Christmas, Peanuts & someone else’s Snow Day

I'm having fun this Christmas season, as compared to some years past where I could really care less. I have paper snowflakes in my windows, along with lights, and cards on almost every conceivable surface not covered in plant life or books. In a fit of YAY!, last night I went and bought the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas from Starbucks. And I am thrilled. It's lovely, simple Christmas music and will go nicely with the Bing Crosby CD I ordered from Amazon to replace the one that was destroyed in the gutter truck years ago. Anyway, in the cover appears the following quote:

"Charlie Brown wasn't a happy kid at Christmas 1965. The holidays were supposed to be a time of optimism, of receiving gifts and sending greeting cards. Of choosing and decorating lush, green trees, of spending time with friends and family and of stretching a holiday event into a while month of activity. Growing older, Charlie Brown began to notice the over commercialization of Christmas… 'I think there must be something wrong with me,' he said to his friend Linus."

As I sat here listening to the cool jazz that everyone associates with Charlie Brown and thinking about this, it was brought home even deeper than normal how badly all of the basic ideas of Christmas have deteriorated in the face of commercialism and apathy. Yes, apathy. Although we rush around, desperately trying to find a gift for everyone we think thinks they deserve one from us, trying to fit in concerts and parties and soirees and card writing, I think that a lot of people sink into a well of since-I-bought-them-a-present/went-to-their-party/wrote-them-a-Christmas-card, I don't need to worry about actually talking to them or, heaven forbid, letting them know at some other time in the year that I care about them. Not that I'm guiltless here. I mean, I use Christmas cards to maintain an often tenuous contact with friends that I should by all rights call. But there then, I also use them to try and establish contact with family members that have slowly drifted out of my life. But that's beside the point. The point is that around the holidays we can get apathetic about letting loved ones know that they are truly loved and aren't just a name on a card list, and that we love them all year round.

I guess what I'm saying is that this year I'm more upset than ever about what Christmas is becoming. Not what it has become, not yet, because many people still celebrate the real reason we have Christmas – the birth of the Christ and what that meant to mankind – and many people still experience Christmas as a wonderful time for family and friends. However, you only have to open the newspaper the day after Thanksgiving to see what They (the amorphous They it would be too difficult to define) want us to see as Christmas: a chance to buy the love of our children/parents/friends/spouses and assuage our guilt for past wrongs, the best time of the year to out-do the Joneses, a time to pick through the best sales of the year for the receiver and of course yourself. Christmas is about family and friends, about giving gifts not because we feel obligated to or we want to create a sense of obligation on the part of the receiver but because we want to see that person's smile when they see something we thought long and hard about and finally bought because we honestly thought they would like it. I'm having a great time shopping for my parents this year. I'm totally looking forward to Christmas morning when they open their presents. And it's not because I feel obligated to repay the years of gifts they've gotten me or because I want to one-up my brother (okay, not much); it's because I tell my parents that I love them every year and this is like the icing on the cake, the ……. we're getting Dad and the ……… we're getting Mom.

I think my favorite example this year of what Christmas should really mean in a secular context comes from the Yarn Harlot, who got snowed in a couple days ago, in the middle of a massive knitfest to attempt the finishing of an unbelievable number of projects and last minute shopping. At first she freaked out, but then they invited their neighbors over for cookie-decorating and friendship (you can read about it here. Look for the Snow Day entry). That is Christmas. Frantic last minute shopping, not Christmas, no matter what the "comedies" would like us to think. Christmas is a time for gathering together and being thankful for everyone we have and for everything we have been given. I am now stepping off my soap box for the evening.

Note: So many aspects of the over-commercialization of Christmas drive me crazy that I had to leave several of them out, or this post would have been HUGE and I know Zach never reads my long blogs. I'm having fun with Christmas but every time I hear about "the new big thing" I just want to swear off Christmas presents for the next few years.

Psychic

Contrary to the opinion held by many, including (until today) myself, I. Am Psychic. Yes, I, Mindy the Magnificent, am able to read peoples' minds. You question me, citing my apparent difficulty with being sympathetic, much less empathetic or telepathic?? Behold, The Proof:

A contractor called and asked if we carry rebar. I told him that yes, we do. After getting his name, I told him that I could predict what he was going to order. His order would be, in point of fact, rebar. I was correct, of course. Then he decided to get tricky and asked me what exactly he was planning on ordering. After a few milliseconds searching the ether for the answer, I stumbled upon his brainwaves and told him "25 pieces of number 3 rebar." He started laughing and said, no really, this is what he honestly said, "you're right!" I laughed, too, and was all, "you're just trying to make me feel good about being completely wrong," but apparently I really was right!!!! *laugh* It was so funny!! We both had a good laugh about it, punctuated by me saying "no, seriously, is that really what you want?" Ahem, I mean, yes, I, Mindy the Mellifluous, have triumphed against the skepticism of ... people... um.... like me. It almost totally made up for some of the stupid things I had done earlier in the day, like get out of bed. I think I may have to post a picture of my bed, because it may be the world's most snuggly, comfortable, dangerously warm bed. But I did get out, and I did have my incredible psychic moment *snickers* and now I get to go back to bed. Whoo hoo for bedtime!

PS Happy birthday my darling Nicio!! Again I am the worst cousin/ex-roomie! But someday I will remember!!
PPS It is so stinking cold right now. And no snow of course. But it is pulling up the fog, so my castle is once again shrouded in mysterious mist. Unfortunately, I got home too late to really enjoy it by reading old mystery novels or Two Towers. Or finish writing more Christmas cards.
PPPS I have decided that as much as I like the Phantom of the Opera movie, as far as soundtracks go I definitely prefer the original cast recording, even though I think I would probably be cast as the prima donna.
PPPPS G'night, all!

NPR

This wasn't going to be my next topic. I have actually been meaning to blog about how incredibly thankful I am for my life and friends and family, but instead, I am about to reveal the depths of my utter dorkiness: I love NPR. Specifically, I love the shows that you can listen to on NPR that you don't find anywhere else. I've been listening to "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" while attempting Christmas cards and I've had to stop because I'm laughing so hard that I'm about to seriously color outside the lines. Since my wonderful Uncle Jimmy bequeathed me a pair of computer speakers I have been able to listen to podcasts of various different programs, in addition to my music (finally!). I like the news shows (as much as I can), especially since they cover topics that I would never hear about otherwise. I can listen to Latino USA and keep somewhat keeped…. I can't believe I just wrote that. I can listen to Latino USA and keep somewhat up to date (there we go) on things happening in the other half of America. If I tune in at the right time to the LCC station from Eugene I can listen to all sorts of Latino music announced in Spanish. I can learn about art, science, music, history, current events, and just about anything else. Perhaps the best part is that I have an alternative to listening to the same 100 songs over and over and over again. Or those ridiculously moronic morning shows. Am I the only one who thinks that most of those shows are STUPID?

