If you have ever wondered what your room might look like with no plaster, it somewhat resembles an asylum. It does not stop here, though, no no. No matter how many passes you make with the shop vac, the entire rest of your home will be coated in a fine veneer of white powder for weeks after, making it amazingly obvious when your cats get up to some naughtiness because their pawprints will be the only clean spots on a given surface (like the lid of the turtle tank, or kitchen counters).
I would love to have my craft room by halloween. All we need to do is tear down the lath, perhaps have an electrician out to run some new wiring since we already have the walls open, and have Daddo out for a drywall hanging party. Doable? Perhaps. Likely? Doubtful. But I can hope, and stranger things have happened.
Cheap sunglasses knock me out. Cameron, Snapp, Alisa and I spent a gorgeous afternoon getting blitzed on mojitos (mint courtesy of Cameron's garden, not mine) before Snapp dragged us to see Twilight. Cameron and I learned a valuable lesson from last time this happened (we were sober by the end of the movie), so we brought flasks with us and as a result we remember very little of the movie (a mercy, I'm sure), but the hood of Snapp's car will never forget the night.
Our fantastic cooking knocks Cameron out, and his eating habits horrify our other friends. To illustrate just how behind I am at maintaining this blog, this was our fourth of July gathering. It is September. Well then.
If my cat was a lawyer, this would be her glamour shot. It also showcases just how fucking in love with my red couch I am.
The first tomatoes and cucumber from my garden! The sad side of this story is that Brian and I took a long weekend to the shore with his family, and I returned to find that most of my plants had effectively withered and died absent my loving care. The basil was risilient and the cucumber perked back up, but the tomatoes are having their death throes still, and the herb pots look a little smacked up.
Speaking of the basil, I did not even know basil could flower, but this made me feel like an accomplished gardener for some reason.
I am a foodie. Observe seared swordfish steak marinated in red wine and seasonings and wild rice pilaf. Also observe the edible cucumber flower garnish and fresh parsley from my deck! Nerd nerd nerd!
Still more extreme close-ups of my cats. They can feel fall in the air and have not left me the hell alone for like two weeks now. I always forget between winter and fall, when they want nothing to do with me in the summer months, how the second a chill seeps into the night air they are no longer content to sit across the room, and are now crying and miserable if they are not on my laptop in my lap.
Our visitor one day. It made the cats nuts and confused us quite a lot when we couldn't figure out what it was eating--meat? A rubber band? Why is it red and stretching like that? (It was a gummi worm.)
Cameron and I were superfriends at a Phillies game. I learned what a balk is and got to finally see the Phils win in person. We also got to enjoy people watching on the El and be drawn into the rants of Septa workers so surly they should have been performance art.
Giving Tom Taylor still more free reign over my prime real estate! In case you were curious, it is very difficult to get a picture of your own arm. Hence, I still do not have a proper photo of this, only one taken with my iphone in my dirty bathroom mirror.
I made a grand new friend who plays with fire!
The Coney Island Cockabilly Road show rocked my world at Philly's North Star so hard that I had to go see them again in Asbury Park! In addition to the eclectic mix of punk, rock, rockabilly, psychobilly, and carnival music, the show also featured sword swallowing, burlesque, and sundry sideshow acts like the Illustrated Penguin Boy and the Squidling Bros. Circus.
Hick'ry Hawkins and an ensemble cast from the other bands performing that night (Viva le Vox, Guitar Bomb, the Holy Roller Sideshow) did an amazing version of Tom Waits' "Coney Island Baby."
Viva le Vox officially became my new favorite band. I think they need to move from Florida to the third floor of my house. What cool guys, seriously. I am in love.
Night number two at Asbury Park.
Before/After our jaunt to Asbury, Brian and I spent a long weekend at the Jersey shore with his family. His sister and brother in law were in town from Italy with their new baby (congrats!), so we went to her baptism, had a nice barbecue, and spent some time on the Ocean City boardwalk making Federico sample disgusting American junk food. He was brave about corn dogs, dippin' dots, pork roll, and salt water taffy, but drew a resolute line in the sand when it came to fried oreos. I can't blame him.
Federico and Olivia. I am afraid of babies, but she was adorable. And happy!
Seriously. Observe my extreme awkwardness. It was both extreme and awkward. Olivia and I just sort of stared at one another; luckily I am made of metal and bright colors, so this seems to give babies/small children something entertaining to look at, like a sleight of hand away from my maternal ineptitude.
Barnegat lighthouse.
For labor day, we hit the PA Renaissance Faire with Daddo, to drink beer, eat steak on a stake and giant turkey legs, watch demonstrations of blacksmithing and glassblowing, and see jousting, jugglers, and still more people performing sideshow stunts. Later on that week, I managed to finally catch some of Philly Fringe as well.
When not jet setting around the east coast having adventures, I have been kicking it closer to home drinking my weight in PBR, having shenanigans at my favorite bars for live music, karaoke, or preseason hockey games, depending on the night of the week. There have also been some lovely dinner parties with friends, and Snapp and I have been keeping our respective shoulders to the wheel and working on our writing in preparation for yet another National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
I have also been dutifully hitting the gym in the afternoons. Sometimes as a form of motivation (torture?) they have sponsors with free snacks. Chick-fil-a sent a cow, and a giant cow mascot on an exercise bike is one of the best things I have ever seen. The picture is so terrible because I simply could not stop laughing (or working on my fitness) long enough to take a good one.
As you can see, life has not quite been productive, but it has certainly been eventful.
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