Another Wintery day

cold seat
Originally uploaded by carabou.

Either we're getting bored of the cold, or it's warming up. No half inch of snow like weatherman predicted, but it's still cold and slushy outside. The dogs are going crazy in the house, so I turned on the electric heater in the dog room and put them out. They've got fur coats, and when we take them out for a run later, they'll already be acclimated to the cold. We're loving the names the news stations are giving the weather. "Ice Storm 2007!" If it freezes again, I wonder if it will be "Return of Ice Storm!"

I turned the thermostat (turned? No, actually, I punched a button) down to 68. I can breath easier with the cold, and it makes the cats more affectionate and snuggly. Nuncle and Esme were growly toward Tsuki this morning, so maybe I need to punch it down a little lower.

I have an acupuncture appointment today, but I'm hoping it's canceled (even though I walk there. I don't want my acupuncturist to drive on the ice. He's got kids). I'll call later to see. Got emails from most of the family. They're all doing okay (for the most part). The N&D needs to call his family to see how they're doing and to wish the MIL a happy birthday.

Snow day!

Snow!
Originally uploaded by carabou.

It's snowing! It's actually snowing! We're inside being lazy. I really want to see Children of Men, but don't feel like taking off my pajamas. hehehe. There's lots of people walking by our street, more than I've seen in a long time. I even emailed my dad to let him know it was snowing, and uploaded a silly video (with no sound) to youtube. I've seen snow before (drifts and mounds), but it's fun to see it in Austin.

Worms!

It's actually freezing outside. Wow.

Yesterday I spread some pea gravel on the side yard because the rain that is happening all at once rather than taking several months to descend turned it into a muddy mess. It looks good, but eight bags didn't make it all the way to the Pico fence (we have to lock her out of the side yard, otherwise she digs up all of my plants to sleep as close to the back door as possible. Plus, I got a little tired of troweling in pansies and finding large turds. Fun fun fun). So I'm braving the sleet and rain and writing "get more pebbles" on my list of things to do. I'm debating whether I want to visit the large home supply store just for pebbles. I might, but it's still under consideration.

I also added two bags of mulch to an unfinished project because I realized I've been deflocculating (I think that's the word) a spot of clay next to the dog room. I'll admit I'm too lazy to finish the greywater tank, but I really need to get on it. I've got the design, I've just got to get the motivation. Freezing weather is not motivating. (update from near&dear - "The ice is building up on the Subaru.")

I've started a new goal for the year. I'm going to eat vegetables from the garden (instead of being fascinated by the eggplant and tomato, I'm going to eat it).

And I'm going to grow worms. I've got the plans set out, and made of list of things I'm going to need to make it work. I've grown them before, but there was a die-off when our house-sitter firmly placed the lid on the interior worm bin while we were away, thus suffocating them. Poor things. We came home to dead, dessicated worms all over our kitchen floor. It was rather depressing.

So -- worms, veggie garden, and side yard. It's freezing outside, and I'm doing what I should be doing: making plans.

Lemon Bars and the chance for snow

I made lemon bars last night. They were almost perfect. The shortbread was a little off, and I learned a lesson on parchment paper use and lemon bar making. I didn't take a picture of them before I cut them (and these are intense lemon bars, so an 8" x 8" square became over 16 lemon bars 1" x 1.5-2" in size, with some "pieces" left over for breakfast). So my quest for the perfect lemon bar will hopefully end soon (when I find the perfect shortbread crust).

And! We're going to see a movie tonight. Possible Arthur and the Invisibles, or maybe the Curse of the Golden Shower, or possibly Children of Men. I like living in a city with more than one movie theater.

