Random Sunday
I’m having one of those weeks where my brains are dribbling out my ears. No trauma, just delay after frustration after setback. Must be the Mars retrograde. So I have nothing for Argh except a bunch of ideas that are never going to turn into full posts. They’re the blog equivalents of one sock in the drawer.
For example, I cleaned out my make-up drawer and found some strange things, most of it tubes of stuff from Free Gifts (although if you have to spend twenty bucks to get it, is it free?). One of them was Pore Minimizer from Clinique. I squirted out some and it was really thick so I put it on my face and realized what it was: skin spackle. And I thought maybe they should just call it what it was, and then realized that Clinique Skin Spackle just didn’t have a good ring to it. Then I wondered if Dap would switch to Wall Crack Minimizer, but I realized that people don’t want wall cracks minimized, they want them gone. So I guess Clinique and Dap know what they’re doing.
The shelf life for non-diet soft drinks is nine months, for diet drinks, three months. I thought they lasted forever. Like Twinkies.
You know, sometimes a “duh” is not a “duh.” A hospital in Texas where a newborn was stolen had a spokesman who said, “We’ve got to work on our security.” Duh. Or that woman in Idaho whose cat went berserk and bit her, leaving her with over twenty puncture wounds, who said she was ready to part with the cat since that wasn’t the first time it had bit her. Duh. Except these answers are vastly superior to “No, I think our security is just fine, thanks,” and “I’m sure Snoogums was just having a bad day so I’m going to be nicer to her in the future.” People who say, “You know, that was a mistake,” after making big mistakes should be applauded. Especially since there’s not a lot of that going around these days.
I deleted a spam comment that said “Mad porn thumb.” I kind of regret not clicking the link.
I got a book called The Cake Mix Cookie Book because I wanted a speedy way to make cookies. They all turned out tasting like cake mix and they weren’t any faster to make. Why do I always fall for the short cuts that aren’t? The icing recipes in the back were terrific, though.
I’m spending a lot of my time these days doing the Poop Cheer. I stagger out of bed in the morning, take four dogs down the stairs and outside into the cold, and then wait for action. “YAY, Veronica, that’s my girl!” “Hooray, Milton, way to go!” “Wolfie, you’re the man!” “That’s my Lucy!” Then we go back upstairs where it’s warm. I made the mistake of taking my phone with me once while I was talking to Mollie. She said, “You’re kidding, right?” That’s because she has cats. You don’t have to housetrain those.
I have HGTV fatigue. I used to go there for mental Valium, watch people hunt for houses or tear down walls, but now they have so many peppy out-of-work actors baring their teeth at home owners trying to score a new kitchen that I wander off. And then there’s the false suspense: “The value of your house today isssssssss . . . .” and everybody looks stupid while the seconds tick away and I think, “Oh, please. This is not Psycho, plus whatever the value of that house was when you filmed this, it’s not that now, so let’s see some real drama, go back now and tell them how much equity they’ve lost in the housing slump.”
On the other hand, I’ll take HGTV over the Military Channel. I watched the Green Beret episode of Weaponology because Bob was on–he did a fabulous job, too–but the whole thing seemed like a gun nut’s dream. I know, I know, it’s Weaponology, it’s supposed to be a gun nut’s dream, but still. And now I’m trying to imagine HGTV doing Weaponology–”Our homeowners have three guns to choose from . . .” Actually, I live that every time Bob comes to stay because there’s always some point at which we’re out on the deck and he says, “Here’s where you place the machine guns,” and he doesn’t mean as a focal point. Then he tells me the Korean Restaurant Story.
Research continues on Mesopotamia. Except I’ve just realized that my goddess and king were probably Proto-Hittite. There go a lot of Mesopotamian jokes, and I don’t see anything snappy coming up in the Proto-Hittite arena to replace them.
Somebody on a list I’m on was talking about bad books you love. I don’t understand how a book you love could be bad. It sounds like a pre-emptive strike: You know other people think the writing’s lousy or the plot stinks, so you say, “I know it’s not a great book, but I love it.” I’d go with “I love this book,” and then stare down anybody who tries to make me feel dumb.
I have this overwhelming urge to take down the wall between my pantry and my TV room. I dream about it at night. I’m not doing it because I have guests coming on the 6th and because I don’t know if it’s a load-bearing wall. I’m pretty sure it’s not, but that’s not the kind of thing you guess about. Bob’s coming to stay in March and he loves demo work, so maybe if I find out between now and then, he can take it down. And then if the upstairs falls into the TV room, I can blame him.
