Bridge

Random thoughts at the end of April

The contest seems to be going ok over at the ESI blog with three strong entries. However, I'm a little disappointed in the number of entries. The ESIs are OUT, it seems. Or, perhaps we're so OUT, we're IN. Or, maybe we are just on our way IN after being OUT. I'm going to call an Emergency Meeting in the next days to determine a winner.

The leaves busted out today in fresh fuzzy green. This made me happy.

Blogger news: Zoom is writing great stuff over on Knitnut and winning prizes while she's at it. Jo S. has made a big move and is still managing to cook up a storm. I want Woodsy to come back.

Is anyone out there afraid of Swine flu? Swine flu is "grippe porcine" in French, which sounds a lot sexier.

My obsession with WordTwist, Scramble and House M.D. are on the wane leaving more space in my life for other pursuits such as sewing projects with vintage sheets, writing stories, gardening, and meditation.

Had a great birthday in which I received fabulous gifts including a state-of-the-art seam ripper, a Sex Pistols T-shirt, long black gloves, a tiny clutch purse to wear to the opera, an original painting with skulls on it, and a beach bag.

Random thoughts at the end of March

I'm having real trouble blogging these days. Things are grim with all the cutting, downsizing, adjusting...It's also the end of March, and we're about to head into the "cruellest month" which hopefully will turn out to be kinder than March.
Some random thoughts on what's going on over here:

My job currently feels like a cartoon. I will not say more about this, except that -- Cartoons can be funny. Cartoons can be annoying. Cartoons can be extreme. People can get hurt in cartoons. Watching too many cartoons on a Saturday morning can leave you cranky for the rest of the day. Enough said. Who can afford to get dooced in our current climate?

Thanks to XUP, I'm ready for the old folks who will be visiting next week. I decided against getting cable, and am going to follow XUP's advice and getting DVDs of old TV shows. XUP is a genius.

The tofu folks inspired me to have more vegetarian dinners. When I served up a delightful tofu dinner to Dischevelled Man, he defrosted meatballs to put on top. He may have to be the next contestant for the tofu challenge.

I was supposed to attend a sock monkey workshop this afternoon at Raw Sugar, but decided to sit on my porch in the sun and read the paper and a New Yorker instead.

I'm back to seeing my Chinese doctor. I'm taking pills for "deficiency of blood and energy, shrivelled complexion". Makes sense. I'm also taking Harp Seal Oil and getting regular acupunture treatments. Feeling better and less shrivelled already.

Perfume stench

A question for all you know-it-alls out there: I just bought a beautiful beaded necklace at Neighbourhood Services. Problem is it has serious perfume stench. How do I get perfume stench out of it? Or, should I just dispose of it immediately?

In the past 24 hours...

1) I have witnessed a sleepover with seven 11-year old girls. There was make-up, there were fancy clothes, there was screaming, there were brownies, there was opera singing, there was swimming, there was nail polish, there were romantic movies. The only casualty was a lost earring.

2) I made the acquaintance of a fellow who says he lives in a house with ghosts, one who he sees regularly (an old man in a black-hooded coat), and a group he hears (a bunch of kids who are around 5-6 years old).

3) I saw a mother spray Show Sheen (a spray for detangling a horse's mane) on her 11-year old daughter's curly hair.

4) I met a guy who played Jesus in his church's Easter pageant, and who showed me photos of himself nailed to a cross.

5) I made a quilt while drinking gin and tonic.

Blogging wierdness

I have not blogged in the past couple of days. One reason is because I became obsessed with what was happening over at the Mysterious East. If you have a couple of hours, and want to read the blow-by-blow of the St. Thomas University labour dispute, it's a fascinating read. Or, maybe you'd rather watch the Superbowl...
But, the main reason I haven't blogged is because my blogging topics were just a bit too wierd, disturbing or personal. For example, here are some of the topics that I have not blogged about:

- my cat's suffering from feline obsessive-compulsive disorder (I'm considering medicating him)
- my menstrual cycle and how it has made me insane (I know there are bloggers out there writing about peeing their own pants, which is cool and everything, but I'm just not ready to get that intimate with y'all)
- my bizarre dream about having a sexual adventure with a barbie-Ken sized male (it's not what you think)
- my bizarre dream about hounding a fellow who wouldn't say "hello" to me, and discovering he was deaf (I thought he was just being one of those unfriendly Ottawa types)
- more ADD/meditation moments (there have been lots of these on my quest for enlightenment).

Instead of blogging about these things, I'm going to put up some photos soon of my latest craft projects. Good old crafting, eh? I'm planning to craft my way through the Stupidbowl today.

Getting Through the Saddest Day of the Year

It's not easy to get through the saddest day of the year. Here are some Aggie recommendations.

1) Try to think like Buddha. Understand that sadness will pass, like a dark cloud. And if you've ever flown through a cloud, you know that clouds are just a whole lot of wet air.
2) Shop. If ever there was a day for retail therapy, this is it. I bought an alpaca sweater today that I love. And, an alpaca neck warmer. And, an alpaca hat. It's all soft and warm and beautiful. I know, the stock markets are crashing all around us. All the more reason to....shop!
3) Drink a bit, but not too much. It's a good evening for wine with dinner.
4) Take a bath with your finest bath products.
5) Read something inspirational. Julia Child's My Life in France will change your life. Read it.
6) Walk. I walked a lot today, and that was good.
7) Hula hoop.
8) Go online and check flights to warm places.
9) Play some salsa, or listen to Robert Plante meets Allison Krauss in Raising Sands(excellent CD, in my humble opinion).
10) Find a muse. Mine is currently Bob and his delightful rants.

Happy Saddest Day of the Year

I would like to wish you all a Happy Saddest Day of the Year. I recommend making the best of it. Whine. Get under the covers with trashy reading material. Eat chocolate. Wallow in it. It's going to get better. We are heading towards Fish or Cut Bait Day.