tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12317307634982334812024-02-19T02:27:42.974-05:00Portuguese ConfessionsMixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-49761740638597884472010-04-13T20:05:00.001-05:002010-04-13T20:05:18.439-05:00<img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.11NXC/bHQ9MTI3MTIwNjU3OTcwMyZwdD*xMjcxMjA3MTExMzEyJnA9MjIxNjQxJmQ9Jm49YmxvZ2dlciZnPTEmZj1iJm9mPTA=.gif" /> <div id="container" style="background-image: url(http://p.webshots.net/images/logo/footer_background_sn_1x1.gif); width: 425px;"> <a href="http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1336292838034013916ccbhiL" target="_new"> <div><img src="http://image26.webshots.com/27/9/28/38/336292838ccbhiL_ph.jpg" border="0" width="425"></div> <div style="text-align: right;"> <img src="http://p.webshots.net/images/logo/footer_logo_webshots_sn_185x24.gif" border="0"></div> </a> </div> Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-80946478655217415822010-04-13T19:56:00.006-05:002010-04-13T20:17:34.948-05:00Hypertufa a.k.a. Project StuStuart and I are planning on doing this. I am determined to follow through on this project. Therefore I'm reviving this poor blog. I was also inspired by my young friend who manages to make me laugh a few times a week with her own blog...Bee's Write. I won't make you laugh, sadly. But I do take pretty pictures. And I am a research hound, so my internal database of useful and useless information ain't too shabby.<br /><a href="http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1336292838034013916ccbhiL"><img src="http://thumb16.webshots.net/t/44/44/9/28/38/336292838ccbhiL_th.jpg" alt="Peace" /></a>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-8884311811838477492007-08-11T13:07:00.001-05:002007-08-11T13:16:08.240-05:00On Another Note....<p>I'm reading <em>Mary Barton </em>by Elizabeth Gaskell. It is very engaging and surprisingly humourous but I've read to a point where I'm reluctant to go on. I sense tragedy ahead. And I saw an upcoming chapter heading which makes me dread what is coming up. Ordinarily I would have finished this book in a day or two. It is a surprisingly simple read. Much of it is written in dialect (Manchester working class) but not so as to be distracting. There is just enough to get a sense of time and place. The author lived in Manchester and had great sympathy for the plight of the textile factory workers and this is what informs the plot and theme of her book which was originally meant to be titled <em>John Barton</em> after Mary's father. </p> <p>Just prior to picking up <em>Mary Barton</em> I re-read <em>The Grapes of Wrath. </em>It was only my second reading of this novel since I first read in 11th grade for my class The American Novel/Expository Writing. It was mere coincidence that lead me to follow this up with another novel that uses the common man and his struggle with poverty as its theme. <em>Mary Barton </em>takes place about 10-15 years before the Second Industrial Revolution in England. </p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Barton" target="_blank">Wikipedia article on Mary Barton</a></p> <p><img alt="1832 Miniature of Elizabeth Gaskell by William John Thomson " src="http://static.flickr.com/1111/1084681188_b0ba2d55ce.jpg" border="0"></p> <p> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:8954b554-cd78-4ccc-b570-852a6f79701b" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">del.icio.us tags: <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/literature" rel="tag">literature</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" British%20Literature"" rel="tag">"British Literature"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Mary%20Barton"" rel="tag">"Mary Barton"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Elizabeth%20Gaskell"" rel="tag">"Elizabeth Gaskell"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/reading" rel="tag">reading</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Industrial%20Revolution"" rel="tag">"Industrial Revolution"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" women%20writers"" rel="tag">"women writers"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Manchester" rel="tag">Manchester</a></div></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:2f484ceb-1dbe-4bac-803c-2e66dbe1d8b6" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/literature" rel="tag">literature</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" British%20Literature"" rel="tag">"British Literature"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Mary%20Barton"" rel="tag">"Mary Barton"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Elizabeth%20Gaskell"" rel="tag">"Elizabeth Gaskell"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/reading" rel="tag">reading</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Industrial%20Revolution"" rel="tag">"Industrial Revolution"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" women%20writers"" rel="tag">"women writers"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Manchester" rel="tag">Manchester</a></div></p>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-62508912261800786372007-08-11T12:21:00.000-05:002007-08-11T12:35:56.602-05:00Fun new blog for psychotronic artists<p>This person contacted me through flickr regarding one of my daughter Ivy's driveway chalk drawings. You can send him (?) your monster drawings and he will post them by category (eyes, wings, etc). Pretty cool.<br><br>This is the drawing he inquired about.<br><br><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/511485479_e63c72721a.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 239px" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/511485479_e63c72721a.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:f0b16e19-1748-4171-b5fb-5ee7871cedda" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">del.icio.us tags: <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/monsters" rel="tag">monsters</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/drawing" rel="tag">drawing</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/art" rel="tag">art</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/pyschotronic" rel="tag">pyschotronic</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/blogging" rel="tag">blogging</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/blogs" rel="tag">blogs</a></div></p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:b464b1d9-3e18-4894-ad2b-e093d33cacf4" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Flickr tags: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/monsters" rel="tag">monsters</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/drawing" rel="tag">drawing</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/art" rel="tag">art</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/pyschotronic" rel="tag">pyschotronic</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/blogging" rel="tag">blogging</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/blogs" rel="tag">blogs</a></div></p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:30692b7e-aa1c-4dc3-86aa-af2a43029d8e" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/monsters" rel="tag">monsters</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/drawing" rel="tag">drawing</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/art" rel="tag">art</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pyschotronic" rel="tag">pyschotronic</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blogging" rel="tag">blogging</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blogs" rel="tag">blogs</a></div>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-42541913956205372792007-07-12T14:47:00.001-05:002007-07-12T15:32:28.634-05:00It's been a weird summer so far...<p>Which is why I haven't posted anything new in awhile. I haven't really felt like recording much of it into the written word. There have been some good times, particularly the trip with the girls to Chicago. I had such a great time with Jane. We re-bonded as friends in a way we were never able to manage on her brief visits back to Rhode Island. Not that those visits weren't enjoyable. It's just that there was never really enough time to do much more than catch up on each other's lives a little. Her time is usually spread pretty thin when she is visiting her family here in Rhode Island. <br><br>Chicago was beautiful; a really easy city to get to know. I'm pretty insecure when it comes to finding my own way around an unfamiliar place, especially by public transportation, but the trains are so easy to figure out I felt comfortable enough after two days of traveling </p> <p> <font size="1">The girls on the Green Line train on the way to Garfield Conservatory.</font></p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Itsbeenaweirdsummersofar_CB6F/PICT00213.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="375" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Itsbeenaweirdsummersofar_CB6F/PICT0021_thumb3.jpg" width="500" border="0"></a> </p> <p><font size="1"></font> </p> <p> <font size="1">A little girl waiting with her parents on the El platform.</font></p> <p><a title="Toddler waiting with her mom on the El platform near the Art Institute of Chicago" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/549898994/"><img alt="Toddler waiting with her mom on the El platform near the Art Institute of Chicago" src="http://static.flickr.com/239/549898994_d6cc0f3432.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p>this way to suggest the girls venture out on their own in order to spend more time in Wicker Park, a neighborhood we really enjoyed but that I was too exhausted to really spend much time exploring.</p> <p><font size="1"> Our first view of Wicker Park from the El platform.</font> </p> <p><a title="Wicker Park from the El platform...." href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/550078385/"><img alt="Wicker Park from the El platform...." src="http://static.flickr.com/214/550078385_ba0ca0f147.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p> <font size="1">Meg drawing at Half & Half Cafe in Wicker Park while waiting for her order.</font></p> <p><a title="Meg at the Half & Half Cafe in Wicker Park" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/549902868/"><img alt="Meg at the Half & Half Cafe in Wicker Park" src="http://static.flickr.com/191/549902868_46b5e9792d.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p>Their independent excursion gave me time to just chill out at 'home' in Jane's apartment, while she spent the day at work. It was nice to enjoy a day of quiet to myself after having spent five days in the constant company of my daughters. I love their company, of course but I also like my alone time. Jane's apartment is beautiful and very homey. Her landlord has a wonderful, quirky garden, just the kind I fantasize cultivating. It was very inspirational. One of the things I did that afternoon was bake a cherry pie for Jane using tapioca as the thickening agent. She had never heard of that method.</p> <p><font size="1">The humble pie I baked for Jane. The crust was nowhere near as good as her's which is phenomenal.</font></p> <p><a title="Cherry Pie I baked for Jane" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/554936172/"><img alt="Cherry Pie I baked for Jane" src="http://static.flickr.com/1045/554936172_1f939b054d.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p><font size="1"></font> </p> <p><font size="1">Fergus relaxing on the sideboard.</font></p> <p><a title="Fergus having a late afternoon nap..." href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/549900812/"><img alt="Fergus having a late afternoon nap..." src="http://static.flickr.com/225/549900812_e51967ee8b.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p><font size="1">Jane watering the garden on Saturday.</font></p> <p><a title="Jane watering the garden while Dennis is away..." href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/576303014/"><img alt="Jane watering the garden while Dennis is away..." src="http://static.flickr.com/1113/576303014_555f939e21.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p>On the following Saturday, the girls spent the afternoon with an old art mentor from New Urban Arts, who is a native to Chicago and had moved back after a brief sojourn in NYC. Meanwhile, Jane and I had a nice afternoon of catching up while she worked on her pies. I helped by dicing the rhubarb. </p> <p> <font size="1">Jane slicing strawberries for her pies.</font></p> <p><a title="Jane reaction" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42694180@N00/558556947/"><img alt="Jane reaction" src="http://static.flickr.com/1202/558556947_19f82ccbd3.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p>Later, we rented a video, bought some beer, and returned to the house for a nice dinner with the girls, some mojitos (virgin for Ivy), some silliness on the trampoline...</p> <p><a title="Showing her dance form" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/577809989/"><img alt="Showing her dance form" src="http://static.flickr.com/1374/577809989_aeb5874559.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p><a title="Wild hair on the trampoline" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/572710710/"><img alt="Wild hair on the trampoline" src="http://static.flickr.com/1010/572710710_c7f8d411d7.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a title="Jane and Meg" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/573082721/"><img alt="Jane and Meg" src="http://static.flickr.com/1392/573082721_6452008417.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p>...and some more silliness documented Jane's pies on camera so she would have some photos to email her boyfriend who had just left for a month-long visit to Iceland with his brother. </p> <p> <font size="1">Jane showing off her cherry-rhubarb pies.</font> </p> <p><a title="Fun with Jane" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/572713282/"><img alt="Fun with Jane" src="http://static.flickr.com/1171/572713282_5f7a773a6f.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Here are some more views of the wonderful garden...</p> <p><font size="1">This is the carriage house behind the main house. The landlord, Dennis, lives here.