Squaresville

Plant Pour-n

2010-07-01T21:17:00.000-05:00

Here ya go, my dears:

The yard, in its current state this evening.

A squash the Vietnamese guy next door is growing. It will end up being 3 feet long and will possibly hatch aliens.

Cucumbers, being fussy about climbing their ladder to success. Giant-ass tomato in the background, and yes, that's the Latin name. Assus Ginormous. Please also note my jean scrap mulch!

Sunflowers I'm growing for a bee-counting research project. I guess I should actually get out there and count bees some day, right?

Ginny the cat, looking startled. It's fireworks season here on the Southside.

Ginny lays in the yard, waiting for birds and mice.

My lovely hydrangea bush has turned shell pink.

What I love about these blackberry lilies is that they come speckled and solid, in orange, pink or purply, look like iris foliage, and only resemble blackberries when the flowers go to seed.

Non-Gardening News!

2010-07-01T19:57:00.000-05:00

I'm teaching a class about making a t-shirt quilt with all those teenage shirts you just can't bear to get rid of, because you are a hoarder of memories, just like me.

Here's the skinny: July 16 and July 18, at MADE Studios on burgeoning Cherokee Street. You'll need a lot of shirts if you want all images on the quilt. Questions? Leave 'em in the comments here.

In other news, I went to Pennsylvania for a week and when I came back, discovered my green and purple zinnias had succumbed to the 100-degree heat and that my back yard had turned into the Amazon. I have pulled a wheelbarrow full of weeds and am almost done.

On the plus side, I had a ridiculous amount of fun in PA with my cousin, my brother and his girlfriend. I kicked it old school and drank until the sun came up on the 20th, then went to church still a little drunk. Obviously, God has a sense of humor, and knows that I'm good people, because he did not strike me or my equally-drunk cousin dead. We're the ones in the middle, wishing it was 20 degrees cooler and that we had had more than 2 hours of sleep the night before. That's my mommy on the right with her cute short bob. Mine will be that short next week!

My grandfather turned 98 on June 1, so we had a big surprise party for him. I wasn't sure if surprising a 98-year-old man was a good idea, but he enjoyed himself and even managed to blow out the candles on his cake. No, we did not get 98 candles, but did put a lot on there in the shape of a 9 and an 8.

Things I am glad for today:
1. the 2 pairs of goldfinches that have set up shop among my sunflowers.

2. the gorgeous weather we've had. It hurts to stay inside and sew. I want to lay in the grass all day, reading and drinking Earl Grey iced tea.

3. my husband cleaned our basement last Sunday. According to him, it was a sleeveless t-shirt kinda job, and he said there were not a lot of spiders down there. He even managed to recycle the box our television came in......2 years ago. It's now second-life-ing it as a path in my garden.

4. I am glad that my friends who are going through rough patches right now are brave enough to reach out for help and to talk about it. I'm a very private person and prefer to wallow/suffer by myself in my sewing room. I admire them, and please send good vibes to E. and A.!

Garden Update

2010-05-23T16:26:00.001-05:00

So, in the past week, it's gone from Pacific Northwest cold/rainy to St. Louis late July. It is so disgustingly hot and humid today, and just a few days ago I was adding an extra blanket to the bed.

Naturally, this has made Rabbitt Gardens explode with goodness.

1. The first peas are allllmost ripe. I keep messing with them each day in a Hansel and Gretel way to see if they're fat enough.

2. Cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, mystery squash, peppers are all a go. I went nuts and planted a ton of flower seeds in one bed where some Roma tomatoes reseeded. I reminded myself that I really love picking fresh flowers in the summer, and it would be very pretty in a few months.

3. Last weekend, in the cool drizzle, I transplanted 6 or 7 different colors of irises a coworker dug for me. I may regret this in a few years, but I LOVE irises!

4. Discovered a potato plant growing from my failed tater-in-a-tire-pile experiment last year. Perhaps it wants a second try.

5. The taller-than-me hollyhocks that I thought would be magenta are looking like they're black. This is a very good thing, because I had blamed Mr. Rabbitt for dumping dirt on the old black hollyhock cluster, thusly killing it.

6. Front yard looks great with dark penstemon, pink coral bells, yellow coneflower/black-eyed susan (nobody knows), orange daylilies and bright blue anemones.

This pic is a few weeks old....will add new ones later when the plants stop wilting in the heat!

Oh, and the best update? 4.5 days left of SCHOOL!!!!!

Also, also,.....Green With Indie is rolling around again, and I've been reasonably productive!

Dig, Alli, Dig!

2010-04-28T18:10:00.005-05:00

Do note that my name is going to be spelled correctly in the final release :)

DUTCHTOWN RESIDENTS CONTRIBUTE TO
NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION EFFORTS
WITH NEW COMMUNITYGARDENS

St. Louis, MO - 4/27/2010 - Thanks to the partnership of Alderman
Shane Cohn, HopeBuild, and the Dutchtown South Community
Corporation, on May 1^st residents of the Dutchtown neighborhood
will welcome two new community gardens into their backyard -
one on the corner of Virginia and Liberty and the other in
Amberg Park - with a gathering at 1:00pm and a ceremony at
1:15 pm at the Virginia and Liberty location.

This effort started in May of 2009, was led by community
gardeners, and these two new gardens are the products of their
hard work. Allison Rabbit, a proud Dutchtown resident, explained
that these gardens will energize and have a lasting impact on the
community, saying, "This will be a draw to younger people who
are looking to relocate for school or jobs. Not only will the gardens
benefit our neighborhood, but they may have a larger impact on
the regional economy as well."

The community is thankful for the partnership of Alderman
Shane Cohn in leading and overseeing the cause and according to
Bill Schuh of the 25^th Ward these gardens not only improve
the neighborhood aesthetically but also communally,
"I expect it will bring together neighbors for the good of all.
The future looks bright!"

Indeed, the future does look bright for the residents of the
25^th ward and the surrounding neighborhood because of
these exciting new gardens. This excitement can best be
summed up by the words of community gardener Steve Jameson,
"I can see the light! Grow tomatoes! Have a bunch of zinnias to
cut for my wife and neighbors! Get my hands back in the dirt!
Hallelujah!"

WHEN: Saturday, May 1, 2010 @ 1:00 p.m. (Rain or Shine!)

WHERE: The Dutchtown Community Commons @ Virginia and Liberty

# # #

Dutchtown South Community Corp. is a community-based not-for-profit development organization which serves the entire Dutchtown neighborhood, along with Mt. Pleasant, Marine Ville, Gravois Park, and others. They strive daily to improve the quality of life and development for the residents within these city neighborhoods.

# # #

HopeBuild is a non-profit that focuses on building community and garden spaces. They do so through empowering underserved communities to lead healthy lifestyles and enrich neighborhoods through increased access to fresh foods, urban produce gardens, and nutrition education.

Sweetness

2010-03-31T17:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, according to the Humane Society of Missouri's records, my sweet baby girl turned 12. She is in excellent physical health and demands a walk each day.

Here she is, many years ago, after we hiked through Taum Sauk Park and made it to the highest peak in Missouri (hence the plaque). She had also just finished chasing a rabbit.

And yesterday? Forced to wear a velvet bow and a sign.
I can't even begin to describe how important she is to me and how much I love her. Maggie became "mine" when my ex-fiance ditched me and said that I either took her or returned her to the pound. I became a dog owner.
Maggie and I have driven all over Missouri, exploring state parks and natural wonders like Pickle Springs, the Devil's Posthole, Elephant Rocks and the Katy Trail. She has been my co-pilot on the long 14-hour drive to and from eastern Pennsylvania.
("Welcome to Pennsylvania! Now drive for another 3 hours.")
I guess people who have children can relate to how I feel about Maggie. She is one of the most important things in my life and I can't bear the thought that someday she won't be with us anymore, looking out the window, ignoring the neighbor's cats that frequent the yard, angling for a walk or begging for bacon grease.

On a less wistful note, I found these today:

I think this is brunnera? Teensy tiny blue flowers.
On the other side of the steps, one of my anemones or windflowers bloomed. I didn't know they would be so petite and sweet.

Now....do you have a sewing machine? Do you want some new spring clothes?
Check out the Swap O-Rama 2010 at the History Museum on April 10th! Emily, the organizer, is hard-up for some volunteers to run machines to help folks refashion the afternoon away. Plus, the clothes swap! You know I love new clothes, and if they're free, it's even better.

Self-Pitying Post! Be Warned!

2010-03-27T19:05:00.000-05:00

Today sucked. I had thought my good mood returned yesterday, and things today were going well until I went grocery shopping.
1. My grocery bill was less than 50 cents OVER the balance in our account. I was so embarrassed: I've never been that person who has to put stuff back. Did I put back the Take 5 bars? Hell no! The dog food can wait a few days! Why should I suffer a lack of chocolate when...

2. My serger has been stitching funny and I can't get it adjusted quite right. I was almost done with my Secret Project and then the damn needle fell out. After twenty minutes last night of fussing with it, I was sick of thread tensions and loopers. At that point, I said, "fuck it" and turned it off and put the cover over it.

3. Tilted my hot iron to see what was sticking on the bottom and poured hot iron water all over my hand.

4. Decided to cut out bird bits for bird pot holders. Brought up bin of Asian fabrics, opened it up and was overwhelmed with choices and couldn't decide where to start.

5. Motherfucking squirrel(s) dug up my planters of lettuce on the front porch.

6. Don't even get me started on the "I'm pretty sure I don't want kids, cause I like to be alone and I like a clean house, so why do I feel so bitter about people who are pregnant?" conundrum!

Waaaa.....poor little me.......

Since I just read an article about negative self talk, I have to balance out the bad.....

1. My friend Kelly came over and I sent her home with 2 bags of fabric that will be made into super cute bags.

2. Mushroom and olive pizza is cooking in the oven.

3. I found these today:

Bluebells!

4. Last year on March 28, I took this picture:

Here is the same view today, with no snow, a robin and bird bath:

He was splashing around and enjoying himself immensely. Anyone want some money plant that's coming up all around the bird bath?

5. I had the presence of mind to NOT pull up a mystery plant that I first thought was a weed. After further investigation, said plants are either Grecian windflowers or anemones.

6. My sweet little arthritic Maggie will be 12 on March 30. She enjoyed a long walk today and some fine smells on the warm-ish breeze. Notice the pillaged planters flanking her.

Let's hope for a better day tomorrow! Now for some pizza and Sunday flyers.

Birdz

2010-03-18T18:07:00.000-05:00

There are two pairs of cardinals that hang out in my yard. Here, one of them sits atop the bird feeder pole.

While his lady friend and a robin wait for him to eat.

The downy woodpecker is pretty brave and doesn't give a rat's ass about who is king of the feeder. I think there might be two of them also.

I cut some forsythia and brought it inside to bloom. My only regret is that I won't be here this weekend to see it open!

The sunshine and balmy temps of the past few days have really done a job on my winter blahs. I didn't think I was mellow, but I was noticeably happier yesterday. It might have been the odor of roasting coffee from Chauvin Coffee Company wafting through the air, or the delicious smell coming from the Vietnamese's kitchen next door.
Either way, I'm happy spring is here and am excited to drive to Chicago tomorrow to see old and old-ish friends. Dan Ryan, here I come!

Digging In The Dirt, 2010

2010-03-17T15:35:00.000-05:00

FINALLY I was able to get the garden started!
I am on spring break this week, and after a day of self-imposed sloth-ery, I worked outside all day yesterday.
Here's what I found in the compost bin:

Wee little mice. There must have been about 20 of them, fleeing like it was the Titanic! Glad I'm not scared of them. It amazes me how they live all winter. Why don't they freeze? And now I know why the neighbor's cats (Ginny and Peanut) sit, mesmerized by the bin.

As you South Citians know, most of our backyards have a cement walk flanked by a thin strip of grass and the typical chain link fence. Since we moved in almost 5 years ago, I have been slowly killing said strip of grass with a combination of cardboard, leaves, newspapers and whatnot. This past year was the last killing session I had to do. Behold the loveliness:

The green bit is a clump of magenta hollyhocks that I hope will bloom there this year. I'll put tomatoes, and squash in here, and give up on my dream of a corn patch. Last year was very traumatic for me, corn-growing-wise, thanks to the local wildlife.

Crocus are blooming, and there's one daffodil out front that is ready to pop. I cut some forsythia branches to force inside.
Last year, we had snow on March 26th, but it doesn't feel like that today. Warm, balmy breezes, a dog sleeping in the yard and a corned beef simmering away. Perfect, perfect.
Days like today make me feel I am blessed.

Spring, where are you?

2010-02-24T20:15:00.000-06:00

We're getting new outside doors tomorrow! I am beyond excited and thought about it all day long at work. Exciting life, eh?

Here are some pics to tide us over until spring strolls in. It can't be much longer, as my bulbs are poking their little spikes through the soil. I planted $50 worth of bulbs in October, and by now, I have forgotten what went where. Should be a nice surprise in a few months!

Lovely seed packets from 1965. My mother was 19 years old. Free Fritos!

It's always hard to believe that it all begins like this:

And ends up like this 7 months later.

Snow Day!

2010-02-11T17:11:00.001-06:00

Just some pretty:

My parents in Pennsylvania are getting hit hard with the snowfalls there. There is nothing on that patio table except 2 feet of snow.

I am jonesing for spring, especially after seeing a huge flock of robins this week.
Here are some warm photos for you to contemplate:

This is my mom and brother in 1981.

Check out those tritoma!

I love, love, love zinnias. There's something about their symmetry and pure rich colors and unfussiness that appeal to me. Come on, spring!

For MB

2010-01-11T18:08:00.000-06:00

Today in homeroom, my students told me, in hushed and awed tones, that a couple former students were involved in a shooting death this weekend. Apparently, one of my former boys got upset at a dice game, took another boy's gun, and shot the boy he was upset with. They are in ninth grade. Fourteen or fifteen-year-olds. Rumor also has it that the shooter panicked and took the body to a local fast food joint and then skipped town.

The shooter was a kid who I would describe as a big teddy bear. He never had issues with other kids and was very popular. Now, he might not have been the best student academically, but he wasn't a kid who I would expect this from. I could make him cry if I wanted to.

I spent the rest of today watching my current seventh graders work in pairs and then separate and cozy up in bean bags for silent reading time. They are so small and so innocent and so ignorant of how cruel life can be.
Which of these will I be hearing tragic stories about in 2 years?
Which will not make it past the age of 20?
After I left teaching in juvenile detention, I would follow the crime beat in the Boston newspaper. Many, many of my former students are dead. It's not shocking to me anymore, but it is still saddening.

The Mississippi River is mostly frozen over. Yesterday, we drove up river to look for eagles and to check out the amazing and beautiful ice floes. The ice is broken up into 2-inch thick slabs and there are actual snow drifts across the ice in some places. When you stand still, you hear the quiet sounds of the ice moving and cracking against itself. Even the sun doesn't penetrate the frozen, otherworldly feeling you get when you see the ice field.
I imagine the hearts of the mothers involved look like this. Cold and broken with no signs of life.

Many Moons Later...

2010-01-10T11:32:00.013-06:00

I've found that there is a dearth of St. Louis urban garden blogs. Or, I've found that I can't find them. So, just like when you skid in snow, you know you should steer into the skid, I see that this blog became a garden blog without me realizing it. I'm steering it that way, then.

It is almost painful to read the last posts as I sit here, trapped inside the house because it is 7 degrees outside. I've been trapped inside for the past 4 days, due to 2 snow days, Saturday and today being Sunday. The couple inches of snow have not melted. The dog still demands a walk each day, even though she gets snow between her toes and then limps the rest of the way home.

But how could I resist that grizzled face?

How did Rabbitt Gardens turn out?
1. I made 5 bags of marinara sauce.
2. I roasted and mashed and froze 2 bags of mystery winter squash.
3. The potato/tire planter suffered too much water and did not work. I have hopes for this year, though.
4. Squash has to go somewhere else next year. It grew into the alley and became a nuisance.
5. Watermelon wants more sun.

6. I will never plant corn again. Sure, it looks neat and orderly, but what the squirrels didn't eat during the day, the raccoons or possums ate at night.
7. Cleome has tiny little painful spikes on it.
8. Money plant reseeds like crazy.
9. I will pull up all dill I see next year.

