http://www.one.org Dixie Peach: July 2007

Cooler than the other side of the pillow.

Monday, July 30, 2007

My Ever After

Today, July 30th, isn't my wedding anniversary. Tomorrow, July 31st, is. Same day as Harry Potter's birthday. We didn't pick that day to get married because of Harry Potter. B and I picked that date because it was the Saturday that the Standesamt (what is essentially the bureau that handles marriages) was performing weddings. We'd originally picked July 24th and had even gone ahead and had our wedding rings inscribed with the date 24.07.99 before we found out that date wasn't open. I wore for years a wedding ring with the wrong date engraved inside, it driving me nuts the entire time, until on our 5th wedding anniversary when B bought me a new wedding ring with the correct wedding date inside.

While this isn't the anniversary of our wedding, July 30, 1999 is still special to me. While many brides spend the day before their wedding as nervous wrecks, I spent mine completely relaxed. Everything was in place for the big day - our wedding clothes, food, transportation, music...if we needed it to get married, it was in hand. All I needed was a good night's sleep and a good hair day the next day. I got neither one - too excited for the former and too unskilled at handling my new hairstyle for the latter - but none of it ended up mattering in the least. What mattered was how I felt on July 30th.

July 30th is the anniversary of the one and only time I was anticipating doing something and having absolutely no second thoughts, no doubts, no fears and no regrets. It was the one time when I knew my decision was 100% correct. I knew before we married our how our marriage would be. It was the one time when I had full confidence in myself and what I was about to do and it was such a liberating feeling.

I certainly never had such a feeling on the eve of my first wedding. I spent that day in dread and wished I could have gotten out of it without my mother pinching my head off for it. I wish I'd had that feeling of confidence on the eve of that wedding. No one should get married with an unsettled feeling.

The day before I married B was such a good day. All day we talked about how our dream was finally coming true and that we couldn't wait to get started on our married life. We talked about how we truly felt as though we were marrying the person who was perfect for us and we wished and prayed that we would have many happy years together. Both of us knew that no matter what the future would bring, we'd see it through together and that being together was the only option for us.

And now eight years later I feel even happier than I did on the eve of our wedding if for no other reason that I know I was right. I know beyond any doubt that marrying B was the right thing to do and that even if I make no other right decisions in my life, at least I got the most important one right.

I love you, my darling. Without end. Without limits. Without a doubt.

Happy anniversary.

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Friday, July 27, 2007

Friday Shuffle - X Marks the Dot Edition

Y'all have had a slight reprieve from bulleted lists from me but all good things come to an end.

X - I like to take a walk around the block just as the sun is sinking below the horizon. Just to get a bit of fresh air before closing things up for the day. I like to see folks walking home from their dinners out or venturing out to a pub and sometimes after my walk I'll sit on one of the benches that line the street to enjoy the fresh air and maybe listen to some music coming from a restaurant or bar.

As I sat near the country bar around the corner from my apartment and could hear someone playing guitar and singing live in the upstairs bar area. He was initially singing some ballad and as I sat down and then he switched to singing Hey Ya from Outkast. It cracked me up when the audience was singing along with the "Heeyyy yaaaaaa!" part. I snickered when the guys in the audience sang out "Ice cold!!". I had to get up and leave when they audience was chiming in with the "Shake it, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture!" because by then I was hollering out loud laughing. That was the best part of my whole day.

X - Holy socks, I need a pedicure. My feet look like I've been stopping my car with them. Need some lumber sanded? The bottoms of my feet could do it for you.

X - A parcel delivery service truck was parked in the loading zone next to my parking space in front of my apartment. I was unloading groceries from my car when the delivery man came from the building entrance next to mine wheeling a dolly with a lone box still on it. I had ordered more Hellmann's last week and was expecting it to be delivered any day now so I excitedly squealed "Oh is that mine? Is that package for [insert my last name here]?" He replied that it was.

"Oh good! I really need that box. I'm completely out of mayonnaise."

"I'm glad I was still here then. But you do know they sell mayonnaise at the place you've just been, don't you?"

I just sheepishly nodded. I could never make him understand my love of Hellmann's.

X - Can someone come up with an excuse for me to get out of going to a barbecue party at the home of some friends - people I seldom see and am not all that crazy about? I have to go to this shindig every year and always get pressured to try the flavorless potato salad. If they only would use some Hellmann's...

Time for some more organized randomness. Bixente the iPod, shuffle for us, please!
  1. American Idiot - Green Day
  2. Going To A Go-Go - Smokey Robinson
  3. Roll With The Changes - REO Speedwagon
  4. Blank Generation - Richard Hell
  5. Brick - Ben Folds
  6. See No Evil - Television
  7. Go All The Way - The Raspberries
  8. Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money
  9. Across The Sea - Weezer
  10. River Deep, Mountain High - Ike & Tina Turner
A little early New York punk scene mixed in with some mid-western working class rock. And Ike Turner. Now that would make an awesome cage match.

