Thanksgiving...
As far back as I can legitimately remember, the holidays included sucking at least one other family up into whatever the big holiday meal is. When my parents remodelled the house, one room became the dining room with a beautiful big table that comfortably seats 8 & can expand to 12 if we're really friendly. If there were too many, people just spilled over onto the kitchen table & maybe even to an extra put up for the occasion in the living room. Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas -- each of those holidays meant someone, some family, would be joining us for the meal, the day, the evening, whatever it was. Maybe all of the above! When I was really little, the crowd always included my paternal grandparents, whom I adored (Grandpa died in the early 80's) & who lived across the road from us, but even then there was almost always at least one family other than ours. It was not only a sharing of bounty, but a wallowing in the golden glow that good people & good friends & family can build around you. It was a reaffirmation of connection & belonging, and a sharing of all you had - not just the stuff, but the people, too.
When I was in college, my parents were going through their divorce & subsequent nastiness (particularly inside of me), & while I continued to go home for various holidays, I either did a WHOLE lot of bouncing around & sharing my friends' holiday traditions, or else I drug them home with me for company. One year in particular, I attended no less than TEN Thanksgiving meals in a single weekend. Whew. Over the years, there was never any question but that I could bring home a friend or two to share in the fun... in fact, there were a couple of friends that joined us more than once & were eventually told they would always be welcome, whether I (snotty little shit that I was at the time) came home or not. Mum meant it, too -- she has always loved & welcomed interesting people. In the back of my mind, I always think maybe I'll come home some holiday & Joe or maybe Jan will show up on the doorstep, having taken Mum's invitation of years ago to heart with a grin & a sense of great goodwill. Guess I get the "collector's" habit from Mum -- I only hope it continues to develop, since I find the collecting of good people to be an interesting and very rewarding habit to have.
So for Thanksgiving, there would be much food preparation, with EVERYone firmly shooed OUT of the kitchen. I might be called upon to help set the table and put ice in the big brown blown-glass water glasses, but Mum did the food herself. Mostly, the kitchen doesn't have a lot of room for bodies, & she hated having people underfoot. Big turkey, stuffing, yeast rolls, mum's corn casserole, pumpkin & pecan pie, some sort of wine and - a must - Party Potatoes. There were always other bits that changed over the years as people contributed to the bounty, but those things were required. Once Graham came along, we added roasted new potatoes & Bisto gravy to the list of musts... mmmmm. This year, we had the addition of honest-to-goodness mince tarts & mince pie made by Cousin-Auntie-Linda :)
After stuffing ourselves silly, the adults always sat around the table talking for awhile. If the weather was beautiful, we might go for a walk down the road a piece somewhere in there, & the afternoon almost ALWAYS included a nap for me :D (I'm a whuss - too much food, too many people. I love people around, but all those minds/personalities clamouring around me wears me out fast.) If Randy&Arlis were in attendance (like this year), we would at some point waddle into the next room - the big room - and gather around the piano to sing whatever sort of songs the holiday called for while Randy tickled the keys for a couple of hours. Over the years there may or may not have been additional accompaniment - guitars, flutes, trumpets, trombones... this year Todd quite credibly joined the fray with a guitar Tony had left behind on their last trip to America, and there is nothing I love better than some soft acoustic guitar! If day stretched into evening, or if the company wasn't musically inclined, then there would always be games of some sort drug out of the games closet. The ones I remember most charitably were Pictionary and some musical tune game (NOT Hummables) we played with Badgers & Muninis gathered around the table all those years ago. Finally, either with or without the ragged remnants of people who had not yet gone home, we might (oh, cross my fingers, please!) clear off the table & get out a puzzle, then spend the next couple of hours hunched silent over the pieces as we tried to turn cacaphony into sense. Please note: Puzzles at Mum's house are not cardboard Springbock mockeries, but real wooden puzzles that have survived the ages & are quite often cut with figurals and diabolical colour-line cuts and odd edges to thwart us. Thththhrhrrowrrrll !!
The last few years have brought about the entrance of "Christmas" on the day after Thanksgiving. My sister & I - who rarely agree, have together decreed that "Real" Christmas only truly happens at Mum's house in the red room. So since my sister & her family have had difficulty getting off work & making it the several hundred miles to Mum's house for both Christmas and Thanksgiving, we moved Christmas up a bit, tree, stockings, presents & all. It's really mostly for the little ones now, but there's always some little bit for the older folks too. One thing in particular to note -- my Grandpa died over 25 years ago, but he's not yet missed a Christmas. It's getting harder & harder to do, & each year now I expect to be the last... but every year, somewhere in the piles of presents has appeared some little remembrance for me of my Grandpa. A picture, his pipe, a Thresher's button found in a corner, a Prince Albert tin.... Mum has to be racking her brain & ransacking the house by now, so many years have gone by. Sometimes I think he's up there somewhere nudging some little thing into her hands at just the right moment. He was something, my grandpa - I know it not only because I remember him (as much as a kid can), but because Mum thought so too. She would not have possibly been able to keep this up over the years if she did not. In fact, as much as the two of us are alike, I'd venture to say that she had more of a connection with my Grandpa than she did with Dad. In a wholely different way, of course, but I think they must have touched souls, and I think the ache of his absence has never really left.
This year at Thanksgiving, we celebrated Thanksgiving at Mum's the night before. The day of, we (my sister & I & co) had lunch as a family with Dad & Verna, then for supper we all (the D&V side) trouped over to Badger's where we had been invited to share their family's Thanksgiving. That meal felt like the "real" Thanksgiving to me, with not only our blood relatives, but another family to share with as well... particularly since the other family in question is one I count as my own. After dinner, Jessica & I, & later Martin, were able to cozy up & chit chat... older adults in the one room, kids in another, & us inbetween. Time brings a surety of continuance that nothing else can replace, and as we sat there chatting in a house Jessica & I giggled in so many years ago, listening to OUR kids giggling and playing in the next room, I felt the tradition & the years wind & twine & bind us together in some sort of magic nothing but years and friendship can do.
Aside from those perfect moments that evening, the rest of the Thanksgiving holiday I very much felt the lack of the rest of my family. The way the rest of the world works be damned... in my world, family is comprised far more of the people I've taken into my heart & with whom I've filled my life than those whose blood runs through my veins. In years past it has been enough to touch base with them by phone, but this year that was not nearly enough for me. It was almost a physical ache to have two huge chunks of my family not present - I felt ripped & wrenched apart & torn over every single one of the miles that separated us. Each part has its own (blood) family traditions and obligations to fulfill, all in separate directions, but next year (Good Lord willin' & the creek don' rise), Stacy & John & I & anyone else who wants to help are planning to offer a Thanksgiving feast in our neck of the woods & intend to invite all our respective bits of family... and THEIR respective bits of family... to join us. Maybe they will, & maybe they won't.. and who knows what the next year will bring -- sometimes the thought of how far we might all fall apart in a whole year's time scares the skin off me. I know to accomodate, we'll have to do it on Saturday or something rather than Thanksgiving day itself... but I've learned over the years to move the day of the celebration, too. I would dearly love to have all my family - blood as well as loved, and all the people they love in turn - under one roof at one time at least once before we lose any of them. Mostly you only get that at weddings & funerals, but I'd really rather avoid the one, don't see the other coming, and Thanksgiving seems like a great time to make it happen.
Marco...... !
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
A Con to Remember
I think I expected him to be just a little rough. Maybe not "rough", but strong. Demanding. Insistent. He had that look about him. He looked like he could handle pretty much anything he might encounter. Why I became what he encountered I don't know, although I'd like to find out! What he was wearing did nothing to hide muscles that rippled smoothly under the thin cotton. But that self-assured cocky sort of air he threw into the room has always begged me to pay attention. It's a challenge thrown into the air that I cannot resist meeting - whether to stomp it into oblivion or goad it further with cheeky humour I never know til we're in it - but it lights a spark in my eyes. I have not yet been able to resist that siren's call when it enters my space.
I wasn't wrong. He was strong enough to match me.. meet me.. Stronger. In a frantic fight or flight I'd lose hands down. He could pin me solid without even working very hard at it. Better, there was a light in his eyes and a lilt to his speech that made me think he could pin me just as easily with a thought. And passionate! I know there was music playing: loud, loud music that makes your heart re-beat to its rhythm instead of your own. But I don't remember the music. He had a rhythm all his own that synched with the sound & then turned it into something else. Something that demanded I listen to it. Respond to it. Further it. The back and forth between us was furious and demanding and passionate and skillful... and yet never out of control. Riding an edge at times, perhaps, but never truly out of control. Either one of us could slide into that curve, and if there perhaps was once or twice a seconds' quiver, a waver on the edge of something more - something less.. chosen... it always came back to here & now & what was acceptable.
He rallied to the mood and the situation. If I threw aggression at him, he caught it, returned it, amplified it, then brought it back around to rest in something different. Then turned something different into segue to another round. If I softened, he became support. If I led, he followed, and when I wanted to do nothing but follow his lead, he led. If he blinked more than once, if he hesitated when another joined the dance, I didn't see it. I didn't feel it in his hands or in his body or in the bite he left proof of on my shoulder. I'm not doing justice to those moments, not by a long shot, but they'll have to wait for another pen I think. I didn't feel any hesitation when he said goodbyes either. Wonderful goodbyes! I don't know that I can explain it properly, but goodbye that night felt more like a "hey, I'll see ya tomorrow" from someone I've known for years. None of the clinging wretchedness that might accompany such an encounter. Not the slightest demand that things go further than they had, and yet also no desire to run, to escape, to begin regret before our skin had even cooled. We both seemed perfectly content - at least for that evening - with exactly what we had. Riding high, adrenalin pumping, neither sated yet still in perfect grace. How often does that happen?
What surprized me most were the moments when I found his lips not demanding, but sweet. Soft. Kind. A moment's press of sweet innocence standing out in glaring relief. A beacon of something gentle surprizing me quietly amid the cacaphony all around: loud music, darkness, lights strobing randomly in bright irrhythmic pulses, bodies gyrating wildly in all beats, combinations, degrees of intimacy. Pianissimo delicately insinuated itself where it could be most quietly heard somewhere in the depths of myself... even if I wasn't listening very closely for the moment. Even when I fail to listen with every part of my brain in the moment, on recall I always hear tiny things I may have failed to fully appreciate earlier. Tiny notes of something out of the ordinary. Eclectic perhaps. Complex. A rare vintage.
I thrill to that particular combination. Strong, hard, gentle, sweet, demanding, ruthless, intimate, daring, vulnerable, intimidating, kind, giving, innocent, knowing. Saved & damned all at the same time. S pulled out a book this week & made me read a paragraph of it. There was a statement in there that read, 'men drive on passion. Denouement.' However, "it is not passion that drives a woman to the edge, but the promise of passion." It is. It is the journey when the journey is worth taking. Knowing one can be completely held at another's mercy, and simultaneously knowing that mercy is there. Ultimately saved even in the midst of a headlong plunge into hedonism. Being held safe by danger itself. Being able to release yourself fully to the machinations of another, knowing control is yours at a breath when you want it. I love everything inbetween & this is no exception. When I say I want it all, it is not an understatement.
*************
My copies are finally done, & I need to pack them up & head home, pick up B, get her to bed, make myself ready for tomorrow's training sessions. So many thought fragments scribbled on paper, & so few that have become something even moderately readable in all these hours! Must do more soon... I need to write them before I live more... before they're lost.
I wasn't wrong. He was strong enough to match me.. meet me.. Stronger. In a frantic fight or flight I'd lose hands down. He could pin me solid without even working very hard at it. Better, there was a light in his eyes and a lilt to his speech that made me think he could pin me just as easily with a thought. And passionate! I know there was music playing: loud, loud music that makes your heart re-beat to its rhythm instead of your own. But I don't remember the music. He had a rhythm all his own that synched with the sound & then turned it into something else. Something that demanded I listen to it. Respond to it. Further it. The back and forth between us was furious and demanding and passionate and skillful... and yet never out of control. Riding an edge at times, perhaps, but never truly out of control. Either one of us could slide into that curve, and if there perhaps was once or twice a seconds' quiver, a waver on the edge of something more - something less.. chosen... it always came back to here & now & what was acceptable.
He rallied to the mood and the situation. If I threw aggression at him, he caught it, returned it, amplified it, then brought it back around to rest in something different. Then turned something different into segue to another round. If I softened, he became support. If I led, he followed, and when I wanted to do nothing but follow his lead, he led. If he blinked more than once, if he hesitated when another joined the dance, I didn't see it. I didn't feel it in his hands or in his body or in the bite he left proof of on my shoulder. I'm not doing justice to those moments, not by a long shot, but they'll have to wait for another pen I think. I didn't feel any hesitation when he said goodbyes either. Wonderful goodbyes! I don't know that I can explain it properly, but goodbye that night felt more like a "hey, I'll see ya tomorrow" from someone I've known for years. None of the clinging wretchedness that might accompany such an encounter. Not the slightest demand that things go further than they had, and yet also no desire to run, to escape, to begin regret before our skin had even cooled. We both seemed perfectly content - at least for that evening - with exactly what we had. Riding high, adrenalin pumping, neither sated yet still in perfect grace. How often does that happen?
What surprized me most were the moments when I found his lips not demanding, but sweet. Soft. Kind. A moment's press of sweet innocence standing out in glaring relief. A beacon of something gentle surprizing me quietly amid the cacaphony all around: loud music, darkness, lights strobing randomly in bright irrhythmic pulses, bodies gyrating wildly in all beats, combinations, degrees of intimacy. Pianissimo delicately insinuated itself where it could be most quietly heard somewhere in the depths of myself... even if I wasn't listening very closely for the moment. Even when I fail to listen with every part of my brain in the moment, on recall I always hear tiny things I may have failed to fully appreciate earlier. Tiny notes of something out of the ordinary. Eclectic perhaps. Complex. A rare vintage.
I thrill to that particular combination. Strong, hard, gentle, sweet, demanding, ruthless, intimate, daring, vulnerable, intimidating, kind, giving, innocent, knowing. Saved & damned all at the same time. S pulled out a book this week & made me read a paragraph of it. There was a statement in there that read, 'men drive on passion. Denouement.' However, "it is not passion that drives a woman to the edge, but the promise of passion." It is. It is the journey when the journey is worth taking. Knowing one can be completely held at another's mercy, and simultaneously knowing that mercy is there. Ultimately saved even in the midst of a headlong plunge into hedonism. Being held safe by danger itself. Being able to release yourself fully to the machinations of another, knowing control is yours at a breath when you want it. I love everything inbetween & this is no exception. When I say I want it all, it is not an understatement.
*************
My copies are finally done, & I need to pack them up & head home, pick up B, get her to bed, make myself ready for tomorrow's training sessions. So many thought fragments scribbled on paper, & so few that have become something even moderately readable in all these hours! Must do more soon... I need to write them before I live more... before they're lost.
Today I am wiped out. Exhausted. Washed clean of any desire for passion or excitement or intrigue. I feel flat & grey with the aftermath of all the things my mind conceives... all the things after which my body yearns. One can only yearn so much before you must either peak or rest. The house is silent, and the silence wraps itself around me & insulates me from the world. H called this morning & I didn't pick up. For a live person to intrude on this bubble of silence & solitude this day would be grating. Unacceptable. It would pierce this bubble that surrounds me, that muffles the world.
Yet the desire.. the need to spill events & perceptions onto paper churns those moments of perception 'round & 'round inside me. It tells me I cannot feel again - cannot go into another round of what if & wow! until I put something on paper. I am full to the brim with moments, and I cannot experience any more without writing or they will be gone. They will spill over the edge of me & be lost to a yesterday I can no longer remember. There is no more room for storage.