10. Tomatoes are going in a different place this summer.
11. The front yard is a fine place to grow peppers.

Pictures, you say? Sure, I've got lots!

There were 3 pairs of goldfinches that hung out most of the summer, working on the 3 varieties of sunflowers I grew. The one in the top right is not deformed; he's just itching.

Monarch caterpillars on dill:

Giant yellow and black garden spider. She had made a huge web conveniently across the top of the compost bin. I almost walked into it, and am glad I didn't, for that would have taken years off my life. Here, she is eating a grasshopper, which I am very thankful for. Where do these things come from?!

The last picture of the garden.

Then we look forward to orchid blooms and Christmas cactus blooms:

So, stay tuned as I plan for Garden 2010!

Self Explanatory

2009-07-24T15:20:00.005-05:00

First tomato of the year and new favorite shirt. I feel 20 years old again, with a powerful-statement-shirt. Believe it or not, this was taken on the first shot. Skillz.

More green beans than I thought:

I've been sewing for this show for the past two weeks. Won't you come shop? I will have some of my mother's crocheted bags made from plastic shopping bags, too.

Progress

2009-07-03T20:31:00.006-05:00

I love seeing this when Maggie and I come down the alley at the end of our daily walk. Zinnias, chianti sunflowers, some other type of pale yellow sunflower, four o'clocks, and a marauding squash.
Upon looking at this, I didn't even notice the baby robin sitting on the fence (on the left hand side) when I took the picture! He or she has been kicking it in the yard for several days now, following its parent around and chirping for food. Love the little speckles on its belly!

Cantaloupes are getting big. I've already bartered several of them away, so I hope there's more where this fuzzy guy came from.

Praying mantises are also getting big. This lady was hanging out on my corn, which is a few weeks behind last year's harvest date.

First tomatoes!

2009-06-29T08:53:00.005-05:00

I found this fabric in a hunt for yellows. I made a pair of Jams out of it in 1986 or 1987. I am slightly embarrassed ....A. because I wore shorts out of this fabric and B. because I've had the hideous scraps for 22 years. But, it works perfectly with the tropical blue, red and yellow placemats I cut out.

Monarda and daisies from my garden make a nice bouquet in the bathroom.

Okay, so the tomato was on the plant when I bought it, but it took a while to get nice and yellow!

In other news, I will be taking a fresh shipment of man whore kitchen goods to Paste today. There apparently is quite a demand for man whores in St. Louis, which I am happy to fulfill.

Cranky Yellow on Cherokee Street will also be selling my "men" this week. I'll pop by there tomorrow to drop some off. Cherokee Street has experienced quite a renaissance in the past year or so. It's not the scary neighborhood it used to be. Go get some good coffee at Mississippi Mud, walk a few blocks west to Cranky Yellow and get some tacos on your way.

Don't Mess With My Kids!

2009-06-23T16:18:00.006-05:00

I am all up in arms about this news article. This woman is so out of touch with reality, it's frightening.

Sure, I might complain about how annoying my students get by April, and yeah, there's a lot who I honestly cannot stand, but even the worst ones deserve a decent meal. How often have I been asked for a pass to the nurse because she gives out crackers and the asking child hasn't eaten that day? I know how much of a motivator food is. But 7th graders can't work at freakin' McDonald's! In fact, they can't legally work anywhere!
It just riles me when people do or say things that are negative towards or about the students I work with. The "dreaded" inner-city (sort of), poverty-line living kids who know how to do all the latest dances and can text faster than I can blink.

Robin gives several ways to help out with this, if you're as riled as I am.

So, a few photos to relax us all:

1. Current state of the garden. That would be a fence of dill.
2. Current state of cantaloupe/ladder experiment. Need another few ladders, but will mess around with fencing tomorrow.
3. Red monarda (bee balm). I have not seen one damn hummingbird, even though this plant is supposedly hummingbird crack.

4. Watermelon patch. Why, oh WHY didn't I space them out once they got big?

Metro East Pride Fest Tomorrow!

2009-06-19T14:25:00.004-05:00

You know you want some male pinup oven mitts, or maybe an apron, right? Half-naked firemen? Half-naked cowboys?
Come find me with the St. Louis Craft Mafia in booth 14 tomorrow at the Metro East Pride Fest in Belleville. It's not that far from St. Louis; don't let the river freak you out. Just look for the banner above!

First Sunflower!

2009-06-14T18:17:00.007-05:00

Ahoy, mateys! I'm 5' 2", which makes the volunteer dill behind me..... super freakin' tall!
Please to see the crib, pink monarda and futon/bean trellis in the background.

Pink monarda! I think I planted it last year, after a visit to Walker Gardens (my parents' house) in Pennsylvania. It is deliciously candy pink and I want to eat it.

And here is the first sunflower of the year. It was a volunteer, natch, and may be a Chianti type. Either way, it's wondrous.

Good things: 1. Senora Muertos' bad-idea-having dog made it through the night after eating spoiled dog food. Thank you, St. Francis of Assisi.

2. Matt had a peaceful birthday last night with his scooter buddies. We sat in the backyard drinking beer, visiting with the neighbor's cat Ginny, and watching possums scoot through the hoosier neighbor's yard. I experimented with some nighttime photography, as evidenced by the Monster Dill below.
3. Anyone have a window AC unit they need a new home for?

4. I am up to my eyeballs in man whore fabric. It's being sewn into sassy oven mitts and pot holders, just in time for Pride. I'll be at the Metro East Pride Fest in Belleville, IL on June 20th with some other Mafia girls.

Everyone wants a half-naked fireman in their kitchen, right? For a mere $10, he can be yours. I accept cash, checks and credit cards.

5. Superchick and I put the Chinese coin quilt in the frame this morning. If you need me, I can be found in the freshly-cleaned basement, with Matt's iPod radio thing perched on the washer, playing all my faves.

6. I will be at the Big Ass Indie Art and Craft Show on July 31 to August 2. I promise you kickass placemats and whatever man whore oven mitts don't sell at Pride.

7. Senora Muertos and I engaged in some plant thievery Thursday night. If a house is vacant, it's okay to dig up the wine-red lilies, right?
It took the dark of night and a pint of Schlafly hefeweizen for me to get up the courage. Plus, we were rockin' out to some Beastie Boys' "License to Ill". What a stellar album that is/was. When it came out, I was in seventh grade, and had never heard anything like it.

8. Visits with garden and former work friends this week, plus an invitation to Remains on Morganford. A used clothing/textile processing plant? Hells yeah!

9. I have pretty much convinced myself that I would be happier without children. I'm up to 90% now. If it happens, that's cool, but damn if I don't look forward to reading in the backyard with an iced coffee each afternoon.

10. My oldest friend in the world is coming to visit in July and I am panting with excitement. I will remove the Obama sticker from my car before driving down to Elephant Rocks, though. Mustn't upset the rednecks! The sticker is fading, anyway, but I really want to avoid smashed windows :(

Man whores! Get your man whores!

2009-06-05T16:35:00.006-05:00

So, I made these oven mitts.
You like?
I ordered $50 more of the same woodsmen (heh heh) and some other varieties of man whore fabric today.
Amy at St. Theresa's Textile Trove was super helpful and dug through their fat quarter bin to find some hot man fabric. She even found some surfer boys for me. What a peach she was! If you are ever in Cincinnati, you must get thee to the trove. It is a mind-boggling explosion of beads and fabrics and wonderment.

I'll be selling these at the Metro East Pride Festival on June 20th, in Belleville. Also, there will be matching aprons, which may or may not have come from the disgruntled art teacher's room at school. She was cleaning out as much as she could, in a "stick it to the man" moment.

I myself had that same moment last Monday, when I was told I would be moving to another classroom. Do non-teachers understand how much stuff we have in our rooms? It's almost like moving the contents of an apartment! Luckily, we had students, so we put them to work carrying boxes and hundreds of books.
A little advance warning would have been nice, but I guess it's better than the last time I moved classrooms---at that time, I came BACK after summer vacation to be told that my team would be moving. We had a week of teacher work days before school actually started to move and get our rooms in order.

But, I digress...In other news, please check out my friend's website, Senora Muertos. She has taken the brave step of quitting her day job and is crafting for a livin'. She'll also be at the Pride Festival with me in a few weeks.

Not much else to report. The garden continues to grow. Very soon, I will be training melons and squash to climb fences and a wooden ladder. Go, watermelons, go!

19 days' difference

2009-05-29T20:54:00.007-05:00

I have super short hair now! God bless Erin at Bouffant Daddy in Maplewood!

In this picture, I was squinting due to itchy contacts and bright overcast sky and blinding white garage and Matt taking his time getting the perfect shot. Although, since it's the end of school, I do usually look like this lately!

My gorgeous roses that bloomed like mad for a week and are now just a memory.
Green peas! I never have enough to eat as a side dish, so I just eat them in the garden. They are sandwiched between a butternut squash and green beans. The frame in the background is from our old futon. Very Asian, no?

Red hot poker (tritoma) that I got from my mom 2 years ago. I somehow planted all the yellow variety in front of the house. Hopefully some of what is in the backyard is the red kind.
Black-eyed susans or yellow coneflowers that so DID NOT bloom last year or the year before, if I remember correctly. They come up to my elbows.

The garden yesterday, after 6 days of rain. Think I have enough dill? The potato/tire experiment seems to have failed. It hasn't sprouted through the last layer of dirt and leaves I put in the stack. I will have to do some investigative surgery this weekend to see what's what. If all else fails, I can always dig up some potatoes that are growing INSIDE the compost bin.

I need to find some clever way to grow the cantaloupe and watermelons up a trellis. First, I need said trellis. Anyone have an old wooden ladder?

One-half more day of school. Four long hours and then I am free! Teachers have to report for a half day on Tuesday, so I set aside a stack of crap to laminate that morning.

It has been a really tough year, with the death of my former student, family issues, the 2.5 month convalescence of my team's leader, all the infertility crap and the just rotten group of students we have. Sure, some of them have turned around, but the truly obnoxious ones have gotten worse as the year went on. I can only tell myself that they will be their mothers' problems for life, whereas they are my problem for 9 months.

I had a mother come up to school this morning because I wrote a referral on her daughter, who, freshly back from suspension, chased a boy down the hallway, grabbed the stapler off my desk and started shooting staples at him. The mother actually asked for the stapler to see how far the staples would shoot, which wasn't far at all. She was annoyed that I hadn't "investigated" why her spawn was chasing The Boy and that I made a big deal out of the stapler thing. She stomped out...this was all in front of MY CLASS.
I decided not to tell her that current rumor lists her house as The Party House ;)

So when you want to sit back and gripe about how unfair it is that teachers only work 9 months and get to loaf all summer, just remember the bullshit that I have to deal with on an almost daily basis. Just remember the stapler story.
And if I hear one more person say "you suck for having all summer off", I will punch them.

No More Words

2009-05-10T18:10:00.005-05:00

Nothing like a Berlin (band, not the city) reference, eh?

Matt, Maggie, meat and the new smoker.

These irises close up each night. I didn't think they did that.

My gorgeous rose bush from the neighbor's yard. It is 35 years old, but survived the move across the alley a few years ago. Notice I managed to get a fly in the picture too. There are at least 25 blooms open right now. *sigh*

Help Chester Lose a Leg!

2009-05-08T16:54:00.004-05:00

Sometimes life craps all over you. It's been crapping on me since last summer, and I am tired of it. In an effort to bring more positivity into my crappy life, I tried giving up snarkiness as my New Year's Resolution. It lasted a good 2 months, but then something happened at school and I just couldn't restrain myself.
I am not a bad person: I recycle, I pick up trash that blows down my street, and I'm even growing tons of food this summer to donate to food pantries. Hence, my watermelon patch....

I am a 7th grade teacher, for chrissakes....that should earn me my wings, right? I talked Angry Boy out of punching the lockers today! I broke up a girl fight! I made a grandmother cry when she read her granddaughter's heartbreaking poetry----all this in a week!
I thought the universe had smiled upon me last night, when I saw a gorgeous indigo bunting at my feeders! Look how amazing he is!

Well, the bunting must have been a fluke, because I just received more crappy news today that for once, has nothing to do with the reproductive organs of me or my husband. I'm not sharing it here, but trust me it is sucky and frustrating and scary.

To try to counteract this recent shittiness of the universe, I am having a sort of benefit for my friend Elizabeth. She is part of Tenth Life Cat Rescue and has an adorable kitty, Chester, who needs a leg amputated. I offered the use of my hedge clippers, but would be unable to stomach stitching him back up.
Soooo...tomorrow at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market, I hope to make lots of money, because I'm donating 20% of them to help with the amputation costs. We only need $200 more!

You should stop by the market! I have baby jade plants, boxed and ready for Mother's Day. I have 2 mini-quilts, maybe 3 if I stop crying and get to the fabric. Also, I have some rad lunch bags with fused plastic bag linings, regular fabric market bags, and whatever else I can scrounge up. Oh, I'll bring my Star of Bethelehem baby quilts too!
Come on out, get a Kuva coffee, an apple tart from Companion Bakery, and help lil' Chester!

It's officially spring.

2009-05-06T20:11:00.004-05:00

You know it's spring in South St. Louis when Ted Drewes on South Grand is open for business. True, they sell Christmas trees and pine garland, but the real fun starts when you've got a belly full of hot fudge sundae with pecans.
Normally, I go for a blueberry milkshake or the chocolate Copernicus, but I wanted to start slowly. Plus, there was half of a Cuban sandwich from City Diner already taking up real estate in my stomach.
Garden progress: 2 watermelon seeds have sprouted. What I think is a forgotten moonflower seed has sprouted, thankfully, by my leaf bin at the edge of the garage. Moonflower's first leaves are never symmetrical or neat. They always look like they've been through a blender and then munched on by squirrels. The seed coat of the moonflower is ridiculously hard, so you have to nip off the end and then soak the seeds in water for a day or so.

Yesterday, I found 2 volunteer green bean sprouts. I have a nagging feeling that I just haven't' planted enough. Everyone keeps asking me, "oh, if you have any extra produce, can I have some?" and so forth. Perhaps I should become a gardener for hire. It'd be like hiring someone to raise your horses. You don't want to get your hands dirty, so you have "help". I could be referred to as "the girl" or "the help". Perhaps I can even get scraps from the kitchen!

Good things today: nuzzling with Scooter the friendly pit bull, getting scooter tires from Bobby for my tater pile, and of course, eating the finest foods South Grand can offer.
Oh, and peas.

Garden doings

2009-05-05T18:33:00.006-05:00

This is where I've been spending most of my free time. Observe, if you will, the tree line of dill. That's lettuce and spinach and red and yellow onions behind it. A pot of peppermint is on the right. There's a volunteer tomato in a protective soda bottle cloche and a pot of chocolate peppermint.
And in the scooter tires? Why, a potato plant, of course! I don't even care if I harvest any potatoes; I just think it's a cool idea.
Each time the plant grows above the leaves and dirt, I stack on another tire (thanks, Bobby!) and add more leaves/dirt. It must be 2 1/2 feet tall by now. Luckily, I have a tire source.

Here are my delicious irises which decided to bloom this year. I cannot explain how wonderful they smell and look. I thought lilies were my favorite flowers, but now irises have usurped them. Would Iris be a weird name for a girl? NOT THAT IT'S A POSSIBILITY, but I think it would be nice.
On the other side of the porch is the 35-year-old rosebush from my old neighbor Brenda. When she moved, she invited me to dig them up. I only took one, as I don't like fussy plants. I dug a hole, threw in some coffee grounds and said "Mazel tov" to the plant. It must have 25 buds on it this year!

Other garden news: part of my ground cover for the paths is an old quilt from Poppymom. It was so shredded and beyond any sort of repair. It sat in my basement for a year, and last weekend, I realized it would be a fitting tribute to use it as a ground cover/weed blocker in my garden. I've been all emotional about quilts since seeing the Gee's Bend quilt exhibit at the Missouri History Museum. It's free on Tuesdays to city and county dwellers!

I digress....this year, Rabbitt Gardens is growing: ancho, jalapeno, habanero, red chili, and banana peppers--in the front yard! It took me 4 years, but I finally convinced my husband that it wouldn't look hoosier-ish.

