Motes

Wordless Wednesday

2008-05-07T07:12:00.002-04:00

Dad, 1929

Bleeding Hearts Abound

2008-05-05T23:08:00.003-04:00

My grandmother would pull these up and claim they were weeds. I have enough for every broken heart in my neighborhood. A branch for my special aqua, hand-blown glass, which is a mini vase. My heart is bleeding from yet another bout of drugs and more fun with strange injections at the end of the month.

And a small shrub for RC, to plant in a shady or partially sunny yard. No maintenance really necessary, although I sprinkle it with the same plant food I use for my roses (which are doing pitifully). Every year your plant will reappear in late April or early May, and may get as tall as 5 feet.

And a lovely shrub for WT, to grow into a largish bush just perfect for Belle. It would be Belle's Bush, and you could tell people it's a special variety which thrives on dog pee.

And Black Sheeped might need one for Monk and Cab to investigate, partially eat, and then decide it's not worth being potty place. But after it grows and makes more shade, it will be a good napping place.

And if Mrs. Gunslinger didn't live in 100 degree temps with no rain, she could use one too.

You can get them from your local nursery....or go to the deer-proof site on my blogroll. A bit more expensive, but then grown in a tried and true native area.

Actually, I don't think anyone can have too many bleeding hearts hiding in the shade or crowding out a late tulip or two. They remind me of all the times I've had a bleeding heart, which always mends, and the need to be reminded of heartbreak to appreciate the riot of summer roses.

I don't care if they were Granny's weeds. They're important in my garden.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-04-30T02:03:00.002-04:00

Waiting for Spring
Click for larger image.

Motes Jumble Sale

2008-04-29T13:26:00.001-04:00

Mr. Pi is out of town, and the house feels big and empty. The cats are just starting to get nervous, realizing that he did not come home last night and is not up and about this morning.

I am blue, despite the profusion of tulips and daffodils and blooming trees. I should be happier, considering that I caught 2 bunnies in the act of munching and successfully driving them off with a good spray from the hose. They always run next door, where our very very old neighbors live. I think the rabbits live there because the owners are too old to chase them.

As beautiful as it looks, it's cold outside, with a wind chill near freezing. Otherwise I would venture out, camera in hand, and go to the botanical gardens. The humid jungle-like specimens, with the birds and frogs would have cheered me up a lot. And the cacti room would be hot and dry.

I have finished my series of detective novels set in Botswana. There is a new one out, but in hardcover. No paperback until 2009. I wonder how much it costs to go to Botswana?

Journeys are on my mind. I am craving the rolling hills near Santa Barbara or the village in England where I lived as a child. Perhaps a little walking tour, following the advice of Mr Frank Bottomley in The Explorer's Guide to the Abbeys, Monasteries, and Churches of Great Britain, complete with ratings on the condition of ruins and whether it's really worth the trek to see Little Coggleshall.

Instead, today I will do housework and remember St. Mark's in Venice and the murals of Pompeii (which I had to sneak into as the Italian guards thought 12 was way too young to see such goings-on), or maybe the sounds of the lions roaring from the zoo in Khartoum at night. They don't roar any more. Since the war, most of the animals have died of starvation there. Like everyone else in Sudan.

And later, I'll try to do some online research on the new cousins (I use the term loosely) related to Rachel Lucretia and The Lost Boy. Since I'm RL's direct descendant, all the info on her brothers will be of the cousinly type, but I do have some new and interesting bits on them.

Well, if I don't start cleaning the carpets now, I will put it off until tomorrow, which is becoming a more appealing option every time it crosses my mind. I may just sit for a while with Mr Bottomley's (what an unfortunate name) book and try to find abbeys that are A quality and not E, and then get out my atlas and see if I can put together a walking trip. Or not.

Ah, tomorrow is Wordless Wednesday. Saved by the camera.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-04-23T05:28:00.001-04:00

Pink Hyacinth

No Privacy

2008-04-20T19:47:00.005-04:00

Not even to brush my teeth.

Tiger is everywhere, my personal bodyguard.

It's a good thing that your front claws can no longer rip their way through a closed door. Heaven forbid I close a door, type on my keyboard, cook, or do laundry without your supervision.

I dare you to get in the shower with me though.

As the Garden Goes

2008-04-19T18:13:00.009-04:00

When I last reported on the state of the garden, birds of all types were looking for real estate. These two trees are particularly sought after spots. Last year Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal had the blue spruce, and were proud of it. There was a lot of cardinal noise in the yard last year. I'm not sure who got the cedar to the right.

