Portuguese Confessions

2010-04-13T20:05:00.001-05:00

Hypertufa a.k.a. Project Stu

2010-04-13T19:56:00.006-05:00

Stuart 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.

On Another Note....

2007-08-11T13:07:00.001-05:00

I'm reading Mary Barton 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 John Barton after Mary's father.

Just prior to picking up Mary Barton I re-read The Grapes of Wrath. 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. Mary Barton takes place about 10-15 years before the Second Industrial Revolution in England.

Wikipedia article on Mary Barton

del.icio.us tags: literature, "British Literature", "Mary Barton", "Elizabeth Gaskell", reading, "Industrial Revolution", "women writers", Manchester

Technorati tags: literature, "British Literature", "Mary Barton", "Elizabeth Gaskell", reading, "Industrial Revolution", "women writers", Manchester

Fun new blog for psychotronic artists

2007-08-11T12:21:00.000-05:00

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.

This is the drawing he inquired about.

del.icio.us tags: monsters, drawing, art, pyschotronic, blogging, blogs

Flickr tags: monsters, drawing, art, pyschotronic, blogging, blogs

Technorati tags: monsters, drawing, art, pyschotronic, blogging, blogs

It's been a weird summer so far...

2007-07-12T14:47:00.001-05:00

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.

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

The girls on the Green Line train on the way to Garfield Conservatory.

A little girl waiting with her parents on the El platform.

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.

Our first view of Wicker Park from the El platform.

Meg drawing at Half & Half Cafe in Wicker Park while waiting for her order.

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.

The humble pie I baked for Jane. The crust was nowhere near as good as her's which is phenomenal.

Fergus relaxing on the sideboard.

Jane watering the garden on Saturday.

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.

Jane slicing strawberries for her pies.

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...

...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.

Jane showing off her cherry-rhubarb pies.

Here are some more views of the wonderful garden...

This is the carriage house behind the main house. The landlord, Dennis, lives here.

This is the main house. Jane lives on the first floor.

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.

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.

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.

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 that worry at least.

Technorati tags: summer, travel, road trip, Chicago, old friends, girls, women, family, sisters, mother, daughters, photos, phtography, journaling, journal, Wicker Park, subway, train, the El, Rhode Island, gardening, baking, baked goods, pastry, pie, art, whimsical, thrift, found art, junk, salvage

del.icio.us tags: summer, travel, road trip, Chicago, old friends, girls, women, family, sisters, mother, daughters, photos, phtography, journaling, journal, Wicker Park, subway, train, the El, Rhode Island, gardening, garden, pastry, baking, pie, baked goods, found art, junk, thrift, whimsical, art

Flickr tags: summer, travel, road trip, Chicago, old friends, girls, women, family, sisters, mother, daughters, photos, phtography, journaling, journal, Wicker Park, subway, train, the El, Rhode Island, baking, pie, baked goods, pastry, found art, thrift, junk, salvage, art, gardening, garden, whimsical, whimsy

I had my colposcopy today...

2007-05-29T19:10:00.001-05:00

I wound up having a mild panic attack. I didn't realize that when they tell you to take a couple of Tylenol 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.

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.

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.

del.icio.us tags: colposcopy gynecology "womens' health"

Flickr tags: colposcopy, "womens' health" gynecology

Technorati tags: colposcopy, "womens' health" gynecology

Rufus Wainwright

2007-05-23T11:05:00.001-05:00

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, Do I Disappoint You? but so far so good. It's his first self-produced album, executively produced by Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys fame.

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.

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 seems to be the dumbing down of our culture.

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:

This album is dedicated to my mother who still whispers in my ear that I'M GREAT

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 Nobody's Off The Hook, Track 4 of Release the Stars.

Get Your Own Player!

The Guardian recently published an insightful in-depth piece about Rufus.

Here is a screenshot and link to his recently overhauled official site.

*This is what I surmise, anyway.

