So the front wall in the living room is painted. And it looks good, if I do say so myself. Updated pictures will ensue once I've gotten the curtains cleaned. They were gross. I don't know how this house gets SO DUSTY. The slowest part was cleaning everything off - this was the wall with guitars hanging on it, the loveseat, the tv and accouterments, the giant black lamp and a pile of guitars on the floor. All of which needed cleaning up. So I guess this was my belated spring cleaning.
The walls in the dining room are done, so the only wall left is the one behind the sofa. Which entails moving the sofa and all the CDs. Not all of which will be returning, hopefully. So this wall can wait until after T-Day. And I will enjoy my painted walls for now. And try not to think about the last one... Looks like fun, eh?
Cute? Or too old-lady? I want to wear them to Tubachristmas with a short skirt and bright red tights. Would it work? Tuba notwithstanding. The heel seems to be reasonable without being too frumpy. I think...
To clarify: 1. I have slightly kooky taste in shoes. My clothes may be pretty staid but I like a goofy shoe. Seriously, I would probably own most of the shoes Pink Studio makes (except for the serious heels). I would sell somebody's grandmother (not mine) for these: However, this leads us to:
2. I can't buy shoes in stores. There is no trying-on. I wear a 12W. Most brands do not produce shoes that big. Pink Studio certainly does not. Clarks does. They are about the only brand I have found that aren't either totally orthopedic looking or just plain frumpy (I think this may have led to my tastes getting weirder over time).
3. The goal is actually some shoes I can wear when going out in winter. We are not chauffeured to our partying here. We park places and walk other places. Weather is shitty. And I fall down in heels over 3". Sober. So these babies are not gonna happen. I may just have to see if they are frumpy in person or not. Endless.com does have free shipping...
What is the first movie you ever saw in a theater?
No clue. The first movie I remember seeing in a theater was The Little Mermaid because the ending was scary. Heavy when you're seven and a lightweight. I remember running away when my family was watching Return of the Jedi at home because of the fight scene with the Rancor at the very beginning. However I also remember dancing around with my sisters to David Bowie in Labyrinth. A child's mind is scared by the randomest things. David Bowie, no. Rancor, yes. Also, ALL of the Dark Crystal. Still haven't tried to watch that one again. Skexis, no thank you very much. I was a wuss. Still am.
Tell me how those aren't scary. These guys? No big deal, apparently.
What's the book that had the biggest impact on you?
Oh that's a variable one. It could change based on time of day. I was a speed reader from an early age and ate up whatever I could find. I loved anything about mythology and read possibly every OZ book ever written. Graduated to junk like the Babysitter's Club and the Fountainhead in short order. One of the ones that stuck with me the most was Tam Lin by Pamela Dean, I remember doing a book report on it in 6th grade and have reread it at least once a year since them. It just had such a strong, interesting female protagonist who loved books and the fantasy undertone was there, but not as strongly as a lot of the junkier stuff I was reading at the time (ahem, Mercedes Lackey). Also, the writing was great, and I never would have read a lot of books if they hadn't been alluded to in Tam Lin. Oddly enough, I never got into any of Pamela Dean's other stuff. Among other books Tam Lin got me to read: The Daughter of Time (which got me hooked on Josephine Tey) and The Lady's Not For Burning (now one of my favorite plays).
In what fictional place would you like to vacation, and what would you bring back as a souvenir?
Right now? Lord Peter Wimsey's England. We could shop for first editions and I could have tea with Harriet. I'd be fine just bringing back a tin of nice tea. It's cold and gray and I'm in England-mode right now. Mmm, teacakes. Maybe I'd bring back teacakes.
What place (where you live) gives you joy?
We live a couple blocks from the Truckee River which actually runs through downtown Reno. Most of the casino brochures don't mention that. But the Truckee is really pretty. I don't go down there enough. There is a river path that runs from Verdi all the way to Sparks and a piece of it is right by our house. So that would be it for me. Or at least one of the places. It just makes you feel like you're someplace else. What's your drag song?
Probably either Queen, Mika or the Scissor Sisters. Or Lady Gaga. I am developing a weird fondness for current super-gay pop.
Don't you just want to put him in your pocket he's so cute?
I hate being sick all the time. It's not a full-blown flu, just an annoying recurring sore throat, constant sniffle etc. Stupid colds. I hate people who come to work sick.
Thus, working at home again for as long as I can stand it/my boss can stand it. Bleah. I have stuff I want to be doing.
I even tried to take it easy this weekend. No big projects, no late nights, a couple of sedate dinner parties (helping fill a table at a local Democratic fundraiser "Welcome to surreal town, you're underdressed" but a favor is a favor), and errands. That's it. Even a health-giving walk as Matt's grandma is wont to call them.
I had last Friday off. For Nevada Day, the day on which Nevada was made a state. Sometimes working for the university isn't so bad! Free weekday, though, of course equals Project Day!This is the celebrated BBQ nook of yore. It faces the fridge. It is built into the backside of the fireplace and has a little door underneath for your propane tank to live in. Am I the only one who thinks this sounds unsafe for indoors? Maybe, but it's MY kitchen, so functional space, here we come! Our buddy Paul is a talented guy (not to mention a badass metal drummer). He kindly covered all my cinderblock with plywood and caulked it all nice and tidy. Then I got to wait around and be antsy while the caulk dried before I could paint it and hang the shelf. End result? Nice useful storage (and yes, those are all my cookbooks. I love to look at 'em but I never use them so I have a hard time hanging on to tons of them. I always want more though). There is power here (another reason why the BBQ idea seems sketchy) so I can plug in my toaster so now it is basically the toaster nook. The mixer gets used rarely but will fit nowhere else in my entire kitchen so here it stays. It is great, I got it from a friend-of-a-friend who broke it and didn't want to bother calling Kitchenaid to get it fixed. So $80 later I have a fully working awesome mixer that would normally cost a LOT more than that. And for how much I use it, I am glad I didn't pay full price. And the big blue bowls is actually a stack of great big ceramic serving bowls so it is great to get them out of the way of everything else.