So I escape. I have copies to make for this week's training, and B is still safely ensconced @ J&S's, so it's into STL to the office to hide amid row upon row of grey cubicles. I'll jog back & forth across the entire floor (or floors, if necessary), making the copy machines work on what should be their day of rest. The building, designed to house hundreds of people, will be eerily silent, mostly dark. Empty except for the security guards and a stray odd person or two that will appear as startled as I should we run into one another. I might... just might... have time & silence enough to write. To pull enough of a single thought into coherence and empty it onto paper. Might.
Yet the desire.. the need to spill events & perceptions onto paper churns those moments of perception 'round & 'round inside me. It tells me I cannot feel again - cannot go into another round of what if & wow! until I put something on paper. I am full to the brim with moments, and I cannot experience any more without writing or they will be gone. They will spill over the edge of me & be lost to a yesterday I can no longer remember. There is no more room for storage.
So I escape. I have copies to make for this week's training, and B is still safely ensconced @ J&S's, so it's into STL to the office to hide amid row upon row of grey cubicles. I'll jog back & forth across the entire floor (or floors, if necessary), making the copy machines work on what should be their day of rest. The building, designed to house hundreds of people, will be eerily silent, mostly dark. Empty except for the security guards and a stray odd person or two that will appear as startled as I should we run into one another. I might... just might... have time & silence enough to write. To pull enough of a single thought into coherence and empty it onto paper. Might.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Distance - 10/15/2006
Distance is only an illusion
In an electronic age
how true
that person sitting next to you
there! on that couch
on the bus
lying a breath away in that bed
might be as far away inside
as these bodies of ours are
right now
each separated by an unknown
infinite span of far too much
space
Distance
is as much an illusion
close up
as it is when things
are far away
come closer?
court danger... if you dare
I would be most interested
to learn
if your thoughts are
as intriguing
as your lips
In an electronic age
how true
that person sitting next to you
there! on that couch
on the bus
lying a breath away in that bed
might be as far away inside
as these bodies of ours are
right now
each separated by an unknown
infinite span of far too much
space
Distance
is as much an illusion
close up
as it is when things
are far away
come closer?
court danger... if you dare
I would be most interested
to learn
if your thoughts are
as intriguing
as your lips
Sagittarius
Anonymous said...
Lemmings, bad - Individuals good...You and your friends need a Sagittarius in your life...We are just about everywhere.
Saturday, October 14, 2006 5:31:36 PM
Anonymous said...
Alas, Gemini -- Sagittarius
Saturday, October 14, 2006 8:48:16 PM
I'm sure a Sagittarius in our lives would be most welcome! Of course... most interesting people that come along are welcome in this crowd. Interesting individuals are always made welcome in one way or another... (lemmings are interviewed on a case by case basis).
I was told very recently that to a Sagittarius, Gemini's are like crack. Like candy. Invigorating & addictive is how I heard that.Umm... & maybe that they taste good, too? heh. One can only hope!
Unfortunately, the Sagittarius that said that lives far enough away that this particular addictive Gemini shouldn't cause them any real dietary issues... did I say "unfortunately"?
Anyway... I have discriminating tastes for a Gemini. Just any old Sagittarius won't necessarily do. Who is this one? Identify yourself, rogue!
Lemmings, bad - Individuals good...You and your friends need a Sagittarius in your life...We are just about everywhere.
Saturday, October 14, 2006 5:31:36 PM
Anonymous said...
Alas, Gemini -- Sagittarius
Saturday, October 14, 2006 8:48:16 PM
I'm sure a Sagittarius in our lives would be most welcome! Of course... most interesting people that come along are welcome in this crowd. Interesting individuals are always made welcome in one way or another... (lemmings are interviewed on a case by case basis).
I was told very recently that to a Sagittarius, Gemini's are like crack. Like candy. Invigorating & addictive is how I heard that.
Unfortunately, the Sagittarius that said that lives far enough away that this particular addictive Gemini shouldn't cause them any real dietary issues... did I say "unfortunately"?
Anyway... I have discriminating tastes for a Gemini. Just any old Sagittarius won't necessarily do. Who is this one? Identify yourself, rogue!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
A Morning in Early September
It was erie this morning. Early morning mist obscured the trees in front of me as I sat at a stoplight. Brilliant ruby red, piercing in its clarity. Cars whipped by in front of me... like a corridor of reality cutting through another world. I was in that other world. All my fears, doubts, frantic things to do, work... all melted into the insubstantial nothingness of an imagined world. The real things.. the important things.. the vibrant, vital things were, of course, over there. Moving on. Rushing on without me down the highway, 90 degrees to where I was hovering in limbo. When the light turned green, had there been noone behind me, I might have simply stayed where I was, signal light blinking its fog-muted yellow into the mist. Clickclick. Claclick. Clickclick... til it simply wore itself out & stopped blinking. Limbo. Sweet, peaceful, nothing-is-required-of-you-you-don't-have-to-be-anywhere-anytime-anyplace-anyone-for-any-reason-don't-have-to-feel-anything-not-responsible-for-anything-anybody-noone's-mad-hurt-unhappy-ever limbo. Instead, with a deep sigh, I jumped into the stream and drove on. Re-engaged. The green light commanded me. The car behind me sent anxious, demanding waves of thought at me: Go! Go! Go, Amy. Join the other lemmings in their mad dash to whatever or wherever it is we're all going in such a gawdawful hurry.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
A Morning's Thought
I woke up wanting you.
The new blanket lay against my skin
soft as fur
and for a brief moment I could imagine
it was the hair on your chest
lying soft against my breasts
I woke up wanting you all slow-like
Not fast, as I sometimes do
Sometimes I want you hard & quick
With intent flaring in your eyes
And a dare just there upon your lips
Passion either laughing or no,
But rough & tumble...
Devil take anyone who tries to stop you
But this morning, I wanted you slow
I wanted time to stop,
The world quit around us
I felt the blanket against my skin
And imagined it was the length of you,
Warm body heat... skin on skin...
shoulder to toe
I lay there soaking in the warmth, basking
for ever so long
And wanted
For this to be a morning where
you just can't quite put your finger on where
insensible sleep turns into touching
the tiniest of muscles twitch,
& you know the person next to you has engaged
yet so slow.. ever so slow
the movement towards one another could ache
with tension.. but not THIS morning
because the world is gone
there is no pressure to move.. to get up.. to go
anywhere
there are no children screaming elsewhere in the house
noone to feed or coddle or mediate over
there are no bills, no work, no schoolwork earlier forgotten
no alarm clock jangling nerves
we are not hungry, we do not have to pee
we feel clean and sweet of body and breath
the air is that perfect temperature
to allow covers or no, it does not matter
the light is nebulous - just enough to see by
but not enough to scream you must get up
Everything slides together & flows
and soon you find lips meeting, greeting
not even yet questing
just touching lightly in a soft hello
and fingertips brush lightly
soft as the hair on your arms.. your legs
from shoulders to toes they tiptoe
and caress and waken little bits of skin and self
to touch.. to warmth
We touch over all of ourselves
nooks & crannies & tiny indentions
imperfections become an interesting quest
learning all over again
all the tiny secrets of each other's skin
and how the muscles play together
and where the soul connects
and on the way
find reminders of tiny places that wake shivers
tiny places that make your nipples
crinkle in response
Eventually
lips follow fingertips
butterfly caresses all over
any intent still so far away as to be irrelevant
If the world intruded there would yet be no
frustrated abrasion of need
and yet
there is a happy dawning desire on the horizon
and we look and know and move towards it in accord
We have time
to lay side by side
legs and hands entwined
where I can play with your hair
and explore hands, arms
whatever skin we can reach
maybe we talk ever so softly about nothings
or maybe we just listen carefully
to the things our hands have to say
our bodies speak loudly
if we shut up long enough to listen
We have time
to lay with me behind you
breasts pressing against your back
where my hands can roam your chest
your stomach
cup you gently and tease that soft plateau
between stomach and thigh
then switch
to lay with you behind me
where your hands can roam
cup my breasts & softly tease the nipples
slide across every curve and find
every hollow which pleases you
where I can feel you pressing softly
against my back, my butt, my thighs
as you grow tumescent
Over many many ticks and lengths of time
touching becomes more intent
fingers begin to do less fluttering and more caressing
A nipple is tweaked
a fingernail rakes softly across your thigh
still softly... but with intent
Later, they might dig deep in passion
Later, who knows where we might go
I want to hear you moan
and watch your hands clench the sheets...
or the bed... or me...
You will smile to watch me writhe
twisting under your ministrations
wrenching tiny mewls from my lips
and stealing them away with yours
Tiny intakes of breath will become gasps
of surprize, of pleasure
We will twine together in so many ways
We may forget where one of us begins
and the other leaves off
I want to feel your weight full above me
where I cannot escape
where you look at me with a pirate's gleam in your eye
and know I am at what little mercy you may show
I want to look down upon you
and hold you captive
the length of you my playtoy
all your great strength now mine to command
and all of it... all of it
begins in that slow morning something
and there is no time, no world, no intent,
no people, no inhibitions,
no concerns, no second-guessing, no nothing
that interrupts us
When we finally emerge
we will be surprized. a little stunned
to find the world went on without us
Whether it's an hour... or days...
or maybe even years later
For us there is no time
nothing that matters
but this touch of skin on skin
this exploring of self
Our bodies have so much to say
if we just shut up long enough to listen.
~~09/24/06
The new blanket lay against my skin
soft as fur
and for a brief moment I could imagine
it was the hair on your chest
lying soft against my breasts
I woke up wanting you all slow-like
Not fast, as I sometimes do
Sometimes I want you hard & quick
With intent flaring in your eyes
And a dare just there upon your lips
Passion either laughing or no,
But rough & tumble...
Devil take anyone who tries to stop you
But this morning, I wanted you slow
I wanted time to stop,
The world quit around us
I felt the blanket against my skin
And imagined it was the length of you,
Warm body heat... skin on skin...
shoulder to toe
I lay there soaking in the warmth, basking
for ever so long
And wanted
For this to be a morning where
you just can't quite put your finger on where
insensible sleep turns into touching
the tiniest of muscles twitch,
& you know the person next to you has engaged
yet so slow.. ever so slow
the movement towards one another could ache
with tension.. but not THIS morning
because the world is gone
there is no pressure to move.. to get up.. to go
anywhere
there are no children screaming elsewhere in the house
noone to feed or coddle or mediate over
there are no bills, no work, no schoolwork earlier forgotten
no alarm clock jangling nerves
we are not hungry, we do not have to pee
we feel clean and sweet of body and breath
the air is that perfect temperature
to allow covers or no, it does not matter
the light is nebulous - just enough to see by
but not enough to scream you must get up
Everything slides together & flows
and soon you find lips meeting, greeting
not even yet questing
just touching lightly in a soft hello
and fingertips brush lightly
soft as the hair on your arms.. your legs
from shoulders to toes they tiptoe
and caress and waken little bits of skin and self
to touch.. to warmth
We touch over all of ourselves
nooks & crannies & tiny indentions
imperfections become an interesting quest
learning all over again
all the tiny secrets of each other's skin
and how the muscles play together
and where the soul connects
and on the way
find reminders of tiny places that wake shivers
tiny places that make your nipples
crinkle in response
Eventually
lips follow fingertips
butterfly caresses all over
any intent still so far away as to be irrelevant
If the world intruded there would yet be no
frustrated abrasion of need
and yet
there is a happy dawning desire on the horizon
and we look and know and move towards it in accord
We have time
to lay side by side
legs and hands entwined
where I can play with your hair
and explore hands, arms
whatever skin we can reach
maybe we talk ever so softly about nothings
or maybe we just listen carefully
to the things our hands have to say
our bodies speak loudly
if we shut up long enough to listen
We have time
to lay with me behind you
breasts pressing against your back
where my hands can roam your chest
your stomach
cup you gently and tease that soft plateau
between stomach and thigh
then switch
to lay with you behind me
where your hands can roam
cup my breasts & softly tease the nipples
slide across every curve and find
every hollow which pleases you
where I can feel you pressing softly
against my back, my butt, my thighs
as you grow tumescent
Over many many ticks and lengths of time
touching becomes more intent
fingers begin to do less fluttering and more caressing
A nipple is tweaked
a fingernail rakes softly across your thigh
still softly... but with intent
Later, they might dig deep in passion
Later, who knows where we might go
I want to hear you moan
and watch your hands clench the sheets...
or the bed... or me...
You will smile to watch me writhe
twisting under your ministrations
wrenching tiny mewls from my lips
and stealing them away with yours
Tiny intakes of breath will become gasps
of surprize, of pleasure
We will twine together in so many ways
We may forget where one of us begins
and the other leaves off
I want to feel your weight full above me
where I cannot escape
where you look at me with a pirate's gleam in your eye
and know I am at what little mercy you may show
I want to look down upon you
and hold you captive
the length of you my playtoy
all your great strength now mine to command
and all of it... all of it
begins in that slow morning something
and there is no time, no world, no intent,
no people, no inhibitions,
no concerns, no second-guessing, no nothing
that interrupts us
When we finally emerge
we will be surprized. a little stunned
to find the world went on without us
Whether it's an hour... or days...
or maybe even years later
For us there is no time
nothing that matters
but this touch of skin on skin
this exploring of self
Our bodies have so much to say
if we just shut up long enough to listen.
~~09/24/06
Monday, August 28, 2006
08/28/06 - Hotel
When I finally drug my exhausted self & fourteen miscellaneous bags & suitcases (because I didn't take time to pack well & just tossed it all in in a big twisted mess) up to the 14th floor of the hotel, I dumped them all in one great relieved pile. Then I hunted for the A/C & turned it to some temperature that would take the slightly humid 'warm' out of the air and instead kiss my skin with cool pleasure. Half asleep, I found the bathroom I'd been wanting increasingly badly for the last hour or so of the gawdawful long, rainy drive. Then I stripped off the clothes that had car wrinkles firmly creased into my body, closed my eyes & took a moment to relish the feel of the air finally on my skin... I hadn't slept naked in three days, & with the lack of sleep & the drive down, I was starting to feel like they were never coming off again. Horrible thought! I brushed my teeth & checked briefly & bleary-eyed in the mirror to ensure that I really hadn't grown the guy-investigator-who-hasn't-slept-in-three-days stubble I was sure ought to be there. Then, and only then, did I stumble back into the room & stop to really pay attention to the bed. Pay attention? Salivate. Worship.
The bed was enormous. And it was a SEA of white. Crisp clean white cotton sheets over some soft down poof of a mattress, covered by layers and layers of sheets like layers of some Italian confection. Over all that was a thick down-filled comforter crisp with white on white pinstripes that tried sternly (but in vain) to argue that it was really far more practical than those large soft waves of heaven appeared to be. After a few moments of pure anticipatory appreciation, I threw myself into it and was enveloped. I was swimming in white & soft cotton. Mounds of clean white pillows in all sorts of shapes & sizes tumbled into haphazard piles that called coyly to come tussle amongst them. Giggles would be muffled or slip out only a little here & there as little squeals of happiness tend to do. Warmth and innocence and passion amongst a riot of clouds. Mounds of soft white. A maze of poof.
I squirrled around, swimming in a blissful sea of soft, finding cool spots... warm spots... every time I moved, the next spot was just as good as.. no, better.. than the last. Heaven. And it made me want to squirm deeper, how freakin' much room does this bed have, anyway? Every wiggle found another little pocket, another new pillow, another soft welcoming twist of sheets & comforter that seemed to caress my skin at every flex & twist. The fancy took me that somewhere in all that fluff there could very well be a whole 'nother person, just lost in the maze. If I just chased him 'round the bed a bit more, we'd find one another. Or perhaps he was chasing me? Yes, much nicer.
