The Last Day of Summer

Well, I felt it would only be right to share pics of the quilts that Poppymom blogged about. I'm sure I could come up with some witty rendition of The Brady Bunch song about 2 houses of quilts coming together, but it's my last day of vacation and I've let my brain go for the day.
Here are pics of the quilts I finished/am finishing/hopefully will finish before the snow flies.



The blue/green one is just a top, a little long and skinny, but someone will love it. Robin cut a gajillion squares, and I did the piecing and plotting of the design.
The right one is all 3 pieces, just not tied. Each square is about 1.5". I am not the crazy one who cut all those little pieces; they were in the bag of donated fabric from Freecycle.


Here is the only one I've completely finished. This also came out of the donated bag. I hate binding. Give me prairie points any time.

You can see how excited Maggie is that the quilts are nearing completion. Or, it might have been the huge piece of buffalo meat, bone in, that she just finished eating.

And the basil? Robin isn't kidding when she says I bring her gargantuan amounts of it. This is how tall it is. I'm 5'2".
I like the look on my face. Not only does it say, "Bright sunlight!", but you can also imagine me saying, "Ima cut you, you mess with the basil." Note the grey streak wafting across my face. Note the swarms of bees anxious for me to get away from their basil. Note the hyacinth bean taking over the garage. Is this proof enough that I have 2 green thumbs?! I could reanimate dead bodies!
Actually, looking at this self-portrait a few hours later, and after some "Finding Pants For Work" drama at J.C. Penney's, I'm not too hot about it.
At least I've got a good personality.

I'm crying on the inside

So, the towing company that contracts with Goodwill called today. They'll be by to pick up my blue Mazda. I feel really weird and sad about this, even though it's not very Buddhist to be attached to material things.
Here is a poem I wrote in the Gateway Writing Project about this event:

Ode To My Mazda

To my '96 Mazda
I'll no longer drive ya
I'm no money chump
So no new water pump.

Good times we've had
But your parts are going bad.
You've been in the garage leaking
While I've been new car seeking.

How many hot guys did I meet
Who later rode in the shotgun seat?
How many wild nights
Saw the dawn's early light?

You got me to Pennsylvania
Eight times or more; I felt safe in ya.
Remember the trip to tall Taum Sauk?
You blew a brake rotor on that mountain top.

And the deer in Oklahoma?
I hope you only gave it a coma.
Thanks for not hitting the other two
Cause I don't think I'd be writing this to you.

You'll always have a place in my heart.
With you I made a single life start.
Your usual passengers were me and the dog
Through blizzard and rain and lots of fog.

On 9/11 I cried, driving north on 55.
For one awful year, I hoped Dan was still alive.
I prayed with you, driving home from school
There'd be no phone message
And everything'd be cool.

Little blue Mazda, you were my first pick.
My newest car ever, built in 1996.
With AC and tape player, we could roam all over.
A vast improvement over the '71 Nova.

I'll remove your stickers and vacuum you out
But first make sure you have no doubt.
I'm very sad to send you away
My beloved blue Mazda Protege.

On a lighter note, my volunteer moonflower vine is now named Audrey. We're pals. She is probably opening her first flowers as I type.
Yes, folks, this plant came up of its own accord, as did the yellow sunflower-like plants. In the background, can you see the parents of the yellow plant? The bees, butterflies, and pretty much anything with wings enjoy these flowers.

Introspective Blog Entry.

Each August makes me wax romantic about my years at Boston University, namely my first one. After that, the shit hit the fan and I found my intellectual ass at the local community college. It wasn't my fault, by the way.
I wish I could relive those days again. The bristling excitement of moving 6 hours away from my parents to an unexplored city. The swarms of cute boys I saw on my 2 campus visits there. Being able to walk down the streets at night because there were SIDEWALKS and STREETLIGHTS and NIGHTLIFE! Sidewalks, people, not ditches!
A few weeks before I went, Mom took me shopping for dormware and clothes. I knew I'd have an office job as part of my work-study program, and neither of us knew what the attire was. Just last summer, I tore up my green and checkered trim towel to use as rags. I had it for 14 years.
I never wore those white button-down shirts agan.
It's still fresh in my mind, the picture of me and my parents standing on the corner at the end of Bay State Road.
"Well honey," Mom said, "I guess we'll go." We Walkers aren't much for emotions.
"Okay," I replied. I was itching to unpack my stuff and start collaging my desk.
Dad got in the truck, and Mom and I hugged.
"Give us a call," she said.
"Okay."
They waved, well, Mom did anyway, and drove off. I could almost feel the apron strings break. A strange feeling came over me. Giddiness, elation, ectasy, thrills. I may have had a brief out-of-body experience.
"Holy hell," I thought. " I am COMPLETELY alone in a strange city, with cash in my pocket and nobody to tell me what to do! HELL FREAKIN YEAH!!!! College rules!!"
I mentally danced a jig in the afternoon sun and went back inside my brownstone.

