Choreography...

I am taking a short break from the craziness that is The Odyssey for this week's meme from the people at The Back Porch. HOW is it Thursday already? It's too soon! And is this meme title long enough for anyone else? In the interest of interest I abbreviated - hope that's still kosher for any meme-a-holics.
::Onesome: Choreography: What do you choreograph in your life? Your morning routine? The dinner ritual? How you study? What is 'designed' by you?

• Other than I brush my teeth, comb my hair, pee and then wash my hands before I go to bed, mmmmm, no. With an abstract sequential in the house it's hard to maintain a routine. My philosophy is; as long as it gets done in time for the next thing I can let it go. Only big events do I like to "choreograph" so to speak, and even then one needs to be flexible - always flexible.

::Twosome: The art of symbolically: Art? Hmmmm... Sure, what do you like to have? ...or do you? ...but how about that little symbol you keep on your desk or headboard? The one you keep because??? I mean, if you can share that...

• Someone is surely fainting somewhere or dismissing me as a low-brow peon; I don't get art. It's not practical and unless it looks like a real life object I don't "see" anything in it. What do we have on the walls? Pictures of us and family, diplomas...and that's about it. Like I said, low-brows.

::Threesome: representing dancing: No, not 'do you dance?' (although that's fine too!); rather, which type(s) of dancing will you stop and watch for a moment? Ballroom? Swing? Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey?

• We do dance. But we like to watch dancing. You must have noticed my commentaries on DWTS and if it's anything faintly resembling dance I will stop to watch. Ballet, tap, ballroom, modern, whatever. I have suffered through many a poorly written movie because of the promise of dancing. Sometimes the dancing was worth it, sometimes not. It's all fun.

This is me, back to work now.

Snippet

So my latest reason for not blogging so much? Creating an animated production of The Odyssey. A musical version. Pictures of people we know, their heads floating above cartoon bodies, portions of Ship To Shore and Cocaine running through my head - I am so distracted by this thing I only shaved one armpit this morning...my life is truly stranger than my dreams.

This is me, fractured.

Weird Dream #23

OMG - you know how I said my dreams are weirdest right before waking up? Well, I submit that the dreams one has after waking up to fix Tarzan an English muffin for breakfast so he doesn't eat six cookies instead - AGAIN - then going back to sleep for another hour are the weirdest...try this one on for size:

I was parked in a large, open shopping center lot, waiting for my sister to get out of work at this cheesy Taco Bell type place. (This in and of itself is not weird. I wait for her often, in a parking lot. NOT a large lot, NOT at a mall, NOT for a restaurant...) Two chicks come up to the car, one on either side offering donuts. These are pretty fancy donuts, with fruit and decorations on them, but when they say one costs $3.99 I say no thanks. I finally agree to buy one after they lower the price to $1.99 and give me this long spiel about how they were for a wedding but the groom never showed, blah, blah, blah. As I'm pulling out my wallet a guy parks his Jeep behind me. The girls go to get me my change, and I wonder if I shouldn't have given them two $1 bills instead, and I look at my currency and find I have a fake $4 bill and I want to exchange that for the real money I gave them, so I put the car in park - apparently it's been running this whole time - turn it off and jump out to go after the girls. My car starts to roll back and smashes into the guy in the Jeep. He's not hurt, "just the wind knocked out of me," he says and he helps me hold the car so I can put it in park again and put the parking brake on. While we're holding the car - back from what, I know not - the girls come over, one gets in the passenger seat, the door had been locked, and proceeds to rummage through my wallet. I get a little indignant, and in the time it takes me to let go of the car and duck inside, they all disappear. Both girls, the guy, the Jeep, my money and the donuts. I contemplate my having to send out one of those emails about scams and I hear people start screaming on the sidewalk, I look up to see a car chase through the parking lot, the Jeep followed by the police. I sit down in my car to go after them...and I was never to glad to wake up and find out it was all a dream.

So I stumble out here to the living room in my nightie with my hair all seven directions because this was too good not to share with all of you. You are welcome.

This is me, remembering a dream again.

A-B-C

And here we are again, the weekly meme from the people at The Back Porch. How do they do it every week and not get irritated at having to think up questions for people they can't even see?
::Onesome: A--ny place but here? Are travel plans looming for Spring break? ...or are you staying home?

