1/30 - Black Folks Brunch

S. and S.

R., A., D., and E.

A., D., E.

D.

M. and S.

1/29 - Dressed for success

Feeling pretty tired after a busy week, but still had a full day in front of me and a social engagement to keep tonight. After allowing myself to get a little extra sleep this morning, I threw on a t-shirt and got to work.

Didn't leap any tall buildings or outrun any speeding bullets, but I did manage to run errands, start the book I need to be reading, conquer a sizeable hill, and take in a puppet show.

Exchange of the day

Me to man at counter: So, tell me about this muffuletta.

Man at counter: Ok, it's not like at Central Grocery. And, who's ya mama an' them?

Me, laughing: My mama was a school teacher from New Orleans. My dad's from Philly. You from New Orleans?

Him: No, but I've dated extensively in New Orleans, and people who don't know about Central Grocery don't say it right when they order.

1/28 - More from The Science of Cocktails

Me and Larry, cleaned up nicely






Not cleaned up nicely: the Exploratorium's "A Sip of Conflict" exhibit. Usually, this is a water fountain in the shape of a toilet. Thursday night, it was basically a keg.

It was looking pretty gross at the end of the night. Cheek swabbing for DNA? Sure thing. Drinking beer from a gross looking toilet-keg? No way.

1/27 - My DNA

Also from the Exploratorium: the little squiggly thing in there is a bit of my DNA (taken from my mouth or, more accurately, from my saliva).

1/26 - The Science of Cocktails

Went to the Exploratorium for their Science of Cocktails event, which my friend L. invited me to (he's friends with the organizers, so had tickets - nice!). Lots of fun to be had - open bar, or actually bars, as there were several tables with lots of different things being mixed. Rosemary seems to be the thing to put in drinks, as there was lots of that happening, as well as ginger (and ginger beer). This is a picture of me with one of the exhibits on the acoustic floor, which I think was my favorite part. This is one of the many exhibits that allows you to hear a friend across a greater distance than usual, this time via the ginormous balloon visible behind me, which is full of carbon dioxide. According to the sign (which is not lit well for photography, both the material and the contents of the balloon allow it to bend the sound, enabling you to hear the person on the other side when they speak at a normal volume.

It may not look like much...

My lovely, lovely bed.

...but it's the most beautiful thing I can imagine right now.

Honey lemon ginger

The unseasonably nice weather was great until it tricked my allergies into thinking it was time to make me miserable. Not pictured are the decongestant I took all day, or the antihistamine I'll be taking tonight. Sniffle.

365 catchup 1/22 and 1/23

Yesterday's picture is from watching eps. 1.7-9 of BtVS w/friends K. and G.:

We're standing in front of K's lovely wall of bookshelves, of which I am very jealous.








This picture is also from yesterday:

Cleptopatra - queen, thief, attempted murderer

From today, something different: another still life with fruit. This time, it's tangerines from K's tree.

Hoping all this vitamin C will help keep away the plague last night's host mentioned at the beginning of the week, and the sniffles I feared I might be coming down with before all of yesterday's excitement -- hard to know if it's regular allergy stuff, new things caused by increased CPAP pressure (or the addition of the humidifier meant to combat the effects of the increased pressure) complications from over zealous use of nasal irrigation thingy, or an actual cold coming on, and that's before the exposure to the cat...

So, there's this thing called WisCon. It's a convention on science fiction and fantasy that focuses on feminism, gender, race, and class. And people talk politics a lot. And there's an academic track. And sometimes they disinvite the guest of honor because she says something super racist online.

Sounds awesome, right?!

That's exactly what the friend who told me about thought I would think. Which is why he told me about it. But you know my broke ass really can't afford to spend money to run off to Wisconsin (heh heh - you see what they did there?) for a random geek/nerd/feminism extravaganza. As does he. So he *also* told me about this other awesome thing called Con Or Bust, an annual fundraising effort to help people of color attend WisCon (and, I think, other science fiction and fantasy conventions, though I've only heard about it in conjunction w/WisCon), in an effort to increasing racial diversity and goodness in the science fiction and fantasy loving/making communities. This effort was started in response to some serious fuckery that happened a couple of years ago (you can find a good summary of said fuckery here, but be warned SERIOUS FUCKERY, and a lot of it). Here's what you need to know for this conversation: as part of a much larger discussion on writing about The Other, it came up that, yes, Virginia, people of color do, in fact, read science fiction and fantasy. And we do, in fact, attend conventions. And we would, in fact, do so more often, if we had more resources. So someone said, "Well, why don't we raise some funds and help some more people of color come to our convention?" And so Con or Bust was born.