Technorati tags: "Rufus Wainwright", music, review, "Release the Stars", CD, album, "pop culture", culture, musician, "pop music", "David Geffen", gay, homosexual, queer, alternative, recording, record

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Flickr tags: "Rufus Wainwright", music, review, "Release the Stars", CD, album, "pop culture", culture, musician, "pop music", "David Geffen", gay, homosexual, queer, alternative, recording, record

LiveJournal tags: "Rufus Wainwright", music, review, "Release the Stars", CD, album, "pop culture", culture, musician, "pop music", "David Geffen", gay, homosexual, queer, alternative, recording, record

Female Troubles, Photoboothing, and Movies

2007-05-20T00:07:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday, I have to have something called a Colposcopy. 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!

Well,the OB/GYN that my regular doc referred me to said it really is nothing to worry too much about. We'll see.

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.

We bought a used copy of Borat and we watched it tonight. It was hilarious. Last night, Stuart and I went to the Avon Cinema to see The Wind That Shakes The Barley. It was very good and very intense. Some people left during some of the more upsetting scenes.
I am happy because the young friend I mentioned in an earlier post 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 SAIC 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 Trinity for dinner. We'll see what happens.

Technorati tags: "The Wind That Shakes The Barley", "Cillian Murphy", "Avon Cinema", movie, Irish, Ireland, Providence, marriage, anniversary, photobooth, photomaton, "photo strip", photography, health, "womens' health", gynecology, colposcopy, medical, procedure, shopping, movies, Borat, DVD, SAIC, family, "School of the Art Institute of Chicago"

del.icio.us tags: "The Wind That Shakes The Barley", "Cillian Murphy", "Avon Cinema", movie, Irish, Ireland, Providence, marriage, anniversary, photobooth, photomaton, "photo strip", photography, health, "womens' health", gynecology, colposcopy, medical, procedure, movies, Borat, DVD, family, SAIC, School of the Art Institute of Chicago"

Flickr tags: "The Wind That Shakes The Barley", "Cillian Murphy", "Avon Cinema", movie, Irish, Ireland, Providence, marriage, anniversary, photobooth, photomaton, "photo strip", photography, health, "womens' health", gynecology, colposcopy, medical, procedure, movies, Borat, DVD, family, SAIC, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Friday's Flickr Fix

2007-05-18T16:04:00.001-05:00

I joined this group 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.

Get Your Own Player!

See Emily Play
by Syd Barrett

Emily tries but misunderstands, ah ooh
She often inclined to borrow somebody's dreams till tomorrow
There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for May
See Emily play

Soon after dark Emily cries, ah ooh
Gazing through trees in sorrow hardly a sound till tomorrow

There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for May
See Emily play

Put on a gown that touches the ground, ah ooh
Float on a river forever and ever, Emily, Emily
There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for May
See Emily play

This group is blogged at Creature Comforts.

Flickr tags: "Friday's Flickr Fix", diptych, collage, montage, "Creature Comforts", "fd's flickr toys", mosaic, "Rhode Island", "mental illness", pyschological, psychedlic, psychedlia, "See Emily Play", lyrical, lyrics, lyric, song, inspiration, "Syd Barrett", "Pink Floyd", "Flickr Groups", photography, photos

del.icio.us tags: "Friday's Flickr Fix", diptych, collage, montage, "Creature Comforts", "fd's flickr toys", mosaic, "Rhode Island", "mental illness", pyschological, psychedlic, psychedlia, "See Emily Play", lyrical, lyrics, lyric, song, inspiration, "Syd Barrett", "Pink Floyd", "Flickr Groups", photography, photos

Technorati tags: "Friday's Flickr Fix", diptych, collage, montage, "Creature Comforts", "fd's flickr toys", mosaic, "Rhode Island", "mental illness", pyschological, psychedlic, psychedlia, "See Emily Play", lyrical, lyrics, lyric, song, inspiration, "Syd Barrett", "Pink Floyd", "Flickr Groups", photography, photos

We Got A New Driveway....

2007-05-16T13:47:00.001-05:00

...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).

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.
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.

Future site of trees and flowers, hopefully...

This guy kept coming alarmingly close to the porch with the shovel.

I also got to be a lech and take photos of the shirtless crew.

