Snow and Words....
Coming up soon, no idea which day it actually is, but I know it is soon, is November 1st, which marks the Start of NaNoWriMo AND the Dread Snow Parking.
NaNoWriMo is fairly simple as I understand it, just write a 50,000 word novel in a month. Easy. I'd do it myself if I wasn't REALLY determined to learn French, and make it to my Skype sessions with Nathilie, and get to class every day. Not to forget taming this Leopard.
Dread Snow parking on the other hand...Not So Simple.
First off, it has nothing to do with actual SNOW. Doesn't matter if there is any, or how much. November 1st to April 1st. I have a driveway, but once there IS snow, I can't get up it.
I am pretty good with days of the week, mostly, I know which one it is, but the Date, not so easy. And to compound the problem, it isn't what day it is today when you park, but what the date it is going to be tomorrow. Following me? Didn't think so.
I did a quick Google to see if I couldn't find exactly the wording, which was apparently on the Police Department website. When I went there I got a message saying my computer could not find the (insert name) police department server.
Of course. Finally found it at the library website (Am I the only one who thinks there is a lesson in this?)
Here it is, cut and pasted:
"The city imposes special restrictions to facilitate snow removal. From November 1 through April 1, between the hours of 2 a.m. and 7 a.m., motorists must park on the odd-numbered side of the street on odd-numbered calendar days, and on the even-numbered side of the street on even-numbered days. All streets in the city are subject to the odd-even calendar parking restriction. This ordinance modifies areas on city streets where parking is authorized. Areas that restrict/prohibit parking on an ongoing basis are not affected by the calendar ordinance and continue to be restricted as posted.
The easiest way to remember the ordinance is to always park your vehicle for the next day, as enforcement occurs between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m."
Last year our block finally got wise and simply parked on the side of the street with the Blue Van, as these people seemed to know what was going on, but even so, I get LOT of tickets.
Am thinking of opening an account with the city and simply asking them to bill me once a month, unless someone has a better idea.
Sending out the best to all of you doing NaNoWritMo! Keep us posted, I have nothing but admiration for you all. Just be careful where you park while writing...
Love and Snow and Words,
Lorraine
PS Had the Leopard Currently Known As Bela done anything besides eat , hide and leave toys in his dish, I would have mentioned it.....
posted by FabulousLorraine @ 5:12 PM
122 Comments
122 Comments:
Jeez, I'd get confused too. That's a heck of a long time for the Powers To Be to decide that it might snow. why am I always so cynical and think these things are mostly revenue raising exercises?
I'm surprised I've signed up for Nano. I really have no aspirations to write a novel, but I'm hoping it will be fun anyway.
Do you think Bela is telling you he wants a banjo of his won?
Do we really want someone learning the Banjo in a house where someone is learning the Bagpipes???Talk about ordinance violations!!!!!!!
I'd be in jail for a month!
Wow. They clearly took a page from the West LA guide to Parking Ordinances. I maintain that astrology is the only way to predict when and where it's safe to park. Maybe you'd better add that to the list of things to learn...
Funny thing is, I have no aspriations at the moment to write a novel either-- not burning aspirations, anyway. Lately it's all been helping the library with poetry events, teeny tiny readings, and teaching. But I feel like I ought to do something, just to maintain my self-respect. Otherwise I may as well stamp fraud on my forehead and have done with it, I figure. So NaNoWriMo it is.
Fear of Failure actually works very well for me. That's how I finished my thesis, way back when. So if I can fear failing at NaNoWriMo enough, I'm thinking, good thing will happen.
Is it healthy? Heck if I know. Next subject.
I read the Rules for Parking twice and I still don't understand them. I have a hard enough time remembering that I'm not supposed to park in front of my own house on Thursdays-- and that's just for the street cleaner guy. Thank heaven for off-street parking, that's what I say. But garages are always better if you can get them.
Bela Mango Bagpipes McMurphy! Is that what Cat said? I can't remember now-- it was something like that. I like it. :)
Oh, and speaking of learning instruments... I want to learn to play the drums.
Jess, didn't you get the memo from the ex-English majors association? We all feel like frauds. ;)
Lorraine, how can you NOT know that Halloween is only days away. I know, then comes the evil Parking, but right before that... Halloween!
HA! I knew Halloween was coming!!!! I can always tell, everyone elses house starts to look like mine....
Astrology. Might work. I have gotten some pretty ticket free weeks flipping a coin too...I don't think anyone else get it either, as obviously, if you get home late and al the cars are on one side of the street, you park there, but it always seems to be about 50-50..
Jess, I know what you mean about feeling like a fraud. I think what is important is to keep producing SOMETHING , I am not sure what you do is important, as long as you do it. SOmetimes the magic is there, and sometimes it isn't. SOmetimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but you are always further along than if you hadn't done anything...