Well, guess what? I'm a person of color, and I would love to go to WisCon, so I have thrown my name in the Con or Bust 2011 hat, and they're agreed to share some of those funds with me. How does this affect you? Well, maybe not at all. But, if you'd like to know more about how I'll be getting sent to WisCon, you can follow that link to Con or Bust 2011 info, where you'll find links to info on how to offer things to be auctioned off, how to browse the things being auctioned and, if you decide to bid, how to do so, or how to just make a donation.

If you're a person of color who would also like to go to WisCon and you'd also like to request assistance, look here for information on how to do that.

Finally, here's what my friend (who is also awesome) had to say about Con or Bust:

Con or Bust is dedicated to getting fans of color to WisCon, and I have been astounded by the generosity of all involved, and by the awesome, awesome people who have been able to attend WisCon because of it. It's helping to increase the visibility and visible participation of people of color in the SF&F artistic, fandom, and critical communities, and has definitely helped make WisCon a convention that I love and look forward to attending.

Yeesh - no pressure, dude. Hope I don't mess up the track record of awesomeness :)

Buffy 1.7 Angel, 1.8; I, Robot...You, Jane; 1:9 The Puppet Show

Angel

"OK, ok, look - I really don't want to fight all 3 of you. Unless I have to."

Angel to the rescue, very carefully fighting without getting his game face on. And a vamp somehow getting an arm in the door without in invite?

Now, I know she's not up to total slayer speed yet, but really? She's not getting any vampire vibe from Angel? And no "something is not quite right about you" None at all? That always bugged me.

"I am weary, and their deaths will bring me little joy. Of course, sometimes a little is enough."
--The Master

I never liked Darla, even when we were supposed to feel sympathy for her in later plots.

I love the vampire family lessons. Family matters, as we saw in The Pack.


"No speaking up - that way leads to madness and sweaty palms."
--Willow

I had forgotten how completely stupid Angel is and how easily he allows himself to be setup. Really?

Joss' vampires do love monolouging, don't they?

"See ya' around?"
Buffy to Angel

And, as I said, first time around, this relationship is *such* a bad idea. Deuling death wishes, age difference, serious conflict of interest, and then there's the unfortunate instability of Angel's soul.

Not that I didn't enjoy the hell out of every angst-filled moment of it, but it just shouldn't happen.

I, Robot...You, Jane

"You are a thing of evil for not telling me this right away!"

Uh oh - he's not hacking into the mainframe, is he?! And what's with the two different birthdays (10-24-80, and 5-something-79) in her file? Neither of which is the January whatever that people just celebrated. Interesting.

Jenny: You here again? You kids really dig the library.
Buffy: We're literary!
Xander: To read makes our speak English good.

Giles: There's a demon in the internet
Jenny: I know.

Buffy: "Let's face it - none of us are ever going to have a happy, normal relationship."
Xander: "We're doomed!"
--Awkward silence, fade to black.
Buffy and Xander, "cheering Willow up" after she says that the only boy that's liked her was a demon robot, by reminding her that their track record includes a vampire and a giant preying mantis.

So, this episode introduces "techno pagan" Jenny Calendar." I'd forgotten that she did, in fact reveal her pagan knowledge right away, remembering only that there are Very Important Things that she does not reveal.



The Puppet Show
Anthony Stewart Head's face is amazing when Charisma Carpenter is butchering The Greatest Love of all. And when Buffy and The Scoobies are getting drafted for the talent show.

Here's a question: why would anyone *ever* stay late at this school for *anything*?

Principal Schneider: Principal Flutie would have said "Kids need understanding. Kids are human beings. That's the kind of wooly-headed liberal thinking that leads to being eaten."
--One of my favorite lines ever, which i had forgotten until I heard it again

Principal Schneider: There are things I will not tolerate. Students loitering on campus after hours. Horrible murders with hearts being removed. And also, smoking.