I know a professor in Australia who lets his dog sleep on the bed with him, which I mention because it’s one of the many things I love about him. Yesterday, my doctor told me his dog sleeps on the bed with him, too. This makes me feel much better about the four dogs who sleep on my bed. Professors, doctors, and me. Classy.
See, nothing there would have made a whole post. In fact, taken together they don’t make a whole post. But taken together they’re a pretty good symbol of my week. And Mars isn’t out of retreat for another week. Don’t hold your breath waiting for coherency on Argh. We have that scheduled for February.
Wishing you all the best for the rest of the Mars retrograde . . .
This is all the Mars retrograde’s fault? Has Mars been in retrograde for the last 47 years? This would explain quite a bit, at least in my life.
Here’s to better days.
Mars is in Crap? Well, that explains a lot. A LOT.
Tear down the wall?! Nooo! I am a new fan of small cozy spaces. There is not a thing wrong with that wall. Does it have rats? Enormous holes? Is it a drafty wall? It’s probably load-bearing. Honey, leave it! Leave it!
So how long has Mars been in retrograde? We bought a house to fix up (yes too much HGTV). I can not get the power company in our area to connect electricty for the past two weeks. I will spare everyone the nasty, horrible details. Yes!, I’m whining.
Maybe your cake/cookie will help.
Brace yourself.
You do know that there is a Mercury retrograde coming up in Aquarius soon?
The Mars retrograde? That’s it? I just thought I was having the January from appliance Hell. My Dacor range died and when my husband fixed it the igniter got messed up so it still needs another go round (Never. Never. get a Dacor. I have had it 5 years and it has the most worthless oven ever invented - which is what I get for giving in to my latent Yuppie-scum-dweebishness and buying such an overpriced status symbol).
My garbage disposal backed up and in fixing it my husband discovered that the pea trap under the sink was being held together by the chrome plating. And of course the water backed up into the dishwasher which messed up the float. And when my husband suggested that I needed to look up a diagram on the internet since he couldn’t remember how to get in to reset it, I discovered that our dishwasher was recalled Last Year because of an electrical fault that causes it to catch fire. And the manufacturer said I would hear from the repair guy in 7 to 10 working days and it’s been 10 working days already and the dishwasher blog participants say it can take 3 or 4 months before they get to you. In the mean time I am living in the dark ages and washing dishes by hand. And it is ALL Mars’s fault.
I’m washing dishes by hand, too. The motor is making this grinding sound and for once I have not decided to ignore it until it goes away. Because that never works.
I think this blog is like when you go to a cocktail party and they bring around trays of stuff you have no idea of what it is till you bite it…and then it’s tasty.
(-: Mars is the god of Kitchen Appliances? OK — nobody is allowed to use that, it’s mine. I’m going to do something with it.
Aw, what the heck — if anyone can do something cute with it (I see Mars in a pink apron, being pinched on the butt by Venus in passing), go for it. Just don’t sue me if I write the same thing and it gets published three days later.
Love the randomness of this post — I learned a lot. Where’d you find that stuff out about soft drinks?
Also, let me chime in on the pro-pantry side. If the energy crisis continues, people are going to be looking at old-fashioned ways of doing things. If your pantry is a proper pantry (ie: a little colder than the rest of the house), it will do its energy-saving bit in the future by acting as a walk-in cooler (reducing your need for a super-big refrigerator). However, if that sucker is hot and rat-infested, knock down the walls by all means!
Hey! This was a great post. You know we loved your shopping list over on the old HW/SW, so how can we not love your random musings.
So, re: The Book Which Shall Not Be Named, “I love this book.” Yes, I do, Crusie, so get over it. Heh. And, no, glaring at me won’t do a thing to change my mind. Or make me feel stupid. I never let other people make me feel stupid. Now, making myself feel stupid, there I’m not so impervious.
I may be in trouble with the soft drink thing. Awhile back, I became addicted to the Black Cherry Citrus Fresca-The BCCF, as I like to call it. ‘Specially when I get all crazy and decide to mix it with Jim Beam. But I digress.
So, about nine months ago-POOF!-The BCCF disappeared from grocery store shelves here in Indiana. Massive withdrawal ensued. I said nasty things to grocery store managers. I emailed Coca-Cola.