Bela Mango Bagpipe Mac Murphy sounds good to me. Just had a long talk with Marilyn and she says the next step is to get him feeling comforatable to eat while I am there. She says this will tke a long time.
You need a neighbor who likes to use the snow blower to clean out your driveway so that this is not an issue.
In my experiance St. Paul has the best winter parking system in the area.
When I lived in Minneapolis I was convinced that they made it particularly hard just so they could make more money on the tickets. The worst part of the Minneapolis thing is that they tow and they tow quickly if you are parked in the wrong place. This adds to the cost AND of course means you do not have your car. (They are also really eager to give parking tickets and to tow you if you have too many of those.)
St. Paul is a breeze. You only have to pay attention to where you park when there is actually a Snow Emergency declared. You can sign up with the city to get an email and/or phone call when a Snow Emergency is declared. There are certain streets or certain sides of streets that are plowed at night and others that are plowed in the day. These are usually well marked. It sometimes sucks when you have to get up early in the am to move the car, but even that is not too bad, really.
I was towed more than once in Minneapolis because of wrong parking during a Snow Emergency and other parking ticket issues. I have lived in St. Paul more total years than I have in Minneapolis and I have NEVER been towed in St. Paul. I do not even know where the impound lot is in St. Paul. I was VERY familiar with the location of the Minneapolis impound lot. Sadly.
Re: Nano - remember that it is only one thousand, six hundred sixty seven words a day to get to fifty thousand words in thirty days, and you will even end up going over. If you write two thousand words a day, you will fly through. Look - those two sentences were forty five words alone. Contractions are your enemy, and always spell out numbers. I know all the tricks.
I refuse to live anywhere without a garage. I love blowing snow. Quiche, if it weren't for the 7 hour round trip drive, I'd blow your driveway for you all winter.
SLG
I would be ok with it here if it was just in a snow emergency, when it had some purpose, but it is all the time and when there IS snow, they simply plow the cars in, instead of doing it at night on the non parking side of the street.
Hmmph.
Siri, Dr Paul is going to find your comment Very funny....He is like that, hee-hee. But I wish you could, a, come and blow my driveway.
We do have someone who does all the sidewalks with his snowblower, which is very nice.
Val - the EEMA revoked my membership for not reading enough Richard Ford. (Seriously - thanks to you and Q. :) You're right of course. And I think it will be good for me to have a deadline, and persons to work alongside. Not that I have the faintest idea what I'm doing.)
Blow Your Driveway is the name of your first bagpipe-blues album, Quiche. Make a note of it! ;)
Now: bed. Need a good night's sleep for a change. I had this weird thing happen last night where I woke up during REM-stage, and couldn't stop my eyes from blinking and moving around. Anyone else ever experience anything like it? It was odd. Yet interesting.
OK - y'all stop teasing about the whole snowblowing gaffe I made. I should have realized this group would pounce on that like an F1 on a toy mouse!!!
Y'all make me grin, ear to ear!
SLG
Well, we're just like that Siri, just you wait until Dr Paul gets up tomorrow...Hee-hee...
Not sure I have ever had that happen Jess, tho have been doing the stress dreams lately, you know, trying to get to the gig, no equipment, getting lost, Boss coming home to find I adopted 25 white dogs in his abcense....
Sorry Siri, but you do have a way with words :)
Speaking of words I'm thinking about having a go at the nano thing. Nice to see it's open to everybody.
Freaaaakkkkkk. I've done it again. I promise,nothing stronger than earl grey tea has passed my lips at all :(
That last comment was from me.
Ms. Fabulous wrote: Not sure I have ever had that happen Jess, tho have been doing the stress dreams lately, you know, trying to get to the gig, no equipment, getting lost, Boss coming home to find I adopted 25 white dogs in his abcense....
::giggle::
A-a-a-and all those white dogs are chihuahuas.
::snort::
Yup! Had that dream I did.....
Getting tired here at the Spooky House, got Bengals tho, and wee Kali and a fire.
Don't worry about it, Jacqui. Stuff happens. :)
The only reason I can see for ticketing when there isn't any snow is revenue. Makes me glad I live in the country. Granted, if it snows here, nobody is going anywhere anyway, except for the night before where you would think we were about to have a major natural disaster hit the way people act at the grocery store. ::rolling eyes::
My van has not one, but two brooms attached to the luggage rack. I may just drive around with my witch hat on for the rest of the week. heeheeheeheehee
Yicks! I went on a bit there. Sorry!
I have never had a garage. I have rarely had a driveway. I have been a street parker most of my adult life.
I have also never had a fireplace.
Someday.
I have been having intense dreams that have included me pretending to be a student in a Catholic grade school and fooling the teacher/nun -- even though I look just like me now. O.o
25 white dogs. What a vision!
