Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Rambling
Where to start?
My husband. He got an 'A' and and 'A+' for grades for his second half of summer session. The 'A' would've been and 'A+' too, except his professor didn't know she could give that for a grade. That professor, who's been a huge supporter of Erik in his return to college, officially got her doctorate today. Hubby went to her dissertation defense today and she passed. Yippee for her! Yippee for Hubby!
Hubby and I went shopping all day yesterday with Hubby's parents. Shopping takes a lot of thinking and a lot of walking. It's exhausting. Hubby's parents treated us to outfits for our upcoming trip to Atlanta. Aren't they sweet? Hubby looks fabulous in a suit, even though he isn't used to one and doesn't think so. (Trust me, he is stunning, knock-your-socks-off gorgeous. I don't think I'm biased on this in the least.) I got a couple of cute dresses and two smart, splashy jackets to go with them - all from Coldwater Creek. My biggest sticking point is shoes. I think I'm going to end up taking three pairs - THREE PAIRS! - with me on the trip. Good heavens, that's a lot of shoes for one trip. I'd like to get by with two, but I have to have the right combination of color, style, and comfort for the particular outfits. (Listen to me! Kvetching about fashion! Something strange is going on. I never kvetch about fashion.)
In other news, the children are getting ready to go back to school soon. Eldest Son finished his summer job last Friday. We went out to eat to celebrate. Daughter is back to practicing flute and readjusting her bedtime. She and Eldest get their schedules tomorrow. Youngest Son is probably not too keen on going back, but that's because he's never quite fit the system. We have to nurse him through it. He's still not happy that he no longer has recess now that he's in middle school. He has quite the cadre of friends and recess was their time to pal around.
I'd like to welcome Joanne of Poppy Seed Heart back to the blogosphere. She has posted a most thorough description of her baby's birth experience. So heart-warming.
My husband. He got an 'A' and and 'A+' for grades for his second half of summer session. The 'A' would've been and 'A+' too, except his professor didn't know she could give that for a grade. That professor, who's been a huge supporter of Erik in his return to college, officially got her doctorate today. Hubby went to her dissertation defense today and she passed. Yippee for her! Yippee for Hubby!
Hubby and I went shopping all day yesterday with Hubby's parents. Shopping takes a lot of thinking and a lot of walking. It's exhausting. Hubby's parents treated us to outfits for our upcoming trip to Atlanta. Aren't they sweet? Hubby looks fabulous in a suit, even though he isn't used to one and doesn't think so. (Trust me, he is stunning, knock-your-socks-off gorgeous. I don't think I'm biased on this in the least.) I got a couple of cute dresses and two smart, splashy jackets to go with them - all from Coldwater Creek. My biggest sticking point is shoes. I think I'm going to end up taking three pairs - THREE PAIRS! - with me on the trip. Good heavens, that's a lot of shoes for one trip. I'd like to get by with two, but I have to have the right combination of color, style, and comfort for the particular outfits. (Listen to me! Kvetching about fashion! Something strange is going on. I never kvetch about fashion.)
In other news, the children are getting ready to go back to school soon. Eldest Son finished his summer job last Friday. We went out to eat to celebrate. Daughter is back to practicing flute and readjusting her bedtime. She and Eldest get their schedules tomorrow. Youngest Son is probably not too keen on going back, but that's because he's never quite fit the system. We have to nurse him through it. He's still not happy that he no longer has recess now that he's in middle school. He has quite the cadre of friends and recess was their time to pal around.
I'd like to welcome Joanne of Poppy Seed Heart back to the blogosphere. She has posted a most thorough description of her baby's birth experience. So heart-warming.
Labels: baby, children, clothing, grades, husband, parents, poppy seed heart, school, shopping
Friday, June 08, 2007
Drawing & Such
I took another vacation day today, which resulted in the day feeling like Saturday instead of Friday. Daughter, husband and I went shopping. Daughter is joining cross-country and wanted a pair of running shoes. I took my sewing machine in to be repaired. The zig-zag stitch mechanism isn't working. The machine has seen fairly light use since I bought it back in 1995. My husband can't believe I still have the receipt.
This evening, husband and I took Young Son Number Two out for a walk. Pleasant time for it - breezy, but not cold, sunny, not too many bugs.
Last night (I seem to be backing up in time here), I finished a fiber arts piece that I'm thinking of using for the collection of short stories I'm writing. Let's be honest, I'm really working on a book, but if I think of it as a collection of short stories, it seems more manageable. Now that I'm well on my way toward finishing story #8, I have to think about the format the book will take, which includes the cover. That's what the fiber piece is about. My first love, as far as interests go, is art. I've been drawing and doing some sort of fiber art since I was a kid. Now that I'm coming to book layout and design, my fingers will be all over that as well as the writing.
If I haven't created a piece of art in a while, I tend to forget how much I like the process. This morning I was talking to Eldest Son and spotted a library book on the floor near his bed (the best place for library books, in my opinion). I asked if I could look at it and got the go ahead from Eldest Son. The book is called "Keys to Drawing with Imagination" by Bert Dodson. What a fabulous book. Even if you're not an artist, it's fun to look through with its acres of whimsical drawings. Should you choose to delve in, Dodson starts you out with a chapter called "Doodling and Noodling," which is a no-stress way to get drawing. And I mean no-stress. Trust me on this. I've taken many a college art class in my day and haven't seen the "Take a Line on a Walk" exercise before. I'm just itching to get out my pencils and good paper.
Addendum (just a wee bit later, same day): Here is the link to Bert Dodson's real-deal website. The one above is for his book on Amazon.
This evening, husband and I took Young Son Number Two out for a walk. Pleasant time for it - breezy, but not cold, sunny, not too many bugs.
