Mood:  cool

It's incredibly freaking cold right now. I mean, it's so damn cold I went out on the back porch for a beer... well, it was frozen solid. I guess it doesn't get much more ice cold than that. Wind chill is something like -20°F, and it looks to be just as cold if not colder for the next two days.

I've been in a deep, dark funk the past few weeks. Partially from the weather, and partially from all of the illnesses that everyone is going thru. Our friend and co-worker Darryll had a liver transplant (read about it on his special blog, Deliver My Liver); Chance had pneumonia and had to be hospitalized; and Meg's mom is ill. So I've been trying to focus my mojo on a lot of people lately.

At least last Saturday was a bright spot - Laura and I went up to Ellicottville, NY and went tubing. We'd gone last year for the first time, and we both loved it - so we were just itching to go again. Very very fun, and we saw an honest to goodness real avalanche! (Well, the immediate aftermath thereof, anyhow...)

So I'm going to go back next to the fireplace in a few and cozy up with the dogs and hubby.

Posted by Pam at 7:23 PM EST

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Mood:  don't ask

What a way to start the year... by burning up all of my sick days at work with a case of the Creeping Crud. I started out with just a tickle in the back of my throat, and worked up to one of the all-time worst colds I've ever had. I'm STILL not back to 100%, and I can't seem to shake this thing. And of course, I gave it to my hubby who has been suffering even worse.

But I did manage to have fun last weekend at Laura's slumber party in spite of feeling sick. We all had our cozy jammies on, Laura made mojitos, and we drank and noshed and chatted and painted our nails... we never did get around to watching the chick flicks we all brought, but nobody seemed to mind. (I dosed myself with liberal quantities of cold medicine, cough syrup and booze and probably wouldn't have minded if I'd been run over by a bus.)

And to top it off, our living room TV finally died on us this weekend, so we were forced to go out and buy a new one... $$$$. 

Sigh. 

Posted by Pam at 3:27 PM EST

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Ah, the holidays. Time to pour myself a nice frosty glass of soy Nog, put on my fleecie jammies, sit by the fire and watch the snow ..er, rain fall. Actually, I did manage to get some Slack and Santa Kev was very good to me this year. I got some awesome books I'd been wanting for a long time (the Complete Calvin & Hobbes, The Absolute Sandman, the collected short stories of Cordwainer Smith, and some others). Plus he got me a gorgeous handmade black clay casserole and a tagine. I got Kev a tres cool (PRODUCT) RED iPod and a bunch of Ohio State goodies. The puppies got a huge bag of scrumptious peanut butter treats (courtesy of cousin Sheba). Mom and Dad gave me a shiatsu back massager that makes me purr like a kitten...

But I think my favorite pressie has got to be the shirt that Kathleen gave me. She took the scanned image of Peter Dinklage's autographed photo (see Nov 17 entry below) and had it screenprinted on a white shirt! I'm rationing how often I wear it, 'cause I know I'll wear it out if I don't. ♥

I got to do a bit of hanging out with my friends, including a murder mystery dinner party at Clare's house. I'd never been to one before and was thrilled to be invited – and even more thrilled to have a part. Seems one of the guys scheduled to attend got ill, and they asked me if I wanted to give it a whirl. So I got to be "Otto von Schnapps", a German wine buyer. I wore a black turtleneck, black blazer and black pants, and had my hair back in a ponytail. The remarkable resemblance to one "Frau Mueller" did not go unnoticed. (I decided that she must have been Otto's grandmother, and the tattoos were family heirlooms.) The food, wine & company were terrific, and I had a splendid time - although I have a feeling I may forever be typecast as a German.

We rang in New Years with a standing rib and shrimp scampi at the Vecchios. (I hope they never get tired of having us over for holidays, because I always have a good time playing with the kids!) And now, it's back to work again. Sigh.

Posted by Pam at 9:00 PM EST

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I’m not going to apologize for not posting for ages, because I’ve been too darn busy.

In the past few weeks, I did my Xmas cookie baking, house decorating, present shopping and card writing. I also made a trip back home to visit my family, during which I took a bus trip to Columbus for a wonderful day of shopping with my mom and sis. I helped on the stage crew for BLT’s production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” – which broke our attendance records for a non-musical production! I also found time to teach myself to knit (sort of) and have been cranking out hats and scarves as industriously as any of Santa’s elves. Most of them have been donated to the less fortunate, but some of you may wind up getting them as presents. Consider yourself warned…

So I haven’t exactly had copious free time to post. Just thought I’d drop in and let you all know I *am* still here!

Posted by Pam at 12:20 PM EST

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Mood:  cheeky

Well, now that I've settled back down to Earth, and recovered from my Turkey Day food coma (to which I give thanks to Alton Brown & his brined turkey recipe), I figured I'd blog a bit about the last two movies we saw: "Borat" and "Casino Royale".

