it was, but I am sure I could do the meal we had better. I told E perhaps the more accomplished I become in the kitchen, the less impressed I am with Eatzi's. The roast pork was tough, the broccoli nearly raw, little flavor in the mac and cheese, but the southwest corn chowder had it going on. I suppose that makes it a wash to some degree.

Tonight we are going to see B and I for haircuts and dinner. B is making manicotti, which is curious as I thought she did not know where the kithen even is so I am anticipating some comedy, though I know she would not offer if it was not to be good.

The weather has taken a turn for the colder the past few days. On Wednesday it was still in the 80s, but there has been a marked coolness since, maybe in the 50s or 60s. 40s at night, I think. Last night, I even wore socks with my sandals to avoid popsicle toes. Excellent sleeping.

Shhhhh

The house is so quiet this morning. No A/C running, no dogs milling around, no tv in the background. Everyone is still sleeping. Opportunity for tea and a cookie nice and early.I generally do not eat in the morning, but I was just feeling it today for some reason.

I have to go to yoga and I might do the 930 class. Then at 130, I am attending a wellness seminar with Dr. Rob. He is an Ayurveda doc and chiropractor. Hopefully it will enlighten me further about Ayurveda as a career path.

I was also supposed to confirm with our friends Beth and Irina about cutting hair tonight or tomorrow and then having some dinner...I need to remember to call after yoga because I would hate to disturb the potential quiet at their house this early on a Saturday morning.

Dear Santa

Origins has a new line of cocoa therapy products. I think I will have to get one or two. Consider them on the list. Of course, I might be able to snag one sooner, but I also need to get a few other more essential products from Origins first.

Maybe Santa can get them for the Missus. Y'all know that trick, right?

Working Artist

I have long felt that hair is my artistic medium, and accordingly consider myself an artist, artiste even. For the past 4 (maybe 5) years, I have entered the Lawndale retablo festival for Day of the Dead. It is a fun event, and E does it, though she is a trained and talented fine artist, so I more or less just decide what dead thing I want to commemorate and have at it.

This year, as I have already mentioned here, I was inspired to create art out of ugliness. I used the callous and unforgivable email that e received about me from her dear old dad. While sitting in meditation at yoga, on three seperate occasions, I had visions of my retablo, and I did my best to follow that course with it. My finished product came remarkably close to my finished work, so I guess we have to consider it a success.

I have to wait until tomorrow to see how much it sold for, but I know it is a minimum of $75, which means I get a minimum of $37.50.

San Francisco, here we come. I think I might spend my winnings at Good Vibrations .

I can be brilliant sometimes

I just figured out how to convert pics I have on yahoo so I can post them here on the blog!! Now, it's not like I have a tremendous archive in yahoo photo albums, but I do have a few pics over there, and it has caused great frustration that yahoo does not like to share so linking them has not been an option.

I hear you, just scan them again. Well, that takes time. In addition to time, the scanner needs to be hooked up by unhooking up something else. Pain in the ass.

So if I can convert them, pay attention, I can, I can use them at will here. The one below, Cool Chicks Hot Day, is of E and my bestest friend K. We went to visit my folks for a week in June of 2000. I know I put 2001 in the caption, but I am rethinking that and I do not know how to edit the caption so let me correct it, 2000.

We took a boat up the river and I had the best view whenever K stopped rowing, E had her paws all over her, and I got to film it all! No scandal here. No dyke drama. Sorry to disappoint.

And now I can remember it all over again due to my brilliance!

Cool Chicks Hot Day (June 2001) 

Get your motor running

I am feeling like it might be a bike sort of day. Time for a ride around the neighborhood. Maybe.

I bought a beach cruiser style bike at least a year ago and have yet to take it for a ride. It was a really good deal as a promotional item at the beauty supply store I frequent. Nice orangey red color. Thick grrl seat. I just liked it and it was cheap and at the time I had the $$. I think today might be the day.

