Brick Wall

So I'm working on a seriously over due wedding gift (hey, amongst my silly siblings and cousins there have been 4 (FOUR!!!!) weddings in the past year) and I've got a problem. I'm not in love with it any more. But how silly would it be to not only be late in gifting the happy couple, but then not pull through with the gift I mentioned to them? To purchase something and send it with no mention of the lovely hand knit item they were expecting? Geeze, I need to just get on with it, already. I have the yarn, I have the pattern, I have a few inches going, I just need to get to work. Ok, ok, I will!

The bunneh has been spending lots of time indoors lately, and isn't she just a dear! Small Person was sitting in a chair the other day, and the rabbit jumped up from the floor and into her lap. She will follow us around the house until we stop what we're doing and pet her or pick her up, and I have never heard of a rabbit liking to snuggle as much as this one does. It's amazing to see! (and quite heart warming to see SP getting to love up on a furred animal - and NOT be allergic)

I have a weird thing going on with the glands in my neck the past couple of days. It's only on one side, and they're swollen under my jaw and back under my ear. This has happened in the past, but typically related to a killer sore throat, a nasty cold sore, or horrible sinus infection. None of those things apply right now, so I'm left wonder why I look and feel so stupid all of a sudden, and only on one side. Is it better to look swollen and stupid on both sides? Should I be thankful that it's only the one side of my neck that is currently deformed? Am I not grateful enough for the health of my right lymph nodes? What does it say about my character that I long for symmetry, even in illness? Also, how gross is the phrase "swollen glands"? ick.

I've been sucked into another season of American Idol. The Small Person is such a fan that I can't say no, and her watching alone is just not an option - there's too much shit that needs clarification in my book. However, as crappy as the performances can be (Where the Boys Are, really? You want to take on that power song with your wimpy whiny little voice?), as awkward as the judges are (colors? wtf, Paula, I think we get the whole Rainbow Connection with that kid), and as clueless and tiny Seacrest is (I have nothing. he's just tiny. and clueless), what I REALLY live for are the recaps! Thank heavens for TVgasm and TWoP and their snarky and bitchy reviews of some of the funniest shit on tv. That just makes my whole week!

So ti-faux is set to perma-record, the way-back machine is set to Why The Fuck is Matt Lauer Insisting on Showing Me My Favorite Old TV Show Characters All Washed Up and Horrible Looking, and my hair is set to Way Too Freaking Long.

Thursday brings a haircut, two nights of performances and new snark, a look forward to some assholes being eliminated, and more knitting time in front of the tv. Yay.

It Starts

I'm exhausted today after moving pews and pianos around at the church last night until 11pm (rearranging the choir area to be more liturgically correct).

I just mentioned that to The Earner, hard at work, earning, and his answer was:

"Well, go to bed."

I reminded him that it is going to be a late night as Small Person has her first sleepover tonight, and he said:

"Send them both to bed now. It's called a SLEEPover, not a STAY UP-over."

Right. I'm going to send a 9 and 10 year old to bed at 7pm because I'm tired. Why don't I just lock them in the attic and get tanked while I'm at it? Hmmmm. Not a bad idea. I could call it "craft for your life" and then line them up and judge their efforts like a tipsy version of Tim Gunn on a Bravo show. I could toss around phrases like "rickrack is so last year, but I like your use of feathers." and "hmmm, your use of assorted holiday print fabrics is very fashion-forward, too bad the floral wire and faux fur trim are pulling it askew." (and yes, all of the above mentioned items can be found in my attic, along with many MANY other fun things)


However. Since the 9 year old sleepover child is the same one that brought a Tiger Beat magazine to the house the other day to peruse whilst having a snack, I don't think I'll be leaving them alone TOO much while they're doing their thing. I mean, I'm not looking for Small Person to remain an infant or anything, but Tiger Beat? Already?

Call me silly, but I think as long as the wooden dollhouse and Kapla blocks are still getting regular use we don't need to be discussing Hannah Montana's latest hairdo and make up applications or whether the Jonas Brothers have girlfriends and whether they live with them.

Leave the celebrity snark to mama, and pass the vodka!

Tami linked me to this, which I LOVED. It reminded me (and the Small Person, who said "is that Garrison Keillor? What happened to his voice?") of Lake Wobegon Days.