• Ahh, Spring Break, I remember those days. When I was in college we used to go to Disneyland every Spring Break. Then I didn't get a Spring Break for all the years I worked. (Listen to me, "all those years" like it was 30 and not 8.) Don't know what we're doing this year. Not going far. The beach, visit my parents, see my sister who's coming home this year. Easter is early so that's in the mix too.

::Twosome: B--etter to look in the mirror before you leave? Have you ever discovered (say around mid-day) that your clothes really didn't match up?

• One of my friends, when we were in college, didn't discover until after class was over - it was an 8:00 Physics class (who DOES that?) - that she had two shoes, same STYLE, different COLOR on. She ran, screaming all the way home. Can't say I was ever obviously mismatched, but there have been weird splotch shape marks appear on my shirt halfway through the day.

::Threesome: C--atch any good movies lately? What should we go see now that the Oscar's are done and over for another year?

• This is a depressing question because there are a lot of movies we would go and see if they weren't rated R. What is that all about? Does there have to gratuitous blood and violence where in people get visually kicked in the head to tell the story better? Does she have to show her boob to move the plot along? Probably not. But there we are and so we don't go to the movies much. See this post here. So if YOU have suggestions lemme know. Maybe we'll go to the movies during Spring Break...

This is me, wondering what you're watching.

Divided We Fall

We didn't get the job in The Temperate Zone - that's a little north of The Jungle - so we won't be moving before the summer is over. I know I didn't mention it before - mostly because I wasn't sure how I felt about it.
I still don't.
On the one hand, I'm disappointed because moving has an excitement to it; the houses are way cheap, big and gorgeous up there, the cost of living is much lower, but the salary was almost the same so we'd have been ahead that way. The chance for a garden, visiting U-Picks and having space for kids, a hot tub, whatever was there. Tarzan would have been perfect for the job - despite his repeated attempts to tell me he was too young, didn't have enough experience, blah, blah, blah, he's awesome and cares so much he would have done a fabulous job. The interview went well - he was prepped. While driving around the area we were more worried about what we were leaving behind than whether we'd get the job.
On the other hand, we LOVE The Jungle. It's happening. I love big cities, always have. The weather is awesome, the beach is next door practically, everything is here - EVERY thing anyone could want can be found in this town. We have our own production of Wicked for crying out loud! Tarzan and I have a place here. We have friends and family near, we have roots and ripping those up is never easy.
As it turns out we don't have to. Tarzan says he's happy to not have gotten the position and, to be fair, it would have been A LOT of work for him. Because of budget cuts and everything the school district was hiring one person not two, as advertised, to plan and execute the library program for all fourteen of their schools. Two people would have had a lot of work to do. One is just ridiculous. If I barely see him now what would that have been like? And our house here IS small, but it's just us for now, and let's be honest, how good would I be at keeping a garden? I can't keep the weeds out of the front yard as it is.
So that's where I am - happy we get to stay and yet sad because we've 'been here, done that' so to speak. Sad we don't get a new, bigger, fabulous house with a pool, yard and many bedrooms for less than half of what this tiny thing is appraised for, but happy that we get to keep this one to make better - I have GOT to get on that insulation thing...Happy that Tarzan gets to stay at his school where he is doing so much good and sad that he won't get to be in charge of all the schools and maybe get to have influence on a higher level; figure out this budget crisis somehow. (Don't I have large aspirations for the man?) I don't think I've ever been so torn on a decision in my life. This would have been a hard one to make...really glad I don't have to.

This is me, divided.

It's Growing

One of the best things about the rain is the green that comes to The Jungle afterwards. Our little apricot tree is going crazy in the front yard. This was the day after we planted it:

And this is it now:

Note the trimmed bushes and orange tree in the back. Tarzan was so cute. Every time I selected a branch or a twig for pruning he got all sentimental. "But it has leaves." Hee hee, he's so adorable. We're doing so much better with this tree in the guiding it's growth and nipping buds so only the strong survive.

Close-up!:

This is me, proud of the growing stuff.

