Bear

reclining provocatively, says, "Happy Leap Day!"



Martha Stewart was promoting Etsy, and the founder was kinda cute, too. L's computer bag was featured prominently, so I suppose after today, there will be others around town.

Start Spreadin' the News . . .

No, I'm not leaving today for New York, but

I've been following Word to Your Mutha, and enjoying her highly original Internet show for moms on YouTube. I may have won a prize for helping to spread the news (I know there are more than 9 out there . . .), but that is not why I'm encouraging everyone to view what I think will become the next big thing in what is now "traditional" broadcasting. Especially considering the Quarterlife show, which began on the Internet but jumped to commercial TV because of the writers' strike. I haven't seen it, but I was a thirtysomething fan back eons ago, and the same team has developed it.

Academy Awards

I'm hoping for Ellen Page . . .

But Julie Christie is a magnum opus just being herself on screen, although I haven't seen the film she's been nominated for.

can you believe

I'm posting again? But L suggested I put this up:

Monsanto

is trying to take over everything it seems. Very scary. Read this, if you are interested in food labeling and in what you are actually consuming.

Dental

I have returned, shaken but not stirred. My tooth, though, is on the fence, so to say. It has its temporary crown (a lengthy, grinding process, but NOT painful), but there are fissures within that may compromise its future. But I'm getting a gold crown for the permanent, so there's that . . .

I hope my jaw remains pain free.

Another crown is on the horizon.

D was not pleased with the bill.

At 9 a.m. Feb 19

I'll begin to endure my dental procedure. I can put it off no longer; I'm experiencing twinges and some pain intermittently in the lower left furthest molar. I wish I were hiding away somewhere, but I have to face the music of the drill . . . and the expense of the crown.

Martha

Since I work at home, I can schedule a few TV viewing periods in my day. Yes, I usually tune in to Martha, as least for a few minutes. She's at her best when she's working with "experts," especially chefs. She's pretty horrible with the celebrities who parade through to promote their movie/TV show/whatever. You can tell she can hardly wait to get through the patter and dispense with them. Two notable exceptions: Francis Ford Coppola, who donned an apron, washed his hands ("does this sink actually work?" of course; this is the kingdom of Martha), and proceeded to show Martha a thing or two about gnocchi. And, surprisingly, Russell Crowe was extremely attentive to detail during his Thanksgiving kitchen duty with Martha.

I wonder what the audience is doing while she displays those didactic how-to videos she's so fond of. I can imagine them trapped in front of some huge screen, while her severe but sonorous voice drones on; the other day, it was all about grooming her dog Paw Paw. I left the scene, so I don't know exactly why we needed to know this. Maybe it concerned this. In which case I will have to learn the cat equivalent.



But I also love her little magazine, Everyday Food, which has its own TV show on PBS; very soothing it is, too. L bustled about today, and made these delightful peanut butter and banana sandwiches, which are given a French toast kind of egg/milk bath:



And the other night I made a great meatloaf (imagine publishing a photo of said food, but here it is). You toss a half of a thinly sliced onion with a mere teaspoon of olive oil and cast the shards over the top (can you tell I also like Nigella?). Delicious.

Political image

I think MotherPie has an extremely thought-provoking post about Barack, Hillary, and image here.

I know I endeavor to read her posts every day, but have to give myself lots of time to digest their content.

I was

feeling sorry for myself, but then I read her blog. Cat lovers, you might want to leave a note of condolence. Bailey was very special.

Rough day?

Soul is having quite a time of it on this wintery day. Poor Bear visited the vet for her annual checkup/boosters and spent all of yesterday under the bed. Three injections is a lot to take in and she was sore at all three sites. But she weighs 10 lb. 2 oz.

Soul at his last visit weighed 15 lb, but I think he's added some heft; for a fat cat, he's pretty fast, though.

books

I received a box of discounted books yesterday that I had gotten at Daedalus, containing Kathryn Davis's The Thin Place, which I read a few years back, and absolutely loved. So I'm glad to have it here. I also got a while back another book that was about quite a lot more than it seemed: Jamesland, by Michelle Huneven.

But now I've gotten an e-mail admonishing me to get going on my copy editing of the American history tome, all 1300 bound pages, so it looks like I'll have to put my reading on hold for the moment.

Super Tuesday

Well, I'm just back from the polls, where, in order to vote for who I hope will be the Democratic candidate, I had to fight to overcome my performance anxiety about writing in front of other people. I filled out my voter registration card and was signing it when another person appeared in front of me. So that set me off; then I had to present my voter registration card to another woman, and I had to sign my name again against the town resident list . . . I know you can't understand this, but this was really stressful. I have coping mechanisms, like putting my enormous handbag between me and the person, but still.

I took my registration card to yet another person, who took it this time, asked me, "Democrat or Republican?" and handed me a ballot after I answered.

I took my ballot to the shielded nook at the long folding table, and shakily blackened the dot for Barack, signed my name (shakily; why? I was alone; built-up stress that comes from these kinds of institutional places, too, but that's a whole other story) on a detachable stub on the top, and brought it up to the little old guy who had me push my ballot into an electronic box that whooshed it inside. Then I had to put the signed stub with my signature into a cardboard box.

Phew. I only hope that this makes some kind of difference. And, believe me, if I can go out and vote, you can too.