Then I went to visit my mom, who lives in Wisconsin, and, lo and behold, THEY continue to have The BCCF. I may have gone a little crazy at the Pick n’ Save and bought every single case they had.
So, now I import The BCCF from Wisconsin. But, the last time I brought some home, I put the new cases on top of the few remaining old cases, thinking, “Hey, they’re like Twinkies-they don’t expire, right?”
And now I can’t decide if The BCCF is truly a “diet” soda, because, technically, it doesn’t say the word “diet” on the can. So, if I convince myself that because it doesn’t SAY “diet,” it isn’t diet, then I’m good. There’s no way The BCCF will last nine months in my house.
Mars…in retrograde, you say? I don’t really know what that means, but if I can blame my craziness on it in any way, shape or form, I’m in.
The shelf life for non-diet soft drinks is nine months, for diet drinks, three months. I thought they lasted forever. Like Twinkies.
After a couple of years, the filling in Twinkies can be used as Clinique Pore Minimizer or DAP — take your pick.
P.S.
Looking forward to hearing you speak at the NINC Conf. at the end of March!
Uh, Catherine? What does it mean that Mars is in retrograde during Aquarius? I’m Aquarius. I’m traveling for two weeks starting Thursday. I’m already behind, well, I stay behind, but you get what I mean. Does this mean really bad things are going to happen? My dishwasher is working fine, but my dryer….and did I mention I have to get on a plane?
I’m scared over here now!
Mars, the god of kitchen appliances, will not wear a pink apron. He would wear loose jeans that expose his butt-crack when he bends over. However, being a god, it would be a glorious butt-crack.
My dishwasher died last week, but Mars visited in the form of a very enthusiastic repairman who yelled at me that we had never given it a thorough cleaning and servicing. He then proceeded to clean and service my washer and dryer, all the time saying “unbelievable” as he dug out mounds of lint from its guts.
This weekend, we had a busted hot water pipe, and I accidentally left the gas grill on overnight, so we were also without cooking gas until a new tank could be delivered. Had to shower at our aunt’s house.
Glad to know it’s not just me.
My basement flooded, my computer crashed and this morning it’s 58 degrees in my kitchen because my furnace gave up. And my ed wants to know if I need to write that last scene with quite so much blood’n gore. Um. Yes!
Can I really blame all this sh*t on Mars? Dumb planet.
Oh, I’m so glad it’s not just me. I’m sorry all this crap is happening to other people but I’m go glad I’m not alone.
Note to self: put the Military chanel on favourites, watch for Bob.
*grins* my January is shaping up nicely - which is a relief after the December from Hell.
Hi Jenny, if HGTV is bringing you down (it’s like the Style Network in that programming is all a gimmick now), go watch USA’s “Psych”. I’m pretty sure it’ll cheer you up. Or else rent “The Graduate” - young Dustin is full blown cookie mix without the cake mix-ups.
Hope you find the strength to ignore the Mars pull.
Love it. The smorsgabord (not sure of the spelling and I can’t do the tiny O thingy above some of the letters, but you know what I mean) of blogs.
Would that be a smorsgablog?
Anyway, some snippets of comments:
1. Okay, I should NOT be surprised, and I KNOW the US isn’t Canada (though many people think Canada is the US) but– a military channel??
2. Keep the pantry. If you lose this one, you’ll wish you hadn’t. You’ll never get another. (Although I have to admit I’m having my oversized linen closet merged with my undersized bathroom.)
3. Sorry to hear about everyone’s appliance rebellions.
4. People actually want to minimize their pores? Sounds dangerous to me–all that sweat and sebaceous oil piling up behind the skin. Ewww.
By the way, “brain dribbling out my ears.” Yeah, that’s it exactly! For me, I mean. I’ve been attributing it to Aging Boomer Hormone Changes.
My Oh My…
Mars, rebelling appliances, retrograding soft drinks,
Oh My!
Love that book that can’t be named.
Keep that pantry.
The pantry is a former laundry room that also has the fridge and freezer because my galley kitchen is too small. And awful. If I take down the wall, I can turn the TV room into a decent-sized kitchen where all the appliances are in the same room with a table and chairs and a TV. And since I’d just be moving everything from the galley into the bigger room, it wouldn’t be nose-bleed expensive to get a nice, warm, airy kitchen that isn’t a hallway with tiny little windows.
