21
Nov, 2005

so many happy things!

sorry i’ve been silent for a few days, but i’ve been a bit busy. let’s start on friday.

friday morning, i went to break the news to my boss that i’ve applied for a position at a different library, closer to home, and that they wanted to check references. i had my heart in my mouth the whole drive in and was more anxious than i think i’ve ever been before. the talk with her turned out to be surprisingly lovely. she was supportive to the nth degree and told me she’d be happy to give me a great reference. i felt like i’d finally taken off a corset that i’d been wearing for a day and a half!

after that, i drove to milwaukee to pick up a good friend of mine and we spent the day toodling around town, shopping and eating and seeing stuff. one shop that we passed had a big lavender clump in the garden on the side of the building. we each picked one stem–i put mine in the vent of my car to make the car smell good. yum! lavender in november!

we had first lunch at a little french-y lunch counter and i had a madeline for dessert (not quite as good as the ones in paris, but not too bad!), then we shopped for a little (including a drool-a-rific paper store….). when we began feeling a bit peckish, we stopped and split a bowl of corn chowder at another restaurant. the proprietess gave us an extra slice of bread “since it was a slow day.”

then, we went to check out the milwaukee public library and the public museum. when we walked into the museum, my phone started ringing and it was… mr. h-s! from australia! we had a lovely 10 minute conversation. it was so nice to hear his voice! plus, i’d gotten a call earlier today from work saying a bouquet of fall flowers had been delivered to me at work courtesy of mr. h-s’s employers, thanking me for letting them steal him away for a week. how lovely!

next, we drove to the area of town where art vs. craft (the craft show that inspired this whole visit) was being held. we had supper while we waited for the event to open.

the craft show itself was lots of fun. one of the shops that is selling my pidoodle stuff had brought some of my christmas ornaments, so i was represented there–woo hoo! we went through the whole place, stopping at (pretty much) every booth. there were so many cool things… but i did restrain myself. i bought a few things (one big splurge on the most beautiful and unique hand-made yarn i’ve ever seen).

then, we drove home. the next day, i dragged my friend with me to work. i was hosting a card-making party at the library, so i figured she would enjoy that (and if not, well, there’s a few books she could read). after work, we went to another, smaller craft show in town where i bought a pendant from bee design (it’s very retro geometric gorgeousness). then, we went to the dig-n-save so i could share the joy with her. we found some great stuff (including a very glamorous vintage opera coat for $1). best find of the day? (the coat was good, but…) i finally found a hard shell tiny suitcase! i’ve been looking for one since we left indiana–they’re perfect for storytimes! but i’ve only ever seen more modern looking suitcases or really big ones. i was lamenting this fact to my friend as we stood in front of the dig-n-save’s large selection of luggage and she said, well, maybe they’re nested inside larger ones, like in a set. i doubted her, but then noticed a hard shell blue case on the top shelf that was slightly ajar and i could see a smaller case inside it. we took it down and, lo and behold, there was a set of three! the two bigger ones each had broken latches, but the tiny one was (repeat after me…) just right! i was so excited!

i took her to bunky’s for dinner. we split an entree again (to save room for their amazing desserts) and were lucky enough to have the owner serve us and break the rules to give us two side salads so we didn’t have to split that. for dessert, i had a slice of cranberry cheesecake. it was heavenly. in addition to cheesecake and chopped up cranberries, it contained a little orange peel and cardamom. oh man. i’m drooling just thinking about it.

then home again to watch a chick flick and be crafty.

on sunday, we slept in. i laid in bed reading for two hours–heaven! we had a lovely, lazy day. my friend was nice enough to wash my dishes and sweep the kitchen as my “hostess gift”–best one i’ve ever gotten! it was so nice that she was able to stay long enough that we even had time to just relax in our own spaces–she read a book for part of the afternoon, i went for a run and did more crafting. so nice not to feel rushed.

we went to church together. i sang a duet with another friend for prelude and it was very nice–one from the hymnal with only a melody line written out, but i created a harmony–my favorite kind of singing!

after church, it was home for supper and chicken pineapple skillet (not a favorite of mr. h-s). yum-yum! then we watched some dvd episodes of fawlty towers and stayed up too late.

i drove her to the airport ridiculously early this morning. i took a catnap at a rest stop on the way home (4:30 a.m. is a bit early for me–yawn!). later, on the way to work, i stopped and picked up some fancy chocolates at candina’s to give as gifts. after i left, smoke began billowing out from under the hood of my car. (thank goodness it waited until i was back in town!!) i pulled into the nearest service location and 2 hours and one new radiator later, i was able to drive to work. while waiting for my car to be done, i was able to walk a bit down the road and do some shopping i needed to do anyway. i found myself a new pair of gloves and a new pair of brown tights (both of which i needed–the old ones have holes). i probably wouldn’t have found the time to do that for awhile if i hadn’t been forced to–how great! then, so that i could at least pretend that i was doing some library-related work, i went to the used book store and picked up a few things to add to our collection.

what a great weekend! i’m exhausted! (and yet, oddly refreshed too…. weird. i think it must have something to do with doing things that are out of the ordinary and are stimulating to the senses–that stuff energizes me.)

