Where am I?

Uncle and Aunt were going to be down in our town so we decided to go to the parade together.
4 adults and 2 children won't fit in one car as most new cars don't have bench seats in front.
So Hubby and I walk 1.8 miles with Munchkin in the backpack on hubby and TJ in the carseat/stroller.
TJ was happy awake in his seat for at least half an hour of the parade! Munchkin was scared of balloons!
2 hours of parade later and we need to go find food. close to the shopping center but we guessed that those paces would be full. so we decide to go to a restaurant that is across the street from our place.
Hubby and I insisted that we could walk, but no, must get a ride. So TJ and I get into the car. Uncle, being a dense male, forgets the route I told hubby to go on and makes some loops. We get to the apartment complex, I get the carseat and strap it in, drive across the street to restaurant and Uncle goes back to find Hubby. Of course by then he had gotten to the complex. Aunt and I are joking while waiting if Hubby would arrive at the restaurant on his own.
After we eat, Aunt walks across the street while we get driven, and we cross the main street at the same time!
Seriously Hubby and I could have walked without the use of a car, it really doesn't take that long, but Uncle insists on driving us. This is the result of a car based culture. I am actually surprised that the distance is 1.8 miles according to google maps, it isn't that far!

And I know too much. The "Highland warriors"   marched in the parade and it is plaid renfaire stuff with metal grommets, I know to much, thank you Kass!

I've not heard back from the Councillor about Willow's petition, so I went poking about on the County Council website. It turns out that he's not being negligent in not reporting back; he has presented the petition for me and at the next meeting, on the 17th, the Powers That Be should report back with their findings, having done the proper research.

Looking at council minutes was interesting, though. The vast majority of petitions brought before the council are about speeding and traffic calming, and the numbers of signatures? 138, 27, 192.... so it looks like we kicked eveyone's ass there with our 300. Woohoo!

Happy Birthday, America!

Got new shoes on Wednesday. So light, so comfortable, so perfect for work. I, however, should not have been lulled into a false sense of security by the comfort, as I proceeded to walk too far and too vigorously in new shoes. Thursday required bandaids. I am pretty sure this is a passing thing.



Speaker for the Dead: Reading* only the second half is rather like reading a short story. It's actually pretty well complete, but you have to make assumptions about what went before. Reading* the first half made me realize most of the 'reveal' wasn't any kind of reveal at all, but didn't really change my understanding of the story in any way.

Next up, the rest of Xenocide. I expect the Godspoken to make more sense, at the very least and the nature and background of the conflicts, I do hope. The last third of Xenocide makes for a very poor short story.





* Actually "listening to" but I am sure you get my point.

First, myriad emails trying to tell me there was something wrong with my non-existant KUCU account. Messages on my answering machine that obviously didn't pause to wait for the beep so they are mostly unintelligable. Then the 1am call about my non-existant KUCU account. Now, a text message telling me "For usual maintenance please confirm your 66 F.C.U. details by calling at 914-819-0481"


First off, what the hell is 66 F.C.U.?!


EDIT: I googled 66 FCU and got an email address to report fraud. Text messages are so much easier to transfer than phone messages.

With thanks to medvssa, at a mere £1.2 mil [$2.4 million], this Gothic Revival gem is a snip... *and* you get to have an address in London's Highgate.

Meanwhile, for my kind of thing, you can't beat the Cotswolds (although money obviously buys neither taste nor balls when it comes to interior design).

the GF pizza crust I made for my dad at Munchkin's 2nd b-day

I used mmcnealy's Holy Grail GF Flour mix except all brown flour, and sweet white sorghum flour instead of sweet rice flour. and Tapicoa flour instead of tapioca starch.(my oops)
It wasn't a real recipe but here is an aprox
2 cups holy grail
2 TS honey
1ts salt
1ts yeast
2/3 cup warm water
generous basil and garlic.

mix in bowl, add more flour until you get it not so sticky. (told you it wans't a recipe)
Oil a pizza pan and dust with cornmeal.
press crust into pan and bake for 10 mins or so, pull out ant top and then bake till cheese is golden.

had good structure, didn't stick to pan too badly, needs the spices otherwise it would be very very bland.

be warned it makes sandy toddler diapers. :P

Friday I spent cleaning Ordered flowers for Auntie's b-day.
Saturday got call from Auntie that she loved her flowers. We went out to the library and I forgot my wallet with my lib card, ID and credit at home. Got home and we all took a nap. No cleaning was accomplished
Sunday was cleaning day. Hubby got the dining room clean.
Monday I cleaned the sewingroom and kitchen. My parents arrieved at about 6:00 Hubby was walking the boys when they arrieved. Loaded kids into car and went to the lib cuz I had to pick up my books thatday since I forgot my card. Got groceries. forgot to pick up the keyboard that Hubby wanted to get Munchkin. got home and made the taco shells, forgoten how long that takes!
Tuesday I got up relativly early and started the baking. Bread, GF pizza crust, GF carrot cake. I got everything done baking at about 2ish. part was to start at 6ish, GF pizzacrust was actually rather good, with enough spices. Cake was delish. coconut sorbet was everyone's favo, the lemon is good but leamony, the mango soy is odd, not bad though, but oh the coconut is great!
My mom made munchkin a play house out of PVC pipe and fabric walls, he loves it! Uncle and Aunt got him a sandbox, which is great! and clothes for both kids.
My sis sent down clothes, and I am afraid TJ is too big for 90% as he is in 6-9 months depending on manufaturer.
My parents left at about 11:00 this morning, too short a visit, Munchkin most upset and needed a cupcake and counting crows to calm down.

