Join Me Virtually, Won't You?

Since somebody brought up John Cusack earlier today, I've been thinking that being quarantined is the best possible time to celebrate him by throwing my own little film festival in his honor. Hmmm, where to begin. I watched High Fidelity just a couple of weeks ago so I'll leave that fave out of the lineup tonight. Maybe start out slow with Serendipity, then ramp things up with Grosse Point Blank, then finish with Say Anything. My evening is planned!  

Exceptions

I would like to add John Cusack to this list. Thank you.

Gratitude & Sanity

Rituals are important. They reinforce a sense of normalcy and order, and give comfort. I think we can all agree these are not normal times and certainly not orderly. So I keep Sunday morning sacred as I have for most of my adult life. The precise activities have evolved over time, but for the last fifteen or so years Sunday morning is a couple of hours of music, a crossword puzzle, a cryptogram, coffee or tea, and something to eat. Sometimes it's a yummy treat like homemade scones, sometimes it's my favorite sourdough toast with butter. When the weather cooperates I sit outside on the deck but most Sundays I sit at the kitchen counter and bask in the sun that often pours in from the east facing patio door. I do appreciate and am grateful for the fact that I have a comfortable home to shelter in and projects to keep me busy while we wait out the political and pandemic turmoil out in the world right now. Attend to your rituals, for their comforting vibe and to build strength for the highs and lows of the week to come. I think it's more vital than ever.

Quarantine Lazy Dinner

Sometimes you're kind of hungry but not terribly so. And the son is feeding himself and the leftovers are gone because you had them for lunch. The turkey/Swiss cheese/spinach wrap last night was delish but let's not do precisely the same thing two nights in a row. That leaves popcorn and beer. Yes, with genuine butter. It could be worse. 

I Love Dr Fauci

Hello, Neglected Backyard

My Mantis tiller has arrived. Assembly appears to be pretty simple. I have seeds! Tomorrow it rains. Which means that on Saturday the ground will be soft and tillable. I'm ready!

Flatten the Dumbfuckery

Light of My Life

My robot lamp guy arrived last week. I still haven't named him which is odd for me. Often a name comes to me almost immediately. But not this time. So I've been dressing him up and hoping a name will be inspired. I think the hat is a sassy accessory that he wears with a flair. 

A fellow has to be comfortable and confident in his masculinity to don some fairy wings and hang out with Tinkerbelle. 

I particularly enjoy that he is his own reading light.

And finally, yes, it's a respectable hour somewhere so let's have a cocktail. Shaken, not stirred, thank you.

Content, Confident, Creative

Geography Lesson

At around an hour and twenty-six minutes into the movie Outbreak, Dustin Hoffman and Cuba Gooding, Jr. storm into a federal building in San Francisco. They push their way through a crowded waiting area and identify themselves when they get to the front of the line. The fellow behind the counter then says that he's George from Sioux City, South Dakota. Stop right there, George! Clearly you are not from the midwest because if you were, you would realize that you have committed a geographical faux pas. Sioux City is located in Nebraska. Sioux Falls is located in South Dakota. And although they are connected by I-29, never shall they meet nor should they be confused with one another. Was this some sort of inside joke amongst the filmmakers? Or simply an oversight? An error that could have very easily been fact-checked? I expect we'll never know. 

From the Numbskull Dictionary

Squirrel Circus

This intrepid squirrel is busy digging under the snow for some goodies. From time to time I load up that pink tray with pizza crusts, less-than-fresh tortillas, perhaps some over ripe fruit. Then its all fair game for the backyard wildlife.

And he's off! With a chunk of pizza crust as big as his head.

At first I thought he was nibbling on one of my perennials that was poking up through the snow. Then he turned just a bit and I saw that he had a piece of pizza crust in his little paws. Did he go off in a different direction because his squirrel buddies made him share his treat? Or is this an entirely different squirrel being greedy off on his own? Stay tuned for further adventures!  

Welcome, Spring!

Random Things I Remember From Mad Magazine

Spy vs Spy. Roger Kaputnik. Fourth underblott. The Cute Rook. Squammish. Makeus Sickby. Jewelia. Boob & Carnal & Tad & Alas. Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions. Alfred E Neuman. The Bunch. Hoohah. What, me worry? Where Vultures Fare. Alfred's Poor Almanac. Carnival Knowledge. 

My Newton

Cat pictures seem to make everyone happy. In the interest of making as many people happy as I possibly can, here is an adorable pic of my cat Newton. Don't you love how the green rug sets off his eye color so beautifully? Isn't he a handsome fella? Now that it's a respectable hour, I hear the box pinot grigio calling me. Or is that a beer?

Ruby Slippers

I've been thinking about these shoes. And how they've been languishing in my closet for over six years. I really must find an occasion to wear them. But I'll need a week or so of lead time. I need to practice walking in them. As far as I'm concerned they're much better suited for sitting. Or reclining in repose. Reposing in recline? Whatever.

