maybe I'll see some of this in Jersey~

What is the weather supposed to be like this weekend?

scheduling

I have a dripping ceiling in my kitchen which is caused by an unfinished/leaky tile job in my bathroom. The tile job in the bathroom looks nice but it is leaking.

It's been a couple of months now and I have been making plans during that time to get a tile guy and a plumber to come to my house at the same time to work on the trouble and I'm worried after all this that it doesn't actually fix the leak-who knows, right?

But I am moving forward with the job with the hope that it will be fine and fixed and my kitchen will have less of a relationship with my bathroom. I do have that hope. Last night I fussed with the bathroom, removing things and sorting it out for the job this morning.

This morning I woke up at 7 in anticipation for the 8 am arrival of the workguys. I had hired and confirmed their schedule and I got a call from the tileguy at 7:15 this morning asking, "are we still on?" uh, yeah. I have been anticipating this day, this job for months, it feels like.

DbR and I drank coffee and hung around with the dogs and then the plumber showed up at 8:20-but no tile guy. I felt all stressed that the plumber would finish his prep and the tile guy wouldn't be here and the plumber would have to leave and then charge me another start up fee when he came back (really can't afford that). I called the tile guy a couple of times and the plumber started cutting into all my walls and I sat here and waited, playing a little scrabulous.

9:15. The tile guy is here. Can't wait to see what happens.

saturday nights awright

last night i got a text on my phone and it didn't say who it was and the number isn't in my log and i can't help but wonder, "who?"
it's Saturday. DbR is showering and i am using his lappy. i haven't been on a computer since i was at work yesterday. when i got home afterwards DbR showed up with a nice table and chairs and set them up in the yard, over by the property line/bulkhead. "who is going to sit there with you?" I asked. He was befuddled as to my refusal. "You may as well ask the neighbors over to have a cup of coffee and smoke with you." He shook his head at me. "Space waster" During the 15 minutes it took me to clear off my back porch, sweep and mop the thing and have him bringing the set up on the porch I tried to explain to him how that space was not wasted, it worked perfectly and necessarily well as my buffer. That is the space I need between me and my neighbor's driveway, etc. He didn't seem to understand the McNamara way. Put a fence up!

This morning the neighbor with 2 pit bulls and a puppy had his brown puppy, cocoa, out in the yard. Cocoa ran over to Rosy, the neighbor dog while Peretz and Pickles strained at the end of their lines to be part of the action. They weren't, except as the chorus: "ruff! ruff! woof! woof!" etc.

(not so) Lazy Sunday

This week's dark obsession woke up, drank coffee and left me with the 2 dogs while he went to work for a quick minute, ran over to Atkins where he bought me some flowers for the yard (johnny jump ups), a couple big ol' apple fritters and 2 pieces of pineapple cream pie and drove back to the Bricker.

Meanwhile, I broke up dog on dog annoyances right and left, made a nice fire (it got cold today) and started sorting out my last photographic project. he's trying to take a pic of me but i don't think i look as cute as i did yesterday.



feel like i have a sore throat.

get the pool to ripple

is it nice out? i think it is finally kind of nice out.

Fearless by default: Day ninety seven ... A confluence of events.

Fearless by default: Day ninety seven ... A confluence of events.

It's funny how things are connected. First, the Mary mentioned in my friend's blog is a friend of mine and my friend, DbR's, and here she is, featured prominently in this blog I enjoy. Secondly, the guy mentioned in this blog, the Rob guy with a baby? Well, I had a date with him a year or so ago during which we went and had some ginger beers at The People's Pint after he picked me up from my house. After nailing down the fact that we know each other from when he came over to my house to record in my ex's studio way back in 2003 or something he then proceeded to tell me how wonderful and talented and supergreat my ex is and even though perhaps I might on some days be found on the very same debate team, I certainly don't need to hear such propaganda from my current date, right? So I had asked the guy, "Could we please talk about something else? I don't really want to tune into the FVP channel.." But he wouldn't stop! He kept bringing him up and how talented and personable and funny FVP is and when they first met and what they've done together musically and....

after the date he emailed me once more to tell me that I "really need to get over" my ex. How incredibly helpful he was!!

come on over and spackle

it's fun!
the bf and I were ripping down the old dark wallpaper in his room to be and he got a strange and absurd idea that the walls behind the wallpaper aren't as smooth as he thinks they should be and has some wacky intention (he might actually be joking-ha!) that the walls should be smoothed and sanded, etc. do you believe that?

