Averygoodun's Personal File

1. Thank you so much, Mr. Neighbor, for setting such a wonderful example with your childish (repeated) door slamming. Hopefully this morning put the kibosh on future occurrences in my child.

2. Thanks to aforementioned door slamming, I am awake too early and am therefore tired. Which is unfortunate. I might have to make myself some tea (while actually wishing for coffee, which is delicious with honey).

3. LOADS of cooking to do (chicken stock, beets, dinner, cheesecake, cookies? squash), but first I need to clean up the kitchen so that there's room to prepare. Aw shit, and go to store for carrots.

4. I should probably not include cheesecake amongst the things I make today, but that will likely be the first thing I do make.

5. Tomorrow is soon enough to start another batch of yogurt. (And PS, I love you, remote digital thermometer with alarm! Happy valentine's day to you... *bats eyelashes*)

6. At some point during the day, I'll need to phone my three representatives. And call my dentist to reschedule (again... they must think I'm phobic!), and make sure my red shirt is clean and tidy. Going to Capital City on Thursday to show my support for gay marriage. (On the plus side, Republican Representative Friend has said that the people who put these bills forward are persona non grata within the party, even among the supporters of the bills. That's what overzealousness gets! Hee. [which reminds me, does anyone else think that Star Wars Ep. 1 is an example of the dangers of blind belief, with Qui Gon being the chief villain?]) Also, script out what I will say to representatives.

7. Right. Time to get started. I s'pose. If I have to.

Babe lost his first tooth today! Bottom front right when looking at him. It's so tiny!

Tooth fairy's got a tough job to not wake him up.

Four thank you notes. That's all I have left to do. But not just any four thank you notes, but the four most important thank you notes. Thank you notes of import should not be so damned difficult to write. Or even face. Of course I know that the difficulty lies in their importance, but still... In the scheme of things, they are just little notes of thanks and friendship. And if I say something wrong, the recipients aren't going to lynch me. They're my friends after all!


Babe has had another jump in artistic ability. Geoff and I came home from church yesterday to a new sign on the door comprised of cartoon figures. I seriously wondered if one of his (younger) babysitters had come by and helped him out. But no, he's just progressed again. If he continues at this rate, he'll be beyond my abilities by the time he reaches high school.


Babe is also... *sigh* He's been such a good boy at home. OMG, has he been a good boy. He's sweet, affectionate, helpful, tractable (as tractable as six-year-old ODD kids get) and, well, lovely. At school, however...

( Read more... )

Huh. Didn't realize I had that much to write. It's a bit of a relief to have written all that without any trouble, though, seeing as I've been having a difficult time with words lately. Nothing like aphasia, but... I've been jokingly excusing it as my brain bruise, though it's almost certainly more to do with my energy level than anything. Spoken words and I have never had an easy relationship, and it's always far worse when I'm tired.

( And don't bother worrying about my brain. )


And now I should go do my day's work and make my bed. And after that, work on my art. I have fifteen days to get enough work done and ready for the church show in December. Eek.

Hmm. Was in full-on grump mode today. Think I was sick. So, around noon I had a cup of honeyed tea, a bowl of sweet oatmeal and watched "Real Genius" on hulu while I worked on my art project some more. By the end of the movie, I was feeling almost human again.

I think it helped to know that I am one row of invisible thread stitches (i.e. no-one-will-see-them-so-I-don't-need-to-be-extra-extra-careful stitches) away from being done with that entire portion of the project. Then I need to bind it carefully and stretch the dowels through the binding. Oh, and figure out how to hang it (both the "which way is up" question and the "how to physically get it to stay on the wall" question. And then I can look at it properly and figure out if it needs any embellishments beyond what I've already got slated.

That all makes me happy, as it means I can move on to the next project, which is already starting to fade a bit, enthusiasm-wise, because Other Things are catching my attention, like ideas on how to fix/finish a couple previous sketches and such.

Around when I was feeling better, I made my way downstairs where Geoff had been hiding for most of the day (understandably so, me being in full grump mode and all) and found he'd finished rebinding the pipe insulation on the air-intake duct. It's all purdy(ish) now! And he'd started on actually insulating the rest of the duct.

It's only been two years since I put that project on the list, but it's actually done now! Yay! I had over-bought insulation materials, so we had extra to stuff in under-insulated parts of the wall, too. Hopefully all this will help the basement not feel like a Sub-Zero. (I'll happily settle for it feeling like an ice-box, instead.)

This came on top of me starting the cleaning of the workshop. It is not clean yet, but it is on its way, and there is hope for it being clean and organized within the next month or so, as attention and energy provide.