In the back, we will have: corn, butternut squash, acorn squash (hopefully), peas, green beans, lettuce, spinach, carrots, 2 types of tomatoes, red onions, yellow onions, watermelon, cantaloupe, basil and....I think that's it. There's only so much room and only so many trellises my husband will put up with.
I also have a ton of flower seeds planted that may or may not be growing. They're still in their 2-leaf stage and so blend in with what I know to be weeds.

Again, today, someone asked me to help them start a garden. I have to tell you, it is a fantasy of mine to become a garden consultant. I can help folks get their yard dug up, start composting, and share enough seeds with them to get them started growing. Wouldn't that be fun? What would I charge? I'm so into people growing their own damn food and being self-sufficient.

It's also a fantasy to sell plants and seeds-oh wait! I WILL be doing that at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market this Saturday, May 9th! I have baby jade plants that are packaged in Chinese takeout containers, ready to go.
I also will have a few sets of magenta hollyhock plants (see below), and maybe some mini quilts if I can tear my hands away from the computer.

Gardening!

2009-03-07T17:05:00.004-06:00

Many good things today:
1. Spending time with Miss Lemon and Superchick at Superchick's basement/sunroom sale.

2. Pitchforking the garden beds and finding the most deliciously black and crumbly soil.

3. Brave robins who know that human digging equals worms.

4. The solar dryer (clothesline) made its 2009 debut and is currently drying the second load of laundry today.

5. Blues City Deli sandwiches.

6. The first iced coffee of the season.

7. Taking the plastic off one of the little stained glass windows in the bedroom. Mmmm...fresh air...

8. Tonight, we sleep upon 400-thread count sheets.

9. Cutting down the tall ornamental grasses and astilbe. Anyone want a healthy butterfly bush? It's the giant bush on the right in the pic below. That's purple hyacinth bean growing all over it. The bush can't keep growing where it is right now. I've got Easter lilies under there somewhere. Last summer it was 6 feet tall in its second year of life. It's that soil, I tell ya!

10. Digging in the compost bin and disturbing a once-happy field mouse. Now, if the same mouse was in my house, I would be all Adolf Hitler on its furry grey ass. But, in my coffee grounds and clementine peels? Cute, cute, cute. Now keep chewing my compost!

10.1 Discovering wonderfully wonderful soil at the bottom of Field Mouserton (yes, stolen from "Lost" when Sawyer says "New Otherton" but I love wit). That soil is going to produce some amazing veggies this summer. Corn ahoy!

Cute Overload at Rabbitt Gardens

2009-03-02T18:51:00.005-06:00

As you can see, Maggie can jump up onto the new bed.
Please note she is steadily pushing Daddy out of her way.

And if that pic of all her little footsies together isn't pukingly cute enough, how about a close up?

That is one content dog.

Hoarding...long and rambly

2009-03-01T15:18:00.003-06:00

My question to you today is: Why do we hang on to "stuff"?
I spent some time yesterday with Superchick, who is planning on selling her house, and needed my Toughlove to clear out her sewing room. The things she hung onto are no different from the goofy things I do. Who needs 3 metal thimbles, if you don't use them? I even have a commemorative Princess Diana porcelain thimble from my dad's mother. WHY?

Another example: I'm transferring my old tote bag necessities into a new tote bag, and realized I had 2 lipsticks, 1 almost-empty MAC Lipglass, 1 roll-on lip balm, and a new lip gloss stick. Have you seen me lately? Was I wearing any of the above?

The Lipglass is seriously from at least 4 years ago, when I lived in an apartment building with a MAC cosmetics employee. Tanya and I would get into the boxed wine and then play makeup and watch videos. I like the Lipglass, but it's almost gone and the applicator is all gunky. But, did I throw it out? No, I added it to the dish in the refrigerator with the other 7 lipsticks I've acquired over the years and can't seem to part with. One of them is so old, the color (L'Oreal copra) has been discontinued, and I bought it (on clearance, natch) at the Osco on Brighton Avenue WHEN I LIVED IN BOSTON, which was 10 years ago.

What the heck is wrong with me?!

After a few minutes of indeciveness, I added these things to the little pocket of my new Liberty print tote bag: loose powder (also very old...must downsize to a compact), 3 OB tampons in a little case I got for free, the new lip gloss, a pad and some Trident. Oh, and don't forget the little zippered pouch of eye drops and roll-on lip gloss (mmm...smells like ginger).

As you all know, last week we got a queen size bed. It was easy for me to say "adios" to 3 of the sets of sheets we had, especially since I know they are going to a great little girl. But the others? Waaaa....they were from our wedding....waaaaa.....I like the prints so much....waaaa...it's the red with white snowflakes from Martha Stewart set that I stalked at K-Mart until they went on sale....
You get the idea.
Part of my crazed mind wants to keep them and use them for the backs of all the quilts I intend to make. *coughs of disbelief* The other part wants to take my MUST CULL CRAP I WON'T USE mood and give them to said little girl.

So, what is with my clinginess to these things?
And seriously, I now have at least 7 shirts that are all the same leaf green color that looks so fabulous on me. Must. Find. Other. Color.
But I can't get rid of them!

Things I Have Too Many Of And Must Eradicate:
1. Sweaters I plan on wearing, but don't.
2. Gap Kids size 13 overalls. I used to fit these. I haven't worn them in at least 7 years. But why are they still in my closet?
3. *sigh* fabric
4. Insulated thermoses. I have 4, if you count my travel mug. Matt has 2. What the hell?
5. Clothes hangers.

Things I Have, Don't Use, But Won't Get Rid Of:
1. suede/shearling coat which was my mother's from 1967. It is too small, but I love it.
2. navy blue Doc Marten boots...well-loved and creased
3. Matt's grandma's sewing machine
4. Books, books, books
5. Leather biker jacket with punk band names painted on it. Found for $4 at a church yard sale. I was the luckiest girl in Brookline, Massachusetts that day, even though I missed the bus and had to walk home from the dentist, who had looked at my teeth and laughed.
6. patterns, patterns, patterns.

Today's Good Stuff----Demolition begins tomorrow on the apartment buildings behind St. Mary's High School on South Grand. I hope they're going at it when I leave for work, cause I surely love a wrecking ball! Thank you, thank you, thank you, whomever, for getting rid of those shitty buildings and their mostly-shitty tenants! Bring on the baseball field!

The Good Stuff--anniversary/Christmas/birthday/V-Day present

2009-02-21T09:17:00.002-06:00

WE BOUGHT A FREAKIN' BED!!!

FINALLY, all the past major holidays have now been atoned for!
The coolest part? This mattress has a firm side and a plush side. I laid down on it, pronounced it "perfect". Matt did the same thing. Then we switched sides and it was like angels singing when we realized it was two different firmnesses!

Whoever invented a dual-firmness mattress is up there with George Washington "I know you'll like peanut butter, Allison" Carver in my book. I love them.

Matt goes to pick it up tomorrow, and hopefully one of my beloved readers whose name rhymes with "spammy" will help him. I am way too short to mess with a queen size mattress.

And, snow flurries this morning! Snow is always good for me.

Oh, I even dreamed I found the camera cord....so maybe that's a good omen.

Now to write up write-ups about my refashioned clothes for today's Swap O-Rama at the History Museum. Come to see me!

The Good Stuff, Late...

2009-02-19T17:29:00.002-06:00

I am really wishing I had a camera cord so I could show you all the cool things sitting on my sewing room floor...

Well, today's good stuff was that I had a crazy-ass dream about daffodil bulbs. A large hill of them. Seriously, like a dump truck load. They were at the house I grew up in. I was trying to rake them out, as well as the cover of snow that was on them. Then, there was some business about trying to climb a wooden fort/play pen structure to avoid being eaten by wolves (possibly some "Lost" leftovers).
But seriously, what's with the bulbs?

The other night, I dreamed about my student who died in October. Mike was just sort of there in my dream, smiling at me. He had lost weight and seemed happy, so that was comforting.

We had a mock MAP test this morning at school, and nobody in my homeroom complained. Of course, I plied them with Tootsie Pops and they shared some Fruit Roll Ups, so maybe that's why. And, most of them DID know the parts of a friendly letter! Hallelujah! I HAVE taught something!

My kingdom for a camera cord!

Fame and Fortune is a Game I Play

2009-02-15T19:06:00.002-06:00

Hello, my faithful 3 readers...
Next Saturday, you have the chance to meet me at the Missouri History Museum's Swap O-Rama!
Not only will I have a rack of my own refashioned clothes for inspiration, but I will be doing short workshops on how to turn your cherished old punk rock tee shirts, or whatever, into a cozy tee shirt quilt. Aaaannnnd, I may even be manning a sewing machine to assist attendees with their own refashions!
You know I love thrift, frugality and repurposing, so this event really has my name all over it.
You'll need a bag of old, unwanted, yet CLEAN clothes to get in. Once in, you can sort through other folks' castoffs and find something you love! If it needs an applique, or ribbon button placket or to be taken in, you can consult with an alteration expert and do it right there and then!
This event is all part of the George Washington Carver exhibit that is going on now. He was all up in inventing and reusing, plus creating my favorite food, peanut butter.
In fact, I ate a peanut butter sandwich with a bowl of chili today, and let me tell you, my husband's scooter mechanic knows his food! Tony Bourdain, I dare you to try that combination!

Good Things:
1. I beat Matt at bowling today.

2. Estate sale yesterday yielded the vintage linen napkins I had been hoping for. It also yielded 1930's apple green curtains, a stack of craft and Better Homes and Gardens magazines from 1957 to 1973, an appetizer tray to match the 2-tiered one I already had, and a sweet little 1961 book about birds, with gorgeous, haven't-seen-the-light-of-day-in-40-years drawings.

3. The forsythia branches I cut last week are beginning to bloom inside.

4. I found a new band I like: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. Total 80's American twee pop and I love them dearly. I even think Tiny Montgomery would enjoy some of their tunes, twee aside... Emusic describes them as the soundtrack to the last day of school before summer vacation of your 16th year. I'm sold! If it's heart-wrenching, I love it.

5. I have decided to go ahead and get the recannulization procedure, just in case Someone's variocele surgery shows success. Wait a minute...perforating my tubes? And the word "tried" is spelled wrong! Hmmm....how can something that sounds like "cannoli" be bad?!

6. I have tomorrow off!

Good Stuff Updates

2009-02-09T19:57:00.003-06:00

Crap, I have how many days to catch up on? I am such a slacker...do I really want a baby?

Today: Umm....Maggie and I had a nice early evening walk in the rain. Otherwise, it was a nice warm day and my students were in a good mood.

Sunday: MIL made yummy bean soup for us. I went to an estate sale and scored some perfect 1950's curtains AND a box of blue Shiny Brite glass Christmas tree ornaments. The box is in perfect condition and the balls are just a smidge scratched. These people didn't know what they had!
Saturday: Matt left for Chicago at 5:30 am. Alecia and I went to Leftovers and I got a treasure trove of pencils and fabrics. Leftovers Lady told us a sob story of how they need money, so get thee there and buy something, already! It was super warm and we drove with the windows down.
I went grocery shopping at 6 pm and was one of the few sober people in the store. The guy behind me in line reeked of alcohol. When does one have to start drinking to get that drunk so early?

I also saved $8.44 in coupons, thank you very much. Cocoa roasted almonds are my new favorite things, although it was fun to let my students taste wasabi and soy sauce almonds. It was a new, hot experience for them, and they made funny faces.

Hump Day Good Stuff

2009-02-04T17:32:00.002-06:00

Things happened today (well, one thing) that was majorly depressing, but otherwise, it's been a decent day.
1. Fresh milk makes great coffee.
2. Suspended student (who told me I was pissing her the fuck off) came back, sans attitude or bitterness.
3. Hmmm.....I guess it wasn't a four star day. Just a day. Just a cold, cold day....

My foot hurts Good Stuff

2009-02-03T18:15:00.002-06:00

Can one seriously ruin one's feet by wearing Danskos? My tootsies just don't fit in my Vans anymore without pain.

Today kicked ass for several reasons:
1. I had an all-day meeting.

2. I had a chai from Starbucks.

3. We got our work done early and got to leave early.

4. I walked the dog in the freezing cold, with a scarf from Kate wrapped around my head/face/neck. Girls, it is aquamarine wool, so I know you're all jealous.

5. The dog did not poop, so I did not have to take off my mittens on said walk.

6. The slightly sour milk I put in my coffee did not make me sick. I have a bad history of eating/drinking things I probably shouldn't. My frugality will be, and has been, my downfall. I got so sick last spring (slightly moldy red pepper pesto...but I ate from the non-moldy side!) that I called in sick to work and didn't eat for a week. I also spent the entire weekend in bed, which is unheard of for me. The trains must run on time! Where does that phrase come from, by the way?

7. I culled a garbage bag plus a paper bag full of scraps for someone on Freecycle.

8. It's taco night!

Feeding People Is a Good Thing

2009-02-02T20:01:00.000-06:00

See here:

If you are short on time, just read this one paragraph:

LiveFeed is in an online contest to win $10,000 and we need your help. Please go to: http://ideablob.com/ideas/4445-LiveFeed-Will-Rock-for-Food-w , register for the website and then vote for LiveFeed as the best idea on the ideablob contest. If we get enough votes this week, then we make it to the finals and then we need you to vote AGAIN between February 23rd and the 28th. Votes before the 23rd do not count towards the finals, so voting between 2/23 and 2/28 is critical for us to win $10,000. This is free, easy and takes one minute.

Thank you for your support
Amy

================================
If you have 2 more minutes, keep reading:
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1) Make sure you vote before AND after 2/23 to get us into the finals and to win the whole thing so LiveFeed can win $10,000.

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Feel free to forward Amy's message to your friends, family, and random people who've found their way into your email contacts. Mention it on your blog. Then let us know in the comments what you did to spread the word today.

Groundhog Day

2009-02-02T16:35:00.002-06:00

I always feel sorry for Punxsutawny Phil. He's comfortably snoozing, and is then yanked into the cold Pennsylvania air for a bunch of men in stove pipe hats. Of course we're having 6 more weeks of winter! It's f'ing FEBRUARY, you idiots!
And if it were to warm up, we'd have snow in April again!
But, the proclamation is cool:

Greetings from Punxsutawney!

Phil Says Six More Weeks!

Phil's official forecast as read February 2nd, 2009 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:

Hear Ye Hear Ye

On Gobbler's Knob this glorious Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2009

Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators

Awoke to the call of President Bill Cooper

And greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths

After casting a joyful eye towards thousands of his faithful followers,

Phil proclaimed that his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were World Champions one more time

And a bright sky above me

Showed my shadow beside me.

So 6 more weeks of winter it will be.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, then. How does one discern a joyful eye from an angry, vengeful groundhog eye?

Today was an "eh" day, but..

1. The roofers are back at work at my school. Imagine me munching on an apple, juice running down my chin, ogling roofers with my coworkers during lunch. The one in the red sweatshirt is the hottest one, reflective sunglasses aside.

2. Hot gossip abounds at work, but I can't talk about it. Sorry, Bev :)

3. My hair looked great today.

4. I think I can actually take the dog for a walk, since most of the snow has melted. Sorry, Cat :)

See? I got nothin'!

January 31 TGS

2009-02-01T07:54:00.002-06:00

All of today was a good thing. I was required to tag along w/Husband and his scooter buddies to go scout out motels and entertainment in Lake of the Ozarks. They're planning a scooter rally down there in April, and wanted to make sure the rumors of development weren't true.
So, we left bright and early and drove for like 3 hours through snow-covered fields. Lots of cows, horses, and I spotted a bright yellow bird on a telephone wire that may have been an evening grosbeak.
We also saw a coyote, ate at a great diner, and once we got home, watched 2 discs of Lost Season 2. A good day, all around.

January 30 TGS

2009-01-30T18:00:00.002-06:00

1. I drove to work this morning and did not get stuck once on a side street.

2. I got to work early!

3. Beautiful sunset alert!

4. Lost, plus pizza, plus blueberry beer equals a good night.

5. My kids were awesome today.

6. A reader contacted me and said many, many complimentary things in her introductory email. It's hard for me to accept compliments without feeling bashful and goofy, so reading them is much easier. Thanks, RA! I will be really freaked out if you are the former owner of my house....same last name!

7. Matt is ordering pizza with mushrooms and black olives.

8. My coworker made chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting for the January birthdays at work. Someone else brought 7-layer dip, and if you think 9 am is too early for dip, you don't know me very well.