I squirmed more, searching for something illusive, and out of the mounds of fluff my own pink striped pillow appeared, and from it wafted the unmistakable scent of a man. Ah. See? I know that scent. I knew he was here somewhere. I sighed, buried my nose & breathed deeply, sinking back into the mountains of sheets & pillows on that ridiculously sinful bed. I breathed again, feeling both desire and contentment roil in a slow flush that invaded me, warmed through & took possession of me like sleepy sunshine on a summer's day. Damn. I lay there contemplating that sensation & smiled, appreciating both the goodness and the frustration in all the thoughts that stop being thoughts & melt away into feelings & sensations as mountainous & unexplored & inviting as this sea of white. Then I breathed in the scent of him one more time - deeply - completely - before I turned out the light & snuggled in to sleep, pillow held tight in my arms. In only a very few hours, day would begin.
The bed was enormous. And it was a SEA of white. Crisp clean white cotton sheets over some soft down poof of a mattress, covered by layers and layers of sheets like layers of some Italian confection. Over all that was a thick down-filled comforter crisp with white on white pinstripes that tried sternly (but in vain) to argue that it was really far more practical than those large soft waves of heaven appeared to be. After a few moments of pure anticipatory appreciation, I threw myself into it and was enveloped. I was swimming in white & soft cotton. Mounds of clean white pillows in all sorts of shapes & sizes tumbled into haphazard piles that called coyly to come tussle amongst them. Giggles would be muffled or slip out only a little here & there as little squeals of happiness tend to do. Warmth and innocence and passion amongst a riot of clouds. Mounds of soft white. A maze of poof.
I squirrled around, swimming in a blissful sea of soft, finding cool spots... warm spots... every time I moved, the next spot was just as good as.. no, better.. than the last. Heaven. And it made me want to squirm deeper, how freakin' much room does this bed have, anyway? Every wiggle found another little pocket, another new pillow, another soft welcoming twist of sheets & comforter that seemed to caress my skin at every flex & twist. The fancy took me that somewhere in all that fluff there could very well be a whole 'nother person, just lost in the maze. If I just chased him 'round the bed a bit more, we'd find one another. Or perhaps he was chasing me? Yes, much nicer.
I squirmed more, searching for something illusive, and out of the mounds of fluff my own pink striped pillow appeared, and from it wafted the unmistakable scent of a man. Ah. See? I know that scent. I knew he was here somewhere. I sighed, buried my nose & breathed deeply, sinking back into the mountains of sheets & pillows on that ridiculously sinful bed. I breathed again, feeling both desire and contentment roil in a slow flush that invaded me, warmed through & took possession of me like sleepy sunshine on a summer's day. Damn. I lay there contemplating that sensation & smiled, appreciating both the goodness and the frustration in all the thoughts that stop being thoughts & melt away into feelings & sensations as mountainous & unexplored & inviting as this sea of white. Then I breathed in the scent of him one more time - deeply - completely - before I turned out the light & snuggled in to sleep, pillow held tight in my arms. In only a very few hours, day would begin.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Conflicts 08 10 2006
"How are you?" she asks
and I can't answer. Because that answer
has so many facets I can't begin to hit them all in a few moments
and even when I try, I know I miss the good things
They become eclipsed by the not-so-good things,
even if there are more good than bad.
But I found myself thinking about how to answer
(because I knew she would not let it go)
and I wrote.
and she asked again
and again
and today, I wrote some more, added to what was there
altered only a little
and here is what I have:
Just for today (I wrote some time ago)
I am overwhelmed.
I feel beat upon by the emotional tides
that have been tossing me
... us.
All of us.
Sometimes it takes me by surprize -
swimming strongly, perfectly comfortable in these waters
Then one wave, one single wave
coming out of nowhere from the side, blind side,
Swamps me, washes over me
Gasping for air, I take in water
& suddenly
I am no longer swimming
but floundering
Then every wave, no matter how small
or even how expected
Becomes a very dangerous thing.
Danger comes at me from every direction:
I am in a new team
with many unknown elements & people
& they are far away
I am - sort of - part of an old team
where my role is changing
but not yet defined
Here left out on accident, there on purpose.
Many meetings & issues where I don't quite know where to stand
My sense of "belonging" & sense of who I am & what I offer
is in flux. Is not stable.
I finally have a feeling that I am doing what I do BEST..
yet not certain this is what I SHOULD be doing
on ALL I should be doing
to do this job.
That I must be missing some vital piece of this puzzle
& it will hurt me... sooner or later.
I am surrounded by family - family who has chosen one another
yet I am alone in Love.
Possibility itself has turned into something hard to think about.
I am shown affection,
but do not feel confident that it is something I can count on..
lean on.
What I think is.. what if it is only my own illusions? Again?
These affections melt away, change, disappear,
become something second best
tarnished, not enough, not good enough...
depending on who or what is near or happening
We have had no still, quiet, happy time together
--- without undercurrents ---
since four of us shared a morning.
And I don't see how we can have that again
Anytime soon.
This sea is too unruly, and the rocky shores far too close
for anyone's comfort.
I always want.
It has been so long since I had anyone long enough
To enable trust that they would still be there -
tomorrow, next week, next year.
I only vaguely remember a time
when I did not want.. need... desire...
in eventual, if not immediate, futility
The sort of surety I offer
Doesn't seem to be attractive to people to whom I'm attracted
They just want to play, chase, conquer
& let tomorrow bring whatever new toy it may
I feel stuck in a pattern I cannot escape
I meet men over and over again
who introduce desire between us
acknowledge it
begin to explore it...
& then take it away.
Disappear just as I begin to get used to
the possibilites opening before us.
And their disappearance has nothing to do with risk.
Except risks of the heart.
So it's not material decisions... therefore it must be me,
the core me: who I am, not what I have.
There must be something about who I am that is subpar
That they don't see until later.
Or else it's them... in which case I just have bad taste.
I have an overwhelming need
To take care of my friends. My family.
This balances itself precariously against me taking care of me.
How can I do both of those things
When they come into direct conflict with one another?
They don't often, but when they do
I will always take the hit
Because that is the one thing I can always do
That I am in control of:
sacrificing myself
But this time, inside me, my heart screams
I've never heard it fight back at me before
It has always simply laid itself down
In quiet submission
to whatever conclusions seem logical to me
I am torn as a parent.
I love my daughter, I miss her when I am away (most of the time)
And yet she presents more of a challenge
than I feel I can handle -- well -- alone.
I question my own ability to rise to the challenge of her.
To do her justice
To be everything she needs.
No.. I KNOW I cannot be everything she needs
and I struggle to find people... elements...
That can shore us up where I am weak.
I feel more unsafe than I have ever felt in my life
Every time I head for the door,
My heart leaps a little into my throat,
Wondering if my car will still be there
Every time I come home
My heart leaps a little into my throat
That last block home is a nightmare
Wondering if while I was gone my home has been invaded
I wake sometimes in the middle of the night
Hear a sound
& My heart leaps a little into my throat
Wondering if that's just Cassandra on the counter again
or if someone is there, coming to
take my daughter...
or her innocence...
or her sense of safety too.
Hearing someone come in the house while I'm sleeping
Used to make my heart leap a little into my throat
For entirely different reasons -- good ones!
Reasons that were warm & safe & happy
& sometimes exciting
But that seems a desire for something that is lost to the past
Now there is noone here then
in the dark to lean on
But me
Suddenly I am not enough, even for myself
Which is scary in itself,
because I have ALWAYS been enough.
So just for today
I am overwhelmed.
I am floundering.
And I have found myself BROADCASTING
things I don't want to impose on everyone around me.
The depth of need & desire I feel sometimes
become so intense
I am afraid they will shine clearly from my eyes.
It's bad enough that they shine from my heart.
I am ashamed, both of feeling these things
& of not being able to control them
and then,
I am always afraid they will not be returned
Even in anger, I still desire..
perhaps more so.
Ask for what I need?
But I need it to come without asking!
To encompass & support & strengthen me
reassure me...
So for all these reasons
I have found times when I could not look at you.
I could not meet your eyes
With such tumult inside.
And not only you... Several of you!
People who have crawled so far into my heart
I can't anymore even conceive living a life
without you in it
Sometimes when I seem the farthest away
the most disinterested in your very existence
Is when I so very badly
need you the most.
Hold me.
If I have anything you want, then just hold me
....& save me from myself.
and I can't answer. Because that answer
has so many facets I can't begin to hit them all in a few moments
and even when I try, I know I miss the good things
They become eclipsed by the not-so-good things,
even if there are more good than bad.
But I found myself thinking about how to answer
(because I knew she would not let it go)
and I wrote.
and she asked again
and again
and today, I wrote some more, added to what was there
altered only a little
and here is what I have:
Just for today (I wrote some time ago)
I am overwhelmed.
I feel beat upon by the emotional tides
that have been tossing me
... us.
All of us.
Sometimes it takes me by surprize -
swimming strongly, perfectly comfortable in these waters
Then one wave, one single wave
coming out of nowhere from the side, blind side,
Swamps me, washes over me
Gasping for air, I take in water
& suddenly
I am no longer swimming
but floundering
Then every wave, no matter how small
or even how expected
Becomes a very dangerous thing.
Danger comes at me from every direction:
I am in a new team
with many unknown elements & people
& they are far away
I am - sort of - part of an old team
where my role is changing
but not yet defined
Here left out on accident, there on purpose.
Many meetings & issues where I don't quite know where to stand
My sense of "belonging" & sense of who I am & what I offer
is in flux. Is not stable.
I finally have a feeling that I am doing what I do BEST..
yet not certain this is what I SHOULD be doing
on ALL I should be doing
to do this job.
That I must be missing some vital piece of this puzzle
& it will hurt me... sooner or later.
I am surrounded by family - family who has chosen one another
yet I am alone in Love.
Possibility itself has turned into something hard to think about.
I am shown affection,
but do not feel confident that it is something I can count on..
lean on.
What I think is.. what if it is only my own illusions? Again?
These affections melt away, change, disappear,
become something second best
tarnished, not enough, not good enough...
depending on who or what is near or happening
We have had no still, quiet, happy time together
--- without undercurrents ---
since four of us shared a morning.
And I don't see how we can have that again
Anytime soon.
This sea is too unruly, and the rocky shores far too close
for anyone's comfort.
I always want.
It has been so long since I had anyone long enough
To enable trust that they would still be there -
tomorrow, next week, next year.
I only vaguely remember a time
when I did not want.. need... desire...
in eventual, if not immediate, futility
The sort of surety I offer
Doesn't seem to be attractive to people to whom I'm attracted
They just want to play, chase, conquer
& let tomorrow bring whatever new toy it may
I feel stuck in a pattern I cannot escape
I meet men over and over again
who introduce desire between us
acknowledge it
begin to explore it...
& then take it away.
Disappear just as I begin to get used to
the possibilites opening before us.
And their disappearance has nothing to do with risk.
Except risks of the heart.
So it's not material decisions... therefore it must be me,
the core me: who I am, not what I have.
There must be something about who I am that is subpar
That they don't see until later.
Or else it's them... in which case I just have bad taste.
I have an overwhelming need
To take care of my friends. My family.
This balances itself precariously against me taking care of me.
How can I do both of those things
When they come into direct conflict with one another?
They don't often, but when they do
I will always take the hit
Because that is the one thing I can always do
That I am in control of:
sacrificing myself
But this time, inside me, my heart screams
I've never heard it fight back at me before
It has always simply laid itself down
In quiet submission
to whatever conclusions seem logical to me
I am torn as a parent.
I love my daughter, I miss her when I am away (most of the time)
And yet she presents more of a challenge
than I feel I can handle -- well -- alone.
I question my own ability to rise to the challenge of her.
To do her justice
To be everything she needs.
No.. I KNOW I cannot be everything she needs
and I struggle to find people... elements...
That can shore us up where I am weak.
I feel more unsafe than I have ever felt in my life
Every time I head for the door,
My heart leaps a little into my throat,
Wondering if my car will still be there
Every time I come home
My heart leaps a little into my throat
That last block home is a nightmare
Wondering if while I was gone my home has been invaded
I wake sometimes in the middle of the night
Hear a sound
& My heart leaps a little into my throat
Wondering if that's just Cassandra on the counter again
or if someone is there, coming to
take my daughter...
or her innocence...
or her sense of safety too.
Hearing someone come in the house while I'm sleeping
Used to make my heart leap a little into my throat
For entirely different reasons -- good ones!
Reasons that were warm & safe & happy
& sometimes exciting
But that seems a desire for something that is lost to the past
Now there is noone here then
in the dark to lean on
But me
Suddenly I am not enough, even for myself
Which is scary in itself,
because I have ALWAYS been enough.
So just for today
I am overwhelmed.
I am floundering.
And I have found myself BROADCASTING
things I don't want to impose on everyone around me.
The depth of need & desire I feel sometimes
become so intense
I am afraid they will shine clearly from my eyes.
It's bad enough that they shine from my heart.
I am ashamed, both of feeling these things
& of not being able to control them
and then,
I am always afraid they will not be returned
Even in anger, I still desire..
perhaps more so.
Ask for what I need?
But I need it to come without asking!
To encompass & support & strengthen me
reassure me...
So for all these reasons
I have found times when I could not look at you.
I could not meet your eyes
With such tumult inside.
And not only you... Several of you!
People who have crawled so far into my heart
I can't anymore even conceive living a life
without you in it
Sometimes when I seem the farthest away
the most disinterested in your very existence
Is when I so very badly
need you the most.
Hold me.
If I have anything you want, then just hold me
....& save me from myself.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Contest Submissions: Indian, English & Pirate Pickup lines
Rules, Regs, & Disclaimers: Submissions being posted on me blog(s) as soon as I can get around to it, generally in order submitted, although slams/responses noted as specific to a particular line will be posted under that line.... in order submitted. Submissions will be posted with first name, last initial of submitter. Submission of material constitutes permission to publish. Contest opened 07/15/06, contest closes 07/28/06, by order of the Quartermaster. (That's me.) Treasure will be awarded as soon after that as I can get me scurvy self either to a postmaster or to ye personally.
Last Updated: F 03/15/07 7:00a-ish CST.