Posted in autumn, fun stuff, library stuff, reviews, stuff that sparks a glow in my soul, yum | 1 Comment
17
Nov, 2005

winter moon

this morning, i woke up facing my bedroom window. outside, it was that time of day when it could still be night, but it might be morning (or at least that was the level of light). as i looked through my gauzy curtain, i could see a ball of light in the sky, but i couldn’t for the life of me decide whether it was the moon or the sun. i put my glasses on, but that didn’t really help. still a big circle of bright light. i finally decided that something that gives off that much light when it’s not totally dark outside, something that perfectly round must be the sun, just through enough cloud cover that i could look straight at it without flinching my eyes. when my snooze alarm went off the second time, the ball of light was still there, only it was a little bit lower in the sky. i put my glasses on, walked to the window and opened the curtains and realized that i’d been looking at the moon. a moon so bright it gave off rays. it was beautiful.

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16
Nov, 2005

first snow!

today is the first snow of the season and it’s lovely! it started off kind of yucko–small, tiny, biting flakes–but the flakes keep growing and the ground is getting whiter and whiter. so pretty!

Posted in winter | 1 Comment
15
Nov, 2005

spontaneous traveling part 2

so… this time it’s not me traveling. and i’m still trying to decide if it’s officially “happy stuff” because there’s some jealous (and then again not) involved in this post, but… here’s the story, decide for yourself.

this morning, a mere few hours after i’d bid dear sweet mr. h-s a good day and told him i’d see him for supper, he called me at work from his place of employment and asked, “um, do you know where my passport is? i may not be home for supper.”
“where are you going? driving to canada?” i said.
“no,” he replied, “australia.”

that’s right folks. the company had an emergency with an important client on the other side of the planet and, setting a bold new precedent, they chose to send my husband to “put out the fire.” this causes many mixed feelings in all persons involved. a bit of stress, a bit of jealousy (“they told me the hotel i’m staying at is near the great barrier reef”), but realizing that most–if not all–of the time that he’ll be there he’ll be either working or sleeping…maybe i’m happy to stay home. he was actually kind enough to ask the boss if they’d pay for me too, but… the boss thought he’d have some trouble justifying that one. sigh. so. i’m home here for a week with the kitties, looking forward to pictures (he took the camera) and stories and, in the meantime, watching some chick flicks and holing up in the craft room for hours on end with no guilt.

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15
Nov, 2005

another addictive game

thanks to a friend of mine, i am now aware of yet another addicting word game available for free online. this one’s got a familiar premise and it’s super easy to sign on to play and you’re playing (at least as far as i can tell) against other real people. the most compelling bit? the countdown timer until the start of the next round…

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14
Nov, 2005

whole grain breakfast

mmm…. today for breakfast i had a bowlful of steel-cut oats and a slice of whole wheat and flaxseed bread that i’d baked yesterday. it felt just a little bit fancy even though it’s very elemental food. there’s nothing better than a bowl of warm oatmeal to warm up a chilly morning.

the first time i ate steel cut oats was at my cousin’s restaurant and i was blown away! no more mushy glop! but then i learned that they take 30 minutes to cook and i sort of sighed and resigned myself back to the one-minute-in-the-microwave packets. but the last time we went for groceries, i decided to go ahead and get them and try them out. so, yesterday morning, i made a large batch and they were delicious! nutty, wholesome, warm in my tummy… and the batch is plenty of oatmeal for breakfast every morning this week and–it heats up in about a minute in the microwave. :)

the bread is a lovely, dark, heavy recipe that i got from our pastor. i made two loaves–one in a bread pan and the other a free-form round loaf. i’m still tweaking the baking time and temp for my oven, so the round loaf turned out kind of yuk–the outside was done before the inside–but the one in the bread pan i left in a little longer but with the oven turned off and…it turned out ok! it’s a little crumby, but the flavor is nice. very nice with a little butter or jam.

the most amazing part is that i had time to make any of this at all this weekend. now if i could just find a gnome to wash my dishes….