9. I traded my birthday slippers for ones that fit better, all without a receipt.

10. Matt got me the coat I coveted at Target :)

January 29 TGS

2009-01-30T17:56:00.002-06:00

Hmmm....as I have said before, I secretly love the bad kids. The Student Who Breaks My Heart Because He Has No Coat gave me a story he wrote while in in-school suspension. It's all one paragraph, but starts off about a boy whose Communication Arts teacher, Mrs. Rabbitt, inspires him because she says she loves reading his stories. The boy then wants to write a 2 page story for her to read.
His (TSWBMYBHHNC) writing is godawful, but damn, if he doesn't come up with some wacky ideas for stories. He is so proud of all of his writing, and I gave him a fancy folder to keep them in, in a secret place in my classroom.
That made me super happy. It seems he is reaching out to us, trying to avoid the gangster lifestyle he is destined for. We just don't want him to bring a gun to school like his brother did, so he gets lots of hugs and compliments.
Yay for being an inspiration!

The Good Birthday Stuff

2009-01-28T09:47:00.002-06:00

Today's Good Stuff came early. The sky today is the prettiest shade of blue I've seen in a long while. After 2 days of snow/sleet/freezing rain and Monday's general gloomy sky, it was nice to see the sun. Plus, it made the snow melt faster off my car.
So, I'm celebrating my 36th birthday with a Snow Day from school. Yes, I capitalize it because it is an important event. I'm a little bummed that I won't get to lord Birthday over my students and celebrate with my coworkers, so I'm trying to get myself started on a sewing project.

Also, the next little kid who comes to my door with a shovel, perfect manners and big brown eyes peeking out from a fur-lined hood is going to get $10 to shovel my across-the-street-neighbor's walk. I don't know where these kids come from, but I do love their entrepreneurial spirit! The older boys in our neighborhood finally rolled around at noon yesterday looking for shoveling work. Typical 16-year-olds.

Maybe I can do a list of Things I've Learned In My Life.

1. Name-brand plastic wrap is infinitely better than store-brand.

2. Always listen to your inner voice.

3. They're more afraid of you than you are of them. This still does not help me with spiders, although I managed to not obsessively vacuum out my snow boots which had been sitting in the basement for a few months.

4. Solar dryers all the way.

5. It is important to develop a good relationship with siblings, secretaries and custodians, especially if you want a custodian to "find" another key for you or if you need an alibi for your parents.

6. Older people have all the answers.

7. Teaching has also broken my heart many, many times, not just from deaths but from knowing about the hellish home lives of some of my students and knowing I can't take them home with me to protect them. Yet, I still do it.

8. Never come home with an empty gas tank, thinking "Oh, I'll just stop for gas before work in the morning." That will be a bad, bad morning. I haven't learned this the hard way; it's just a smart rule.

9. Don't bother eating store-bought tomatoes in the winter. They will also break your heart.

10. When traveling, wear as many items of clothing as you can so your suitcase isn't too heavy.

11. Life is often unfair (the Duggars, for example, or the lady who just had 8 freakin' kids) but it is also often amusing and good.

12. Hard work and a positive attitude makes you live longer. If you don't believe me, you can go visit my grandma (89) and grandpop (96 or 97) and see what they have to say. Grandpop can still speak Polish.

The Good Stuff 2

2009-01-27T15:50:00.003-06:00

Aside from the last-night phone call telling me I had today off, not much to report on today. I attempted some sewing, but have no interest in it. What is wrong with me? If we end up having to adopt, I am going to have to make some damn potholders/money!

Here's something good.
In winter, I have tons of these little guys at my feeder:
This, my friends, is the dark-eyed junco. The yellow-eyed junco lives in New Mexico and Arizona because it's smarter and more in touch with the Earth Mother. They are just the cutest little guys, with their white tummies and the chicken-like way they scratch through the snow for seed. How do their legs stay warm?

A few months ago, I found a horrifying sight in the yard. A sparrow had gotten its greedy head stuck inside a feed hole of one of my bird feeders. It was flapping frantically and was too panicky to figure out how to unstick its head. I gently held its little body and took off the top of the feeder to figure out what to do. With a lot of gentle twisting and poking and praying that I wouldn't tear its head off, I freed the bird, who flew into the bushes, gathered its wits and flew off.

Their bodies weigh nothing and you never realize how thin their legs are until you've got a really stupid one in your hand. So, how do their legs not freeze solid?

Snow by Thelma Harrington Bell

2009-01-26T20:33:00.005-06:00

Last year, the librarian at my school did a purge of all the books that hadn't been checked out since she was born in 1984. Therefore, I am now in possession of a million ancient school books with luscious graphics and colors. Some were given to Tiny Montgomery, but some I hoarded like My Precious.
Here's my favorite book, simply titled "Snow". It was first published in 1954, but the copy I have was printed in 1969. Aqua, black and grey? Yes, please.
I love the little bird house and the cozy human house in this picture.
And if I was totally crazy, I'd get that snowflake pattern in the above picture tattooed across my shoulders.

The Good Stuff

2009-01-26T17:51:00.004-06:00

I am, with her approval, borrowing a great idea Tiny Montgomery had a few weeks ago. Each day, I will let my 4 readers know about something good, great, or wonderful that I experienced. I'll call it The Good Stuff, which is what I also call the tube of Gold Bond Ultimate Lotion I keep at school. Even my kids call it The Good Stuff. "Mrs. Rabbitt, can I have some of The Good Stuff?"
Here's why I'm doing this:
1. I teach 7th grade in a low-income district. I am bombarded daily with petty bullshit, especially by girls who are always antagonizing and being snarky to one another. It's never been this bad before. I am so freakin' sick of hearing what soandso said to soandso on the bus and then some slutty 8th grade boy is always bothering them and blahblahblah is two-faced and so on.

2. This world is pretty sucky, and we need more goodness.

3. I'm tired of hearing people talk about how stupid or terrible everyone else is.

4. My mother trained my brother and I to notice the small beautiful things in nature. It's hard to pass this onto to low-income, bitchy 7th graders, but I try.

5. My NYE resolution was to stay un-snarky and not to complain about things/people I can't control. It went well until I went back to school, but I put up a good fight. I have only had 2 or 3 incidents when I was given a "Get Out of NYE Resolution Free Card".

Here's my first nice thing, seen at 6:50 am today.
So, it snowed, beautifully, yesterday. The sky this morning was that typical pinkish city sky, covered in thick clouds. As I discovered the snow on my car was brushable and not an issue, I heard crows cawing. The noise got louder and louder, and I finally looked up. Above me was a murder of at least 50 crows, flying east. It was so peaceful and solitary and I felt like the only person in the city watching these black dots flap overhead. Ah... a haiku moment...

Also, my coworkers and I had a good chuckle during team meeting this morning. Other teachers brought in bagels and coffee, so I had a nice snack in the library during my free time.

My 6th hour class read silently during DEAR so I rewarded them with wasabi and soy sauce flavored almonds. Most of them had never had wasabi, and it was fun to watch them experience it! For the record, the only girl who didn't like it usually makes a big show out of everything, so her opinion is invalid.

Happy Lunar New Year to my Asian and Asian-phile friends, both 15 months old and above :)
I am an ox, so hopefully good things will happen. See if this description doesn't just scream ALLISON!

Oops...according to Wikipedia, I'm a Rat. But, according to my Chinese friend, I was born on the cusp, so could have attributes of both.

New Bags!

2009-01-17T18:28:00.006-06:00

I am in the middle of adding new market bags to my Etsy shop. Remember, they are pretty much one-of-a-kind, and so fabulous that they won't last long. I hope.

Tonight we may be going to the Meet Our Alderwoman Candidate party at Grbic's. She's my neighbor, so I already know her, but there are raffles and such. Plus, free door prizes!

I've been sickish all this week, but dragged myself to school anyway. By Friday, I could not get myself psyched for a day full of boring meetings, and even though I wouldn't have had classes, I still called in sick. Then, I stayed in bed until 10 am. TEN AM! That's when I know I'm sick!
My doctor called in a Z-pac for me, which is 30 doses of the antibiotic azithromycin in 6 convenient pills. It basically kills ALL the bacteria in my body, good ones too. So, let's hope I make it through the weekend without getting the vomiting, diarrhea, or yeast infections that are possible side effects. My life is awesome, huh?

And as far as the previous post goes, we got nothing. But, the ball doctor said it could take a year or so for everything to heal from the variocele surgery.
At least my house is clean for now!

Cross Your Fingers!

2009-01-14T18:13:00.002-06:00

For my 2 readers, please keep your fingers crossed that a certain husband's certain test goes well tomorrow and will give me the certainty that I can certainly get pregnant someday!
Go, little soldiers, go toward the light :)

All prayers, invocations, positive vibrations and creative visualizations will be welcome, as I do not want to have to use the Craigslist Sperm Donor guy/peetree dish hater...

Like he'd want to be paid

2009-01-11T17:14:00.001-06:00

Is this guy for real?

Stud service - $100 (ST Louis)

Reply to: sale-989017308@craigslist.org ^[?]
Date: 2009-01-11, 4:58PM CST

I am willing to impregnate any female for a fee, no testubes or peetree dishes, the real thing. $100

Location: ST Louis
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Green With Indie Craft Show..

2009-01-01T20:19:00.003-06:00

The next big Craft Mafia event will be the Green With Indie Craft Show. We're looking for relatively eco-friendly or local to St. Louis vendors and info booths. Come join us at the Webster University Gym on March 21 and 22 to get your life a little greener!

In preparation for this, I have 26 market bags sitting behind me, awaiting pins and more sewing....

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T12:49:00.004-06:00

We have a beautiful cold blue-sky day here in St. Louis. Perfect for a....walk!? Maggie sure hopes so. Dig the crazy plastic bag rug my mother crocheted. 193 bags!

Why I Love Christmas

2008-12-18T19:17:00.002-06:00

1. I like making fabric-based Christmas cards (although that didn't happen this year).

2. Shiny! And sparkly!

3. I have 2 weeks off to get addicted to 90210 reruns and to be mesmerized by Tori Spelling's stiff boob valley (cleavage) and fake tan.

4. My Christmas cactii are blooming. In fact, Lowe's has them on sale for a quarter, but I'll warn you I bought the last 2 healthy ones.

5. People give you things.

6. Eggnog, with or without rum.

7. "My Favorite Things" by John Coltrane.

8. The feeling of giving gifts to my usually overlooked coworkers, like our day custodian and the secretaries. I omitted the evening custodians because they leave the girls' bathroom window open ALL FUCKING NIGHT and then it's like 3 degrees in there in the morning. Shut the damn window already!

9. The first batch of sugar cookies makes me happy. Not the fourth.

10. Christmas fabrics!

11. Remembering the feeling of still believing in Santa Claus.

12. Did I already say SHINY and SPARKLY?

Why I Hate Christmas

2008-12-18T19:01:00.002-06:00

1. It's hard to get excited about Christmas when one of your parents is either not speaking to the entire family (except the cats) or is off hunting on Christmas morning.

2. Too much sugar cookie rolling gives one a sore back.

3. Boom! It's over. Even Lowe's has all their Christmas decor on clearance.

4. I have too many choices of who to donate stuff to. Should I knit a million pairs of mittens for needy families in shelters? Should I donate them to the families my school sponsors? What about my own students who are in crappy families?
For example, I noticed *Juan*'s deformed thumbnail today.
"What the heck happened to your thumb?" I asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," replied the normally annoyingly conversative kid. He's always all up in everyone's Kool-Aid and doesn't even know what flavor it is! Seriously, if you are talking to someone else and turn around fast, *Juan* is there. He never wants to go home, and is always hanging out after school with us. He's a sidler!
I know it's his dad's fault that his thumb tip is all deformed, but I really don't want to ask. Cause, if the Mayor of Brittany Woods ain't talkin', it must be pretty bad.
Things like this break my heart.

So, 4. is that I am too ADD to pick one charity to do nice things for. Plus, the procrastinating gene in me is STRONG.

5. You go to church on Christmas Eve and everything is so pretty and sparkling with the candlelight service and a church full of warm bodies singing your favorite songs. It's full of a beautiful warm feeling and you think that maybe Jon King is looking at you like he might like you and he says "Merry Christmas" to you all close and romantic (for church).
Then, you go home to a house of tension and misery where we all walk on eggshells and only come out of our rooms for meals.

6. I hate packing up the ornaments. Conversely, I dislike unpacking a suitcase and the dishwasher.

7. I know there's lots of people out there worse off than me, and then I feel like an asshole for blogging about it.

8. 8, 8, I forget what 8 was for.

9. I am totally serious about #1. Dad wouldn't talk to us usually from Thanksgiving until my birthday (January 28th. I like green, chocolate, and organized living). He would even get his OWN beer!

10. Brown Christmas. Or, like tonight, Black Sheet of Icy Death Christmas. Seriously, go salt your steps, folks.

11. I get hooked on 90210 reruns and follow the story line for 2 weeks then have to go back to work.

Perfect

2008-12-16T16:20:00.002-06:00

This made me laugh until it hurt.

The entire website really appeals to my sarcastic, feisty and citified ways.

Snow Day!

2008-12-15T12:42:00.004-06:00

Woo hoo for snow days! Although, I guess it is technically an "ice day". The rain and sleet started shortly after 9 pm, and I got to lay in bed listening to it beat against the plastic sheeting we put over the screens in the stained glass windows above our bed. Sounds hoosierish, but there weren't any storm windows for these specific windows. God bless 1939-era windows :(

Here is what I just saw in the yard, hopefully catching pigeons:

Yes indeed, that is a big-ass hawk (not the official name) sitting on the telephone wires. That's the view from my kitchen window. What you can't see is the sad brown garden or the hiding chickadees, juncos and house finches or our garage. But a hawk is pretty cool, too!

And while I'm messing with pictures, this is the sunset from Friday night.
Even with the wire in the way, it's beautiful.

Back on the Estate Sales Again

2008-12-13T16:52:00.004-06:00

For a while, Tiny Montgomery and I were rummage and estate sale hounds. I quickly learned that garage sales are usually not worth the time, unless they advertise "fabric" or sewing stuff.

We went to a sale this morning which turned out to be great. I had been talking about needing a roasting pan for a few weeks, and lo/behold, in the basement, along with 1298 trophies and a vintage box of Christmas mica snow (which freaked me out), there it was!

Check out those cute tea towels! I really love the one of the little....bear? with the name "Evelyn" and "1985".
Please also note the pink fruit and the massive Tupperware container with lid and pouring spout.

We also spent some time in the closet, surrounded by bad polyester, which Miss Lemon would like, and incredible couture brocaded gowns. And embroidered sweatshirts. If anyone needs a turquoise suit, heels and clutch purse, it's there!

Now to wash the rest of the creepy stick-in-your-eyes mica snow.

Yowza!

2008-12-08T19:28:00.005-06:00

First of all, a massive thank you to everyone who picked up a little Squaresville for the holidays. I am SO happy that you're helping me clean out my craft storage box!
Rock and Roll Craft Show was totally kick-ass, and then yesterday's Green Living Expo was also awesome! Thanks to you customers, I will be sending a fat check to my grandparents for Christmas. Grandpop is 96 or so, and Grandmom will be 89 in January. I know they struggle to make ends meet, as he is a retired farmer and she is a seamstress. They're on a ton of medications, heating bill, blah blah blah. Would you be happy to know that Grandpop recycles? And, he was excited to "put a woman in the White House" in the April primaries in Pennsylvania.
Anyway, Grandmom has been in her house since 1939, and it needs tons of repairs. Naturally, I sorta hope she leaves it to me in her will, because I have nothing but wonderful memories of baking, cooking, canning, cleaning and fabric-messing-around-with in her house.
I figure the money will come in handy for them.

Here is a picture so you can see my newest frock, straight from the bowels of Value Village:

I like it, even though the picture makes me look oddly-shaped. And why do I always have that "I'm going to kick your ass" look?

Modish Marketplace!

2008-12-01T16:58:00.002-06:00

Buy, buy, BUY!!!

At least from my shop or others listed on the December Modish Marketplace blog, that is....

Rock and Roll Craft Show was a big hit, and I don't have too much stock left, so please help a sistah clean out her craft storage box!
In fact, if you purchase a goodie from my Etsy store, mention you read about it here, and I'll throw on a wee lil' discount...how about 15% off? Just make sure to send a "Message to Seller" before paying. You can do the math or I can send you an update invoice.