Who ever thought ventriloquist dummies were an ok idea? They are creepy incarnate, even when they don't suddenly appear at your window. So not ok. And the pitter patter of little feet just makes it worse.

What a strange, unslayer-like reflex, to send your mom after the thing in the bed. Inconsistent writing much?

Giles : I'm sorry-- your hair...
Cordelia: There's something wrong with my hair?! (Running off)
Giles: Xander was right. It's worked like a charm.

Why does no one listen to the slayer when she says "I'm pretty sure I got attacked by the dummy." She's the slayer, kids. When she told you Xander was acting like an animal, he was an animal. When she told you the teacher was a monster, the teacher was a monster. If she tells you she's pretty sure the dummy is alive, you should at least consider the possibility that the dummy is alive.

I love how they automatically think he'll want a young brain. Smartest YOUNG brain around is Willow.

And there's the revelation. SAVE GILES' BRAIN!


"I don't get it. What is it. Avante garde."

"Oh, Oedipus, Oedipus, unhappy Oedipus. That is all that I can call you and all that I shall ever call you."

daunting

While I do, quite often, fret about my abilities as an academic. I still basically believe that, barring massive pain, and provided I just get my act together, I am perfectly capable of doing the work that needs doing. I don't doubt my abilities; I just sometimes questions my motivation, or the soundness of my body (or on rare occasions, my mind).

I am sometimes much less confident in my ability to do normal things, like make makeup do what I want it to do, especially if I want it to do something beyond basic "looking ok." Like "looking vaguely Cleopatra-esque." So this will be an adventure tomorrow. The pieces on that tray will all be involved, in some fashion, in my Cleopatra-esque look for tomorrow night's murder mystery dinner. Some makeup, some jewelry, some of the things that will help the makeup get put on, stay put, or come off.

Not pictured are my non-costume (I don't have the energy right now for that) and my sense of dread about what a long day I'm going to have tomorrow. It's a day with fun things in it (watching Buffy with at least one friend, maybe more, then going to full the aforementioned murder mystery dinner with more friends), but a long day nonetheless. I'll be leaving home a little before noon and won't get home until sometime after dinner, and I'm honestly a little worried about my ability to make it through without getting a migraine. There will be a walk for exercise, a train ride, a few episodes of Buffy, another, shorter train rider, another short walk, dinner and a murder in the presence of friends, but also in the presence of a cat to whom I am *extremely* allergic, and then a ride home, by which point I will probably be trying very hard not to fall asleep in the car.

I expect to enjoy things tomorrow, and I look forward to seeing friends, but my goals are really to regulate as much pain as possible, to avoid getting grumpy with people (which happens when I'm in pain and when I'm tired), and to strike the right balance of medicated enough to breathe and conscious enough to participate and perhaps even have fun.

Oh, and to figure out the makeup. I obviously missed that day in girl training.

Mmmmmmm, pie...

I made this tasty pie with the lemons in the picture from the other day. Well, and some other things. Egg yolks, condensed milk, sugar - you know, pie stuff. Mmmmmm, pie.

I won!

*Finally*

My best friend recently got an iPhone. She was very excited for us to start playing "Totally Not Scrabble." I was less excited, since, until playing at my brother's house this last Christmas visit,  I had not played Scrabble (or any of the Un-Scrabbles) since about 1980 something, maybe early 90ish, and I was pretty sure she was just going to keep beating me over and over. But, I figured it would still be fun, and I wouldn't be so bad at it (I'm good at wordy things), and she was very keen on it, so we started playing.

Here's what I had forgotten. Well, not really forgotten, but maybe was trying to forget. I am not very mature about losing. Oh, I know that I have to do it sometimes. And I know that there's nothing shameful in it, that it's really the playing that matters, that I engage in these sorts of activities to spend time with my friends and not just to win and blah blah blah. But the fact remains that I don't handle losing well, especially at things that I feel like I should be good at, like things involving words. So I was enjoying playing, and I was enjoying having a way to interact with my besty, but I was not enjoying losing, especially losing over and over.

This might be a good time to note that we've actually only played three games, so when I say "over and over," I mean twice. But it felt like over and over and all the time and oh my god I am horrible and this is no fun at all because I am bad at enjoying things when I'm not doing well. This might be a good time to note that, when I say "not doing well," what I mean is "not winning."

