Look what I made!

The snow came back this afternoon. It melted away during the day and right at 5PM when all the kids were going home from work, it dumped on us. Traffic was backed up so the bus was running late. I made this little snowman to keep me company while I waited and waited and waited...

*EDIT: It seems my mini snowperson was meant for "great" things. I was contacted by a little news website today who are going to use the little guy for a story about the crazy weather we are having in the PNW right now. Fun!

Perfection is for snowflakes and they melt away.

It is snowing. It's a warm snow. I took a long walk. People and cars were moving gingerly through it. (The word gingerly kept coming to mind while I was walking.)
It gets quieter when it snows. No matter where I've ever lived, the snow adds an extra sound buffer, like a rug on a live stage or an egg crate in a practice room.
I love how the snow sticks to people walking in it. It reminds me of sprinkling the cinnamon on my perfectly foamed Cappuccino. Every step there is another photo, symbols of quiet and solitude all around.
I love when I walk through the neighborhood during snowfall. The sidewalks are layered and you can see the footprints of the people who have already walked there. It's an added pleasure when I'm the first to walk down a sidewalk. With each step I scar the delicate lacey blanket of snowflakes leaving something new behind. This excites me in the same way the first cut into a beautiful, artistic birthday or wedding cake does. A poetic and harmless destruction of perfection to create a different kind of sad beauty. This brand of beauty has always appealed to me more than perfection ever could.
When I look back down a street and only see my footprints I momentarily feel like the only person in the whole world. You don't get that feeling living right in the heart of a big city very often, so it is welcome.
For a minute the whole city is clean again. Everything is white with ice crystal sparkles. Soft edges everywhere. If you squint just right, nothing is bad. There is peace.

But my favorite thing about Seattle snow is that I know by the morning it will be gone.
The only Long Winters here play rock music.
This makes me truly appreciate every snowflake and it's own brand of fleeting perfection.

Happy Turkey Day!

Darian and I have ordered dinner and we are going to eat and catch up with The Sopranos! (Note that the photo is us hanging out with Little Steven aka Silvio Dante; Tony Soprano's right hand man!!)

Just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

xoxo

Rainy Sunday

Since it was so gross outside today we did a lot of crafts around my house. I came up with this silly little tour flyer for Jon. I used celebrity magazines to "paint" with over a silly doodle I made.
Jon has not seen it yet so I am curious as to what he will think about having Angelina's lips or Scarlet's nose.

I wish!

So I did one of those celeb face things everyone else is doing. (If everyone else jumped off a bridge...) I will admit I am only posting it because I didn't get anyone too objectionable. I also didn't get any men on mine, which is good. I also didn't get any of the people that people are always telling me I look "Just like"
So here is the silly thing:

Strangerversary

Just wanted to note that today marks two years working at The Stranger.

Really?

Crazy.

Where does the time go?

Proud Mommy

Parent teacher conference day was today.

The teacher gave her all A's. She said that she doesn't have any concerns, no red flags to worry about.
D is a model student and the teacher thinks she should start college courses as soon as she gets into High School. She said D is one of her strongest students and a joy to have in her class.

That's right, she's brilliant.

Snoopy dance.... Hammer time! Uh uh!

Thrifting: A book with no words

I love going to thrift stores. There is a huge one downstairs from my office and a smaller one across the street so I spend many a lunch hour wandering the isles.
My fascination with thrift stores runs a little deeper than just the fantastic deals you find. It is a given that thrift shopping is like treasure hunting. When you find that perfect something for next to nothing it is a total rush.
For me, thrift stores are like reading a book without words. They fuel my imagination and take me on mini mental vacations every time I spend some alone time in one. A lot of people who thrift don't think about the fact that a lot of the things in those places are from people who are no longer alive. The things that are on the shelves, for some, are the only thing left in the world that belonged to them.
I know, they are just things right? But how many of us are totally attached to our things? How many of you have a most favorite shirt or perfect skinny jeans or favorite cozy sweater? These things mean a lot to us. They are our comfort belongings.
I'm sure when my time comes my diamond bracelet, earrings, and wedding rings will go to my daughter. But my favorite outfit would probably mean very little to my loved ones after I am gone and would more than likely end up being donated to a thrift store. They would have no way of knowing how much happiness these small comfort objects gave me.
So when I am perusing the isles of a thrift store I am thinking up stories of the people behind the things. When I find a gorgeous vintage Gucci bag valued at $500 marked with a $10 price tag sitting in a pile of Target duffel bags I think of the woman who owned it and probably cherished it. How she lovingly took care of it and that is why it is still in such great shape after all of these years. How she only used it on her most special occasions. I think about how she might have died. Was she young, was she old, was she alone? I think about the person who dropped it off at the store. Was it a daughter, a friend, a widower, or the people who run the rest home?
I see the wall of wigs and wonder about the women who used to wear them. These are not just Halloween wigs, these are wigs that were expensive and well taken care of. Was it a Cancer patient, an older lady facing hair loss, a trans-gender man? I look at the many empty Oxygen tank trollies lined up in the back of the store and wonder about how many years the owner smoked before they drown inside of themselves. When I come across a piece of clothing that reeks of cigarette smoke I wonder if it belonged to someone who belonged to one of those tank trollies.
When I see loads of brand new baby clothes with tags still attached I wonder about the family who maybe never got to bring a baby home they had been so excited about. I wonder if they donated all of the clothes because they were too painful to keep around.
I find comfort in the knowledge that someday, after I am long gone from this world, maybe someone will still be walking around in my favorite shoes.

