Thursday, September 30, 2004

Hidey Ho

Ahh a little reprieve. Got monty down at 7:20 tonight. He still isnt quite sleeping, but he is quiet and that's all that matters. It was either put him in his room or lock him in the car by that point. He has to get used to the school routine. He is dog tired after school and freaks out every ten minutes over nada until bedtime. It's fun.

You should see my bed it's gorgeous. I finally got Jay and I a big ole comforter set from Costco and I could just dive on it every time I walk by. I just need a few scrumptious fancy pillows to complete the 'look' and I am changing my bedside tables from the hand me down ones I got off Cari's dad to those round ones with the tablecloth over. I know, it must be a thrill and a half for youse to read about these exciting plans. It gives me a mental break to think about these things instead of the big stuff all the time.

Big stuff being....
Essay due Oct 13 for counterculture class.
Now, I have gone to three CC classes and I have to admit, I have heard some interesting things but I still don't get it. The reading he has us doing is a bit high brow, a bit anti-vernacular, a bit JE. NE. SAIS. QUOIS. So I read these articles and I get that math feeling. You know the math feeling, when you sit in class and the teacher says this plus this equals this and it's all tickety-boo, then you go home and there are these problems and equations and you are like, huh? Then you go to school the next day without your work done and the teach explains it all again and you go OOOHHWWW! I get it!
And then it happens again. And again. And again until the end of the year when your teacher calls you up to the front of the classroom to show you your mark in his book and points to your name, then the grade 50, and says, "Gift."
Sorry I went off a bit there. Just a little grade 12 post trauma moment.
But really. I read and read and I know there are kernels in there that might make some sense to me but I am no gleaner. I need The Complete Idiot's Guide to CounterCulture. I need White Panther Party principles for Dummies.

So whatcha gonna do? I have to write an essay on a building at Mac. My choice what building. And then talk about Frank Lloyd Wright's version of what Archetecture (can't even spell it, boys oh boys) means compared to some other guys definition of archete-you know what I mean.

Hopefully the dear prof Marc Ouellette (who is actually worth his weight in refused electoral ballots, really. A good instructor.) will shed some dawnzer lee light on the subject this coming Wednesday. Until then I will be brushing up on the basics.

I took Lady Luck to the Sutherland Modelling Agency in Toronto, just to go to their information session and see if it is something I would be into doing, getting the angel baby into catalogues or whatever. It is a big commitment if you are really going to do it, so I am still deciding. It was a fun trip, Tracy and Me and Luce at this fancy nancy agency, models walking around and everything.

This Sunday I get to do my first Sunday School class with Sandy. Looking forward to this, hanging out with the 2's and 3's and telling them stories and singing songs and of course going a little looly.

Tomorrow night is book group. We are doing The Lovely Bones. I adored this book. I am going to lead the discussion so I better go early and brush up. It's been a while since I finished it.

Ahhh, well, I promised myself I would do a coupla loads of laun before Without a Trace so I better mosey. Y'all have a fantastico Friday.

Peace Out.

ps. I loved when our prof played Gil Scott-Heron's "Whitey's On the Moon. Check out the lyrics when you get a chance. Even better, find an mp3 of it and live it, man. Great Poem.

Monday, September 27, 2004

Hilo,

Monday monday. I am off to my friend Rhonda's this morning. I have a little mom group that has been meeting for about four years. There are four of us moms and we each have three kids, so in the last little while it has gotten kinda hairy. It's just a lotta kids. But now with one of us gone to Phoenix Arizona and lots of the older kids in school, things are a little better. We can actually have a tea and a bit of a talk instead of refereeing for two hours.

Decent weekend. Did no work on the bathroom, of course. I think Jay and I are pretending it's all done. It's so Not all done. But the boys birthday party is coming up on 23 October, so with a deadline we shall prevail over things. Saturday I had a nice me and Lucy day, as Jay took the boys to Canada's Wonderland. Didn't we have fun. Went to Mac to get my course book, and wasn't it just the most gorgeous fall day. I got a tea and a bagel to split with her, and we walked around the beautiful campus, which was mostly deserted. We both felt so smart and cultured! Meandering among the aged halls of learning, the smoky scent of dried leaves in the air.
Then we went to Jola's and hung out for a bit, then home to read my book and chill on the couch. Ahh. It is such a rare and notable thing in my life to have chill time during the day. I am good for a month, now.

Sunday I did my Shirley Valentine drama at church, which went pretty well. I remembered all my thousands of lines and didn't trip over any of the instruments on the stage. Good time.

oops its ten after nine and I am supposed to be on my way to Rhonda's. I better go. Promise to write more later.
A,.