My first month, I spent many Friday nights in Copley Square watching the skateboarders to their thing. I met Jahmal , who stayed cool with me for years. Unfortunately (or, in retrospect, fortunately) the rest of the skater bois ignored me. I met a guy named Chris, who took me to a million Mighty Bosstones shows.
On weekends, I'd ride the B-line to Downtown Crossing and sit in the park writing in my journal. Or, if I didn't have 85 cents, I'd sit outside Warren Towers, the main freshman dorm, and write in my journal. My hope was that a dark-haired hottie would be enthralled with my obvious intellectual-ness and fall madly in love with me. We would drink tea and listen to The Smiths. We would share eyeliner. He would weep at my beauty as we lay naked in his dorm bed.
I did develop a crush on a guy who lived on the same floor as my friend Eric from work. Can't think of his name right now, or even the nickname I gave him. We did talk a few times, and he played This Mortal Coil for me and we talked about "Lolita". He was friends with a girl named Belkiss, who was beautiful, and already hip/cool in a French way at age 18. I wasn't. I'm still not.
Years later, I ran into him at The Model. FLAAAAAMING! I was probably drunk on grape crushes or Cider Jack and hanging on Tom, but I knew this guy was probably never interested in my penis-less self.

Backtrack.....a month or so before I left PA, I had been babysitting Juliana (who turned all the guys' heads at my wedding). Nancy was driving me home, and we were talking about Boston. She and her husband had attended Harvard Business School, so she was familiar with Beantown.
"So, what are your goals for your freshman year?" she asked.
"Get laid," I thought. "It is time to shed the virginity."
"Get decent grades, make cool friends," is what I said.
Boy, I hope my mom doesn't read this.
That was a good year. And, Nosy Nellie, I stayed pure as the driven snow until the next year, but that's another Introspective Blog Entry.

No excuses

*blowing dust off Blogger Dashboard*
I'm not even going to explain what has kept me from blogging, because there' s no good reason. I'm just lazy as hell.
But, I have been sewing a lot, in preparation for Strange Folk and the next Rock and Roll Craft Show.
Here's what I made today:

A nice roll, although I wish it was sushi, cause I'm hungry.





Open, sesame!







DPN pocket, which is a real pocket.







Close up of outside. I love polka dots. I love Asian things. I love them together.




Another close up.






So, this is only a sample. I'd like to incorporate more patchwork into the flap and pockets. I didn't need any batting, cause the layers of fabric are cushy enough. Hopefully I can come up with some brilliant idea to use up at least half of one of my scrap tubs. *sigh*

New Toy

So, I'm finally able to blog again, after having no power for 5 days. We stayed at Matt's mom's house, which was fine, except for the fact that there are 18 different items in her bathroom with flowers on them. That means 18 different flower patterns. It's a busy, flowery bathroom.
Autumn and Raquel were the first to lay eyes on my new car, but don't be jealous-here's a pic for the distance-challenged.
I forgot, in the first posting, to draw your attention to my neighbor across the street in this pic. He comes out to his porch several times a day. He often mows or rakes, taking a LOT of breaks. I wonder if there's anything wrong with his heart. We've only said "Hi" or "Good morning" and he said hi to Maggie once. His wife works.
The tree on the left side lost half its branches last Wednesday night. Usually, Neighbor's porch doesn't get that much sunlight.
My Creepy Neighbors, Gollum and his wife and creepy kids, live in the house on the right. He really does look like Gollum, yet the 2 little girls call him "Dad". He isn't as bug-eyed as the real Gollum, but is surely wrinkled. The wife wears a fanny pack every day, with her skirt/dress and her hair up in a bun. Matt observed him cleaning out his electric lawnmower while it was still plugged in. Somehow, Gollum didn't lose fingers.
I know, it's not the dark blue I lust after, but those are apparently impossible to find. I like this color; my hair was this color a few times. The moonroof is going in this week. It's zippy, has radio controls on the steering wheel, and the dog is banned from riding in it. Oh, and at night, the dash lights are red and purply-blue! So cool!