My bets are on blue...

My big brother is becoming a father. This will be his first child. (He obviously didn't start as early as I did with the whole baby having thing) Congrats to Brandon and his wife Laura!
For the record, I've decided they are having a boy. I figure I've got a 50/50 chance of being correct!

And here is another one....

This was 120 minutes on MTV back when they still played music on MTV. Also around the time I met Jon (Has it really been 11 years already? Madness!)
They are so cute because they are such a ball of nerves. Oh youth!

Dream all Day...

Someone uploaded this video to Youtube and I just came across it tonight. I forgot how funny it was. All of the smoke and hair.
(For my relatives who read this and have never met him, my hubby is the one singing lead on this song) Oh the days of yor when Seattle was all about hair and Doc Martins.

OMG- gotta love Youtube. No sooner did I post this when I found this one too:

I Heart Gadgets!

Along with my dream camera I have added this nifty little doodad to my wish list.
Gorillapod, a small, flexible tripod tool that can attach itself to just about anything. What a great idea!

More here: http://www.joby.com/

I could not resist! Seattle: Cat Adoption Nov 18th

I saw this as ad of the day on the Stranger website and had to repost it. If you are thinking about adding to your family please head over to this event! I may go just to see all of the little furry faces! (Although I do tend to get new pets every time Jon goes on tour.)

Cat Adoption in Meadowbrook Community Center Nov. 18th
Join us as the Seattle Animal Shelter hosts an off-site cat adoptation at the Meadowbrook Community Center. There will be many cats and kittens of different breeds available for adoption from noon to 3 pm. Adoption fees range from $82 to $87 (payable by check or cash).

Saturday, November 18th
Noon to 3pm

Meadowbrook Community Center
10517 35th Ave NE 98125 (Lake City)

Phone: 206 – 386 - PETS

The most wonderful time of the year...

Satsumas = Mouthgasm

I damn near did a little dance when I saw the boxes stacked in the store this weekend.

And other things that remind me of this time of year: This Red House Painters song just came up on my iTunes.
(This song tends to turn up on a lot of my Fall/Winter mixes)

Song: Have You Forgotten
-Red house Painters

I can't let you be, cause your beauty won't allow me
wrapped in white sheets,
like an angel from a bedtime story
and shut out what they say,
cause your friends are fucked up anyway
and when they come around,
somehow they feel up and you feel down.

When we were kids, we hated things our parents did
we listened low to Casey Kasem's radio show
that's when friends were nice,
to think of them just makes you feel nice
the smell of grass in spring
and October leaves cover everything.

Have you forgotten how to love yourself? [x2]

I can't believe all the good things that you do for me
sat back in a chair like a princess from a faraway place
nobody's nice, when you're older your heart turns to ice
and shut out what they say;
they're too dumb to mean it anyway

When we were kids, we hated things our sisters did
backyard summer pools and Christmases were beautiful
and the sentiment of coloured mirrored ornaments
and the open drapes
look out on frozen farmhouse landscapes

Have you forgotten how to love yourself?

May your soda always be fizzy and may your Doritos never be soggy.

Confessions of a 7 year old. (sorry mom) ;-)

When I was little my mom and dad told me I was not allowed to eat my father's Doritos or drink his Coca Cola because it would ruin my dinner and my teeth.

They used to buy the Coca-Cola by the suitcase full, so every now and then I would sneak one out of the fridge in the middle of the night and hide it under my bed. Sometimes I would even take two.

Eventually I had quite the stockpile of soda squirreled away. I would drink the sugary and caffeinated goodness while everyone else in the house were sleeping. Then I would sneak into the kitchen and steal the giant bag of chips. I would eat as many as I thought I could get away with without being noticed and then I would suck the cheese off more of them one chip at a time and carefully line them up on a plate to dry.

When I had my fill of nacho cheese goodness I would dump the cheeseless chips back into the bag and shake the bag to "recoat" the chips with the cheese from the other chips. Then I would put it back where I found it, no one the wiser.