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Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Contented

A sweet friend of mine in New York - the Bronx to be exact, or as she calls it, the "Boogie Down" - reminded me today of a discussion she and I and some other friends had years ago. We were talking about our lives and how they were going and I talked about how I'm content with my life. And I am. I'm happy with how my life is and the way I live and I'll tell anyone who asks that I'm content. That conversation stuck with my friend and today she commented to me that my talking about my contentment helped her see that it's possible to be happy with what you have. It doesn't have to mean that you shouldn't try to improve things in your life if you're dissatisfied - my friend has changed careers and has, after a few crummy jobs, found a job that suits her to a T - but there's something to be said for being content with the good things you have.

Our conversation about contentment reminded me of my life when I first moved to Germany. I really wasn't content. I felt like a fish out of water, I was lonesome and felt out of place and I couldn't appreciate even the smallest thing that was good.

It took me living with B for a couple years - being around him and really learning who he is - for me to learn contentment. It was his example that taught me. B's been a quadriplegic for 24 years now. It's obviously not something he likes or asked for but it's what he's got. And while it took him a few years to get his own self adjusted to his changed life, he did it. He could have been spending all these years being bitter and wishing he could have his old life back but what good would it do? Instead he spent his time learning to do things in a different way and not dwelling on the things he has no ability to do. He began to like his life again.

I'd been spending my time in Germany during those first two or three years wishing I could be somewhere else. I didn't want to change what I knew and what felt comfortable and familiar to me. I didn't want to learn another language and get used to different food and become accustomed to different sense of humor and different customs. I spent so much time wishing I was somewhere else - back home where everything was familiar and felt so natural to me - that I couldn't appreciate anything about where I was. I was so critical of everything around me and I felt miserable. I couldn't even watch TV because I was so busy complaining that I didn't like the voices in the German dubbing.

And during all that time, B let me run. He didn't bother to come down on me or complain that I was complaining too much. He gave me the time I needed to adjust. What I needed was to do just that - make the adjustment. And by watching B live his life with patience and without self pity I learned that I could do it as well. That I could learn contentment.

I stopped thinking my MIL was interfering and began to appreciate that she was there to help me whenever I needed her. I made myself learn German so I could communicate with everyone and I didn't need to isolate myself. I learned to like the city where I live and to fall in love with certain parts of it. I learned to face up to my reality. Much like B had to learn that he wasn't going to have his life as a walking man back, I had to learn that I wasn't going to live in the US again. I learned to stop seeing my home in the US through rose-colored glasses and to see that not everything there is great and as it should be and not everything in Germany sucks and is inferior. Both places have their strong points and both places have their problems. It just didn't make sense for me to see the place where I live now as always being the inferior or second rate one. It doesn't mean that I can't love and appreciate my homeland but it does mean that I can see the good things in Germany and be happy with them.

It's not likely that I will ever leave Germany for good so I may as well learn to be content with where I am. This is my home too. It's okay that I have two homes. Loving my life here doesn't betray my homeland. And I simply don't want to spend the second half of my life being miserable that I'm not living in the US. I don't want to face each day being unable to feel good about my life. I like feeling content with my life and what I have. Why should I battle what I know won't change? I'd rather fill my life with the good things and work around the things that aren't very good.

There are two saying I like. The first is "Enough is as good as a feast.". That idea is what allows me to be content with the things I have. My apartment isn't the fanciest but it's in a nice neighborhood and it's comfortable and I can afford it without going broke. I don't have the most stylish clothes but I stay at home most of the time so why buy fancier stuff no one's going to see? I drive an 11-year-old car but it's paid for and it's not all dinged up or rusted out and it starts every time I turn the key. It's enough. Having bigger or better or newer wouldn't make me happier. The other saying I like is "Bloom where you're planted." and it's the saying that really guides my life. I have a choice - shrivel or bloom. I'd rather bloom.

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Halfway Yarn Talk

No knitting projects photos to show but the theme today is still about knitting so it's just semi-yarn today.

I'm still working on the Pink Ribbon Socks that I donated for Boob-Ha-Ha. I've ripped it back for the third time now because I wasn't pleased with how some of the cables looked on my second try. I'm honestly trying to make this sock, if not the best sock I've ever knit, at least one of the best socks. While I'm used to knitting for friends, this is a bit different. This time it's not a sock going to a friend and even more to the point, it's a pair of socks someone has paid for. I realize that technically the person who's getting the socks really is making a donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the socks are more or less the impetus to donate but still, if someone is going to make a generous donation based upon them receiving in return something they wish to have, I want what they receive to be really nice, hence me ripping this yarn threadbare. No worries - I happen to have a pantload of this same yarn. So as of right now I don't have any new knitting to show you except half a cuff. When I have to rip something back, I generally have to rip it all the way back to the absolutely beginning.

You know I'm looking forward to my trip to Mississippi in October and one of the big reasons I'm looking so forward to it is that I'm having a girls weekend with some friends of mine while I'm there. I am so loved by these women that they're coming to Mississippi from all around the US to see me for forty-eight hours. We shop and eat and talk and laugh and shop some more and one of the things I'm looking forward to doing is knitting with them. Not all of them knit but what's great about knitting is that when you're just sitting around and grooving on the great vibe and talking from the heart you can still knit. Poppy will be there and she knits and seeing her with needles in hand working on a project is something I really want to see in person. I'm looking forward to going to yarn shops with them and picking out new sock yarn - the non-knitters picking out what they want me to turn into socks for them. I hope I'm able to show Poppy and Michele how to knit socks with two circular needles or make short row heels if they haven't already learned by then because some of what's so magic about knitting is teaching it to others. I have a bond with all the ladies who will be there and the extra bond I have with the knitters is an added joy.