This comment has been removed by the author.
I think you should drive around with your hat on!!!!!! How very perfect!
I turned my heat on tonight. Marilyn said it was too cold for the kitties at 55. I feel kind if bad, but I figured they have fur and all, and I was ok with it.
So now we are at a balmy 65, feels toasty. Turned off the fire.
So if you have to dig your car out in the morning, how much earlier do you have to get up? Are there days when you just can't go anywhere?
And what's wrong with chihuahua's?
Many days you can't go anywhere. Tho often I just get Marry Housekeeper to come for me, she has sons to dig her out, and a HUGE truck.
We all help eachother here in the Tudra...
Like I mentioned before, cup of tea, back to bed.
And Quiche, 65 isn't balmy :)
Actually, I'm not really fond of chihuahuas. I'm not really fond of any small dogs that bark a lot.
Beverly Hills Chihuahua does give their brand a better image though :)
Nothing is wrong with chihuahuas. They are just a lot smaller than Cabal. They also have a reputation for being noisy. "They may be small, but they are mighty!"
"No mas!"
Yup. I've seen it twice now.
Getting out of snow is not usually too bad. Just sweep off the car while it is warming up and go. What is bad is when the windows have iced over and you have to scrape. Sometimes that is pretty difficult.
I went a few winters without a heater fan in my car. Then I would have to have a little scraper or credit card with me to scrape off the INSIDE of the windshield as I drove.
I do not have that car anymore.
I really hate winter driving. Ice scares me more every year.
Here in the north 65 is balmy, besides I grew up training to be a figure skater in an ice rink, kid you not, you learned really young not to complain about the cold.
It's a weird way to live , winters here, but you just sort of learn to deal, scary but true. Driving is no fun, nor is digging out, Prius is wonderful, but has no 4 wheel drive.
Ooohhh, I so envy people who can remember lines from movies and not muck them up. I can never do that :)
Aletamay, having read about you having to scrape the inside of your windscreen puts me to shame.
I used to whine incredibly about my old car not having air conditioning.
You're all better women than I. If I had to drive in those conditions, I think I'd be dead in a week!
Having air conditioning is just as important as heat in some places.
Not having my act together enough to get the heater fan fixed does not make me a better woman than you! AT ALL. It does make a funny story now that I have a dependable car with working parts!
You're right Aletamay, it is a funny story and it sounds like something I would do. I put up with a lot of things because I think it will be harder to fix them. And it's not!
I've got to go and pickup from school now. You'll all probably be tucked up nice and warm soon.
I wish it was warmer here!
now the wording is so odd. so on even number days you really want to park on the odd side since it takes effect after midnight. set up a reoccuring reminder in your phone's calender so in even days it says park on odd side of street. so you have the phone to remind you. set it to beep and remind you at like 8 or 9pm so you can go look and switch your car if necessary. i'm very much not smart enough to remember things like this and set my calender to remind me about all sorts of things. i know my limitations.
jeez; i was complaining the other day about it being 90 degrees & trying to find a shady spot to park in. I feel all spoiled by coming home & pulling into the garage. Miss you all & love reading in when I can. Just wanted to say 'hi' and post so I'll get the thread in my inbox.
Grrr..blogger won't let open id work..hopefully this one will post..
Those parking rules are way too confusing to remember at the end of the day. Sounds more like a guaranteed fundraiser for MN govt to me.
Not doing NaNoWriMo as I'm just not a writer. Though if they had an art/craft/jewelrymaking equivalent I'd be willing.
Ariandalen you should definitely drive around with your witch hat on. The brooms on the luggage rack is a brilliant idea!
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081027-vampire-moth-evolution-halloween-missions.html?source=rss
and this; just for Dan!
eeewwwwww
I am back, Fiends, from a night of drinking at a party to celebrate sobriety. I suspect I am some sort of scapegoat, as I had to drink for all the people In Recovery. Then stop drinking, so I'd be okay to drive 40 miles home. I killed a piñata.
Jess, the EEMA is watching you.
Quiche, you are awesome. I want to come see this strange thing you call 'snow.'
Everyone else... Carry on.
How did I miss blowing the driveway?! If you can fit a driveway in your mouth, Siri... You need to seriously consider changing professions. I can point you at some websites...
And 65 is NOT balmy. 85 is balmy. 90 is quite nice. 100 is perhaps time for shorts, and 120 tank top time. 65 is Ugg boot cold. Brr.
because we all have weird and fantastic senses of humour here...
http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/fail-owned-child-pink-knife-packaging-fail.jpg
Seems clear enough to me, but it takes a little advance planning...
Hadn't they dug up your drive way, Lorraine?
Siri, I find NaNo is also good against use of adverbs. Why use one single word when you can express the same thing in 2 or 3 (or more!)?