</font></p> <p><a title="Dennis' Carriage House" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/572712382/"><img alt="Dennis' Carriage House" src="http://static.flickr.com/1117/572712382_3f04e2a4bf.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p> </p> <p><font size="1">This is the main house. Jane lives on the first floor.</font></p> <p><a title="The house where Jane lives." href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/573081337/"><img alt="The house where Jane lives." src="http://static.flickr.com/1316/573081337_945369652c.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a title="Garden Art in Logan Square" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/576490795/"><img alt="Garden Art in Logan Square" src="http://static.flickr.com/1178/576490795_47909f957d.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p><a title="Old crutch in Dennis' garden" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/577809557/"><img alt="Old crutch in Dennis' garden" src="http://static.flickr.com/1311/577809557_88de3f4124.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p><a title="Funky garden gate in Dennis' garden" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/577849744/"><img alt="Funky garden gate in Dennis' garden" src="http://static.flickr.com/1401/577849744_258ffe3048.jpg" border="0"></a></p> <p> </p> <p>We left on Sunday, Fathers' Day, as well as Stuart's birthday, and returned on Monday after dropping Meg off in Manhattan to meet up with her friend Taylor. </p> <p>A few weeks later I was talking to Jane on the phone and she confessed that she missed us for a few days after we left. She hurt her back shortly afterward and had some time off from her job (which she subsequently quit) and she missed having her place filled with guests. That was very gratifying to hear since it means were were good houseguests. </p> <p>I'm sad because when we return to Chicago to take Meg to school, Jane will be here in Rhode Island visiting her folks. I'm hoping she will be here before we leave so I get a chance to at least have a cup of coffee or maybe a beer or two. </p> <p>Before I close this, I need to update my health status regarding the colposcopy I underwent. The results were good and I don't have to have another one for awhile. I have to have a pap test every three months for awhile and eventually I'll probably have to have another colposcopy but otherwise things look good. I got that news just before leaving for Chicago so I was able to travel without the burden of <em>that</em> worry at least. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e2c852ae-38e0-4d21-ac18-fb8276dbcede" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/summer" rel="tag">summer</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/travel" rel="tag">travel</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/road%20trip" rel="tag">road trip</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Chicago" rel="tag">Chicago</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/old%20friends" rel="tag">old friends</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/girls" rel="tag">girls</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/women" rel="tag">women</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sisters" rel="tag">sisters</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/mother" rel="tag">mother</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/daughters" rel="tag">daughters</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/photos" rel="tag">photos</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/phtography" rel="tag">phtography</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/journaling" rel="tag">journaling</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/journal" rel="tag">journal</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Wicker%20Park" rel="tag">Wicker Park</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/subway" rel="tag">subway</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/train" rel="tag">train</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/the%20El" rel="tag">the El</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rhode%20Island" rel="tag">Rhode Island</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gardening" rel="tag">gardening</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/baking" rel="tag">baking</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/baked%20goods" rel="tag">baked goods</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pastry" rel="tag">pastry</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pie" rel="tag">pie</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/art" rel="tag">art</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/whimsical" rel="tag">whimsical</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/thrift" rel="tag">thrift</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/found%20art" rel="tag">found art</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/junk" rel="tag">junk</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/salvage" rel="tag">salvage</a></div></p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:f2317baa-795b-442f-971b-f58ec20137d8" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; 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display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Flickr tags: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/summer" rel="tag">summer</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/travel" rel="tag">travel</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/road%20trip" rel="tag">road trip</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Chicago" rel="tag">Chicago</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/old%20friends" rel="tag">old friends</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/girls" rel="tag">girls</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/women" rel="tag">women</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/sisters" rel="tag">sisters</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/mother" rel="tag">mother</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/daughters" rel="tag">daughters</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/photos" rel="tag">photos</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/phtography" rel="tag">phtography</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/journaling" rel="tag">journaling</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/journal" rel="tag">journal</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Wicker%20Park" rel="tag">Wicker Park</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/subway" rel="tag">subway</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/train" rel="tag">train</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/the%20El" rel="tag">the El</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Rhode%20Island" rel="tag">Rhode Island</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/baking" rel="tag">baking</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/pie" rel="tag">pie</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/baked%20goods" rel="tag">baked goods</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/pastry" rel="tag">pastry</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/found%20art" rel="tag">found art</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/thrift" rel="tag">thrift</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/junk" rel="tag">junk</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/salvage" rel="tag">salvage</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/art" rel="tag">art</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/gardening" rel="tag">gardening</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/garden" rel="tag">garden</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/whimsical" rel="tag">whimsical</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/whimsy" rel="tag">whimsy</a></div>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-81858277697072544312007-05-29T19:10:00.001-05:002007-05-29T19:10:08.556-05:00I had my colposcopy today...<p>I wound up having a mild panic attack. I didn't realize that when they tell you to take a couple of <em>Tylenol</em> beforehand because of the possibility of cramps, they meant that specifically. They don't want you to take ibuprofen. Because of the bleeding potentials. Basically, that is what happened without going into the details. The doctor, an very lovely looking grey-haired gentleman, and his assistant didn't seem overly concerned but as soon as I realized what was happening, I started getting that horribly clammy cold feeling all up and down my arms. Fortunately, I'm pretty savvy to the symptoms of a panic attack having researched them pretty extensively after suffering from a severe one. Now, I refuse to succumb.</p> <p>Anyway, I left the doctor's office feeling unsettled and worried. That feeling hasn't left me. The doctor predicted a 1-in-4 or 5 possibility of my having to have a cone biopsy. This is a procedure in which they take a cone shaped segment from the cervix under general or spinal anesthesia. A 1:4 possibility. I don't like the sound of those odds. Blah.<br><br>It is my own fault for neglecting to get regular pap cultures, I guess. I won't know the outcome of today's procedure until a week from now at the earliest, or as late as 10 days. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:14ae9cfe-ac85-4ca2-bcaf-a81c09e55f34" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">del.icio.us tags: <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/colposcopy%20gynecology%20" womens'%20health"" rel="tag">colposcopy gynecology "womens' health"</a></div></p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:03ec01a3-b6c1-4e48-8496-2965bc169658" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Flickr tags: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/colposcopy" rel="tag">colposcopy</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" womens'%20health"%20gynecology" rel="tag">"womens' health" gynecology</a></div></p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:473d6407-5f9e-43af-881f-58474dce8d21" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/colposcopy" rel="tag">colposcopy</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" womens'%20health"%20gynecology" rel="tag">"womens' health" gynecology</a></div>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-47610518671002525562007-05-23T11:05:00.001-05:002007-05-23T11:15:53.317-05:00Rufus Wainwright<p>Yesterday my husband brought me home a surprise gift of the new Rufus Wainwright cd. I am listening to it for the first time as I write this. I'm only into the first song, <em>Do I Disappoint You?</em> but so far so good. It's his first self-produced album, executively produced by Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys fame. </p> <p>Rufus' signature is definitely all over this song. It starts out fairly simply with a plaintive vocal and fairly straightforward instrumentation and builds up to a finale in full orchestration mode. One thing I noticed was that he multi-tracked his voice which is something that I haven't heard on his albums before. </p> <p>I'm on the 2nd track now, <i>Going To Town</i>, which on first listen strikes me as a black Valentine to America, a theme he has visited before. His perspective is interesting, as someone who was born here but raised in Canada. This is where his father lived for most of the time he was growing up and he spent his summers here. As a gay man whose past lifestyle hasn't exactly fit into the Will and Grace mold that I suspect the average American expects, he has reasons to be ambivalent about the US. Though he's sobered up, miraculously avoided HIV exposure, and has had a steady relationship for the past two years with a German theater producer, he remains the flamboyant dandy that is never likely to blend in in a crowd. Lastly, but not least significantly, he is an independent artist who, if not for the benevolence of David Geffin*, would be struggling to hang onto a career and a fan base in a business that has become less and less nurturing of its artists. This has certainly impacted what at least <em>seems </em>to be the dumbing down of our culture. </p> <p>The cover art and liner notes, in what has become typical for his records, reflect both an over-the-top sense of drama, and a touching sense of domesticity. The back cover features a photo inset of him hanging out on the floor with his mom, knees drawn up fetchingly, gazing at her with pure affection. But of course he's wearing lederhosen embroidered with his initials. Underneath this photo is the dedication:</p> <blockquote> <p>This album is dedicated to my mother who still whispers in my ear that I'M GREAT</p></blockquote> <p align="left">Well, in writing this, I've failed to pay as much attention to the rest of the album. I'm terrible that way. The best way for me to really listen to music is while driving in my car. Certainly not the best listening environment in terms of sound quality but it is where I can really pay attention without any other distractions. Driving is enough of an automatic function for me at this point that it isn't a distraction in the way that listening at home can be. I have a difficult time simply sitting and listening with headphones. It is too much of just sitting still for me. Push play on the mini-player below to hear <em>Nobody's Off The Hook</em>, Track 4 of <em>Release the Stars</em>.</p><br> <center><embed name="poqbum-dot-com" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://player.poqbum.com/swf/0f5334hbi7j7an298c3d16827dcbkfj5/bjdarkred.swf" width="150" height="80" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" flashvars="playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.poqbum.com%2Fswf%2F0f5334hbi7j7an298c3d16827dcbkfj5%2Fmp3player.xml" quality="high" menu="false"></embed></center> <center><a href="http://www.poqbum.com/"><small>Get Your Own Player!</small></a></center><br><br> <p align="left"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2055255,00.html">The Guardian</a> recently published an insightful in-depth piece about Rufus.</p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left">Here is a screenshot and link to his recently overhauled official site.