Fun With Crabs

I realized I haven't posted an actual diary entry in a while, so here you go, folks.
As for the list of things I want to do this summer, well, I still don't have a car. Don't ask about anything else.
April 29th, Wednesday

Dear Bonnie, The name of my family's cherished marmalade tabby who died this winter!
Today I was holding my hermit crab right after I gave him a bath, and he grabbed ahold of me and pinched! I was in major pain, but after about 30 seconds, he let go and fell into the sink.
PAIN!!!!
Today I really let off at CT today in lunch. She said she had wanted to talk, but she didn't, so I said, "That's why I never talk to you. You say you want to talk but you never do, so I talk to Lexi because she is more interesting than you and that's why you think she's trying to take me and AD away!"
She didn't say anything.
Bye!
Allison
"Al" to my friends.
I will admit that I used both a period and an exclamation point in my last quote. I will also admit that somehow I spelled "pinched" without an "n".
To bathe a hermit crab, you merely hold them in the sink while letting the faucet run lightly over your palm. Do not turn it on full force. Do not blast your crustacean with cold water, as he will grab onto your palm flesh for security. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but that really hurt.
And, was CT a man? How many stupid boyfriends have you had who said, "I want to talk" but then don't say anything worthwhile?
Was it only in Pennsylvania that friends could "take" you away from other friends? Was I merely a pawn? Lexi WAS more interesting, mainly because she wasn't a scary freak. She had a cool house with a deck on every floor. I'm a sucker for decks. Her mom was a good cook. We made dollhouses together. She had carpet in her room, which I always wanted. And she had a goofy sense of humor, which she hasn't lost. Yay for Alexis!
Now that I'm "grownup", I prefer a nice rug on hardwood floors.
Oh, and it's been one official year since we bought this:

I am St. Patrick.

So, you know how St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland? Well, I've done just that in my garden. For some reason, my sweet little cucumber plants have produced monstrous cukes that would put Ron Jeremy to shame.


No, that is not a cute little fairy's foot, that's my size 7. Yes, those are $1.oo flip flops from Target.




Here is another pic of my fierce garden:
You can see the tomatoes to my right are thinking about taking over. Behind me is the bed frame I found in the trash. The lablab violet vine and morning glory (thanks, Monty!) have formed a fine windblock. In the lower righthand corner is what this little guy turned into:


And the siamese twin cukes? Here's what a month of heat and sun and water will do. Notice that there obviously was a stronger twin. Notice my cute dog wondering why the hell I'm taking art student photos of cucumbers.


And for my final photo, my Green Envy zinnias which bloomed yesterday!

Update

Sometimes when I do this, it feels like I'm feeding my hungry sparrows and blackbirds in the yard. Eat, eat, my friends! Leave comments! Let me know you've been here! Just don't poop on my basil.
So, as of last post, I have:
1. attended the wedding of Matt's friends. They had been at our weddng last year, and I was determined to earn back the price of their dinner/drink then. So, Matt had 2 plates of food, and I had 4 gin and tonics and a beer and a lot of fried okra.
Then, we went to a bar. Then, we went to another bar, where I ran into my old boyfriend Rob, who informed me that Gorilla freakin' Biscuits is playing in Chicago next month! Holy crap! I introduced Rob to Matt. Their bands had played together years ago. It's all good.
When we came home, our scary/weird lady across the street was standing in the gangway between her house and her neighbor's house. Matt yelled, "I see you in the bushes!" and she came into the light and said, "I was just making sure you got in okay!"
Readers, it was 2 freakin' 30 in the morning. What was she doing?!

2. Slept late the next day, but endured barely a hangover. Thank you, okra.

3. Watched the Boston Fourth of July on TV. The fireworks being set off by the poor people in the projects a few blocks away were much better than St. Louis' official ones. Can you buy fireworks with food stamps?

4. Discovered a new plant growing/blooming in the fence. It resembles a sort of mallow. It closes in the heat of the day. Its leaves look like scented geranium leaves, yet are not pleasantly scented. The flower has 5 petals. It's rare for me to NOT be able to identify a plant.