43 Things!

So I've joined 43 things and have six things that I'm working on. I just posted a listing for my progress on going through the bookshelves and removing all of the clutter (also known as cheap insulation, but they get dusty and books emit odors). I've listed three books that I've read on half.com (and if they don't sell in a week, they're going to the free shelf at cafe caffeine). Listed to sell: The Light Ages, Silverlock, and Sextopia. To read: The Wellness Book (bought as a hint to the N&D), Politics of Women's Biology (left by roommate and migrated to my bookshelf), and In Memoriam to Identity (bought at the local anarchist bookstore, but it's Kathy Acker and she's not exactly airport literature).

Oh, and the litterbox cat training thing isn't going so well. The cat keeps drinking out of the toilet, so it's lid-stays-closed time for us. Must ... remember ... in ... middle ... of ... night ...

sweet, sweet sushi

sweet, sweet sushi Originally uploaded by carabou.

I'm not as annoyed as I was a few days ago. I guess I was just going through anger issues related to the lack of oxygen in my brain from all of my asthma and cedar issues. But yay to TCM and NAP! I can breathe!

But now I'm all depressed and wigged out so I got up last night at crazy early (it wasn't even today yet) and made petit fours. I don't know why I had to make petit fours, but I did. Even more important, I had to make sushi petit fours. Yes. I had to make sushi petit fours. But I really goofed up the petit four icing (I've never made petit fours before) so it ended up looking a lot more like rice cake (mmmm) than I had originally expected (at least on some of them).

I still had (and have) fondant in my pantry, so next was the shrimp, but I learned my lesson about the important of taste and in the future I will be attempting molded and baked merengue shrimp with something else as the wasabi (almond paste?). The fondant is too dense and gross. It needs to be lighter and crisp or at least just tasty. Maybe an almond cookie cookie would work. I'll have to think about that.

Knife Skills

So my gift to myself from N&D (I know) was a really nice Santoku knife (shen). And we were going to take a knife basics class at CM to learn how to use and sharpen our lovely new knives. But they're sold out. And the corresponding knife basics class at Whole Foods is this Saturday, when we're going to be in Houston. Not so great. It's like the universe wants us to cut ourselves or something. Agh. (And I made a little spiteful post I had up go away because I don't feel so spiteful anymore. But in honesty, if you want to see it, let me know.)

Huh? Manners went where?

So I get this email from an acquaintance (a coworker of my N&D):

Do you remember last night when I said that you were looking attractive & stylish, to which you replied with an insulting comment about how I must be stoned and shouldn't be allowed to drive? This is not the first time you've needlessly shot down acclaims from me, though this time I've taken note.
I should no longer bother to pay you compliments. You can make all the self-depricating declarations you want, but when you attack a real friend for thinking well of you. Well, you fucked up and hurt some feelings.
I apologize for having to express this in email, but I felt too uncomfortable last night to explain my feelings in person.

So the thing is, he really was stoned and my comment was regarding a different conversation about who should drive. And if he truly was my friend, he would know that I generally ignore any comments regarding my appearance as I find them to be rude, shallow, or often both. So where does white privileged boy get off thinking he has the right to describe his opinion but I don't have the right to state a more immediate reality? He pulls an attitude that doesn't even border on pretension -- it is -- and he thinks I've "hurt some feelings"? I don't get it. So I email back in veiled jokey-sarcasm just how white and privileged he's acting, but he's so there (and it's email) that it slides right over him. And when we finally do actually see each other, his first comment is so disgustingly snobbish, it sets me off. I know he's smart, and no one could be raised to be this obtusely annoying, so he's doing it on purpose.
Whatever happened to the idea that if you don't want to hang out with someone, you just stop hanging out with them?

Training Cats

I've decided to train the cats to use the litterbox. From this morning's statesman:

• Move the litter box to a designated bathroom. Find a litter pan (a roasting pan will do) that will fit under the toilet seat. Put the pan on the floor beside the toilet, fill it with kitty litter and let the cat use it for at least three weeks.
• Begin placing newspapers underneath the litter pan, gradually piling up the stack of papers until the height of the pan is level with the toilet seat. Allow sufficient time for the cat to form the habit of jumping up and going in the pan.
• Place the pan securely under the toilet seat.
• Next, cut a small hole in the center of the pan. Gradually enlarge the hole. At the same time, decrease the amount of litter in the pan. This step forces the cat to use the toilet seat to steady himself, first with two paws and finally with all four. At first, the cat will attempt to cover its deposits with litter but will eventually stop as the hole gets bigger.
• When your cat is perching on the seat to relieve himself, you are ready to remove what remains of the pan. You now have a cat with a "potty habit."