Weird dreaming/waking experience, Jess. Sounds like you could use that as the starting point of your story. Go and find out what this means in the pile of words.
I SO want to see a picture of that van...
There is a crafting equivalent, Kali,. Or at least there was one last year. I'll see if I can find some references for you.
good morning, and Chicago was awful with snow parking too, why do they make it so hard?? I live on a dirt road now, but have an attached garage which I thank Fod for every day - it's the only home I've had which has one. and it was the only way i would move to michigan twenty years ago. ahhh bribery and threats.....the key to a happy marriage :) Hope everyone has a great tuesday!
It is very cold and wet here.
And I may be eaten by a grue.
Sounds drastic, Dan. What have you done to the thing that it should want to eat you?
CraftMo! Which reminds me: it's been a while since anyone mentioned Night Gardening...anyone else still working on something for that? Quilts? Tapestries? Poems Stories? Wall murals? Eh? Eh? Eh?
I demand Art.
Val's right. 65 isn't balmy. Balmy is 70. Unpleasant is 76 up to about 90, 95 is freakish, 100 is an Air Quality Emergency and 120, frankly, is just for mad people. Might as well go and live on Mercury. With only a parasol and sunglasses for shelter.
Twenty-five dogs is a lot of dogs, Quiche. But remember: they're only mind dogs. And you're the Alpha.
The really strange bit, Nathalie, was that I was mostly awake when it happened-- apart from a few swirly, fading dream-images of the sort you sometimes see when you wake up in the dark. (At least, I get those. Dunno what that says about the state of my head.) I was just sort of lying there and realised that I was looking around a lot more than strictly necessary. :D
I need to figure out where I read this, but I remember seeing something about rapid-eye movement being an evolutionary throwback to that time when our ancestors slept out of doors, and had to keep watch for predators. The idea was that rather than going through regular deep-sleep cycles at night, they'd have periods of dozing, then a sort of quiet wakefulness, similar to cats and dogs. Waking up in REM felt a little like that-- sort of an alert watchfulness, and a feeling that I ought to be very still. It was interesting,
Summary: brains are cool.
Also: Please to explain, sir, what a grue might be. It sounds dangerous.
If that's anything like the French, a grue would be a crane (bird or mechanical device alike). The mental image of a mechanical crane having Dan in its maws is a little wild.
It's all just a wacky scheme to generate income through parking tickets. I'm sure of it.
In Marblehead, our parking ordinance starts the day after Thanksgiving and lasts through to May 1st. No parking any time between 2 am and 7 am everyday of the week. It's a lovely ordinance for a town with lots of houses that have no private driveway.
As for NaNo, am I the only one that thinks of Mork from Ork everytime I hear that term? NaNo NaNo!
:-)
I'm going to use my NaNo time to finish writing my screenplay.
I'm with Pantagruel, I've been wanting to learn to play an instrument for awhile. The Bodhran caught my eye during a pub jam in Galway, Ireland. Ever since then, I've had the Irish drums on my mind.
My post is so ADD. :-) Sorry!
No more ADD than mine, Erin! :)
And of course it took me a minute to realise that "mechanical crane" means one of these, and not a clockwork one of these.
Can you imagine a lawn sculpture eating a person? Brr.
Hahahahahahahahahaha ...
Sorry. It's just that I thought MY town was bad because they didn't plow the sidewalks ....
~Emily
I can completely imagine a lawn ornament eating somebody. I always thought there was something sinister about those garden gnomes...
I'm with you all on learning to play something. I just ordered myself a tin whistle-I should get it this weekend. My neighbors will hate me-I'm in an apartment, so they will most likely get to hear my attempts. Ha ha ha!
I want a lawn sculpture that eats people. Serves them right for coming in my yard!
What?! You don't know what a grue is? I'm taking away your geek card, missy! And I'm also apparently showing my age... I playtested Infocom games when I was nine years old. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Bureaucracy, and Ballyhoo. I will not mention how much time I spent playing Colossal Cave when I was even younger, in the science building at USC.
And get off my lawn!
Jess, I would die laughing if someone put one of those Big A$$ mechanical cranes in their front yard. Muahahahahaha!
It's not enough that we have viral lurgy, we now have viral weather, too. I woke uop to the first frost of the year this morning and now it has stated to hail ... at this rate, i may be forced to turn the heating on.
am not signing up to write a novel in a month, but I do have a half-started NightGarden story, so (achievable goals,) will see if I can get theat finished in 30 days.
Val, you would not believe the kind of weather people think is shorts weather around here. In the spring people start wearing shorts and t-shirts when it hits 40 or so. I kid you not!