INDIANS
How! Me wantum strong brave :) (AmyS)
Ranger, you don't have to be lone anymore. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Me been saving this coin just for you... It "Indian head" nickel. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
(Lone Ranger to Tonto) Hey kemo sabe, I've got an itchy trigger finger, wanna help me finger Trigger? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
How would you like to see the eleventh little Indian? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
PERSONAL AD: Big Chief seeks Little Woman who tell like it is. Tired of reading smoke signals. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Me promise you won't be just another feather in headdress. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
"Let me a-maize you..." Never mind, too corny. (HeatherM&ShaneM) Ed.note: *groan!*
Eyes like Raven... beware the claws! (AmyS)
Me teepee or Sioux's? (AmyS)
Welcome to MakeManyPleasure Hardware Store. Wantum screw? (AmyK)
Come and blow my peace pipe. (LenaB)
Me squatum on you. (LenaB)
Let me poka-your-hauntus. (LenaB)
Geranimo! (LenaB)
How, my name is Swimming Bear. You wantum play? (LenaB)
Your tribe name, Spread Eagle? Thisum be fun. (LenaB)
Let me show you how we plantum corn. (LenaB)
Will you quiver for my arrow? (LenaB)
Me Chief Longshank Lastlong. You be Moansalot. Let us have peace. Join me in smoke. Let me show you my pipe. (ShaunG)
ROYAL NAVY
Can I be your Rear Admiral? I'll meet you on the poop deck. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Would you like to visit my cabin and batten down the hatches? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Excuse me madam, but please lift your shirt. I'm the inspector for the Royal Navel Academy. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
My poop deck could use a swabbin'. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
They say it's bad luck to have a woman aboard a Navy ship, but how about the Navy ship aboard a woman, starting with me. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Wow! What a big mast you have. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Nice aft. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
PIRATES
Want to scrape the barnacles off of my rudder? (TomS)
If ye've got barnacles on yer rudder, 'ere's somewhat wrong, 'ere is. (AmyK)
Avast me proud beauty! Want to know why my Roger is so Jolly? (TomS)
Y've been swabbin yer own planks again, 'aven't ye, mate. (AmyK)
Aye & you're a dashing rogue, ain'tcha? (AmyK)
You know... me leg isn't the only thing that's wooden. (TomS)
Nay, yer head seems a fer piece wood, too... and termite ridden at that! (AmyK)
I've been ashore too long... I be needin' a taste of a salty brine! (AmyK)
Come show me how ye bury yer treasure, laddie! (AmyK)
A bit o' grog & ye'll be fallin all over yerself to crimp on me crew, a salty lad such as ye. (AmyK)
Ah'll put a shiver in yer timber, lad, sure'n Davy Jones sails the seven seas. (AmyK)
Aye, and pay special attention to the Captain's coaming, I will. (AmyK)
I've a pretty little sheath t' might nicely welcome that handsome sword of yours. I could it show t'ye if ye've a mind to it. (AmyK)
Aye, tatoos 'n scars be the pretties on a matey Rogue. I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours! (AmyK)
Y shouldna need a map to find the treasure I'm offerin' ya, boy. (AmyK)
Avast, ye scallywag, I aint' gwanta be awaitin yer pleasure all the mornin' long. Put a crimp in yer sail & quitcher ditherin'. (AmyK)
Plunder me treasure, will ye? (AmyK)
No, really... will ye? (AmyK)
Arrgh....is that Fish I smell or a particularly pungent Cheese? (ChrisB, with Nasty Nancy & th' Ol' Mississip in mind)
Come here me pretty puss. (LenaB)
Aye’ I’ll give you a "taste o’ the cat!" (LenaB as she removes the cat-o-nine-tails from her waist) Come and inspect me rigging, ye pretty. (LenaB)
Sigh, ye promise me a mighty bowsprit, but ye’ve only got a wet nipper. (LenaB)
Woohoo, check out that booty. (LenaB)
Belay that look, this bounty ‘ill have ye dancing the hempen jig. (LenaB)
Well blow me down and swab me deck. (LenaB)
Ye been swabben yer own deck so long, ye’ve been bilged on yer own anchor. (LenaB)
Wanna hang from my yard arm? (BobV)
Avastly fine time awaits ye in me arms... (JennyV)
Ahoy Gunny! Yer lanyard makes me cannon fire prematurely! (PeterW)
Aargh! I've only got eye for you. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Aargh! I've only got ayes for you. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Wanna see what me third leg's made of? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Well blow me down... there. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Would ye like to shiver me timber? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Polly want a pecker? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Come to me wench. Old Pegleg Pete's got a problem. Y'see, me hook's on me jerkin' hand. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of Rohypnol! (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Is that your wooden leg or are you just happy to see me? (KerstinL)
Being Cap'n has its priveledges, boys. I get her first. (TomS)
Well Luv, the ship's goin' down, should we follow suit? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Arrrr.. she wants to walk me plank, she does. Guess me plank will get polished! (ShaunG)
I stole a copy of the new Pirates of the Caribbean! (Software Pirate) (MelissaM)
(from the crow's nest) Why don't you pop up and see me sometime? (LenaB)
Quiet down before I roll ye off o' the plank, bilge rat. (TomS)
You know the plank isn't big enough! (ChrisB)
The sea is deadly & the weather unbearable, but the Knave is newly tarred & the sails furled. We'll stay afloat this night & see the day break. (TomS)
Scurvy Knave + Saucy Nancy +Elizabeth + Meg + Tokeleth = I WIN! (TomS)
....... *thinks anything 'scurvy' loses* .... (AnthonyM)
Last Updated: F 03/15/07 7:00a-ish CST.
INDIANS
How! Me wantum strong brave :) (AmyS)
Ranger, you don't have to be lone anymore. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Me been saving this coin just for you... It "Indian head" nickel. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
(Lone Ranger to Tonto) Hey kemo sabe, I've got an itchy trigger finger, wanna help me finger Trigger? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
How would you like to see the eleventh little Indian? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
PERSONAL AD: Big Chief seeks Little Woman who tell like it is. Tired of reading smoke signals. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Me promise you won't be just another feather in headdress. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
"Let me a-maize you..." Never mind, too corny. (HeatherM&ShaneM) Ed.note: *groan!*
Eyes like Raven... beware the claws! (AmyS)
Me teepee or Sioux's? (AmyS)
Welcome to MakeManyPleasure Hardware Store. Wantum screw? (AmyK)
Come and blow my peace pipe. (LenaB)
Me squatum on you. (LenaB)
Let me poka-your-hauntus. (LenaB)
Geranimo! (LenaB)
How, my name is Swimming Bear. You wantum play? (LenaB)
Your tribe name, Spread Eagle? Thisum be fun. (LenaB)
Let me show you how we plantum corn. (LenaB)
Will you quiver for my arrow? (LenaB)
Me Chief Longshank Lastlong. You be Moansalot. Let us have peace. Join me in smoke. Let me show you my pipe. (ShaunG)
ROYAL NAVY
Can I be your Rear Admiral? I'll meet you on the poop deck. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Would you like to visit my cabin and batten down the hatches? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Excuse me madam, but please lift your shirt. I'm the inspector for the Royal Navel Academy. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
My poop deck could use a swabbin'. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
They say it's bad luck to have a woman aboard a Navy ship, but how about the Navy ship aboard a woman, starting with me. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Wow! What a big mast you have. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Nice aft. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
PIRATES
Want to scrape the barnacles off of my rudder? (TomS)
If ye've got barnacles on yer rudder, 'ere's somewhat wrong, 'ere is. (AmyK)
Avast me proud beauty! Want to know why my Roger is so Jolly? (TomS)
Y've been swabbin yer own planks again, 'aven't ye, mate. (AmyK)
Aye & you're a dashing rogue, ain'tcha? (AmyK)
You know... me leg isn't the only thing that's wooden. (TomS)
Nay, yer head seems a fer piece wood, too... and termite ridden at that! (AmyK)
I've been ashore too long... I be needin' a taste of a salty brine! (AmyK)
Come show me how ye bury yer treasure, laddie! (AmyK)
A bit o' grog & ye'll be fallin all over yerself to crimp on me crew, a salty lad such as ye. (AmyK)
Ah'll put a shiver in yer timber, lad, sure'n Davy Jones sails the seven seas. (AmyK)
Aye, and pay special attention to the Captain's coaming, I will. (AmyK)
I've a pretty little sheath t' might nicely welcome that handsome sword of yours. I could it show t'ye if ye've a mind to it. (AmyK)
Aye, tatoos 'n scars be the pretties on a matey Rogue. I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours! (AmyK)
Y shouldna need a map to find the treasure I'm offerin' ya, boy. (AmyK)
Avast, ye scallywag, I aint' gwanta be awaitin yer pleasure all the mornin' long. Put a crimp in yer sail & quitcher ditherin'. (AmyK)
Plunder me treasure, will ye? (AmyK)
No, really... will ye? (AmyK)
Arrgh....is that Fish I smell or a particularly pungent Cheese? (ChrisB, with Nasty Nancy & th' Ol' Mississip in mind)
Come here me pretty puss. (LenaB)
Aye’ I’ll give you a "taste o’ the cat!" (LenaB as she removes the cat-o-nine-tails from her waist) Come and inspect me rigging, ye pretty. (LenaB)
Sigh, ye promise me a mighty bowsprit, but ye’ve only got a wet nipper. (LenaB)
Woohoo, check out that booty. (LenaB)
Belay that look, this bounty ‘ill have ye dancing the hempen jig. (LenaB)
Well blow me down and swab me deck. (LenaB)
Ye been swabben yer own deck so long, ye’ve been bilged on yer own anchor. (LenaB)
Wanna hang from my yard arm? (BobV)
Avastly fine time awaits ye in me arms... (JennyV)
Ahoy Gunny! Yer lanyard makes me cannon fire prematurely! (PeterW)
Aargh! I've only got eye for you. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Aargh! I've only got ayes for you. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Wanna see what me third leg's made of? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Well blow me down... there. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Would ye like to shiver me timber? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Polly want a pecker? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Come to me wench. Old Pegleg Pete's got a problem. Y'see, me hook's on me jerkin' hand. (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of Rohypnol! (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Is that your wooden leg or are you just happy to see me? (KerstinL)
Being Cap'n has its priveledges, boys. I get her first. (TomS)
Well Luv, the ship's goin' down, should we follow suit? (HeatherM&ShaneM)
Arrrr.. she wants to walk me plank, she does. Guess me plank will get polished! (ShaunG)
I stole a copy of the new Pirates of the Caribbean! (Software Pirate) (MelissaM)
(from the crow's nest) Why don't you pop up and see me sometime? (LenaB)
Quiet down before I roll ye off o' the plank, bilge rat. (TomS)
You know the plank isn't big enough! (ChrisB)
The sea is deadly & the weather unbearable, but the Knave is newly tarred & the sails furled. We'll stay afloat this night & see the day break. (TomS)
Scurvy Knave + Saucy Nancy +Elizabeth + Meg + Tokeleth = I WIN! (TomS)
....... *thinks anything 'scurvy' loses* .... (AnthonyM)
Saturday, July 15, 2006
CONTEST: Indian, Pirate, & English Navy Pick Up Lines
I'm announcing a contest to correspond with our most recent Murder Mystery adventure! Please submit your best Indian, Pirate & English Navy type pick up lines and/or resulting pick up line slams/responses. I'll find some sort of treasure to dole out to the scurviest "Knave" to "Brave" the "Nav-y". (go ahead... groan) There will likely be multiple prizes if I get good responses.
Originality of course gets more credit than copied work, outright cheesy may or may not get you a walk on the plank. Oh.. wait... pick up lines are by nature cheesy. well then, I'll have to come up with some other criteria.
You can & should email 'em to me (for those of you who have an e-addy) or post them here (for those of you who do not) as you think of them, but for pure entertainment value, I strongly encourage their use on your Yahoo IM, answering machines, grocery stores and public elevators all over the tri-state area. :D Deadline for submissions is July 28th, 2006. The good, bad, & the truly ugly will be posted here on me site after the Murder Mystery (end of July), and winners will be announced with the posting.
Examples used so far:
Want to scrape the barnacles off me rudder?
If ye've got barnacles on yer rudder, 'ere's somewhat wrong w/ ye, mate!
Avast me proud beauty! Want to know why my Roger is so Jolly?
Y've been swabbin yer own planks again, 'avent ye, mate?
Aye, & you're a dashing rogue, ain'tcha?
How! Me wantum strong brave :)
Aye'll be a keepin' me eyes open fer yer submissions, ye lilly-tongued scallywags, ye!!
---O'Amy
P.S. There's only just so many character spots at a murder mystery... but this could be FUNNY! So I'm opening the contest to any & all non-attending parties as well. There will likely be multiple prizes if I get good responses :)
P.P.S. If ye've not made an invitation to one of our shindigs yet & find ye have an interest, please let me know. We try to mix 'em up at least a little bit every time & new & interesting people make for a great evening!
Originality of course gets more credit than copied work, outright cheesy may or may not get you a walk on the plank. Oh.. wait... pick up lines are by nature cheesy.
You can & should email 'em to me (for those of you who have an e-addy) or post them here (for those of you who do not) as you think of them, but for pure entertainment value, I strongly encourage their use on your Yahoo IM, answering machines, grocery stores and public elevators all over the tri-state area. :D Deadline for submissions is July 28th, 2006. The good, bad, & the truly ugly will be posted here on me site after the Murder Mystery (end of July), and winners will be announced with the posting.
Examples used so far:
Want to scrape the barnacles off me rudder?
If ye've got barnacles on yer rudder, 'ere's somewhat wrong w/ ye, mate!
Avast me proud beauty! Want to know why my Roger is so Jolly?
Y've been swabbin yer own planks again, 'avent ye, mate?
Aye, & you're a dashing rogue, ain'tcha?
How! Me wantum strong brave :)
Aye'll be a keepin' me eyes open fer yer submissions, ye lilly-tongued scallywags, ye!!
---O'Amy
P.S. There's only just so many character spots at a murder mystery... but this could be FUNNY! So I'm opening the contest to any & all non-attending parties as well. There will likely be multiple prizes if I get good responses :)
P.P.S. If ye've not made an invitation to one of our shindigs yet & find ye have an interest, please let me know. We try to mix 'em up at least a little bit every time & new & interesting people make for a great evening!
Friday, June 23, 2006
Mother's Day 05/14/2006
The last few years, I've sort of ignored Mother's Day & Father's Day. It was never really a great-big-fat-hairy-deal sort of thing when I was growing up anyway, although we usually went out to dinner or something as a family for MY parents (& still do). Yes, when I was very very small I remember it being a big deal where my Dad took me out hunting for just the right way to surprize Mom, but as I got older that fell by the wayside. It never occurred to me before, but now that I think about it, that was probably yet another symptom of something wrong as their relationship crumbled away.
After B was born, I did make an effort the first couple of years to help her in honoring her Father's Day obligations (and other holidays) for her dad... but except for one year, that was never reciprocated, & the further away he fell from our lives the less I felt I ought to be making that effort. I finally resolved that if & when she was old enough to want to do things herself, I would help her in what she wanted to accomplish, but I'm not going to initiate interest for her. Somehow it seems like a bad idea to teach her to run her heart & soul after someone who doesn't reciprocate!
So yeah, little resentment there. Hey.. I'm human! Anyway... so there's never really been anyone around to set any sort of example re: "honoring" Mom on Mother's Day in any way. My parents, of course, do their part, but they're a couple hours away. That's very very nice, & someday she will remember that. But little kids need a much more immediate example for anything to penetrate at this age.
So the holiday approaches with it's standard (for me) lackadaisical who-really-gives-a-damn-and-do-I-need-to-find-time-to-work-in-the-P's-this-weekend flair. (Sometimes they go visit the OTHER kids in the family... so I can't just assume it's me doing either the travelling or the greeting.) It's lookin' pretty clear. Phone calls should do the trick, I might actually have a weekend of R&R! (As opposed to all the FUN we've been having lately -- yeah, it's been fun, but it's definitely not been R&R! lol)
Sometimes people say things or do things for you that touch you so deeply that there really is no reaction you can give that really represent how you feel. Yeah, sure you can say thank you, and do... but there is that very deep, very profound place in your soul where a simple thank you just does not suffice. Jumping up & down & cheering would be far too trivial. A smile is pleasant & not enough. A hug is nice but doesn't begin to cover it. Tears come close, but they do have a tendency to make people worry;) It's taken me several weeks to write about this -- this time, not because I did not have the time, but because I could not begin to find words. I have decided that these words, however trivial, will have to do.
This year on Mother's Day, I was remembered. Someone gathered B up into the gaggle of children & did what most Dads I know do with kids when one of those holidays come around: they not only remembered... but helped her in some small personal way to remember, honor, celebrate the things that Mom does. A funny little lamp now sits on my desk in some strange, painful-looking yoga pose, and I was given a very sweet card which will soon find its way into my 'forever' memoirs. The card only has B's signature on it in her 6-year-old spidery crawl. But there are other very different names there too... not written in pen&ink, although I see them very clearly. They are there as assuredly & indelibly as the ripples this Mother's Day created in the deepest, most silent & private part of myself. And I see more detail: the names there are written in the handwriting of the adult who led the way, who drove the car, who did the reading, and the buying, and the wrapping, who helped make the choices, not only of what to do & what to get... but how to be excited about doing something nice for someone else - who chose to include us & remember me as one of their own. If it seemed at all that my thank-you's that morning were blase... please know that sometimes what you can see fails utterly to represent that which sits in my heart.
