Healing

We miss him a lot. The house is very empty.
But we're moving on, I think, bit by bit. Healing. Remembering, but beyond grieving.
For the most part.

We seem to be connecting more, too. It started by talking about Molson and has moved on to other conversations and time together. That can't be bad.

Also wanted to let everyone know that Sonny and I both have Flickr pages now - the links have been added on the right. Enjoy!

Goodbye to the bestest buddy ever

Molson died tonight.
He was 8 years old - in prime health.
J said he was having teddy time (he would grab his stuffed teddy and knead at it - a very happy thing for Molson)and went into a sort of fit.
J tried to save him.

I was at the gym.

I'll miss how he'd come lie in my arms in the small hours of the morning, full of purrs and hugs.
I'll miss hugging him - he was sooo cuddly.
The way he'd talk to us.
How he'd find me when I was sad.
How he'd get so excited about chasing the ball - although he wouldn't really chase it, just run back and forth.
Playing tag in the basement.
Our time in the yard.
How he'd follow me around, to be in the same room as me, hanging out.
I'll miss you tons, buddy. I'll see you again, of that I'm sure. In the meantime, have all the catnip you want, all the shrimp you can eat, and see to it that someone rubs those ears.
Your Mama and Daddy will always love you.
J says goodbye and that his heart lies next to you.

Mirrormask!

Went to see MirrorMask with Jenny and Tina tonight! I think they liked it. It's interesting - I enjoyed it while watching it, but the depth of what I consider it's coolness crept up on me slowly and didn't really fully hit until halfway home.
I told Sonny I'd put it close to Delicatessin and City of Lost Children for a really cool, totally weird movie. Not quite to their level, but they're at the top of the heap, so close isn't all that bad.

Very very very whacked. In a whoa, you could spend hours soaking it in sort of way.

Sonny says he saw MirrorMask toys today (most likely at Newbury Comics) - may have to check that out.

I recommend it for those who appreciate weird, cultish (I think it will achieve the goal Henson studios was seeking), definitely not your run of the mill view of things.
Highly.
Yeah, that was pretty cool flick....

Learning new things

Total body conditioning = ahhh - wooouch!!!!

I hurt so much more after that class, but feel less satisfied, because that euphoric high I've been getting from kickboxing never emerged. My lungs don't feel tested, though I can tell my heart rate's a bit higher.
Don't think I'm doing this one often. We'll see if I can dress myself tomorrow.

Couldn't wait!

This was just way too cool not to post immediately - and it'll bring a smile to your day!
This ad is for Canteen - a New Zealand org for youth with cancer - promoting National Bandanna Week and their green bandannas.
"Manah Manah" was used in a Diet Dr Pepper ad recently. To compare the two - the Dr Pepper ad had an awesome element of surprise - but this one has real Muppets!
- found on AdRants, via PuppetVision

Finally, fire!

First off, after one and a half weeks back at the gym, I'm down 2 pounds. Let's hope the trend continues! I already feel a lot better (setting aside this cold and migraine)

Saturday, J surprised me with our first fire!
Here's the story: When we moved in, our engineer didn't look at the chimney, so we had someone else come check it out. The interior of the chimney was fine he said, but he was concerned about how close it got to boards in the attic. So we held off until we could figure out how to deal with it.
Then we got thinking. The chimney is awful wide up there - would it really get hot enough to matter? Maybe we should have someone else check it out. So we held off. (We can be pretty good at that)
Saturday, J decided to go ahead and try it out. I ran to the attic several times, but could still rub my hands on the chimney no prob - so it looks like we're cool!
Molson was a bit on edge, though I think he got used to it. We found some chicken stew in the freezer - had an awesome, warm, tasty meal AND a fire AND good company.
The fire held me mesmerized, the house smelled of it, the flames danced in the bay windows (I bet people out walking dogs in the cold and wet were jeal-ous!) - coziness lived at our address for the evening.

