Health and October

So Marty had mono, and I think less (even less) of the medical facilities for which we pay insurance premiums than I did before. But I love Marty just as much. He's going back to work today for the first time in a week or more.

It's October in my yard and I'm collecting flower seeds and moving rocks and stirring compost and rearranging natural plants. It's part of my fifteen-year plan to replace weeds with better weeds, the progression being this:

1) goatheads and tumble weeds are replaced with desert grass from the vacant lot, and whatever comes up.

2) OOPS, whatever comes up is pretty at first, but later has long black stickers—eliminate that new weed we didn't have at the old house.

3) Some of vacant lot grass isn't soft late in season. Pull those out when you learn to recognize them.

4) Some weeds grow pretty flowers and no stickers. Encourage those. Move some of their root-infested dirt to where the other weeds were growing.

This progresses at different rates in different parts of the yard. I also have mint from my friend Jeff's old yard, and onions from my sister's. Those all spread on their own. Vinca is here; it spreads itself too. In some places, those have replaced the native non-stickery flowery things.

I haven't documented all these things, but eventually I expect to. Some are on my 100 Species Blog, but not the middle species, just the evil level 1 and some of the gifty intentional kinds of plants people will actually buy. The names are in the URLS:
http://100speciesdodd.blogspot.com/2008/08/1-goatheads.html
http://100speciesdodd.blogspot.com/2008/08/2-tumbleweed.html
http://100speciesdodd.blogspot.com/2008/08/11-vinca.html
http://100speciesdodd.blogspot.com/2008/08/21-mint.html

And in the corners and sunny spots, morningglories:
http://100speciesdodd.blogspot.com/2008/08/9-morning-glories.html

In gradual little increments here and there, we now have a nice yard around a house we moved into almost exactly eleven years ago. The yard was dead and full of rocks and nails. Some trees were dead and others were dying.

Last night Keith had a friend over, who is a water conservation something-or-other, and had spent the day doing water conservation workshops for science teachers. Keith took him to show him our hot tub, and he asked about chemicals. No, Keith said, no chemicals. We drain it every week or so, all 500 gallons, and that's why that part of the yard is so green. True. I could've said more, but I wasn't there. He said the guy looked pained when Keith mentioned pouring out 500 gallons of water, but there's no law against cleaning a hot tub, and we use less water from the hose now, definitely.

This post burned my muffins. I got interested in finding photos and forgot all about the plan to go back up to the kitchen as soon as I finished eating my eggs and toast. Darn.

Firsts

Moved from Live Journal, for historical purposes. (For a couple of things I might want to look up later, actually.)
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Firsts
1. Who was your FIRST prom date? - Didn't go to prom. My boyfriend was playing guitar for other proms.
2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? - Have in recent years. Would if we were in the same town and saw each other.
3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink? - Champagne, at the Santa Fe opera. The bartender gave four of us "usherettes" each half a plastic cup of champagne as we were leaving. The other girls didn't like it, so passed theirs in turn to me in the back of the car on the way home. When I got out of the car, I discovered I could hardly walk. I was 15.
4. What was your FIRST job? - Student job in La Posada cafeteria at the University of New Mexico?
5. What was your FIRST car? - a dark blue '68 VW bug with a sunroof. My dad fixed it up and gave it to me in 1974.
6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? - none yet
7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? - Marty, my son, who is sick
8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? - Miss Tomlinson
9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? - Dallas, en route to London
10. Who was your FIRST best friend and are you still friends with them? - Dixie, in first grade. I used to try to find her, but I moved. Martha Yordy, next best friend, I saw her at her dad's funeral a few years back.
11. What was your FIRST sport played? - Uh.... nothing formally. Neighborhood stuff.
12. Where was your FIRST sleep over? - Not counting cousins, Annette DeLay's house.
13. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? - Marty
14. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? - Mine, to Jimbo; no real dress-up/photo day.
15. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? - Checked on Marty
16. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? - Simon and Garfunkel, at The Pit, in 1967 or 68.
17. FIRST tattoo or piercing? - Ears, by Annette, at my house when we were 15.
18. FIRST foreign country you went to for vacation? - England
19. What was your FIRST run in with the law? - I've had traffic tickets, but never a crime or an arrest.
20. When was your FIRST detention? - I was not that kind of girl.
21. What was the FIRST state you lived in? - Texas, as far as I was conscious to know.
22. Who was the FIRST person to break your heart? - Ha. My mom for being a crappy mom sometimes. Romantically? I guess Joseph Garcia.
23. Who was your FIRST roommate? - Liz Bohman (sp?), first year of college
24. Where did you go on your FIRST limo ride? - haven't been, but Holly will have hers in a few hours
25. Who will be the FIRST to repost this? - maybe Holly; maybe nobody.