I'm fighting a crippling lethargy that I can't seem to shake. Not sure why I would be afflicted in such a way, as I've not really done much this week. I think it's simply an issue of general disappointment with my life, in which case there is no fix other than to suck it up and stop feeling sorry for myself. I'll get right on that.

In the mean time I'm searching for the perfect afghan pattern for my cousin's wedding gift. Taking into account the yarn has been purchased, which means I'm limited by the yardage and weight requirements of any given pattern, plus my extreme hatred of seaming, plus I'm just plain picky = this project is not moving too quickly. That sounds familiar for some reason...

Maybe another cup of tea and a couple chapters of whatever trashy book I'm reading now might help.

Cheated

We had nice big fluffy snow yesterday. It started shortly after noon, and quickly covered the frozen ground, piling up into little peaks on the fences, coating the trees, and looking magical. The girls (mine and the neighbor's) played outside in it, shuffling around in the 3 inches that had fallen by 5pm, sweeping and shoveling off the back porch only to have it coated again in what seemed like a few short minutes. They tired of the cold and came in, stamping snow off their shoes and pants and shaking it from their mittens and coats, ready for cups of hot tea and homemade chicken rice soup.



Around 7pm the quite hush of falling snow was replaced by the crystal tinkling of ice hitting the windows. The rabbit was brought in, her fur coat sporting a couple of icy patches (she's fine, do you know how thick that fur is?), and we all snuggled in a little further on the couch.



The ice continued as The Earner struggled to get home, the ride taking him over twice as long. By the time I was ready to go to bed around 12:30 it was possibly turning to rain, although VERY slick, yet.



This morning we woke up (early, damn the crew meeting that meant him needing to be there extra early) to heavy rain falling. The snow is compacted and slushy, the roads a mess. The Earner called me 5 minutes after leaving the house: 2 cars were in the ditch on the hill, he was turning around to go the long way around, and the roads were not good. Again, it took him over twice as long to make the drive, and he finally called that he made it, barely in time for his meeting.

So the rain continues, forecast says it will rain all day, with temps up to 43. This means that once again we're cheated out of a nice snow, and left with this unappealing slop that quickly turns to an unbelievable mess, plus BONUS! A flood watch!

You know, one nice thing about South Dakota: the snowstorms hardly ever end in rain. Sometimes ice, sometimes a blizzard, often temps that do not rise into the plus side for days, but pretty much never rain.

Next Time We'll Play Dress Up

So we're just going to pretend that the little (ha!) dry spell that eclipsed all of the Christmas season and the entire month of January did not happen. Things here have been interesting and yet exactly the same in my absence. The rabbit is fat and furry, the kid clogs like a maniac, I am a knitting fool and still not finishing important things on time. So yes, pretty much the same.

I did take a 2 week trip in the stupidest car known to man, to the Midwest for my brother's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding, he and his new wife are so much in love and so wonderful together. More of the trip and funniness to come on the other blog.

It gets harder and harder to come back after a trip home. The Earner had the audacity to tell me that he had the place "spotless while you were gone, and it's trashed within 24 hours of you being home". Hmm. Pretty sure I could fix that little problem by NOT COMING BACK NEXT TIME, asshathole.

I have an official title of Assistant to the Music Director at my parish now, which is kind of neat. I've been doing lots of stuff for the church anyway, but it's nice to have a little validation, a little recognition. Plus, I get a key! How exciting! I put together and did music for the Youth Retreat on Saturday, which was nice. Got some good feedback, plus a blister on my poor finger from playing my neglected guitar so much that evening. Oops.

Turns out that having a running toilet replaced will do wonders for your water bill. Just how much of a difference it makes? Well, I have no idea, since the water meter card is mailed to my slacking landlord, and he doesn't drop it off, so then the bill is estimated, and there's not been an actual READING since before the toilet was fixed, and that was 6 months ago, although I noticed that the actual meter reading is less than the estimate... from 2 bills ago.

What this all means, I do not know. Perhaps it means that I don't actually owe a zillion dollars to the water company? I'm still late with that bill, though. I've been resisting paying on it, wanting to have the issue of the readings resolved.

This is what passes for news around here these days. I got no where with my Campaign to Move West a couple months ago. Thinking of launching Phase II soon. It just seems to be so pointless, staying here. We see The Earner's family maybe twice a year, and they live 45 minutes away, both sisters and their families. What a waste. Just think of all the free childcare we would have if we lived within 5 hours of any of my family!