I have lots of people tell me I'm spoiled and "It could always be worse" when I complain about winter here. They don't seem to realize that it COULD also be better and I don't believe suffering holds any value in itself. I understand why people like the snow, I really do. When I, however, have to get up a 1/2 hour early so I can stand in -20 wind chill and scrape snow off my car I am reminded why I am moving soon. :)
And I agree with the tickets=revenue thing. I hope you have good parking luck this year, Q!
Okay, just finished reading the comments and I think I am suffering from an induced case of ADD. You are all fantastic!
On NaNo, I just looked and my thesis was merely 35,000 words. Hrmph. 50k words for fun? I envy writers.
Siri, why did the snowman drop his pants?
Parking enforcement is indeed a city money maker, but at least each ticket is not $35 like out here. And a tow... $200 minimum with a day lost.
Yay for drum learning! I'm teaching myself the bodhron currently. Funky but fun.
Val, we midwestern folk understand that 65 is not technically "balmy" but after weeks of not seeing the sun and being told that exposed skin will freeze in less than 10 seconds, 65 is pretty nice. Oh, and our state isn't about to sink into the ocean... while on fire... ;) And just so I don't end up like that piñata, this is my full teasing disclaimer!
Surly there is something I missed, but I'm not sleeping well either. Oh! The grue! Dan, a most excellent reference. Totally reminds me of the Bugblatter Beast. I could go for a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster right about now.
Can I get some geek boxers? These geek panties are just a tad binding...
i wake up and there are 54 comments, WHAT!
i haven't read them all yet, just saying....
Quiche, if you paid a quarter of what you pay in tickets to HANS for SNoWSHOVELING you would have a clear driveway, viola!
it is surely a case of revenue, for the city. but why should it come solely from your hard-working self????!
living in Hollywood, my real dream has been not of riches or handsome men, but that of my Very Own Driveway. (i got the riches and handsome man anyway) but **sigh* a driveway? DREAMY.
ps Val, to be a drummer, recall you got to CARRY lots of stuff. You will need your Own Roadie.
pps Siri, roadies are famous for putting the word BLOW randomly in all conversations, the more sentences it makes, the better
My Own Roadie? Now that's motivation... Though I don't mind carrying stuff. I'm strong like ox.
Kitty, I hear you on wanting the driveway. Your very own driveway would rock. :)
Gayle, Paul -- Dude. That's just wrong. Skin freezing in 10 seconds?! And you're just jealous of California, Paul. Let me check the temperature... today's high will be 91°. So there. ;)
Good Morning Fiends!
Chatty, aren't you??? Just wading my thru, snorting tea, like every morning.
I am going to gloss over the whole Grue thing and pretend like I knew all along, oh, yeah, those, sure. I am a geek, uh-hu....Well. I know now anyway. Shakes head...
Too true about the snow, if I could just get up the driveway, I would be fine. And we do have it better than in the cities, here it is a $5 ticket and they don't tow...
(She says losing all sympathy..)
Right more tea, then talk.
Skin will freeze that quickly. January is brutal, like -20 to -30 , not sure how that translates for our Fiends around the world, but truat me when I tell you it is COLD!
For the international fiends: that translates to -28.89 to -34.44
*whimper*
FIVE DOLLARS?
my street cleaning tickets at FIFTY FIVE. (which i only get when i am OUT OF TOWN and things fall through the cracks, Ghosty can't always move himself)
yes, sympathy dwindles...but not entirely gone.
i ruled out being a drummer based on equipment carrying.
ps TURE BOOD. that still makes me laugh my ass off, Quiche.
I still wish I could have named my Leopard Little Ghost. Well, maybee. He doesn't seem attached to anythign yet.
I turned on all the heat last night and the Bengals went into raptures, the heating vents are the new Hot Spots, as it were. It was kind of nice, getting up and not freezing, I do have to admit...
Jess - i'm w/ you on temperatures. 72 is perfect for me.
I don't do snow...at all...don't even ski. Hubby does and I go and sit in the nice warm cabin w/ tea and a book :)
I love my little NorCal beach town. Not too hot--usually--, not to cold --usually--. I'm spoiled.
Watched True..i mean Ture...blood last night...i'm sooo hooked!
So you also suffer from significant heating vent obstructions, Q? Yeeees. I know them well. I retaliate by taking photographs.
72 is the best temperature. I want to go live where it's 72 all the time. Then I'd never have to spend winters shoveling the alley behind my house just because the plows won't. I want to live where there's no need for plows.
I don't think my feet and I could survive winter in Minnesota. The heck with sub-zero temps-- I get a serious case of icetoes at 64 (which is what we set the thermostat for this time of year). They're cold right now, actually. Been heating and reheating my little foot warmer thingy all day. Mmm, hot rice bags for feets.
I confess the grue is a whole area of geekdom I seem to have missed. Great. So now I've had my EEMA membership and my Geek Card revoked. It's like Total Loser Week over here.