Oscar's 80

So the Academy Awards were okay. Not too surprising, or edgy - or too eventful - we hadn't seen most of the movies so what's to get indignant about? Go Bourne Supremacy.
We liked John Stewart. I love how he looks slightly embarrassed by his punchlines - like "I know, I can't believe they are making me say this either..." but he was funny. Little bit racy, not too dangerous.
As for the actual awards...eh. We didn't watch the speeches. Kinda sorry I missed Best Actor because it would have been amusing to see him kneel for his fake knighting but that's all.
It was great to see Kristin Chenoweth sing. She's got a great voice. (Please let them make a movie of Wicked...please let them make a movie of Wicked...) I was not surprised that Enchanted did not win Best Song - despite there being THREE songs from the movie nominated, and they ALL being written by Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menkin - but I was a little annoyed at the comments in the paper this morning. Yes, it was a cute movie. Yes, it was a Disney movie. Yes, there's very little angst or drama in a fairy tale come to life - but there's nothing WRONG with a happy story. Don't poo-poo the writer's ability just because no one dies.
Just for you Lola - we had gingersnaps and grapes (red AND green - this was the Oscar's after all) for dessert.

This is me, glad the stress of the awards season is off.

Liquid Drops Bandage

Now this is a problem with being home. Because of the holiday on Monday I forgot that yesterday was Thursday and so I didn't get to the weekly meme from The Back Porch peeps. I apologize to anyone who waits with baited breath every week for my answers. Yeah, that's not even my mother. But here we go, a day late but still genuine.
::Onesome: Liquid-- is falling from the skies this time of year. Be it rain or snow or fog, what's late Winter looking like at your place?

• If I had filled this out yesterday I would have said, grey-ish, kinda cloudy. But now! It rained in the afternoon and into the night yesterday so we are prepared with a much more interesting answer today. It still doesn't get very cold though. Little windy on Wednesday. Very temperate. And I like that.

::Twosome: Drops -- of sweetener? ...or teaspoons of sugar (okay, tablespoons)? What do you use to make iced tea and other drinks acceptable?

• If I drank iced tea I might have a better response. We use mixes, like Crystal Light if we are feeling festive. Those come with the sweetener in them. We're boring I suppose.

::Threesome: Bandage-- your owies with a spray or with drops? Have you seen these liquid, no sting, bandage drops yet? Man, I'm thinking these may be ideal to have when you're out and about with kidlets!

• If I had kidlets...seriously, band-aids are good enough for me. Tarzan "is a man and men don't use band-aids we just rub some dirt on it." Get back to me in a few years and we'll see if my application has changed. It seems though, that a liquid won't protect or cushion like a band-aid would.

This is me, making a reminder to not forget the weekly meme.
P.S. Yes, the turtle's down. I figure two weeks past should be enough.

Kitty Crack

We haven't had a lot of success or interest in the past with catnip. Fresh stuff got some sniffs and one or two nibbles but none of the suggested characteristics of a cat high on the weed. The catnip bubbles kind of scared them, the catnip toys were just toys. So I didn't hold out much hope for the mouse filled with dried catnip. The fact that I can't find that catnip filled mouse has so much more significance now. Consider the story of the cat "tree" I bought yesterday. The old ones were pretty beat up and we'd talked about getting a new one:I thought it was worth one more try with the dried catnip - what else was I going to do with it? - so I sprinkled it across all the "floors." At first there was much sniffing and investigating and suddenly it was a free-for-all:

Train Wreck was pretty sure it was all for her:

She got quite possessive of it:

Belle tried to take just a little sniff:

And got smacked for it:

Apparently the top rack is the best. Throughout the day they each tried to have a turn. Train Wreck of course:

Mikey finally got up there:

Ha ha. Look at me!:

Ice took his turn after the initial rukus died down: Poor Belle never got higher than the first level:

So she decided to go find her own hideout:

This is me, in a house with a bunch of kitties high on crack.

