Musings
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Fixing your Fridge
We thought our refrigerator was dying yesterday. Such a sad day. Don’t get me wrong, I dislike our fridge. Our last fridge had a bottom freezer, which I really liked. But when it died, we didn’t have a lot of time to shop and wait, as living without a fridge can be difficult, so we went with what was in stock in the color that matches our other kitchen appliances. We’ve never replaced all of our appliances at once, so we’re always trying to match what we have (bisque). Anyway, our current fridge is a top freezer model, and the drawers are difficult to pull out to clean, and the…
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What the crap?
What the crap is going on, that it’s been 6 weeks since I last posted? God I suck. So, what’s going on here? Well, Maya is graduating from our local community college with her transfer AA next Friday, and she has been accepted to every school she applied to for transfer, including her number one favorite tip top choice, U.C. Berkeley! YAY! We’re so proud of her it’s ridiculous. This year at least, she’ll live at home, which will save us about $16,000 in room and board. Speaking of Cal, did you happen to see Sheryl Sandberg’s commencement address? I loved it. Really moving and wonderful. I was impressed by…
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Failure and Success
Tuesday was Maya’s 20th Birthday, and also Spring Break for the elementary school where she works, so she didn’t have work that day. Spring Break at her college was last week, so she did have school, but she decided to play hooky and spend the day with us, her loving parents. I love this kid. (Not a kid at 20, but still MY kid) We recently watched the movie “Chef” on HBO. Have you seen that movie? It’s really cute, about a chef in Los Angeles who is working for a restaurant that is uninspired and doesn’t allow him to showcase his creativity, and he ends up quitting his job,…
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It’s Raining, it’s Pouring…
So happy about all of that beautiful rain we’re hoping for over the next several days*. We had a nice January, but February was dry dry day. And the ad at the bottom for slippers? I bought a pair of orthaheel slippers (not the Gemma, the Adilyn) and they are the most comfortable slippers EVER. They have arch support, not just a nice cushion at the bottom. Since I work from home, comfy slippers are important. * I hope I’m not counting chickens before they’re hatched…we need a very wet March to make up for a very dry February. It hasn’t started raining yet, but having several days in a…
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Friday Randomness
[youtube]http://youtu.be/C7l3y7LOzLc[/youtube] Have you seen the beautiful tribute to my first husband, David Bowie, at the BRIT awards? This is the entire thing, I think, including a tribute by Annie Lennox, a tribute by Gary Oldmam, and a song by Lorde, backed up by performers who had worked with Bowie in the past. I’ll confess, Lorde’s song brought me to tears. I miss David Bowie being alive in the world. It was a better place with him here. Coming so soon after the Emmy awards, which included a tribute by Lady Gaga, of course invites comparison. I’ll chime in and say that Gaga’s tribute left me feeling cold, didn’t move…
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Waffling
image found here…dream interpretation of waffles… Back in the 2008 primaries, the choice for Democrats was between Clinton and Obama. I looked at them as both too centrist for my taste, but if those were my choices, I wanted a woman President, so I voted for Clinton. I remember my liberal mother being displeased at this decision, as Clinton voted for the war in Iraq, and she was unwilling to let that go. I felt like the political climate at that time was such that it would be political suicide to vote against that war, especially if you were a Senator in New York, so I looked past it. Perhaps…
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Happy New Year – Friday Randomness
Hey There Party People, what’s shakin’? December was a good combination of busy and lazy, and somehow in amongst the lazy I did not post even once. That’s pathetic. In line with catching you up a bit, life here has been good, not crazy, not too different than it was before. We’ve had another month with dog-boy, Mulder, and he’s settling in so very well. We all adore him so much. He’s playful and loving and wonderful. He’s learning a bit of manners, learning to walk better on a leash, etc. He doesn’t jump on the furniture as much anymore. He doesn’t bark nearly as much anymore. He’s only vomited…
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A Day in the City