More posting later whin kids are quiet. Yes I know spelling sucks, at least one kid had been screamiong for the past hour.

The stays are complete, and they're now in Scotland with their new owner! Cue eye candy!



( More... )

Killed another keyboard. sigh. It's my own fault, just unexpected. I didn't realize there was some water in the little plate I had grape tomatoes on and tipped it so the water went on the keyboard. The keyboard worked fine last night, but it's... all funny this morning. Some keys give me two letters, some give me none at all. Alas.


Finally finished hemming the OMG! Yellow! T-tunic-style dress I made to go under the butterfly corset. Guess I should try the whole thing for effect, huh? I am trying to decide if I really want to put some cool embroidery (I read embroidery books and drool, but never think of things to DO the embroidery on) in bright blue. It would be lurid against the orange yellow, but would be another tie between the corset and the dress.


I should have taken at least one pair of slacks to sewing meet up last night so a second person could mark the hem, but I was in a hurry (late at work) and failed that roll. But I think I have a nice length marked on one pair by trial and error. I will just give a deep hem and adjust as needed.

The pair of slacks with a lining... that's going to be fun, oh yes.

( Luke's new leather armour )

Worked out better than I hoped considering the time restraints and the fact that I was keeping it a secret from Luke. The best part is that it can be added to!

All the slacks I bought yesterday are 4-6 inches too long. Which means I need to hem them (sigh. I hate hemming). But I don't have the slightest idea where I should hem them too. I am so out of touch on such things. So, where does a woman hem her slacks to? Keep in mind I don't tend to wear high heels.

I still guilt trip myself into 9-5*, however much I demonstrate that I work on Artist Time. I've just spent two weeks or so working constantly, obsessing over new website design in the evenings and on weekends while the rest of the Harman Hay/YWU circus goes on unabated during office hours.

Predictably, I've hit the moment of collapse, and there's nothing wrong with that; I hear that many artists work like this, having manic periods of work punctuated with periods of rest. Thing is, we live in a 9-5 world and even if I could justify a brief vacation, my brain doesn't seem to have an off button.

Today is supposed to be a "Sanity Day," during which I switch off for the sake of my sanity and Demi's too. I'm not doing too well so far, suspended in a sort of semi-working limp, ever onward.

* Ok, ok, 7:30-6.

Received ever so expensive birth certificate.

Breezed through getting (ever so expensive) passport request turned in (thank you, internet! Thank you, everyone that got all that passport info on said internet!)

Attempted to leave mp3 player on the nice lady's desk.

Discovered missing mp3 player on the way out of the post office. Thank goodness.

Shopped at target - hair color and fabric softener.

Shopped at Penney's - several new pairs of pants, mostly involving linen. Only one shirt worth really thinking about. Sigh.

Shopped the Sprint store - now have a car charger for the phone. Many thanks to You-Know-Who-You-Are.

Shopped Dillon's - need cookies badly!

Should have bought work shoes - was too lazy.

It's a pity the campus pharmacy no longer operates. The man barking in the office two doors along from me could really use some Bisolvon.

I'm trying to get my hands on a copy of a very elusive book for my thesis. It's the most highly referenced source for my topic so it's kind of essential. I have found a couple of places that sell it online but I thought I'd ring around a few secondhand places in the city to see if I could get it cheaper and faster.

Place 1:
Me: Hi, I'm after a book called The Architecture of Petra, by Judith McKenzie. I was wondering if you had a copy in stock.

Woman: Is that Italy?

Me: What?

Woman: Is that Italy?

Me: I'm...umm...

Woman: The Architecture of what?

Me: Petra

Woman: How do you spell that?

Me: (dying a little inside) P.E.T.R.A

Woman: Is that Itlay?

Me: What? (inflected now)

Woman: Is it printed in Italy?

Me: Oh! No, London I think.

Woman: The book looks Italian.

Me: I'm pretty sure it's not.

Woman: Are you an architecture student?

Me: Suuure. (I give up....)

Woman: Your tutor will be able to tell you where to get it. Thankyou.

Me: (gritting my already worn teeth) Okay, thankyou. Goodbye.

(smashing my head into my desk)

Place 2:
Me: (Same intro as above)

Man: Is that by Judith McKenzie?

Me: Yes.

Man: We can order it from the USA.

Me: Okay, how long does it usually take to get them in and how much will it be?

Man: A week and a half.

