OK, not really.  I mean, it was 34 degrees when I went for a walk this morning, which was enough to make me wish I had worn my hat, but not enough to make me turn around and go get it.  And it’s supposed to heat up again over the next few days, so we’ll again be in the mid 60s for highs by the end of the week.  Those of you in Wisconsin, Toronto, and New Hampshire, please, don’t kill me.  I know, 34 is NOT cold, and for mid 60s right about now, you’d probably sacrifice a calf or something. When I go out in weather like this,…

(Leafy Sea Dragon photo found here) We went to see the new California Academy of Science on my birthday, and perhaps because my birthday is during Christmas vacation, it was crowded. Really, really crowded.  Far too crowded for enjoyment. We waited about 40 minutes to even get in, and once we did, we could barely get near any of the exhibits. We were there for about an hour before the claustrophobia of the situation took us over, and we had to leave.  It’s not cheap, either, so that was an expensive hour.  I mentioned this on my blog, and my San Francisco bloggy friend patois mentioned that she might wait…

A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns O my luve’s like a red, red rose. That’s newly sprung in June; O my luve’s like a melodie That’s sweetly play’d in tune. As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will love thee still, my Dear, Till a’the seas gang dry. Till a’ the seas gang dry, my Dear, And the rocks melt wi’ the sun: I will luve thee still, my Dear, While the sands o’life shall run. And fare thee weel my only Luve! And fare thee weel a while! And I will come again, my Luve, Tho’ it were ten thousand…

savage chickens comic found here I’m glad it’s Friday today.  It’s a rainy day, for which I am thankful, because we NEED the rain.  This has been our driest January since 1920 or something stupid like that.  I hope we get lots more in the weeks to come.  Even more importantly, snow, because California’s main water source is snow melt.  Hmmm. Today is the last day of the quarter for Maya, so they get out at noon.  I’m working 1/2 day, and then we’re going to pick her up and go into San Francisco, and try again at the Academy of Sciences.  We went on my birthday, but it was…

I’d like to ask some advice, PRODUCT advice, from my female readers with curly or wavy hair.  Maya is interested in getting a flat iron, and we’re considering it as a possible birthday gift.  My hair is so stick straight and flat, I have zero experience in the flat iron world, so I thought I might ask you guys.  I mean, I can read reviews online any day, but advice from real live people that I know and trust is even better.  So, here are my questions. Does price matter?  I’ve seen them from $20 to $200.  I know that sometimes, spending more is worth it, because you get what…

Today is my Grandma’s birthday. She’s 86 years old. I’m not sure anymore that I want to live to be 86, but if I do, I hope I can do it with the grace and spunk that my Grandma has. She’s a wonderful, caring woman, who hasn’t had the easiest life, but still finds something good to say about most people, and never lets you doubt that she’s on your side 110%, as long as you don’t get between her and the dark chocolate in the box of See’s. I remember my mom wrote a wonderful birthday tribute to Grandma a couple of years ago, and I decided to repost…

Hats off today to a local hero, Chelsey B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, captain of the airplane that suffered an emergency landing in the Hudson River today.  “Sully” made sure all passengers and crew were off of the plane, walking up and down the aisles twice in a sinking airplane before evacuating himself.  (I say local, because he’s a resident of Danville, CA, our neighbor to the south, and the town in which Ted grew up.) What wonderful news, to hear that everyone behaved decently and kindly, and that everyone survived.  Thank you to the captain, the crew, and indeed to the passengers who helped keep things calm in the face…

On Friday, we took my bike in for new tires and inner tubes, and while the kind people at the bike shop were fixing up my bike, I drooled over the new, comfy, touring bikes that they had. All shiny and new and pretty. And I’ll admit it, I want one. There are two that I keep going back and forth on, and I’m not sure which one I would buy if I had the money. They’re both by the same company, Electra, and they’re both touring bikes, which means that you sit pretty much upright when you ride, and they have a nice comfy seat. Check them out.  At…

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday yesterday. Really, I feel blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. I had good wishes here, on Facebook, on the phone, and in person. I feel like George Bailey, with his message from Clarence: “Remember, No man is a failure who has friends”. Indeed. I had a lovely birthday, thank you for asking. I would suggest waiting awhile before attempting the California Academy of Science, as it was an absolute ZOO, totally overcrowded and busy busy busy, and we could only stand about an hour of it before we had to bail and go get lunch elsewhere. Really, though,…

Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. OK, this year has been the worst of my life.  My mom’s illness was incredibly stressful, and had me feeling like I was running in circles, scared as hell.  Then she died, and the stress was gone, followed by a sadness and emptiness that I wasn’t prepared for, and can’t entirely shake. Add to that Ted losing his job, which has been stressful and worrisome and scary, because you never know how long it will take to find another job.  Also, Ted’s aunt passed away in January, his brother was in an accident which required surgery in…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9KpNznVLlY[/youtube]

That’s right, it’s meat scented cologne.  Cheap beef from South America, to be more precise.  There aren’t enough words for how wrong this is.

My ancestors are all Christian, some more so than others…and yet, I was raised as an atheist.  Once, in 4th grade, when all of my friends were religious and I wanted to fit in, my mom caught me praying in the bathroom.  She was incensed, and told me that if there was indeed a God, he was a bastard that she didn’t want me to have anything to do with. Her father had died when she was very young, her mother had married an abusive man who became her step-father, and she had a lot of serious issues with God.  That was my first taste of the anger that can…

I read over at Bleeding Espresso about a wonderful fundraiser called Menu For Hope. This fundraiser is a raffle, with the money going to support a school lunch program in Lesotho, a tiny country completely surrounded by South Africa. What can you win? Looks like there is a lot of stuff out there to win, and a lot of it looks pretty great. I’ll donate my $10, and regardless of whether I win or not, I hope the kids in Lesotho receive nourishment and hope from this program. The money is donated to the U.N. World Food Programme, via a third party donation organization named first giving. I came upon…

Just a quick post in case anyone for some stupid reason cares what I’m doing.  I don’t twitter, so this is what I’ve got. YAY!  The Washer/Dryer just fit.  And when I say just, I mean JUST.  It’s really, really tight.  But boy, I love having a full sized washing machine for the first time in I don’t know how long.  At least the 10 years we’ve lived here, perhaps at our old places as well.  I don’t remember.  Anyway, I LOVE it.  I sometimes hug it.  Yesterday we washed the dog bed, Maya’s sheets, her comforter, and two loads of laundry.  Today is our sheets, and anything else I…