I subscribe to several bento blogs on RSS. I love Bento TV. This is partly Kaja Foglio‘s fault, if only because she referred to them initially in her blog. Of course the rest of it is all me.
President’s Day, I convinced Maureen to come with me to Daiso, a Japanese dollar shop. They had a lot of cool bento stuff. So Tuesday I made Maureen and Keith bentos.
I spent Valentine’s evening with my sister shooting handguns. Wednesday is ladies night at Reed’s Indoor Range, so it was quite cheap.
Out of the blue on my birthday, I get an email from a woman wondering if I’d like to buy a painting from her on eBay. It was supposedly a picture of my family tree. Of course, I was suspicious. There are a lot of Beavers.
Grandma bought a book when I was a child purporting to be of our family. It had an embossed cover, etc. etc. Sadly, they had just pulled everyone with the last name out of phone books across the country (pre-internet). I figured this might be a similar scam.
But the email listed several names that I recognized from my limited research. So I went to look. Not through her link, but I searched from eBay for the item she listed. It was a legitimate item, old and partly bug eaten. The pictures weren’t great, but the description mentioned even more names that I knew.
I called the number listed in the auction and asked more questions. She found my name on Ancestry.com, as well as posting an announcement on the site about the painting. She was friendly and gave helpful answers. She told me she would email me when she sent it, and asked if I would email her when I got it.
I bought it.
It’s in somewhat worse shape than the picture showed, but it’s definitely old. It’s not my taste in art, but it’s not badly done. But it’s an heirloom. There’s a picture of it after the cut.
I guess I need to dust off my genealogy data and figure this puzzle out.
It’s a heck of a random birthday present.
Maureen and I started making our annual special Christmas cookies on Saturday.
This year we are making:
Peanut butter bon-bons
Swedish Thumbprints
Pizzelles
Rum Balls
Coconut Macaroons
Incredible Fudge
On another note, I reminded myself that winning a race doesn’t mean a won race.
So that time is coming around again. I thought I’d steal an idea from Shiaw-Ling and do a gift idea blog entry. At first I figured I’d do the extensive list I’ve done in the past, but Shiaw-Ling’s list of likes and generalities seem better.
Favorite color: Right now teal. I also like black.
My clothing pallet: I’m a Winter, which means my colors should be bright, jewel tones. I favor cool colors, including the cooler shades of red and green. Black goes with everything.
My house colors: Our carpet is forest green, so I tend to favor colors that complement that. Blue is a common color in the house. Our towels are dark blue. Our appliances are white. The wood we have is a darker golden oak with occasional hints of cherry.
I try not to have too many knick-knacks around the house, but we continue to accumulate them whether we want to or not.
Fragrances: I try not to over-fragrance my life, because it’s bad for your sense of smell. Still, scented gifts are nice. I love spicy scents–cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, nutmeg, etc., either alone, or as part of a blend or cooking theme, e.g. pumpkin pie. I like some citrusy scents-lemon verbena, orange blossom, key lime.
I dislike most floral scents, unless they’re spicy floral. I absolutely dislike lavender. It gives me a headache and makes me feel nauseous. It’s really annoying to me that most scent blends for relaxation contain lavender, which makes them inaccessible to me.
Things I’m really into now: Cell phone straps/charms, cute aprons (that fit me), non-”boring white” handkerchiefs, cute bento boxes and accessories.
Ooh, I just saw this. Anyone into yarn could make me one of these to fit a Puffs pack. My tissues keep getting thrashed. The covering for my electric dictionary (4.5″x3.5″x.5″) is on its last legs, too.
I just discovered my tiny photo album that I carry family pictures around in has gotten thrashed pretty hard. It was a great portable size, about 2.5″x3.5″. I took it with me to Japan, and I’ve been meaning to update niece and nephew pictures for a while. A new album would be the perfect excuse.
Of course I have an Amazon wish list, if you care to check it out.
Cherry blossom Mom
Your petal kisses my cheek
Obscuring the sun.
さくらはは
かおで口付け
日を見ない
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I started on this haiku in April, but got writer’s block after the first line. I was trying to make things too complicated again…
At lunch today, Shiaw-Ling talked about her poem “duel” with John Simpson. She won, of course. :^) After she read the poems, it must have loosened the gears in my head.
They’re not perfect. I’m not even sure if the Japanese version is as layered as I hope, but they’re something.
While we were at lunch, my friend Shiaw-Ling was talking about her writing group. She explained that it was difficult for people to learn to give constructive criticism. It’s very easy to say something sucks; it’s harder to explain why it sucks.
Last night at dinner, I told my friend John that he is a dumbass because of his latest blog post. Go look. See? Keith, Stacie, and I made fun of John during the remainder of dinner.
Unfortunately that’s not constructive criticism. Not even the part where we pretended to forgive him because of his “Canadian ignorance.” There isn’t really such a thing.
It would be better to say that John’s post about Ed Bradley was perhaps too succinct to properly convey his points without seeming ignorant. He might want to consider that there are a wide variety of lovely shades of brown for African-American skin.