I love nights like that!:):):)

Early to rise

I got to work today at 6:05. I usually don't get out of bed until 7. I am a walking zombie. Kinda nice when I got in because the lights on the floor were still off, except the one at the back of my cube - it made it kind of cozy. Still, not only did I have to be here at that insane hour, I had a breakfast meeting with our CEO at 6:30! So hard to make a good impression when moving your tongue seems as difficult as a Turbo Kick class...

I've noticed lately that the warm fuzzy of spending time with friends is slightly different depending on what era in your life those friendships come from. The comfort zone varies - although very subtly. It's all good of course - I'm going to use an analogy and you need to understand that all pieces of warm fuzzy clothing are equally important to chill-prone moi - friends from pre-school are thick, soft, fuzzy socks, from elementary a good warm hat, high school/college friends are long warm scarves knit from the funkiest of yarns, and adult friends are the great old, warm baggy sweater....
I don't know if the order is exactly right and I'm still formulating my thoughts on what the differences are and why - I just know I have a slightly different smile depending on who I've been hanging with. When I have a big bash with a mix it'll be interesting to see how it all meshes.

Miscount

Just realized I had 2 Book#27s, so Mythago Wood is #28, Tamsin #29!
I'm starting to doubt 50...

Who truly knows what secrets lie beneath?

Book #28 - Tamsin by Peter S Beagle. Narrated by a 19 year old, telling the tale of events that happened from 13-15, it starts out a little too centered on teenage angst and inflicting it on others for me. After a bit of a doze, though, it picks up when the title character arrives. What follow is not only a pretty good ghost story, but one that also incorporates many figures of the local Dorset, England folklore - boggarts, Poukas, billy-blinds, etc.

Total coolness, Mirrormask comes to The Little Theatre in Rochester on October 14. Definitely going, and I'll get to see Tom's art, too!


Scientists finally have photos of a live giant squid! A 25-foot long squid was photographed 900meters down by Japanese scientists last week. I am constantly amazed at how little we really know about what lies in our oceans. Hopefully we won't kill it all off before we get a chance to enjoy it and learn from it....

And last, but not least - Turbo Kick is way fun! I love the feeling of pushing my lungs further than I'd ever take them on my own on a machine. I love the tightness of muscles afterwards. Now, all I have to do is be able to follow the routines and do that silly football run... then I can get to kick-butt chick level and have some fun!:)

vege tables

for all of you who are around providence, the sentimental favorites are playing tomorrow at 4pm at the fleet skating rink in the middle of downtown, we are the entertainment for the produce market going on at the same time.
also, check out http://wirelady.com, on there is the wire sculptors international guild which i was just inducted into.
later
sonny

First class

I just rejoined the gym, bent on using classes to force myself to leave work at a decent hour and bent on losing the weight that's been nagging me. Had my first eval and off I go...Tonight I'm headed to Turbo Kick - I sincerely hope I don't totally embarrass myself.....If I can lift my arms to type and mouse tomorrow, I may report how it goes...

A few weeks ago, I took some time off. Spent a night and a day at camp with Mom and Dad - awesome because it's soooooo peaceful and Mom remembered the bread dough for doughboys! You take thawed bread-dough, wrap it around a stick or skewer, and toast it over the fire. When the outside is cooked, you remove the skewer and replace with cinnamon/ sugar or jelly or whatever. The result - doughy sweet goodness with a toasted crust -yum! (more pics of the scenery and food at my Flickr page)

Then J's sister and her husband came to visit. We had a good time just chilling at home - kinda' counter to the drive to constantly be GOING when they're here. It was really nice. Played putt-putt at one of the oldest courses in the country in Irondequoit, went to the Market for tacos, had an awesome (though a bit pricey) modern meal at the Mundo...