In other news, it snowed today! I let the dog out at 5:45 and saw a beautiful dim snowy morn. It was all blowy and big flakes and quiet and peaceful. Thank god I bought an ice scraper last week!

Thanks

2008-11-28T15:58:00.004-06:00

So, several things have happened lately that I am thankful for:

1. Gas is $1.33. This is the cheapest I ever remember it. EVER. Now, that might mean my memory sucks, but it's still cheap enough for me to consider a road trip to PA after Christmas.

2. My brother's girlfriend is kickass and nags him into calling me.

3. I live in a neighborhood where several different nationalities are represented. For example, yesterday, I saw Mohammed and Bismallah cruising their bikes down the street howling at the top of their lungs. Howling, because I'm sure it was super fun to do as they were flying downhill.
Also, I heard my Vietnamese neighbors rocking the karaoke at 10 am. It's in their basement, so what I really hear is a thin, tinny high-pitched noise. Hi (spelling?) isn't the best singer.

4. My partner-in-law is a great cook and we never have to pretend to like her food. In fact, everyone in Matt's family does a good job in the kitchen.

5. Rock and Roll Craft Show lets me sell my crap without having to be there. Let's hope it all sells so I can start fresh in 2009.

6. I am thankful to live in a city where I can email complaints about the Hoosier Neighbors to the city and they'll do something about the old phone books, the prairie in their backyard, and the rotting pumpkins on their porch. Now, the pumpkins have been moved to the side of their house, but I'm wondering when is the best time to go snatch them and turn them into compost.

7. I am thankful that I am a decent cook and can plan a week of yummy, somewhat nutritious meals. Turkey enchiladas, anyone?

8. My friends talk me into buying 60's beaded-neck dresses that I secretly love but have no real use for. Thanks, guys!

9. We live in one of the best countries in the world, barring angry mobs and illiteracy and pregnant middle-schoolers (she's not one of mine....)

10. *just now* I am thankful our doorbell doesn't work, so people who I don't want to talk to (I'm looking at you, man with the clipboard) don't realize I don't know they're there, unless the dog barks.

11. I am thankful to have a gentle, lazy, loving dog with a fierce bark and fierce looks. Here she is in one of her usual positions, looking out the window.

12. Teaching has given me a kickass immune system. When I'm sick, I am seriously SICK.

13. The Internet. How great is it?! Without it, imagine the rise in productivity of this world! We would get things done! There'd be no failing economy!

What are you thankful for?

I Am Famous.

2008-11-19T16:54:00.001-06:00

Well, only sorta famous.
Here's the article on Metromix.com that mentions yours truly.
Like any of you needed a reminder/excuse to go to the Rock and Roll Craft Show!

It Is Done.

2008-11-16T18:32:00.002-06:00

Soooo....I just emailed my Rock and Roll Craft Show inventory over to the headmistress at RRCS. If you were lusting after a mitt, tough! You'll have to snatch it up November 28th to the 30th at Third Degree Glass Factory on Delmar Boulevard.

In honor of my newfound freedom, I worked on our t-shirt quilt today. It's pretty much done, and pretty much all my t-shirts. Matt disapproved of my Babes In Toyland shirt (the band, not the sex toy store) but those riot grrls are on it anyway, along with my cherished Upper Hand and Billy Idol shirts. Yes, him again.

Other notes:
1. We watched the movie Eastern Promises. Best part was seeing Viggo Mortenson's weiner during a fight scene. As I said to Laurene, if I had a body that looked like that and I was a dude, I'd walk around nude all the time. Oh, and the Russian accents were charming.

2. I bought a Christmas present for myself today. Teal and chocolate brown snowflake flannel sheets, now on sale at Target! I bought a queen size set, in hopes that a queen-size bed will appear under the Christmas tree.

3. Why are my calendulas blooming like mad? It's cold out for plants!

4. I am about to experiment with bulk hot chocolate mix like my mom did when we were little. It involves large boxes of powdered milk, Nestle Quik and powdered sugar and Cremora. We shall see how it tastes.

5. Please go buy stuff at the Rock and Roll Craft Show, namely my stuff. Remember, it's all much cheaper and I'm not making any more for a while! Recession, you say? Recession, my ass! You tell that to the throngs of South Countians at Target today. The economy is alive and well, now that gas is for some reason the cheapest it's been in 7 years. Can you say "cartel"?

Oh. My. God.

2008-11-06T20:05:00.003-06:00

Many things to discuss.
First...I grew up without cable. Only my friend Holly, who lived in town, had cable. So, whenever I went over to her house, I was a total hose beast about watching The MTV. The only way I ever saw music videos was if I stayed up with my brother and father to watch Friday Night Videos. Daniel and I mixed drinks for my dad all night and had a great time hanging out with the old man. Is it bad if a 11-year-old girl gets her father drunk?

Anywho, Laurene alerted me today, via Very Short List, that MTV's website has EVERY FUCKING VIDEO they ever aired. Now, you know I rarely cuss in my blogs. I save that for the motherfucking classroom. But GOD, am I catching up! I mean, DECADES of music trivia will be MINE! Smiths! Echo! New Order! Finally I will get what the Flight of the Conchords guys sing about in their David Bowie tribute!

Second, this:

Billy Idol |MTV Music

Now, it's usually a bad thing if you go to bed with a guy and there's a bloody handprint on his pillow, but I'll make an exception for Billy Idol.
And the glove? He sleeps and bathes with it!
And the shower scene? Get the fuck out! (to use one of Dad's favorite phrases)
Dear sweet Christ on a crutch! I should not be feeling these feelings! My mouth actually fell open. You have to love the close up shot of the lather on his chest. I know I do. It beats Harrison Ford's sponge bath scene from "Witness" any day.
I fell in love with this song when I took the cassette tape with us on a family road trip to Montana from Pennsylvania in 1989. Daniel and I were trapped in the back of our truck for weeks, but we brought plenty of tapes. I'll bet I'm the only one who associates Wyoming and Montana with this song.

The saddest part is that he ruined himself on drugs. Children, Billy Idol is why you should never do drugs.

Did I ever tell you about the best dream I ever had? In said dream, I was hanging out with Billy Idol in his tour trailer before a concert. It had tons of plants. He offered to make me some tea, and I accepted. When he brought the tea back to the couch where I was, I thought, "Holy God, Billy Idol is about to kiss me" AND THEN I WOKE UP.
Cruel, cruel fate! I never got to finish the dream! It still pains me!

Now, back to Billy.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, as a true statement of my dorkiness, I used to spend a lot of time listening to the radio and acting out my own videos in my room. Of course there was a camera following me! Of course I was an awesome singer and millions of hot guys were hot for me!
The sad part is that (and I'm a little embarrassed to admit) I actually would put on accessories if the appropriate song came on...scarves, my mother's cool silver high heels......and dance and lip sync to the radio. Sometimes my brother would join me as a backup singer. Remember, we lived in the country and only had 4 or 5 television stations. Summer nights were spent on marathon Monopoly games or driving aimlessly around Solebury Township when I had my permit. It was a kinder, gentler life.

Allison's Search For Meaning

2008-11-01T16:29:00.004-05:00

Check out those SWEET Descendents Vans! They're old enough now I can wear them to river banks and other muddy spots. You know you're jealous.

I have decided to put Squaresville on sabbatical for the next year or so. The constant craft fairs and sewing and fabric overload have killed my love of pot holders and oven mitts....for now.
So, hop on over to my Etsy shop and pick up some early holiday presents. All oven mitts, pot holder sets and grocery bags are just $10.00. The initial pot holders are $5! And, I still have a ton of items to photograph and upload!
These new prices will be in effect at the Rock and Roll Craft Show and at the Green Living Expo in December. I will be making some obligatory holiday-themed goodies, but not too many. Actually, right now, "holiday" looks like "Christmas", as I haven't found any tasteful Hanukah prints....yet....

I'm strangely relieved to be sabbatical-ing Squaresville. I don't want to look at my heavy-ass craft fair tent for quite a while.
What will I be doing instead?

1. Culling and culling and culling my fabric hoard.

2. Making some clothes for myself. This means cutting into the precious red-with-silver-flecks wool and the wonderful vintage green-on-cream nubby plaid wool. Shrunken blazers, ahoy!
Also, the emerald green bathrobe my brother bought me in Saudi Arabia will be repurposed, as I don't wear a bathrobe. If my hoosier neighbors happen to catch a glimpse of my lovely lady lumps, too bad. I doubt they will, though. The blind in their window has been crooked for MONTHS and they never open the curtain. They haven't mowed their yard since August and a phone book has been laying on their stoop since phone books were delivered this year.

3. Finish t-shirt quilt.

4. Quilt Chinese Coins quilt and Maple Leaf quilt.

5. Make wonderful things for my friends and their babies. Oh yeah, Miss Olive, I've got something planned for you :)

6. Paint our porch. Paint Laurene's porch.

7. Experiment with tea towels, bunting and boxer shorts.

8. Rip out all the overgrown garden and start prepping next year's corn patch.

9. Knit?

10. I don't know.

Today was a weird First Day of Not Sewing. I went to the wake and funeral of one of my last year's students. He was 14 and died from leukemia. It was very sad, but gave me closure after a godawful week of parent-teacher conferences until 8 pm on Monday and Wednesday combined with trying not to cry during class. It was a nice ceremony, if not a little...culturally different. Lots of testifying and hallelujahs.
When I came home, I messed around in the garden, did laundry and took a nap. Now? I'm about to Google "Repairing chipped china", since I nicked one of my dear Blue Dandelion plates. Damn, damn, damn! Any ideas?

Defiance....Missouri, that is...

2008-10-12T14:38:00.008-05:00

It can't be a bad day when this is what you see first thing in the morning.

So, we're all back from our weekend in Defiance. Maggie went with us and had a great time too. Yesterday we rode scooters to Hermann/Drunk Fest 2008, Missouri.
Look at the girl in the back. Click on the photo to see the silver SEQUINED racer-back tank top she's wearing. I couldn't tell if it was attached to the outer shirt. Each time she leaned over, we totally saw her boobs. She was wearing a nude bra, and at one point, I could see between her boob cleavage and the bra.
The whole Oktoberfest experience just reminded me of my drunken post-college days. Slightly embarrassing to think, "good lord, was I THAT girl?"
But I did get to see a coal train go through Hermann and a girl in a Penn State t-shirt.

From Hermann, we rode to Swiss, Missouri, for the renowned Swiss Meat Company.

Here is what Maggie and I found this morning on a 7 am walk to the lake at the property where we were staying.
Beautiful misty meadows....

A pale green spider in a dew-enhanced web...

And the aforementioned lake. Unfortunately, the ducks flew away, but the fish were jumping.

Then, we sat and watched a flock ( A FLOCK!!) of bluebirds. Life couldn't be much better right now, even with my sewing anxieties and other life issues. All one needs is a 7 am walk to a lake with your dog, a flock of bluebirds and a 1971 camper trailer to sleep in, curled up with your honey and the dog.

A Few Items

2008-10-05T12:31:00.008-05:00

Well, it's the end of summer here in St. Louis. The garden has a mind of its own, and I am not too concerned about its productivity at this point. Scroll down for my delicious carrot harvest!
Testament to how much cargo space a Mazda 3 5-door has. This is a small rocker chair and in front of it is a 3-drawer plastic cabinet. Much thanks to Laurene for helping load and unload it!

A few months ago, Laurene also gave me some bags of top soil. I laid them down in my Kill The Grass Area to, well, kill the grass. Today I flipped them over and found two beautiful slugs. I like how I can see myself reflected in Slug's slime.

Carrot harvest. And check out that gorgeous pepper! It puts store-bought peppers to shame!

Other items to ponder:
1. Why does Loughborough Schnucks attract such a large percentage of Jabba The Hut-like humanoid blobs? I was totally depressed the other day after seeing all the troglodytes cashing their paychecks with their 34 children each. I mean, besides the girl who was on her phone the ENTIRE time I was shopping, and the women in sweatpants and size XXXL faded t-shirts, it was an okay experience. I like my Schnucks. But Jesus, what a downer otherwise!

2. What did I do before iced coffee?

3. Who wants to come harvest all my basil and make my pesto?

4. Who wants green bean seeds for next year?

5. Why do my neighbors insist on letting their yard grow to a foot tall? The newspaper on their porch finally disappeared/decomposed, but the gas tank is still there, surrounded by weeds. Plus, why do they leave their kitchen light on all night long so it shines into our bedroom?

Just some thoughts, folks. Enjoy this perfect day!

Strangefolk!

2008-09-29T16:14:00.002-05:00

A million zillion thanks to everyone who came to Strangefolk, bought something from me, and have now found my blog.
(Alice, I need you to contact me.)

Some high points:

1. On Saturday, Matt and Maggie came along. They both had a nice nap, which was photographed by a roving photographer. Is there anything cuter than an aging punk rocker and an aging boxer/pit bull mix snoozing in the shade? Didn't think so.

2. Laurene sold a yeti!

3. Meeting people who knew my husband "when".

4. The totally perfect weather.

5. Chillin' with the Cranky Yellow boys.

6. Coffee frappes.

7. Having a booth in the shade.

8. Being able to now buy a new television. Our current one has a big yellowish blob on the screen. We're so used to it by now, but you know, the HD and all that.

9. Selling out of my Halloween pinup mitts. Mitts must be the wave of the future.

10. Matt helped me set up and take down. God bless the child!

11. Receiving bags of scraps from Curious Cat Clothing. Thanks for thinking of me! Your fabric rocks cocks!

Squaresville Update

2008-09-13T18:50:00.005-05:00

The sewing machine has been busy, busy, busy here in Squaresville!
Check this sweet pile out:

Those are all kickass potholders, including some Halloween ones!
Now for the trimming, the looping and the binding. Then, the tying together and the tagging and adding to my inventory spreadsheet. No rest for the wicked, eh?

I'm mildly panicking about not having enough ready in time. I still have to put oven mitts into production! Still, I'm excited about Strange Folk and hope it goes as well as I feel it will.

Today was spent going to Leftovers with Senora Muertos and Senorita Muertos. I scored a massive Christmas tin for storing birdseed (remember the squirrel invasion?), a bunch of plastic for the shrinky dink factory at Strange Folk, some sweet vintage and not vintage fabric and some ribbon for hanging loops. Oh, and 70 blue folders, chalk, and a mess of pencils for my real job. Senora Muertos also hit the jackpot and will have a unique display at Strange Folk.

Then, I came home to find Matt had brought my newly refinished desk up from the basement. He was trimming our bushes that had grown over into the Hoosiers' yard, and cut through TWO extension cords in the process. Poor Matt.
After much time spent rearranging my sewing room, everything is in its place and the room now smells like delicious varnish.

Check out the cool accents under the handles! I got the desk for $12 from Value Village, and have spent way more than that refinishing and buying the cool art deco handles. The top is totally beat up and scarred, but those marks are fascinating. What the heck happened to it? Was someone hammering grommets on top of it?
It was well worth it, though, especially when I found a juicy letter jammed in back of the middle drawer. It was written to someone who had really pissed the author off. I will try to scan it and post it. Lord knows I love some juicy gossip!

I really liked this project because it took me back to my youth....When I was growing up, my parents' friend Bob Kling had an antique restoration shop that Dan and I used to stop in at on our jaunts down to Carversville. The smell of varnish always reminds me of being in that wonderfully dusty and crowded shop. It had once been a nightclub of sorts, complete with a little stage for a band. Posters from Philly's classical music station adorned the stairway up to the shop. When I got older, my father would let me pick out one thing from Bob's shop for my birthday. We might have been a blue collar family, but I was surrounded with antiques and learned to appreciate them at an early age.

In other news, my famous oven mitt is now on its way to Canada! I wonder if the customer saw it in the Daily Sauce newsletter?

Mystery Fabric Goodie Bags!

2008-09-04T18:57:00.005-05:00

In a wonderful sewing marathon last weekend (Matt was in Chicago), I got like 50 new sets of potholders started. I also worked on an idea I'd been kicking around for a while: scrap bags!
They are A: a great way to destash, B: a great way to get new generations interested in sewing. It sure worked for me, C: sheer capitalism.
The bag is actually a piece of muslin that I printed instructions and suggested uses on. Thank god I haven't jammed my printer yet!

