Saying yes...

Soylent Green and Earrings

I stayed up too late last night watching various movies. I saw that Soylent Green was on and told the eldest lamblet she had to watch it, that it was a classic! Her take on it? It wasn't really very futuristic at all... they were using incandescent lights and had televisions with dials! I suggested maybe they couldn't afford the new and had to make use of the antiquated. That theory was shot the minute Shirl started playing with her new video game, a game which made Pong look high tech.

The lamblet's other commentaries included, "The women in this are really pathetic... and what's with the Rapunzel clothing??" I pointed out that polyester maxi dresses were cool in the 70's to which she replied, "Yeah, but isn't this supposed to be 2022??"  Yeah, yeah!! Just watch!!! Just wait! About 7/8's of the way through she chimed in with, "Oh... I get it, the Soylent Green is made from people, isn't it? This movie is just odd. I'm going to bed." And she did... 3 minutes before Charleton screams, "SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!" That line makes the whole movie. I can't believe she didn't wait. She was right though, the movie really doesn't stand up to time.

I don't know if it was the Soylent Green viewing or the late night chocolate, but my dreams were running full tilt. Everyone was in them and time was no barrier. One part that stuck with me was finding an earring I lost some 20+ years ago. I found it in exactly the place I thought I had lost it. I was so excited to have found it and so amazed that others hadn't seen it that I was telling everyone, including Blue Girl who not only knew about the earring, but had also told a friend I had found it. Apparently the friend knew too... When I asked how her friend could know about an earring I had lost decades ago and how I had lost it, BG just looked sheepishly away. It was at that point that my dreaming world and *rise and shine* world merged and I woke up with the feeling that I divulge too much. In many ways I always have. I'd say at least 72% of the time, I'm an open book, I wear my heart on my sleeve. I share it all and expect people to do the same and when they don't, I pepper them with questions, trying to unlock the codes. Everybody is a story and I want to know how their lives unfolded.

I'm also always trying to find the meaning in things... everything is a metaphor for life. Grizzled is oh so very pragmatic and when I question why, why, why are we having to continually do and redo the basement, assuming there is some lesson to be learned, some lock to be opened, he merely responds, "Our foundation needs work." I look at him and think, ah yes... our foundation... that would make sense, but do you mean literally or figuratively??? I know better than to ask. He means literally. My mind goes to the figurative... and so I wonder, what is the meaning of an earring lost so many years ago and then finally found in a dream??? Is it some sort of closure on some aspect of my life that I didn't even realize was still open, or a sign telling me to be a little more tightlipped???  Or was it merely too much Charlton Heston scenery chewing too close to bedtime. I don't know. 

What I do know is this, it's almost 2009. 2008 had its good, its bad, its challenging and its memorable points, but I'm ready to kiss it goodbye. I'm ready to move into the New Year and hope it goes with me and not against me. Or maybe I need to stop being so bullheaded and need to go with it, go with the flow. Is that what my basement is trying to tell me?? The year is going to progress either way. Resistance is futile.

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream

Happy New Year!

It may have taken 2 years, but I returned the favor!

Some of you may recall a post I did a couple of years ago about being the target of someone's twisted, yet much appreciated, humor. I vowed to get him back as I have done so many times over the past 22 years.

I did. :)

It took 2 years of patience, but the window appeared, the plan fell into place, and with catlike stealth, I lobbed the crinkly package back in his court. He was caught totally off guard and I am now officially back on guard.

I can empty that basement in 3 seconds! Ok, empty that basement!!

When told by Mr. Flood Restoration that we could salvage our carpet if we acted asap, but that a serious cost would be moving our furniture and stuff (fyi, TV is not stuff!), Grizzled and I responded with a unanimous, "Pffffft!!!" We assured him we could do it ourselves, moving our furniture and "stuff" would be no problem... and it really wasn't.

Was it a mental pain in the ass? Sure. Was it something I'd rather not do during Christmas vacation? Yes. But was it the biggest task?? Hell no!!! We'd gotten emptying our basement down to a fine art! We had turned loading our bathroom and laundry room with the contents of the main room into a game of Tetrus, filling every square inch with the perfect size and shape. Through practice and paring down of goods, we had become, the Indy Pit Crew of emptying our basement.

I'd like to think we've reached perfection and will not be tested again, but I know better, so talk of French drains and regrading continue to fill the air, but in the meantime, we were almost giddy when we took on the task of clearing it out once again. We can do this. We know this. I swear, I think we were both tempted to set a stopwatch...

2008 can't end soon enough

This was our weather forecast for today:

Midwest Braces For Possible Floods

Unfortunately, today they were accurate. We returned home from holiday travel to find our basement had once again flooded... WTF???

We're now getting estimates on dealing with the soaked, 2 month-old carpet, which replaced the previous flood-damaged 4 month-old carpet.

The back yard is once again under water due to the fact that our 20+ inches of snow melted in less than a day. Did I mention the ground was still frozen so there was nowhere for all of the water to go? Did I mention the thunderstorm that dumped another 2 inches of rain?

On a good note, when driving back from a pleasant trip I should have stayed on, we came upon a 2x3 ft pothole. It wasn't even a pothole really, it was a large, missing chunk of road. Grizzled managed to swerve just enough to not completely bottom out in it. We also weren't going as fast as we would have been had we not had to slow down for the 15+ cars on the side of the toll road with flats and broken rims...

Hope everyone is enjoying or enjoyed the holidays.

As the festivities take on a life of their own...

There's going to be even less time or desire to blog. May everyone have a fun, safe, warm, happy whatever it is they may or may not be celebrating.

See you back here in 2009. Maybe.

And, the verdict is??

SNOW DAY!!!

When the subject moves...

We were listening to Christmas music and I was explaining to the lamblets how you could interject our dog's name into almost every song. Our pooch was right by my side, basking in the adoration. Or... it could have been the cookies I was making. He might have been basking in the odeurs of butter and more butter... Either way, he looked adorable, as he always does... heavily lidded eyes, ears extra-floofed-out. I swear he poofs in an extra-alluring way when he wants something. I had to grab the camera, hoping to catch the moment. Unfortunately, he lunged right as I clicked.

This... is what I caught. You can still see a sliver of an adorable eye and the start of a darting tongue. I'm sure he was hoping the camera was made of butter.

Oh well. At least his nose looks wet and cold!

Words I don't like:

Panties...

Can't stand it. Hate to hear people say it. No one, especially men, can say it and not get some tone in their voice, not to mention a funny face. It may be a subtle funny face, but it's there. It's kind of pinched.

However, as I was forced to type the word this morning and found myself accidentally mistyping, I had to wonder, if a manitee wore underwear, would the be called "panitees"?

I could deal with panitees... just not panties.

Guh.

Where's aif when you need him??

There's the most beautiful full moon tonight. It's as close as it's going to get since it's December. It's full and heavy and orange and it looks unbelievably electric next to the blue/purple snow. You can't help but feel it and understand why it might make people a wee bit crazy.

I went out to try and take a picture. I knew I didn't have the right equipment, but still, I tried. All I could think of when looking at that moon and at my inconsequential camera was I hope aif is seeing the same thing and is taking a photo for me.

I know, it's not snowing in India, but it is snowing on his blog.

I went to bed in my own life, but woke up in someone else's...

Have you ever had one of those days where you get up, and as you go through your day, everything seems just a hair off? Not necessarily in a good or bad way, just different. Things have shifted. You can't put your finger on it, but you feel yourself bracing... for something. Or just wishing you were in sync and had your existential footing... if there is such a thing.

I feel as though I'm being tailed by my shadow today and it's smirking.