I have the sneaking suspicion that this intense love for NPR comes from my family listening to Prairie Home Companion and Unshackled, not to mention other shows, when I was a little girl. I can distinctly remember when we lived in the bottom story of my grandparents' house, tuning into the AM station for Unshackled, or while we were on our way to church in Grants Pass on Sundays. When I was in my teens, I would carefully hunt for the one station that would play the old radio shows at 10 pm on Thursdays, carefully placing my radio to pick up whatever faint signal I could get. The radio makes me feel safe and comfortable in a way that television never can. Okay, as long as you don't mention the time we were camping out at the logging site with Grandpa and listened to the one with the church bell and the monster that still gives me nightmares. *shivers* Ohhh, it was creepy! I wonder if I could find it again…

Now, I know some of you are out there rolling your eyes about what a supreme geek I am and how glad you are that you have more of a life than to sit around listening to radio shows, for crying out loud, on the computer. All I have to say is, this is what I enjoy! Unlike watching television, listening to the radio allows me to multi-task. TV invades my brain through any available USB port and makes it rather difficult to do much else. Oops, I'm degenerating into my anti-TV rant, which is a topic for a later blog! So, yes, dorky it may be, but at least I have something to listen to at night now! I do admit that I've been catching up on my old movies as well, courtesy of the library. Does anyone else suddenly get the sense that I'm starting to ramble?

A Perfect Day

Today may very well have been, for me, a perfect day. I had a Great Harvest marionberry scone for breakfast with some ginger peach tea in my new Haviland teacup (see picture to the left) and read a little bit before showering and heading off to church. It was a good service and I sat next to my favorite blonde 11-year old. After church I went and practiced for the mixed quartet this evening and then left the church building to discover that it was warm and blustery and unbelievably beautiful. I had a list of things I planned to get done today, but the absolute perfectness of everything, from the weather to the day to how I was feeling (content and happy), sidetracked me and I wound up reading for an hour or so before going for a tramp. I had noticed that there was a goodly breeze shaping up from the way it was squealing around the corners and shaking my eyrie, so I opened my windows before leaving and was promptly overwhelmed by a rush of warm, fresh air, so I opened all the windows and upon opening the door created the most marvelous cross-breeze that actually cleared some of the dead air from the top of my stairwell. Not that you care, but it gets stuffy up there and… well, there's really nothing quite as invigorating as a screaming wind! I left the windows open and headed for the open fields. I live on one of the low ridges that come down from Roxy Ann and although there are several other houses around me and the eyesore that is upper East Medford steadily encroaches (urban sprawl, anyone?), there is still a lot of uninhabited land, especially since the land parcels that are developed tend to be rather small. So I rambled. This is what it looked like:

This is also why I haven't left my valley. Believe me, I have very seriously considered moving away, but there's something immensely comforting about living in the same place all your life. I feel sorry for people who have never been able to really get roots the way I have. My family has lived here for four generations and minus Campmeeting and Guadalajara, I have been here all of my life. I know the rhythms, the history, what it was before the developers got their hands on it, where the mountains are and what's behind them. I definitely know the weather patterns. (By the way, for all you locals, don't forget that we'll be having a storm Thanksgiving weekend, give or take.) Oh yeah, and it's gorgeous here. Anyway, so, yes, I re-connected with my beautiful valley. The wind was divine, the clouds were wonderful, the sun was warm, and there was enough distance between houses that no one noticed me. I discovered that the low buzzing I keep thinking is an airplane is actually the sub-station, but I also discovered that the wind sounds different when it blows through different types of grass, which I had never thought about before. And I found that to the south there are lots of meadows and open spaces, compared to the scrub oaks and brush to the north. I tramped back to the house and ate soup and bread (at about 3. I just wasn't really hungry before.), propped open the door so the playful zephyr could knock some more things off the shelves, read some more, and headed back to church for practice and service. And then after church I got to come home and drink Mexican hot chocolate and read some more! The sermon this morning was about thankfulness and today was one of those days when it seems like everything is just a reminder of how much I have to be thankful for, including all of you guys!! The entire day was like one long sip of the perfect tea after a good bite of the world's most delicious shortbread, and now I get to top it all off by crawling into a deliciously warm bed. I cannot think of a single thing that would have made it better. Marvelous in a different way, yes, but better, no.

P.S. I am attempting to figure out how to get the posts to have a little more horizontal space. I know it has something to do with the HTML but I haven't quite nailed it down yet. Probably because I was a HUMANITIES MAJOR and never bothered to learn COMPUTER LANGUAGES. *mutter mutter hiss*

Los Angeles

Ha HA, foolish mortals!! I am lurking in my fog-shrouded tower…. Well, it was fog-shrouded a while ago, but the clouds seem to have lifted. It was a little eerie, especially since I was reading The Moor, by Laurie King, which is wonderfully spooky – which is why I was reading it. Anyway, since I can tell how touched and thrilled you've all been with my last few posts I thought I would sling another out into the void that is cyberspace (Beautiful! I inserted more whine into that one sentence than I think I've allowed myself in this whole blog!). Our subject today refers to the most amazing piece of news I have gotten in at least a month. I was chatting on Messenger with one of the teachers I got to know in Guadalajara (GDL) who moved to New Zealand shortly after I left and who I have never seen on Messenger previously. While we were talking, my brother (okay, okay, HOST-brother) Fernando came on for the first time, too! In the course of our conversation, he informed me that he is living in Los Angeles and is planning on being there until he graduates from college (he's in the eighth grade)! So, not only is he over half the distance closer to me, he's in the US and I can call him without racking up massive fees! So, anyone reading this from LA ("ha, ha," she said in a whiney way. What is my problem tonight?! Seriously, I'm not actually feeling whiney, whiny, no red lines so I can't tell which is right, at all.), you may be getting a visit from me in the not so distant future. I really want to bring him up here for a visit as well. I guess Juan Carlos is still working for them but is down in GDL with el señor, but who knows, maybe I can get him to come to the States for a visit. This is one of the few reasons I can think of for me to go to Los Angeles. I have decided opinions about that city, that's for sure.

And now, to continue the picture saga, I give you the houseplants. I've decided to do this in installments so that no one's brain falls out from over-stimulation, so these first two are chronologically the first two I received.

This first one is an amaryllis my grandma gave me when I graduated from college. It was blooming then, big, blood-red flowers, and Flo managed to knock one of them off before I even got the thing home. But I've forgiven him for it, so all is well. It didn't bloom this last year and I need to go do some research and figure out why. For all that it didn't flower, it certainly added a touch of arachnatude to the house and I think it looks very cool on top of my bookshelf.