The pantry is toast.
I’m glad you posted those, “real post” or not. They made a fun collection. I have tons of snippets in my folder, just ready to be made into posts. I’m hopeful that they’ll work up into something, but I should probably just give up and post the whole lot and get it over with.
Hey, my furnace is working again, after a the better part of a week in not-very-functional condition. I will be kind to my other appliances, as my landlord does NOT like to come out and get things fixed. First he assures me that they are fine, I just have them set wrong. Then, when the problem persists, he tells me that it worked and he had it serviced just before I moved in (and it’s a really good/ efficient appliance). Then he comes and tries to re-set it himself. Only after we have been through this ritual (OK, it’s just twice now, the fridge and the furnace) does anything get fixed/ replaced.
Mars, huh?
Yay! Finally someone posting something funny in the blog world again! Thank you, this made LOL.
In addition to that retrograde thing, you’ve also got the full moon just now. It was really obvious to me yesterday as I ran errands.
Re the cake mix book, my sister gave me a similar book some years ago. It’s got some good recipes in it; but, yes, by the time you get done doctoring the mix you might as well bake a cake from scratch. I did get a really yummy recipe for a caramel glaze from it, though.
So, you aren’t just ditching the wall, you are relocating the kitchen. A nice new kitchen is a joy. Have fun. Or I guess that would be Bob who gets to have the fun since he’ll be slinging the sledge hammer.
Bad books I love anyway … well, if I really enjoyed it, then it’s not a bad book, is it? It might not follow the rules for craft, but if it kept my interest the author was doing something right.
My dishwasher is ancient and I’ve been waiting for it to go for years now but it keeps hanging in there. I’ve had to replace everything else, but the one thing I was sure wouldn’t last will probably outlast me. Still … check around the “blades” and make sure nothing has become wedged in.
Now you all have me paranoid about my dishwasher. Yeesh.
Jenny-definitely tear down that wall. Big airy kitchens rock. I don’t have one, so I will have to settle for living vicariously through you.
Bad books-if I love it, then it’s not bad. Kinda like some movies. “Grease 2,” for example. When I was 10, I thought that it was The Best Movie Ever Made. I was 10. Thankfully, I got over it, but, even now, it has sentimental value.
Gotta go make sure the dishwasher hasn’t exploded while I’ve been rambling over here.
Chelle,
Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius is Jan 29-Feb 19. An astrology site I read (Mystic Medusa) describes it as a time where things are battier than usual, but the upside is that rapid progress can be made through stuck feeling areas. Battier than usual was more where I thought a bit of bracing could be the order of the day.I don’t think it has to be too scary, just uber-batty. Embrace the absurd.Have a great trip Chelle.
The full moon is in Leo, which apparently coupled with whatever Pluto is up to helps make,’must do changes in a theatrical yet heart centred Leoine way.’
My Virgo Dad is an excellent finder of space in the kitchen. He designed a can wide pantry to continue the line of cupboards visually, and yet it is also really good functionally… as you don’t have to contort yourself to find small things.
How’s this for random?
I just got an email from amazon.com telling me that, since I’ve purchased books by Jennifer Crusie in the past, I might like to pre-order a book called “Slightly Unbalanced,” by Susan Hapgood, described as a book that “surveys the prevalence of psychological neurosis as a subject in contemporary art.”
I’m really not sure what to do with this suggestion, but, apparently, they’re implying some sort of link between Jennifer Crusie and psychological neurosis.
Huh.
Here’s the link to this book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0916365786/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
LOL.
Slightly unbalanced is a pretty good description of me right now.
whew! thanks Catherine, battier I can handle. Things like planes breaking and leaving me stranded would not make me a happy cherry!
Thanks again!
You do know that we’re going to want reno blogs, complete with before and after photos don’t you?
I’ve got HGTV overload too. I got tired of listening to people whine that they didn’t like the paint colours so they weren’t buying the house. Also, doesn’t the G stand for something?? I know it’s winter but, geez, could we have some garden shows? Shows that are actually about gardens and plants and not “outdoor rooms” that cost more than my truck.
Well, I’m nearly always slightly unbalanced, so maybe they’re onto something.
I miss the old HGTV shows. And the old hosts. Part of the fun was the slight cheese factor - yes, we’re happy to show you closet renos with bigger budgets than your last kitchen redo!
