Sunday, April 27, 2008

Weekend Mania

This weekend the temperatures were resembling spring, and I really didn't want to stay inside at all. so I didn't! First thing I did Saturday morning, no, wait, let's back up to Friday night. On Friday night I loaded all my B-52's cd's into my computer. This resulted in a sing-along of epic proportions! I'm sure I had way more fun than Leo, who was in the next room and had to listen to me. By the time I went to bed my voice was gone.
OK so then Saturday morning I went to the Camelot community garage sale with Faythe and Jen C. On the way there I saw the first tulips and daffodils of the year! This caused me to scream so loudly with total joy that I blew out my voice even more and by the time I got to Faythe's I could barely get a word out. That situation seemed to resolve itself a bit as we went to what can only be described as the biggest most insane garage sale frenzy I have ever seen. I came away with some wine glasses and the realization that it will take an act of god to get me back there next year. I have never seen anything like it.
So after that craziness we went to the Browne's Addition sale, which was much less attended and the pickings were much better I thought. After that we cruised around the South Hill for awhile and found some good sales there too. I got some really great stuff--dishes, a salad bowl, some books, my favorite Mary Kay face cleanser, and some plants because we also went to the plant sale at Manito Park. It was a very fun morning!
Then later on Saturday afternoon Leo and I took a drive. We took Cheney-Spokane Road out to Cheney, then turned onto Cheney-Spangle Road over to Spangle, then back up 395 to home. It took about an hour or so, very cool. Then when we got back I went with Max to the White Elephant. I just love that store! I bought the game of Racko for less than $6 which was a total score because we wore out our old Racko and I was having a hard time finding it in the big stores. Saturday was a smashing success!
Today after church I went to Costco, which apparently was all the productivity I could stand, because this afternoon it was Max in the car as we went on a much longer drive up to Sandpoint in Idaho. We went up Highway 2 which I had never done and while it was a beautiful drive, we got to Sandpoint and said now what do we do, and since we did not know anything about the area we just kept driving, turning south and going through Athol and past Silverwood, through Rathdrum and down Trent Ave. back to Spokane. This drive took about three hours and was just what I needed after not going anywhere all winter. I need a little road trip once in a while to keep me sane. Well, maybe not sane, but happy anyway.
So all in all, it has been a great weekend! I saw so many things: Flowers, pink trees, this, this, lots of scenery, and this:



This sea monkey bobblehead lives in Browne's Addition with all his bobblehead friends:



Thanks Jen and Faythe for the pics!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

OK Here Is The Story

I was born in 1961. I admit it! The reason I share this is because I want to put this in historical context. So if I was born in 1961, then I would have been 13 in 1974. That was the year that Evel Knievel took on the Snake River Canyon. Evel Knievel had a HUGE influence on the boys in my neighborhood. Much in the same way that Mary Poppins inspired me and all my little girl friends to grab an umbrella and jump off the roof of the house, Evel Knievel inspired every kid with a stingray bike to build a ramp and jump over things. Two boys in particular were extremely inspired, their names were Jim and David. Jim is my friend Steve's older brother, and we all looked up to him. He seemed really cool and like he knew something that the rest of us didn't, which made him cool AND mysterious. We watched as he and David built a bike ramp not out of plywood and a cinderblock like all the other boys, but a permanent one dug and built of dirt in the middle of a clearing in the woods. This clearing was at the bottom of a steep dirt path through the trees which led from the street to the park at the bottom of the canyon. They would start at the street, pedal full bore down the narrow path and fly off the jump at great speed, travelling quite a distance before landing. They did this for hours, and we all watched with amazement. After Jimmy and David got good at this, they gave us the command -- lay down in front of the jump so we can jump over you. So we did. Thirteen of us in all. Us older kids lay down closest to the ramp, we weren't idiots you know. Steve, Joe, me, Charlie, Billy, Tommy and Stanley made sure we got the good spots that we knew the bike jumpers would clear. We put all the younger kids, everyone's little brothers and sisters, at the end. After all, they were expendable. After everyone was situated in front of the ramp, the signal was given and the boys started down the path. It seemed like an eternity that we were all laying there awaiting our fate, but it couldn't have been more than about 15 seconds. We could feel the vibrations under us as they got closer. I was a little scared and I squeezed my eyes shut tight, and when I opened them, it was over and we were all a part of Del Rey Oaks history! Nobody got landed on or hurt in any way, which really was a miracle when you think about what actually happened. As a parent, there is NO WAY I would let my kids do that! But I am so glad that I did it. Steve was over here not too long ago, and the subject came up with my boys. Steve and I just grinned and nodded at each other and quietly spoke the same two words: "Thirteen People". I think we are STILL in awe of it!