5. Ate one of the giant cucumbers from the garden.

6. Slept a lot, yet woke up feeling like I had been run over. This was not the day after the wedding.

7. Sold a lot at Tower Grove Farmer's Market.

8. Bought cute Airwalk sandals at Payless, inspired by my sister-in-law. They are red and perky and kinda hippie-ish.

9. Somehow hurt my thumb. It aches constantly.

10. Spent inordinate amounts of time on cars.com, consumerreports.org and edmunds.com researching a new car. I rode in Jenna's Mazda3 wagon today and am in love. You can get a cassette player in it! Folks, you know that's a priority for me!

11. Matt found my missing Babaloo CDs, so all is well in my samba world.

Procrastination

Thanks to Poppymom for giving me a reason to NOT sew anything for the next 20 minutes....I do so love surveys! Glad you had a wild evening involving meat!
I hereby decree that if you read this, you must also answer this:

The idea is that you answer each question, using 3 or less song titles/artists/etc. Answers like "...everything by the Smiths" is not okay, even for me. *sigh* This is ripped from some chick named bookhart.

NAME UP TO THREE:
Song(s) That I Loathe To The Core Of My Being:
1. Butterfly by....Crazy Town?
2. What's Your Name? by Skynyrd
3. Candyshop by some rapper guy

Musical Artists That I Loathe To The Core Of My Being:
1. Britney Spears
2. P. Diddy Why does he always look sulky?
3. Korn

Rolling Stones Songs I Love:
1. Ruby Tuesday (surprisingly hard to karaoke)
2. Mother's Little Helper
3. Angie

Beatles Songs I Love:
1. Norwegian Wood
2. The song about sharing an umbrella at a bus stop
3. Here Comes The Sun

Who Songs I Love:
1. Teenage Wasteland (good for driving, esp. the YEEAAHHHH part)
2. Baba O'Reilly ( heard it sampled as I was laying on the floor at a rave in 1997)
3. um....drawing a blank here

Reggae Songs I Love:
1. Could You Be Loved?-Bob Marley
2. The Bob M. song about sharing my single bed with the roof right over our head
3. dang, I am really blank this morning..

Country Songs I Love:
1. These Old Bones-Dolly Parton ( I think that's the name)
2. Walk The Line-Johnny Cash (played at my wedding after the vows)
3. Tennesee Stud-by a bunch of guys

Movie Soundtracks I Love:
1. Valley Girl
2. Pretty In Pink
3. Suburbia

Musical Soundtracks I Love:
1. The Sound of Music
2. South Pacific
3. Man of La Mancha

Cover Songs I Love;
1. Stairway to Heaven-Dolly Parton
2. Paint It Black-Seven Shot Screamers
3. It's My Life-Gwen Stefani

Contemporary Top-40 Artists I Secretly Love:
1. Since You Been Gone-Kelly Clarkson
2. Gold Digger-Kanye West
3. Can You Take Me Higher=Creed (it's a secret! ssh!)

Songs That Bring Me To Tears:
1. The Star Spangled Banner
2. What A Wonderful World
3. Once, I cried to Pictures Of You by The Cure

Songs That Make Me Shake My Ass:
1. Hey Ya!-Outkast
2. Superfreak-Rick James
3. Whip it-Devo

Classical Composers I Love:
1. Aaron Copland (not exactly classical, but you know)
2. Tchaikovsky
3. Wagner (even though he was an anti-Semite)

Rap/Hip-Hop Songs I Love:
1. She's Crafty-Beastie Boys
2. Walk This Way-Run DMC and Aerosmith
3. Gangster's Paradise by?

70's Disco Songs I Love:
1. Hot Stuff-Donna Summer
2. Stayin' Alive-Bee Gees

70's Supergroup Songs I Love:
1. Come Sail Away-Styx
2. Another One Bites The Dust-Queen
3. Suite Judy Blue Eyes-Crosby, Stills and Nash

Metal Songs I Love:
Old metal or nu metal? Metal core or grind metal?
1. Run To The Hills-Ronnie James Dio
2. White Buffalo-Ted Nugent
3. Here I Go Again-Whitesnake

New Wave Songs I Love:
I can't say "all of them?"
1. Images of Heaven-Peter somebody
2. the New Order song originally done by Joy Division before Ian died
3. Love Will Tear Us Apart-Joy Division