</p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="32a77b7a-5ea4-47be-84fc-ff7471384e10:62e68bd3-aeac-4652-8d61-9e6708c8fb79" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px"><a href="http://www.rufuswainwright.com/"><img src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/RufusWainwright_9856/ecded012edbf467c8a02e6a0845f48c1.jpg" border="0px"></a></div> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left">*This is what I surmise, anyway. </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:be7dc563-0fc9-4ff1-bf1d-48007e4ee4ec" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Rufus%20Wainwright"" rel="tag">"Rufus Wainwright"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/review" rel="tag">review</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Release%20the%20Stars"" rel="tag">"Release the Stars"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/CD" rel="tag">CD</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/album" rel="tag">album</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" pop%20culture"" rel="tag">"pop culture"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/musician" rel="tag">musician</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" pop%20music"" rel="tag">"pop music"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" David%20Geffen"" rel="tag">"David Geffen"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gay" rel="tag">gay</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/homosexual" rel="tag">homosexual</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/queer" rel="tag">queer</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/alternative" rel="tag">alternative</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/recording" rel="tag">recording</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/record" rel="tag">record</a></div></p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:8e549660-71dc-457f-874c-ca4d008f5565" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">del.icio.us tags: <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Rufus%20Wainwright"" rel="tag">"Rufus Wainwright"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/review" rel="tag">review</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Release%20the%20Stars"" rel="tag">"Release the Stars"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/CD" rel="tag">CD</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/album" rel="tag">album</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" pop%20culture"" rel="tag">"pop culture"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/musician" rel="tag">musician</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" pop%20music"" rel="tag">"pop music"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" David%20Geffen"" rel="tag">"David Geffen"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/gay" rel="tag">gay</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/homosexual" rel="tag">homosexual</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/queer" rel="tag">queer</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/alternative" rel="tag">alternative</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/recording" rel="tag">recording</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/record" rel="tag">record</a></div></p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:9b8d0cf6-921b-44d9-bef1-f9af4b70c58c" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Flickr tags: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" Rufus%20Wainwright"" rel="tag">"Rufus Wainwright"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/review" rel="tag">review</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" Release%20the%20Stars"" rel="tag">"Release the Stars"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/CD" rel="tag">CD</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/album" rel="tag">album</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" pop%20culture"" rel="tag">"pop culture"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/musician" rel="tag">musician</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" pop%20music"" rel="tag">"pop music"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" David%20Geffen"" rel="tag">"David Geffen"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/gay" rel="tag">gay</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/homosexual" rel="tag">homosexual</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/queer" rel="tag">queer</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/alternative" rel="tag">alternative</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/recording" rel="tag">recording</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/record" rel="tag">record</a></div></p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:b3606ecf-a6c3-43b5-bea6-843c7b498881" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">LiveJournal tags: <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=" Rufus%20Wainwright"" rel="tag">"Rufus Wainwright"</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=review" rel="tag">review</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=" Release%20the%20Stars"" rel="tag">"Release the Stars"</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=CD" rel="tag">CD</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=album" rel="tag">album</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=" pop%20culture"" rel="tag">"pop culture"</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=musician" rel="tag">musician</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=" pop%20music"" rel="tag">"pop music"</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=" David%20Geffen"" rel="tag">"David Geffen"</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=gay" rel="tag">gay</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=homosexual" rel="tag">homosexual</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=queer" rel="tag">queer</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=alternative" rel="tag">alternative</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=recording" rel="tag">recording</a>, <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=record" rel="tag">record</a></div></p>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-25618153143758540032007-05-20T00:07:00.001-05:002007-05-20T13:40:07.965-05:00Female Troubles, Photoboothing, and Movies<p>On Tuesday, I have to have something called a <a href="http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/cevicalconditions/a/colposcopy.htm">Colposcopy</a>. I had an abnormal pap smear so now a doctor has to scrape my cervix or something. I'm kind of freaked out about it, to tell the truth. It might cause me abdominal discomfort for a week or so. Yay. Getting my cervix shot up with vinegar so a doctor can look at it with big binoculars. Sign me up for that! </p> <p>Well,the OB/GYN that my regular doc referred me to said it really is nothing to worry too much about. We'll see. </p> <p>Today, the girls and I went to the Peter Pan bus station photo booth. We brought props for the pictures. Here are mine and then a collage of with all of us. </p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Fridaystuff_23D/photobooth_5_19_0gf1.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="margin: 5px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Fridaystuff_23D/photobooth_5_19_0gf_thumb1.jpg" width="60"></a><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Fridaystuff_23D/photobooth_5_19_07b1.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="margin: 5px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Fridaystuff_23D/photobooth_5_19_07b_thumb1.jpg" width="56"></a><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Fridaystuff_23D/photoboothcollage_a1.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="margin: 5px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Fridaystuff_23D/photoboothcollage_a_thumb1.jpg" width="317"></a> </p> <p>We bought a used copy of <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0443453/"><em>Borat</em></a><em> </em>and we watched it tonight. It was hilarious. Last night, Stuart and I went to the <a href="http://www.avoncinema.com/" target="_blank">Avon Cinema</a> to see <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0460989/">The Wind That Shakes The Barley</a>. It was very good and very intense. Some people left during some of the more upsetting scenes. <br>I am happy because the young friend I mentioned in an <a href="http://portugueseconfessions.blogspot.com/2007/05/its-may-and-i-should-feel-good.html">earlier post</a> has gotten back in touch with us and it looks like the summer visit is going to take place after all. He has talked to his mom and dad and they seem on board with the idea. So, we'll see. Now it is up to me to get in touch with his parents and make some concrete plans for July. I also have to get in touch with my friend Jane who lives in Chicago and make plans for visiting <a href="http://www.saic.edu/">SAIC</a> with Meg and Ivy. That should happen sometime in the 2nd or 3rd week of June. The problem is, Stuart and I celebrate our 20th anniversary on June 6th and it would be nice to do something special then. I'm kind of doubtful that we will do much of anything besides going to <a href="http://www.trinitybrewhouse.com/">Trinity</a> for dinner. We'll see what happens.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p></p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:46e9e367-d330-483c-b98d-405aec56f226" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" The%20Wind%20That%20Shakes%20The%20Barley"" rel="tag">"The Wind That Shakes The Barley"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Cillian%20Murphy"" rel="tag">"Cillian Murphy"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Avon%20Cinema"" rel="tag">"Avon Cinema"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Irish" rel="tag">Irish</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ireland" rel="tag">Ireland</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Providence" rel="tag">Providence</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/marriage" rel="tag">marriage</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/photobooth" rel="tag">photobooth</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/photomaton" rel="tag">photomaton</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" photo%20strip"" rel="tag">"photo strip"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/health" rel="tag">health</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" womens'%20health"" rel="tag">"womens' health"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gynecology" rel="tag">gynecology</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/colposcopy" rel="tag">colposcopy</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical" rel="tag">medical</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/procedure" rel="tag">procedure</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/shopping" rel="tag">shopping</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/movies" rel="tag">movies</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Borat" rel="tag">Borat</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/DVD" rel="tag">DVD</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SAIC" rel="tag">SAIC</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" School%20of%20the%20Art%20Institute%20of%20Chicago"" rel="tag">"School of the Art Institute of Chicago"</a></div> <p></p> <p> </p> <p></p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:67a9167f-c37d-4f30-ae7d-0b684fe09234" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">del.icio.us tags: <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" The%20Wind%20That%20Shakes%20The%20Barley"" rel="tag">"The Wind That Shakes The Barley"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Cillian%20Murphy"" rel="tag">"Cillian Murphy"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Avon%20Cinema"" rel="tag">"Avon Cinema"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Irish" rel="tag">Irish</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Ireland" rel="tag">Ireland</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Providence" rel="tag">Providence</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/marriage" rel="tag">marriage</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/photobooth" rel="tag">photobooth</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/photomaton" rel="tag">photomaton</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" photo%20strip"" rel="tag">"photo strip"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/health" rel="tag">health</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" womens'%20health"" rel="tag">"womens' health"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/gynecology" rel="tag">gynecology</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/colposcopy" rel="tag">colposcopy</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/medical" rel="tag">medical</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/procedure" rel="tag">procedure</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/movies" rel="tag">movies</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Borat" rel="tag">Borat</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/DVD" rel="tag">DVD</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/SAIC" rel="tag">SAIC</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/School%20of%20the%20Art%20Institute%20of%20Chicago"" rel="tag">School of the Art Institute of Chicago"</a></div> <p></p> <p> </p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:f96f1290-d9b4-4d00-b86e-965d0ddb5728" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Flickr tags: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" The%20Wind%20That%20Shakes%20The%20Barley"" rel="tag">"The Wind That Shakes The Barley"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" Cillian%20Murphy"" rel="tag">"Cillian Murphy"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" Avon%20Cinema"" rel="tag">"Avon