Well, that is not the type of project I'm interested in being involved with, so if anyone reading this would like to "wax on/wax off" with the this and that of wall smoothing, please contact me here and I'll sign you up.
Over and out.

like infinity-a soft pelted dog

So, the roommate moved out and although he was generally a nice guy and served a purpose for me in my life in many ways, wow, I love having the house to myself. Just me and the dog and the cat: life just feels so peaceful, perfect. I have a date to go see an old friend tonight and I might cancel it just so I can be alone in my house. I really need to clean this dump (flash to Elizabeth Taylor in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf -You know what I'm talking about.) and even though I attacked the bathroom last night- clean floor and porcelain, soft, fluffy throw rugs...mmmmm- I didn't touch the floors of kitchen, living room and dining room because DbR came over and we started pulling the wallpaper down in his future room. This was an enjoyable activity, to be sure, but my cleaning schedule took a major hit.

Yesterday was a good day-I saw 4 (four) different men in relationship to some home improvement capacity. I love April 1, 2008-true love forever.

One more silly, ironic note: When FVP lived here he brought a crappy big ol' gas grill that never worked. It just sat out in the yard looking ugly. Then, when he left, I had to get rid of it. I paid some guy to take away a bunch of old crap to the dump, including that. I was pretty happy to have it gone. The roommate moved in and much to my dismay, six months later carts over -yes-another gas grill. I was filled with dread. I think he used the thing fucking twice, ridiculous. Guess what? He left it.
I have the monster sitting in my backyard exactly where the last one was. It works. Anyone want it? Come and take it away. Why am I the keeper of discarded gas grills? I hate them. Stupid robot.

question

why is there a dead mouse in my dining room? During the time it took just now for me to go into the cellar, put clothes in the dryer and start a new load of laundry, a dead creature has been deposited in the (well-travelled) doorway between the kitchen and dining room. was it the cat? was it the dog? where had it been before I went downstairs? Pickles isn't saying anything.

I don't like to balance

Last feb - may 2007 or so I started taking Bikram yoga fairly regularly. I really liked the way it made my body feel and I got pretty flexible.

My least favorite poses were the ones where they included balancing on one foot: the tree and the standing head to knee. Meanwhile, the eagle, bow and stick, although they are balancing poses, I was more able to do them, not for the full 60 seconds, but I could almost do them alright and so would have more inclination to try to get back into the poses when I fall out. Anyway, I didn't like the balancing poses very much.

On June 26th, I broke my ankle. I had stopped doing bikram more than a month before that because the man, Charlie, who owned the Northampton/Sunderland Bikram, was a total dick and I didn't want to get him my money. After breaking my ankle, I often found myself inadvertently balancing on my left foot. I missed sweating and stretching but there are no other nearby Bikram classes so I stayed sedentary. Fast forward to January 26, 2008 and what happens? I break my other ankle and spend a solid 10 days balancing on my right foot. So bizarre.

I still miss the Bikram work out and I found out in Putney on Friday nights there is a class and I vow to go, which I did yesterday.

Forget about the balancing poses, especially on the newly broken ankle. I can sort of do balancing stick on both, can do a little bit of the bow on the right foot but I cannot balance on my toes in the awkward. I've always loved the fixed firm. It felt so good and I was always able to go right into it. Now, whenever the pose starts with sitting on my feet, I'm fucked, I can't do it. I can't sit on my feet. I'm afraid and it hurts. waah.

I think I am going to continue going on Fridays in Putney. I would like to do it and I cannot get any worse! The teacher is understanding and although I feel frustrated from the first time out, I believe bodies can recoup and so I would like to help mine do so.

good coffee good face

I have my new bright brown pants on this morning and I'm feeling pretty good. The frisbee was bobbled a bit but I recovered it and I am strong enough to toss it 50 yards in a straight line.