Soul/R&B Songs I Love:
1. Stop! In The Name Of Love-Supremes
2. Sam Cook-I can't think of the song title
3. My Girl-Four Tops/Seasons

Power Ballads I Love:
1. Every Rose Has Its Thorn-Poison
2. November Rain-Guns n Roses
3. Eyes Without A Face-Billy Idol (pant pant pant)

Pre-1950s Songs I Love:
1. Let's Have Another Cup Of Coffee-Glenn Miller
2. Skyliner-Artie Shaw
3. Jumpin' Jive-Marian Hutton sings to Glenn Miller

Punk Songs I Love:
1. Hong Kong Garden-Siouxsie and the Banshees
2.TV Party-Black Flag
3. Loser-Descendents

Singer/Songwriter Songs I Love;
Hmm...I'm not too knowledgeable,but here goes:
1. Anticipation-Carly Simon
2. You're So Vain-Carly? or Carole King?
3. I Think It's Time that we move in together/and raise a family on our own/just you and me-probably also by Carly

MTV Videos I Love:
1. Take On Me-A-ha
2. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun-Cyndi Lauper

None Of The Above Songs I Love:
1. World Music Artists:
a. Babaloo
b. Joao and Astrud Gilberto
2. Hardcore Bands:
a. Fugazi
b. 7 Seconds
c. Gorilla Biscuits

Whew. Now I must fill my stereo with CDs and sew.
As a disclaimer, I've been listening heavily to Stiff Little Fingers and Joy Division lately, and not so much to the radio, so there.
And I happen to LOVE "Horse With No Name"! Matt says it's about heroin, get it? HORSE?

Summer's Bounty and Beer

Share with me, friends, in the first harvest of the Rabbitt Garden! I was weeding out purslane, and discovered some oddly shaped cucumbers hiding in their leaves. One was Siamese Twinning another one, so I'm letting it/them grow to see what it turns into. I've got a weird fascination with Siamese twins, if you didn't know.
I'll HAVE to make pesto this week, and will take orders. Anyone? Anyone? Perhaps a certain Illinoisian who I'm chillin' with on Friday likes pesto.
Also of note in the garden: the pokeberry plant is taller than me and everything else around it.
My tomatoes are quite leafy, and only have a few green tomatoes.
The pepper is the size of a nickel, and just as cute as you're imagining it.
The dill reseeded and smells wonderful.
Morning glories and purple hyacinth vine are taking over exactly where I wanted them to take over.
My newspaper-as-mulch idea sorta worked. Next year I'll lay down more layers of newspaper instead of just one.
Here is a cute picture of Matt's Beer Delivery Service.


Oh, and here's a shot of my first wedding anniversary present-a birdbath the color of my *sob* old blue Mazda. Note the happy blackbird striking a pose.

Bellydance and Barbecue

For you locals, come say howdy to me tomorrow evening as I sell my wares at the Bellydance and Barbecue Benefit at The Royale restaurant/bar.
I'm not sure exactly how this will work, but my crystal ball sees it this way:I am sitting at a table, hopefully with a Schlafly. On the table there is a sign stating that a portion of each sale of potholder or oven mitt will go to the Panda Athletic Club. A woman is bellydancing, making me vow to practice more. I think of the video website where I wasted so much time last night, and know I'll find just the right song to shimmy to. Rick James, here I come.
See you tomorrow!

Eighties videos

Some of you already have this. I posit 2 questions:
1. Will I ever be able to leave my computer again?
2. Why don't they play old videos anymore?
I love 80's videos.

Why can't I live in the Der Kommissar video? WHHYYYYY????

Check out Kate Bush's modern interpretive dance in "Running Up That Hill". This song is on the CD I used to play when I wanted to get busy with boys.
Check out that freak Appollonia's "Sex Shooters". We do more intense moves at bellydancing.
And...the song "White Horse"!!! It's in the "L" section. Remember when Doberman pinschers were the dog of choice for thugs?