Now it’s all about “deserving” families getting new rooms. (What about the rest of us? Just ‘cuz we’re lazy slugs who have no urges to start our own non-profits from our dining rooms, does that mean we should be stuck with hand-me-down furniture and crappy kitchens and bathrooms?)And home-equity lotteries.
I want to see silly people with poor time management skills and an overinflated sense of their construction abilities redo their homes.
And by all means, Crusie, knock down that pantry wall. So what if it’s load-bearing? That’s what posts are for. A good-sized kitchen is priceless. But don’t save the demo for Bob. Take out the wall yourself - its a great stress reliever!
There’s a Military Channel? Is that where you ordered Bob from? Or did you use the stud finder you got to check out the pantry wall with?
My dishwasher is also on the fritz. Maybe there’s something going around, like Dutch Elm Disease or the Chestnut Blight. Of course, mine might be because I seldom use it, as I usually wash up after each meal for one person (and Cat Food Night twice a week). Last night they got Sheba Tuna with Prawns and Aliera STILL walked away after a few bites. Sethra finished it off because, you know, the food in your sister’s dish is much better than the stuff the human gave you, even though it’s the other half of the same can.
I found Bob in Maui. He’s one of a kind.
I can’t knock down the pantry wall until
(a) Krissie and Lani leave again in the middle of February because we use that TV room when they’re here
and
(b) I have to find out if it’s load bearing. Although I could take down the drywall and see what’s in there. That’s a thought.
And yeah, on the deserving. I’m not deserving but I still want that wall down.
I was obsessing about it before, but now I’m driven.
Jenny - galleys belong on boats. The wall should go.
For those who are not astrology oriented, you could try http://www.astrologycom.com, a site that explains everything you wanted to know about Mars Retrograde, Mercury Retrograde which is soon to be here and two eclipses in February set to bump you out of the cozy, comfy rut you’ve gotten yourself into. It seems the universe wants us humans to be challenged in our lives.
Except, Jenny, I would suggest that you not tear down the wall until all the planets are direct and two weeks have passed the last eclipse. Besides, decisions made a week before, during and a week after the time frame of the eclipses have a tendency of transforming into something you never wanted in the first place.
I’m currently reading “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman. It’s all about old country gods coming to America. And that’s what Mars the god of Kitchen Appliances remind me of.
I can see Mars waging war against grease and grime. Fight a crusade against the broken dishwashers. Sending his minions into the garbage disposal.
I never would have thought that soda expired either. I would have compared it to canned food.
crazy.
Cookies made out of cake mix. I confess I am intrigued. What an interesting idea. In addition to psychology books, I noticed that Amazon had a “Crusie Bundle” for the Kindle. I think this is a fabulous idea. I will most likely use this “bundle” as an excuse to buy a $399 toy. Maybe someone else could buy one also and make me feel less silly.
Hmmm, does this kitchen appliance moving thing have any plumbing to be done? Floor fixing issues once the wall is gone? Need any electrical outlets updated? (the easy part :-))
As the self proclaimed reigning Queen of ” oh let’s just tear that down and do that” and then ALL H*LL breaks loose, I would urge a wee bit of deep breathing.
I am sure Krissie and Lani would love to redesign the kitchen while they are there.
RE: HGTV- I miss the show on the cluttered people and then they organized them and redid the rooms. I used to sit and watch it as the piles on my desk got higher. They would cry over the lace toilet paper doilies that Aunt Bertha made in ‘64.
I still like Designed to Sell. Clive is a hoot.
I don’t know if anyone has come across the artist Edith Vonnegut’s series of Domestic Goddesses… where she ‘portrays women and mothers with over the top grandeur and heroics as they perform everyday chores.’
I sort of like the depiction of housework as being a heroic epic battle…cos it often feels like it.Sort of spins Mars battle energy a tad…
The quote I used in the previous entry is attributed to Edith in a Cape Cod Times article written 2006 listed on http://edithvonnegut.com
Isn’t that where men are from? Mars?
Say no more.
I have this overwhelming urge to take down the wall between my pantry and my TV room. I dream about it at night. I’m not doing it because I have guests coming on the 6th and because I don’t know if it’s a load-bearing wall. I’m pretty sure it’s not, but that’s not the kind of thing you guess about.
This is what happens when you watch too much HGTV. I don’t own my home so I can’t actually start demolition, but I do mental demolition on homes - mine and other peoples’ all the time. Have to content myself with paint.
