I am waist-deep in work at the moment, but I will try to pop in when I can. Right now, I am waiting for some water to boil so I can blanche some tomatoes for soup.
Went back to the orthodontist with Hannah, and we are looking at 3-5 years of treatment, depending on how well Hannah keeps up her end of things. She'll be in a retainer [make that an activator--ed.] for the first year to pull her lower jaw forward. Then she'll get braces. I don't know if she'll have them on the bottom, but definitely on the top to push her front teeth back into position and to pull one of her incisors down into place (it is growing out of the side of her gum right now).
For people who fear socialized medicine: our insurance will pay 80% over the course of treatment, and if Hannah does everything she is supposed to, i.e., has a good outcome, they will reimburse us for the other 20% at the end. Just sayin'...
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, April 03, 2009
Adventures in Dentistry
I got Hannah and myself in to see the dentist for some way overdue check-ups, and he referred her to an orthodontist. We went in for the initial x-rays and impressions but have to wait until next time for the photos. I am pretty sure they are going to put her in braces, but we won’t know the full extent until her next appointment during Easter break. She seemed ok with the idea at first, but she had a minor freak-out about it one day when we were arguing about her study habits, so I don’t know how she is going to handle the up-coming consult. Please cross your fingers for her.
My check-up went about the same as always: x-rays, which always pinch my gums and hurt more than any other dental work short of dental surgery; more appointments set for a cleaning and a few cavities. At the cleaning, I started to wonder how long the hygienist could leave her fingers in my mouth before my saliva would start to dissolve them. It’s the first step in digestion, you know. John has been giving me a hard time about that ever since, especially after my revelation at an earlier visit.
At the first filling appointment, I got an old amalgam filling drilled out and a new composite filling put in. It looks really good—you’d never even know it wasn’t my tooth. That was on a molar, and everything went normally. The dentist offered me a shot, but the sound of the drill bothers me more than the actual drilling, and a shot won’t help that, so I said no. He said most women say no. Then I had an appointment to fix some cavities on my front teeth (well, one front and the one next to it to the side—I don’t know tooth names). I thought I was going to get the top of my head pulled off. At one point, there were 4 hands, multiple tools, and maybe a foot up in there. It was crowded! My jaw is still a bit sore up where it hinges, but my teeth look good, so that’s a mercy.
My dentist gave me instructions on a slightly more complicated method of brushing and a prescription for a special toothbrush. It looks like a tiny bottle brush, and I shove it between my molars instead of flossing back there. I had no idea there was so much space between them! So now my dental hygiene routine is ridiculously long. If you have been wondering where I’ve been, probably cleaning my teeth.
Ps. When the dentist handed me a mirror to look at my teeth, I also noticed that an amazingly long hair was sticking out of my nose. I don't normally patrol my nose, I just wait until my immediate family members make some kind of horrified comment before taking any kind of nose-action, but this was bad. And of course, the dentist had been staring into my mouth and ostensibly also up my nose for about an hour, minus the 10 minutes he disappeared and no one knew where he went. *sigh*
My check-up went about the same as always: x-rays, which always pinch my gums and hurt more than any other dental work short of dental surgery; more appointments set for a cleaning and a few cavities. At the cleaning, I started to wonder how long the hygienist could leave her fingers in my mouth before my saliva would start to dissolve them. It’s the first step in digestion, you know. John has been giving me a hard time about that ever since, especially after my revelation at an earlier visit.
At the first filling appointment, I got an old amalgam filling drilled out and a new composite filling put in. It looks really good—you’d never even know it wasn’t my tooth. That was on a molar, and everything went normally. The dentist offered me a shot, but the sound of the drill bothers me more than the actual drilling, and a shot won’t help that, so I said no. He said most women say no. Then I had an appointment to fix some cavities on my front teeth (well, one front and the one next to it to the side—I don’t know tooth names). I thought I was going to get the top of my head pulled off. At one point, there were 4 hands, multiple tools, and maybe a foot up in there. It was crowded! My jaw is still a bit sore up where it hinges, but my teeth look good, so that’s a mercy.