Here's what they look like:

I crammed as many scraps as I could into each roughly 11" by 7" bag, plus a spool of thread!
Look for more at Strangefolk Festival!

Dorkathlon

2008-08-25T17:52:00.002-05:00

Finally, all those years of being teased and bullied by the cool kids are going to pay off!
I am SO in the Dorkathlon, people!
I mean, you used to read my 8th grade diary, right? I left off at 9th grade, during the Mike Pirnik Unrequited Love Months, right? Remember all those dumb things I used to write? There's 3 more years of that, and some of those years are heavily Smiths and Cure-influenced! Some diary pages have candle wax from my "I am obsessed with flames" stage!
Maybe it's time to whip that baby back out and stop blabbing about my garden or sewing or Maggie.
I could start in on my infertility woes, but...hmmmm...Dorkathlon or uncomfortable topic? Dorks trump incalcitrant reproductive parts every time. (and that's the second time today I used the word "trump" as a verb)

Vote for me. You will not be disappointed, my friends.

Woo hoo!

2008-08-23T12:35:00.004-05:00

I was pleasantly surprised at Tower Grove Market this morning by my friend Dana. Apparently, Squaresville was mentioned in The Daily Sauce last week. Figures that I canceled their daily newsletters!
I'm so glad to see that they noticed the "meticulous" craftwomanship. I do love some meticulosity.

http://www.thedailysauce.com/issue/L/3822

And now to: add the rest of my inventory to my Etsy site, do laundry, finish a pair of pants, sweep the floor, think about trimming back the tomato and gourd vines, make chocolate zucchini bread, grocery shop and run a package to a customer.
Maybe I'll just make some iced coffee and bask in my glory.

Oh, while I'm here, I need to let you read about my friend's battle with her insurance company over her adopted child. It's completely crappy how companies are just in it for the money. Where are the businesses that use The Fred Factor?
Here's the website for the adoption/insurance woes.

Now back to that coffee...

yawn

2008-08-21T19:50:00.010-05:00

So very tired...

In a nutshell, I went to lovely Lewiston, Maine last Thursday for a wedding and flew back home Sunday and started school Monday. All this is after working super long days at school getting my classroom ready for the Youth of Tomorrow, mind you.
Maine was wonderful, as it was last year. I stayed with my dear old pal Kate in her new creaky and well-loved house. There were kitties, there was a cemetery full of crows, and there was the obligatory lobster.
The wedding was nice. I even got a manicure and an emergency dress for the rehearsal dinner! In times of stress, I totally snap into calm, cool and collected. "The General", you might say. I got to do that this weekend and it was fun. I even got to read Corinthians 2 during the service and did not get shaky or stuttery. Sweaty hands, but nobody saw them.
I'm the short one with the granny purse, not the statuesque cutie in the palest blue silk dress. (Sorry, Kate, but we'll never be sexy. We're cute to the end! Besides, sexy takes too much work) This was taken shortly before it rained, a la Guns'N'Roses video of "November Rain". Did you know Rikki Rachtman was the guy who dove under the table in that video? Neither did I. Let's just hope this marriage turns out better than the video one.

While pics were being snapped, I walked around the church and thought you might like these pics.
The Androscoggin River ( I think):

And a rustic barn and patch of monarda:
I drank spiked punch at the reception. Well, one sip. One sip was enough for my brain to yell, "DO NOT SWALLOW THIS POISON THAT SHAUN HAS OFFERED YOU" so I listened to my poor brain for once. It fears weddings with open bars.

After the reception, I hung out with some old Boston friends at a coffeehouse. Some band from New Hampshire was playing and the drummer looked just like a smaller Matt. Shaun bought me a tasty beer and we all felt old.

I spent the night in the same apartment we stayed in last August. In the middle of the night (or wicked early morning at this point), I opened my eyes and saw a man standing in my room with his arms crossed. Not threatening or anything, but it startled me enough to close my eyes and keep them this way. Ghost? I didn't have my glasses on, but he was so clear in the dark shadows. And how could I see anything without my specs? I don't know if I was dreaming or just deliriously tired, but it was cool.
The betrothed couple liked their gift ( and I think it was the coolest) and modeled it for me. Watching them explore the thousands of one-inch squares and seeing Kate recognize so many fabrics really made my whole trip.
Awwwww.....

The whole weekend made me really appreciate Matt and what an awesome person he is. Somehow we have gone two years without a major or minor argument. It's rare that we use a harsh word with one another, and if it happens, it's usually me retching about soggy corn flakes in the sink ( the only thing that makes me vomit). How is it that people who are perfect for eachother find eachother? Do we have options and one of them arrives in our lives?
Besides being on time at the airport, he had done laundry, cleaned the skanky bathtub and run the dishwasher! We won't discuss that he let my potted plants out front die.....the geraniums will make it, but the lovely scented pennyroyal is done for.

School has been okay so far. Already, I've discovered some knuckleheads! Where's my 2 week honeymoon?
I'm also mildly stressing about making enough product for the multiple craft affairs coming up. Strangefolk, Tower Grove, Rock and Roll Craft Show, blah blah blah. Part of me just wants to say "Eff it" in order to avoid the anxiety. But, the other half wants a new tattoo. Give me some motivation, people!

My whole self, though, wants to just sit on the porch and eat ice cream right now, so off I go.

P.S. The other day a squirrel freaking chewed through a screen on the porch to get to the container of bird seed I have out there. Then, he couldn't find his way out and ran circles around the porch, knocking over many plants. If he had broken my vintage McCoy planter that matches my mother's, he would have been a dead squirrel. Finally, he figured out that I had propped the door open and he zipped out, bypassing the steps. Just a big leap and he was gone.
Bastard! Next time I won't drag the dog off him! She might be down 2 teeth, but she's ready for blood!

Get Your Mitts On These Mitts

2008-07-19T13:02:00.007-05:00

But first, a self portrait. I like how the sun is all hazy over the tall grasses. Too bad you can't see the GIANT dead spot in the neighbor's yard, left by their mosquito farm/blow-up pool.

Look at the freaky green color my eyes are. I was watching for a blue jay.

Ah, the quintessential toe shot.
Here are the aforementioned mitts.

So, I finally photographed all the new mitts in stock. *sigh* It just takes so long to list them on Etsy. Here are some pics:

Garden Update, Part Two

2008-07-18T09:22:00.007-05:00

It seems I take a garden photo in the middle of each month, so here's July's.
The bees, people, the BEES! Honeybees have finally arrived and are just bonkers over the dill, the cosmos and the sunflowers. There are at least 3 different bee types, plus big ol' bumblebees. They are peaceful, and don't bother me when I stand watching their work. But, I don't want to chance it, so I linger only long enough to check for ripe corn and to collect cosmos and cornflower seeds for Squaresville Seed packets. Coming soon to a market near you!

Goldfinches appeared in the yard this week, snacking on the cup plants and sunflowers. This, sadly, is the best shot I could get. But, so pretty and yellow!

Here is Brave Little Cardinal with its eyes closed. Look at those tufty little tufts of tuft! It looks like an old man.

The baby cardinals are about 2 weeks old at this point. Far as I could tell, they hatched on July 4th.

The babies have since left the nest and have moved on to other yards, guarded by Mom and Dad. It has been suggested that next year I get a web cam to watch them hatch and grow and go from monstrous alien blobs to fuzzy little peepers.

*sigh* Back to sewing bags. I'll have more bags than you can shake a stick at at the next Tower Grove Farmers' Market. Plus, coasters and rad oven mitts! July 26th-mark it on your calendars!

Six Out of One Hundred? Nay...

2008-07-17T10:47:00.003-05:00

This is copied from another blog, but it involved books, so...
Supposedly these are 100 books everyone should read.
The statistic is that most adults have read only 6 titles on this list. Cretins! Peasants!

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read. (I'm including any books I've started but haven't finished.)
3) Reprint this list in your blog so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them ;-)"

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (well, I read the first one)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible (Have read most of it while bored in church)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare ( Read a TON of him in college)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (Started it, hated it)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma- Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (Probably won't, as it is a "popular" novel)
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (One of my faves)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility- Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold ( Another favorite)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (en francais)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding (Don't judge me! It was fun!)
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (en francais) (yes, I read it in French AND English!)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole ( I keep hearing this is good...)
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (Shouldn't this be included in #14?)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Only 52? I have issues with some of these choices, though. Where is the Wally Lamb? The T. Coreghassan Boyle? (horribly misspelled) How about Rabbit, Run?

Coming Up!

2008-07-14T19:16:00.004-05:00

Squaresville Goods will be at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market July 26th. Please hope for a mild morning with no rain!

Also, we have a spiffy new site for CraftaNostra. Check it out August 9th.

Strangefolk? Hells yes! Autumn is at it again, and has us for 2 days this year! Like she doesn't have enough to do, what with kids and fixing errant websites!

So, back to sewing....

Quilts You Can Know

2008-07-13T14:26:00.007-05:00

These are the baby quilts I currently have for sale. They are about 40" square, I think. Each one is $130, and if you would like to purchase or find out more details/photos, just comment or email me!
My favorite is obviously the skull one :)

Quilts I Have Known

2008-07-13T14:21:00.007-05:00

I'm trying something different with this blog setup. Here are all the quilts I've made that I have pics of. They aren't for sale, as they are already sold. But you can commission one....next year!

We have a lot of records.
I still love orange and pink and zinnias.
Ancient Dresden plate blocks from Grandma and 1" squares from Cat's yard sale-ing.
Don't remember why I look so pissed off...I may have been just squinting or thinking, "Here's your goddamned quilt, asshole!"

Craft Mafia Event

2008-07-10T14:12:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow evening, the St. Louis Craft Mafia will be in effect at "Let Them Eat Art" in lovely Maplewood, MO. We'll have our booths set up in Citizens Park, which I believe is near Citizens Bank....
Times are from 6 to 11 pm. There will be all sorts of cool entertainment, music, and hopefully meat on a stick.
Or, you can just look for our awesome new banner, created by moi!

Babies

2008-07-08T11:28:00.004-05:00

Laurene noticed there were three baby cardinals, not the two I had thought.
Here is a surprisingly decent picture of them, awaiting food.
Their nest is hard to get to on the ground, and is above my head. There's a huge astilbe in front of it, and I am certain there are millions of spiders to block my way. So, I have to take pictures through a window.

Here are my scores at the antique mall yesterday:

Now, back to messing with my website!

How To Waste Time

2008-07-06T15:56:00.006-05:00

Where we grew up, we didn't get cable. It would have cost too much to have it wired in from "town". So, I miss out on many, many 80's video references due to my parents' tightwadness.

That is where YouTube steps in to school me about videos by David Bowie (referenced in Flight of the Conchords), Duran Duran, Kate Bush and yes, Star Blazers, which my brother and I were complete raving lunatics about.

This video explains all my terrible dance moves, even though I've never seen it before today and I haven't worn knickers since 1985.
Now, I do add what I remember from belly dancing class as well as some inspiration from Sassy Girl, who was a frequent patron of Mod Night back during my Drink My Face Off On A Wednesday Night And Make Your Roommate Call In Sick For You Days.

Yes, I did that and I'm only mildly ashamed. Don't judge me!

Independence Day

2008-07-05T13:17:00.003-05:00

Remember these? The baby corn grown in cardboard boxes?

Well this is what those little sprouts turned into:

Yesterday, I declared my independence from bland store-bought corn. Corn loses its sweetness as soon as it is picked, so imagine how tasty grocery store corn COULD be if you ate it a few hours after it was picked!
I'll tell you how tasty it was: mind-blowingly good. And to think I grew it from a seed!

Also yesterday, the cardinal eggs hatched, and we are now the proud landlords of two baby cardinals! They look like grey blobs until a parent bird shows up, then you can see their little yellow beaks and mouths.

So, here's celebrating homegrown corn! Soon, it will be tomatoes and squash and peppers and onions and chamomile tea. That's right, I'm growing chamomile and harvesting the blossoms for tea.

Maybe next year will see the start of Squaresville Seeds!

I Have A Problem

2008-06-20T16:07:00.004-05:00

See him?
There are tons of lightning bugs hiding out in this sunflower artfully wrapped by gourd tendrils. I'm sure I will regret letting the gourds grow, but that's months away.

The beginnings of my opium/heroin empire:

This is what I have a problem with:

Lowe's should not sell their 2008 seeds for a quarter each. A QUARTER! Where will I grow all these lovelies? Watermelon? What was I thinking? Crenshaws and zucchini? In 2 years, I will have no yard left.
Columbine? Am I serious? There is no shade in my yard, except for under the hydrangea and tall grasses, which are scratchy.
Didn't I learn my lesson with morning glories, namely that they are perennials and reproduce like Catholic trailer park crack whores?
(And yet, I fight the temptation to go back for more seeds)
I did find the perfect aqua blue paint for the ceiling of the porch. One man's mistake is this woman's $5 deal.

Goodbye to My Youth

2008-06-19T11:21:00.008-05:00

So, I'm in the midst of chopping up a Rubbermaid totebox of old t-shirts. They are intended to become a t-shirt quilt, which I hope doesn't look too "kountry krafty".
Things are going fine, until I get to my Lollapalooza tee from 1991. *massive wistful sigh*
So many great memories! Freakin' Jane's Addiction from 20 feet away! Stupid boys Lexi and I went with! WEARING A DRESS IN A CROWD. 'Nuff said.

I'm wistful because that experience still seems so fresh to me, to be excited about:
1. seeing bands (even though I haven't seen a live band in like 2 years),
2. to be excited about cute, albeit stupid, boys (even though my 3rd wedding anniversary was yesterday)
3. to be looking forward to going to college in a Big City (Boston, baby!)
4. Life (even though I am about to get an HSG exam, which I will let you Google yourself)

I also sacrificed my ANCIENT U2-Boy t-shirt. That sucker was HUGE! Why did I think it looked okay? It would fit a family of four easily, yet I surely wore it. Tucked in, possibly tied in a knot...ugh...
I bought this shirt at Rice's Market, which was/is a giant flea market that my great-great grandfather, A.L. Rice, started eons ago in Solebury,Pennsylvania. He was named after Abraham Lincoln, btw. I was probably with Lexi and/or my brother when I bought it. I am mildly ashamed to say that it was originally tie-dyed, but had faded and then I dyed it pale green.

Regardless of the shirt's history, this album is one of my All Time Favorites. So gritty and raw, and Bono's head wasn't the massively inflated solar system it is today. In fact, the first song on"The Gold Album" by The Bouncing Souls, starts off with the same sounds as "I Will Follow", breaking bottles and whatnot.

Lex, this shirt's for you!
Upper Hand was a cute local hardcore band from Doylestown, PA. I tried to find a link, but the only one that looked promising was to some Warminster band's Myspace page. It involved a lot of black hoodies and screaming, so I spared you the emo angst.
The writing on the right shoulder is where...ahem....I had one of the members sign my shirt.....Ah, those Perkins' nights!
That's all for Memory Lane. Back to the scissors.

pho-toes

2008-06-14T13:58:00.007-05:00

In March, the garden looked like this:

These are from my Yahoo! Garden Group plant swap. They didn't bloom last year, but sure did this year!

Corn! Do you like my bean trellis made from citronella torches?

In the front bed, there are onions, carrots (which need to be thinned), Matt's pepper, and a buttload of lettuce.
In the middle square, my tomato kicks ass, the orange cosmos from Monty is ready to pop, and I think the wispy stuff is spider plant.
The back bed has sunflowers, blue cornflowers, more cosmos and my basil patch. Next to the compost bin is a white pumpkin from Laurene's discarded one last fall.

And, the black hollyhocks next to the white Shasta daisies next to a yellow lily that bloomed the other day. All day, there's been a huge black butterfly hanging around that area.

Garden Update

2008-06-09T20:10:00.003-05:00

I have all sorts of wonderful photos of my weedy garden, but Blogger is taking too long to load, and I'm an impatient woman, especially with ONE DAY of school remaining!
You will have to wait, all 3 of you.

How about a list of updates?

1. Only 3 classes left to teach, and then it's a summer of reading on the back porch. My irritation level is at an all-time high, but I'll make it through tomorrow.