Cinema"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Irish" rel="tag">Irish</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Ireland" rel="tag">Ireland</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Providence" rel="tag">Providence</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/marriage" rel="tag">marriage</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/photobooth" rel="tag">photobooth</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/photomaton" rel="tag">photomaton</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" photo%20strip"" rel="tag">"photo strip"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/health" rel="tag">health</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" womens'%20health"" rel="tag">"womens' health"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/gynecology" rel="tag">gynecology</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/colposcopy" rel="tag">colposcopy</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/medical" rel="tag">medical</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/procedure" rel="tag">procedure</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/movies" rel="tag">movies</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Borat" rel="tag">Borat</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/DVD" rel="tag">DVD</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/SAIC" rel="tag">SAIC</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/School%20of%20the%20Art%20Institute%20of%20Chicago" rel="tag">School of the Art Institute of Chicago</a></div>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-3227954947253418682007-05-18T16:04:00.001-05:002007-05-23T11:34:17.534-05:00Friday's Flickr Fix<p>I joined <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/335737@N21/" target="_blank">this group</a> on Flickr this week. The inspiration theme for this week was "lyrical". I chose to use Pink Floyd's "See Emily Play". Here are my contributions. </p><br> <center><embed name="poqbum-dot-com" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://player.poqbum.com/swf/99dbcfb9e577b1fe68a018l697dec84i/bjdarkred.swf" width="150" height="80" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" flashvars="playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.poqbum.com%2Fswf%2F99dbcfb9e577b1fe68a018l697dec84i%2Fmp3player.xml" quality="high" menu="false"></embed></center> <center><a href="http://www.poqbum.com/"><small>Get Your Own Player!</small></a></center><br><br> <p><font size="1"><strong>See Emily Play</strong><br>by Syd Barrett </font></p> <p><font size="1">Emily tries but misunderstands, ah ooh<br>She often inclined to borrow somebody's dreams till tomorrow<br>There is no other day<br>Let's try it another way<br>You'll lose your mind and play<br>Free games for May<br>See Emily play </font></p> <p><font size="1">Soon after dark Emily cries, ah ooh<br>Gazing through trees in sorrow hardly a sound till tomorrow </font> <p><font size="1">There is no other day<br>Let's try it another way<br>You'll lose your mind and play<br>Free games for May<br>See Emily play </font> <p><font size="1">Put on a gown that touches the ground, ah ooh<br>Float on a river forever and ever, Emily, Emily<br>There is no other day<br>Let's try it another way<br>You'll lose your mind and play<br>Free games for May<br>See Emily play </font> <p><a title=""See Emily Play"" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/501114935/"><img alt=""See Emily Play"" hspace="5" src="http://static.flickr.com/194/501114935_9afa258b8a.jpg" vspace="5" border="0"></a></p> <p><a title="See Emily Play Pt.8" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/501115857/"><img height="157" alt="See Emily Play Pt.8" hspace="5" src="http://static.flickr.com/213/501115857_75c6fc16d5.jpg" width="300" vspace="5" border="0"></a></p> <p><a title="See Emily Play Pt.3" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/501068018/"><img height="157" alt="See Emily Play Pt.3" hspace="5" src="http://static.flickr.com/191/501068018_d9e5811e41.jpg" width="300" vspace="5" border="0"></a></p> <p> <a title="See Emily Play Pt.1" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/501065346/"><img height="157" alt="See Emily Play Pt.1" hspace="5" src="http://static.flickr.com/207/501065346_77eab76d88.jpg" width="300" vspace="5" border="0"></a></p> <p> </p> <p>This group is blogged at <a href="http://creature_comforts.typepad.com/fridayflickrfix/" target="_blank">Creature Comforts</a>. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:7775b389-3212-4d9f-bc55-83e16d9470ae" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Flickr tags: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" Friday's%20Flickr%20Fix"" rel="tag">"Friday's Flickr Fix"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/diptych" rel="tag">diptych</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/collage" rel="tag">collage</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/montage" rel="tag">montage</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" Creature%20Comforts"" rel="tag">"Creature Comforts"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" fd's%20flickr%20toys"" rel="tag">"fd's flickr toys"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/mosaic" rel="tag">mosaic</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" Rhode%20Island"" rel="tag">"Rhode Island"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" mental%20illness"" rel="tag">"mental illness"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/pyschological" rel="tag">pyschological</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/psychedlic" rel="tag">psychedlic</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/psychedlia" rel="tag">psychedlia</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" See%20Emily%20Play"" rel="tag">"See Emily Play"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/lyrical" rel="tag">lyrical</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/lyrics" rel="tag">lyrics</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/lyric" rel="tag">lyric</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/song" rel="tag">song</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/inspiration" rel="tag">inspiration</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" Syd%20Barrett"" rel="tag">"Syd Barrett"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" Pink%20Floyd"" rel="tag">"Pink Floyd"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/" Flickr%20Groups"" rel="tag">"Flickr Groups"</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/photos" rel="tag">photos</a></div> <p> </p> <p></p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:d1dd1405-7557-40a4-8c2e-85bfc03fa3a2" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">del.icio.us tags: <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Friday's%20Flickr%20Fix"" rel="tag">"Friday's Flickr Fix"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/diptych" rel="tag">diptych</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/collage" rel="tag">collage</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/montage" rel="tag">montage</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Creature%20Comforts"" rel="tag">"Creature Comforts"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" fd's%20flickr%20toys"" rel="tag">"fd's flickr toys"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/mosaic" rel="tag">mosaic</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Rhode%20Island"" rel="tag">"Rhode Island"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" mental%20illness"" rel="tag">"mental illness"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/pyschological" rel="tag">pyschological</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/psychedlic" rel="tag">psychedlic</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/psychedlia" rel="tag">psychedlia</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" See%20Emily%20Play"" rel="tag">"See Emily Play"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/lyrical" rel="tag">lyrical</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/lyrics" rel="tag">lyrics</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/lyric" rel="tag">lyric</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/song" rel="tag">song</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/inspiration" rel="tag">inspiration</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Syd%20Barrett"" rel="tag">"Syd Barrett"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Pink%20Floyd"" rel="tag">"Pink Floyd"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/" Flickr%20Groups"" rel="tag">"Flickr Groups"</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/photos" rel="tag">photos</a></div> <p></p> <p> </p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:ce569a8b-e8bb-48b1-9f86-51cc4ff35056" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Friday's%20Flickr%20Fix"" rel="tag">"Friday's Flickr Fix"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/diptych" rel="tag">diptych</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/collage" rel="tag">collage</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/montage" rel="tag">montage</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Creature%20Comforts"" rel="tag">"Creature Comforts"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" fd's%20flickr%20toys"" rel="tag">"fd's flickr toys"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/mosaic" rel="tag">mosaic</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Rhode%20Island"" rel="tag">"Rhode Island"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" mental%20illness"" rel="tag">"mental illness"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pyschological" rel="tag">pyschological</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/psychedlic" rel="tag">psychedlic</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/psychedlia" rel="tag">psychedlia</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" See%20Emily%20Play"" rel="tag">"See Emily Play"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/lyrical" rel="tag">lyrical</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/lyrics" rel="tag">lyrics</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/lyric" rel="tag">lyric</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/song" rel="tag">song</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/inspiration" rel="tag">inspiration</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Syd%20Barrett"" rel="tag">"Syd Barrett"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Pink%20Floyd"" rel="tag">"Pink Floyd"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/" Flickr%20Groups"" rel="tag">"Flickr Groups"</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/photos" rel="tag">photos</a></div>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-62133027513616890582007-05-16T13:47:00.001-05:002007-05-16T13:50:04.208-05:00We Got A New Driveway....<p>...and it was totally unexpected. A guy came to the door and asked my dad if he could check out our driveway (which was in a sorry state of disrepair) and give us a quote to re-pave it. My dad agreed and the guy quoted $1600 which is pretty cheap for the size of our driveway. Even though Stuart and I own the house now, my parents are still willing to foot the bill for some of the work that really needed doing when they sold it to us (for ridiculously cheap). </p> <p>They started work right away because the guy's crew was right down the street and ready to go. It was crazy. I got to actually experience a dream since we bought the house which was to shorten the driveway (and at the same time widening it to accommodate two cars side-by-side) and turn the excess length, which runs along the entire south side of the house, into more outdoor living space. So now I have a newly asphalted driveway (not my material of choice but definitely cheaper than concrete) and a big patch of rocky dirt to fill in with topsoil and whatever other materials we decide to put there. <br>Of course, now we need to come up with the cash to do that work. But I will finally be able to have a small flowering tree or two in my yard. </p> <h4> Future site of trees and flowers, hopefully...<a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_o.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_o_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></h4> <h4> This guy kept coming alarmingly close to the porch with the shovel.</h4> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_c.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_c_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></p> <h4>I also got to be a lech and take photos of the shirtless crew.</h4> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_q.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_q_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a> </p> <h4>I lost some of my front garden to widen the driveway but it is worth it in the extra space I gained on the South side of the house.<a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_i.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_i_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></h4> <h4>The guy in the t-shirt hosing down one of the crew was the boss. He actually is the son of the main boss but he is taking over. He did a job a few doors down on the same day. He was really cute but wore cheesy-looking Italian loafers. </h4> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_t.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_t_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></p> <h4> This is what it looks like now. We will have to truck in a lot of topsoil. Fortunately, we have a pick-up so we should be able to do it ourselves and save money on the delivery fee.</h4> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_v.