My dentist gave me instructions on a slightly more complicated method of brushing and a prescription for a special toothbrush. It looks like a tiny bottle brush, and I shove it between my molars instead of flossing back there. I had no idea there was so much space between them! So now my dental hygiene routine is ridiculously long. If you have been wondering where I’ve been, probably cleaning my teeth.
Ps. When the dentist handed me a mirror to look at my teeth, I also noticed that an amazingly long hair was sticking out of my nose. I don't normally patrol my nose, I just wait until my immediate family members make some kind of horrified comment before taking any kind of nose-action, but this was bad. And of course, the dentist had been staring into my mouth and ostensibly also up my nose for about an hour, minus the 10 minutes he disappeared and no one knew where he went. *sigh*
Thursday, April 02, 2009
I am a Lush
…fan. Despite the fact that I can’t actually stand going into a Lush shop, just like I can’t stand spending more than 5 seconds near the perfume counter in a department store. Total olfactory overload. But the extreme scent output has a plus-side: I often use Lush as a smell-landmark when walking through town. "Ok, I can smell Lush, so I must be near X." This is one reason why John and Hannah’s birthday gift to me this year was not as much of a surprise as they had been hoping: one whiff of the car’s interior when they picked me up, and I knew exactly where they had been. You don’t forget a smell like that.
But even though it wasn’t exactly a surprise, the big box o’ Lush products was appreciated. The bath bombs are really cool and fizzy, but the Supernova leaves little strips of confetti in your bathwater. Somehow, that had less of a "party in the tub" and more of a "fell in a puddle at Mardi Gras" feel to it, but the water does end up pink. I had to get a drain strainer from the kitchen before I could drain the tub, though.
Lush tries to be environmentally friendly, so they use real popcorn as packing material. Hannah took one look inside the freshly opened box and made a grab for some of it, totally ignoring all the slips of paper warning her not to eat it. "Tastes soapy." *spit* Hmmm … a box full of loose popcorn cushioning unwrapped bars of soap. Soapy, you say? An unexpected bonus: I poured the popcorn in the organic recycling bin under the sink, and the Lush smell neutralized the usual vomit-y smell in there.
I stowed the cardboard box with the dwindling supply of soaps in the bathroom cabinet, and now everything else that is stored in there also smells like Lush: boxes of kleenexes, John’s shaving bag, our table linens. It’s quite refreshing to clean your nose with a Lush-laden tissue. I wonder what the cats think of the scent-bomb in the bathroom…
But even though it wasn’t exactly a surprise, the big box o’ Lush products was appreciated. The bath bombs are really cool and fizzy, but the Supernova leaves little strips of confetti in your bathwater. Somehow, that had less of a "party in the tub" and more of a "fell in a puddle at Mardi Gras" feel to it, but the water does end up pink. I had to get a drain strainer from the kitchen before I could drain the tub, though.
Lush tries to be environmentally friendly, so they use real popcorn as packing material. Hannah took one look inside the freshly opened box and made a grab for some of it, totally ignoring all the slips of paper warning her not to eat it. "Tastes soapy." *spit* Hmmm … a box full of loose popcorn cushioning unwrapped bars of soap. Soapy, you say? An unexpected bonus: I poured the popcorn in the organic recycling bin under the sink, and the Lush smell neutralized the usual vomit-y smell in there.
I stowed the cardboard box with the dwindling supply of soaps in the bathroom cabinet, and now everything else that is stored in there also smells like Lush: boxes of kleenexes, John’s shaving bag, our table linens. It’s quite refreshing to clean your nose with a Lush-laden tissue. I wonder what the cats think of the scent-bomb in the bathroom…
Friday, March 13, 2009
The Wheels on the Bus
...aren't nearly as interesting as the characters on the bus. Who did we have today?
1. The girl who thinks she is LaFee (a German singer)
but whose make-up ends up looking like one of those Harlequin clowns.
2. This really good-looking African guy who I never notice until he is getting off the bus, and staring at that point is both awkward and futile.
3. A guy in a tri-corner hat, carrying a spear, a sword, and a lantern, and reading a novel. I thought he was going to a Revolutionary War reenactment--in Germany?!--but John pointed out that he could be one of those tour guides in period costumes. Like this.
