Sunday, July 30, 2006
Butterflies are a little TOO free
Over the past couple weeks, San Antonio has been inundated with butterflies. We're not talking yearly migration here; I'm battling mini-tornados of the critters to get to my car each evening. At first it was fun and special and magical, like having someone continually strewing rose petals in your path. But traipsing over their delicate little corpses in the parking lot is depressing the hell out of me.
Friday, July 28, 2006
A Happy Anniversary
Mom got the results from her latest CAT scan and blood work: NO sign of cancer. What's even more amazing is when she got the news -- 25 years to the day when she was declared free of ovarian cancer. The woman's a fighter!
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
And the little silver spoons are for strained peas...
Monday, July 17, 2006
The Demon Painter of Fleet Street
Of course, once I got my gorgeous new cork kitchen floor, I knew my walls would look ratty. So this week, I've gotten rid of the navy pindot wallpaper and replaced it with paint -- deep, rich, and dark red.
Well, that's how it looks now, anyway, after three coats. After the first coat, the kitchen had an unsettling slaughterhouse tone to it -- especially gruesome considering my knife block . Any accident with the paint tray and I'd look like Carrie at the prom. And I just noticed a few dribbles of paint I got on the freezer. Perhaps a little too...umm... Daumeresque?
On the plus side, it's been great for my diet. I haven't been able to eat any red meat.
Well, that's how it looks now, anyway, after three coats. After the first coat, the kitchen had an unsettling slaughterhouse tone to it -- especially gruesome considering my knife block . Any accident with the paint tray and I'd look like Carrie at the prom. And I just noticed a few dribbles of paint I got on the freezer. Perhaps a little too...umm... Daumeresque?
On the plus side, it's been great for my diet. I haven't been able to eat any red meat.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Background Noise
My Summer Reading List:
1. Two for the Road, by Jane & Michael Stern. A memoir of food, travel & pop culture. What's not to like?
2. Lost and Found, by Carolyn Parkhurst. A novel of behind-the-scenes shenanigans on an Amazing Race-style reality show. I'm usually not a big reader of fiction, but this book sounded like a fun way to pass the time.
3. My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme (Child's grandnephew). Reads like lovely chat with a friend.
4. Cross Country: Fifteen Years and Ninety Thousand Miles on the Roads and Interstates of America with Lewis and Clark, a Lot of Bad Motels, a Moving Van, Emily Post, Jack Kerouac, My Wife, My Mother-in-Law, Two Kids and Enough Coffee to Kill an Elephant, by Robert Sullivan. Every summer, from ages seven to 17, I accompanied my parents on a trip from Texas to Pennsylvania (and points beyond) to visit relatives. Dad carefully planned every stop and historical marker, all laid out via AAA TripTik. As someone who's survived cross country car trips, the fly attack in Terre Haute, the tire blowouts in Chicago rush hour traffic during a downpour, and missing the local murderer by thismuch, I had to get this book.
My Summer Playlist:
1. Under the Covers, Vol. 1, by Sid & Susie. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs cover pop tunes of the '60s. Light, frothy fun. It's almost like my childhood days at neighborhood pool, where the Snack Shack blared out Top 40 AM radio.
2. Do I Move You?, by Janiva Magness. A lush and luscious blues voice.
3. People Gonna Talk, by James Hunter. Who would believe that a Brit with Brylcreemed hair could sound like a cross between Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson?
1. Two for the Road, by Jane & Michael Stern. A memoir of food, travel & pop culture. What's not to like?
2. Lost and Found, by Carolyn Parkhurst. A novel of behind-the-scenes shenanigans on an Amazing Race-style reality show. I'm usually not a big reader of fiction, but this book sounded like a fun way to pass the time.
3. My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme (Child's grandnephew). Reads like lovely chat with a friend.
4. Cross Country: Fifteen Years and Ninety Thousand Miles on the Roads and Interstates of America with Lewis and Clark, a Lot of Bad Motels, a Moving Van, Emily Post, Jack Kerouac, My Wife, My Mother-in-Law, Two Kids and Enough Coffee to Kill an Elephant, by Robert Sullivan. Every summer, from ages seven to 17, I accompanied my parents on a trip from Texas to Pennsylvania (and points beyond) to visit relatives. Dad carefully planned every stop and historical marker, all laid out via AAA TripTik. As someone who's survived cross country car trips, the fly attack in Terre Haute, the tire blowouts in Chicago rush hour traffic during a downpour, and missing the local murderer by thismuch, I had to get this book.
My Summer Playlist:
1. Under the Covers, Vol. 1, by Sid & Susie. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs cover pop tunes of the '60s. Light, frothy fun. It's almost like my childhood days at neighborhood pool, where the Snack Shack blared out Top 40 AM radio.
2. Do I Move You?, by Janiva Magness. A lush and luscious blues voice.
3. People Gonna Talk, by James Hunter. Who would believe that a Brit with Brylcreemed hair could sound like a cross between Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson?