I’ll one up you on the broken dishwashers - family of four and we don’t even own one. Have to do them by hand every damn day, at least twice. As long as we live here…
Kira, you have your gods, I’ll have mine. (So far, all my gods are doing is sitting around kvetching. I need a Godly conflict.)
Jenny, if it’s a laundry room, then go for it. You might want to change your old kitchen into a pantry, though, if it’s cold and dark.
Talpianna, that’s great. The dreaded Dishwasher Blight of Ought-Eight. The native dishwashers when down one-by-one, and that’s why we only have Malaysian dishwashers today.
AndreaS — dang, I read American Gods. Am I channeling Gaiman? Oooh, bad swearword here. What do I do? Read the book before I write the story, or after I get it done? Definitely before it gets submitted anywhere. Thanks for the heads-up.
All these retrograde and eclipses in Aqaurius. I’m Aquarius. Bring on the uber-batty! I’ll be cowering under the covers in bed.
I like your post, it’s kind of patchwork quilty. Makes me feel warm and cozy and I need warm and cozy. Still fighting the cold/flu/sinus thing from hell. So if Mars messes with plumbing, as it appears here he does, do you think he could have messed with my sinuses? That’s plumbing of a sort.
Bad nurse that I am, I over medicated myself trying to speed up healing for an upcoming conference. (I mean who wants to sit next to the old dame with the big box of kleenex?) Anyway, now I’m suffering the side effects of my “I can fix this” personality, wonder if there’s an over-the-counter medication for that?
Hey Jenny - You could take pictures of the wall take-down and kitchen rebuild - just like you did for the office cleaning. It would help you keep on track, and we could offer words of encouragement… it’s an idea!
Mercury or someone is going to be in retrograde - or something - during Aquarius??? And everything is going to be battier??? Oh man, battier??? I think I’ll go hide until the day after Feb. 19 (which is my birthday-sounds like it will be a wild one!!).
I’m spending a lot of my time these days doing the Poop Cheer. …
… I made the mistake of taking my phone with me once while I was talking to Mollie. She said, “You’re kidding, right?” That’s because she has cats. You don’t have to housetrain those.
Hey, potty training is potty training. Encouragement is important.
Did you ever tell us the Korean Restaurant Story?
Ah, got it. Not a true pantry; just an ex-laundry room with aplliances and (I assume) shelves for food. Okay, let the walls fall where they may.
I had in mind the one from my childhood in my grandparents’ house, a narrow room off the kitchen lined with food-laden shelves that twice-yearly doubled as a kitten-birthing room.
And, of course, Mars is the god of war (bring anyone to mind?)
I, too, would love to hear the Korean restaurant story.
Ditto on the Korean restaurant story. You can’t just throw that out there and then not tell us. That’s just mean.
Cake Mix Cookies
1 cake mix, any kind,
1/2 cup of oil
2 eggs
stir ingredients together, drop or spoon onto cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes at the temp recommended on the cake mix box.
Cool a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet before taking off.
In 15-20 minutes you’ve got cookies ready to eat.
Spice cake makes cookies that are worth fighting over.
Chocolate, lemon, etc make good ones. (Fudge cake mix makes particularly good cookies too.)
Use yellow cake mix and then roll in cinnamon and sugar before cooking for snickerdoodles.
Add M & Ms, chocolate chips, or nuts if you want to get fancy.
The Korean restaurant story is from the He Wrote, She Wrote blog.
Jenny’s reaction to the story: http://tinyurl.com/275z7c
The story: http://tinyurl.com/yqq7my
(laughing)
Thanks, Egads.
My husband did that all of th time.
Thank you, Egads. I’d forgotten I’d even written about it.
Jenny, I suspect you’ve blocked that whole year out. After reading what the story actually consisted of, I would have too.
I like that you Said people should say “that was a mistake” This should be followed with apoligies and taking responsibilty. A lot (all?) politicians do not do this..”I did not have sex with that woman.” or “I am not gay and have never been gay.” If people would just come clean when they get caught! OK. Getting off the political soap box. It’s not just the politicians. Its wide spread to all walks of life. OK, now I’ll get off this soap box.
Marilyn K, I agree with you and Jenny on this subject. We screw up. Trying to deny or, much worse, justify your bad behavior is adding insult to injury. Someone like that does not get my respect because they clearly have no respect for me.