Thursday, September 23, 2004

Oh my my, CSI NY is going to be de-lovely.

I sped all the way home last night, only missed the first fifteen minutes. Of course the door Guardian was on the front door and my key only let me half in so I am banging on the window of the rec room like some junkie while Jay is listening to his headphones at the computer. Good thing Bruno wasn't out or I would have had to have been very rude to him and not talked about the weather for ten minutes.

It's going to be a good one. How could it be any less with GS. They scored mucho points right off the bat with that one. He was great. The ending when he was leaning into the fence with both hands clutching the boundary of Ground Zero almost killed me. And the beach ball! Don't even start. My fall evenings are settling into place very nicely. Monday CSI Miami Tuesday not sure, I may go back to 24 if I can keep up with the plot. Wed will be the CSI NY 45 minute special. Thurs I think I will devote to Without A Trace as I am really enjoying it and ER has lost a lot of it's sparkle for me. So that is my four hours of ME time per week all tucked away.

Congratulations to Brian and Christine for having their little early arrival Aaron Jacob. Thinking about them and hoping the post partum period goes relatively smoothly.

My class was good last night. The prof covered a whack of concepts, some of which I am still trying to scrape up and put back into the bowl of my brain. He covered a lot of the writer Margaret Visser and her ideas about Fate. I need to look her up. He talked about our heroes and how sports stars are glorified by everybody because they are good at their sport and how when they do things that you or I would lose everything over, like assaulting people or shooting people, they are hardly made accountable, "They are only human, they made a mistake" we say.

I talked for a little bit to the little bitty thing beside me. I think it is important to have one friend in class so you can commiserate together about things. Strapless was looking good again. She had on an off the shoulder top with those jeans that look like they are going to fall of your bum any second. I am sure the fellas were hoping that would happen. But it didn't. You could see that she had quite the tatoo on her lower back though, so there was still entertainment.

Ponchos are really in right now. Weird. All I remember from ponchos is that I had a really ugly one that was (can you imagine why, I can't) YELLOW and BROWN. And I used to suck on the tie thing at the neck like it was my hobby. Eeuw. I can still feel that wet polyester wool texture right now.

OH! It was Monty's first day of school today! Sorry I took so long to remember that, it was only about two hours ago that I dropped him off! He did okay, kind of fell apart at the last second but didn't want to look like a baby so he broke away from me and lucy and ran to the lineup, then held an arm out to me with these EYES. Then Miss Radan said, "Let's go, guys!" and they all filed in, and I could feel his little heart empty out as he walked to the door. He put his fists to his eyes and started bawling. She just nudged him in and I stood there feeling like Nurse Ratchett, letting my little lamb go to the slaughter. I watched through the window though, hidden in a corner so he couldn't see me, and he wasn't crying anymore once he hung up his knapsack, so he was fine.

Fine.

Waaaahhhhhh!!!!!

Poor kid. Well, in fifteen minutes I will see him again, eh?

I better go. I meant to do all these productive things with my two and a half hours and all I have done is sit here on the computer and fart around. Kind of nice, actually, to be able to surf and blog without anyone being murdered downstairs. It takes away from the enjoyment you can get out of your computer when people are screaming and dismantling your house.

Toodle-oo!

A.

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Where the hell did the blog go that i posted last night? Did I forget to publish it? AARRGGHH.

It wasn't going to change the world or anything, but I did invest a whole ten minutes writing about my weekend and how excited i was about the season premiere of CSI Miami and the finale of Amazing Race tonight.

I very much enjoyed CSI last night, while simultaneously being devastated by the death of SPEED! No! Why him? He was great, with his downcast eyes and his low keyness, such a welcome break from the phony perky people of tv (and the world, come to think of it). If we had to lose someone, why couldnt it be Rodriguez. He is the least interesting person on the show. Not speedo! That was just mean of Jerry Bruckheimer to write him off. Maybe they will have a CSI AL. Not Alabama but AfterLife, where we watch Speed head up his own otherworldly team of investigators and break open cold cases on earth in supernatural ways and make underdog investigators get promotions.

Alright well I started this blog like two hours ago and now it is the before dinner time when my head feels like it is in a vice that is being squeezed slowly and merrily by my three children.

So. Maybe I shall see you after the Amazing Race. Tracy and I are having Artichoke Dip with Tortillas, Apple Crisp and chilled Harrow Estates Reisling 2002.

Ciao.