I have been feeling like riding the bike for the past few months actually, but the garage doors are somewhat rigged, so it is a pain in the ass to take it in and out. Currently, E is painting both our cars to be art cars (which is chronicled over at www.emeraldpillows.com ) so the garage door is open quite often.

I might need her to lower the seat just a tad, too. We'll see. *If* today is the day.

Until I am sure, I will update my library page as I got several new books last week.

Wrestless Wrecks

Rex is restless at 4 AM. What the fuck is up with that. He was restless enough that I am now wide awake and out of bed, while he is now back to sleep.

My yogi would be pleased I have risen before the sun warms the earth. This does not mean I will not be back in bed before the sun warms the earth, but technically, I have acheived something.

I decided while I am up anyway, I might as well begin ripping holiday CDs. I also want to create some play lists for our trip, but that might not happen this morning as I am not sure I can do both simultaneously. I can however copy some songs E has ripped. Woo.

Yesterday morning I had a hallelujah, fall is definitely here moment. I was able to brush my teeth with ice cold (well, much colder than normal) water streaming from the tap. Now don't get me wrong, I love me some Houston heat and humidity, really, I do. But when the tap water that has been sitting in the warm Houston earth hits my toothbrush, I just have to whine and cringe. I can happily brush with ccccccold water for the next few months.

Life, is good.

Wake up and be productive

On Wednesday morning I am usially at work by this time, but today I have a late client so I shifted my hours. I figured I can be nice about it as it could be the last time I do her since I will be (hopefully) changing positions soon.

I feel as if I could be rather productive at the moment, and before getting out of bed I had a mental list of things I could be doing, but I think maybe I was just dreaming because they are all gone.

E and I went to vote yesterday. I voted at our local district place, for all the good it did, and got my little sticker. As E got to the sign-in lady, she learned her voter registration had not transferred as it was supposed to. She was ready to just say "fuck it", but I reminded her how the guilt would get to her, and as we operate on goddess time, there was nothing else pressing to which we had to attend.

We drove to out old hood, two hoods ago, actually, and she was able to vote.

Both places had virtually no wait, and then we went into town for some dinner. We went to Cafe Artiste where E had a chicken po boy and 2 glasses o wine, and I had a shrimp po boy (sans green peppers, please) and a Mexican Pepsi. I really wanted to buy the second one they had in the case to bring home, but I knew I would have drank it right away and regretted it, so I decided that unless I found a retailer for the Mexican Pepsi, I would save is as a Cafe Artiste treat and hope that their supplier never makes it unavailable again. Knowing they have it helps me resist it otherwise so it is the only time I actually drink it when we go there.

We hung around the cafe for a while and then went to Half Price Books before we had to pick up T. I got Elizabeth Sims second novel as well as another Sneaky Pie Brown mystery. I told E that it was all CJ's fault for introducing me to a new author. I just had to buy the book.

We went by Whole Foods after picking up T as he had to get some protein bars and fruit. His coach at school wants him to try to bulk up a little, interesting that he loses the sweets for the coach. If he manages to stick to it. I will have to evaluatte the situation before getting stocking stuffers. Maybe protein bars rather than candy. We'll see.

The evening was spent watching bad tv, surfing between the election coverage and the VH1 red carpet moments countdown.

Woo.

Time flies

I am trying to wrap my mind around it actually being November. My brain is so full at the moment with potential, that it is difficult to make some basic connections like another year waning.

The universe is speaking to me

I wish I was certain about what the universe was saying.

I went to bed at about 11 and had every reason to be asleep right now. Rex is sleeping. Incredible orgasmic release. Thermostat at seventy degrees.

The ceiling fan over the bed, however, is broken. One of the blades broke a few days ago. This means that as the air cuts off, it immediately gets warm in the bedroom. In addition, it means that mosquitoes, any mosquito, can settle and bite. And bite. And bite.

Fuckers.

In the haze that accompanies being mosquito jacked, there was a lot f consciousness floating around behind my eyes. I was lying there feeling awake, only to find myself incredibly tired and blank now that I am sitting here at the keyboard.