However, this year the Mourning Doves got the coveted blue spruce. I watched them as they carefully but very quickly built their nest, but couldn't find it in the foliage. At last I caught Mother Dove sitting in the nest. Not wanting to disturb her, this was as close as I could get. The only sad thing about the doves in the spruce is that now that they've mated, they've stopped singing. And I think the Cardinals moved to the yard next door in a huff.

Around the first of April the pussy willow decided to break out in its velvet flowers.

Today they looked like this.

The garden wars are not over yet. Yes, say hello to my half-eaten tulips. I had to chase 2 brazen rabbits away last night. They didn't even move until I was only a few feet away.

Stay tuned, for yet more stuff has been happening. I've found a few more dead relatives I'm sure you're panting to read about, and I have to let you know how liberal sprinkling of cayenne pepper works as a bunny repellent. Au resevoir for now. I'm off for a shower and a sunset on the porch.

The Really Long Spring Break - With New and Improved Comments

2008-04-03T03:55:00.002-04:00

Some people go to Florida. Some people come home from college to hang out with their friends. Some parents take vacation time so the whole family can go on one of those road trips in the station wagon (we all had at least one) to visit great-aunt Edna and her cousin Mabel, and listen to Dad complain about Mom's relatives.

Alas, my spring break has had none of the traditional fun. Spring break here has involved Spring Cleaning, a totally different animal. Even though I'm not finished (the refrigerator's magnets all stare at me every time I walk by, and I can't remember how to use the carpet cleaner), I have managed to take entertaining breaks here and there. Which is probably why I'm not finished yet.

Number one on my break reading list is a new (to me) mystery series set in Botswana. So far I've read three of the series: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Tears of the Giraffe, and Morality for Beautiful Girls. Precious Ramotswe, the owner and chief detective, takes "concerns for both ladies and others." These books are beautiful in their setting and characters, and filled with their own unique humor. They made me want to fly off to Botswana, where my figure would be appreciated because it's "of the traditional style." I don't know if you can find them in your library or online at Amazon, but they are worth looking out for. I borrowed mine from a friend, and alas, have to return them. But she has 4 more to lend me.

And with my back, there are television breaks. There would have been more posting breaks but my back was barely hanging in from all the housework. So I managed to see HBO's John Adams series, as well as two movies I'd been waiting to hit the HBO circuit, The Good Shepherd and Breach. They both had some stellar roles as well as many mediocre ones, but I enjoyed them. The Good Shepherd is very convoluted, but since my Dad had a similar type job ("Don't tell anyone where I work or what I do") and was frequently absent on overseas "business," I enjoyed it more. Matt Damon just shines. Unfortunately, Chris Cooper was the only shining star in Breach, but he made the film worth at least one viewing.

My last, and probably most favorite resting during Spring Housecleaning Break was watching the tulips and daffodils pop up. And the bunnies have popped up right with them. Later today I'll take a look at the rose bushes. Last year they didn't eat the roses. I have to see just what they've been up to.

So, that's how I spent my Spring Housecleaning Break. I haven't kept up with your blogs because this chair kills me, but now Mr. Pi has set me up with one of his laptops to use in The Comfy Chair. The only problem here is that it has Vista, and I get lost in Vista a lot.

Please forgive the really long break.....but you know, we had Easter, Passover, and Orthodox Easter in there with all the other stuff. So I've also been looking for the Lost Ark in that pile of boxes in the garage.

And the Spring Equinox Arrived

2008-03-21T17:55:00.009-04:00

And late yesterday afternoon, the western sunlight streaming into the windows, Mr. Pi and I saw our first bunny. This isn't the bunny we actually saw; the grass is much too green and I don't have a telephoto lens. But it's the same kind of bunny. He/she was standing up, radar ears swiveling and still as a statue. The bunny took off with the flash of white tail, at the speed of light (or close). And suddenly, from out of our dried grasses, a grey cat took off after him/her. Too bad for the cat. This bunny was out of sight before kitty made the fence. But it was so wonderful to see the sun shining and the bunny leaping that I was sure that spring was here. It was the perfect spring equinox.

And when I woke up today, this is what I saw. Oh, yes. Falling fast and furious, snow that is supposed to pile up from 4 to 8 inches. There was already 2 inches of snow when Mr. Pi left for work at 2:30 p.m. The roads are solid ice. Every activity in a 3 county area has been canceled--which means quite a few, since it's Good Friday. Let's hear it for global warming and Mother Nature. My entire spring-induced lightheartedness was totally deflated.