So anyway, after Evel Knievel died last November, I meant to tell this story then, sort of as a tribute to him. But other stuff kept coming up. And tonight I finally remembered. So here's to Evel Knievel--an inspiration to a generation of bike jumping risk takers, and the fools who laid down in front of them.



YEAH!!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

An Illegally Great Day

Because today I am writing about something that is illegal and I don't want to get googled about it I will write in code!

Today my friend _teve came over and he had a _ootleg DVD of the _ed _eppelin reunion concert from last December. _ax burned a few copies and now I have it! The video is not that great but the sound is good and I consider it to be just another snapshot in the giant _ed _eppelin photo album of my life. They cannot be who they were when they were younger, particularly _obert _lant is not the singer he once was. Stupid smoking! However, _immy _age is still awesome! He looks like a cross between Ben Franklin and the Queen of England nowadays. And it is great to see _ohn _aul _ones jamming with them again. When _lant and _age toured back in the 90's, _teve and I saw them 3 times and they were great, but they were not _ed _eppelin. In this concert, they are.

And as a bonus, _teve hooked up my now-fixed turntable which means that I can listen to all my vinyl again!! Of course, the first album I put on was _ed _eppelin's "_resence".

This is shaping up to be a great day! Tonight is Supper Club, which means that there are mojitos in my immediate future. Today is so good that I am not going to complain that it is starting to snow right now. It can snow all it wants, I'm happy today.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Checking In

Don't have a lot to say. But when has that ever stopped me?

1) Just watched the American Idol results show, the one where they kick someone off, and America finally got it right, because Kristy Lee Cook is out! Faythe and I are very happy right now.

2) Last night I watched the last installment of the Seven Ages Of Rock series on VH1 Classic. All about British Indie Rock. Started with The Smiths and ended with Franz Ferdinand. An awesome documentary. It reruns all the time, try to catch it if you can, the whole series is great.

3) My very old and dear friend Elizabeth emailed me this. It is hilarious, even more so because we have a few of those horrible photos of ourselves hidden away where they will never see the light of day, so don't even ask.

4) I think she emailed me that link because I sang "Loving You" by Minnie Ripperton into her voicemail on Monday. Just the lalalalala, doodoodoodoodoo, AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!! part. What was I supposed to do? It was on XM, who else I'm I going to sing it with? She and I have been murdering that song together for 30 years!

5) It is supposed to snow all weekend! And last weekend was so nice! You just never know with this goofy weather.

6) Did you know that Washington is one of only 5 states where it is legal to make a left turn on a red light from a two way onto a one way street? I just found this out. So far I have done it twice. I feel so bad yet so good!

7) OK I think that's it.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

In Which I Use The Word "Toilet" Eleven Times--Wait, Make That Twelve. Or, How To Lose Your Mind In Seven Easy Steps

Here are the events as they happened:

1) Leo broke my toilet seat. Says he sat on it funny and it just broke. Whatever.
2) Procured new toilet seat yesterday at the Airway Heights Walmart. Threw away receipt.
3) Couldn't get my old toilet seat off my toilet today. Tried for half an hour. Turns out I was doing it wrong. Leo got it off in like 5 seconds.
4) Started to clean the toilet but ran out of toilet bowl cleaner. Prayers that I had not created mustard gas when I switched cleaners were answered.
5) Took shrink wrap off of new toilet seat and discovered that I need a 9/16 wrench to install it. Cannot find said wrench or even pliers. Decision made to go to hardware store. By this time you could say that I was irritated but that would be an understatement.
6) On the way to the car, a socket set was found, a complete one! Excitedly run upstairs to install toilet seat.
7) Place toilet seat on toilet and realize that the seat is way too small for the toilet.