Mom,
You're a Gift to Our Family
You have a unique talent
for getting the most out of life,
then so graciously giving it back.
Your gentle humor and warm caring
give so much enjoyment
to everyone around you
especially to our lucky family.
Happy Mother's Day.
After B was born, I did make an effort the first couple of years to help her in honoring her Father's Day obligations (and other holidays) for her dad... but except for one year, that was never reciprocated, & the further away he fell from our lives the less I felt I ought to be making that effort. I finally resolved that if & when she was old enough to want to do things herself, I would help her in what she wanted to accomplish, but I'm not going to initiate interest for her. Somehow it seems like a bad idea to teach her to run her heart & soul after someone who doesn't reciprocate!
So yeah, little resentment there. Hey.. I'm human! Anyway... so there's never really been anyone around to set any sort of example re: "honoring" Mom on Mother's Day in any way. My parents, of course, do their part, but they're a couple hours away. That's very very nice, & someday she will remember that. But little kids need a much more immediate example for anything to penetrate at this age.
So the holiday approaches with it's standard (for me) lackadaisical who-really-gives-a-damn-and-do-I-need-to-find-time-to-work-in-the-P's-this-weekend flair. (Sometimes they go visit the OTHER kids in the family... so I can't just assume it's me doing either the travelling or the greeting.) It's lookin' pretty clear. Phone calls should do the trick, I might actually have a weekend of R&R! (As opposed to all the FUN we've been having lately -- yeah, it's been fun, but it's definitely not been R&R! lol)
Sometimes people say things or do things for you that touch you so deeply that there really is no reaction you can give that really represent how you feel. Yeah, sure you can say thank you, and do... but there is that very deep, very profound place in your soul where a simple thank you just does not suffice. Jumping up & down & cheering would be far too trivial. A smile is pleasant & not enough. A hug is nice but doesn't begin to cover it. Tears come close, but they do have a tendency to make people worry;) It's taken me several weeks to write about this -- this time, not because I did not have the time, but because I could not begin to find words. I have decided that these words, however trivial, will have to do.
This year on Mother's Day, I was remembered. Someone gathered B up into the gaggle of children & did what most Dads I know do with kids when one of those holidays come around: they not only remembered... but helped her in some small personal way to remember, honor, celebrate the things that Mom does. A funny little lamp now sits on my desk in some strange, painful-looking yoga pose, and I was given a very sweet card which will soon find its way into my 'forever' memoirs. The card only has B's signature on it in her 6-year-old spidery crawl. But there are other very different names there too... not written in pen&ink, although I see them very clearly. They are there as assuredly & indelibly as the ripples this Mother's Day created in the deepest, most silent & private part of myself. And I see more detail: the names there are written in the handwriting of the adult who led the way, who drove the car, who did the reading, and the buying, and the wrapping, who helped make the choices, not only of what to do & what to get... but how to be excited about doing something nice for someone else - who chose to include us & remember me as one of their own. If it seemed at all that my thank-you's that morning were blase... please know that sometimes what you can see fails utterly to represent that which sits in my heart.
Mom,
You're a Gift to Our Family
You have a unique talent
for getting the most out of life,
then so graciously giving it back.
Your gentle humor and warm caring
give so much enjoyment
to everyone around you
especially to our lucky family.
Happy Mother's Day.
Monday, June 05, 2006
06/03/06 - Birthday Wishes
OK... With the new job & all, I don't know whether I'll have time to write up the entire month of May for awhile... & I don't want to wait to write up the Birthday party, so I'll just have to go back & retro-add May later.
I had SUCH a great birthday!!! It really began at the Lake over Memorial Day weekend, when Bauer presented me with my new CHAIR! Yeah :) I've been drooling over (& swiping - this may have just been self-preservation on his part) his camping chair with footstool installed for a couple of summers now, & he found me one for my birthday. (#15) YEAH!!! John & Tom set up my tent gear for me before I got there, with Tom making an executive decision about who goes where (#15), putting all the kids in my big tent AWAY from us adults. That may have technically had nothing at all to do with my birthday, but as far as I'm concerned, the birthday goodness began then :) (Birthdays don't have to just be one little day, do they?)
Wednesday evening, Tammy&Mike took me out for supper & I got to bring Toby home to visit for a couple of weeks. Then this Thursday night I got to meet up with Amy over across the river for some looong awaited girl-time at Steak-n-Shake. (#11) We need that every now & then, & even though we talk all the freakin' time & do stuff with various segments of the group, I'm a very strong proponent of the concept that in any group of people, every combination of folks needs some time that is just theirs. One-on-one, just the two of you. Doesn't always have to be a lot, or doing anything significant (in fact, probably better if you're doing nothing really), just time for the two of you to connect in your own way without all the other vectors & distractions getting mixed up in your interactions.
The day of my actual birthday, before the sun even thought about having a chance to shine its horrid self in my poor little eyes, I got to cozy up all friendly-like (#15) with someone I'm really starting to care a whole lot about & share some things close to the heart. (#4) I got a lot of good feedback & it was easily 3:00 or 3:30 in the morning before we decided we were yawning more than talking and that horizontal would be a much better place to be. I'm not sure I'm fully clear & that all the little bothery bits are completely gone, but just by making the effort & taking the chance to talk I felt SO much better, warm & loved :)
Then the kids managed to stay quiet long enough that everyone got to sleep in. (#14,15) Did I mention feeling warm & loved? Double that! Twice!
Amy&I skipped yoga in the morning, all of us opting for a late lazy breakfast instead. 's all good... I was thinking at the time that I was going to get my yoga fix a bit later as Bauer & I were going to go to a lunch-hour class over on my side of the river. Chris has never done any yoga, so we need to make sure he gets to at least a couple of Basic classes before he can join Amy & I on some of our Saturday am jaunts if he wants, and I really want to get him in over here at Sukha. I still think Sarah is the best instructor I've worked with to date!
Well... we made it to class on time in the afternoon, only to find out there wasn't a class! They've had a little instructor turn-around & apparently the Saturday Basic class went ptchiew! right out the window. Darn it!! So nooooo yoga for Amy on her birthday (#13) :( S'alright.. instead, Chris was an AWESOME sport & tailed me around town for a couple of hours getting some errands & shopping done that have been on my list of to do's with no time to do them. Those weren't on the official birthday list, but you know how I am about lists... & getting those completed was a great relief.
The last shopping bit we did WAS on my list, though: Fish for the pond! (#10) I was a bit hesitant about trying them again so soon, but hey... it's my birthday. The goldfish & koi at the store were looking a bit sickly, so I decided to try something different, & brought home two silver spotted catfish, a bumblebee catfish, and two Gouramis - one red, one tiger. They're very small in that size pond, and... Um... now I can't find them?either they've gotten snacked on or they're just hiding... I certainly hope the latter, 'cause there's a lot of mosquitoe larvae in that pond that needs to be munched up!
OH! & when we were giving the fish their new home, Chris pointed out to me the HUNDREDS of little tadpoles squirming about all over the bottom of the pond -- guess those poor frogs weren't just whistlin' Dixie when my neighbors were requesting that I turn them down, eh? Those should be really fun to watch develop over the next few weeks. Anybody want some frogs?
On the way home with the fish, Chris insisted that we had one more pit stop to make but wouldn't tell me what or where until we were almost on top of it... he wanted to buy me FLOWERS! :) He took Bailey in with him & let her pick out the colour, coming back out with a dozen beautiful pale pink roses. It's always a good sign when a man knows enough about flowers to start trimming the ends before they go in water.. hmmm... Chris, you are ever full of surprizes! We put them in a nice clear glass vase with a little pink ribbon around it when we got home, & today they've opened slightly, looking absolutely beautiful. If I can get my camera working, I'll post a pic of them later :)
Back home to TRY to get a bit of a nap (#13) before the circus, & not much luck with that either... but I did get a teensy bit of a backrub & an explanation that the original plan was to somewhere work in a real massage (#13) aaallll for me. Unfortunately ...lol... that didn't work out, either! Since I suggested Chris just ride to IL with me & leave his truck in STL, he had right quick swapped his table into T&A's vehicle when I wasn't looking. Then they got delayed a bit, weren't coming into IL quite as planned, didn't stay the night...there just wasn't any good timeframe in there where table, Chris & I were in the same place & by ourselves for more than 20 minutes. Umm.. can I take a raincheck on that, Chris? Maybe after that pinky is really truly & fully healed? I'll reciprocate! :D
Then we girls took the kids to the circus, while Tom appropriated my house to bake a cake. (At least that's what they SAID he was doing - I haven't talked to the neighbors yet to confirm or deny.) I decided to forego the elephant rides at the circus this year -- they just didn't look quite as appealing when I realized they were cramming 6-8 people on them for each ride. The older girls went, though, & thought it was great.
After the circus, I was informed that there were people awaiting our return back at my house, (ACK! Vacuum, dust, dishes, laundry, make bed.. ACK! Aw... screw it.. they don't care, & they're already there, anyway. lolol) so we headed that way. I mentioned Tom was baking a cake while we were gone, didn't I? Holy cow, that man has inventive mixed with ornery in every bone in his body. I'm not TELLING you what he did with flour & water & icing... & tubing & a water bottle... but it was SO funny I REALLY REALLY wish Amy had let me go to the bathroom before they let me see it. It was GOOD, too.Still licking icing off my .. um.. fingers. ;) You'll have to try harder than that to get me in the orbs, though, boys. Care to take another shot?
Before long we all piled into the 'burban & headed for a VERY late supper at... The Cheesecake Factory!! Oh, yum, yum, double yum :) I had the chicken picatta & a chocolate martini... people I love all around me... almost every cell in my body was happy for one reason or another :) I'm having the leftovers for lunch today, too :) I had to skip the cheesecake, 'cause by the time it was time for dessert, there just wasn't room & the warm happy lassitude was taking over very very quickly. A little ice cream sundae with a candle, though.. (& another chocolate martini) and although there were some complaints that I didn't get enough on my face... somehow, I think that's more ironically appropriate for me to have gotten it all in my mouth where it belonged, while the boys have ended up with theirs all over the place on their birthdays.. Yes?
Then we all came back to my house to watch one of my other birthday presents: The Rocky Horror Picture Show! There was some talk of everyone dressing the parts (I'm fairly sure I could come up with something for everyone.), but that happy lassitude I mentioned earlier & an excellent dinner (I'm NOT blaming it on the drinks. I'm NOT!) really took it's toll. Only one of our knightly heroes deigned to play our little game before we hit play on the DVD... and let me tell you, the intermission was WORTH it! Holy crap, it's been a looooonnnnng time since I've seen anything that sexy. Surprized me! I sooooo wanted a picture for my own private little momentoes.I guess I'll just have to settle for replaying a few of those moments in my head til the thinker wears itself out. He left the garter on for awhile after putting his own clothes back on, too -- I would have never believed how a tiny little strip of lace could make a thigh muscle ripple & draw one's attention like that. If guys knew what sort of effect that could create, they'd spend a lot more time at Friedrich's, I'm telling you! You're just lucky there were people around, mister.
I think everyone headed home around 3am.. so yet another loooong night. Sleep. Sleep is good. Dreams. Dreams are better :)
Birthday isn't over... last night I couldn't sleep until around 3am (gee.. wonder why?), so I got most of my office floor cleaned up (#8) & can now walk without tripping over stuff. Once I get the bills paid this week, I think I may order some new contacts (#12), John & Tom are going to try to come out & finish the electrical in my yard next week some time (#5), Stacy may work on the curtains this week (#9), & even if she doesn't, Tom said he could probably whip them off right quick some afternoon or evening very soon. I still have to find time to get together with the P's (#1) - I'm sure it'll get worked in somewhere within a few weeks... & I may yet work in the cable (#6), the screen door (#7), & the happy combo (#13) before the month is out, too... just depends on how things go.
Yep. My friends kick ass. That's all there is to it.
P.S. If you missed them from above, here was my list... and I don't want to hear any more *(%*& about birthday lists not getting fulfilled!!
Fresh strawberries & cream with my mom
A heartfelt hug good morning & good night from Bailey
A day without temper tantrums
T,C & A to fix whatever is "off"
Electrical done in yard
Cable wire in house finally finished
New front screen door to match the back
My office clean & organized (but I have to do it)
Curtains hemmed!
Go pick Fish for pond (?)
Steak N Shake time with Amy
Eyes that work without glasses
Yoga / massage / sleep til I wake. In that order!
To not wake up alone
Misc stuff I'm not even going to put in print
I had SUCH a great birthday!!! It really began at the Lake over Memorial Day weekend, when Bauer presented me with my new CHAIR! Yeah :) I've been drooling over (& swiping - this may have just been self-preservation on his part) his camping chair with footstool installed for a couple of summers now, & he found me one for my birthday. (#15) YEAH!!! John & Tom set up my tent gear for me before I got there, with Tom making an executive decision about who goes where (#15), putting all the kids in my big tent AWAY from us adults. That may have technically had nothing at all to do with my birthday, but as far as I'm concerned, the birthday goodness began then :) (Birthdays don't have to just be one little day, do they?)
Wednesday evening, Tammy&Mike took me out for supper & I got to bring Toby home to visit for a couple of weeks. Then this Thursday night I got to meet up with Amy over across the river for some looong awaited girl-time at Steak-n-Shake. (#11) We need that every now & then, & even though we talk all the freakin' time & do stuff with various segments of the group, I'm a very strong proponent of the concept that in any group of people, every combination of folks needs some time that is just theirs. One-on-one, just the two of you. Doesn't always have to be a lot, or doing anything significant (in fact, probably better if you're doing nothing really), just time for the two of you to connect in your own way without all the other vectors & distractions getting mixed up in your interactions.
The day of my actual birthday, before the sun even thought about having a chance to shine its horrid self in my poor little eyes, I got to cozy up all friendly-like (#15) with someone I'm really starting to care a whole lot about & share some things close to the heart. (#4) I got a lot of good feedback & it was easily 3:00 or 3:30 in the morning before we decided we were yawning more than talking and that horizontal would be a much better place to be. I'm not sure I'm fully clear & that all the little bothery bits are completely gone, but just by making the effort & taking the chance to talk I felt SO much better, warm & loved :)
Then the kids managed to stay quiet long enough that everyone got to sleep in. (#14,15) Did I mention feeling warm & loved? Double that! Twice!
Amy&I skipped yoga in the morning, all of us opting for a late lazy breakfast instead. 's all good... I was thinking at the time that I was going to get my yoga fix a bit later as Bauer & I were going to go to a lunch-hour class over on my side of the river. Chris has never done any yoga, so we need to make sure he gets to at least a couple of Basic classes before he can join Amy & I on some of our Saturday am jaunts if he wants, and I really want to get him in over here at Sukha. I still think Sarah is the best instructor I've worked with to date!
Well... we made it to class on time in the afternoon, only to find out there wasn't a class! They've had a little instructor turn-around & apparently the Saturday Basic class went ptchiew! right out the window. Darn it!! So nooooo yoga for Amy on her birthday (#13) :( S'alright.. instead, Chris was an AWESOME sport & tailed me around town for a couple of hours getting some errands & shopping done that have been on my list of to do's with no time to do them. Those weren't on the official birthday list, but you know how I am about lists... & getting those completed was a great relief.