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.

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.

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.

del.icio.us tags: renovation, driveway, construction, workers, crew, photographs, photography, documentation, house, home, yard, landscaping, Rhode Island

del.icio.us tags: renovation, driveway, construction, workers, crew, photographs, photography, documentation, house, home, yard, landscaping, Rhode island

Flickr tags: renovation, driveway, construction, workers, crew, photographs, photography, documentation, house, home, yard, landscaping, Rhode Island

Mondays are nice for me...

2007-05-14T19:56:00.001-05:00

...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.

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 my flickr account.

The awesome signage....

Betty Boop in the vestibule....

Our booth...

My cup of tea (their coffee is terrible)...

A guy enjoying his book at the counter...

Ivy being silly with a fake "French" mustache...

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...

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....

del.icio.us tags: oldsmobile, vintage car, automobile, diner, diners, diner culture, Cindy's, Scituate, sign, neon, restaurant, dining, eating, day-off, thrift store, kinkos, sockmonkey, sock monkey, Rhode Island, New Bedford, family, shopping, bargain, photos, photography

Flickr tags: oldsmobile, vintage car, automobile, diner, diners, diner culture, Cindy's, Scituate, sign, neon, restaurant, dining, eating, day-off, thrift store, kinkos, sockmonkey, sock monkey, Rhode Island, New Bedford, family, shopping, bargain, photos, photography

Technorati tags: oldsmobile, vintage car, automobile, diner, diners, diner culture, Cindy's, Scituate, sign, neon, restaurant, dining, eating, day-off, thrift store, kinkos, sockmonkey, sock monkey, Rhode Island, New Bedford, family, shopping, bargain, photos, photography

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY

2007-05-13T21:43:00.001-05:00

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.

Here is looking all sad after showing me the damage. Poor baby.

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.

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.

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.

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.

So, even though he wrecked my car (trying to read a yard sale sign, btw) he is a pretty great husband.

del.icio.us tags: husband, marriage, Mercedes, car accident, Mothers' Day, Chuck Taylors, Converse, presents, relationships, Rhode Island, shopping, gardening, Home Depot, garden, home, flowers, plants, planting, landscaping, consumerism

Flickr tags: husband, marriage, Mercedes, car accident, Mothers' Day, Chuck Taylors, Converse, presents, relationships, Rhode Island, shopping, gardening, Home Depot, garden, home, flowers, plants, planting, landscaping, consumerism

Technorati tags: husband, marriage, Mercedes, car accident, Mothers' Day, Chuck Taylors, Converse, presents, relationships, Rhode Island, shopping, gardening, Home Depot, garden, home, flowers, plants, planting, landscaping, consumerism

Blogging technicalities...

2007-05-13T21:07:00.001-05:00

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.
Just so it isn't totally boring, here is a nice photo.

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.

Here is a birds-eye view of Veterans' Memorial Parkway in East Providence, near where I live. Creepy, huh?

Bird's Eye View of Veterans Memorial Parkway and Surrounding Bay Area

One more plug-in I downloaded was something to insert a thumbnail webs image. Testing...

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.

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.

Technorati tags: blogging, windows live writer, blogging tools, tags, photography, editing, photographs, doll, bradley doll, vintage doll, rhode island, new england, mother, woman, writing, mom, boredom, research, downloads, creativity, computers, map, birds eye view, aerial map, east bay, water, atlantic ocean, bay, veterans memorial parkway, avett brothers, band, music, plug-ins

Afternoon Rain on a Spring Day

2007-05-11T14:43:00.000-05:00

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.

Living Meditation for the Bathroom

2007-05-11T14:39:00.000-05:00

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.

My sweet guitars....

2007-05-10T14:07:00.000-05:00

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.

Family Obligations Suck

2007-05-10T12:49:00.000-05:00

My 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....

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!

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.

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.

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.

Ech..

Adderall

2007-05-09T16:42:00.000-05:00

I 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 and precariously teetering on the verge of a drinking problem. So, the day before the appointment I canceled with a phony excuse.

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 have 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.