This second picture is of the amazing Angel Wing Fibrous Begonia, my Christmas present from same grandma. It was actually not that impressive when I first got it, although it did have cute little pink blossoms, but once I fertilized it…. Well, you can see what happened. What you can't see is that when it opens up new leaves they seriously look like mutant egg pods. The white sheen on the leaves is because they have a satiny texture in the first months after they open, and they have silver dots on them until they get old enough to fall off. Zach, I know you're bored to tears, but bear with me here, this is the end of tonight's botany lesson!

One year and two days

I wasn't really planning on posting about this. I was going to let the day pass, unrecognized and unheralded, but something about the sunset, which was the most incandescent shade of pink and sulked around the hills, and later the newish moon floating mistily out my window made me want to mention it. That and the tea and shortbread; one man's tea is another woman's drug. One year and two days ago, about this time of evening, in fact, Joel told me that he was breaking up with me and sent me crashing headlong into what was definitely the worst year of my life. I could never have imagined the pain and, let's face it, betrayal that I would feel, nor the absolute agony of everyday living for months. This past weekend had some very odd moments when I would suddenly realize things like "one year ago today, I had no clue what was about to happen to me" and "we would have been having our last conversation as a couple right now." I wasn't bowled over by torrents of tears, but I had some temporal displacement moments (see below post about Super Metroid. The parallels in life are … odd.) when I almost couldn't believe the whole last year had actually happened. It seemed impossible that something that awful could ever really be (and yes I do know that there are worse things in the world, trust me).

However, and it's a big 'however,' while this last year sucked in ways I never, ever, ever care to repeat, it had some amazingly excellent moments, too. This post isn't a plea for pity or a whinefest (especially not pity. Now I understand how heroines always feel when they are being pitied. I believe "aaeeYAAAGGGHHaaaagAaAAGH" about sums it up.). This post is about the fact that I am alive, and not just alive, but doing okay. I'm sure I learned plenty of harsh lessons about life and people and fairytales, but I also got some spectacular memories from living with Nan and Moo and from the friends and family who have remained constant in my life, even when I couldn't have been at all pleasant to be around (quote SOB I miss him so much WEEP Oh Joel, how could you WAIL I can't survive this end quote). This summer was incredible: chasing thunderstorms, picnicking on Mt. Ashland, sitting on the front patio of our house listening to the trees and smelling the jasmine, walking around the school field while the dusk gathered. I don't know if it was necessarily sweeter because of the winter that preceded it, but I know that in the springtime, when I first started to feel anything like myself again, every moment of happiness was precious because I had gone months without them. *laughs* If you had talked to me one year ago I would have told you that I was sure I'd be okay eventually, but I didn't really believe it. Now, one year and two days later, damaged but no longer bleeding (that's how you get scars, which are, as everyone knows, way cool), I can say that God has brought me through and the worst is past and my future is ahead.

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Super Metroid

I had a fabulous time this weekend! I made a nice, leisurely stroll up the I-5 corridor, with plenty of stops to make not-necessarily-vital purchases that still fall into the whoo-hoo-I'm-thrilled-with-this category, including a little coffee table from Ikea. Mmmmmm, Ikea….. Tricia and Justin's wedding was beautiful, with great music, lovely decorating, and a great reception. And the ceremony itself was just lovely. Unfortunately, this wedding served to illuminate a troubling fact: at the rate I'm going, by the time I actually get around to getting' hitched, all of the unique and original ideas I have fermenting in my mind will have been used! The unfairness of it all! I had a good time hanging out with Melodie and LaDonna and Breanne and everyone else, including the elusive Melina (only a small dig, I promise. And I haven't had a chance to check the RSS feed yet.)!

One of the stops I made, I actually made twice. Nicio put me up for two nights, coming and going, complete with ACK!! One of the leaves just fell off my fibrous begonia!!!!! Sorry, that wasn't actually part of my visit, but it just happened and I hope this doesn't mean my plant is ailing! I'm already about to lose one of the peace lilies. Anyway, back to the story. The second night I was there, Nicio and I succumbed to the siren's song of Samus Aran and she plugged in her Super Nintendo. Talk about momentary temporal displacement! It was so awesome but so strange at the same time. I've had a lingering love affair with the Metroid games ever since Uncle Jim gave us the original Metroid sans any gamebook or explanation of the game at all. We spent hours delving into the secrets of Zebes and discovering the hidden paths leading to that nexus of evil, Mother Brain. Of course, when Super Metroid came out in the twilight years of my high school life, I was again transfixed by the game. Sheer gaming genius combined with a killer soundtrack that to this day has the ability to make me turn on all the lights at night…. *sigh* So, we sat on the couch in the dark, Nicio playing and me watching, just the way it was when I was younger and Moo would play while I watched. I kept expecting Dad to make suggestions or comment on a trick we'd missed behind me, and I kept feeling the layers of my life compressing in a way they don't often do. Honestly, Mom could have walked out of the kitchen and I wouldn't have been surprised.

Since I know that some of you are interested in other things besides video games and weddings, I hereby post some of my fall pictures. Behold the lower pond in Lithia Park! You can see the trees reflected in the water, of which I am particularly proud. The caught reflection, not the water, which is demonstrably green, dirty and disgusting, thanks to the ducks.

This second picture is one of the trees along the road in the park and is an example of one of my favorite kinds of autumn-ness. I love it when leaves turn all different colors at the same time on one tree, but in blocks so you look through a later of red to yellow behind, and then green at the back. Happy Autumn, everyone!

Guadalajara

I had a dream not that long ago that I went back to Guadalajara. Actually, it has happened more than once. Sometimes they are good dreams when I'm seeing all of my friends and they're all happy to see me and other times Antonia is berating me for not staying in contact.

The other day while I was perusing Bebo (not stalking, Nicio. Honestly.) I ran across my pictures of Guadalajara. Not too difficult to do since they're on my own page, but I haven't looked at then in well over a year. In a flash I was there again, driving through the streets with Juan Carlos, sorting the books in the school's library, hugging my kids.

Sometimes when I'm sitting at work I get these weird flashes of places in Guadalajara. Or I'll remember eating fish tacos on the street corner with thirty other people under one of the biggest trees I've seen that wasn't a redwood. When I was in La Reyna Bakery the other day buying pastries, I remembered walking a mile or whatever it was to get empanadas and chocolate milk.

So is it coincidence that as I happened to be trolling Alaska Air's specials, I came across a special from Los Angeles to Guadalajara that would cost me about $350 round trip? And that there is a special from San Francisco to Los Angeles to GDL that would probably cost me about $100 more?

*pause*

Anyone thinking what I am thinking?

