Sunday, August 26, 2007

Sundays, As They Should Be


Sturgeon
Originally uploaded by suzipaw
"That thing fought like a son of a bitch, too," reported M. The photo is of a sturgeon that was too small, at nearly four feet, to keep.

Yesterday, my fruit- and veggie-laden stepdad came down to go fishing, so the men, including Rex, were up and away by 6:00 a.m. this morning. And so the day unwound--shaking off the melatonin-induced slumber, some reading, washing the car, balancing my checkbook, knitting the last of my handbag and then felting it, painting my nails, watering the plants. Sleeping til 9! Crafting and carbs and caffeine, oh my! The men came home late, nearly 12 hours later, M sunburned and eager to play guitar and give me a kiss. He praised the felting, approved of the bedspread I had braved Ross to purchase. Now the dishwasher is running and I think a little TV is in order before bed and another week at work.

M starts his second-to-last semester tomorrow.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Space Shots and Cream of Tartar


image013.jpg
Originally uploaded by roborsini
A friend of mine whose uncle works at NASA sent these shuttle pics. So cool.

And did you know that cream of tartar is a substance found in at the bottom of wine barrels? Mmm, makes those snickerdoodles even tastier!

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Happy Trails!


Big Rig
Originally uploaded by RCSchafer
My dad and stepmom are once again on the move, this time heading for a brand new home in San Antonio--very excting. My stepbro is on the driving adventure with my dad and documenting it--thanks, Rob! Good luck and be safe!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Between Parties


photo booth photos
Originally uploaded by suzipaw
The wedding yesterday was lovely. Quirky clothes, lots of young folks with tattoos, good food, friends, and music, lovely weather and setting. Toasts to many children for the wedded couple, a lovely a cappella song from one of the guests, furry/feathery pink heart decorations, homemade pear-ginger chutney as a wedding favor. And Ann-Margret. Watch the movie at your peril--it's pretty bad and mostly people dancing without sound. On the plus side, it's not much more than two minutes long.



Thank goodness mom was here to show me how to do my hair. It wasn't quite high enough, but I got lots of props on the spit curls. And the bride was pleased, so I was glad to contribute in that way.













More photos

*****

I made my travel arrangements for my trip to Washington yesterday, and I'm very excited. Grandma's going to have a nice birthday party. I added a Boston leg to my east coast trip later in September, so much to look forward to there.

*****

M is out fishing with a friend, and I'm trying to get up the gumption to do a little work this afternoon before the law school party. I still haven't been sleeping well, so I suspect my social skills will be put to the test this evening, but M had a very early morning, so hopefully we won't be out too late. But before I get to work, maybe I'll research movie camera prices…

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Gloom Lifting

…a bit--there's that Bar exam cloud hanging around the horizon. But M thinks he did well on the final, so he's not too worried that he'll be kicked out of school--but grades don't come out for six more weeks, so stress continues.

Look, I think I'm getting the hang of this movie thing:


So now there's not too much holding me back from my Deal or No Deal audition tape. Oh, wait, I need to get a camera with sound. And better quality.

It's Thursday, and I've taken today and tomorrow off of work. We've got a full weekend planned: Mom and stepdad are coming home from their cruise and staying overnight tomorrow; air show on Saturday morning, friend's daughter's wedding in Glen Ellen in the afternoon (the bride's step grandma is Ann-Margret, so we're hoping for a celeb sighting); Sunday is a law school party. So much socializing, I'll probably be catatonic at work on Monday. I also want to finish knitting my handbag and felt it. And nap lots. The sandman and I are still on the outs at night.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Sunday


Sorry, not feeling particularly creative today, so this will be brief, scout's honor.

I did spend a lot of time yesterday with my book, The Unicorn Hunt, another in the Dunnett House of Niccolo series. Yes, there I was escaping to imaginary 15th century Scotland and other Continental parts, which seemed like the only reasonable thing to do. It's been another long week, with the gloom of M's dreaded final final of the summer looming tomorrow, the one he failed last year. He studied all day yesterday and today, but appears discouraged this afternoon.

