spinning-jennie: archives « September 2006 | Main | November 2006 »

October 31, 2006

Happy...
Halloween, Samhain, what-have-you!

Tonight we're going to try out trick-or-treating. The bub is frightened of most people, so getting him to ring doorbells and speak might be interesting. In any case, look for photos tomorrow, to kick off NaBloPoMo (yes, Sarah, I'm not overly fond of the termage, myself).

On Friday evening, we'll be attending our very first Día de los Muertos procession downtown. I'm excited, if apprehensive about how the bub will handle the giant puppets.

I hope you're enjoying the celebrations in your own way this week!
10/31/06 10:59 AM |  Comments


October 30, 2006

Purrfectly Geektastic
I find myself wanting a CueCat barcode reader. And check all these great reasons to get me one!

1. It's only $15!
2. It supports LibraryThing, the best personal cataloging app out there.
3. It'll make me feel just a little bit more like a real cataloger again. And isn't my sense of imaginary self-worth priceless?
4. It's so cute!
5. It might keep Daniel away from my CF card reader.
6. It would fit perfectly in my stocking!
7. It provides an excellent excuse to buy more books!

Hmmm. Maybe you'd better ignore that last one.
10/30/06 01:17 PM |  Comments


October 29, 2006

Burninating the Peasants
Trogdor!

Took on quite a task with that design (from here, embellished with my own flames and text), but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.
10/29/06 08:56 PM |  Comments


October 28, 2006

Need a Jumpstart, I Do


November. Posting every day.

We'll see how that goes.
10/28/06 09:58 PM |  Comments


October 24, 2006

Flake-a-Thon
Remember the SnowDays snowflake maker? Well, it's that time of year again (not that you would know it here, no, I'm still wearing short pants and sweating upstairs during the day -- what is this, Sacramento?). If you'd like a nice show, hit Find-a-Flake, and enter "ENIGMA" in the name field. I doubt all thousand and some are by the same person, but it seems a lot of them are (especially recently). Tons of neat creations!
10/24/06 04:09 PM |  Comments


October 21, 2006

65 Days...
A Very Bloggy Christmas is back for the season!
10/21/06 03:07 PM |  Comments


October 17, 2006

Am I Boring You Yet? How About Now?
Yeah. Material has been a bit, well, thin lately. Or classified.

October is nice, aside from all the election detritus. It's a peeve -- mailbox stuffed with flyers, signs littering every available bit of real estate, porch and doorknob attacked by literature. As if it's not enough the candidates and propositions are constantly on radio and television, and plastered all over the editorials.

The brush roller on our vacuum died. FedUp not getting me the replacement anywhere near fast enough + two cats + one child = complete and total shame and embarassment over the current state of our carpeting. This is yet another good reason to shear my hair off, but I figure I only have another ten years before all the curl grays right out, and I only have one real vanity, so. We're just going to continue consuming vacuum parts and Drano like they're going out of style.

It would seem our stay in this townhome will be more permanent than you'd expect of us. So (naturally?) I'm beginning to balk at not fixing things. Don't think for a moment I'm not scrutinizing you, crappy industrial flat paint job, or you, nasty linoleum, or even you, God-awful vanities. You've been saved only by our volatility, and perhaps lack of guests.

The bub has a cold, so I look forward to catching that any minute now. I should've known something was up when he refused to eat peanut butter toast.

I made some Swedish Rye Halloween cutouts. They had a unique, hearty flavor, and I'll make them again at some point, rolled thinner and baked longer.

I've finally begun the putz village I've been wanting to create for years. My first attempt has been experimental, and hardly elaborate, but very rewarding. As the building materials are happily all recycled, I'll have a few details up on RB soon -- I intend it to be my personal best project ever, if more for nostalgia than anything else!
10/17/06 03:55 PM |  Comments


October 10, 2006

I Swear They Look Exactly Alike
Generally, my dealings with the police have not been pleasant. A strange thing, when you consider none of these run-ins have been for the truly illegal activities of long-gone college days, and I always just looked the person least likely to cause trouble. No, it's pretty much been classifiable as harassment/power tripping/unneccessary unpleasantness. And yes, I'm lumping the ten-over first offense $300 speeding/non-current address ticket in with that, too.

So it might be stupid, but I still tend to get nervous when there's an officer around. There were two at the grocery yesterday, in produce, and when one walked up to me... it's amazing I kept my Bartletts in check.

So how did it melt my cold, black heart then, when he grinned large and said "Ma'am? Does your son like stickers?" And handed us a little yellow badge?

And how much did I rescind that warmth when, looking at the sticker at home, it said "Jr. Firefighter?"
10/10/06 01:52 PM |  Comments


October 06, 2006

Don't Faint Now...
...but there's new Reusablogging today. Wow.
10/06/06 03:49 PM |  Comments


Happy Holidays and All That
The Halloween aisles are messy and crowded... but the holiday card aisle is not. It is, in fact, a wonder of organization and full shelves of brand-spanking-new stock, completely un-picked-over.

And quiet. Glorious, browse-at-your leisure silence (except for bub-imposed limits). Alleluia.

So that's one less thing to do next month, in the crowds. Very freeing. I recommend it!
10/06/06 02:43 PM |  Comments


October 04, 2006

Marsh Walk
As it turns out, misty mornings are the best to spend in the riverside wetlands preserve, because it keeps everyone but the die-hards away! So we had the two-mile trail mostly to ourselves, very nice. We saw a jackrabbit, and innumerable water fowl (many species with which I'm not at all familiar, must really get that field guide).

I took a few cell photos, but next week I need to bring a real camera.
10/04/06 06:17 PM |  Comments


October 02, 2006

Loves Onions...
...hates to cut. Wouldn't these Onion Goggles be just the thing? via Gizmodo.
10/02/06 01:24 PM |  Comments


October 01, 2006

That's Better.
The garage is now overhauled. I think we still need at least a Craigslisted loveseat out there, but D thinks there's not enough room.

And there were "before" shots, from move-in time. Pretty nasty, huh?

The cobwebs have been removed, the walls have been painted, utility carpets (and the area rug from our old place) have been put down, the gap beneath the garage door sealed (with foam pipe insulation), shelves and workspaces have been installed, and general reorganization has been completed. Aside from drumming and recording and pounding, makes a great open space for a bub to play with his trucks, too!
10/01/06 02:37 PM |  Comments