Tragically for me, I've spent most of my recent mad money on getting into my apartment and getting the old computer hooked up. AlthoughI do have a small amount of mad money coming in.... Ack! NO!! I really want to go, but I think that now is not necessarily the best time. I haven't been in touch with anyone for a while.... except for Omar, who told me today while we were chatting for the first time in, again, over a year, he told me that I'll always have a place there. You've never seen any of these people, have you?

Behold Juan Carlos and my youngest brother Emanuel.

I'm sorry I haven't had these up before, but when I first started, Blogger wasn't so newbie-friendly. Now that it is, perhaps I'll give you a better idea about the five months of my life that happened outside of American soil! But yeah, for now.... well, I'll just let the plotting begin. After all, what's holding me here?

And so we ran

Tonight was the Harvest Party at church. We had darts, ring toss, cupcake decorating, pillow case races, and yours truly on the mummy wrap as well as plenty of other activities. And food, we can't forget the food. Becky went out and bought me a box of cheap toilet paper from the dollar store and everyone had a great time. Of course, we didn't wind up using all of the toilet paper, and I had bought some extra stuff so I didn't need it. I offered it to Bry, but he didn't really need it either as he had just purchased 24 rolls himself, and it can take even two bachelors a while to get through that much. I was thinking about just donating it to the church, but nobody seemed really taken with the idea, seeing as it wasn't the nicest stuff available (read: it tore easily and we would probably go through a roll a service per stall).

And then Bryan had The Idea.

For those of you who don't know, we recently got a new pastor who happened to grow up in Central Point. We usually hassle our new pastors somehow, but Bro. Bill is family. So New Pastor + Overabundance of Toilet Paper = Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight. There were six of us all told, Bryan, myself, Zach, Mandy, Mark and Troy. We drove over and began our work, which I must say was rather artistic. We avoided the vehicles because we figured that anyone who just moved up from Richmond, California, would have an alarm. We were right. I spelled out a very nice WELCOME on the lawn, we garnished all of the bushes, we have pictures, we were putting on the final touches and.... well, stories begin to vary at this point. Mark heard a click that wasn't made by us and started booking, Zach stood staring at the door as it opened until a voice said "there's a 64 pound...." and felt the need to move along. I just saw people moving quickly away from the house.

And so we ran.

We were very impressive, making it to the cars and up the street in excellent time. As I whipped past the other car I looked in the back window and saw four silhouettes. Four. I called Bryan and my phone immediately died, thanks to three solid years of abuse. Fortunately, he stopped at the end of the street and I pulled up alongside him.

"Do you have Troy?"

*quick head count* "I guess not!"

Yes, loyal readers, our numbers were short by one. And so we were now obligated to return to the scene of our crime to retrieve our fallen comrade. After all, we could leave no man behind, even if it were in the middle of a nice neighborhood in a relatively smallish town. I mean, it's cold this time of year and he would have had to walk a ways to get home. Even then, we probably could have gotten away with it, except for one simple fact. As the rest of us ran for the cars, Troy ran in the opposite direction and the pastor's wife saw him. The pastor found him pressed up against the side of the building, probably wondering how he was going to break it to Uncle Terry that he was being removed from the choir. Fortunately for him, the 64 pound dog that had moved Zach along was actually quite friendly. We had thought that since there's some commuting going on that it wouldn't be here on weekends, but apparently we were wrong and her growling had awakened Bro. Bill's daughter. And Troy, instead of running to the cars, had run the other way. *gurgle of laughter* I love my cousin Troy.

By the way, it is 1:20 a.m. Do you know where the other five are?

*choirs of angels singing*

The library has re-opened!!! Hallelujah!! I will get something done while sitting around in my happy, peaceful solitude, rather than go stark, raving mad! For those of you who didn't know, Jackson and Josephine Counties both shut down their libraries in what I have seen noted as the largest closure of its kind in the history of the nation. Lovely, eh? This explains the slow, quiet growth of my personal library. There are various reasons for the closures and I don't wish to go into them right now, but suffice it to say that money was at the bottom of it all. Be that as it may, at 12:30 today, a half hour after the doors opened, I was there, along with quite a few other people. As one of the librarians commented, several of us looked as though we were stocking up in case it closed again. One of the greatest things was that all of the books were on the shelf, meaning that I could take accurate stock of what my library actually has! *happy dance in my chair* I'm so excited!! And I can listen to different music again.... *moment of giddy silence* Oh, I can't tell you what this means to me. *happy sigh*

This re-opening combined with absolutely gorgeous weather is making this quite a magnificent autumn, despite the occasional twinge of melancholy. It's been in the low 70s here for the last couple days and the trees are magnificent. I get to drive through one of the orchards on my way to work and the leaves are all changing at different times, with one block bright red right now and another still green while yet another is starting to yellow. My houseplants are flourishing-ish, although the tree-like plant needs another dish soap bath to rid it of aphids and the sweet woodruff isn't taking to indoor life as well as I had hoped and I'm not sure why. But otherwise we are all thriving, and I have discovered that I am the proud owner of an Angel Wing Fibrous Begonia.

I yearn, I pine...

....for my USB cable that goes to my camera. My darling Nicio has (we hope) discovered it among the trappings of her end of the move, and I eagerly await its arrival here. I have some great pics of Lithia to post (possibly to Bebo) and I'm thinking that I would like to share some pictures of my NINE (9) houseplants. We had a new addition on Saturday with a very pretty little diefenbacchia (completely not spelled right) and so at lunch on Sunday, while the other people were sharing stories about their dogs savaging their plants, I shared my difficulties with the various petty jealousies and rivalries that spring up between my flamboyant varieties of foliage. No one believed me that the the Thompson's Flowering Maple had attacked the Peace Lily; I was quite hurt.

Hummus is pureed garbanzo beans with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and whatever else, for those who have asked. Unfortunately, my hummus still isn't done, as I nearly burned out my blender trying to get the stupid stuff to because a smooth dip to complement any pita bread I might have made. Bry's mom has said I can use her food processor, but I have to get to her house with the garbanzo gook to begin with! Some day, my fine legumey friend, we shall meet again, and this time I will be the master.

Garbanzo Beans

I feel you should all know, one cup of garbanzo beans is more than enough for a batch of hummus. Two cups - more than more than enough. In my never ending quest to have food in the house (I miss my Nan!!!) I am endeavoring to get something made that I can get together quickly. I have discovered a new breakfast gruel (it's very nice, really, and I'm quite pleased) and I'm hoping to get a decent batch of pita bread and hummus made for lunches and stuff. In that vein, I soaked some beans in preparation of cooking and hummusing, tragically overlooking the fact that all of my pan lids are in the storage shed. Hello, brain? Anyone there? So, yes, I'm trying to figure out if I can circumnavigate this obstacle somehow or if I should just bite the bullet and go to the storage unit. I think I will circumnavigate. It is the American way. By the way, the weather was perfect today and yesterday. *happy sigh* I love the autumn.