Monday, September 20, 2004

A few stolen mins till CSI Miami starts. Wed is CSI NY! I will be in night class but we have a vcr. Can't wait for this one. Gary Sinise is such a guy's guy. He's got that slightly irritated squint that looks ever so thoughtful. He'll make a great CSI, I think.

Bathroom chronicles happening over here. Just got the toilet in tonight. I tell ya, in a perfect world, there would be no need for such a thing as toilet shims.

One minute left. Look for a review tonight. Also big excitement tomorrow as Tracy and I prepare for the Amazing race finale. There will be much fun around that. We are so for Colin and Christie it aint funny.

It's 10. Toodles.

A.

A few stolen mins till CSI NY starts. Can't wait for this one. Gary Sinise is such a guy's guy. He's got that slightly irritated squint that looks ever so thoughtful. He'll make a great CSI, I think.

Bathroom chronicles happening over here. Just got the toilet in tonight. I tell ya, in a perfect world, there would be no need for such a thing as toilet shims.

One minute left. Look for a review tonight. Also big excitement tomorrow as Tracy and I prepare for the Amazing race finale. There will be much fun around that. We are so for Colin and Christie it aint funny.

It's 10. Toodles.

A.

Friday, September 17, 2004

Hilo,
Been on the computer so little lately.... Just to check email and my homies blogs, and of course I am always watching something on ebay.
The bathroom is at a standstill because with me having night class and then Jay having night class we are not doing much of the big stuff. We haven't had a toilet since Monday night. We just troop downstairs to Oma's bathroom all day long.
But tonight, my friends, tonight is the night of the baseboards and water closet.
Of course, I make more work than neccessary with my big ideas about ripping out the old square silver toothbrush holder and soap dish thingys that are set in the wall. I must have ripped out four feet of drywall when I yanked on those babies. I guess there is a proper way to do these things, not with a paring knife and a screwdriver like lil ole me.

My course looks interesting, if a little confounding. It is Modern Counterculture. So we are covering everything from modernism/post modernism to the Black Panthers to skateboarding and tatoos, plus a whole lot of other stuff. I hope I can get my head around it all. It was a little hard to concentrate on Wednesday because it took so much for me to get there, I just wanted to veg out mentally. And the very tanned girl (I swear she was nineteen) in front of me was wearing a STRAPLESS top. When did gals start dressing like they are clubbing in a night school class? It was very distracting. And I am a girl! I feel sorry for the young fellas if they have to try to focus on what the prof is saying with Beyonce Knowles and her bralessness in the room!

My other pet proj this week has been my headboard. It is a pine one that I got about four years ago at a closing out sale for ten bucks. I have kept it in storage since then, but this week I finally finally pulled it out and painted it and antiqued it like I had always planned to do. Here is the before picture:



And now here is what it looks like:



Turned out pretty nice and looks great in my CLEAN bedroom. Six Amity bags later I can say this. Ahhhh.

Still have to get that tax bill off the wall, though.

Well, my friend Lisa is supposed to be coming over to help me fix my drywall craters so I better go.
Good day, all.
A.

Monday, September 13, 2004

Lady Luck is sitting here with me instead of sleeping because she got ousted from our room (FINALLY) and transplanted to Sammy's room and she's pissed off about it.

So forgive me, might be a short blog. Haven't been on here much lately. I've been busy (like everyone else on the planet) and I am writing elsewhere, and (whoopee!) we are doing the bathroom!

I went to Home Depot tonight with Lucy and got all the stuff we need for the flooring guy to come tomorrow. It was quite the sight, me pushing one of those flatbed thingy's with four sheets of subfloor, a 12 foot roll of vinyl flooring hanging off the ends, and a toilet and a tank (which i put on the cart myself, thank you very much). And on one corner is Lucy in her carseat like a gorgeous little knick knack I picked up for the bathroom.

Daddy came and got us with the truck and the boys and Monty was totally stoked about being out at night with the LOTSA STARS up in the DARK!

That reminds me. I meant to blog about stars.

This little ditty is called Mommy.

While we were on vacation at the Delawana Inn, once the kids were hunkered down in our cabin for the night, I would pull on Jay's big hooded sweatshirt and step out for a moonlight walk to the main lodge. It had this huge room (you know the kind, thick wood beams, stone fireplace, old black and white pictures of Honey Harbour) where there was a coffee and tea station set up 24 hours a day.

What a nice walk it was! Gravel crunching under my feet, the smell of campfire, light from the buildings reflecting off the dark dark lake.

One beautiful cool night I was walking behind a little family. There was a dad, about fortyish, and three kids. They were talking about the dark and the frog that had gotten away from them that day, when the littlest one of the three kids pointed up to the sky and yelled, "Daddy look! Mommy's out!"