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/WeGotANewDriveway_CBB3/driveway_v_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a> </p> <p> </p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:65bf8aa6-0ccf-4f5e-8e6f-87a6c9766740" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">del.icio.us tags: <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/renovation" rel="tag">renovation</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/driveway" rel="tag">driveway</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/construction" rel="tag">construction</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/workers" rel="tag">workers</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/crew" rel="tag">crew</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/photographs" rel="tag">photographs</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/documentation" rel="tag">documentation</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/house" rel="tag">house</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/yard" rel="tag">yard</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/landscaping" rel="tag">landscaping</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Rhode%20Island" rel="tag">Rhode Island</a></div></p> <p> </p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:16378c1f-87c3-4f78-a378-e1b540332cdb" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">del.icio.us tags: <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/renovation" rel="tag">renovation</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/driveway" rel="tag">driveway</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/construction" rel="tag">construction</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/workers" rel="tag">workers</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/crew" rel="tag">crew</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/photographs" rel="tag">photographs</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/documentation" rel="tag">documentation</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/house" rel="tag">house</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/yard" rel="tag">yard</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/landscaping" rel="tag">landscaping</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Rhode%20island" rel="tag">Rhode island</a></div></p> <p> </p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:cd023282-54e6-451b-8ec3-e6adfc208ea1" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Flickr tags: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/renovation" rel="tag">renovation</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/driveway" rel="tag">driveway</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/construction" rel="tag">construction</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/workers" rel="tag">workers</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/crew" rel="tag">crew</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/photographs" rel="tag">photographs</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/documentation" rel="tag">documentation</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/house" rel="tag">house</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/yard" rel="tag">yard</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/landscaping" rel="tag">landscaping</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Rhode%20Island" rel="tag">Rhode Island</a></div></p>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-28533782303642657452007-05-14T19:56:00.001-05:002007-05-14T19:56:54.208-05:00Mondays are nice for me...<p>...because Stu has the day off. Today he had to go to the doctor. He had a touch of bronchitis and a patch of shingles, and water build-up in his inner ear. The inner-ear thing was probably from swimming all day in Bermuda, both in the pool and the ocean. The shingles was from the bronchitis. The bronchitis started before his trip to Bermuda but was probably aggravated by the flight and all the swimming. Anyway, he has antibiotics and something for the inner-ear thing. </p> <p>After his appointment, he and Ivy and I went to Cindy's Diner in Scituate. We love it there. It is cheap and has a good atmosphere. I like to take photos when I'm there and today was no exception. These are just a few. You can see the rest at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/melisdramatic/" target="_blank">my flickr account</a>.</p> <p><br>The awesome signage....</p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_c.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_c_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a> </p> <p>Betty Boop in the vestibule....</p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_f.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_f_thumb.jpg" width="225" border="0"></a></p> <p>Our booth... </p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_g.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_g_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></p> <p>My cup of tea (their coffee is terrible)... </p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_k.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_k_thumb.jpg" width="393" border="0"></a></p> <p><br>A guy enjoying his book at the counter...</p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_o.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_o_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a> </p> <p> </p> <p>Ivy being silly with a fake "French" mustache...</p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_p.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/cindys_p_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></p> <p> </p> <p>We also went to Kinko's so I could copy some art for cd's for a swap-bot thing...We decided it would be fun to make a color photocopy of Slink the Sockmonkey and Ivy used it to decorate the notebook I bought her...</p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/kinkos.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/kinkos_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/kinkos_a.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/kinkos_a_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a> </p> <p>After Cindy's and Kinko's we went to the New Bedford, Ma Savers and I scored a huge Coach satchel for $7.99 along with some really nice Pyrex bowls. Sorry no pictures of that stuff. I do have an picture of an awesome old car we saw on the way....</p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/vintage_olds.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin: 5px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Mondaysareniceforme_123FB/vintage_olds_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:76b1c52c-6c9a-40f3-8ac5-5ad64bdaef07" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">del.icio.us tags: <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/oldsmobile" rel="tag">oldsmobile</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/vintage%20car" rel="tag">vintage car</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/automobile" rel="tag">automobile</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/diner" rel="tag">diner</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/diners" rel="tag">diners</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/diner%20culture" rel="tag">diner culture</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Cindy's" rel="tag">Cindy's</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Scituate" rel="tag">Scituate</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/sign" rel="tag">sign</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/neon" rel="tag">neon</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/restaurant" rel="tag">restaurant</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/dining" rel="tag">dining</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/eating" rel="tag">eating</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/day-off" rel="tag">day-off</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/thrift%20store" rel="tag">thrift store</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/kinkos" rel="tag">kinkos</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/sockmonkey" rel="tag">sockmonkey</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/sock%20monkey" rel="tag">sock monkey</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Rhode%20Island" rel="tag">Rhode Island</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/New%20Bedford" rel="tag">New Bedford</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/shopping" rel="tag">shopping</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/bargain" rel="tag">bargain</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/photos" rel="tag">photos</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div></p> <p> </p> <p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:1f0880a6-36d7-444e-820b-ea5677af6ed6" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Flickr tags: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/oldsmobile" rel="tag">oldsmobile</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/vintage%20car" rel="tag">vintage car</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/automobile" rel="tag">automobile</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/diner" rel="tag">diner</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/diners" rel="tag">diners</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/diner%20culture" rel="tag">diner culture</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Cindy's" rel="tag">Cindy's</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Scituate" rel="tag">Scituate</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/sign" rel="tag">sign</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/neon" rel="tag">neon</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/restaurant" rel="tag">restaurant</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/dining" rel="tag">dining</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/eating" rel="tag">eating</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/day-off" rel="tag">day-off</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/thrift%20store" rel="tag">thrift store</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/kinkos" rel="tag">kinkos</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/sockmonkey" rel="tag">sockmonkey</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/sock%20monkey" rel="tag">sock monkey</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Rhode%20Island" rel="tag">Rhode Island</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/New%20Bedford" rel="tag">New Bedford</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/shopping" rel="tag">shopping</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/bargain" rel="tag">bargain</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/photos" rel="tag">photos</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div></p> <p> </p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:a46120e6-df33-486d-afab-98d43332bf18" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/oldsmobile" rel="tag">oldsmobile</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/vintage%20car" rel="tag">vintage car</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/automobile" rel="tag">automobile</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/diner" rel="tag">diner</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/diners" rel="tag">diners</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/diner%20culture" rel="tag">diner culture</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cindy's" rel="tag">Cindy's</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Scituate" rel="tag">Scituate</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sign" rel="tag">sign</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/neon" rel="tag">neon</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/restaurant" rel="tag">restaurant</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/dining" rel="tag">dining</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/eating" rel="tag">eating</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/day-off" rel="tag">day-off</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/thrift%20store" rel="tag">thrift store</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/kinkos" rel="tag">kinkos</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sockmonkey" rel="tag">sockmonkey</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sock%20monkey" rel="tag">sock monkey</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rhode%20Island" rel="tag">Rhode Island</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/New%20Bedford" rel="tag">New Bedford</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/shopping" rel="tag">shopping</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/bargain" rel="tag">bargain</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/photos" rel="tag">photos</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-32731584943460331702007-05-13T21:43:00.001-05:002007-05-14T11:51:57.836-05:00HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY<h3> </h3> <p> My poor husband wrecked the passenger side of my beautiful 1986 Mercedes today. He felt worse than I did. I thought he might cry. It was a birthday present two years ago. It was supposed to help me look classy when showing houses in my new career selling real estate. That never happened for reasons which I won't go into now. It isn't as bad as he made it out to be. At least the doors aren't totally crushed.</p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT00638.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px; border-right-width: 0px" height="300" alt="my damaged Mercedes" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT0063_thumb6.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Here is looking all sad after showing me the damage. Poor baby.</p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT00625.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px; border-right-width: 0px" height="300" alt="Stu looking sad after scratching up my car" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT0062_thumb3.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a> </p> <p>Partly to make it up to me, he took me to Home Depot and we bought $300 dollars worth of plants. I actually had to spend that much so he could get the 6 months-no-interest deal. The garden needs the fresh blood anyway.</p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT0085.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px; border-right-width: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT0085_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></p> <p>A guy in the parking lot saw us loading all the plants onto Stu's truck and asked if we had won some kind of contest.</p> <p><a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT0094.