Saturday, January 31, 2009

On the mend

rosetea

Friday, January 30, 2009

Feverish ass

gemmaonmyass

Feeling much better, but still running enough of a low-grade temperature that my butt was too much of a temptation for Gemma to resist. Photo credit to M. Panique.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Prévisible

Now I'm sick.

And I mean, really sick.

At least I know the worst will be over in 18 hours.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Best. stamp. ever.

poestamp

Designed by Carl T. Herrman, Carlsbad, California. I got to use these working on a massive mailing at the work/study gig. The gold signature is shiny, and dear Edgar looks dashingly melancholy.

M. Panique is doing better, but came home mid-afternoon today to get some much-needed rest.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A little something

goldorbits

On the bright side, I worked on little embroidery today. I know you've heard this before from me, but I'm not sure where this is going. If it gets worked into another project, it will be big news and will definitely be updated here.

On the dim side, M. Panique was sick sick sick today, though he stuck it out at work most of the day. Don't know how he does it. We're turning in early tonight.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Inauguration Shuffle

inaugurationshuffle

This is the route Big Kitty and I walked last Tuesday in DC. I love walkjogrun.net.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

In situ

refrigeratorbarack

Thanks to the persistence of Big Kitty, I came back from DC with a commemorative Metro farecard, and it will live on my refrigerator forever.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Conspiracy

karaokeconspiracy

M. Panique and a buddy prepare to wow the crowd at the karaoke birthday party of one of our friends. They turned "Never Gonna Give You Up" into a frightening duet, but they made a better showing earlier in the evening with "Live Forever".

Friday, January 23, 2009

Battlesnore...

Could they just find a place to live already? The first two of the Final Episodes have been okay, but I worry that they'll end up cramming all the action into the last few hours, à la Season 4.0.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

America runs on...

dunkincar

We passed this absurdity yesterday morning on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

After

moving12

After the inauguration, when the crowds were heading home or swarming toward Pennsylvania Avenue for the parade, no one was interested in two young women exploring the Capitol grounds.

moving13

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Moving

moving1

moving2

moving3

moving4

moving5

moving6

moving7

moving8

moving9

moving10

moving11

Monday, January 19, 2009

Inauguration Eve

inaugurationeve

We spent the day at the Holocaust Museum, then set out across the Mall to scout out the set-up for tomorrow. The whole area was humming with activity, and buzzing with the generators of all the media trucks.

redvelvet

We found much-needed sustenance at Red Velvet, and actually got there in time for the eponymous pastry, which usually sells out in the early evening.

patches1

Back at the home of our hard-working hosts (they were overseeing all kinds of inaugural ball logistics during our stay) I got to know this silly, snoring kitty.

patches2

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Road trip!

roadtrip

I'm setting off with Big Kitty to enjoy the inauguration festivities in DC. I've got many layers of long underwear, warm boots, and a new LeSportac cross-body bag. Wish us luck!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Friday, January 16, 2009

Culinary FAIL

Ugh. Sometimes a recipe is not what you expect, but rarely does three days of prep yield stinking gray piles of inedible chewy crap. I will let you guess what I was trying to make.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Notre ami mystérieux

mysteriousfriend1

I know there is a simple physical principle that explains why this circle of condensation appears periodically during the winter months, but I prefer to think of it as our mysterious friend.

mysteriousfriend2

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Does Jeremy Sisto look mad at me?

lawandorder

Law and Order shoots in our neighborhood frequently, but this is the first time I've actually seen actors I recognized, and since I had my camera, and they were sitting there like fish in an aquarium... Well, at least Anthony Anderson looks relatively amused.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Monday, January 12, 2009

Orange on Orange

orange1

I got to the work/study gig today, and as I stowed my purse under the front desk I noticed a crumpled, empty bag of mutant Fritos in the trash.

I was sent out again shortly thereafter to run some errands, and guess what was sitting on the subway seat next to me?

orange2

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Wishful Thinking

twcsled

I'm afraid when these little ones get to Central Park, a block and a half away, they will be sorely disappointed. It is cold as all get-out, but there's only a dusting on the ground.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Isn't she lovely? 2008 edition

xmastree2008

Not as fragrant as last year's tree, but this faux beauty can stay in the corner of the living room until we tire of its majesty. I'm not sure we'll use it every year, but I'm happy to have an option to just leave it up if we skip out of town on Christmas day like we did this year.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Ragged beauty

tulip1

I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as flesh-eating tulips.

tulip2

But if there were, they'd look like this.

tulip4

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Disappearing husband

Où est mon mari à trois dans le matin?

Il est au bureau.

Merde.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Back out

As in, I threw my.

Overzealous yoga

plus

awkward painting assignment at work/study gig

equals

I bet I'll be laid out on the sofa for two days.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

How to spend $100 before 10 AM

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We have a gimpy cat, but our super vet says nothing's broken. Now Fat Molly has to eat the dreadful-looking restricted diet kibble. Poor kitty. Poor expensive kitty.

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Monday, January 05, 2009

Still ill

That's misleading, as I have almost shaken my cold-type sickness.

"Still Ill" is the Smith's song that is the source of the quote on the coolest necklace ever, sent to me by The Marchviolet.

stillill

The feeling of this necklace, with its ball chain and lozenge charms, reminds me intensely of a St. Christopher medal I appropriated from my high school sweetheart. Through some miracle of self-restraint, I didn't throw it in his face after he broke up with me on Valentine's Day my freshman year of college, but I don't wear it anymore because I'm married to a different guy now and I don't wear jewelry from guys I had a thing with way back when. Duh.

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Milk

So, at the end of the movie, there was someone crying in the theater and it wasn't me. I had to offer a tissue to the man sitting next to me, and I was happy to do it. He said, "That was my life up there."

I would like to fervently wish that it would not have to be anyone else's life again ever.

There is a lot not to cry about, though, and of the many tales Milk tells, perhaps the story of a late bloomer touched me the deepest. At least, it's what I came away with most strongly. Harvey Milk was 43 with no prior political experience when he started campaigning, and within five years he had been elected to city-wide office.

This gives me a tremendous amount of hope, which was Harvey's wish, for everyone, all along.

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Bloody holidays

shinyinnards2

Early last evening, I dropped off my six enormous pomegranates and scurried to the local library to pick up a book I requested back in September. On the way, I finally got a chance to photograph the local butcher's, with its red tinsel garland looking for all the world to me like shiny innards, strewn and draped around the shop.

shinyinnards1

Friday, January 02, 2009

Chinatown doll



I was feeling better enough (grammar police?) this afternoon to go down to Chinatown in search of pomegranates and char siu bao. I took this video on Grand Street so that I could confirm later that I wasn't hallucinating. You see it too, right?

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Old Bones

I am, as we say Chez Panique, feeling poorly. It might just be from yakking with Mrs. Boot out in the cold for the past two days, but I think it's a little more than that. Lucky me, there's a Bones marathon on TNT today.