Girl Stuff

Sometimes I'll hear myself say to a student, "Why do you care about things like this? It's not a big deal. In a month it won't matter. In a year it won't matter. And when you're my age, you'll laugh yourself silly thinking about how much it mattered."
The "it" refers not to Ebay, but to relationships with friends. Hmm. After typing that, my brain says, "but friends DO matter! No wonder we worried about it!" Perhaps I'm just an insensitive bitch, made easy by the fact that my best friends are, at the minimum, 5 hours away from me, and I don't even talk to them that much. Yet I still consider them my buds!
Eh, here's an entry:

April 28th, Tuesday.
Hi Sandra.
I am tired. Nothing really happened lately. CT was in one of her piss moods yesterday. She said I like Lexi better than her (true) and I always call her (false). Well maybe Lexi is better to get along with! CT loves Chris C., and I like MP. Today in English we were trying to send him mental messages to look at CT. It didn't work.
G'Night!
Allison

Hey, who could resist Lexi? We went to see The Goonies together and shared a twisted love for mint chocolate Bubble Yum. She was cheerful, which was a far departure from CT. Don't worry, Lex is still cheerful, even when the Cubbies blow a game. Hi Lex!
Here's another example of how fleeting my fancy was. Also, an example of how little I paid attention in school, yet made honor roll each quarter. My crush on Chris Conway came in about 10th or 11th grade. He was sort of a sk8r boi (couldn't resist), and very smart. It's funny that I married a very smart former skater boy, and today is our one year anniversary!

Oh, and definitely check out the link for Bubble Yum. I can't believe we ate so much gross crap in the 80's. I do miss Checkermint gum, though.

Update on List Progress

Last night, I attended my first belly dancing class.
My body started to hurt by the time I got into the car.
I learned a few things:
1. I have NO rhythm.
2. I dance a lot better when I'm drunk, especially if I'm with Tanya or Kerry.
3. I'm not as limber as I used to be. My left hip socket made popping noises.
4. I am rhythm-less.
5. I cannot perform what I learned for Matt without giggling.

Here's a link to my original list.

1. The purslane is almost gone. Did you know it's a food crop in Europe?
6. We had roasted chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes for Matt's yesterday birthday. Don't get excited-it was supermarket deli, canned, and boxed. But it was real food.
7. Haven't touched the Chinese Coin quilt because I've been working on this:

And these:


8. Ouch. And as I said to CO Robin, I felt muscles I haven't felt since I was 16 and riding a horse in the Grand Tetons. I haven't felt those since Daniel was chest hair-less. Since I last wore neon and tie dye!
14. yes
15. yes
16. yes. "The Brief History of The Dead" by Kevin Brockmeier. Damned good.
18. Soon, my precious, sooon
20. Yes, some days TWICE!! But not today.

Deal or No Deal?

When I was 7 or so, my dad bought an old tow truck we named The Brown Bomber, since it was brown. Witty, eh? He kept the towing apparatus on it for a few years, but it was gone by the time we moved to Solebury in 1983.
I recall Dad trying to teach me to drive stick in this truck. We lurched across our fields (possibly on April 6) as his "beverage" sloshed across our laps. He got a kick out of it, luckily, since I was tired of doing the dishes. I never really got the hang of a manual transmission.
This truck was used for the heavy/dirty/hard work, such as hauling lumber, or dragging gigantic rocks up to the house. Why we were dragging rocks, I don't know. Sometimes my dad did wacky things just for kicks.


Sunday, April 6th
Hi Odessa!
Sory about the past few days. Today Dad and I dragged 2 rocks (big) up from the woods by way of the truck. My throat hurts. I hate Jamie and Brian . They always repeat everything I say!
I made a deal with Mom that if I fixed supper, she would do the dishes. I'm gonna fix dinner for the rest of my life. On Thursday I found a note between BW. and Frank. They want to screw Nadine and Stacey.
I hate BC. He calls me his arm rest and he smells!
Bye!

Yeeeah...fix dinner for the rest of my life....that deal sure did go south, didn't it? When I lived alone, I cooked a nice meal each Sunday and ate the leftovers all week. Ever since getting married, I rarely make even pancakes anymore. Anything requiring more than 2 ingredients is out of the question.
JW and BB were kids in my church group. They were a year or so younger than me, which explains the repetition game. JW remained a jerk for as long as I knew him, but BB ended up cool. He lent me his "Head On The Door" (by The Cure, duh!) tape on one of our ski trips. Years later, I recall him going to a New Order concert.
And I guess I should apologize for anyone's feelings that are getting hurt, but people, these thoughts of mine were from almost 20 years ago! I'm not a hateful person anymore! I've got good hair, cool tattoos, and am way more secure with myself than in 1987. And Lord knows, I was no prize pig myself in 1987-you can see the yearbook photo for yourself.