DWTS: Season 6 Begins

Did I not tell you? I did, I did, I did. Setting up the two back-to-back champions against each other. (Cheryl Burke was the champion for Seasons 2 & 3 and Julianne Hough won seasons 4 & 5) Gah! So annoying that DANCING can't be the most important part of Dancing With The Stars. Why is that? And don't give me all of that business about how their real personalities come out in this demanding regimen and the challenge is to go over and beyond themselves. Blah. I would not be surprised to find out it was set up from the beginning. Really. I hope not, but it wouldn't surprise me. Am I cynical? Yeah, a little. Mel and Max were clearly the better dancers. Clearly. But they did not win. That should tell you something about the American public.
A big bummer is that Maxim Chmerkovskiy is not dancing this season. Poo. He's the funniest of all the professional dancers. But he probably wants to get back to real competitions. Is it just me or does it seems like the celebrities that are being chosen are ones who's career need a boost or a second wind? Really? Okay, just me then.
So, with some trepidation and not some little annoyance I present the celebrities and their professional dance partners and my own two cents.

• Adam Corolla is supposed to be a funny guy but from his bios and credits it seems to be the type of humor I do not find funny. To top it off he is dancing with Julianne Hough who we all KNOW my opinion on. I am going to predict zero votes from this residence for that team. Unless he's REALLY good.
• Cristián de la Fuente is sadly going to be in the middle of this silly contrived rivalry. I hope the boy is a good dancer and has a huge fan base. He is an actor though which is a good start. He has Cheryl Burke to partner him and she is the best teacher we have seen yet. Their odds are good to stay in it.
• Shannon Elizabeth - I feel like I should know her, and yet I don't think I've seen anything she was in. She's dancing with Derek Hough, Julianne's much-more-personable brother.
• I hope Steve Guttenberg will be spry enough to stay in the competition for a while. He doesn't look too decrepit and Anna Trebunskaya deserves to have a partner with some fans. It was a total rip for her and that model to be voted off SECOND last season. Seriously. Plus she and Jonathan are so cute.
• Does Kym Johnson have 'kick me, I'm Australian' on her back or something? I mean, really? She's so sweet and so fun and she keeps getting handed old, bears of guys as partners? Penn Jillette is a great magician and a funny guy, but a dancer? Don't know about that one.
• Mario and Karina Smirnoff on the other hand should be interesting. She has an attitude that keeps people (okay, me and my sister) from liking her completely so we don't mind of she gets paired with a guy who also has an attitude. Witness last season. This guy may be able to dance though - which would be good.
• Marlee Matlin I have not heard of - though I think I remember her face from The West Wing - and her partner, Fabian Sanchez, is new to the show. It could be good or it could all go horribly, horribly wrong. I suspect that's why we watch.
• I am really excited about Priscilla Presely and Louis van Amstel if only because the "rubber" man is back for the first time in three seasons!! Love the Louis! The man looks like he has no bones in his legs. It's awesome. And all we really know of Priscilla is who her father is/was. **Editor's Note: Yes, Rocketgirl, thou art correct, she's Elvis's wife, not daughter. Which explains why she looks so old...**
• Sadly, we have learned that celebrities with small fan bases do not do well, even if they can dance really well. (Right Albert? Golly that man was good looking.) So I do not hold out much hope that the tennis fans will come to network TV just to vote for Monica Seles even though she is dancing with Jonathan Roberts, the smoothest man on the floor.
• Edyta Slwinska is a trooper. She has been in every season, she still dances professionally and she makes commercials. She's awesome. Though she could wear better costumes - I'm just saying. This Jason Taylor dude better be good. A Jerry Rice or Emmitt Smith kind of good.
• Marissa Jaret Winokur is not a name I know but she looks fun. Can I say that? It does not hurt that she is partnered with Tony Dovolani who has been dancing for five of the six seasons, has never won and yet is funny, and cute and really a good teacher.
• Kristi Yamaguchi is really the only one in the celebrity list who I can say I 'know' what she does. Let us hope that she has a large enough fan base, who watch TV, and that she can dance, that they will go far. Mark Ballas is lesser known to me, but he seemed a nice enough guy last season.

It will be the same judges, so we will have to endure the Bruno-isms and Carrie-Ann drooling over the men, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. I am glad that contestants will dance twice before anyone is eliminated. It worked well in Season 4 I found, giving a more accurate idea of how talented the celebrity really was in dancing. First night jitters and all that.

This is me, hoping it's more "real" this time?