This weekend I also started working on Babe's Halloween costume. He's decided on being a knight, so the aluminum foil has come out of the cupboard once more to cover his rain boots. Removable covers mean they might last till Halloween relatively unscathed.

This week I will look for dollar store helmets/swords/shields and such, though I bet I could probably find enough cardboard in the house to fashion decent versions of all of those.

Anyway, I need to go shower off the dust and fiberglass from the basement adventures. And quick, too, as Castle is about to start!

Good thing? About half an hour after Babe tromped off in a toddlerish huff, he noticed the plate of goodies I made for him (partly as a peace offering): green bell pepper slices, cucumber slices and two halves of one "ants on a log" (almond butter on celery with raisins on top). His response? "AAAAAWWWWWWW YUM! Thanks, Mom!"


Also good (though of a much lower order)? There are signs that Dems are finally using that thing called strategy. News just came out that TARP - you know, that big, evil, expensive government take-over thing - that its actual cost was a whole $30 billion. Not $700 billion.

Yep. Real end of the world's capitalism program that was.

I still disagree with it on principle (DOWN WITH MEGA-CORPORATIONS!), but at least the Dems can honestly (not that that matters in politics) say that TARP isn't the reason we're so broke.

I'm honestly not sure if I've mentioned how much I love quirky, old houses. The quirkier, the better. I mean, I would be awed and impressed by Malfoy Manor, but unless I found and accessed some hidden passages, ala "The Blameless Vestal's Lot", I would quickly become bored. The Burrow, on the other hand, would fascinated me.

The house we stayed at this weekend was more Burrow-style, i.e. really quite quirky, fairly old - though not ancient - and not at all grand. Built around 1840, it's obviously had at least one, probably two additions in the last 170 years. It was an old, family house.

( House pic and mild description )

Next day, we saw the river shining at us through the remains of the night's fog. The house is - at most - fifty feet from the water. I opened all the windows I could in our part of the house, including the one over the stairwell, and then we started the day.

Our host asked what we wanted to do after I'd had time to look through the guide books he'd put out, and as I skimmed through it, something caught my eye: The Edward Gorey House! Edward Gorey had a house on the Cape! And it was CLOSE! O.M.G! I don't often turn into a fangirl (takes too much precious energy), but I literally bounced when I saw that. So, we went.

( Gorey photos )

(The links to the scrapbook seem to be broken.  I'll try to fix later, but right now I need to just step away from it. Before I harm my innocent computer.)

So, that made me happy. We had also gone on a short nature walk a few blocks over and that was nice, but nothing special.

( Botanical walk pics )

We then went back, had lunch and rested for the rest of the afternoon. Mostly on the screened porch overlooking the water. Babe entertained himself either drawing lighthouses (we hadn't seen a real one yet, but there was a large model of one near the living room that he was taken with) or playing legos. Geoff and I read. Our host napped. It was wonderful.

( Two random photos from Saturday )

That night during dinner (I cooked: red cabbage and onions seasoned with garam masala and balsamic vinegar, sauteed zucchini, summer squash, onions, garlic and mushrooms, mashed sweet potatoes and salad, while Geoff cooked the steaks) our host asked Babe what he liked best about the house. Babe ignored him. After a little conversational wandering, I repeated the question. Babe ignored me. The host moved on to ask us grown-ups what we liked best about the house. Just after Geoff finished (the porch and the wood-paneled room atop the second staircase), Babe had to go to the bathroom. When all the adults were back at the table, I told our host that Babe was scared of the house. He'd admitted it to me earlier in the day, while the sun was shining into his room.  He'd attributed it to all the different angles of the roof, though that seemed more like a tangible excuse for intangible unease.

Our host was not surprised by Babe's fear. Turns out, the house is haunted.

He told a tale about how when his sister's friend first came over, she had asked who the older lady who'd been sitting in the living room was. Host and Sister said, "Um...?" and asked her to describe the woman. The description fit their grandmother. Seems she haunts the living room. The one room I found myself avoiding, even though it was rather central and light.

Host was going to go on about the other paranormal activity in the house (with the teaser that Babe's room was the most disturbed) when Babe was ready to come back. We talked about other things from then on. Unfortunately, I didn't get any further information after Babe had gone to bed, but we will eventually. Host has suggested that we all (including the rest of the group who was invited but couldn't make it) try again in the spring. I have no idea how some of the others will like the house, but I'm completely on board with the suggestion.


Sunday will be a separate post.  (Photo post is here.)