Anyway, I got my Adderall back. YAY!

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 here 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.

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.

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).

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.

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 not on the meds so I'm not even sure they are to blame.

More offtype.net drawing...

2007-05-09T12:43:00.000-05:00

I think I may try to do at least one of these a day...

I did this one this afternoon. It is my daughter Ivy observed while she was unaware...not easy to do with a scroll pad.

Ivy

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.

Things to do when you're bored....

2007-05-08T09:40:00.000-05:00

I added google desktop to my computer recently and added a bunch of widgets. One of them was from offtype.net . 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...

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.

Check out some fun stuff...

2007-05-06T12:39:00.000-05:00

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.

Max Mead Cartoons

You can buy badges, magnets, mugs, mousepads, and t-shirts. I particularly like these....

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.

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.

It's May and I should feel good...

2007-05-03T19:41:00.000-05:00

...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.

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.

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.

Blah. I'm sitting here watching a new episode of Ugly Betty but not really paying attention. It isn't as much fun to watch alone.

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.

Sunday Morning Timewaster

2007-03-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

You can waste some time too by going to the Marvel Comics hero machine to create your own superhero or heroine. I couldn't think of names for mine.

I am a lousy blogger...

2007-03-03T16:48:00.000-05:00

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.
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, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 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, RISD.
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 Big Nazo this year. She has yet to hear from Mass College of Art or Parsons. 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 her portfolio for the Parson's application on flickr. Her Chicago portfolio was pretty much the same with the addition of a few more personal pieces.

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 Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer. They were very tasty.

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 Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series. They are like comfort food for me.

Last night we goofed off fooling around with this web toy. 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 Alfonse Mucha.

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.

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.

Sauteed in olive oil:
3 shallots, roughly chopped
2-3 large garlic cloves chopped
2 stalks celery diced (I like to include the leaves if there are any)
2 large carrots peeled and diced
salt and pepper to taste
a teaspoon of dry rubbed sage (I have also used rosemary and thyme but I had neither on hand today).

Meanwhile, I cook 1 cup of dry lentils in about 3 cups of water with a bay leaf. Cook just until tender.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Whew!

2007-02-03T16:36:00.000-05:00

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?

Meg and I spent a lazy day of knitting and frying our brain cells watching a marathon of 101 Favorite Stars Way Back When 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...

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.

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.

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.

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!

She is going to have such a good time with Jessica.

*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.

Danielson Famile

2007-01-29T19:22:00.000-05:00

As I write this I'm watching (or listening) to clips from the Danielson Famile's film site. Sufjan Stevens is featured in the film. I was a tad surprised at how effeminate he sounds. I don't know why since his music is certainly on the wispy side.

I'm loading songs into my iTunes library in preparation of some marathon mix making. My husband is out laying down a drum track for a cover of a Jellyfish song that is going to be featured on a tribute album. He is nervous because his friend is laying out 95$/hour for studio time after hearing some of the other tracks that will be on the album. His friend and he had originally recorded in his home studio in his basement but his friend decided it wouldn't stand comparison to the other tracks which were obviously recorded in a pro studio. So, Stu who has done plenty of recording in a studio for various projects is nervous because it is on his friend's dime and he doesn't want to be the cause of the recording going into overtime. He is worrying for nothing since he is a terrific drummer which is why he has been asked to lay tracks for various projects. It is just because Wayne is one of his oldest friends. I say, Wayne can afford it and if he wants to lay out the cash, let him.

Well, back to work.

2007-01-25T23:49:00.000-05:00

Tonight for the kids' dinner I created a vegan recipe. I had been thinking about using brewer's yeast as a cheese substitute. The result was a hearty bean and rice casserole that had a bit of a curry taste, oddly enough.

Here is the recipe, more or less. I don't actually measure so I had to guess but I'm pretty accurate.

First, cook some rice in the normal way (1 cup rice/2 cups water--bring to boil--reduce to simmer) EXCEPT don't cook for the usual 20 minutes since the rice will continue cooking in the casserole later. I reduced the cooking time to 15 minutes. I used Basmati white because it is what I had but brown rice would be nice. Of course, it takes longer to cook brown rice so keep that in mind.