I love new computer programs sometimes

I just have to say that I am learning all about the near-complete integration of parts that is taking place in the computer world. For example, using my accounting software, I can download all of my financial info from my bank accounts and then turn around and pay nearly all of my bills. While I'm doing that, I may be struck by an idea that I want to explore a little more fully later on, so I pull up a Microsoft OneNote Sidenote and type it out real quick, and then go back to that thought when I'm done with the financial stuff. If I register my blog within my OneNote, I can decide to blog on that topic and have my Word program automatically sign me in to post!!! And then, if I've registered my Live Messenger id with Office/XP/iTunes, I can navigate a variety of different sites with my Microsoft Passport clearing my way!! Soon I won't even need to leave the house!!!! So, yeah, what started this was a quick tour through OneNote. I would just like to say that this should have been invented EIGHT YEARS AGO while I was STILL IN COLLEGE. Along with all these lovely student deals on laptops that I'm just now hearing about. I can only imagine how much more organized I could have been. As it was, I actually did some of the stuff in OneNote on my own, like, keeping a file open so I could jot down ideas quickly that came to mind while I was in the middle of a paragraph.

Okay, enough geeking out for now. I'll leave Quicken and iTunes for next time or something. I would now like to say that I love autumn. It is really the most fabulous season until winter, maybe even spring. It gets all moody around here, punctuated with days of brilliant sun and biting cold. The trees are just fabulous. We have the ones who kind of sneak from dark green into this incredibly deep purple, and at first you can't even tell if they're actually changing or if it's perhaps just a trick of shadow and light. And then there are the trees that look like someone poured gasoline down one side and lit them on fire, and the other side is still green while the one is crimson and gold. *sighs* And I get to wear my scarves and gloves, and have tea and start Fellowship of the Ring. What more could a girl want?

On My Own

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, to my first post from my new apartment and also (perhaps most excitingly) from my new computer!!!! Yes, I finally have my very own computer, loyal readers. But first, an update, since you haven't heard from me since July... unless you went out to coffee with me yesterday or something. Anyway, the amazing Brinicio and I have vacated our wonderful house as of September 31st and she has returned to the Valley of the Willamette while I have transferred not all of my belongings into a beautiful little studio apartment above some friends' garage which sits on a hill overlooking the Valley of the Rogue. Among the items that actually made it here rather than being consigned to a storage unit (another first for me, personal storage unit renting), are three almost completely full bookshelves, six plants, and a new fuzzy, purple baby plant from the home of Troy and Bryan, may they not kill one another for another day. This is my first time completely On My Own, and while I still haven't adjusted completely (I'm still waking up in the middle of the night for no good reason), I am on the second floor and there's only one door, so my paranoid imaginings of people coming through the window are now easily pushed aside.

On to the computer. As some of you may or may not know, when I left the employ of the The Crazed Screaming Boss, she refused to take back the computer she had "gifted" me with. When I later learned that she was informing people that she had bought me off with it, you can imagine that I reacted negatively ("She WHAT?!!!? I will never use that computer!!!!"). That reaction lasted a little over a year, until Bri moved out, taking my last connection with the outside world with her. I spoke with my wonderful, brilliant, generous and kind cousin Bryan, who wound up tricking out my cyber-ride, and I now have a pretty lean, mean surfing machine with two (two) hard drives, a wireless modem, a CD-Rom drive and a DVD drive, both of which are CD-RWs, and various other little things. A huge round of applause and thanks to Bry for enduring allergy attacks to clean out the accumulated ick (apparently no one had ever thought to clean this unit) figuring out all the glitches, putting in all the new bits and who knows what else!!

Final big change: I'm back at the lumber yard. Business is slowing down everywhere and I knew there was no way my previous employer could keep me going at 40 hours a week much longer, and there was no way they would be able to give me a pay raise to compensate at all. Add to this the email incident with my boss (I never did tell her that I was this close to walking out) and the nightmare that was the County Fair last year, and I decided that Becky's offer of a $2 pay increase and Campmeeting was probably worth the obnoxious men. Although the hours are probably going to drop this winter at the lumber yard as well, at least I know that my managers will be much more willing to work on a flexible schedule with me if I decide to pick up part-time seasonal work elsewhere (Bear Creek). So, yeah, while there are some things I miss about the old office (some of the co-workers, the lack of cursing, getting to dress up a little), I think I've made the right decision. Anyway, I just wanted to catch everyone up on what's going on, and hopefully my next post will be shorter. And it will definitely involve the weather. Just a warning.

What housework?

I should so be cleaning my room, or sorting through boxes and getting rid of junk, or writing in my journal, or knitting on one of several projects right now, rather than goofing off on the internet. I'm not bored, really, just full of pizza (cousin luv, cousin luv, but not in any icky kind of way, you weirdos) and afraid to disturb the radioactive dust that covers my belongings. You know, someday I really need to figure out how to read and knit at the same time, because there are some books I just can't audio-style, Lord of the Rings being one of them. I know I'm starting a hair early in the season, but somehow it just seems appropriate. *stretches and sighs* I love being a dork!!

I'm really falling more in love with my house the more I live in it. I've even become accustomed to the yellow (cream, whatever) walls. With Moo gone we can open the blinds on his sliding door, and the view is all nice and dappled and green and really lights everything up. The ants have been getting in through the windowsill over the sink and there's this little pile of crumbs behind one of the plants, evidence of Things Too Large To Get Through The Hole. I sat and watched them try to get a strip of Asiago cheese in there for about fifteen minutes one time. They must have done, because I never saw it on the counter. Don't get me wrong, I have also sweetly set out some Terro in the hope that they will all die and their little ant bodies with rot under the house rather than come and eat my food, but they can definitely be entertaining as well.

I think I'll have chili tonight

With cheese and crushed up Fritos. It's easy, it has protein, and it's not a cheese or tuna sandwich, what more could I ask in the way of diversity?! Actually, Brinicio bought the makings for some fabulous pitas, and we've kind of been living on those for a while. First, however, I'll probably need to go put away all the dishes I just washed. We have a bit of an ant problem here in my lovely house-that-I-really-don't-want-to-leave and I'm trying to nip it by actually keeping food out of reach. Imagine!

So, I have come to the conclusion that the whiny, petulant, "but Uncle Owen!" Luke Skywalker, while obnoxious, is in some ways infinitely better than sanctimonious, "more Forceful than thou" Luke Skywalker. Just so you know. The former doesn't go off on these wild flights of "I will not fight you, Father" and martyred hand-folding like the latter indulges in, especially in the books after the original trilogy. I still love Luke, don't get me wrong, but I don't think I could ever marry him. Imagine the angst! "Will I grow up to be my father? Will the Dark Side carry me away?" Which, if I've heard correctly, it does in at least one novel. Hmm, I just realized that the last paragraph has smacked of bitterness, but it really is directed towards Luke. I've been listening to books on tape that my brother's friend David lent me, bless him, and some things are just more and more apparent with every book Luke appears in.