Do you have something in common with your close friends that creates an even deeper bond? Something you share each time you get together? Tell me what it is because I can't help but be fascinated by people who have a passion for something and they share that passion with people they're close with.

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Monday, July 23, 2007

Above Ground

My self-imposed blackout of all means of passive communication - TV news, newspapers, email, Internet, etc. - has been lifted. I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last night around 4am so I'm back in the real world. I'm not much into giving book reviews and I'm sure there are some who haven't finished the book yet so all I'll say is that I liked it better than I thought I would and I'm glad I had plenty of tissues on hand. It's very seldom that books can make me cry - I am much more likely to cry in a movie - but this had me in near constant tears through the last third of the book. I'm glad I spent the weekend immersed in that world because I'm really going to miss new installments of this story.

And now it's back to knitting because I am now seriously behind.

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Friday, July 20, 2007

Friday Shuffle - Bossy? Never! Just Insistant! Edition

Who am I speaking of? Hilda, of course. And she's really isn't bossy but she's a woman with definite ideas and when she wants something done, she'll do it. And if she wants you to do something, you'll do it. It's part of what I adore about her. Focused and determined. That's Hilda. And me? I'm more or less flaky and sleepy.

Hilda's tagged me with a meme that's actually my style of meme because it combines talking about me with history. I love me. I love history. Let's go.

Here's how it goes. Look up your birth date on Wikipedia. Find three events, two births and a holiday that falls on your birthday and tell us what they are.

My birth date is January 19th. Let's see what we find.

Events:

~ 1829 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust Part 1 premieres (and likely is still going on).

~ 1953 - 68% of all United States television sets were tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.

~ 1977 - (This one's for Hilda) Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snowfall has occurred. It also fell in the Bahamas. (Please tell me you remember this, Hilda!)

Births:

These are harder to pick from. This was evidently a good day to be born if you're cool or interesting. Or Desi Arnaz, Jr. (See events above). I'll pick some people I really like - I can't just stop at two.

~ 1807 - Robert E. Lee, American Confederate general.

~ 1809 - Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and poet.

~ 1939 - Phil Everly, American musician (I loves me some Everly Brothers)

~ 1946 - Dolly Parton, American singer and actress (I loves me some Dolly too. I absolutely dig that we share a birthday.).

Holiday

~ Confederate Heroes Day in Texas. That's it. Just one holiday. Must be because so many cool and interesting people are celebrating their birthday there's no need for an extra holiday.

Now I'm not exactly sure why I'm doing this part except because I've been instructed to and since I'm a color-within-the-lines sort of gal, I'll do it. Copy this list of blog links, delete the link at the top and then add your own at the bottom. Okay. I'll comply. I don't want Earth spinning out of orbit or something because I didn't follow the directions.

~ Mimi Writes
~ Late Bloomer Boomer
~ Second Effort
~ The Mind Wobbles
~ Dixie Peach

Holy cow! More requirements! Now it's time for me to tag five folks for this link filled and quasi-educational meme. I don't normally tag but if I've conformed this much so far I may as well see it through. And if I didn't tag you and you want to do this meme, pretend I did. One of us may as well be a maverick.

~ Kitty - C'mon. Put aside Harry Potter anticipation long enough to do this meme.
~ Marsha - You too. See if you can break your link record.
~ Lisa - Now surely interesting things happened on the day you were born other than you being born, right?
~ Katy - You like history don't you? This meme's for you then!
~ Mahala - It'll help ease you through your No-New-Craig hump.

Looking up? Done. Copying and pasting? Done. Linking? Done. Tagging? Done. I need to put my feet up and have a cocktail after all this. Or shuffle. Bixente the iPod, let's hit it!
  1. You Only Live Once - The Strokes
  2. Give It Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers
  3. Come Rain Or Come Shine - Judy Garland
  4. Looking For A Kiss - New York Dolls
  5. Young Americans - David Bowie
  6. Country Sunshine - Dottie West
  7. Badlands - Bruce Springsteen
  8. Give Peace A Chance - John Lennon
  9. Evangeline - Los Lobos
That's it for me until next week. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be delivered tomorrow and I'm going underground until I'm finished with reading it. B's going to try to distract me - you know have me take him outside and have fun and all that - but else I'll be spending every spare minute reading.

Y'all be good until I return!

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Thursday, July 19, 2007

Pink and Bald

Part of what I love about blogging and the online world in general is the opportunity to get to know folks you otherwise would never know existed. Marsha is one of those friends. She's a longtime reader of mine who used to live in Japan and now she's a new transplant to my home state of Mississippi - unfortunately it's the opposite side of the state from my hometown. I've loved getting to know her better over the time we've been reading each other's blogs and so it was a real treat to find that she had nominated me for a Thoughtful Blogger Award. Believe me, she's the real thoughtful one.