We All Need at Least One

Your Laugh For Today

Calling All Coloradans

Our esteemed Republican Senator Cory Gardner has been missing in action for over two years. He doesn't answer his phone. He has not appeared in public. He falls in line behind the corrupt swamp of an administration in Washington when he votes on legislation. Though there has been little of that going on lately. It's expected that before the good citizens of Colorado give Sen Gardner the boot in the upcoming November election that he will fall in line and vote to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Let's give him a little push, shall we? See if he has the slightest bit of a conscience? Sign this petition and be on the record as a Coloradan who will not tolerate his miserable mindset of harming Americans in the name of protecting corporate interests. I expect he will vote in favor of destroying the ACA, but I'll give him this last little smidgen of the benefit of the doubt. I like to think that all humans are capable of at least a little redemption. 

Cake & Balloons

I do enjoy and appreciate birthday greetings. But usually I receive them give or take a couple of days from my actual birthday in July. I got a happy birthday text from a South Dakota number that isn't in my contacts. This has me wondering if it could be the same person who sent me the pic of a boat last June.  It was a cheery message, including two chocolate birthday cake emoji plus two red balloons. All I have to say is, it's somebody's birthday today. I'll drink to that. Cheers!

Hot Time in the Neighborhood

A little after ten last night I happened to glance over to the living room window. And saw this. To be honest, I felt just a bit creepy and voyeuristic taking this picture from my front doorstep. Someone's home, their lives, altered forever by a destructive force. Eventually the flames shot up as high as the trees. There were occasional pops and hisses and flareups before the fire was under control, leaving an acrid smoky smell hanging in the air. I'm familiar with most of my neighbors but I don't know anyone on the far side of that block across the street. I can't help but wonder if people and pets escaped safely. The blue dot

on the map is approximately where my house is, the red X is the site of the fire. I was grateful for the safety of distance when I saw neighbors closer to the fire leave temporarily until danger was past. A little too close for comfort is all I have to say. Today the exterior of the house looks oddly intact though I expect the interior was completely gutted. Blow out the candles. Unplug the space heater. Be safe, children.

Beauty

Shame On You, Mitch McConnell

Two hundred seventy five of these dead-in-the-swamp bills passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. 

A Note For Next Time

Sweet! A hook for my purse! But I already set my purse down over there out of reach and when I notice the hook I'm already seated on the toilet and find myself inconveniently midstream. Also, nice tile. 

March Madness

This week is shaping up to be far more interesting than necessary. Sunday we do the spring leap ahead ritual for the start of Daylight Saving Time. An odd rearranging of the clock similar to cutting off one end of a blanket and sewing that piece onto the other end of the blanket to make it longer. As an experienced seamstress I am bothered by this analogy. The seam allowance would result in the blanket actually being shorter. But I digress. Onto Monday! March's full moon arrives and is known as the willow moon, also the Witch's moon. Looking out my window I see that la Luna is looking fabulous already. Mercury's current retrograde ends on Thursday the twelfth which throws some relief into the mix. Then we wind up the week with Friday the 13th. I happen to like the number thirteen, I'm not one of those triskaidekaphobic people. It's a number representative of feminine power. Being a female, I'm totally cool with that. All of this ado has more to do with how you allow it to affect you than anything else. I'll be wearing my lucky socks all week. Do what you need to do to feel safe, happy, and confident. Start out with remembering to set your clocks ahead tonight. Then fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy week. 

Don't Panic

Wash your hands thoroughly and don't forget your thumbs! Sing the happy birthday song twice through so you know you've washed an appropriate length of time. Whether you do this aloud or in your head is your call. Don't touch your face. Sneeze or cough into your elbow pit. Remember that this year's flu has killed 4,800 people so far with 87,000 hospitalizations in the USA. Corona virus fatalities in this country come in at 14 with 225 confirmed cases. This nasty business is far from over but don't panic and always bring a towel have a good day.

This Bears Repeating

Autism Spectrum Explained

Looking for Mr Goodwrench

I'm picking up my car in a couple of hours. Funny how my skilled, small shop, independent mechanic is so much better at diagnosing car problems than the dealership mechanics are. Dealership say, bad, bad, very bad, this will cost $2500. Independent mechanic say, wait just a consarned minute there! This and that, we'll do this now and watch for other things to possibly develop, $500, please. Can you guess which one I trust?

I Have Failed

Remember this? Just yesterday I broke my third resolution. In my defense, it is an election year and the volume of inaccurate and just plain inflammatory information out there is enormous. It doesn't aggravate me that people have different opinions than I hold. It does irritate the serious fuck out of me when people mindlessly repost memes and links without checking the credibility of the source and the accuracy of the content. I have to remind myself that I am not the person in charge of fixing broken stuff on the internets. And if I were a better person, I would not be enjoying the fact that when asked by a person for links to verify my claims in a post, I pelted her with a dozen of them. Earlier I asked her to do the same and she did not do so. All I have to say is, if you're already online posting shit, you also have the capability to run it through Snopes or any of these websites for verification. Don't be lazy. Be a good digital citizen.

Leave Me Alone

Just a small representation of the crap I have received in my mailbox from presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg. I have recycled probably three times this much in the last couple of weeks before I took this photo. Not to mention the emails and text messages. Go away, Mr. Bloomberg. My vote is not for sale. Swapping out one oligarch for another seems like a stupid thing to do. Instead of spending all this money on campaigning, how about if you pay reparations to every single victim of your stop and frisk policy? Maybe then I might possibly think that you are a decent human being.