Current Location: Home
Current Mood: restlessrestless
Current Music: I hear Marty's TV show

Damned Impermanence

I don't mind being spiritually unready to detach myself from object permanence. Maybe next lifetime. Maybe never. Don't they have monks and nuns for that? I'm a hoarder and an archivist and I love my little souvenir things.

So I have my teddy bear (Teddy) and my rubber Indian (Kawliga, named by my mother before I could speak, but chosen by me over any other toy in the store, even though my mom said she was carrying six-month-old-me all around and trying to persuade me to get a little stuffed lamb), and my Tiny Tears doll. They live in this Samsonite overnight case from ancient days.

I knew several years ago that Tiny Tears had lost a pinky finger. Rubber is that way. She has a papier mache head or some such, and rubber everything else.

I knew a year or two ago that my Indian had lost his squeak. He squeaked for over 45 years, which is more than can be said for most squeaking-things.

Today, Holly wanted to show Brett my doll. Impermanence was doing its dirty work, and her leg had separated from the part that held it inside. And the Indian not only didn't squeak, he had petrified in an awkward position. Okay, so he's always been in an uncomfortable looking and politically incorrect dancing squat, but he was a guy who could dance and squeak, but he is, I know for sure, at least 55 years old. And he's kinda stiff. And one leg is up too high, and his tomahawk is kinda touching the back of his head.

So I asked Holly if she would pose them and photograph them, where I couldn't see, because it's a little bit distressing for me. That Indian and that teddy bear got me through countless dark and scary nights when I was a kid forced to be in my own bed two or four rooms away from my parents. Teddy got me through some bad times in college, and I slept with him a time or three when I left my first husband. But Teddy's fine. It was the nose of Kawliga that I used to suck when I was a toddler and not allowed to have a bottle or a pacifier. I had my Kawliga. I'm over it now. Nearly.

So, breathing through the angst of the loss of functionality of two out of three of my baby companions, Holly came back with the bad news that the camera was broken.

What!? I LIKED this camera. I could USE this camera. It was this, give or take a feature or two: So Holly and I trekked out on errands, one of which was to take this camera to the dealer from which it came... when? Over two years ago. It cost $250 plus a memory card, I think. Its problem was "focus error." "Take it to the Fuji dealer," the book said.

So... —the post office first. Mailed some books and a set of thinking sticks.

—Toys R Us for Holly to look at baby dolls (which is what started this entire Permanence-Failure-Cascade in the first place, her talking about getting another baby doll). They hire 16 years old and they need to hire for Christmas. Good information.

—Anthropologie, so I could show Holly the lamp I liked and get her to sneak photos (with her phone) of some of the shop art, but some of the window book display had been taken down; bummer. I wanted a scarf and she talked me out of it. They're hiring, but they only hire 18 and up.

—Coronado mall to the camera shop. The camera shop is gone. Called Brett to ask him to look up a Fujifilm repair shop. There is one, and we could see it from there, across the street.

—Camera repair shop is like a museum of discarded impermanence. Non-working cameras in the hundreds, in glass cases. It's fixin' to make me sick. Focus error is one thing she can't fix there; it would have to go to Fuji; it would cost $150.