The dad was talking to the oldest kid and didn't respond. The little guy piped up again. "Daddy! Mommy's out!"

I wasn't sure what he meant. I looked up. There were a thousand stars up there.

Then I got it. I had a lump in my throat even before the dad said, "You're right, honey, there she is! She's the brightest star in the sky. She's looking down at all of us and she is so happy that we are having such a nice time down here!" He grabbed the little guy with one arm, and scruffed the older boy's hair with his other hand. His pony-tailed daughter leaned into him.

I walked along, tears in my eyes. I wanted to scoop up the lot of them in my arms and rock them to sleep. I wanted to run back to the cottage and kiss my own babies and my Jay and thank God I still get to be with them every single day and be there for all the ups and downs, all the crumbs and feasts, all the things that are part of this crazy life.

Instead I walked behind the family all the way to the lodge, silently sending them good wishes, and sympathy, and encouragement.

And thanks. For turning a pleasant evening walk to fetch a cup of tea into a moment I will never forget.

Lucy fell asleep. So. Sweet.

Night night.

Wednesday, September 08, 2004

Thinking about....

Where is my Ted Hawkins CD that I won on ebay oh about three weeks ago.

My new writing project which has evolved from a book to a........

What shows I want to commit my delectable evenings to this fall.

My Counterculture course starting next Wednesday night.

Why it was so cold out today. And yet, so clammy/humid/gross too.

The fact that Lucy cut her first molar! I felt in her mouth tonight and there it is, three little white points like candy corn sticking out! How did I miss this? And isn't she just the most darling angel baby who cuts a big tooth and you don't even know?

9/11 anniversary. Man. Three years already. Where were you when it happened? I was driving to Oshweken to visit a friend and listening to the radio and thinking this is it. The beginning of the end of everything. And feeling panicky, until I saw people still lining up in their cars at Horton's. I thought, well, if people are still getting coffee then things can't be that bad. But they kind of were, weren't they?

Sam starting grade FOUR. Mia maxima heart palpitationa. Grade four is like, well, a big kid. Freaks me out.

Tonight I may go and see Vanity Fair at the Westdale Th. Look forward to a review, maybe.

okay dinner dishes to do and some sweet talkin to hubby about me getting out to the show.

Night.

A.

Monday, September 06, 2004

Fun Fun wedding on Saturday night. It was a great night, nice hall and people and an absolutely fantastic band, who played everything from Outkast to the Jackson Five to Stevie Wonder. So the dancing was non stop. We even made up moves. Here is a picture of the bride and groom with moi.



Really, I put it up there just to show off the great dress I got at Le Chateau for 20 bucks. If any of my boos want to borrow, you just let me know.

Lazy Labour day today. I am going to chill and try not to let Sam and Monty bug me too much with their arguing about who gets the better Hot Wheels. And I tink we are going for a bike ride this aft. Can't beleive it is the last day of summer vacation. Wow. That reminds me I meant to get Sam's hair cut. Shite. Ah well, daddyo can go after him with the clippers I guess.

I did go to Home Depot for like three hours yesterday with Lucy. It was heaven. Got a vanilla bean latte for me and an oatmeal cookie for her and just meandered through the bathroom section. Fun. The Forderer home improvement comittee is in talks about what we can afford to do. So far it looks like negotiations are complete for a new toilet and flooring. Kind of has to be done. The jury is still out on a new countertop and sink. Forget the vanity part. and the bathtub stays. I am just going to get a shower curtain that goes down to the floor so that no harvest gold peeks out to bother people.

The menu for this week is as follows.
Tues Turkey Caesar Wraps
Wed Curried Beef on Rice
Thurs Italian Pork Chops and Pasta
Fri Crock Pot Moroccan Chicken and Veggies (if Sandy lets me borrow her crock pot, that is.)

It is the calm before the storm today.
Tomorrow Sammy starts school. Grocery day. And I have to go to Mac to drop off my tuition cheque. Wed my book group in morning. Wed aft we go to the Preschool to try to get Monty in. Wed night Jay golfs so I am ON till 9pm. Thurs I start class in the morning. Thurs aft Monty goes for his first meet the teach at school. Thurs 430 Sam starts piano again with Angie. Thurs night Karate for sam, and Jay starts night school at Mohawk. Fri doesnt look too bad yet. Sat evening Jay and I have music team rehearsal, and sat night is the Conqueror II reunion thingy. Sun is Welcome Back day at church, we are on, and then there is a barbecue thingy and from there we go to my niece Madelyn's first birthday party at 1pm.