Yes, a guy in an 18-th century costume and a girl with eye-liner doodles on her cheek have been the highlight of the week. So sad.
1. The girl who thinks she is LaFee (a German singer)
but whose make-up ends up looking like one of those Harlequin clowns.
2. This really good-looking African guy who I never notice until he is getting off the bus, and staring at that point is both awkward and futile.
3. A guy in a tri-corner hat, carrying a spear, a sword, and a lantern, and reading a novel. I thought he was going to a Revolutionary War reenactment--in Germany?!--but John pointed out that he could be one of those tour guides in period costumes. Like this.
Yes, a guy in an 18-th century costume and a girl with eye-liner doodles on her cheek have been the highlight of the week. So sad.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Nasty Break-Up in the Works
Nick* and I are having a bit of a lover’s quarrel at the moment, and I’ve decided we could really use some time apart. I mean, he said he’d be showing up with a new episode of Winx yesterday, yet when I greeted him at the agreed-upon 3:15 pm, he only had fucking Drake and Josh. I mean, hel-lo? I totally hate that show.** And last week, he told me he’d be there with Winx at 4:45 pm, M-F, yet this Monday he apparently decided he really meant 3:15 pm, and didn’t I check his web site, Baby, he can’t be sending commercials every time he decides to change the programming. Sheesh!
Anyhow, I’ve decided to go with my back-up lover, the master’s thesis. He makes me feel better about myself, although I will miss the excitement and the romance. He is the Colonel Brandon to Nick’s Willoughby.
And I know Nick is thinking I will come crawling back to him when he starts waving Avatar in front of me at the end of the month, but by then, I’ll be all, “Nick who?” Smell ya later, Nick!
* Nickelodeon, duh!
** Drake is supposed to be a hottie who can do no wrong, but he is just a dick. And the little sister, Megan, is a psycho. And Josh is constantly being abused. It is all just wrong!
Anyhow, I’ve decided to go with my back-up lover, the master’s thesis. He makes me feel better about myself, although I will miss the excitement and the romance. He is the Colonel Brandon to Nick’s Willoughby.
And I know Nick is thinking I will come crawling back to him when he starts waving Avatar in front of me at the end of the month, but by then, I’ll be all, “Nick who?” Smell ya later, Nick!
* Nickelodeon, duh!
** Drake is supposed to be a hottie who can do no wrong, but he is just a dick. And the little sister, Megan, is a psycho. And Josh is constantly being abused. It is all just wrong!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
From my reading: the federal spending addition
I just read an article in the NYTimes, "A Zealous Watchman to Follow the Money", about Earl E. Devaney, the inspector general of the Interior Department, who is now in charge of keeping track of the money paid out from the stimulus package. There are two web sites mentioned in the article, both of which will track spending and outcomes:
Recovery.gov, the Interior Department site
StimulusWatch.org, an independent site
I will definitely be bookmarking these sites and checking them often.
And along those lines, here is a site with a poster that shows federal spending:
Death and Taxes: A Visual Guide to Where Your Federal Tax Dollars Go
Recovery.gov, the Interior Department site
StimulusWatch.org, an independent site
I will definitely be bookmarking these sites and checking them often.
And along those lines, here is a site with a poster that shows federal spending:
Death and Taxes: A Visual Guide to Where Your Federal Tax Dollars Go
Monday, March 09, 2009
Super Quick Update
...while the rice is cooking.
I delivered Hannah to the train station this morning for her class trip. She called around 5 to say she was having a good time and had been awarded a "ranger certification" for snowshoe-ing or birdhouse building or something. So 2 nights and 2 full days more of Hannah-less-ness.
I delivered Hannah to the train station this morning for her class trip. She called around 5 to say she was having a good time and had been awarded a "ranger certification" for snowshoe-ing or birdhouse building or something. So 2 nights and 2 full days more of Hannah-less-ness.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
In No Particular Order
I slipped on some ice 2 weeks ago and landed on my knee. I hadn't realized how much kneeling I do around here until my injury, which caused me to jump up or fall over every time I had to fish something out from under the sofa or the bench. The bruising was gone after about 10 days, and I can kneel again now with minimal soreness. Stupid ice!