CO Robin, See What I Mean?

This post is dedicated to Colorado Springs Robin. Dan and I aren't kidding when we gripe about how we had to do dishes all the time as kids. I remember standing on a CHAIR to reach the sink in order to wash dishes. *sigh* I guess it could be worse. We could've been starved or neglected.

Tuesday, April 22

Hi.
We had to run 1.5 miles today in gym.
I took 18 minutes and 29 sec.
Daddy is sick with a major head cold. I have to do the dishes for a week because I didn't put any of my babysitting money in my bank account.
GODDAMN IT!!
I'm getting pretty sick of this dishes crap!

My parents were big on the bank account thing. I had a passbook since the early '80s. If there's one thing they've instilled in me, it's savings. Even though I can afford to go to Target and get whatever I want, a part of me still thinks it's wasteful and bad. Thanks, Mom and Dad! I'm going to be miserly for the rest of my life!

Easter, Walker family style

There really was no rest for the wicked, or even the non-wicked at our house. When I say my dad was a slave driver, I'm not totally exaggerating. Looking back now, I understand that there was a TON of work to be done in/on/around our house. However, I'm not the one who decided to buy a ramshackle 120 year old farmhouse. Also, we could have been asked a bit more politely to help out. You win more flies with sugar than vinegar.

Even on holidays, we were expected to be picking rocks out of the garden, carting away whatever old building had just been torn down, or, my personal favorite, being The Holder.

"Get over here and stand on this board," was a common request from Big Mike. If he needed help with sawing or hammering, my brother and I were the perfect weight. Many's the time I had to hold a piece of lumber while my father ran the power saw inches (if that) away from my fingers. It's a testament to his carpentry skills and my nerves that I have all the digits I was born with.
So here is Easter Sunday, 1987. A day of celebration and rest? Not in my house.

Sunday, April 19th
Dear Olive,
Happy Easter!
Today was full! All day I worked outside, cutting grass, etc. My back hurts so bad and I have to go to Peddler's Village tomorrow for the YF auction.
Night-night,
me

For those of you who know me, it may be a surprise that I went to church at all, let alone be involved in the Youth Fellowship. Again, I grew up in the country, and there weren't a lot of chances for socialization. I took whatever I could.
Peddler's Village is a sore on the ass of Solebury Township. Imagine a shopping village where New Yorkers and Philadelphians are BUSSED in. Unlike Boston in the 1970's, nobody protested or threw rocks. Chi-chi can only begin to describe it. At the time, I liked it. There were good restaurants (The Pig and.....Something) and some cool shops with crystals and suncatchers that I liked.

When Poverty's Children Play

This entry sounds like something they'd make us read at work, and then discuss how it relates to our student population.
You'd think that I grew up on a dirt floor chewing on grass and riding a cow. Wait-my uncle broke his back doing just that....well...never mind, then.

Saturday, April 18
Hi.
Dear Jessy,
Today Dan and I went over to the houses in the woods. In the first house, I found a package with 3 doughnuts in it and at the last house we made a seesaw and played in the puddles in the cellar.
Today Mon, Dan and I spent all morning in Doylestown buying things.
I bought:
1. a basket for Mrs. Colby
2. 2 pairs of stockings
3. a bra
4. candy
5. wooden eggs for my Easter baskets for my friends.
Daniel is still doing the dishes at 9:47 pm. He started about 9 pm. We saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark". I am tired.
Dan and I also painted Easter eggs. I made a bunny (weird drawing here) only it was cute!
Bye!

We played in puddles? I was how old? WTF? How sad is it that construction sites were considered fun for us? When I say I grew up in the country, I really mean it!
As punishment, and because I was too big to get spanked anymore, Dad made us do the dishes for a certain amount of time. A little lip at the dinner table would get us 2 nights. Causing the other sibling to bleed was a week. Breaking something of Dad's was 2 weeks. Getting grades below a B was a month. How that would help us spend more time on homework, I don't know.
Because I was evil, I'd dirty every piece of silverware in the house if Dan had dish duty. I'd bake cakes, cookies, and use everything that could be washed. I'd volunteer to clean out all the Tupperware containers of forgotten leftovers in the fridge.
Sorry, Dan.

I have 12 hours left of work.