So, Geoff went to wake Babe up for school this morning, and as he approached the bed, stepped in a puddle.

Okay, no, he didn't, but that's the better story. But it seems Babe did wake up in the middle of the night and was sick on the floor. Twice. And then went back to sleep.

The odd thing, to me, was that as he was lying in bed while Geoff cleaned up the mess (he was mid-clean by the time I got up) and I rubbed his head, he asked for a back rub. And man is his back messed! He has a trigger point the size of my thumb's pad between his shoulder blade and spine, but he actually wanted his lower back worked on, 'cause that was the painful bit.

Poor baby inherited my back. :-(


So anyway, it looks like I'll be watching more kids movies today. And reading Bloody Jack when Babe usurps the computer for gaming (the non-violent, non-internet kind).

Fortunately, it's Monday, so no disappointment is felt. And Babe seems quite cheerful, so hopefully it'll be a pleasant enough day.


ETA: Ha. Fucking. Ha. Pleasant. *scoffs*

I must not murder my child... I must not murder my child... I must not murder my child...


(He doesn't want to go to school.)

I just harvested my coriander. About 1.5 tablespoons of seeds. Not bad considering it was from two plants of cilantro.


I am craving salt. Really, truly craving it. I was reading about someone having a slice of pizza and went, "Ooooooo, piiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzaaaaaa," but then realized that what I really wanted, even though pizza is in itself a wonderful thing not to be cast aside lightly, was the saltiness from the cheese. So I had a pickle. Which helped, though it needed more garlic (and raw garlic is not quite the same as pickled garlic, as it's a little too potent). I still want olives, however. And cheese.


It took me 1433 moves, but I finally beat that f@*king spider solitaire set. Only two suits, too. Very embarrassing.


I'm here on LJ because I'm hiding from a fictional character's impending embarrassment. I've been needing craving brain candy lately, so I gritted my teeth and started reading further in the Princess series. Hoo boy. It's laugh out loud funny a lot of the time, but my oh my does Cabot turn up the embarrassment factor. A lot. More each book. So here I am, ten pages, if that, from the end of the book, and I... am hiding from whatever it is Mia is about to say to everyone. Because I know it's going to be embarrassing, since she's already delivered the cool "Oh, if only I could deliver that on the spur of the moment" fantasy speech.

Yes, I'm lame. I'm trying to live with it. So should you.


Ragweed season is here. Sinuses and throat aren't happy. Trying to psych myself up enough to take more than a teaspoon of ascorbic acid before bedtime. It's hard, though, even though it has an almost immediate effect on my allergies.


I've started wondering if Babe's insistent battles and goings on about warships and such is actually his well-intentioned gift to me. This weekend it was made very clear that he does the battle thing for me. He'll amuse himself with it, of course, but he wants to tell me about it, not Geoff.

I've been feeling rather down lately, both physically and mentally. Babe's a perceptive kid, and a nice one, at that. And seeing as doing the battles and such make him feel better, it has to make me feel better, too, right?

I think that's really the case. It feels more true than it being a punishment, because although Babe has his moments, he's not really a vindictive kid. Clueless, yes, but all kids (people) are. So, I will try to view it as his get-well gift to me, and just remind him to turn the volume down when it gets to be too much. Fortunately, school is starting for real tomorrow, so it won't be the entire day. And hopefully I'll start feeling well soon, and the battles will become a private joy of his own once more.


And, because I remembered I said I was going to do it: Day "2" of the 30 day meme.

Day 02 – Your first love

Oh dear. Well, I could cop out and say that it was my mum, because who else could I have loved first? But I won't.

( And they called it puppy love )

How, how do you cope with gun/battle mania? How?

Babe is a good kid, but whenever he senses my energy is low, he follows me around. He entertains himself, since I don't have the energy to entertain him, but with wars.

Pewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpew! go the guns, blasters, phasers, whatnot. Bhush! go the bombs and missiles. Bang go the nuclear bombs. And always, always, there's the narrative about how the rebels are shooting, bombarding, killing the bad guys (or vice versa). How they're winning. And always, always, always, he wants me to listen. To approve.

But I don't.

I hate war games. I didn't mind them as a kid, though I never found them all that interesting, but as an adult and a mother, I hate them.

I tolerate them, to a large degree, out of necessity. He's a boy, boys are wired differently. They go through these phases. But... he follows me around with them! And I just don't have the energy to play with him or fight to get him outside.


So, mothers of boys, how did you survive this? How did they survive? Because asking nicely doesn't stop the onslaught; it just defers it.