My Life Adventures - Part I

Thanks LA Daddy. We always need another extremely long meme to fill out! 'Course I can't blame him since I dug it out of his archives from like a year ago...whatevs. And since this is the longest meme ever maybe we'll do it in chapters - for the suspense of it all. And to tell the stories that go behind the events. That's the best part of these things anyway.
Level 1
( ) Smoked A Cigarette
( ) Smoked A Cigar
( ) Kissed A Member Of The Same Sex
( ) Drank Alcohol
( ) Smoked Marijuana
SCORE SO FAR: 0 - not a very auspicious start here Jane...
Level 2
(X) Are / Been In Love
(X) Been Dumped - does it count as dumping if you weren't upset by his not wanting to see you anymore?
(X) Shoplifted - I'm counting this - even though it was known by the store manager, to see how the security sysem worked - because otherwise I will have the lowest score ever on this meme.
(X) Been Fired - do I get extra points for more than once?
(-) Been In A Fist Fight
SCORE SO FAR: 4
Level 3
(X) Had A Crush On An Older Person [More Than 10 Years older]
(-) Skipped School - this one really doesn't count because it was Senior Skip Day in high school
( ) Slept With A Co-Worker
(-) Seen Someone / Something Die - I'm going to suppose that flies and spiders and roaches don't count here...
( ) Been Involved in a Traffic Accident
SCORE SO FAR: 5

This is me, hoping I have more adventures in further installments or this will be a really pointless exercise.

Aftermath

It was kind of hard to leave the office last Friday. Conflicted emotions. A little guilt, a little sad, and a little happy, some anticipation and some apprehension. I've never quit from a place I liked before - stop laughing, it really wasn't that bad an office relatively speaking - and when the boss got all teary as I was hugging him good-bye I almost *almost* reconsidered. It was such a nice farewell.
First there was the lunch, at The Cheesecake Factory, which was awesome. Then came a card with thoughtful notes from everyone - EVERYONE! - and a gift card, a check for all my unused vacation and overtime hours, and the compliments and the regret. Why wasn't everyone so nice when I worked there?! All the reasons why they were going to miss me and why I should stay another week...And the boss cried as I was leaving!! Nothing will make you feel guilty quite like that image as you walk across the street holding the last few items from your desk.
And they haven't called me once - though they threatened too - so I wonder; did I file everything SO WELL that they don't have any questions? Or are they not calling on principle? Am I really not so essential? I kinda think it's the last one there. I am not SO conceited as to think they could never replace me but all the comments on Friday suggested that they might miss me a teeny bit. Perhaps that's not so and it was all lip service? I've even contemplated dropping by in a few weeks maybe to see what's going on...does that mean I'm regressing?
There's not a chance I would consider working there again though. Not after this week; do you KNOW how much I got done in one day? Laundry, ironing - when do I ever iron I ask you? - made cinnamon rolls, went to the dry cleaners, the bank, cleaned the kitchen and reloaded all my links and programs from the office computer to here. That was only Monday. The down sides are I'm not as regular with the blogging and the reading of blogs as I was. And I miss my big screen monitor and my keyboard. I'm not used to doing so much on the laptop.
But Monday is a holiday - yay Presidents! - so Tarzan has the day off from work and we were discussing what we should do while eating THE MOST DEVINE DINNER EVER LAST NIGHT (OMG! if you get a chance to go to The Melting Pot, it doesn't matter how many organs you have to sell - or who's - go, go, GO! It was aMAZing!) and the possibilities are endless. Visit he beach, use some of the gift cards we have still from Christmas, work in the yard, hang out, sleep late, watch movies, play Sam & Max, take a road trip just because we can, it'll be glorious!! So no, not regretting leaving and not wanting to go back. But missing them a little bit.

This is me, home and looking back, slightly.

Tea For Two

Just for you Rocketgirl!! Oh, and because I do The Back Porch meme every week!

::Onesome: Tea-- leaves and fortune tellers? Is there anything you do out of habit because of old sayings? ...like not stepping on cracks or staying home on Friday the Thirteenth? ...or eating chocolate on Valentine's Day?

• That's interesting because I don't consider myself a superstitious person; I don't worry about wearing black on Friday the 13th or walking under ladders. My parents have three all black cats. Yet I do try to avoid stepping on cracks and I absolutely wear green on St. Patrick's day and I never forget to leave the milk and cookies for Santa...maybe I have more voo doo in me than I knew?