Sorry about the title-last night I couldn't sleep because it's almost the end of the school year. Each June, it seems like last summer was forever and a minute ago. Did I really drive to the Grand Canyon?

Did I really get married?

We bought a house? WHAT???!!

Another reason why I couldn't sleep last night was the sheer joy of selling 20 oven mitts and 30 sets of potholders at the Rock and Roll Craft Show. I am well on my way to a sizeable down payment on a new car. I was so excited and thrilled at how well my humble kitchen wares did. As I lay in bed, images of future fairs and selling to actual stores drifted through my head. Even the book I'm reading, "The Devil In The White City" couldn't dispel those sugarplums.

I learned a few things this weekend:

List Of Things I Learned This Weekend

1. The public likes my oven mitts and can't tell the difference between poorly applied binding and well-applied binding.
2. I can price my potholders at $11 a pair and nobody bats an eye.
3. Other folks, as cheerful and wonderful as they may appear, are also not as perfect as I assume them to be. For some reason, I always assume I'm the one with all the problems and everyone else has a happy wonderful life. We all have problems, so it's nice to know I'm not alone. I miss having friends I could dish with. I hope my knitting group turns into those type of folks.
4. This war freaking sucks. It's not just the people actually in "the shit", it's the sisters and mothers and wives of those people who have to deal with the aftermath. Just like we're creating future terrorists out of little kids who see their parents die, we're also creating future pacifists and Democrats.
I keep asking Dan if he's okay, if he's having any flashbacks or depression yet. I guess after 2 years, I can stop, but after 2 years, I'm the one who can't watch the news or read the paper without getting teary-eyed. It's kinda f-ed up that I'm the one with the post-traumatic stress and Dan was the one who got shot at and fought scorpions.
5. St. Louis wants its crafts, and it wants them now.
6. I have a lot of sewing to do (again, sigh) for the Tower Grove Farmer's Market.
7. I really want a new car. I am unabashedly jealous of Beqi for getting one already. Yet, I also miss my Mazda.
8. My cute shoes hurt after wearing them for too long.
9. Karen/Diane can get me and 6 others into the Botanical Garden for free.
10. Hmm...I had to make an even 10.....okay-I know an awful lot of people in this city, all of whom appeared happy to see me. Yay for softball teams!

I'm baacckk

Here's a link to a good pic of the Gypsy Caravan...event on Memorial Day. I like Autumn because she's a positive thinker, but even she was a little dejected after 9 hours of sitting in the Libyan heat. However, she did take some good pics.
So, after all those hours of sewing potholders and mitts, and telling my husband that I'd come out of my sewing room eventually, I was a little let down at my sales at the Caravan. I'm not a complainer, but it was SO hot! I drank like 4 giant lemonades and only had to pee twice! I got sunburned UNDER my tent!
On a good note, I sold 19 oven mitts today at Rock and Roll Craft Show. That's 18 more than I sold on Monday. If you're local, you should go tomorrow.
I have 20 hours of work left before summer vacation. My classroom is pretty much packed and ready to go. I even had Lavell pick all the staples out of the bulletin board.
Time for a list:
20 Things I Plan To Do This Summer (in no particular order)

1. Weed all the purslane out of my garden.
2. Give my demonstration in writing class without getting nervous.
3. Blog each day.
4. Read Alice Sebold's "Lucky" because I loved "The Lovely Bones" all 5 times I've read it.
5. Read young adult literature.
6. Eat healthier.
7. Quilt the Chinese Coin quilt I've had laying around for 6 years.
8. Take a belly dancing class at the YMCA.
9. Go to the YMCA every other day.
10. Kick ass in the flower beds out front.
11. Buy a new car and be able to kiss my old one goodbye.
12. Visit Noel in Connecticut.
13. Talk to my grandmom about her life as a youth in New Jersey.
14. Not wear shoes for 50 % of my day.
15. Drink a lot of homebrewed ice tea.
16. Read.
17. Go to Ted Drewes once a week for the Crater Copernicus sundae and rationalize it by "Well, I'm walking there and back".
18. Hang out with Robin and drink iced mochas and make fun of art quilts.
19. For that matter, drive my new car to the Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky.
20. Walk Maggie each morning, like the cool-looking girl who I see walking her two large beagles. I want to make friends with her, but how does a 33 year old make friends? I forget how! What if she thinks I'm a wack job?