LAST weekend was Kate's wedding. Shortest wedding I've ever been to, but I'm sure J appreciated that, as he rather dislikes the things. Couldn't really hear their vows because of a nearby fountain, but it was awesome weather, a lovely setting, and we all had a great time just hanging there. I deem that a success. Congrats to Kate and Nick!:)

Demise of the dress

I wanted a new dress for Kate's wedding tomorrow. A nice, simple dress that maybe I could also wear to work. I head to Kohl's, no dresess at all. Target, nothing non-maternity. Kaufmann's had prom and fussy older lady dresses. Now, this is a small sample, true, but enough to massively try my patience.
Everything is separates. Even more than that, if you venture beyond the gypsy skirt, everything is really pants. Huh.
Maybe it's just the wrong time of year. Maybe I somehow fell out of the loop and people just don't do dresses anymore. That'd be weird, I think. Well, hope J likes what I got. That's all I care about right now, anyway.

Book #27: Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock - a re-read. I had slightly mis-remembered what made the woods bordering the Rhyope estate so cool, I was expecting a simple transition to another world, and not the creatures born from deep-rooted cultural mythos. This started out slow - the discussion of the theory of the wood that was a good deal of the first half did not compel me to pick up the book consistently. After Steven became heavily involved with the wood and its folk, it picked up and I didn't want to part from the realm, even at the end. Luckily, I do have the next book...

In Orlando, the ghosts that inhabit Church Street Station have spurred a $2.6 million lawsuit. Apparently, the owners of a restaurant that had signed a lease there backed out on hearing it was haunted. Now, the building's owners not only want to be paid for the broken lease, but they also want the judge to rule on whether or not there are ghosts! Frankly, I think it'd make the place more interesting.

diversion

Still need to finish those tidbits and tell of last week's mini-vacations, but in the meantime...
My pirate name is:

Captain Anne Bonney

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

To Charles Roelle, re: your comment

A while back I was doing some genealogy research and made a connection to the Ohio Roelle's - I had connected with Jeff Bader. Our great-grandfather was Clifford Roelle, son of William - who we believe is the son of Joannis Eugene - who emigrated from Boerrstadt, Germany to Bucyrus, OH.
We'd love to connect and work to build our part of the Roelle story and understand how it entwines with the Ohio Roelles.
I haven't worked on this in a while, but hope to get back into it soon.

Bits and pieces-1 - Congrats!

Congrats to the Greens on baby George!
Congrats to our cousin Sarah and Glen on the baby boy currently known as "Sky"!
Two marvellous new additions.
Two welcome notes waiting in the piles of emails after a few days off.

Book #26 - A Holiday for Murder by Agatha Christie - The second of two Christie books I bought used to check her stuff out. Unlike the first, which I found stuffy and which bored me senseless, this one was entertaining, and I'm not usually a mystery person. But the "family gathering" nature of the tale, and with it the wider variety of "players" and increased dialogue, make this an entertaining side read.

Book #27 - Coraline by Neil Gaiman - For anyone who reads this blog regularly, you know I love Gaiman's work and find him an interesting character, as well. While more of a children's novel, Coraline has a ton of charm. I enjoyed Coraline herself and her explorer nature. A quick read that I look forward to sharing with my children (further down the road) and maybe those of friends when I babysit (much closer to hand).

Coming up - ghosts, recipes, and my bits of vacation...

burbank

well, i didnt have any time to be on the price is right, but i was on craft lab. thats a new show on the diy network (or it will be new when it starts airing episodes next fall). it was pretty weird and tiring and exciting to be on it. i thought i worked a lot but the people working on that show put in 12 hour days, thats crazy. and they keep busy the whole time except for the well catered lunch break. in fact, there is a food table set up all day for snacking. on thursday we rehearsed my episode (me and two producers, kate and nicole) from pretty much 11am to 7pm. the we rehearsed a little more on friday and then taped the show. everybody liked the work. the most nerve-wraking thing about filming is that everyone but me had ear pieces and could hear directions from the director or producer or somebody and i could never tell if i had messed up or someone else, they always said it was someone else but they could have been being nice. they did say i needed to smile more and kate and nicole would dance behind the cameras to get me to smile but i couldnt look that way, i had to just keep looking at the host which was a little weird when she was talking to the camera. after it was all over i went to hollywood and went to graumans theatre and the la luz de jesus gallery and the in n out burger. then i flew home and sawthe grand canyon and a volcano from the plane.
the end
or is it?