You will all be thrilled to know that most of my plants are surviving. The pansies have taken the heat very badly and I don't know if they will resurface next year (sadly, since I had very pretty pansies this year). My jasmine is taking over its corner of the patio and the butterfly bush is going to be as tall as me, soon, rather like certain young ladies who.... great sunshine in the morning, Ellie is eleven and I missed it!!! I am such a bad auntie!!!!!! But I'm sure she's been having too much fun at CA Youth Camp to really worry about it that much.

Life has been interesting in the last month. Moo just moved out, up to the big city, leaving Brinicio and I alone and big-screen-TV-less, which has increased our reading to rather astounding levels. During the two weeks of Campmeeting (weekends are awful), I managed to do most of the hiring for the Jackson County Fair and I'm not bald. It's a miracle from heaven. I think I lost some more weight, though, which is becoming distinctly ridiculous. Whatever happened to stress-eating, huh?!? Ah well, speaking of food, I'm feeling a bit peckish, and that chili is calling to me, although I probably will regret it later.

Cousin love

My cousins are the greatest, just so everyone knows. I don't know where I would be without them, honestly. I have a great many wonderful friends that support me and such, but my cousins are just the cat's meow. I mean, come on, Bry just cooked me dinner and is letting me use his computer while watching his TV, and Troy just cleaned up. *sighs* I love most of my family, I really do. (How's that for open, huh?)

Pride & Prejudice is a fabulous book/movie, by the way. I'm finishing up Persuasion at home right now, although I have to take it in small chunks.

You'll all be thrilled to know that I have have had a long conversation with that person who has previously consumed my thoughts and emotional upheavals, and things are looking up, in a my-heart-will-not-rip-open-my.-chest-anymore sort of way. In fact, I think I can go so far as to say that we are friends. Please forgive me for not going into dramatic detail, but... well, I'm still kind of processing everything myself.

Anyway, the weather has fortunately taken a turn for the cooler today, thank heavens, as it has been a consistently icky 90 degrees around here for quite a few hours too long. Oooh, Dame Judi Dench sneers so perfectly. I can only wish that the weather would not revert to the sweat-inducing state in which it has existed for the last bit, but I'm afraid that I'm just going to have to..... do...... something. Like start using the air conditioning, if I'm not lucky.

I know I have been particularly bad about blogging in the last two months, and I apologize yet again. Things were starting to look a little again grim and dark, and when that happens I tend to shut down a little bit. Have I mentioned that I adore the scene with Mr. Darcy in the trench coat, no matter how anachronistic it may be? Jane Austen is so desperately romantic, except in Mansfield Park, which I don't think I'll ever be able to read again. And the weather is perfect for watching this movie. Oh, I give up, there is no hope for it, I just can't kill my inner romantic, no matter how I've tried.

So, Melina, am I allowed back on your list? Or do I need to post more than once in a two month period? *winks* Ah well, bad to your lives, dear friends, I'm going to go finish watching this movie. *sighs* And Donald Sutherland really does a great job as Mr. Bennett.

Panic!! Panic!!! Oh wait..... (caution, long blog)

Man, I have a lot of things to blog about, but I always forget when I sit down to write them. Except this one, of course. As you may have gathered from my previous post, I have been getting a little squirrelly about my job and the responsibilities and all that fun stuff, like the fact that you can't count on people to do what they tell you they're going to do. Well, over the weekend I decided I was going to start seeking other employment, and that I would let my boss know sometime this week, but I wasn't sure when. Yesterday she came into my office to drop off a candle she'd gotten me while she was on vacation (no, this wasn't favoritism, she brought something back for all of us) and asked how things were going. So I decided to tell her. Now, don't worry guys, I didn't do anything stupid, I just calmly let her know that I didn't feel that I was right for the position and that I didn't want to continue potentially costing the company money, and that I would like to start looking for another position. She said that was fine, she understood and actually asked if there were any of the positions we currently have that I would be interested in applying for (I can generate revenue in other ways, too). We agreed that we would start looking for my replacement and that I would start looking for another position.

And then I went home for lunch.

My internal monologue went something like this: "Wow, that went really well! I'm glad she didn't get upset or anything. Hmm, I wonder where I'll start lookingWHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!?! WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!?!?!" Yeah, the prospect of looking for a new job, while exciting in theory, isn't actually something I enjoy viewing. The job market here in the ol' Valley inn't so hot right now, and my skills are, well, not mind-blowing, although I do have that shiny BA. So, I wavered between "glad it went well" and "ACK!!" and went back to work. About thirty minutes after I got back, my boss came in again. She was interviewing my replacement in about an hour and wanted to talk to me about some things, things like, would I like to, instead of having to find another position somewhere and lose my health insurance, perhaps just switch into the accounting department? Now here, my dear friends, is an example of God working in mysterious ways. I will spell them out for you.

1. I got this job in September, two months before Joel broke up with me, sending my already out of control mood swings into orbit (not his fault, since I think almost any kind of stress would have done it).
2. As of January 1st, I got health insurance, which allowed me to go to the doctor and find out that I have a hormonal imbalance (have I mentioned this yet? It's genetic. I'm thrilled. Well, actually, I kinda am, because it means I'm not just crazy.) and start getting treatment (oh I'll have to post a picture some day. I use a topical cream on the inside of my arm for about a week and it's in a syringe, so I look like I'm shooting up!). This is the first time in, oh, ten years that I've had the kind of medical coverage I would need to diagnose and treat this problem.
3. About a week ago, our accountant announced that he was hoping to retire and we started looking for his replacement.
4. Yesterday, the guy who has been doing payroll announced that he would like to take over the accountant's position, leaving the payroll position open, which is the one I was offered.
5. It wasn't until the last several weeks that I've been feeling really unhappy with being a staffing coordinator, which is good, because if I would have decided this sooner, I would have given notice and been out of there before the accountant could retire, opening up the position I'm going to start training for!!!!

I mean, isn't that just amazing???? And I know this is all prayer. I've been asking people to pray about this for a while now, and the way things just fell into place was, in a word, providential! So, I get to stay with a company I like, keep my health insurance, and start working in an area that has interested me for a while, and when I get good enough, I'll get to start learning the rest of the bookkeeping. Anyway, so, yeah, I realize it's a ridiculously long blog, but I just had to share. Yet another example of God watching out for me when I'm not looking!

PS to self: About those other blog topics...... think Vietnam, " ", and the library.