*exchanges Nerd Panties for Knickers of Shame*
Things I love:
- Bengals and Dachshunds
- Bagpipes and Bodhrans
- Watching True Blud
- Places That Are 72 Degrees
- Giant Man Eating Metal Cranes
- Furry Heat Obstructers
- Streets With No Parking Curfew
- 4 Wheel Drive Cars
- Shoveling the Driveway
..... wait... how'd that last one get in there! A snow gremlin must have done it! ;-)
Knickers of Shame????
I so want some!
True Blood and I did not work out, tho I have them Tivo'd and may try again, since you lot are hooked.
I like cross country skiing, but am not so good at downhill. Don't so much like winter here, 72 and sunny!
Or better yet thunderstorms, we got cheated this year, nothing fun.
TURE BOOD, i always wish it lived up to its potential.
it is just that once Q, you typed the title as shown here, and it cracks me up.
more than the show.
way more than the show.
although that cute blond vampire guy with the indeterminable accent may prove worth watching...
Jess, your vent blocker looks alot like my Batman.
ALOT. what's your kitty named?
Jess, I love the Kitty/Bubble photo! Much cuteness!
Hi guys. I just posted a birthday greeting to an lj friend. You can see it here.
This video seriously made me laugh to the point of tears. I just had to share it with the fiends.
Enjoy.
I haven't managed to see Ture Blud yet, I'm going to have to wait until its out on DVD...but the books are worth reading-in a drively sort of way. You don't need to think to read them...more of a mindless reading. (They're by Charlaine Harris)
I understand that the show is darker than the books-but otherwise kinda follows them. Or something. So you might want to try the books if you like the idea of the show.
(Can you tell I've been chained to my desk today? Extra babble from me. Yay!)
Cat - That particular vent blocker is called Ally. She has a sister called Edie, who strangely enough looks a lot like Phiala's cat Morgan, right down to the brown highlights. I have a suspicion they're all the same cat, or couple of cats. :)
That's right. Knickers of Shame. Opprobrium Pants. Debasement Briefs. Call them what you will.
Inglorious tanga?
Hotpants of Ill Repute. Chagrinthong.
Thanks, Erin. You can't go wrong with cats and bubbles. :)
Panta are you talking about learning "the drums" as in a drum set, or just hand drumming (a la dumbek/djembe etc)? I'm a sucker for hand drumming but find a drum set way too intimidating for me. Either way, AWESOME:).
"And get off my lawn" - LOL!!!
65 *is* balmy. I totally wear shorts when it's only 60. What cracks me up is the people that wear parkas when it's 40. One day I will live in the desert again, and those people will give me great amusement.;)
Spacedlaw - there is a crafty one? Yes please!:)
Dr Score your snowman question has me still giggling madly to myself. I raise a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster to you.:)
Aww what a cute vent blocker Jess.:) Looks like my friend Karen's late beloved Lucifer (aka Roosifee)
There really are only 500 cats in the world. The rest are down with mirrors.
Thought you should know...
Ture Bood! I slay myself, into the lexicon...
Opprobrium Pants. FTW.
Uh, I have a doumbek now… considering getting sticks and a practice pad, if I can talk my friend into teaching me without laughing too terribly hard.
nobody liked my vampire moths??? *sniff*
well; I have some great news! One of my fiber peices is now proudly on display in Houston, Tx. at the largest quilt show in the U.S. SOOOOO coool! If you like; I've posted it on my blog. We aren't allowed to share till the show opened and as of today, voila!
http://corvus93.blogspot.com/
:))
Wow. Five dollars. It is like you are from some other time! ;-)
So... I think I may have just convinced myself to try NaNo. It is crazy because I have so many things that I really need to be focusing on right now. But I have this crazy notion that doing NaNo may actually help me to get more focused in general.
Hmmmm.
Go Stacy! \o/
(I did like your vampire moths, actually-- I knew I forgot to mention something!)
I finally got to look at the vampire moths...that's amazing, cool and freaky all at the same time.
That quilt is amazing. I'm always blown away by the talent here.
Stacy, that's fantastic!
Paul - thesis writing SO doesn't equal the churning mess that is a NaNo rough draft. No organization necessary, and especially no carefully formatted figures and tables.
When my brother was in kindergarden or first grade, he learned the snowman joke. Being far too young to know anything about it, he promptly and proudly went off to tell our parents his new joke.
His version:
Why did the snowman pull down his pants?
Because he saw the snowplow coming!
I started teaching myself the bodhran, by means of YouTube instructional videos. There's also a really good online pennywhistle site.
I left work early to run an errand, and now am engaged in making bread and soup and watching the wind blow.
Stacy, how did I miss the Vampire moths???? Very cool!