::Twosome: for-- every time you make it to work or class or an appointment on time, how many times are you late? Just curious...

• What are you trying to say? Just because I hadn't been to work "on-time" for over a year does not mean I don't get every where else on time. Mostly. Church - I am always on time for church - early even.

::Threesome: Two-- weeks and the next day is only there twenty-five percent of the time! Does Leap Year have any special meaning to you? ...or is it just one more day of the week?

• I don't look forward to the day, like say Christmas, but it's always been amusing to me - especially for people who have their birthdays on the 29th. I haven't decided if I want to have a kid on that day or not. Would it scar them forever? Or give them great small talk material? I guess we have some time to figure it out...

This is me, back in my woolies because it got COLD again - thank every so Q.

Sunny and Warm

OMG - do you know how awesome the weather is here right now? While the rest of the country freezes and shovels snow, it's practically summer here. All the plants in the front yard have been fooled into blooming.
Aaaah, I love The Jungle!

This is me, catching some rays...

At Last...

...I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Red Light, Green Light

::Onesome: Red-- candles for Valentine's Day? Are you decorating this year? Planning? Scheming? Deferring?

• Hmmm, I guess I hadn't thought about decorating...that could be fun. We do have plans; with The Melting Pot in Pasadena. Fondue is your friend. Check out the menu!! So excited. We shall eat some for you Rocketgirl.

::Twosome: Light, Green--? ...or would that be 'teal'? What color is your kitchen area? What color should it be?

• Our kitchen is a very unassuming blue. The walls are light blue, like off-white, blue. The cabinets are the best part - they are a medium wood. The countertops are not what I would have selected but it was not my call at the time. They are mottled blue laminate. Eh. It serves. It SHOULD be yellow, or maybe rose, or a beige? No, not beige. Maybe green, if I could get the counter to match...

::Threesome: Light-- up the place and save energy with these newer CFL/twisty bulbs? Have you tried any yet? How are they working out?

• We have not tried the twisty bulbs yet. We really should. It would be so responsible of us. The trouble - not an excuse, we are working on it - is the age of the fixtures and the wiring in the old shack. We need to be careful what we use. Some of the work I will be doing in the next few months will include learning to rewire and install electrical fixtures. Then we can work on the twisty bulbs.

This is me, with the Back Porch weekly meme.

Thought For The Day

You know it's time to quit the job when you start talking like the rabid barracuda. I hear myself saying things I wouldn't say, in a tone of voice I don't use anywhere else and I want to stop. I try to stop and talk normal. Inside my head I am screaming at myself - STOP TALKING TO PEOPLE LIKE THAT! I hate it when she does it - it makes me want to slap her. But here I am doing it too. How does this happen?

This is me, time to be going.

Au Revoir

Nothing like telling people you are leaving to get an ego boost. I sent out an email yesterday morning for clients and consultants announcing this coming Friday as my last day with this office. Woot! Last day - three days after today - can you believe it's actually here? I am having a tough time convincing myself but there it is. They've even started believing it at the office which is a huge breakthrough - though they haven't stopped teasing me about coming back or making more money if I stay or becoming a consultant...I've thought about it but consider - if I were to stay "one more week" we'd have the same issues in seven days, or in a month or whenEVER I tried to go. If I worked as a consultant I would get paid what I do now and they'd have me coming in to discuss projects and then go to meetings and pretty soon I'd be sitting at my desk every day only without the benefit of overtime. It's best to just rip off the band-aid and be done with it. Hence the email. And there has been an influx of well wishes and regret - even from the clients that are annoying and irritating to work with. And from the bosses too, who I don't see that often since I deal with the flunkies most of the time. It's really nice to receive a note that the head of a big development firm will miss me and my interest in a project. There have been many offers for references if needed, requests for personal email, inquiries as to my plans and a desire to keep in touch. Some of them I know are just cursory because it's polite - and to them my reply is "It's time to move on, thanks for all the fish." Not really, but maybe I should...However, I think some people actually care and that's nice to know. To them I give one of my personal emails. (I have five, is that strange? I check them all too, is that obsessive?) I don't know if anyone will actually email me - well I bet one will, we really bonded when working on a project together - but it makes me feel good. Like I actually did something worthwhile in this industry and some people are sad to see me leave. Makes me feel less of a loser to be quitting. Go out on a high note I believe.