Drama, drama, drama

Hey, Fish, I've interviewed two of your ex-co-workers in the last two weeks! One of them was named Katheryn and was the center director.... and I'm afraid I've forgotten the other lady's name. Katheryn says hello. As for me moving to Portland.... well.... we'll have to see what happens, but as you know, it's not in my immediate plans. Even for you, my handsome, dashing, and debonair dear friend!! All those people!!! Ack! Oh, and please accept my public apology for not calling you back when you were in town. My only feeble excuse is that I had houseguests and forgot until Sunday night. Forgive me?

Moo has given me a slight reprieve ("They said it wouldn't be for a while..." Can I get a date, please??) and our household is still intact. Well, Moo is in Visalia (oh yeah, the PIQ actually isn't in PA, but I trust my brother to remember what good friends they used to be) and we have the addition of Chels (Nan's sister) and we had Melodie all week and are about to get Jake and Laura for a night.... but otherwise the household is the same as always!! We now have three, no, four, houseplants. I bought a lovely outside salad mix, but apparently someone else thinks it's tasty, too, and tossed a few leaves around on the patio. Mum says it's probably cats. I say Matt needed a midnight snack.

Lest we think that my life has calmed down since the last major incident, I bring you news of yet another potential change. I may be looking for a new job soon. I have come to the realization that I am not particularly brilliant at my job, and while in other positions this may not be a huge problem, in this one, I can do great things like lose accounts. Now, what this means is, I feel horrifically guilty about the fact that I'm not producing the results that my company needs, and I'm sure my company isn't too thrilled about it either. I also really dislike the fact that I don't feel competent at what I'm doing. It's not like I can study more and get better at this... well, in a way, I guess I can, but I can't change the essential fact that I don't have the drive they really need. I also don't feel like taking on the weight of the responsibilities I would have come the summer. Like being on call 24/6. I would also like to be able to plan things like vacations during the summer; even taking a half-day isn't really feasible in the position I'm currently in. Does this mean I'm lazy? It does, doesn't it...... great, now I'm going to go feel bad about myself... at least until Jake and Laura call and I go get pizza for dinner. So, yeah, I realize this is rambling and incoherent, but ARGH!!! I don't want this to turn into another whinefest and woe is I! Me. I never did figure out which was right. Anyway, I will cease and desist before this becomes even more ridiculous. Good night all, and may you all have a glorious weekend!!

As the world turns....

Ahhhh, the many changes of life. The weather here has been just great, with days of warm sunshine punctuated with gloriously glowering rain. Brinicio and I went to the Grange Co-op and bought some plants; she bought chives, cilantro and mint, and I got a salad mix and some pansies. My boss went and bought a hothouse last week, so I'm thinking I might go get me some of them there seeds and sneak some starts of something in.... not that I really have anywhere to plant them. I have to admit that I'm planning my future house-that-I-own and mostly the trees and plants around it. There's a book called Tasha Tudor's Garden that absolutely captivates me specifically because of the gardens that surround the house.

So, the first line of my post refers to the fact that my brother, dear sweet Moo, has been promoted to manager-in-training with Winco! Kudos to Moo!! Unfortunately, this means that my darling co-lease-signing brother is moving to Portland about five months before our leases actually run out. I think he gets to call our landlord on this one. I have no idea who on earth we're going to get to move in with us, but I know we're going to have to find someone fairly soon!! This does, however, leave the master bedroom open. *strokes chin hairs*

It also refers to the fact that we've hired a new recruiting manager at my office. He's 24, tall, blond, and a salesman. "Whoo hoo, Mindy!" you may be thinking, but there is a caveat. I seem to have a bit of a gift for parts of my job. One aspect is that I can sense salesmen. How, you may wonder? They annoy me, I tell you. And I was told to specifically look for a saleman kind of attitude for this position. *sighs* I'm hoping that it'll all be okay, and I'm sure it will be, but it's just kind of funny that my "gift" has the potential for such internal ookiness. Don't get me wrong, I have some friends who are salesmen, but when I'm in a business situation with one, well, they can't help it, the poor dears, they ooooooze that let-me-help-you-ma'am-I'm-sure-we-can-make-a-deal grease. Hmmm, I hope no one from work ever figures out who this is.....

Oh, and in the "Great Ironies of Life" category, Moo, in keeping with his status as Excellent Winco Employee, is being sent to help open one of the newest stores next weekend. All travel and lodging expenses paid for eight days. Sounds all legit and everything, right? No irony anywhere, right? Just the reward of the hardworking and well-deserving, right? He's going to Visalia, California, zip code 93291, the place where yours truly was attempting to move exactly a year ago. Ohhhhhhh, the irony of it all!!!!!!! *laughs* Matt has been throwing around threats ever since he found out he was going, but it looks like The Person In Question will be in Pennsylvania, so Moo will have to content himself with breathing angry murmurings under his breath.

Lessee, I think that's all my fun, fascinating, and entertaining news for the day. Who knows, if you're all reaaaaally lucky, maybe someday I'll start blogging about the stuff that happens at work. *rolls eyes* Or not. I wouldn't want to make you too cynical about humanity.

Olive Garden Soup

It's just so yummy! It's become a new tradition on Sunday evenings for us olderyoung singles to go get a $4.75 bowl of soup and eat breadsticks, and I have to say, it's a lot of fun. Tonight I really needed the support (Jim and Flora, I sorry!!!! I really did mean to come home and do my laundry!!!!! But I'll be coming over tomorrow, I promise.) and the great Brinicio came with us and it was a lot of fun. The Zuppa Toscana is just that perfect blend of spicy and pseudo-healthy.

As some of you will have maybe noticed, I've changed some of my previous entries. I was informed that pasting my emotions all over the front of my online persona was probably a bad idea. And I agree. So, the particular subject which was addressed in the changed entries isn't going to be using up my blog space anymore except in passing. Life is too short for me to let anything like that rule me. So, Pheath, Fish, CrazyLady, everyone else, if you really want to know what's up with that, drop me a line. Pheath, we need to get together and catch up as it is. I've totally lost contact with almost everyone and I feel terrible about it.

Okay, so, what is up with this weather?? The snow on the valley floor? Brinicio says that the snow one day followed by sun, then sleet, then rain, then sun again... well, basically, she just can't handle it. I must say, I am a little peeved since this weather never happened when I was still in school, or even living at my parents' house, and able to have a snow day!!! All the beautiful little bulbs are beginning to poke out their little heads those. Except for here, at our house, where we never got around to planting any. We have grass. Barren grass. Dying grass actually, although I'm not sure why. Well, maybe it's drowning, which would make sense. Brin says it was distinctly soggy when she stepped on the lawn the other day. I have great plans for summer plantings, however. Please, stay tuned to this site for further fascinating updates!