I need a bedside notebook again. Tomorrow, umm later today, I will insure there is one in place.

TaDaaaaaa

May the bidding wars commence. I am actually quite satisfied with my finished retablo. It would be so nice to dine on the proceeds on vacation in San Francisco. Of course, there are no expectations of such, and I would be equally content to file it away with my previous retablos.

The terapy of creation is the reason for me to do them, especially this latest effort.

What else can we purge today?

I present my finished retablo, "Thinly Veiled Hatred" 

Ahhh...morning

Someone asked me yesterday how the sleep was going with Rex at night, if it was working out. Of course, I jinxed things saying it was going well and that we were on schedule again.

Last night, he was beyond restless. He was chewing excessively on a bone, which is a good thing to regulate some of that puppyt energy. We let all the dogs chew at bedtime because it seems to wear them down a little. Rex just kept at it endlessly.

Then, he was again barking at every sound he heard. I suppose we are still in an adjustment period. I remember when we got Nola. She did the same thing, barking at every noise, something Sawyer never did. Once Nola started barking at everysound during the night, it was as if this told Sawyer he was not doing his job well enough, so then he bagan barking too. I can't remember how long this went on before they chilled out about it.

The trio bark quite often since there is a warehouse district directly behind our back fence, and there are people in and out of there all night long. Last night in particular, Rex was quite agitated about this. I had a bit of a headache forming when I went to bed, so after an hour or so of listening to him chew, I decided to get up rather than fight it. Took some aleve. Worked a little online. Pulled out the futon in the living room. Where Rex promptly joined me and sacked out. Perhaps he thinks that the great room should be the master bedroom.

In other news, I should mention that the letter from Papu featured below was something that was not quite as difficult as it might seem. I am not really sure why this is, other than that on this Buddhist/spiritual path, I have come a ways, and I was able to sort of deflect this in a way that kept his shit his own.

E had absolutely no response to him. When he sent the email, he sent it to her work, something she asked him to not do, repeatedly. He also cc-ed her three siblings. She thought that rather than escalate things by screaming at someone who is never going to hear her, it would be best to have no response. She and I are the ones who went out with her dad in an effort to spend time with him and not let his life be solitary and lonely. Her only response was to email her siblings and say simply that she is done. Through. No more. There was no phone call on father's day, and no phone call on his birthday. I suppose the downside of this non action is that he really does not have a clue that anything is wrong.

It has been my policy to make every effort to have compassion and not judge. This is what has enabled me to sit with him for hours on end. Listening to the same BS over and over again. Wade through his bitterness.

When the email arrived, I decided to follow E's path. I was also done. We have discussed it at length and I have reminded her he is her father. If he were to call and need her, she would go to him. She knows she will speak with him again, but she does not care to spend further time with him. I agree with this, and have declared that our home is to remain a Papu-free zone. He is just not welcome here.

The part of the drama which really irritated me the most was in the followup email where he slammed me professionally stating he would no longer be seeing me for his haircuts, something I never asked him to do in the first place. In that email, as in the one below, he got most of the facts wrong, but I have let it go. I also put a "No Service" flag on his account at the salon so there will be no drama in the workplace.

Using the email for the artwork is my personal rebuttal to him in an effort to create/find/some beauty from his ugliness. The final pic should be up later today.

Thinly Veiled

Below is the photo of stage one of my retablo for the "Dia de los Muertos" show at the Lawndale

The text follows here and was an email from E's dad which resulted in a bit of a cool down between them. I say a bit of a cool down because E's response was silence and Papu thinks there is nothing wrong, even though his daughter has not had anything to do with him since the email, including no call on father's day or birthday, etc...

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Wxxxxxx"
To: "Betsy Wxxxxxx"
Sent: Monday, May 31, 2004 1:25 AM
Subject: I'm very, very, sorry

Hi Bets,
I'm sorry that I have to send this message. I really do care for youvery much and I enjoy your company immensely.