—Called Kirby to see what kind of camera he owns, because Holly liked it. A Kodak something. I wrote the full name down on the bottom of the kleenex box in the car. He said he doesn't love it entirely.

—Holly's too thirsty to think; we buy water. I'm hungry; we spend too much time trying to get three chicken strips from KFC, and a small root beer. Long fiasco, involving the drive-through, both of us going in and waiting, Holly going back in... But at the drive-through, I call Lori to see what her camera is. I know she loved hers. I'm dialing her number when the KFC guy says they don't have sweet and sour, but do I want blah blah or blah, and I say "Honey mustard," to Lori, in Tucson. She likes me anyway. She has a Nikon something (also written on the kleenex box).

—Holly needs a small fancy purse for a homecoming dance she's attending Saturday. Went to Savers; found one. Angsty me, asking Holly where she would go to buy electronics, and she said she never buys electronics. Oh yeah. I do.

—Went to Target, to look, because it's on the way home and if they have one we're done. We look at everything and there among all the silver and black cameras is a green one. And it's a Fujifilm finepix. It's nothing like our old one, except it takes the same memory card and has the same menus and icons. That's an advantage. And it's on sale for $150, the cost of repairing the old one. I call Kirby again because Holly isn't sure the one we see there was the same as Kirby's. I'm not loving the day, but I do love Holly.



We got the green Fujifilm camera and I've spent the past three hours figuring out what it can do. Everything, and some more that the old one couldn't. It's not as easy to hold, and things that were physically set on the old one (at least by the user) are through a menu on this one, but the names of modes are familiar and this one has larger prompts and options, big enough to read, and clearly in English. The old one was physically easy, but visually cryptic.

I love Holly and she loves photography, and I'm becoming very digital-camera-dependent my own blog-loving self, so I wasn't willing to stretch and burp and think about it.

One really good thing: The old camera was too big for her to have taken to the homecoming dance. Now, with this one, it will fit in the fancy little purse she just bought for $1.99 and we didn't think about it until we were nearly home.

The photos up top were taken by Holly with the new camera. Thank you, Holly.

To any of you reading who are not at all attached to favorite shoes, or photos, or books, or games, or guitars, I salute you. I am in awe of people who can really rise above the love of an old van or a certain pair of scissors. I feel like a baby, and the fact that my dolly's leg is off doesn't help.

Keith is healthy, I've spoken with Kirby three times today, Marty is getting better, Holly and I had a really nice afternoon despite the glitches. I shouldn't be sad about some molded rubber and a camera nobody expected to last more than a few years anyway.

"No contact sports"

Gratuitous Photos (none from today) I wish Marty could still be comforted as easily as when we could hold him while he slept. Joy, one day. Marty buried Holly once, a little bit. I can hear them laughing in the den. He must be feeling better.

My dishwasher repair guy was a few hours late, but made up for it with entertaining stories and showing me how to disassemble the drain, and to "reboot" the electronics.

Marty was sick and had swollen glands behind his ears that reminded me of Star Trek TNG and creepy parasitical aliens, so I took him to urgent care. I hoped for antibiotics, but instead they took various fluids, told him he didn't have strep throat, and they'd call the next day with more news. Meanwhile, he was given two written notices: no working at a restaurant until Friday (in case it's something contagious) and no contact sports (so he doesn't get hit in the spleen or other abdominal organs that aren't feeling so great).

Holly needed me to go where a permission form was for her to go to a homecoming dance this weekend with some high school girls she likes. We didn't make it before I had a 7:30 meeting scheduled...

No armored combat for Marty. No touching forks and spoons in a place of culinary business.

I was at a restaurant for an hour and some talking with friends I care very much about, on a subject I care much less about. But it was important and now it's done.

Then Holly drove me to her friend's house (many turns on curvy roads in the dark.) I met the parents and signed the papers.

I talked with Flo Gascon about some details of the Good Vibrations Conference near San Diego next September. She's the owner/organizer. I'm to be a speaker. I'm excited about it.