Yesterday, the wonderful day, Mr. Pi brought me a dozen roses for no reason at all. They were gorgeous. And Mr. Pi surprised me; I would never expect flowers "just because." What a sweetheart.

Again, my spring fever was deflated when I got up this morning only to discover that some four-footed someone had decided that eating the roses was lots of fun. Note the extensive nibbling to the left side. I didn't have the heart to take photos of all the chewed on petals. Let's just say the ratio of chewed to unchewed blossoms favors the chewed. No culprit has dared to jump on the table to take a nibble while I've been around today. Cowards.

One of the suspects, well known for his nosiness, was tracked down to check for evidence of rose breath. Yech. Only tuna. And could a guilty conscious be in this position for more than 6 hours? Well, yes. If it's Tiger.

So spring has sprung. The time for the unpredictable is upon me. Let's just hope the unpredictable doesn't include last summer's drought and an entire extended family of bunnies to destroy my garden.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2008-03-09T19:44:00.007-04:00

Reader Alert: The Ugly section of this post is really just me whining, so you can skip it altogether.

The Good

We have had glorious sunshine for the last four days, which has dropped the snow level so much that there are patches of grass everywhere, and there are buds on the scarlet maple. Along with the extra sun came spectacular sunsets.

Even better, the birds have begun to come back and are looking for prime nesting real estate, which means I've seen some pretty dramatic swoops, loops, and negotiating for the blue spruce in the back yard. Usually the cardinals win this particular tree, but the finches are holding on. And one poor bird flew into the screen on the porch with a big thump, and then flew to the maple. He looked a little confused for quite a while, but eventually flew away.

And finally, our sump pump is still pumping, a huge relief after it broke last March and our basement was flooded. Those of you who have experience several inches of very cold water and cleaning it up know how grateful I am that the pump makes loud noises several times an hour during spring melt.

The Bad

Due to circumstances beyond my control, housework has been worse than slipshod recently. The vacuum is my nemesis, which wouldn't matter if there were not 3 cats leaving large clumps of fur everywhere. I usually vacuum every day, or at least every other day. It doesn't matter. Fur just spontaneously appears anyway. And fur is bad for Mr. Pi's asthma.

More bad news: There are a zillion paw prints in the back yard snow (what's left of it). This means that the bunnies who love to nibble on tender tulip shoots may be why I haven't seen any little green things sprouting yet. We had a long, hard winter, and I'm sure the rabbits, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. are hungry. Oh, I wish I hadn't seen all those prints. Perhaps a garden statue of a large scary animal would scare them away. Or cayenne pepper.

The Ugly

Besides the still uncleaned garage, Mr. Pi has a bad cold, always bad with his asthma. I was only able to make him stay home one day and that was only because I faked tears. Boy, that makes me feel manipulative. It also amazes me that after 20 years it still works.

And my spine doctor, who referred me to a spine surgeon, mysteriously moved to Montana 2 weeks ago. I've been transferred into the care of a PA (physician's assistant) rather than another doctor. No problem. Except the PA cannot do my steroid injections or write the prescriptions. Somehow all this transferring of responsibility of my crumbling spine has been a maddening wheel of paperwork and changing doctors. In December my primary physician moved his practice about 30 miles away and I was assigned to 3 different primary doctors. After a month of insurance paperwork and innumerable phone calls, it's been whittled down to one primary doctor. The health care/insurance system is driving me crazy. I give up.

But spring is coming, I see the PA on Tuesday and the spine doctor on Friday, even if tears didn't work on Mr. Pi and he went in to work today. And so the week's blues end here.

And tomorrow is Fun Monday!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-02-27T20:04:00.003-05:00

Spring Thaw Begins

Fun Monday

2008-02-25T01:34:00.012-05:00

Mariposa has asked two questions this Fun Monday. First is What's in a Name? Specifically, why we picked the name of our blogs, not why I have a cat named Sissie. The second is a food question. She wants to know what food we like most to eat or eat most often.

First Question:

Motes is about small things. Not necessarily connected or important things to anyone but me. I could have called it Pixel's Junk or What's in the Dumpster I Call a Brain?, but I didn't think it would get many readers (as if I have lots of readers now). It's not a stream of consciousness-type blog, or a writing-type blog. It's just random stuff about my life and the things I'm interested in. And most of these things are quite ordinary. It took a long time to find Motes as a name for my site. It just popped in my head one day. And that's how most of the posts are. Just thoughts that pop up about my life.