Want to know how the whole Thoughtful Blogger Award thing works? Read about it here to find out the rules for nominations and for the other awards you can give to others who are touching people from around the world with their blogs.

I should be nominating five other people for awards but today I just want to present two.

Remember Boob-Ha-Ha? The online auction to raise funds for the Breast Cancer 3-Day with all proceeds going to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation? It was a rousing success!

It was promised that if Boob-Ha-Ha raised $1000 the Poppy would dye her hair bright pink. And if Wendy, the one participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day, raised a total of $5000 she'd shave her head. Now that's a commitment to a cause. That's putting yourself out there.

Well what do you know. Boob-Ha-Ha raised well over $2000 and Wendy has reached her goal of $5000. Someone's gonna go pink and someone's gonna go smooth. I couldn't be prouder of them.

And because I think both Poppy and Wendy are so terrific for all their efforts to raise funds so that a cure for breast cancer can be found I'm nominating them for a Charity Blogger Award. I want everyone who reads their blogs to know of their hard work and their generous hearts.

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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Fans

I think it's pretty well established to everyone that I am not a fan of especially hot weather but one thing I do like about it is sleeping with a fan running in the background. It's not just the cool breeze slipping over my skin that I love so much as the sound of it. A running fan has the ability to put me to sleep within minutes. Perhaps it's because many Southerners grow up with the sound of fans running all summer and over the generations our ability to be comforted by it is nearly genetic.

Fans really remind me of visiting my grandparents - my mother's parents. By the time I was six years old we only lived in houses that had central air conditioning so using fans was generally limited to those times when it wasn't quite hot enough to justify turning on the A/C. But my grandparents had A/C only as a window unit in the living room so electric fans were used throughout the rest of the house. It's seldom I turn on a fan that the sound doesn't instantly transport me back to the home of my grandparents.

Visits to my grandparents, generally lasting about two weeks, were something I'd look forward to and my enthusiasm for being there would last for maybe a day or two. Mostly because there simply wasn't much to do there. They lived in Woodruff County, Arkansas, otherwise known as The Middle of Nowhere. They didn't even live in town but instead lived in a 100+ year old house about 4 miles from town in a little community called Grays which was essentially a gravel road with some houses. Even as a child it used to amuse me no end to see the sign before their road that said "Grays - Pop. 25". I think the 25 the sign claimed was perhaps a little overly ambitious. At any rate they lived in a one story house with a modest front yard and a rather large piece of land out back that contained my grandmother's large vegetable garden and, until I was seven-years-old, an outhouse.

Knowing how I am with such things it's a wonder that I didn't simply cross my legs for two weeks instead of braving the outhouse but in reality I imagine I mostly availed myself of a chamber pot and have blocked out the actual memory.

While the floor plan of the house changed since the time my mother had lived there, I remember my grandparents' house like this: It was a brown clapboard affair with long, unshuttered windows. A porch ran the length of the house and the front door was at the far left end of the house. It opened directly into the living room - a somewhat cheerless room with a sofa, my grandfather's recliner and another two upholstered chairs. A table by the front door held the telephone and I remember that for many years it was an ancient black rotary dial affair with a receiver so heavy it could give one a concussion should one be clanged in the head with it.

A door separated the living room from my grandparents' bedroom which was in the dead center of the house. This was the largest room, dominated by their beds - two double beds with ancient felt mattresses and chenille bedspreads. I remember those mattresses being like rocks. I remember as a teenager turning those mattresses and nearly suffering a hernia on the strength of it. A long double window separated their beds and at one time this room had been the living room and those double windows were the front door. Two of the walls were decorated by large professional portraits of two of my mother's sisters, sporting the finest in early 1960s beehive hairdos. I thought they were beautiful. While my grandfather's chest-of-drawers was bare on top save a dresser scarf, my grandmother's dresser was topped with an ancient jewelry box, a silver backed brush and hand mirror and various school photos of her nineteen grandchildren, often tucked haphazardly into the edges of other framed photographs. Regardless of the time of day, that room always seemed terribly dark - the result of having the only windows in the room being those that were sheltered by the porch.

Two other doors lead from their bedroom. One led to the back of the house where the kitchen was at one end joined with a dining room and from that was a door to my great-grandfather's bedroom...at least until he died and then it was turned into a sort of storage room. A back door in the kitchen led to steep, rickety steps that led to the back yard under which my grandmother's collection of half wild cats slept. These cats were never allowed indoors, were never fed anything but table scraps and all the mice they could catch and were never played with by us children. They weren't fond of humans and picking them up insured one of a scratched face or arms. In 1969 an addition was built on the back of the house adding two rooms - a laundry room with an automatic washer and dryer replacing the wash house housing the ancient wringer washer and a bathroom which replaced the outhouse and having to bathe in the kitchen in a galvanized tub. It always seemed to me those two rooms leaned somewhat and I took my baths with slight concern that the bathroom would simply fall off the house one day.

The other door in my grandparents' bedroom led to the other bedroom of the house. Two double beds were in there, also with ancient mattresses that sagged in the middle. Two people in those beds would have to cling to the sides of the mattress for dear life to keep from rolling into one another. When I was very little I would often have to sleep in one bed with my mother and my sister and invariably I'd be in the middle which insured that I would not only be kicked by my sister but would be rolled upon by both.