John would also do well to research his topic a little before making random comments. He mention’s Bradley’s Lifetime Achievement Award, but fails to mention any of Bradley’s other awards, which include, but are not limited to, nineteen Emmys and a Peabody.
Bradley has done some wonderful work in journalism, and deserves better treatment.
Today I feel: Slightly nauseous. It’s associated with the headache I’ve been harboring all day (despite the application of caffeine, Excedrin, and ibuprofen at appropriate intervals).
Today I did: Bid farewell to Keith’s parents until Christmas. Went back to bed. Woke with the headache. Read some info for being a poll worker on Tuesday, and contacted my field inspector for set-up time.
I did a little editing on What’s Up Wit’ That? I hope to take over the editing duties from Keith, so he has more time for Keith Explains!
John invited us to watch Borat with him and his friends, so we carpooled with him up to San Mateo. Keith gave Orla the swag she’d won at the Keith Explains! marathon party, which included an autographed picture of them together. Borat was pretty funny. Sometimes it was funny for being silly; and sometimes it was funny for being outrageous. Sometimes it was uncomfortable. There were definite inconsistencies with the plot.
TV I’m watching: Right now I’ve been watching Bento TV, which is a web program that was recommended by Girl Genius co-creator, Kaja Foglio, on her blog. Kaja gets her son to eat home-packed lunches by making bento for him.
What I’m reading: My voter’s guide for the ballot initiatives. My election officer manual. Craft magazine. Throne room reading is still Shojo Beat.
What I’m looking forward to: Being an active citizen by being a poll worker. Yay!
Current pet peeve: Not paying attention to the deadline for the Craft/Make Halloween contest, so that this guy‘s costume gets internet recognition instead of Keith’s. >_<
Today I feel: Tired after being so busy. Not as blue today.
Today I did: All sorts of preparations for Maureen and George’s Halloween party tomorrow.
I made ham party dip shaped like a brain. See it after the cut.
I made sugar skulls according to this recipe. Now I know why the Mexican Sugar Skull website recommends using meringue powder. The second egg white I used had a much higher moisture content than the first, so I needed to add a lot more sugar to get the right texture.
I’m currently working on Jello shots. I decided that if Maureen and George are making grog, I would make non-rum shots. So far I’ve made Margarita and Bluebeard shots. The cute sugar skull molds of the men and women with hats are hard to unmold. The brims want to tear. I’m trying to keep the done ones in a single layer so they don’t deform the way the eggs have. Hopefully I’ll have time to make a few more kinds.
I spray painted my helmet and Keith’s crown, then I decorated the helmet. Now I have bits of hot glue all over my fingers and gold spray paint under my fingernail.
I still need to put edging on Keith’s cape, if I have time and put in elastic. I have to buy veggies for the ham dip and order Josh’s birthday cake at Costco. I have to figure out logistics for getting to the WAVE awards and back, so our driver can pick us up.
TV I’m watching: Mostly just stuff I don’t have to pay attention to, like Iron Chef America, Cops, That’s Clever. I’ve been listening the the Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me podcasts that have been queueing up in my iTunes.
What I’m reading: I don’t have time for anything besides throne room reading right now. I’ve been trying to catch up on my Shojo Beat magazines. I need to do Shonen Jump as well, but I’ve discovered that I didn’t receive the January issue this year. This is bad for continuity. It may have been stolen, since in my internet perusals, there seems to have been a rare Yugi-Oh! card in it.
What I’m looking forward to: The Halloween Party! Woot!!!
Current pet peeve: Not finding a decently priced complete copy of Shonen Jump Volume 4, Issue 1. Jeez, twice cover price for a copy without the card?!? That’s outrageous, people.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Don’t forget to check yourself regularly, and have your partner help. Men can get it, too. Think Pink!
Hey! I made it as one of the 1st 500 blogs to go pink and get linked at Pink for October! After that, he got overwhelmed. Someone even made a photo-mosaic from all the blogs.
Today I feel: Relieved, yet very lame. Confused.
Today I did: Called my (very understanding) Prof. after emailing him my pitiful work. He’s being very kind, and will try to petition for an extension. Just in case, he told me to crank out most of it over the weekend. I also took our cat, Lilith, to the vet because she had developed cherry eye a couple weeks ago. This is rare in cats, more common in dogs. Monday our vet referred her to an animal ophthalmologist. The most common treatment for cherry eye is surgery, which is expensive. Fortunately, the doctor was able to tuck the tissue back into the crevice where it belongs. Much cheaper and easier. She will probably be able to get rid of the collar tomorrow.
TV I’m watching: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I’ve got 3 months of them saved up, and need to get down to watching them for themes. Also, Dirty Jobs over dinner. We love that show.
What I’m reading: Bakhtin. Throne room reading was Boneyard Vol. 5 until this morning, now it’s My Sassy Girl.
What I’m looking forward to: Being done! So I can move on with my life.
Current pet peeve: Not being done.
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