There are also real motes, teeny tiny wireless sensors that collect data. My blog has nothing to with that kind of mote. I don't know what they do.

Second Question:

This is so embarrassing. There was a time when I cooked real food and made real meals, and Mr. Pi and I would eat at the table like normal people. However, I have not cooked on a regular basis for years, literally. It's sad because Mr. Pi liked my cooking. Mr. Pi likes sushi and sashimi and such. Not me. I don't even eat fried shrimp or cooked fish, much less raw sea urchin ovaries or raw tuna dunked in wasabi.

I still make great homemade soup and chili, and can sometimes be coaxed to whip up a fake marinara (Paul Newman out of the jar, hot Italian sausage, some mushrooms, sweet red peppers, and a splash of red wine) for Mr. Pi's pasta. I always have to take some sauce out before the meat goes in, though.

Luckily, Mr. Pi has learned to do a reasonable amount of cooking and he's pretty good with the pasta thing, omelets, and stir fries. So when we get a chance to eat together, he cooks and I clean up. That's a fair trade in my book.

What we would both eat every night if I could wave a Magic Culinary Wand is Indian food. When I was much younger, my family knew an Indian couple who lived nearby, and my parents were friends with them. Fortunately, my mother was eager to learn Indian cooking, and that knowledge trickled down. I also collect Indian cookbooks. If it didn't take me hours to produce samosas, green curry, cabbage and potato curry, dal, and the yogurt cooler that makes it possible for me to actually eat the heat, I would make it more often.

So what we like to eat and actually do eat are very different. Especially since Mr. Pi eats dead animals and I try very hard not to.

Mrs. Gunslinger should have answered this question. She is a great gourmet cook and wine maven. Every time she comes to visit, she cooks up a storm of dishes for us to freeze and eat later, like risotto with champagne and mushrooms, and incredible baked potato wedges (her secret recipe). She has an open invitation to cook for us at any time.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-02-20T20:19:00.001-05:00

Sigh. Still Winter.

The Tot is Four

2008-02-17T15:17:00.006-05:00

Yes, the Tot has been 4 years old for a whole month, and I neglected to report this important event. Here she is with Grandma, aka Mrs. Gunslinger.

Apparently 4-year-old girls drop Dora the Explorer as childish, and zap, enter the world of Barbie, princesses, and Barbie princesses. And the favorite colors of 4-year-olds, universally, appears to be pink and purple. Not pale, ballet slipper pink. Not the lavender of lilacs. But the purple and pink you might find in graffiti at the local subway station, or perhaps in a tattoo parlor.

Thus the somewhat psychedelic colors on the cake frosting. With a leaning Barbie princess on top. The Tot loved it.

Little brudder Warner had a good time at the party too. He's 3 months old now and cooing and smiling, and kicking his arms and legs when he gets excited. I wish I could jump in a plane and rush over today to hold this bundle.

I am so jealous of Mrs. Gunslinger, who lives close enough to drive to see him. I'd be spending every ounce of money on gas to visit his powdery, milky baby smell and huge smile. And to see his big brown eyes -- just like everyone's in the family.

I hope Warner's eyes are as beautiful as the Tot's. She is so lovely at 4 that I think her parents should enroll her in a girl's Catholic boarding school now, long before dating age. Otherwise, the beautiful Tot is going to have more than one boyfriend before first grade.

It's hard to live so far away from all my relatives, who mainly populate the west coast. Let's here it for the internets, that allows the pictures to flow eastward to the Heartland. I can hardly wait for the next batch!

Plum Addicting

2008-02-11T18:07:00.000-05:00

I'm an Elizabeth George fan. I have read all her books and I loved them.

Then I was given my first Stephanie Plum novel, Four to Score, by a friend last Friday. I started it on Friday night and dug through another 25 pages on Saturday.

Last night I stuck my nose into it again. And I read until 6:26 a.m. today and finished it. Now I'm reading Plum Lovin' (that is, since I rolled out of bed at noon). How could I have never read Janet Evanovich before? Me, a genuine mystery maven. Or so I thought.

So tell me, how many of you have known this secret for years? And what other great female detectives are out there just waiting for me to discover them? Please tell me your favorite mystery authors.

OK. Just another few pages of Plum Lovin', and then I'm going to resume living in the world of dirty laundry and vacuuming. After a nap of course. Really. Just 5 more pages.

Only Fairly Normal

2008-02-10T01:05:00.000-05:00

Rotten Correspondent put forth a Sunday Slacker post for today. She is such a bad influence. What could I do but follow suit?