The best part of the house, to me, was the front porch. At one end was a porch swing covered with at least twenty layers of white paint. Lawn chairs lined the porch from the swing to the front door for the use of anyone not lucky enough to land a spot on the swing and no rural Arkansas porch could really be complete without a tin Coca-Cola thermometer nailed to the wall. A couple wire handled fly swatters were also hung on a nail. Survival on that porch depended on one's ability to kills flies, mosquitoes and wasps with one blow and I became a crack shot at an early age.

The front yard was dominated by an enormous elm tree that in my younger days had a well-loved swing hanging from its branches. The ground underneath was sandy which was perfect for digging your toes in to get the swing to stop but playing in that ground was discouraged as occasionally cat crap could be found there.

Days on these visits went pretty much like this: We'd get up early but not nearly as early as my grandfather, who was already up, bathed and dressed, breakfasted and already had driven into town by the time we were awake. We'd play or read or do something to stay out of the kitchen while my grandmother and mother were cooking the noontime meal and my grandfather would arrive back home in time to nap for a half-hour, eat dinner, relax in his recliner and watch As the World Turns before driving back into town for the afternoon. These trips into town generally consisted of running errands and hanging out at the hardware store to bullshit with his cronies. Afternoons for us kids were not as much fun as the mornings as it was much hotter and we were growing bored with one another. Staying outdoors was encouraged and repeatedly coming inside to cool ourselves in front of the air conditioner was greeted with shouts from our mother to "stop fannin' that door...you're lettin' the air out!". There were no other kids around for us to play with - the average age in that community hovered between old and ancient - and we kids would grow bored with each other's company within a few days. My brothers often spent their time finding something disgusting or scary to throw on me in order to watch me scream and dance in fright.

If we were lucky then perhaps we could go into town with my mother in the afternoons while she grocery shopped at the Mad Butcher - a grocery store that had a rather weird logo of an insane looking meat cutter that laughed crazily in the TV commercials. Under normal circumstances it would be a trip we'd beg to get out of but grocery stores in another town always seemed more interesting. Plus vacation time was always a good time to try to con my mother into buying stuff she would normally avoid.

Evenings were the worst time on these visits. My grandfather went to bed not long after sunset and we were sharply reminded to be quiet lest we awaken him. Trips to the bathroom became like missions because one had to go past my sleeping grandfather to reach the back of the house where the toilet was located. We'd wait until all of us had to go or until peeing in one's pants became a distinct and very real danger. TV reception in the evenings could be iffy and one was never sure if one could clearly tune in a station coming from Little Rock or Memphis. Finally we'd give up and go to bed, always careful to wash our filthy feet before climbing into bed. It seems that no matter how clean we might be otherwise, our always bare feet looked as if we'd been wading through mud.

Tussling and grabbing for mattress real estate ensued and continued until finally the electric fan was turned on. It's soothing whoosh of air would caress our clammy skin and its sound, much like the ocean in a seashell, would fill our ears and lull us to sleep. I have always sworn that once asleep, I slept better at my grandparents' house than almost anywhere else I've laid my head.

The secret is the fan.

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Monday, July 16, 2007

Meet Darling Mollie!

After a weekend you'd think I'd have something to write but I'm afraid I don't. It's simply too freaking hot to think straight. I've wiped sweat off my upper lip so much I've chapped the skin.

So Darling Mollie, being as she loves me dearly, is going to pinch hit for me today and guest blog. Her first dabble into blogging, guest or otherwise. That's the true mark of friendship when someone will blow off work a bit to guest blog for you.

Kim is roasting in Germany right now. It is about 87 degrees at 10pm in her apartment, so I am taking over blogging today. I’m new at this and certainly no replacement for my best friend- but when in need, I’ll play Ed McMahon for her anytime.

I’ll entertain you all with my Farrell’s story. Since it is hot- a good ice cream story is pretty appropriate.

It was my 7th birthday. I dreamed about my birthday party for ages because in my family, a birthday party was no extravagant event. You had homemade cake, you had family and if you were lucky a paper hat. And that was dandy!

Well, I begged to the point that I guess I wore my parent down after about 3 years, and so I got my wish- I got a birthday party at Farrell's. All the girls in the class were invited (even Tracy Anderson who had to sit on the floor at parties because she would urinate on furniture)- and the week was spent as a minor celebrity. I was invited over to EVERYONE'S house that week to play.

The day of the event comes- and I am not feeling all that great. I swear up and down that I will be fine by 3:00pm and the party will go on. All my little friends start trickling in- Patty, Kerry, Debbie, Leah, Amy, Emily times 2- I mean, everyone showed up. My sister and brother were there too and they were finally big enough to be the party helpers- it was good all around. I open up all my gifts- I remember plainly getting 2 mini Pot Belly Bears and a Mickey Mouse Beach ball. Definitely hit the jack pot. I was known for my Pot Belly collection.

