high rolla

My JCPenney splurge of the night.  With coupon, $50.99:

the 14th

I just erased a few paragraphs.  You'd probably disown me if you read them.  The gist:  omg, the weather! omg, I didn't blog last night 'cause I'm 30 and old and like, ty-erd at 11:00 p.m.!

I like to find places that were made for people, but that people don't ever hardly notice.  Benches in the middle of a Target parking lot, alcoves in airports away from gates and food lines, deserted courtyards with tables and chairs, fountains with ledge seating, etc.  This is probably because I notice places where "play" is encouraged in spots otherwise thick with work and commerce.  And I'm not talking physical play -- more imagination, reading spots, introspective timeouts, etc.  Not work.  And then there's the part where I'm not much of a people person; my introverted self must recharge away from people.  So today we spotted a courtyard near downtown West Palm Beach - empty, canopied by huge oak trees and bougainvillea.  It was like a small vacation - a rejuvenation picnic - we stopped and had lunch in it.  

And then we forgot to go to the vegetable stand for sugar snap peas.  We must have been too carried away in the sunshine.

the here and now and later

Let's start with the weather and pretend November 12th never happened.  It has been beautiful today.  60  degree temps, breezy, all blue and sunny.  The dogs love when it cools down and spent a lot of time out in the backyard with some newfound energy.  The kitties were bouncing toward every open window and basking in the sunshine. Yours truly was loving it, too.

I'm headed soon to a play starring a co-worker.  I'm going to blog when I get back.  Because weather posts only count for so much.

nonono

I fell asleep at 9:30 last night = no post yesterday.

when locals are not locals

Unbelievable: this is post #1001.  How did that happen?

My day off was a small luxury.  Sleeping in...pet cuddling...it was gray and rainy for most of the day and tonight it's finally supposed to cool off...the wind is over and I'm happy about that.

We were driving around tonight in the neighborhood looking for a cheap thrill, trying to find a crazy cat lady house (45 feral cats removed) we read about in the paper (one neighbor said he could see cat feces "oozing out from under her doors" -- sensational!).  On one street, the wrong street, a middle-aged couple had their flashlights out, pointed toward the sky.  They were in the middle of the street and came running over to Steve's open window.  "There's an eagle up there!  There's an eagle up there! Oh my god, an eagle!"  Steve was politely nodding - he saw it, and then the eagle flew away.  I saw nothing.  But I felt like they were blaming us when the eagle flew away, because they said "oh my god, it was there all night and now it's just gone."  We slowly drove away and Steve said, "that eagle was an osprey."  It should be back soon.  It doesn't have any United States Postal Service photo shoots to do tomorrow.

The house with the cats looked like any other house.  I've run by that house.  I never saw oozing feces.

not here

I'm having this problem lately where I lose the book I'm reading.  I last remember reading on my break yesterday here at my desk, but today the book is nowhere to be found.  I'm devastated!  Perfection was getting so juicy. 

 

So tomorrow is Veteran's Day and I get a day off right smack in the middle of the week.  Which I'm simply thrilled about!  I propose Wednesdays off for life.

 

And there are things here and there to organize for work but truth be told, mentally, I'm not here today.  Upstairs I'm a complete zero.  I keep looking at my calendar and daydreaming about tomorrow's day off, Thanksgiving, my holiday vacation…ahhhmmmm.  In the meantime, I'm living vicariously through Kimberlina's deliciously vivid travelogue posts on her recent trip to California. 

good morning

For my last few breakfasts, I've been making one hell of a breakfast sandwich: an egg over medium, prepared in olive oil; sharp cheddar cheese toasted on an English muffin and cracked black pepper to taste.  Mmm.  I could probably eat seven of them, but I just make one and it keeps me well fed through the morning.  I also broiled a grapefruit this morning, drizzled with local orange blossom honey (this might be the only locavore meal anyone could make in FL; okay -- there are more) but it wasn't as good as I was hoping.  Something in the chemistry didn't go WHAM! (last christmas i gave you my heart but the very next day, you gave it away gave it away. this year to save me from tears i'll give it to someone special ecial).  By the way, that is exactly how my brain works, with the music.

And here's Jane, as she appears right now (like a live pet cam, only not) to my left:

charged

Yay! An upcoming Thanksgiving holiday in Portland...I haven't been since May...which in Madge months = 24 months.  

Steve is out in the garage installing a new sink for his darkroom -- whoa; she's a real stainless beauty!  It came from a police crime lab via Craigslist.  Did I ever mention my desk came from the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement?  Someone didn't clean the desk out so well...there was a lot of paperwork wedged in between the drawers, and one miniature cassette tape that I've never played.  A confession?  Top secret evidence, lost in the ruckus?  Hmmm.  

Speaking of law enforcement, I'm hear to say I watched America's Most Wanted last night so you didn't have to -- and let me tell you -- I was either scared out of my pants or crying or both.  John Walsh is like the new Chuck Norris or something.  I hadn't seen the show in a long, long time.  I was tougher when I was 13, I think.

I feel compelled to write that the wind is still OUT OF CONTROL.  What the heck!  I'm extremely surprised we haven't lost power yet.

i hate your t-shirt.

when will the t-shirt-as-communicator-of-the-deep-self fad get run over by a train and die already? 

there's only so much bad poetry you can type up in helvetica and silk screen on homegrown cotton.  

you think you've seen it all (and that was in 2003) but it just keeps coming.

in the backyard

I planted lettuce seeds.  They did better than I expected.  So it looks like I'm going to have to thin them out:


Mr. Smiles, at your service:


Mr. "I hate having my picture taken" at your service:


Ahhh, what a great weekend...

remember remember

...to post in November.

Had a successful day at the thrift shops...Pyrex & a painting & some records (for Steve).

Windy, windy weather...I'm not a huge fan of the wind.  I'm more of a breeze person.

currently reading

So her husband dies unexpectedly at age 44.
And then she finds out he'd been having an affair with her BFF.
MEMOIR MADNESS CONTINUES.

my bling

This was Steve's grandma's ring (purchased ca. the later 1950s), original setting and all.  I don't wear a lot of jewelry; in fact, I'm usually jewelry-less.  My motto has always been wear one piece really over-the-top.  Okay, check.

it was fascinating

I must post something, right?

I just saw a cloud that looked exactly like a turtle.

already making a bad impression

So we're driving around our little city and notice there are folks holding signs for political candidates on many corners.  The election is tomorrow, and Steve and I are pretty passionate about local politics.  I decide to give a big, obnoxious thumbs down to this one woman holding two signs for two candidates I really don't want to see in office.  It was only after we drove by that Steve recognized the woman: his aunt.  FML.  It wasn't really her, right?  It was definitely her.  She didn't recognize me, did she?  Oh, she definitely did.  Thank god I didn't flick her a bird.  I was this close.