Posted in autumn, yum | Comments Off on whole grain breakfast
12
Nov, 2005

eat-a-fajita

last night was our annual eat-a-fajita party. sadly, since the parents are no longer located in fajita-ville (y’know, near margarita-ville), the parties may be fewer and farther between from now on. it was suggested last night that perhaps we take a collection at the next party to defray the cost of importing the yummy marinated meats from h-e-b grocery stores of texas.

anyway, it’s a fun party that began the first time my parents brought some of the meat up. fajitas are a little bit of a complex thing to prepare (lots of ingredient components) and are way too much work to make for just two people, so i invited all the friends over to join us. i think that was the year that i realized that 3 avocados is not enough. this year, we got smart and didn’t uncover the pico de gallo or guacamole until we were ready to serve the fajitas. i splurged a little and drove across town to get my flour tortillas from pedro’s. it’s funny. they are definitely not my favorite mexican restaurant in town, but they seem to be the only place capable of making a decent flour tortilla. i’m a bit of a fanatic when it comes to good tortillas. i hate the ones from the grocery store that taste like sour paper. bleh. or the corn ones that taste like thin cardboard. gag.

it was awesome to have a whole house full of happy people and yummy amazing smells. i actually salvaged a tiny bit of meat for leftovers (quesadillas, anyone?) and there was even a little pico de gallo left! oh, and some tortillas–we’ll have to see if they’re any good on day 2.

i also strung some white christmas lights above the “porch” area by our front door to help illuminate the grilling. they look so nice!

Posted in autumn, fun stuff, stuff that makes me smile, yum | 2 Comments
10
Nov, 2005

adrenaline!

so… i don’t know if this really qualifies as happy stuff, but we’ll get around to that.

this morning i woke up rather abruptly, certain that i had heard someone walking around inside our house. i’d heard the stairs creak and the kitties aren’t heavy enough to make them creak. i’d heard the swish of pants. i thought i’d heard footsteps. i was totally freaked. my first instinct was to syrup-titiously* tug the sheet over my naked knee which had been sticking out from under the covers. as soon as i’d done that, i felt a little ridiculous–i mean, am i embarrased to be showing a little knee? my next instinct was to be very silent and pretend i was still sleeping so that the intruder would not realize i was awake and then feel forced to kill me so that i couldn’t identify him in a line-up. i reassured myself that he could take whatever he wanted, it was all only “stuff.” then i heard a muffled cat squawk and worried that he was killing our cats (mr. h-s pointed out later that i unfairly assumed it was a “he”) and got worried as i realized we had nothing really worth stealing, so maybe he was just here to kill us. psychotically. i lay frozen in my bed, heart pounding as i went over the details of my life–what would i leave behind? what missed opportunities (like better locks on the doors)? who would miss me? i looked at my clock and realized that it was 6:15 and i said to myself, “this is silly. no one would break into a house this close to morning! unless they’re a psycopath…” and i heard another creak and swish. i finally decided that if these were our last living moments together, that i would like to spend them cuddling with my husband, so i quietly turned to snuggle and tried to still my heart. soon, mr. h-s started to wake up a little and i whispered, “i think there’s someone in the house.” and he said, “do you want me to go look?” and i pictured him walking into the hallway and getting bashed over the head and i said, “no, let’s just lie here a little longer.” eventually, his alarm clock went off. i hadn’t heard any more noises from the hall and our cat had come into the room and curled up on the bed. this was a good sign. if she was scared at all she would have been cowering under the bed. if she had been strangled…. well, she wouldn’t be purring, that’s for sure. so, mr. h-s got up (and i thought, “put some clothes on!” but i didn’t say anything–i mean, if he was going to see an intruder it was their own fault if he was in his skivvies.) and went to the bathroom (this was a relief. if there had been someone in the hallway, i’m pretty sure he would have said something. or at least closed the door.) and then walked through the house. he came back to bed and told me that all the doors were locked and there was no one here. it must have just been the cats. and the rug they like to play violently with. i felt relieved, but i still didn’t get out of bed for another twenty minutes. it just felt safer there.

so, i guess the happy part of all of this is that i’m fine. the cats are fine. the house is fine. my illusion of security has not in actuality been breached. and once again, i’ve been reminded of the things in my life that are most important to me.

*hank the cowdog once said that surreptitiously is based on the root word “syrup” and refers to the fact that you’re moving as slowly and smoothly as aforementioned sweet liquid.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments
07
Nov, 2005

and yet another post on the pretty leaves

ok, i know i’ve covered this topic already, but on my morning run, i saw the most lovely composition. it was a delicate tree (the kind with a few small trunks rather than one big one) with a smattering of small bright orange leaves that were the exact same color as the jack-o-lanterns on the porch next to it. the house behind the tree (and porch) was painted a neutral tone with brown trim, so the color of the leaves just popped. it was so pretty that i ran a little further than normal so i could see it on my way down the road and again on my way back.

Posted in autumn | 1 Comment
06
Nov, 2005

pidoodle in the stores!

i’m very excited! pidoodle is now being sold in stores! i’m in re+new and i’m working on getting into the glitter workshop and i’m also in store called “really cool stuff” that’s opening up later this month. i feel so… affirmed.

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