It was time to leave and I was beyond excited. The elusive Zoo sundae was finally to be mine. 42 scoops of bliss that I was to pick out! To this day, I do not think anyone knows that it was going to be 20 scoops chocolate, 20 scoops chocolate chip and 2 scoops vanilla with hot fudge and chocolate jimmys. My parents had purchased the extremely attractive 1978 Buick Regal coupe- niiiiiice. Amy Evans and Leah had begged to sit next to me on the ride over- other parents had shown up and all the kids were spread out in different cars.

Off we went! Until I barfed in the back seat. All over my parents new car. Never got my Zoo sundae- the group all piled into Kerry’s mom’s car and they sang Happy Birthday to my sister.

I spent the day with my dad. He told me how great it was that we got to play with all the stuff and were not stuck in Farrell's. I think I knew he was trying to be nice- but who are we kidding?! 27 years later I am owed that Zoo sundae! I think of it whenever it gets hot out.


God love her - she's been pining for 42 scoops of ice cream for the past 27 years and what do I send her? Socks! Times change though. No longer is Darling Mollie known for her Pot Belly Bear collection. It's her Chanel and Louis Vuitton collection she's known for now.

Danke for guest blogging, Darling Mollie! And when I see you next, the ice cream is on me.

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Friday, July 13, 2007

Friday Shuffle - China Thieves Edition

It's been another week where not much has gone on around here except for me knitting and ripping back the sock I'm knitting for Boob-Ha-Ha so I'm a bit low on content. So instead, how about a story? I told this story to Poppy a couple months ago and she told me that I would have to include it here some time so here goes. Per Poppy's request -

Let me start by saying that I was not personally witness to this story but I've heard it so many times and I know my parents so well and how they interacted with one another that I not only know what was said between them but exactly how it was said.

We lived in a one-story house, an L shaped affair. My parents' bedroom was at the far end and the living room/dining room combo was at the intersection of the L. In the middle of the night my mother woke up in a start and frantically woke my father whispering:

"Honey! Honey! Wake up! Someone has broke in the house!"

"Wha...?"

"Someone has broken into the house! Robbers have broken in! And they're stealing the china!"

"What? Stealing the china? Who in the hell would be stealing the china?"

"I don't know! But I hear it! They're stealing the china! Get up and see what's going on!"

"I'm not getting up!"

"But they're stealing the china!"

"Well hell, let 'em!"

My parents had the sort of relationship where my mother would invariably have a ridiculous request and my father could only put off fulfilling the request but for so long. Grumbling, he got up to go down the hall and confront the china robbers.

Robbers in the house stealing china or not, my mother suddenly had to get up to pee. She got out of bed, walked the two feet to the master bathroom, flipped on the light and got the surprise of her life. The bathroom was hosed down in diarrhea. Dog diarrhea. One of our dogs would have rather burst than ever poop in the house while the other felt no such dedication to in-house cleanliness if circumstances warranted so knowing which dog was the culprit was no trick to determine. This dog, Katie, was also bad to dig into the trash for any disgusting morsels her doggy palate might find tasty so it also wasn't unheard of for her to get a bout of crippling diarrhea. And boy did she leave her mark in the bathroom. Doggy poo was all over the floors, the walls and all over the glass shower doors. That was the noise my mother heard in her sleep. Not robbers stealing the china, a little Sheltie hosing down the shower stall with liquid poop.

My mother, not turning on the hall light, headed towards the dining room to tell my father what had transpired and to call off the china theft alert. When she got to the living room she nearly tripped over my father who was on his hands and knees mopping up the carpet by the dim light that was being cast from the kitchen.

"Honey, no one was stealing the china. It was Katie. She has diarrhea and has pooped all over the bathroom."

My father was furious that he'd been dragged out of bed in the first place on a wild china robber chase. "You're telling me!" he hollered. "I came down the hall and found her in the act! And when I started to wipe it up she backed up to me and damn near shit in my face!"

Nothing to do after a story like that than shuffle. Let's hit it!
  1. Welcome To Paradise - Green Day (From the Dookie album, no less!)
  2. Push - Matchbox 20
  3. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend - The Ramones
  4. Bleibt Alles Anders - Herbert Grönemeyer
  5. Kingdom of Doom - The Good, The Bad & The Queen
  6. Say Goodbye - Dave Matthews Band
  7. Build Me Up, Buttercup - The Foundations
  8. Far Far Away - Slade
  9. Chelsea Dagger - The Fratellis
  10. Love Rollercoaster - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Enjoy your weekend. And keep the trash covered.

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Thursday, July 12, 2007

Desperate Thursday Haiku

Can I haiku for two Thursdays in a row? Why sure I can! And eat a sandwich too! All without a net!

My Thursday fall back
When inspiration runs low
Rely on what works.

More poems for you
Summing up my life in verse
It's this or it's dots.

Not happy with sock
The Pink Ribbon one, I mean
Rip out, start again.

Can't make sucky sock.
It's too important for that.
It's for charity!

Pissing rain today
And where's my umbrella?
It's nowhere near me!


You know what? Forget it. This is too much like work. I need at least something about which to write and today's events aren't meeting me even halfway. I'm serious - the most noteworthy even that occurred today was getting my hair colored and my bangs cut and since that happens every six weeks it hardly garners a mention. Not even peppy haiku can save this festival of boredom.