Dentist

I'm home, two fillings richer, 80 bucks poorer and half of my face numb and drooly. Fun times. He uses a dental dam. It was kind of weird. And very constricting for someone with claustrophobia. But I made it through without choking. So floss. And don't get cavities. Cuz trust me, they're no fun to get filled. Blagggggggh. I feel like half my face is melting. No food, no coffee, no mud tea for at least another three hours. And then in six months I get another cleaning. I love clean teeth.

Months and Months!

So much has happened. Shame on me for not posting. Lets see.

• Got acupuncture
• Still teaching animation
• Saw Bill Plimpton
• Helped friend with wedding (including cooking huge batches of paella for shower)
• Broke and fixed many windows
• Went to Grand Opening of Round Rock IKEA
• Started agility with Maggie and Hope. Maggie graduated. Hope -- not so much
• Leased (kind of) a Kharman Ghia - electric, of course
• Shot skeet at my sister's ranch
• ... It goes on. It's been busy.

And The Other wants me to post to his blog, but his blog is not my blog even though I'm hardly posting. Yeah. I should write more, eh?

I am not a fourth grade teacher

Friday was depressing after the dog attack on Thursday. The kids I teach animation as part of an after school thing decided to start calling each other names with vaguely racist undertones. Ok. Not so vague. They were racist. It got so bad that I told them that if I heard "that word" again, I'd send whomever said it to the after school program director. It was said. Unfortunately, it was said by one of the kids with a poor reputation for disruption already. There was crying. There was finger pointing. It was horrid.

I don't remember ever having such a discipline problem. But then, I went to six schools by the fifth grade, so I never really got to be anything else than "new girl."

I don't want to confine these kids, but I'm doing a horrid job getting across what they need to do to make animations because they're so used to being told exactly what to do. I hate that limitation, but I'm going to have to do it. Sad.

At least UT won the OU game. Stoops. hehehe

Agh! The dogs!

Yesterday evening, while A. was drinking sparkling shiraz with friends, Pico started barking with the neighbordogs who are totally ignored and bark all the time. I got annoyed and brought her in. Miss Maggs decided that because I was annoyed, she should attack Pico.

So she did.

I'm lucky I was able to get them apart. I've since done a little research on how to effectively break up a dog fight with just one person. It's not easy, but one way involves tying one dog by its hauches to a fixed object (fence, door) and grabbing the other dog by the rear legs (carefully) and tail, and pulling. I pulled Miss Maggs by the tail, but she wouldn't let go, so the three of us (with Hope in tow) walked around the house, crapping and pissing in fear. Okay. so it was only Pico. But still.

Yay.

I should have realized that Miss Maggs was getting a little cocky when I'd walk in the living room and find her on the settee. Not enough exercise, not enough socialization. Not enough. Never enough.

I mopped everything up with dawn dishsoap (lavendar), then orange oil. And I smudged the house with cedar. It still feels bad. I really wish dogs had never come into our life, and now there's no going back.

Lesson learned about an open freezer

Desk-fly
Originally uploaded by orangeacid.

(Image borrowed from orangeacid's Flickr account b/c I don't have a macro.)

Two days. That's all it took for the freezer door to be slightly ajar in 97 degree weather. Two days, and enough of the dog food melted to cause a convocation of flies. I've killed at least 500 of them. (no, really.) They're there to drive me crazy.

I hate flies.

Sneaky Water Theivery?