Lo and behold, RC and I are the same percentage of normal, even though we didn't give the same answers. I think this deserves more research, but by someone else. You should give it a shot (if you want to participate in Slacker Sunday) and see if you're more normal than we are.

You Are Fairly Normal

You scored 55% normal on this quiz.

Like most people you are normal in some ways...
But you aren't a completely normal person. You're a little weird too!

Why You Are Normal:

You prefer the sun to the moon
You eat the frosting first
You would rather be pale than tan
You'd rather have rats than cockroaches in your home
If you had to, you rather live without music and still have laughter

Why You Aren't Normal:

You prefer your family to your friends
You would not eat meat from a cloned animal
You prefer a good nap to a good meal
You prefer flat potato chips.
If given the choice, you would choose to have more time over more money

What's Normal About You... And What's Not?

Even if it raised my score to 100% normal (what a joke), I will never knowingly eat a cloned anything.

I'm Out of Cookie Dough . . .

2008-02-09T20:50:00.000-05:00

. . . and I just noticed that it is snowing again. It snowed yesterday too. I looked up our weather forecast:

Snow squalls will plow through early to mid evening with an arctic cold front. 11 p.m. readings will be near 20 degrees and will plummet to 5 degrees by daybreak Sunday morning. Wind gusts to 45 mph will produce blowing snow right through Sunday. Wind chills tomorrow will range from -10 to -25 degrees with actual temperatures holding in the single digits.

And no cookie dough to be found. Of course, I'm so put out that I wouldn't bother baking cookies. That dough would be in a bowl, spoon handy, while I let my brain vegetate in front of the TV.

I'm going to write to one of those TV shows that does home makeovers and tell them I need my entire house picked up and moved to Austin, Texas. Somehow I don't think they will find that cabin fever is a needy enough project.

And wipe that smile off your face, Phil. Sob.

Your days are numbered.

Motes Update - I'm Alive!

2008-02-08T18:45:00.000-05:00

1. Thanks to Lady Jo the Nimble of Nether Wombleshire for my latest award. I am slightly puzzled (but enormously pleased) about getting it, since mostly I whine about just about everything. But it's a great award!

I, in turn, am passing it along to:
Oh, The Joys, mother of the Mayor and the Rooster
KaraMarie
Shauna (and Jason)
and Heyjules at The Way I See It, which is a wonderful photography site.

All these folks make me laugh, smile, and enjoy life a little more every time they post, so are deserving recipients of such a nice award.

2. Poor Mr. Pi suffered through the whole colonoscopy experience with a minimum of distress, and 2 polyps were found and removed. They were benign adenomatous polyps. The nice report the doctor sent said, "This is not cancer but is a marker for a tendency to develop cancer." So now instead of every 5 years, Mr. Pi has to go in every 3 years. I feel really sorry for him because I'm on the lucky every 10 year schedule. He was, however, very amusing while the sedation wore off. He remembers nothing, which is a good thing. (This is not, in fact, a photo of Mr. Pi's bottom).

3. I had to venture forth to the very crowded market the night before our big snow (only 9 inches) for milk, bread, eggs, etc. This prompted a panic attack because the store was a very crowded place with very with long lines, and people who cracked their chewing gum and bumped me with their carts, as if that would get them to the register faster. I was very glad to get out of there. I had hurried so much to get out that I didn't even buy chocolate! (This is, in fact, not an actual photo of me).

There were a few other stressors this week that made the sum total almost overwhelming. But only almost. I did manage to bake chocolate chip cookies this week and not eat all of them in one sitting. Actually, Mr. Pi got most of this treat!

Hopefully I'm going to get a family history post up this weekend. Maybe concentrating on dead people will take my mind off this week. And I'm totally ignoring the snow predicted for tonight. OK, the Spinal Police say it's time to leave my PC for tonight. Coming up: A great dead person story!

The photos on this post were found on Google images, and I do not know who the copyright holders are. Whoever you are, thanks!

Due to Technical Difficulties . . .

2008-01-31T00:18:00.000-05:00

. . .I am unable to post replies to your replies on Motes. Fortunately, I can still leave weird comments at your sites.

I have my technical staff working on the problem. So if I don't answer you on Motes, it's not personal.

I'm sure the crew will have this fixed in no time at all.

Saturday Grab Bag

2008-01-26T19:46:00.000-05:00

Or a quick rundown of silly things from this week.