The last shopping bit we did WAS on my list, though: Fish for the pond! (#10) I was a bit hesitant about trying them again so soon, but hey... it's my birthday. The goldfish & koi at the store were looking a bit sickly, so I decided to try something different, & brought home two silver spotted catfish, a bumblebee catfish, and two Gouramis - one red, one tiger. They're very small in that size pond, and... Um... now I can't find them?
OH! & when we were giving the fish their new home, Chris pointed out to me the HUNDREDS of little tadpoles squirming about all over the bottom of the pond -- guess those poor frogs weren't just whistlin' Dixie when my neighbors were requesting that I turn them down, eh? Those should be really fun to watch develop over the next few weeks. Anybody want some frogs?
On the way home with the fish, Chris insisted that we had one more pit stop to make but wouldn't tell me what or where until we were almost on top of it... he wanted to buy me FLOWERS! :) He took Bailey in with him & let her pick out the colour, coming back out with a dozen beautiful pale pink roses. It's always a good sign when a man knows enough about flowers to start trimming the ends before they go in water.. hmmm... Chris, you are ever full of surprizes! We put them in a nice clear glass vase with a little pink ribbon around it when we got home, & today they've opened slightly, looking absolutely beautiful. If I can get my camera working, I'll post a pic of them later :)
Back home to TRY to get a bit of a nap (#13) before the circus, & not much luck with that either... but I did get a teensy bit of a backrub & an explanation that the original plan was to somewhere work in a real massage (#13) aaallll for me. Unfortunately ...lol... that didn't work out, either! Since I suggested Chris just ride to IL with me & leave his truck in STL, he had right quick swapped his table into T&A's vehicle when I wasn't looking. Then they got delayed a bit, weren't coming into IL quite as planned, didn't stay the night...
Then we girls took the kids to the circus, while Tom appropriated my house to bake a cake. (At least that's what they SAID he was doing - I haven't talked to the neighbors yet to confirm or deny.) I decided to forego the elephant rides at the circus this year -- they just didn't look quite as appealing when I realized they were cramming 6-8 people on them for each ride. The older girls went, though, & thought it was great.
After the circus, I was informed that there were people awaiting our return back at my house, (ACK! Vacuum, dust, dishes, laundry, make bed.. ACK! Aw... screw it.. they don't care, & they're already there, anyway. lolol) so we headed that way. I mentioned Tom was baking a cake while we were gone, didn't I? Holy cow, that man has inventive mixed with ornery in every bone in his body. I'm not TELLING you what he did with flour & water & icing... & tubing & a water bottle... but it was SO funny I REALLY REALLY wish Amy had let me go to the bathroom before they let me see it. It was GOOD, too.
Before long we all piled into the 'burban & headed for a VERY late supper at... The Cheesecake Factory!! Oh, yum, yum, double yum :) I had the chicken picatta & a chocolate martini... people I love all around me... almost every cell in my body was happy for one reason or another :) I'm having the leftovers for lunch today, too :) I had to skip the cheesecake, 'cause by the time it was time for dessert, there just wasn't room & the warm happy lassitude was taking over very very quickly. A little ice cream sundae with a candle, though.. (& another chocolate martini) and although there were some complaints that I didn't get enough on my face... somehow, I think that's more ironically appropriate for me to have gotten it all in my mouth where it belonged, while the boys have ended up with theirs all over the place on their birthdays.. Yes?
Then we all came back to my house to watch one of my other birthday presents: The Rocky Horror Picture Show! There was some talk of everyone dressing the parts (I'm fairly sure I could come up with something for everyone.), but that happy lassitude I mentioned earlier & an excellent dinner (I'm NOT blaming it on the drinks. I'm NOT!) really took it's toll. Only one of our knightly heroes deigned to play our little game before we hit play on the DVD... and let me tell you, the intermission was WORTH it! Holy crap, it's been a looooonnnnng time since I've seen anything that sexy. Surprized me! I sooooo wanted a picture for my own private little momentoes.
I think everyone headed home around 3am.. so yet another loooong night. Sleep. Sleep is good. Dreams. Dreams are better :)
Birthday isn't over... last night I couldn't sleep until around 3am (gee.. wonder why?), so I got most of my office floor cleaned up (#8) & can now walk without tripping over stuff. Once I get the bills paid this week, I think I may order some new contacts (#12), John & Tom are going to try to come out & finish the electrical in my yard next week some time (#5), Stacy may work on the curtains this week (#9), & even if she doesn't, Tom said he could probably whip them off right quick some afternoon or evening very soon. I still have to find time to get together with the P's (#1) - I'm sure it'll get worked in somewhere within a few weeks... & I may yet work in the cable (#6), the screen door (#7), & the happy combo (#13) before the month is out, too... just depends on how things go.
Yep. My friends kick ass. That's all there is to it.
P.S. If you missed them from above, here was my list... and I don't want to hear any more *(%*& about birthday lists not getting fulfilled!!
Fresh strawberries & cream with my mom
A heartfelt hug good morning & good night from Bailey
A day without temper tantrums
T,C & A to fix whatever is "off"
Electrical done in yard
Cable wire in house finally finished
New front screen door to match the back
My office clean & organized (but I have to do it)
Curtains hemmed!
Go pick Fish for pond (?)
Steak N Shake time with Amy
Eyes that work without glasses
Yoga / massage / sleep til I wake. In that order!
To not wake up alone
Misc stuff I'm not even going to put in print
Thursday, June 01, 2006
What Do You See?
When you look at me, what do you see?
Do you see skin you wish to touch
A hand you wish to hold
Lips to kiss
A body to press up against
Do you see eyes into which you wish to gaze
To see the soul inside
To watch laughter ripple
And sorrow melt away
Do you see this soul which loves you
The person deep inside
The one that thinks and hurts and loves
That lives there day to day
Do you see someone you want to spend
Forever getting to know
Sharing lives, sharing love
Sharing this family around us which grows
Or do you only see a conquest
Another notch to earn
One more goal on a path to nothing
That you can strip then toss and burn
Perhaps you see a duty
Not abhorrent but not your desire
You care only enough not to leave me out
Because someone else in your life cares more
Well I don't want to be a duty
A chore to cross of a list
I don't want to be third or fourth choice
When you're counting opportunities you might miss
And I'm not a path to nothing
I'm not something you should use
I'm here because I love you
Noone else, Nothing less... you
You are not a path to somewhere else
You are something all yourself
Something strong and strange and wonderful
Someone worth all the love and respect you can earn
You have grown so far in my esteem
In the time I've known you thus
A person in your own right
A soul worthy of respect... and trust
And yet the more I learn to know you
I see this child lying deep inside
Scarred, scared and frightened
Rebellious, defending its shredded pride
Children can be cruel sometimes
They think only of themselves in the world
Of how much of this or how much of that
They can beg borrow steal and hoard
And when they're thinking of themselves
There's no room for anyone else
No gracious sacrifice, no giving of self
Nor helping others in your life balance that for which they yearn
And none either of the joy
That comes in sharing with the ones you love
None of the deepest pride in knowing
You make a difference, you are whole, you are loved
The waters that run are in you and of you
But not all & only you - It's a system that needs support
It needs all of us here to balance it
Damage one, damage all... that's how it works
I'm not playing some little game
Of he has her she has him its my turn
Nor do I want to steal you
From other loves in their turn
I don't want to be part of petty little
small-natured selfish things
I don't want to fail to care for the others
Who share our time and our lives and our schemes
You are strong and you are intelligent
You are handsome and you are brave
You have heart and soul and patience
You are tender and fierce and yet you play
You have become so many marvelous things
As you've journeyed from child to adult
The choices you've made have tempered you
Into someone worthy of far more than simple lust
I want a love that is bigger
that gives as well as receives
You've shown me a glimpse of something marvelous
That I thought existed only in books & dreams
And I'm willing to set my feet upon
This strange path which before us lies
But before I go
I need to know
When you look at me,
What is it you want?
What is it you need?
What is it exactly, my friend..
That You see?
~~ Sierra Jacobus, 06/01/2006
Do you see skin you wish to touch
A hand you wish to hold
Lips to kiss
A body to press up against
Do you see eyes into which you wish to gaze
To see the soul inside
To watch laughter ripple
And sorrow melt away
Do you see this soul which loves you
The person deep inside
The one that thinks and hurts and loves
That lives there day to day
Do you see someone you want to spend
Forever getting to know
Sharing lives, sharing love
Sharing this family around us which grows
Or do you only see a conquest
Another notch to earn
One more goal on a path to nothing
That you can strip then toss and burn
Perhaps you see a duty
Not abhorrent but not your desire
You care only enough not to leave me out
Because someone else in your life cares more
Well I don't want to be a duty
A chore to cross of a list
I don't want to be third or fourth choice
When you're counting opportunities you might miss
And I'm not a path to nothing
I'm not something you should use
I'm here because I love you
Noone else, Nothing less... you
You are not a path to somewhere else
You are something all yourself
Something strong and strange and wonderful
Someone worth all the love and respect you can earn
You have grown so far in my esteem
In the time I've known you thus
A person in your own right
A soul worthy of respect... and trust
And yet the more I learn to know you
I see this child lying deep inside
Scarred, scared and frightened
Rebellious, defending its shredded pride
Children can be cruel sometimes
They think only of themselves in the world
Of how much of this or how much of that
They can beg borrow steal and hoard
And when they're thinking of themselves
There's no room for anyone else
No gracious sacrifice, no giving of self
Nor helping others in your life balance that for which they yearn
And none either of the joy
That comes in sharing with the ones you love
None of the deepest pride in knowing
You make a difference, you are whole, you are loved
The waters that run are in you and of you
But not all & only you - It's a system that needs support
It needs all of us here to balance it
Damage one, damage all... that's how it works
I'm not playing some little game
Of he has her she has him its my turn
Nor do I want to steal you
From other loves in their turn
I don't want to be part of petty little
small-natured selfish things
I don't want to fail to care for the others
Who share our time and our lives and our schemes
You are strong and you are intelligent
You are handsome and you are brave
You have heart and soul and patience
You are tender and fierce and yet you play
You have become so many marvelous things
As you've journeyed from child to adult
The choices you've made have tempered you
Into someone worthy of far more than simple lust
I want a love that is bigger
that gives as well as receives
You've shown me a glimpse of something marvelous
That I thought existed only in books & dreams
And I'm willing to set my feet upon
This strange path which before us lies
But before I go
I need to know
When you look at me,
What is it you want?
What is it you need?
What is it exactly, my friend..
That You see?
~~ Sierra Jacobus, 06/01/2006
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
04/26/06 - Schools
One other thing in April, then I can go get a few winks of sleep before dawn... but without having gotten to the recent stuff I really needed to write about to begin with, either, darn it! Ah well... perhaps the urge will pass while I'm whittling my memoirs onto the screen. :)
Schools.
What would YOU think if your child was in a school where the principal of the school said.. to your face.. that they really didn't have any faith or believe that your child could ever improve? I don't give a damn who your kid is or what their issues are... whether they're straight A perfect children or whether you've birthed the most awful hoyden that ever crossed the hallowed threshold of that sacred institution. Teachers (& teaching staff... like principals, superintendents, etc) are one of the professions that we trust in to continually offer Hope. Support. Guidance. A way to a better future for EVERYONE. We very much put in their hands the intimate hopes and possibilities of the thing most precious to us: our children.. and as a result, we also trust them with the dreams and the future of our entire nation. They're not ALLOWED to give up on kids. Even if as a person, in their deepest private heart they think someone is lost, professionally speaking they have no right to EVER make a statement like that out loud. Or even think it, in my opinion.
Wasn't B... she's been doing fine, and her teacher this year (Mrs. Kramer) has been WONDERFUL! But that's absolutely not the point. The leader of the school sets the tone, & that's not the sort of leadership I want my child to be under as long as I have a better choice.
So this month we went looking for some other options. We took a couple of tours, interviewed a couple of schools... and next year, our kids will be going to a different school. One with a principal who sounds as though she looks at the world through eyes a bit more like ours, and to whom we both immediately took a liking to. It's more inconvenient than where we were, but I think it's a better choice. I went to the same school all my life, and I really wanted to be able to give B that, too, although I know the world is changing. She'll have to change schools again in high school anyway(there aren't many that go K-Sr anymore) & I suspect our lives may change again in terms of geography or makeup before she's done, making yet another change probable. She's really good at making friends, though, and at least for now she'll still get to see some of her old friends at soccer & T-Ball practice as well as at daycare in the summer, so with luck & love all will be well.
Dang.. there goes my alarm. No rest for the wicked! :D
Schools.
What would YOU think if your child was in a school where the principal of the school said.. to your face.. that they really didn't have any faith or believe that your child could ever improve? I don't give a damn who your kid is or what their issues are... whether they're straight A perfect children or whether you've birthed the most awful hoyden that ever crossed the hallowed threshold of that sacred institution. Teachers (& teaching staff... like principals, superintendents, etc) are one of the professions that we trust in to continually offer Hope. Support. Guidance. A way to a better future for EVERYONE. We very much put in their hands the intimate hopes and possibilities of the thing most precious to us: our children.. and as a result, we also trust them with the dreams and the future of our entire nation. They're not ALLOWED to give up on kids. Even if as a person, in their deepest private heart they think someone is lost, professionally speaking they have no right to EVER make a statement like that out loud. Or even think it, in my opinion.
Wasn't B... she's been doing fine, and her teacher this year (Mrs. Kramer) has been WONDERFUL! But that's absolutely not the point. The leader of the school sets the tone, & that's not the sort of leadership I want my child to be under as long as I have a better choice.
So this month we went looking for some other options. We took a couple of tours, interviewed a couple of schools... and next year, our kids will be going to a different school. One with a principal who sounds as though she looks at the world through eyes a bit more like ours, and to whom we both immediately took a liking to. It's more inconvenient than where we were, but I think it's a better choice. I went to the same school all my life, and I really wanted to be able to give B that, too, although I know the world is changing. She'll have to change schools again in high school anyway(there aren't many that go K-Sr anymore) & I suspect our lives may change again in terms of geography or makeup before she's done, making yet another change probable. She's really good at making friends, though, and at least for now she'll still get to see some of her old friends at soccer & T-Ball practice as well as at daycare in the summer, so with luck & love all will be well.
Dang.. there goes my alarm. No rest for the wicked! :D
04/23/06 - 04/29/06 The Yard Sale
This was the week of The Yard Sale. I had never been to a yard sale in my LIFE until I met Stacy... it's allll her fault. Now I've got to hit 'em when I see 'em, sometimes we grab a paper & make the rounds, & every year we manage to hold at LEAST one yard sale ourselves to get "stuff" out of the house in a more monetarily productive fashion than Freecycle or simply donating. (Although that IS what happens with whats left when we're done.)
But this year was a fiasco. Stacy swears she'll never have another yard sale in her life! (I'm not sure I believe her.. or even that I'll let her stick to it even if she means it.)
We were doing GREAT up until the second day of the yardsale itself. I took a couple of days off during the week, and Tom came over to help as long as he wasn't needed at work elsewhere, too. (See what I mean? Just showing up everywhere!) With that time, we pulled out all the loads & loads of stuff we'd been stockpiling as "ok to go" & got it priced to sell. Friday went FINE... excellent traffic even though our ad didn't make it into the paper, sold quite a lot of stuff, nice weather, even sold my phone number to one aspiring gentleman! (Hey.. it was a yard SALE, not a giveaway. lolol)
Then Saturday hit. Cold, drizzly... no prospects on the calendar for it to clear up, either. HOWEVER.. we were prePARED for that! Stacy had managed to get her hands on three 10x10 pop ups plus one 10x20 pole tent, Tom had staked them FIRMLY into the ground, we cable-tied tarps all around them & except for forgetting the hot chocolate (which we made a run to town for), a little rain wasn't about to set us back. We even actually had a nice little run of traffic in the morning - die-hard yard salers out in spite of the weather... that sort doesn't even flinch when they step from the car into a bit of soggy grass.