BUT,I have a real problem with Maxine - I am very uncomfortable around her.

She is:
1. Jewish
2. Female*
3. Gay*
4. Promiscuous with Negroes ( two black children)**
5. Very vociferous about all of the above.

I have opinions about all of these things. But, around Maxine, I am notable to express my opinions,***
I'm truly sorry, but I do have opinions of my own and I believe that I am entitled to those opinions.

I can not, unequivocally, accept Maxine's philosophy that all women were born with the right to make every decision in this world**** - regardless of it's merits. I can not ascribe toMaxine's philosophy that women (and blacks) are entitled to a ' freelunch' because they have been persecuted in the past.*****
To reiterate, I love you very much and I respect your option to see whomever you choose - BUT - Maxine makes me very uncomfortable. I have no problem with seeing you. But, if Maxine is part of the equation, I'll pass.

Again, I'm sorry,
Dad

P.S. I object very much to the way she was " fawning over you" at the ballpark yesterday. Rubbing your back and caressing you in public was very embarrassing to me. Your mother would have had a stroke had she seen that!******

Disclaimers
*’Bets" is also Female and Gay.
**I have only one black child.
***For several years, I have listened to him express his opinions.
****For THEMSELVES!
*****I believe I said that programs such as welfare are in place because some White men decided they were meritorious, and if such programs are available, good for women, or whoever is eligible, that have the sense to take advantage of such opportunities.
******I was rubbing her back and I think I had my hand on her thigh, a respectable distance away from her hoohoo. I happen to be of the opinion that her mother (GRHS) did see this, from her perch with the angels in heaven.

2004 retablo phase one titled "Thinly Veiled Hatred" 

Rex meets the scissors...snip.

Lots of school busses on the road at 645 in the morning. There are also a lot of commuters. Why was I up and on the road at 645 AM?

Rex has an appointment today to get snipped. He is becoming less of a he. Snip. Neutered. We would be getting this done as responsible pet owners anyway, but we are also hoping there is a side benefit of less aggression from Sawyer. Sawyer is our resident alpha. Unless, of course E has to go alpha on him.

Really, the integration of Rex into our household has gone pretty well. The first few days, Sawyer was really pissed off. Nola was not so sure about a puppy four times her size, but she likes him well enough. As each day passes, Rex gains a little more ground with Sawyer. Sawyer's main issue is when Rex goes near the food dish. Rex has his own as he eats different food, but Rex is always hungry for more, so as he inches toward Sawyer and Nola's dish, Sawyer is usually close by and lets him have it.

The other issue is bones. Sawyer and Nola have always wanted the bone the other has, and only one would chew at a time, even if there are many bones laying around. Rex is less discriminate and will chew on any of the bones. preferring one that has been prechewed and is soft for his delicate puppy teeth. He really prefers the rope Booda bones which he found out in the yard. Sawyer and Nola have paid no attention to the Booda bones for at least two years. Of course, now that Rex has an interest in them, they are prime property.

Booda bones, when left to the weather and lawn mower for 2 years in the yard, are quite salvagable. E hosed them off, and then I ran them through the washer and dryer.

Double Oyclean.

Whammo.

Clean Booda bones.

What happened to Saturday?

I have been a total yoga slacker this week. I went on Tuesday and Thursday, but that is all. I was going 4-5 classes a week, and this week only two, and my body really feels it.

Oh, the shame of it all.

I wish I could say it is because I am so busy with other stuff, but no, that's not quite it.

It was just a bit of a slugg week.Carried over to the weekend. May tomorrow bring something new.

Time to color my hair.

Pre-alarm rising

The alarm went off this morning at 545 and I was already awake. There is something inherently off about that. Perhaps it is signaling a productive day. I hate that I am even going to work today, as most days, but today especially because it is E's birthday.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Time to meditate

What an odd feeling I have this morning. Not good or bad, not tired or rested, not restless. It is just undescribably odd.

