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.

cello strings

apparently are prone to slipping. After an entire morning spent taking the cello to the music shop for a tune-up, it is IN TUNE. I can't tell you the frustration evinced by this slipping out of tune during a half hour practice (not to mention the shouting . . .). Now L has something to apply to the pegs, to swell them and keep the strings in line, thanks to asking music shop guy. Score one for mom.

Studio C

A brief look inside M's Studio C and my sublet corner of the crafting universe where my loom etc. reside. We shall draw a veil over our attempts at cooperatives for the moment.

My loom, dormant for many years, now has this pink warp:


And pink-ish weft. M and I are going to do some dyeing experiments on it, when it's done. I hadn't woven in so long, that I failed to remember to mark where to end one "shawl" and begin the next, so this is just one long continuous thing. What? A finished object soon . . .


M's work table in the other room, plus the beverage center. The microwave is strictly for non-food-related projects. But my electric kettle fits in well, no?


M's sewing central; lots of great stuff coming off this. I'll put up some pix of her quilted bags and her dolls. Very inspiring.


Media center; we get 3 channels, so we can watch Martha, some soap operas, and, if we stay late enough, the mighty O herself . . . Should we have the TV on to interrupt our connection to the muse??

watch out

Bear; I don't think Soul wants any company under there . . .

Just

to let anyone know: my computer is in the hospital, and I don't have much recourse to reading or posting until sometime this week (I hope . . .)

How to spend Saturday morning . . .

Ah, a morning spent in the company of Famous B's Saturday Knit-In at a local coffee house; what could be better . . .

A few of my creations on display; both are patterns from Scarf Style, a book I highly recommend.

The mighty hands of B, attempting to finish the Harry Potter sweater for her nephew before his voice changes. (Only kidding, there, B; I believe there is one sleeve left.) B is the saviour of all knitters who come to Knit-In, their halt and lame problems cast before her for her expertise to solve problems big and small.


There was some discussion about progress vs. process knitters; I want to get the thing done (progress), whereas others (B?) are interested in the process and the technique . . . I suppose this kind of attitude can be applied to life in general, can't it?

I think we had a record number yesterday; A and M surprised everyone by being there first! All told, I think there were a least 10; and a junior crafter, age 11, from another table came over to show her rug hooking project. And to take orders for Girl Scout cookies . . .


J getting something to drink, after hammering away at a baby sweater from E. Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac.

We'll be there next week . . . I can hardly wait!

Today

In the interest of the greater environment and my space, I'm determined to do away with all of the chemical solvents and cleaners around here. To that end, I poured 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of white vinegar into each toilet and let the mixture molder away, rather than use the scary bleach-added Johnson & Johnson squirt bottle.

The other day, I was at our new, giant whole foods (though locally owned) market, and saw this (you'll have to click on the photo to read the sign). D said this is how they get their water on ships in the navy. Not of course from this water bar, but through the reverse osmosis method. I wonder if this is any better than regular water. As I was pondering this, a woman came along and filled three gallon jugs with it.



L has a job walking Roxanne 3 days a week, and feeding her and the resident 4 cats: Bailey, Blinky, Tinkerbell, and Izzy. Here am I though, holding the leash.




Roxanne is a rescued dog, and was abused before B adopted her (which is a story for another day). She is a wonderful protector and will bark at anything she deems as threatening L or me. Which is to say, everything that moves.

various

Today, I put some pix on the computer, so I thought I'd present a few here. Saturday I finished the Touch Me scarf from the book Scarf Style, and I was rather pleased with it, though the photo here doesn't really do it justice. It is wonderfully silky, and looks quite sophisticated around a neck, though today it is unseasonably warm, so I'll have to leave it behind when I go out.

I felted it in the washer and the dryer; all the ends satisfactorily disappeared, but there are a few strays, so I may have to use Fraycheck on them.



A soulful Soul regards the basil plant, which continues to do nicely next to the slider to the deck. Usually, my herbs don't thrive inside during the winter, but this one as proved the exception.



Finally, a view of downtown construction from our foray on Friday evening. Our city is in the midst of a condo frenzy, and developers seem determined to obscure any serene views of the river with them. The photo also made me think of Sally's interesting takes on London . . . why, I don't know. But someone who was crossing the street politely waited for me to take this, so I feel obliged to post it.