But the cold & drizzle was really getting to us, Stacy & I were getting crabby & sniping at one another, traffic wasn't "all that", & we really wanted to be able to make it to Carson's Birthday party in the afternoon. So about 11:30a we decided to call it quits & pack up. We were tired. We were wet. We were cold. We were bitchy.
It seems that Stacy & I shouldn't bicker. It screws up the weather system over the entire county. Like the Witches of Eastwick! In the span of about 10 minutes, the wind kicked up from 6mph to over 40mph (we checked WeatherBug after it was all over), & we had a real emergency on our hands.
After hauling in the first load, we sat down for a minute to get warm, & when we stepped back outside, it was apparent there had been a dramatic change in the weather -- the sky looked like a horrible storm was brewing, the wind was atrocious, & all 4 of the tents were straining dangerously at their tie downs. We RACED over to try to get them down -- the tarps we had so securely fastened with cable ties were great protection against rain, but were now making them pretty effective balloons & we had only one utility knife between us. I started slashing cable ties while Stacy tackled the legs of the pop ups trying to get them down lower to the ground. As we were trying to get her mom's (10x10, all steel, commercial grade pop up) dropped, I looked up & saw Stacy's face & turned around just in time to see the really big one (10x20, heavy steel legs & frame)pull it's roots & go tumbling over my car (2 dents) & down the yard end over apple cart .... towards the road! Their house has a fairly long drive -- it's maybe the length of 2 city blocks from house to road. Believe me, we hauled some butt to catch it. I told Stacy that outside of people that were in PE with me in High School, she is now the only person to have ever seen me run.... and if she'd been paying any attention at all, she'd know why B is so darn slow! Every time we aaaalmost had it ... within fingertip reach!, the wind blew it back out of our hands again. I really thought it was going to go into the road & we were going to end up with an accident or a major pile up on the highway. Then one leg of the tent caught in the fence & Stacy was able to jump on top of it on that end... whereupon it promptly almost pulled HER off her feet & take her with it... but that gave me just enough time to get ME on the darn thing & we got it turned upside down where we could pop the rest of the tarp off of it & render it still & silent(er).
At that point, we still had three tents left, though all in major distress, & raced back to where they were... found that the legs on her mom's pop up had crumpled at the join, so we did just enough to slice the rest of the top & tarps off so it wouldn't create a hazard & abandoned it for the other two. Those two (10x10s) were newer, so the legs dropped easier on them, & the releases on the top were much quicker to get too, too. Still, we lost one of those when two of the plastic joins broke... but they also had 2' steel stakes through their legs into the ground
thanks to Tom!) & the combination of design meant they at least stayed where they were & didn't go flying towards the road.
Then we had to go pull tarps up -- although we had gotten them down & most were under the frames of the tents, they were still flapping alarmingly in the heavy winds & inching their way from safety... so back we went, running some more, to gather those in so they didn't create another hazzard. After pulling the three large connected tarps into the garage (ALL this is at top speed, mind you!) -- it took both of us to do it & we were blown backwards one step for every three all the way there -- I could NOT catch my breath & promptly leaned over & threw up. Um.. at least the tarps are liquid-proof? Ew!
Then we stood for a second to contemplate the scene, & saw that the wind was now attacking the piles of clothes that had once been UNDER the tents.... bunches of them were 1/2 down their yard towards the road... but they at least were getting weighted down quickly by the moisture on the grass from the rain & none of them ever got all the way to the end before we could gather them up.
We were very lucky that it wasn't actually raining most of this time (in other ways, too!) & none of the actual "stuff" was really damaged. Lots of it is dirty now & needs a scrub... we had about 12 loads of laundry to run through to get all the "to sell" clothes clean & dry again... and then had to tackle repairing or replacing the tents. Got lucky there, too -- The wind & the tumbling crumpled several of the straight pieces of the frame at the joins, but all the cross sections (which would be much harder to fabricate) made it unscathed... so we were actually able to find replacement straights for FREE & John cut them to appropriate lengths. The ruined commercial pop up was more difficult -- that specific one is no longer in production, so replacement parts could not be had. But Stacy found a similar one for less than we expected (about $200, I think). She's still looking/hoping for replacement plastic parts to fix hers... but she found hers on clearance for $40 each... so if we can't fix it, we're just calling that one a loss at this point.
Soo.... Saturday between us we did about $300... and Sunday between us we did about $13, then lost three tents, putting us solidly in the hole for the weekend. NOT THE BEST YARD SALE WE'VE EVER HAD!! (& still not done with all that laundry...)
But this year was a fiasco. Stacy swears she'll never have another yard sale in her life! (I'm not sure I believe her.. or even that I'll let her stick to it even if she means it.)
We were doing GREAT up until the second day of the yardsale itself. I took a couple of days off during the week, and Tom came over to help as long as he wasn't needed at work elsewhere, too. (See what I mean? Just showing up everywhere!) With that time, we pulled out all the loads & loads of stuff we'd been stockpiling as "ok to go" & got it priced to sell. Friday went FINE... excellent traffic even though our ad didn't make it into the paper, sold quite a lot of stuff, nice weather,
Then Saturday hit. Cold, drizzly... no prospects on the calendar for it to clear up, either. HOWEVER.. we were prePARED for that! Stacy had managed to get her hands on three 10x10 pop ups plus one 10x20 pole tent, Tom had staked them FIRMLY into the ground, we cable-tied tarps all around them & except for forgetting the hot chocolate (which we made a run to town for), a little rain wasn't about to set us back. We even actually had a nice little run of traffic in the morning - die-hard yard salers out in spite of the weather... that sort doesn't even flinch when they step from the car into a bit of soggy grass.
But the cold & drizzle was really getting to us, Stacy & I were getting crabby & sniping at one another, traffic wasn't "all that", & we really wanted to be able to make it to Carson's Birthday party in the afternoon. So about 11:30a we decided to call it quits & pack up. We were tired. We were wet. We were cold. We were bitchy.
It seems that Stacy & I shouldn't bicker. It screws up the weather system over the entire county. Like the Witches of Eastwick! In the span of about 10 minutes, the wind kicked up from 6mph to over 40mph (we checked WeatherBug after it was all over), & we had a real emergency on our hands.
After hauling in the first load, we sat down for a minute to get warm, & when we stepped back outside, it was apparent there had been a dramatic change in the weather -- the sky looked like a horrible storm was brewing, the wind was atrocious, & all 4 of the tents were straining dangerously at their tie downs. We RACED over to try to get them down -- the tarps we had so securely fastened with cable ties were great protection against rain, but were now making them pretty effective balloons & we had only one utility knife between us. I started slashing cable ties while Stacy tackled the legs of the pop ups trying to get them down lower to the ground. As we were trying to get her mom's (10x10, all steel, commercial grade pop up) dropped, I looked up & saw Stacy's face & turned around just in time to see the really big one (10x20, heavy steel legs & frame)pull it's roots & go tumbling over my car (2 dents) & down the yard end over apple cart .... towards the road! Their house has a fairly long drive -- it's maybe the length of 2 city blocks from house to road. Believe me, we hauled some butt to catch it. I told Stacy that outside of people that were in PE with me in High School, she is now the only person to have ever seen me run.... and if she'd been paying any attention at all, she'd know why B is so darn slow! Every time we aaaalmost had it ... within fingertip reach!, the wind blew it back out of our hands again. I really thought it was going to go into the road & we were going to end up with an accident or a major pile up on the highway. Then one leg of the tent caught in the fence & Stacy was able to jump on top of it on that end... whereupon it promptly almost pulled HER off her feet & take her with it... but that gave me just enough time to get ME on the darn thing & we got it turned upside down where we could pop the rest of the tarp off of it & render it still & silent(er).
At that point, we still had three tents left, though all in major distress, & raced back to where they were... found that the legs on her mom's pop up had crumpled at the join, so we did just enough to slice the rest of the top & tarps off so it wouldn't create a hazard & abandoned it for the other two. Those two (10x10s) were newer, so the legs dropped easier on them, & the releases on the top were much quicker to get too, too. Still, we lost one of those when two of the plastic joins broke... but they also had 2' steel stakes through their legs into the ground
thanks to Tom!) & the combination of design meant they at least stayed where they were & didn't go flying towards the road.
Then we had to go pull tarps up -- although we had gotten them down & most were under the frames of the tents, they were still flapping alarmingly in the heavy winds & inching their way from safety... so back we went, running some more, to gather those in so they didn't create another hazzard. After pulling the three large connected tarps into the garage (ALL this is at top speed, mind you!) -- it took both of us to do it & we were blown backwards one step for every three all the way there -- I could NOT catch my breath & promptly leaned over & threw up. Um.. at least the tarps are liquid-proof? Ew!
Then we stood for a second to contemplate the scene, & saw that the wind was now attacking the piles of clothes that had once been UNDER the tents.... bunches of them were 1/2 down their yard towards the road... but they at least were getting weighted down quickly by the moisture on the grass from the rain & none of them ever got all the way to the end before we could gather them up.
We were very lucky that it wasn't actually raining most of this time (in other ways, too!) & none of the actual "stuff" was really damaged. Lots of it is dirty now & needs a scrub... we had about 12 loads of laundry to run through to get all the "to sell" clothes clean & dry again... and then had to tackle repairing or replacing the tents. Got lucky there, too -- The wind & the tumbling crumpled several of the straight pieces of the frame at the joins, but all the cross sections (which would be much harder to fabricate) made it unscathed... so we were actually able to find replacement straights for FREE & John cut them to appropriate lengths. The ruined commercial pop up was more difficult -- that specific one is no longer in production, so replacement parts could not be had. But Stacy found a similar one for less than we expected (about $200, I think). She's still looking/hoping for replacement plastic parts to fix hers... but she found hers on clearance for $40 each... so if we can't fix it, we're just calling that one a loss at this point.
Soo.... Saturday between us we did about $300... and Sunday between us we did about $13, then lost three tents, putting us solidly in the hole for the weekend. NOT THE BEST YARD SALE WE'VE EVER HAD!! (& still not done with all that laundry...)
04/16/06 - 04/22/06 Painting
Tom & Amy have been talking about redoing their upstairs. Paint.. new flooring... but first Paint! With all the festivities lately, I know (oh, boy do I know!) there hasn't been a whole lot of time to get things done around the house, let alone big projects. Painting can either be a pain-in-the-butt onerous task, or it can be a blast & a half, the difference is in the company you keep. So when I heard mutterings about needing to get the painting done, I put on mah paintin' clothes & got my butt on over there! Hey... they braved a big ol' mean rose bush for me, I can SURE "brave" a painting spree for them :)
Holy crap did we have FUN!! Tom, Amy, O'Amy & Larry whipped out cans of paint, plastic sheeting, ladders, paint brushes, & some good ol' 80's music & spent SEVERAL hours slathering on the new colour over all the sanding & patching & prep work Tom had been doing the week before. (ok, a little over us, too) Bauer cheered us on by phone, George of the Jungle made a guest appearance, & after a couple of deep breaths, Amy did the highwire act for the evening with exceptional aplomb. Now the upstairs is a really really pretty shade of green (moonfrost? spring tide?)!! Then we went downstairs to watch a coupla-three episodes of Coupling & relax for a few.
Dang, that show is FUNNY!
Maybe I'm wrong... maybe this is just the month of Tom! lol I'm looking at my calendar & that ornery little critter is just popping up all over the freakin place. This was also the week that he called me & said, "Hey, whatcha doin' for lunch?" Half distracted, I indicated I had nothing planned, why.... then he HONKED, & it reverbrated both through the phone and through my open window.. the stinker had come all the way across the river & was sitting in my driveway!So we went to drag Stacy out of her lazy little bed & swipe some of the YUMMY leftover BBQ pork steaks I knew were in the fridge :D
Holy crap did we have FUN!! Tom, Amy, O'Amy & Larry whipped out cans of paint, plastic sheeting, ladders, paint brushes, & some good ol' 80's music & spent SEVERAL hours slathering on the new colour over all the sanding & patching & prep work Tom had been doing the week before. (ok, a little over us, too) Bauer cheered us on by phone, George of the Jungle made a guest appearance, & after a couple of deep breaths, Amy did the highwire act for the evening with exceptional aplomb. Now the upstairs is a really really pretty shade of green (moonfrost? spring tide?)!! Then we went downstairs to watch a coupla-three episodes of Coupling & relax for a few.
Dang, that show is FUNNY!
Maybe I'm wrong... maybe this is just the month of Tom! lol I'm looking at my calendar & that ornery little critter is just popping up all over the freakin place. This was also the week that he called me & said, "Hey, whatcha doin' for lunch?" Half distracted, I indicated I had nothing planned, why.... then he HONKED, & it reverbrated both through the phone and through my open window.. the stinker had come all the way across the river & was sitting in my driveway!
04/15/06 Tom's Birthday
This is definitely the Year of the Birthdays, and Tom's birthday ROCKED!!!
Once again, we were looking for fun & different ideas -- seems to be becoming a trademark of sorts? We certainly have enough creativity & intelligence & just plain 'ol fun in the group to be able to kick some up! This one was a hybrid: mostly Amy, with a cup of Stacy & a pinch of O'Amy thrown in for spice :)
So it's Easter weekend, right? What is Easter without a little Easter egg hunt! First we went for dinner: Tom, Amy, Bauer, O'Amy, John, Stacy, Speedy, Amberly, Melissa, Shaun, Lisa. (Tammy&Mike didn't make it) While we were out, the kids had fun with the babysitter hiding plastic Easter eggs in our back yard for US to find when we returned. Each of us had to find one orange egg, which contained a #1 or #2, and at least 4 other eggs, each of which contained a piece of candy and... a Scavenger Hunt item!
The numbers designated which team we were on. John & I volunteered to be the designated drivers... 'cause the Scavenger Hunt was designed to take us allllll over town. We had til 11:30p, then we were to meet at Wild Country to tally up & see who was to win the all important CHOCOLATE BUNNY.
Here's the scavenger hunt list... I'll let YOU picture just how much freakin' fun we had with this. lolol
Ground rules:
1) If it's an action, you must get a picture
2) No item may be obtained from any original scavenger hunt participant
3) Items, pictures, people etc cannot constitute more than one scavenger hunt item
4) WE TRUST YOU… NO CHEATING!
List:
3 napkins or coasters w/ bar logo, signed by bartender
an actual person - must leave one location & travel with you to end location (ok to drive their own vehicle)
Phone number of the phone booth at _______________________
How many swings are at ____________ park?
5 signed business cards (signed by that person, & all 5 different people)
Take out menu from any Chinese restaurant… with a sauce spot on it
Promotional pen w/ business name on it
Find a bar with 7 letters in the name
Bar of hotel soap
Go to the Fountain in Belleville, each person toss a coin in & make a wish.
A grocery coupon from a grocery store
Get a picture of a comb over / toupee…. (yes, on a person)
Fancy condom - ie) coloured, a tickler, etc. Extra Large or ribbed does not constitute "fancy"
3 brands of smashed burnt out cigarette butts
Picture of a non-IL, non-MO out of state license plate
Picture of the group (or group-photographer) next to population sign for Belleville, Swansea, Fairview Heights, or O'Fallon
A church bulletin
2 helium-filled balloons w/ different logos on them
Obtain lipstick kiss-print from someone not in the party onto someone in the party … on any body part of your choice
Receipt for 50 cents worth of gas, paid in cash
plastic clothes hanger
cocktail umbrella
Find someone with a picture of their child or grandchild in their purse or wallet… get them to let you take a picture of them holding that picture
Picture of one of your party kissing a complete stranger
1 logo'd condiment package (logo'd w/ the place you got it from)
1 used McDonald's sandwich wrapper
2 signatures from 2 different band members from any band playing in the area tonight (include name of band & bar)
Picture of anything with "Git 'er Done!" on it
1 bank deposit envelope
Picture: at least 1 member of your party + at least 2 strangers playing ring-around-the-rosy with 1 other member of your party in the middle
Picture of a tattoo … on a person… that would be covered by standard shorts & T-shirt
Picture with a Denny's employee in uniform
A Lifesaver.