C'mon back tomorrow. Bixente the iPod will shuffle and I'll roll back the rugs and we'll dance. No syllable restrictions either.

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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

I'm Blaming He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named

All day I have been anticipating going to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Popular movies are shown during the first few days of release in English at our local theater and since I enjoy Harry Potter films much more in English I wanted to go this evening to its first English showing. I could see the film in German and understand it fine but there's something about these stories that makes me want to see them in original language. Subtle differences in language and certain things needing to be changed to make sense when it's translated into German sometimes goes over my head and when it's a film I'm really looking forward to seeing, I want to get the most out of it.

My entire day has revolved around going to see this film. Leaving B alone for the 3 1/2 or 4 hours it would take me to get to the theater, see the film and get back home isn't something we can do on a whim so I had to make sure everything was in place for me to go.

I've been excited all day to go to the movies. I very seldom see movies in a theater and to see this one on the big screen was whipping me up into a froth. And everything seemed to be going in the right direction. I was able to get all the things done to leave B alone done in plenty of time and the weather was even cool enough for me to don my hand knit Gryffindor socks:

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My hair was even perfect today. I'd purchased my ticket online and all I'd need to do once I got to the theater was pick it up at the terminal. I even had an excellent seat reserved for me. I've had dates with grown men that didn't have me in such a state of anticipation.

It was pouring rain when I left home but that wasn't dampening my spirits. I caught the streetcar to the theater, picked up my ticket and proceeded to go in and the ticket taker stopped me.

"This is for the show in English."

"I know. I speak English. I can speak some English for you if you want."

[laughing] "No, no! It's just there's a little problem."

The manager, having overheard us, walked up and said "Oh there's a problem with the English showing. The CD with the English language hasn't come in. It should have been here by now. It could come at any second but if it gets to be 7:45 and it's not here we'll have to cancel the showing. But you can see it in German if you want. Or get your money back."

"Oh. Uh. Well. I'll wait and hope for the best."

Good hair and lucky hand knit Gryffindor socks didn't help. The CD didn't arrive and the manager announced that the showing would be canceled. Since the whole point of me going to these lengths to see the film in English would be spoiled if I just went in and watched it in German I went to the box office and got my money back. The manager saw me in line, approached me and said "The CD will be here tomorrow. I swear it will be. We're showing it again tomorrow and Monday and Tuesday.".

There's no way I can go either Thursday or Monday so the Tuesday showing will be my last chance and that's when I'll go. It's anticipated that around here the weather will be unbearably hot. Like 100°F hot. And if it's going to be that hot, I'm going to have bad hair. And no ability to sport lucky hand knit Gryffindor socks.

Hold me while I weep tiny, bitter tears of disappointment.

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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Unscheduled Dots

You had a bit of yarn talk yesterday instead of the normally scheduled yarn talk Tuesday so today we'll hit the bulleted list. I haven't gotten dotty on you in days.
  • I finally broke down and ordered new panties. Finding that at least half of my panties have elastic that couldn't hold up a flea let alone themselves around my waist prompted my ordering. Shot elastic determines the purchase of new panties. Any holes will, however, take priority and require that the pair be retired, regardless of the condition of the elastic. I order panties from the same place in the same style. I require that they be cotton, cut high on the thigh and 50% of my panty wardrobe must be plain white. They are utilitarian, not sexy. My days of believing I could impress men with my undergarments are long gone and I wear panties befitting my status as a middle-aged woman who knows that there are a more things a man will find sexy than panties.
  • For the second time within a week I've been woken up and forced to answer the door while I still have curlers in my hair. It seems I've found the way to get unexpected visitors - just wind strands of my hair around foam rods and wait. Today's visitor was some guy sent by the rental company to fix some defect on the heater in the kitchen. I informed him that I had the heater in the kitchen removed. He said his company sent a letter to tell us about this little project and when it was scheduled. I told him that I got no such letter. He asked me if I was sure. I told him that had I received such a letter I wouldn't have answered the door with my hair in curlers and regardless of whether or not I received such a letter it wouldn't change the fact that the heater in the kitchen was removed when I moved in and was quietly collecting dust in the basement. Dude, I am standing here in curlers! Get the hint and blow!
  • This week our weather is damp, coolish and mostly cloudy with the occasional shower thrown in. Next week it's supposed to be up near 100°F. Let the whining and bitching begin!
  • You know I can roll my dry hair on those little foam curlers, leave them in a few hours and I've got curls that last a good 10-12 hours. 2.99€ well spent!
  • Mmmmm...fresh blueberries and slices of fresh peaches. I'm getting all swoony thinking about them.
  • Have you checked out the goods up for bid on Boob-Ha-Ha yet? Make a bid, get something great, support breast cancer research!
I'm off to heed the siren song of fresh blueberries.

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Monday, July 09, 2007

Proof That It Can Be Done

In the past Hilda has expressed a sense of wonderment bordering on amazement that I use five needles to knit socks. I told her that wasn't the most I could handle - when I knit cables I add a sixth needle. I like to imagine that when Hilda read that her eyes nearly spun in her head.