Anyway, I was trying to enjoying it, but it was hard because I kept losing. But I kept playing because I really am a grown up, and I can't refuse to play just because I'm not winning (although I was tempted to do just that the week that I was feeling super crappy and then M. got like a 200 point word, which she put in the spot where I needed to put my letters). But now I feel better because I don't remember what I was depressed about, and I'm not so tired this week, and I got some good (albeit stressful) news today, and I finally won a game (because I'm only sort of a grown up), and even if it takes me another several tries to win again, at least I know it's possible.

Because I have photographic evidence.

She's the strangest girl: Buffy 1.5 - Never Kill a Boy on the First Date, 1.6 - The Pack

Never Kill a Boy On the First Date

"Ok, at this point you're abusing sarcasm."

It's a little late for the "don't get involved, don't tell anyone" speech, isn't it? I mean, Giles is the one who didn't bother to check that there was no one in the library, which is how Xander found out.

"Clark Kent has a job - I just want to go on a date!"
--Buffy, when Giles tells her that maintaining a normal social life as the slayer isn't possible:

"He's like, super librarian. Everyone forgets, Willow, that knowledge is the ultimate weapon."
--Xander, about Giles, when Willow worries that he'll need help:

Owen: It's weird - one minute you're right there - I got you figured! The next minute, it's like you're two people.
Buffy: Which one do you like better?
Owen: I'll let you know.

Best line of the night, though, has to be "Pork and beans...pork and beans!" Of course there's a crazy religious fanatic vampire mistaken for messiah figure of the brotherhood of vampires. Whedon's work is so fascinatingly anti-religious, while simultaneously being deeply religious.

And a predicament fueled by there being a beeper and no cell phone access - wow. Pre-cell phone era scenarios.


The Pack
This one is all spoiler all the time past this spoiler tag. They're possessed by hyenas.

I remember loving this episode the first time around, so have been looking forward to seeing it again. There's one scene in particular - the walk through the courtyard in pack formation - that I consider one of the best moments in all seven seasons. It does not disappoint.

"Family Matters" (Written on the info in front of the elephant exhibit.)

In the episode booklet for The Chosen Collection, Whedon lists The Pack first on his list of favorite episodes, saying that it took them months to figure out that one of the main gang needed to be infected, "one of the most valuable lessons for the rest of the show." Boy, did they take that one to heart.

Oh, the dodgeball scene. Classic. I've actually seen that happen, and I'm pretty sure none of my classmates had been possessed by hyenas. If I'd been in middle school when I watched this show, I'd have called the mean kids hyenas from then on.

And here it is - The Courtyard Scene. Still great. Not sure I noticed the first time how alpha Xander is in all this.

Giles: Testosterone is the great equalizer; it turns all men into morons.

Buffy: I cannot believe that you, of all people are trying to Scully me. There is something supernatural going on here - get your books! Look stuff up!

Oh, Principle Flutie. Oh, Xander. I had managed to forget this part. Both of these parts. They made it clear very early on that they were not playing.

And here's a scenario that will later be very familiar. Willow in the library with the cage.

Ahhhhh - run, lady with baby, RUN!!!

Also, Willow? Usually the smart one? Back the hell up off that cage and stop being stupid. Thank you.

And Giles? Why are you so gullible/trusting?

So, in addition to the awesome with which the creepy wrongness of this episode is handled (Xander goes bad well, and the pack is well filmed), the hurt, confusion and betrayal each step of Xander's  hyena-ing is met with (from both Willow and Buffy), and Buffy's immediate "this badness simply *cannot* be Xander"  are well done, and serve to underscore the "family matters" noted above. This of course makes it all the more disturbing/touching that the bitterness towards Buffy's love of dangerous men is not completely not-Xander (it will come up repeatedly, and often at times when Xander is more sympathetic), and also begins to lay the groundwork for the other times that one Scooby or another will have to remember that this badness/betrayal/confusing choice or behavior simply *cannot* in essence be allowed to alter the love felt for another Scooby.