Me: Okay, how much might that be?

Man: Well the cheapest copy is $80, it's in bad condition but that's all you'd be after, and it looks big so postage would be $25, then we charge a 15% finders fee. So about $120.

Me: Okay, I'll get back to you. Good bye.

(smashing head into desk)

Online I can get this book brand new for $65 with $11 postage. Sure it'll take maybe three weeks to get here but I can probably get express postage for another $10 at most.

Why would he assume I'd be fine with a "bad condition" copy? Why? For all he knew I was the fucking queen of India. Damn my childish sounding voice! Although it does come in handy when telemarketers ring and ask for my parents...But still! Not helpful in any useful situation!

What dicks.

(I had one of those really frustrating dreams last night where you never end up doing anything and it drags on for hours. So I was already annoyed. But for reals, guys...How do you spell Petra? How do you even function in everyday life? )

I hope no one says the wrong thing tonight...I'm in the mood to bite some heads.

This should show just how used to odd starts I am when it comes to books - I just accepted that these two books started in the middle of some action.

I didn't notice that I had been listening to Speaker for the Death part 2 of 2 and Xenocide part 3 of 3.



While I love listening to the books on my little mp3 player, I am not so happy with the damn software right now.

1 am. Phone rings. Panic sets in (as my son has been away on vacation with his dad). Recorded voice tells me my KU Credit Union account has been suspended. Suddenly wish it wasn't a recording, as then the person on the other side could have heard the several crashes as I failed to manage to hang up the phone properly.


That HAD to be a phishing call, as, well, Hello? 1 am? and I don't have a KUCU account.

I have to make time for Planning. Particularly, for planning surrounding our European Costume College. For starters, we need an independent working title for it - "YWU: the weekend event" perhaps? :S

(As an aside, I've been perplexed by the possibility of having to use the "YWU" acronym in person. It works written down, but Why Double You You is just dire. So on the tram yesterday I had the very silly thought that perhaps it should be pronounced Why-Woo. Which is very, very silly and amused me greatly from Bulwell to Basford inclusive.)

Anyway, my first task is to work out for real whether this thing is feasible. And for that, I'd like to formally assemble the troops. If Costume College UK 2010 turns out to be financially viable and we go ahead, then it'll be official. I'll start a community for it so that everyone can keep up to date, and have an option to friends-lock posts to the "committee". In the meantime, at such an early stage I'll do this with a filter.

So comment below if you're seriously interested not just in attending, but in being involved in planning and making a European Costume College happen. It would be very helpful indeed if committee members are in the UK, but if you're outside Britain, I'm certain that there will still be non-geographically-dependent roles to be filled.

I'm expecting to be discussing this with a handful of people. I know already that myladyswardrobe and queenortart are interested, but here's your chance to be added to the team.

In the first instance, this will involve being on a filter here where I'll be discussing the finer points of venue planning and costs, so it won't be exciting stuff, you have been warned. We'll then reach a point where we'll have to decide whether and how to go ahead and make it happen, in which case your role will then become more active.

Anyone who's more remote (hello America!) with experience to offer is especially welcome, of course.

As for those of you who are squeeing as we speak and excited to hear any news for attendees, trust me, I will keep you informed. I'm just at a stage right now where I want to have a forum in which I can discuss ideas without feeling the need to censor myself for fear of appearing to make promises that don't turn out to be practical!

So those of you who are ready to get your hands dirty, form an orderly queue below please!

Considering the number of disjointed questions I've been asking without actually offering an update, I feel that a proper post is overdue. Thank you very much for all the comments you've offered, and please accept my appo-low-gees that I don't always answer every one.

Fred, it seems, reads LJ. The moment I posted, she stopped waking us up in the mornings. In fact, we did work out what the issue was.

When her brother was still with us, Fred and Wes loved to tear-ass around the house after each other. Wes was particularly fond of playing in the bath (minus bathwater, naturally) and knocking all the bottles over. For this reason, and for the reason that they loved to do this at night, we began closing many of the doors when we went to bed. This became a habit, and although Wes has been gone a long time now, it took us until now to stop closing doors at night. Fred is much happier as a result and isn't so desperate to get out every morning.

We've also noticed that Fred is growing fast. We thought at first that she was just big in comparison to Jossie, but no, we've come to the conclusion that she really is growing. She has enough to eat now.

We just put two bowls of food down; it's difficult to tell who eats it since cats won't necessarily stick to one bowl. But since Fred has grown dramatically since Willow's death, becoming bigger, more playful, more responsive, more cuddly and more confident, we can only conclude that Fred was positively bullied by our over-confident late younger daughter. She's come right out of her shell.

Meanwhile, we've lost the fence separating our back garden from next door's. Our next door neighbour is an enthusiastic home improver and dislikes nasty fences, so we have a cute new hedge growing. Much better. Except that now, their cat can chase and intimidate Fred all the more easily. She needs to learn to stand up for herself!

And in TMI news, ( (really, don't read on if you're squeamish)  )