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px; border-right-width: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT0094_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></p> <p>Now I have a ton of work to do. I still have to a shitload of weeding and raking dead leaves before I can really start planting. But the new plants awaiting their new home will give me the impetus. I hope.</p> <p> <a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT0118.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px; border-right-width: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT0118_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></p> <p>Last night Stu came in carrying a bag with a pair of sweet red Chuck Taylor's. He asked me what size I was and I replied, "In Chucks, a 7." Yay! They are mine! Believe it or not, I've never had a pair in red. And these are an American made pair. <a href="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT0041.jpg" atomicselection="true"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 5px; border-right-width: 0px" height="300" src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/HAPPYMOTHERSDAY_1392B/PICT0041_thumb.jpg" width="400" border="0"></a></p> <p>So, even though he wrecked my car (trying to read a yard sale sign, btw) he is a pretty great husband. <br></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c978e63f-3177-4b66-9cc2-09b2e35ace5a" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">del.icio.us tags: <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/husband" rel="tag">husband</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/marriage" rel="tag">marriage</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Mercedes" rel="tag">Mercedes</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/car%20accident" rel="tag">car accident</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Mothers'%20Day" rel="tag">Mothers' Day</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Chuck%20Taylors" rel="tag">Chuck Taylors</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Converse" rel="tag">Converse</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/presents" rel="tag">presents</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/relationships" rel="tag">relationships</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Rhode%20Island" rel="tag">Rhode Island</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/shopping" rel="tag">shopping</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/gardening" rel="tag">gardening</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/Home%20Depot" rel="tag">Home Depot</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/garden" rel="tag">garden</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/flowers" rel="tag">flowers</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/plants" rel="tag">plants</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/planting" rel="tag">planting</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/landscaping" rel="tag">landscaping</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular/consumerism" rel="tag">consumerism</a></div> <p> <p> <p></p> <p></p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e65c54bc-05a1-402a-a529-2e24b9fcb84b" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; width: 409px; padding-top: 0px; height: 83px">Flickr tags: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/husband" rel="tag">husband</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/marriage" rel="tag">marriage</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Mercedes" rel="tag">Mercedes</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/car%20accident" rel="tag">car accident</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Mothers'%20Day" rel="tag">Mothers' Day</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Chuck%20Taylors" rel="tag">Chuck Taylors</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Converse" rel="tag">Converse</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/presents" rel="tag">presents</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/relationships" rel="tag">relationships</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Rhode%20Island" rel="tag">Rhode Island</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/shopping" rel="tag">shopping</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/gardening" rel="tag">gardening</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/Home%20Depot" rel="tag">Home Depot</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/garden" rel="tag">garden</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/flowers" rel="tag">flowers</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/plants" rel="tag">plants</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/planting" rel="tag">planting</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/landscaping" rel="tag">landscaping</a>, <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/consumerism" rel="tag">consumerism</a></div> <p></p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:afacc0de-8038-47f3-8476-607964f67ce8" contenteditable="false" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/husband" rel="tag">husband</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/marriage" rel="tag">marriage</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mercedes" rel="tag">Mercedes</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/car%20accident" rel="tag">car accident</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mothers'%20Day" rel="tag">Mothers' Day</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Chuck%20Taylors" rel="tag">Chuck Taylors</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Converse" rel="tag">Converse</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/presents" rel="tag">presents</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/relationships" rel="tag">relationships</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rhode%20Island" rel="tag">Rhode Island</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/shopping" rel="tag">shopping</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gardening" rel="tag">gardening</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Home%20Depot" rel="tag">Home Depot</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/garden" rel="tag">garden</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/flowers" rel="tag">flowers</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/plants" rel="tag">plants</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/planting" rel="tag">planting</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/landscaping" rel="tag">landscaping</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/consumerism" rel="tag">consumerism</a></div>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-22541171378902430702007-05-13T21:07:00.001-05:002007-05-18T16:07:36.320-05:00Blogging technicalities...<p>I have spent the last hour in trying to figure out how to insert meta tags into my blog and I've been swimming in a sea of confusing terminology. I finally wound up downloading Windows Live Writer so this entry is basically a test for that.<br />Just so it isn't totally boring, here is a nice photo.</p> <p><a title="Vickie" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80747422@N00/400060844/"><img alt="Vickie" src="http://static.flickr.com/128/400060844_0b98f20efc_m.jpg" border="0" /></a></p> <p>So far so good. I get to do stuff to the photo like add a paper border or dropped shadow effect if I like (I chose the paper border). Plus I can customize the margins. Pretty cool. There is a handy column next to the writing field to insert links, pictures, tags, maps...I like it. It inserts Technorati tags so I don't know if they go over the entire web or are just for people signed up for their service. </p> <p>Here is a birds-eye view of Veterans' Memorial Parkway in East Providence, near where I live. Creepy, huh? </p><p> </p><p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="84E294D0-71C9-4bd0-A0FE-95764E0368D9:a8dcaa80-a282-4ab8-a8e3-24511cc6451e" contenteditable="false" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline; float: none; width: 340px;"><a href="http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=41.79902%7E-71.37512&lvl=1&style=o&scene=2519897" id="map-3acc008d-0b7f-4e6f-8e06-65a2a9e31631" alt="Click to view this map on Live.com" title="Click to view this map on Live.com"><img src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Bloggingtechnicalities_E57F/map181f7921ec5c.jpg" height="260" width="340" /></a><br /><label for="map-3acc008d-0b7f-4e6f-8e06-65a2a9e31631" style="font-size: 0.8em;">Bird's Eye View of Veterans Memorial Parkway and Surrounding Bay Area</label></div> <p></p> <p> One more plug-in I downloaded was something to insert a thumbnail webs image. Testing...</p> <p> </p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="32a77b7a-5ea4-47be-84fc-ff7471384e10:6ebe30cf-e7fe-404b-9609-45183249e317" contenteditable="false" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="http://www.theavettbrothers.com/biography.php"><img src="http://members.cox.net/schtu/files/Bloggingtechnicalities_E57F/b3ec950bfb75457a9802e5bfc468bb9b.jpg" border="0" /></a></div> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="32a77b7a-5ea4-47be-84fc-ff7471384e10:bf40c884-a73a-415e-a603-4eb391e1e352" contenteditable="false" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="http://www.theavettbrothers.com/biography.php"><br /></a></div> <p></p> <p>Look at that! It worked! Now you can see the bio page for a band I like. The image is a link so feel free to check them out. </p> <p>Well, that was an hour or so well spent. I made myself a nice, spicy Bloody Mary as it is almost 5 o'clock, and hell why not? There's ecophene and vitamin C in it. </p> <p> </p> <p></p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:4ddd8593-f7cf-421f-9f1c-bd9bcd921bba" contenteditable="false" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline; float: none;">Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blogging" rel="tag">blogging</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/windows%20live%20writer" rel="tag">windows live writer</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blogging%20tools" rel="tag">blogging tools</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/tags" rel="tag">tags</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/editing" rel="tag">editing</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/photographs" rel="tag">photographs</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/doll" rel="tag">doll</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/bradley%20doll" rel="tag">bradley doll</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/vintage%20doll" rel="tag">vintage doll</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/rhode%20island" rel="tag">rhode island</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/new%20england" rel="tag">new england</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/mother" rel="tag">mother</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/woman" rel="tag">woman</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/writing" rel="tag">writing</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/mom" rel="tag">mom</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/boredom" rel="tag">boredom</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/research" rel="tag">research</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/downloads" rel="tag">downloads</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/creativity" rel="tag">creativity</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/computers" rel="tag">computers</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/map" rel="tag">map</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/birds%20eye%20view" rel="tag">birds eye view</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/aerial%20map" rel="tag">aerial map</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/east%20bay" rel="tag">east bay</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/water" rel="tag">water</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/atlantic%20ocean" rel="tag">atlantic ocean</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/bay" rel="tag">bay</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/veterans%20memorial%20parkway" rel="tag">veterans memorial parkway</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/avett%20brothers" rel="tag">avett brothers</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/plug-ins" rel="tag">plug-ins</a></div>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-41122816859037024392007-05-11T14:43:00.000-05:002007-05-12T14:23:52.502-05:00Afternoon Rain on a Spring Day<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93jKwD-wmvmlS5gibuKY1KYfmgRFP337AybcSgbqTsY1BdPVPdIILRuWWSVkXb0EVFFJk5Dw46JyLr_A2kZBdewp-BaV-rFdh4FEPhtDh_ratO5WOBZPr0-ub9BgsM4ypj9qguF_3Gpg/s1600-h/deluge_a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93jKwD-wmvmlS5gibuKY1KYfmgRFP337AybcSgbqTsY1BdPVPdIILRuWWSVkXb0EVFFJk5Dw46JyLr_A2kZBdewp-BaV-rFdh4FEPhtDh_ratO5WOBZPr0-ub9BgsM4ypj9qguF_3Gpg/s320/deluge_a.jpg" border="0" /></a> As I was driving home from my errands this afternoon the sky opened into an instant deluge. I was only 5 minutes from home and by the time I got there the streets in my neighborhood had become little rivers. I got out of my car, ran to the porch, made sure the fish was safe, and took some pictures. I love the way flowers and leaves look in the rain.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUrF0hAexEgU8ksneDq2GynbHrG9DU35BIDmAT9eGovxSvHUr56pyYVV7QB6tts-8lvj8dKCeXRY-Xj5eiG9h-rFXGs0dsgmweMDoUydHxDdoBgrfNcEGv7BmtMSbgs3pc5DsoZ65Cnc/s1600-h/deluge_b.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUrF0hAexEgU8ksneDq2GynbHrG9DU35BIDmAT9eGovxSvHUr56pyYVV7QB6tts-8lvj8dKCeXRY-Xj5eiG9h-rFXGs0dsgmweMDoUydHxDdoBgrfNcEGv7BmtMSbgs3pc5DsoZ65Cnc/s320/deluge_b.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9xPnDYpbD8eHoQ2LJ5j2vSP_808LhCd94V6euz04qIh2YSAQxhLQhOqkr2VBvCO39qcrF4VSfPfam4hXHQdo_SJ_CexIBYXdghTvaeL8t3yLNHncXazQkTxkjQ5-0pLBS3kSzENZK_Q/s1600-h/deluge_c.