Last night (I seem to be backing up in time here), I finished a fiber arts piece that I'm thinking of using for the collection of short stories I'm writing. Let's be honest, I'm really working on a book, but if I think of it as a collection of short stories, it seems more manageable. Now that I'm well on my way toward finishing story #8, I have to think about the format the book will take, which includes the cover. That's what the fiber piece is about. My first love, as far as interests go, is art. I've been drawing and doing some sort of fiber art since I was a kid. Now that I'm coming to book layout and design, my fingers will be all over that as well as the writing.
If I haven't created a piece of art in a while, I tend to forget how much I like the process. This morning I was talking to Eldest Son and spotted a library book on the floor near his bed (the best place for library books, in my opinion). I asked if I could look at it and got the go ahead from Eldest Son. The book is called "Keys to Drawing with Imagination" by Bert Dodson. What a fabulous book. Even if you're not an artist, it's fun to look through with its acres of whimsical drawings. Should you choose to delve in, Dodson starts you out with a chapter called "Doodling and Noodling," which is a no-stress way to get drawing. And I mean no-stress. Trust me on this. I've taken many a college art class in my day and haven't seen the "Take a Line on a Walk" exercise before. I'm just itching to get out my pencils and good paper.
Addendum (just a wee bit later, same day): Here is the link to Bert Dodson's real-deal website. The one above is for his book on Amazon.
Labels: album art, bert dodson, books, daughter, drawing, family, husband, minnesota, sewing machine busticated, shopping, short story, sons, vacation, weather, writing
Monday, January 22, 2007
Guilty of Nothing
Yesterday, our youngest son bolted into the bedroom and asked if he could go to the grocery store with a friend of his. He and the friend had heard that another friend had been at the grocery store recently and had been there no more than ten minutes when a store employee told him to leave because he knew he was there to shoplift. My son and his friend wanted to go to the grocery store and avenge their friend. While a valiant maneuver, I couldn't let him go. I've long been afraid something like this would happen, where a store employee would pick on one of my kids just because they were young and at the store without parents. It's a horrible, silly attitude that adults have toward kids. Every time our son has gone to the grocery store with a friend, I've forewarned him to be on his best behavior and not to act like he's up to something suspicious.
Yesterday afternoon, we finally allowed Young Son #2 and friend to go to the grocery store. They were followed around the store by an employee, even though they went to purchase something specific and my son ended up buying several other things (a coconut, a star fruit, and a cucumber - he realized once he got home that he doesn't really like coconut, but wanted the experience of opening one). Here they were, guilty of nothing, except for being customers, but they were treated like shoplifters. Crazy. How long would an adult put up with this before deciding not to shop at a store again?
Yesterday afternoon, we finally allowed Young Son #2 and friend to go to the grocery store. They were followed around the store by an employee, even though they went to purchase something specific and my son ended up buying several other things (a coconut, a star fruit, and a cucumber - he realized once he got home that he doesn't really like coconut, but wanted the experience of opening one). Here they were, guilty of nothing, except for being customers, but they were treated like shoplifters. Crazy. How long would an adult put up with this before deciding not to shop at a store again?
Labels: grocery store, guilt, innocence, shoplifting, shopping, son
Sunday, December 31, 2006
The Demise of Music Stores
This is old news that hit home yesterday when we were shopping. We headed to the nearest metro-ish area, thirty miles from home, hoping to find some music cds. Before we left home, we mentally tried to come up with a list of stores where we could shop for music. We wanted someplace with a broad selection, including the quirkier stuff, like Rammstein. As we went through what used to be a short list of appropriate places, we realized that the list had gotten even shorter. Media Play went out of business last year; the Electric Fetus has gotten all gift-y, and their music selection, which used to be great, now stinks. The mall music store is gone. That leaves us with whatever they've got at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, and Barnes & Noble. B&N has a more avant guarde selection than the other three, but the price tags are all about two dollars higher per disk than the other places.
While I realize that the music biz has shifted to the digital age, and I don't mind buying some of my music online, I miss not being able to walk into a music store on a whim and look through the offerings. There's something immensely satisfying in seeing the array lovingly arranged by knowledgeable employees and in finding something unexpected. Now that Tower Records has fallen, I'm not sure we'll ever see a music store of the traditional kind again. What we need is a hybrid. A place we can go to browse, with that helpful music-smart staff, that helps us with our downloads. I'm still holding out hope that the literature that accompanies music will not die, but will transform in some way to match the digital age.
While I realize that the music biz has shifted to the digital age, and I don't mind buying some of my music online, I miss not being able to walk into a music store on a whim and look through the offerings. There's something immensely satisfying in seeing the array lovingly arranged by knowledgeable employees and in finding something unexpected. Now that Tower Records has fallen, I'm not sure we'll ever see a music store of the traditional kind again. What we need is a hybrid. A place we can go to browse, with that helpful music-smart staff, that helps us with our downloads. I'm still holding out hope that the literature that accompanies music will not die, but will transform in some way to match the digital age.
Labels: idea, music, rammstein, shopping, technology, tower records
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Poor Bathroom Design
The hubby, daughter and I went shopping today. Before getting started, we stopped at Arby's for lunch. Following the meal, daughter and I made a stop in the bathroom. We came out grousing about the poor design. For one, the coat hook was too low on the stall wall and it was directly over the garbage can, such that when a coat was hung, it touched the garbage can. Eeww! The stall door swung directly into a picture on the wall. Someone had already cracked the frame. The paper towel dispenser was so high on the wall that it could only comfortably be reached by someone seven-feet tall. Underneath was an electric hand dryer, presumably for handicapped accessibility, but there was another garbage can placed underneath it so that a wheelchair couldn't get into the space. Such little things, so easy to fix, but the poor design left a really big bad impression.
Labels: arby's, bathroom, daughter, husband, poor design, shopping
