Backslap, booby trap, cover it up with bubble wrap...
Mood:  quizzical
Why is popping bubble wrap so addictive? Today my boss got a painting for his office, and it was cocooned in layers of bubble wrap. The really good kind, with the BIG bubbles. You should have seen us, hovering like vultures over a fresh kill, just waiting for him to finish unwrapping it so we could divvy it up and ration it out. :::pop!:::

Hot, Hot, Hot!
Mood:  on fire
Remember last week when I said they had predicted snow? Monday it got up to 95 degrees, which is obscenely hot around here. (Summer temps tend to be around 85 as a maximum.)

Kevin and I were able to get the vegetable garden transplanted at last, and I put in brick edging around the front beds. Had a reunion of sorts with the Philly 4 – Clare hosted a Memorial Day party and Diane and Laura were there too. I made stuffed grape leaves and tzatzki, which went over well (once I explained what they were and what was in them.) Kevin wasn’t feeling so great so he went home to lie down in the AC for a while. I think he got dehydrated from working in the garden in the sun. I hung around for a while but then the heat started to get to me too, so I went home to nap in the cool as well.

That evening, we went to Bob and Kathleen's for their MD party. She had done a slow cooked pork shoulder on the grill and it was outstanding. Hung out with the kids and Bob's family. Good friends, good food… you can’t ask for better than that!

Going the distance, going for speed...
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Scoot!
What an absolutely, grade A BEAUTIFUL freakin' day!!! Yesterday was incredible too... good scooting weather. Yesterday, I went on my longest and fastest excursion yet - all the way out past the Marilla resevoir, up to a speed of 50 mph! It was just thrilling! As I got closer to the reservoir, I could feel the damp, cooler air and the resinous scent of pine... I got about 5 miles past there, and the speed limit went up to 55 mph. I chickened out and pulled off the road and turned around. I didn't want the cars behind me to get too pissed off. But I did it, and I survived it! Tomorrow, Kevin and I are going to a Memorial Day picnic or two, hope the weather holds up!

Ah, Gemutlich!
Mood:  chillin'
Had an absolutely splendid weekend, despite the wretched damp, cold weather. They call Bradford the “Icebox of America” for good reason. They were predicting SNOW for Sunday. We didn’t get it, but we got damn close.

Anyhow, Friday night Kevin took me out to dinner at the Westline Inn. A tiny little place way out in the woods, isolated and romantic. Very good food, very sloooow service. But so pleasant… as long as you don’t mind being completely surrounded by the accusatory stare of the deer and elk heads that hang on every wall. (Taxidermy and gastronomy don’t mix well in my opinion. But did I mention the food was really good?)

On Saturday I had my friends Laura and Diane over for lunch and a movie. I’d been threatening to make them watch “The Station Agent” with me for months, and we finally were able to co-ordinate the time to do so. I made steak bruschetta for us and it wasn’t too bad. (Kevin would have done a better job, but he had to go in to work that morning.) He was able to join us for lunch and it was nice for all of us to get to sit around and BS for a while, as Kevin hadn’t really had an opportunity to get to know Diane before this.

It was interesting to see their reactions to the movie. Laura cracked me up – somehow she got the impression that it was going to be a science fiction movie, and that the titular “station” was a going to be a space station. (Dink in a spacesuit?!?)

But she said she enjoyed it, and that was the important thing.

Diane threatened me with bodily harm if the movie didn’t have a happy ending, so since I’m still here and writing, apparently the ending was sufficiently upbeat for her. She did seem quite impressed with “The Voice” and was keen to hear more of it. (Meg, go chalk up another one!) Maybe she’ll quit with the “Winkieman” jokes now… but I doubt it. ;)

After the gals left, the weather was sunny so I hopped on my trusty battlescooter and took a nice little ride around town for an hour or so. Cold, but invigorating. Kev & I had planned on going to the movies that evening, but somehow we just never got around to leaving the house. ;)

Sunday was just the perfect day for doing nothing but dozing in front of the fireplace with the furkids, so I made a fabulous Greek stifado (stew) and that’s exactly what we did. So cozy! (And that, my friends,
is what "gemutlich" means in German.)