Hannah's class is going on their class trip starting next Monday. They are going to Freiburg to ski and visit the Roman exhibit at the museum. The teacher decided that his original plan--going to Cologne and Bonn in June--was too ambitious, but the realities of trying to book space at the hostel in Freiburg meant we got kind of short notice (about 3 weeks, one of which was during a school vacation). I forced Hannah to buy a new hat and to promise to actually wear it while outdoors. We also bought new snow boots, not a simple task at the end of the winter season. She wasn't too thrilled about skiing at first--what is she ever thrilled about?--but I think she is looking forward to the trip now.
Winx is back on the air! It must have started on Monday, because on Tuesday we happened to be watching Nick and the second episode from the first season came on. Woo! Welcome back, Nick addiction!
Hannah and friends came up with the idea of joining the school newspaper and talked the older kids on the newspaper staff into taking them on. There weren't any underclassman on the paper, and Hannah and friends thought they would like to be represented. Hannah seems to be the spokesman for the group and has already written a short article about the recent spate of graffiti at the school. She also has 12 pages of a spy novel written, and she says that her alternate career path (to being a cook) is to be a journalist; after she's made a name for herself in that career, she'll publish her novel, make a ton of money, and retire. Riiiight. At least she found an extracurricular activity to take an interest in, since ballet and Swedish didn't seem to do it for her.
We got an auto-parts circular in the our mailbox the other day, and there was a whole section on marten-protection for your car. (I particularly like the photo on this product: it looks like the marten wants to break into the car and steal the radio, not chew on some delicious rubber parts.) In case you are wondering, a marten is like a weasel. Wikipedia (neither in English nor in German) doesn't say anything about it being a threat to vehicles, but then again, we had mice in our AC system once, and I doubt that would get a mention in Wikipedia either.
We're at that horrible time of year when spring keeps putting its head up and then getting whacked back down, like a seasonal whack-a-mole. Yesterday I tried going out without a hat, but by the time I headed home again, I was wishing I had it with me. And don't get me started on the open window in the ladies' toilet in the English Department! Brisk is one thing, but having your ass frozen onto the seat is another. The neighbors facing us across the street have yards that tell us when we are creeping up on spring: the yard on the left floods from an underground spring, and the yard on the right sprouts crocuses. Both are entertaining in their own way.
I recently bought and set up a wireless router for our apartment, but we discovered that John's laptop didn't have a wireless card installed, so he has been tethered to the router with a cable for a week or two. I finally was able to find a card for his laptop in the States, and after a week underway, it got here Tuesday. Since John is working hell-for-leather on a translation job, I had to wait until the evening to try to install the card. I opened up the laptop, plugged in the card, attached the antennae, and... nothing. The next day, I downloaded the correct driver, fired it up, and... nothing again. Argh! John's laptop has a switch on the side for turning on the wireless connection, but the LED never came on when I switched it on. I turned to the Internet, where I found an ingenious solution that involved taping over some of the pins on the wireless card. And it worked! Even though my laptop is newer and came with a wireless card installed, I had a lot more problems getting my wireless Internet up and running than his. I guess that is mostly because I already had to adjust a bunch of junk on John's machine when I installed the software for the wireless router earlier (even though John was using it as a LAN connection). Anyhow, snaps for me! Like I told John, it seems scary to mess around with stuff on the computer since I am not especially computer literate, but I will do almost ANYTHING--cooking, sewing, reading music, computer troubleshooting--if I have some kind of directions. And it paid off! (Sorry, I'm still jazzed about the whole thing.)
Hannah's class is going on their class trip starting next Monday. They are going to Freiburg to ski and visit the Roman exhibit at the museum. The teacher decided that his original plan--going to Cologne and Bonn in June--was too ambitious, but the realities of trying to book space at the hostel in Freiburg meant we got kind of short notice (about 3 weeks, one of which was during a school vacation). I forced Hannah to buy a new hat and to promise to actually wear it while outdoors. We also bought new snow boots, not a simple task at the end of the winter season. She wasn't too thrilled about skiing at first--what is she ever thrilled about?--but I think she is looking forward to the trip now.