The good stuff really does begin early, despite my maligning of the first season (monster of the week, high corniness factor, lots of terrible special effects). I wonder if I'd have appreciated it as much if I'd seen it in order? (I saw starting from 2nd season Halloween, then watched the 1st season in reruns.)


OK, that's all the Buffy I'm allowed until the weekend. I don't know how much I'll blog of the rest of the rewatch to come - probably short thoughts on many, longer thoughts on some.

This week's produce

Collard greens, cabbage, Meyer lemons, oranges, Anjou pears, carrots, and lettuce (not pictured). I'm making a roast, roasting the carrots (and some Brussels sprouts), and wondering if I'd get 1/3 cup of juice out of those lemons, which is how much the pie recipe calls for.

Buffy 1.3 - Witch, 1.4 - Teacher's Pet

Witch
Wow. I did *not* remember that this witch thing started so early. But, the witch excitement is not the only thing that starts early.

Joyce: "I don't get it."

Buffy: "I'm inscrutable, huh?"

Joyce: "You're 16."

I always had trouble with how not awesome Joyce was as a mom. Now, that seems to be a necessary part of having a superhero child - how else could you spend most of your evening out slaying if your mom were really on top of it? (There's a fantastic moment some time way later where Buffy asks just that, but in a much more dramatic way.) But it was also always clear that she's distracted for very understandable reasons, especially at the beginning. Single mom, working hard to start over, and there is that whole "if you don't know about the slaying you just think Buffy is hardcore teenage drama and a pretty serious discipline case to boot." And, of course, with the other stuff going on in the episode, there's a little perspective to be had.

And then there's the dad stuff with Giles. Seriously, who doesn't want a dad who will cast out evil forces and take on a crazy witch to save your life? Or, you know, just be there and not suck. That relationship is, of course, one of the best parts about the show.

Favorite lines:

Xander:- What do you mean - we're a team! Aren't we a team?

Willow: Yeah. You're the Slayer, and we're like, the Slayerettes.

Xander: For I am Xander - king of cretins. May all lesser cretins bow before me.

Amy's mom: I shall look upon my enemy and the dark place shall have her soul.


Teacher's Pet

I take back what I said about not spoiling. These entries will be spoilery, though I will spoilery tag huge things. 

It bugs me that the stake in Xander's dream went into the wrong side of the vampire's chest.

OMG. The lead singer of the band at The Bronze is wearing a ginormous shiny silver shirt. OMG.

It's interesting watching from the beginning - I forget what a really bad slayer she was at the start.

Excellent lines

Principle Flutie: HEAL!

Buffy: Giles, while we're young.

Buffy, as Angel walks away: Oh, boy.

So many things to read...

...so little time.

Perdido Street Station - China Miéville
Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
Parable of the Sower - Octavia Butler
The Best of It - Kay Ryan
A Madness of Angels - Kate Griffin
Graceling - Kristin Cashore
The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan
The Hero With a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell
The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who - eds. Burdge, Burke, Larsen

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Nobel Prize Acceptance speech (December 10, 1964)

Every year, I start my MLK holiday by reading one of his speeches, letters, or sermons. Sometimes, it's one I'm already familiar with, like the "I Have a Dream" speech. This year, I decided to read something different. There's always some point at which I tear up, because of the rhythm, the rhetoric, and the crazy way in which he and his speech writer managed to say not just the right thing for then, but the right thing for now, whenever the now is. And then I pull myself together and get on with my day, celebrating the fact that a lot of people made a lot of sacrifices so that I could sleep in today.

If you haven't before, take a look at Dr. King's Nobel Prize acceptance speech over at the Nobel Prize website, which is what I chose to read this morning. The whole thing is worth reading (the whole thing usually is, but here's an excerpt - my highlights: 

I am mindful that debilitating and grinding poverty afflicts my people and chains them to the lowest rung of the economic ladder......I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him...This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up.

(From Les Prix Nobel en 1964, Editor Göran Liljestrand, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1965)

Buffy 1.1 - Welcome to the Hellmouth, 1.2 - The Harvest

1/16 picture

Welcome to the Hellmouth
"In every generation, there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the slayer."

I will not blog them all, but thought jotting down some highlights from the first set might be fun, especially since I didn't watch them in order the first time. If I had, the first scene might had sold me on it. I think I'll try not to include spoilers in these comments (or at least to spoiler block them, though it will be best to watch before reading if you intend to watch), but let's just say it's characteristically fantastic. I recognized the actress, but if I hadn't, it would have been a great surprise.