But look! It's easy!

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Two needles working on the current row, one needle for the cable, two vertical needles on the sides and one horizontal needle at the bottom. My math skills are bad but even to me that adds up to six. To the uninitiated this looks complicated and even slightly dangerous. To a sock knitter this looks perfectly normal.

And who will be the recipient of this latest sock knitting effort of mine? I don't know. Could be you. Or it could be you. Or back there. Yes, you. Could be yours as well. It's going to be a Pink Ribbon Sock knitted from scrumptious Regia Silk yarn - 55% wool, 20% silk, 25% poly fiber and it's up for bid at Boob-Ha-Ha with all proceeds going to the Susan G. Koman Foundation via the Breast Cancer 3-Day. I'm even going to knit it to the length to fit your foot so feel free to bid even if you have long feet.

Hand knit socks not your thing? That's okay. There are other fabulous things for you to bid for. Handbags, pillows, scarves, framed photos, bowls, jams, and a host of other clever, useful and beautiful items. Beautiful stuff to buy and all the money goes to save boobies. That's way more amazing than juggling six knitting needles.

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Friday, July 06, 2007

Friday Shuffle - Save Boobies Edition

It's almost hard to believe that another week has passed because honestly I can't think of one thing I've accomplished that would give proof that this week has even existed. It's been a strange combination of malaise, ennui, and some of the shittiest summer weather that nature could devise. The phone hasn't even rang in all week.

However instead of blathering on about how I've not accomplished anything, Darling Mollie's second sock isn't finished yet or how I've got nothing on the horizon to break the monotony until the last Harry Potter book gets delivered in two weeks time, let me draw your attention for a moment to something that's important to me and important to folks who are important to me.

See those two pink buttons on my sidebar there? There are two because boobies come in pairs (the human sort, anyway) but either one will take you to a website that's featuring some of the most fabulous things for auction and your winning bid will not only get you something truly wonderful and unique to see or wear or use but you bid will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to aid in breast cancer awareness and research. Go here, look at the cool stuff, make your bids next week, get something terrific, help save boobies.

I haven't accomplished a thing all week but there are those who are doing something to make a real difference. Please help them reach their goal.

Bixente the iPod's goal is to shuffle. Let's go!
  1. Wait A Minute - The Cherry Bombs
  2. Stop Stop Stop - The Hollies
  3. I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock And Roll) - Dave Edmunds
  4. Lucky Man - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
  5. The Loving - XTC
  6. Up On Cripple Creek - The Band
  7. Can't Help Falling In Love - Lick The Tins
  8. Lullaby of London - The Pogues
  9. House At Pooh Corner - Kenny Loggins
  10. Flirtin' With Disaster - Molly Hatchet
Poppy, did you get visions of a Kenny Loggins/Molly Hatchet cage match?

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Thursday, July 05, 2007

Thursday Haiku

I'd like to thank y'all for the kind greetings for Independence Day. It means a lot that you were thinking of me as you celebrated the holiday.

Let's jump right into some haiku. Nothing like a little 3 line, 5-7-5 syllable poem to help sum up your day.

Last season of M*A*S*H
Delivered to me today
Fave show of all time.

Postman comes to door
My hair's still up in curlers
At least my bra's on.

Sock knitting slows down
Second sock always the same
Takes me twice as long.

Diamonds dull - must clean!
Use brush and baking soda
And the sparkle's back.

All that mayonnaise?
The five pint jars bought last month?
It's almost all gone.

Blame the sandwiches!
Chicken! Hard boiled egg on toast!
And those BLTs!

Plan for the weekend
Watch M*A*S*H and eat sandwiches
Bye-bye to mayo.

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Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Wish I Were There

I love the 4th of July. I love the history. I love the parades. I love seeing flags everywhere and I get choked up when I hear the Star Spangled Banner played. I love the picnics of fried chicken and potato salad with chilled watermelon eaten for dessert. I love seeing who can spit the seeds the farthest. I love reading the Declaration of Independence - when I was eight I started a tradition of reading it every Independence Day. I love being outdoors all day long no matter if it was blistering hot and then waiting patiently for it to finally grow dark enough to set off fireworks. Or even better, finding a good viewing place to see a community fireworks show.

I'm a fireworks junkie. I'm a history junkie. I am a freak for Thomas Jefferson. And I love my country and I'm very proud of her. It's no wonder that, after Christmas, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday and it's no wonder that today I'm especially homesick.

So someone do me a favor. Someone eat some fried chicken for me. Someone put out their flag for me. Go to a parade and wave for me as it passes by. Spit some watermelon seeds for me. And someone light a whole box of sparklers for me and say "Ohhhh!" and "Ahhhh!" when you see some especially spectacular skyrockets. No need to love America for me today. I can do that wherever I am.

Happy Birthday, America.

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Monday, July 02, 2007

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful

And how am I spending a cool Monday night?

I'm sitting in my pajamas - white V-neck tee shirt with pink plaid capri length jammie pants - with my hair in curlers, a facial masque on my face and am playing Spades online. And eating slices of kiwi.

Sing along with me now! A pretty giiiirrrrl is like a melodyyyyy...

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