True story.

So, the burning question is: Do you really know what your kids are doing while you're sleeping?

A dream unusual of its kind

The nightmares have started again. I was blissfully without them for a blessed few months but they came back full force this weekend. Last night's dream was so scary I woke up at 4AM clutching the blankets around me and shivering. I had to put my glasses on and turn on the lamp before I could calm down. I almost went and crawled into bed with Darian, but decided against it. Instead I curled up with Buddy who always seems to be right there when I wake up like that. It is like he knows.

That is the hardest part about sleeping alone. Most of the time it is a bit of a luxury. You can sprawl across the bed, leave the TV on whatever channel you want, arrange the pillows just right and roll all over in your sleep without disturbing anyone. I don't sleep well, so it is a challenge to sleep next to me. The big downside comes when you wake up from a nightmare and you are not sure if it was a dream or if it was real and you don't have someone to grab ahold of who will whisper that it was just a dream and it is OK to go back to sleep.

Saturday's dream was full of Zombies. These zombies would turn you into one if you looked directly at them. I was walking through the dream with my eyes closed, bumping into things, hearing awful things going on around me. It was a strange dream because it was completely audio. The most frightening part was the blackness and the fear of opening my eyes. I could hear people poking out their own eyes just to avoid accidentally looking at the zombies. Totally freaky and horrible.

Last night was just a whole new level of dark and still too fresh to even try to describe because, frankly, I am still a little afraid of it. It was scary because it was a lot more believable and realistic than zombies. It's theme was something that could really happen.

I want to beat up Cancer

Growing up in a house full of boys, we solved a lot of our problems with our fists. As far as I know my brothers would never hit a girl now that they are adults, but as children, I don’t think they ever considered their sister a girl. I was an equal to them and that meant I was fair game.
My brothers are also both over 6’3” tall, so I was pretty small next to them. The only advantage of being the middle child in this situation was, by nature, I became a pretty strong negotiator.
These skills have come in handy as an adult. When faced with a crisis I can both negotiate and I can take a punch (literally and figuratively)

As far as girls go, I am a pretty tough cookie. I am a fighter through and through.

The only thing that I can’t figure out how to take on is disease. It seems that everywhere I turn right now someone is being taken down by some sort of horrible disease. I know three people who have started some form of Chemo in the last month. The youngest is only 11 years old. Cancer is such a sneaky horrible disease and when you are watching it attack someone you care about all you can do is sit there and hope and pray that it will go away. It makes one feel helpless.

Simply put, I wish I could beat up Cancer. I think it really deserves a major ass kicking.

Love my buddy

Maybe that is why my google bar at the top of blogger is always showing cat related links?

Lots to report, no desire to report it, so I will give you this for now:
Jon is in Europe again. He will be touring for the whole month of November.

Here are the dates for those of you who live across the pond:
Nov 3 2006 9:00P Garage Oslo, Norway
Nov 4 2006 9:00P Garage Bergen, Norway
Nov 5 2006 9:00P Debaser Stockholm, Sweden
Nov 6 2006 9:00P KB Malmo, Sweden
Nov 8 2006 9:00P Pusterviksbaren Gothenburg, Sweden
Nov 9 2006 9:00P Klubi Tampere, Finland
Nov 10 2006 9:00P Dynamo Turku, Finland
Nov 11 2006 9:00P Bar 68 Jyvaskyla, Finland
Nov 12 2006 9:00P Tavastia Club Helsinki, Finland
Nov 14 2006 8:00P Melkweg Amsterdam, Holland
Nov 15 2006 9:00P Ekko Utrecht, Holland
Nov 16 2006 9:00P De Schuit Leiden, Holland
Nov 18 2006 9:00P Trix Antwerp, Belgium
Nov 19 2006 8:00P Pop In Paris, France
Nov 21 2006 9:00P Moby Dick! Madrid, Spain
Nov 22 2006 10:00P Fabrica de Chocolate Vigo, Spain
Nov 23 2006 8:00P Teatre Lloseta Mallorca, Spain
Nov 24 2006 9:00P Sala La 2 Barcelona, Spain
Nov 25 2006 9:00P Planta Baja Granada, Spain
Nov 26 2006 7:00P El Lokel Zurich, Switzerland
Nov 27 2006 9:00P Szene Wien Vienna, Austria
Nov 28 2006 9:00P Weekender Club Innsbruck, Austria
Nov 29 2006 9:00P Gruner Jager Hamburg, Germany
Nov 30 2006 9:00P Gleis 22 Munster, Germany
Dec 1 2006 9:00P Borderline London, England
Dec 2 2006 8:00P Casa de S. & M. Mills! Somewhere
Dec 3 2006 9:00P King Tuts Glasgow, Scotland

More info at www.jonauer.com