This is me, down to three more days...I'm ready.

So She Dances

Wow. The Riverside Dicken's Festival was so much more than I expected it to be - and also not - but in a good way. Lemme esplain. Fleighund and SGE invited us to the Dickens Festival LAST February. It's a weekend devoted to Dickens era events, costumes, vendors selling trinkets and the like. One of the highlights is Mr. Fezziwig's Ball, held last Saturday night. Everyone comes in full regalia, there's a live orchestra with dance mistress and the Queen comes to knight someone: She leads the Grand March and there's lots of dancing with dance cards and everything. It's all very romantic really. Tarzan got caught up in the spirit of the evening and had the herald announce us as Baron and Baroness! My dance card: My outfit was not precisely Dickens era - more 1890's rather than 1850's:

Tarzan was closer:

The boy can rock a tuxedo:

(I just realized most of my pictures are sans gloves. That's annoying.)

In fact a lot of costumes were only vaguely from the time period - some very Gone With The Wind-y - but no one commented or seemed to care. It was about dancing and having a good time. And we did. Dance. And have a good time. It has got to be one of the greatest events I have ever been to. My calves ached yesterday, but it was a good ache. How I imagine a runner feels after completing a marathon. Tired and achy but with a sense of euphoria and a desire to do it again! There aren't any pictures of me dancing as Tarzan was booked solid - he got a rep after the first few ladies danced with him!:

I did my best as well, but as the night was ending - who would have thought 17 dances would take four hours!! - I got stood up twice! Twice! I guess it was past someone's bedtime by then. Some of the guys were so young! I kid you not, some of them looked about 12:They were all exceptionally talented in the dancing department. It's almost certain their parents are way into this thing so they have to be, but the outfits are adorable and they are so intent on dancing correctly and not forgetting steps I just wanted to pinch their cheeks and ruffle their hair. I didn't of course, but Ooooh I wanted to. I overheard two of them talking as a dance was setting up

"It's like an 8-hand"

"Oh right, okay. Yeah."

(They're still teenagers apparently.)

Some seriously fantastic dresses:

SGE:The King of Siam was awesome too:

This was most of our group - there will be more pictures as everyone exchanges images with everyone else:Next year, I'm inviting EVERYONE to the Dickens Festival!

This is me, the Baroness is in!

Funny And Informative

OMG this is hilarious.

"Jennifer and Jim kept getting huge water bills. They knew beyond a doubt that the bills weren't representative of their actual usage, and no matter how they tried to conserve, the high bills continued. Although they could see nothing wrong, they had everything checked for leaks or problems: first the water meter, then outdoor pipes, indoor pipes underground pipes, faucets, toilets, washer, ice maker, etc. -- all to no avail. One day Jim was sick and stayed home in bed, but kept hearing water running downstairs. He finally tore himself from his sick bed to investigate, and stumbled onto the cause of such high water bills. Apparently this was happening all day long when they were not at home. Knowing that few would believe him, he taped a segment of the 'problem' for posterity -- See video: http://summitprops.com/WaterLeak.htm"

But that's not why I called you all here. I am considerably more selfish than THAT!

Last weekend our lovely councilperson of the 9th District handed out fruit trees to all constituents who showed up. It was a tough to choose between Plum, Peach, Apricot, Nectarine or Apple, but I thought of Tarzan and the twitching that occurs when he gets to eat one of his favorite fruits. So we got us an apricot tree! It's small and doesn't have any branches. It's probably not supposed to produce anything for a few years. But we have the potential! We can say we have two (2) fruit trees in The South Central Jungle. The other one is a Satsuma Mandarin orange tree and it's a real trooper. Sporadic watering, non-existent pruning, and still it produces like a mofo. Here is a picture of our fledgling apricot tree. It looks like we planted towards true north in this first picture but I must have been holding the camera crooked or something:

Don't judge my yard. That's one of the first things to get revamped a week from Monday. In the background you can see the California Lilac bush that is out of control. It was a stick when we planted it five years ago. It's got some trimming coming:

This is me, it's Friday peeps!