Dan and Angel's lovely baby girl, Alyssa Marie, born the Friday before last.
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This photo broke my heart tonight.
So many resources denied to the people who needed them most, and the suffering continues. We should be ashamed. And angry. And we should do something.
Please donate to the Red Cross. -
the love, the love, the love -
I have a roommate. Not just the dog, my companion Ruby, but another entity that is always here in the apartment with us.
Dog hair. Lots of it. Tufts, balls, floating wisps, clumps in the corner, stray sticklers in the upholstery, shadows on the sheets. No vacuum cleaner can keep up the battle, the shedding is unstoppable.
Until today. My new Bamboo Shedding Blade arrived. It's a wicked looking thing, styled to match its name; "Blade". The package recommended using outdoors because it removes copious amounts of dead hair, claiming to "reduce indoor shedding'. Ok, Blade, let's see what you can do.
Oh my god! I love this thing! Ruby, not so much, but she can suffer twenty minutes of grooming on the balcony once in awhile. A few minutes of trembling and mild discomfort (mostly mental)=oodles of peanut butter.
It is deeply satisfying to see volumes of fur removed quickly and contained on the balcony, rather than accumulating on my sofa. The "Blade" produced HALF A GROCERY BAG of dead fur! Four full dustpan loads that won't make their way into my pillowcase. Yippee! -
Dan and Angel had their baby girl on Friday, yippee! -
When I have a bad day, I have a feel-better routine. First step? Stop into the grocery store on the way home from work for the supplies. The supplies? Frozen pizza (the horror!), one gourmet chocolate brownie, a bottle of Framboise and the latest copy of People magazine. It's a recipe for recovery from exhaustion, work stress, even a break up. It helps me anyway.
What doesn't help? The check out clerk commenting on my purchase. Commenting on every single item. Beep, comment. Beep, comment. Beep, comment. Sharing these comments with other customer in line. Both people chuckling. Bagger joining the hilarity. "Oh, somebody's single!" "Oh, someone's addicted to this (waving bottle of booze around)!" "Oh, look at that, looks like a great night in" "Isn't it Friday night?"
Just give me my f***ing groceries and leave me alone already! -
The South will always have a part of my heart—I have found memories of New Orleans, I hope that Hurricane Katrina spares that great old town.
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A few nights ago I heard a rustling sound in my sleep. As it is summer (technically), the windows are open and various sounds make their way in through the night, so, I turned over and went back to sleep. That was my mistake.
In the morning, in my stumble to the kitchen towards the coffee pot, I stepped on something slimy. Click, lights on. Garbage-bag remnants everywhere. And yet, not enough remnants to account for the contents of what had been a full kitchen garbage can. Ruby? Ruby!!
She had eaten everything. Egg shells, cheese rinds, coffee grounds. Two days of puking and constant water-drinking (and a few accidents, alarming because that's so rare for her) and I think she's learned her lesson. Well, probably not, she's hard-wired for garbage-eating, but we can hope. -
I dreamt last night that I had a second, previously undiscovered bathroom.
Interpretation #1 (inspired by star-gazing, horoscope-reading friend): I have an unknown, previously undiscovered opportunity coming up.
Interpretation #2 (inspired by blessing-notebook keeping, fuzzy-light friend): I already have more than I am appreciative of.
Interpretation #3 (my own more cynical first thought): I had to pee. -
Happy time summer salad, my new favorite treat warm or cold:
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3 cups fresh sweet corn kernals (cut off of cob)
3 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half (or uncut grape tomatoes)
fresh basil
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
goat's cheese, sliced or crumbled
salad greens of your choice
salt and pepper to taste
Saute onions in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add corn, cook over medium until kernals are bright in color and cooked through (but not mushy, still with bite). Add cherry tomatoes, cook until just softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove from heat. Add basil, vinegar and salt and pepper.
Serve over salad greens, topped with slices or crumbles of goat's cheese.
