20
Jul
2005
Category: general
19
Jul
2005
A VACATION IS HAVING NOTHING TO DO AND ALL DAY TO DO IT IN*
I feel like I’m cheating every time I do a photo post instead of writing. And since I did 2 in a row, I definitely have that hands-on-hips, stern-look-over-the-eyeglasses, slight-shaking-of-head thing going on. Any minute now, my mental teacher will wag a warning finger at me as I hang my head in shame. Aja baja, fuskis! as my daughter would say. Being on vacation at home feels very slothful. Reducing the world’s population of flies one THWACK at a time does not make for interesting journal entries, and neither, I am sure, does anyone want to read about my ruthless...
18
Jul
2005
MY HEART BELONGS TO HOLLAND
Picturesque Giethoorn Newfangled windmills Monkeys on the loose at Apenheul! Scenic and peaceful Amersfoort Netherlands Photo Album: Page 1, Page 2
17
Jul
2005
PARTY TIME
Take the following and mix well: 14 Spiderman plates and cups 14 meatball-and-hotdog shishkebabs 1 giant bowl of buttered noodles 3.5 large pitchers of strawberry juice 1 giant container of vanilla ice cream mixed with whipped cream and meringues (add chocolate and sugar sprinkles and chocolate sauce as desired) 1 gigantic rented moonbounce! 14 children 13 non-girly presents with the wrapping paper frantically ripped off and tossed aside 1 superhero treasure hunt 14 bags of candy 2 parents trying to be everywhere at once What the heck is it?? (we kept it a surprise. Also, Mom! Look!! THE DRESS!!) *collective...
16
Jul
2005
I EVEN HANDWASHED THE KITCHEN CHAIR SEAT CUSHIONS
Things That Made Me Miss My Childhood Today: Googling the game Zoom Schwartz Pifigliano after seeing it mentioned in one of my old scrapbook journals. We played it at day camp. And Buzz. Those were fun games. Why don’t we play those anymore? Copying the poem Animal Crackers for jackiejj. My mom used to read that to me, along with the poems about the Gingham Dog & the Calico Cat, and the Sugarplum Tree, and Over in the Meadow, and the little girl with the little curl right in the middle of her forehead. Reading a chapter from Charlie and...
15
Jul
2005
I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN
Do you know the story of the little engine that could? When you’re reading it out loud to a child, you have to do train sound effects. Steam whistles and huffing and puffing and the chug-chug-chug-chug sound that gets progressively faster as the little engine gets going. I’m doing that chug-chug-chug-chug sound in my head right now…2 weeks is a really long time to go without writing anything, and I feel like I need a push, a pull, a hand up this hill. chug-chug-chug-chug Talking to my brother today, confirming that yes, we had arrived safely home after leaving him...
14
Jul
2005
10
Jul
2005
TAKE AWAY
I always feel slightly guilty about referring to The Netherlands as “Holland” but on this trip I realized that all the postcards I saw said Holland so now I don’t care. It’s the same American-centric weirdness that made me wince as I was answering my daughter’s question about why people from Holland speak something called DUTCH when everyone else’s languages match the names of their countries, or nearly. Holland appeals to my sense of order. It makes the Virgo blood in me sing quietly. The trees in rows, the shining strips of the canals neatly dissecting the country in every...
02
Jul
2005
GRAB BAG
Martin and I were sitting out on the deck this morning, enjoying the beautiful weather. I had a book, but Martin kept talking to me, so I wasn’t reading much. Suddenly, he asked me if I wanted a foot massage and informed me that he was pretty good at them. “Do you want me to give you one?” he asked. We were sitting at either end of the deck couch, so my feet were right up next to him. “I never say no to a foot rub,” I said, “but were did YOU learn to give foot rubs?” He cocked...
01
Jul
2005
THWACK THWACK THWACK!
Anders climbed up the ladder to take the central vacuum cleaner on the laundry room wall apart and find out what the matter was only to discover that the bag, apparently too heavy with ick, had split and dropped away from the hose output, filling the canister around and under the bag with filth and disgustingness, including PINE NEEDLES, our major indication that it’s been this way since at least Christmas. He managed to heave all the crap out, re-bag it, and use our old portable vacuum to clean up the resulting mess. When I got home I vacuumed the...