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9xPnDYpbD8eHoQ2LJ5j2vSP_808LhCd94V6euz04qIh2YSAQxhLQhOqkr2VBvCO39qcrF4VSfPfam4hXHQdo_SJ_CexIBYXdghTvaeL8t3yLNHncXazQkTxkjQ5-0pLBS3kSzENZK_Q/s320/deluge_c.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHpGHclHLxHoXuw-aRDixitkUA0EhVYNGnJtAyo4010qDZhPq4UfzzqFK_Frr1N0mR5DGzZxLLWU4fK_1U7eXKNb6VXYdTGrUCcUDuWELrp88sHURWIbxjoVcvJuWK_1gqZftZmmOe8A/s1600-h/deluge_d.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSHpGHclHLxHoXuw-aRDixitkUA0EhVYNGnJtAyo4010qDZhPq4UfzzqFK_Frr1N0mR5DGzZxLLWU4fK_1U7eXKNb6VXYdTGrUCcUDuWELrp88sHURWIbxjoVcvJuWK_1gqZftZmmOe8A/s320/deluge_d.jpg" border="0" /></a><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-56230317453015315572007-05-11T14:39:00.000-05:002007-05-11T14:39:37.974-05:00Living Meditation for the Bathroom<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZFon_mxBKVE7cMiv9O4-AolrDx-pQ5RCnRNbJ8nQpGrxpXb4_4olrFwQ1AJu2cGVIqY7yUv8RvKwkgJanthd-ZaUxHlLRupJOIVi3wGKxQfPvdllXwuIqLlRyAwtx2HgOFLH9BZkZrs/s1600-h/beta_a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZFon_mxBKVE7cMiv9O4-AolrDx-pQ5RCnRNbJ8nQpGrxpXb4_4olrFwQ1AJu2cGVIqY7yUv8RvKwkgJanthd-ZaUxHlLRupJOIVi3wGKxQfPvdllXwuIqLlRyAwtx2HgOFLH9BZkZrs/s320/beta_a.jpg" border="0" /></a> I went to Petco today and picked out a beautiful beta fish and a couple of doodads to go in his bowl. I bought the bowl at Savers last Sunday. He looks really pretty on the bathroom sink and will give everyone something to meditate upon as they sit. I don't know what I'll call him yet. The first thing that came to mind was "Max" but then I realized I must have sub-consciously been thinking of "Beta Max" and that is just dumb.<div style='clear:both; text-align:LEFT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-19413267964581205012007-05-10T14:07:00.000-05:002007-05-10T14:44:31.395-05:00My sweet guitars....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlB26SaLIl8VwBVyQifsvYbnEq3P63iV69MbhwEHlFES4BX0tmmkLUHWKEO4rWqbLhVPg4CY4ZspjszKB5KJKl-rLYhSd4f8Nq-NezvOkGiNI7GFgLErdUafEetDldSrXjRPa6qLOIIGo/s1600-h/myguitars.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlB26SaLIl8VwBVyQifsvYbnEq3P63iV69MbhwEHlFES4BX0tmmkLUHWKEO4rWqbLhVPg4CY4ZspjszKB5KJKl-rLYhSd4f8Nq-NezvOkGiNI7GFgLErdUafEetDldSrXjRPa6qLOIIGo/s320/myguitars.jpg" border="0" /></a> These are my guitars. Both were birthday gifts from Stuart. The one on the left is an Epiphone re-issue of the 1956 Les Paul gold top. The one on the right is an American re-issue of the 1954 Fender Stratocaster. I love playing them both. You can here the Strat in this jam my husband and I did. Sorry, it's kind of long.<br><br /><center><embed src="http://player.poqbum.com/swf/b242940b69ch16n2bl564988eia88408/bjdarkred.swf" menu="false" quality="high" name="poqbum-dot-com" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" flashvars="playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.poqbum.com%2Fswf%2Fb242940b69ch16n2bl564988eia88408%2Fmp3player.xml" wmode="transparent" height="80" width="150"></embed></center>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-28727492140438288982007-05-10T12:49:00.000-05:002007-05-10T12:57:53.060-05:00Family Obligations SuckMy husband woke me up this morning to ask me if I had anything I had to do today because my mom needs me to babysit my niece and nephew since she has some medical stuff to take care of (a shot of Prokrit). My dad has to drive her so he won't be home either. Blah....<br /><br />I like my five year-old niece. She is funny, smart, and creative. My 7 year-old nephew has a rather shrill voice and is demanding and gets on my nerves. It is a beautiful day and I don't want to spend it downstairs at my parents being annoyed by my brother's kid. It sounds mean, I know, but I really don't enjoy other people's kids that much, even when they are my own family. If it was just Abigail I could give her crayons and markers and soap bubbles and she could amuse herself forever. Ethan needs other people to amuse him. He is quickly bored by most activities with the exception of shitty cartoons. I like cartoons, don't get me wrong, it is just his taste in them is abysmal and lacking any discretion whatsoever. Yeah, I know, he's a seven-year old boy, but puh-leeze!<br /><br />I asked Ivy if she would do it if they paid her and she said, "Maybe". My parents offered $10 bucks. Not much for last-minute change of plans so she can sit from 2-4:30 (and it could likely be longer). I offered to throw in another $10 just so I wouldn't have to do it. We are probably both going to hang out down there being miserable unless Ivy decides to take a bus to Providence to hang out with her friend Zoe.<br /><br />I'm irritated because they know I don't enjoy babysitting for my brother's kids but they waited until the last minute to ask me. It is not as if my mom didn't know she had to get this shot.<br /><br />Well...they wanted me for 2:00 and it is 1:54 now. I haven't even had my coffee for the day. I'm going to have to bring my coffee-making stuff downstairs 'cuz my dad's sucks.<br /><br />Ech..Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-15378189459645063672007-05-09T16:42:00.000-05:002007-05-09T17:13:54.978-05:00AdderallI had been off the Adderall for several months because my doc wouldn't write me another prescription until I hauled my ass back into his office for a physical. It turns out, I haven't had one since May '05. So, wanting my meds, I scheduled an appointment for sometime back in March, I guess. But here's, the thing. I had gained weight (about 20 pounds) and I had not, contrary to my resolve, cut back the drinking very much. I didn't want to show up for a physical with a weight gain <span style="font-style: italic;">and </span>precariously teetering on the verge of a drinking problem. So, the day before the appointment I canceled with a phony excuse.<br /><br />But the problems were just stacking up without the focus that the meds bring. They aren't a cure-all by any means but there is a difference. So, I sucked it up and rescheduled the appointment which I did show up for this past Friday. I was mostly honest about the drinking. I <span style="font-style: italic;">have </span>actually cut back quite a bit. But the number he threw out didn't quite jibe with reality. I just kind of nodded in a non-committal way. I think I have more of a problem with obsessing about how much I drink than with how much I actually drink. In other words, I don't drink nearly as much as my worrying warrants but I am a worrier by nature. We chatted a lot about the stress and stuff that I had been dealing with and I admitted to a bit of depression and anxiety and he gave me a prescription for Klonopin, cautioning me not to resort to it every night. So far, I haven't taken it every night but I think there was only one night I missed. I'm not sure I even notice any effect. It is only .5 mg so maybe that is why. Last night, falling prety to my usual bad judgment, I took a second dose when I didn't feel any noticeable change in mood after the first. I waited at least a half-hour. In another dumb move I took a dose of Nyquil before going to bed so I could sleep. I didn't feel tired but it was late. I wound up sleeping very nicely through the night but I was zonked this morning. I think that was the Nyquil. I took the Klonopin a couple of nights ago and slept in my usual restless way and felt fine in the morning.<br /><br /> Anyway, I got my Adderall back. YAY!<br /><br />Of course, the first few days I'm on them I tend to forget to eat and to hyperfocus like crazy. So what have I been doing these last two gorgeous days? Sitting at my laptop. I did record some music on Monday but that turned out to be a bust. You can read about that <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=69395269&blogID=262784652&MyToken=78f7d41d-cb7f-47f4-af15-b9cc672b1dd9">here</a> since I don't feel like going into it again. Suffice to say, it didn't work out. I also edited a buttload of photos I took over the past week. Not necessarily brilliant ones but it least it was work of some sort.<br /><br />At least today, I washed my face, brushed my teeth and got dressed. Yesterday, I hung around in my jammies until 6 pm when I had to pick up Ivy downtown and take her to her dance class.<br /><br />One other constructive thing I did yesterday, late at night before going to bed, was to switch Ira from his cramped dirty cage to the much bigger one that the late Milo had resided in. Milo never warmed up to that space. He always huddled in one corner at the top in a nest of his beloved paper towels (he never wanted cozier fibers like wool yarn and scraps of old sweater---he would stick those in his food dish whenever I offered them).<br /><br />Ira seems to be thriving in the new space. He is far more active then he has been recently. His old cage had three stories but it was narrow. Now he has two stories but the cage is very wide and roomy. He has perked up quite a bit. Lemmy is still happy in his cave. He doesn't need much space because he is a hermit rat that rarely ventures out. Still, his cage is plenty roomy for one elderly rat.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/melisdramatic/487527012/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/211/487527012_1ef814b059_m.jpg" width="240" height="198" alt="Awwww....Ira is so cute." /></a><br /><br />I should probably be getting up from the couch, at least to make myself a cup of coffee. I am home alone as Ivy is hanging out with Meg and Taylor in Providence and Linus is at work. I have so much cleaning or gardening I could have done today. Hopefully, tomorrow will be another gorgeous day. Fortunately, the hyperfocus affect wears off after a few days of taking the meds. Anyway, I tend to get into hyperfocus modes when I'm <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> on the meds so I'm not even sure they are to blame.<br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-40772636624739051692007-05-09T12:43:00.000-05:002007-05-09T14:49:56.496-05:00More offtype.net drawing...I think I may try to do at least one of these a day...<br /><br />I did this one this afternoon. It is my daughter Ivy observed while she was unaware...not easy to do with a scroll pad.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ivy </span><br /><a href="http://offtype.net/image_235386228900.gif"><img src="http://offtype.net/image_235386228900.gif"></a><br /><br />I did this one of Ivy last night from my imagination.It was hard to get the color of her hair with the few colors available on the painter tool. She currently has a lot of her natural light brown hair growing and the ends are deep blue. She's a dancer and she likes to wear a lot of green and she likes stripes, so this is how I depicted her.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/melisdramatic/491612927/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/207/491612927_1af3554ced_o.gif" width="260" height="240" alt="Ivy" /></a>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-51170723194211642052007-05-08T09:40:00.000-05:002007-05-08T09:47:19.987-05:00Things to do when you're bored....I added google desktop to my computer recently and added a bunch of widgets. One of them was from <a href="http://offtype.net">offtype.net </a>. It's just a little paint tool. Something I already have in my accessories folder but this one is small and unthreatening and right in the google sidebar. So I drew this...<br /><img src="http://offtype.net/image_355190528474.gif"><br><br><br />I like it. I always seem to draw a little freer when it is with a computer. I think there is less of the pressure of the blank page.I would love do have a drawing tablet someday.Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-86235403288691367212007-05-06T12:39:00.000-05:002007-05-11T10:57:10.395-05:00Check out some fun stuff...My daughter spent a lot of late nights this past week or two helping her friend Taylor launch a site to sell his cartoon products. They are really cute and funny for the twitchy/nervous type.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cafepress.com/maxmead/">Max Mead Cartoons </a><br /><br />You can buy badges, magnets, mugs, mousepads, and t-shirts. I particularly like these....<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cafepress.com/maxmead/"><img src="http://images.cafepress.com/product/129563191v3_240x240_Back.jpg" /></a><br><br><a href="http://www.cafepress.com/maxmead/"><img src="http://images.cafepress.com/product/129563042v3_240x240_Back.jpg"></a><br /><br />I hope Taylor doesn't mind me posting his images here. They link to the product page, so hopefully he wont. Anyway, they are all copywrite protected so don't even think about stealing.<br /><br />I believe my daughter did a lot of the web design work, something she is very good at. I hope he has a lot of success with it. He's a great guy.Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-37657240926792542332007-05-03T19:41:00.000-05:002007-05-03T19:54:00.126-05:00It's May and I should feel good......but I don't because one of my babies feels bad. April was a rough month for her. One of our pet rats died (her favorite and mine) and a friend from far away decided he couldn't handle a long-distance friendship anymore. We were looking forward to reciprocating the hosting responsibilities by having him visit Rhode Island this summer for a few weeks, maybe a month. His grown-up cousin and her husband very generously showed Ivy her hospitality for 10 days in February. She has been very supportive of Ivy since her young cousin made his decision to cut ties.<br /><br />Of course, I am trying too hard to distract Ivy because I never want her to be unhappy, even for a few minutes. I went to see Modest Mouse with my husband last night and we left a little early. Not because of Ivy but because it was hard to enjoy due to an obnoxious girl behind me. Also, Stu's back was hurting. I was starting to get bored, truth be told. I don't have a long attention span for big shows where you can't really get close to the band. We stopped by Big Nazo to chat with Meg and Erminio and I called Ivy from there and she sounded so sad. Plus her stomach hurt. We still had to eat dinner and run an errand but my heart just wanted to speed home and be with her. In the end, we ate dinner fairly quick and Stu dropped me off and ran the errand himself.