Yesterday found the three of us going into the City. For Ted, it was a work day, so we dropped him off a few blocks from his office, and then we went to have some fun. We met up with our friends, Marilee and Paul. Marilee is my dear friend, whom I met in Latin class while studying at San Francisco State back in the early 90s. Paul is her wonderful husband, who she met on an archilogical dig in Greece. We went to b. Patisserie on California Street, and enjoyed kouign-amann, the lovely pastry that you see above. I had never heard of kouign-amann, but it is similar to…
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Friday Randomness
4 out of 5 ain’t bad. I’m not a fan of In-N-Out Burger, except that they pay better than most fast food places, and supposedly they use better quality ingredients. But the food is meh. And Maya likes to tell the story of when she went with her cheer squad, and she asked for a veggie burger. She didn’t know that their version of a veggie burger is a standard hamburger, sans beef. Bun, lettuce, tomato, onion, and sauce. Needless to say, she was hungry soon after. Anyway, what else is going on? It’s hot. It’s been over 100 for the last several days, and I’m tired of it. I…
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Our hot dry burning state
picture of lovely drought resistant landscaping California is a bit of a mess right now. OK, more than a bit. I’m sick of this damn drought, as I’m sure everyone else in the state is. Everything is dry dry dry. August is generally dry. We rarely get any measurable wet between May or June and October. But this was the dryest winter on record, so we started out dry. Ugh. We’re under orders from our Governor to reduce our water use, which is a good thing. But it sucks. So many dead lawns everywhere. Then there are the people who continue to water their lawns, oblivious to the suffering around…
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Life’s Still Sweet and Sour
One of Maya’s high school classmates was murdered last week. She was 19 years old, home for the summer after her first year of college, an engineering student in San Diego. She was bright, well liked by so many, a star on the High School track team. Her whole life ahead of her. An ex boyfriend from several years ago rang her doorbell before 7 am, and shot her, then shot himself. I think her parents were there and saw her die. She was not a close friend of Maya’s, but she liked her, and it’s so damned shocking and horrible and makes me think ugly thoughts, like, “If you’re…
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The Mersault Investigation
Image from the New York Times This man, your writer, seemed to have stolen my twin Zujj, my own description, and even the details of my life and my memories of my interrogation! I read almost the whole night through, laboriously, word by word. It was a perfect joke. I was looking for traces of my brother in the book, and what I found there instead was my own reflection, I discovered I was practically the murderer’s double. I finally came to the last lines in the book: “… had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet…
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Dope
Malcom is an 18 year old boy living in Inglewood, CA. He’s a geek, dreaming of Harvard, if he can just survive the last months of High School in a neighborhood overrun by gangs and drug dealers. Malcom’s best friends are equally geeky and bright, and the three of them ride their bikes through the mean streets of L.A., hoping to end up in college…while statistics say they are more likely to end up in jail. Malcom and his pals (Diggy and Jib) are into early 90’s hip hop, have a punk-ish band, and mostly try to stay out of trouble. They’re good kids in a rough world. Dope is…
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Looks Like it’s Time for a Meme…
I came across this meme on my friend Carla’s blog, and I thought I’d bring it over here. I’ve read some good books I could tell you about. I went to see my Grandma again, and I could tell you about that. I could even dredge up some thoughts on the horrid flooding in Texas and the horrid drought here, and tell you how it doesn’t rain in California this time of year, so if we DO get any, it will be tiny amounts and not help in the greater sense at all. No real rain until September if we’re lucky, more likely November or December. But no, all you…
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Life’s Both Sweet and Sour
Yesterday was Ted’s birthday, which was a milestone year, as he turned 50! We had a lovely party, with family and friends, laughter and perfect weather. Perfect weather was important, as we had not the room inside, and most of us ate at tables in the back yard. He received a LOT of bourbon, his favorite spirit, and we ate drank and were merry. It was a great day. It was especially nice for me, because my brother Richard was here. I haven’t seen Richard since our mom’s memorial in 2008, and it’s been far too long. He lives in Juneau, Alaska, which is an expensive flight and hotel combo,…