As is your quilt! Wow. I really wish I could sew, I have no talent for it, tho I can make pillow cases, oddly enough....
Off to French Class and Dog school. I think I pained Nathilie a little less during our Skype today, and made her laugh, which is always good.
I'd missed the link earlier, Stacy, but the vampire moth is VERY creepy.
Uh, I don't know the punchline to the snowman joke....
"Because he saw the snowblower coming."
Stacy...I found your vampire moths profoundly disturbing. Well, actually, what disturbed me was the blase attitude of the researchers. Especially the comment beginning "When the Russian moths were experimentally offered human hands this summer..."
That, combined with the video....vampire moths and moustache--I will be having the nightmares fur shure, baby!
Re temps....I never thought I *could* live in a desert, having grown up in Germany. But Minneapolis must have thinned my blood :) Now 70 sounds pretty darn comfy to me. BUT I can say from experience that humans adapt...135 can in fact seem comfortable (although it helped that it was a DRY heat :))
OH...and Dragonsally/Jess/Siri/Jacquib/SpacedLaw/Erin/Scored/Aletamay:
Peer pressure has done me in--signed up for NaNoWriMo last night. Thanks, thanks a lot..
Did someone say they had set up a Fiends forum?
"Because he saw the snowblower coming..."
heheehee...
Must not… joke… about… snowballs… must…resist…
Oh, but Val...
Yes, there's a Fabulous Fiends thread under the Writing Groups forum topic. Things get rearranged depending on when the last post was, so you might have to search for it.
Panta...
Give in to the cold side of the Force!
I just wanna know - how do you live where its so cold?
*whimper* indeed.
We get heating duct stand off here, between the little dog, cat and me.
Claws win everytime.
Can some wonderful fiend please email me proper instructions for inserting links? I'm sick of my attempts failing. Its doing my head in!
You dorks. ;) I'd throw snowballs at you two, but I don't have the right equipment. Talk to Paul about it.
>:)
"Helloooo, Sailor!"
nothing happens here...
"Helloooo, Sailor!"
nothing happens here...
oops.
Sorry.
My bad.
stoopid interwebtubes thingie!!
It was so much easier when our modem was a cushioned cradle for the telephone headset, and the only people we could reach were Harvey Mudd/Claremont College....
yah, I'm old. Decrepit, even.
:)
Hey, I remember that joke, Lysandwr!
As well as:
z
Time passes…
Oh, dear, our pantaloons of infirmity are showing.
Although, dear, I suspect you are younger than I ....not really ancient, just experienced!!
links, in brief:
<a href="http://something dot something">the name of the something</a>. (The bracket-slash-a-bracket comes at the end of the name.)
Darn, I get an almost good connection for an afternoon..and now must run off to rehearsals.
Have fun, fiends!
Stacy, congratulations on beng in the show - and that quilt is amazing. I'm in awe (And I liked the vampire moths, too)
I agree with those claiming that 65 is definately balmy, and the tales of -20 are putting our little frost into persepctive.
I'm off to Manchester tomorrow to hear Boss reading. (Happy Bounce) - with a bit of luck, I may be able to go on to the Jonathan Coulton gig afterwards. And meeting up with very good friends (although I couldn't temp either of them to come with me. Clearly I am a failure as an evangaliser for Boss. :-(
Can I pretend I knew all along about the grue, too?
Fiend Forum here, for those hunting for it.
YAY to other people signing on. We're all in it together now, tra la.
Hubby knew about the grue. Damn if that man doesn't know everything.
That's a gorgeous quilt, Stacy. Wow. :)
Pretend all you like , Marjorie, we can say it grue on you....
(Hey if you guys can throw snowballs, I can grue-some...)
Yea for hearing Boss and seeing Jonathon Coulton! Full report please! Tell Boss his dog is the STAR of the off leash class!
DRAGON SALLY, YOU CAN ALSO CHEAT...GO TO A BLANK BLOGGER PAGE AND TELL IT (darn caps lock) to insert link, and cut and paste, that's what I can do....I ought to learn tho...
Stacy, I read your vampire moth article straight away. I find I need to read links straight away now, because if I leave them as I have done in the past, I have no idea what everyone’s talking about and then I can’t find them again. Those moths are strange critters. It’s like a vegan going straight to steak tartare. And why did they do it again?
Oh, and I loved your rug. Congratulations on being accepted for the display.
I’d like to thank everyone for mentioning the nano thing as well, it’s really just the sort of thing I need. (Erin I do remember Mork from Ork. Mork & Mindy was one of my favourite TV shows.) Paul thanks for the reminder about thesis’s (thesii?), I remember doing 3000 words in a weekend and having time to spare (The result wasn't that great, but at least I finished it).
Love the snowmen jokes ;) And thanks for educating me about the grue. Reminds me of the Scotsman’s kilt joke.