Pictures of each member of your party riding one of those quarter machines outside stores (may cost more than a quarter) Pictures cannot all be on the same machine.
1 Easter Egg
Smiley face sticker from WalMart
Sticker from a grocery store (Schnucks / Harts etc) (the ones they give kids / mark merchandise with to show it was purchased)
1 newspaper in the plastic sleeve from someone's lawn
1 fresh-picked flower
Create a petition, obtain 10 signatures… 10 different people, multiple locations
I can only give you the funnest bits from OUR group, since I wasn't with the others.. but let's just point out that a) it is almost impossible to find a condom machine in a gas station bathroom these days.. but they're cleaner than they used to be b) Those little horsey-riding machines aren't made for adult butts, but DAMN, they're sturdy! c) Playing ring around the rosey with strangers in a grocery store parking lot at 11:00 at night is FUN and d) Any Bauer that can manage to get a church bulletin AND a kiss from a MORMON chick, after getting her to have us follow her home to get them on the Saturday night before Easter is a GOD
'Nuff said?
Once again, we were looking for fun & different ideas -- seems to be becoming a trademark of sorts? We certainly have enough creativity & intelligence & just plain 'ol fun in the group to be able to kick some up! This one was a hybrid: mostly Amy, with a cup of Stacy & a pinch of O'Amy thrown in for spice :)
So it's Easter weekend, right? What is Easter without a little Easter egg hunt! First we went for dinner: Tom, Amy, Bauer, O'Amy, John, Stacy, Speedy, Amberly, Melissa, Shaun, Lisa. (Tammy&Mike didn't make it) While we were out, the kids had fun with the babysitter hiding plastic Easter eggs in our back yard for US to find when we returned. Each of us had to find one orange egg, which contained a #1 or #2, and at least 4 other eggs, each of which contained a piece of candy and... a Scavenger Hunt item!
The numbers designated which team we were on. John & I volunteered to be the designated drivers... 'cause the Scavenger Hunt was designed to take us allllll over town. We had til 11:30p, then we were to meet at Wild Country to tally up & see who was to win the all important CHOCOLATE BUNNY.
Here's the scavenger hunt list... I'll let YOU picture just how much freakin' fun we had with this. lolol
Ground rules:
1) If it's an action, you must get a picture
2) No item may be obtained from any original scavenger hunt participant
3) Items, pictures, people etc cannot constitute more than one scavenger hunt item
4) WE TRUST YOU… NO CHEATING!
List:
3 napkins or coasters w/ bar logo, signed by bartender
an actual person - must leave one location & travel with you to end location (ok to drive their own vehicle)
Phone number of the phone booth at _______________________
How many swings are at ____________ park?
5 signed business cards (signed by that person, & all 5 different people)
Take out menu from any Chinese restaurant… with a sauce spot on it
Promotional pen w/ business name on it
Find a bar with 7 letters in the name
Bar of hotel soap
Go to the Fountain in Belleville, each person toss a coin in & make a wish.
A grocery coupon from a grocery store
Get a picture of a comb over / toupee…. (yes, on a person)
Fancy condom - ie) coloured, a tickler, etc. Extra Large or ribbed does not constitute "fancy"
3 brands of smashed burnt out cigarette butts
Picture of a non-IL, non-MO out of state license plate
Picture of the group (or group-photographer) next to population sign for Belleville, Swansea, Fairview Heights, or O'Fallon
A church bulletin
2 helium-filled balloons w/ different logos on them
Obtain lipstick kiss-print from someone not in the party onto someone in the party … on any body part of your choice
Receipt for 50 cents worth of gas, paid in cash
plastic clothes hanger
cocktail umbrella
Find someone with a picture of their child or grandchild in their purse or wallet… get them to let you take a picture of them holding that picture
Picture of one of your party kissing a complete stranger
1 logo'd condiment package (logo'd w/ the place you got it from)
1 used McDonald's sandwich wrapper
2 signatures from 2 different band members from any band playing in the area tonight (include name of band & bar)
Picture of anything with "Git 'er Done!" on it
1 bank deposit envelope
Picture: at least 1 member of your party + at least 2 strangers playing ring-around-the-rosy with 1 other member of your party in the middle
Picture of a tattoo … on a person… that would be covered by standard shorts & T-shirt
Picture with a Denny's employee in uniform
A Lifesaver.
Pictures of each member of your party riding one of those quarter machines outside stores (may cost more than a quarter) Pictures cannot all be on the same machine.
1 Easter Egg
Smiley face sticker from WalMart
Sticker from a grocery store (Schnucks / Harts etc) (the ones they give kids / mark merchandise with to show it was purchased)
1 newspaper in the plastic sleeve from someone's lawn
1 fresh-picked flower
Create a petition, obtain 10 signatures… 10 different people, multiple locations
I can only give you the funnest bits from OUR group, since I wasn't with the others.. but let's just point out that a) it is almost impossible to find a condom machine in a gas station bathroom these days.. but they're cleaner than they used to be b) Those little horsey-riding machines aren't made for adult butts, but DAMN, they're sturdy! c) Playing ring around the rosey with strangers in a grocery store parking lot at 11:00 at night is FUN and d) Any Bauer that can manage to get a church bulletin AND a kiss from a MORMON chick, after getting her to have us follow her home to get them on the Saturday night before Easter is a GOD
'Nuff said?
04/02/06 - 04/14/06
Then there were a couple of really crappy weeks with glimmers of light in them. I spent the better part of the time sick, achy, generally down & out. My car crashed & had to go back into the shop. Other things, too -- just a plethora of nasty.
At the same time, Stacy's grandpa passed away & HER life got totally ugly for a little while. It's not as though it was unexpected, but sometimes that makes very little difference in the scheme of things. Even bad things you know are coming are still bad, & still hurt. He left behind him quite a lot of family, but notably his wife of a LOT of years, who spent her entire life taking care of him. He was her life. Screw MY bad week... how do you think SHE feels? She's got Alzheimer's, too, so the family had the additional ugly task of explaining to her every.. single.. day... sometimes multiple times in the day... that Grandpa was gone. And every single time was as though it was the first time she finds out. Now THAT is crappy. For everyone. And then try to explain to her that she's not going to be able to live at home anymore, either. They'd moved Grandma & Grandpa into assisted living b/c of Grandpa's rapidly declining health & need for nursing care... but Grandma needed to be there, too (just wouldn't admit it). Now a new home & a new life. Ick. Double... triple ick.
But amidst all the bad stuff.. I did mention glimmers of light shining through, didn't I? Friends in shining armour on white chargers & that sort of thing? Tom & Amy appeared out of nowhere one night for no reason other than to be what friends are supposed to be: THERE! Dug in & got a couple of big tasks taken care of that had been weighing on me, which was nice, but didn't begin to measure up to them just showing up in the first place :)
After the funeral, BADLY needing release & a break from the bad stuff, I drug Stacy along with Bauer & I to a birthday party of a friend of Bauer's at Train Wreck. Some really neat people, than man knows, he does!
On our way there, Stacy&I realized that Saddle Ridge is only about 50 steps away, & determined that barring unforseen events, we'd try to make it over there for last call to see what it was like. Not bad! Dance floor could have been a tad bigger, but having a mechanical bull in the other room sort of makes up for it. & I didn't see it that night, but someone said they have karaoke in another room, too??? Have to try that some other time. So we moseyed up for a coupla beers, made our rounds, looked for familiar faces here & there, finding fewer than we anticipated. We did find one.. well, he found us: Michael Taff appeared out of nowhere to pop over & say howdy :) Silly man, asked me for my number AGAIN!I think it's becoming something like "Who's on First".
Then Stacy & I found the dance floor for awhile & had just started to wonder how the heck we were going to get home when (re)appeared BAUER!! YEAHH!!!! White knight, saviour, yadi yadi yadi... other party broke up & he came to find us :) We left my car to fend for itself & Bauer took the helm, driving us to... (Bloomin' Juvenile Idiots!) POPS!
If you've ever been to Pops, you don't need a resurrection of the rest of the ev.. uh.. morning. And if you haven't.. well.. let's just say we did NOT make it onto the wall of shame. To the best of my knowledge, anyway! Then home & to bed, which felt ooooohhhh so good. Oh yes... "COP!!" lololololol
At the same time, Stacy's grandpa passed away & HER life got totally ugly for a little while. It's not as though it was unexpected, but sometimes that makes very little difference in the scheme of things. Even bad things you know are coming are still bad, & still hurt. He left behind him quite a lot of family, but notably his wife of a LOT of years, who spent her entire life taking care of him. He was her life. Screw MY bad week... how do you think SHE feels? She's got Alzheimer's, too, so the family had the additional ugly task of explaining to her every.. single.. day... sometimes multiple times in the day... that Grandpa was gone. And every single time was as though it was the first time she finds out. Now THAT is crappy. For everyone. And then try to explain to her that she's not going to be able to live at home anymore, either. They'd moved Grandma & Grandpa into assisted living b/c of Grandpa's rapidly declining health & need for nursing care... but Grandma needed to be there, too (just wouldn't admit it). Now a new home & a new life. Ick. Double... triple ick.
But amidst all the bad stuff.. I did mention glimmers of light shining through, didn't I? Friends in shining armour on white chargers & that sort of thing? Tom & Amy appeared out of nowhere one night for no reason other than to be what friends are supposed to be: THERE! Dug in & got a couple of big tasks taken care of that had been weighing on me, which was nice, but didn't begin to measure up to them just showing up in the first place :)
After the funeral, BADLY needing release & a break from the bad stuff, I drug Stacy along with Bauer & I to a birthday party of a friend of Bauer's at Train Wreck. Some really neat people, than man knows, he does!
On our way there, Stacy&I realized that Saddle Ridge is only about 50 steps away, & determined that barring unforseen events, we'd try to make it over there for last call to see what it was like. Not bad! Dance floor could have been a tad bigger, but having a mechanical bull in the other room sort of makes up for it. & I didn't see it that night, but someone said they have karaoke in another room, too??? Have to try that some other time. So we moseyed up for a coupla beers, made our rounds, looked for familiar faces here & there, finding fewer than we anticipated. We did find one.. well, he found us: Michael Taff appeared out of nowhere to pop over & say howdy :) Silly man, asked me for my number AGAIN!
Then Stacy & I found the dance floor for awhile & had just started to wonder how the heck we were going to get home when (re)appeared BAUER!! YEAHH!!!! White knight, saviour, yadi yadi yadi... other party broke up & he came to find us :) We left my car to fend for itself & Bauer took the helm, driving us to... (Bloomin' Juvenile Idiots!) POPS!
If you've ever been to Pops, you don't need a resurrection of the rest of the ev.. uh.. morning. And if you haven't.. well.. let's just say we did NOT make it onto the wall of shame. To the best of my knowledge, anyway! Then home & to bed, which felt ooooohhhh so good. Oh yes... "COP!!" lololololol
04/01/06 - Fun Things
OMG did we have fun today, or WHAT?!?!
We started with a run to Gringo Jones to try to find a statue for my awesome new bedroom (still no luck). Okay, no, wait... we STARTED with yoga in the morning - much goodness! Then shopping.
Then Tartan Days in St Charles - down to the river front to see the parade (way cool), stopped at The Enchanted Attic to pick up a couple of crystals, found a little English place with Bisto (yum!), & a couple of bottles of wine for Stacy at the winery.
Then eventually we move into evening. A couple of days earlier, Stacy says, "I want to do something DIFFERENT." Since we've been sharing the brain, that's a good thing... I don't have to talk quite as much ;) So we went hunting for some "different" sort of activity, and what did we find? The Vagina Monologues! The name itself was enough to give me the giggles. It's a play, & was being done locally. We did some titty twisting (the regular ol' arm kind just wasn't quite enough) & got the guys to go along, promising liquid libation aplenty after.
So it was definitely something different. Cool little... LITTLE... TEENY TINY theatre in downtown Belleville.Not quite as funny as promised, but it had a couple of moments, & certainly added a little bit o' somethin somethin to the catalogue of our activities for the year.
Then we giggled & stumbled our way across the street to this Irish pub where lo & behold, a really kick ass sort of band was playing Celtic tunes. Again, something different! Made my toes tap & my butt wiggle! lol The bunch of us moseyed up to the bar & ordered a round, then another, & as we realized we could actually TALK over this band, still enjoy the music & each other at the same time, we stuck around. The group sort of amoeba'd in this amorphous blob in the middle of the room, most likely annoying the regulars, trading stories & little bitty backrubs & drinks & laughter til they closed down on us.
Then what did we do? Bloomin' juvenile idiots. (I say that with a grin on my face) We went to POPS! Well, ok.. we TRIED to go to Pops. They're sticklers about ID, & some folks didn't have theirs with. One would think that once you pass 30 it really shouldn't be necessary any more, wouldn't one? So what did we do instead? Uh... I think maybe we went to Denny's.. um.. somewhere. I'm not sure I remember. I think I fell asleep in the back of the 'burban.... 'cause by that time it was at least 2 or 3am & I'm getting too old for that sort of thing. lololololol
Anyway, it was good :)
We started with a run to Gringo Jones to try to find a statue for my awesome new bedroom (still no luck). Okay, no, wait... we STARTED with yoga in the morning - much goodness! Then shopping.
Then Tartan Days in St Charles - down to the river front to see the parade (way cool), stopped at The Enchanted Attic to pick up a couple of crystals, found a little English place with Bisto (yum!), & a couple of bottles of wine for Stacy at the winery.
Then eventually we move into evening. A couple of days earlier, Stacy says, "I want to do something DIFFERENT." Since we've been sharing the brain, that's a good thing... I don't have to talk quite as much ;) So we went hunting for some "different" sort of activity, and what did we find? The Vagina Monologues! The name itself was enough to give me the giggles. It's a play, & was being done locally. We did some titty twisting (the regular ol' arm kind just wasn't quite enough) & got the guys to go along, promising liquid libation aplenty after.
So it was definitely something different. Cool little... LITTLE... TEENY TINY theatre in downtown Belleville.
Then we giggled & stumbled our way across the street to this Irish pub where lo & behold, a really kick ass sort of band was playing Celtic tunes. Again, something different! Made my toes tap & my butt wiggle! lol The bunch of us moseyed up to the bar & ordered a round, then another, & as we realized we could actually TALK over this band, still enjoy the music & each other at the same time, we stuck around. The group sort of amoeba'd in this amorphous blob in the middle of the room, most likely annoying the regulars, trading stories & little bitty backrubs & drinks & laughter til they closed down on us.
Then what did we do? Bloomin' juvenile idiots. (I say that with a grin on my face) We went to POPS! Well, ok.. we TRIED to go to Pops. They're sticklers about ID, & some folks didn't have theirs with. One would think that once you pass 30 it really shouldn't be necessary any more, wouldn't one? So what did we do instead? Uh... I think maybe we went to Denny's.. um.. somewhere. I'm not sure I remember. I think I fell asleep in the back of the 'burban.... 'cause by that time it was at least 2 or 3am & I'm getting too old for that sort of thing. lololololol
Anyway, it was good :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)