At this point I had two choices. I could walk away and deal with it later. Or I could throw a hammer through my bathroom window. I walked. I'm sure it did not feel nearly as good as throwing the hammer would have, but I am trying to set an example here. After dinner I will try again to deal with the situation. So if you are walking down Elm Street this evening and you hear glass breaking and see a flying hammer, you will know what happened.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Seasons In The Sun -- FINALLY!!

This winter has been the second snowiest winter IN HISTORY. 89 1/2 inches to be exact, just 4 less than the all time high. And I lived through it! But these last few weeks have been awful. I have been sad and mopey for no real reason. And my housekeeping skills (what little I have) have been gone for months. I couldn't understand why. But I think I'm beginning to.

Yesterday the weather changed. There was sun, which is not unusual except that you could feel it's warmth on your body. There was George Maupin, one of the local weather guys, all smiles and talking about 70 degrees on Sunday. And even though the leaves are still just buds on the trees, my hope that spring is coming has turned to the belief that it will be here directly.

I could actually feel the weight lifting.

Last night after a long week at work, I had the energy to clean and organize for three hours. Can't remember the last time that happened. Probably November. And I even baked cookies! The car is all loaded and ready for the run to the recycling center today, and I am excited about working in the garage with the door open and not having to wear a coat or sweater. I can't wait to open up all the windows in the house and run the vacuum. The sound of the washer full of blankets that will be folded and put in the closet instead of stacked on the couch is sweet music to my ears. I'm starting to feel like myself again.

I don't recall this happening to such a degree last winter, but last winter was mild and not as long. I need to remember this winter so I can figure out a plan for next winter when my house goes all to hell again. But in the meantime, I can tell you the secret to awesome cookies:



My mom's mixing bowl from the 50's. It was the bowl that came with the mixer that kind of looked like the one in this pic that I just lifted off of ebay:



Everything I make in this bowl turns out great. So that is the secret to awesome cookies. That, plus 1 1/2 sticks of butter.

Have a fabulous weekend, I sure will!

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Questions That Demand Answers

1) Do the people in the Central Time Zone REALLY need to have their tv shows come on an hour earlier than the rest of us? Do they have some kind of manditory early bedtime? I know that the farmers go to bed early, but are there that many of them that all of tv land caters to them? I posed this question to Faythe and she thought that I was trying to do away with the entire Central Time Zone! I think it was that bottle of wine she drank.

2) Does Paula Abdul think she is fooling ANYONE with that fake forced cleavage she had on American Idol tonight?? Please.

3) Was Carole King ever on the Muppet Show or Sesame Street? Because if she wasn't, she should have been. She could have sung "You've Got A Friend" to Elmo or the Cookie Monster.

4) Will I be sad when American Idol is over because I have so much fun watching it with Faythe? Wait, I know the answer to that one.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Saturday

1) It is snowing. Again. Or should I say still. I would take pictures and post them, but they would look just like the pictures I took the last 1700 times it snowed this year. So just use your imagination, or if you live in Spokane, just look out your window.

2) David Byrne has a website called Radio David Byrne. The playlist changes every month, featuring music from different parts of the world, or little known music from our own neck of the woods. This month it's all about Turkish pop music. Very interesting and quite good. Definitely worth a listen.

3) It's district caucus day! I have to leave in a little while. I didn't think they would need me to be there since I am like the 4th or 5th alternate delegate, but I got a call last night and they may need me after all. While I will be happy to represent, I hope they don't need me and I get to go home. I had big plans for today involving both large and small household appliances, and a possible trip to the dump.

4) Leo comes home from California this evening! He had a great time at Disneyland with his dad, but I sure missed him!

Thursday, April 03, 2008

I Am The Chair, I Am The Chair...

Go Here.

It's Dragnet. The LSD Story. Twenty-five minutes long. Totally great. Hulu is the best!