"Borat" was absolutely the funniest & simultaneously most disturbing thing I've seen in years. It had me squirming in my seat from laughter, and gnawing my sleeve to keep from screaming out hysterically. I can't even begin to review it properly, so I'll just link you to Varley, who does it better justice than I ever could.

On to the casino... what can one say about a James Bond movie? They're formulaic to the extreme (improbable chase scenes, impossibly beautiful women, double crosses, gadgets, violence, sex, martinis and tuxedos...) You don't go for the plot, because it's always the same. You go because it's James BOND, dammit!

I am going to utter the most heretical statement a Bond fan can make:

Daniel Craig is the best Bond ever. 

Yes, better than Connery! He is cooler than cool (ice cold!), way more violent, even more charismatic, breathtakingly arrogant, and has a jawdroppingly hot body (that looks equally as good in a tux or a swimsuit... or birthday suit!) and as an added bonus - piercing blue eyes. He's everything Bond should be, and if you're the type who never understood the appeal of violent hypermasculinity, you might want to see this one... or steer very clear of it! 

Posted by Pam at 12:00 PM EST

Updated: Saturday, 25 November 2006 12:01 PM EST

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Mood:  surprised

This is the Pamster speaking, we are currently cruising at an elevation of 15,000 feet above sea level...

Posted by Pam at 12:26 PM EST

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Mood:  chatty

I’ve been remiss in posting, I know. It’s not that nothing interesting’s happening, it’s just that I’ve been too gosh-darn lazy to blog about it. So here’s the Reader’s Digest condensed version of the past couple of weeks: 

Had my 42^nd birthday, husband sent a huge bouquet of roses to me at work. Awww! Romantic evening - complete with clichéd (but very enjoyable nonetheless) making out in front of crackling fireplace - ensues…yum! ;)

Took my fave soulchild Cole to Olean’s comic book shop – just a couple o’ geeks hanging out, trying to decide what to buy. For some reason I kept thinking of Jay and Silent Bob. Stopped by my new favorite t-shirt place in Allegany and got two awesome new ones - Pink Freud & Frankeinstein.

Pleasantly surprised and honored by a nomination to fill in a vacated spot on the Board of Directors for BLT – this whole theatrical thing is starting to grow on me. Maybe I should see a doctor for some ointment or something… 

Peter Dinklage making out with Joely Richardson! Yum again! I swear by all I hold sacred that if I got the chance to kiss The Dink like that, not only would I donate a week’s pay to PETA, but I’d become a vegetarian to boot. Are you listening, Pete?? :D

But on the down side - would it have killed them to show us a little more?!? Apparently, the idea of a man with dwarfism having sex with a “regular size chick” is too much for Nip/Tuck. Funny, they don’t seem to be squeamish about showing anything else. :P

Halloween was sort of a bust – we normally get a couple hundred kids, but since it was drizzling all day & night, we got a lot fewer. But Cole “Doctor Strange” and Chance “Capt. Jack Sparrow” came over and handed out the candy for us in lieu of slogging thru the rain. And while they were doing that, Casey’s soccer team won their district playoff game and get to go on to the state finals!!!

Kevin had his 42^nd birthday, and to celebrate we went to the Century Manor for dinner where I had the most delicious escargot I have EVER had. They serve ‘em up in a roasted garlic cream sauce that is so good that had I been at home, I’d have picked up the plate and licked off every molecule. I had to satisfy myself with mopping it up with bread (and surreptitiously licking my fingers). The rest of the meal (Manhattan chowder, surf & turf, garlic potatoes) was just sublime. With food that good, I can forgive them for the unbelievably tacky neon palm trees out front.

So now I’m more or less caught up again. I’ll try to do better, I promise.

Posted by Pam at 12:17 PM EST

Updated: Monday, 6 November 2006 12:28 PM EST

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Mood:  party time!

...And today it's my hubby's 42nd birthday! Yes, he married an older woman. By eleven whole days - and don't think that he doesn't take every opportunity to remind me of my comparatively advanced state of decrepitude during that eleven day period between my birthday and his.

Every

Freaking

YEAR!!

But I love ya anyway, Punkin! :) 

Posted by Pam at 8:51 PM EST

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Mood:  party time!

We all know the answer is "42".

Perhaps the question is "How old is Pam today?" 

Posted by Pam at 7:32 AM EDT

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Mood:  special

As long promised, here is a link to some photos from the Bradford Little Theatre’s production of “Frankenstein”, with yours truly as Frau Mueller. If the pictures seem a little Pam-centric, it was my stage debut, and this is MY blog! If you don’t like it, go start one of your own.

See my Tabblo>

Posted by Pam at 9:54 PM EDT

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