Repeat after me...

Hey gang! It's finally raining here again, thank the clouds above. Don't get me wrong, the sunny days were gorgeous, but it gets cold when it's clear at night. And there's nothing to compare with brooding in a chair in front of a window that looks out onto, well, okay, onto a fence, but it has sky above that and the skeletal limbs of several trees, their nakedness reminding me of the scarred, barren land that is my heart. *giggles* Yeah, I thought that was pretty melodramatic myself. But really, a semi-comfy chair, Jane Eyre/Jane Austen/Lord of the Rings, and tea.... what more can I ask? Except Firefly on a large-screen TV, which I now have!

There used to be something else here. Again, I'm hoping the wrong people/person didn't read it before it was changed today, 2/25.

Bed? Why would I be in bed?

So, I was kinda just cruising through my old blog entries (this really is just as much for me as for other people) and I went back to a year ago.
...
.....
.......
Just wow. Okay, okay, I know, I know, I waxed nostalgic earlier this year already, but really, come on now. I hadn't even gone through *shudders* mono, yet. I still don't feel like an adult. I mean, we were discussing the rules for the new church youth center and how there needed to be adult supervision and, you guessed it, I am considered adult supervision. Me. *would sit down heavily but is already seated* I certainly don't feel like an adult. I can tell I'm not quite a kid because I want to throttle teenagers with an alarming frequency, but I don't feel ... I don't know, adult-like, like I'm grownup enough to be responsible for things. Ya know what I mean, Vern? Stars and stripes forever, all this emotional trauma has turned me into a brooding, introspective, maudlin sentimentalist. On to greater things.

I got a new bed! The ex-boss had given me a daybed, but it doesn't fit in my decidedly-smaller-than-my-room-in-the-apartment room, and so I've been sleeping on a mattress on the floor. It was kind of funny, someone came over one day and got the tour and they were like "why do you all sleep on the floor?" We had never thought about it, but we all sleep (or slept, hehe heh) on the floor. But, Joel's little sister (who lives up here now) just got a new bed and so I inherited her old one. Thick mattress. With boxsprings. And a hollywood frame. And suddenly my room is actually a bedroom. *sighs* I can even store things under it. Speaking of, I need to get up in time to pick up said younger sister for Sunday School tomorrow and I'd like to get a real breakfast (the donut episode last week was a definite learning experience), so I'll release you all from the grip of my inane babbling.

A Quote From Gwendolen

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
~Herm Albright

Thank you guys so much for being my friends. (Cheese!!! Ack Ack!!!!!! Too much cheese!!) But really, I mean it. Fish, Pheath, wow guys, who would have thought that over ten years later we'd still be hear and you guys would still be listening to my growing pains. And everyone else who reads and talks to me later or even just prays for me, I appreciate you all so very, very much.

I'm shifting through my angry stage, remembering all the really good times Joel and I had together, trying not to depress his little sister who probably still harbors dreams of us getting back together. It's been a process. *breaks into cheesy song* "The long and winding road" *bum bumk* "something, sooomething....." Okay, that's it, I'm leaving now before things get entirely out of hand. Beware the potstickers and razzleberry pie, beware!!! *sighs* And the worst part is that while you guys might think, "wow, her moods are doing really weird things," after a moment you'll smile and say "nahhh, that's just Mindy!"

Our next stage of grief...

2/25: Yeah, meant to get this changed sooner. Hopefully the wrong people didn't already read it! Anyway, to summarize, this post used to be angry. It's not anymore. I saved the original to Brinicio's computer though. *laughs* We've decided I need to start posting funny things again. Maybe I'll go read a gardening catalogue...

Jasmine

It has been so stinking cold here that I have brought my tender, green jasmine plant indoors. So far the greenery has not succumbed to winter's biting chill, but I ain't taking no chances with this little cold snap. Brianna, Ellie and I went walking in Lithia Park on Saturday, thinking a little exercise might warm us up. And I'm sure it would have, too, if we had been wearing snow pants and ski parkas. We wound up with numb thighs instead. We did get to go and have tea and scones afterward, which made up for everything.

Speaking of, Ellie (Joel's little sister, for those of you who don't know the family) spent Friday night and Saturday with us. I had gone through Moo's somewhat questionable movie collection and pulled out some of the good stuff (Ice Age, The Incredibles, Howl's Moving Castle) for us to watch, but as soon as she walked in, Ellie saw the extended Fellowship of the Ring and away we went. I had forgotten how much I totally love those movies!!! I don't know what it is, but they remind me of better things and hope for the future rather than staring into tomorrow like the barrel of a gun. Does anyone else feel like that? Like every day is a step in a minefield? I don't know, maybe it's just that I used to cling to the hope that the good really would win in this world, but every time I happen to see the news or read a newspaper (which, I admit, I avoid as much as possible) I feel helpless. Anyway, whatever the reason, we wound up watching Two Towers the next day and we're planning on Return of the King as soon as we all can get together again!

Okay, I have to get some of this off my chest, but I don't want to burden you all, so: Qué está pensando mi ex-novio?!? O es que no está pensando, está usando solamente sus sentidos y sentimientos? Me dijo que no iba a andar con otra mujer para un tiempo extendido y aquí anda, pensando en, claro, una rubia alta y activa. Le di mi corazón y entiendo que no fue su intención de romperlo, pero después de romperlo, él no tiene los guts para llamarme y decir que, sí, ya es terminado y tiene interés en otra lado. Wow, my Spanish is getting appallingly bad. Anyway, that's not even all I want to say, but I don't want to bore you and Moo is watching Batman Begins, so have a good night, everyone!!

Wonders!

Matthew's room!! It's.... it's.... clean!! And I don't mean there's a path from the door to more than one location, either. Our internet was down yesterday and he got bored and cleaned the whole thing. His clothes are even folded and in the closet. I guess he was telling the truth when he said he was a slob by choice. So I am now in possession of some new storage drawers - excellent news until one realizes that I have to decide a) what to put in them and b) where to put them. Life is so unbearably complicated!!

In other news, I finally got to use the Noritake Roseville china tea/luncheon set that Melodie/Dorothy gave me over a year ago. I invited my mom and aunt and Flora (of last November/December fame) over and we had tea and played Scrabble. But wait!! I haven't yet spoken of the amazing Scrabble board!! My mommy who loves me bought me The Onyx Version (note capitals) from Barnes and Noble. It's wood and is in black and silver, very posh, so I've been getting in quite a bit of playing time.

Finally, congratulations to Nathan and Brenda, who are engaged!! It is exactly as Melodie and I predicted, first Florin, then Andrew, and now Nathan. Ah, young love!! *manages to sit still for a moment and then grinds teeth* Seriously though, I am thrilled for them and I wish them the very, very best.