My ankle might not be able to support me as I run over the rutted field but if I stand stock still in some shin-height rolling ocean with smooth sand underfoot, then I'm safe.



yep, feeling pretty good about these pants.
photo of me and my pants at Gettysburg by DbR

sigh

back at work.
overwhelmed.
having some very nice coffee.
not sure of anything.



photo of little bird at Gettysburg by DbR

vacationing in nashville, tn

I worry a little about Pickles as I am surrounded by 3 other dogs who are pretty fun and funny.

I'm pretty sure he's fine and most of his needs are met but I bet he's a little lonely. Little dog.

The vacation is going well. I sang some righteous karaoke and enjoyed some seedy nightlife at the "bongwater" aka Sweetwater, a divey bar near the Parthenon. The Parthenon was lovely to see and DbR + I are leading a fairly relaxed existence amongst the background of his childhood home. It's nice that there are parents out there who stay together and live in the lovely house which they have been in forever. I'll never feel the same way about the house I grew up in, even though my father still lives there, it will always be my mother's home from when I was a child and now it is just kind of cold and empty with him in there. I guess it would have made more sense to me in my heart and head if she stayed there and kept it warm and lovely and he took one of his apartments at Sedgwick Street. But that's not the way it worked out and although my mom has acquired a pretty nice little house, it's not history.

That's okay, I have always wanted to make my own history anyway and although it is too late for that, I can surround myself with things which please me and move forward through the every day as if I belonged somewhere.

Three pants in 3 days

i bought myself 3 pairs of pants in the past week and i have to hem each pair as my inseam is 27 and waist is too big.
now i must work on the final pair which i would like to wear today.
meanwhile, the idea of combing my hair seems fruitless

didn't go out to see a studio band play last night. i regret it now, as i usually do when i opt for snoozing instead of live music. oh well. this morning has been chock full of laughs and good times even though i've barely left a 5 ft. area.

my face is very dry.

Happy St. Patrick's Day~

whee! lets drink beer. oh, yeah, that is everyday.
Hey, im in nashville, tn and i think i am going to go buy some shoes! my ankle is better and would like to sport something more interesting than these LLBean rubbers.

im hoping for some doc martin maryjanes-something clunky and sassy that i can dance in.

Happy

Have you taken the time to check yourself? I have and I'm happy. It's pretty cool.

Fire

remind me to relate the coincidence of Dbr and I both causing fires in beloved restaurants.

Better than cake and coffee

I love this guy.

Dog on Dog Kind of Day

I've been walking the dog. Or should I say, "limping" the dog? I started small and now I am up to the usual lunchtime dog walk. Used to take me 15 minutes. I'll let you know when I get up to speed. Now it's about 1/2 hour, but I didn't time carefully.

Today is cold but sunny and at this time of day (5 pm), there is prevalent dog walking traffic. We saw a lady with a big grey terrier walking in front of us in the same direction. When she went into her house with Grey, Pickles wanted to join them. Then we saw a loose dog up the sidewalk, heading in our direction. I don't want to tangle so I crossed the street, never a sure move. The dog was white, longish hair with dalmatian dots and dashes. The dog's face was charming but I was in no condition to make nice as Pickles is unpredictable and with my achy, (also unpredictable) ankle I was cautious.

I made Pickles sit and we watched the dog approach casually down the sidewalk across the street. I glanced around and I saw another dog walker-actually a couple-also at a halt, on the same side of the street as loose whitey, watching his moves. The woman saw me and asked, "Do you know him?" I replied that I did not and we observed the dog stand around a little and walk a little and then a car pulled up and the whole family got out at the house near the dog and it became clear the dog belonged there, to them.

"Don't ask who left him out!" The mother exclaimed wryly. She looked familiar to me. I liked her immediately. Pickles and I continued on our way. When I glanced back at the other dogwalkers I saw that they were walking a monster bulldog. Cute. A couple houses up and there was a young guy walking his smallish doberman. We again avoided. My legs felt tired. Dog is looking out window now.

yesterday and tomorrow

The roofers came yesterday and found they did not have the correct implements and materials to successfully complete my job so they put it off until today-Friday.

A coincidence, however minimal, occurred with my good friend, DbR, who is waiting for some parts to come in for his car to get repaired and those parts inscrutably weren't available for his job to be completed.

These strangenesses take place in my life with more and more frequency as the asteroid which is set to wipe out life on planet earth propels forward closer and closer. I'm going to try to remember to note them here with the label, "coincidence".

And so. Coffee coffee coffee.