All in all, a very satisfying little project. I theoretically could have done the plywood bits myself but it would have taken a LOT longer and would not look nearly as tidy. So I can justify a little outlay for mister Paul's time and skill. That's one thing in my kitchen I don't have to hate anymore!
Would you rather eat Reese's Cups or Peppermint Patties?
Sigh. Before the no-nuts debacle it would have been Reese's in a heartbeat. I love me some creamy fake-pb goodness. Peppermint patties are fine though. But now it is usually straight milk chocolate or the kind with little crispy rice bits (hippie Crunch bars, basically).
Would you rather never listen to music again or lose your TV? Lose the TV. No question. As much as I love Project Runway and NOVA, 99% of TV adds nothing to my life and I don't really think I'd miss it if it was gone (although I do love my Netflix). But give up music? I might die. No concerts? No Noisettes on the iPod while I'm in the lab? No drone-y Indian music during yoga? No way. That said, tonight will be the first night this week that I don't have band practice, and now we're going to a concert Saturday night too. Music is a HUGE part of my life.
If you could visit any one time period in history, when would it be? This is a toughie, I'd probably go with the 60's just to see the changes going on, even though some of them were sad ones, it was so vibrant and interesting and it wouldn't be going back far enough to one of the women-as-chattel, no-personal-hygiene periods like the Renaissance (which I would be ok with if I could be male, and maybe a Medici or something).
Would you rather die peacefully, but unexpectedly in your sleep at age 60 or die at 90 after suffering for years from disease? 90/disease. As unpleasant as it sounds. My grandmother is 102 and not in perfect health but if she had died at 60 I never would have met her. She got to meet all her grandchildren and lots of great-grandkids and seems to still enjoy the time she has with us. So I'd rather not give that up.
Do you think that questions such as "what's your favourite colour/ice cream/album of all time" help you get to know another person? Hell no. This may possibly be due to my complete inability to choose a favorite anything. I like too much stuff a lot to pick out any single favorite thing.Shortcuts like this just don't cut it for me.I agree with the points made by others (lauralynne? I'm already mixed up on this meme) about how the small questions can be good starters for discussion and lead to bigger questions and more depth to the conversation. But I'm just bad at them.
Yes, I'm fine, Matt just dragged me to see This Is It last night. I did enjoy it, although not as much as he did (he's a HUGE fan). I'm no apologist, I just enjoyed watching them put together what was obviously going to be an amazing spectacle of a show. I loved seeing them putting together all of the effects and videos to go along with the songs. The band was amazing and the dancers he found were fantastic. And dude could still dance like crazy.
And H'ween was low-key, but I did love my costume. We'll give everyone else black bars for anonymity, but we've got my date Boba Fett (clearly on his night off) and my witch friend with her date the Invisible Man (the Ace bandages lasted for about 10 mins. before he had to take them off, but I like the idea). And yes, my hat was lopsided but I did fix it (every 15 minutes or so, for the ENTIRE night). It made the costume though, I got tons of compliments on it. Although the veil makes me look like I was going to a very sassy funeral.
Looks like fun, eh?
However, this leads us to:
I may just have to see if they are frumpy in person or not. Endless.com does have free shipping...
Tell me how those aren't scary.
These guys? No big deal, apparently.
This is the celebrated BBQ nook of yore. It faces the fridge. It is built into the backside of the fireplace and has a little door underneath for your propane tank to live in. Am I the only one who thinks this sounds unsafe for indoors? Maybe, but it's MY kitchen, so functional space, here we come!
Our buddy Paul is a talented guy (not to mention a badass metal drummer). He kindly covered all my cinderblock with plywood and caulked it all nice and tidy. Then I got to wait around and be antsy while the caulk dried before I could paint it and hang the shelf.
End result? Nice useful storage (and yes, those are all my cookbooks. I love to look at 'em but I never use them so I have a hard time hanging on to tons of them. I always want more though). There is power here (another reason why the BBQ idea seems sketchy) so I can plug in my toaster so now it is basically the toaster nook. The mixer gets used rarely but will fit nowhere else in my entire kitchen so here it stays. It is great, I got it from a friend-of-a-friend who broke it and didn't want to bother calling Kitchenaid to get it fixed. So $80 later I have a fully working awesome mixer that would normally cost a LOT more than that. And for how much I use it, I am glad I didn't pay full price. And the big blue bowls is actually a stack of great big ceramic serving bowls so it is great to get them out of the way of everything else.
We'll give everyone else black bars for anonymity, but we've got my date Boba Fett (clearly on his night off) and my witch friend with her date the Invisible Man (the Ace bandages lasted for about 10 mins. before he had to take them off, but I like the idea). And yes, my hat was lopsided but I did fix it (every 15 minutes or so, for the ENTIRE night). It made the costume though, I got tons of compliments on it. Although the veil makes me look like I was going to a very sassy funeral.