PS: SPOILERS! I mean, it's been 16 years, tho.

1/15 La Taqueria

"The Best Tacos & Burritos In The Whole World" (give or take a few letters). Can't say for sure that that's true, but my tacos (one chicken with spicy salsa and one chorizo) were both *very* tasty. Good thing I went for two tacos, because one might not have withstood all those Jack & cokes I had in the course of helping my friend L. celebrate her birthday. Fun times.

More fun times and Fe

My shirt was very popular at the
workshop today.

Someone asked
if I was a chemist.

I couldn't get my face and the whole shirt in the picture at the same time.

Photo of rather intense dessert pizza. Tasty, but intense.

Met up with R. for dinner tonight. We hadn't see
each other since she visited me at Stanford
c. 2003/4. We met during my European
adventure in 2002. 

Fun times at The Mint

A: Wait!
C: CHEEEEEESE
 

A:HAHAHAHAHAHA
C:HEEHEEHEEHEEHEE

A: Chuckle
C: Giggle

*smile*

"

"BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA"

around the office

Hmm...something is missing here... 

Heh heh - not sure why the wording of this amuses me, but it does

mild carnage

How is it that I manage to do this to my room on a regular basis, just to get dressed?

Note to self:

Wait until you are completely smiling (or not) to take the picture.

On my way home from work early-ish today. But only so that I can be sure to get to the library before it closes. Books to pick up, so I can read them and figure out if they're suitable for my Spring quarter class.

Nor are your copy editing standards.

Off to work

Hoping the orange under-sleeves will help me combat the fact that I woke up an hour earlier than I needed to. Which would be 6:30am. *sigh*

the kitchen excitement continues

This weekend's slow cooker extravaganza: I made my own stock, then a ginormous bowl of chicken noodle soup. I've also made a whole lotta frittata (potato onion, from a yummy Martha Stewart recipe). Should keep me in breakfast and lunch for the week - will think about dinner on Tuesday, when the leftover chicken and veggies run out...

orange dots

At least that's what they call it at CB2, or did, before they discontinued it. I ripped the picture out of a catalog years ago, one of many things in the file I keep, full of decorating ideas for my mythical place of my own. I really liked this as a place to put scarves and purses (as above). But I wouldn't have bought it now, if not for the fact that I'm no longer keeping my bath towels in the bathroom. Ever since this fuckery happened, dry ones have a square on my fantastically ginormous shelving unit (a 5x5 Expedit I caught on sale on Craigslist), and the one currently in use was hanging on a small hook on the back of the door when it wasn't actually in the bathroom with me. (Yes, I know that this is, as my non-heinous roommate said, "a little bit wackjob," but I'm ok with that.) Needless to say, more hanging space was required, so I decided to see if the bright orange hangy thing I'd loved the picture of was still around. It wasn't.

But they had it in yellow, which I also like. It was inferior, but still cute, and still good for my room (I have a happy yellow duvet cover right now), so off I went to CB2. Well, they didn't have it in the store, and were going to have to order it from the Berkeley store. But, when they tried to pull it up on the computer screen to confirm that it was the right thing, guess what popped up? The orange one! And at half the price! There might have been happy squealing! There were only two left in the warehouse, so I obviously bought them both. One for outside stuff (scarves, purses, etc), the other for inside stuff (robe, pjs, etc). And the towel gets a special hook in a separate space, all on its own. 

If only the more abstract aspects of my life could be so easily organized.

Me and Miss V.

and away it went

And now I am off to run many errands on the bus. Which is really no different that before I donated the car.

1/6/11 picture

Yes, I know that it's 1/7/11, but I was super tired after the first day of sections, and instead of coming home and posting a picture, I came home and got my car ready to be picked up for donation today, because I was afraid to leave it until this morning. Anyway, here's yesterday's picture, or should I say here are yesterday's pictures:

The one on the left is what everyone saw all day. The one on the right is what got me through the day (socks courtesy of my best friend, M., and my goddaughter, J.). They match this fantastic sock monkey...

Well, hello there!

...who does not have a name yet. Any suggestions?