Winx is back on the air! It must have started on Monday, because on Tuesday we happened to be watching Nick and the second episode from the first season came on. Woo! Welcome back, Nick addiction!
Hannah and friends came up with the idea of joining the school newspaper and talked the older kids on the newspaper staff into taking them on. There weren't any underclassman on the paper, and Hannah and friends thought they would like to be represented. Hannah seems to be the spokesman for the group and has already written a short article about the recent spate of graffiti at the school. She also has 12 pages of a spy novel written, and she says that her alternate career path (to being a cook) is to be a journalist; after she's made a name for herself in that career, she'll publish her novel, make a ton of money, and retire. Riiiight. At least she found an extracurricular activity to take an interest in, since ballet and Swedish didn't seem to do it for her.
We got an auto-parts circular in the our mailbox the other day, and there was a whole section on marten-protection for your car. (I particularly like the photo on this product: it looks like the marten wants to break into the car and steal the radio, not chew on some delicious rubber parts.) In case you are wondering, a marten is like a weasel. Wikipedia (neither in English nor in German) doesn't say anything about it being a threat to vehicles, but then again, we had mice in our AC system once, and I doubt that would get a mention in Wikipedia either.
We're at that horrible time of year when spring keeps putting its head up and then getting whacked back down, like a seasonal whack-a-mole. Yesterday I tried going out without a hat, but by the time I headed home again, I was wishing I had it with me. And don't get me started on the open window in the ladies' toilet in the English Department! Brisk is one thing, but having your ass frozen onto the seat is another. The neighbors facing us across the street have yards that tell us when we are creeping up on spring: the yard on the left floods from an underground spring, and the yard on the right sprouts crocuses. Both are entertaining in their own way.
I recently bought and set up a wireless router for our apartment, but we discovered that John's laptop didn't have a wireless card installed, so he has been tethered to the router with a cable for a week or two. I finally was able to find a card for his laptop in the States, and after a week underway, it got here Tuesday. Since John is working hell-for-leather on a translation job, I had to wait until the evening to try to install the card. I opened up the laptop, plugged in the card, attached the antennae, and... nothing. The next day, I downloaded the correct driver, fired it up, and... nothing again. Argh! John's laptop has a switch on the side for turning on the wireless connection, but the LED never came on when I switched it on. I turned to the Internet, where I found an ingenious solution that involved taping over some of the pins on the wireless card. And it worked! Even though my laptop is newer and came with a wireless card installed, I had a lot more problems getting my wireless Internet up and running than his. I guess that is mostly because I already had to adjust a bunch of junk on John's machine when I installed the software for the wireless router earlier (even though John was using it as a LAN connection). Anyhow, snaps for me! Like I told John, it seems scary to mess around with stuff on the computer since I am not especially computer literate, but I will do almost ANYTHING--cooking, sewing, reading music, computer troubleshooting--if I have some kind of directions. And it paid off! (Sorry, I'm still jazzed about the whole thing.)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
After 2 nights of obvious dreams—someone stepping over me on the ground in a sleeping bag trod on my hair, me begging WesTexGirl to put a good word in for me with her mother the ex-barber—and weeks of being annoyed at finding 2-foot-long hairs on everything I own, not to mention the many incidents of getting my hair caught in the fan in the back of the hairdryer (ouch!), I finally broke down last week and got out the sewing scissors. That’s right, I went from this (thanks to Hannah)
To this
Hannah says it makes me look younger, which I don’t know about, but it does make me less crazy, and that’s worth it to me. It is still long enough to put in a ponytail, but not long enough to get caught under my shoulders when I roll over in bed, so that has saved me from having to wake up every time I want to roll over in the night. Win!
To this
Hannah says it makes me look younger, which I don’t know about, but it does make me less crazy, and that’s worth it to me. It is still long enough to put in a ponytail, but not long enough to get caught under my shoulders when I roll over in bed, so that has saved me from having to wake up every time I want to roll over in the night. Win!