Is it always better to serve in Heaven than to rule in Hell?
Mood:  sad
Topic: Pete
I got my copy of “Testing Bob” in the mail today and popped it in the DVD at lunch. All I can say is – Oh, for what could have been!!!!

:::sigh:::



Pete absolutely, totally, utterly ROCKED. Anyone who has the slightest doubt that he could carry a show of his own should see this.



The role was perfect, the premise good, supporting cast uneven – Dave Foley as the exasperated principal was the best of the bunch, and you could tell he and Pete could have had a great time doing this. Tina Majorino (from Napoleon Dynamite) as a gifted student with Aspergers was a bit over the top, as were the rest of the cast. It had a couple of terrific lines, and some sappy subplots. But Pete was so damn good it didn’t matter.



I sort of wish now that he’d decided to go with this instead of Threshold – my guess is that ABC would have picked it up, and it would most likely made it through one season at least. Maybe it didn’t have the drama, sophistication, heavyweight talent, or budget, but what a fun show it would have been to see!

I can't see that "Ultra" would have topped this in any way. Still, it would be nice to be able to see this failed pilot too.

Masterpiece Theater
Mood:  silly
Cole's interpretation of Napoleon Dynamite.
Flippin' sweet!

A rose by any other name...
Mood:  a-ok
Well, Laura was back to work today. She's fine. Still have no idea what it was - they ruled out gout and fractures. It's a mystery. I'm just glad she's okay.

Yesterday was our (gulp!) 19th wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long! Anyway, my wonderful hubby has always sent me roses at work to celebrate my birthday and anniversary, so when nothing appeared I wondered what had happened. Then Kevin called and asked if I'd received them. Turns out the stupid florist didn't even TRY to deliver them until 9pm that night! So I didn't get roses this year, but I love my man anyway. :)

May you live in interesting times...
Mood:  not sure
The Chinese use this saying as a curse - and with good reason. I guess I shouldn’t bitch about having a boring life. Today I got to work and my friend and co-worker Laura wasn’t in, and nobody knew why - except her boss who said that she “was not at liberty to say”. To compound matters, her backup was on vacation. Now, Laura’s the type of gal who would drag herself in if it were just a minor thing, so I immediately thought the worst.

I got in touch with her sister-in-law who confirmed that she was okay and at home. Turns out that it was probably a gout attack that struck her Saturday night. She thought that she’d broken her ankle and went to the ER, the pain was so excruciating. Now she gets to stay home for a couple of days blissfully stoned on painkillers.

(Reminder: Add gout to the list of painful things I hope I never experience. Right up there with kidney stones. Cross off nipple piercing.)

In happier news, my kid sister has (FINALLY!) graduated from college. With a 4.0 even!!!
W00t! She’s planned a big get-together parTAY in Niagara Falls next month. Should be loads of fun, I’m looking forward to it.

Whatever I feel like doing, gosh!
Mood:  party time!
I helped my friend Kathleen on her quest for an antique pocket watch to give to her husband for Father’s Day. Seems that a while ago when I showed him the one that I inherited and refurbished, he just adored it and said he’d always wanted one.

We went to Salamanca & found a nice Elgin in a gold hunter case in good shape except for a cracked crystal, but no chain. We spent hours scouring the place for a nice matching chain and no luck. So we had lunch across the street and as we were leaving, saw a jewelry store and decided to pop in. Not only did the guy have a nice chain, he had a replacement crystal and installed it right on the spot.

My hubby and I went to their house that night for a “Napoleon Dynamite” party. We ate steak and tater tots and watched the movie with the kids. Or at least Kathleen and I did – the guys had to watch hockey. It was quite fun – we’d all seen it several times before, except Kathleen. I don’t think she liked it much, but she seemed to enjoy us enjoying the movie, especially when the boys demonstrated their mad dance skillz for us.

Kathleen was so thrilled with the pocket watch that she couldn’t stand it and decided to give it to him that night.

All in all, a very fun and happy time.

Soulmom's get cards too!
Mood:  special
Well, I don't have any kids so I've never received a Mother's Day card or gift, but I was very pleasantly surprised by Cole, my soulchild. He gave me a handmade Mother's day card, plus some Napoleon Dynamite skins for my iPod, and a framed picture of me on my scooter. It was so sweet I nearly cried.