I feel as if I have reached some decision about life, yet I can not quite wrap my mind around what, exactly, that is.

My mind has been on overload lately regarding what I want to *be* when I grow up. I have been feeling as if turning 40 means I have arrived, and it is time for some decisiveness. I would still love to pursue pottery classes, and currently I am considering becoming a certified yoga instructor. There is a small feeling of flake associated with both these things, but more present is a feeling of 'Yes! That's it!'.

There is also a new interest in becoming an Ayurvedic practitioner, but it is way too costly to do it without further investigation.

And of course, there is the wonder of should I pursue the path of getting an MFA in writing. The MFA is an advanced degree, so there are many classes on the road to that. It is somewhat daunting if I consider the enormity of it.

Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Festival hangover

Chicken on a stick, followed by a funnel cake, cinnamon nuts, corn dogs, kettle corn, and of course, let's not forget a few beers along the way.

That was the menu yesterday on our adventure to the Scarecrow Festival.

Last night I went to bed and literally could not move. That was after a two hour nap in the afternoon upon our return home. Too many carbs, and popcorn is evil according to Ayurveda. I am not sure if it is evil all the time or just this time of year, but I ate a medium bag of it yesterday and my energy just went down the drain.

The festival was about an hour from here in a small town called Chappell Hill. They also host the Bluebonnet Festival in the spring, which I think we will likely skip. There were crafts and more crafts. And more crafts. And more crafts. The jewelry crafts were all very clunky, and the people, the thousands of country folk, were mostly less than attractive.

We did see a few lesbos here and there, but for the most part it was sort of hard to tell, like being in a mountain community where all the women wear flannel. There was a certain rural rough edge to the crowd, but yes, there were definitely sisters among the festival-goers.

I still feel like getting out and doing something today, but I really have no idea what that will be. I do need to be at JCP at 4 to pick up a gift for E's birthday, and I have to cut hair at 6 at a friend's house, but that leaves a good portion of the day.

Maybe I will head on over to Michael's to get some supplies to do my retablo. I had a vision for it during meditation at yoga last week and I need some ribbon and other grrly shimmery things.Woohoo.

Festival season

I woke up this morning feeling like slugging and ditching all the plans we have for the weekend. Rather than be a total slugg, I decided to ditch yoga this morning and sleep in a little, and then still go to the Scarecrow Festival in Chappell Hill.

Chappell Hill is about an hour from here on the way to Austin and we have been there several times to the Margaret Austin Center for retreats. I am having no expectations about the festival today, but I am harboring the hope that there will be a vendor hawking butterfly fies. I am not quite sure why I have been dreaming of them lately other than knowing it is festival season, and not knowing where to go for festivals here in TX.

Scarecrow Festival, don't let me down.

It can't be morning already.

Rex is on a backward schedule. Just because he was in his crate for a while last night while we went out, he was up wanting to play all night long. He is still a bit rambunctious right now this morning. At 1am I got up with him because I thought he might have to pee. Nope. He was just restless.

He was barking at every sound last night. Finally, I conked out for a few hours on the couch. At one point, maybe 3am, he went into the bedroom and Sawyer ripped him a new one. I think it was about 5am when I took him into the room because I wanted the bed. That was smooth enough with Sawyer because I told him as he was growling under his breath upon our entry that if he did not chill the fuck out, he was going to jail.

I am awake enough for the moment, and yoga will certainly wake me up more, but I am going to crash sometime before 9pm at work today. I see it coming already.

I think I like it

So, adding that pic of Rex was easy enough. I think I might just like this new technology. Their directions are rather vague. I think to E, they might be more intuitive, and granted, I figured it out in less than 10 minutes, but the directions would not be enough for my dad, and certainly not for my mom. I just think they should be clear. I think I will do a pic of the day until I have it down.

Our newest pup...he just ate three cups of food for breakfast, which is more than our other two dogs eat in a day. Burp! (Excuse him please.) 

Pics?

trying to figure out the blogger pic software