Kickin' it at home
Back in January, the city library closed for a 5-month renovation (only 4 more months to go!). The library wisely put the word out that patrons should stock up for the long, dry period, partly for the customer-service aspect, and partly so they wouldn’t have to move all the books to storage. We unwisely waited until the next-to-last open day to do our stocking-up. There were no DVDs at all (I think they may have been moved to one of the smaller branches), no English books, and the kids section was like a ghost town. John was able to find a big ole stack of travel books—checked out on my card! So now the library thinks I am obsessed with bicycling through Bavaria, etc. Hannah scrounged up several kids’ books, but it would take a shipping container to hold 5 months of reading for her, so that hasn’t actually helped with the bedtime what-to-read routine. I was reduced to scavenging through the cookbooks. I actually like to cook and would like to be able to make more traditional German recipes, so it wasn’t too much of a hardship. I found a cookbook with some *very* German-looking baked goods, so I thought I would try it out. So far, I have made one really delicious item and one really dense item, but since we are talking about German baked goods, I may have actually made it correctly.
No, the main enjoyment has come from the cookbook itself. For some reason, the producers of the second-most popular German soap opera, Unter Uns (“In Private” or “Between You and Me”; the first-most popular is Gute Zeiten—Schlechte Zeiten (“Good Times—Bad Times”)), decided that a cookbook full of photos of the characters from the show was just what the public wanted. I’ll let you decide.
Here’s the happy family:
Who needs water to surf?
Hey—Wham called. George Michael wants his hair back.
Now take a guess at the date of these photos.
Go ahead, I’ll wait.
John and I were guessing mid-80s. *1996* is when the book was published, and the show first aired in 1994. Mind. Boggling.
Now, to complete the horror for you, I present the top of the page for the recipe for a pie made out of chocolate-covered marshmallows (here’s what they look like on the inside):
Oh my god—my eyes! That puppet totally creeps me out. Even if I were inclined to make the recipe—which I am not; can you say “diabetes”?—I don’t think I could stand around in the kitchen with the page open long enough to manage it. I am thinking of paper-clipping the 2 pages together so they don’t accidentally fall open.
No, the main enjoyment has come from the cookbook itself. For some reason, the producers of the second-most popular German soap opera, Unter Uns (“In Private” or “Between You and Me”; the first-most popular is Gute Zeiten—Schlechte Zeiten (“Good Times—Bad Times”)), decided that a cookbook full of photos of the characters from the show was just what the public wanted. I’ll let you decide.
Here’s the happy family:
Who needs water to surf?
Hey—Wham called. George Michael wants his hair back.
Now take a guess at the date of these photos.
Go ahead, I’ll wait.
John and I were guessing mid-80s. *1996* is when the book was published, and the show first aired in 1994. Mind. Boggling.
Now, to complete the horror for you, I present the top of the page for the recipe for a pie made out of chocolate-covered marshmallows (here’s what they look like on the inside):
Oh my god—my eyes! That puppet totally creeps me out. Even if I were inclined to make the recipe—which I am not; can you say “diabetes”?—I don’t think I could stand around in the kitchen with the page open long enough to manage it. I am thinking of paper-clipping the 2 pages together so they don’t accidentally fall open.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Dream a Little Dream of Wee
I have always had vivid, complex dreams, and I can normally pinpoint what is contributing to them. For instance, before my dermatologist appointment, I had the tentacle-mole dream; before my GYN appointment, I dreamed I picked at a pimple-like bump on my breast and a big hole opened up and the contents of my breast fell out and turned to yellow dust. When I have a little guilt over being such a bad correspondent with my friends back home, they show up in my dreams. Thanks for the reminders, Subconscious!
But there's one frequent dream-and-variation that has left me scratching my head. Try to imagine, if you will, the dirtiest, nastiest, most disgusting public toilet you have ever encountered. Now multiply that by 30 stalls, none with doors, paper, or seats, and most containing floaters. Now find one toilet you could talk yourself into hovering over, but then notice it has no or low walls and is in the middle of a busy public thoroughfare or a men's locker room, after you've pulled your pants down. I have this dream all the time. This morning, I finally realized what it is: the don't-piss-the-bed dream. Despite peeing every night immediately before bed and being a light sleeper--light enough that needing to pee would definitely wake me up--my Barbie teacup-sized bladder has joined up with my subconscious, and they have decided not to take any chances on an adult bed-wetting episode, hence the yuck-tastic dreams.