2. You know you've had a good night when someone says "Allison, you are a dancing fool!"

3. I sexy danced with the husband's great-aunt Virginia to "Hot In Herr" at a wedding.

4. Matt's mom requested "Superfreak" at same wedding. BTW, the Roberts Orpheum Theatre has the worst food and appetizers. Our wedding food is still the best I've had. But, we (and Matt's Uncle Jack and other older family members) climbed all the way to the top of the theatre seats and Matt worked the spotlight!

5. Home grown lettuce is yummers and you should come have some. There's lots.

6. My corn grows about 2 inches a day, and is beginning to show its lovely corn-bearing tassels. Unlike a stripper, these kind of tassels are the kind I want to see in my yard.

7. DJ Frankenstein will be "in the house" at Crammed Organisms this Friday. It's also his birthday, so bring him gifts.

8. Sewing has stalled again, but should pick up next week when I am FREEE of work!!!

9. Massive hair cut due tomorrow. I warned my mane that if it didn't start behaving, it'd get chopped. So, to Erin we go.

10. My hollyhocks, which only put out foliage last year, are enormous and inky purply black and I love them.

11. We have mowed our yard twice since the young hoosiers mowed theirs. I hate them so very, very much. So much so that I want to throw dog poo on their garage roof. How can you respect anyone who gets rid of a dog because she sneaks out through a BROKEN gate?

12. My Vietnamese neighbor is growing a mystery squash in his yard, which I lovingly/nosily keep an eye on.

13. Speaking of hoosier, is it hoosier to make a bean pole tower out of bamboo citronella torches? Cause if it is, well.....

Back on the chain gang

2008-05-21T18:01:00.004-05:00

One of my diary characters found me and has posted on "Jumping the gun, not rope"! Hi Scott! It makes me sorta nervous about these folks finding me, but it's all in good fun. City Gardens rocked! So dirty and dangerous and full of hot hardcore or punk boys from Jersey...what more could an impressionable, overly smart 18 year old want?

February 21, 1988
Sunday

See Feb. 18th. Jen called and said that afterschool Friday, a guy named Matt in 10th grade or so, went up to CT and asked her for my phone #. Then he got in a car with mike. I have no idea what's going on. I hope someone cute really does like me. It's about time!
-Al

February 22, 1988

CT told me everything. It could be MP! Jen and I are having a t-shirt contest to see who can wear the most obnoxious t-shirt. Yuch. My period is coming around March 1. My stomach hurts already. Everyone is getting sick. H. is on crutches for her knee. Mike went home sick today. Poor dear. Nina was in a bitchy mood today.
See ya,
Al
_________------------------______________________--------------------------------------

1. Oh, stupid, stupid 15-year-old Allison.....it almost pains me to think that I was so sprung on Mike! And how sad (and foreshadowing of my love of The Smiths) to read "It's about time!"
Keep in mind, Sassy magazine hadn't come out yet, so I was still a Seventeen and YM disciple.

2. Funny, I don't remember having PMS symptoms as a young lass. I guess I did.

3. How would I know if Mike went home sick? My school wasn't that freakin' small!

4. H. had knee surgery, becoming the first of 3 close friends who had the surgery. Weird...

5. My garden is kicking grass and taking names! Photos to come!

Tomorrow

2008-05-09T21:55:00.002-05:00

Wow, only 2 weeks since my last blog?
Well, there was Spring Break, and a week of nausea that included 3 days without coffee, if you can believe that, and well, it's been nice outside.
The garden is sprouting like mad, due to the TON of rain and warm weather we've been having. I'm actually surprised that I don't hear the dehumidifier running in the basement.

Tomorrow, my friends and I will be chillin' at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market in the TG park here in St. Louis. The market is run by the nicest couple ever, Patrick and Jenny, and their stellar friend Chris and Jenny's great dad......Jenny's Dad. Jenny is the type of gal who makes me want to be nicer instead of bitchy and intolerant. However, when your idiot neighbors put a huge tree branch IN the "No Yard Waste" dumpster, one should be allowed to stand in her garden and loudly announce that some people must be fucking idiots if even the Vietnamese family can read the "No Yard Waste" sign on the dumpster.
Oh, I've been busy calling the neighbors idiots, too. So, if I get shot, you'll know why. The beauty supply store is...hmm...maybe two blocks away? Three?

Anyway, Pat and Jenny and Chris and Jenny's Dad are people after my own heart, what with their Local Harvest grocery store and reaching out to the community via an EBT machine and working in schools (!!!) over the summer. I am thankful that they allow us crafters at their FARMERS market, too. Plus, Jenny's Dad is a crossword fan just like me.
You can come buy cute market totes and matching bird potholders for your mom, or honey or meat or coffee or crepes or super hot salsa. There'll be bands playing and people with dogs and yoga and apple tarts.
Now, to wind the clock and to remind myself to pick Alecia up tomorrow morning!

What I've Been Doing

2008-04-14T17:18:00.007-05:00

Recycling in action. I cut a toothpaste box in half, added some potting soil and a corn kernel and...voila! A plantable container! Yes, that is a toilet paper roll and a tea bag box.

A view from the steps. Ignore my hoosier neighbors' dead newspapers lying on their walk. I swear, I really did not pick the rest of their daffodils. It wasn't me!
This, my friends, is where sweet corn comes from. A tiny pale green finger looking for the light.

Le Jardin 2008. Thank you, Matt, for building the squares! Please also note my bourgeoisie compost bin. It was on sale and I was tired of messing with my bent plastic garbage can with the plywood/brick roof. You can see I'm surrounded by hoosiers (plastic toys in yard) so I don't need to add to the downfall of my block. The blue glass lantern is used to keep Matt's pepper plant warm these recent COLD nights. The screen door (found in alley) is covering the first basil I couldn't wait to plant. They're doing okay so far!

From Under the Rock...

2008-04-13T12:33:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a while. Blame it on the MAP test screwing up my schedule and happiness!

The 2008 Garden is off to a good start. I planted a bunch of various flower seeds last weekend, as well as a pepper, German chamomile, onions, more spinach, lettuce and carrots. My corn has sprouted but I'm still waiting on the squash to germinate.
Photos to follow!
Let us go back in time, my friends:

Feb. 20, 1987
Today the YF went skiing at Elk Mountain. There is a new boy, Kevin, who is SO gorgeous. His cheekbones remind me of Mike's. OH MY GOD! Kindy was talking to a hot boy when Laurie and I got off the lift, and by the time we were at the top, they were at the bottom frenching. He's 16, name=Lyle. Kevin was looking at me so many times. Laurie and I sat in front of them on the way up and they (Jon K. and Kevin M.) listened to everything we said. Jon gave me a Cramps tape to listen to. Goo Goo Mah is the neatest song! I was listening to it and in between songs, I heard Jon say "Leave her alone, she's listening to the Cramps." And when we were at the place, Kevin kept on staring at me. He is so cute!
Love,
Al
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Okay, so my friend was a slut. A ski slut, no less. This never happened to me on a ski trip! There was a band trip later in high school where a local youth saw me and followed us around. Skateboarders....gotta love 'em!
I'm trying to figure out the logistics of getting off the ski lift, then knowing that the "frenching" was occurring when we were at the top of the mountain.....Kindy must have filled me in later. She did later go to the Catholic high school near us...
"Frenching". That kills me! Don't you think that frenching on a ski slope at night would lead to a painfully chapped face?
And god, was I acutely aware of who was looking at me and when! He was probably looking at me not out of teen boy lust, but out of wonder that I was such a rampant dork.
I still love The Cramps, and even had the classic yellow "Bad Music For Bad People" t-shirt, although its current whereabouts are unknown :(

I Can Grow Anything!

2008-03-14T18:05:00.004-05:00

I got 4 dendrobium orchids from Freecycle on January 1, 2007. I carefully watered them, kept them from drafts, and put them on the back porch all summer, where they reveled in the Amazon-like climate that is summer in St. Louis.
Once it got cool, I brought them into the bathroom. Two went on top of the medicine cabinet, and the other two perch on the toilet tank. Apparently, I did the right thing, because look what opened today!
This may be the most beautiful thing I've grown, aside from my moonflower or morning glory/hyacinth bean hedge. I do mean hedge, no exaggeration.
The other orchids all have flower stalks of varying lengths, so my bathroom will be exotic for a few months! M's cousin is getting married next Saturday. We had discussed how expensive wedding flowers are, and I joked that I might have orchids for her. Well, I'm pretty sure I will, but I don't want to share!
Thanks, Mom, for my green thumbs!

Why I Love Big Cities

2008-03-09T19:45:00.002-05:00

I grew up in the country. No sidewalks, street lights, public water, bus stops, homeless people, no nothin'. So, when I was considering colleges, I knew for a fact that my country ass belonged in a city, where I could experience all the cool stuff I read about in Jay McInerney and Bret Easton Ellis's books, minus the drugs and poor life decisions.
Boston gave me sidewalks, a subway, crazy homeless folks, pigeons and gross tap water. I have never regretted my choice, and am glad that I live in a city (for all its problems) now. The country still beckons, but that's when I'm older and retired. Or when country school districts aren't filled to the gills with Meth Addict Megan and Paris Hilton wannabes. Yes, I judge unfairly.
This blog has a million reasons why I love cities, particularly New York. When I considered myself a writer, I was always listening to others' conversations on the streets or on the T. I heard some awesome stuff, some of which I wrote down. Mostly I wrote about the people I saw, instead of their wacked out dialogue.
There's something so brazen and snappy about New York. When I'm there, I feel younger and cooler. Not that I think I'm a total dork now, but it reminds me of my Boston days of crazy hair colors and outfits involving striped tights.
Read, my friends. Read and laugh until you almost pee yourself.
If I were to contribute one, it would be the conversation Matt and I heard in a pastry shop near NYU. A bunch of 20-somethings were seated around a table. It seemed like some students from a summer college program who knew each other loosely through the dorm they were staying in or a class they were taking.
One girl was holding court about what a slut she was, all the sexual things she could remember doing, blah blah blah. It was obvious that all the geeky guys there were totally turned on and thinking they might be the next lucky Slut Victim. The other girls were getting annoyed with her, but Queen Whore kept talking about her boobs and underwear until I was ready to get up and slap her filthy mouth.
It almost ruined the chocolate masterpiece we were enjoying, but it did make for good conversation afterward.
Ah, I love New York.

Feb. 19, 1988

2008-03-04T18:40:00.002-06:00

Feb. 19, Friday

Yesterday, C. and I were discussing what we would do if MP came up to one of us and said, "I want yer sex!" It was funny. Tonight I'm leaving to go skiing, so I won't write until Sunday. Anyway, today I saw MP again. Someone named Chris just called and told me that a boy in 10th grade likes me. I don't believe the, though. She (or he) said he's in the library 1st period on Wednesdays. Come Wednesday, I WILL NOT march in there and stare!! I'll send J. in.
Help?!
AL
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God, again with the MP. I was 15, remember. And again with the damned " I want your sex!"!! That song has cursed me!

I totally remember this conversation with C. I had a steady babysitting job after school for a woman from my church. I'd get home, pee, and she'd come pick me up. Nina had 2 girls-a 2-year-old and a.....maybe 5-year-old. It was fun, as the girls were good and they had a super cool haunted house. Plus, Nina and her husband had a Porsche 911, which she occasionally picked me up in. They bought it during the oil recession in Texas in the 80's. Remember that? All the oil farmers went bankrupt or something. Nina also informed the girls in the Youth Fellowship that if we ever needed birth control, she'd get it for us, since she was a registered nurse. I was in the front seat of Nina's car, coming back from the Youth Fellowship summer retreat. (Which was SO FUN, I can't believe I never wrote about it. I bought "The Joshua Tree" by U2 and hung out with older kids and watched "Witness" for the first time. Mmmm...Harrison Ford.......)
In the rear view mirror, I caught the eye of my older friend Betsey. We were a little shocked, but that comment cemented Nina's coolness in our minds!
When C. and I were discussing the improbable event of MP wanting to boink one of us, I was in Nina's kitchen. The kitchen had been the scene of several possible ghost encounters. Things would disappear from the top shelves, or you'd put a glass on the counter, go away and return to find it moved. It was dark outside, as it was about 5 pm in February. At the time, it was a really, really funny conversation. We were like, "What if we had sex on his skateboard?" and such. It seems kind of stupid now, though.

JM was slowly becoming my friend at the time. She was always willing to do my spying and I enjoyed her humor and sensibility. You will note that I didn't believe the person who called me. Perhaps JM was a good influence. She was a total Jersey Girl, even though she wasn't from Jersey. Big hair, weird clothes....very Jersey. Years later, her parents bought a brand new house and paid cash for it. They also got a Jaguar. We joked that her dad was in the Mafia, as they were very Italian. Perhaps we weren't too far off! Ol' Ralph was a made man!

And I guess I totally got my ski trips screwed up. Eh, you go to one Poconos ski area, you've been to them all.

Wardrobe Refashion Pledge

2008-03-02T08:13:00.001-06:00

The Pledge

I, Allison___________ pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoated, recylcled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftyness brings! Signed_Allison_____________.

Goodie! I can do the Value Village Half Off Day Sale! Look out, March 26!

Fire Under My !!!

2008-03-01T14:08:00.002-06:00

I have been accepted to Wardrobe Refashion's latest round!
There is a laundry basket of clothes under my sewing table, full of stuff I sort of like, but which needs some tweaking.
Basically, I am not allowed to purchase any new clothing (save for underwear or socks or shoes) for 2 month. This will be relatively easy, except for Value Village's monthly Half Off Everything Sale. Must! Resist! Until May!
Stay tuned!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

2008-02-23T17:29:00.002-06:00

http://www.apostropheabuse.com/

There are apparently many others in my Grammar Army. Someday we will take over the world and fix low-budget signs and newspapers and television headlines everywhere.
Now that I have a camera phone, nobody in South City is safe from my crusade!

Apostrophe abuse is the one thing that sends me over the edge and makes me loud and violent in the classroom. Well, loudER. And usually I say, "Take this pen out of my hands before I throw it!"

Insensitive? Perhaps.

2008-02-23T11:34:00.002-06:00

Feb. 16, 1988
Nothing much. If I don't get a B or above in Geometry, I can't pass math. Oh yeah, Nov. 9, C's mom had her baby, but it died. I'm watching the Olympics. Today I got a drink at the water fountain and immediately after, MP came out and got a drink. Today Dylan got carried out of gym on a stretcher. He got hit int he eye. I'm so glad it wasn't MP!

Feb. 17
MP got his hair cut. It looks so cool! He has the greatest cheekbones and he looks so cool in black. He has dark, liquid brown eyes.
Bye!
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1. First of all, WOXY Vintage just started "Liar" by the Rollins Band, led by my secret boyfriend, Henry Rollins!

2. Stream of consciousness or insensitivity? The baby was named Joy, and the cause of death was something to do with RSV....I think. I remember finding out during Sex Ed. class (the first time I had to take it). Maybe the death was what put C. over the edge. My mind was obviously on other things at this point beside my friends.

3. Dylan lived up the road from me. He recovered nicely.

4. Geometry was taught by the awesome Mr. Penge. (I'm assuming this link is to him) He may have been the reason for my long-standing weakness for witty Italian/New Yorker-type men. I really liked shapes and angles, but just couldn't do the proofs! QED? WTF? He had lots of pictures of his family on his bulletin board. One day, I foolishly asked how many kids he had, and he replied that he had 3, but one had died. Quiet fell across the math room. Everyone looked at me. I looked intently at my math book, waiting to disappear.

5. I ended up with a (pity grade) D in Geometry, but failed the mid-term exam. When I got the exam back and saw my F, I got physically sick and, for the first time in my school career, asked to use the restroom. When I got home that day, I put on my pajamas and laid on the couch, crying. Perhaps it was PMS that made me so sick and weepy, but I really felt like I had let Mr. Penge down. Plus, it wouldn't be easy to explain the F to my dad. C's were unacceptable, so I was really up the crick with this report card!

Feb. 15, 1988

2008-02-22T09:43:00.002-06:00

Feb. 15.
Today is Mom and Dad's anniversary. 19 years!
Today the 4H club went to the Sox Lady Factory. It was really neat! The socks are so soft and comfortable! Well, back to school tomorrow. School. I love it because I can see MP and CC (I think I love him). Father Figure is on. Lately, the snow has had a hard crust on top of it. So thick dad and Mom can walk on it. Anyway, Dan and I were sledding down Betty's barn hill. It was tres fun.. Brian H. now wears a leather jacket and iced jeans. MP has gym tomorrow. He is HOT!
Ta ta,
ALlison
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1. I am impressed that the Sox Lady is still in business!