I am probably forgetting three or four other things. I figure if I write them here as well as on my calendar I won't forget to show up for any of them.

alright well I am off to put on my flylady shoes and put some laundry away.

Toodly-oo!

A,

Saturday, September 04, 2004

Yesterday I took Sam, his buddy Lucas, Monty, and Lucy to the Smithville Fair. We had a good time. Got a bit sucked into the midway for the first part, but then we went into the arena where there were all these neat displays and a magic show that Sam and Luke loved and this huge sand table with farm toys that Monty could have played at for hours. They also had a penny sale which I am a complete sucker for. Can't wait for all the Christmas bazaars to start, all those lovely baked goods and penny sales and Christmas decorations! I wish my church had a big ole bazaar.

Shoppers has school backpacks on for like 75% off. So if you haven't gotten around to this yet it would be a good place to get one. Last night I rode my bike over to return movies and stopped in to Shoppers. LOVE a late night all by myself Shoppers browse. I got a knapsack for Sammy and Monty each. But they were a tad awkward to carry home on the bike, the looong Shoppers bag kept hitting the front tire and bouncing off. I am not the most astute person on a bike you ever met. So this threw off my balance. Twice I almost swerved into traffic, which, thankfully, was light.

I am scooting out today to try to find something to WEAR to this wedding tonight.

I have this little obsession right now that I want to redo our bathroom. I can't get it out of my head how good it would look. Especially since our fixtures were put in with the house in 1971 and the toilet is a, pardon the expression, piece of crap. And the color of these fixtures is that 'harvest gold' which to me looks like the color of the juice that comes out of the garbage bag when it is left on the kitchen floor. I have this vision, inspired by the spa bathroom at the Delawana Resort, of pecan stained wood vanity with dark green ceramic tile floor and white fixtures, big soft globe lights, and a REAL window treatment and not the $2.99 blind I got from Wal Mart. Ahhhhh let's all just take a minute and think about how nice my bathroom could look.

Now. To find the money for all this! Hmm. I could do a fundraiser. People could each give me $2 bucks to read a book or walk a few blocks? Or how's about a bake sale out of the trunk of my car? No? I could not pay my house taxes for a year or so, and then use that money! Or sell something. What could I sell around here? Anybody innerested in a circular saw? Jay bought one a few years ago and doesnt seem to use it much. Or maybe it is a miter saw, not sure.

Well, that's enough nonsense for a morning. I better get Lucy the angel baby out of her crib and feed her something.

Wish me luck finding a dress for the wedding. That is in oh about eight hours. Yikes~!

A.

Friday, September 03, 2004

music changes things


Sitting at a gas station
Waiting for Joanne
Listening to Sting

I see this guy walk by.
Nothing Special-
Middle aged, Black jeans and T shirt, longish grey hair.

But I'm listening to Sting
And it's a beautiful song
And somehow it spills out of the van
And changes things.

The guy moves along an invisible straight line
Long arms slightly swaying,
The sun picks a bright spot from his watch.

With one smooth motion
He reaches back for his wallet,
flicks it open.

His walk is easy. Fluid. Beautiful.

The pavement meets his step
Perfectly in sync with the first line of the chorus.
So certain and solid looking,
That it feels significant
That I am here,
Beholding a man
Who was Nothing Special,
But because of Sting
And the van
And the evening sun
Has become a poem.

Thursday, September 02, 2004

Yesterday was full of people.

I had our wed book group people over during the day. And people brought people and it was a full house. 9 moms, EIGHTEEN kids. Yikes, eh? Every room you looked into had four or five kids piled up in one corner. At one point I went up to the living room to see where a bunch of them had gone and there were like nine of them sitting all over the couch. They looked like the meerkats in life of pi, heads all turned in the same direction, sitting almost on top of each other.

It was insane. And as hostess I felt like my head was going to implode. I spent no more than ten minutes in any one place. I was glad that so many ladies had come out but mon dieu.

There were a few hours after that to decompress and then Jola picked me up and we went to book group, which was just lovely. Small group but as always, great convo and yums and a nice night out. And next we are reading The Lovely Bones which I have already read. Fantastic book, and this means I may actually have the next one read by next month, which is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. Anyone heard of this one?

We have a wedding to go to this weekend which should be fun. Looking forward to it. Just have to find something to wear! I may have to go shopping.

Listening to Michael Huble's big band version of the Spiderman theme song. It is pretty cool.

Tonights menu in case anyone is chomping at the bit to know is beef enchiladas, which I have never made before.

Talka to ya latah.
A.