I'm going to the dentist next week. I'm sure I will have a nightmare involving giant tooth-zombies.
But there's one frequent dream-and-variation that has left me scratching my head. Try to imagine, if you will, the dirtiest, nastiest, most disgusting public toilet you have ever encountered. Now multiply that by 30 stalls, none with doors, paper, or seats, and most containing floaters. Now find one toilet you could talk yourself into hovering over, but then notice it has no or low walls and is in the middle of a busy public thoroughfare or a men's locker room, after you've pulled your pants down. I have this dream all the time. This morning, I finally realized what it is: the don't-piss-the-bed dream. Despite peeing every night immediately before bed and being a light sleeper--light enough that needing to pee would definitely wake me up--my Barbie teacup-sized bladder has joined up with my subconscious, and they have decided not to take any chances on an adult bed-wetting episode, hence the yuck-tastic dreams.
I'm going to the dentist next week. I'm sure I will have a nightmare involving giant tooth-zombies.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Broken-Hearted Nee
While looking something up for Hannah on the German Nick web site, I discovered that both Winx and Avatar have been taken off the air. Noooooooooo! Nick, why have you forsaken me?!
To add insult to injury, Nick decided to give a second season to a really awful show called Genie in the House. Now, I'm sure that the actors and writers are lovely people--they call their grandmothers, take good care of their pets, floss. BUT, I've seen more interesting writing on the wall of a public toilet, and William Shatner could take some over-acting tips from the cast. This is supposed to fill the shoes of Avatar*. This is a Nick UK production, and you have to wonder about the state of British comedy if the nation that brought us Monty Python and Black Adder has now been reduced to a one-trick children's show.
At least there's still Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and Zoey 101, for a little while.
* I will miss Winx, but I recognize that it is definitely not in the same league with Avatar. Let me put it this way: if Avatar is a 3-course meal in a 5-star restaurant, Winx is Hubba Bubba.
To add insult to injury, Nick decided to give a second season to a really awful show called Genie in the House. Now, I'm sure that the actors and writers are lovely people--they call their grandmothers, take good care of their pets, floss. BUT, I've seen more interesting writing on the wall of a public toilet, and William Shatner could take some over-acting tips from the cast. This is supposed to fill the shoes of Avatar*. This is a Nick UK production, and you have to wonder about the state of British comedy if the nation that brought us Monty Python and Black Adder has now been reduced to a one-trick children's show.
At least there's still Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and Zoey 101, for a little while.
* I will miss Winx, but I recognize that it is definitely not in the same league with Avatar. Let me put it this way: if Avatar is a 3-course meal in a 5-star restaurant, Winx is Hubba Bubba.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Hannah cracks me up
I don't often have it together enough to jot down Hannah's non-stop stream of hilarity, but you guys lucked out this time.
Hannah was sick a few days last week, so she was home on Friday--already on the mend--with John, who got side-swiped by whatever crud she had. When I got home from teaching, she told me that she had been taking good care of John, keeping him in tea and Muppets. (The Muppet Show was still running when I walked in.)
Then, more recently, she had unbraided my hair for me while I was sitting on the couch and commented that she liked it better loose--"You look wise, like a little hairy Buddha." Thanks!
Hannah was sick a few days last week, so she was home on Friday--already on the mend--with John, who got side-swiped by whatever crud she had. When I got home from teaching, she told me that she had been taking good care of John, keeping him in tea and Muppets. (The Muppet Show was still running when I walked in.)
Then, more recently, she had unbraided my hair for me while I was sitting on the couch and commented that she liked it better loose--"You look wise, like a little hairy Buddha." Thanks!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Futzing around
I realized a long time ago that I have very little talent in the area of the fine arts. But that doesn't stop me from making weird arts and crafts in my free time. (I *will* finish my video clip of Gandolf and the Balrog, someday.) I really love wrapping paper, so I have been trying out the art of collage.* You might have noticed my previous attempts at changing the background to this blog. I think I have it down now, though. Enjoy.
*I think collage won't hurt the copyright of the wrapping paper artists. I hope.
