two red lines

so very fall

Most days now the windows are clouded with steam keeping us almost spared from the constant rain outside.  Not so constant yesterday however as Vi and I got out for a walk.  Also a bit of play in the rain soaked playground.  We left with wet butts however the many layers made it not so bad. 

I wonder if Roserose the kitty could sit somewhere beside on my shoulder, purring, making my head vibrate, she commences her morning bath only pausing to take a considerable bite of my hair in her mouth.  She turns quickly as some cats do....from sweet cuddly pal to evil, claw swatting terror.  I like her alot. 

The house is cozy.  I made a soup from my new 400 soup cookbook.  Roasted root veggies.  Very earthy it was.

 

And I started making an advent (I don't want to call it advent OR count down to xmas) calendar.  I have been trying to get one done for years.  24 felt pockets to stuff with little tidbits for the girl who thought Christmas should have been yesterday.  I surely must not be the only parent who wonders how we will make it through the next month and a bit.  If you have any clever ideas about what stuff you would stuff into tiny little pockets to delight wee people drop me a comment.

It is now Monday morning and the reality comes quick that I am still in school.  Maybe one more picture....

Halloween 2009

der

I woke this morning with a yell from my gut.  In my dream Violet was sticking a clothes hanger into an electrical outlet.  I got my wits on as I realized I was in bed next to Andrew with a kitty at my feet rasping like an old woman, cigarette dangling out her mouth between her whiskers, coffee cup clutched between her claws.  Roserose had a kitty cold when we got her and had healed mostly.  Now her cold is back and she speeds around the house chasing anything that even slightly moves then stops and hacks and wheezes for awhile.  Last night before bed (ugh, worry to go to sleep to and to wake me up) I was sure she was going to need resuscitating in the night.  Andrew assured me everything was alright but in his book everything is mostly always alright.  Which really throws me off when he thinks something is not alright, because then either worry is contagious or shit is going down. 

Last night while at school I got a parking ticket on my windshield right above my parking permit.  The ticket puncher must have been some stoner undergrad.  Because only undergrads smoke weed? Because only undergrads are dumb enough to give someone a ticket who paid for parking?  I don't know which, only that it was dumb.  And that I am not going to pay it.  Andrew got a parking ticket over the weekend for parking in a police car parking spot.  He was resigned to just pay the 60 bucks but I plan on writing a letter to whomever opens those letters, some stoner undergrad!, about getting a 60 dollar parking ticket on a Sunday IN THIS ECONOMY!!!!  What excuse will we use when the economy rolls over and wakes from it's slumber?  I might say worry put me to bed and woke me up so give me a fucking break. 

walk between the rain

 

Thanks Sage.

Romania on my mind

I leave the house in a fog.  After two days indoors, stepping out into an even gray sky gave me the feeling I had been inside for weeks.  I felt thick, sleepy and short on words.  Walking into Monday night class I start to shake it off.  I greet the professor, him with shaggy dirty blond hair, cocky smile and Hawaiian shirt.  Every class he totes a container of bought coffee for us, a sort of bribe to keep our eyes open for to see the words he posts on the projector.  I come alive in school.  It's not just the coffee. 

I wish I could go to Romania for the weekend.  Just catch a village (I wonder what the towns are called?) and wander down the streets, exploring a place unknown.  Andrew has a friend stationed there for a small stretch of time so I asked him to snap a couple pictures so I could see.  I want more than to see. 

party

Oh geez, that was a fun party. 

The infamous donkey.....sans the tail.  All the girls did really well coming close to the butt.  Violet was the farthest away, right by the mane she landed.

Butter, the dog, made sure no one left without a handful of his hair. 

Vi mainly concentrated on getting as many sweets in her mouth as she could.  When she woke this morning her first words were about how great the party was but during the party there was a lot to concentrate on as you can see. 

 

I think that tiara might just be a permanent piece of Vi's attire as she is wearing it now.  I think it came off before she fell asleep......

 

4

Tomorrow my babe turns FOUR.  Four years old.  Uh, I don't even know what to say.  We have been busy this week making birthday cards as this is the month that birthdays just don't stop.  By the time we get past Andrew's birthday mid month, past Alice's birthday late month we should just be dizzy enough to forget how old I am turning once November shows up.  (Happy birthday today Brian!!)  But back to the girl.  The four year old.  Tomorrow Papa is making a cake in the morning while Vi and I are off to school till lunch when we all meet back up to celebrate.  We will spend the rest of the day celebrating then on to the big party on Saturday.  Thanks to all yous that read about our life here bearing witness to how amazing it can be. 

Roserose

This post may take awhile for me to actually type out and publish as I have a wee fur ball plopping it's paws up on the keyboard.  Roserose came home with us from the humane society on Saturday.  She is a bubbling ball of happy and curious and craze.  Violet is in love and it is darn cute when we can hear Vi squealing in the other room as she is bouncing around toys that the cat scrambles after.  I thought you might like to see her. 

light subject one and two

Light subject number one.

The evolution of my school bag.

This was such a big deal before I started school.  What bag would I carry my very expensive text books in?  Would it look professional, serious but not so much?  My mom came up with a shoulder bag and with some stitches I made it my own.  This was my first school bag.  It went with me on those first nervous days and held my pens precious. 

Then several things happened.  My shoulder started hurting, I wasn't so nervous anymore and I didn't much care what anyone thought of my school bag.  So I began using my backpack.  Strong around the shoulders, unpretentious, large.  I carried whole meals in that bag to  my night classes, was comforted that I had everything I needed tucked in those pouches. 

This term I am using a stained canvas grocery tote.  It's small, with no pockets.  Doesn't hold much at all.  I carry my purse too, stuffed with those things that comfort me.  The bag couldn't be any more plain.  It suits my needs.  I am unconcerned with appearances.  It's the evolution of my school bag.  At this point, next term I may be bagless.

Light subject number two. 

This morning Vi and I laid in bed, me trying to hold on to a couple more minutes of sleep, Violet singing Yankee Doodle Dandy.  I could just leave you with that sentence and it would be enough.  However, with Violet, fun never stops.  She declared that she was thirsty and climbed to THE SIDE OF THE BED where my water glass sits, turned around and said, Mom, save my spot.  Because she was going so far away and there were swarms of people waiting to lay next to me, stinky breath and all.  This is not new, this save my spot. She calls to us from the bathroom if we are at the dinner table, retrieving another book from her room, it's always save my spot.  And every time she says it, I am floored.  It is so Violet.  It's soft, ambitious, commanding, strong and vulnerable.  It's damn funny.