1) My special bunny slippers my niece gave me have been mutilated. Please note that one fluffy tail is missing. One suspect is behind bars, but two felines are still on the loose. Investigators have been unable to find the missing tail. However, I have found at least 7 milk container rings scattered around the house. Step on one of those barefoot in the dark and say as many four-letter words as possible in one breath.

Note to self: Put on slippers any time leaving the bed. Worse than milk bottle rings are cold puddles of hork.

2) I think I got caught in a time warp when I saw Mitt Romney campaigning in the middle of a group of African Americans, where he loudly admired a baby's "bling," and then said, "Who let the dogs out?" Check out any of the hundreds of You Tube versions of this faux pas.

Note to self: I've got to get that passport.

3) I was unable to reach any of my doctors by phone this week, which made me unhappy. There was no emergency involved, but I thought it was rude not to get a call back saying, "Dr. So-and-So's on his yacht in Aruba (paid for by your dental work) and won't be in until next week."

Note to self: Don't get sick or have an emergency. Ever. Unless I'm in Kansas and I request RC by name.

4) My family wants me to enter the How Many Chins Does Your New Nephew Have Contest. He is the cutest baby on earth (don't even argue with me about this), but his big sister, the Tot, is beautiful. Am having trouble counting chins.

Note to self: New eye exam ASAP.

5) I completely failed in my diet resolution, but I got lots of exercise walking up and down the ice cream aisle at the grocery store. I didn't want to think I'd wasted gas for no reason, so I bought ice cream for Mr. Pi. And did a little taste test.

Note to self: Remember to be grateful every day of my life that I gave up smoking and drinking 15 years ago, and contrary to my predictions, I did not die. But I still believe that giving up ice cream cold turkey will kill me.

6) The Spring Equinox is March 20. This is my new meditation mantra as I exfoliate my dry winter feet, a performance Mr. Pi finds very amusing.

Note to self: Threaten to throw all the creepy foot detritus from the towel under my feet onto Mr. Pi's side of the bed if he's not nice, i.e. saying, "Hey honey, why don't you get a pedicure? My treat."

7) I am now on page 247 of Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson. It only has 972 pages, so I'm not quite 1/3 way done. It has 2 sequels and no sex or romance.

Note to self: Get new bifocals after eye exam. Reconsider reading the 2 sequels.

That's it. My week in a nutshell. Looking this over, I'm thinking I should get a life. My goal for next week is to actually relate something interesting. I'll let you know if my life shows up.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-01-23T17:44:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to Mrs. Gunslinger, who at age 6 couldn't quite get all the candles out. I bet she could today. And the hat rocks!

Why? Why? Why?

2008-01-21T22:15:00.000-05:00

Did I watch the Democratic debate? I must be insane. It doesn't matter what party it is, these people drive me nuts!

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get my hand to reach for the remote and tune into the cartoon channel or a bad movie. I was locked into it.

And I kept distracting myself by staring at Hillary's turkey wattle under her neck and wondering if she had Botox injections, and if John Edwards' left ear is pierced but he left his earring out, and why Hillary chose to wear orange, probably the worst color she could wear close to her face other than yellow.

At least Barack got off a good one in needing to actually "see" Bill Clinton dance in order to determine if Bill was really "a brother." Best line of the debate.

However, I am now going to have to find some cartoons or The Matrix in order to decompress. I need debate intervention or I'll be bald tomorrow morning from pulling my hair out.

Why I'm Going Right Back to Bed:

2008-01-20T05:11:00.000-05:00

Because I don't have a natural fur coat like the cats and the current outdoor temp is 3 degrees F. With a high of 7 degrees predicted for today, after the sun rises at 8:09.

The cats have been fed and are napping in front of heat vents.

News flash: I am wearing socks to bed and still haven't kicked them off.

Definitely a 3-cat night here, but they'd rather block the heat vents with their fat overfed bodies than come up on the bed and share.

They rule us. Note to self: Next pet will be a parakeet.

May I Have the Envelope Please?

2008-01-18T03:27:00.000-05:00

And the winner of the Clint Eastwood But You Get to Live to Tell About it Award is:

(Rip open envelope. Pause dramatically as if I haven't learned to read yet or have ADD, but I'm really only trying to ignore the wedgie in cheap pantyhose and the thought that I have leafy green something in my teeth).

Rotten Correspondent

This award was passed to me by Jen, who suggested passing it on to 10 other bloggers. It's after 3:30 a.m. and my brain is mush, so you, yes you, RC, will have to pass it on to whoever you love and can remember the name of this early in the morning.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-01-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

Sweet Little Peppers