*I think collage won't hurt the copyright of the wrapping paper artists. I hope.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Favorite Graffiti
I wanted to take a photo of my favorite graffiti here in our village, but it got painted over before I could. But the section of fresh paint will always remind me of the message:
"Günther, why??"
You have to wonder what ole Günther was up to:
Such a brief message, and yet so fertile for the imagination!
"Günther, why??"
You have to wonder what ole Günther was up to:
- broke up with someone
- ran over someone's dog
- slept with someone's sister
- put Michael Jackson on his iPod
Such a brief message, and yet so fertile for the imagination!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
HATE!
Let me say right now just how much I hate this ad for an inauguration party last week. HATE! I even labeled this photo "Hate" on my hard drive. I'll give you one guess as to why. I took down the 2 copies of this flier that were in the English department and asked John to get the 1 I had seen in his department. (And then I post it on the Internet for the whole world to see.)
Oddly enough, this ad was put up by the German-American Institute (DAI) here in our town. *boggles*
The part I find offensive is the name of a band. Actually, it's not that I find the band's name *offensive* per se, but I think the juxtaposition of the name with Obama's picture was really poor judgement on the part of the DAI. It bothered me a lot. I haven't ever heard of the band before, so I can't imagine they are really that huge. Why couldn't the DAI make a different band the headliner? (Of course, I don't know which bands were there--probably Satan Eats Your Soul and Americans are My Bitch. *g*)
That is my rant of the week.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Oh, yeah...
I went to the dermatologist today, and all of my moles look fine. So no skin cancer. Yay me!
Winter has us in its clutches
We got some snow about a week ago, enough that Hannah could go sledding once.
There was snow on the ground for a week, people! Right after it snowed, a high pressure system moved in and froze everything.
In Holland, the canals have frozen over, for the first time in like a dozen years, I think I heard. Here in Germany, a lot of the rivers have frozen, bringing ship traffic to a halt. There was a segment on CNN yesterday about ice breakers having to let through coal ships so the power plants have enough fuel.
Even the Neckar has sheets of ice on it. Here’s the collection of photos I took on Tuesday.
Yesterday it snowed for a few hours, adding to the overall whiteness, coldness, and wetness.
Today it warmed up, and the ice on the Neckar broke up into small sheets that look like paving stones. I guess if you weren’t worried about drowning, you could hop, skip, and jump across the river on them.
And so ends the story of my descent into winter madness.
Except I just remembered that even my 5L watering can is full of ice and frozen down to the tiles on the balcony. WHYYYY??? Oh, yeah, because I keep filling it with the run-off from the condensation clothes dryer.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Bye-Bye, Brunette
You may remember that Hannah talked me into putting semi-permanent black dye on her hair 2 summers ago.
Over the xmas holidays, she pestered me into giving it another try. Here, her last moments as a natural brunette:
And here she is in mid-dye:
I have to make a note that we should have bought 2 bottles of dye. One problem is that I have no idea what I am actually doing, but Hannah has SO MUCH HAIR. Her hair is thick like John's (almost as thick as her Aunt Kee's), so it was impossible to get the dye over all the layers.
Want to guess what color she ended up with?
The bottle says “pomegranate red”, but I like to call it “strawberry shortcake”:
She was disappointed that no one noticed the new color when she went for a play date last week—that didn’t stop her from pointing it out herself—but she got a gratifying round of “no way!” when she went back to school yesterday. It’s nice to be validated.
Over the xmas holidays, she pestered me into giving it another try. Here, her last moments as a natural brunette:
And here she is in mid-dye:
I have to make a note that we should have bought 2 bottles of dye. One problem is that I have no idea what I am actually doing, but Hannah has SO MUCH HAIR. Her hair is thick like John's (almost as thick as her Aunt Kee's), so it was impossible to get the dye over all the layers.
Want to guess what color she ended up with?
The bottle says “pomegranate red”, but I like to call it “strawberry shortcake”:
She was disappointed that no one noticed the new color when she went for a play date last week—that didn’t stop her from pointing it out herself—but she got a gratifying round of “no way!” when she went back to school yesterday. It’s nice to be validated.
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