2. Betty was our weird neighbor across the road. She lived in a huge farmhouse with several cats and doted on Daniel and me. She slowly went crazy, and wandered around our yard in her bathrobe a few times. I think there was more going on than I knew about, because why would we have her brother's phone number in our Rolodex? What did my mom know?

3. I tried to find a picture of "iced denim", to no avail. Imagine acid washed denim with a layer of frost on it. Am I the only one who knows what this was?

4. Brian H. was the mad genius of our class. I'm sure he's working on top secret government projects right now. I hope. He wore the typical "dork" clothes for years, until Santa gifted him with a leather bomber jacket, Led Zeppelin t-shirts and the aforementioned iced denim jeans. Ah, Brian H. So many good stories about him. Wait a few more years!

5. Snow day AGAIN today!!! Of course, I'll be whining about it on June 10, but it's nice now.

Caution! 15-year-old girl ahead!

2008-02-21T17:21:00.003-06:00

Here is where my diary totally shifts in lovelorn teen girl-dom. It ain't pretty, folks, and I'm a little embarrassed to be sharing this with the entire world (or at least my 4 friends and husband who read this blog), but it'll be fun.
I think.
Apparently, nothing happened from the first day of 9th grade until February, because I skipped all those months. I do remember I got "Tango In The Night" by Fleetwood Mac for Christmas. I went on the yearly Youth Fellowship ski trip, where I heard The Cramps for the first time. It was super fun, and I got to sleep in an inflatable raft. That may have been my first time skiing.
Here we go.

Feb. 13, 1988
I started this diary almost a year ago. Wow. In one year, I have learned how to ski, swim, canoe, made an awesome volleyball serve, put in contacts, work a VCR, do proofs, survive during my period, annoy my parents and countless other things, even type. I don't like BC, I like one of his friends: M. P. I love him so much it isn't funny. I die whenever I see him. I would die for him I think.
I still have no hole in my right ear an I am getting soft contacts sometime next week. I had hard ones, but they hurt my eyes. I think I'll limit myself to one page a day. I bought tan pants today. C. had carved 666 into her arm and mastered the art of 5 fingers. Maybe she'll stop since AD and VS got caught. I love MP so much
-Al
* I drew a picture of the back of his head. It wasn't a good picture.*
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1. Christ. " I die whenever I see him"? WTF? I hadn't even started listening to The Cure at this point!

2. I was usually picked first for volleyball in gym class. It was my shining glory. I could hit the opposite side of the gym with my fearsome serves.

3. This whole MP thing started when C. developed a crush on him, and I tagged along for the ride. She was getting super weird at this point (i.e. self-mutilation) and I probably wanted to salvage our friendship. The infatuation gets a LOT worse, folks.

4. 5 fingers is shoplifting, nothing dirty.

5. My handwriting also is totally different. Geez, you hit puberty and your whole being changes! I had had my hair cut super short at the beginning of 9th grade, and it grew out CURLY, after being straight for 14 years. It is still curly, too. WTF?

6. It is almost painful to remember the pang of unrequited love. You all had serious crushes-why did it hurt so much? I am SO glad I don't have to go through all that again. I watch my students deal with the tides of "love" and thank god I'm not 14 anymore.

7. To show what a dork I was/am, I wrote a letter to my mom telling her I started my period. Bodily functions were never openly discussed in my house. The only Period Talk I got from my mother was in 5th grade. Mom said, "You know, there's pads under the sink if you ever need them." The Sex Talk was "Wait until you're in college to have a boyfriend." Thank god I was a reader and already knew all about the many ways of the vagina.

8. The book referenced in the Period Talk link is the exact one our school gave us in 1984/1985. It was the same book C's mother got when she was in school. What the hell were belts?!

9. On the way to the ski lodge for the Youth Fellowship ski trip, Jon lent me his Cramps tape. In between awesome songs, I heard him defend me to his hot friend Kevin, "Leave her alone, she's listening to The Cramps." I had a mild crush on Jon for a while, until he became a pot head. He did also expose me to The Descendents for the first time. Thanks, Jon, wherever you are!

10. I am totally tired of being sick. I have even lost my voice, which made for well-behaved students yesterday. We had a snow day today, and the prognosis is good for tomorrow. I may milk the Inability To Speak for a few more days.

FDOS=First Day of School

2008-02-14T19:37:00.003-06:00

I wish I could scan the 2 pages that encompass June of my 8th grade year and September of my 9th grade year. The handwriting looks totally different. I can't imagine anything I did that summer to cause the change. I walked a LOT down to Carversville and Grandmom's house, but not on my hands!

Welcome to 9th grade, my friends. I am now officially in Senior Band.

Sept. 10th First Day of School!
Hi. I hate school! When I got on the bus, Daniel screamed at the top of his lungs BYE ALLISON! HAVE A NICE DAAAAAYYYYY!!!
I'll kill the bastard!
Well, there are some new girls who seem okay. One is on my bus. She's okay. ER, BW and BC are back. BW=Zit City. Well, Honors English is okay.
__----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Ah, the first day. Show off your new clothes and your new tan, everyone! I wish I could remember what I wore, cause I'm sure it was a fashion disaster. I had Mrs. Colby for Honors English in 9th grade, and she rocked my world. She was one of those teachers who totally make you feel like you're good at something.

2. My brother caught the elementary school bus until he was in 7th grade and I was a senior. Until senior year, I always worried that he would embarrass me every day as I boarded the bus. It was a valid fear.

3. The new girl, JT. later became a goody-goody. Supposedly, her family was Mormon or something, which would explain the millions of Taylor kids at our school. She was our valedictorian and won a four year scholarship to the Air Force. However, even though she sat next to me in Sex Education class, she ended up knocked up during her freshman year and had to flush Air Force dreams down the toilet. Idiot. She also briefly dated CV, who was the heart throb of our school. CV sat by me, Lex, Jason W. and later, Jon W. during homeroom. He's a big Myspace music guy now.

4. ER. had been in elementary school with us. I have few regrets in my life (well, more than a few), but one thing that shames me is how I treated her. She was nice enough, but if the popular girls in my peer group teased her, I quickly jumped in. After all, I was tired of being lowest on the totem pole. A couple times, we went over to each other's houses to play, and got along great. But at school, she was a different, snarly, defensive person. I WONDER WHY.
God, it is almost too embarrassing to write about how we teased her, and later H. I mean, there were several meetings in Principal Sonier's office, even!
I distinctly remember her saying she was going to be a grownup at age 12, because in Judaism, you're considered an adult after your mitzvah. Always the smart ass, I yelled back at her that since she was in America, she was an adult when she was 21 and could vote and drink.
Ugh. We were so horrible.
But when she returned to 9th grade, we were indifferent, if anything to her. I might remember her declaring in the locker room that she wasn't going to let us tease her anymore. Words that now, are direct lines of advice from her mom. Words that my own mother would have told me to say.
I can only hope that she is a well-adjusted 35 year old now, with a happy and healthy life.

5. El Burrito Loco for dinner=Super Yum!

Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory of the Meme

2008-02-13T19:21:00.002-06:00

Thanks Robin!

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Um. 1998? HA! Funny you should ask that. It was about the time my fiance broke up with me, so I was crying myself to sleep. Then, I took off to Cincinnati for the weekend to visit Kate and Bob. Basically, my life went to shit and I was living in St. Peters. I had to cram all my clothes into a printer box and stick it under my bed.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
Probably eating dinner or on the computer. Clearly nothing interesting.

Five snacks you enjoy:

1. Popcorn in any flavor
2. Cheese of any nationality, except Provel.
3. Clementines
4. Kit Kats
5. ice cream

Five songs that you know all the lyrics to:

1. You're So Vain by Carly Simon

2. Can I Get Get Get by Junior Senior

3. Hotel California by The Eagles

4. Back On The Chain Gang by The Pretenders

5. Horse With No Name by America

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1. Donate lots of it.
2. Pay off my house.
3. Open up the Urban Craft Academy in the house for sale across the alley.
4. Get my grandparents set for the rest of their lives.
5. Tear down my garage and build a new one in a better alley-entry position

Five bad habits:

1. Procrastinating
2. Not really doing lesson plans, but copying from what I did last year at this time. Bev-tell no one :)
3. Entertaining negative thoughts.
4. Hoarding fabric.
5. Not walking the dog.

Five things you like doing:

1. Discussing Degrassi or doing Family Guy impressions with my students.
2. Eating/drinking.
3. Gardening.
4. Reading.
5. Sleeping

Five things you would never wear again:

1. Acid wash
2. White sneakers
3. Turtlenecks
4. Bike shorts under babydoll dresses. I'd wear babydoll dresses again, but over jeans. No Spandex.
5. oversized blazers

Five favorite toys:

1. Sewing machines

2. Mac Mini

3. Dog

4. Car

5. Hmmm. Does my garden count?

Jumping the Gun, Not Rope

2008-02-11T18:58:00.001-06:00

I apologize for not reading ahead in my diary and finding that my earring was...removed...days after the George Michael/My Father/Porch Incident of '87. It is dim in my sewing room, and I can't see very well anyway!

May 29-Friday

Hi. H. is being a massive bitch. It is SO hot! I like JN! I finished Lisa's shorts.

June 2, 1987

Today I woke up to a nice little thunderstorm. The power was off at school for a while. It was neat. My ear is infected and I can't get the earring in. Help me!

June 11, 1987
So I'm irregular, give me a break. Funny events'
1. My bra thoroughly came undone in gym.
2. Today, L. had her Le Clic camera and BC took it and stuck it down his pants! And took a picture of course.

I have no earring in my right ear. I have to get it pierced again. There is a smallish lump in my ear. Very weird. EXAMS! I have been writing to Scott L. under my and on my English desk!
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1. Hmm...how come I "couldn't get the earring in"? I guess Mommie Dearest "removed" it, and I tried to put it back in. God, was I stupid.

2. Le Clic!! This incident happened during a break in our exam schedule. We were all funneled into the Old Gym, given sweet treats, and milled around for a while until our next exam. There was so much down time in school; it's a wonder we learned anything. Our teachers must have been drinking.

3. So I'm in English one day, and noticed someone wrote "hi" on the desk. So I replied with "hello". It evolved into a long desktop conversation, which led to me and this stranger leaving notes tucked into the crack where the desk's legs were bolted to the desk. On the last day of school, we revealed our names. It was a totally Good Clean Fun thing, nothing dirty. The guy who I had been writing to was a few grades above me. He was not the handsome stranger who would fall madly in love with scrawny, dorky me, as I had hoped. Scott L. actually lived up the road from me. He later became DJ Scott Lowe on WPST's "Post Modern PST" (seriously, why was this videotaped?) Friday night show, which Lex and I loved. Ah, The Happy Mondays.
And that was it. I thought maybe we'd talk over the summer, since we had quite a relationship via note. We discussed school, why people were such assholes, and how dumb the popular kids really were. But no, it ended in June.

4. My high school started AFTER Labor Day, which is why we were in school on June 11th. Next year, my first day of school is freakin' August 18th. Oh, how times have changed.

5. OMG! Dance to the radio!

6. I would be making $54,780 if I was teaching at my old high school. Christ! Then I could afford the $800,000 house down the street from Grandma.

7. Wasn't it weird how as kids we'd hang out by literally laying around your friend's room listening to the radio? Or, DANCING to the radio?

8. Now I am completely depressed and probably won't get a snow day tomorrow, either :(

Idiots

2008-02-11T17:29:00.000-06:00

Give me this goddamned kid so he can be raised right.

I sometimes think people should need a license to breed. I would cheerfully be the one to enforce it.

Jump Rope? HA!

2008-02-10T18:50:00.001-06:00

Since my belly is full of homemade mac and cheese, fish sticks and green beans, and is also surrounded by a nice layer of winter fat, the thought of jumping rope just tickles me to no end. As if!
It's a doubleheader tonight, as I am at a pivotal point in my earlobe's history here:

May 20, 1987
Spring Concert
Yesterday Jump Rope For Heart

Today Dad is in a bad mood because Mom didn't send in an ad for the kayak. Sometimes I want to be deaf and blind so I don't see or hear anything bad, but see and hear everything good. That would make the perfect person, you think?
Bye,
Tired Old Me

May 23, 1987
Hi. Mom and Dad are acting like normal human beings. Today Dad worked on the porch and I helped him. I majorly cleaned and not so majorly redid my room. Last Night I babysat Emily for Mrs. Hurst. They are rich compared to the Cowles. Emily is so sweet! I saw John (the baby). He has hair!

Ahhh....life with a short-tempered father and a forgetful mother.....So many times I wished I could run away, but I didn't have enough babysitting money saved up and I couldn't leave Dan behind.
So, the discussion:

1. Jump Rope For Heart? Yeah, I did it every year. That might be why I was always scrawny!

2. Kayak? When did we have a kayak?

3. John was the baby I used to babysit. The illegitimate one!

4. The Hursts and the Cowles were successive pastors of my church. The house they lived in, the parsonage, was truly haunted. My friend Kindra babysat when I couldn't, and she agreed with my fears. I'd see things moving in mirrors, weird lights, and a sense of never being alone with just a baby. It wasn't a bad feeling, just a bit unnerving.

5. Aaaannnddd.... helping Dad strip the paint off our porch. For some reason, I don't write that we were listening to the radio as we worked. Dad gave up having me scrape paint, and instead set me to work trying to get the piercing stud out of my very, very infected right earlobe.
It had gotten that way from babysitting, of course. During a game of catch with the Gerenser twins, I caught a ball to the right ear. It knocked the piercing stud out, and I STUPIDLY put it right back in, causing a massive gross infection.
Dad told me not to leave the porch until the earring got out.
So, as I was trapped with my conservative father, guess what song, very popular in 1987 came one? I'll give you a hint: when the singer "came out", it was no big surprise.
That's right, Laurene, "I Want Your Sex"!!
I tugged and tugged frantically at my poor ear as my father shook his head and said, "Jesus Christ, what kind of shit is this? Why can't you listen to decent music?"
"I hate this song too! It's so dumb!! Can I go inside?"
And with his blessing, I fled the scene.

Later on, my mother, NOT a nurse, performed bedroom surgery on me. We got the earring out alright! She held my ear lobe against my neck and gave the earring a good yank. A small piece of skin came with it. Thank god for endorphins and blacking out pain!

Those of you who don't know me may be surprised to know that after all that, I have 8 ear piercings and a belly button ring. But, believe me you, the last 7 earrings were done WITHOUT parental permission, WITHOUT my family doctor threading a needle and telling me to hold still, and WITHOUT any negative consequences, except for getting hollered at by Dad for getting more earrings.

And how weird that I found my old pastor's profile? I credit him with teaching me to ski.

Lack of Backbone

2008-02-01T19:33:00.002-06:00

There seems to be a recurrent theme in these entries. I had no backbone and never stuck up for myself. C. and others bossed me around and even though I hated it, I never did anything about it.
Fast forward 21 years and I'm bossing 80 seventh graders to within an inch of their lives, eight hours a day. Sometimes I even come home and boss my husband around. I'm making up for lost time, Matt!

May 18, 1087

Hi. We had 4-H tonight and HP kept bossing me around. ARRGGHH!!
Today in gym we did this crab soccer thing for Blue and Gold Night. We usd a big medicine ball. I found 5 cents. Big wip.
Bye!

1. Yes, yes, I was in 4-H, now stop making fun of me. I can sew better than you because of it, so there.

2. Blue and Gold Night was an evening pep rally at my high school. Kids whose last names started with A through L were gold (or blue, can't remember. Lex?) and the M through Z crowd was blue. We practiced all these "fun" games in gym, then competed against the opposite color team in the evening. I remember it being a lot of fun, even though it was a gym-related activity.
It might sound unmanageable to you all, but my high school was grades 7 to 12, and had about 300 students total. It worked for us.

3. Yes, 5 cents. Ever the thrifty one, I am.

4. You MUST get thee to Indie Valentine tomorrow evening! I will be working the registers and my beloved will be DJing the finest West Coast hard bop and 80's punk/new wave/rock you can shake 2 sticks at.

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