<br /><br />I am particularly sad tonight because I noticed that our estranged friend has deleted me as a myspace friend and it looks like he has done the same to Ivy. Not that I even spend much time on myspace...it is more of a symbolic kind of ouch.<br /><br />Blah. I'm sitting here watching a new episode of <span style="font-style: italic;">Ugly Betty</span> but not really paying attention. It isn't as much fun to watch alone.<br /><br />Stu should be home soon. I don't know why he isn't yet. Ivy is at dress rehearsal for Saturday's show. I hope it is going well.Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-32051355165118734042007-03-04T11:05:00.000-05:002007-03-04T11:19:26.082-05:00Sunday Morning Timewaster<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmE8rpI6JlECJnN22XjtwlklkSmMgdGXZpZWr_sTPA-6r4JVETUugBos1Pv1B-bBPK4R-eO8oHh-AhEC5mdccGEEGGC9jQ_btz0DcXG2ZYpBVOrVejJQ3YZHXmZR_RyR7J-EYsjAmwWio/s1600-h/superhero_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmE8rpI6JlECJnN22XjtwlklkSmMgdGXZpZWr_sTPA-6r4JVETUugBos1Pv1B-bBPK4R-eO8oHh-AhEC5mdccGEEGGC9jQ_btz0DcXG2ZYpBVOrVejJQ3YZHXmZR_RyR7J-EYsjAmwWio/s320/superhero_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038102769603259010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6m5CiwrRBBiqQXOsuiIWLj-m7ZmUT4NoSFd1INy21Zg_myhk-ltC38GaH-IvgxLe57xPidNA1q3aYGxcq4l6Df1eAQeQZF0I2T18PWgBIzqwHhiXm0UX2VXbCYtywxUOW_Boky1m50Q8/s1600-h/superhero_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6m5CiwrRBBiqQXOsuiIWLj-m7ZmUT4NoSFd1INy21Zg_myhk-ltC38GaH-IvgxLe57xPidNA1q3aYGxcq4l6Df1eAQeQZF0I2T18PWgBIzqwHhiXm0UX2VXbCYtywxUOW_Boky1m50Q8/s320/superhero_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038102443185744482" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqfHsMRQE6L9czNczK2phpwVkwFFyCHm_3hArdqopsAdJX07a8T79hT6kvuob4bnKA2sIapYk503tBUohZN66gQjhBR3pM-7PpwnW4q3IxIwe74lyEVPc0iZObCTyJ50CNMNlksJVBV8/s1600-h/fantasyheroine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqfHsMRQE6L9czNczK2phpwVkwFFyCHm_3hArdqopsAdJX07a8T79hT6kvuob4bnKA2sIapYk503tBUohZN66gQjhBR3pM-7PpwnW4q3IxIwe74lyEVPc0iZObCTyJ50CNMNlksJVBV8/s320/fantasyheroine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038102529085090418" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />You can waste some time too by going to the <a href="http://www.marvelvc.com.br/Hero/">Marvel Comics</a> hero machine to create your own superhero or heroine. I couldn't think of names for mine.</div>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-38966533283180389402007-03-03T16:48:00.000-05:002007-03-03T17:31:16.797-05:00I am a lousy blogger...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LXVEz_2vTQluUvIiiSbv_Kw-cXZhoC6_hYn3eBQwDJo9d-FnWWh6SrLDumqC2zirBCNGmgjxH6gQ1tpDsBqDg-OukegJk-8E5GqNz_lFSvz1kC7SxEZDkrERYhp82Ptj1mbF5yffV8o/s1600-h/mel_mucha_c.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LXVEz_2vTQluUvIiiSbv_Kw-cXZhoC6_hYn3eBQwDJo9d-FnWWh6SrLDumqC2zirBCNGmgjxH6gQ1tpDsBqDg-OukegJk-8E5GqNz_lFSvz1kC7SxEZDkrERYhp82Ptj1mbF5yffV8o/s200/mel_mucha_c.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037825911716391426" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-WVAbEpLydSD9YkgMxJcd8SDZOSyhkAXrXxGYIm7yfuQ7NyBX_izbDP4nVl_Uu3g8xGY2JLySAILMW4Tij7POJiGqczNKUQzpOMWUIeFZo2A5ehyphenhyphen-f6doM3hpEYjXCFWZf6YlJiQ7Mew/s1600-h/vegan_cookies_b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-WVAbEpLydSD9YkgMxJcd8SDZOSyhkAXrXxGYIm7yfuQ7NyBX_izbDP4nVl_Uu3g8xGY2JLySAILMW4Tij7POJiGqczNKUQzpOMWUIeFZo2A5ehyphenhyphen-f6doM3hpEYjXCFWZf6YlJiQ7Mew/s320/vegan_cookies_b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037822879469480434" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFmrEAY52SbVY-9SBAv-5PrTbNt-NqCuljxmCrbrk9u5j9zjolb0nQKgfGcqeCjee62GMZQo2lXXoQDZ0V88jv2loT6M-OwO1XHhl2zUiJrDTCjJQUTBODu1IOMqL1S3x2RRcQr-p1L4/s1600-h/vegan_cake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFmrEAY52SbVY-9SBAv-5PrTbNt-NqCuljxmCrbrk9u5j9zjolb0nQKgfGcqeCjee62GMZQo2lXXoQDZ0V88jv2loT6M-OwO1XHhl2zUiJrDTCjJQUTBODu1IOMqL1S3x2RRcQr-p1L4/s200/vegan_cake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037822192274713058" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />I wish I could develop a habit for journaling of some sort. It drives me crazy that I let so many days go by without recording at least one or two of thoughts that fleet past me on any given day.<br />Yesterday was my baby's 17th birthday. It turned out to be an extra-special day because her big sister received her first college acceptance letter and it was for her first choice school,<a href="http://www.saic.edu/"> The School of the Art Institute of Chicago</a>. First she hollered in excitement and then she showed me the letter and burst into tears. It was a very stressful process for her as last year she was feeling very ambivilent about attending college this year so she only applied to one school, <a href="http://www.risd.edu/">RISD.</a><br />In the process of applying she got rather excited about the prospect of attending but then she got put on the waiting list. Very few prospects on the waiting list got in and she was in the last group. It turned out to be a good thing because Chicago has been her first choice since her junior year of high school and meantime she got a lot done with <a href="http://www.bignazo.com/">Big Nazo</a> this year. She has yet to hear from <a href="http://www.massart.edu/indexF3.html">Mass College of Art</a> or <a href="http://www.parsons.edu/">Parsons</a>. Her friend Michael is currently attending his first year at Parsons but he isn't happy there and is planning to transfer. He is considering Chicago. Personally, my husband and I would have liked if she was more interested in MassArt. Primarily, because it is so close, and secondarily, because she as a regional student she would have a reduced tuition rate. Check out <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyeballjellomold/sets/72157594511385088/">her portfolio</a> for the Parson's application on flickr. Her Chicago portfolio was pretty much the same with the addition of a few more personal pieces.<br /><br />Ivy was very pleased the acceptance letter came on her birthday. She is generous in that way. She didn't mind sharing her special day with Meg. For the most part, Ivy had a very nice birthday. Her friend Zoe baked her a vegan cake which her other friend Katrina helped decorate. It was surprisingly tasty. I baked vegan cookies using a recipe from a pacakge of <a href="http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipe/detail.php?rid=1224">Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer.</a> They were very tasty.<br /><br />Today was incredibly mild and sunny. Later on in the afternoon it got a bit gloomy but as the sun sets the skies have cleared a bit. Ivy was in a mood when she woke up. I had hoped dance class would help but it didn't. It had to do with her feeling like she was nagged into agreeing to attend an event tonight that she had no interest in. She dreaded having to call and tell her friend she really didn't want to go. Eventually, her friend called, they had some words, but it seemed to work out reasonably amicably. She is curled up on the couch next to me, enjoying a doze. It is a dozy sort of day. I spent the afternoon reading in the front office of Providence Ballet. I forgot that rehearsals for the Youth company started today so I was subject to an hour-and-a-half of listening to mostly pre-teen girls gossip and giggle while I waited for my daughter's class to be over. It was strange because I have been seeing these young girls since they were 5 and 6 years old. It is strange to hear them discussing boys, MTV, and entering high school next year. They are all older than Ivy was when she started at Providence Ballet. It was very difficult to concentrate on my book. I'm re-reading <a href="http://www.sff.net/people/Lynn.Flewelling/">Lynn Flewelling's</a> <span style="font-style: italic;">Nightrunner </span>series. They are like comfort food for me.<br /><br />Last night we goofed off fooling around with this <a href="http://www.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/%7Emorph/Transformer/">web toy</a>. I laughed harder than I've laughed since hearing that guy on the Science Channel try to say "the Universities of McGill and Michican". It's very addictive. The picture above is me in the style of <a href="http://www.mucha.cz/index.phtml?S=home&Lang=EN">Alfonse Mucha.</a><br /><br />I managed to get a pit of cleaning done yesterday, although not near as much as is needed. I would have liked to have done more today. It was the perfect day for it but I felt tired out by the afternoon spent at Providence Ballet.<br /><br />For lunch I made what is fast becoming a favorite of my kids', lentils and rice. It sounds boring but I make it very savory. Here's the recipe as best as I can describe it since it is something I concocted. It varies so I'll just describe how I made it today.<br /><br />Sauteed in olive oil:<br />3 shallots, roughly chopped<br />2-3 large garlic cloves chopped<br />2 stalks celery diced (I like to include the leaves if there are any)<br />2 large carrots peeled and diced<br />salt and pepper to taste<br />a teaspoon of dry rubbed sage (I have also used rosemary and thyme but I had neither on hand today).<br /><br />Meanwhile, I cook 1 cup of dry lentils in about 3 cups of water with a bay leaf. Cook just until tender.<br /><br />When the vegetables are becoming golden and tender, I add about a tbs more olive oil and 1 cup dry long grain white rice, and cook just enough to toast the rice a bit. I also added a small handful of sundried tomatoes cut into thin slivers, and the few pine nuts I had left in my pantry.<br /><br />By now, the lentils are done and I drain them over the rice so as to use the cooking water to cook the rice. I leave the lentils in their cooking pot for the time being.<br /><br />I allow the rice to simmer gently, checking occasionally to see if more liquid is needed (generally, it is). Today, when I saw that the liquid had evaporated to quickly, I covered the pan (I use a large cast iron skillet) with foil. The cooking time is about the same as it is for steamed rice, more or less. When the rice is done I add the lentils and give it a quick stir and taste for seasoning.<br /><br />Yesterday when I made this I added it to cooked bow-tie pasta. My daughter expressed a desire to have it next time without the pasta so I omitted it today. She ate hers with tortilla chips from the natural foods section of Stop & Shop.Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1231730763498233481.post-34294748529796410732007-02-03T16:36:00.000-05:002007-02-03T18:15:46.782-05:00Whew!This was a rather busy week. I spent Wednesday helping my oldest daughter with her application for Parson's. I had to photograph her portfolio plus her three challenge pieces. There was also some driving around for materials, etc. I spent Thursday making mix CD's for my younger daughter to give as host/birthday presents in L.A. I was up until 3:30 a.m. organizing and burning five CD's but I didn't have time to make art work for them. Disappointing, as I like to design elaborate covers. Friday morning, before driving Ivy to the airport, I was in a frenzy printing out CD envelope templates from Mirkwood Designs (see my links) and printing out the playlists. My husband cut out the templates while I glued them together. I copied the playlists onto the envelopes while we killed time* in one of the airport restaurants and the kids drew on them. I hope they are enjoyed. We saw Ivy off safely and she is now having a great time in L.A., I'm sure. We talked yesterday but she hasn't called today. It is only 2:40 pm there. I wonder what she is doing now?<br /><br />Meg and I spent a lazy day of knitting and frying our brain cells watching a marathon of <span style="font-style: italic;" class="show_name">101 Favorite Stars Way Back When</span> on E!. Headache-inducing. We also ordered a medium pizza with hot peppers and artichokes from Ronzio's. Now a Beavis and Butthead marathon is on MTV2 but neither of us is paying much attention. Beavis has a nosebleed that won't stop and Butthead is trying to phone 911 but he keeps messing up the number. My headache is persistant and now I have indigestion. Blah...<br /><br />I have to go grocery shopping. I meant to go yesterday but I had one of those 24 hour things where you feel all achey and tired. I woke up feeling fine this morning. I procrastinated too long today so now I'm waiting for Stu to get home so he can go with me.<br /><br />Here is one of the photos for Meg's portfolio. She silkscreened the shirt with an original design and Ivy modeled it for her. She made it in time for Ivy to bring to L.A. so she could represent. This was Meg's first attempt at silkscreening. Now that someone has finally broken in the kit Ivy got for her birthday last year, the process looks pretty easy and I'm ready to give it a go. This isn't the photo she used for her portfolio. It's one I spiffed up a bit in Photoshop and I thought it turned out pretty good. The design is great! Everybody wants one now.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/melisdramatic/378731611/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/378731611_4dcff577f0.jpg" alt="Ivy" height="500" width="347" /></a><br /><br />I'm proud of how good Meg's portfolio looks. This year, applicants were allowed the option of either uploading photos to the Parson's site or providing a link to a URL. Meg opted to use Flickr as it enabled her to organize her portfolio and include descriptions of the work quite easily.<br /><br />It was a rather stressful week and I'm glad it's over. I was really nervous about Ivy flying for the first time. She had a layover of nearly two-hours in Philadelphia and she was worried about making the connecting flight. She called me from Philadelphia to say she found the gate no problem and that she loved flying. Whew!<br /><br />She is going to have such a good time with <a href="http://scrumdillydilly.blogspot.com/">Jessica</a>.<br /><br />*<span style="font-style: italic;">While arriving 2 hours early may be a general rule for the bigger cities it was unneccessary for us in Rhode Island. The whole checking in process took about 10 minutes and that was only because we didn't know what we were doing. We don't fly much in the Powers' household.</span>Mixxiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147582380603124042noreply@blogger.com0