HAH - that's brillaint Lorriane. Why didn't I think of that?
Gee, for Fiends on Nano - iS it a slow site or what?
I think it's taken me almost an hour to stalk everyone and set me up! So yes, it's very slow and frustrating. Big thanks to you as well :)
WHICH Scotsmans kilt joke.....
Thank you for asking FabulousLorraine!
A girl went up to a Scotsman and asked what was under his kilt.
He told her she could reach underneath his kilt and find out for herself.
So she reached underneath his kilt and swiftly pulled her hand away saying "It's grue-some".
To which the Scotsman replied "Touch it again, it just grue-some-more".
Ah. How fitting. I have worse, far worse...Comes with playing with boys in Irish Bands...
Stacy that's a gorgeous quilt!
I couldn't say anything about the vampire moths earlier..I was trying to forget the way the scientists blithely theorized that biting fruit led eventually to biting for blood. *shudder* I hates bugs, I do.
Lysandwr - Pantaloons of Infirmity for the win.:)
We must keep updated on these Vampire Moths....The Bengal Alliance is very interested...
And Lys, Kali is right, you did make me laugh, Pantaloons indeed!
(Also for those of you wondering, Lys is not nearly as old as she is making out! HA! Told on you Lys!)
Did tonigths new post, my Fiends,and a tired one it was....
Holy Flamingos Stacy! Love the quilt. I am afraid I missed the vamp-moth; chalk it up to my inability to keep up with posts. Blame Othello. :)
I am getting excited about carving pumpkins with M! He really wanted to go as a bat this year but the costume doesn't fit so he is a vampire. I told him the cape was his wings and he is a vampire-bat. I hope he goes for it.
Good luck to all of you novel writers out there. Admire you, I do!
I hope he goes for it too, Gayle, tell him he can carry his spider bag....And Lots of makeup!
Good luck with Othello!
Thank you to all for leaving such loverly comments on my blog! I appreciate it very much!
jac- it's an art quilt that hangs on the wall. I forgot to mention that; I forget that folks still think of quilts as something that only goes on the bed. :)
Ya; the Vamp-moths & the parasitic ants turning wasps into zombies... what is the world coming too???
I see a new post from Fablo; gotta go read it now.
YOUR quilts belong on the wall as art!!!!!! If I had $$ to speare I would be asking you for one for the spooky haus...
oohhh; that would be so fun! I really like the one I sent you pics of a while ago with the raven; that's still under wraps. Right now I'm working on 3 memory quilts for a friend. Her mom passed away recently & I'm making the quilts out of her mom's clothing; those are the kind you can wrap yourself up in.
That is so cool the memory quilts.
I would have one with bats, and ravens and spiderwebs, wrapped up in magic, all the lovliest things. Don't think I could wrap up in it tho, it would be for the wall, in the Green Bedroom, the one with the bed with vines, and cutrains with jewals....Low lit with real faux tiffany.
el just came in and read me the string joke from Neverwhere. made me laugh! i just love her!
and your wall art would have to have a pair or two of glowing leopard orbs.
YES! There would half to be Leopard eyes! Youknow me well, better than myself, I am thinking, artists do.
Who is El, and what are the Neverwhere jokes?
I had purple hair for quite a while (blackberry it was called).
My stepmum and I were out together one day and happened to come upon the end of a book signing by Andrew Denton who is sort of Australia's Michael Parkinson. He's a brilliant and very witty man. The book is autographed thus "Sally, Congratulations on your matching hair. Keep me posted so we can decide on next year's cover" Yup, the cover of the book was the exact same purple as my hair.
Glad and I laughed for hours afterwards.
sorry; El is my 15 yr old daughter. She and I share our house with 4 cats. (you've met them on Ms. Stella's blog)
She had finished reading Fragile Things; and Smoke and Mirrors (after I talked her into them because she enjoyed Graveyard so much)and she needed another to read for school (they have to read a book a month; so far she's up by quite a few my Type A honors student) *yes; that was a brag :)*
So she's reading Neverwhere (because I don't own American Gods) and she's laughing her head off; she comes in and tells me the 'string' joke from the book.
let's see if I get this right;
three strings walk into a bar; one goes up to the bar and orders a drink. Bartender say's they don't serve string. string # 2 goes up and gets the same answer; then string 3 ties his two buddies around himself & walks up to the bar; asks for 3 drinks; bartender says 'weren't you one of the strings over there?' string #3 say's:
'frayed knot'
Dragonsally, very funny!
Stacy, I had forgotten that joke, it is my favorite, and I think I may have told Boss that many years ago, never realized it was inthe book! That is the bestjoke ever!!!!!
I do recall Miss Stella,yes...SO cool your daughter is reading fine books!
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