Thanks for loaning me the soap box.
Well, as usual, I’m late to the party. Just wanted to say YAY!! Another Random Sunday post! I MISSED these.
My dishwasher is acting up too. She got a job and just wants to relax when she gets home. I’m counting down the days until the kiddos are old enough to take over that position.
Korean Restaurant Story.
Huh.
And yet he writes so well.
Bob.
Yikes! I’ve been reduced to Bobku!
Jenny!
I don’t know if you read Joshilyn Jackson’s blog at all, but this post has pics of a couple of postcard quilts a quilt artist did for her latest book. They really remind me of your collages. Thought you might be interested.
Get you and Crissie (did I spell that right?) together on a project like this, and just think what you could do.
ZaZa, That’s a great link!
Those are beautiful, Zaza.
cracking up reading this topic, offsets the gloomy weather..
Glad to know Mars is to blame for the dishwasher having a mind of its own and shutting itself off 10 minutes after I set it to go, just when I’m out of earshot.
On the bad books you love(kinda your opinion on novella, S***le, not mine), this is where I feel a smack on back of head.
I actually found an old copy Used it to compare it to your mid-career and present career writings. The reason that I do like it is because I can see shades of your present voice starting..Ms Jenny, you have got to have had the fastest learning curve in writerly history, cause I loved Manhunting, it was a hoot..
Yes I know, shame on me, I used your writing, for studying how one’s writing evolves..Going now to the corner, head down in shame..The 16.00 bucks I paid for S, I hope goes to your kitchen rehab.. 100% for having nice kitchens..
Please post before and after’s (and durings) of your kitchen- your office post is still my incentive for “do not let it get to this point”
For a great Cookie from a cake mix…Pampered Chef has a cookie using a lemon cake mix that are really simple an very tasty.
Sunshine Kisses Cookie
Ingredients:
1 package (18-19 ounces) lemon cake mix
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
Powdered sugar
Lemon juice
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine cake mix, egg, oil, and water in Bowl; stir until thoroughly combined. Mixture will be slightly dry.
2. Chop nuts. Transfer nuts to Batter Bowl using; mix well. Using drop level scoops of dough 2 inches apart onto Baking Sheet.
3. Bake 13 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 3 minutes on Baking Sheet; remove to Cooling Rack.
Cool completely. Mix powdered sugar and as much lemon juice as needed till you have a smooth glaze. Drizzle over cooled cookies still on the rack.
Huh. Mars is retrograde? Well, there you go. I think it has been for me for about 10 years. Huh.
Thankfully all of our appliances are working except that the ceiling is leaking above our stove. Unfortunately it’s the sink in the bathroom. Silly me thought it would be a quick fix but the leak appears to have been going on for at least a decade and has rotted the beams. Silly me, i thought ’sister the beam, put in a new drain and VOILA!’. In a normal house that would work but our house was overbuilt and the drain is embedded in the cement floor. So the floor as to come up and unfortunately it’s the only original item left in our 1920’s bathroom. Beautiful art deco tile will have to be sacrificed and it’s kinda sad.
We, too, have the poop cheer at our house but it’s for a 2 yr old that we’re trying to potty train. I guess you can’t use a sticker chart for Miltie though:)
Thank goodness I stopped by to play catch up. Now while I’m spinning my creative wheels during the whole Mars Retrograde phase I can make Sunshine Kisses Cookies and ponder what jokes Jenny will come up with about the Proto-Hittite era.
Excuse me if someone else already posted this, and I linke to it from here, but the quilt/collage stuff reminded me of this link
http://www.lisakokin.com/
Okay, here’s the plan:
1-If Mars is going to be such a pain in the wazoo, let’s downgrade it like we did Pluto. There are enough screwy nights during full moons that I do not need some planet in retrograde sending me into full pandemonium!
2-Sometimes you just have to tear a wall down. I am speaking as someone who knows. My kitchen is much lighter for it!
3-Susan D-Yes, we have a Military Channel. We also have MULTIPLE shopping channels including one devoted to selling knives. We have Lifetime and Hallmark so that, if you should be PMS-ing and need something to jumpstart a crying jag, you can find a good tearjerker at anytime of the day.
I think, in light of the Mars retrograde, you should make a list of feel-good movies/books to help pull through the slump. If I’m going to trust anyone’s taste, it’s yours.