Tomorrow, except for going to the post office and taking some things to give to charity, I'm unscheduled. Maybe it's age or fatigue, but I'm starting to LOVE unscheduled days. I should schedule more of them!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I hadn't made one of these for a long time. I'm glad I did. It didn't go far, with five people. This is one of those things that takes way more time, money and effort to make than time to eat it. And it's not diet food. But it certainly is beautiful, for just a few minutes.

Cotton Candy

I usually have photos of my kids and their friends here, but today I have Keith and myself (and then some of Holly, and of Holly and her boyfriend, Brett). This afternoon the four of us went to the Honeywell company picnic at the Spanish Village at the New Mexico State Fair grounds.




There were six "bouncy houses," all of a nautical or island theme. It seemed to be "Bounce Like a Pirate" day.



Holly and Brett went through one together that was a racing maze, with a climb up into a treasure chest and a slide down, but I wasn't able to get photos. They were inside of places most of the time, and going pretty quickly.

I haven't seen cotton candy made for a long time, and have never seen it made under ceiling fans. That was unexpectedly exciting. Here's the lady who was doing the hard sugar-spinning work, and Brett and Holly in line.


Small and larger wisps of the cotton candy were being pulled up into the air and swirled around by the fans. People were catching it and eating it, but these sweet flying dust bunnies hardly made a taste when you got one in your mouth. Still, it was mesmerizing and entertaining.


Click to enlarge (these or the bouncy houses above):




Keith, Holly and Brett, September 27, 2008

...and days passed.

Oh! My computer was fixed on Tuesday for less than $100. Woohooo! And I looked at all the iPhones and their myriad potential docking ports, and the macbooks and the ipods that seem to do everything an iPhone does except that one thing... telephone calls.

I was at the Apple store in the new Uptown mall in Albuquerque, which is between Winrock (a dying mall from the early 1960's) and Coronado (a thriving mall from the late 1970's). But THIS mall is cool. It's like a little town with six blocks of new buildings. You can park right in front of the stores. The intersections are roundabouts, and pedestrians have the right of way more places than not. There's underground parking and a parking lot for people who want to hike. There's a spa with a pool. There are very expensive restaurants. There's a ground fountain. There's a store called Anthropology (-ie) I'd never heard of and the display art was really interesting. They have an artist who does... art! So the building is set up kind of like a dozen little boutiques, by theme and mood. I didn't have a camera with me. The window art was made of books. I should go back with a camera.

Last night Holly and I went on very short notice to see the filmed final Broadway presentation of Rent. $20 apiece, and I'm thrilled that we saw it. It's showing at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, and that's it. It's at Rio 24 (for those in range) but it's showing in lots of towns, but only four times in each. So after Sunday, I guess we'll all just have to wait for the DVD. (They wouldn't cruelly decline to put it on DVD, would they?)

This afternoon we're going to see Sam Rockwell in Choke. Holly and I both really like Sam Rockwell.

I've been low-level sick for a month. Marty walked to the store with me yesterday and reviewing the week, we discovered we both have the same symptoms. It's like a head cold without fever or being really sick. So maybe we have an allergy we didn't have or didn't notice before. It's making us forgetful.

It's nearly October, and I love October. I like the days being surprisingly cold, and hot, and mixed. I like the plants going to seed and the visitor-birds coming through on their way south. We would see more if we were closer to the river. When I was a kid we were just a thousand feet or so from the Rio Grande, and now we're maybe eight miles, and for birds, that's a big difference. They're going to follow the river, not cross mountains.

Kirby was talking about a visit home, but his seasons revolve around game releases and overtime opportunities, so I think he'll wait until right after New Year's. Keith's life revolves around government contracts, and presidential elections have a big effect on such things, so the engineers are restless. He's worked at Honeywell for over 20 years, so he's built up a lot of time off, and that's a wonderful thing. Kirby's in paid-vacation land now too.

I'm moving from one little project to another and cooking a lot this week, and sleeping a lot. It's a still place before the next adventure.