So, if the city opens up a fire hydrant to reduce pressure on the lines, and the water is being ejected so fast that it's projected across the street and down the gutter on our side, is it sneaky to walk out with a plastic pitcher and start dumping water on the very dry plants in the side yard?

I was being observed by both the dogs and two city employees. Since my pants are tight (I'm wearing my painting jeans) I came back inside.

Gah, I've got to lose weight.

Outside the Erwin Center after the Ann Richards Memorial

Outside the Erwin Center after the Ann Richards Memorial
Originally uploaded by carabou.

And we got 1.5" of rain on Saturday and Sunday. Some may have thought it was because it hadn't rained at ACL in the past couple of years. I think it was because a dear governor of texas passed on last friday and mother nature mourned one of her most unpredictable storms. The memorial service was today. We weren't there to see President Clinton cry on Saturday, but we saw Senator Clinton share her own recollection of the powerhouse that was Ann Richards. We'll miss you. And we're not giving up the fight.

olla (Oh-Yeah!)

olla (Oh-Yeah!)
Originally uploaded by carabou.

Went out rowing today in the "Raymond Yin" (what a fine little boat - and a much better way of doing crunches). And I got soaked. Not from sweat this time, but from the sprinkling of some form of sky moisture. I think it was angels crying. Or maybe one of Neptune's dolphins decided to land with a huge belly flop. Or maybe it's just the sky falling. It's been so long since I've seen stuff other than pollen and dust (and cottonwood tree leaves) coming from the sky -- I'm not really sure what's going on. Whatever it is, it's almost 1/4". Wow. Nice and light sprinkling. And it's only 80 degrees instead of a bazillion

Also made some ollas for the yard. Hopefully I'll figure out how they work and get them in the ground and make the plants even happier than they already are (not).

We braved the outside world yesterday (after we did some work on the counter in the kitchen) and went to see Idiocracy. One of those films that requires multiple viewings to get all of the visual comedy. The plot is simple, and not unique, but still fun. Eugenics and commercialization ... We also watched Good Night and Good Luck. What a contrast. But both good in their own special way. I cared who's butts they were, and why they were farting. The main difference I see between Idiocracy and the Ballad of Ricky Bobby is the love ... Will Farrell may be mocking NASCAR, but he's doing it with love. And maybe, just maybe, a little tongue. Costco love was a little ... scary. But undeniably funny, nonetheless.

--
Some people dance to the beat of a different drummer,
And some people POLKA!

the bow of the Chile Pequin

the bow of the Chile Pequin
Originally uploaded by carabou.

We're back from Maine, glorious cool weather and misty days. I was glad it rained half the time we were there. Sad to go on vacation to get rained on and enjoy it. We went two months without any rain, and finally got a measly half inch. I've broken out the sprinker and am keeping a patch of grass alive. The rest ... what a great excuse to replace it with something else.

I'm also experimenting with ollas in the side garden. I've glued two terra cotta pots together, but I didn't seal them well, so I'm going to have to pull them out and reglue them. Bah.

Cat fur

If I were the type of person who thought about these things, I might take the observation that my cats' fur seems to change over time a little more seriously. My cats are getting older, and it seems that their fur is sticking around longer (they're now more DMH's than DSH's). How long does cat fur stick around before it's shed, anyway? A year? Seven years (eyelash fur)? And is there some weird enzyme that the skin produces after a while that makes the fur longer as the bones get thinner (and the cat hunts less since it's no longer "hungry" all the time)? (My cats are *always* hungry. Even when they've just eaten.) If I had the background, I might try to figure this out. As it is, I'll just wonder. And watch the near&dear's bald spot grow.

Monkeys

So the problem with the monkeys and Shakespeare is that right now there really are thousands of monkeys writing and publishing. But only a few of them are brilliant works. And when Shakespeare finally gets around to writing, one of the monkeys jumps up and yells "copyright infringement!" And this has nothing to do with Ann Coulter trying to justify her way out of a plagiarism accusation. I hate the ignorant-- what was it? -- "harpie" and I've never even met her.