I did meet the Pointy Pals at our writing spot this morning, and got caught up on my work email, which will make next week much better. Two of the highlights from last week was making some appointments for my trip to NY and confirming my visit with grandma, both next month. Travel I'm really looking forward to!

I also spent a little time this afternoon going through my bead boxes. I haven't made any beaded jewelry in years, so I thought I would cull a few bags o' beads and give them to a friend of mine at work who makes lovely things. It was pleasant to paw through the bags of beads and findings and silk and glue, thinking of the classes I took at the Craft Students League in New York lo these many years ago. I did pull out a few beads and left them out on my craft table, telling myself that I would make a quick necklace with the glass shamrock beads I purchased in Portland last month. Right….

*****

Puppies are crying next door, which normally would be a happy thought. But, considering it's the hideous, shut-up-y neighbors who have apparently bred their pitbull bitch, she of the baleful yellow-eyed glare. Just what the world needs, more unsocialized pitbulls…

Time to go back to the book, or perhaps knit a few rows on the enormous bag I'll be felting. If it comes out well, I might try a felted laptop sleeve.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Charming Towns, Culture, Gray


Making Up
Originally uploaded by suzipaw
The fog is not burning off today, probably indicating that it's Hades-hot in the interior of the state, and the gray day has kept me in bed, laundry unfolded, teeth unbrushed, unshowered, for the better part of the day. I blew off writing time with Julia today--I just couldn't bear to leave the house. Well, I did, early--I took my mom and stepdad to the airport shuttle--they're going on a cruise to Alaska with my aunt and uncle, doesn't that sound lovely? I've been farting around online, shopping for belated birthday gifts (don't worry, Brandon, you'll be in that category too, no doubt) and for real estate which of course has made me very dissatisfied with my current abode. No, there are no plans to go anywhere soon, but I reallyreally want to move to the West County area, and I know that's going to take some planning. And a lot of cash. I've also been reading blogs, trying yet again to upload my beach movie to YouTube to no avail, uploading more photos to my Flickr account, and getting acquainted with PhotoBooth, a Mac application that's awfully fun.

So, an activities recap:

On Tuesday evening, Julia and I went to see fellow Pointy Sister Rebecca read some of her most excellent poetry in Mill Valley, an excruciatingly quaint town in a crunchy, 1970s kinda way. After the reading we wandered about a bit, window shopping and people watching, finally settling into an excruciatingly hip gelato shop for a snack. Many people in very expensive jeans, wandering in with their glasses of pinot noir--yes, apparently it's ok to drink in public as long as it's really expensive to match the jeans.

Friday night, date night, M and I went to Sonoma, another quaint town, but one with a more old-West feel. A friend of his had an entry in the Wine Country Film Festival, Dill. It was running a little late, so we had time to wander the historic plaza where they were getting ready for some sort of food and wine festival, and of course people were again roaming the streets with glasses of wine and expensive attire. We watched the screening in a hot, historic women's club then actually voted on his movie, just like a real film festival, except that it was of course all his family and friends in the (small) audience, so we weren't real objective. Afterwards we had a nice swanky Mexican/Mayan meal--one of M's students was the hostess, she was very cute, obviously really likes him as a teacher.

Other activities during the week: Went for my annual visit to my doctor. I've gained one pound since my last exam and am fairly healthy. Had lunches with two former colleagues. Yesterday was relaxation and chores for me, studying for M--finals approacheth. We had a big ol' night of grilling when mom and Don arrived. And now, what to do? Brush and fold and shower? Knit? Nap? Make pie crust for some unknown reason? It's nice having a little mental down time.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

I'm SUCH a Bad Auntie


Felicia's 18th Birthday
Originally uploaded by suzipaw
So not only did I miss my niece's 18th birthday last week, today is one of my nephew's birthday, and I just couldn't get it together to send a gift in time to him either. Sigh. I love you both, really I do, and I promise to get a really fab gift to you really soon, really!