He's off!

Sonny is actually in CA right now, and probably in the dry run/ dress rehearsal at the studio this very moment! Very very cool. I'll try to get him to post about the trip and the show...

Book #25: Breaking the Headache Cycle by Ian Livingston, PhD and Donna Novak, RN - Wow, talk about a difference between this one and the others!
This book clearly explained the chemical inbalance that leads to heightened sensitivities and greater chance of migraines, as well as other problems. Other books made it sound like if you have migraines plus other symptoms it's a compounded disorder that needs more layers of drugs.
This book advocates trying to alleviate things naturally, understanding you may still need some meds and not skipping them if you do. Other books look almost exclusively to prescriptions or programs that take place as an inpatient in a hospital.
Overall, this book gave me more hope that I can do something to make the pain better, without being doped up all the time. I appreciate that.

So, speaking of headaches... Saturday I went to a Bachelorette party for a friend. Around 11pm, I felt a headache coming on and so, in order to avoid writhing in pain in the limo the rest of the night while friends partied, I stopped drinking. Shortly after, the people I had been sitting with all got pulled in other directions and some guys motioned me over to talk. First thing they do - offer me a drink. I turn it down. And I get shut out - "Oh, yeah, drinking will do that. Too bad." I could see the steel doors shut - "no fun here". Way to make me feel like a winner!More like the dud of the entire scene. Should I really care? No. That doesn't make it easier.

Quick note - hurricane charity

I'm chosing to donate to Noah's Wish - this group is working to rescue pets that have been left behind and can reunite them with owners.
Noah's Wish specializes in helping pets during natural disasters throughout the US and Canada and has already rescued hundreds of pets in the Slidell area.

Now I know what it means...

I have a fondness for the city of New Orleans. I was hooked the moment I set foot there and the two visits I've made have hardly been enough. It was also the only place J and I have ever been to on a major vacation.
It struck me as a city of strength and endurance. Of resiliance. A city that has been through many crises and always survived.
I'm afraid of what happens now.
I can only hope.

It is so horrible to see so many waiting for help, so many dying in the process. I've entertained the brief fantasy of grabbing a bus and driving down myself to help haul people to safety - to some semblance of civilization. That wouldn't work real well, as I'm sure I couldn't drive a bus that far without crashing horribly on the way, so I'll likely just donate.

To New Orleans. A city destroyed. May you stand tall and proud again.
I hope to come for beignets, etouffee, and bread pudding soon.

catchup - a few books, music, and dunking

Well, the music has stopped and I have a chair. Now, I just need to figure out some more about the room it's in....

Congrats to Dan on his baptism last Saturday! A very interesting time - I came away with some deep things to ponder, though I wouldn't say this is the answer for me.
Bummer, though, that I got weird migraine-related symptoms during - made me miss the cake!

Book# 23 was Bloom County - Happy Trails! by Berke Breathed.(Yes, they count, you just can't read a whole bunch on purpose simply to reach the goal) I never really got Bloom County and reading a whole book didn't really change that.

Book# 24, on the other hand, was a lot of fun! Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett. This was my first Discworld novel. I found it very fun - there's a lot of subtleties buried underneath the more blatant humor and the characters are so well done I wanted to hang out with many of them. As usual, one gauge of a good fantasy book for me is how it impacts my dreams - I was dreaming of city strolls with Detritus, Cuddy, Angua, and Carrot, so I think it did a good job. A light read whose only real problem, for me, was the lack of chapter breaks - I ended up reading for a lot longer at a time, because the next break wasn't that far away. Will likely add other Discworld works to the list.

Finally, last night I smashed the first bottle since arriving at this house. Much of my project work has focused on organizing or the birdhouse kit and painting it. Getting back into glass smashing - creating mosaic pieces and thinking of mosaic projects - made it feel... complete. I think this may be a form of "meditation" that I'll start to fend off headaches.