While the rice is cooking prepare the sauce.

Chop two large shallots or one small onion and one large clove of garlic. In a medium
saucepan sautee the garlic in onions in a tablespoon of oil (I used extra-virgin olive oil) until golden and translucent. I accidently browned mine but that is not the aim.:D

Meanwhile in a 1 quart jar with lid (I used a recycled spaghetti sauce jar) mix:
1/2 cup brewer's yeast
1/4 cup flour (I used white all-purpose but if you prefer whole wheat that would probably be fine---basically, it is just a thickening agent)
1 tsp dry mustard (I'm sure a teaspoon of prepared would work fine as well)
1/8 tsp nutmeg (I like freshly grated but you can use what you have)
1 tsp paprika
2 cups plain soy milk
dash Tabasco
dash Worcestershire
1/2 tsp salt

Shake the jar well until there are no lumps. I actually had a few so I strained the liquid through a seive. You can also whisk everything in a bowl. Ordinarily, I make a roux for a sauce like this but I didn't trust the yeast to mix properly in a roux. I wouldn't risk it.

Add this mixture to the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat stirring with a whisk until the sauce is thickened. If it looks too thick, add some more soy milk and stir some more. This was actually the case for me. I think I probably added closer to 1/3 cup flour than 1/4 cup. It isn't a big deal anyway since this isn't a particularly delicate sauce.

Add the rice to the sauce along with a can of beans (or an equal amount of home cooked dry beans). I used cannellini but kidney beans would work as well. I just poured the different elements into a large rectangular Pyrex baking dish and mixed in that. Finally I added some broccoli (a bit past it's prime and in need of using up) which I chopped pretty small. I felt it needed a bit more to fill the dish so I added the remainder of a bag of frozen peas and carrots mix. My 'fridge and cupboards are pretty bare :D.

I baked the whole concoction in a 350º oven for 30 minutes.

Out of my three kids, ages 16, 18, and 19, my two younger kids enjoyed it (son proclaimed it "delicious") and my oldest wasn't quite sure. At first I thought it was a bit strange but I kept going back for another bite and I wound up eating two good sized servings. My husband tried it and thought it was tasty and was happy to eat it as a side-dish with a couple of eggs and a corn pancake I made from the last bit of this afternoon's batter. He has been trying to eat healthier at work and cut his portions down so he was pretty hungry.

My youngest daughter added raisins to her second serving. It definitely had a curry taste and raisins seemed appropriate. She tells me it was really good with raisins. I think chick peas would probably be a good addition.

The nice thing is it was a very low-fat recipe high in protein and fiber as well as iron and lots of other good stuff from the brewer's yeast. Also, it looked pretty. I don't know what the nutritional break-down is but I didn't worry to much about it. I did check to make sure the 1/2 cup of brewer's yeast wasn't harmful. It turned out I probably could have added more since a serving size is two tablespoons which breaks down to less than a whole serving per person when feeding five people.

Extras

2007-01-25T15:21:00.000-05:00

It's been another fairly nice, sunny day and I've spent it doing very little. I washed some dishes (in the dishwasher) and I've made biscotti. Now I'm watching Extras on HBO OnDemand. The biscotti I made is revised from a recipe in How to Cook Everything. I changed it by substituting anise extract for the recommended vanilla or almond. Also, I added about a teaspoon of ginger and cinnamon. They came out very nice. Previously, I've made it from a recipe from one of those little Betty Crocker magazines they sell at the check-out in the grocery. That is a good recipe too.

I'm also drinking cheap wine from my parents house. Bad. I'm trying to cut out alchohol from my diet. I really would like to lose some weight. I was looking for a small enamel stock-pot that I thought I may have left downstairs and I found a stache of booze. :D Vintnor's Choice jug wine in burgundy flavor is what I'm drinking. Blah.....

Now, I'm watching an OnDemand special about the stars that have been on Extras. I've just remembered I was supposed to call some tax assessors to come re-evaluate the house. David Bowie is talking about being on Extras. He is such a sweet, regular guy. Weird. He's been famous for most of his life. If you see him on a talk show, like Late Night With Conan O'Brien, he actually comes off as kind of geeky.

I'm checking out the Pay-Per-View selection. I'm bored, I tell you. I actually watched something pretty good via Pay-Per-View the other day but now I can't think what it was. I just selected Friends With Money, mostly because it has Catherine Keener. Joan Cusack is in it also. And Alan Cumming. It's supposed to be pretty good.

Well, gotta go. I meant to upload some pictures and a recipe of a the veggie chili I made last night. I'll try to get to it ASAP.

Hello...

2007-01-24T12:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I am going to try a new blog. I've had this blogger account since February 2005, apparently and totally forgot about it. I deleted the original blog Twirlie mostly because all the photo links were dead. The posts all had to do with art stuff I had done recently, primarily rubber stamping. I haven't done any of that in a over a year, sadly. I get on kicks and then my attention wanders.

It is a nice sunny day today. It has finally felt like winter for the past week or so. We actually got some snow the night before last. Just enough to be pleasant but not enough to inconvenience. Not really enough to play in though.

I'm listening to my iTunes library and Sufjan Stevens is playing. His stuff feels very appropriate for the height of winter. Melancholic.

Listen

Sufjan Stevens--John Wayne Gacey Jr.

I should be doing anything but sitting here on the computer. As usual, there is plenty of cleaning to do. I never catch up. Lately, I feel like my control over important things in my life are slipping from my already tenuous grasp at an alarming rate.

I was listening to On Point this morning. The show was about the American transcendentalists. I am very much in the state of mind to be influenced by writers like Thoreau. I tried to read Thoreau last year but the edition I checked out of the library was filled with very distracting annotations. I should just find a cheap paperback edition. I really didn't listen that carefully since I was in the car at first and then tried to finish listening to the streaming broadcast on the computer. I had missed a bit by then. But I did feel inspired to give some of those folks a read, or re-read in the case of Little Women and The Scarlett Letter. Truthfully, I really disliked the latter when I read it in high school. I think I may have also read it in junior high or even elementary school. I had seen the PBS movie in the 70's (with Meg Foster) and had been fascinated by the story. I was only about 11 at the time.

Now Tilly and the Wall is playing. I discovered them through a mix CD club I joined through NPR. They were part of a mix that started off really promising and then turned bad---almost as if a different person had finished it. My turn is in March and I have been putting a lot of thought into what I will include. So far, everyone has included at least one (and usually a lot more) non-English songs and as much as I would love to include Caetano Veloso or Os Mutantes, I want to break that chain. I also want to avoid creating a mix that tries to hard to prove how obscure my tastes are. I do want to represent, so I will likely include some local stuff. My husband pointed out that I could include Caetano Veloso by using London, London or his cover of Hendrix' Wait Until Tomorrow.

Listen
Tilly and the Wall---Nights of the Living Dead
Tilly and the Wall-- You and I Misbehaving

I think the overall anxiety I'm feeling about my life at the moment stems mostly from my mom
jobs. One daughter is about 10 days away from her first trip on an airplane. It is also her first time traveling alone and she will be gone 10 days---the longest she has been away from home. My son has surgery in March. It is to remove a cyst which is almost certainly benign...but still. My other daughter is in the process of applying to art school and I am supposed to be photographing her portfolio. Thus far, I've only photographed four things. Part of the problem is she is still working on it and she isn't sure what she wants to include. She applied to RISD last year and was put in the last group of the waiting list. That was the only school she applied to last year and it was kind of done last minute. That is sort of what is happening now. This time it is Parsons she is racing the clock for. If she had simply gone to RIC for this year she could have transferred to RISD. They as much as said they would except her as a transfer, no problem. She was only luke-warm on the prospect of RISD but now she says she is reconsidering it. It isn't as if she has been wasting her time this year. She has been working quite a bit with Big Nazo and she has had a few commissioned pieces she has made for some film and theater people. She is now a paid member of Nazo which, while it isn't steady, it does make for satisfying work.